A bare stage, save for the odd chair brought in now and again as a prop, is the domain of a troupe of eight highly talented artistes, known as Circa. They drop, climb, roll, balance, hold and run – agility and strength being their stock in trade. On by Circa is all about physicality. A large oblong mat…
Film noir in style, Cab Suave is circus and cabaret mixed with comedy under the thin pretence of a detective story. The private investigator and master of ceremonies is Dick Johnson. He is also a highly competent performer whose routines are interspersed with the other acts. He juggles, twirls and balances – and impresses – using…
The publication of what is regarded as one of America’s greatest novels is the pretense for shenanigans from two of Australia’s favourite comics in Lano and Woodley (Colin Lane and Frank Woodley). It starts with imagery of an albino whale accompanied by the silhouette of a couple of musicians – one on guitar and the other…
COVID-19 has provided plenty of rich fodder for comedians Judith Lucy and Denise Scott. They take to the stage in presumably faux fur as is befitting two “living legends”, after a video montage announcing their arrival. Post exchanging some pleasantries and put downs with a few audience members, they turn the past two years into Comedy Central….
A perennial favourite of mine, Michael Shafar is one very funny man who has no hesitation in pushing the boundaries and fortunately he is back at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with a batch of new material. He starts his 50-minute set by telling us that before the pandemic he entertained on cruise ships. Then he…
Gold Logie winner Tom Gleeson is highly entertaining and hilarious as he hosts the equivalent of an episode of his popular comedic ABC television show after a few minutes of stand up. In his opening, he pokes fun at 7.30 host Leigh Sales (his lead in to Hard Quiz on TV) and Eddie McGuire. He singles out…
Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) possesses a brilliant mind. But a rare blood disorder has left him crippled and in agonising pain. Under the watchful eyes of his consulting physician Emil Nikols (Jared Harris), Morbius befriends a new patient Milo (Matt Smith). Early on, Morbius helps save young Milo’s life when the machine he is attached…
Catholic guilt and US conservative politics are given a whack in the Australian premiere of Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning. The play was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is late at night in Wyoming. Seven years after they graduated from a small Catholic college former students have gathered at…
Dramatic, emotional, evocative. Electrifying. Triumphant. That is Hamilton, as good a musical as has appeared on stage. That’s right. Nothing yet seen can or has bettered it. The story is woven into the music, often delivered at breakneck speed and we are taken on a journey of discovery. Hip hop predominates, but everything from R&B to pop, soul and…
Slapstick humour characterises a little staged and decidedly different style of saints and sinners musical. Victorian Opera’s Happy End is set in America in 1919. The storyline sees the Salvation Army come face to face with gangsters. The hoodlums gather in Bill’s Beerhall, named after the man who strikes fear into others’ hearts. Bill Cracker (Adam Murphy) arrives…
