Reviews

Granny Get Your Gun

By Tony Nicholls. Directed by Carole Dhu. Pinjarra Civic Centre, WA. Feb 14-15, 2020

If there was a World Record for most dad jokes and bad puns in a theatrical work, Granny Get Your Gun would hold the title, and the youth cast performing this punny little pantomime-like play were having a ball with the jokes - even if some of them seemed to pass over some of their heads. Well led, and given solid theatrical technique by director Carole Dhu, this young team are a delight to watch.

Isaac Lomman - Hypnotised

Adelaide Fringe. The May Wirth, Gluttony. 16 February - 15 March, 2020

Isaac Lomman is not your ordinary Adelaide local. How would you like to live next door to someone who with a click of his fingers can put you to sleep and make you do the most ridiculous things?

The packed house on the night I attended was testament to his popularity and skill. Lomman, as well as being an actual hypnotherapist, is a talented comic and his slick show Hypnotised is a little gem in the Fringe.

No Pay? No Way!

By Dario Fo. A new adaptation by Marieke Hardy. Sydney Theatre Company. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Feb 10 – Apr 4, 2020.

The audience was greeted by the exterior of a non-descript double storey apartment block in Italy in the 1970’s. What happened to the façade, to bring us inside the working class abode was positively thrilling – especially for those sitting near the front. 

Cassie and the Lights

By Alex Howarth. Adelaide Fringe. Patch of Blue. Little Theatre, RCC,.14 February – 15 March 2020

When Cassie’s mum leaves them, the teenager wants to care for her younger sisters, who believe their mum is just “on holiday” – but can she really be the right person to be “mum”, or should she let foster parents create a new family?

Bette and Joan

By Anton Burge. Directed by Lynne Devenish. Garrick Theatre, Meadow St, Guildford, WA. Feb 13-29, 2020

Bette and Joan is a play about two strong mature actresses, and is a great vehicle for two strong, mature actresses. Garrick Theatre, and director Lynne Devenish, have chosen fine performers for this two-hander, in the form of Siobhan Vincent and Sarah House.

Shane Warne: The Musical

By Eddie Perfect. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020. Theatre One at the Parks Theatres. Feb 14 -21, 2020

Even though no longer actively playing professional cricket, Shane Warne remains the most flamboyant cricketer in Australian (and perhaps world) history.

Presented by Segue productions Shane Warne: The Musical, with music, book and lyrics by Eddie Perfect, is an irreverent and cheeky musical journey through the professional and personal ups and downs of one of the world's greatest cricketers, from teenager, to international spin bowler, to scandal after scandal and his romance with Liz Hurley.

Evolution

Adelaide Fringe. Evolution Before and Beyond. Pilgrim Uniting Church Hall, Adelaide, 14-22 February 2020

This stark play wakes three of the crew onboard a spaceship travelling to Planet X, to restart the human race after it’s destroyed Earth. None of them know the others and no one really understands why they’ve been woken. The only thing they seem to have in common is that they have all been dreaming in their induced sleep: stories of times past from their respective cultures, events demonstrating humanity and selflessness.

Best of Adelaide Fringe: The International Comedy Show

Adelaide Fringe. Upstairs at The Histo. February 14 - March 14, 2020

The Histo is a great venue for on mike stand-up comedy and it has been well used for this showcase of international comics. This is a show designed for those who would either ‘like a taste’ of several different acts or are still deciding the shows to attend. There is no billing, so you do not know who you will see, but the hour long show provides a ‘taster’ of the work of up to four performers each night.

Les Misérables

Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text byAlain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Additional Material by James Fenton. Adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. Packemin Productions. Riverside Theatre, Paramatta. February 14 – 29, 2020

This is a brilliant production! The standing ovation it received on opening night was thoroughly deserved. The direction is brilliant. The voices are superb. The action is dramatic. It is everything a production of Les Misérables should be – and what one expects of a Packemin production. The fact that the season is almost sold out is indicative of the esteem in which the company is held by its western Sydney audiences.

Disney in Drag - Once Upon A Parody

Fringe World. Auditorium 6, Palace Cinemas, Raine Square, Perth, WA. Feb 7-15, 2020

Disney in Drag - Once Upon A Parody has had a sell-out season for Fringe World, and promises that it will have more happy endings soon. Definitely not authorised by the Disney corporation, this is a wild ride of a show, that is one of the oddest homages to the Disney World you are ever likely to see.

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