Reviews

Zombie Thoughts

By Jennifer Kokai and Oliver Kokai-Means. Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. Director: Warwick Doddrell. May 29 – June 5, 2021

Surveys tell us that more and more kids suffer from anxiety – and that the pandemic and its associated problems haven’t helped. When co-writer Oliver Kokai-Means was 9 he suffered so badly from anxiety that he couldn’t go to school. No one, including his teachers, understood how sad and alone he felt. He, and his playwright mother, Jennifer Kokai, decided to write a play to try and help people understand what it feels like to be so anxious when you are young – and to suggest some ways to cope with that feeling.

Kinky Boots

By Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper. Arise Productions. Directed by David Gray. Regal Theatre, Hay St, Subiaco, WA. May 27-30, 2021

National Musical Theatre tours may not have been touring Western Australia lately, but we certainly haven’t been starved for large-scale musical theatre. The latest show to hit our stages, brought to us from new company Arise Productions, is Kinky Boots, which delighted a very vocal opening night audience.

Tons of enthusiasm on stage was clearly contagious, as the audience response showed that they were rapt in this fun and vibrant show.

The Little Prince

Adapted from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book. Choreography and Direction: Anne Tournié. Adaptation and Co-direction: Chris Mouron. Original Music: Terry Truck. Presented by the Sydney Opera House in association with Broadway Entertainment Group. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. May 26 – June 6, 2021

The Little Prince, first published in 1943, tells the tale of an aviator who descends from the sky into the middle of a desert, where he meets a little prince who introduces him to a strange collection of characters and emotions. Writer and pioneer aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery based the story on the days he spent in the Libyan desert after his monoplane failed in 1935!

Yielding and Big Horn

Yielding by Emma Workman / Big Horn by Paul Rogers. Crying Chair Theatre at Flight Path Theatre, Sydney. Directors: Richard Cotter and Tricia Youlden. 26 May – 6 June, 2021

As its name suggests, the Flight Path Theatre building in Marrickville sits right under the flight path into Sydney’s airport. Regular hard-to-ignore landing noise requires actors to raise their voices often. But it’s amazing how a collective concentration between performers and a small (20-plus) audience can shut out excess noise, as happened during the performance of Yielding by Emma Workman, the first of the two short plays that constituted the evening.

Fertile Ground

West Village, Metro Arts, Brisbane. 25 to 29 May, 2021

A super moon was shining over Brisbane's Metro Arts last night – a beacon to the hub that is surely one of the most creative places to be in Brisbane. Downstairs in the New Benner Theatre, it is Queer Community Night with guest appearances by Brisbane author Krissy Kneen, DJ Sweatybaby and Boy Renaissance, while a packed house queue to see Anatomy of a Suicide.

The 7 Stages of Grieving

By Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman. Sydney Theatre Company. Director Shari Sebbens. Wharf 1 Theatre. May 21 – June 19, 2021

“You can’t go back”, the Woman says in the final moments of 7 Stages of Grieving.

Yet Sydney Theatre Company has gone back mount a fourth production. What is it about this play that makes a company “go back” to it again, and again? STC Artistic Director Kip Williams explains some of the reasons:

“It is a formally revolutionary landmark of Aboriginal theatre.”

“It has left an indelible mark on the arts landscape.”

THREE

Australasian Dance Collective. Choreographers: Melanie Lane, Jack Lister, and Shechter. Playhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 26 to 29 May, 2021

Australasian Dance Collective is the brand-refreshed award-winning Expressions Dance Company who have been presenting new contemporary dance in this country for nearly 40 years. Led by Artistic Director, Amy Hollingsworth, the new company features an ensemble of six dancers, who have been patiently waiting to present THREE, which marks the Australian premieres of two new Australian works by choreographers Melanie Lane and Jack Lister, and one UK work by Hofesh Shechter (making its first Queensland appearance).

The Laramie Project

By Moisés Kaufman and Members of the Tectonic Theatre Project. Directed by Adam Mitchell. Hayman Theatre Company, Curtin University, Bentley, WA. May 25-29, 2021

Curtin University Theatre Arts present this well-known verbatim theatre piece, telling of the town of Laramie and the murder of young, gay man Matthew Shepard, in a beautifully structured ensemble production directed by Adam Mitchell in the Hayman Theatre.

Gruesome Playground Injuries

By Rajiv Joseph. Deepcut Productions. The Butterfly Club, Carson Place. 25 – 27 May 2021

In Gruesome Playground Injuries, injury, or trauma - physical or mental – is a substitute for intimacy – but also the perverse bond that draws Kayleen (Marlea Correy) and Dougie (Rory Harman) together.  The ironic title – playground injuries – suggests that the characters are stuck forever in their first encounter.  That’s in their parochial Catholic school sick bay when they are eight years old.  She has a terrible (but not that terrible) stomach-ache, and he has a bloody bandage around a head wound; he’s split h

Dark Knight of the Soul

2 One-Act Plays. Toowoomba Repertory Theatre. Directed by Beth Geoghegan. 18 - 29 May, 2021.

In my opinion, a well-executed play must succeed in two things; to forge an emotional connection with the performers and truly “hook” the audience with thoughtful and well-paced story development.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.