Imagine losing the love of your life on your wedding night, only to have the chance to win her back from the underworld, subject to strict conditions. Surely, you’d back yourself. But wait, the story gets much darker because although you and your wife are reunited, the conditions are too much to bear. In short,…
Each year I keep coming back for a repeat dose of Christmas cheer. Why? Because The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol is a fine, heartfelt and meaningful production, in which the actor who plays Scrooge changes from year to year. Charles Dickens’ tale of greed at the expense of humanity may date back to 1843,…
Danish author and poet Hans Christian Anderson based the literary fairy tale The Red Shoes about a peasant girl named Karen on his loathed half-sister of that name. The story, first published in an 1845 collection of his works, is that of a girl being forced to dance continually in red shoes. The peasant girl’s…
The multitalented PJ Lane takes us on a most entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable walk down memory lane, as he pays tribute to his famous father. With special guests Patti Newton and Rhonda Burchmore, PJ Lane sings, dances and delves into the life and times of fellow entertainer, Don. Complete with a striking 12-piece band and…
Passion, obsession, desperation, jealousy and rage make for a fiery combination in composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, newly interpreted by director Anne-Louise Sarks. The sublime music, with such familiar refrains, also showcases a sassy, not to be messed with soprano in Danielle de Niese. She is irrepressible and oh so potent as the titular character. Carmen…
What a special show: the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at its glorious best and four popular and talented singers in fine voice showcasing the incomparable Billy Joel. The sound is magnificent. The experience unforgettable. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s catalogue is remarkable. Thirty-three top 40 hits in the US. Record sales exceeding 160 million…
It is Melbourne’s newest entertainment precinct (off Lonsdale Street), with a sizzling hot new show, involving seven spirited performers. I speak of Spiegel Haus Melbourne and the adults only, risqué cabaret Blanc de Blanc Encore. It is slick, sexy and in your face – in short, a walk on the wild side – with audience…
Poppycock and balderdash. That sums up the theatre of the absurd production that is Bladderwrack at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory. It is errant nonsense – a fruit loop pantomime with a few operatic interludes. Inspirations include Spike Milligan and The Goon Show, so we shouldn’t be surprised. Bladderwrack starts with some light-hearted banter and audience…
I can’t speak highly enough of the comic might of Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (with libretto by Cesare Sterbini), as performed so adroitly by Opera Australia. If you have not seen this hilarious opera, let me draw a comparison to the cleverness inherent in arguably the finest popular British TV comedy Fawlty Towers….
What a great talent this man is. Reuben Kaye headlines a bawdy show to remember, introducing three Australian Opera headliners in the camped-up Opera Up Late. Making its first appearance in Melbourne, it has been a staple in Sydney since it was conceived by Kaye and award-winning director Shaun Rennie for WorldPride in 2023. It…
