Reviews

Generally one’s musical tastes develop in the teenage years, so The Seekers are in my DNA. They were an aberration in the sixties, a clean-cut folk quartet in a sea of drugs, sex and Rock'n'Roll. I was looking forward to this bio-musical.

I was not disappointed.

Much of the music I remember was included and very well sung with exquisite harmonies, some a capella and the rest with the distinctive Seekers accompaniment. A number of songs I was unfamiliar with had been written by Judith Durham, and there were other songs from the period.

The City of Perth Nativity is an annual free event as part of the City's Festival of Christmas. Held in Forrest Chase, in the centre of the city, it attracts audiences of over 5000 people each evening.

This year the story is narrated lovingly and passionately by Lisa Adam, portraying a woman who lived in the time of Jesus, as she tells the story to her awestruck daughter, gorgeously played by Phoebe Tennant, in a performance reminiscent of a young Angela Cartwright.

The temptation to laugh at or with Ivor Azzanego (Andrew Hondromatidis) is often difficult to resist in this play, even though it is dealing with some serious issues that are essentially no laughing matter. The play does not make light of these problems and the text provides an accurate depiction of the daily hypocrisy practiced by people when their attitudes and beliefs regarding gender, sexuality and race are challenged.

Pardon my indulgence, but I felt a connection to Captain von Trapp. Recently, due to my family ancestry, I became an Austrian citizen and like Georg I too received a stern letter from the military attempting to call me up for active service.  Thankfully I did not have to climb a mountain to avoid conscription.  

This production of The Sound of Music based on the Lloyd Webber London Palladium revival runs with military precision. It is tight, tuneful and barrels of fun.