Reviews

Horror

Devised and Directed by Jakop Ahlbom. Presented by Datacom and Brisbane Festival. Playhouse Theatre QPAC, 26 – 29 September, 2018

Here’s the perfect show for audiences looking for something unique from their theatre experiences. Horror takes you on a dark and visceral journey through the myriad tropes of horror films in a manner that’s sure to astound. It’s set in a spooky house where we see a young woman and her friends arrive on a rainy night. It’s the former home of the woman, who soon starts being haunted by her terrible past.

Out of Sight …Out of Mind

By Fred Carmichael. Mousetrap Theatre Redcliffe. Directed by Jean Bowra. September 28 – October 14, 2018.

The play begins with author Peter Knight grinding out a murder story in an old mansion where another author had been murdered years before. A weird electrical storm has cosmic effects and his characters come to life. Naturally they are the typical characters of murder mysteries that had appeared in such novels in the past. They are the ingénue, the seductress, the butler, the nasty old lady, the lawyer, the juvenile and the maid who is always pregnant. Oh, he has a normal maid. Peter loses control of his characters and the murders begin to occur – as in a novel.

Beauty and The Beast

Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Book by Linda Woolverton. Stage Artz. Glen Street Theatre, Belrose. September 21 – 29, 2018.

Stage Artz annual charity production, with proceeds going to The Children's Hospital at Westmead, this year was Beauty and The Beast, a great choice of show, with the company comprised of Stage Artz Performing Art School students. The lead roles showcased a talented adult lead cast who brought the magical fictional characters to life.

As if No-one is Watching

Vulcana. Brisbane Festival. Stores Building, Brisbane Powerhouse. 27-30 September, 2018

The all-female collective, Vulcana, begin their part-performance, part-installation with 18 individual monologues delivered via smartphone app and digital design by Line 26. The 20-minute introduction takes place outside in the concrete space next to the Brisbane Powerhouse Stores Building. The performers repeat movements, carry out silent scenes, enact fragments – shards of their stories – while we voyeuristically wander and watch on, listening in to their thoughts online.

After Hero

By Jessica Bellamy and Jean Tong. Monash University’s Centre for Theatre & Performance. Malthouse Theatre, The Tower, Melbourne. 27 September – 6 October 2018.

‘Where is it written what am I supposed to be?’  It’s a key line here and it recurs.  It’s the key question in a play about identity and roles – gender and otherwise.  In their joint program note, Jessica Bellamy and Jean Tong tell us, “This is a work for everyone who is tired of the same old stories, because we are too.’

Candide

Music by Leonard Bernstein. Book by Hugh Wheeler after Voltaire. Lyrics by various. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Conducted by Brett Weymark. Directed by Mitchell Butel. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. September 29 & 30, 2018.

This was a lavish banquet of a production that is an absolute treat for lovers of operetta and musical theatre. The first thing to knock your socks off is the tidal wave of sound.  A sumptuous orchestra fills the Concert Hall stage, surrounded by up to 300 singers.

The choir sounds both tight and energetic, and is a dynamic part of the production. At various times they move, change costume and radiate a joy of appreciation for the work which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the composer Leonard Bernstein.

Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical

Music & Lyrics: Various. Book: Stephan Elliott & Alan Scott. Michael Cassell Group, Nullarbor Productions & MGM on Stage. Director: Simon Phillips. Musical Director: Stephen Gray. Choreographer: Ross Coleman & Andrew Hallsworth. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Opening Night 28 September 2018.

After visiting 29 countries, Priscilla’s bus has at last called in to Brisbane on the final leg of its current 10th anniversary tour, and if last night’s reaction is anything to go by it’s a gigantic hit. The first time it’s ever played Brisbane, this exuberant jukebox-musical is a high-camp, raunchy and glittering treat.

One Punch Wonder

By Amanda Crewes. The Actors’ Hub. Melbourne Fringe. Theatre Works. September 25 – 27, 2018

One Punch Wonder is a timely and brilliantly conceived production that addresses the current spate of one-punch-kill crimes that stem back to the year 2000.

The Owl and the Pussycat

Little Match Productions. Brisbane Festival. Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Cremorne Theatre 26-29 September, 2018

Little Match Productions, a Brisbane independent theatre company, has devised a delightful take on the Edward Lear poem that has been fascinating children for more than a century. The title characters are both female, so this production’s interpretation as a tale of unlikely friendship and love has an underlying subtext of diversity and acceptance. The theme continues as the lead pair meet a series of strange animal characters that test their preconceptions on their run-away adventure together.

Metamorphosis

By Brian Howard. Libretto by Steven Berkoff. Opera Australia. The Scenery Workshop at The Opera Centre, Surry Hills. September 26 – 29, 2018By Brian Howard. Libretto by Steven Berkoff. Opera Australia. The Scenery Workshop at The Opera Centre, Surry Hills. September 26 – 29, 2018

Opera Australia isn’t too well-practiced lately in staging Australian operas.  But amongst the scaffolding in its cavernous Surry Hills workshop, the company picked the right place to revive Brian Howard’s expressive 1983 telling of Kafka’s nightmarish Metamorphosis.

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