Take a much-loved child star known for her angelic voice, throw in some musical theatre heavy-weights and a modern opera/musical whose composer is celebrating a milestone year, and you have a revival that could very well be the hit of Opera Australia’s 2018 season. The 40th anniversary restaging of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita,…
The Wharf Revue have been proudly entertaining audiences by skewering politicians since 2000. This year’s instalment was the troupe’s first without co-founder and musical director, Phil Scott, but the show remained strong and funny. The opening night at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatre was a rollicking one with a vaudeville feel that hit some really high notes….
I called my boyfriend just after four o’clock. He was leaving his boring office to get on the boring train with the potential of taking a squiz at the boring financial review before eating a boring dinner and you get the gist. His flamboyancy was lacking, but lets not tell him that just yet. “How…
The acclaimed touring West End production of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time wrapped up its Sydney last night, before it heads off to Adelaide and Perth. Based on the celebrated book of the same name by Mark Haddon, the play tells the story of Christopher Boone (Joshua Jenkins in a masterful performance),…
The acclaimed touring West End production of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time wrapped up its Sydney last night, before it heads off to Adelaide and Perth. Based on the celebrated book of the same name by Mark Haddon, the play tells the story of Christopher Boone (Joshua Jenkins in a masterful performance),…
It takes extraordinary strength of character (both in personality and portrayal) to deliver a flawless performance while one of your leads is being rushed to hospital with a serious injury, but that is what the cast of Assassins did on opening night at the Sydney Opera House this week. A sharply designed, brilliantly performed production,…
Round and round the Brisbane Ferris Wheel goes, why tourists pay $30 to ride it nobody knows. At least, that’s what occurred to me while watching the visual piece in the background set the backdrop for TAM and Metro Arts latest production – Wheel of Fortune. Loosely based on the Austrian play La Ronde, which…
I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting walking into Hayes Theatre to see Gypsy, a musical based on the memoirs of famous burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. All I know is this wasn’t it. The performance focuses heavily on the early life of Gypsy Rose Lee, growing up in the shadow of her sister…
Despite being penned by arguably the world’s greatest playwright, the convoluted storyline of Troilus & Cressida can prove a significant challenge for even the best theatre practitioners. Secret House have tackled this problem play with their usual gusto, gaining many ticks from this reviewer, but unfortunately the source material proves a difficult sell and, as…
Narelle (Sheridan Harbridge) skirts across a converted factory floor, all brushed concrete and industrial chic, flanked by an eager estate agent (Nikki Shiels). It’s an all too common scene as Sydney’s working class havens make way for heritage apartment conversions, hip cafes and pet-owning professionals. Narelle however stalks the space with a touch of melancholy,…
It’s been over a decade since Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert made its theatrical debut. And the film itself doesn’t look a day over 24. This feel-good story about three drag queens leaving Sydney’s big smoke to go west to Alice Springs is still one fun, glittery and rollicking bus ride. The latest production brings…
The quiet suffering of grief can be as soft as gravel crunching underfoot to some and as loud as a car crash to others. No matter how it feels it is always heard. Perhaps that is the intended message of Lot Vekeman’s Poison? Catarina Hebbard, the director of this production, interestingly enough compares the characters…
Padraic’s long been away from his home of Inishmore, fighting with the Irish National Liberation Army. Too mad even for the IRA, he’s built an epic thirst for murder and torture, picking small-time pot dealers and bombing chip shops in his spare time. His father Donny calls to inform him his beloved cat is ill,…
After Jane spectacularly quits her awful job, she and housemate Kel decide it’s time to rent out the sunroom. Roy seems to be the perfect candidate. He’s quiet and he cooks and he’s not looking to impose on the girls’ karaoke nights any time soon. But Kel isn’t so sure and she’s ready to put…
America has an interesting and contentious relationship with soccer. Where the world game has been at the centre of global sports (and often politics) for centuries, Americans sidelined the sport during the depression years, only to resurrect it in the 1960s as a high school game. With many young boys choosing American football (the nation’s…
What do you get when you combine a much-maligned American religion, Disney-movie songs and the writers of a politically incorrect adult cartoon? A ridiculously so-wrong-it’s-right musical called The Book of Mormon. As close to Broadway as you’re likely to see on the Australian stage, this show is an all-singing, all-dancing, joke-filled tribute to American musical theatre….
When news first broke of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical making its way to Australia, the buzz was high. But who would play the coveted role of Carole King? In what has to be one of the best casting triumphs in Australian musical theatre history, Esther Hannaford was the prized winner. It’s safe to say…
The Chinese restaurant is a bastion of our urban culture. Birthdays in the suburbs spent with red lanterns, lazy susans and honey chicken dot our collective memory. While contemporary Australia’s lust for foodie culture and an ever refining palette may have moved away from the Red/Golden Phoenix/Centuries in the 00s, they still form culinary centres…
In Muriel’s Wedding, Muriel wishes that her life was as good as an ABBA song. Presumably, that life looks a lot like Mamma Mia – a glittering Greek Island paradise where beautiful young men and women burst into song and dance at the drop of a hat, fall in love, have a wedding and live…
From the very first riff at the beginning of the title track, American Idiot sounded different. Even in 2004 – when baggy jeans were still cool and I was still using a CD Walkman (because iPods were too expensive) – I knew this was going to be huge. Not being old enough to have experienced…
Seeing is believing. Especially when you are watching a theatre show like, The Unbelievables. This variety show comes from the producers of The Illusionists and Circus 1903 and promises to be the “greatest” one on earth. The finished product is a grand assortment of different treats and tricks, with performers from multiple disciplines and presentations…
Love, Actually is one of those Christmas films that had a significant impact on me the first time I saw it. I’ve since seen it more than once, and each time it has elicited a similar set of emotions within me that have confounded many. I absolutely detested the film and felt it was a…
The Depot Theatre and Secret House have once again worked their magic on a classic, this time bringing Anton Chekov’s The Seagull into the modern era. Stripped back to its heart, this is a compelling tale of the frailty of the mind. Cleverly adapted, beautifully designed and expertly cast, there is nothing to fear from…
A question commonly asked in arts circles is where all the new Australian musicals are. Surely, they do exist, but grand-scale, blockbuster song-and-dance shows isn’t something we’re generally known for. Hot Shoe Shuffle – arguably Australia’s first hit musical – premiered only 24 years ago, and since then only Pricilla and Strictly Ballroom have made…
With a title like Violent Extremism and Other Adult Party Games you can’t help but expect a few controversial laughs. But this new play by Sydney-based writer Richie Black is a cut above and a genuinely funny piece of work. Supported by a very good cast and strong production values, this is yet another triumph…
What is Christmas like with your family? I can guarantee it’s not nearly as dysfunctional as the one depicted in Mary Rachel Brown’s new play, Silent Night. Chock-full of jokes and characters that have to be seen to be believed, this is a play that makes the final rush to the supermarket on Christmas Eve…
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…
