Reviews

The Magnolia Tree

By Michael Griffith. Directed by Sara Grenfell. La Mama Theatre, Carlton VIC. 17-28 May 2017

Unashamedly a provocative ‘play for discussion’ – at the end of which the audience is asked to vote on the characters’ choices - The Magnolia Tree is no dry, academic exercise.  It dramatizes a situation – and a moral dilemma – particularly pertinent and pressing for Baby Boomers and an increasing number of Gen Xers. 

1984

By George Orwell. New adaptation created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan. Ambassador Theatre Group, GWB Entertainment & State Theatre Company South Australia present the Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse & Almeida Theatre production. Touring Australia from May to August 2017.

What is reality? How much of our perceptions and beliefs are created or changed by insidious or even overt external influences? Can ‘alternative’ facts trump actual facts? How easily can the identity of individuals and societies be destroyed by power, propaganda and menacing officialdom?

These questions are contemporary, yet the themes defy time, demonstrated by George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-four, which is equally as well-known as his other famous work, Animal Farm.

Bring It On: The Musical

Libretto by Jeff Whitty. Music by Tom Kitt & Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lyrics by Amanda Green & Lin-Manuel Miranda. Pelican Productions. Norwood Concert Hall. 12 May-21 May, 2017.

How do you fill an upbeat, lightweight, frothy musical entertainment – one that is hampered by pedestrian plotting and an uneven score - with both tension and spectacle, so that it emerges a winner? By making the show about cheerleading, that most intellectually meaningless yet physically undeniable American institution.

42nd Street

Music by Harry Warren. Lyrics by Al Dubin. Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble. Regals Musical Society. Director: Christie Koppe. Musical Director: Peter Sampson. Choreography: Chris Bamford. Rockdale Town Hall. May 12 – 20, 2017

An excellent big brassy and juicy band filled the big barn that is the Rockdale Town Hall and out onto the stage sauntered a large troupe of well drilled tap dancers who exuded enthusiasm and panache.  

The Regals gave 42nd Street a red hot go and the combination of great tunes (“We’re in the Money”, “42nd Street” and “Lullaby of Broadway”), large dance numbers and the odd sprinkle of spectacle made for a very entertaining production.

The Yellow Wave

Adapted by Jane Miller based on the novel by Kenneth Mackay. Directed by Beng Oh. La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton. 10-21 May, 2017.

Kenneth Mackay’s Victorian and colonial perspectives are viewed with contemporary eyes and portrayed as ridiculous and archaic attitudes that by today’s standards would be interpreted as sexism and racism. Stereotypical images of colourful characters such as invading Mongols, evil Russian spies and heroic Australian soldiers abound in this play. The tongue-in-cheek approach of this production is acutely aware of the historical context of the story and makes this a visible presence through the narrator (Andrea McCannon).

The Taming of The Shrew

By William Shakespeare. Nash Theatre, Qld. Directed by Jason Nash. May 13 – June 3, 2017.

This production of The Taming of The Shrew has maintained most of the elements of the original but has moved it more into modern times. Probably this is essential for a modern audience who seldom see a production of a Shakespearean play. Now the action takes place in Padua, where the mafia gangs are strong and warring. The local bar is run by Baptista who keeps the peace but has two daughters -  Bianca, a soft beautiful object of desire for half the mafia and her sister, Katherina, the hard fighting shrew. The question is who marries whom?

The Wind in the Willows

By Alan Bennett, adapted from the book by Kenneth Grahame. Music: Jeremy Sams. Villanova Players. Director: Leo Bradley. Musical Director: Rosemary Murray. Choreographer: Lynette Wockner. F.T. Barrell Auditorium, Yeronga, Qld. 13-28 May 2017.

The Wind in the Willows was written by Kenneth Grahame in 1908 and belongs in that group of English fiction popular at the time, which includesAlice in Wonderland, whose characters are anthropomorphised animals. Written when automobiles were coming into fashion, the book was a thinly disguised satire on the habits and foibles of Edwardian England.

Annie Get Your Gun

Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields. Murray Music and Drama Club. Directed by Cathy Puzey. Pinjarra Civic Centre, WA. 12-26 May, 2017

Annie Get Your Guni s being presented with colour and enthusiasm by Murray Music and Drama Club (MMDC).

This production has an interesting provenance. Annie Get Your Gun was the first musical directed by Cathy Puzey for MMDC in 1993. One of her favourite shows, she thought it time for a revival, although this time they present the 1999 Broadway version rather than the original. The detailed program with photographs of the real-life inspirations for the musical, is a lovely asset to the show - well done to Tammy Peckover.

Awakening

By Daniel Lammin, based on the play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Presented by fortyfivedownstairs and Monash Uni Student Theatre (MUST). Fortyfivedownstairs, Flinders Lane, Melbourne. May 10 – 21, 2017

Six young actors (Nicola Dupree, Samantha Hafey-Bagg, Eamonn Johnson, James Malcher, Sam Porter and Imogen Walsh) embody the teenage characters of Daniel Lammin’s rewrite, direction and concept of Wedekind’s ‘scandalous’ 1891play, Spring Awakening. The concept gives them the challenge of switching characters from scene to scene.  They begin in appropriately period Austrian school pupil costumes: knickerbockers with braces, full skirts and stout boots – but there are some deliberate anachronisms, such as ‘selfies’ on a mobile phone.

Fire Bucket

Indigenous storytelling by Uncle Wes Marne. Yirramboi First Nations Arts Festival. Weelam Ngalut – Meat Market – Garden. May 9 and 10, 2017

There is so much awesome Indigenous Art being presented in the Yirramboi Frist Nations Arts Festival across Melbourne.  In amongst it I was lucky enough to catch this marvelous mystical storytelling event.

After being enthusiastically greeted, the audience was warmly welcomed and walked to the garden to experience a smoking ceremony before getting comfortable around a fire bucket to enjoy most remarkable evening of story from 95-year-old Uncle Wes Marne.

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