Reviews

Bloom Girl

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.

House of the Heart

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.

A Few Good Men

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. 

Am I Doing This Right?

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”.

Cruel Intentions – The ‘90s Musical

By Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble/ David Venn Enterprises. Director Alister Smith. Riverside Theatre Parramatta. 3 – 12 Feb, 2023

David Venn Enterprises (DVE) is busy “creating first class live experiences for audiences around the world”.

·      Their production of Elvis: A Musical Revolution will tour Australia in 2023.

·      Their production of The Wedding Singer is currently touring Australia.

A Year of Dating

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.

Trophy Boys

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.

A Broadcast Coup

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.

Wittenoom

By Mary Anne Butler. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. An INK World Premiere. Red Stitch, East St Kilda. 26 January – 19 February 2023

With Wittenoom, Mary Anne Butler has achieved something remarkable.  Her play is ‘poetic drama’, a form that is extremely difficult to make work.  In some hands it can be wearying, even pretentious - unless one is a poet and a dramatist:  Butler is both.  This is an intense, passionate play, sharp and evocative in its imagery, visceral in its emotions.

Mono

Bunbury Productions. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre. 1–5th February 2023

First performed in early 2022, Mono is a three-person satirical romp. It is 90 minutes of wit, fun and extremely clever writing, presented as 10 Scenes and is evocative of the comedy style of the 1970s to the 1990s where revues full of clever, pithy dialogue were de rigueur. The emphasis is not on elaborate props (they are almost non-existent), glamorous sets (there is not one) and flashy lighting (well they did change the light colour several times).

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