Reviews

What is the matter with Mary Jane?

By Wendy Harmer and Sancia Robinson. Seymour Centre (NSW). Aug 5 – 8, 2015, and touring

Theatre that educates and puts its audience in an empathetic position for the suffering, joy and triumph of another is what makes the performing arts so special. Within 60 minutes, you can leave the theatre with a newfound understanding of an issue, a person, a cultural way of life. When we learn, we grow. What is the matter with Mary Jane? is a beautiful illustration of the power of theatre in changing lives. The audience is given keen insight into the real-life story of Sancia Robinson’s battle with anorexia and bulimia.

A Man of No Importance

By Terrence McNally, Music by Stephen Flaherty and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Based on a film, ‘A Man of No Importance’. Sydney University Musical Theatre Ensemble (MUSE). King Street Theatre. Aug 5-8th, 2015

Having had no prior knowledge of A Man of No Importance, it was a pleasant, interesting, riveting and moving night to be able to watch this Australian premiere.

Einstein And The Polar Bear

St Jude’s Players. St Jude’s Hall Brighton, SA. August 6-15.

You don’t have to be Einstein to realise Adelaide audiences are enjoying St Jude’s Players current production. Actor-turned-playwright Tom Griffin’s Einstein And The Polar Bear is another success for this enduring seaside theatre company.

The Bleeding Tree

By Angus Cerini. Griffin Theatre Company. Director: Lee Lewis. SBW Stables Theatre, Kings Cross. July 31 – September 5, 2015.

In a small rural Australian town, a shot disturbs the still of the night. Was this an act of cold bloody murder or self defence? Angus Cerini’s The Bleeding Tree brings into question the potentially harmful nature of our increasingly private society; should we really ignore the violence that goes on behind closed doors if we possess the power to stop it? 

The Mikado

Music by Arthur Sullivan. Lyrics & Book by William Gilbert. Directed by Pam TuckerTower Arts Centre. August 6-16, 2015

The SA Light Opera Society’s latest effort is a modestly scaled, but passionately performed  presentation of the perennial Gilbert & Sullivan favourite which, despite some odd rough edges, is likely to please fans of this songwriting team.

Production design is minimalist, but the few sets are painted in a strikingly detailed style by Monty Clements & Carolyn Adams, and together with the Cyndy Trezise’s boldly colourful array of costumes, The Mikado’s larger than life Japanese setting is vividly established.

Of Mice and Men

By John Steinbeck, adapted from his own novel. Sport for Jove Theatre Company. Directed by Iain Sinclair. The Playhouse, Canberra. 6–8 August 2015

Steinbeck's novella portrays a smart but uneducated man, George, as somebody patiently ready to assist his childlike family friend Lennie to survive a life that would otherwise cut him down with cruelty in the harsh Depression era.  Together, they perform unskilled work at one ranch and another, leaving once the work is done or Lennie's failure to control his own strength gets them into  trouble too serious for George to talk their way out of.

The Marriage of Figaro

By Mozart. Opera Australia. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. August 6 – 29, 2015

As the overture suggests, The Marriage of Figaro is fast and fun, all the events of the frantic day ahead evident in “bubbling rhythms and cascades of instrumental laughter ... that capture the spirit and pace of the work” (Peter Bassett). That pace and Mozart’s passion and sense of fun are the essence of this most entertaining production directed by Sir David McVicar.

Seventeen

By Matthew Whittet. Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir. Directed by Anne-Louise Sarks. August 1 - September 13, 2015

A great idea, beautifully acted and staged, this production left the audience captivated. The idea was to cast stage legends, aged over seventy, as seventeen year olds on the night of their last day of school.

They drink to excess, jump freely onto play equipment in a park, make a mess with their junk food in no time at all, play truth or dare and confront their demons.

Set today of course they take selfies and dance awkwardly to a Taylor Swift song, that the company got the rights to after a social media campaign.

Yours The Face

By Fleur Kilpatrick. Director & Designer: Sarah Walker. FLIGHT: Festival of New Writing. Theatre Works, St Kilda. July 31 – August 9, 2015

This surprising piece has been written by Fleur Kilpatrick for one actor to play all characters.  Actually Kilpatrick’s play displays the perception and insight that leads one to think both main characters could be played by either a female or male actor. 

In this production Roderick Cairns is a very commanding tour de force.  He is quite mesmerizing and extraordinarily convincing in both the two contrasting roles, as well as the subsidiary roles.  Androgyny can be so seductive!

Kindness

By Bridget Mackey. Directors: Kate Shearman and Alice Darling. FLIGHT: Festival of New Writing. Theatre Works, St Kilda. July 31 – August 9, 2015

Kindness is a kind of absurdist, pretty ridiculous and at times hilarious look at the down side of the effects of the modern working environment.

In this slick production, on a smart and stylish set by Yvette Turnbull, that feels like an office foyer, four individuals come and go and interact or barely interact through talking to/at each other.    Throughout they all seem to exposing hang-ups, quirks and fixations in a bland environment where everything even their wacky ticks of behavior become monotonous. 

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