Reviews

Cabaretica

La Mama Courthouse. March 5, 2021.

Post Covid days are here and La Mama Courthouse is back on boards. Cabaretica is a quarterly, one-off late-night show, curated by Susan Bamford Caleo and Isabel Knight. It is a viable platform for cabaret artists to experiment and play with new ideas, but more importantly it gives up-and-coming talent a venue to gain confidence and skills.

A Slight Exaggeration

By Poppy Mee. Adelaide Fringe 2021. Breakout at The Mill. Mar 4 – 19, 2021

When Poppy Mee wakes up in a mess of a room, she downs an energy drink poured into a jam jar, then instantly breaks the fourth wall and starts telling us about her wonderful adventures overseas. Halfway through an intriguing story, she is interrupted by those seeking the truth.

With a little persuasion and negotiation with the audience, she begins to retell her stories, only this time without any ‘slight exaggeration’, the embellishments replaced by disappointment, anxiety, and loneliness.

The Revolutionists

Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Michael Beh. Presented by The Curators. Christ Church, Milton. 2 – 26 March, 2021

There’s a lot to love about The Curators’ production of the Lauren Gunderson play, The Revolutionists.

Set in Paris,1793, during the reign of terror in the French revolution, four feisty women face the sociological changes of their era. The characters are based on real women, however their meeting in this play is purely a work of fiction. Published in 2018, the dialogue is infused with modern twists and humour. Comedy is weaponised to defend serious political issues: women’s rights, democracy, freedom of speech, and equality.

Jon Bennett: Playing with Men

Adelaide Fringe 2021. Gluttony. Mar 3 – 21, 2021

Running onto stage to a mixed response due to his Adelaide Crows football kit (‘this was really cheap this year for some reason’), Jon Bennett sets our expectations with a rapid-fire delivery of notes about the venue and what we’re going to be hearing from him over the next hour. He promises a visit from a possum (who duly turned up in the second half), people shouting over the fence behind us, and some embarrassing conversations. It is perhaps a fitting venue to be talking about the strange and ancient world of male sport culture in Australia.

Bluebeard’s Castle

Music by Béla Bartók. Libretto by Béla Balázs. Opera Australia. Directed by Andrea Morton. Associate Director Priscilla Jackman. Conducted by Andrea Molino. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. March 1 - 10, 2021.

Hungarian is not the language opera buffs are used to, and likewise almost every aspect about this opera is wildly fresh.  Composed by Béla Bartók for an opera competition in 1911, it was rejected by the judges as not having enough action or drama to qualify as theatrical music.

How wrong the judges were! In the hundred years since, the opera has come into favour for the searing cinematic style of the music and haunting narrative.

Eugene Onegin

Written by Alexander Pushkin, adapted for the stage by Rimas Tuminas. Adelaide Festival 2021 (Australian exclusive). Screened live at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Mar 5, 2021.

Rimas Tuminas’ celebrated production of Eugene Onegin was meant to be a headline production for the 2021 Adelaide Festival. Unfortunately, Covid-19 prevented this. Fortunately, thanks to technology, we can enjoy the next best thing.

The Sum of Us

By David Steven. Yirra Yaakin / Perth Festival. Directed by Eva Grace Mullaley. Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Feb 26-Mar 7, 2021

The Sum of Us, performed as part of the Perth Festival is Yirra Yaakin’s first queer themed production, and the first time that The Sum of Us has been performed with an all-indigenous cast.

Lamb

By Jane Brodie. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre and Critical Stages Touring, directed by Julian Meyrick. The Q, Queanbeyan, 4–6 March 2021, and touring.

 

High Performance Packing Tape

Presented by Branch Nebula. Adelaide Festival 2021. AC Arts. Mar 4 – 14, 2021

High Performance Packing Tape starts with a massive bang. A lone performer lying prone on the floor strenuously expends all his breath to inflate a large balloon until the inevitable happens. It’s uncomfortable to watch, and immediately places the audience outside its comfort zone, as do many of the sequences that follow.

By using everyday items to create a performance, Branch Nebula have set out to challenge the audience’s notion of what theatre, dance and performance is, and can be.

Medea

By Simon Stone. Internationaal Theater Amsterdam / Adelaide Festival 2021 (Australian exclusive). Live streamed at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Mar 4, 2021

After lengthy queueing outside on a crowded pavement, patrons were invited to enjoy the live from Europe livestream of Medea, on a large cinema screen. A complex and ambitious live streaming undertaking, an audience in Mount Gambier was also simultaneously able to enjoy the experience, opening some of the best of the Festival up to both  country and city patrons.  Fortunately, audience members in all parts of Her Majesty’s had a clear view of this English sub-titled Netherland production, with both sound and visual quality being excellent.

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