Reviews

Funny Thing is one of my favourite comic musicals, a delightful romp, so the prospect of a performance by University students was mouth-watering. It did not disappoint.

Apart from the energy of the performers, there were different twists I had not encountered before. After Pseudolus’s initial introduction the stage opened on a scene from the film of Les Miserables with galley slaves being whipped, before he repeated “Tragedy Tomorrow!” and the curtains closed again.

The biggest stars of the show were not around to take a bow. Set designer and maker Bob Peet and costume maker James Worner deserved an ovation for the visual splendour they brought to this production.

Most delightful were the candles for Lumiere which ignited always on cue, the grand French chest of drawers for Madam De La Grande Bouche and the wind up clock for Cogsworth.

With the potential closure of the Alexander Theatre at Monash University, the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Victoria moved to the Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre for this production. A long way from their home base, the theatre is a similar size to the Alex, and, moving toward the back for the second half, I had no problems hearing everything. Unfortunately the audience was relatively small and I hope this will pick up.

DRILL mixes the grit, flexibility, pace and precision of sport training with the ... well ... grit, flexibility, pace and precision of dance training! Fast and precise, physically demanding and exacting, it takes a series of training exercises and choreographs them into a performance that encapsulates the punishing rigour of training and the challenges of the sporting arena as well as the camaraderie – and competitiveness – that is at the heart of every sport.