Reviews

Merciless Gods

By Dan Giovannoni, adapted from short stories by Christos Tsiolkas. Little Ones Theatre & Darebin Arts Speakeasy. Northcote Town Hall, Northcote (VIC). 25 July – 5 August 2017

Merciless Gods tells merciless stories.  There are eight stories here, each with its own burden of pain, each one taking the audience (if we care to go) into depths of sorrow, into places and emotions that are faced unflinchingly.  The stories are linked by theme and some characters recur.  As we might expect, many of the characters are of first generation non-Anglo ethnicity and gay – outliers, misfits and desperates.  This is not an easy night of theatre; it is confronting, even threatening, in its dark truthfulness.     

Technicolor Life

By Jami Brandli. The Depot Theatre, Marrickville. July 26 – Aug 12, 2017

In her commitment to giving voice to female protagonists, playwright Jami Brandli makes “no apologies for writing complicated, big, sometimes messy and often times funny, plays about women”. Far from being messy,Technicolor Life is very cleverly crafted and is yet another play that meets Depot Theatre’s aim to challenge its audiences.

Rice

By Michele Lee. Griffin Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre. SBW Stables Theatre. July 21 – Aug 26, 2017.

Michele Lee writes plays only about women of colour.  And that’s just fine: there’s enough already about the white blokes.  Rice is about an ambitious, self-obsessed executive working for Australia’s largest rice producer, the granddaughter of a West Bengal immigrant, and a Chinese cleaner with heaps of her own business and family problems.

Hello, Goodbye & Happy Birthday

By Roslyn Oades. Malthouse Theatre and Melbourne Festival production. A Performing Lines tour for Road Work. Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. July 27 to 29, 2017 and touring.

Winner of the 2014 Green Room Award for outstanding writing/adaptation for the Australian Stage, Roslyn Oades’ and her cast use her very unusual ‘headphone verbatim’ documentary theatre technique to explore both coming of age … and ageing.

West Side Story

Music: Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim. Book: Arthur Laurents. Griffith University Musical Theatre Students in association with Queensland Conservatorium. Director: Kris Stewart. Musical Director: Heidi Loveland. Conductor: Peter Morris. Choreographer: Christopher Horsey. Conservatorium Theatre, South Bank. 27 July – 5 August 2017

2017 marks the 60th anniversary of the Queensland Conservatorium and what better way to celebrate than to bring together students from the Griffith University musical theatre course and the conservatorium in a production of West Side Story which also turns 60 this year.

Blackrock

Written by Nick Enright. Presented by La Boite and QUT Creative Industries. Director Todd MacDonald. Roundhouse, La Boite Theatre. 22 July – 8 August, 2017.

The latest production of Blackrock (nee A Property of the Clan) is a result of a collaboration between Queensland University of Technology and La Boite Theatre Company. It sees eight third year acting students join three seasoned professionals on stage to bring to life Nick Enright’s AWGIE award-winning drama. It’s a harrowingly emotional story requiring focus, commitment and a lot of trust between the cast and crew.

The Book of Revelations

Written and performed by Alison Richards. Presented by Black Hole Theatre at fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 19-30 July, 2017.

Alison Richards has a gentle voice and presence in this quietly fragmented space. The staging of this performance is unique and borrows from theatre, opera, installation and performance art. The attention to detail and the meticulous aesthetics are very pleasing. Each aspect of the setting elicits the idea of a life full of history and memories and how our surroundings are a constant reminder of who we are, where we have been and where we may be headed. 

 

Mr Stink

By Maryam Master. Based on the book by David Walliams. CDP Kids production. Directed by Jonathan Biggins. Canberra Theatre, ACT. July 20 & 22, 2017 and touring.

Mr Stink stinks. To the people of the town where he has moved to take up residence on a park bench, that is his most notable feature, and the name that he chooses to go by.

And Then There Were None

By Agatha Christie. Wyong Drama Group. The Art House, Wyong. July 21 – 29, 2017

While lauded for her ingenuity, Agatha Christie has been criticized, over time, as being a bland and simplistic writer – not being able to sufficiently voice the intricacies of her plots. Though heavily debated in literary circles, this observation is particularly

noticeable through the tone of her plays, the majority of which she adapted. These scripts though ‘twee’, do give directors the option to play them for high drama or to find laughs, through the camp, stiff dialogue.

Incognito

By Nick Payne. Directed by Ella Caldwell & Brett Cousins. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, St Kilda East VIC. 18 July – 13 August 2017

To create and present a cerebral, challenging and complex work such as Incognito is a risky enterprise.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.