Tag Archives: drama

Review: Betrayal (Old Fitz Theatre)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Jul 18 – Aug 10, 2025
Playwright: Harold Pinter
Director: Cristabel Sved
Cast: Andrew Cutcliffe, Matt Hardie, Diego Retamales, Ella Scott Lynch
Images by Kate Williams

Theatre review
Emma has been sleeping with her husband’s best friend for years. It would appear that she loves both men deeply, but convention deems this highly improper, forcing all parties to endure stages of anguish as they grapple with the perceived transgression. Harold Pinter’s Betrayal is almost half a century old, yet it seems little has changed in terms of middle-class values and the cultural dominance of monogamy. The play suggests an absurdity in the weight we assign to traditional matrimony, yet Pinter’s narrative remains relevant, even in 2025.

Directed by Cristabel Sved, the work unfolds with ample earnestness, often at the sacrifice of irony and humour. Characters understandably take their circumstances extremely seriously, but it can be argued that the actors should adopt a more observational and discursive approach to improve our intellectual engagement with the show.

Debonair actor Andrew Cutcliffe rises to the challenge as Robert, delivering a satisfying theatricality with his sardonic interpretation of the text. Ella Scott Lynch plays Emma commendably, capturing psychological accuracy even though some of the comedy is compromised. Matt Hardie, too, places emphasis on the realism of the piece but misses the opportunity to create a more entertaining portrayal of Jerry, the secret paramour. A brief appearance by Diego Retamales as a waiter at an Italian restaurant, offers moments of idiosyncrasy that really benefit the production.

Set design by Melanie Liertz is minimally rendered, but certainly sufficient in helping us engage with interactions between friends and lovers. Her costumes however could be more detailed in their depiction of timelines. Lights by Verity Hampson and Luna Ng are immensely helpful in creating the many spatial transformations. It is arguable whether the video projections by Aron Murray are necessary, but they are nonetheless a pleasing sight. Music by Steve Toumin, along with sound design by Johnny Yang are appropriately subdued, and are effective in enhancing the production’s relentlessly serious atmosphere.

Infidelity is painful to go through, but it is also highly comical. We insist on making promises we are incapable of keeping, only to torment ourselves trying to escape the messes we inevitably create. Betrayal does not explain why we allow Emma only to sleep with one man, but it can be seen that her turmoil becomes increasingly meaningless over the course of the play. Traditions deserve scrutiny, and often, what appears deeply important may not be so at all.

www.oldfitztheatre.com.au | www.sportforjove.com.au

Review: Hedwig And The Angry Inch (Carriageworks)

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Venue: Carriageworks (Eveleigh NSW), Jul 17 – Aug 3, 2025
Text: John Cameron Mitchell
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Trask
Directors: Shane Anthony, Dino Dimitriadis
Cast: Seann Miley Moore, Adam Noviello
Images by Eugene Hyland, Shane Reid

Theatre review
Hedwig does not love. Having only experienced deception, betrayal and cruelty throughout her life, Hedwig has little capacity to show affection or kindness, even to Yitzhak who offers only dedication. John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s iconic queer masterpiece Hedwig and the Angry Inch stands as one of the few prominent titles in a musical canon that, although held in high regard by many queer lives, rarely places LGBTQIA+ stories at its centre. Thirty-one years since its original conception, protagonist Hedwig remains defiantly and resolutely queer — a figure who resists all manner of classification, and who challenges the values not only of middle-class life, but also of how we think about art and creativity.

Co-directed by the formidable pair Shane Anthony and Dino Dimitriadis, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is both spectacular and poignant, fully satisfying our need for something transcendentally fabulous, while remaining unequivocally meaningful. Together with soulful choreography by Amy Campbell, they deliver a production that saturates and satiates our senses, making us hopelessly mesmerised every second, before finally hurling us somewhere unfathomably moving.

The show is characteristically unruly in its rhapsodical, bohemian expression of the grungy nineties, yet there is an unmistakeable rigour that oversees every aesthetic choice, to ensure unparalleled elegance and sophistication, for a brilliantly elevated presentation of one of musical theatre history’s wildest moments.

Set design by Jeremy Allen conveys glamour while meticulously capturing the details of a distinctly working-class milieu. Lights by Geoff Cobham are emotionally charged, and thoroughly beautiful with the imagery they help to assemble. Unforgettable costumes by Nicol & Ford blend inventiveness with technical mastery, taking our breath away in the “Wig in a Box” number by fashioning a coat filled with imaginative humour and cultural significance.

Victoria Falconer serves as musical director, giving us unwavering passion in a cacophonous combination of rock and Broadway, leaving no stone unturned to hold the audience in heightened states of arousal from start to finish. Along with sound design by Jamie Mensforth and soundscape by Jason Sweeney, we are never in doubt about being situated in an American dive bar, gritty yet adamantly hopeful.

Playing the lead is a captivating and powerful Seann Miley Moore, whose audaciously extravagant approach has us persistently fascinated, but it is their exhaustive and granular familiarity with the material that insists on keeping us absolutely spellbound. Adam Noviello is extraordinary likable as Yitzhak, full of spirit even when portraying the despondency of a painfully neglected companion.

There may have been a surgical error crucial to the formation of Hedwig’s identity, but there is certainly nothing wrong with who she has become. We recognise queer heroes by the destabilisation they bring to unsound hegemonies. They are by nature contrarian, but only from the perspective of the corrupt. To them, Hedwig is an abomination and entirely perverse, where in fact she is truly magnificent and gloriously sacred.

www.hedwig.com.au

Review: Prima Facie (Carriageworks)

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Venue: Carriageworks (Eveleigh NSW), Jul 2 – 12, 2025
Playwright: Suzie Miller
Director: Kate Champion
Cast: Sof Forrest
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
When we first meet Tessa, she is a criminal defence barrister fully invested in the legal system. Handsomely rewarded for her talent and skill in courtrooms, Tessa never has reason to question her faith in the status quo. However, when she finds herself on the other side as a victim of sexual assault trying to obtain justice, we see that her beliefs can no longer hold. Suzie Miller’s one-woman play Prima Facie is a powerful interrogation of the pervasive structures underpinning our lives, ones that are often laced with prejudice and inequity.

It exposes the intentional elusiveness of those shortcomings and demonstrates how a small number of beneficiaries work hard to sustain it. The meanings of the text are all elucidated unequivocally by director Kate Champion, even if the staging does not always speak with enough urgency or gravity. Actor Sof Forrest is very effective in the show’s final poignant moments, and is admirable for the polish they brings to the production, but their performance rarely deviates from the cerebral. Prima Facie should engender intense feelings, but we seem to engage with it almost entirely intellectually.

Bruce McKinven’s set design is sharp and sophisticated, highly effective in shrinking the performance space to accommodate a single character. Costumes by Lynn Ferguson appropriately convey the rising status of a young lawyer. Lights by Peter Young offer a grandeur that reflects the importance of ideas being explored. Jessica Russell’s video projections are skilfully assembled, even if their necessity within the work remains open to question. Also gratuitous, is some of the overwrought embellishments in the sound design by Melanie Robinson, that proves distracting at several moments.

Tessa’s ordeal can be interpreted as one woman’s grappling with her awakening, to the flaws of white feminism. After investing exhaustively in a system she so desperately wants to succeed in, all the while turning a blind eye to glaring failings that she only made more egregious, Tessa finds herself inadvertently and devastatingly at its most brutal whim. It remains to be seen how she emerges from this tribulation—whether she learns that radical upheaval is required, or if she ends up believing that piecemeal improvements preserving the overarching schema will solve our problems.

www.blackswantheatre.com.au | www.carriageworks.com.au

Review: Blackbird (KXT on Broadway)

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Venue: KXT on Broadway (Ultimo NSW), Jun 25 – Jul 5, 2025
Playwright: David Harrower
Director: Pippa Thoroughgood
Cast: Charlotte De Wit, Lilly Kime, Phil McGrath
Images by Ravyna Jassani

Theatre review
Una goes to confront her perpetrator Ray, years after being sexually assaulted as a 12-year-old. There may be no moral ambiguity as to what wrong has been committed, but human emotions are complicated, and the meeting reveals unexpected layers to their illicit relationship.

Blackbird by David Harrower is a disturbing and dangerous work, taking an honest look at child sexual abuse which involves real feelings that are often overlooked. Direction by Pippa Thoroughgood emphasises the naturalism of the piece, but has a tendency to lack nuance, for the highly complex situation being interrogated. 

Performers Charlotte De Wit and Phil McGrath are convincing in their roles, both demonstrating admirable commitment to the experience. While greater intricacy and specificity could enhance their interpretation of characters and story, they nonetheless present moments of undeniable excellence on stage.

We are shocked by Una’s behaviour, yet we understand the person she has become. There needs always to be clear-cut rules around the violation of innocence, but we must also be able to acknowledge the myriad consequences that are inconvenient and troubling. The severity of harm suffered by our young is such that its effects often endure lifelong and remain deeply disquieting.  Survivors deserve support, especially when situations seem unreasonably difficult.

www.kingsxtheatre.com | www.herproductions.com.au

Review: Coriolanus (Bell Shakespeare)

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Venue: The Neilson Nutshell (Sydney NSW), Jun 20 – Jul 19, 2025
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Peter Evans
Cast: Jules Billington, Peter Carroll, Septimus Caton, Marco Chiappi, Suzannah McDonald, Ruby Maishman, Joshua Monaghan, Gareth Reeves, Matilda Ridgway, Hazem Shammas, Anthony Taufa, Brigid Zengeni
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
The protagonist in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus may appear every bit the triumphant warrior, but the play reveals that true heroism cannot exist without integrity. Driven by a hunger for status and glory, Coriolanus engages in political manoeuvres to attain the consulship, giving little consideration to the greater good. While the Roman people hold the power to vote in their own interest, the knowledge they are given is seldom complete, and often shaped by manipulation rather than truth.

It is an important message no matter the epoch, even as Shakespeare’s work grows increasingly alienating through the centuries. Director Peter Evans takes on the challenge of recontextualising the piece, attempting to give it a modern sheen. A somewhat contemporised sensibility is paired with a distinctly 21st-century set design—complete with a sliding platform that is repositioned slightly too often. Costumes by Ella Butler are well-fitted, and intentionally dour in style. Lights by Amelia Lever-Davidson and sound by Max Lyandvert, offer elegant enhancements to the drama, in a production that always looks sharp.

Such is the charisma of leading man Hazem Shammas that, even in the face of Coriolanus’s failings, we are never entirely disdainful of the character, and are held in thrall by his sleek, high-voltage performance. Also captivating are Matilda Ridgway as Sicinius and Brigid Zengeni as Volumnia, both actors impressive with their verve and intensity, able to hold our attention effortlessly even when we struggle to keep up with the archaic language.

Much as the voting public intends to choose the right representatives, the information on which those decisions are based rarely seems reliable. In the current climate of pessimism, it is all the more alarming that—even when candidates openly reveal their deficiencies—the body politic can still be persuaded to embrace them. More disappointing than being misled is to witness the celebration of a clear lack of virtue, when making decisions about our collective future. Evil exists, and it is rarely inadvertent.

www.bellshakespeare.com.au

Review: Primary Trust (Ensemble Theatre)

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Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), Jun 19 – Jul 12, 2025
Playwright: Eboni Booth
Director: Darren Yap
Cast: Charles Allen, Peter Kowitz, Angela Mahlatjie, Albert Mwangi
Images by Prudence Upton

Theatre review
Kenneth talks all day to his imaginary friend Bert, which is highly unusual for a man of 38. Primary Trust by Eboni Booth, is about the defence mechanisms and trauma responses, that a person develops after suffering a devastating incident. Mental health is unquestionably worthwhile as subject matter for any discussion, but its rendering on this occasion, involving a slightly simplistic narrative, has a tendency to feel somewhat surface.

This exploration of psychological deficiency is accomplished with dignity by director Darren Yap, who is also noteworthy for his deft hand at comedy that makes effective, the light humour of Booth’s writing. Characters in the play are wonderfully charming. Leading man Albert Mwangi brings appropriate innocence to Kenneth’s story of arrested development, along with a joviality that keeps us entirely on his side. Mwangi’s knack for naturalist authenticity sets the tone for the production, making everything believable and compelling.

Charles Allen embodies a glow of warmth in the fatherly role of Bert and is commendable for establishing a wonderful chemistry with Mwangi, ensuring that the central relationship always feels substantial. Angela Mahlatjie plays more than a few parts in Primary Trust, and is splendid in all of them. Her timing is immaculate, and her charisma, undeniable. Also memorable and very funny is Peter Kowitz, especially imaginative as the quirky bank manager Clay.

Music by Max Lambert and Roger Lock is a strong feature of the production, adding considerable verve to Kenneth’s emotional journey. Production design by James Browne offers simple solutions that help transport us to small town America, while Verity Hampson’s lights and Cameron Smith’s video projections attune us to tonal shifts that reflect the troubling psychological landscape being explored. 

The fantastical Bert can be seen partly as symptomatic of what has been termed an epidemic of loneliness. In the modern age, real connections have proven to be increasingly difficult. We resort to surrogates, rather than to fix problems, that we either fail to understand, or are incapable of surmounting. Imaginary friends, technological obsessions, substance abuse, and so on are just some of the ways in which we soothe our selves, in the absence of the wherewithal to make actual human connections. Isolation can often feel a solution, but the degradation of civility presently witnessed on all fronts, suggests that being in touch with each other’s humanity will always be necessary.

www.ensemble.com.au

Review: The Half-Life Of Marie Curie (Ensemble Theatre)

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Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), Jun 13 – Jul 12, 2025
Playwright: Lauren Gunderson
Director: Liesel Badorrek
Cast: Rebecca Massey, Gabrielle Scawthorn
Images by Prudence Upton

Theatre review
It was 1911 when Marie Curie won her second Nobel Prize, but her monumental contribution to science was overshadowed by the public outcry over her scandalous relationship with a married man. In her agony, she takes refuge under the wing of fellow scholar Hertha Ayrton, who is determined to be a source of strength and inspiration. Lauren Gunderson’s The Half-Life of Marie Curie is a work that not only pays tribute to women trailblazers, but also highlights the importance of female friendship in a world that so often prefers to pit women against each other.

Vivaciously directed by Liesel Badorrek, the production is surprisingly comedic, despite the titular character’s unrelenting misery. Actor Gabrielle Scawthorn’s representations of Curie’s pain and suffering are almost unbearable in their believability, but the sublime Rebecca Massey is pure joy as Ayrton, offering a marvellous counterpoint to the dominant narrative of hardship.

Production design by James Browne is effective in taking us back to the appropriate time and space, whilst providing a charming theatricality to the experience. Lights by Verity Hampson take every opportunity to dial up the drama, while video projections by Cameron Smith deliver persuasive renderings of evanescent visions. Music by Daniel Hertern is at times beautifully transcendent, for a show that is as much about the past as it is about our future.

There are many forms of resistance, but the revolution will only endure, if the sisterhood remains unbreakable in its unity.

www.ensemble.com.au

Review: The Spare Room (Belvoir St Theatre)

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Venue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Jun 7 – Jul 13, 2025
Playwright: Eamon Flack (from the novel by Helen Garner)
Director: Eamon Flack
Cast: Elizabeth Alexander, Judy Davis, Emma Diaz, Alan Dukes, Hannah Waterman
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
Nicola is spending a few weeks in Melbourne, as she undergoes “alternative cancer treatment”. Helen has volunteered as carer through the ordeal, completely unconvinced by the bogus claims of the expensive but unsubstantiated therapies. Helen Garner’s 2008 novel The Spare Room deals with sickness and death, from the perspectives of those who are terminally ill, and those close to them.

Adapted by Eamon Flack, this theatrical version is thankfully humorous in tone, even if it does delve deep into difficult subject matter. What it discusses is certainly worthwhile, considering its universality, and its somewhat taboo nature only makes the experience more meaningful. The show is mostly an engaging one, even if performers seem consistently under-rehearsed. Judy Davis as Helen has a tendency for physical exaggeration, while Elizabeth Alexander as Nicola is overly trepidatious, but notwithstanding these imperfections, both are able to tell the story convincingly.

To address the practical requirements of the text, set design by Mel Page incorporates elements that are disparately homely and clinical, leaving the space to languish in an awkward intermediary, never really conveying any believable locale. Paul Jackson’s lights offer intricate atmospheric enhancements, as does music by Steve Francis, notable for being performed live by a very attentive Anthea Cottee on her trusty cello.

At her time of need, Nicola becomes hugely demanding of her friends and family. Her friends and family in turn discover, that there are no burdens more special than those of a loved one, in their final moments. 

www.belvoir.com.au

Review: Mary Jane (Old Fitz Theatre)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), May 23 – Jun 15, 2025
Playwright: Amy Herzog
Director: Rachel Chant
Cast: Di Adams, Sophie Bloom, Isabel Burton, Eloise Snape, Janine Watson
Images by Phil Erbacher 

Theatre review
Mary Jane is about a single mother and her medically complex 2-year-old, trying to make things work in Queens, New York. It is a challenging life to say the least, and playwright Amy Herzog certainly goes to great pains, in a work of sobering realism, to ensure that we see how her central character barely survives the ongoing ordeal.

Although not entirely humourless, this staging of Herzog’s 2017 piece is intensely dour. Directed by Rachel Chant, the depiction of despondency for the mother and son in Mary Jane, is almost suffocating with its moroseness.  Leading lady Eloise Snape brings a valuable believability to the story, and is admirable for the unaffected naturalism she is able to maintain. Set design by Soham Apte too is focussed on delivering authenticity, leaving a remarkable impression with a scenic transformation that demonstrates considerable inventiveness.

Some art is more difficult than others. Mary Jane may not be an entertaining experience, but it does draw attention to issues that we routinely look away from. We can observe and try to think up solutions. We can ponder on how predicaments like this could be avoided. We can simply be present and witness something truthful, if only as a reminder that nobody has to be alone.

www.oldfitztheatre.com.au | www.mitodoproductions.com

Review: Happy Days (Sydney Theatre Company)

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Venue: Wharf 1 Sydney Theatre Company (Walsh Bay NSW), May 5 – Jun 15, 2025
Playwright: Samuel Beckett
Director: Nick Schlieper, Pamela Rabe
Cast: Markus Hamilton, Pamela Rabe
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
Winnie is submerged up to her waist, living in a state of constant suspension. The paralysis stems from circumstance, although it is never clear why or how Winnie finds herself thus. There appears nothing much to live for, yet she strives for optimism, in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, a work that could be considered allegorical for any number of things, although there is no mistaking its ruminations about the human condition.

Direction by Nick Schlieper and Pamela Rabe embraces wholeheartedly the central abstraction of the piece. Reluctant to make obvious gestures that would provide convenient indications about the meanings of Happy Days, the audience is left to its own devices. The experience is often confounding. The extent to which individuals can engage, or indeed feel alienated, likely depends on one’s own constitution and temperament. Even if it leaves us cold, there is no questioning the integrity of this interpretation of Beckett’s 1961 masterpiece.

Schlieper’s set and lighting design for the production, although minimalist in approach, convey a certain grandeur. There is a stillness being rendered that is key to the very essence of Happy Days, but we are always cognisant of a much wider context. Although the play seems a lot to be about Winnie’s isolation, Schlieper reminds us of the greater world that exists, beyond the confines of her monologue. Costumes by Mel Page talk of a faded glory, and Stefan Gregory’s restrained sound design becomes prominent in conclusion moments, to imbue a dramatic crescendo to the piece.

Rabe performs the part of Winnie with admirable gusto, impressive with the intricacy of her textual analysis. The laconic Willie is played by Markus Hamilton who brings a strong presence, to his depiction of a secondary character. The pair embody a mysterious world that is often impenetrable, but we never doubt the honesty they bring to their parts.

It is the stasis in Happy Days that should scare us. Death will surely come, and to deny it is foolish. To sit around waiting for the inevitable, is worse.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au