Tag Archives: drama

Review: Ruins أطلال (25A Belvoir)

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Venue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Oct 1 – 20, 2024
Playwrights: Emily Ayoub, Madeline Baghurst, Mine Cerci
Directors: Emily Ayoub, Madeline Baghurst
Cast: Emily Ayoub, Adam Al Kuheli, Madeline Baghurst, Tony Poli, Piumi Wijesundara
Images by Geoff Magee

Theatre review
It is a pilgrimage of sorts that we see in Ruins أطلال . An Australian travels to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, guided by memories of her recently departed father, in search of something that feels like belonging. Stories of diaspora seem to be having their moment. It is the element of time that makes all the difference. We have always known the wealth of possibilities in working through our tales of origin, but assimilation for survival has meant that we have, for a long time, neglected parts of ourselves that are considered inconvenient and unsavoury.

Conceptualised and directed by the formidable duo of Emily Ayoub and Madeline Baghurst, Ruins أطلال  initiates an exploration into that duality of being both and in-between, of containing contradictions and finding harmony whilst acknowledging, all the troublesome incoherence resulting from inhabiting an identity that is not just one thing. The show is beautiful at every juncture, with incredible configurations of bodies in space, illuminated exquisitely by Frankie Clarke, and with Johnny Yang’s music gently stirring in the background.

Jessica Scott is the flautist on the periphery, adding to the dynamism of the piece, whilst the spiritually fortified Ayoub leads the cast at bringing to life, this meditation on how a person cannot escape excavating the past, if they wish to become truly whole. Tony Poli embodies the paternal figure, with generous warmth and an understated strength. Baghurst, along with Adam Al Kuneli and Piumi Wijesundara play a range of secondary characters with magical effect, always imbuing a sense of wonder to the experience.

There is perhaps some deficiency in the level of intellectual engagement that the piece inspires, but Ruins أطلال is a work that makes an unequivocal statement about the importance of knowing one’s roots and of embracing one’s entirety. It is about the rejection of shame as prescribed by colonialist projects, and about finding the confidence to stand for the validity of cultural specificities that are excluded from hegemonic paradigms. We may have to regularly acquiesce to whiteness on these lands, but spaces are opening up, rapidly and pervasively, in which we can become truer and better selves.

www.belvoir.com.au | www.clockfiretheatre.com

Review: Frankenstein (Theatre Royal)

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Venue: Theatre Royal (Sydney NSW), 28 Sep – 13 Oct, 2024
Playwright: Nelle Lee (from the novel by Mary Shelley)
Director: Nick Skubij
Cast: Darcy Brown, Tony Cogin, Nick James, Anna Lise Phillips, Jeremiah Wray, Chloé Zuel
Images by Joel Devereux

Theatre review
It is with the most obsessive passion, that the scientist sets out to build his creature. It seems Mary Shelley had intuited that technology would simply march forward, whether the consequences are good or bad. Nelle Lee’s adaptation of Frankenstein provides a rich narrative, for an eventful piece of theatre. Unlike the original, it tends not to inspire much philosophical rumination, but there is certainly a lot of room for drama and spectacle.

Dynamic direction by Nick Skubij’s aims to provide a thrilling experience, and the production is indeed impressive with its unrelenting kineticism. It however neglects our need for emotional involvement until late in the piece, and when we begin to feel for the story,  it may be too little, too late.

Ambitious set design by Josh McIntosh keeps our senses enthralled, with Craig Wilkinson’s intensive video projections sometimes adding to the extravagance, but at other times making things look less than elegant. McIntosh’s work on costumes proves accomplished, and along with makeup by Steven Boyle, especially memorable for their combined rendering of the notorious Frankensteinian creature. Lights by Trent Suidgeest are striking, with a consistent flamboyance that really dazzles. Sounds and music by Guy Webster are wonderfully grand, always imbued with a sense of opulence that greatly enhances the show.

Actor Darcy Brown plays a very eccentric Victor Frankenstein, perhaps slightly too unrestrained on occasion, but nonetheless marvellous with the intensity being delivered. Jeremiah Wray is remarkable as the creature, astonishing with the physicality he brings to the role, and disarming with the sentimentality he delivers quite unsuspectingly, just when we begin to tire of the inexorable theatrical hullabaloo.

There is a karmic lesson fundamental to the meanings of Frankenstein; it appears that monsters can only be created by other monsters. It may also seem that monstrous behaviour can be unintentional, although it is infinitely more human, to cling to the belief that it is our resolve that means everything, that we must endeavour to do good, and that our vigilance is key to thwarting destructive aspects of our nature. 

www.frankensteinlive.com.au

Review: Seventeen (Seymour Centre)

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Venue: Seymour Centre, Reginald Theatre (Chippendale NSW), Sep 27 – Oct 19, 2024
Playwright: Matthew Whittet
Director: Mary-Anne Gifford
Cast: Di Adams, Katrina Foster, Noel Hodda, Peter Kowitz, Colin Moody, Di Smith
Images by Carlita Sari

Theatre review
A group of teenagers has completed their final day in high school, and is now poised for the rest of their lives. It is all very daunting for characters in Matthew Whittet’s Seventeen, at a moment where big changes are afoot, and with new identities being formed, but for those of us who have been through that rite of passage,  it can all seem a little trite and pedestrian.

Once again the play is performed by older actors, presumably in their sixties, in order that the text may communicate with greater poignancy. Indeed it is the notion of transience that becomes a prominent dimension of the storytelling, juxtaposing against the naivety of young people in the throes of something that feels defined by finality.

Actors Noel Hodda and Di Smith are particularly captivating, both bringing a savvy to their performative representations, of personalities decades their junior. Others in the cast tend to be overly earnest, which only draws greater attention to the mundane qualities of Seventeen. Direction by Mary-Anne Gifford could benefit from a more flamboyant approach, but there is certainly an integrity to her realism that cannot be denied.

Set design by Paris Burrowes introduces visual familiarity to the experience, although it is doubtful if her costumes convey that same accuracy. Lights by Grant Fraser and sounds by Michael Huxley are implemented with simplicity, in a production that errs on the side of reticence. 

Watching the seniors play juvenile roles, it is the nature of time that comes to the fore. The impermanence of human experience should tell us that it can all be taken with a pinch of salt, but life has a knack for having us completely invested in all of its ups and downs. We should know to be unperturbed, but the truth is that we are embroiled, hopelessly engaging in every emotion, even as we understand more clearly their ironic futility.

www.seymourcentre.com | www.wildthingproduction.com

Review: New Works Festival Part 2 (Old Fitz Theatre)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW)

Sitting, Screaming Sep 20 – Oct 5, 2024
Playwright: Madelaine Nunn
Director: Lucy Clements
Cast: Clare Hughes
Images by Phil Erbacher

Anomalies Sep 20 – Oct 5
Playwright: Jordyn Fulcher
Director: Matt Bostock
Cast: Giani Fenech, Rhiaan Marquez, Harold Phipps
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
Centred in the second instalment of New Works Festival by Old Fitz Theatre, are the troubling lives of teenagers. Madelaine Nunn’s Sitting, Screaming depicts with searing realism the dangerous situation of a schoolgirl dealing with a predator, whilst Jordyn Fulcher’s Anomalies is completely fantastical in its speculations about a dystopian future, when three youngsters find themselves waking up to calamity, as an extensive technological malfunction takes hold.

The very cleverly structured and rigorously considered Sitting, Screaming is a work of gripping theatre, as directed by Lucy Clements, who brings exceptional detail to this exploration of rape culture. Its protagonist Sam is played by the wonderful Clare Hughes, who keeps us riveted for the entirety, highly impressive with the tonal variations she introduces, for an occasion of memorable storytelling.

Anomalies however is much more demanding of its audience. Although given energetic direction by Matt Bostock, the piece speaks in a convoluted and alienating language, over a lengthy duration, and with little narrative development. The cast works hard to make sense of the play, but Giani Fenech, Rhiaan Marquez and Harold Phipps can only be credited for being able to find meaning from Anomalies for themselves.

Thankfully, we discover that the staging for both are remarkably well designed. Hailley Hunt’s set and costumes are expressive, and convincing with what they wish to convey. Lights by Luna Ng are commendable for their attentiveness to the nuances of the writing, and for helping us shift through all the vacillating drama and comedy. Sounds by Sam Cheng for Sitting, Screaming too are effective at pulling us deep into the fluctuating emotional textures, just as Milo McLaughlin’s audio creations for Anomalies are able to indicate the escalating intensity of its sci-fi predicament.

Characters in both tales, one authentic and one imaginary, inherit broken worlds. So much of what is normalised, should never have been deemed acceptable. It is through the perspective of youth that we can clearly see that all we have acquiesced to consider good enough, is actually of tragic proportions. The eternal dilemma of humanity seems to be that we cannot help but conceive of perfection, but to bring it to fruition is always beyond us.

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

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: 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: 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: Arlington (Seymour Centre)

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Venue: Seymour Centre, Reginald Theatre (Chippendale NSW), Aug 2 – 24, 2024
Playwright: Enda Walsh
Director: Anna Houston
Cast: Phaedra Nicolaidis, Jack Angwin, Georgina Symes, Emma Harrison
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
A large display flashes random numbers, very much akin to a bureaucratic queue management system, in an inhospitable room designed only with practical considerations in mind. Three individuals take their turn, under strict surveillance, to express their anguish and desperation, about ambiguous incidents, that we know only by inference to be interrelated. In Enda Walsh’s Arlington, we can be forgiven for never really knowing the narrative that runs through the play, as its concerns are with the fallout of trauma, rather than the precipitating events that have brought us here.

Direction by Anna Houston demands that we focus on the present. In lieu of sufficient understanding about contexts, we are required to expend imagination, alongside an investigative curiosity, to create interpretations of the abstract renderings that we encounter. The work can feel impenetrable, but it also speaks with integrity, always with an air of certainty and commitment, to its mysterious sequences exploring the human condition at its most painful and vulnerable.

A key feature of this staging is its remarkable design. An impressive set by the ambitious Kate Beere, delivers a sense of apocalyptic dread, through an ironic representation of something that could be thought of as our mundane modernity, with skewed perspectives offering an enjoyable visuality that is decidedly theatrical. Lights and video by Aron Murray are appropriately foreboding, but also sensual, to consistently guide our sensibilities somewhere inexplicably dangerous. Sounds by Steve Toulmin are highly dramatic, and intricate, for an Arlington memorable for its sensory overload.

A powerful cast of four comprising Phaedra Nicolaidis, Jack Angwin, Georgina Symes and Emma Harrison, is to be commended for providing something intense and uncompromising. We always believe them, even when we feel kept in the dark about what goes on. Their depictions of anguished terror make for a confronting experience. In this observation of people with no control over their own destinies, trapped in unbearable circumstances, we can only respond with revulsion. When characters reach for notions of hope, it is futility that we recognise instead. Arlington does not give everything that our instincts seek, but its insistence on authenticity cannot be denied.

www.seymourcentre.com | www.empresstheatre.com.au

Review: Occasional Combustible Disaster (Qtopia)

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Venue: Qtopia (Darlinghurst NSW), Jul 31 – Aug 10, 2024
Playwright: Daniel Cottier
Director: Benjamin Brockman
Cast: Nicholas Cradock, Nyx Calder, Hester van der Vyver, Richard Hilliar
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
Freddy is ridden with anxiety. Aside from his HSC exams coming to a crescendo, and the fact of a bleak climate future, he is also certain about being responsible for starting a bush fire not too long ago. Occasional Combustible Disaster by Daniel Cottier, tells of a teenager with too much on his mind, in a world that often appears impossibly challenging.

The play offers valuable insights pertaining to what our young have to contend with, as they inherit a planet with seemingly irreparable damage. Although arranged in a plot structure that may not always communicate effectively, many of Cottier’s thoughts are resonant and valuable, expressed through a lead character who embodies beautifully the discontentment of our times.

Freddy is troubling but also endearing, played by a powerfully committed Nicholas Craddock, proficient at bringing a wonderful sense of drama, whilst keeping us intrigued for the show’s duration. Supporting members of cast are comparable in focus and energy, but family dynamics are never really convincing, in a story set entirely at home. Direction by Benjamin Brockman ensures a consistent intensity to the tone of storytelling, even in moments when its persuasiveness falters.

Set design by Paris Bell offers an accurate simulation of a regular suburban home, alongside costumes by Rita Naidu that are similarly ordinary by intent. Brockman’s lights are memorable for their ability to convey Freddy’s inner struggles in contrast with the mundanity of his physical environment. Sounds by Beau Esposito deliver considerable tension, to a narrative about our disquiet as modern humans.

There are many convincing arguments about how so much of what we have, is broken. Freddy finds out, that to grow up is to get acquainted with all the solutions that are available, that can make existence tolerable. He will be told that he needs to shift his beliefs, for a new state of mind that is essential to his survival, but it is up to him whether to retain any of the idealism that is necessary, if he wants to make things better, particularly for those who follow.

www.qtopiasydney.com.au | www.danielcottier.com.au

Review: The Arrogance (KXT on Broadway)

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Venue: KXT on Broadway (Ultimo NSW), Jul 26 – Aug 10, 2024
Playwright: Olivia Clement
Director: Lucinda Gleeson
Cast: Alan Glover, Whitney Richard, Linden Wilkinson
Images by Georgia Brogan

Theatre review
Amber is pregnant, and thinking about becoming a parent is forcing a confrontation, with traumas from her own childhood. Olivia Clement’s The Arrogance takes an intimate look at a woman in the throes of a difficult healing process, compelled by a sense of responsibility for the life she is birthing. Many of us understand the tendency to ignore these lingering pangs of anguish, but Clement’s writing makes it clear that there often comes a time, when a person simply has to face up to them, and work towards a sense of peace, impossible as it may seem. 

That tumult is given authentic expression by director Lucinda Gleeson, who honours those challenging feelings that someone like Amber would have, in a presentation that makes coherent what we know to be disjointed and painful. Production design by Soham Apte delves into the darkness of the protagonist’s inner life, to deal with themes of flourishment and decay through its evocative visual symbolism. Lights by Sophie Parker imbue dramatic intensity, as do sounds by Aisling Bermingham and music by Baran Yildiz, all sensitively rendered yet highly effective in conveying the despair being examined.

Actor Whitney Richard is an engaging presence, and completely believable as Amber, with an impressive emotional range that tells her story with clarity and potency. Alan Glover and Linden Wilkinson provide strong support, in complex roles that are thought-provoking and unpredictable, prompting us to consider the implications of forgiveness, in a play that very much wishes to explore how and if we can leave the past behind.

Amber’s parental figures are very flawed, but she is learning not to take on the burden of their misdeeds. We observe her need to extricate from historical sins and dysfunctions, if only for the sake of her baby. The idea of a clean slate holds tremendous appeal, but the truth is that we will always carry with us lessons of the past. It is how we continuously process them, and the ways we are able to emerge from them, that give meaning to life and its creation.

www.kingsxtheatre.com | www.instagram.com/winky_and_co