Reviews

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Peter Parnell. Blackout Theatre Company. Pioneer Theatre, Castle Hill. May 19 – 27, 2023

There are goosebumps upon goosebumps and it isn’t the cold winter air. The chill in the air is a foreboding feel; shadows on a dimly lit stage; shadowy figures; haunting melodies. 

It is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This is Darkened Disney. 

Expect the awful side of humanity: religious extremism, racism, sexual predators, brutal treatment of minorities to throw a few out. It isn’t a show to skip along to with an expectation of  butterflies and glitter cannons. 

Bakersfield Mist

By Stephen Sachs. Ad Astra, Brisbane. 11 May to 3 June 2023

‘Bakersfield Mist’ alludes to the 1950 painting ‘Lavender Mist’ by abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock – a mess of red, white, blue and yellow in the artist’s signature chaotic flourish. In this play by Stephen Sachs (co-founder of Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles) the central piece is a painting procured at a junk shop for $3. The art collector in question is Bakersfield trailer park resident Maude Gutman (played to the brash-trash hilt by Fiona Kennedy, last seen at Ad Astra in the very different Marvin’s Room).

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Music & Lyrics: Richard & Robert Sherman. Book: Jeremy Sams & Ray Roderick. Camden Musical Society. Camden Civic Centre. May 5 to 13, 2023

Today, the famous Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car from the movie is privately owned in New Zealand. Lucky visitors to Camden glimpsed a pretty good replica on show these last couple of weeks, as one of the most recognisable cars with one of the most recognisable theme songs cruised around the stage courtesy of the Camden Musical Society and Director Kerrie Jiear.

Pony

By Eloise Snape. Griffin Theatre Company. SBW Stables Theatre. May 12 – June 17, 2023.

Eloise Snape’s debut play about the fears and upending nightmares of pregnancy should be required viewing for all maternity classes, if only for its leavening hilarity.  

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

Book by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins. TEG Dainty. Theatre Royal Sydney. Opening Night: May 18, 2023.

The cast and music are ‘Simply the Best’ in a near faultless performance that propelled the audience to their feet.

Stephen Hough Performs Rachmaninov 1

Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. May 17 – 20, 2023.

Stephen Hough is an impressive polymath, a great pianist, but also a composer, an author, a music advocate and educator at top British academies, and last year, a knighthood – and he’s an Australian citizen.  

At Home with the Sheridans

By Yvette Wall. Life on Hold Productions. Directed by Rex Gray. Edz Sports Bar, Hamilton Hill, WA. May 12-27, 2023

Life on Hold Productions is a small, mobile theatre company that has chosen some unusual, not conventionally theatrical spaces in which to perform. Their latest production, the World Premiere of Yvette Wall’s At Home with the Sheridans, is resident in a function room at Edz Sports Bar at Hamilton Hill, an intimate space, which allows the small audience to be very close to the action. Being staged in a pub means that the audience are also welcome to bring their drinks into the show.

Paul Capsis – Dry My Tears

Presented by The Song Company in association with fortyfivedownstairs at fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 17 – 28 May 2023.

Cabaret performer extraordinaire Paul Capsis returns to the stage at fortyfivedownstairs with a very intimate and personal performance. He is accompanied by The Song Company's Francis Greep on grand piano and performs an acoustic set of cabaret, jazz, and ragtime classics by Kurt Weill, John Kander, Billy Joel, Elton John, Melody Gardot and Johnny Mercer with influences from Marianne Faithfull, Jimmy Scott, and Nina Simone. Capsis has an incredibly versatile and unique voice that is able to create beautiful renditions of a vast range of songs and styles.

Things I Know To Be True

By Andrew Bovell. Pymble Players. May 17 – June 11, 2023

Every time I see a Pymble Players production I am always immediately struck by the attention to detail with the scenery.  When I walked in to see this play, however, I noticed very quickly that there was clearly less decoration on the stage and I thought to myself ‘there’s obviously a reason for that’.  Apart from the fact that this play is mainly set in the backyard, the reason for the relatively pared back scenery soon became very apparent:  it simply isn’t necessary.  The quality of the performances in this production is so high that any superf

I Wanna Be Yours

By Zia Ahmed. Melbourne Theatre Company Education & Families Program. Southbank, The Lawler. 11 – 27 May (then touring) 2023

Please note the title. It’s not the more usual possessive, controlling I Want You to Be Mine. It’s something else; it’s the desire to be possessed, to belong to somebody.  That is the tender hope of young Ella (Eleanor Barkla) and Haseeb (Oz Malik). Ella is from Yorkshire and Haseeb, self-consciously from south London, is British-Pakistani. They meet – or catch each other’s eye – at a drama class. 

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