Desire, death and possession feature in Dybbuks. This obtuse world premiere is performed in English and Yiddish. Samara Hersch directs the work for Chamber Made, as well as writing the piece. The play draws its title from Yiddish mythology. Dybbuks are unresolved souls who seek form through living bodies. Four actors are accompanied by a…
King of Pigs is a new Australian play by Steve Rodgers. This play targets domestic violence for discussion. Says director, Blazey Best: I’ve been hearing a lot about the ‘Epidemic’ of Family Violence and – faced with the statistics and the sheer relentless regularity of horrific stories in the news – it’s hard to dismiss…
A psychoanalyst crosses the line and has to find a way out in Saltpillar Theatre’s In Bed with the Bishops. This new world premiere work was written especially for Saltpillar by Melbourne psychiatrist-turned-author and playwright Rob Selzer. The play, filled with sharp one liners, moves along at pace. It’s far from a straightforward journey for…
Noni Hazlehurst (right) has been touring this one-woman masterpiece for more than two years now and everywhere she has packed the venues and earned wide acclaim. After watching her performance at the Cremorne there is no problem in understanding why. The whole package, from words and performance, to lighting, set and sound, was perfect theatre;…
Cry Baby is an American musical from 2007. It’s based on a John Waters film, as was the musical Hairspray, which ran on Broadway for 2,642 performances. Cry Baby managed only 45 previews and 68 performances. One was a mega hit the other a mega flop. However, Cry Baby at The Hayes Theatre belies those…
Two 90-year-olds – both Holocaust survivors (one now dead and other not) – go at it … and at it. No, it’s not the set-up to a joke, it’s the premise of OMG – Oy Mama Gevalt. This new play from Jack Felman concerns a Jewish couple, Mania and Velvel Pszeszekowski. Having brought up four children,…
Jasper Jones isn’t your typical drama. It’s presented by Queensland Theatre as a restaging of the Melbourne Theatre Company production and based on the smash hit novel by Craig Silvey. This rollercoaster of a plot – which brings to life the stories of a sleepy 1960’s town, Corrigin – packs a veritable punch. While I…
Aristophanes’ classic Greek comedy Lysistrata is a comic account of women’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War. They withhold sexual privileges from their men as a means of forcing peace talks. As an early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society, it’s an apt source for Lysa and the Freeborn Dames. This new…
It mightn’t be Riverdance or Lord of the Dance, but Irish Celtic has elements of both and a more linear story. Having toured France and Germany, the 90 minute hour show features performers from the top Irish dance companies. Twelve talented dancers – five men and seven women – together with a five-piece band perform…
What is truth and what is fiction? At times it’s hard to tell when watching Pvt. Wars. It’s 1975 and three Vietnam vets have good reason to be housed in a mental institution. Their reality is a most unfortunate one. Perhaps there are moments of clarity among their delusions, but if so very few. The…
