A compelling story of struggle is enhanced by highly creative staging, sound effects and lighting. Set over 20 years (from the 1940s to the ‘60s), Cloudstreet isn’t just another play – it’s a look inside the consciousness of two Australian families. Tim Winton’s novel won the Miles Franklin Award in 1991. Nick Enright and Justin…
The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You is exhilarating teen angst from start to finish. Sixteen year-old Connor (Harry Tseng) is perpetually angry. He reflects on the good times with his parents – who love him dearly – but by and large those are distant memories. Now he’s constantly in trouble, not just at…
Stick five strangers together in a room for a week and see what comes out the other end. Are they themselves or acting out some fantasy to form a shield of protection or anonymity? If the latter, how long before the shield is lowered? Intolerance, disinterest and antagonism are par for the course in Malthouse’s…
Lies, bravado and one-upmanship are explored in the satire Four Dogs and a Bone. The “bone” is a Hollywood film and the “dogs” baring their teeth are the producer, an ageing starlet, a newbie actor and the writer. Each wants things on their terms. The producer, Bradley (Kostas Ilias), throws his weight around. He needs…
Absurdist but with heart, Louis Nowra’s Cosi is fun to watch but appears to have aged. The setting is the Vietnam War era – 1971 to be specific – and the location is a mental institution. So, yes there’s a little bit of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest about it. A young man, Lewis…
Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810 – 1891) was the master of smoke and mirrors; the ultimate flimflam man. Although often down on his luck and short of money, he always managed to find a way out. That had something to do with his vivid imagination and a lot more to do with his grounded wife, Charity….
The unerring passage of time as death nears is the subject of Wakey, Wakey. In it, an everyday man contemplates what has gone before. He is Guy, a role filled by Justin Hosking who has a delightful demeanour. The first lines say it all: “Is it now? I thought I had more time. Wow. That…
Fleur Kilpatrick’s stage adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse Five explores the horrors of war and the effects of PTSD. The play centres on the Allies’ firebombing of Dresden between February 13 and 15, 1945 in which tens of thousands of people died. The book’s narrator (and author), who’s also part of the play, has…
As an arts lover and reviewer, I try to enter a theatre without knowing anything about the production I’m about to see. It’s usually possible by steering clear of promotional guff. I like to be surprised and hopefully engaged by what I see through fresh eyes. In that way, I feel I can tell whether…
Tahir, Jimeoin, Arj Barker, Jimmy McGhie and Akmal were the standouts for me in a 12-strong, two-hour showcase of some of this year’s acts from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It’s a taste-test – and if you want more you can catch their individual appearances. There’s a lot to like. They’re slick, professional, well-rehearsed ……
