The conceit behind the Australian premiere of the darkly comedic chamber opera Fat Pig feels all too real. What is it like to be constantly judged for being an overweight (I am talking morbidly obese) woman? No matter that you are smart, witty and a good communicator, the one thing you can’t shy away from…
Have you ever thought about playing mini golf with a tail? No, I am not off with the pixies. Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf, a nine-hole course above Flinders Street Station, gives you that experience. I kid you not. And, I should quickly add, it is far from easy swinging from the hips with…
POV (Point of View), is an extraordinary undertaking, unlike anything I have seen before. A 14-year-old – played by alternates on different nights (I saw Mabelle Rose, while the other is Edith Whitehead) – assumes the role of an 11-year-old girl. She, who is fully aware of the conceit of the piece, interacts with two…
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…
Queensland Theatre has played it safe with the original two-person cast of Georgie Parker and Glenn Hazeldine back for a re-run of David Williamson’s 2010 hit play, Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica. First staged at the Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, the production returns with original director Mark Kilmurry, designer Veronique Bennett and composer and sound designer…
My approach to reviewing is to enter a theatre, cinema or gallery knowing nothing about what I am about to see and hear. That means not reading a synopsis or any commentary about the work because I believe it needs to inform me or “speak to me” on its own merits. Ninety-nine times out of…
Who has the right to tell you how and when to give birth? Of course, it is a deeply personal issue, but one that, over generations, has been dictated by rules and regulations. Further, familial influences can be enormous. What happens if you push back … if you want to do things your own way?…
Max Gillies is a living treasure who brings frustration, despair and humour to three fine pieces involving men at the tail end of their lives. In turn, they are excerpts from A Stretch of the Imagination by Jack Hibberd, Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe and On the Harmfulness of Tobacco by Anton Chekov. In the first,…
