Reviews

The 39 Steps

From the novel by John Buchan, from the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Adapted by Patrick Barlow. Neil Gooding Productions and Woodward Productions. Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre. Opening Night: August 12, 2025

This production had something for everyone – whether you’re a rare visitor to the theatre or a theatre junkie.

Prepare for entertainment by the train load, physical comedy, sharp acting, visual effects and more funny accents that you can poke a stick at.

The 39 Steps was a serious film by Alfred Hitchcock based on a thrilling novel. Patrick Barlow, one of the world’s leading theatrical cast shrinkers, adapted the epic for four actors.

Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure

By Ken Ludwig. The Genesian Theatre Company, Rozelle, NSW. Directed by Gregory George. August 8 – September 13, 2025

Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty is a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon, blending a classic mystery with the playwright’s trademark wit and fast-paced theatricality. Following the critical success of Baskerville, Ludwig once again brings Holmes and Watson into a whirlwind case—this time revolving around stolen letters from a Bohemian king, international espionage, and a race to thwart the calculating Professor Moriarty.

Keep on Laughing

By Paul Elliot, Directed by Dale James. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth, WA. Aug 8-23, 2025

One of Old Mill Theatre’s most popular and funniest plays of 2024 was comedy Exit Laughing. Directed by Dale James, it featured old friends and bridge partners meeting to play after the death of their friend and fellow bridge player Mary. Audiences fell in love with the trio of Connie, Leona and Millie.

Perfect Arrangement

By Topher Payne. Directed by Samuel Farr. Roxy Lane Theatre, Maylands, WA. Aug 7-24, 2025

Samuel Farr makes his directorial debut with this queer comedy set in the 1950s. Thoughtfully directed, well staged and nicely acted, this show, while funny, also provides plenty of food for thought.

The Art of Song

Featuring Jess Hitchcock, Megan Sarmardin and SOLCHLD, accompanied by Paul Grabowsky. Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 8 August 2025

What a treat it was to see three amazing First Nations women of song, brought together and accompanied by pianist Paul Grabowsky.

So Many Splintered Parts

By seven playwrights. Diane Cilento Studio, Queensland Theatre, Brisbane. 8 to 23 August 2025

This intriguing commission of seven short plays is directed and produced by Elaine Acworth and Shaun Charles (also writers in the series) with Jess Veurman as Associate Director and Saffron Benner as Dramaturg. The writers’ brief was to deal with today’s personal and political issues in just eight minutes and for only two performers – the brilliant Zoe de Plevitz (Cost of Living, Boy Swallows Universe) and Nick James (A Christmas Carol, Frankenstein).

FOAM

By Harry McDonald. Qtopia Sydney – The Substation. Aug 6 – 23, 2025

 

Set in a British public lavatory, this recent play about an infamous violent, gay skinhead fits perfectly in the old Substation on Sydney’s Taylor Square.  With its industrial grunge, Qtopia in the nearby old Darlinghurst cop shop uses it for queer theatre.

We’re All Gonna Die!

Written by Maddie Nixon. Directed by David Morton & Courtney Stewart with Music by Dean Hanson. Presented by La Boite Theatre and Dead Puppet Society. La Boite Theatre. 30 July – 16 August, 2025.

There’s something thrilling about sitting in a theatre and feeling as if you’ve stumbled into a fever dream full of local landmarks, anthropomorphic rubbish piles, and unparalleled creative hilarity. We’re All Gonna Die!, the latest collaboration between Dead Puppet Society and La Boite, is that dream brought vividly to life in a high-octane comedy that’s as gleeful as it is thoughtful, delivering spectacle without ever losing its heart.

Veronica’s Room

Written by Ira Levin. Directed by Susan O’Toole-Gridland. New Farm Nash Theatre, Brisbane. 8-30 August, 2025.

The curtain opens on Veronica’s room, full of sheet covered furniture, with the appearance matching its period, 1935. What happens from that moment is both challenging and intriguing to the audience. To help muddle the thinking, the characters are not named on the progamme but are just the woman, the man, the girl and the boy, as in the original production of 1973. Initially, a young girl is brought to the house, supposedly because she looks like Veronica and is convinced to help give Veronica’s elderly sister Cissie a sense of closure.

Lior & Westlake

Conducted by Benjamin Northey. Presented by Queensland Symphony Orchestra. QPAC Concert Hall. 9 August, 2025

The Queensland Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Benjamin Northey, delivered an evening that shimmered with emotional power, musical precision, and a spirit of generosity. Including Mary Finsterer’s Stabat Mater Symphony, Nigel Westlake’s Antarctica Suite featuring virtuoso guitarist Slava Grigoryan, and the complete performance of Compassion, Westlake’s collaboration with singer-songwriter Lior, this program was as much a journey of the soul as it was a feast for the ears.

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