What a delightful, joyous and life affirming hoot Miss Peony is. It concerns the fractious relationship between Chinese grandmother Adeline (Gabrielle Chan) and her 26-year-old granddaughter, Lily (Stephanie Jack). In her heyday, Adeline won umpteen beauty contests in her native Hong Kong and is still feted for her achievements all these years later. Lily is an all but…
In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra was the twin sister of the woman said to be the most beautiful in the world, Helen of Troy. Their mother was Leda. Cygnets is a new take on sibling rivalry – the pain, the pleasure, the subterfuge. It shows the two girls had different experiences with their mother. It reveals jealousy and cruelty. An…
The girls are out for a night on the tiles at a club, but not all is going according to plan. In fact, there is no shortage of sad and mad faces amidst the snorting and vomiting in the ladies’ toilets, where the action takes place. The four filthy cubicles are full. Tiff (Amelia Nemet) is inconsolable after…
Several years ago, I was fortunate to see Cirque du Soleil’s “O” at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, with performers excelling on, in and above a gigantic swimming pool. If they can create wonders in water (which they do), surely it is only a small step to freeze that life source and turn it into ice. I…
An unexpected power play between an about to be anointed Prime Minister and a make-up artist readying her to take office is at the heart of Monument. Edith Aldridge (Sarah Sutherland) has been elected in a landslide to lead the nation. As the country’s youngest ever female PM, she is about assume the highest office in the…
The atmosphere of the era is set the moment one enters The Chapel at Chapel Off Chapel, which has been transformed into a den of iniquity. The band is playing and the mood is raucous and raunchy, with gamblers, showgirls and puritans mixing freely with the audience. Particular attention is paid to those seated at the two…
Now in her mid 80s, Caryl Churchill is regarded as one of the world’s greatest living playwrights. Her work is innovative … enigmatic, challenging and provocative, inevitably open to interpretation. Escaped Alone and What If If Only is the world-first pairing of two separate short plays by the acclaimed Brit. The former, which runs for 45 minutes,…
Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter is an atmospheric horror movie based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s 1897 classic novel Dracula. It concerns the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, chartered to carry private cargo – 50 unmarked wooden crates – from Carpathia to London. Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) has already decided this will…
Twenty-five years ago Kazunori Yamauchi created the world’s most accurate car racing simulation game: Gran Turismo. He and his team had spent five years perfecting it. Video gamers quickly became obsessed. Then UK marketing executive for Nissan, Danny Moore had a crazy, but revolutionary idea. In Neill Blomkamp’s movie Gran Turismo, Moore (Orlando Bloom), convinces…
4/4 is characterised by a series of complex movements and maneuverings against a stark stage and backdrop. It is black, white and grey all the way, save for the golden sun peeking through at the end. This, against a strong and dynamic sound bed. 4/4 is a highly expressive work, with eight performers paired off. Ostensibly dressed in black…
