Reviews

Cosi

By Louis Nowra. Brisbane Arts Theatre. Directors: Laraine Griffiths and Ronan Mason. June 3 – July 22, 2023

Louis Nowra’s play is based on his own real life experiences. He worked in a mental health hospital, helping the patients by putting on a musical show, and found that this benefitted both them and himself. Thus, Cosi, likewise concentrates on the inexperienced Lewis, who learns so much about himself as he works with people with a wide range of conditions. The period is early 1970 when the Vietnam War was still ongoing.

Porpoise Pool

By Jojo Zhou. Directed by Eve Beck. Bite Productions. Belvoir St Theatre, Surry Hills, NSW. May 31st-18th June, 2023

Family drama meets science fiction and psychodrama in writer Jojo Zhou’s Porpoise Pool. The play is a heart wrenching yet endearing display of the burdens of motherhood.

The main character Lou is harassed because she does not possess a natural feminine instinct to be a mother. We learn that she has been scarred by her own experiences as a child and during the play the set becomes a metaphor for motherhood itself.

Gary Starr Performs Everything

Created by Damien Warren-Smith and Cal McCrystal. Performed by Damien Warren-Smith. The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, June 3, 2023, and touring regional Australia

Damien Warren-Smith is a dead set comic genius. Honestly, I laughed so hard I could hardly catch my breath and afterwards my jaw and diaphragm ached. Here he plays Garry Starr, an actor recently sacked from the Royal Shakespeare Company, has decided to rescue theatre from death by “demonstrating” (or sending up) as many genres as possible wearing nothing but a ridiculous Elizabethan ruff, some shimmering red pasties and a pair of leggings that make Bowie in Labyrinth look demure.

The Children’s Hour

By Lillian Hellman. Directed by Robrecht Herfkens. Roxy Lane Theatre, Maylands, WA. May 26-Jun 11, 2023

Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour is considered one of the best American plays of the 1930s. Highly controversial in its time, it tells of two female teachers who face devastating repercussions after one of their students accuses them of being in a lesbian relationship. Based on a real event that happened in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1810, the 1934 play was considered very racy at its release, as in many jurisdictions the mere mention of homosexuality was forbidden on stage.

Little Women

Book by Allan Key. Music by Jason Howland. Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Olivia Ruggiero Productions. Fairfield School of Arts. Jun 1 – 4, 2023.

From the moment you enter the charming performance space in Fairfield you will feel welcome. The company has very enthusiastic members to meet you at the door, perform box office duties and direct you inside. On the way to the black box theatre, you’ll pass vintage accessories thoughtfully laid out and a refreshment stand. Most theatre companies will put out refreshments, but it is delightful to see standard fare mixed with home baked goodies, to take with your tea, just like 1865. 

Forty Years on Forty Stages: From Coolangatta to Covent Garden

Conal Coad & Sarka Budinska. Opera Q Studio, Brisbane. 2 & 3 June

Seasoned Opera Queensland performer, bass vocalist, Conal Coad has enjoyed an international career that has seen him perform in most major cities around the globe. As well as singing, he made his directing debut for Opera New Zealand in 2006 and enjoys a career with the national and state companies that represent his three nationalities: his country of birth, New Zealand, and his adopted homes of Australia and Belgium.

Stories from the Violins of Hope

By Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak. Moira Blumenthal Productions. Director: Moira Blumenthal. Bondi Pavilion Theatre. 31 May – 18 June, 2023

Imagine a workshop in Tel Aviv where Moshe Weinstein and his son Amnon make and repair violins. Imagine a collection of violins they have received from Jews who refused to play them because of their German origin but took them with them as they went into hiding or to camps or to face hazardous journeys.  Imagine the stories those violins might tell. Stories of family celebrations and grand concerts. Stories of daring escapes … or months hiding in forests.

The Wizard of Oz

Based on the book by L. Frank Baum. Music & Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Background music by Herbert Stothart. Orchestrations by Larry Wilcox. Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Presented by Lynch and Paterson. Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane. 2nd - 11th June, 2023

Nostalgia is again back in town with Lynch and Paterson's production of the Royal Shakespeare Company's adaptation of this timeless classic. Incorporating catchy, memorable tunes and a large, all-age and diverse cast, this is a good choice for community theatre and the perfect opportunity for all and sundry thespians eager to demonstrate their theatrical talents.

Strictly Ballroom

By Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce and Terry Johnson. Drew Anthony Creative. Directed by Drew Anthony. The Royale Theatre at Planet Royale, Northbridge, WA. May 31 - Jun 25, 2023

Strictly Ballroom, probably Australia’s most camp musical, bursts with colour, sparkle, and broad Australian accents, as presented by Drew Anthony Creative at the Royale Theatre.

Climbers

By Elly D’Arcy. Presented by fever103 theatre. Directed by Monique Marani. fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 1-11 June 2023.

Elly D’Arcy has created a very detailed and in-depth study of Cambridge in the pre-WWII era. The play recreates the social milieu of the colleges and captures the historical context with enormous accuracy. This makes for an extraordinary period piece. The extremely feasible narrative supports the realism of the play and although the characters seem somewhat stereotypical, they appear nonetheless as historically accurate. 

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