Reviews

Cowardy, Cowardy Custard

By Noël Coward. The Arch, Holden Street Theatres Inc, SA. May 14 - June 1, 2024

The partnership of man about town and retired media identity, and multi-faceted producer, director, costumer and actor Martha Lott has once again seen a totally different choice of play by Holden Street Inc.; this time, 50 years after his death, to entertain and celebrate legendary Noël Coward’s work.

Jersey Boys

Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice. Music by Bob Gaudio. Lyrics by Bob Crewe. Willoughby Theatre Company. The Concourse Theatre, Chatswood. May 17 to June 2, 2024.

Sometimes you go to a community theatre production and the divide between the amateur and the professional shows is understandably vast.  Once in a blue moon you go to community theatre and you are hard pressed to distinguish the difference between the two.  This was the case at the opening night of Willoughby Theatre Company’s first offering for 2024, Jersey Boys.

Beautiful Burnout

By Bryony Lavery. WAAPA Third Year Acting. Directed by Matt Edgerton. Enright Studio, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. May 16-18, 2024

Beautiful Burnout is a Scottish play that explores the world of boxing - both the passion and love for the sport as well as its potential for damage. Explored through young boxers including a young Cameron Burns, and from the outside from the perspective of Cameron’s mother, this 90-minute play was performed by half of the current WAAPA Third Year Acting Cohort, and crewed, designed, and built by WAAPA Production and Design Students.

Girl Asleep

By Matthew Whittet. Third Year WAAPA Acting. Directed by Tasnim Hossain. The Enright Studio, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. May 16-18, 2024

Girl Asleep was performed by 6 of the Third Year WAAPA Acting cohort and designed, built, and crewed by WAAPA Production and Design Students It played for a very short season in WAAPA’s intimate Enright Studio, in conjunction with sibling production Beautiful Burnout.

Rootless Cosmopolitans

By Ron Elisha. Monstrous Theatre. The Loft, Chapel off Chapel, Prahran. 15 May – 2 June 2024

‘Rootless cosmopolitans’ was the snide euphemism for Jews in Stalin’s USSR.  Permanent outsiders, people who don’t belong, can’t be trusted – and yet are also greedy, much too powerful, etc.  Every antisemitic cliché that has justified pogroms, persecution, exclusion, the Holocaust and the simmering suspicion and antisemitism that never goes away – and always threatens to break out.  When I was a kid, ‘Jew’ was an insult.  Such is the subject of Ron Elisha’s play.  That and contemporary ‘cancel

The Haunting

Written by Hugh James. Tugun Theatre Company, Gold Coast. Directed by Nathan Schulz. May 9th -25th, 2024

Are there ghosts afoot or is it merely synchronicity that sees two terrific ghost stories brought to the stage with days of each other, despite a year or more of planning?

The Gondoliers

By Gilbert and Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan Society of WA. Directed by Paul Treasure. The Dolphin Theatre, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA. May 16-15, 2024

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s production of The Gondoliers is well-produced and nicely sung, with a lovely feel.

The State

By Marli Jupiter and Rhi Bryan. Directed by Marli Jupiter. The Blue Room, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. May 14-25, 2024

The State is an unashamedly bold piece political theatre that reminds me of the agit-prop theatre of the 1970s. Employing bold costume, makeup, puppetry, and mask work, this look at democracy is an interesting and compelling piece of theatre.

Noises Off

By Michael Frayn. Presented by Centenary Theatre Group, Chelmer, Brisbane. May 18 - June 9, 2024

Michael Frayn's successful and well-known farce has been around a long time and since its first performance in the UK in 1982, where it ran for five years, there have been numerous revivals worldwide, even a movie version, directed by Peter Bogdanovitch and including an all-star international cast.

Ghost The Musical

Book & Lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin. Music & Lyrics by Dave Stewart & Glen Ballard. Blackout Theatre Company. Pioneer Theatre, Castle Hill. May 17 – 25, 2024.

In musical theatre, specific productions leave a lasting impression, captivating audiences with powerful storytelling and unforgettable performances.

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