Reviews

One Woman Show

Written and performed by Liz Kingsman. Presented by Damien Hewett. Directed by Adam Brace. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 11-23 April 2023.

Traditionally a one woman show evokes shades of strident, confronting second wave feminists bemoaning the oppressive nature of patriarchy. Such shows seemed determined to inflict pain on the audience. This show could not be further away from this or any postfeminist stereotype that emerged with the likes of The Diary of Bridget Jones or Fleabag and yet it has a strong feminist message. Liz Kingsman dismantles all of these stereotypes with a deconstruction of theatrics and women characters who have traded on social and political disorientation.

Am I the Drama?

Written & performed by Andy Balloch. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Campari House, Hardware Lane. 10 – 23 April 2023

Andy Balloch succeeds at something at which others mostly fail.  First, he is charming, endearing and funny.  That certainly makes a difference.  But then, in his act, he combines so many unlikely elements that in other hands – or minds – would be a random, incoherent mess.  He makes it work.

Grim

Unpublished
Written & performed by Ellen Grimshaw. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Motley Bauhaus, Carlton. 10 – 22 April 2023

With Grim, Ellen Grimshaw recycles the basic premise of her 2019 Fringe Festival show, Just Us Girls.  It’s a good - if familiar – premise: an alien comes to or is dropped into our world and must adapt.  On the way through the alien, simply by being an outsider, will provide a whole new (satirical?) perspective on our world. 

The Job Interview

Written and directed by James Hazelden. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. La Mama HQ, 205 Faraday St Carlton. 11 – 16 April 2023.

This an extremely well written play that demonstrates a fine balance in the way that it marries absurdism with realism. The text portrays what looks like an ordinary run of the mill job interview. However, as the interview progresses it becomes increasingly unorthodox and at times even nightmarish. Although there are many surreal qualities in the text, the staging provides are very naturalistic setting. This completely belies the offbeat conversation that unfolds.

Wankernomics: Solutionising the Corporate World

Written & performed by Charles Firth & James Schloeffel. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Athenaeum Theatre. 12, 14, 15 & 16 April 2023

In the form of a mock MBA with 8 units – or should that be ‘modules? – Charles Firth (from The Chaser) and James Schloeffel (from The Shovel) tell us how to understand, succeed or just survive in the corporate world – and who does and how. 

Anne of Green Gables: The Musical

Book by Donald Harron, music by Norman Campbell. Hobart Repertory Theatre. Director: Anne Blythe Cooper), Hobart. 12–23 April 2023

Nearly 150 years after Lucy Maude Montgomery’s birth, her feisty Anne (‘with an e’) Shirley is as beloved as ever – as numerous theatrical, film and television adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables books attest – and Donald Harron and Norman Campbell’s musical has run uninterrupted (but for Covid) in Canada since its premiere in 1965 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (LM’s and Anne’s home). Anne Blythe Cooper’s production of this musical for Hobart Rep captures the nostalgic charm of Anne Shirley’s world.

Hymn to Mother Earth

QSO Music on Sunday series. Conducted by Johannes Fritzsch. QPAC Concert Hall, April 2, 2023 (repeated on ABC Classic radio, April 14, at 1pm).

As the world grapples with climate change and the United Nations calls for action to protect the world’s river systems, the members of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra turn to music to inspire critical thinking around the need to love and respect Mother Earth.

Show Day

By Ellis Pearson, Cecile Williams, and Michael Barlow. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Directed by Michael Barlow. Ellie Eaton Theatre, Claremont Showground. April 8-22, 2023

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre has been a Fremantle institution for decades, but sadly, due to building issues, the company is unable to perform at their Short Street venue. Show Day is a celebration of agricultural shows and is perhaps the perfect choice for Spare Parts’ present performance space, the Ellie Eaton Theatre, within Claremont Showground – the home of Perth’s Royal Show.

The Candidate

Written & performed by Mandy Nolan. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Melbourne Town Hall, Regent Room. 30 March – 23 April, 2023

Mandy Nolan is a big woman – big presence, big voice, big personality.  Pillar box red dress and cowboy boots.  A comedian for twenty years, she was selected by the Greens to run as their candidate for Richmond (Northern NSW, Northern Rivers) in the 2022 Federal election.  At first, she said no.  She’s a comedian not a politician.  But she has ‘profile’ in the electorate - and she’s a magnetic, attractive, what-you-see-is what-you-get, funny woman.  Asked again, she agreed – after all, she agrees with the Greens’ polici

Xanadu

By Douglas Carter Beane, Jeff Lynne and John Farrar. HAMA Productions. Directed by Olivia Jade. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco, WA. April 8-16, 2023

HAMA Productions’ Xanadu is a bright, broad stroke production that doesn’t take itself very seriously, but the performances, singing, music and production values are seriously good, in this fabulous and funny show.

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