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…
Kathryn Marquet’s The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek begins in darkness. When the stage is lit, it reveals a ramshackle ranger’s station shack somewhere in the wilds of south-western Tasmania. Centre-stage is Dr George Templeton (Emily Weir), cradling an infant devil in her arms. The environmental scientist is determined, passionate and intelligent enough to know…
Among my favourite TV shows growing up were the household staple of comedies: Get Smart (1965-70), I Dream of Jeannie (1965-70), Hogan’s Heroes (1965-71) – and Gilligan’s Island (1964-67). So with a great sense of excitement, I ventured into Chapel off Chapel to see my childhood memories revived in Gilligan’s Island: The Musical. I felt wary…
Esther Hannaford, take a bow. What a star! Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a showcase of all that is great about musical theatre – joyful and triumphant, with Hannaford front and centre. The music is outstanding – hit after glorious hit – with superb voices to match. The story is wonderfully crafted – lovingly populist, with…
A fabulous, fun-filled 90 minutes greets those who venture along to see Senior Moments. It combines some terrific musical numbers with skits and a series of funny voice-overs. Many of the songs are spoofs of familiar tunes, like “Quick Go The Years” rather than “Click Go the Shears”, or “I Am the Very Model of…
Mark Haddon’s best-selling award-winning novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been adapted to the stage by fellow playwright an Olivier winner himself. The novel which has become a staple of the school curriculum. Haddon himself thought the novel unadaptable, but Stephens’ version has been quite successful, remaining reasonably faithful to the novel….
Three Cs describe Hir: confronting, colourful and comedic. By the way, the title is a gender-neutral pronoun. One character also likes being addressed as “ze”, as distinct from “she” or “he”. After three years in the Marines picking up shattered body parts on the battlefield, Isaac is looking forward to coming home and sleeping in his own bed….
