Reviews

As You Like Hamlet

Written by Tully Jones (and William Shakespeare. Directed by Tully Jones. Fringe World. DADAA, 92 Adelaide St, Fremantle WA 28 Jan - 7 Feb, 2021

As You Like Hamlet is a slightly irreverent Shakespeare tribute, performed as part of Fringe World by a talented troupe of young actors. Modernised, funny and clever, it still contains much of what we love from the original texts.

Club Cremorne

At the Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 28 January to 6 March 2021.

Conceived by QPAC last year to reunite eager artists and enthusiastic audiences after the too-long closure of theatres, Club Cremorne is back by popular demand – the debut season in 2020 was a block of sold-out shows. This snazzy showcase of local, world-class talent is a welcome way to get back to the theatre and have some fun. With club-style table seating and a bar open throughout the performance, Club Cremorne provides excellent date-night or friends-out-together fun – a little bit cheeky and a whole lot entertaining.

A Nought for a Cross

By The Perthian Chronicles. Fringe World. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Jan 28-30, 2021

A Nought for a Cross just might do for Tic-Tac-Toe what The Queen’s Gambit has done for Chess - so if you see a sudden increase in Noughts and Crosses activity in Perth, you will know who to blame.

Side by Side

Written and directed by Daniella Sicari and Eimear Foley. Fringe World. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, WA. Jan 27-30, 2021

One of the unexpected benefits for theatregoers, of a world disrupted by Covid, is that many International Artists have returned home to Perth. Two of many outstanding performers who are in Perth at the moment are Daniella Sicari and Eimear Foley, whose Fringe World show, Side by Side, presented by Aces at the Maj, is playing for a very short season.

Come From Away

Book, Music & Lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein. Junkyard Dog Productions & NewTheatricals. The Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. 26 January – 28 February 2021, then Brisbane and Sydney.

There are two clear and outstanding reasons to see (or to see again) Come From Away: the amazing ‘true story’, and the dazzling, funny, moving production. 

The Karaoke Club

Written and directed by Saskia Ware. APK Productions / Fringe World. The Rosemount Hotel, North Perth WA. Jan 27 - Feb 1, 2021

The World Premiere of The Karaoke Club is presented by APK Productions for Fringe World at the Rosemount Hotel. A vibrant and engaging piece of work, it is being very well received and is well written, acted and presented.

Advertised to play at two venues, the second has fallen through at the last minute. Hopefully a further run can be secured, as this is a solid little production that deserves a bigger audience.

Undecided: A Multiple Choice Musical

By John McPherson and James Palm, with music by John McPherson. Fringe World. Directed by John McPherson. Rehearsal Room One, State Theatre Centre of WA. Jan 25-30, 2021

If you have ever enjoyed reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book, you will love this world premiere musical playing at the State Theatre Centre as part of Fringe World. Undecided: A Multiple Choice Musical allows the audience to decide the fates of the characters - meaning that there are multiple ways the show can play out.

Using their mobile phone, audience members vote on a choice of two scenarios at various points in the show, which changes how the plot will progress. 

Speakeasy Story

By Serge Le Goueff and Paula Renée. Fringe World. The Gold Digger, The Girls School, East Perth, WA. Jan 18-24, 2021

Mr and Mrs Smith, a jazz duo from WA’s south west, presented this tribute to the Speakeasy in The Gold Digger for Fringe World.

Great accessible jazz is presented with a history of the speakeasies, in a show that entertains and informs. The Fringe World version of this show is an hour-long version of what is usually a two hour show, but feels complete and satisfying in this format.

WHAT OF IT

By Rebecca Fingher. Fringe World Festival. Directed by Mitchell Whelan. Rehearsal Room 1, State Theatre Centre of WA. Jan 25-30, 2021

This world premiere by Rebecca Fingher was developed in the ATYP Fresh Ink program for emerging writers. Presented by the author in conjunction with Lazy Yarns, it is playing for a short season in Rehearsal Room 1 as part of the Fringe World Festival.

An examination of women, violence and the end of the world, WHAT OF IT subverts the expectations of feminist theatre, in this gender swapped drama where “Girls will be girls aye bruv”.

Me Too! The Musical

By Louise Plant, Stacey Broomhead and Dan Smith. Fringe World Festival. Directed by Michael McCall. The Art Room, The Girls School, East Perth, WA. Jan 15-24, 2021

With the emergence of the Me Too! movement, it was only a matter of time before we got Me Too! The Musical, billed as a show which "hits hard and fast at the outrageous and horrifying behaviours women have had to endure over time and the impact it has on the women of today”.