Poignant and compelling, the Australian premiere of six-time Tony Award winner Dear Evan Hansen – about a socially anxious 17-year-old – is a theatrical triumph. Steven Levenson (who received the gong for Best Book) has injected warmth and humour into the slice of life drama that makes for an enthralling narrative. Powerful and resounding music…
A Peter Pan origin story, Peter and the Starcatcher is a slapstick pantomime fantasy, infused with music, dance and puppetry. So, it is a bit of a liquorice all sorts, which tickles the funny bone most when the cast ad libs, as Colin Lane and Pete Helliar are so adept at doing. Look out for…
I am faced with a predicament that I can’t say I have confronted too many times after a few decades of reviewing. I have just seen a compelling piece of theatre, which I am about to highly recommend, but I will resist going into detail about the plot. I choose not to do so because…
This Pride & Prejudice is a delightful combination of words and music. This heartwarming representation of Jane Austen’s romantic novel takes a decidedly different, but nevertheless compelling, form. Since it was anonymously published in 1813 and well received by critics and readers, the book has never been out of print. It is feted as a…
The cutthroat razor is sharpened and ready for the kill in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Forty-five years on, the musical thriller set in 19th century England retains its bite. It is a tale of murder, vengeance, cannibalism and entrepreneurial spirit. Benjamin Barker has been framed and is exiled to a penal…
One of the great plays of the 20th century retains its vibrancy and bite in a stunning MTC production, headlined by a bravura showing from Nikki Shiels. Written by Tennessee Williams in 1945, A Streetcar Named Desire was first performed on Broadway two years later. Now, here I am, coming up to 80 years on,…
Sharing a house with friends and/or strangers can be anything but straightforward. Sometimes, mighty testing, in fact. So it is in the new Australian musical Share House, which is simply delightful. Former classmates Lucy and Jane are as different as chalk and cheese. Now young adults, they have been living together for what seems like forever. Bossy, at times…
RBG: Of Many, One is distinguished by a virtuoso performance from Heather Mitchell, in which she metamorphosises into Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In fact, it is unquestionably one of the greatest solo theatrical offerings this country has had the good fortune to witness. As Ginsburg, the second woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court, Mitchell talks…
What is in a word? Everything … for the person around whom the sweeping tale The Dictionary of Lost Words focuses. I speak of Esme Nicoll (Brenna Harding), to whom we are introduced in the year 1886. At the time, she is four years of age and being brought up by her intelligent, decent and caring father,…
Survival is at stake when stunning brunette Rosie (Janet Anderson) finds herself cornered in a bathroom. She is a transwoman who has had to endure a great deal and continues to do so. Above all, she has learnt to be true to herself. Bathrooms are a constant thread running through Overflow. That dates back to when Rosie first…
