Reviews

With his powerfully emotional performance piece ECHO, writer Nassim Soleimanpour presents something of a quandary to the reviewer. There is no program, no explanatory notes, plot precis or tagline. One new actor is chosen every night to perform only once. He or she has been kept deliberately away from discovering anything about the show. This secrecy is important because it means that there is as little as possible artifice in the reactions of both the actor and the viewers. But it does leave the question of how much to say here in this review without ruining the effect.

If laughter is a form of protest, Accidental Death of an Anarchist is a full-blown revolution. In PIP Theatre’s locally adapted production of Dario Fo’s classic farce, the audience is invited to witness the unravelling of police corruption not through stern drama, but through manic energy, biting humour, and joyful absurdity. This is political theatre with a punk soul and a distinctly ‘Queensland’ flavour.

Three River Theatre’s spontaneous decision a few months ago to stage a mini one act play fest was very much a Plan B situation, but once the theme was decided upon (that being Death) it was very much full steam ahead bundling this eclectic collection of plays together in record time. While there was a theme, the content, style and structure of the plays maintained very clear separateness. 

Re-envisioning Shakespeare for a youthful audience is hardly new. There’s 10 Things I Hate About You, a teen riff on The Taming of the Shrew; The Lion King, a Hamlet refresh; and Roman Polanski’s Macbeth, welcomed by newbies to the Bard’s early 17th Century prose. This production, aimed at 21st-Century offspring, is a bold interpretation.