Reviews

The Removalists

By David Williamson. New Theatre, Newtown, NSW. 20 April - 22 May, 2021

Fifty years on, and still argued to be his best play, David Williamson’s The Removalists is here given a wickedly funny yet violent production by Johann Walraven at the New.

The director is blessed by Laurence Coy’s outstanding performance as the relentlessly bullying Sergeant Simmonds, a bull engine of spite and moral platitudes. His victim from start to climatic finish is young Constable Ross (an inventive Lloyd Allison-Young), fresh from training school, but the arrival at the station of the two sisters brings fresh meat. 

Game Plan

By Alan Ayckbourn. St. Jude’s Players. St. Jude’s Hall, Brighton, SA, April 22 to May 1, 2021

As the lights rise to a coughing mother, she reaches for a cigarette and lights up – a roar of laughter from the audience helps to set the scene for a dark comedy, set in a different time. It’s twenty years ago, shortly after the ‘dot com’ bust and Lynette Saxon (Shelley Hampton) has gone from running offices to cleaning them, trying to keep her daughter and herself in their London Docklands apartment.

Everyone is Famous

By Morgan Rose. Directed by Katrina Cornwell. Produced by Riot Stage. Darebin Arts Speakeasy. Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre. 21 April - 1 May, 2021.

As a youth theatre company, Riot Stage has a history of addressing issues related to young people in a penetrative and insightful manner. Everyone is Famous is no exception. The show is co-created and performed by Bonnie Brown, Sunny Chiron, Mila Lawson, Anna Louey, Amelia Newman, Jack Palit, Lillah Summers Dixon, Liam Trumble, Alex Veljanovski. The performance takes a quasi-documentary approach to teens and young adults and their experience of the feral world of new media. 

Lights in the Park

By Alexander Lee-Rekers. Directed by Lucy Clements. Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) and Q Theatre. Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith. 2-24 April, 2021

An ensemble production takes on a whole new meaning when it involves thirteen teenagers from different suburbs and different schools rehearsing after school and in school holidays. It requires a ‘duty of care’ and understanding far beyond that of ordinary directorial responsibilities. And it demands a discerning choice of material, meticulous organisation and thoughtful preparation.

The Will To Be

Written & performed by Mark Salvestro. Co-produced with BCauseARTS. Midsumma Festival. La Mama Courthouse. 19 – 23 April 2021

William O’Halloran (Mark Salvestro) has just received a letter from his Head of Department.  He is forthwith dismissed from his position as lecturer in the English department for an ‘act of gross indecency’.  It’s the 1960s – not that long ago – and it’s a different world.

The Gospel According to Paul

By Jonathan Biggins. State Theatre Company of South Australia. Dunstan Playhouse. April 19 – May 1, 2021

The Gospel According to Paul, written and performed by Jonathan Biggins and directed by Aarne Neeme, is, as the publicity blurb states, ‘Politics as Performance – The Art of Political Satire’ and it is a truly deliciously wickedly funny and often poignant night in the theatre.

Ben Elton Live 2021

Canberra Theatre Centre. 20 April 2021 and touring Australia and New Zealand till the end of May.

 

The Pirates of Penzance

By Gilbert and Sullivan. Director: Michael Nunn. Musical Director: Lucas D. Lynch. Lynch and Paterson production. Twelfth Night Theatre Brisbane. Apr 15 – 18, 2021.

The orchestral introduction warned me that what was to follow was not the standard version of Pirates as from my past. This was very true, as this adaption brought much of the content up to the present while still based on the original story line. When it was first produced in America in 1879, America did not recognize international copyright laws and there have been many interpretations over the years. This is another – and a good one. Apprentice Frederic was to leave the pirates, a collection of orphans, but cannot because of his birth on 29th February.

The Cane

By Mark Ravenhill. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. 7 April – 9 May 2021

The cane of the title is that tool of discipline employed by schoolteachers.  That bendy stick of cane or bamboo that stung, sometimes bruised, sometimes broke the skin, and left a numb ache.

Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach

Adapted by Richard George. Art in Motion Theatre (AIM). Directed by Hannah-Jade Keppler and Blair Louis. City of Gosnells Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie WA. Apr 15-17, 2021

Art in Motion Theatre (AIM) billed this sweet little show as “a play for kids by kids”, and this school holiday entertainment not only featured a cast of only kids, but was directed and crewed by children and teens. While we have seen productions in YouthFest do this (and do very well), to my knowledge this is the first time we have seen kids do this in a ‘main-stage’ production.

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