Month: September 2015

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Yana Alana is COVERED

Captivating as ever

By Bradley Storer

Cabaret provocateur Yana Alana, the alter-ego of performer Sarah Ward, emerged from behind a scrim after her opening number, fully clothed – which she noted was a rarity after touring her critically acclaimed show Between the Cracks for the last three years, where she appeared completely nude. Here she was for the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival cheekily taking her show title Covered in both the literal and figurative sense, with no nudity as she only sang the songs of other artists, backed up by the multi-talented members of her band The Piranas, Louise Goh and Bec Matthews.

Yana Alana is COVERED

Even when singing the words of others, Yana Alana remains a fiercely individualistic and ruthlessly entertaining performer, bringing her unique interpretations to the works of Tom Waits, James Shelton, Puccini and even Beyonce, her incredible voice scaling from a Bassey-sized belt to an operatic soprano. From trying (and spectacularly failing) to achieve complicated dance moves to running screaming offstage from one end of the venue to the other, Alana is utterly and wonderfully shameless in her pursuit to entertain.

If anything, Covered is light on Alana’s usual repertoire of political and cultural satire and self-loathing narcissism, choosing instead to use the out-of-context lyrics from various songs as segues between sections. This can feel a little toothless compared to the usual ferocity of her work, but the level of artistry and craft present means she is, as always, completely compelling and absolutely unmissable.

Dates: 29th September – 3rd October
Time: 8:30pm
Venue: Main Theatre, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne.
Tickets: Full $35, Concession $25, Cheap Tuesday $15
Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au, (03) 9660 9666, at the door.

Musical Theatre, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Critical Stages and Shane Anthony Present SONGS FOR THE FALLEN

A witty and sumptuous tragedy

By Bradley Storer

Marie Duplessis, 19th-century French courtesan, socialite, literary muse and all-round party girl who died just after her 23rd birthday and whose life inspired artists from Alexandre Dumas, Giuseppe Verdi all the way to Baz Luhrmann, returns from the grave for one last party at the Fairfax Studio – and this one is going to be a killer!

Songs for the Fallen

Songs for the Fallen is a fabulous melange of tragic musical, bawdy cabaret and pumping pop opera, the writing of Sheridan Harbridge and music by Basil Hogios finding a pulsating and contemporary vitality, appropriate for this story of the original ‘material girl’! The set by Michael Hankin recalls the decaying remains of a 19th-century French apartment but easily transforms into a drug-crazed disco or demented vaudevillian circus upon demand.

Harbridge in the role of Marie Duplessis is a dynamo, a slender and fragile figure with a huge voice encased in fabulous corsets and garters who claims centre stage, shamelessly courts and molests the audience from the get-go and whose boundless charisma never lets up. She is aided by two versatile fellow performers, Simon Corfield and Ashley Hawkes, who assume the roles of various characters as we are taken on a burlesque and irreverent retelling of Marie’s rags-to-riches-and-back-again story. The three work so seamlessly and effortlessly together that they produce the energy and character of an ensemble of ten! Hogios’ score wonderfully and tunefully captures the seductively lush materialism of Marie’s existence in thumping dance beats, as well as her despair at its fragility and lack of inner purpose in gorgeous pop ballads.

It is a credit to the show that even as it pokes fun at any pretence of seriousness or accuracy to the historical context, a beating and wounded heart lurks beneath the surface. Songs for the Fallen captures, better perhaps than any other derivative depiction of Duplessis, the tragic dimension of this complex woman who clawed her way up from the gutter, living in brief splendour only to be consumed by incurable illness that left her alone, wretched and friendless before her death. Refusing to draw a moral or produce judgement, Songs for the Fallen heart-breakingly communicates the senseless and unjust cruelties of the world at the same time it embraces the joy and immaculate pleasure of simply being alive.

Time: 8pm
Date: 29th September – 3rd October
Venue: Fairfax Studio, The Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd.
Tickets: Adult $49, Under 30’s $30
Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au, 1300 182 183, at the box office.

Festivals, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Daley King in I’M NOT ALRIGHT

Poetry, puppetry and poignancy in progress

By Myron My

Daley King has been living with depression for over a decade: longer, if you consider the fact his father has also lived with it. In his 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival show debut I’m Not Alright, King takes us on a poetic journey on mental illness via physical theatre, a jazz soundtrack, and puppets.

I'm Not Alright

Apart from using his own experience, King has interviewed a variety of people with mental illness to create this story. King has a great ability to engage us with the poetic flow of his words as they paint a picture of a person who is struggling with his intense sadness and loneliness. The jazz music creates a poignantly contrasting image of laughter and chatter that signifies the mind-set that people with depression can have without King needing to explicitly address it.

King uses a puppet look-a-like of himself as his inner voice, invoking some light humour into the dark territory that is depression and suicidal thoughts. The use of the puppet reminds me of my own childhood experiences, and that as children all we ever want it to be loved and to feel safe. It adds a real vulnerability to King without him having to fall into cliché or stereotype.

While King does well in sharing and performing this intimate story, the narrative itself could still do with some fine-tuning, in particular the build-up to the conclusion. The ending occurs quite abruptly and seems to falter somewhat in retaining the thoughtful momentum King has established. At the end of the show, he explains that I’m Not Alright is still a work in progress and the impact of this finale is probably where he most needs to focus his attention.

I’m Not Alright is a touching but unsentimental exploration of mental illness with a person suffering from depression. Despite its topic, the show ends with hope for a better future, and with further development and a stronger narrative, there is a distinct chance King’s show will have a promising one too.

Venue: The Tuxedo Cat, 293 – 299 La Trobe Street, Melbourne.

Season: Until 4 October | Thurs-Sun 9.45pm

Tickets:$25 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Festivals, Performances, Review

REVIEW: The Suicide Ensemble Presents THE REALITY EVENT

Whether controversy is enough

By Myron My

Led by Daniel Gough, The Suicide Ensemble presented an evening of ‘fun and death’ for the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Their work The Reality Event is divided up in two halves: GAME and SUICIDE. GAME aims to put its audience in the driver seats of theatre creation, whereas in SUICIDE we are forced to confront the idea of ‘safe’ theatre and its boundaries between art and life.

The Reality Event

In GAME, we are divided into five teams with one of The Suicide Ensemble (Pavle Banovic, Esther Dougherty, Finley Kube, Remi Roehrs or Sampson Smith) as the team captain. If the team loses a challenge, the team captain is publicly “shamed” and sent away. The “shamings” range from a public “dacking” to eating a tablespoon of wasabi. There is a pack mentality to the proceedings as we are encouraged to laugh and cheer while this is happening and despite its title, there is still a deliberately and grimly dark element to GAME.

The outlined purpose of GAME is to give audiences the opportunity to be in charge of theatre, yet I found myself questioning what exactly this theatre we were supposed to be making was? The team captains were the ones who generally competed in the challenges and in the shamings, except for a few “brave” audience members. While the performance was a somewhat fun experience, I never once felt like I was in control of this experience. The abrupt ending and lack of explanation did not help clarify any of these ideas either.

However, it is in the second half of The Reality Event, SUICIDE, that things take a distinct turn for the worse. The five performers explain they are each going to be killing themselves and we will vote on who commits suicide and what method they will use. They explain that this is not a show to talk about suicide but to blur the lines between what is real and what is theatre. For the next forty minutes therefore, we sit and watch as each person graphically depicts ending their life, through stabbing, suffocation and hanging, to name a few. It is harrowing to watch, with a number of people walking out the evening I attended.

SUICIDE wants to make theatre “unsafe”, but I feel there are much better ways of eliciting and exciting these feelings than by showing extreme and distressful scenes of people committing suicide. There is no entertainment, no enjoyment and nothing to learn in watching these scenes unfold. There is no discernible purpose or art here, just gratuitous shock-value scenes of violence.

The Reality Event attempts to turn theatre around and have the audience – traditionally the watcher – be the creator and instigator. However, to achieve this successfully I feel more care and thought is needed to ensure that this work’s intended messages are conveyed in an effective and responsible manner. The Reality Event seems to be more focused on creating something that people will talk about – rather than creating good theatre that people will talk about.

The Reality Event was performed at The Tuxedo Cat as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival on 24 – 29 September.

Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Ben Schiffer’s HIS GHOSTLY HEART

Lights out for intimacy and intrigue

By Myron My

Performed at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, His Ghostly Heart is an intimate 30-minute two-hander with a couple lying in bed just after having sex. Written by Ben Schiffer, best-known for his work on TV series Skins, and directed by Richard Edge, its exploration of love and what it means to be loved is designed to be performed entirely in the dark.
His Ghostly HeartUnfortunately, due to the necessity of the exit sign inside the performance space, the venue was not in pitch blackness which was ultimately integral to the show’s overall effect. While you could not see facial expressions, the body outlines and movement were still quite visible. In order to experience this the way I understand it was intended, I did have my eyes closed during the performance.

Riley Nottingham and Bundy Marston are well cast as the young couple in love, and with my eyes shut, I was able to listen to their voices, and their intimate emotional state is quite clear in the delivery of their lines and the pauses and silences between words. We hear the sense of achievement in Tom’s voice when he exclaims that they lasted three songs, while the self-loathing in Daisy’s voice when she announces “I’m disgusting” is easily felt. When Tom is naming all the areas of Daisy’s body that he loves, you can clearly picture his loving and cheeky face as his lips touch those aforementioned parts.

The build-up to the twist ending is cleverly constructed and highly effective, however, towards the end of His Ghostly Heart, the music and sounds being played are so loud that is it hard to hear what is being said. This ultimately makes it difficult to remain invested in the story and keep connected with the characters. Marston also seemed to struggle with the demands of the character in the final third, as the emotion that she has been working with earlier in the piece is not as focused and her lines begin to simply feel shouted.

Despite these closing shortcomings, His Ghostly Heart provides a very unique Fringe experience in its premise and light-starved performance. It remains a touching exploration of facing the realities of life and love and how, sometimes, darkness is much more of a comfort than the harsh light of day.

Venue: Fringe Hub, Upstairs at Errol’s, 69-71 Errol Street, North Melbourne, 3051
Season: Until 3 October | Tues-Sat 10.30pm
Tickets:$20 Full | $16 Conc | Cheap Tuesday
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Circus, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: BODIES OVER BITUMEN

Circus under the sky

By Myron My

This year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival has seen a variety of circus performances using the art form to create some highly unique shows. There’s been glow-in-the-dark circus, and circus that is inspired by climate change, and now with Bodies Over Bitumen, there is outdoor circus that takes us out to the streets of North Melbourne.

Bodies Over Bitumen

We follow the three performers Skye Gellmann, Alexander Gellmann and Naomi Francis, down side streets and main roads as they perform various tricks and acrobatics. Similar to other Fringe Festival shows, Suburbia and Citydash, Bodies Over Bitumen invites its audience to look at your surroundings in a new light and to take notice of what is there.

The silks routine off a tree on Errol Street was quite mesmerising to watch, with quite a few passers-by also stopping from their evening outings to admire. Looking up to Francis as she spun herself around and climbed up the rope, surrounded by all the leaves and branches, felt fairytale-like.

Similarly, the finale with Skye Gellmann’s pole routine on a street pole was well choreographed and displayed some amazing strength. It was a great way to finish but sadly, the rest of the evening failed to leave a strong impression on me. There was a lot of waiting and watching for things to happen and when they did, the build-up was not justified. One act involved a piece of flint being scraped on the road and watching a few sparks for five minutes, which unfortunately did not create a sense of wonderment for the audience.

Bodies Over Bitumen wants us to acknowledge how landscape and environment play a big part in defining who we are. I only wish the performers had attempted to develop some of these ideas further as this production has the potential to be an eye-opening show and create real curiosity in people’s minds. Instead, it is a show that seems to have taken a few wrong turns in determining what journey it wants to take us on.

Venue: Meet on the steps Fringe Hub, Arts House, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne, 3051

Season: Until 3 October | Tues-Sat 6.30pm

Tickets:$23 Full | $18 Conc | $14 Cheap Tuesday

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Festivals, Performances, Review

REVIEW: Sophie Joske will BECOME A FUNCTIONAL ADULT IN 45 MINUTES

Tightly-wrought, intelligent and very enjoyable performance

By Myron My

Sophie Joske wants to become an adult. She wants to be accomplished and respected as a person, but she’s not quite there yet. Presented as part of the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Become a Functional Adult in 45 Minutes is a cautionary tale in which Joske explores what life must be like to be a successful adult.

Become a Functional Adult in 45 Minutes

Joske sets her sights on graduating from the Mature Learning Academy as an ‘adult’ so she can finally go out and live her life. What follows is a series of satirical ‘self-help’ tests in a variety of categories, such as work, social skills, relationships and sex, to assess just how prepared Joske is at handling these situations as a fully-fledged adult. Sadly, she fails at each, but not without some real laughs along the way.

Joske’s punchlines are well delivered and the flashbacks scenes are a touch of gold. One of the many great moments of the show is the “positive female affirmations” that play over the speakers as Joske gets changed into a different outfit. Joske’s desperation to graduate reaches a dramatic climax that you can see coming but are ultimately still stunned and surprised by what has eventuated. The one serious moment of the show is executed extremely well and really pushes the message Joske is trying to say.

Become a Functional Adult in 45 Minutes offers a witty critique of modern society and the sexism and gender inequalities that are so prevalent within it. A memorable example of this is Joske’s revelation of the process women ‘must’ go through in order to look and smell attractive enough to the opposite sex whereas men…just need to take a shower. Joske also takes a swipe at our ageist society, which will question your life choices if you are over 30, and not yet married with children.

Become a Functional Adult in 45 Minutes is a highly restrained and subtle look at how society is programming us to be the type of adults it wants us to be rather than allowing people to make their own choices. It’s an important message for any person of any gender or sex to be aware of. Joske’s balance of humour and critique is well thought-out that has you walking out questioning what exactly has influenced your decisions in life – but still with a smile on your face.

Venue: Club Voltaire, 14 Raglan St, North Melbourne, 3051

Season: Until 28 September | 7.30pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $17 Conc

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Cabaret, Festivals, Review

REVIEW: Nick Eynaud in A STAR IS BORED

Witty and winning cabaret

By Myron My

Nick Eynaud doesn’t just want to be famous. He wants to be rich, famous and powerful, the triple threat. His 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival cabaret show, A Star Is Bored, reveals the lengths he will go to in order to make his dream come true – so long as he doesn’t actually have to do anything to earn it. Thanks to reality TV, he might be able to make that happen.

A Star is Bored

Eynaud takes us on a journey of his life that begins with his wide-eyed WAAPA school days through to the harsh reality of living back home with his parents in Reservoir. Along the way, he informs us of his obsession with Netflix and more specifically, reality TV shows, including Masterchef, Real Housewives and Toddlers and Tiara  – the latter resulting in an incredibly hilarious audition tape that needs to be seen.

It would be difficult to choose any standout numbers in this show, as each song is brilliantly funny. However, Eynaud’s rendition of the Kate Bush classic “Wuthering Heights” as a Netflix ode and the location change to Reservoir in Hairspray‘s “Good Morning Baltimore” would be right up there. All song revisions are all cleverly written and are not only infused with a good dose of humour but also bring out Eynaud’s winning personality.

The use of mixed media is a welcome addition to the show, with the opening moments including Eynaud’s show reel of his “starring roles” in productions such as Wicked and Phantom of the Opera. The childhood photos shown throughout remind us that this person has a real history which made him all the more vulnerable and sympathetic on stage despite the jokey self-entitlement being projected.

A Star Is Bored is essentially Eynaud’s self-discovery that at some time, we all need to grow up, even just a little. You can still dream to be rich, famous and powerful but with a small dose of real ‘reality’ for sanity’s sake. A Star Is Bored is a great showcase of Eynaud’s own star qualities and a highly enjoyable hour of cabaret.

A Star Is Bored was performed at The Butterfly Club as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival on 23 -27 September.

Opera, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Lyric Opera of Melbourne Presents STELLA

Appealing, accessible Australian opera

By Christine Young

In the first of its 2015 Australian Opera Series, Lyric Opera of Melbourne is reviving G.W.L. Marshall-Hall’s 1910 work Stella which plays out the tragic story of a nurse whose ‘immoral’ past catches up with her at exactly the same time her boss, Dr Kirke, declares his undying love. I hate it when that happens.

Lyric Opera Presents Stella Photo by Kris Washusen

The story is based on Marshall-Hall’s own fall from grace in the eyes of Melbourne society and his work colleagues. In 1891, he emigrated from England to take up the post as the first chair of music at the University of Melbourne. This was a coup for the university: Marshall-Hall wrote his first opera at the age of fifteen, and by the time he came to Melbourne, had written two more operas and composed many orchestral works and songs.

But he was also a bit of a ratbag as far as the conservative Melbourne establishment were concerned. Marshall-Hall publically expounded his views as a socialist, atheist and passionate artist. Marshall-Hall’s reputation as a womaniser was ultimately his undoing and he was dumped by the university. He went on to establish the Conservatorium of Melbourne, and wrote Stella which premiered at Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1912.

In all my theatre reviewing, Stella was my first opera, and I’m pretty confident from my experience that it’s an excellent choice for the novice. The libretto is in English which is a good start. This means you’re able to focus on the singing and the music without the distraction of subtitles. Moreover, while this one-act opera with its cast of five may have a lower budget than the big, lavish productions, the cast, composer, orchestra plus the large artistic team are highly accomplished and experienced in their fields. And being in an intimate theatre space, the audience has the advantage of soaking up the singing and live orchestra in close proximity.

So if you want to experience opera without coughing up big bucks, this is the time and place to do it. And it seems fitting that the work of a bohemian and socialist should be made so accessible to the great unwashed.

Soprano Lee Abrahmsen shines as Stella to pardon the pun, and it’s such a unique experience to watch and hear, not just Abrahmsen but the whole cast, express Aussie vernacular in operatic style. Abrahmsen’s vocal control is outstanding and at its finest during her arias that are punctuated with expert vibrato. For the most part, I was completely taken by Robert Barbaro’s (Dr Kirke’s) angelic voice above all others. The male cast members seem to have more chances to showcase their talent than the title character, and Matt Thomas (Mayor Chamley) also has a stunning tenor voice which meets the challenge of depicting his character’s inner turmoil.

Last, but nowhere near least, under the inspired guidance of conductor Pat Miller the excellent 16-piece wind and string orchestra achieves the impressive balance of making its presence known without upstaging the singers. Make sure you stop every now and then to focus on the orchestra. You won’t regret it.

Where: David Williamson Theatre, 144 High Street, Prahran (enter from St John St)
When: 25-30 September, 2015
Tickets: $49.50 (adult) /$39.50 (concession) /$35.00 (under 30s)
Book: www.lyricopera.com.au

Image by Kris Washusen

Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: and now we wait. By STEPHANIE CLARK

Taking shelter during a school shooting…

By Myron My

Playing at the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Stephanie Clark’s and now we wait. plays out like a grim re-imagining of The Breakfast Club for, in this case, there is a shooter loose in the school and the five teenagers find shelter in an unused theatre. While they nervously remain hidden, not knowing where the shooter is and waiting for the nightmare to end, the group gradually faces some truths about themselves and what is ultimately important to each of them.

and now we wait.

Based in Warragul, Impact Theatre is an enterprising company that focuses on young people writing and creating original theatre productions. The cast ranges from 18-21 years of age, is a combination of first-time and regular performers with the company. While different skill levels and experience that influence the ability to play more nuanced characters are evident, the entire cast (Emily Legg, Sarah Hartnell, Kyle Wright, Daniel Warenycia and Clark herself) remains dedicated to the characters and the situation they find themselves in. However, Hartnell as uptight smart girl Emily, and Wright as the jokester Nick, provide the most convincing performances of the night.

With her writing, Clark ensures the dialogue remains authentic and deliverable in a way you would expect real teenagers to speak. The flashbacks to what the students were doing before the gun shots are heard are well thought-out and the lighting and sound effects used in these moments is cleverly executed. There are, however, times when dialogue and actions in and now we wait. seem rather forced and there are also a few discrepancies with the story. The cutaways to the three news reports could easily be omitted for more dramatic effect, to allow the audience to be just as much in the dark about the situation as the characters and to allow us to stay fully enclosed in their world.

Julia Lambert‘s direction artfully increases the panic and fear that is slowly seeping into the teenagers and she creates some great visuals in how dual scenes are played out. The open incorporation of outside influences into the show is a nice touch, including one moment in particular where, as one latecomer to the show opened the door to the venue, the entire cast froze in terror as if it were the gunman coming in.

and now we wait. is a great opportunity to support and see an enjoyable show by a group of dedicated and promising young actors and writers. The subject matter is convincingly explored and there are some chilling moments throughout the show that will remain with you long after the climactic ending.

Venue: Northcote Uniting Church, 251 High St, Northcote.

Season: Until 2 October | Wed – Sat 8pm
Tickets: $25 Full | $20 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival