Reviews

The Lisbon Traviata

By Terrence McNally. Directed by Barry Park. Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA. April 11-27, 2024

The Lisbon Traviata has a strong, well-directed and strongly performed production that steps a little out of Garrick’s usual comfort zone.

A show that premiered in 1985 at the height of the AIDS crisis, the threat of AIDS is a sinister backdrop to a show that is about much more.  The Lisbon Traviata is the story of two opera fanatics who use opera to escape their troubles - whether that is loneliness or a crumbling relationship. 

The Trout

Ensemble Q. Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). 14 April 2024

Ensemble Q kickstarted their 2024 season as Company in Residence at QPAC with the first of three specially curated concerts. The Trout was a considered and thoughtful program by Paul and Trish Dean, Ensemble Q’s co-artistic directors, who also perform on clarinet and cello. Collated to bring to light underappreciated and underperformed works, the five quintets by Reicha, Beach, Skipworth, Glazunov and Schubert all added up to pure musical afternoon delight in what felt like an intimate family affair.

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By Nathan Maynard. A Queensland Theatre and Melbourne Theatre Company co-production. Bille Brown Theatre, Brisbane. 11 April - 4 May, 2024

If one wanted to create an original play with an Australian theme, what better than to choose the subject of Aussie rules football. But to mould it into a more intriguing opus why not include current issues that ask questions, explore characters in depth and touch on elements of Australia's complicated history. First Nation person, Nathan Maynard has successfully achieved this in his play about a failing football team in a small country town, which includes two Aboriginal cousins, and all the pros and cons of rising to stardom and being accepted as a team member.

Comedy Roulette – Spin That Wheel.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Trades Hall – Music Room. April 9 – 21, 2024

The Comedy Festival is great for your average punter - we pick and choose what takes our fancy, but for all comedians hustling and bustling for big crowds so they can give up their day jobs, it can be a time-consuming task.

Hosts Olga Loitsenko and Kru Harale, together take the stage with clever introductory routines reflecting on the funny side of life in their quirky daily battles. They are hilarious together and as solo performers; they are engaging and are both quick off the mark with hecklers.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Choreographed by Liam Scarlett based on the Shakespeare play. Music by Felix Mendelssohn. A co-production of Queensland Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet. Artistic Director for QB Leanne Benjamin. Playhouse Theatre, Brisbane. 12-27 April, 2024

Even those who are not fans of classical ballet wouldn't be disappointed with this display of creative and physical energy: its colourful setting and humorous plot will always withstand the annals of time and is well worthwhile staging again after its initial success with the RNZB and QB in 2015-6. Mendelssohn originally composed the opening as a concert overture and was later commissioned to write additional incidental music for the play, a score now well-known and performed by Camerata in this production, conducted and arranged by accomplished Principal Conductor and MD Nigel Gaynor.

A Case for the Existence of God

By Samuel D Hunter. Outhouse Theatre Co and Seymour Centre. Reginald Theatre. April 11 – May 4, 2024

This mesmerising, slow cooker of a play is about the unlikely bond between two contrasting men.  God has little to do with it, except perhaps blessing these Idaho blokes with friendship and a faintly optimistic end.

Ryan is desperately chasing a bank loan when he visits a mortgage broker Keith.  Uneducated and broke, divorced and reared in a family of drugs and mental ill health, Ryan at least has some remaining naïve faith in humanity.  Keith, on the other hand, is fairly privileged and university educated (in early music); he’s also black and gay.

Ed Byrne: Tragedy Plus Time

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Beckett Theatre, Malthouse, 113 Sturt Street Southbank Melbourne. 28 March – 21 April 2024.

Mark Twain’s definition of humour as tragedy plus time forms the basis of Ed Byrne’s compelling show. The premise is that with the distance of time tragic events can eventually become a source of humour. Byrne puts this to the test as he recounts his troubled relationship with his younger brother who passed away shortly after reconciling with him. The story is indeed tragic, and although Byrne’s treatment of this narrative is often hilarious, he also highlights its poignancy.

Elouise Eftos - Australia’s First Attractive Comedian

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Greek – Level 1. April 9 – 21, 2024

 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare. The Australian Shakespeare Company. Belvedere Amphitheatre, Centennial Park, Sydney. Directed by Glenn Elston. 9 - 28 April 2024

‘You can find me later on Linkedin!’ calls Helena to her departing ex-sweetheart. Such a thing is permissible in this version of Shakespeare, which mixes modern quips with some heavy Elizabethan verse-making. Glenn Elston, director of Melbourne’s Australian Shakespeare Company for no less than 35 years, has mastered this mixing trick. Here he comes up with a fresh and convincing directorial take on an old and oft-told story.

Jacqueline Mifsud – The Full Mifsud

Written & performed by Jacqueline Mifsud. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Catfish Bar, Fitzroy. 8 – 19 April 2024

Jacqueline Mifsud has had an interesting life.  Maltese parents, Mother tried to fit in, but was fiery, irrepressible… Young Jacqueline escapes from Australia, falls in with a travelling dance troupe, has four years in Paris as an English language tour guide (dependent on tips), back to Australia, launches into stand up, wins awards, adds MC-ing, appears on television…  Now, at thirty-eight, to quote her blurb, she’s ‘single, childless and self-employed.’ 

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