Reviews

Bananaland

By Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall. Brisbane Festival and Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Sydney Festival. Director Simon Phillips. Riverside Theatre Parramatta. 3-14 January, 2024

Where to start? With applause firstly, lots of it, for a musical that is much more than a musical. It’s a story, told in clever writing and eclectic music performed by multi-talented artists whose charismatic characters question everything – people, politics, parenting, performing. They sing, dance, and make us think, laugh, empathise and feel good! They do so in a production that mixes three musical styles – angry punk, kiddie-pop and emotive introspection – along with satire, comedy, and heart-warming realism.

Circus 1903

Directed by Neil Dorward. Produced by Tim Lawson. Presented by Tim Lawson and The Works Entertainment. State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd, Southbank. 1 - 14 January 2024.

Circus 1903 is a delightful family-oriented show that astonishes and surprises the audience. The idea of capturing the historical atmosphere of circus performance gives this show a very endearing quality. Ringmaster Willy Whipsnade (David Williamson) takes command of the performance in a very welcoming manner. He introduces the different acts with great fanfare. He especially involves very young audience members and often makes them the star of the show.

Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll’s novel, adapted by Penny Farrow. Broadway Haus, USA in association with Bonnie Lythgoe Productions. Sydney Coliseum Theatre. January 4, 5 & 6, 2024

Birds tweety tweet as an enchanting set and hues of blue greet the audience on entering the theatre, eliciting gasps of delight from all ages. The Sydney Coliseum Theatre is ready to welcome Wonderlandians of all ages down that famous rabbit hole.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare. Presented by Australian Shakespeare Company. Directed by Glenn Elston. Royal Botanical Gardens, 100 Birdwood Avenue South Yarra. 16 December 2023 -11 February 2024.

Australian Shakespeare Company are renowned for their lively and engaging productions set in the outdoors. This year A Midsummer Night’s Dream features in the Shakespeare Under the Stars program. This is a dazzling and delightful production which exploits the outdoor setting to the fullest. The performances are energetic, the costuming and props sparkle, and the lighting is spectacularly colourful and dynamic. The show is replete with an array of special effects that create a truly magical atmosphere and bring the fairy world of the forest to life.

May December

Directed by Todd Haynes, starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton and Cory Michael Smith. Perth Festival, Lottery West Somerville Film Festival. December 26 – 31, 2023

Taking part in the great Australian tradition of attending a Boxing Day screening, a sell-out crowd packed into the most recent new release at the Perth Festival’s Somerville Cinema.

The words “May December” hint at a certain kind of romance, however, this latest project from director, Todd Haynes (Carol, I’m Not There, Far From Heaven) is nothing of the kind.

Spirit of Christmas

QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane. 22-23 December, 2023

The magic of the power of music once again attracted an almost full house to all performances of this annual QPAC event, this year with the diffusion of traditional Christian European celebration with First Nation Peoples of Australia and our neighbours from New Zealand and the Pacific region, creating a colourful and varied combination of well-known Christmas songs and original styles and arrangements.

Circus 1903

Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, 21 - 29 December 2023, then Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre, from 4-14 January 2024.

Step right up, folks. The circus is in town! See the fantastic elephants and daredevil stunts as you dive back into yesteryear under the big top(sails)of Sydney’s Opera House. With our fascination for the circus reignited during recent years (thanks to a certain Mr Jackman and his cast of runaways running the night), it feels timely to revisit the greatest show and where better this Christmas than at the jewel of Sydney Harbour. 

Jingled

By Stephanie Briarwood. Hobart Repertory Theatre Company. Directors: Mel King and Danni Ashton. Set Design: Matt Stolp. The Playhouse Hobart. 15-23 December 2023

Jingled is a Christmas panto for adults. It will appeal to those who appreciate farce, physical comedy and actors enjoying themselves playing ridiculous characters. The rehearsal room antics sit just below the surface.

Disney The Little Mermaid Jr

By Alan Menken. Howard Ashman, Glen Slater, Doug Wright and David Weinstein, from the book by Hans Christian Andersen. Western Theatrics. Directed by Stephen Carr and Nicola Beard. Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana, WA. Dec 15-17, 2023

It’s wonderful to see a new theatre company emerge, especially when they burst on to the scene with a high quality, beautifully presented first show, as Western Theatrics have with The Little Mermaid Jr. 

Western Theatrics is a new not-for-profit company established by working industry professionals, and their aim is to offer “outstanding educational experience and awe-inspiring shows for children throughout Perth”. They already seem well on their way to fulfilling their mission.

A Cracker Kransky Christmas

By The Kransky Sisters - Mourne, Eve and Dawn Kransky. Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres, Corner of Church and Market St, Parramatta. December 16, 2023.

The Kransky Sisters are back with a side-splitting Holiday Cracker for 2023! A delighted audience headed to Parramatta’s lovely Riverside Theatre on the weekend to catch the trio. There is a loyal following for the ladies, eager to see the latest instalment, and they were not disappointed. As the lights dim, a family slide show begins featuring various road trips and comic moments. 

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