Reviews

Summer of ’69

Devised by David Gauci and Peter Johns. Davine Productions. Star Theatre One – Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Hilton SA. February 3 – 6 2021

‘If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's their problem. Love and peace are eternal.’ John Lennon. Never a truer word was said. I spent my latter years of primary school and early years of high school living in the 60s and so Davine’s latest show Summer of ’69 was a must to see!

Davine Productions, headed by the visionary David Gauci, is well known for smaller cast musical theatre done superbly and this show is no exception.

Ernani

Music by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Co-production by Teatro alla Scala and Opera Australia. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. February 2 – 13, 2021

Giuseppe Verdi is the composer of some of the most glorious operas in the canon, from the glittering La Traviata to the spectacular Aida to the humourous Falstaff, with many smash hits in between.

The opera Ernani was composed by him very early in the career and was his first major success. We see in this opera his potential for greatness.

Help! There’s a Yugoslavian in My Fridge

By T. Mutta Beilby and Ella Randle. unBALANCED Productions. Fringe World. Directed by T. Mutta Beilby. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, WA. Jan 29 - 5 Feb, 2021

unBALANCED Productions managed to get two performances of their wacky comedy Help! There’s a Yugoslavian in My Fridge, before being shut-down by the current Perth lockdown. A very unlikely little tale, but it keeps its audience interested throughout.

Sailing South

Written by Judith Prior. Directed by Kath Kunde. Presented by Mates Theatre Genesis. The Redland Museum, 25 January – 7 February, 2021

Mates Theatre Genesis is back with another of their annual Australia Day plays, which have been performed at The Redland Museum for over a decade. This year’s offering is Sailing South, a delightfully tongue-in-cheek tale of an inexperienced captain and a crew of prisoners bound for Botany Bay in the 1850s.

What Now? A Double Feature

By Sean Wcislo. Modicum Theatre. Fringe World. Directed by Andrea Kendrick. Cookery, The Girls School, East Perth, WA. Jan 26-30, 2021

Modicum Theatre ran a rather unique short season in Cookery at the Girls School. A sort of two-for-the-price-of-one offer, What Now? A Double Feature consisted of two short plays by award winning writer Sean Wcislo, Chance and Surviving Aisle 7.

Next Stop: Reality

Written and Directed by Madelaine Page. Fringe World. Room 2:04 Girls School, East Perth, WA. Jan 30-Feb 14, 2021

Harriet braves her first trip on the London Underground as she travels to an interview for her dream job. This one-woman play about life, decisions, and the perils of public transport, will hopefully return to its Fringe World season post Perth lockdown.

Written, directed and expertly performed by Madelaine Page, this is a dynamic, pacy play with a loveable heroine, who makes us part of her perilous journey on the tube. Cleverly written and nicely traversing time, space and reality, we get to know the delightful Harriet and become very invested in her success.  

How to Drown a Fish

By Sophie Minissale. University Dramatic Society. Fringe World. Directed by Megan Rundle. The Briefing Room, Girls School, East Perth, WA. Jan 30- Feb 7, 2021

Set poolside at a community swim centre, How to Drown a Fish is a gorgeous little late-night rom-com produced by University Dramatic Society for Fringe World. After a successful opening night, Perth’s lockdown has paused performances of this feel-good show, but hopefully they will be able to resume for the last 3 shows of their run.

The Witch and the Goat

Written and directed by Bello Benischauer. Art in Process and Existence Theatre. Fringe World. Old Customs House, Fremantle, WA. Jan 15-30, 2021

The Witch and the Goat is a mesmerising, impactful and highly emotional piece of physical theatre, presented by Art in Process and Existence Theatre at Old Customs House, Fremantle as part of Fringe World.

With Fire in Her Heart: The Edith Cowan Story

By Trevor Todd. Fringe World. Directed by Gabrielle Metcalf. Biology or Home Economics, The Girls School, East Perth, WA. Jan 27-Feb 7, 2021 (pre Covid Shutdown dates)

Most Western Australians are at least vaguely familiar with Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to any Australian Parliament - 100 years ago this year. She is remembered on the $50 note, through Edith Cowan University and the seat of Cowan, and now with this new play, presented by Gabrielle Metcalf for Fringe World.

Love Letters

By AR Gurney. IpSkip Productions. Parks Theatre, SA. 29 January 2021.

Written by AR Gurney in 1988, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Love Letters appears deceptively simple. By calling for a pair of actors to read from scripts on an otherwise bare stage, it could sound like one notch up from a radio play.

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