Reviews

After 50 years of the comfortable, tuneful, overdressed My Fair Lady who would have thought there’d still be such energy, laughter and stinging relevance in Shaw’s mighty original? Peter Evens’ STC production is a revelation, and the packed opening night audience rattled the rafters in appreciation.

While waiting in the foyer to see The New Black, the first in a series of three new musicals up for workshopping in Arts Centre Melbourne’s Carnegie 18 New Music Theatre project, I did not know what to expect. However, with the programme listing a cast of seasoned performers, including Shane Connor, Lisa Maza, Chelsea Gibb and Kirk Page, and with Deborah Cheetham in attendance, the prospect was promising.

The star of much of this show was dangling between the legs of Warwick Allsopp and made unexpected appearances out of his fly.

Fear not – it wasn’t what first comes to mind.  But when it was revealed by his brother, played by Tamlyn Henderson, it prompted the biggest laugh of the night.

The Jinglists is a hoot which skates close to the edge of bad taste but steps back just in time.

The characters, Leigh and Loman, are described by the Director Jo Turner as grotesque musical clowns.

On a balmy evening in the McLaren Vale, a sweaty but appreciative audience set up shop on a grassy amphitheatre in the grounds of Coriole Winery to enjoy the nomadic Essential Theatre's 2012 Shakespeare production.

Treating us to Much Ado About Nothing, this is the company’s celebratory tenth year of entertaining Australia’s (and now New Zealand's) vino-sipping theatre tragics, and their ninth year performing at the hospitable Coriole.