Reviews

Neighbours

Sydney Festival. Sydney Opera House. January 12 – 15, 2023

Two dancers talk to each other for one hour without saying a word. It’s a miracle that their “chat” is so engrossing, even thrilling, and that only rarely does your mind wander.

A likely reason is that dance legend William Forsyth, once long time director of the Frankfurt  Ballet, first brought these two together, and this new collaboration shows all the smart wit and electric speed of the master himself.

La Bohème

By Giacomo Puccini. Opera Australia. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Jan 12 – Mar 11, 2023

Though Giacomo Puccini set La Bohème in the busy, artistic Latin Quarter of Paris in 1896, director Gale Edwards saw how easily it could be transposed to Berlin in the1930s during the final licentious years of the Weimar Republic. That was a Berlin alive with street theatre, cabaret, jazz, innovative art, Bauhaus architecture … and very probably hopeful artists struggling to make a living, just like the artists Puccini created in La Bohème.

A Promenade of Shorts – Season 2

Red Phoenix Theatre. Holden St Theatres, Hindmarsh, Adelaide. Jan 12-21, 2023

A Promenade of Shorts – Season 2 is the follow up to the original, presented in 2020 as a way to showcase a variety of plays that would not normally be seen due to their length (about 10 minutes).

The presentation of this production is fascinating. The audience is divided into three groups, each with their own ‘keeper’. Ours was the Governess, whose job it is to guide us through the three venues and ensure we behave. (If we didn’t, there was a threat of public Bible reading.)

Tracker

Writer: Ursula Yovich. Australian Dance Theatre and Ilbijerri Theatre. Sydney Festival. Carriageworks, Bay 20. January 10 – 14, 2023.

Tracker is an impressive, all-Indigenous collaboration between the Australian Dance Theatre in Adelaide and the Ilbijerri Theatre in Melbourne, co-directed by their two ADs, respectively, choreographer Daniel Riley and Rachael Maza, for the Sydney Festival.

Three dancers and one actor, as Riley himself, artfully track through the early twentieth story of his great-great uncle Alex “Tracker” Riley and the remarkable cases he helped solve as a Wiradjuri Elder serving in the NSW Police Force. 

Blanc De Blanc

Strut n Fret. The Grand Electric, 199 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills. January 7 – March 4, 2023.

From the moment I entered the newly refurbished The Grand Electric’ 

Twelfth Night

By William Shakespeare. Fremantle Theatre Company. Directed by Renato Fabretti. Saw Amphitheatre, Kings Park, WA. Jan 10-21, 2023

Fremantle Theatre Company’s second Shakespeare in the Park, Twelfth Night, has reached the beautiful Saw Amphitheatre in Kings Park after short seasons in Margaret River, Bunbury and Albany. A vibrant performance with modern references, some clever twists and an Australian air, this is a fun way to spend a summer’s evening.

ROOM

Created and Directed and Music by James Thierrée. La Compagnie du Hanneton. Sydney Festival at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney. 11 – 25 January, 2023

Imagine a room in bits and pieces – the walls, the ceiling and floor, a big desk – and a whole team of people injecting life and passion into bringing these pieces to vibrant, pulsating life. Got it? No, scrap that and start again, and again, and again, and again...

Alice in Wonderland

Adapted and Directed by Penny Farrow. Puppet. Atheneum Theatre, Melbourne. 23 December ’22 – 28 January ’23.

Down the rabbit hole again! A strong cast takes up the challenge of turning a very well-known and monumentally imaginative book into an engaging hour-long show. Any adaption of Alice in Wonderland is up against the film versions with all the resources at their disposal. But this production is a winner.

Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies

The Australian Shakespeare Company. Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne. Dec 24, 2022 – Jan 28, 2023

Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies is playing at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne as part of the summer season produced by The Australian Shakespeare Company. In a magical fusion of fairy worlds, Tinkerbell from Neverland and the four fairies from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, join for a magical adventure to Bubble Land.

Make Some Noise

The Listies. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. Jan 5 – 20, 2023

Alongside the stunning Sydney Harbour, under the beautiful sails of the Opera House, was the last place I expected to find myself giggling about poop, pee and butt cracks. Stay with me (it is also not usually how one begins a review either) butt (see what I did there) it is important to set the scene. You are going to laugh like a naughty 10-year-old at the same things. The Listies (AKA Richard Higgins and Matthew Kelly) will appeal to everyone, and you have permission to let that giggling kiddo inside free.

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