Reviews

Cost of Living

By Martyna Majok. Sydney Theatre Company. Wharf Theatre. July 18 - August 18, 2024

A night in the theatre which surprises, takes you out of your comfort zone, laugh and think is rare all in one play.

Cost of Living does all that – a unique production about the interdependence of people living with disabilities and those who support them.

The play opens with retired lonely truck driver Eddie (Phillip Quast) sending text messages to the phone of his late wife Ani (Kate Hood).

The narrative flashes back to the period in their life when Eddie returned to Ani’s life.

Romeo & Julie

By Gary Owen. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. 20 July – 18 August 2024

Single Dad Romeo (Damon Baudin), eighteen, unemployed, lives with his acerbic alcoholic mother Barb (Belinda McClory) in Splott, a deprived area of Cardiff.  He’s the sole carer for his tiny baby, Niamh, whose mother abandoned her and ‘Romy’.  No way Barb is helping financially or otherwise; it’s his stupid choice, he can live with it – even though he can scarcely afford nappies.  He’s exhausted with feeding, cleaning the baby’s endless poo, and lack of sleep.  But Niamh is the centre of Romy’s life; we might even feel that

The Tempest

By William Shakespeare. Shepherd's Purse Theatre, Tyalgum NSW. July 18 – 20, 2024

There is probably no theatre company like the Shepherd's Purse Theatre and there is definitely no small town anywhere in the world like Tyalgum, half an hour’s drive from Murwillumbah in far northern NSW. Walking into this town and seeing their shows is a little like a dream out of an old musical. It is so magical, so unique.

A Good Death

By Kim Parkhill. Tempest Theatre. Directed by Susie Conte. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. July 16-20. 2024

Tempest Theatre presented this stellar production for a very short season. A beautiful story, told with understanding and great feeling, I can only wish that the season was longer and that more people were given the opportunity to appreciate this little gem of show.

The Girl Who Glows

By Zeeko and Jo Turner. Directed by Jo Turner. The Street, Canberra. World Premiere. 18 – 21 July, 2024 and touring

The Girl Who Glows is a magical story about a glowing girl called Luna, who travels Australia meeting wonderous luminescent creatures in her quest stop the world from fading to darkness. Aimed at children from 5 upwards, it incorporates delightfully silly humour, live music, glorious lights and a story designed to wake interest in the natural world. The tale is told by Zeeko, a band that has been playing for children including through Musica Viva Australia since 2009. The music is eclectic, from melodic rock and beautiful ballads to opera and rap.

Ghost

Music and Lyrics Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard. Book and Lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin. The Spotlight Theatrical Company. Director and Choreographer: Clay English. The Halpin Auditorium. 19 July – 17th August, 2024.

As an iconic love story, the 1990 film Ghost is on the list of many people’s top 100 films. The central idea of love after death has touched everyone at some time, and the theme of “Unchained Melody” (beautifully constructed by Alex North back in 1955) is part of our psyche. That, and the astonishing scene where the ghost embraces his love as she sits at the Potter’s wheel, are moments we remember.

The Deep Blue Sea

By Terrence Rattigan. Melville Theatre. Directed by Barry Park. The Main Hall, Melville Civic Centre, Booragoon, WA. Jul 19 - Aug 3, 2024

Terrence Rattigan’s post war drama has not been performed in Perth for many years but makes a welcome return in Melville Theatre’s well produced season. A show case piece for a talented mature actress, this production is well supported with high production values and a hard-working supporting cast.

Vespers

By Sergei Rachmaninoff. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Director Brett Weymark. Sydney Town Hall. Saturday 20th July, 2024

Brett Weymark described this interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s Vespers as “a special performance that sits somewhere between ritual, concert and theatre”. It is indeed special – because Weymark had the vision of the choir moving into different formations signifying the four phases of the All-Night Vigil of the liturgy: sunset to night, through the night to dawn and the new day – Vespers, Compline, Matins and the First Hour.

How he achieved this is typical of Weymark’s inspiration and drive!

Hamlet

Composed by Brett Dean. Libretto by Matthew Jocelyn. After William Shakespeare. Opera Australia. Directed by Neil Armfield. Conducted by Tim Anderson. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. July 20 - August 9, 2024

This is a bone chillingly brilliant production which surrounds the audience in sound, and takes them deep into the psyche of Shakespeare’s most famous character.

You won’t leave the opera whistling the tunes, but you will not forget the haunting narrative, which amidst the carnage also has surprising elements of humour.

The opera had its world premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017 and has since had productions at the New York Met, several in Germany and Adelaide Festival.

Bombshells

By Joanna Murray-Smith. Presented by Echo Theatre. Directed by Jordan Best. The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. 18 – 27 July 2024

Empathic, hilarious, and incorporating song and dance, Joanna Murray-Smith’s Bombshells is a wonderful choice for Echo Theatre’s Jordan Best’s superb comedic sense and feminist outlook. Murray-Smith has an ability to capture heartbreakingly authentic emotional dialogue, which is a large part of the global success of her play Honour. In Bombshells, she takes that dialogue internal to create a wry comedy about the lies we tell ourselves and the ways we survive life’s traumas.