Reviews

Rabbit Hole

By David Linsday-Abaire. Joh Hartog Productions. Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide. April 28 to May 8, 2021

‘Child loss is a loss like no other. The loss of a child is a grief that lasts forever.’ (Angela Miller – grief counselling blogger). A potent statement and the theme of Rabbit Hole, presented by Joh Hartog Productions.

Rabbit Hole by David Linsday-Abaire is a 2007 Pulitzer prize winning play (first presented in 2006) and was famously made into a film of the same name in 2010 starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.

Matador

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. April 29 – May 2, 2021

After a sell-out 2019 tour, Matador has returned to Melbourne. The lush red surrounds of Her Majesty's Theatre (with a small built-out catwalk at the front of the stage, surrounded by cafe chairs, cabaret-style) were perfect to showcase Matador's fusion of dance and circus, with overtones of burlesque, and hints of old-world movie glamour in some of the pas de deux routines. 

Escher’s Hands

By Dawson Nichols. Galleon Theatre Group, Domain Theatre, Oaklands Park. April 29 – May 8, 2021

M.C. Escher, the Dutch artist who explored concepts of alternate realities, impossible objects and infinity in his works, provided the inspiration for Dawson Nichols’ Escher’s Hands.  Named for Escher’s well-known artwork ‘Drawing Hands’, which depicts two hands drawing each other, Escher’s Hands explores ideas of control, of cause and effect and of freewill.

Don’t Make Me Play Piano Man

Performed and presented by Steven Kramer. fortyfivedownstairs theatre, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 30 April – 2 May, 2021.

Steven Kramer consolidates his position as one of the masters of cabaret with this show and displays his formidable talent. His very personal and highly comical banter in between songs punctuates the show beautifully. Kramer infuses his performances with stories and anecdotal accounts that really accentuate the emotions of the pieces he chooses. The strong personal connection to the songs makes them even more moving.

Claudel

By Wendy Beckett. Director: Wendy Beckett. Choreographer: Meryl Tankard. The Playhouse. Sydney Opera House. April 23 – May 9, 2021

Australian playwright Wendy Beckett’s tribute to twentieth century French artist Camille Claudel premiered in French, in Paris, at the Théâtre de l'Athénée Louis Jouvet in 2018 in the midst of the #MeToo movement.

Think about it! An Australian playwright dramatizing the work of a famous female French artist, but one who was terribly ill-used by the society of the time. How did the critics react, I wondered? Here are just a few snippets of what they said:

A piece all powerful in its subtlety …  (Publik Art Review)

This Genuine Moment

By Jacob Parker. La Mama & Rock Bottom Productions. Midsumma 2021. La Mama Courthouse. 28 April – 2 May 2021

Here is a ‘coming out’ drama that is far superior to so many others in its honesty, in the quality of the writing, and in the complexity of the characters.  It’s also blessed here by the subtlety of Hayden Tonazzi’s direction and the performances of Ilai Swindells and Tom Dawson.

Honour

By Joanna Murray-Smith. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Director: Kate Champion. 23 April – 5 June, 2021

The Ensemble Theatre revisits this 1995 Melbourne play under the banner of Australian Classic, and I can see why. It has played in London and New York and just about everywhere else. Author Joanna Murray-Smith has given an assured take on comfortable middle class marriage and its essential failure to deliver happiness to all concerned: wife, husband, daughter and interloper.

ANAM and Musica Viva National Tour

Musica Viva presents pianist Konstantin Shamray and the ANAM Orchestra led by Sophie Rowell with violinist Harry Ward. Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre. April 27, 2021 followed by National Tour.

The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is dedicated to training the most exceptional young musicians from Australia and NZ.

Counterpointe

The Australian Ballet. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. April 17 – May 15, 2021

Kicking off as the new artistic director of the Australian Ballet, David Hallberg follows his recent debut with New York Dialects with another artful triple bill spanning decades in classical ballet. As Counterpointe leaps from Petipa to Balanchine to William Forsythe, the echoes are compelling. 

In Duty Bound

By Ron Elisha. The Theatre on Chester, Epping, NSW. Directed by Carla Moore. April 23-May 22, 2021.

Polish refugees Fania and Simkeh escaped the evils of World War II to settle in Melbourne. They hold steadfastly to their Jewish faith – and the rituals, customs and traditions that have endured despite generations of persecution. Though safe in Australia, they will never forget Hitler’s devastating march through Europe and the massacre of so many they held dear.

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