Treachery and subterfuge abound in the Australian premiere of a new production of Richard Wagner’s otherworldly romance Lohengrin. It is a big and bold work – a spectacle – headlined by arguably the world’s most in-demand tenor, Jonas Kaufmann, in a lead role he makes his own. We are introduced to the war-torn environment in which…
Scintillating, fast paced, brilliantly choreographed Irish tap dancing. A strong, rhythmic, ear-pleasing score. Maestros on the fiddle and flute. Elegant and evocative costumes. Mesmersing magic. That is Celtic Illusion Reimagined. This dynamic, spicy and intoxicating hour and a half stage show (excluding interval) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Celtic Illusion, the vision of creator, director,…
If Shakespeare had the vision of Nostradamus, he may well have foreseen The Merry Wives of Windsor being set in a 1980s Australian backyard. Nonetheless, director Viktor Kalka has made the geographic transition and it is an interesting concept, to say the least. Inspired by “The Bard’s” intention to make the play contemporaneous, Kalka creates one…
Set during the Great Depression, Girl from the North Country is a brilliantly conceived and executed theatrical production, featuring the music and lyrics of Bob Dylan. Irish writer and director Conor McPherson has taken the singer songwriter’s life’s work and reimagined it as an expansive Eugene O’Neill* type play with music. At its core is the realism…
Think of the notoriously sinful cities Sodom and Gomorrah referenced in the bible that were destroyed by sulphur and fire because of their wickedness. That is the starting point for the satirical opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Premiering in Germany in March 1930, with text by Bertolt Brecht, Elizabeth Hauptmann and…
A delightful, poignant, funny, uplifting play with music, The Heartbreak Choir charms its way into our hearts. It features a bunch of quintessential country town Aussies and a Zimbabwean-born immigrant. Barbara (Maude Davey) is the leader of the local choir, which has just had an acrimonious spilt, the reason for which is only revealed as the play…
So, okay, off the top here’s my recommendation – go along and see Not Today and fall in love with the zany personality that is the essence of talented performer Ally Morgan. She often talks fast – mighty fast. She is anxious and passionate about climate change, which she is keen to “fix” in just a…
Matador la experienca has taken the best of Matador and stepped it up a notch to create a totally electrifying and immersive showcase of talent. It is erotic, pulsating and energetic and presents the lion’s share of two hours of non-stop action and entertainment. The audience is into it from the get go – cheering, clapping and…
They’re living in a totalitarian State, where Big Brother is everywhere. There’s a 6pm curfew that must be met. Drones hover overhead, tanks roam the streets and “peacekeepers” ensure the law is obeyed. But there is a great deal of discontent and anger at being “caged”. One 16-year-old, Immy Marcus (Tsungirai Wachenuka), who feels the pain of her mother,…
Egyptian-born Akmal emigrated to Australia with his family when he was 11 years of age. From the roof of his 20-storey apartment building in Cairo he could see the pyramids and the sphinx. Imagine what it was like then when his parents took him to see the Big Banana in Queensland. That is just one of the…
