Reviews

Dracula

Shake and Stir. Space Theatre, Adelaide. September 7 – 16, 2017.

I have always believed that Dracula is a classic tale of horror that should not be altered in any way; it is perfect. That is until I saw Shake and Stir’s production of Dracula.

Shake and Stir have crafted a careful adaption that is slick and owes much of its impact to the Grand Guignol tradition, made famous in Paris in the 19th and 20th centuries for its realistic depiction of graphic murders.

Miss W Treads

Written & directed by Jane Woollard. La Mama Theatre, Carlton VIC. 6 – 17 September 2017

Eliza Winstanley was a Sydney actress and star of the Australian theatre in the 1830s who later went on to ‘tread the boards’ in the UK and the USA, and became a writer, editor and novelist.  Jane Woollard’s play about her life, Miss W Treads, employs the framing device of a playwright, Imogene (Ruby Johnson), researching and struggling to write a play about Winstanley’s life.  Although seemingly blocked, Imogene feels such an intense connection – or identification - with her subject that Winstanley (Fanny Hanusin) – and her Irish husba

Sunday in the Park with George

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by James Lapine. Little Triangle / Sydney Fringe. The Depot Theatre, Marrickville. September 6 – 16, 2017.

The Depot Theatre’s intimate space works a treat in so many ways for Sunday in the Park with George, notably in the show’s sometimes problematic second act, where adept inclusive direction sweeps the audience up into the gallery opening of the middle scene.

Alexander Andrews’ production feels less than a hair’s breadth from being immersive.

So connected are we in act 1, that we might well be the water lapping at the shore of the island on which the action is taking place.

A Letter From The General

By Maurice McLoughlin. Hunters Hill Theatre. Hunters Hill Town Hall. September 8 – 17, 2017

It is the 1950s In China. The Red Guard is on the rampage, destroying churches, missions and their schools and orphanages and forcing their congregations to join the fervor of the revolution. Many of the missionaries, priests and nuns suffer violence at the hands of the Guard: physical beatings, cruel forms of restraint, even death.

La Fille Mal Gardee

Queensland Ballet (in association with West Australian Ballet). Choreography by Marc Ribaud. Staged by Craig Lord-Sole. Music re-imagined by John Lanchberry, from the original score by Ferdinand Herold. Arts Centre Gold Coast 8-9 September, 2017, and Empire Theatre Toowoomba. 15-16 September.

Queensland Ballet’s touring production of Marc Ribaud’s 2000 choreography forLa Fille Mal Gardee evokes a myriad of adjectives, but the first that come to mind are utterly delightful.

This simple story of a headstrong girl, Lise, who refuses to court the dork her widowed mother has chosen for her (Alain) because she loves the village bad boy, Colas, was first seen in 1789 (how shocking it must have seemed then) but is still totally relevant today.

The Marvelous Wonderettes

Created by Roger Bean. Players Theatre, Ballina. Director and Musical. Director: Paul Belsham. Sept 8th – 24th, 2017

The Marvelous Wonderettes uses a compilation of songs from the 50’s and 60’s to tell the story of four college seniors who are asked to perform at their senior prom when the headline act cancels at short notice.

Act 1 sees them at the prom where we learn about their dreams and aspirations for the lives ahead of them. Act 2 finds the same four later at their ten year reunion.

Landscape with Monsters

CIRCA and Merrigong Theatre Company Co-Production. Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble. Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra ACT. September 6 – 9, 2017

This is circus, but not how you expect it. No sparkly leotards or traditional trapeze acts here. Muted colours of grey, faded forest green, and denim blue complement the bare stage and projected art conveying a landscape in distress.

Three In The Bed

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathon Holmes. Directed and Produced by Jonathan Holmes. King Street Theatre, Newtown. 1 – 9 September, 2017.

Fans of Group Sex rejoice! The genre that is musical theatre has now added your thing to its thing – and a very welcome thing your thing is. Just when I thought musicals were going to disappear into pretentious self-drear, along comes a show that wakes us up and reminds us that there will always be a need for Rocky Horror.

Assembly Operation

Speak Percussion. Arts House North Melbourne. September 5 – 9, 2017

This new work presented by Speak Percussion is a collaboration between composer/director Eugene Ughetti, performance maker Clare Britton and visual artists Cyrus Tang and Jia Jia Chen.

Three percussionists, Kaylie Melville, Matthias Schack-Arnott and Eugene Ughetti, draw us into the performance as they sit at a production line, totally focused on sliding, scrunching and tearing paper. This sounds banal, but the variation and rhythm created becomes hypnotic.

Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches and Part 2: Perestroika

By Tony Kushner. Directed by Gary Abrahams. Produced by Cameron Lukey and presented by Cameron Lukey and Dirty Pretty Theatre in association with fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 1 – 24 September 2017.

Angels in America is a tale on an epic scale and Kushner’s incredibly rich and profound text has a well-earned iconic position in the LGBTI political landscape. The challenges involved in staging this lengthy play, set in the US, are as monumental as the piece itself. The text explicitly and unapologetically addresses confronting issues such as the AIDS epidemic, the corrupt nature of politics, racism and homophobia. This production breathes life into the text and animates it with majesty.

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