Reviews

Conductor Matthew Toogood is now based in Berlin, but we are very fortunate that he continues to return to Melbourne. So, Shoestring Opera made a welcome return, with a very small scale operatic venture.

Donizetti was a prolific composer and Rita, a one-act opera with spoken dialogue, is one of many which rarely see the light of day. This is a shame, as it included some beautiful music and was highly entertaining.

The Fantasticks famously ran Off Broadway for over 40 years - thanks to a combination of a simple set (that cost $900), a tiny orchestra, a small cast and a breezy story line with one hit song ‘Try to remember’.

The Exclaim Theatre - comprising alumni of The Australian Institute of Music - shoe horned the production into the Pilgrim theatre. 

The stage was filled with oldish looking suitcases and the audience sat in the round, allowing the cast to perform in the centre of the theatre.

La Mama’s 2015 Exploration series provides the opportunity for theatre practitioners to present works in progress and creates a space for real experimentation. Breaking the Binary is a fine example of the kind of venture the series seeks to encourage and nurture.  YGLAM is a Performing Arts Project run by Merri Community Health Services for same-sex attracted and gender diverse young people aged between 14 and 25.

Mortido is a sprawling crime drama that critically examines all the sordid dealings inherent in the traffic and distribution of cocaine, as well as chronicling the human wreckage that occurs as a consequence of this, blazing a trail through the impoverished barrios of Mexico, the jungles of Bolivia, the gay nightclubs of Berlin, the cultural melting pot of modern Cabramatta and the sleekly manufactured, designer Shangri-Las of the Sydney yuppie jetset.