Reviews

A Very Naughty Christmas

Devised by Alex Woodward. Written by Alex Woodward, David Lawrence, Maureen Bowra and Matthew Semple. Directed by Dan Venz and Maureen Bowra. Produced by Alex Woodward and Woodward Productions. Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse. 4 - 15 December, 2019

If you’re tired of the kids getting all the best entertainment this festive season, A Very Naughty Christmas is just the present you’ve wanted. This sexy Santa sack full of cabaret style entertainment is cheeky adult amusement at its finest. It’s well cast, cleverly written and adeptly presented by the talented cast and crew.

Cirque Stratosphere

The Works Entertainment.  Canberra Theatre Centre 10–21 December 2019, and touring.

The latest production from Tim Painter and The Works Entertainment, Cirque Stratosphere, is, ladies and gentlemen, no mere sequence of world-class feats of hoop diving, extreme skating, pole dancing, hoop dancing, strongman and trapeze acrobatics, comedy, and all the other spectacles we’ve come to accept as normal.  It is certainly all of that; but, defying all expectations, it is a breakthrough experience in circus, and several intense aspects of the experience contributed to achieve that.  There was the unexpectedness of the thematic cons

The Taming of the Shrew

By William Shakespeare. Presented by Melbourne Shakespeare Company, directed by Jennifer Sarah Dean. St. Kilda Botanical Gardens. 7-22 December, 2019.

Melbourne Shakespeare Company consistently provides lively and enjoyable outdoor productions of Shakespeare plays. This show is an excellent example of the body of work they have produced. This performance is unique as it goes much further in its consideration of the themes housed within the text. The play is open to a variety of interpretations and has often generated debates about its subversive value, but it undoubtedly sheds light on the patriarchal mechanisms (even at the most fundamental level of intimacy) that operate to oppress women.

Collaborative Comedy: The Cranston Cup

Colourful creativity! Terrific teamwork! Call it what you will. The Cranston Cup is the competitive culmination of weeks of impressive improvisation. Six teams strutting their stuff in sensational scenarios – simply scintillating!

This year’s Theatresports final was everything the eclectic audience expected - funny, clever, inventive, fast moving.

Summer Season 2019

The Australian Ballet School. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne 6 and 7 December, 2019

Following Australian Government decisions that have many arts professionals concerned about the sector’s future, the young artists of The Australian Ballet School offer some hope. 100 performers delivered the annual Summer Season, a timely reminder of the local talent being brewed, and the importance of not letting it go cold.

Almost Face to Face

Written and Performed by Stephen House. Directed by Peter Green. Bakehouse Studio Theatre, Angas Street, Adelaide. 4-14 Dec, 2019.

Stephen House is a performer with the skills to sustain interest in a monologue over the course of an hour and to still leave his audience potentially wanting more.

In a style somewhere between that of a casual raconteur and an intense confessional poet, House takes us vividly into a world that will be largely unfamiliar to most; a world of compulsive sex and easy access to drugs, of sad reclusive lives looking for comfort in the arms of fellow misfits, of communal activities leading to a dance with death…

Punk Rock

By Simon Stephens. Patalog Theatre. At fortyfivedownstairs, Flinders Lane. 4 – 15 December 2019

This 2009 play has not dated at all.  If anything, it is more timely, more plugged into the zeitgeist than ever.  Perhaps that is one reason there is another production of it somewhere, every couple of years, including in Spain and France.  It is set in an English private school, specifically in the seniors’ library, which no adult – at least in the play – ever enters.  The characters are teenagers, but this is not The O.C.

Dick Whittington and His Cat

By Vicky Orman. Roleystone Theatre. Directed by Nicola Beard. Roleystone Community Hall, WA. Dec 7-15, 2019

Perth has experienced some charming pantomimes recently, and Roleystone Theatre’s Dick Whittington and His Cat is a lovely show which embodies community spirit and goodwill.

The Ghost Train

By Arnold Ridley. Harbour Theatre. Directed by Ann Speicher. Camelot Theatre, Mosman Park, WA. Dec 6-14, 2019

The Ghost Train, said to be “one of the scariest plays of all time”, is brought to life with lots of chills by Harbour Theatre.

The story of a collection of travellers, stranded at an isolated station overnight in some very spooky circumstances, is given credibility with some of the best technical teamwork of the year, with lighting and sound design by Rob Tagliaferri and Vanessa Gudgeon helping to create some frightening effects.

The Return Of Grazie Fibonacci

The Butterfly Club, Melbourne. Dec 2 – 7, 2019

 A mild mannered Mark Gambino greets his audience in a laid-back, unassuming  confident style. Lights down, the show begins. He introduces himself as Grazie Fibonacci and sings an Italian version of “Luna Mezzo Mare” in this encore season of his show The Return of Gracie Fibonacci.

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