Reviews

Hot Siblings

Dysfunctional families can spark internal hatred, be the catalyst of abhorrent behaviour and ignite abnormal desire. Fireface has all of these and more… A brother and sister love and desire each other a little too much and their parents don’t love each other at all. And they all co-exist in a tightly packed tinder-box of a home which forces feeds fiery conflict and a final conflagration.

The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild’s brilliant and unconventional take on Shakespeare’s Richard III is riveting in its intensity, with the contemporary setting conveying a strong sense of alternate reality.

When Peter Shaffer’s play about a boy who mutilates horses first opened in 1973 it was considered confronting, shocking, and disturbing. It still is, but the word exhilarating must be added, because of this production. This is theatre at its finest; an astonishing collaboration of text, performance and direction. To be prosaic, it’s bloody marvellous.

Many adaptations of Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare have focussed on the romantic comedy aspect of this centuries-old play. The most recent version by Hobart Repertory Theatre Society, under the direction of Julie Waddington, has a slightly different take, focussing on gender politics with a twist. Baptista has two daughters: the elder, Kate the shrew, must be married off before sweet, agreeable Bianca can be wed.