When the most advanced “toy” in history goes rogue, lives are at stake in Gerard Johnstone’s engaging horror sci-fi thriller M3gan. Nine-year-old Cady (Violet McGraw) is on a trip to the snow with her parents when she is in a car accident that leaves her bloodied and claims their lives. That leaves her in the…
Nonsense, fiddle-faddle and poppycock is the essence of Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic Alice in Wonderland. Now writer and director Penny Farrow has sourced characters, dialogue and poems from several sources to bring the adventure to life. These include Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, The Hunting of Snark and Rhyme? And Reason? (a collection of…
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is an extraordinary, original work by Dean Fleischer-Camp and Nick Paley that has Best Animated Feature written all over it. It’s a delightful tale, beautifully told. Marcel (the voice of Jenny Slate) is a one-inch-high shell from a large community of shells. Now only he and his grandmother Connie…
Sixty-five minutes of glorious mayhem. That is what you get with this extraordinarily detailed production. It is set against the sprawling layout of a full house – broken into five rooms – a major video screen as a backdrop and two smaller TVs, stage left and right. The cast does a mighty job with the material, which…
A musical for the littlies – I speak of preschoolers and primary school age children – Madagascar The Musical is based on the successful animated motion picture. It is colourful and fun, and involves live action and puppetry. The premise is that Marty the zebra was born in captivity in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Although he…
Told in flashback, Blueback is a feel-good story with a strong environmental message about protecting the reef. Abby Jackson (Mia Wasikowska) is a marine biologist researching coral bleaching. Unexpectedly, she learns that her mother Dora (Radha Mitchell) has just had a stroke and can’t speak. She quickly returns to her childhood home on the Western…
Vanya Polunin is to clowning what Sir Donald Bradman was to cricket – a genius. Honing his highly creative endeavour over decades, he is unique and ubiquitous. When he created Snowshow in 1993 he wanted to go beyond the regulation clown show. Taking a cue from the surrealist painters he admired so much, combining comedy with poignancy, Polunin…
A new Pharoah has stepped into Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Trevor Ashley, who played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray more than a decade ago, is that performer, who mimics Elvis in Las Vegas. It is a role he will also play in the upcoming Sydney season at the Capitol Theatre. At the Regent Theatre in Melbourne he is…
The tumultuous life of the world’s most awarded female vocalist is put under the spotlight in I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Whitney Houston (Naomi Ackie) was the greatest voice of a generation, who enjoyed the highest of highs and succumbed to excess, indulgence and heartache. Tragically she died at 48. The fact that she had…
Puss in Boots (the voice of Antonio Banderas) first appeared in Shrek 2 in 2004, before showing up again in a couple of other Shrek sequels and then a standalone film in 2011. Now the swashbuckling adventurer returns in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. This time, he’s facing his biggest challenge – losing his…
