Emotion rings true as five supremely talented performers (including the music director) celebrate the extraordinary legacy of American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. The breadth of his artistry rings true in a collection of his works that number in excess of 30. I speak of material drawn from noteworthy musicals and some lesser-known works. Mentored…
Do the Irish know how to have good time and carry everyone in the vicinity along with them or what? Never truer words have been written. And so it is with a dynamic, world class, musical stage show in which Irish charm and soaring harmonies sit comfortably alongside soulful ballads. The Shamrock Tenors* consist of…
Opening night saw Melbourne embrace the power, the passion and the perfection of one of the world’s great entertainers, Michael Jackson. Driven by his hard-edged father, Joseph, Michael sought excellence – faultlessness. That is behind his approach to his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, which plays out in rehearsals, as well as in a nostalgic look…
Being a teenager … trying to make your way in the world … can be challenging and scary. So it is in 2008 for this group of seven Year 12 students at high achieving Stockport Grammar. Stockport is a town near Manchester, where playwright Simon Stephens grew up. Punk Rock was inspired by his own…
A gripping psychological thriller, Job pits a patient against a psychiatrist in a battle of wits and wills. Jane (Jessica Clarke), who is a content moderator in Big Tech, is on paid sick leave following a mental breakdown. Video recorded of the incident went viral, but now she is desperate to get back to work….
Five years in the making, Australia 3D: The Wild Continent presents a stunning showcase of this country’s flora and fauna. What we see is so striking that, I venture to suggest, anyone viewing it in Australia will be captivated by the plethora of natural wonders in our backyard. As to those who witness the documentary…
For someone who unashamedly struggles with Shakespeare (I never studied the Bard at school and find his language challenging), I was invested in Othello. I should add that my practice is never to read anything about a play before I see it. The reason – it must speak to me on its own merits. So,…
Slick and oh so cleverly acted and staged, this enticing parody of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie is riotously funny. Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of the 1915 novel by Scottish author John Buchan, brings slapstick humour to the mystery crime thriller and it works brilliantly. It is August 1935 and 47-year-old Richard Hannay (Ian Stenlake) lives…
With significant political, religious and cultural conflict in the world today, a reworking of a well-worn story about war seems particularly pertinent. The Trojan War, fought around the 12th century BCE, between the early Greeks and the people of Troy – now a part of Turkey – lasted a decade. It was, arguably, sparked when…
I can’t think of a play I have seen that I have detested more than the 40 minutes of garbled nonsense I sat through before walking out of The Anarchy (1138-53). The title refers to a civil war in England and Normandy at that time, which resulted in a widespread breakdown of law and order….
