Music, book and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. Presented by Storeyboard Entertainment. Directed by Tyran Parke. Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition St, Melbourne. 1-12 February 2023.
The context of this play carries a great deal of poignancy; the composer Jonathan Larson, struggled in the initial stages of his career, despite his talent and a strong influence from the canonical composer, Stephen Sondheim. Larson eventually achieved his dreams but sadly passed away before he could witness the huge success of his show Rent. Tick Tick…BOOM! is an earlier work which is an autobiographical account of this process as Larson experienced it.
By Andrew Bovell, Zoey Dawson, Dan Gioannoni, Megan Wilding and Dino Dimitriades. director Dino Dimitriades. Producer: Rodney Rigby. The Library, 5 Eliza St, Newtown. Opening Night: Saturday February 4, 2023
The biggest thrill of Darkness is walking in. Newtown’s glorious old School of Arts has been transformed by candles and piles of bric-a-brac into a period foyer bar, while the reading room upstairs is now a gothic villa of dreams, with black and white marble rostra, the room surrounded by spooky wrought iron windows.
Written and performed by Charli Burrowes. Directed by Elise Lamb Talbot Theatre, Thomas Dixon Centre, Brisbane. 3-11 February, 2023
Amassing over 35,000 social media followers, film-maker and artist Charli Burrowes takes a real swipe at the platform which brought her into the spotlight in this gritty one-woman show Bloom Girl, now on show at the brand new state-of-the-art Talbot Theatre, part of the fully-refurbished Thomas Dixon Centre.
Created by Finucane and Smith. Director: Moira Finucane. Musical Director: Rachel Lewindon. Chinese Museum, Melbourne. 2-12 February, 2023
An exuberant introduction explains the luck of dragons and the use of the Chinese Museum, “The Luckiest Place in Melbourne”, to stage the Cabaret. Then, an exceptionally talented and diverse group of performers gather the audience’s hearts and minds and alternatively challenge and beguile them with an exploration of the notion of the House of the Heart. Heartbreaking stories of loss and resilient achievement are presented to remind the audience that we all need a home, a sense of belonging and a community.
By Aaron Sorkin. Castle Hill Players. Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill Showgrounds. Feb 3 – 25, 2023
For 2 hours and 40 mins, A Few Good Men held the audience on a knife edge, so invested there was spontaneous applause before the final words were spoken.
The Improv Conspiracy Theatre. Midsumma. Level 1, 19 Meyers Place Melbourne. 2-5 February, 2023
Jayden Masciulli, Simon Hawkings and Allen Dorsey gather the audience and carry them through a frisky and hilarious exploration of the anxieties of being a “functioning gay person in Melbourne”.
By Lucy Holz. Midsumma Festival. The MC Showroom, Prahran. 31 January – 11 February 2023
The publicity shot for A Year of Dating in the Midsumma Program shows delicate female fingers feeling (probing?) the petals of a rose. The iconography is clear enough. The show, however, is anything but delicate. It tells of twelve dates, ranging from the merely dull to the outrageously gross.
By Emmanuelle Mattana. The Maybe Pile. Directed by Marni Mount. Midsumma Festival. fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 2-12 February 2023.
This sharp-witted play puts a mirror up to the arrogance that characterises the entitled and highly spoilt young men being churned out of private schools across western culture. The reflection that is cast is rather ugly, but it is also extremely humorous. The play is set during the preparation for an important debate whose outcome could significantly impact the future ambitions of the four members of the team.
By Melanie Tait. Sydney Festival 2023, at The Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Janine Watson. 26 January – 4 March 2023
This play has been a long time coming. Caught up in the COVID mess, it now emerges over two years later, running behind playwright Melanie Tait’s hugely successful major hit The Appleton Ladies Potato Race, first as an Ensemble play, soon to be released as a movie. No doubt the Race is more whimsical than the current play, but it certainly hit home harder.
