Reviews

The 39 Steps

Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan. Pymble Players, NSW. Oct 30 – Nov 23, 2024

The Pymble Players have been providing the local community with quality, live theatre for the last 50 years in their quaint little hall on the corner of Bromley Avenue, Pymble.  Next year they will make the move into the Zenith Theatre at Chatswood and what a change that will be.  The stage space is noticeably larger, the potential for scenery changes is much greater and the audience capacity will jump from 84 up to 250.  Perhaps most significantly, the actors will henceforth only have 8 performances to participate in, rather than the larger commitment of 18 shows over a long

Foleyvision

Choreographed by Scott Elstermann. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Oct 31- Nov 5, 2024

Foleyvision is a short, highly creative dance work that focuses on Foley, the human reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films and other media to improve audio quality.

Frankenstein!! & the Goose’s Mum

Ensemble Q. Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 3 November 2024

Ensemble Q’s final concert for 2024 was a total treat! The selection of musical pieces was influenced by a Halloween theme, but this was a complex and satisfying mix of experiencing deep emotions from composers past, and celebrating vibrant music from the present. To set the tone, the magical ‘Danse Macabre’ by Camille Saint-Saëns.

DragSpeare: Drag Kings do Shakespeare

Created by Anne Pensalfini and Jo Loth. Directed by Lucinda Shaw. Presented by PIP Theatre in association with Jo Loth Productions as part of the MELT Festival. PIP Theatre, November 1 - 9, 2024

DragSpeare: Drag Kings do Shakespeare creators Anne Pensalfini and Jo Loth have assembled a crew of Drag Kings (female identifying performance artists who dress in masculine drag) to perform a clever cabaret for the 2024 MELT Festival.

Love-Lies-Bleeding

By Don De Lillo. Ad Astra, Brisbane. 31 October to 23 November 2024

This is an intriguing and talent-filled production of New Yorker, Don De Lillo’s 2005 play. Directed by the experienced writer/director/performer, Michael Futcher, this streamlined two-act production perfectly suits Misterton Street’s intimate studio space. And the director has found a balance in the tone with some very confident and engaging performances which sway between the poetic and dramatic.

Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton. Directed by Catherine Radbourne. Sandgate Theatre, Qld. November 1 – 16, 2024

In fog-bound London in 1880, at the upper class home of Jack Manningham and his wife Bella, we soon learn that Bella is very much on edge mentally and that this state of mind has been pushed by her husband. The question that gains more traction is why do the gaslights dim at a regular time most days of the week. As the play progresses, the audience learns so much more than it could have imagined – and we wanted to learn so much more of the ever-deepening mystery. Let’s just say that husband Jack had some questions to answer. Then the devious detective arrives. 

The Swinging 60s and Seventies

Devised written and directed by Doug Williams. Tweed Theatre Company. Tweed Heads Civic Centre. 1-17 November, 2024

They say if you remember the Sixties then you weren’t really there. Well I certainly was there and covered many of the songs of the era in my time as a pop singer. How delightful to hear so many again in a live setting.

9 to 5 The Musical

By Dolly Parton and Patricia Resnick. Directed by Lys Tickner. Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie, WA. Nov 1-10, 2025

Art in Motion Theatre Company present the WA Premiere of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, at the City of Gosnells, Don Russell Performing Arts Centre. Opening night saw an almost full house, responding very positively to this upbeat and positive new musical.

Dracula

By Stephen Dietz. Wyong Drama Group. Red Tree Theatre, Tuggerah. November 1 – 9, 2024

Dracula opened last night at the Red Tree Theatre at Tuggerah and it did not disappoint.  Not everybody is a fan of horror but the artistry and professionalism on display meant that I didn’t actually scream out loud as previously suspected.  Yes, it’s dark and yes it’s tense but there was actually a child in the audience who was remarkably cheery after the performance and apparently unscathed by the story, the blood, the fangs and the sexy ladies.  So do not let any preconceived ideas about this story put you off.  The overall presentation and

Rhinoceros

By Eugene Ionesco, in a new version by Zinnie Harris. Presented by Spinning Plates Co. Directed by Cassandra Fumi. fortyfivedownstairs theatre, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 31 October – 17 November 2024.

Spinning Plates Co. demonstrate exceptional inventiveness in this quirky and highly stylised production. It maintains all the political spirit of Ionesco’s text while carefully and effectively infusing it with the absurdist and bizarre qualities that characterise his work. The attention to detail in the characterisations, the staging and especially the costuming is truly impressive. The inhabitants of this fictional town are subject to an invasion by rhinoceros, slowly but surely transforming them, one by one, into the beasts.

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