Bold and provocative, Thomas Ian Doyle’s latest work – The Upstairs Trilogy Part 1: The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name – tackles a futuristic Australian government that has found a way to “correct” same sex relationships. Homosexuality is outlawed and a simple, painless two-dose injection – with minimal side effects, if any – subjugates…
Unashamedly, outrageously great. That description doesn’t do justice to one of the best and brightest performances I have had the good fortune to see on stage. I am talking about Callum Francis in the Australian premiere production of Kinky Boots, the musical. This is a richly colourful, most engaging, highly entertaining fish out of water…
Being a first time mum (or dad, for that matter) can be, and more often than not is, particularly stressful and challenging. While the imminent arrival is a most exciting time, there are the expectations, anticipation and fear of what will follow, let alone what happens in the brain and to the body of the…
Many Australians are outraged by the treatment of asylum seekers who look for refuge in this country. One took her opprobrium on the road earlier this year, delivering a petition with more than 17,000 signatures to the Federal Member for McMillan, Russell Broadbent. Mr Broadbent, in a show of support, tabled the voluminous appeal for…
Bold (to a point) and imaginative, writer and director Thomas Ian Doyle’s latest work Between the Sheets straddles the line between film and theatre. The contention is you don’t really need to “act” to appear on film, but theatre takes a lot more time and effort. Tristan Beckett (Jayden Popik) has signed a $32 million contract…
There is a dark heart to American playwright Samantha Cooper’s world premiere work, Dawn, being staged at The Owl and Cat Theatre. It starts out with Laura’s parents wanting to have a family dinner with her, but things quickly turn sour … and it is soon clear why. Laura has told her mother, Jo, that her…
Sound quality was the only sour note in an at times uproariously funny opening night for First Date The Musical, a comedic musical about a hook up between a serial dater and a nerd. With a book by Austin Winsberg and music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, the show – inspired by…
Two and a half hours of high-octane rock ‘n roll, an ode to Freddie Mercury and Queen, await those who venture in to Melbourne’s Regent Theatre to see the off-the-wall musical comedy We Will Rock You. Written and updated as well as directed by Ben Elton, it is oh so silly, but heaps and heaps…
Donna Lee is a superstar, an absolute sensation in Menopause the Musical – Women on Fire!, a reworking of the story of four women who meet at a lingerie sale and discover they have plenty in common. Not only does Lee have a strong singing voice and impeccable comic timing, but her ability to connect…
You would be hard pressed to find a more accomplished musical theatre performer on the big stage than Caroline O’Connor. In short, she is a league of her own. She sizzles. She is pure dynamite, the best of the best of the best. In almost every scene of Funny Girl, she struts, pouts and jiggles…
