Carpe diem is a Latin phrase meaning “seize the day”. That is exactly what small time conman Tom Ripley (Will McDonald), who works in an advertising agency, does when presented with an unlikely opportunity. It is the late 1950s. The New York native is approached by Herbert Greenleaf (Andrew McFarlane) with a proposition. Shipping magnate…
Inspired by the 1933 film The Invisible Man starring Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart, and its 2020 reimagining, INVISIBLE is a sensory experience, not for the claustrophobic. That is made clear during a brief introduction, after which we are ushered into a refrigerated shipping container (that, fortunately, is not refrigerated), containing two rows of theatre…
The creativity and excellence in diverse forms of movement and the emotion it generated in Week 1 of Dance X continues with aplomb into Week 2. The major program has four companies each performing a short work over a total of two hours including interval, at Playhouse in Arts Centre Melbourne. Stephanie Lake Company’s Auto…
Companionship, care and fluidity of movement distinguish a compelling new work by choreographers and dancers Jayden Lewis Wall and Melissa Yvonne Pham. Flesh Vessel is an appropriate title, as three bodies align and intersect throughout the 45-minute piece, which is an impactful, physical expression of self. Against a stark background, a body covered in black…
Welcome to the fun, funny, fanciful, colourful and action-packed world of Dog Man. This musical is the brainchild of Kevin Del Aguila (book and lyrics) and Brad Alexander (music), with orchestrations by Lloyd Kikoler. The characters are those adapted from the series of books by Dav Pilkey. Within the universe of Captain Underpants, Dog Man…
In a bravura showing, Noni Hazlehurst delivers a world class performance as the ageing proprietor of a small, old-style, inner city Melbourne pub that she inherited from her father. No public bar. No Ladies’ Lounge. Just one room, something she describes as “never much of a place”. Metaphorically, it is last drinks for Rose Grey,…
The enigma that was David Robert Jones (8th January, 1947 – 10th January, 2016), aka English singer songwriter David Bowie, is captured in style in a new narrative concert. The brainchild of actor, singer and writer Karlis Zaid, he features alongside gifted chanteuse Aurora Kurth. Accomplished musical direction is by Andrew Patterson, who tickles the…
Breaking up is hard to do. So it goes, as Karin McCracken and Simon Leary put on a slick show unpacking her characters’ angst at trying to put behind a series of broken relationships. And, I assure you, she struggles big time to put the past in the past. It is all about the inability…
There is a reason that Stephanie Lake is my favourite choreographer. In short, she is eternally creative in the work she produces. Her striking visual aesthetic elevates the art form. Fluid body movement is just the starting point. Beyond that, the key is the combination of formations she can extract from her dancers. That, together…
What is the price to be paid for progress? That is the conceit at the centre of the compelling drama with comedic undertones, The Wrong Gods. Nirmala (Nadie Kammallaweera) is a hard-nosed traditional Indian farmer who does what many generations before her have done. It is back-breaking work. She lives in a clearing in a…
