It’s not hard to see why West Side Story has become such a staple. The tale it tells continues to resonate – in fact perhaps even more so today. Whether we’re talking gang violence or racial or religious divisions, the enmity continues unabated. The depth of feeling in the way the story is told –…
Talented photographer Diane Arbus (Diane Glenn) meets sex symbol Mae West (Melita Jurisic – complete with sultry voice) in the MTC’s new play Arbus & West. In 1964, Arbus arrived at West’s pristine LA apartment to take snaps of the famous star, then 71. The play explores a fictional account of that real encounter between…
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…
What a delight! Time just zipped by in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. This cleverly conceived and executed comedy is making its Australian debut. With book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder opened on Broadway in November 2013, going on…
If you admire Shakespeare’s Hamlet and some of the finest names to have assumed the role, then British-born actor and performance artist Dickie Beau’s tribute, Re-Member Me, is a must. He has been creating lip sync performances for the past decade. In this case, he brings a camp association to the tragic Danish prince because he thinks Hamlet…
A bravura performance from renowned Australian actor Colin Friels highlights Scaramouche Jones. This intoxicating work was written by Brit Justin Butcher in the final months of 1999. Scaramouche Jones has been a clown for 50 years. Now he’s marking the final hour of his life on Earth. It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, exactly 100 years to…
Hardly enough happens in The House of Bernarda Alba to sustain its 105 minute running time. Playwright Patricia Cornelius takes on Federico Garcia Lorca’s classic tragedy. Cornelius has transported the action from the villages of Spain in the 1930s to contemporary rural Western Australia. Along the way, she explores themes of passion, repression and isolation….
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….
Powerful, distressing and humorous, The Father is MTC’s best production of the season. Andre (played by John Bell – founder of Bell Shakespeare) is 80 years of age. Constantly losing his watch is the least of his worries. Although he steadfastly refuses to acknowledge it, he can no longer look after himself. His daughter Anne (Anita Hegh) is…
Characterised by soaring vocals, Jesus Christ Superstar is a bold and moving version of Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. With no spoken dialogue (it’s all sung), the show is set to wow audiences anew. That’s just what it did nearly 50 years ago when composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice got together. It debuted on Broadway in 1971,…
