Almost three quarters of a century after it was written, the power, passion and desolation intrinsic to Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949) remains intact. It is a devastating and iconic piece of work, magnificently performed by the 11-strong cast from Hearth Theatre at Chapel Off Chapel. The three-hour production explores themes of change, isolation, depression,…
As Gordon Gekko, in the 1987 Oliver Stone-directed hit film Wall Street, Michael Douglas said “greed, for lack of a better word, is good”. I venture to suggest that Berlin-based artist Julian Rosefeldt, who has created the impressive multiscreen installation Euphoria, would vehemently disagree. Using the musings of more than 100 economists, business magnates, writers and celebrities,…
It’s all good, clean, innocent, engaging, adventurous and flirtatious fun, until it isn’t. It is 1939 and I speak of a pair of first year boarding school students at Cambridge in England. These young ladies get to know lads from the university who make it a habit to climb edifices across town at night. Rosalind (Meg Taranto)…
What is truth and what is fantasy? The lines are blurred in the dramatic play Moth, which speaks to teen angst and mental health. Superbly executed with a minimalist darkened set and striking lighting and sound, the actors impress in their realisation of playwright Declan Greene’s work. Fifteen-year-old Sebastian (Adam Noviello) isn’t exactly the most popular…
Racism, disadvantage, “the mob” and money collide in the incendiary new work from Declan Furber Gillick, five years in the making. Commissioned through MTC’s NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program, the cumulative impact of the 100 minutes is devastating. Indigenous man Jacky (Guy Simon) is on the road to “making it”, or so it seems. He is renting a…
Moving and at times confronting, At What Cost? leaves the audience in a stunned silence for a moment, until the thunderous applause and standing ovation inevitably follow. It’s a powerful piece of theatre in which the one hour and forty-five minutes without interval seem to fly by. Indigenous playwright, Nathan Maynard, has crafted a compelling,…
Having just sat through The World According to Dinosaurs, I am sorry to say I can’t really tell you much about the narrative, save for an extinction event. A big part of the reason is the verbiage in the work was frequently drowned out. Frankly, the sound mix was appalling. From the get-go, the narrator was swamped…
The dress code for the Brisbane Premiere of Moulin Rouge! The Musical is ‘Spectacular Spectacular’, which is entirely appropriate given what a glorious spectacle the show is in its every aspect. From the moment audience members enter QPAC’s Lyric Theatre, the aesthetic abundance means that there is much to absorb in Derek McLane’s lavish set…
Irish writer and Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett’s works can be difficult to get your head around. So, it is with Worstward Ho at Theatre Works, featuring a bravura showing by Rob Meldrum who plays a figure wrestling with the end of the world. Now true confession time. I sat there for an hour and had no…
Half a century on, the Rocky Horror Show remains a delightful, bizarre and engaging romp that encourages audience participation. Opening night of the 50th anniversary Melbourne production saw plenty of “shout outs” from enthusiastic patrons, acknowledged by narrator Myf Warhurst. With music, lyrics and book by Richard O’Brien, the musical is a tribute to the science fiction and…
