Theatre

The GFC hit 10 years ago, yet it’s wave still lingers on. In a post GFC world, wages are stagnant, jobs are threatened, house prices skyrocket and global warming’s dark cloud hangs in concert. 10 years on, we’re still asking questions; how did this happen? Can it happen again? And, if so, who’s best equipped…

To some people, “Atlantis” is a utopian city lost underneath a wall of water. For Lally Katz it’s a semi-autobiographical play about her mid-30s trip home to America as a newly-single girl. The results are like Bridget Jones played by Kathy Lette. With a panther thrown into the mix. Because you can. Katz is no…

Bell Shakespeare Company’s latest production of The Merchant of Venice has a few high points. But overall Director Anne-Louise Sarks has played it pretty safe and as a result there’s nothing about this show that really stands out. Listed among Shakespeare’s comedies, The Merchant of Venice contains some of Shakespeare’s most well-known characters. First, there’s…

In an average restaurant, somewhere in America, a guy and girl meet. What follows is a familiar story, told in a not so average way; a lifetime condensed into just over an hour. The Depot Theatre’s latest production, The Big Meal, is an epic tale shrunk to fit a tiny stage. It is big on…

Miracle City is not your typical musical. The show’s director even dubbed it an anti-musical. It’s what you get when the shiny veneer of a Christian family of televangelists implode, live on air. The results are something that are ironic, funny and tragic in almost equal measure. This show first premiered at Sydney Theatre in…

If you enjoyed Jersey Boys then you’re sure to love the latest jukebox musical to hit Aussie shores: Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Starring the sublime Esther Hannaford and featuring an incredible collection of hits, Beautiful is slickly produced and expertly performed. It’s a guaranteed good night out for all. Billed as a musical…

Sondheim, as always, has to make things difficult. If it’s not in his chords then it’s the subject matter of his musicals. However Assassins, one of the more rarely performed of the Sondheim repertoire, finds itself locked and loaded in good hands with Dean Bryant at this latest production at the Hayes. Superb casting all…

Over thirty years old, Diving for Pearls still has resonance for today’s audience. It paints a bleak picture of the future of manufacturing in Australia, which has been on a steady decline since the 1980s and 90s, when this play was written. It is a very Australian story, and the images the text and set…

Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been interpreted many times over the years on stage and screen. This time, Queensland based Shake and Stir Theatre Company have breathed new life into the ageless classic. A single lit window on a darkened stage is the only clue to what is to come. There are shocks a plenty –…

Be they flocking or fleeing, birds are always a sign of impending danger. Hell, if you grew up in Brisbane, the clicking sound of a magpie’s beak and the beat of black wings are a certain sign of danger. The Bluebird Mechanicals is no less than this. A neat artist’s palate of danger organised, devised…

Plunge is innovative theatre at its best. What an extraordinary experience to be able to be a part of a production where you follow the actors across various locations of The Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, soon to be centre pieced for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The audience are provided with headphones where a mixture of…

Khon is a genre of dance drama from Thailand that combines several forms – dance, music, painting and crafts. Traditionally performed exclusively at the court and for royal functions, the masked dance is created for the Devine King with scenes from the Ramakien. On this night at the Sydney Opera House, KHON: Exquisite Masked Dance…

In 2016, My Fair Lady celebrated its Diamond Jubilee with a series of stunning shows around Australia, including a run at the Sydney Opera House. An encore season at the Capitol Theatre with most of the same principal cast and crew returns in 2017 and it still dazzles like a rare diamond. It is a reminder…

Modern Jesus is an intriguing new play that reminds us that you only need a tiny spark to start a raging inferno. It is thought-provoking look at what it means to be 20-something in Australia today, although the themes would resonate with audiences anywhere in the West. But a couple of things hold it back…

Dementia is a truly terrifying condition, one that attacks the very sense of self. It affects not only the sufferer but also those closest to them in the most distressing of ways. In Sydney Theatre Company’s production of The Father this distress is both portrayed and felt keenly, even when the play itself deliberately makes…

From little things big things grow. Paul Kelly could have sung this about Australia’s very own, Dame Nellie Melba. This famous soprano grew up with rather modest beginnings before she forged her own fabulous career. She eventually took the world by storm and become a renowned opera diva. The Hayes Theatre are playing host to…

Jonathan Harker has been sent to deepest, darkest Transylvania, to do business with the mysterious Count Dracula, who wishes to move to England. But the Count has goals far more sinister than merely purchasing property in Victorian London. Trapping Jonathan in his castle, he reveals himself to be a vampire, plotting to make England his…

The characters in Terence Rattigan’s After the Dance spend a lot of the play complaining about people they consider boring. But sadly for the New Theatre, the biggest bore in this production is the play itself. Despite some commendable performances by key members of the cast, this play just doesn’t seem to have anything to…

The world is ending. On the eve of the apocalypse, seven actors come together to stage Shakespeare’s Hamlet, that infamous tale of crippling indecision, madness real and feigned, and murder most foul. Over the course of the production, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur, as the cast try to come to terms…

As you enter the Beckett Theatre, ‘Rebel Yell’ by Billy Idol is blasting through the speakers and various Google searches are being projected onto the big screen at the back of the stage. Ever wondered how much a horse costs, or how much a blow job costs, or if you can take a dead squirrel…

Prior to the commencement of the Second World War, Britain took in over 10,000 Jewish refugee children from Europe. This was known as Kindertransport, with the majority of the children never seeing their families again. Diane Samuels play, Kindertransport, follows the story of Eva who is sent from Hamburg to England in 1938 when she…

We all know the story about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the undeniable suffering he endured in his last hours. Well, this musical – Jesus Christ Superstar – chronicles the days leading up to Jesus’ last, and does so through song and dance. With Andrew Lloyd Webber as the almighty creator of this work, it’s understandable…

Hello, Goodbye & Happy Birthday explores the fears and hopes of those looking for direction at the start of their lives and those searching for peace at the end. The cast is made up of three young performers (Aileen Huynh, Izabella Yena and Matthew Connell) and three older performers (Jim Daly, Roger Oakley and Evelyn…

The Space Theatre stage setting is sparse; a central console and an outer ring of lights are the only props. The three performers, Black, White and Grey enter the stage to the sound of pulsing music and start to circle around the space, slowly at first then picking up the pace. The effect is one…

Have you ever said to yourself, “this weekend I want an uber-cheesy, sparkly glittery, overly accented, pyrotechnic spectacular?” Well then maybe The Bodyguard – which just kicked off its four week run in Brisbane – is for you. Whether or not you’ve seen the movie is not in the criteria to enjoy this show. It’s…

Language warning: if the title makes you uneasy you probably won’t enjoy this show. It slaps you across the face with vulgarity, ugliness and brutality. But if you love innovative, challenging theatre, you must see SHIT at the Seymour Centre this July. SHIT is not so much a narrative as it is a profile of…

In a theatre hidden in the back of a pub in the depths of Wolloomooloo gather a motley cast of characters who look to have stepped straight onto the stage from the street outside. Throw in a hefty dose of humour, a smattering of nostalgia and a generous amount of alcohol and you have This…

After the death of their Mother, two estranged half-sisters enter into a heated debate over which one of them owns a coveted stamp collection. Jackie (Kitty Hopwood) is the younger of the two and she sees the sale of the stamp collection as her ticket to a better life. Standing in her way is Mary…

If you feel like your current workout regime is just not doing it for you anymore, and you need a little something extra, a little bit of inspiration to get that summer body back on track, might I suggest a night out at the theatre. Noises Off is quite literally the funniest show you will ever see,…

In a bleak midwinter comes forth STC’s Cloud Nine– surprising, hilarious, shocking and magnificent. The staging bespokes a Kip Williams production in its minimal design, allowing focus to solely rest upon its carefully selected cast. A layer of dirt covers the ground, upon it a glass box to which the actors retire occasionally to be…