Elvis: A Musical Revolution is an exciting spectacle from its outset as the audience is transitioned from its recreated iconic mononymic neon ’68 Comeback Special signage, through an electrifying ‘Burning Love’ dance number, to the Beal Street and Sun Record Studio days of Elvis’ early 1940s and ‘50s life. The award-winning exploration of pivotal moments…
Three siblings, an ageing father and an impending inheritance. What could possibly go wrong? Set in a classic Queenslander in the heart of Brisbane’s Red Hill, Prospect Terrace is a bittersweet tale of a dysfunctional but relatable family. Written by Queensland playwright Angela Murphy and first performed in Cairns in late 2020 as the debut…
I’ve often commented to people that it is much more difficult to write a glowing review than something at the other end of the spectrum. This experience makes putting together a review of Ad Astra’s Merrily We Roll Along a daunting task for I fear I may have insufficient superlatives for the company’s first musical…
La Boite’s second mainstage offering for the year is the Queensland premiere of Blue, a one-man show co-produced by Belvoir St Theatre and written by Thomas Weatherall of Heartbreak High fame. It is a work of deeply personal fiction, which was inspired by Weatherall’s own experiences with depression as a young adult. Developed for the…
Discard any preconceived notions of an ancient Greek play by Euripides about a woman who kills her children. Adaptations of Medea usually have the titular character front and centre, but this unique take on the story by Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks has her two sons as the focal point. In fact, the two young…
I’ve now seen A Midsummer Night’s Dream countless times, including at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon (#sogood), because despite its comic complications, it is an easy story to follow and thoroughly enjoy. Though things may not quite be as they seem, Shakespeare’s play about true love’s lack of smooth course, is quite simple in…
Queensland writer and composer Paul Hodge’s Black Box touches down in world premiere at QPAC with unique proposition. It presents a bi-aural 3D-soundscaped musical telling of the life of a little-known Australian inventor. On paper it sounds like a niche, curious combination of elements. In reality it clearly works; in fact it not only works,…
Mad About the Boy has been released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Noel Coward’s death. This well-researched, revealing and entertaining documentary profiles Coward, the debonair “quintessential” English man and prolific writer, songwriter, actor and film director known for his quick wit and flamboyant style. The film celebrates Coward’s prodigious life and career; and…
The world premiere of The Norman Mailer Anecdote by Big Scary Animal was an exciting night of firsts. It was the first production of the inaugural DOOR 3 program by Queensland Theatre, the first play written by screenwriter Anthony Mullins, the directorial debut of actor Julian Curtis and the professional stage debut of actor Hattie…
Two actors, some props, lighting… sounds rudimentary – but the result in The Woman in Black is astounding. This storied play remains the second-longest running production in London’s West End, racking up over 13,000 performances between 1989 and 2023. (The longest-running is The Mousetrap.) Now this localised version of the London production is touring the…
