Reviews

We’re Banking On It!

Adapted from The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol. Presented by MUST and Bloomshed. Directed by James Jackson. fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 12-16 May 2024.

Monash University Student Theatre (MUST) in collaboration with Bloomshed have produced a very fine and facetious adaptation of Gogol’s iconic text. Placing the themes and ideas in an Australian context is already a strong political statement and suggests an absurd decline in the contemporary political and economic landscape. The reference to the scandalous behaviour of big supermarket giants and likening their actions to Gogol’s very sardonic and jaded vision of Russian bureaucracy is ingenious.

Twelve Angry Jurors

By Reginald Rose and Sherman L. Sergel. Pepperberry Theatre. Robert Jarman (Director). Katharine Hamley and Jake Sanger (set). Simon Rush (lighting design). The Peacock Theatre. 16 – 26 May, 2024

We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing.

Homo Pentecostus

By Joel Bray. Directed by Joel Bray and Emma Valente. Beckett Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street Southbank, Melbourne. 10-25 May 2024.

Joel Bray is a talented actor, dancer and writer who has collaborated with Peter Paltos and Emma Valente to produce a very personal and penetrative insight into his experience as a gay man in a Pentecostal church. His queer identity and religious faith are inevitably two incompatible worlds. This high spirited and humorous account of his experience of discovering just how at odds these two worlds are, is often very poignant.

Popera: Sex, Death & Politics

Little Train Creative. Motley Bauhaus, Carlton. May 10 & 11, 2024

Pop meets opera meets sex, death and politics in a game show hosted by the fabulous Diva soprano and performer Uma Dobia. Uma Dobia and  Bronny Lane (director and producer of Little Train Creative) have developed and written a unique burlesque comedy cabaret show, that will bedazzle you and enlighten your aesthetic sensibilities.

Uma Dobia is a raunchy hot she-devil pouncing around the stage in her red lurex leotard and sparkly silver boots ready to ‘get physical’ and woo her audience.

The Norman Mailer Anecdote

By Anthony Mullins. Presented by Big Scary Animal and Door 3 Queensland Theatre. Diane Cilento Studio, Queensland Theatre Company. May 3 – 18, 2024

Beneath the veneer of polished wood and designer decor lies the tumultuous world of The Norman Mailer Anecdote, a riveting production that marks the debut of Queensland Theatre's Door 3 program. Stepping into the Diane Cilento Studio, audiences are transported into the lives of an upper-middle-class Brisbane family. Directed by Julian Curtis and written by Anthony Mullins, the play delves into themes of sexual assault, family dynamics, and the consequences of alcohol-fuelled decisions.

Symphonie of the Bicycle

By Hew Parham. State Theatre Company and Brink Productions. The Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide. May 14 – 25, 2024

I have a confession, I know almost nothing about competitive cycling, except they wear Lycra and take over Adelaide once a year in the Tour Down Under, so I approached Symphonie of the Bicycle with a certain amount of trepidation!

On entering the Space Theatre, the performing area is dominated by a black monolithic structure reminiscent of the 2001 – A Space Odyssey obelisk. The lights are low and ominous, and shadows lurk at the sides of the space.

Mozart's Mass in C minor

Queensland Symphony Orchestra. St Stephens Cathedral, Brisbane. 10-11 May, 2024

A full house greeted the opening night of QSO's foray into a program of ecclesiastical music, fittingly performed in one of Brisbane's iconic and historical buildings and to celebrate the cathedral's 150th birthday.

Misery Loves Company

By Isabella Reid. Legit Theatre Company. Director: Mathew Lee. KXT on Broadway. 3 -18 May, 2024.

Image: Lib Campbell, Rachel Seeto, Lincoln Elliott, Teale Howie, Annie Stafford, Clay Crighton, Linda Nicholls-Gidley, Paul Grabovac, Mark Langham, Michael Yore. Photographer: Clare Hawley

Sweet Road

By Debra Oswald. Melville Theatre Company. Directed by Vanessa Jensen. Melville Civic Centre, Booragoon, WA. May 10-25, 2024

Melville Theatre’s first full length play in their new (or depending on your interpretation - old) home, at the Melville Civic Centre, might be taken as a good omen for a “sweet road” ahead for Melville Theatre Company. A very successful production, expertly directed, and very well performed, it augers well for a bright future.

Mr Bailey’s Minder

Written by Debra Oswald. Directed by Phil Carney. New Farm Nash Theatre, Brisbane. May 10 – June 1, 2024.

Australian writer Debra Oswald’s play is centred on Leo, a famous artist, who has been ravaged by years and years of alcohol abuse, coupled with self-loathing and indulgent misbehaviour. He desperately needs round-the-clock care and this is to be provided by Therese, who is fresh out of prison and untrained for the task. We follow the changes and effects this has on both of them while one of his daughters attempts to control the situation, while carrying a lot of anger herself at the life Leo created for her.

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