It is the 1980s. King Hamlet has died suddenly. A month later, his sister – Claudia – is crowned monarch and the divided kingdom of Elsinore is in upheaval. That is the contention in an immersive theatrical experience at Malthouse Theatre, which draws inspiration from Shakespeare’s explosive Hamlet. We – the audience – are theatrically masked…
If you want to see basically every space-movie trope collected in one neat package, Neil Burger’s highly derivative Voyagers could be it. This outwardly beautiful but shallow film tries hard, but ultimately falls short. The obvious starting point – as it often tends to be – is Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey. From…
Amanda Muggleton has the room in the palms of her hands as she assumes the role of actress and femme fatale Coral Browne (23rd July, 1913 – 29th May, 1991), who won the 1984 TV BAFTA for An Englishman Abroad. At just over an hour, this one person play, written by Maureen Sherlock, is the story…
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is front and centre in a searing and poignant new play from Walkley Award-winning ABC journalist and author Sally Sara. Semi-autobiographical, the world premiere of Stop Girl starts in 2011 when Suzie (Sheridan Harbridge) is in the final weeks of reporting from the Afghan capital, Kabul. There to catch up with her…
The Cuban Missile Crisis looms in the tense spy thriller The Courier. Based on fact, it tells the story of America’s most valuable source of information about Russia during this tumultuous period. With nuclear war a real possibility, a high stakes cat-and-mouse game plays out. Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) is a high-ranking Russian official. But…
The Father showcases the horrors of dementia with standout performances by its lead actors. First-time director Florian Zeller adapts his own stage play with limited settings and cast, but powerfully wrenches at the heart with the psychological turmoil felt by the eponymous character Anthony. Anthony, played by his namesake Anthony Hopkins, has lived in his…
Come from Away opened in Brisbane this week to rapturous standing ovations. This unique production tells the true stories of the people of Gander, Newfoundland (CA) and some of the passengers of the 38 planes that were diverted there during the day of September 11, 2001. As the small town’s population more than doubled with…
Hyper-violent action, humour, and a ripping soundtrack await those that venture to see Nobody. This is undoubtedly one of this year’s biggest surprise packets. “Nobody” sure becomes somebody – somebody to be reckoned with. Bob Odenkirk is Hutch Mansell, a seemingly mild-mannered husband and father whose life is drab and routine. Nothing to see here….
The magic of Disney is alive and well … and thriving, if Frozen, The Musical is anything to go by. It is the perfect blend of humour, emotion and theatrics, and brings to life the story of sisters separated by a potentially deadly curse. The musical has been adapted from the Disney film and the original 1844…
Get excited. Mighty excited. For all the hype surrounding the arrival of Hamilton, the musical in Sydney is justified. It is an incredible, spine tingling history lesson, packaged as entertainment par excellence, much of it delivered as readily digestible hip-hop, together with classic Broadway song writing. The entire story unfolds through the lyrics and it is crystal…
