Naked women, guns, pop and classical music, dancers, roller skating, shadow boxing, athleticism, a shrine and Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky incarnate. That is what you are in for when you buy a ticket to see Kill Me, Argentine choreographer Marina Otero’s latest step off the deep end. The central conceit is mental health. In…
Life’s struggle from childhood is captured in captivating form in Botis Seva’s Olivier Award-winning dance theatre production BLKDOG. Extraordinarily fluid movement, a pulsating original score from Torben Lars Sylvest and Tom Visser’s striking lighting design coalesce and enthral. Dimly lit throughout, with strategic spot lighting highlighting one, two or all the seven performers, the music…
A portent of doom hangs over Melbourne Opera’s production of Samson & Delilah. It is largely dark and foreboding (lighting design is by Harry Cope), a pointed reference to the story that underpins it. The tale is that of strong man Samson, whose strength is a gift from God. Enslaved Hebrews are praying for deliverance…
A spirited, colourful and joyful celebration of the King of Pop, Taalib York recaptures the music and the moves that made Michael Jackson such a mighty performer. With impressive attention to detail and an electrifying vibe, he and a four strong tribute band, along with six dancers, deliver big time. All the hits are there…
So much fun. Eddie is just perfect (bad pun for lead Eddie Perfect) as the smelly old demon Beetlejuice, in the riotous musical of the same name. Beetlejuice is bemoaning the fact that he is invisible and ignored by all unless he can get a living person to say his name three consecutive times. He…
The emotional resonance of Les Misérables is massive in the Melbourne leg of The Arena Spectacular world tour. It is a production full of power, passion, poise and polish. It is a grand spectacle that starts with the anticipation of the audience that fills the vast space of Rod Laver Arena. Even before I enter…
Lovers Orpheus (Noah Mullins) and Eurydice (Eliza Soriano, filling in for regular Abigail Adriano) find out the hard way that if you deal with the devil, there will be hell to pay. In a nutshell, that is the conceit in the cautionary tale Hadestown, a most appealing musical. Orpheus, the son of a muse who…
The win at all costs mentality that underpins The Beep Test carries with it a high price. This is Year 7C, whose driven PE teacher channels his own unfulfilled ambitions into the captain of the football team, a standout player and reigning beep test champion. I speak of a multi-stage fitness test, in which participants…
Sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. The heartbeat of a suburb is captured in St Kilda Tales. All but two hours of movement and conversation is partly overlaid with music. Ten actors play characters looking for connection, among them friends and the disenfranchised, prostitutes and druggies. On occasion, a single conversation dominates proceedings. At other…
Call me a heathen, but I never got into the mythology of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic and beloved trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Mind you, I could say the same about Harry Potter … and then I saw that stage play, firstly in two parts and then in one, which won me over. Now, the…
