Category: Events

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: EDWARD ALBEE’s The Zoo Story

A rare chance to ponder a rarely seen play

By Myron My

In The Zoo Story, a man is sitting in the park, quietly reading his book. A younger man approaches him and a conversation is struck up. There is an aura of something not being quite right with this man and as the conversation heads into darker and more intense territory, this feeling becomes a strong foreboding…

From then we witness how both these lives will be unequivocally changed from this chance encounter as it plays out in real time. There is very little ‘action’ in The Zoo Story yet so much happens in this short amount of time you really do feel like you’re being raced along through emotional extremes.

The Zoo Story

The two leads – Chris Broadstock and Cameron McKenzie – were highly believable in their portrayals and added to the mounting tension with their confident characterisation and powerful interaction with each other. Peter (Broadstock) as the happily married man with two kids and a cat is a perfect contrast to Jerry (McKenzie), who is alone, unstable and angry. McKenzie was particularly menacing to the point where you really despised his character, even though you weren’t entirely sure why.

I couldn’t help but feel a little unfulfilled by the end of the play as a lot of questions remain unanswered – and this is not a bad thing. Albee’s plays ask more than they reveal and without giving too much away, there is one major question that everyone will want answered but unfortunately – or not, depending which way you look at it – that answer can only be sought in your own experience of the work and your thoughts and discussions afterwards, and here lies much of the sophistication and appeal of this script.

Edward Albee wrote The Zoo Story in 1958, and fifty-five years later, the themes of isolation, loneliness and class difference are still present in society today making this play highly relevant to modern times. For their first-ever production, Good Little Theatre have chosen a great play to perform and I look forward to seeing what else they produce in the future.

Venue: Revolt Productions, 12 Elizabeth Street Kensington

Season: Until 25 March | 7:30pm

Tickets: $20

Bookings: http://revoltproductions.com

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Red Stitch Presents PENELOPE

Epic poetry and poolside murder

By Myron My

Penelope by Irish playwright Enda Walsh and directed by Alister Smith shows four men seeking to receive the love of Penelope in the absence of her warrior husband, Odysseus. Through hope, fear, anger and passion, will any of them win her love?

Penelope

Upon entering the theatre for this production, we watch a young man scrubbing blood from inside an empty swimming pool. Well, empty from water for it is teeming with deck chairs, books, alcohol and the disturbing red stains. In fact, the pool resembles a beach party for hoarders gone wrong. Taking center stage is a large barbeque with an ominous message for the four men of Penelope.

After this fascinating opening, the story unwinds at a perfect pace: fast enough to keep you interested but slow enough to not reveal everything at once. The mystery of the blood in the pool and the events that led up to that are ever so carefully unveiled through the taut script which works well in keeping the audience intrigued.

In contrast, costume design left little to the imagination, with all four men dressed in swimming trunks – yet each one seemed to convey a strong sense of who this character was. The brutish self-appointed leader, Quinn (Lyall Brooks) was dressed in red speedos – and you really can’t get any more alpha-male than that.

The last act however seemed to lose itself a bit. Despite the audience enjoying it, the “love in 6 acts” scene didn’t seem to have a place in the story. It relied on slapstick humour and not the sharply written dialogue and well thought-out character-driven scenes earlier, but this issue is to do with the play itself and its reworking of Homer’s classic tale rather than the direction or performances.

As this year’s Graduate Ensemble Actor for Red Stitch, Matthew Whitty as Burns certainly does show promise, however the more overtly experienced and skillful actors (Brooks, James Wardlaw and Dion Mills) in Penelope do manage to outshine him, and the impact of the final scene is therefore not as strong as it could be. It is a particularly exceptional performance by Mills as the flamboyant Dunne. His later monologue is compelling to watch as guards are let down and we see the real, vulnerable side to his character.

With strong intelligent direction by Smith, Penelope will have you pondering the moral and emotional questions it raises a good while after the show is over.

Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St Kilda

Season: Until 13 April | 8:00pm, Sun 6:30pm

Tickets: $37 Full | $27 Conc

Bookings: 9534 3388 or http://www.theatreworks.org.au

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Music, Performances, Whats On

Review: AMY ABLER is Pianodivalicious

Piano-playing punch and pizzazz

By Christine Moffat

Amy Abler – the woman who can play the piano with every part of her body!

While this statement is titillating (and true!), it does not do justice to Amy Abler’s talent or sense of fun.  The audience entered the theatre, and Abler was already on stage playing.  Explaining she’d hired herself as the pre-show performer, she began chatting with the crowd.  Once we were all in, and ready to go, Abler discovered we were unprepared – no feathers!  It’s true, not one of us had thought to bring along a big, fluffy feather.  Luckily the Piano-Diva had spares.

Pianodivalicious

This piano-confessional style show is old school, and ironically this makes for a refreshing change.  Abler is an accomplished pianist, and plays any style of music from classical to blues with passion and panache.  She reveals that for the better part of the last twelve years she has been a headline act on various cruise ships.  Happily, in the lovely intimate cabaret venue The Butterfly Club, not a hint of big-ship dinner theatre peeked through.

Abler’s stories are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always interesting.  Her piano playing is faultless, and more importantly, got the whole audience bobbing and swaying and subconsciously ‘emoting’ with their feathers.  This is a seasoned entertainer who has not forgotten how to entertain.

Abler is based in Chicago, but when this show (hopefully) returns to Melbourne, head along for a slice of truly universal fun.  Her audience rapport is wonderful, and the show’s retro style fits like a comfy (albeit heavily sequinned) shoe.  Lovely.

Show information:

Pianodivalicious

Wednesday 20th March 2013

The Butterfly Club

Carson Place (just off Little Collins Street in the Melbourne CBD)

www.thebutterflyclub.com

www.pianodivalicious.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Isabel Hertaeg’s DEATH BY SOPRANO

Daring diva with a killer voice

By Christine Moffat

Isabel Hertaeg has a dream to be an operatic soprano, but she’s noticed that they don’t always have the best of luck.  Her theory is, if she can work out what keeps killing them off, she has some hope of surviving a role!

Death By Soprano

Hertaeg has serious soprano-envy, and this is a very good thing.  As a result, we were treated to a fabulous array of soprano deaths, without all those annoying tenors getting in the way to spoil it.

The show began with Hertaeg coming onstage as the tragic Ophelia, whose gory death details I won’t spoil.  Suffice to say, this reviewer’s sick sense of humour was switched on in the first three minutes of this show.  Once poor Ophelia is no more, Hertaeg outlines her approach: she will explain the A-Z of soprano deaths.  Accompanied wonderfully by Amy Abler, Hertaeg then starts her alphabetical annihilation with ‘A is for Avalanche’.

If it had gone wrong, this show could have turned into one big highbrow in-joke, with opera aficionados tittering away whilst the common folk looked on confused.  Instead, it turned out to be an intelligent concept, wrapped in a delightfully dark show, and decorated with Hertaeg’s wonderful voice.

The cute little prop jokes kept the comedy bubbling along, and the many, many deaths took care of the pathos.  Watch out for Brunhilde (a highlight), who ticks both the prop comedy and pathos boxes at once!

Although the show is a tragic comedy, with little quips sprinkled throughout, Hertaeg did not skimp on the opera.  Her performance of Butterfly’s aria in particular was intensely moving.  On top of being funny and having an amazing voice, Hertaeg also managed to sing in Italian, French, Russian, English and German.  I’m beginning to feel a little soprano-envy myself…

Show information:

Death by Soprano

Wednesday 20th March 2013

The Butterfly Club

Carson Place (just off Little Collins Street in the Melbourne CBD)

www.thebutterflyclub.com

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Fleur Murphy’s SHADOWS OF ANGELS

Superb performances in a dark and gritty play

By Myron My

Shadows Of Angels is a play that delves into the minds and stories of the Australian female criminal: each tale dealing with a painful situation and event that links them all together.

The set of this production is bare apart from a chair, and a spotlight falls onto the cast as they individually take to the stage and tell their story to the audience. With so little visual stimulation, it’s even more important to have a talented cast to carry the story.

Shadows of Angels

For the most part the casting is spot on. H. Clare Callow is the standout as the “Man Femme”, showing equal parts vulnerability, yearning and sorrow. Meg Spencer is also particularly strong as the “Pretty Femme” portraying the tougher, angrier side of the femme fatale. Mel Dodge’s “Good Femme” rounds out the great performances.

My issue was with Rosemary Johns as the “Old Femme” and it was not at all due to the fine acting and effort that was put into the role, but I feel Jones was miscast here as the “Old Femme”. This was a woman who performed illegal abortions in a secret room and was about to flee from the police but Johns just seemed too sweet and gentle and I had problems believing her character would be capable of committing these crimes.

Fleur Murphy’s script is brilliant. The problem I often find with shows that use monologues is the narrative remains stagnant. However, with Shadows of Angels there is a steady pace that allows the narrative to flow and grow. Even more importantly, these are engaging characters that paint the scene with such vivid imagery that you often forget there is just that one chair on stage.

Chris Saxton has directed a show that stays with you long after it’s over. His efforts in creating the right blend of horror and sympathy both emotionally and physically on stage are what theatre is meant to be about: creating a world that envelops you until you feel like you are actually there.

Venue: The Owl and the Pussycat, 34 Swan St, Richmond

Season: Until 23 March | 8:00pm

Tickets: $24 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings: www.owlandcat.com.au/shadows.html

Dance, Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: SKELETON at Dance Massive

Getting down to the bare bones…

By Myron My

Choreographed by Larissa McGowan and featuring in the Dance Massive festival this month, Skeleton has a set of characters discover the hidden stories of pop-culture icons including headphones, baseball bats and a BMX bike.

Skeleton

The performance definitely lives up to its name. The stage is skeletal: the bare essentials are the set of lights along the back wall and just a handful of props. The dancers wear white, grey or black clothing, so no complex colours are on display here. Meanwhile, there is the clever staging device of two black sliding panels that constantly move back and forth across the stage throughout the performance. As they do, they drop off or pick up performers and/or props with such precision timing that it really is a blink-and-you-miss-it exchange.

McGowan’s choreography is brilliant and all the dancers have put some extreme effort and dedication into executing it. Jethro Woodward’s score is as haunting as it is mesmerizing as the dancers move, contort and manipulate their bodies to some extreme choreographed sequences. The interesting inclusion of various film voice-overs and the incorporation of those dialogues into the performance were well-crafted.

Despite an impressive performance by all, including Tobia Booth-Remmers, Lisa Griffiths and Lewis Rankin, it was the intense presence and obvious skill of Marcus Louend and McGowan that really left an impression on my mind.

Yet as an audience member, whenever I see a performance of any sort, I want to walk away having felt something, and on the whole, I just didn’t experience this with this production. As mentioned earlier, I appreciated the strong technical performances but Skeleton lacked an emotional connection for me to drive it home. This might again have been a deliberate decision considering the piece’s title, but it may also have to do with its length, for even though the performance time falls just under an hour, it did start to become repetitious and the amazement over what we had earlier witnessed did start to wane.

Skeleton is an interesting piece of contemporary dance exploring pop icons from the past and how very easily they can be forgotten. It’s a very impressive performance but with only the unsatisfactory bare bones of a narrative on offer, perhaps more fleshing out of the ‘story’ behind it is actually needed.

Venue: The Malthouse, 113 Sturt St, Southbank

Season: Until 23 March | 8:00pm, Sat 5:00pm

Tickets: $49 Full | $41 Conc

Bookings: www.dancemassive.com.au

Dance, Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Lee Serle’s P.O.V.

Experience the dance like never before

By Myron My

Commissioned by Lucy Guerin for contemporary dance festival Dance Massive and choreographed by Lee Serle, P.O.V. is a unique dance piece that looks at proximity, reactions and interactions with audiences as participants rather than just mere observers.

Being fortunate enough to grab one of the 36 swivel stools on the stage, I was thrust into this bold experience. The four dancers – Serle, James Andrews, Kristy Ayre and Lily Paska – appear and begin dancing in unison through the grid-like formation, gradually breaking off, going down various paths, like balls in a pinball machine.

P.O.V.

It’s very much an up-close-and-personal-feeling as an audience member, seeing the heavy breathing and the sweat dripping off their brow. These guys are definitely giving all they’ve got – and it works.

We are initially ignored and you can’t help but feel like an intruder. Eventually we are acknowledged and then warmed to and then we interact with the dancers in extremely unique and personal ways. P.O.V. is about blurring the line between audience member and participant: looking at how we deal with each other and what we feel from that. As Serle himself explained in his notes, it is much like life and about taking the time to interact with one another.

I went through a range of emotions throughout P.O.V: laughter, warmth, intrigue and even loneliness when asked to wear a blindfold and to experience part of the show in that state.

Hearing movement and laughter and not being able to see it allowed me to go in a deeper place and explore those emotions for some time and it was quite a moving experience. Upon removal of the blindfold it was a surprise to see everything that had occurred in the space of those minutes to other participants: all safe, all fun, and all-willing.

P.O.V. is part dance and part theatre performance and was a great introduction to Dance Massive. Highly recommended show, but do get in early to grab one of the seats on stage, as it really does make the performance so much more unique.

Venue: Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry St

Season: Until 16 March | 8:30pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings:  www.dancemassive.com.au

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Mockingbird Theatre Presents BLUE/ORANGE

Profound theatre – and prodigious talent

By Bradley Storer

After a stunning debut with their acclaimed production of The Laramie Project, Mockingbird Theatre Company continues their winning streak with a smaller-scaled but equally impressive showing of Joe Penhall’s Blue/Orange. This three-person play provides fantastic opportunities for the skilled actors of the company in its complex exploration of themes of mental illness, racism, colonialism and culture.

BlueOrange

The plot is focused on the diagnosis and treatment of a young African man under two psychiatrists with opposing approaches to mental illness. Kane Felsinger as the institutionalized Christopher is phenomenal, dispatching the play’s fierce Mamet-like dialogue with ferocity while never letting us forget the real emotional pain underneath his at times off-putting persona. Christopher, diagnosed continually as sitting somewhere in ‘the borders between psychotic and neurotic’, draws both his doctors and the audience through the blurry boundaries between delusion, deception and uncertainty.

Richard Edge as Robert, the older and more pragmatic psychiatrist, embodies a man who is characterized mainly by his own mediocrity alongside surprising vitality. This man, who at first attempts to downplay and normalize Christopher’s disorder before endeavouring to exploit it as fodder for his own academic gain, seems like that archetypal charismatic and slightly sociopathic career-climber we encounter in every kind of field, instantly recognizable and creepily personable. Christian Heath as Bruce, Christopher’s younger and more compassionate psychiatrist, provides a strong moral and emotional centre to the story which anchors events amongst flurries of academic debate and cultural abstraction.

The three actors are all equally brilliant, and director Chris Baldock has done a fantastic job of choreographing them into shifting patterns of empathy and aggression which make them simultaneously sympathetic and antagonistic. Even as the two doctors aim to heal Christopher his mental illness becomes simply another instrument in their battle, echoing the marginalization and exploitation of ethnic and social minorities in patriarchal Western culture which continues even today.

A wonderful and thrilling night of contemporary theatre meditating on grand macrocosmic themes, but with the aid of magnificently talented actors never leaves behind the confusion and painful reality of everyday life.

Dates: Thur 28 Feb – Sat 2 March 8pm, Sun 3 March 5pm, Tue 5 March – Sat 9 March 8pm, Sat 9 March at 2pm

Venue: Broken Mirror Studios, 2c Staley St, Brunswick

Tickets: Bookings available here

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: THIS TRICK (The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice)

To hell and back for love

By Myron My

Using the Greek myth but set in a contemporary world, This Trick invites us to be voyeurs to a very private moment for Orpheus and Eurydice, who are so in love with each other that the rest of the world is seen as a danger they do not wish to be engaged with.

I particularly enjoyed the contrast of passionate declarations of love intermingled with trivial domestic arguments such as leaving the milk out, thus allowing those simple moments to be more intense. Much of the emotional impact is to the credit of the two leads Penny Harpham and Matt Hickey, and their hypnotic performances.

This Trick

Both were very strong and capable in taking on these roles, and the scripted words flowed as naturally as any spontaneous conversation. The on-stage chemistry and level of intimacy between them was palpable, and comfortably portrayed their characters’ jealousies, insecurities and fears in giving themselves over completely to the person they love.

There is a fitting sense of visual minimalism in this production: the set  is mainly a white mattress and white curtains and some bottles of alcohol. The ethereal environment established by designer Hanna Sandgren is further alluded to with the leads also beginning in white clothing.

In contrast, the dynamic lighting design by Julia Knibbs helped emphasise the passion and enveloping darkness for the two lovers: casting many shadows on their faces and using firey red to show the fierce passion between the two reminded me very much of the related myth of Dionysus and the dangers of excess. The stagecraft and music throughout This Trick is also well-executed and you can feel a lot of work has been done on this by all involved including sound designer Jennifer Kingwell.

Writer and director Kat Henry of Stella Electrika has produced a piece of work that is sharp, witty and real – even though there are times the dialogue does reach extremes, it is perfectly fitting in This Trick. A very powerful production all round, and one that makes you question just how much love is too much love.

Venue: La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton

Season: Until 3 March | Tue, Wed 6.30pm | Thu, Fri, Sat 7.30pm | Sun 4.30pm & 6.30pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Concession

Bookings: http://lamama.com.au

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Simon Stephen’s PORNOGRAPHY

Challenging play struggles to connect

By Myron My

Playing at The Malthouse Theatre, Pornography looks at a variety of characters during the seven days in London when the G8 Summit, the Live 8 Concert, the Olympic Games announcement and the London bombings all occurred.

Pornography

My biggest dissatisfaction with Pornography is its length. There is not enough juice in this play to justify a 2.5-hour show. Seven stories – five of which are roughly 20-minute monologues – is also quite a lot to take, and when the couples sitting either side of me did not return after intermission I am quite sure I am not the only one who thought so.

It’s with the other two stories that the pace changes, the characters interact with one another, and a more conventional approach to narrative is followed. We are witness to an incestuous brother and sister and a kind of romance between an old man and a young woman but these potentially dynamic plots were not enough to keep me engaged. The interactions and the characters all felt forced and not organic. I simply did not believe what I was watching.

The stories ultimately lack interest and there are no surprises along the way, as you already know how they will end. The time shifts within stories didn’t help in being able to follow the flimsy plots, as it was quite difficult to gauge how much time had passed between the lights coming down and back up again.

The actors (Imat Akelo-Opio, Emma Chelsey, Hannah Greenwood, Justin Hosking, Richard Neal, Sonya Suares and Jesse Velik) worked hard with their various British accents but the performances as a whole seemed to lack spark. However, Frances Hutson was able to breathe some much-needed life into Pornography through the final more appealing story.

I’m sorry to say that Pornography disappointed me. I walked out feeling nothing about any of the stories I had seen nor about any of the characters I had met. Yes, it did look at the acts of transgression people can commit in such emotionally-heightened times but unfortunately it failed to make me care.

Venue: The Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt St, Southbank

Season: Until 3 March | Tues – Sat 8:00pm, Sat 3:00pm, Sun 5:00pm

Tickets: $42 Full | $35 Concession

Bookings: https://boxoffice.malthousetheatre.com.au