Reviews

The Third Culture Kid

By MC Emkew. Melbourne Fringe Festival. 24 to 28 November 2020

In The Third Culture Kid, Mashood Qureshi, also known as MC Emkew, tells the story of his life so far through spoken word and original rap songs. This coming-of-age story has universal themes, with deeply personal insights into the challenges Emkew faced because he was a Pakistani Muslim migrant kid growing up in Australia.

Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare. Shakesbeer. Kadidjiny Park Hall, Melville, WA. November 21-22, 2020

Shakesbeer, a company that focuses on bringing the spirit of original Shakespeare productions to modern audiences, presented Much Ado About Nothing for a short season in a cabaret setting. The vibrant, pacy and fun production was a joy to watch.

Full Circle

By Janet Shaw. Directed by Barry Lefort. Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo, WA. Nov 20 - Dec 5, 2020

Full Circle is an interesting little comedy with a spring in its step. Nicely directed and well performed, it is set as Nicola’s wedding day approaches - and a multitude of skeletons come crashing out the closet.

Young Cezanne – A Lived Perspective

Written and directed by Leslie Gurusinghe. Melbourne Fringe Festival, 12 - 29 November 2020.

This play examines the life and relationship of the artists Paul Cezanne (Leslie Gurusinghe) and Marie Fiquet (Dominik Shields). The play is intriguingly set in both 1856 and 2020. The oscillation between the two time periods is well handled as the costumes and set clearly evoke the historical period but could also just as easily be a contemporary scene. The striking similarity between the time frames is continually reiterated throughout the text and is an important basis of the narrative.

2.20AM

By Rebecca Lister. Ad Astra, Brisbane. 13 to 28 November 2020

I didn’t expect to enjoy a short play that deals with suicide as its central subject. But Ad Astra co-founder and director Jacqueline Kerr presents the Brisbane premiere of Rebecca Lister’s 2.20AM as a warm and humour-filled story about the resilience of friendship and human connections. The title relates to the time that one character wakes up every morning to run the gauntlet of emotions and questions that she manages to supress during the daylight hours.

Love, Loss and What I Wore

By Nora and Delia Ephron. Based on the book by Ilene Beckerman. Centenary Players. Director: Rhyll Bucknell. Chelmer Community Centre, Chelmer, Qld. 7-28 Nov 2020

Love, Loss and What I Wore is an amusing look at women and their matters of the heart, their wardrobes, and their accessories. Based on the best-selling book by Ilene Beckerman, Nora and Delia Ephron sourced additional stories from friends, including Rosie O’Donnell, and have added them to this chick-flick/chick-lit collection of monologues. The authors know something about this audience with Nora having written, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, and with Delia, You’ve Got Mail.

Motherhood the Musical

By Sue Fabisch. Murray Music and Drama. Directed by Tammy Peckover. Pinjarra Civic Centre, WA. Nov 13-28, 2020

Murray Music and Drama’s Motherhood the Musical is another ‘replacement show’, as in the wake of Covid, the decision was made to downsize from a planned production of Happy Days to this fun, easy to stage four hander.

Old Love

By Norm Foster. Directed by Vanessa Jensen. Melville Theatre, Stock Rd, Palmyra, WA. Nov 19 - Dec 5, 2020

Usually when you see a show that feels very tight, very polished and beautifully finished, it is the result of a year or more’s planning by the director and many months of thought and preparation by the production team prior to rehearsal. Old Love feels like that - but it was in fact a very late replacement in the season, replacing not one, but two alternative productions slated for this season.

Beethoven’s Emperor

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat, Op.73 Emperor. Respighi: Pines of Rome (Pini di Roma). Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Conductor Johannes Fritzsch. Piano: Daniel de Borah. Concert Hall, QPAC, 20-21 Nov 2020 & Live streamed to Empire Theatre, Toowoomba 21 Nov 2020.

The year 2020 was supposed to be a 250th celebration worldwide of the work of Ludwig van Beethoven, but of course due to Covid most of the celebratory concerts were closed down. Whilst Queensland Symphony Orchestra had either cancelled or rescheduled most things this year, they still kept in place Beethoven’s Emperor as the last of their Maestro Series concerts, except replacing Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov with local virtuoso Daniel de Borah.

Bernie Dieter’s Berlin Underground

A secret location at Crown Perth. Nov 17-Dec 19, 2020

Bernie Dieter’s Berlin Underground has taken over a secret location at Crown Perth, to present a sexy, debauched kabarett, with great singing, amazing circus and a load of comedy.

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