Category Archives: Theatre

Review: The Past Is A Wild Party (Qtopia / Siren Theatre Company)

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Venue: Qtopia (Darlinghurst NSW), Jul 10 – 27, 2024
Playwright: Noëlle Janaczewska
Director: Kate Gaul
Cast: Jules Billington
Images by Alex Vaughan

Theatre review
In The Past is a Wild Party, Noëlle Janaczewska looks back at her “chosen family history” by examining queer literature through the years, focusing on the often eclipsed experiences of women in the LGBTQ+ community. As she travels through libraries in Australia and in Europe, looking at works both legendary and obscure, Janaczewska reflects on her own life and loves, in what appears to be an exercise in healing, for the writer and for audiences of a similar persuasion.

It is an enchanting one-person show, directed with great passion by Kate Gaul, who brings wonderful elucidation to the meaningful complexions of the text. Performer Jules Billington is extraordinarily precise with each physical gesture and verbal inflection, making sure that we detect all the nuances of this soulful meditation on a collective phenomena that encompasses tribulation, trauma and triumph. There is a memorable and immense benevolence to Billington’s approach that thoroughly captivates, and that keeps us attentive with open hearts and minds.

An unexpectedly rich lighting design by Benjamin Brockman elevates the solo format, by introducing a compelling visuality to the production, with consistent vacillations to its emotional textures, but always beautiful in its depictions. Music by Madeleine Picard guides us on this sentimental journey, hypnotic with its melancholy, and perfectly attuned with the bittersweet musings of a person with wisdom to share.

It is within sapphic spaces that we can perceive especially clearly, an existence outside of the patriarchy. Power and its machinations may not entirely cease to exist in something like The Past is a Wild Party, but a certain disintegration of inequity can certainly be observed. No longer is there an obsession with domination over people, but a sense of togetherness in opposition to systematic oppression. We encounter something specific yet welcoming, with a capacity for the vastness of humanity, much like motherhood, that should come so natural, yet we know to be so rare.

www.qtopiasydney.com.au | www.sirentheatreco.com

Review: Too Human (KXT on Broadway)

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Venue: KXT on Broadway (Ultimo NSW), Jul 5 – 20, 2024
Playwright: Michael McStay
Director: Sammy Jing
Cast: Luisa Galloway, Jasper Lee-Lindsay, Rhiaan Marquez, Mason Phoumirath, Lachie Pringle, Rachel Seeto
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
Monty is in Year 8, and because she looks different from others at school, is having an inordinately hard time trying to fit in. Michael McStay’s Too Human is a witty return to the classic teen comedy, dealing with themes of acceptance and emancipation. With a narrative that might be considered intentionally trite, it is the sparkling dialogue and kooky characters that really leave an impression. We know exactly where the story is to conclude, but the journey is nonetheless enjoyable, and often thoroughly amusing.

Inventive direction by Sammy Jing keeps us fascinated, in a show that proves inexhaustibly mischievous and fun. Monty is played by Rhiaan Marquez, who convinces with her depictions of desperation amidst social ostracism. Jasper Lee-Lindsay and Rachel Seeto steal the show as Andy and Lewis respectively, both actors expertly balancing comedy with pathos, in portrayals of teenage angst that surprise with their poignancy. Other members of the likeable cast are Luisa Galloway, Mason Phoumirath and Lachie Pringle, all wonderfully humorous and equally committed to the cause.

Production design by Hannah Tayler comprises an archetypal interpretation of life on the schoolyard, with clever costumes full of idiosyncratic personality and a marvellous sense of fantasy. Lights by Emma van Veen and Paris Bell are wonderful in their colourfulness, commendable for the exuberance they bring to proceedings. Ambitious sounds by Felix Partos, with zany songs by Gabbi Bolt, too are effective in creating aural dynamism that keeps the atmosphere consistently buoyant and energetic.

The young ones in Too Human are talked about as half-human and half-animal, which seems to be terminology that engenders notions of incompleteness, rather than multitude. They are in fact of double species, and have the potential to be twice as interesting, if not twice as resourceful. How we name ourselves run the risk of attributing deficiency and inferiority, to beings who are perfect and whole. It may be an exaggeration to say that language means everything, but it is hard to imagine any phenomenon being defined without words, whether careless or impeccable.

www.kingsxtheatre.com | www.liminalproductions.au

Review: Cut Chilli (Old Fitz Theatre)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Jul 5 – 27, 2024
Playwright: Chenturan Aran
Director: David Burrowes
Cast: Noel Hodda, Kelsey Jeanell, Susie Lindeman, Brendan Miles, Nikki Sekar, Ariyan Sharma
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
Jamie has started thinking a lot about his birth mother in Sri Lanka, which is proving to be a great annoyance for his white Australian adoptive parents. In the beautifully observed Cut Chilli by Chenturan Aran, transracial adoption is the main subject that spurs discussions about racial identity, and about the current state of Western discourse that pertains to our political lives. Conflicting values, represented by a generational divide and along racial lines, are examined with incisiveness and great humour by Aran, whose clever dialogue helps soften the blow of his many provocative but manifestly meaningful expressions.

Direction by David Burrowes brings an excellent vibrancy to the play’s politics, but its comedy is perhaps less finely honed. Chemistry between cast members is inconsistent, although markedly captivating in moments when the actors do find a sense of connectedness. Leading man Ariyan Sharma introduces an authenticity to the show that translates as complexity and credibility, allowing us to engage with its ideas in a sophisticated manner.

Set design by Soham Apte demonstrates considerable resourcefulness and creativity, with proficient demarcations of space that make good sense of the locations being depicted. Costumes by Rita Naidu enhance the realism of Cut Chilli, whilst maintaining visual balance and a quiet elegance. Lights by Isobel Morrissey and sounds by Sam Cheng are fairly minimal in approach, but appropriately so. Also noteworthy is the video content in the show’s prologue and epilogue, as gracefully captured by cinematographer Jamie Gray.

Within these scene of intimacy involving Jamie’s loving family, we cannot help but regard the behaviour of our political adversaries with a certain generosity. Contemporary “rules of engagement” have provided little room for tolerance, with good reason, but in Cut Chilli we are reminded that perhaps kindness does count for something, even if it is attached to ignorance. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but without any desire to do better, nothing worthwhile could ever be achieved.

www.oldfitztheatre.com.au | www.newghoststheatre.com

Review: Dracula (Sydney Theatre Company)

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Venue: Roslyn Packer Theatre (Sydney NSW), Jul 2 – Aug 4, 2024
Writer: Bram Stoker (adapted by Kip Williams)
Director: Kip Williams
Cast: Zahra Newman
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, mortality is under constant threat, by its central immortal figure. Fear is represented entirely by deathlessness, the very phenomenon we desire the most. In Kip Williams’ single-performer stage adaptation, we see that all this struggle and terror, exists completely within one’s mind. In a story about petrifying phantoms and alarming apparitions, otherness is presented as being utterly heinous, yet only located on the inside.

It may be the old adage, “the only thing to fear is fear itself”, that we so clearly see in actor Zahra Newman’s sublimely rhapsodic performance, as her body and mind masterfully transform before our eyes, into 23 different characters from Stoker’s legendary work. We observe the astonishing courage of a person undertaking a manifestly herculean task, making a persuasive argument in this tour de force about horror and paranoia, demonstrating that what may be only a figment of a person’s imagination, can lead to absolutely devastating consequences.

Combining stage and screen, Williams’ cine-theatre approach deals perfectly with competing concepts of reality and delusion. On film, all manner of fantastical imagery can be shown, and the audience easily invests in its fiction, no matter how extravagant. By contrast, the materiality of the live format is used simultaneously to expose the truth, and we find ourselves in a constant state of discombobulation, experiencing both aspects, virtually at the same time. Williams’ ability to deliver that delightfully bizarre sensation, of being immersed in circumstances that are at once congruent and divergent, is theatrical magic at its most sensational. In Dracula, we learn that art and technology can coalesce to deliver a psychological effect that could perhaps neve be encountered otherwise, and reveal something quite fundamental about how we are.

The immense video work is designed by Craig Wilkinson, whose inventiveness leaves us breathless time and again. Marg Howell’s costumes and sets are consistently surprising, and marvellous in the sense of cohesiveness they manufacture for a show that dares to be thoroughly unhinged. Lights by Nick Schlieper give us seamless and balanced visuals, every which way we choose to position our eyes. Music by Clemence Williams and sounds by Jessica Dunn, are relentlessly gripping, and memorable for being unabashedly dramatic, in their delicious interpretations of Stoker and his essential flamboyance.

The human imagination is unequivocally powerful. It can twist material realities into infinite different meanings, that in turn spur us onto wildly varying trajectories. Our mind has great capacities, yet we can never claim to have real control over it. Count Dracula may or may not be who they think he is, but there is certainly no doubting their dismal failure at ever hoping to resist his allure.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au

Review: The Odd Couple (Theatre Royal)

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Venue: Theatre Royal (Sydney NSW), 27 Jun – 28 Jul, 2024
Playwright: Neil Simon
Director: Mark Kilmurry
Cast: John Batchelor, Laurence Coy, Lucy Durack, Shane Jacobson, Todd McKenney, Penny McNamee Jamie Oxenbould, Anthony Taufa
Images by Pia Johnson

Theatre review
Felix and Oscar are living together, because both have recently divorced their wives. Although best friends, their personalities are wildly divergent and therefore  do not make the most compatible of housemates. Neil Simon’s 60-year-old play delivers nostalgia in spades, but The Odd Couple has clearly lost its relevance decades ago. Many will nonetheless find the humour appealing, within a presentational style that straddles between something charmingly classic and regrettably outmoded.

Direction by Mark Kilmurry remains faithful, to memories of 1960s New York. It is a slick production (on an attractive set design by Justin Nardella), with precise timing that ensures we know exactly where the laughs are situated. Actor Shane Jacobson is very strong with the comedy, never missing an opportunity to expand on Simon’s humour, in the role of the carefree Oscar. On the other hand, his counterpart Todd McKenney is perhaps not entirely convincing as the uptight Felix, but commendable for bringing a consistent verve to his performance. Lucy Durack and Penny McNamee are noteworthy as the Pigeon sisters, an inventive pair demonstrating remarkable capacity for enriching some perhaps more ordinary characters.

Theatre will always explore the silliness of being human. What is silly changes constantly however, just as what we feel to be funny rarely stays the same. When revisiting old comedies, we can discover how we have evolved, and be able to identify shifts in culture that reflect the transformations of values and attitudes. In The Odd Couple, we can see some aspects of life that have gone through dramatic metamorphosis, alongside others that have scarcely altered. Humanity is unlikely to ever become anything resembling pristine, but we certainly cannot help but try tirelessly to be better.

www.theoddcoupleplay.com.au

Review: [Your Name] (KXT on Broadway)

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Venue: KXT on Broadway (Ultimo NSW), Jun 14 – 29, 2024
Playwright: Kate Bubalo
Director: Lily Hayman
Cast: Lola Bond, Andrew Fraser, Georgia McGinness, Evelina Singh
Images by Georgia Brogan

Theatre review
It is 2013 and Kris, Nadine and Petra are fourteen-year-old girls obsessed with a certain world-famous teenage wizard. They write erotic fan fiction about him, and share it online with other enthusiasts, but disaster strikes when a chapter is mistakenly sent to their teacher, Mr. Isaacs. The play [Your Name] by Kate Bubalo demonstrates the anxiety we have about burgeoning sexuality, highlighting our inability to reconcile something purely natural with unrealistic conceptions of girlhood.

It is a raucous comedy, imaginatively directed by Lily Hayman who brings an impressive eye for detail, along with a commendable boldness, to deliver a show that never diminishes in effervescence. Set design by Tyler Fitzpatrick is simple, but noteworthy for the sleekness it brings to the production. Also by Fitzpatrick, are the wonderfully dynamic lights, beguiling with their surprising elaborateness. Clare Hennessy’s purposeful sounds are intricately assembled, to enhance every dramatic nuance of a show intent on expressing very big, youthful emotions.

An extraordinary cast of four takes us on a wild ride, memorable for their remarkable cohesiveness, and astonishing with the dedication they exemplify. Lola Bond, Andrew Fraser, Georgia McGinness and Evelina Singh bring an unbridled campness to the experience, full of charming irreverence, yet sensitive and earnest in their representation of adolescent angst.

So much of sex occurs in our minds. It follows then, that our personal identities are closely connected with our sexual fantasies. In private explorations of deepest desires, we can discover the truest core of who we are, whether or not those fantasies are ever to be rendered to life. How a person is, is intimately related to how one wishes to relate to the world. Discovery of the self may not entirely be about sex, but mysteries can certainly be solved, when examining one’s strongest libidinous urges.

www.kingsxtheatre.com | www.instagram.com/purpletapeproductions

Review: Master Class (Ensemble Theatre)

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Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), 14 Jun – 20 Jul, 2024
Playwright: Terrence McNally
Director: Liesel Badorrek
Cast: Maria Alfonsine, Damian de Boos-Smith, Elisa Colla, Lucia Mastrantone, Bridget Patterson, Matthew Reardon
Images by Prudence Upton

Theatre review
Maria Callas enters the auditorium, but not to sing. In Terrence McNally’s Master Class, she is teaching the art of performance to opera students at an unnamed institution. Inspired by Callas’ actual lessons at the Juilliard School in the early 1970s, we see La Divina imparting wisdom to eager pupils, in highly unorthodox, and often comical, fashion. McNally’s 2-hour play may have a tendency to be repetitive, but the charm imbued in his protagonist, along with the profoundly beautiful insights being shared, keeps us attentive and invested.

The element that has us thoroughly enthralled however, is actor Lucia Mastrantone who is unequivocally brilliant as Callas, offering what feels to be the truest emulation of the legend’s essence, completely impressive with the rigour being demonstrated in her physical and spiritual embodiment of one of the world’s foremost theatrical icons.

Mastrantone’s perfect timing, most notable in the deliciously acerbic dialogue, is balanced with an unexpectedly kind nature, that she is able to add to her portrayal of Callas’ stern façade. Additionally, Mastrantone’s glorious delivery of statements about the meaning and value of art, proves to be so deeply moving, that we feel magically transported somewhere sacred, as though in the presence of an exalted being, if not Callas herself.

There is a wonderful extravagance to Master Class that director Liesel Badorrek ensures is consistently apparent; this staging is as understatedly camp, as Callas was thoroughly fabulous. Set and costumes by Isabel Hudson convey polish and a vital sense of sophistication. Lights by Kelsey Lee are effective when designed with subtlety, but are less convincing in heightened sections involving excessive shadows that create undue distance between the audience and performer.

Musical direction by Maria Alfonsine is memorable for its sensitivity to the text, and for working seamlessly with the leading lady, to reveal glimpses of Callas at her most sublime. Also noteworthy are members of the charming supporting cast Damian de Boos-Smith, Elisa Colla, Bridget Patterson and Matthew Reardon, who complete the picture, in this poignant tribute to music and one of its biggest stars.

www.ensemble.com.au

Review: Trophy Boys (Seymour Centre)

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Venue: Seymour Centre, Reginald Theatre (Chippendale NSW), Jun 19 – Jul 7, 2024
Playwright: Emmanuelle Mattana
Director: Marni Mount
Cast: Leigh Lule, Emmanuelle Mattana, Gaby Seow, Fran Sweeney-Nash
Images by Ben Andrew

Theatre review
Four private school boys are preparing for the grand finale of their debating tournament, where they are to argue the affirmative position: ‘That feminism has failed women.’ Keen to win the competition, but also worried about being perceived as regressive on the subject, the team struggles as it tries to come up with an appropriate strategy. When a piece of breaking news surfaces that threatens their dominance as privileged males however, finding assertions and justifications suddenly becomes a simple exercise, as they resort to old established patterns of deceit and gaslighting, to preserve the hegemony.

Emmanuelle Mattana’s Trophy Boys starts off incredibly funny, with its rendering of disingenuous attempts by young elites to present themselves as liberal and socially conscious. Things take a dark turn, and we see them ruthlessly defend the patriarchy, when confronted by consequences of their real actions outside of the hypothetical academic realm. Mattana’s writing is intelligent, witty and captivating, and as actor performing the pivotal role of Owen, they are piercing and meticulous, with an exuberance that sustains energy for the entire production.

Leigh Lule, Gaby Seow and Fran Sweeney-Nash too are effective with the political dimensions of Trophy Boys, playing the other characters in the style of drag, with its inherent exaggerations that foreground the absurdity of these entitled beings. Direction by Marni Mount can feel slightly too hectic, for something that provides a lot of food for thought. Nonetheless, the show remains thoroughly enjoyable, even if it tends to race past too quickly for meaningful contemplation. Production design by Ben Andrews, along with lights by Katie Sfetkidis, offer uncomplicated solutions that efficiently facilitate the telling of a timely story.

The boys choose to do the right thing, only when it costs them nothing. The rest of us too, rarely make sacrificial decisions, even if we are at the wrong end of the totem pole. The patriarchy knows to keep us from having nothing to lose, for that is when we become truly dangerous. It offers crumbs in ways that distracts us from power imbalances and wealth disparities, making us believe that ultimately, the system works. It convinces people that something as diabolical as “rape culture” is but a trendy turn of phrase and an overreaction, for something that has always been traditional and eternal.

www.seymourcentre.com | www.themaybepile.com.au | www.softtread.com.au

Review: King Lear (Bell Shakespeare)

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Venue: The Neilson Nutshell (Sydney NSW), Jun 14 – Jul 20, 2024
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Peter Evans
Cast: Tamara Lee Bailey, Shameer Birges, Jeremi Campese, Melissa Kahraman, Alex King, James Lugton, Robert Menzies, Lizzie Schebesta, Michael Wahr, Janine Watson, Darius Williams, Brittany Santariga
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review

As Lear nears the end of his life, it becomes important that he knows how his daughters feel about him. It may seem that young men can bear children indiscriminately, only to decide to assess the quality of those relationships, when it is much too late. The results can often be disastrous, as is exemplified in Shakespeare’s King Lear.

An intensity associated with those dire consequences is certainly present, in Peter Evans’ direction of the piece. Lights by Benjamin Cisterne and sounds by Max Lyandvert pull no punches, when required to deliver the drama. In concluding sections of the play especially, a theatrical flamboyance takes hold quite decisively, as though to remind us of the extremities in human emotionality that Shakespeare had loved to depict, and with such aplomb. In this production however, the drama feels distant, almost synthetic. Its vigour is discernible, but never really connects, leaving us to observe its passionate renderings, only with cerebral curiosity.

The staging is nonetheless aesthetically pleasing, with a captivating set design by Anna Tregloan taking inspiration from celestial elements in the text. It is a modern approach that extends to her costumes, although a greater eye for detail and refinement would improve visual interest, for an audience positioned so intimately in relation to all the action.

Actor Robert Menzies plays leading man on this occasion, highly convincing in the role, although not always compelling. Other performers include Janine Watson as Kent, and Darius Williams as Edmund, both rich and delicious with the myriad colours and textures they deliver, memorable for the inventiveness they bring to the table.

It is arguable if Lear’s regrets are circumventable. We can see that there is so much he could have ameliorated through the years. We also know that one can only do better, if they know better.  What is in contention therefore, is if Lear had actually known any better, or if he was only ever doing his best. Parenting is tricky business, enacted by flawed people, who then create further flaws in other people. No wonder we talk endlessly about forgiveness.

www.bellshakespeare.com.au

Review: American Signs (Sydney Theatre Company)

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Venue: Wharf 2 Sydney Theatre Company (Walsh Bay NSW), Jun 15 – Jul 14, 2024
Playwright: Anchuli Felicia King
Director: Kenneth Moraleda
Cast: Catherine Văn-Davies
Images by Prudence Upton

Theatre review
The unnamed protagonist is a twenty-something, third-generation Vietnamese-American who has completed her degree at Stanford, and is trying to establish a career as a management consultant. She has made her way into a top firm, where competition is strong, and where rules of engagement are soul-destroying. As a junior employee, she is being conditioned to tolerate exploitation in many flavours, and because she believes herself lucky to be there, she takes it all lying down.

Anchuli Felicia King’s sensational American Signs tells a rich story about late-stage capitalism, with particular focus on refugee diasporas and their obligatory allegiance to Western values. The Consultant’s acceptance of dubious conditions and her capitulation to utterly unethical abuses of power, are cuttingly illustrated by King with unequivocal persuasiveness. American Signs also functions as a sort of meditation on the notion of destiny for immigrants, who exist in an inevitable commitment to a hegemony that represents the antithesis of what they flee.

Poignant direction by Kenneth Moraleda fuses intellect with emotion, so that we may understand thoroughly the plight of the central character, and by inference the audience’s own circumstances. For a narrative dealing with impulses and compulsions that often seem to be unconscious or unexamined, it is important that we are encouraged to feel as much as we contemplate, the several resonant morals of the story. Moraleda’s work certainly has us engaging both heart and mind.

It is however the actor Catherine Văn-Davies who brings marvellous elucidation to the complex dimensions of American Signs, and all that it is capable of saying. Whether tragic, vulnerable, powerful or menacing, Văn-Davies is spectacularly convincing with every human state she inhabits. The play’s meaningful observations about systemic failures in our economies, societies and politics, are given further significance by being turned into vigorous demands for cultural transformation, by Văn-Davies’ deeply affecting expressions of rightful indignation.

Production design by James Lew puts on stage the mundane starkness of our utilitarian realities, bringing attention to the pragmatism that often prevails over creativity and spirit. Benjamin Brockman’s lights are intricately calibrated in tandem with the actor’s constantly shifting temperaments, and notable for the visual intrigue it manufactures during more heightened sections of the show. Sound and music by Sam Cheng are not only essential to the way our intuitions respond to every twist and turn of the story, but also memorable for a quality of transcendence it brings to the overall experience, thus allowing us to connect in personal ways with American Signs.

The Consultant sees no alternative to her ambitions. She tells herself that she is not a monster, at every step of her participation in a repugnant and cannibalistic process of getting to the top. It is true that it is the intention of the system to be ubiquitous, so that every individual’s investment in it, is considered non-negotiable. We are made to believe that there are no other ways that can sustain life. It is entirely possible however, that those at the bottom rungs will simply embark on a project of demolishment without a satisfactory plan of replacement, when the moment finally arrives, and a substantial population finds itself with nothing left to lose.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au