By Belle Hansen & Amelia Newman. Frenzy Theatre. La Mama Courthouse, Carlton. 24 May – 2 June 2023
A café. A perfectly ordinary café. Customers come and go. Meanwhile, outside, the world is coming to an end – a sort of an end, a not-quite-the-end end. In fact, according the V.O. Narrator, the world has already ended and what we’re seeing is a ‘story’ – and stories are vitally, crucially important in this play.
By The Farm. Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 31 May to 3 June 2023
Created by performers Kayah and Maitreyah Guenther, with Kate Harman and Gavin Webber, Glass Child is a celebration of sibling support – and frustration – told through text, movement, home video, animation, music – and dance!
By Patricia Cornelius. Sydney Theatre Company. Roslyn Packer Theatre. May 23 – Jun 17, 2023.
It takes a while to be fully on board Patricia Cornelius’ play as she follows the icy tracks of Robert Scott and his doomed team trudging to the South Pole in 1911.
By the second act, after Scott arrives there beaten by the Norwegian explorer Amundsen, Do Not Go Gentle is an articulate, compelling and beautiful exploration of the challenges, regrets and stubborn dreams of old age.
By Kathika Nair. Encounter / Performing Lines. Directed by Jay Emmanuel. Subiaco Arts Centre – Studio, WA. May 30 – Jun 3, 2023
Beneath the Music, presented by Encounter and produced by Performing Lines, is a beautiful piece of theatre that is poetic, highly physical, and very sensual. Inspired by the Australian Marriage Equality legislation of 2017 and the decrimalisation of homosexuality in India in 2019, but set before that, it explores the acceptance of oneself and the acceptance of loved ones and asks how a human can honour two conflicting worlds within them.
Created by Jesse Rassmussen, Jordan Pollard and Thomas J. Egan. Directed by Nigel Turner-Carol. Canberra Theatre. 6 May 2023. Touring to Brisbane and Sydney in July
This show is sheer exhilaration, a celebration of that magic that happens when rhythm meets movement, presented on a bed of retro cool and a side of daggy schtick. Tap is unique, combining dance and percussion in a way that uses the entire body as an instrument. If it’s an instrument, four of these guys are virtuosos, and two have the voices of angels (if angels wore fedoras).
By Jason Robert Brown. The Attic Theatrical. The Playground Theatre at the Central Coast Music Factory, Wyong. May 27 – June 4, 2023.
The Attic Theatrical, still a relatively new endeavour on the NSW Central Coast, has brought Jason Robert Brown’s ‘The Last Five Years’ to life at The Playground Theatre at the Central Coast Music Factory, Wyong. Co-Directors Rob and Natalie Logan have chosen this show for their directorial debuts and they are certainly very passionate about the project. They have also surrounded themselves with a strong production team including Kimberley Gilbert, Danny-Elle Henderson and Luca Carter.
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO). Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). 26 & 27 May 2023
QSO’s Cinematic just gets bigger and better each year – no wonder the events are quickly sold out. This year’s tribute to composers who write for the silver screen featured a rich choice of truly moving and emotional pieces. As usual, the fun started in the foyer with characters from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Mary Poppins’, ‘Lord of the Rings’ and others greeting the audience.
By Declan Furber Gillick. MTC Next Stage Writers’ Program. Melbourne Theatre Company. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. 22 May – 24 June 2023
Jacky is what used to be called a ‘problem play’. In its incisive way, it dramatises an abiding and just now very contemporary issue: the place of indigenous people (and their culture) in a whitefella dominated, post-colonial society. If that sounds all too ‘worthy’, Declan Furber Gillick’s play does that with sometimes shocking comedy, clear-eyed courage, and via vivid, sharply delineated characters.
Music: Richard Rodgers. Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. Book: Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse. Eastwood Uniting Church Musical Society (EUCMS). May 19 – June 3, 2023
Initially, thinking of The Sound of Music evokes the sweeping, iconic opening of the film as Julie Andrews’ Maria joyously roams the Austrian Alps for me. It’s easy to forget that the stage musical is mostly set in confined spaces like the convent and rooms at the Von Trapp villa, and adaptable to small stages.
By Joanna Murray-Smith. Hamley Productions. Directed by Chris Hamley. Production Design by Katharine Hamley. Sound Design by Matt Harris. Lighting Design by Jason James. The Peacock Theatre, Hobart. 26 May – 3 June 2023
An adult of my acquaintance once admitted, somewhat shallowly, that they admired the musical Into the Woods but wished it finished at interval. If it did, Sondheim’s meaning and intention would not have been realised. The Gift has a similar problem in reverse. Act One of The Gift establishes everything necessary to comprehend the complexity of the extended climax of Act Two… but I wish it started at intermission.
