Reviews

‘Allo ‘Allo

By Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. Stirling Players. Directed by Andrew Watson. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo, WA. Apr 27 - May 12, 2018

Fans of the TV series ‘Allo ‘Allo will be very pleased with this very faithful recreation of the television series, by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, which contains all of the famous catch-phrases, and some of the series’ most iconic moments.

Peter Neaves appears to be in his element as central character, cafe owner Rene. He works nicely with Kate Elder who plays his wife Edith, in a nicely broad performance. Rene is also carrying on with both of his waitresses, well played by Lara Brunini (Yvette) and Georgina Kling (Mimi).

Blanc de Blanc

Strut & Fret. Directed by Scott Maidment. Spiegeltent, Canberra Theatre Centre. 26 April – 20 May 2018 and touring

Blanc de Blanc is a well-polished blend of the sophisticated, the risqué, and the absurd in the form of brief dances, acrobatic acts, mock cabaret, and interspersed tableaux, all in a spirit of play.  Careful choreography and catchy energetic music make this a performance that can lift your spirits without blowing your eardrums.  Well-balanced, clean sound; judicious use of fog on which to display the lighting; and amusing lip-synching rounded out the performance’s

Baskerville – A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

By Ken Ludwig. Spotlight’s Basement Theatre, Benowa, Gold Coast. Co-Directors: Kaela Gray and Katie Grace. April 27th – May 13th, 2018

This production was a mixture of revue, pantomime and slapstick comedy. 

Originally written for a cast of five: Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson and 43 other characters to be played by 3 people, the co-directors have augmented the cast to 9 very active performers.

In keeping with the various aforementioned genre, minimum props and scenery were used together with a plethora of wigs, costumes, (somewhat dubious) accents and a certain amount of cross-dressing to transport the audience around the Devonshire Moors.

A Little Night Music

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. 26th April – 5th May, 2018

Composer and Lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s enchanting musical A Little Night Music was first performed in 1973 and although many feminists would balk at some of its lyrical content, it has lost none of its charm. With a book by Hugh Wheeler, and inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it is easy to see why it continues to be performed the world over.

Carmen, Live or Dead

By Craig Harwood. Music by iOTA. Oriel Entertainment, Progeny Pictures and Orange Sky Creative. Directed by Shaun Rennie. Hayes Theatre, Sydney. April 29 - May 13, 2018

There’s often a moment in the first minutes of an unknown show that you fear it’s not going to be good. When it’s unconventional, the fear is even greater. Will I be stuck here for the next hour-and-a-half for a show that I really won’t enjoy?

Mr Bailey’s Minder

By Debra Oswald. Melville Theatre, WA. Directed by Vanessa Jensen. 26 Apr - 12 May, 2018

Mr Bailey is a cantankerous, unlikeable alcoholic, who also happens to be a great artist and an Australian living treasure. Only one of his many children is willing to help him, and then only at arm’s length. She hires Therese, a girl with a checkered background, to be Leo Bailey’s live-in minder.

Born Yesterday

By Garson Kanin. Independent Theatre. Goodwood Theatre. April 27 to May 5, 2018

Whilst the stage play and later film, Born Yesterday, were written and set in post war America in 1946, Independent Theatre’s latest production reminds us how up to date the concept of questionable political and business partnerships remains. In the era of the “Me Too” campaign the misogyny and mobster-style brutality of the story is also poignant and highly relevant.

After Miss Julie

By Patrick Marber, based on Miss Julie by August Strindberg. Act 1 Theatre, Strathpine, Qld. Director: Lilian Harrington. 20 April – 5 May, 2018

The electoral euphoria of Britain’s historic Labour landslide in July 1945 following Germany’s Second World War surrender on May 8th is the background for Patrick Marber’s After Miss Julie, an English reworking of Strindberg’s 1889 classic. Originally written for BBC television in 1995, the story relocates the Swedish setting of Strindberg’s original to a country house outside London, with the central character the daughter of a Labour peer who clearly loathes the lower-classes he represents.

Burning Rose

Directed by Ellis Pearson. The Actors Hub Studios, East Perth, WA. 10-14 April, 2018

Thirteen appears to be a fortunate number for The Actors’ Hub’s Gap II students. The thirteen students in the program form a tight ensemble and work organically as a team to present this engaging devised work. 

Burning Rose, developed under the leadership of director Ellis Pearson, is an anthology of two stories, From the Ashes and beauty. Half the cohort presents each story, while the remaining students provide well-developed musical accompaniment on drums and other percussion, guitar and vuvuzela.

Still Point Turning: The Catherine McGregor Story

By Priscilla Jackman. Based on interviews with Catherine McGregor. Sydney Theatre Company. Wharf 1 Theatre. April 21 to May 26, 2018.

If you pitched this story as a piece of fiction it might be rejected as not plausible. The incongruity of a heterosexual man with a very healthy sex life, who works and excels in the most masculine of fields – the army, cricket commentary, and political speech writing – yet is being torn apart by acute gender dysphoria.

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