Two loners connect over literature. One is a 53-year-old Yale professor of creative writing. The other is a freshman who is engaged by her lectures. They bond over Dostoevsky. Bella Baird is a single woman without children. Her father passed away from a heart attack at age 62 and her mum died a horrible death from stomach cancer when…
Hercule Poirot step aside; for Chief Inspector Jules Maigret is on the case. In director Patrice Leconte’s Maigret, Gerard Depardieu takes on the title role as an ageing, unwell cop trying to track down a murderer. It’s Paris, 1953 and a young woman has been found dead. The victim, Louise Louviere (Clara Antoons), is no…
Manipulative youngsters behaving badly. Well, two in particular. That is what Cruel Intentions The 90’s Musical is all about. It is based on the 1999 movie of the same name, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Philippe and Reece Witherspoon. It began its journey in 2015 as an unauthorised work, brought together by Jordon Ross and Lindsay Rosin….
So, you think you know the Cinderella story – the one about the poor “servant” to the evil stepmother and her taunting stepsisters? Well, think again, for the creatives behind the musical have shaken things up, even if the essence of the tale remains unchanged. “Yes”, Cinderella still gets to go to the ball and catch the…
The story and staging remain just as utterly absorbing and intoxicating in the new, one part Harry Potter and The Cursed Child as when it was divided into two. All the key “magic” components – and I assure you they are extraordinary – have been retained. The stage show moves along at a cracking pace as Harry’s…
Sensory deprivation, in particular that of sight, results in acuity of sound in the four-part immersive experience that is Darkfield. The venue is four purpose-fitted white shipping containers at 138 Little Bourke Street – a vacant lot transformed – each with the name of the show on the outside. I speak of Séance and Flight, both of…
The treatment of indigenous Australians and their remains is in the spotlight in The Return. Inspired by Yorta Yorta man Jason Tamiru’s experiences as a repatriation worker, Torres Strait Islander playwright John Harvey recounts the dark history of Australia. It concerns grave robbers and “exotic” trophies of antiquity, being the bones of men, women and children. They…
If anything will put you off working at a fast-food outlet, look no further than Red Stitch’s latest production. A world premiere, Fast Food is a comedy concerning a manager, assistant manager and three staff at a burger joint. Think McDonald’s or Hungry Jack’s. For the manager, Troy (Kevin Hofbauer), a vegetarian, it is all about…
Driftwood: The Musical is a heart-wrenching and inspiring piece of musical theatre, reflecting a dark period of history that changed and destroyed the lives of millions. The starting point for creator Tania de Jong AM was her mother Eva de Jong-Duldig’s 2017 memoir “Driftwood – escape and survival through art”. The musical focuses on the true…
Revered children’s author Roald Dahl and Academy Award winning actress Patricia Neal had a tumultuous marriage. And director John Hay puts it under the microscope in To Olivia. Dahl (Hugh Bonneville) and Neal (Keeley Hawes) brought up a family in Buckinghamshire. The highly imaginative Dahl revelled in vocalising off-the-wall stories to his children. That was…
