Two years ago, we were treated to The Play That Goes Wrong and that was a riotous success. Now the same crew has done it again, with Peter Pan Goes Wrong; a silly but audacious take on J M Barrie’s Peter Pan. A dozen actors deliberately flub their cues, misbehave, run wild and have the audience…
The rough lot of an impoverished farming clan is front and centre in Gundog, a dramatic and confronting play with lashes of humour. Although written by Simon Longman from the West Midlands and set on a remote, rundown property in the UK, it fits comfortably into the Australian milieu. The introduction makes quite the impression, courtesy…
Inspired by events that took place in a powerful African state in the 19th century, The Woman King is the story of a battalion of female warriors. Known as the Agojie, their job was to protect the Kingdom of Dahomey, and its ruler King Ghezo (John Boyega). The narrative focuses primarily on two figures –…
Contemporary dance mixes with ancient ritual in Chunky Move’s double-header Next Move 11. The first work, titled “Nether”, is directed, choreographed and performed by Lauren Langlois. She shares the stage with James Vu Ahn Pham, who collaborated on the choreography. “Nether” has an otherworldly feel. It’s a fusion of light, music and movements that are on…
When I saw the initial production of this show back in 2013 I remarked: “In the US The Nutcracker is an annual Christmas holiday spectacle and after his years in America Queensland Ballet’s Artistic Director Li Cunxing is determined to make it a similar Brisbane institution. Will Brisbane fill a theatre every year for the…
Each year I keep coming back for a repeat dose of Christmas cheer. Why? Because The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol is a fine, heartfelt and meaningful production, in which the actor who plays Scrooge changes from year to year. Charles Dickens’ tale of greed at the expense of humanity may date back to 1843,…
If you thought abusive communications were a recent thing, think again. Humans have unfortunately been sending horrible correspondence to each other basically since writing began. In the late 19th Century, these nasty notes were given a name: poison pen letters. Now they’ve largely disappeared – thanks to the Internet – replaced by the equally nasty…
Much like the protagonist of Weike Wang’s debut Chemistry, Joan is the child of Chinese immigrants. But while the protagonist in Chemistry was having trouble getting her life together, Joan is very much in control of hers, possibly too much control. Joan’s world only starts to unravel a little when her father dies and she…
Newly crafted multi-millionaire Ariel (Tom Stokes) struck up a conversation with the exotic, mysterious, attractive Anna X (Becca Galvin) at a party in New York in 2016. From there, he couldn’t get enough of her. In short, he was smitten from the get go. In her early to mid twenties, Anna proved to be aloof,…
This bubbling 1920s-era musical sparkles with extravagant dance numbers, glittering costumes and a delicious love story between a wealthy playboy and the feisty bootlegger who melts his heart. Based upon a book by Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro (Memphis), inspired by material from P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton, Nice Work If You Can Get It…
