Reviews

Lunenburg

By Norm Foster. Harbour Theatre. Camelot Theatre, Mosman Park, WA. March 10-25, 2023

At a time when there are quite a few excellent productions on offer in Perth, Harbour Theatre’s production is the best choice for a “feel-good” experience. This warm hug of a production is described as “a romantic comedy with a touch of lust” but might also be described as a bittersweet “almost romance” that touches the heart.

Music For Other Worlds

Adelaide Festival. Adelaide Town Hall. 15 March, 2023

Greg Mackie OAM, CEO of History Trust of South Australia, introduced the concert and gave an Acknowledgement of Country.  He reminded us that the one night Music For Other Worlds concert could never be replicated and framed that idea by a Yehudi Menuhin quote: “Improvisation is the expression of the accumulated yearnings, dreams, and wisdom of the soul.”  Rosemary Wanganeen (Kaurna and Wirringu) then entered to give a moving Welcome to Country, teaching us the correct responses.  When Ms Wanganeen asked “Niina marni?”  (“Are you all

Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica

By David Williamson. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Mark Kilmurry. 10 March – 28 April 2023

What does a theatre company do when its star playwright retires? When the year’s one spot that is certain to pull in the crowds – the latest play from David Williamson - becomes vacant? Well, it searches back though all those past Williamson productions. And the great thing about 2010’s Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica? Not only is it a two-hander, but the original performers, Glenn Hazeldine and Georgie Parker, are both raring to go. 

Air Play

Acrobuffos / Adelaide Festival. Festival Theatre. 15-19 March, 2023

Air Play is a captivating and magical show that can only truly be appreciated by experiencing it for yourself. Created in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel and directed by West Hyler, the show is performed by New York-based duo Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone.

Bloom, formerly a juggler, and Gelsone, formerly a ballerina, had extensive training in clowning before joining forces to become “Acrobuffos”. The pair have gained a reputation for creating original work that defies genres and elicits laughter without words.

Maureen: Harbinger of Death

By Maureen Daly. Adelaide Festival. Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. 14 - 18 March, 2023

Imagine afternoon tea (minus the food and drink) with an Aussie Aunty Mame. Rather than raising you, Maureen Daly shares her most enlightening, intimate and very personal stories to ensure that you could pen, or at least tell an exaggerated version of her marvellous, zany and off-beat life. She is very clear that she does not want to be eclipsed by someone glamorous like Cate Blanchett playing her in a theatre piece, disappointed though Cate may be.

Collapsible

By Margaret Perry. Red Line Productions and essential workers. Directed By Zoë Hollyoak & Morgan Moroney. Old Fitz Theatre. 9 March – 1 April, 2023

Essie has lost her high-profile job, and her girlfriend has left her. Her life is suddenly telescoping in on itself – and it makes her “feel more like a chair than a person. One of those folding chairs”. You know the ones she means. The collapsible ones that are hard to manipulate, tip over easily or fold in on themselves.

Time Pieces

By Siobhan Wright. Directed by Charlie Baker and Siobhan Wright. Roxy Lane Theatre, Maylands, WA. March 10-19, 2023

Time Pieces is a season of two very different one act plays, both by local writer Siobhan Wright. The first, Ring Ring, is a play made up almost entirely of phone conversations, directed by Charlie Baker. The second play, Maggie and the Magic Lamp is a lighter play, set at Christmas, that sits somewhere between an episode of Mrs Brown’s Boys and a seasonal pantomime.

Kronos: Five Decades

With special guest Mahsa Vahdat for Adelaide Festival. Festival Theatre, Adelaide. 13 March 2023

The first time I saw Kronos (I believe it was the 1992 Festival) I was awestruck by not only their playing but their attention to visual artistry.  They were the first string quartet I had seen who employed lighting in creative ways.  At that performance they played Steve Reich’s “Different Trains” as well as a Sculthorpe piece and I was transformed by the experience, totally immersed in a different reality for those few hours.

Clannad in concert: In a Lifetime

Final farewell world tour. Canberra Theatre, 12 March 2023, and touring.

Legendary Irish electric celtic quartet Clannad’s final farewell tour, In a Lifetime, which began in March 2020, was soon interrupted, first by COVID-19 restrictions, and again when co-founding band member Noel Duggan, while out to dinner, collapsed and died suddenly of a heart attack in mid October 2022.

Tracker

Australian Dance Theatre in association with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company. Adelaide Festival. Odeon Theatre, Norwood, South Australia. 10 March — 18 March 2023

Warning: Contains mention of deceased Aboriginal people.

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