Category: Festivals

Circus, Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Circus Horrificus for MICF

Running away to join the circus just got dangerous – and hilarious

By Myron My

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is upon us and it is preview night for Circus Horrificus – It’s A Western. There is a sense of excitement and nerves as I take my seat: extreme physical circus acts is what has been promised, and boy, do these guys deliver.

Circus Horrificus

Unfortunately, the beginning of the show where we are introduced to Samora Squid and Bridget Bridge overstayed its welcome. Too much slapstick and I found the screeching and growling at each other rather irritating. I wasn’t amazed by anything and my interest was not piqued. It seemed that just when you thought it was going to go somewhere – it didn’t. Even the music in the background was distracting.

Once these two performers got over this initial hurdle however, they not only took it to the next level but smashed through it. Their energy heightened, their interaction got stronger and even the music was more harmonious with the action. There were many moments where the audience was equally mesmerised, horrified, cringing and cheering. It’s been a while since I have felt all these emotions at the same time and it really wreaks havoc with the your body – but this was nothing compared to what Squid and Bridge were enduring physically.

There were numerous times I wanted to clap but all I could do was watch in disbelief in the various acts they performed. I would love to be specific about what these two artists do but I really think half the fun is watching without foreknowledge the crazy antics they get up to – although I will note that fireworks get up close and personal in places they should never be near…

The way Squid and Bridge present themselves, the costumes and the props they use all give off the authentic flavour of a real circus sideshow act. It’s no surprise that they would choose to perform at the newly relocated Butterfly Club, itself being eponymous with the kitsch and carnivale.

Despite its rocky opening, Circus Horrificus’ Squid and Bridge do win the audience over with their crazy cheekiness and it’s always great to see something that definitely isn’t your standard stand-up comedian in this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St(entry via Carson Place), Melbourne

Season: Until 21 March | Tues-Wed, Sun 9:30pm

Tickets: $23 Full | $20 Concession

Bookings: www.butterflyclub.com or 9690 2000

Dance, Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: CONVERSATION PIECE at Dance Massive

Dancers and actors blend – and battle…

By Myron My

In Lucy Guerin’s Conversation Piece, three people appear on stage and have an eight-minute conversation which is recorded using a trusty iPhone. This conversation is different each night and is completely improvised. From there, that conversation is played on loop that creates various experiences for the six performers and audience members through acting and dance.

Conversation-Piece

The dancers (Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe and Byron Perry) have great fluidity in their movements and were great to watch dancing together. There were a few moments that lacked synchronicity but as a whole, it was pretty hard to take our eyes away from them. Likewise, the three actors (Matthew Whittet, Katherine Tonkin and Megan Holloway) seemed completely at ease in their roles. What was of interest to me was having the performers doing the opposite of what they were trained in. You could see the obvious level of skill that the dancers possessed over the actors and vice versa yet they all held their own with strong commitment to what they were creating.

In the performance I attended, the standout work was the pairing of Macindoe and Whittet. Their combined efforts using the earlier conversation to create a ‘new’ one, and the dancing that then came from that was highly enjoyable as was its later intensity. Furthermore Tonkin’s improvised stinging speech to Lake using the original conversation as inspiration was amazing to watch with heightened tension thanks to lighting designer, Damien Cooper.

Conversation Piece doesn’t go where you initially think it will – this is its strength. What begins as a light and humorous conversation does take a few dark turns and the last few minutes are particularly sinister which leaves you with a feeling that these two art forms – dancing and acting – cannot co-exist. They both need to be in control, to be the leader, as if they are rival gangs fighting for turf. This mood crept up on me but then hit me quite suddenly and took me to some unexpected places. Conversation Piece is playing as part of the  contemporary dance festival Dance Massive and despite its grim outcome, creates a beautiful fusion between dance and performance.

Venue: Arts House, Meat Market, 5 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne

Season: Until 24 March | 8:30pm, Sat 2:00pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $20 Concession

Bookings: www.dancemassive.com.au

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, Festivals, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: The Dead Ones at THEATREWORKS

Remembering those who came before us

By Myron My

The first thing to note about The Dead Ones, now playing at Theatreworks as part of Midsumma Festival, is that this is not like any other performance. There is no acting, there are no characters and there is no ‘script’. The Dead Ones is a presentation, a homage of sorts in which Margie Fischer retells the life of her family, now that she is the last remaining member of it.

Margie-Fischer

Whilst Fischer speaks to us, there is a photo slideshow of her family and the places she describes playing prominently centre stage. Putting faces to the names makes this seem all the more real (even though it already is) and Fischer’s stories seek to strike a more poignant note with the audience.

The thing that disappointed me about The Dead Ones was the level of detachment. Fischer is sharing some deeply moving and personal moments of her life yet I felt little of the emotional connection to what she was saying which I think was pivotal to a piece such as this. I felt in the performance style and language there was a real lack of dramatic rhetoric being utilized.

At times we kept switching from one period of time to another without warning and it seemed as if there were moments where we had already heard particular stories. There was a wealth of tales mentioned about which I – and I’m sure the rest of the audience – would have loved to hear more but it felt like we skimmed the surface of many of these due to the rapid nature of the changes in narrative direction.

Fortunately, these moments don’t detract too much from Fischer’s over-arching and admirable theme of honoring those we have met; those who have lived before us. It was very difficult to not simply go away inside myself and get lost in thinking about the love and loss I have experienced over the years, and the final minutes of The Dead Ones therefore do achieve the show’s goal in being particularly bittersweet and touching.

Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St Kilda

Season: Until 3 February | Tues – Sat 7:30pm & 2pm Sat & 5pm Sun

Tickets: $28 Full | $22 Conc

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

Events, Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: TRANSIT at Gasworks

Buy the ticket, take the trip

By Christine Moffat

Transit is a story about travellers being thrown together by chance and trying to stay together on purpose.  This hour-long production for Midsumma Festival tells the stories of three young Australians living abroad, but it is also the universal story of the first taste of the ‘foreign’.  The three Aussies learn that sometimes travel is difficult, sometimes it’s sublime, but it’s always life-changing.

The show, devised and written by Troy Nankervis, is based on interviews conducted with travellers he met whilst travelling himself in the UK.  The result is a script with sections that are a little undramatic; perhaps these sections follow the interviews too faithfully.  That being said, most of the show is interesting and touching, and ably performed by the three actors. 

Transit

Ewan Whittle is amusing and surprising as the slightly disconnected Tyler.  Ella Di Marco is very watchable in her stage debut as Nicole.  Ezel Doruk who plays Kieran, also does well with difficult task of playing several small characters that help the story flow.

The overall style of this production is a slightly stilted mix of naturalistic and stylised elements.  I much preferred the stylised elements.  For example, director Cameron Stewart created a great series of silent tableaux performed during monologues with the non-speaking actors. I think the two styles would have combined much more successfully if both elements were heightened.

Everything is there in this show, but when working from real life, writers and directors often feel that dramatising will take away from the truth.  However, this  is theatre: I think that Nankervis has a knack for finding the important stories, and should give himself permission to ‘crank up’ his script so that more is at stake for the characters.

I believe that if the script had a little more bubbling beneath the surface, and the production smoothed out its style choices, this show has the potential to be challenging and moving play.  As it stands, Transit is a great piece of new Australian theatre, and an entertaining 60 minutes promising great things in the future from all involved.

Dates: Sat 23 Jan – Fri 1 Feb, 7pm

Venue: Studio Theatre, Gasworks Arts Park, Cnr Graham & Pickles St, Albert Park

Tickets: $22 /$17 Conc

Bookings: www.gasworks.org.au/events/transit

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

REVIEW: Here Lies Henry for MIDSUMMA 2013

Dark truths and slick lies

By Myron My

Directed by Jason Langley, Here Lies Henry by Daniel MacIvor is the second show to open at Theatreworks during Melbourne’s Midsumma festival. In Here Lies Henry we are treated to a one-man play where we meet the remarkable Henry, and Henry has something to tell us that we don’t already know.

Here Lies Henry

A single spotlight shines down on the stage as Henry (Matthew Hyde) awkwardly enters and breaks the fourth wall: speaking directly to us, interacting with us and at times, flirting with us.

Hyde is brilliant as Henry and has clearly been taken over himself by this character with dual personalities. There is the initial Henry we meet, who is timid, nervous and fidgety and it’s almost a relentless power struggle between him and the angry, loud and erratic Henry.

As we delve inside the mind of this troubled man Hyde creates and retains all the nuances that make Henry who he is. His body language, the fidgeting, his inflections and stutters remain constant and considering all eyes are fixated on him for the whole time, are very impressive. The confidence of being Henry is evident when he even remains in character to acknowledge and welcome some latecomers into the theatre.

Although Blake Garner’s lighting design and James Luscombe’s sound design are at a discreet minimum in this production, they ensure that when they do come into play, they are used at the most advantageous moments to create the most impact.

The great thing about an abstract play such as Here Lies Henry is that we have the freedom to interpret it as we want. Even the title itself could mean here lies Henry baring his soul and self to us or here stands Henry lying to us, as he openly admits he does.

It takes a lot to make one-person shows successful, as having a sole performer in front of you who not only demands your attention but also deserves it is not an easy accomplishment. Hyde does this and then some in a flawless performance. Here Lies Henry is a thoroughly thought-provoking, experimental piece that will leave audiences thinking about it long after they have seen it.

Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St Kilda

Season: Until 27 January | 7:30pm

Tickets: $30 Full | $22 Conc

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

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

Review: LITTLE ONES THEATRE PRESENTS Psycho Beach Party

60s spoof cinema becomes Midsumma highlight

By Myron My

Psycho Beach Party is a glorious camp dive into the 60s surf as we follow Chicklet’s (Ash Flanders) journey to becoming a female surfer. Along the way we learn of a psycho who likes to shave women’s hair from top to bottom, witness some “unexpected” love, and meet an overbearing mother with a secret or two of her own.

Filmed as the 2000 queer cult classic of the same name, Little Ones Theatre have brought all the joy and hilarity of Charles Busch’s spoof horror beach flick script back to the stage where it all began.

Psycho Beach Party

The play’s set is adorned with leopard prints as far as the eye can see: umbrella, beach chairs, sand, backdrop and even the majority of the costumes are all decked in various shades and patterns of black and yellow. Despite scene changes, the set never altered and perhaps allowing the audience to cast their eyes on something different would have better distinguished between different locales. The gloriously campy musical numbers – and quirky choreography – were a joy to watch and I did wish there had been a few more of these.

All the performers did extremely well with their characters and they were clearly having fun playing these absurd beach-loving stereotypes. The standouts for me would have to be Flanders, Genevieve Giuffre as Berdine and Zoe Boesen as Marvel Ann. Despite having quite a few different stories with not much narrative direction, the various erratic plots do all get wrapped up quite nicely by the end of the show.

But you are not watching Psycho Beach Party for its storyline or the depth of its characters. It is – dare I say it – like a 60s beach version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Friday the 13th Psycho Beach Party cranks it up to 11 with its over-the-top persona, some sharp (and sexually punning) dialogue and a few fabulous music interludes for good measure.

Playing as part of Midsumma Festival, Psycho Beach Party is as camp as the proverbial row of tents but this is definitely one beach where you’ll want to pitch yours (yes, I went there).

Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St Kilda.

Season: Until 19 January | 7:30pm

Tickets: $32 Full | $22 Concession

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

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Short+Sweet Cabaret 2012

Variety was never so sweet!

By Myron My

Short+Sweet is the biggest little arts festival in the world that celebrates ten-minute performances in theatre, cabaret and dance. Crammed into 19 days, there are roughly 100 original works performed. As with any variety show though, there are going to be some performances that are significantly stronger than others.

Short+Sweet Cabaret

My top choice of the Group A performances for the Short+Sweet Cabaret Festival would therefore be Good Grief performed by Sarah Gaul and Sophie Wright. There was obvious rapport between the two as they played thespian ‘frenemies‘ who are looking at building on their repertoire of tragedy to become better actors. Both women have great voices and songs that had the audience in stitches with laughter.

Another highlight was Amanda Buckley in Haley Burton: Ready to Role: her charming nature made the crowd warm to her immediately in this semi-improvised cabaret of a high-achieving understudy.

Quite possibly one of the last things I expected to ever see in cabaret would be a show about Oprah Winfrey but it happened at Short+Sweet with Oprahfication…the ULTIMATE interview. As Opraaaaaaaaah! Rachel Dunham’s resemblance was uncanny and her portrayal throughout of this talk show queen was spot on.

Each ten-minute cabaret also had some very talented musicians, be it pianists, drummers or guitarists. There were a few that stayed in my mind after the shows were completed so my mentions would have to go A Very Kitty Christmas’ Barnaby Reither, A Little bit of Little Pattie’s Cameron Thomas and Oprahfication…’s Shanon Whitelock.

The mind boggles in choosing what to see and that’s the great thing about Short+Sweet, having such a diverse range of ideas and concepts. There are many different stories to be told and all are created with passion and dedication.

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel Street  Prahran

Season: Until 8 December | various times

Tickets: From $25

Bookings: http://www.shortandsweet.org

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

REVIEW: The Lichtenstein Nursing Home Massacre

More puppet blood!

By Christine Moffat

This rollicking Punch-and-Judy-inspired puppet show is an entertaining little murder mystery.  Billed as a 60-minute show, on preview night it clocked in at closer to 90 minutes.

The puppeteers run the entire show in the dark from behind the set, and I think the technicalities involved needed a bit more breaking in.  The show suffered from the delays, as the gaps where the audience faced a quiet, darkened stage strung out the plot, and frequently diminished the suspense that the puppeteers continually worked very hard to create.  In a more serious show this would have been disastrous, but as this show is designed to be a lot of horrible fun, it managed to keep the audience engaged.

The crowd at Lemony S Puppet Theatre are very skilled at creating atmosphere, and the show benefited from many a foggy, suspenseful night scene.  What you see and what you don’t is always a tantalising element of a whodunit, and this was particularly well staged and performed.  I loved the novel way that we were made privy to the view through a character’s binoculars.  The audience is also provided with individual binoculars so that we can enjoy the detailed interactions between characters.  Use these especially for the fabulous mad scientist’s lair, which provides a lot of chuckles, plus a few clues.

Part B movie, part gruesome medieval puppet show; be prepared for a bit of mystery solving and a good laugh. Despite the long running time the show delivered almost everything it promised.  This is a well-written show, with a fabulously tied-in sound and music scheme, and the puppeteers were fantastic.  It appears a little rough around the edges, but I got the sense that this was deliberate.  It’s ripped like a cool kid’s pair of jeans.

The show was full of intrigue, adult content, including plenty of saucy puppet quickies, and lots of murders.  The only thing it did not deliver enough of was blood, “more puppet blood!” I say.  If you have ever watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show and wondered what sort of puppet show Dr Frank-N-Furter would write; book a ticket to The Lichtenstein Nursing Home Massacre and enjoy the ride.

28th September – 7th October for Melbourne Fringe Festival

Thu, Sat, Sun 6:30pm | Wed, Fri 8:30pm (Tue performance 6:30 Oct 2)

La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton

Bookings: www.lamama.com.au

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Concession

Performed and created by Jacob Williams, Kirstian Bagin and Tim Denton with Sarah Kreigler

Written by Sarah Kreigler and John Paul Fischbach

Sound design by Steph O’Hara

www.lemonys.net.au