Reviews

Set at about 9pm in an imaginary bunch of houses that’s not quite a town, sited on a rural frozen plain in the northernmost part of the US, John Cariani’s Almost, Maine takes the form of nine brief scenes, all occurring concurrently, all exploring LOVE. Not love as in the deep devotion and affection that exists within families, but LOVE, the hormonal cudgel that smashes out the brain leaving people idiots. The writing is utterly without pretention. If your tolerance for saturation-point sentimentality is low, you might find it difficult to watch.

Given the issues confronting our world at the moment, the show’s title may be considered as courageous. David Rose, according to Ancestry. com is 15% Ashkenazi Jew. For the uninitiated, this is a Jewish diaspora population originating from the Rhine River in Germany and Northern France, representing the majority of the world's Jewish population today. They are defined by a distinct cultural, linguistic (Yiddish), and genetic heritage that blends Middle Eastern and European origins.

Well, there's timely, and there's timely and then there's staging a production of The Children, while the world seems to be literally going to hell in a handcart. And as a young Boomer who grew up during the Cold War and its accompanying abundance of futuristic, post-nuclear-apocalyptic films, I couldn't help feeling particularly shook with a sense of deja vu.

Siren Theatre Company is based in Sydney. Established in 1997, one of its objectives is to commission and produce new Australian plays. At its helm as artistic director is the talented and experienced writer, director and producer, Kate Gaul. Gaul’s world premiere Eden is a coming-of-age story, but one that is shaped by death, familiarity, love and fractured families.