Reviews

Exit Music: Radiohead Reimagined

Brisbane Music Festival Part 2. FourthWall Arts, Brisbane. 10 December 2023

This year’s Brisbane Music Festival (BMF) ended on an extreme high with arrangements of Radiohead hits reimagined by James Dobinson. James was to have also appeared in Exit Music to play electric keys and piano, but he received a last-minute call-up to a gig on Broadway! This proves the calibre of talent involved in the BMF, which this year has involved 34 events, with 40 creative people participating, seven Australian Premieres and nine World Premieres.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Music: Alan Menken. Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz. Book: Peter Parnell. OSMaD. Director: Joel Batalha. Music Directors: David Barrell & Ned Dixon. Choreographer: Caitlin Lamont. Geoffrey McComas Theatre, Melbourne. December 7-16, 2023.

The sensational Victorian premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is in good hands with OSMaD. The creative team and many of the cast is a Who's Who of Music Theatre Guild of Victoria and Lyrebird Award winners and nominees. The musical version of Hunchback began life as an animated film in 1996, aimed at younger audiences.

Cirque Jingle

JACs Entertainment. Brisbane Powerhouse. 7 – 10 December 2023

Brisbane Powerhouse was transformed into a winter wonderland for Cirque Jingle. Presented by JACs Entertainment, and following their highly successful Cirque Bon Bon last year, this show promised everything from magic to aerial artistry and juggling. Catering for the whole family, this 70 minute show was presented in a rather relaxed format, with the magician host interacting with the audience and photography encouraged.

The Sea

Composed by Evan J Lawson, libretto by Nicole Butcher. Presented by Forest Collective, BK Opera and Abbotsford Convent. Directed by Kate Millet, conducted by Evan J Lawson. Abbotsford Convent, 1 St. Heliers Street, Abbotsford. 7 - 10 December 2023.

The Sea is a deeply evocative performance with melodic and dramatic music that sweeps over the audience. The staging of this performance immerses the audience in the music and the vocals in interesting and dynamic ways. This is an opera that directly addresses difficult themes and explores notions of coercion, corruption, and seduction. This is conveyed by a range of melodies that begin gently but build to more intense tones and sounds. The interesting and engaging use of costuming and stylised movement emphasise ideas such as abuse of power inherent in the libretto.  

The White Mermaid or The Little Lotus: A Musical Fable

By Trevor Ashley and Phil Scott. Trevor Ashley Presents. Seymour Centre. Dec 8 – 23, 2023

Fresh from his brush with international fame, by coming close to winning the second season of RuPaul’s Drag race, Trevor Ashley is back to earth with his annual adult pantomime.

All the favourite ingredients are back – three eye candy male dancer actors, Trevor in outrageous frocks with a deep cleavage, and gentle cameos from the ageless Carlotta.

The naughty revue opens with three sailor boys prancing onto the stage, dressed to display their achievements in the gym, singing about having “salt on your skin, cum in your hair and faggots below.”

Santa Claus the Pantomime

By Diana Kimpton. Irish Theatre Players. Directed by Andrew Watson. The Irish Club of WA, Subiaco WA. Dec 9-16, 2023

Irish Theatre Players have decided to combine two of our favourite parts of Christmas, Santa Claus, and Pantomime, for this fun little panto. Creating a complete experience, audiences can meet Santa Claus and have a photograph before the show, and popcorn is available, creating a lovely aroma in the space.

Othello

By William Shakespeare. Graduate Dramatic Society (GRADS), Directed by Thomas Dimmick. New Fortune Theatre, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA. Dec 6-16, 2023

As we near the end of the theatrical year, most of our offerings are pantomimes, musicals, and light comedies, but not so from Graduate Dramatic Society (GRADS), who are presenting the tragedy of Othello.

Poulenc Tribute #2

Brisbane Music Festival Part 2. FourthWall Arts, Brisbane. 9 December 2023

This year’s Brisbane Music Festival (BMF) featured two dedicated programmes in tribute to French composer and pianist, Francis Poulenc, and also included a handful of pieces peppered across the festival. Is 2023 a significant Poulenc milestone? No, BMF’s Artistic Director, Alex Raineri, is simply a fan and considers Poulenc’s work to be under-performed – perhaps due to its often less-than-serious nature (and maybe because the composer was not academically trained).

Surat-Suratnya

A collaboration between Stage of Wawan Sofwan, Sandra Fiona Long & Ria Soemardjo. Written by Wawa Sofwan & Ratna Ayu Budiarti. La Mama HQ, Faraday Street. 6 – 17 December 2023

A woman Ibu Helen (Ellen Marning) prepares a traditional Indonesian dish – sayur lodeh – her husband’s favourite and now hers too.  She is from regional Victoria, married to an Indonesian trade-unionist.  They have children.  This meal will be the last the family eats in Jakarta.  They are no longer safe.  They are leaving for Australia the next morning.  It is sometime between 1965-67, during the Indonesian military’s purge of ‘communists’ – i.e.

Declassified

Adam Herd. Brisbane Music Festival Part 2. FourthWall Arts, Brisbane. 8 December 2023

There’s a Paul Simon lyric that goes … ‘most folks never catch their star’. Well, some of the ‘declassified’ information gleaned from Friday night’s Brisbane Music Festival (BMF) performance is that this judgement will simply never apply to award-winning pianist Adam Herd. Born in Coffs Harbour, Adam has followed his musical star from the Queensland Conservatorium, across the world, landing in Helsinki, where he achieved his Master’s Degree, and where he now lives.

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