Dry Land has much to say about abortion, female friendships and being a teenager, but it takes a long time to say it. It is the brainchild of American playwright Ruby Rae Spiegel. In 2014, Dry Land – her first full length play – premiered Off-Broadway. Spiegel was 21 years old and still a playwriting student at Yale…
It is an age-old question without a satisfying answer. What constitutes art? That is the starting point for a coming-of-age tale about a 24-year-old artist who is trying to find her voice. To that end, James (Anna Kaleeda) – as she is known – wants to be exhibited. She and an old school friend (Finn McGrath) attend a…
I don’t read about a play or musical or film before seeing it. The reason: I want the art form to speak for itself. But taking that approach to Laundry Shoot! is problematic because the narrative is far from straight forward. This is what I could make out after seeing the 70-minute play before reading the program….
Deliciously absurdist, The Long Pigs is one of the cleverest, most creative shows of the year. The three artists on stage – Clare Bartholomew, Nicci Wilks and Mozes – adhere to the adage that actions speaks louder than words. Very few words are spoken. Some sounds are made and the eclectic music bed is triumphant. As you…
Women treated shamefully by the Aussie Rules’ boys’ club. That is the theme of Patricia Cornelius’ gritty, feminist play In the Club. It concerns three young women who hook up with members of a football team and pay the price. Annie (Eva Seymour) transitions from a naïve, football-mad 15-year-old to an exploited 16-year-old, which sets the tone…
SLUTNIK 2: Planet of Incels has cult classic written all over it. Think lashings of The Rocky Horror Show liberally mixed with Magic Mike and you have a starting point. The theme is women treated poorly and men behaving badly. It is a play with a series of up-tempo musical numbers, accompanied by buff male dancers. Unfortunately, I didn’t…
Faith is put under the spotlight in Jodi Gallagher’s immersive new work Prophet. Is it the story of Christianity? There are certainly elements of it in there. I am thinking of Jesus and one of his disciplines in particular. This journey started with Gallagher writing about Jewish mystic Sabbatai Zevi and his prophet, theologian Nathan of Gaza. Mind…
In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra was the twin sister of the woman said to be the most beautiful in the world, Helen of Troy. Their mother was Leda. Cygnets is a new take on sibling rivalry – the pain, the pleasure, the subterfuge. It shows the two girls had different experiences with their mother. It reveals jealousy and cruelty. An…
Unless you have context (and I didn’t before entering the theatre), this play will make little sense. By context, I am referring to the notes playwright Laura Collins has in the electronic program. I never read a program before watching a production. I do so afterwards and, even then, only after I have written down my thoughts. That…
Caroline Lee takes the stage as June, a woman of a certain age who hasn’t spoken to another person in more than a year. So, over that period – apart from accidentally speaking out aloud – she has lived in silence. Now June is taking us, the audience, into her confidence to break the drought and explain…
