Reviews

40+ Fabulous

Written and directed by Emma Krause. Fringe World. Ivy and Jack, Hay St, Perth WA. 19 Jan - 17 Feb, 2024

40+ Fabulous is a solo comedy show presented by Emma Krause. Possibly best known as Sue Finley from the AusLotto ad series (which also star her dog Molly), the schoolteacher and Mum was also a finalist on Australia’s Got Talent. Playing at a variety of venues throughout Perth during FringeWorld, the Monday night performance that I saw was completely sold out.

Filter Fun Park

By Amy Fortnum with music by Ashlee Clapp. Bright Side Productions / Fringe World. Directed by Any Fortnum. Amphitheatre, Yagan Square Perth, WA. Jan 21-27, 2024

Filter Fun Park is a fun, educational musical for kids that teaches the importance of healthy eating and making good, balanced food choices. Performed by Bright Side Productions from a commission by Filter Your Future, this allegorical tale is performed out of doors, allowing families to bring a picnic and relax.

Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence

By Courtney McManus, Bec Price and Ana Ferreira Manhoso. Crash Theatre. FringeWorld. Directed by Bec Price. Fantasia at Perth Town Hall, WA. Jan 19-28, 2024

Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence may well be the best piece of theatre about girls in sport since Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves. Based on the Scottish play, the machinations, quest for power and underhand dealings now take place within a Year Eleven netball team. Clever writing and some outstanding musical theatre performances make this an excellent FringeWorld choice.

Yé-yé Yeah!

Written and Directed by Sylvia Cornes. FringeWorld. The Ellington Jazz Club, Northbridge, WA Jan 20-24, 2024

Yé-yé Yeah!  is a cabaret tribute to the Yé-Yé movement that peaked in France during the 1960s. Written and lead by Sylvia Cornes, it is a “kind of” sequel to her previous show Francois and Friends, but this production features even more performers and a broader look at the musical style.

Taste of Your Own Medicine

Written and directed by Dr Ahmed Kazmi. FringeWorld. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA. Jan 19-28, 2024

Some years ago, at FringeWorld, an obviously nervous local GP made a stand-up comedy debut in the back room of The Moon Cafe. Since then, Dr Ahmed Kazmi has gone from strength to strength, playing increasingly larger venues with highly successful and award-winning cabaret style shows including Cabaret Consultations and Dr Ahmed Gets Hitched (an absolutely gorgeous show which plays again in this FringeWorld season).

Millicent Sarre is Opinionated

Written and directed by Millicent Sarre. FringeWorld. The Recabites, Perth, WA. Jan 19-28, 2023

Millicent Sarre is Opinionated is a cabaret show that smashes the patriarchy with some very cute boots. Performed by Millicent Sarre - cabaret artist, singer-songwriter, vocal coach, musical theatre performer, law graduate and "professional feminist”, Millicent is perhaps best known in Perth for the podcast Feminism Ruins Everything. 

Trail to Oregon

By Star Kids. Book - Jeff Blim, Nick Lang, Matt Lang. Music - Jeff Blim. A Big Job Production. The Hidden Theatre, Hobart. Bailey Finch and Inigo Wadsley (Directors). Adam Bowden (Musical Director). 17-21 January 2024

Big Job Productions is associated with the Isabella Rose Stage company. Principal, Isabella Briffa, is a young woman of vision and passion who has moved into the largely dormant void of Amateur Musical Theatre which is Hobart. Mostly working with young people, this is the first adult production she has brought to the Tasmanian public.

DivaLicious High Cs on the High Seas!

Written and directed by DivaLicious. FringeWorld. Lotterywest De Parel Spiegeltent at the Pleasure Garden, Northbridge WA. Jan 19-21, 2024

Perth’s most preferred pair of sopranos, DivaLicious, perform at De Parel Spiegeltent at FringeWorld for a very short season, before they jet off to the Pacific to play on the Princess Grand cruise ship. The impending gig gives rise to a nautical (and occasionally naughty) theme of the show, which works just as well on dry land as it will on the high seas.

This is our Youth

By Kenneth Lonergan. Golding and Tooker. The Studio, Theatre Royal, Hobart. Penny MacDonald (Director). Nathan Golding (set supervisor). Ursula Holliday (creative director). 17-24 January 2024

It’s difficult to be a young person in America living under a Republican President. The usual repositories of trust - parents, authorities and institutions - are corrupt. There is no hope for the future beyond mindless hedonism and no choice other than to live at home. Such is the situation for Warren, Dennis and Jessica – privileged, upper West Side Jewish kids in the 1980s. It is odd to contemplate that the trio of Warren, Dennis and Jessica may well be the parents of today’s current crop of Twenty-somethings.

9 to 5 The Musical

Music by Dolly Parton, Lyrics & Book by Patricia Resnick. Townsville Choral Society. Directed by Sandra Neal. Musical Direction Rianta Belford. Vocal Director Claire Davies. Choreography by Melissa Land. Townsville Civic Theatre. 18 - 27 January 2024.

I HAVE always had problems with a musical I call a “one-song musical”, and that was the preconception I went in with for the opening night of 9 to 5 The Musical. But I am delighted (and relieved) to say that that preconception was pretty soon debunked.