Two shows run in parallel at Melbourne’s Gasworks in Albert Park until 23 August 2019. Ghost Quartet (Antipodes Theatre Co) A palpable chemistry exists between four excellent performers who bring a surreal musical experience to life. They are music director David Butler (on piano, synthesizer and spring drum), Melissa David (on keyboard, harpsichord and drum),…
Imagine you’re the last person alive and all Earth’s resources have been depleted. Autocannibal explores this premise in a confronting one-person play created and performed by the highly talented Mitch Jones. It’s performance art mashed with circus skills and clowning. Jones is agile, powerful and bold. His character adopts a survival-at-any-cost mentality, with options fast…
One of the most energetic pieces of theatre I’ve witnessed, Perpetual Frustration Machine is performance art combining circus with a dystopian underbelly. When we enter the theatre, the four cast members – Debra Batton, Adam O’Connor-McMahon, Seth Scheuner and Stephanie Benson – are engaging in a series of activities. They’re exercising on a mat, cleaning…
The Christmas Spectacular is the work of Silvers Circus. This top-notch circus show was my highlight of Santa’s Magical Kingdom, a colourful cavalcade of rides, games and interactive experiences, most inside the Big Top at Caulfield Racecourse. But the extraordinary prowess of the circus performers who feature in this production left my mouth agape. The…
Two women of a certain age do what women of a certain age don’t usually do – and love it – in One and the Other. We’re talking about circus acts. The show has a decidedly feminist slant and before the final act rolled around the #metoo movement was at the forefront of my mind….
You’re in for a treat of subversive circus at its finest when you see Lexicon at a specially constructed tent in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens (opposite the Shrine of Remembrance). Twelve accomplished performers produce the unexpected … and I couldn’t be more pleased. This isn’t the stuff of tired circus acts that have been done…
Who would have thought that making rhythmic noises from the mundane objects could prove to be such a sustained crowd-pleaser? But Stomp ‘18 isn’t just noise making, but crafted musicality par excellence. It’s vibrant, energetic, frequently hilarious and so much fun; with a soundtrack inspired by the commotion of everyday life. Stomp ’18 is…
Given the way they’re heralded around the world as an exciting and innovative physical theatre company, Circa is surely one of Queensland’s great cultural exports. And it’s always wonderful to have them perform to a home-town crowd. They will now be part of a multi-year partnership with QPAC, which begins with their show Humans, an…
An incomparable spectacle, Toruk is unlike any Cirque tent show. Several awe-inspiring highlights punctuate the two acts of this production inspired by James Cameron’s cinematic masterpiece Avatar. The staging, projections and lighting are particularly wondrous. Rivers run, waters fall, lava flows and the large stage area frequently appears to come to life. It begins with a mound becoming…
Lest anyone who has seen a Cirque du Soleil performance have forgotten just how sensational – how cutting edge – this troupe is, KOOZA is a must see. For those who have not yet witnessed the mastery and magic, you are in for a very special treat, the likes of which you have not cast…
