Reviews

Two Short Plays: The Pash & An Evening With The Vegetarian Librarian

By Tracy Crisp and Rita Papillo. Dusty Reds. The Arch, Holden Street Theatres, Adelaide SA. 6-10 April 2021

I first saw Tracy Crisp on stage in 2019 at the premiere of her poignant solo memoir The Forgettery. I was struck then by her image-rich writing and this new venture, An Evening With The Vegetarian Librarian, does not disappoint.  It is also a pleasure to observe Ms Crisp’s increased confidence as a performer.

Dead Skin

By Laneikka Denne. White Box Theatre Company at Kings Cross Theatre, Sydney. Director: Kim Hardwick. 2 - 17 April 2021

Dead Skin is the first post-pandemic production at the King Cross Theatre to be performed to a full house (80 people) and we all nestled behind our masks waiting to see how this play, written by 17-year-old Western Sydney girl Laneikka Denne and winner of the 2019 Flinders University Young Playwrights Award, would go. The truth is it went like a brilliant, multi-coloured sparkler!

Half Time

Book by Chad Beguelin & Bob Martin. Music by Matthew Sklar. Lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Additional Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Based on the motion picture GOTTA DANCE. Nineteen 98 Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co. Directed by Helen Dallimore. Musical Director: Jessica Manning. Choreographer/Asst Director: Madison Lee. April 1 – May 2, 2021

This would have to be the best value live entertainment going around. A sizzling cast and band of 20 on stage up close– for an audience of 111.

The star Nancye Hayes only needed to walk onto the stage to score a rousing ovation, but being the mature professional that she is, was undistracted by the adulation.

Happy Birthday

By Marc Camoletti. Tea Tree Players. Tea Tree Players Theatre, Surrey Downs, SA. April 7 – 24 2021

Tea Tree Players celebrate their post-covid relaunch with Happy Birthday by the French master of bedroom farce, Marc Camoletti.

No Hat! No Play! The Cabaret

Written & performed by Samantha Andrew & Mel O’Brien. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Toff in Town. 6 – 18 April 2021

Mel O’Brien and Samantha Andrew are dressed as primary school (Year 6) girls in those uniforms primary school kids have to wear – in this case bright yellow tops, red pants and, of course, wide-brimmed red hats. 

Miss Lily’s Fabulous Feather Boa

By Michael Barlow adapted from the book by Margaret Wild and Kerry Argent. Directed by Michael Barlow. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Short St, Fremantle, WA. Apr 3-17, 2021

Miss Lily’s Fabulous Feather Boa is somewhat of a Spare Parts Puppet Theatre favourite, with revivals every few years to entertain a new group of children. The latest incarnation features a new cast and remains just as delightful.

A lovely little tale about a lonely little potoroo who finds her confidence at Miss Lily’s Tropical Holiday House, it has a myriad of lovely little subtle messages about conservation, the importance of not judging people by appearance, the value of building other people’s confidence of family and belonging.

Zoë Coombs Marr: Agony! Misery!

Written & Performed by Zoë Coombs Marr. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Melbourne Town Hall, Powder Room. 25 March – 18 April 2021

Zoë Coombs Marr is an entertaining absurdist who noodles around with time even if her stories are about her ‘ordinary’ experiences as a precocious, sexually conflicted, flute-playing teenager.  She takes a key incident from those years and spirals away from it and spirals back to it – as if she is starting her story (or stories) and the show itself, all over again. 

Alice Tovey: Doggo

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Butterfly Club. April 2 – 11, 2021.

Call her ‘bitch on heat’ and she will lap up the compliment. Alice Tovey has created a new brand of comedy performance and is currently on at the Butterfly Club with her show Doggo, for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

One for the Road

By Willy Russell. Wanneroo Repertory Club. Directed by James Hough Neilson. Limelight Theatre, Civic Dve, Wanneroo, WA. Apr 1- 17, 2021

One for the Road is a well-presented comedy, by Wanneroo Repertory Club, that is entertaining full capacity houses at the Limelight Theatre.

On the eve of his 50th birthday, Dennis makes an attempt to escape his middle-class, housing-estate existence.

Written in 1976, first performed in 1980 and updated by the author in 1985, director James Hough Neilson sets this production in the mid-1980s, as little details of this show firmly place it as a period-piece, although it remains relevant and funny. 

The Umbilical Brothers - The Distraction

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, 25 March – 17 April, 2021 and Playhouse, QPAC, 27 April to 2 May 2021

The Distraction morphs simple green screen trickery into ingeniously hilarious antics. David Collins and Shane Dundas, who form the renowned comic duo The Umbilical Brothers, incorporate a vast array of theatrical techniques in their show. It is not uncommon to see very inventive use of mime, puppetry, soundscapes and even slapstick in their performances. This show, however, ventures into some new territory and combines their eccentric brand of humour with special effects technology. The result is often sublime.

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