Reviews

Gallic Symbol

Marcel Lucont. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Tuxedo Cat, 17 Wills Street, Melbourne April 7-20th, 2014.

“Witty acerbic Frenchman seeks audience for one hour only, for fun, adventure, and maybe something more”.

Cars and Girls

Alexis Dubus. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Tuxedo Cat, 17 Wills Street, Melbourne April 7th – 20th, 2014.

UK comedian Alexis Dubus is more than just a comic – he’s a skilled writer, a poet, a storyteller. Perhaps that’s why the audience was in his own words “one of the quietest he’s had”, they weren’t quite sure what they’d stumbled into when Dubus began his show and it became apparent the entire thing was in verse.  They quickly settled into the groove, however, hard not to when the storyteller is as affable and engaging as Dubus.

The Legend Of King O’Malley

By Bob Ellis and Michael Boddy. Don’t Look Away. Director: Phil Rouse. Musical Director: Tom Pitts. La Mama (Vic). April 9 – 20, 2014

Written in 1970 this show is based around the colourful life and controversial times of King O’Malley, a Texan, who dabbled in a variety of occupations including founding his own religion, before moving to Australia for his health. He held public office in South Australia and became a Member of the House of Representatives in 1901 in the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia, having claimed he was a Canadian by birth.

Viva La Vida Loca Las Vegas. Axis of Awesome

Part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Famous Spiegeltent at Federation Square, 8 Apr – 20 Apr.

Viva La Vida Loca Las Vegas is the latest show from Axis of Awesome, a comedy rock and roll trio who are regulars at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Well known for their YouTube clips, Axis of Awesome parody popular music styles with original material poking fun at generic song structures, along with mashups of existing numbers.

The State of the Tasmanian Economy

By Jonathan Biggins. Blue Cow Theatre Company (World Premiere). Director: Robert Jarman. Theatre Royal, Hobart. 10–12 April 2014

The State of the Tasmanian Economy, written by Jonathan Biggins for Blue Cow Theatre, is a comedy marriage made in heaven, set in Tasmania. Playwright and political satirist Biggins was commissioned to write a new comedy play for profit-share theatre company Blue Cow Theatre. The result was a funny, fast laugh-fest for the world premiere production, ideal for an experienced collection of actors.

Interplay

Sydney Dance Company. Canberra Theatre Centre, 10–12 April. Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, 30 April – 10 May, 2014

Interplay is a collection of three modern dance works by contemporary choreographers.  The first, 2 in D minor, choreographer (and SDC director) Rafael Bonachela set to excerpts from J.S.

Dreamsong

Music by Robert Tripolino. Book and lyrics by Hugo Chiarella. Directed by Dean Bryant. Theatreworks, St Kilda. 9th-20th April, 2014

The wealth of talent currently in Musical Theatre – in Melbourne alone – is truly staggering. When you put wunderkinds Tripolino and Chiarella together with a fabulous cast and current “flavour of the month” director Dean Bryant, in a brand new Australian musical that is a biting satire on organised churches, you can expect it to be something very special indeed.

Love's Labour's Lost

By William Shakespeare. A Company of Strangers. Directed by Geoffrey Dawes. Star Theatres, Hilton (SA). April 4 - April 12, 2014.

There are those who consider Shakespearean theatre to be a pure pleasure, and those who would classify it as pure torture. This particular critic does not subscribe to either extreme, finding the language of the times an admitted challenge, but the kind of challenge that a skilled group of theatre practitioners can turn into a golden experience that enriches the viewer in a way that few other writers can.

Waiting For My Real Life...

Colin Hay. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Playhouse Theatre, Arts Centre, Melbourne. April 10,11 and 12, 2014

Colin Hay says he’s a singer/songwriter -the guitar playing is implied -and as such has no skills to survive in a post- apocalyptic world. Personally I don’t know that a man with one of the most unique, rich, and warm voices in music needs much more. “Waiting For My Real Life…” is a wonderfully intimate show of personal stories and, of course, beautiful music.

The Gigli Concert

By Tom Murphy. Darlinghurst Theatre Company and O’Punksky’s Theatre. April 4 – May 4, 2014.

This play explores the pursuit of personal and psychological fulfilment through a series of meetings between a troubled builder and his “dynamatologist” (read: quack psychologist). The builder won’t reveal his name but says he wants to “sing”, preferably like the Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli.

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