A super clown act and an extraordinarily nimble pole dancer are among the highlights of the burlesque-style Cabaret de Paris. It showcases bejewelled dancers in skimpy and elegant attire, headlined by a former star of Paris’s Moulin Rouge, Marissa Burgess. Best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern can-can, Moulin Rouge has been a drawcard…
Queensland Theatre is putting the emphasis on fast and furious fun at the Cremorne Theatre as the comic adaptation of John Buchan’s novel and Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The 39 Steps, woos capacity audiences. The Master of Suspense brought John Buchan’s much loved 1915 Boys’ Own story to the big screen in 1935. But it’s a…
A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer is heartfelt, bold, funny and heart-wrenching. It’s also a flawed blancmange as a piece of performance art that many will, no doubt, applaud. I love the energy and vitality of Bryony Kimmings. She’s one of the playwrights, and the narrator of the piece. The single mum tells a story of…
What a legacy the Swedish pop group ABBA has left the world! That was my overwhelming sentiment while watching the fun of Mamma Mia! unfold at Capitol Theatre in Sydney. It’s a heartwarming romp that gets better until the final three crowd-pleasing numbers. The whole audience is on its feet clapping its hands and dancing to…
Disney’s Aladdin is simply a mind-blowing visual experience that had the audience in ecstasies that resembled an old time US revival meeting as they screamed, cheered, and gasped in adoration. With American accents it was Disney all the way with feel, audience pitch, values and quality. For me, after an adult life time involved in…
The sophisticated operatic farce, A Little Night Music, is set in 19th Century Sweden. It follows the misadventures of a set of illicit lovers and their spouses who come together for an idyllic weekend in the country. The show deals with issues of forbidden love and infidelity, sexuality, gender, class, lost love and regrets. Lawyer…
Three disaffected young men are at the centre of Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot. The story is expanded from their album of the same name, (released in 2004) and also features music from the 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown. Lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt formed Green Day in…
Single Asian Female by Michelle Law, was first produced by the La Boîte Theatre Company in Brisbane in 2017. It’s been revived for this Sydney season at the invitation of the Belvoir Company. The work was developed with the assistance of the Lotus Playwriting Project, an initiative of Playwriting Australia and Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (formerly…
Push The Book of Mormon over a cliff and mix in an unhealthy dose of Avenue Q and you go some way to describing the irreverence that is Hand to God. A puppet practice workshop in a church gets shanghaied by the devil and it’s only a matter of time before proceedings spiral totally out…
A microphone or two, a stool, a modern armchair, an elegant dark dress and that voice honed to perfection. This is the incomparable talent of Bernadette Robinson in The Show Goes On. Through 75 minutes, the indefatigable Robinson (Songs for Nobodies) showcases some of the finest female musical talents of the 20th century. She has…
