Reviews

The Addams Family

By Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa. Zealous Productions. Directed by Michael McCall. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco, WA. Jul 15-18, 2021

Zealous Productions, a new professional company, have burst onto the Perth theatre scene with this very impressive, very slick production of The Addams Family. Very slick, very polished, with outstanding production values, this is a company with some amazing ideas, who are delivering on their promise of quality theatre.

Emil and the Detectives

By Erich Kästner. Adapted for the stage by Nicki Bloom. Slingsby Theatre Company. Director: Andy Packer. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. Jul 14 – 18, 2021

Emil and the Detectives is about a group of kids who band together to help a boy recover his stolen goods and get justice. It’s the first and quintessential story of the genre, later personified by Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five. Based on Erich Kästner’s novella, Emil und die Detektive, first published in 1929, it has never been out-of-print. And Slingsby’s production, directed by Andy Packer, and adapted by Nicki Bloom, looks like setting its own record having toured Australia, USA, India, China and the UK.

Wind in the Willows

Adapted by Todd Espeland from Kenneth Grahame’s book. Directed by Christine Ellis. Roxy Lane Theatre, Ninth Ave, Maylands, WA. July 9-18, 2021

This adaptation of the much loved children’s book was targeted at family audiences, with multiple matinee performances. After losing performances to the last Perth Lockdown, this sweet little show has played to near capacity audiences - a lovely initiative from Roxy Lane Theatre, the company formerly known as Arena Arts.

The Marriage of Figaro

By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Libretto: Lorenzo Da Ponte. Based on La folle journee, ou le marriage de Figaro by Piarre Beaumarchais. Opera Queensland with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dane Lam. Director: Patrick Nolan. Choreographer: Elise May. Playhouse, QPAC. July 15 – 31, 2021

Opera Queensland this year celebrates its 40th Anniversary, and what better way to celebrate it than a sparkling new production of an opera that is considered a cornerstone of the repertoire, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The story of the servants Figaro and Susanna and their efforts to get married and foil the efforts of their philandering employer, Count Almavira to seduce Susanna, is the classic infidelity plot enjoyed throughout the years in everything from Upstairs Downstairs to Downton Abbey.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr.

By Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Jeremy Sams. Bel Canto Productions. Directed by Blake Jenkins. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth, WA. Jul 9-17, 2021

Bel Canto Productions’ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. is a top-notch little youth production with great heart, excellent production values and some gorgeous performances. Featuring a strong directorial debut from Blake Jenkins, this show is delighting its capacity crowds, and with its great cast of kids and teens is a wonderful glimpse at the future of musical theatre in WA.

True West

By Sam Shepard. Presented by Robbie Greenwell and Marko Siklich. Bakehouse Theatre. 14-17 July, 2021

True West is not a piece of theatre to be taken lightly. It is confronting, powerful, and at times very uncomfortable to watch. The audience rides a bronco throughout this play - it bucks and jolts and throws us to the ground on many occasions. Unlike a bronco ride, however, which is jarring and fairly mindless, True West is confrontational and thought-provoking.

The Tap Pack

Devised by The Tap Pack. Directed Nigel Turner-Carroll. HOTA Gold Coast and touring during July 2021.

When I fist reviewed The Tap Pack it was back in 2014 and it was only the pack’s second gig. I found them super talented, full of energy and commitment, enthusiastic but still looking for that element which would enable them to put their stamp on a genre that had all but died out.

Seven years later, they have found it, without losing the magic that made them fresh and innovative in the beginning. They know exactly who they are and are now free to pursue excellence. With talent in spades, that’s not a hard journey.

Twisted, The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier

StarKid Productions. Directed by Brittany Isaia. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount, WA. Jul 7-24, 2021

Twisted is an unconventional look at the Aladdin story, playing at Darlington Theatre Players’ Marloo Theatre. High satire, with ripe language and some adult concepts, this is not for all audiences, but this strong directorial debut from Brittany Isaia is well performed, with excellent production values and is clearly impressing its capacity audiences.

Collision

By Casus Circus. Presented by Metro Arts. Directed by Natano Fa’anana. Choreography by Ché Pritchard. New Benner Theatre at Metro Arts, Brisbane. Wed 14 – Sun 18 July, 2021

Something magical occurs when performers put their all into a show. Everyone in the room feels it as a form of energy exchange. In Collision Casus Circus and Mad Dance House have combined their skills to bring you that magical energy in bucketloads. They’re astounding audiences at the New Benner Theatre at Brisbane’s Metro Arts’ shiny new West End location until July 18th.

When the Rain Stops Falling

By Andrew Bovell. Iron Lung Theatre. Theatre Works, St Kilda. 12-31 July 2021

Andrew Bovell’s 2008 play weaves together past, present and future, embodying his twin themes of the familial sins of the fathers and the ecological sins of all of us upon this our Earth.  If the latter sounds portentous, it is a subtle, allusive presence in the family saga.  Each is almost an allegory for the other.  The story, beginning in 2039, and travelling backward to 1959 and points in between, across three generations, echoing the Old Testament, in which the Lord our God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth

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