Reviews

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

By Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield. Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 15 May to 8 June 2025

The Complete Works is the brainchild of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, an American touring company that took up near-permanent residency at London’s West End for nearly 10 years from 1996. And if ‘Anarchy in the UK’ is your comedy genre of choice, you will enjoy watching as three talented actors whiz through all of Shakespeare’s 37 plays in just under 2 hours.

Stephen Hough Performs Brahms

Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. May 16 -18, 2025

As a teenager with Adonis good looks, Johannes Brahms helped support his family by playing dance music in the dockside brothels of Hamburg.  He premiered his own Piano Concerto No.1 at the age of 26, still uncertain about his skill at orchestration.

No Dinner for Sinners

Written by Edward Taylor. Directed by William McGreery-Rye. Presented by Centenary Theatre Group. Chelmer Community Centre. May 10 – June 1, 2025

Centenary Theatre Group served up a classic English farce with Edward Taylor’s No Dinner for Sinners, and the result was a satisfying comedic romp that delighted its audience with mistaken identities, escalating lies, and escalating absurdity. Under the meticulous direction of William McGreery-Rye, this production embraced the chaos of the script while maintaining enough structure to keep the story coherent and the laughs coming.

Humans 2.0

Creators: Yaron Lifschitz and Circa Ensemble. Presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and C!rca. Music: Ori Lifschitz. Lighting: Paul Jackson. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. 14- 24 May 2025

Lead image - Photographer: Lesley Martin

This company’s performance raises the bar of acceptable performance to dizzying heights. The dramatic opening gave the hint that this show is special. The ten performers use their bodies to create bustling artistic forms backed up with simple staging and costumes, and music and lighting so integrated into the movement that it became a scaffold for the daring physical feats.

Ordinary Days

Music and Lyrics by Adam Gwon. CODA, Company of Dramatic Arts. Directed by Kris Sergi. Studio One, Esme Timbery Creative Practice Lab, UNSW, Sydney. 15 - 24 May 2025

The University of NSW faculty is spread over a very, very wide area and there are no signs to Studio One. Where is it? Passing huge swimming and body-building facilities, shops and eateries, I eventually stumble on the Esme Timbery Creative Practice Lab and am directed down long steps to Studio One in the basement, and a first mention of Ordinary Days. There are no electronic programs working here because, as one student remarks: ‘we’re under a huge pile of bricks’.

Les Misérables – The Arena Spectacular

Presented by Cameron Mackintosh. Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text: Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Additional material: James Fenton. Directors: James Powell and Jean-Pierre Van Der Spuy. Musical Director: Adrian Kirk. Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne. May 14 – 25, 2025.

As a teen, I loved collecting cast albums of new musicals. I first encountered the Les Misérables original London cast album at Brash’s music store when I was 15. Listening on the headphones the sweeping, cinematic score and stirring and unapologetic lyrics astonished me. Returning home I regretted not buying the album. However, many of the melodies lingered in my mind causing a very sleepless night. I had to hear these incredible songs again! The next day I returned eagerly to the store to buy the ‘double cassette’.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Book by Jeffrey Lane. Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek. Based on the film by Pedro Almodóvar. Pinwheel Productions. Directed by Alex Berlage. Musical Director Dylan Pollard. Choreography Chiara Assetta. Set Designer Halley Hunt. Hayes Theatre. Opening Night. May 14, 2025. Plays until June 8.

This production is so much fun that it’s dangerous. From the hilarious Spanish accents to the outrageous flamboyance, fabulous costumes and brilliant performances, it rarely slows down to catch its breath.  

It starts from the premise of it being impossible to stage in the small box that is the Hayes Theatre, then remarkably pulls it off without a single major prop being moved.

Happy Days

By Samuel Beckett. Sydney Theatre Company. Wharf 1 Theatre. May 5 – June 15.

In a play where nothing happens, except for one static actor entombed in rock talking about nothing for 100 minutes, it’s surprising that Samuel Beckett’s absurdist classic is so often staged.  Pamela Rabe shows us why in this compelling and intriguing STC production.

When the Rain Stops Falling

By Andrew Bovell. Mockingbird Theatre Company. Director: Chris Baldock. Belconnen Arts Centre, ACT. May 8 – 17, 2025

To successfully stage this intriguingly-plotted play is definitely an achievement. Kudos to Mockingbird Theatre and its talented members who have brought this production to life. It is imaginatively staged in the round, where every audience member can see and hear clearly.

At Sea Staring Up

By Finegan Kruckemeyer. Directed by Helen Tronos. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA. May 6-10, 2025

This Australian play, “sort of” set in a laundromat, tells five seemingly disparate stories, some fantastical, others apparently realistic, which gradually merge into a single tale. Cleverly performed by Hayman Theatre Company, this was a top-quality production that is one of Hayman’s best.