Eucalyptus, the fully realised new opera, made its premiere at Brisbane Festival in a co-production by Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, Perth Festival and Opera Queensland. Based on Murray Bail’s fantastical, haunting 1998 novel of the same name and winner of the Miles Franklin Award, Eucalyptus was first performed in a concert version earlier this year…
I saw Red Stitch’s Iphigenia in Splott three years ago and thought it was one of the finest productions I had seen. This return season serves to reinforce my original sentiment. What an ordeal! If Iphigenia in Splott is tough to watch because of the material it covers, just imagine what it would be like…
The vicissitudes of show business are brought into sharp focus in theatrical’s production of A Chorus Line. Under the keen eye of formidable director Zach and his assistant choreographer Larry, 24 dancers audition for an upcoming Broadway production. Two dozen are soon whittled down to 17. That is when, in between the dancing, Zach asks…
If there’s one takeaway to be had from this review of Shake & Stir’s GRIMM, it’s this: parents, leave the kiddies at home; this one is not for them. Treat yourself to a night off and bring the girlfriends along instead. Officially, GRIMM is advertised for ages 14 and above, but it’s a show that…
On an Egyptian paddle steamer in the 1950s, heiress Kay Mostyn boards with her new husband Simon. Stalked by Simon’s ex-fiancée, and joined by a colourful cast of other passengers with dark motives, their honeymoon quickly becomes a nightmare, in this gripping murder mystery play from the Genesian Theatre Company. Death on the Nile is…
Noni Hazlehurst delivers an inspired performance in the slice of life piece Mother. Homeless and shoeless, she plays the character Christie. Christie married Lenny (who we don’t meet) because both were lonely. They had a baby, but Lenny is critical of Christie because she drinks – a lot and frequently. Christie channels their conversations. There…
Competition can be invigorating, but also dramatic and soul destroying. That is the theme of the two parter created under the auspices of Theatre Works’ Early Career Artists’ Program. As you enter the theatre for Part I, named The Volition Project, you are handed several tokens by one of the actors. On those tokens are…
Life in all its messiness is played out in Lyric Opera’s chamber opera The Children’s Bach. With music by Andrew Schultz and libretto by Glenn Perry, it is based on a novella of the same name by Helen Garner. Set primarily in Melbourne in the 1990s, it centres on the fraught relationships in the Fox…
This captivating production of Puccini’s popular classic leaves an enduring memory for the rusted-on opera fanatic and the novice first-time visitor alike. For this is a ‘roadshow’ version. A touring production with an outstanding cast and with creative qualities second to none. Opera Australia is taking its product to the people. An eight-week extensive circuit…
Acclaimed actor Bert LaBonté makes his directorial debut with the Pulitzer Prize winning comedic drama Topdog/Underdog. It is a two-hander, involving African-American brothers. Lincoln (Damon Manns) has (temporarily) moved into his younger brother Booth’s (Ras-Samuel) small, rented apartment, which has no toilet or running water. That follows Link’s break up with his wife, Cookie (who…
