Reviews

Especially on Birthdays

The PaperBoats. The Space. Adelaide Festival Centre. April 27th, 2019

Children are arguably a much tougher audience than adults, but the joy in The Space at The Festival Centre was palpable for every minute of the 45 minute performance of Especially on Birthdays.

As the story of twins approaching their life-changing 6th birthday literally unfolds, it touches and provokes, entertains and creates wonder.

Slaughterhouse Five

By Kurt Vonnegut. Adapted by Fleur Kilpatrick. Theatre Works and MUST. April 24 – May 5, 2019.

Slaughterhouse Five is based on the satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1969 (during the Vietnam War). The complex piece of literary meta–fiction, that stands the test of time due to its anti-war sentiment, has incited this adaptation by local writer/director Fleur Kilpatrick in collaboration with the Monash University Student Theatre association and Theatreworks, creating a thought provoking piece of theatre.

Victor Victoria

Book by Blake Edwards. Music by Henry Mancini. Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Directed by Julie Smith. Beenleigh Theatre Group (Qld). Crete Street Theatre. 26 April – 11 May, 2019

Blake Edwards’ gender bending musical comedy has stood the test of time rather well. The 1982 film with which you’re most likely familiar was a remake of a 1933 German movie (Viktor und Viktoria), while the Broadway musical adaptation hit the stage in 1995. Decades later, the jokes still land, and the Academy Award winning Mancini score still gets the toes tapping.

High School Musical Jnr

Book by David Simpatico. Adelaide Youth Theatre. Star Theatres. April 26-28, 2019

It is a good sign when you do not want a performance to end. I experienced this feeling at Adelaide Youth Theatre’s production of High School Musical Jnr on Friday night. A talented bunch of performers were split into two casts and I was fortunate enough to witness the talents of the red cast.

From the opening number there was an explosion of vibrant energy. Director Thomas Phillips has found his niche if this show is anything to go by. Phillips and assistant director Matthew Monti’s direction was flawless.

Pygmalion

By George Bernard Shaw. New Theatre, Newtown, NSW. April 23 – May 25, 2019

Deborah Mullhall’s decision to use a Steampunk theme for this production works surprisingly well. The1980s fashion genre that mixed Edwardian costumes with the cogs and goggles that symbolised the industrial revolution, pushes Bernard Shaw’s characters into a more contemporary age – and highlights the fact that the themes he wrote about in 1912 haven’t changed greatly. The world is still classist and judgemental. There is still inequality. Chauvinism still abounds.

Cluedo! The Interactive Game.

Written by Xanthe Jones. Game designed by Ben Lynsky. Directed by Xanthe Jones and Ben Lynsky. Music directed by Jye Burton. Presented by Brisbane Immersive Ensemble. Baedeker Wine Bar, 17 April – 25 May, 2019

Brisbane Immersive Ensemble present an evening that’s more of an experience than a show. Forget sitting passively in the audience as a voyeur. This production invites everyone to dress up in 1930s costumes and become immersed in the narrative.

Bach and Mozart: In the Imagination of Their Hearts

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall. Easter Saturday 20th April, 2019

So much rehearsal by so many singers and musicians for a once only performance! But what a performance! And what a huge and appreciative audience! The Concert Hall was full; the atmosphere of anticipation was infectious. And no one was disappointed.

The Chamber Singers and the Symphony Chorus were joined by Capella St. Crucis, Hannover and the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra to present:

Antony Pitts’ XLX Mente cordis Sui,

J.S. Bach’s Magnificat in D major and

W.A. Mozart’s Mass in C minor.

Les Misérables

Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text byAlain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Director: Rod Herbert, Musical Director: Anthony Cutrupi, Choreographer: Sarah Friedrich. Manly Musical Society. Glen Street Theatre. April 19 – 27, 2019.

A brilliant production!

10 years ago Les Mis was given a re-tread, with the theatrical equivalent of botox, facelift, and tummy tuck. Twenty minutes were cut from the original run time, pictures added to the backdrop, more sets, more props, fancier effects, less barricade, more moving around on stage by everybody. This souped-up version was designed to appeal to a generation brought up on Marvel movies and the Fast & Furious franchise. This was the version that played in the Australian pro-revival from 2015 – 2017.

Alice In Slasherland

By Oui Nguyen. Last One Standing Theatre Company. Red Line Productions. Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo. April 18 - May 11, 2019

Judging by American writer Oui Nguyen, millennial audiences go for teen college shlock  mixed with slasher horror movies, zombies and other demons from the netherworld.  It certainly makes for graphic comic book theatre. And presumably it’s a spoof.

In the Solitude of Cotton Fields

By Bernard-Marie Koltès, translated from the French by Lenora Champagne. La Mama Courthouse, Carlton VIC. 17-28 April 2019

A man, known only in the text as the ‘Client’ (Rob Meldrum) goes for a walk…  No, he asserts he is walking with a purpose, to a destination, from one place to another, without interest in what lies between.  Or, his protestations to the contrary, does his walk have perhaps an entirely different but unadmitted purpose?  Somewhere in a city’s dusk, in a lonely place, he encounters the ‘Dealer ‘(Tom Dent), who offers to supply whatever it is the Client wants…  The Client claims the Dealer has nothing that he could want or need.&nb

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