Reviews

Love Letters to F**kbois

Written, devised and directed by Melina Wightman and Lia Stark. Metro Arts Theatre, 9 – 18 August 2018

Two women in crumpled wedding dresses, a pile of brutally honest letters and a pitch perfect pianist. These ingredients form the perfect recipe for an evening of absolute hilarity, tinged with the sharp pangs of heartache that is Love Letters to F**kbois. This highly engaging and interactive show speaks to the shared loneliness that runs rampant in modern society. It highlights the dichotomy of this world of constant, easy, connectivity against the inability for people to commit to any long-term romantic connection. Is Tinder to blame? Are we too spoiled for choice?

Biladurang

Concept, choreography and performance by Joel Bray. Music composition by Kate Carr. Darwin Festival 2018. H Hotel Darwin. Friday 10–Sunday 12 August, 2018.

Having recently broken up with his long-term partner, Joel Bray had also just left the country he had called home for nearly a decade – Israel. A frenetic schedule of performances and creative residencies had resulted in Mr Bray finding himself in a different hotel room every week. And so he began to write. What began as scraps of scribbled words penned in hotel rooms, on trains and in cafés began to reveal themselves as ‘a love letter for home’.

Mother

By Daniel Keene. An IF Theatre production starring Noni Hazlehurst. Directed by Matt Scholten Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, South Bank. August 7-18, 2018

Mother shows us the face of homelessness the way we’ve never seen it, the way we’ve always seen it.

The face belongs to Noni Hazlehurst, endearing icon of the Australian entertainment industry, but we’ve never seen it quite like this.

It is haunted. There is confusion, longing and loathing. A loss of self.

Moby Dick

By Orson Welles, based on the Herman Melville novel. Sport for Jove. Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre. August 9 – 15, 2018.

Based on Herman Melville’s one great novel, adapted for the London stage by Orson Welles, and staged by Sport for Jove, well-known now for their signature of poetic and physical skills, this Moby Dick has a fine pedigree.  

Danny Adcock is a compelling, nuggetty Captain Ahab obsessed with revenge against the mighty whale who took his leg.  

The Turk in Italy

By Gioachino Rossini. Librettist: Felice Romani. Opera Australia. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. August 10 – September 1, 2018

Though opera buffo doesn’t traditionally have the same classical ‘standing’ as the dramatic operas, the music is just as beautiful – and there is much more opportunity for directors to have fun with the action and the costumes. Simon Phillips certainly did this in his 2014 production of The Turk in Italy, and revival director Andy Moore has treated it just as playfully in this reprise. In Opera Australia’s own words: “This production is a frivolous take on a comedy that is not often performed”.

Murder Magick Mayhem

The Luvvies written by Lynn Brittney. Out the Window written by Richard W. Harris. Do You Believe in Magick written by Jo Rake. Failed Investments written by Lynn Brittney. Directed by Nerida Day. Presented by Shining Lights Seniors’ Theatre Workshop. Sunnybank Theatre, 10 - 11 August, 2018

Sunnybank Theatre Group has a long history of making theatre accessible to people of all ages and walks of life. They’re continuing this tradition with Shining Lights theatre workshops and performances by seniors. Their first foray onto the stage was Murder Magick Mayhem, a selection of four short plays.

The Boy From Oz

Music & Lyrics: Peter Allen. Book: Nick Enright. The Production Company, Director: Jason Langley. Musical Director: Michael Tyack. Choreographer: Michael Ralph. State Theatre, Arts Centre, Melbourne. August 11 – 26, 2018

The Boy From Oz is a powerhouse show for the title character, and in Rohan Browne they found the right man. He has a good singing voice and his dancing was amazing. However, it was his natural manner, chatting to the audience, which carried the show.

Caroline O’Connor was excellent as his mother-in-law, Judy Garland. She died early on, but that didn’t stop her returning at various intervals to give Peter some good advice. Vocally she really channelled the ageing Judy magnificently. Robyn Arthur was a constant delight as Peter’s mother.

Julius Caesar

By William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Directed by James Evans. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth. 8-11 August 2018

Bell Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar touched down in Perth, a month into its Australian tour which concludes in Sydney in November. A modern dress production, simply staged, it is very much focused on the language, fascinating characters and Shakespeare’s exploration of leadership.

Oil Babies

Written and directed by Petra Kalive. Presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy & Lab Kelpie. Main Hall, Northcote Town Hall, 189 High St. 8 -18 August, 2018.

Oil Babies articulates the anxieties around environmental issues and transforms them into a complex and rich text framed by a highly visual and visceral theatrical experience. The dystopian tone of the set design is echoed through the dialogue between the protagonists. The desire to have a child is tempered by a range of mixed feelings and attitudes related to the physical state of the earth and the moral, philosophical and psychological consequences for those who rely on the planet for safe dwelling.

Chasing Smoke

Casus Circus and Circus Oz BLAKflip. Directed by Natano Fa’anana. Performed by Jack Sheppard, Dylan Singh, Harley Mann, Ally Humphries, Lara Croydon, Pearl Tia Pearce-Thompson. Darwin Festival 2018. Darwin Entertainment Centre. 10 -12 August, 2018.

Born out of Circus Oz’s BLAKflip, a program that nurtures and actively increases the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander circus artists on stages in Australia and across the globe, Chasing Smoke is Australia’s first all-First Nations contemporary circus show. And as Samoan-Australian director Natano Fa’anana writes, this fact is “… both a travesty and a celebration. The travesty being that it’s taken so long. The celebration – we finally have one.

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