Tag Archives: 2024

Review: Colder Than Here (Ensemble Theatre)

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Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), 16 Sep – 12 Oct, 2024
Playwright: Laura Wade
Director: Janine Watson
Cast: Airlie Dodds, Charlotte Friels, Huw Higginson, Hannah Waterman
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
Myra only has months to live. There are only so many practical affairs to attend to, before she has to deal with the real business of saying goodbye to her loved ones. A meditation on death, Laura Wade’s Colder Than Here is an excellent opportunity for audiences to contemplate the inevitable. In paradigms such as ours, that vehemently avoid any discussion on the subject, the play is an unusual attempt to offer a sincere look at something that is certain for all.

Although irrefutably deliberative in nature, Colder Than Here is memorable for its humour, surprising perhaps for the lightness of its tone. Direction by Janine Watson makes sure that those comedic qualities sing prominently throughout the piece, along with all the sensitive renderings of conversations being depicted between family members.

Set design by Michael Hankin takes clear inspiration from Wade’s text, to introduce a carpet of green moss, that dominates the staging, to mixed results. Video projections by Mark Bolotin form beautiful backdrops for scenes of the English landscape, gently animated to evoke the life that continues be, in a story about the renewal of human corporeality. Lights by Morgan Moroney and sounds by Jessica Dunn are sparse and subtle, for a show that always chooses the understated option.

Actor Hannah Waterman brings great believability to Myra, portraying strength and vulnerability in equal measure, along with a charming wit that proves captivating. Husband Alec is also a funny character, as performed by Huw Higginson, who absolutely convinces as a man trying to avoid painful emotions. Airlie Dodds and Charlotte Friels play Myra’s daughters, both demonstrating commitment and focus, in a work that steers clear of cheap sentimentality.

The human mind seems always to be searching for that which is definite; we want to understand things in black and white, yet death being one of the very few that is beyond question, constantly escapes our attention. “The irony of man’s condition is that the deepest need is to be free of the anxiety of death and annihilation; but it is life itself which awakens it, and so we must shrink from being fully alive.” (Ernest Becker, 1973).

www.ensemble.com.au

Review: Plenty Of Fish In The Sea (Sydney Fringe Festival)

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Venue: New Theatre (Newtown NSW), Sep 17 – 21, 2024
Creators: Emily Ayoub, Madeline Baghurst
Cast: Emily Ayoub, Madeline Baghurst, Christopher Carroll
Images by Geoff Magee

Theatre review
Emily Ayoub and Madeline Baghurst’s Plenty of Fish in the Sea is a story about passion, involving three people on a boat, spending all of their time fishing. Inspired by something named Saint Cotriade, a village or maybe a Catholic deity, they have set off to concoct a special soup from their haul from the ocean. The results are both magnificent and devastating, as we discover in this work of exceptional whimsy.

Creators Ayoub and Baghurst are joined by Christopher Carroll, to form an extraordinary cast remarkable for their physical and facial agility, who deliver a performance memorable for its crisp precision and admirable for its collaborative harmony. Highly inventive in its conception, and executed with great vision and humour, Plenty of Fish in the Sea is a succinct piece of theatre that proves endlessly amusing and delightful.

Production design by Tobhiyah Stone Feller consists of a set that is magically malleable, and costumes that are both evocative and flattering. Dynamic lights by Victor Kalka offer wide ranging calibrations of atmosphere, helping us intuit surprising layers to this simple tale. Daniel Herten’s sounds and music manufacture excitement and intensity, in perfect synchrony with everything being depicted by the personalities on stage.

We learn from Plenty of Fish in the Sea that where there is passion, there could be abundance. Indeed, there are limitless forces that will impose restrictions, on anything one might choose to pursue, and it is incumbent on an individual to honour their own sense of truth. A person’s will could be made to bend, but a person’s essence has the natural inclination to resist, whether or not one wishes.

www.sydneyfringe.com | www.clockfiretheatre.com

Review: Dancefloor Conversion Therapy (Sydney Fringe Festival)

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Venue: The Atherden (The Rocks NSW), Sep 12 – 28, 2024
Playwright: Aunty Jonny Hawkins
Director: Mikala Westall
Cast: Aunty Jonny Hawkins
Images by @anbintheframe

Theatre review
It has been quite a journey for Aunty Jonny who, as a young adult, had been on track to becoming a star minister in the evangelical church system, to now extolling the virtues of dance parties, clad in titillating lingerie. The one thing that remains the same, is Jonny’s passion for proselytising. As witnessed in Dancefloor Conversion Therapy, a tongue-in-cheek presentation in the style of a sermon, the artist speaks of first-hand experiences, in order that we may be convinced of a state of transcendental divination that they so fervently advocate. 

Unlike Christianity however, Jonny’s proclamations are consciously and radically inclusive, informed by their personal journey as a queer person, emerging from a stridently heteronormative background. Now passionately embracing a new paradigm that is almost too neatly diametric in its opposition to their previous life, Jonny shares their love for something decidedly more chaotic and wild, as enthusiastic about debauchery as the old religion is about temperance and chastity.

Providing support on DJ decks and a lighting console is Mikala Westall, who as director of the piece, ensures that we encounter a highly endearing Aunty Jonny, in a show that is ceaselessly humorous, with a spiritual quality that is simultaneously ironic and authentic, that keeps us invested.

Jonny’s writing for Dancefloor Conversion Therapy is considered and clever, although not always rich or sufficiently complex in their personal expressions, from the perspective of someone who is evidently still in a tumultuous process of maturation and discovery.  Amusingly analogous with sectarian leaders of all kinds, are not only Jonny’s commanding charisma as performer, but also their steely certainty about the topics they preach. Not to presently draw a false equivalence though, for it is the fundamental concept of liberation that forms the heart of what the artist wishes to convey, which is entirely different from teachings of monotheistic traditions.

One might be hard-pressed to dream up a party that excludes absolutely no one, but we must always believe that freedom can be a state of being made available to all. This means that we must find ways to conceive of our enemies as having the freedom to be who they authentically are, the same way we wish for them to simply let us be who we are. Harmony is key, and we must all insist on it.

www.sydneyfringe.com | www.instagram.com/auntyjonny

Review: All Boys (KXT on Broadway)

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Venue: KXT on Broadway (Ultimo NSW), Sep 6 – 21, 2024
Playwright: Xavier Hazard
Director: Mehhma Malhi
Cast: Ashan Kumar, Braeden Caddy, Faisal Hamza, Harry Stacey, Jackson Hurwood, Jasper Lee-Lindsay, Leon Walshe, Louis Delaunay-Henbest, Robert Miniter, Toby Carey, Victor Y Z Xu
Images by Nicholas Warrand

Theatre review
Xavier Hazard’s All Boys takes place over 6 years, in the previous decade, at a Catholic boarding school for boys. As a site of germination for the patriarchy, institutions like these profess to cultivate leaders of the future, but are in fact committed to preserving the many ills that are foundational to the  dysfunctions and inequities of Australian life.

We see in the play, boys learning to become their fathers, in a world devoid of womanhood; they are capable of doing good, but the system engenders and normalises a lot of extremely bad behaviour. This process of indoctrination provides for All Boys its riveting sense of drama, as we watch the young at crossroads, being propelled towards negative outcomes by an establishment obsessed with its elite status. Hazard’s acute observations are expressed in the most sophisticated manner, never overwrought but always powerful, for a work that will resonate especially with those it seeks to represent.

Direction by Mehhma Malhi is correspondingly refined, notable for its trust in the audience’s discernment. Malhi’s show avoids obvious manoeuvres, but is consistently magnetic, having us enthralled for its entirety. It provokes big questions, without ever being on the nose with any of them. 11 excellent actors are perfectly cast; each character is distinct and credible. They bring a wonderful inventiveness to their interpretations of the text, along with an admirable level of commitment that insists on our attention, and our careful scrutiny on the subject matter.

Set design Rebecca Howarth helps the ensemble facilitate a great range of visual compositions, along with costumes, also by Howarth, that impress with their nuanced carving out of individual personalities. Lights by Isobel Morrissey deliver surprising variation to the imagery, and are effective in manufacturing  atmosphere and tension appropriate to each scene. Amy Norton’s sound design is very subtly rendered, but fascinating in its approach at creating suitable focus for the vacillating sensibilities that All Boys inspires.

We see the boys being terrible, and wonder how this comes to be. None of it is intentional, yet culpability resides entirely on those who birth and raise them. We say that all we ever want, is to provide the best education and development, and that none of these negative consequences are part of the plan. We then continue enacting the same systems that produce the same old results. 

www.kingsxtheatre.com | www.instagram.com/every_other_

Review: The Queen’s Nanny (Ensemble Theatre)

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Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), 6 Sep – 12 Oct, 2024
Playwright: Melanie Tait
Director: Priscilla Jackman
Cast: Matthew Backer, Elizabeth Blackmore, Emma Palmer
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
Marion Crawford worked as governess for 17 years, caring for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret of England. Although she had published articles and a book about her time with royalty, Crawford remained faithful, never writing a disrespectful or denigrating word. Melanie Tait’s play The Queen’s Nanny is accordingly courteous, in its renderings of a woman’s memories pertaining to a special time. There is no questioning the integrity of Tait’s work, but when it comes to stories relating to the crown, some audiences prefer a more creative approach, as evidenced by the success of titles that have taken great liberties in fabricating anecdotes, to have us truly riveted.

The production is nonetheless vibrantly directed by Priscilla Jackman, who ensures that the staging is beautifully crafted in all aspects. Michael Hankin’s set design is elegant in its simplicity, featuring scale model versions of buildings that help us imagine the rarefied world of The Queen’s Nanny. Costumes by Genevieve Graham are splendidly tailored, to accurately convey the class of people being depicted. Lights by Morgan Moroney are intricately designed, to manufacture dramatic tension, and to represent a sense of opulence. There is an intense sensitivity in James Peter Brown’s music that offer a gravity to the experience, as though a constant reminder that there is always a real humanity at the centre of this show.

In the titular role is Elizabeth Blackmore who excels at finding emotional range, for a personality from somewhere noted for its great restraint. We may not always be interested in her chronicles, but there is an authenticity to Blackmore’s performance that makes everything feel truthful. A very endearing Emma Palmer plays The Queen Mother with delicious aplomb, bringing a valuable flamboyance that keeps the storytelling buoyant and colourful. Matthew Backer is highly impressive as he morphs into a wide range of characters, each one persuasive and beguiling, demonstrating remarkable skill as he imaginatively carves out his portions of the tale.

It is often a mystery, how an artist finds inspiration, and what results from their efforts. We can very rationally map out the kinds of stories we wish to share at our theatres, but we must also be mindful about the restrictions we impose on our artists. There is a freedom that must be afforded to those in the business of creativity, in order that they may discover something astonishing and unanticipated. It is also important to believe that a greater moment can only happen, after the current one is completed. Marion Crawford was only 39 when her time with queens and kings was over. Her subsequent years may not have been documented as extensively, but we have to believe that they remained cherished and meaningful, even as her life had taken on a different complexion.

www.ensemble.com.au

Review: New Works Festival Part 1 (Old Fitz Theatre)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW)

All The Fraudulent Horse Girls Aug 30 – Sep 14, 2024
Playwright: Michael Louis Kennedy
Director: Jess Arthur
Cast: Janet Anderson, Caitlin A. Kearney, Shirong Wu
Images by Robert Catto

Probe Sep 5 – 14, 2024
Playwright: Becca Hurd
Director: Rachel Chant
Cast: Ryan Panizza, Ziggy Resnick
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
The first in a series of double bills, at the New Works Festival by Old Fitz Theatre, features All The Fraudulent Horse Girls by Michael Louis Kennedy and Probe by Becca Hurd. The former tells the whimsical story of an 11-year-old’s fascination with horses, full of comical imagination if slightly too bizarre to meaningfully engage in. The latter is a two-hander about the current state of the film industry, with a particular interest in the prevailing gender inequity that firmly undergirds the system, notable for its mischievous dialogue, but could benefit from some thoughtful editing.

Direction for both pieces are sensitively and elegantly accomplished, by Jess Archer for Horse Girls and by Rachel Chant for Probe. There is a bold theatricality in their work that translates as an effervescence to help sustain our attention. Lighting design by Emma Van Heen demonstrates a keen for dramatic tension as well as for humour, able to manufacture effective atmospheric transformations to keep our sensibilities attuned.

A uniformly excellent group of performers, each one of them deliberative yet uninhibited, insists on making us convinced and interested in what they present. Janet Anderson, Caitlin A. Kearney and Shirong Wu are wonderful with the kookiness of their equine themed creation, offering great variety to their depictions of something fantastical and strange. Playing filmmakers at different stages of their careers, Ryan Panizza and Ziggy Resnick are often powerful with what they bring, and impressive with the level of conviction they deliver for a couple of very challenging characters. These two plays in the first instalment of New Works Festival prove demanding in different ways, but the cast makes it a worthwhile experience, in an artform that is always collaborative, and as can be witnessed here, eternally optimistic.

ww.oldfitztheatre.com.au | www.instagram.com/sourcherry.productions

Review: Sunset Boulevard (Sydney Opera House)

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Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), 28 Aug – 1 Nov, 2024
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Book and Lyrics: Don Black, Christopher Hampton (based on the Billy Wilder film)
Director: Paul Warwick Griffin
Cast: Sarah Brightman, Jarrod Draper, Tim Draxl, Robert Grubb, Paul Hanlon, Ashleigh Rubenach, Troy Sussman
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
Hollywood legend Norma Desmond is desperately trying to claw back her glory days, while relative upstart screenwriter Joe Gillis will do almost anything to make it in the big time. When the two meet, their ambitions prove a lethal combination, leading to the highest of dramatic foibles. Billy Wilder’s unequivocal icon of a film Sunset Boulevard may be 74 years-old, but nothing about this story of faded glamour seems dated; women in showbusiness today are still being chewed up and spat out, and endless aspirants continue to want in on the action.

The 1993 musical adaptation with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and a book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, is similarly intoxicating. Old-world extravagance and delicious camp, converge to provide the perfect fodder for this flamboyant, Broadway-style outing. Direction by Paul Warwick Griffin does not reinvent the wheel, but certainly restores the emotive propulsion of the piece, as well as resurrecting the irresistible allure of a narrative on seduction, power and decadence. Splendid design on set and costumes by Morgan Large, along with sumptuous lights by Mark Henderson, ensure that we are thoroughly mesmerised and immersed, in this world of illusory wonder.

In the role of Norma is Sarah Brightman, who although lacks the wicked humour usually associated with the piece, and presents a somewhat less grotesque version of this Hollywood monster, impresses with her searing commitment to the project. This Norma is as terrifically delusionary as any, whether or not we perceive Brightman’s renderings as intentional. Joe is played by a striking Tim Draxl, who brings immense magnetism, coupled with steely precision and technical brilliance, to keep us wholly invested. When required to deliver vulnerability, Draxl is astonishing in his ability to disarm, in order that we may see the deep humanity being explored at the centre of Sunset Boulevard.

Joe witnesses first-hand, the way the system has royally abused Norma, yet he remains unfazed, and continues to pursue his celluloid dreams at full bore. Norma herself too, cannot help but keep fighting to reclaim status, to the extent that she has to completely lose her mind. Such is the formidable might of American capitalism.

www.opera.org.au | www.gwbentertainment.com

Review: Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس (25A Belvoir)

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Venue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Aug 20 – Sep 8, 2024
Concept: Najee Tannous
Story: Antony Makhlouf, Francesco Pelli, Najee Tannous, Hayden Tonazzi, May Yousif
Directors: Hayden Tonazzi, May Yousif
Cast: Antony Makhlouf, Najee Tannous
Images by Anna Kucera

Theatre review
Summoned home by the death of his mother, Sam returns after a long absence. His brother Yousif is understandably resentful, having stayed put all this time, and now feeling as though he has missed out on a lot. Conceived by Najee Tannous, Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس deals humorously with family ties and the myriad complications involved in these often difficult entanglements. Thoroughly amusing, and interminably relatable, Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس explores some of the most authentic challenges in our emotional lives. Wonderfully candid and intricately considered, the interactions between Sam and Yousif offer valuable insights into human behaviour, and that eternally troublesome nature of love.

Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس is also an exploration of masculinity, in which we witness the tensions between the need for connection, alongside the obstacles to truthful expression. The characters may only rarely say what they mean, but thoughtful and innovative direction by Hayden Tonazzi and May Yousif always offers substantive illumination, to all the critical undercurrents that inform how the brothers think and act. What results is a show that proves immensely entertaining, whilst inspiring some stirring meditations about kinship that many will certainly find resonant.

Set design by Soham Apte depicts an unpretentious scene of domesticity, that turns poignant at pivotal moments. Lights by Elyse Drenth are a creative touch that brings theatricality and sentimentality, whenever we need a sense of intensification for the storytelling. Sounds and music by Chrysoulla Markoulli are  inventive, penetrating and beautiful, bringing to the production an air of elevated sophistication.

The siblings in Pickled ﻛﺑﯾس  are played by the aforementioned Tannous as Yousif, and by Antony Makhlouf as Sam, who both bring extraordinary authenticity to their portrayals of contemporary gay Lebanese-Australian men, as well as being a marvellously engrossing and endearing pair. The harmony in their performance has us entirely captivated, in their sometimes moving and often kooky presentation, of a sweet tale between queer Arab siblings.

Sam and Yousif might not see very much of each other, but there is no questioning the depth at which they know one another. There are people we see often in passing, but whom we only know on perfunctory levels. Queer Arabs are a marginalised group, whose voices are rarely represented in so many parts of Australian life. There are Australians who dominate our consciousness, and there are Australians who are routinely excluded. We are meant to be equal, but evidence suggests that the disparities are profound.

www.belvoir.com.au | www.pyt.com.au

Review: Gaslight (Roslyn Packer Theatre)

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Venue: Roslyn Packer Theatre (Sydney NSW), Aug 21 – Sep 8, 2024
Writer: Patrick Hamilton (adapted by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson)
Director: Lee Lewis
Cast: Courtney Cavallaro, Kate Fitzpatrick, Geraldine Hakewill, Toby Schmitz
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
Bella is trying hard to settle into her new home with husband Jack, but things are not going at all well. Jack convinces Bella that her mind is playing tricks, and causing great amounts of anxiety, but in fact Jack is the one behind all the machinations of her escalating delusions. Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play Gaslight, as adapted by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson in 2022, is certainly modernised and given a feminist perspective, but the work’s effectiveness is doubtful.

Direction by Lee Lewis depicts upper class English life, in the late 19th century, with stylistic splendour, but we are never really completely gripped by this psychological thriller. There are comedic elements, as well as a lot of drama, but much of it feels hesitant. The production bears an indecisive ambivalence in the portrayal of its villain, that makes the audience confused as to how it should respond to its narrative of deceit.

It must be noted however, that actor Geraldine Hakewill’s commitment as Bella cannot be denied. We may not be convinced by the character she plays, but there is a lot to be admired in Hakewill’s professionalism. The role of Jack is performed by Toby Schmitz, who gives us no reason to believe in Bella’s devotion, but his mischievous theatricality is an asset to the staging. 

Production design by Renee Mulder may be predictable but is clearly accurate in its rendering of a specific time and space, with a refinement that always pleases the eye. Lights by Paul Jackson are sumptuous and appropriately alluring, in this story about lies and manufactured hallucinations. Sounds and music by Paul Charlier are memorable in heightened moments, leaving no room for doubt that we are witnessing melodrama in its most classic form.

In Gaslight, we observe a young woman’s obedience, as dictated by society at large, and its subsequent deterioration, but only after she can take no more. Watching Bella play the role of the doting wife, can be a bizarre experience, but we also understand her behaviour to be a result of the way so many of our daughters had been brought up. It could be that we are terrified when women and girls think too much for themselves. Jack and his ilk will definitely no longer be able to do as they wish, if we stop adhering to the narratives of their determination.

www.gaslightplay.com.au

Review: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (Belvoir St Theatre)

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Venue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Aug 17 – Sep 22, 2024
Playwright: Simon Stephens (based on the novel by Mark Haddon)
Director: Hannah Goodwin
Cast: Nicholas Brown, Roy Joseph, Tracy Mann, Brandon McClelland, Daniel R. Nixon, Matilda Ridgway, Ariadne Sgouros, Brigid Zengeni
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
Christopher discovers that his neighbour’s dog has been killed, and sets out to solve the mystery of who committed the crime, embarking on an investigation that leads him to uncover unexpected truths about his own family. Based on Mark Haddon’s novel of the same name, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens depicts a central character with an unnamed form of neurodivergence, allowing us to better understand those within our community who live every day with challenges that go beyond the normative.

Actor Daniel R. Nixon is unequivocally brilliant as Christopher, with an impressive precision to his approach, yet consistently soulful and warm, in his portrayal of an exuberant 15-year-old. It is not a particularly remarkable story that we encounter, but Nixon imbues the protagonist with so much charm and spirit, that we cannot help but invest earnestly into the production. The supporting cast of seven is wonderfully entertaining, in a large number of roles, that thoroughly enrich the experience.

Direction is provided by Hannah Goodwin who demonstrates great inventiveness, in a show that is never short of imagination or theatricality. Set and costumes by Zoë Atkinson are designed to enhance the ensemble’s work in subtle ways. Lights by Kelsey Lee too are effective but mostly understated, delivering imagery memorable for its sense of delicateness. Sounds by Alyx Dennison are meticulously and intensely rendered, to have us unexpectedly riveted, to this simple tale.

People in minority groups are always in positions that require them to yield to standards set by the mainstream. Having to constantly capitulate to what is considered normal, can make one feel a sense of grave inadequacy. Even for those who are unusual, it is easy to forget that there is a lot to aspire to, in unusualness. There seems something about that need for conformity, that feels to be fundamentally human. It is perhaps a misunderstanding that the virtue of harmony, which we should always pursue, requires that we all be the same. The truth is that no two people can ever be the same, and much as our differences can prove inconvenient, it is in that acceptance of variance that we can reach for our higher selves.

www.belvoir.com.au