Category: Performances

Events, Performances, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

REVIEW: David Strassman’s CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Or the voices in your head might start talking back…!

By Deborah Langley

David Strassman. He’s the dark-edged, avant-garde artist who lifted ventriloquism into the 21st century, acquiring a multitude of fans and critical acclaim along the way for his outstanding skill and his ability to push the medium to another level – and he is back in Melbourne after three years. Led by the evil Chuck Wood and delightfully cute Ted E Bare, Strassman’s developed characters and high-tech puppetronics creates a multi-layered stage performance that is easy to forget is a one-man show.

With the use of sophisticated multi-media and some tried-and-tested pantomime repertoire, Careful What You Wish For takes the audience inside Strassman’s head as he plays out his different alter egos through the use of various puppets and robots.

Using the premise that Strassman wants to retire, but his characters are not interested in spending the rest of eternity in some museum or stuck in a suitcase, we are introduced to some for the audience’s favourite characters. Of course the aforementioned Chuck and Teddy feature prominently, but we also get to meet the Vegas Stand-Up Sid the Beaver, the doddery Grandpa Fred, a female character Angel the wish-granting robot, and my favourite, the old-fashioned (albeit very drunk) Buttons The Clown.

Strassman manages to keep the material local and current with references to Geelong bogans, Julia Gillard, Mitt Romney and the Dandenongs, and he certainly has the audience eating out of his hand for the full two hours with toilet humour, low-brow and gay jokes running the show.

For me, the homophobic element got a little too much as did the Frankston bashing but I am sure I was the only one to notice as audience members engaged with every joke offered. Even a shameless demonstration of Strassman’s new Fortune-Telling App was a crowd-pleaser with audience members offering up questions for Ted E Bare and Chuck to answer. “Will I get laid tonight?” was answered favourably by the Chuck App, even though Stassman himself obviously thought differently…!

The show ends, elated, as Stassman and his puppetronics join together in a medley of some of the funnest songs making the audience clap along and making this reviewer feel like a big kid again. As we’re walking out, the next audience is busting to see what all the cheers were about as this master performer gets ready to do it all again.

David Strassman’s Careful What You Wish For is playing at the Athenaeum Theatre until December. Bookings can be made through Ticketek on 1300 795 012

Events, Performances, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

Review: PANIC! with Neil Sinclair

Crisis advice has never been so charming

By Myron My

Neil Sinclair’s stand-up show Panic! delves into the British comedian’s personal experience of the riots in London last year.

Sinclair’s recount of seeing roads on fire and people getting dragged from their cars to tales of a looter’s attempts to break into his flat cover much of the “equal parts terrifying and equal parts hilarious” moments he refers to.

Sinclair comes up with three sure-fire way to protect oneself from the looters from his man-made ‘command centre’ in his kitchen flat. Barricade your door with ANYTHING you can get your hands on, dress like a looter and get drunk! His story-telling methods are very relaxed, the flow of which is quite smooth as he includes the before and after effects of the London riots.

Sinclair has some great interaction with the audience, and there are many times when those invisible barriers are let down and it feels like you are just having a chat with a friend.

His lesson on the ‘art of small talk’ to help ease the tension after the riots was a highlight and there is something about the presence of an old school cassette player that I find endearing in any show.

Panic! is littered with pop culture references and only the coolest of the cool will understand them; I managed three. Sinclair has some great word play and some ‘pun-tastic moments’ with his “command centre” twitter feed but even when he makes a few bad ‘dad’ jokes he takes on the failure with a cheeky smile and moves on. This is indicative of Sinclair’s humbleness and his affableness as a performer.

At only 45 minutes, it is quite a short show but this is clearly an example of quality over quantity and Sinclair’s personable nature makes him one to keep an eye out for in the future.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Season: Until 11 November | 7:00pm, Sun 6:00pm

Tickets: $15 Full | $10 Concession

Bookings: http://thebutterflyclub.com

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Our Chalk Circle at THEATREWORKS

A joyous response to a timeless classic

By Myron My

With a re-imagining of Bertolt Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle, Inotrope and St Kilda Uniting Care Drop In Centre are presenting their latest collaborative work, Our Chalk Circle this week.

The story follows a young maid who takes the Governor and his wife’s abandoned baby under her care, and explores the repercussions that arise from that act.

It’s great when a performance can have a stage in the round or appropriately ‘in the circle’ here, as it allows the audience to be more involved in the action. Bales of hay form the circle and seating for the viewers of this production, and its strong scent immediately takes your thoughts to old village life. Then the music begins and the procession marches out in their grand costumes made from wadding.

Set within a culture of corruption and deception, Our Circle Chalk examines three very important themes: class discrimination, human sympathy and goodness and justice but it manages to look at these themes in a light and uplifting way whilst not ignoring their impact on society or examining how they are still relevant in today’s world.

The songs are beautifully timed to moments where we need to gather ourselves from the chaos that is occurring. They are far and few between but each song has such an impact on us as an audience that they go on in your mind even after they have ended.

It was impressive to see a variety of people singing and playing the instruments with skill and from the heart. Having said that, all the performers in this company also excelled in their roles and took on their characters with strong conviction and commitment.

By the end of the Our Chalk Circle, there was a definite collective mood of joy in the audience as we all clapped along and laughed to the final song. This creative work was an uplifting and feel-good performance that had me smiling long after I got home.

Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St Kilda.

Season: Until 11 November | 7:30pm, Sun 5:30pm

Tickets: $36 Full | $20 Concession

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

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On

Review: KROWS BAR KABARET Presents NEWS FLASHERS

A bold satirical effort leaves little breathing space

By Myron My

In the revitalised Weimar-style political kabaret News Flashers, the audience are treated to a whirlwind of varied Australian issues and the way the media reports these through the use of ‘televised’ news reports, song and with the aid of sock puppets.

A lot of thought has gone into the production of News Flashers, and it is certainly a delight on the eyes. Old newspapers form the basis of the costumes, including trousers, shirts, hats, bow ties and a few other surprises along the way.

The various ways in which the “televisions” are used throughout the show is quite creative and allows for radically different set-ups to take over on stage. The cast makes excellent use of the performance area and really takes ownership of every available space.

The performers (Caitlin Brown, Ezekiel Ox, Fletcher Dyson, Maurial Spearim and Sophie Kinston) worked very well together and there was some strong rapport and high energy levels but as the title suggests, the show was a bit frenetic. Unfortunately it was so fast that I found myself constantly trying to catch up with what was happening.

Many topical issues are covered throughout the show including boat people, Gina Rinehart and the stolen generation but the surface is only ever skimmed with any of them. I was left feeling confused with a few of the recurring references and felt they were some sort of in-joke I was not privy to.

The songs by creator Ella Filar were composed well and the instruments used were chosen carefully and specifically. The voices of the performers highlighted each individual’s vocal strengths and it was great to see them excel here. However, the songs may have been a little short, for just as I understood what they were singing about, they were finished and we immediately moved on.

News Flashers describes itself as ‘political, vulgar, artistic, grotesque, sexy and sublime’, and successfully achieves its claims, but perhaps if the content had been narrowed down and the performance not been so exceptionally fast-paced, it might have been a little more enjoyable.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Season: Until 11 November | 8:00pm, Wed, Sun 9:00pm

Tickets: $23 Full | $20 Concession

Bookings: http://thebutterflyclub.com/shows

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Music, Performances

REVIEW: EP Launch with Spanky in CANDICE MCQUEEN – NASTY

His/her hit show is now on EP

By Jessica Cornish

On  Sunday November 4 in the iconic Spiegeltent nestled beside that giant ferris wheel, the outrageous artist Spanky morphed into Candice McQueen to launch her 5 track EP as produced by the Melbourne Cabaret Festival.

As always, the high-heeled Candice, draped in fluorescent pink and with blue eyelashes did not disappoint. But nor did WAAPA graduate support act, Gillian Cosgriff who kicked off the launch wonderfully, and quickly captivated the audience with her quirky songs about past relationships and bad experiences with shaving her legs and a lack of band aids in her life.

The feature show Nasty, fresh from its previous run a few months ago in the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, stars the bizarre Candice McQueen, ‘fluent in the language of fag,’ who tells epic tales of her life including a birth surrounded by a circle of gorillas, an hiatus in the Middle East where she was present for the crucifixion of Jesus, and a move to West Hollywood where she meet her lover, River Phoenix…

The  ‘Mr Sister’  has eternally strong stage presence, great comedic timing and an ability to draw you in to her bizarre world: however it was sometimes easy to get lost with some of her songs towards the end. But like the guy next to me said, ‘I have no idea what she’s talking about, but it’s funny’, so maybe it’s okay to be a little bemused sometimes.

Throughout the night Candice was accompanied by her extremely talented guitarist/pianist/back-up vocalist Robert Tripolino. Dressed in a pair of worn-out red converse shoes and sunnies, he was incredible, consistently nailing every harmony, including the tricky More Than Words classic, and demonstrating his skill on the guitar.

My only concern with the launch was that  I felt the production side was slightly lacking. Candice made great use of the difficult circular space in her initial stage appearance; however she was in darkness for most of the first number and throughout the performance there were other instances where I felt the show could have benefited from greater use of light.

However, that being said Nasty the EP launch was a great night. Once again Spanky delighted a crowded venue and the funds raised from this event will contribute to future international tours for the star and her sidekick.

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: MOCKINGBIRD THEATRE PRESENTS The Laramie Project

A superb piece of theatre

By Bradley Storer

In Mockingbird Theatre’s debut production, the company has chosen an ambitious undertaking in staging The Laramie Project, the panoramic examination of the shockwaves caused by the murder of a young gay university student, Matthew Shepherd, in 1998. This portrait of a divided and terrified community’s reaction to a horrible crime seems eerily relevant now in the wake of the recent Jill Meagher murder.

In a sparse set containing only a collection of stage lights and eight chairs, the gifted men and women of the Mockingbird ensemble take on the roles of the various inhabitants of the Wyoming city of Laramie, as well as the members of the Tectonic Theatre Project who originally created the play, swapping characters at a moment’s notice as viewpoints and opinions weave in and out of the main narrative.

All of the text of the play is drawn from interviews conducted with the actual Laramie residents from the time of Shepherd’s murder, and the jaw-dropping ways in which the play unfolds in dramatic and unexpected twists truly makes the case for life being stranger than fiction.

In the first act, it felt as though two of the male ensemble (Scott Middleton and Christian Heath) were overloaded with different characters, and unfortunately were not always able to differentiate them enough to make them all worthwhile, while the other male members were left underutilized.

The women fared much better in terms of overall skill, with special mention to Maggie Chretien and Debra Low for creating great physical characterizations and generating palpable emotion in their performances.

Having said this, this is a fantastic production of a monumental play – the emotional atmosphere was electrifying and the simplicity of the set ensured that the audience was being undistractedly confronted by the reality of what was being said to us. The great power of Laramie comes from the kaleidoscopic collage of lives and personalities which emerge in every second of the play: the cast generating magnificent contrasts and contradictions.

The standout performance came from Tamara Donnellan, who imbued every character she presented with such life and vivacity that they all seemed entirely real even when they were initially unlikable – the most powerful sequence of the entire performance came when Donnellan, as the officer who was called to the scene of Matthew’s attack, describes with a heart-breaking mixture of sorrow, horror and confusion the state of Matthew’s blood-stained body in an almost Christ-like tableau. Joined by the other members of the ensemble in a symphony of sadness, it becomes all too clear that Matthew was not the only victim of the horrific crime, but all of Laramie as well.

A magnificently touching and powerful show, and a magnificent debut for the fledgling company which promises a tremendous future in store for them.

The Loft, Chapel off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran
Oct 26th – Nov 11th 2012, Tues – Sat 8pm, Sunday 6pm, Sat 27th Oct & 3rd November 1pm
Bookings: 0382907000 or http://www.chapeloffchapel.com.au
Price: $39 Full / $34 Conc & Groups 10+

Events, Performances, Review, Uncategorized, Whats On

REVIEW: VCA Presents A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY

Impressive handling of a difficult play

By Myron My

A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner, directed by Tom Healey, begins in 1932 with a group of friends celebrating New Years’ Eve. Over the course of the next few years, we see how their lives and relationships with each other are affected with the slow rise of the Nazi party in Germany.

The first half of the performance was quite long and I felt like I was waiting a long time for something definitive to happen. It wasn’t until the second act where things really start moving; the relationships between the characters were explored on a deeper level and you saw the complexities of the choices these people were making and the effects they had on everyone else.

I was however puzzled by the plot’s inclusion of the scenes about a 1990s New Yorker living in Berlin. I felt this sideways storyline detracted from the strength of the 1930s and whilst I appreciated the tie-in towards the end, I did feel like it might have allowed for a tighter story with its exclusion.

The play had a strong cast including Aaron Walton and Edwina Samuels as the one-eyed Hungarian film electrician Husz and glamorous movie star Paulinka respectively. They played their scenes with strong conviction and authenticity and special mention would have to go to Walton for his Hungarian accent.

Another notable performance was Jean Goodwin as “Die Alte” (the Old Woman); the ghost who resides in the apartment. Her dynamic scenes amplified the fear and uncertainty that was rising in Berlin and allowed for a different form of energy to be created which, given the heavy nature of the subject being explored, was a welcomed change.

Set designer Jacob Battista has used the space incredibly well and created a single set– where the whole play takes place – as if it were a real apartment where real people lived, thus magnifying the effect of the supernatural elements. The scene with the devil’s arrival is the first time in a while that any set design has made me go ‘wow’. Similarly, the costumes used were indicative of the effort that costume designer Nicholas MacKinnon has gone to in creating a strong sense of individuality between the characters but to also represent the ideology of the time back then.

A Bright Room Called Day has given these graduating students from The Victorian College of the Arts an opportunity to delve into the psyche of some wonderful characters so it is a shame the play’s plot could not have been as strong as the performances.

Venue: Studio 45, with Box Office at 28 Dodds Street, Southbank.

Season: Until 2 November | 7:00pm, Sat 2:00pm Tickets: $22 Full | $16 Concession

Bookings: http://www.vca.unimelb.edu.au/events?id=448

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: VCA’s Compleat Female Stage Beauty

Stunning performances throughout

By Christine Moffat

The VCA School of Performing Arts’ production of Compleat Female Stage Beauty is a play about image and transformation, examining the very modern, yet age-old issues of gender and societal roles. Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher imagines a tumultuous episode in the life of the real-life celebrated female character actor Edward ‘Ned’ Kynaston (Tom Heath), and charts his historical journey from darling of London society to the wilderness of potential irrelevance.

Kynaston is at times arrogant, at others touchingly fragile, and requires a transformative performance. Heath deftly makes the flawed Kynaston heroic by investing him with an unwavering honesty of intention. As Nell Gwyn, Rosie Lockhart is a standout performance, succeeding in making the historically famous and notoriously fickle Gwyn a warm and vulnerable real woman.  Matt Whitty is aptly named, as his comic timing is impeccable and his Charles II is amusing without becoming a caricature. Alice Cavanagh was also especially good in both her roles, again showing a good sense of natural comedic acting, as opposed to simply playing for laughs. It has to be said that it is difficult to only make specific mention of the performers above, as the calibre of performances from every member of this large cast was superb.

The original set design by Amaya Veccellio (beginning at the theatre door) takes the audience backstage in a seventeenth-century theatre, and helps create the sense of immediacy that continues throughout the play. On the walk to your seat the actors are right there, completing their pre-show rituals of dressing, rehearsing lines, or even grabbing a quickie. The careful lighting created by Sarah Willetts augmented by the subtle sound design of Kahra Scott-James evokes a pre-electric world, whilst ensuring that the audience does not need to strain see details. Director Tanya Gerstle deserves recognition for generating a true feeling of immersion and involvement: during a bawdy tavern scene when Kynaston is at his lowest, and undergoing great torment from his ‘audience’, my theatre companion had to stop herself from heckling back in his defence.

This classic play explores the concept of self, and how it is affected by circumstance and choice. This particular production is a poetic marriage of pathos and comedy, and a credit to everyone involved. I can thoroughly recommend it as an intelligent, engaging, and most importantly, entertaining night’s theatre.

Show information:

Sun 28 October – Thurs 1 November, 7:30pm

Fri 2 November, 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Venue: Grant Street Theatre, Grant Street, Southbank

Tickets: $22 Full/$16 Concession

Bookings: www.trybooking.com

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Elaine Paige In Concert

Everything the fans could have wanted

By Adam Tonking

It’s Elaine Paige. ELAINE PAIGE!

A surprising number of friends to whom I bragged to about seeing this concert weren’t familiar with her. For those who were not fortunate enough to grow up with her records on high rotation in their homes, she is the Queen of British Music Theatre, particularly around the 1980s when she originated leading roles in shows such as Cats, Evita and Chess.

Her recordings of hit songs from these shows are often among the first, the highest selling, and the best. Even though this was her most celebrated era, she’s repeatedly won plaudits for her performances from the late 1960s, all the way to her most recent role in Follies.

For a veteran performer, one tends to expect some deterioration of vocal talent. In this concert of her most classic songs, Paige delivers perfectly on numbers she has been performing for three decades, as fresh and lovely as those recordings I grew up with. Her delightful presence on stage had the oldest members of the audience cheering like teenagers, as she showed us how “I Dreamed A Dream” should be done, as she channelled Piaf even when sung in English, as she proved me wrong in that the awful songs I detest from Sunset Boulevard could be the most moving and incredible moments in an already spectacular evening.

Any complaints I have are purely selfish: I wanted more and more and more. I wanted to call out requests, I wanted her to throw in a few Sondheim numbers, I wanted her to stay on stage and sing back-to-back for me for the entire two hours. Selfish, particularly when her onstage band were so wonderful, and especially when her supporting singer Nic Kyle was ridiculously good. Giving Paige a moment to change costumes, Kyle performed a few numbers, and completely astounded us all with his rich tone, gigantic range, and accomplished performance. His rendition of “Gethsemane” was mind-blowing.

Clearly, I cannot say enough good things about this concert. And from the way the audience leapt to their feet and applauded while Paige took bow after bow, I’m not alone. Paige is a music theatre icon, and a successful recording artist. The chance to see her perform live is not to be missed. This was her only show in Melbourne, but head to Sydney, Brisbane or Canberra to catch her before she leaves Australia.

Elaine Paige performs at the State Theatre in Sydney on Friday 26th October, tickets through Ticketmaster 136 100; at the Canberra Theatre in Canberra on Sunday 28th October, tickets through Canberra Ticketing 02 6275 2700; and at QPAC Concert Hall in Brisbane on Monday 29th October, tickets through QTIX 136 246.

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: THE STAIRS ARE MOVING by Neil Triffett

Promising new theatre and impressive performances

By Myron My

The Stairs Are Moving is a new play by writer and director Neil Triffett. Combining experimental techniques with traditional theatre, the story follows two siblings who reunite due to the passing of their Aunt Petunia.

Triffett has taken the unusual course of having minimal stage direction. For most of the show, the characters would use direct audience address to further the story. It was quite intriguing to hear these series of mainly monologues unfold, however it felt like a lot of the action disappeared, as it became more and more a series of “talking head” scenes. It got frustrating watching the actors say they were doing something when I just wanted them to physically do it.

Performer Charlotte Nicdao was the shining star of this production. Her ability to switch from not only calm and diligent Tulip to erratic and obsessive Tulip, but also to one of the crazy aunts was a joy to watch. Similarly, Carolyn Masson as the recently deceased Aunt Petunia provided great insight and emotion to a character that you therefore sympathise with despite the secrets she holds.

The scenes with lewd, crude and rude Aunt Olga and Aunt Tiffany (Nicdao and Masson) were definitely needed to lift the mood and the energy of the play. Having said that, there were moments of strong conviction from Sarah Plummer and Maurice Mammoliti as the two siblings. It was evident that there was a strained relationship between the characters but it would have been great to explore that more organically as revelations came quickly and out of the blue.

The lighting played an important part in the show, illuminating different spaces on stage to designate time, place and character, and setting the different moods and tones. There were moments where the wrong area was lit up and the actors began their scenes in the dark and the dark lighting sometimes detracted from the intensity of the scene, as we could not see the actors’ faces clearly.

The Stairs Are Moving is a highly original play with some very strong performances from its cast. Although not the easiest story to follow, Triffett should be congratulated on creating something very different for audiences to see.

Venue: La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton.

Season: Until 3 November | Wed – Sat 8:00pm, Sun 2:00pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $15 Concession

Bookings: www.trybooking.com/bvml