Reviews

What Makes a Musical, A Musical

By Joshua Haines, Lachlan Obst, Cassie Skinner and Lorna Mackie. Grey Lantern. Directed by Lorna Mackie. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. March 4-6, 2021

Grey Lantern’s What Makes a Musical, A Musical, was originally scheduled for a Fringe World season, which unfortunately was in the week that we were in Lockdown. Fortunately for Perth’s musical theatre fans, Grey Lantern mounted a short independent season of this impressive World Premiere musical.

Sh*t We Like To Sing

Broken Crayon Productions. Directed by Dylan Dorotich and Charlie Darlington. Connections Night Club, James St, Northbridge WA. Mar 5-6, 2021

Sh*t We Like To Sing might be better titled “Bangers We Like To Sing - and that Audiences Love”. Originally scheduled for a Fringe World season but foiled by Covid restrictions, Sh*t We Like To Sing played for a short, two night, independent season.

A selection of great musical theatre songs, this well curated performance was interspersed with commentary from very personable director/producers Dylan Dorotich and Charlie Darlington. The cast were strong and worked well both as an ensemble and individual performers.

Lorelei

Music: Julian Langdon, Casey Benetto, Gillian Cosgrove. Lyrics: Casey Bennetto, Gillian Cosgriff. Opera Queensland. Director: Sarah Giles. Musical Director: Phoebe Briggs. Concert Hall, QPAC. 6-13 March 2021

After being cancelled last year because of Covid 19, this production of the Lorelei has finally made it to the stage in Brisbane. Billed as an opera/cabaret, this concept of the Lorelei legend was first conceived by Ali McGregor, who is part of this production. McGregor, working with Julian Langdon, Casey Bennetto and Gillian Cosgriff, has taken this tale of the siren who hypnotized men who came under her spell and lured them to their death, opened it up, and given it a 21st century feminist coat of paint.

Les Misérables

By Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel and Herbert Kretzmer. Additional Material by James Fenton. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo. Noteable Theatre Company. The Concourse Theatre, Chatswood. 4 – 14 March 2021.

Noteable Theatre Company’s revival of their April 2019 production of Les Mis was a fresh, heightened version of the classic musical. It was a nice way to journey back into the theatre post Covid, with some brilliant touches of direction and brave performances along with some slight head-scratching moments that just went too far.

Yes, Prime Minister

Play by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lyn. Centenary Theatre Group. Director: Michael Lawrence. Chelmer Community Centre, Chelmer, Qld. 6-27 March 2021

Yes, Prime Minister is ideal fare for community theatre – familiar characters, farcical situations, and plenty of laughs. Britain is in crisis with spiraling debt, crippling unemployment, and a fragile coalition government. Help is at hand if the Prime Minister will sign a trillion pound bail-out deal with the oil rich Kumranistan, a country that nobody can find on the map.

Six Years Later and BLKDOG

With Botis Seva & Natalia Osipova, presented by Sadler’s Wells. Adelaide Festival 2021. Her Majesty’s Theatre & Middleback Arts Centre, Whyalla Norrie (Livestream). Mar 6, 2021

This Sadler’s Wells double bill is the third of four live-streamed events in the 2021 Adelaide Festival’s ‘Live From Europe’ series with patrons watching the performances on a cinema screen.  The artists are performing live in their own time zone and can see and hear the Adelaide audience as we attend the theatre at night in our zone.  An excellent concept in our unusual, virus-affected present, and a solution that has worked well overall with packed houses and live introductions from our Festival Directors and the artists/producers in Europe.

Dark Wind Blowing: The Play

By Zoe Muller, adapted from the book by Jackie French. Deadset Theatre Company. Adelaide Fringe 2021. World Premiere. Holden Street Theatres. Mar 2 – 7, 2021

One of the common complaints in theatre is that for young people, aged between 15 and mid-twenties, there are few roles and opportunities available, written, to be cast in, or to be able to work in. Since 2017, Deadset Theatre Company has courageously made addressing this issue their mandate, successfully mounting productions that address current and relatable issues for that age group.

The Winter’s Tale

By William Shakespeare. Melbourne Shakespeare Company. Central Park, 148 Burke Road, Malvern East. 6-8, 13, 14 & 20 March 2021

This Winter’s Tale is spirited, engaging, funny – but still moving.  Shakespeare can succeed – even performed in a park, in daylight, with a minimal ad hoc set, and with the cast in mufti.

Cabaretica

La Mama Courthouse. March 5, 2021.

Post Covid days are here and La Mama Courthouse is back on boards. Cabaretica is a quarterly, one-off late-night show, curated by Susan Bamford Caleo and Isabel Knight. It is a viable platform for cabaret artists to experiment and play with new ideas, but more importantly it gives up-and-coming talent a venue to gain confidence and skills.

A Slight Exaggeration

By Poppy Mee. Adelaide Fringe 2021. Breakout at The Mill. Mar 4 – 19, 2021

When Poppy Mee wakes up in a mess of a room, she downs an energy drink poured into a jam jar, then instantly breaks the fourth wall and starts telling us about her wonderful adventures overseas. Halfway through an intriguing story, she is interrupted by those seeking the truth.

With a little persuasion and negotiation with the audience, she begins to retell her stories, only this time without any ‘slight exaggeration’, the embellishments replaced by disappointment, anxiety, and loneliness.