Category: Performances

Performances, Review, Theatre

New Stage Presents ISLAMOPHILIA

Intense and intriguing

By Narelle Wood

There is no denying that David George’s Islamophilia is a very topical concept for a play; it is also perhaps a very timely and important one as well.

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Set in Melbourne, and based on a true story, Islamophilia deals with many of the misconceived, troublesome and ambiguous interpretations of Islam and what it means in contemporary society. It does so by using the story of Shadahan’s (Laura Lattuada) family to explore the multiple perspectives of both devout believers and those struggling to believe and understand. Shadahan and Fariz (Chris Jackson) – a scholar and Shadahan’s love interest – are both devout believers, while Daanish (Gerard Lane), also a scholar and Shadahn’s husband, is a convert. Freddy (Adam Direen), Daanish’s brother, is a sceptic, although considering the idea of conversion. And Aisha (Indea Quinn) is Shadahan’s daughter and represents the eager voice of those seeking to understand. The family and Fariz are drawn together by a common purpose; the production of a new Islamic Journal that is seeking to find a future for Islam in a world that is not very accepting.

The play is dialogue and content-heavy, and weaves in a great deal detail about Islam, which is to be expected; but it doesn’t come up for breath. The ideas, questions and challenges were all really interesting but at times I struggled to keep up and digest everything that was artfully been tossed around the stage. There was a nice balance between assumed knowledge and new ideas, and the discussion often returned often to addressing concepts of extremism and the multi-understandings of the Quran. These discussions were often intertwined with references to art and beauty, but always lingering in the background is the threat of violence, intolerance and prejudice.

While the dialogue is fast-paced – the cast do an amazing job under director Helen Trenos to move seamlessly through it – the staging is very minimalist. There are a few lighting transitions used to denote the passing of time and allow for the elegant transitions between scenes. The limited use of music is effective punctuating the discussions of traditions and beauty. Everything, other than the characters’ interactions, is understated; there is nothing to compete with the key ideas.

Educational, thought-provoking and at times confronting, this is an important play that gives a strong voice to the intricacies, beauty and nuances of Islam. Intense and intriguing, Islamophilia is one of those plays that will still have you thinking well after it ends.

Website: www.islamophilia.info

Performances, Theatre, Whats On

In Your Face Presents TRAINSPOTTING LIVE

Breathtaking and confronting

By Rebecca Waese

Trainspotting Live, directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher and Greg Esplin, and performed by the aptly named Scottish theatre company In Your Face, is challenging, irreverent, assaulting and haunting. Based on Irvine Welsh’s novel and adapted for the stage by Harry Gibson, this spectacularly immersive production has arrived in Melbourne on its Australian tour. Upon entry to a transformed fortyfivedownstairs, audience members are given glow sticks, wrist bands, and encounter the heightened pitch of a rave in Edinburgh in the late 1980s. Enthusiastic spectators are invited to dance with the actors. Sound designer Tom Lishman elevates the cast and audience through some familiar trance tracks like Sandstorm as the eerily good Renton (Gavin Ross), Sick Boy (Michael Lockerbie) and Begbie (Chris Dennis) interact with audience members on the ecstatic trip together.

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From the adrenaline-fueled high, we crash hard into the bleak world of addiction. The characters shock us and each other with their violence, betrayals and failings. Dark humour arises from the class divisions and the addicts’ relentless drives to get their fixes. The Scottish slang is often impenetrable but the desires and torments of the actors are never unclear. Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, and Tommy (Greg Esplin) embody their roles brilliantly with frightening and uncanny nuances, and Alison (Erin Marshall), Laura (Rachael Anderson) and the dealer, Mother Superior (Calum Barbour), create impassioned and memorable roles. The actors transgress so many conventional boundaries as they engage the audience to see the junkies’ world from the inside. Most audience members will need to wash afterwards. There are no safe seats. My partner had his head licked. We were splattered by beer, spit, and brown liquid from the toilet scene. At least one spectator left, horrified. It was repulsive and riveting; confronting and ultimately profound.

The demise of one character is particularly affecting because he abstained from drugs for so long; his fall is swift and merciless as he contracts HIV from sharing needles. Lighting designer Clancy Flynn creates a sickly green glow in a strobe sequence as the character’s world crashes down; during this final scene, there is a ten-minute theatre lockdown where no one can escape the nightmare. But for the affected audience, there is hope at the end from another character who quits cold turkey and takes us through the junkie’s limbo into health.

Trainspotting Live, coinciding with the release of Danny Boyle’s long-awaited film, Trainspotting T2, is a visceral and unforgettable experience. Choose wisely; if you are keen to go, book now.

Warning:

Strictly Ages 16+

The show delivers an entirely immersive experience. Do not wear your best clothes.

Nudity, coarse language, violent and sexual themes and imagery, heavy drug/needle use, haze effects, strobe lighting and simulated smoking.

fortyfivedownstairs

ticket price: $34 – $45

March 22- April 13.

03 9662 9966

info@fortyfivedownstairs.com

Cabaret, Performances, Review

The Butterfly Club Presents THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

All praise for the songs

By Jessica Cornish

With its creator standing upstage, arms spread wide and hands busy below the waist, The Gospel According to Matthew began. This fifty-minute cabaret production encapsulated the world through the eyes of Matthew Semple, with his inner thoughts and views splashed across the stage in form of song and story-telling.

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The music-theatre-born-and-bred Semple performed his self-professed ‘shitty cabaret’ to his cosy audience, happily huddled into the intimate performance space of The Butterfly Club. This young performer had a pleasing amount of confidence and a strong stage presence; he performed with the polished hallmarks and training of a musical-theatre babe with clear diction, a strong tone and a nice dash of vibrato.

Despite the thoroughly scripted and rehearsed narrative, Semple was also comfortable enough to partake in some impromptu banter with his audience, which provoked some of the funnier moments of the night.

Unfortunately I felt the performance overall lacked a strong and clear overarching theme to its detriment, and throughout the show there were a number of one-off and throwaway jokes that for me often missed the mark. Substituting the satire and wit for cheap shots and crude humour- small dick jokes and making fun of paraolympians for example – certainly wasn’t my favourite comic styling. There was also not much character development of the main man himself: Semple touched on being recently single and ending a long-term relationship for example, however this wasn’t really explored in any detail, and considering the show’s title, it would have been interesting to hear more personal stories and self-reflection.

My favourite moments of the night were easily when Matthew at his piano took the limelight. His songs were well-constructed and entertaining, and focused more adroitly and wittily on numerous social issues currently trending in Australia such as our dubious offshore detention centres and questionable conservative MPs like Dutton and Hanson, which made for both enjoyable and thought-provoking musical numbers. Perhaps some more of these upbeat playful songs added into the mix would better support and inform the less successful moments of story-telling.

In conclusion, Matthew preaches to his crowd to ‘shout your truth’ and go forth: therefore, in truth I believe this cabaret show has the potential to grow and flourish, and hope the narrative can thus become sharper and snappier and as appealing as the music as time goes on.

The Gospel According to Matthew played at The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place Melbourne in March 2017.

Opera, Performances, Review

Lyric Opera Presents THE JAPANESE PRINCESS

Delightful

By Joanna Simmons

Lyric Opera presents the first in its’ trio for the 2017 season, and Camille Saint Saens’ The Japanese Princess is a wonderful choice of work. Having never been performed in Australia; this one-act comic opera is accessible and excellent. The story is simple so the main feature is the music; played beautifully by the Lyric Chamber orchestra and sung by the experienced cast of three. It’s a treat for the ears, and with dialogue in English and subtitles for all the French Songs it defies any old notions that opera is dusty fat ladies warbling in foreign tongues for hours.

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We follow the story of Kornelis, an art student who becomes infatuated with all things Japanese, and much to his fiancée (and cousin in the libretto) Lena’s dismay, becomes obsessed with the portrait of a mysterious Japanese Princess, Ming (not a Japanese name.) Ming makes Lena question herself, her relationship and Kornelis’ sanity. The voluptuous orchestra ornately guides the story with a nod to the orient with songs with colourful language and robust emotions.

Lena, played by Kimberly Coleman (and alternated with Kate Macfarlane) was naturalistic and strong.  She plays up the comedy where needed and connects with the other players and the music. Robert Macfarlane as Cornelius’s (alternated with Hew Wagner) dulcet tenor tones were right on the money. I wish his acting was as strong, as there were a lot of comedic moments that could have been more detailed with facial expression and timing, and other moments that felt forced. Arisa Yura as Ming, is subtlely woven into the story and is captivating to watch. She dances skillfully with a fan, her delicate hands well placed; yet then does some turns and steps that break character and genre, which feels disjointed alongside the music and set.

The intricate set designed by Christina Logan Bell that feels like the inside of a Japanese fan or tea house, complete with tatami mats, is beautiful and memorable. It, combined with the well-plotted lighting by Lucy Birkinshaw, transports us to this wonderous other world. Lucy Wilkins’ costume design fits well with the set and the era, adding colour and beauty with Ming’s kimono, and a neutral- everyday feel to Cornelius and Lena. Director Miki Oikawa has tastefully bought this production out to be one that is accessible in our modern day, in partnership with artistic director and conductor Pat Miller, whose passion and knowledge is evident, and should be highly commended.

The part I loved the most about this show was the beginning, where Miller turned around from facing the orchestra and invited us to ensure that our phones weren’t going to disturb the performance, but encouraged us to use them, to share with people what we are doing, and push opera to become something that is spoken about, shared, liked, snapchatted, hashtagged and all. In our world of watching videos for 30 seconds before getting distracted, it can be difficult to produce theatre to challenge our palates whilst tickling them too. This show is engaging and enchanting, simple and satisfying for the ears and eyes.

Lyric Opera’s The Japanese Princess played at Chapel Off Chapel, 11-18 March, 2017

Image by Sarah Walker

Events, Performances, Review

Christina Bianco’s DIVA MOMENTS

Phenomenal.

By Adam Tonking

Diva Moments by award-winning performer and world-class impressionist Christina Bianco is an  exploration of dozens of the world’s greatest divas performing for you live through the magic of Bianco’s singular talent. If you think the idea of a series of impersonations sounds like a shallow gimmick, you are so very mistaken, because anchoring all of this is the incomparable Bianco.

Christina Bianco

Her talent as an impressionist is mind-blowing. She employs no props to assist her, using only the physical and more importantly vocal idiosyncrasies (of everyone from Marlene Dietrich to Shirley Bassey to Celine Dion to Adele) to bring them alive on stage, frequently exaggerating their quirks for comic effect, and that alone would have made for a fun and impressive evening. But she employs the art of impression is so many different ways that the act never gets old.

Accompanied at the piano by the amazing Michael Lavine, she performed “Wind Beneath My Wings,” first as Bette, but then switching through different singers to see how they may have treated it. She performed what she called her “Mega Mix,” where she sings snatches of famous songs as the amazing women who made them famous – a particular favourite was Dolly then Whitney, singing (of course) “I Will Always Love You.” She read from a book from one of her favourite divas in a variety of voices from Kathy Griffin to Keira Knightley in one of her most hilarious moments. And as a nod to her Australian fans, she performed songs made famous by Australian artists in a segment called “Unlikely Interpretations.” You haven’t heard “Land Down Under” until you’ve heard it performed by Ms Streisand, and Christina Aguilera’s take on Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” worked surprisingly well. She even attempted a few impressions of Australian divas, proving what a generous performer she is, and while she called her Olivia Newton-John a “work in progress,” I thought she nailed it.

But besides the many incredible women she channelled onstage, the greatest was Bianco herself. She chatted constantly between songs, telling hilarious stories about herself and the lives of the divas with impeccable comic timing, but still in a way that seemed like she was having the time of her life and we were all part of it. And most of all, she performed a few amazing, left-of-centre songs, as herself.

What can I say? More than her spine-tingling Piaf or her ridiculously spot-on Celine Dion, when she took to the stage as herself, it was better than all of her impressive impressions. She is a compelling storyteller, and her ability to colour her voice – and with such rapid ease – adds a multitude of rich layers to the songs she performed. “Wherever He Ain’t” and “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have” have never been performed with greater emotional expression. And her operatic “duet” between herself and “Kristin Chenoweth” was breathtaking in its breadth.

The skill to manage so many different vocal qualities, the athleticism required to perform with such engaging non-stop energy, and importantly, the vocal stamina to sing big song after big song, from the lowest alto to the highest soprano, is truly a phenomenon to behold. And poses the question; how many of Bianco’s homages could have done the same? She is truly a diva unto her self.

Christina Bianco played at Alex Theatre, 135 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda; unfortunately only 8-9 March 2017 and then Sydney at the Hayes Theatre, 19 Greenknowe Avenue, Potts Point
Sunday 12th March 2017 – 3.00pm & 7.00pm (sold out) www.hayestheatre.com.au.

But I insist you immediately check out her videos on YouTube and pray for her return.

Image by Darren Bell

Cabaret, Performances, Review

The Butterfly Club Presents ARTS CAPTAIN

Excruciatingly funny

By Narelle Wood

Arts Captain details the triumphs and tribulations of over zealous Arts Captain Theodore Etherington in a show that can easily be described as The Office meets Glee.

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We first meet Theodore (Jayden Walker) just before the first school assembly of the year. Theodore’s plan is to literally make such a song and dance about his prefect position that no-one, including the new drama teacher will have any doubt over who’s really in charge. There is one small glitch in Theodore’s plan – he can’t sing and his dance moves are reminiscent of the uncoordinated kid at the back of the Rock Eisteddfod ensemble. It is very quickly established, at least for the audience, that Theodore is all glitter and glam and with not much of a gift for the musical theatre genre.

The story is a familiar one – ego temporarily crushed, dramatic unleashing of blame and venom upon anyone within spitting distance, and some salvation in the end. What makes this show work is the way Walker has carefully crafted the narrative, the ease with which he breaks the fourth wall and returns to character, and the nuanced (and overtly obvious) references to Broadway littered through out. As a teacher I appreciated the self-deprecating, self-awareness of what it’s like to teach a student of Theodore’s ilk. As far as musical selections go, I was impressed with the selection of songs and how they, mostly (by Walker’s own admission), fitted with the narrative. However, I will never quite be able to listen to I Dreamed a Dream again without conjuring up images of Walker’s tortured rendition.

There were only two things I struggled with. One, Walker was at times very quiet and it was hard to hear him above the ambient noise coming from outside the theatre space. And two, I wanted to hear if he could really sing; I’m sure there was an in-tune note there somewhere in his repertoire. Those two things aside, it was guffawingly brilliant in its cringe-worthiness.

Arts Captain is every bad high-school musical moment rolled into one and Theodore is so realistic that I found myself thinking “My God, I think I’ve taught this kid”. I hadn’t. Arts Captain is obnoxious and entertaining. If this is the calibre of show Walker is producing as he’s starting out, I can’t wait to see what he does as his career evolves.

Arts Captain was performed at The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, Melbourne at 7pm Sat 25th & Sun 26th February, 2017.

Performances, Review, Theatre

Arts House Presents KAGEROU – STUDY OF TRANSLATING PERFORMANCE

Balancing emotion, art, tragedy, and connection

By Myron My

In 2011, Japan was hit by its most powerful earthquake ever recorded. With a magnitude of 9.0 – 9.1, it triggered a huge tsunami and resulted in the deaths of over 16,000 people and left thousands more injured. Referred to as “The Great East Japan Earthquake” it was a devastating blow for Japan, with sympathies and aide coming from around the world.

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In Kagerou – Study of Translating Performance, director Shun Hamanaka uses the story of Kyoko Takagi – a woman in her 70s who lost her husband in the tsunami – and attempts to explore how sympathy and connection between strangers can be born from a tragedy such as this. Hamanaka has opted for a minimal set design, having just three chairs on stage with video footage being projected onto a screen with some effective shadow work by lighting designer Hiroshi Isaka, emphasising the documentary-style of the performance.

Actor Yoko Ito appears dressed in black with headphones on, and we hear a muffled voice speaking Japanese. Once this voice – Kyoko – finishes speaking, Ito begins to relay what she has said in English and the act of translating begins to be explored. Ito is not only translating what Kyoko is saying, but also the grief, sorrow and hope felt from a woman in a small port town in Japan all the way to a theatre audience in inner-city Melbourne.

Ito intentionally remains disconnected and detached when speaking, allowing the words of Kyoko’s to resonate with us and allow us to begin to gather an understanding of what she has gone through. However as she walks around the space, her body language begins to display a simultaneous representation of fragility and determination from Kyoko’s story.

Hamanaka succeeds in drawing sympathy from the audience through Ito’s “performance” as Kyoko, repeating the survivor’s words and keeping her own natural pauses and nuances. However, the video footage itself – while initially striking and offering a lens into understanding Kyoko’s town – becomes distant and alienating at times, pushing you further out of the story and hindering the opportunity to build on the connection with Kyoko and her experience.

Ultimately the achievement of Kagerou – Study of Translating Performance is in acknowledging that we can still share in the grief  and relate to the loss and devastation felt by the people of the The Great East Japan Earthquake – that sympathy can indeed translate.

Venue: Arts House, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne
Season: Until 18 February | Sat 7:30pm
Tickets: $45 Full | $35 Conc | $30 Student
Bookings: Arts House

Festivals, Performances, Review

Midsumma Festival 2017: HIGH HEELS IN LOW PLACES

In praise of the ‘Queen of Ireland’

By Myron My

Drag artist Panti Bliss rose to prominence in 2014 after her speech about homophobia went viral, where even the Pet Shop Boy remixed her impassioned words into a song. As part of this year’s Midsumma Festival, Panti’s High Heels in Low Places is the opportunity for Melbourne audiences to be personally regaled by The Queen of Ireland’s stories, experiences and thoughts.

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Panti has an innate ability in creating a welcoming, open and safe atmosphere in the room as she walks into the audience, introducing herself to various people, and on the evening I attended, actually meeting one of her cousins for the first time!

Her memorable social commentary covers many important issues, including HIV stigma, notions of masculinity and femininity, homophobia (including within the gay community) and sexuality and gender. While not much time is spent on each due to time constraints, Panti is so clear and succinct in her storytelling that it leaves its marks on the audience; we are entertained and engaged the entire time as she pithily questions attitudes on HIV and why a person’s sexuality is determined by if they choose to cross their legs or not when sitting down.

It’s testament to the consummate skill of a performer if they need nothing but a glass of gin and a single lighting cue (and what a cue it is) to captivate an entire room of people. Panti’s personal stories involving her childhood growing up in a small Irish town are heartfelt and touching, while the anecdote of her appearance on the Maury Povich Show episode “Please Turn My Daughter Back Into My Hunky Son!” had the audience in pure hysterics.

Being a National F*cking Treasure is not an easy feat, even when you have great hair and can hold your own in any lip-syncing arena, but Panti Bliss most certainly is one, and High Heels in Low Places makes this very clear in sharing her activism and support of equality in all its forms. If only there was a little bit of Panti in everyone, there would be a whole lot more embracing of each other’s – and our own – differences, and I am sure Panti would love that.

Panti: High Heels in Low Places was performed at Arts Centre Melbourne between 2 – 4 February 2017 for Midsumma Festival 2017.

Performances, Review, Theatre

5Pound Theatre Presents JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND SMILES

A true story beautifully told

By Joana Simmons

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”– Martin Luther King Jr.

In Journey of a Thousand Smiles, Jessica Hackett takes thousands of steps of faith, bravery, compassion and wisdom. This show by Hackett and the 5pound Theatre Company presents the heart-rendering story of her walk from Melbourne to Canberra gathering signatures for a petition to give to the House of Representatives in the hopes that asylum seekers and refugees can finally be treated with dignity and respect. It’s a true tale told with beautiful raw emotion, cleverly crafted and interwoven with multimedia, music and charming audience involvement.

journey-of-a-thousand-smiles

Jessica Hackett turned her anger at the Australian Government for the way they treat asylum seekers into a positive thing, and her story, as told in the show is equally delightful in the content as it is in the delivery. She is an endearing stage presence, and uses her dry conversational humour to help the audience members meet each other. The sparkle in her eye and smile on her face lights up the room, and she steps into our hearts from the get go. On a stage adorned with gum leaves, clad in an Akubra, Kathmandu shirt and backpack, she takes us on her journey across 35 days, 710 kilometers, and the gathering of 17,000 signatures. Colin Craig plays a great role accompanying her on the guitar, which subtly adds tone and brings the energy up as the story builds. I was especially impressed with all the wonderful theatrical moments cleverly thrown in to help lighten the mood around what is a very heavy issue. Jessica’s physical comedy as she acted out the silent film was particularly fantastic.

She pushed us as we sat in the dark listening to voiceovers of real stories of the asylum seekers she had met talking about their escape from their countries. She made us comfortable then uncomfortable showing 5 ways to make a person feel welcome or unwelcome: big bold and beautiful statements strongly made in a clever way. She bought up her real tears and emotion worrying that her cause was not going to make a difference, that she wasn’t smart enough or brave enough and it was all for nothing. It’s memorable and inspirational. I wanted to yell out “No Jess, keep going, you are doing an amazing thing!” and the audience was on her side as there were tears and sighs and stillness. She made us smile and gave us hope telling us with a look of joy about the generosity she was shown by all the people in the small country towns.

Director Jason Cavanagh has artistically transformed this remarkable story into a remarkable and wonderful show. I must also mention the lighting was used in one of the best ways I have seen in that space, adding first-rate dimension.

While for me, ‘There’s Nothing Like a Cabaret’ and I’m a stickler for comedy, choreography and costumes, this is one show that stands out from the rest in its own special way. Told by a very extraordinary person, who met some wonderful people and did a very powerful thing, it shows how theatre and art is a strong platform to initiate change. I am so happy I managed to catch A Journey of a Thousand Smiles at the end of its season; check out http://www.thewelcomepetition.com/ for more information and please see it next time it comes around.

Journey of a Thousand Smiles played at The Butterfly Club from 18-22nd January 2017

Cabaret, Circus, Performances, Whats On

Arts Centre Melbourne Presents BRIEFS

In short? – revealing in all the right ways…

By Myron My

Having seen Briefs last year in an upstairs room of the Athenaeum, I was more than eager to see them again for their short return Melbourne season. The six talented performers covering (or uncovering) burlesque, circus, drag and everything else in between, were a highlight of my theatre experiences last year and after seeing their show on Tuesday night, remains a highlight for this year as well.

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Led by the charismatic and engaging bearded lady Shivannah (alter ego of ringmaster Fez Fa’anana), the performances are nothing short of mesmerizing, but also laugh-out-loud hilarious and with plenty of skin on display – it is called Briefs for a reason, after all.

While some acts are the same as last year (which is to be expected for a return season), they are still incredibly entertaining to watch. With no lulls throughout, it is extremely difficult to choose a favourite performance , however Thomas Worrell‘s erotically-charged silks routine to Jarryd James’ “Do You Remember”, Evil Hate Monkey‘s uproarious banana skits, and the breathtaking finale by Captain Kidd (Mark Winmill) that just needs to be seen again and again, stick firmly in mind. The group acts also bring huge energy into the room, including a well-choreographed performance to Crooker’s “Royal T” showcasing the talents of drag queen (and brilliant costume designer for Briefs) Dallas Dellaforce, along with Shivannah, Worrell and Captain Kidd.

As Shivannah explains at one point, Briefs is a little bit political, a little bit idiotic and a little bit disco but it is also a celebration of being different and embracing that diversity. The entire show raises questions as to what masculinity and femininity mean and can mean, and creates an environment that is very much a joyous blurring of gender and sex.

It’s been nine years since Briefs came together and if this return season is anything to go by, this artist-driven collective is going from strength to strength. With a thumping soundtrack, slick production values and inventive acts, you had better book your tickets sooner rather than later because Briefs is only on for a brief time.

Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne
Season: until 18 December | 7:30pm, Fri – Sat additional show at 10.30pm
Tickets: $65 Premium | $60 A Reserve
Bookings: Arts Centre Melbourne