Category: Review

Comedy, Events, Performances, Review, Whats On March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

REVIEW: Quiet Achievers

A quietly improvised comedy

By Myron My

Performing an improvised comedy show can be more terrifying than performing stand up. You have no idea what’s going to happen next from both your fellow cast and the audience. In essence, you have no safety net. You’d think that’s risky enough but the Quiet Achievers have taken it a step further with their Melbourne International Comedy Festival show and taken away a comedian’s most powerful tool; their voice.

With nothing but a musical soundtrack of 500 songs played at random, the Quiet Achievers (Andrew Strano and Charlie Sturgeon) set out to captivate us with a mixed bag of silent impro sketches. As with any impro show, there is always a chance scenes will not hit the mark and with this show there are moments when stories fizzle out with an awkward ending or the story gets convoluted and confusing.

However, the two are charming and affable enough to get the audience on side early on so even when things go haywire, we don’t mind and can still appreciate the performance. There are some brilliant moments from this talented duo though, including the kite flying love story and their story about the little bird that learnt how to stand up for itself.

Strano and Sturgeon are a great pair to watch on stage. Strano’s comedy man to Sturgeon’s straight man is highly complimentary and the two have a great connection on stage. They are constantly aware of each other and what they are doing; they work hard (but seemingly easily) at giving each other a good time and making their partner look good. They happily accept every offer in advancing the story with confidence and a sense of fun.

There are a number of improvised comedy shows on during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but if you’re looking for something a little different, a little riskier but very rewarding, then the Quiet Achievers is the show for you.

Venue: Tuxedo Cat, 17-23 Wills St, Melbourne

Season: Until 4 April | Mon – Sat 6pm, Sun 5pm (no Wednesday show)

Tickets: $15 Full | $12 Conc

Bookings: Try Booking

Events, Performances, Review, Whats On March 26, 2015March 27, 2015

REVIEW: Global Creatures presents WALKING WITH DINOSAURS

A Spectacular Journey

By Narelle Wood

I’m not sure who was more excited to see Walking with Dinosaurs; my two-year-old nephew or myself. Before the show even started it was clear from the set that the staging and effects were going to be something spectacular and the show did not disappoint.

Walking with Dinosaurs is a trip back in time when dinosaurs dominated and the world was known as Pangaea. The journey is narrated by Palaeontologist, Dr. Huxley (Andrew Blackman). Huxley introduces the dinosaurs and also explains the changes in the Earth’s landscape and how it affected the dinosaurs. I really appreciated the scientific explanations and walked out having learnt lots of new things about the evolution of the world.

The stars of the show are most certainly the dinosaurs, which are awe inspiring. Puppeteers inside the dinosaur control the smaller dinosaurs such as the Utah Raptors. At first glance these dinosaurs look adorable, but the movement is eerily lifelike and their behaviour is clearly menacing. We also met some ‘good’ dinosaurs, herbivores like the gigantic Brachiosaurus, whose sheer size seemed to consume Hisense Arena.

The dinosaurs are exceptionally impressive but so are the other elements that are subtle in comparison to the dinosaurs yet work together to make the show. The musical soundtrack is reminiscent of Jurassic Park and provides a perfect background to all the sounds and roars that you would expect to hear in the Crustaceous and Jurassic periods. The soundtrack is loud and the dinosaur’s roars are even louder and some of the little people sitting around me were a little scared. The backdrops and lighting are used to reflect the changes in the world’s atmosphere and provide really interesting transitions to new scenes.

Walking with Dinosaurs was an arena spectacular; this is one of the most incredible things I have seen. Despite some scary moments, my nephew was still roaring after we left and hands down the mummy dinosaur, the terrifying T-Rex was his favourite dinosaur of the night. For any dinosaur lover, young or old, this is not to be missed.

Venue: Hisense Arena

Season: 27^th March 7pm, 28^th March 11am, 3pm, 7pm, 29^th March 11am, 3pm

Tickets: From $45

Bookings: premier.ticketek.com.au

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On March 22, 2015March 22, 2015

REVIEW: Red Stitch presents WET HOUSE

An emotional and essential experience

By Myron My

A wet house is a hostel for alcoholic homeless men and women, where they can drink and sleep as much as they want with no expectations for them to be rehabilitated. They are more or less, the people that society has given up on. In Red Stitch’s production of Paddy Campbell’s Wet House, we get an insight into the lives of three residents and three workers of a wet house, each one struggling with their own redemption and reason for being.

Wet House is based on Campbell’s first-hand experience of working in a wet house and you can see how effective a story can be when the writer well and truly knows what he is writing about. Not a single scene is wasted, no dialogue is filler, no movement is pointless. Everything that happens in Wet House has a purpose, and with six different stories being told, the pacing is controlled well and is never difficult to follow.

The performance opens with colleagues Helen (Caroline Lee) and Mike (David Whiteley) going through the handover of their shift. The dark humour used throughout is disturbingly funny and highlights even more the issues that the script is raising. The arrival of new recruit Andy (Paul Ashcroft), with his idealistic and simplistic views on helping these people comes into great conflict with the realities of the job as well as his relationship with Helen and Mike.

Wet house residents, Dinger, Spencer and Kerry (Nicholas Bell, Dion Mills and Anna Sampson), each have their own unique story to tell, but at the same time, their story is universal. Mills in particular is exceptional as Spencer, bringing a vulnerability and sympathy to a character we should revile against and disgusted by. The scenes between him and Whiteley are extremely intense to watch which is due to the strong performances and fearless directing by Brett Cousins.

Sophie Woodward’s set design captures the bleak environment of despair that these people face day in day out. There is a creative use of the space in the theatre that I have not seen before which draws you further into this world and story. Costumes have been used to give more life to the characters and build on their personalities.

Red Stitch’s production of Wet House opens discussion on alcoholism and how we support those who are seen as beyond help and how the intention to do good is ultimately never going to be better than action. It is an emotionally draining show but it is a show that needs to be seen.

Venue: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, 2 Chapel St, St. Kilda.

Season: Until 18 April | Wed- Sat 8:00pm, Sat 3:00pm, Sun 6:30pm

Tickets: $37 Full | $20-27 Conc

Review, Theatre, Whats On March 12, 2015March 12, 2015

REVIEW: Chunky Move presents DEPTH OF FIELD

A cross-cultural human experience

By Caitlin McGrane

Depth of Field is an immersive and fascinating theatrical experience. Played out on the Malthouse forecourt, the outdoor performance explores what it means to exist and thrive in Melbourne’s city. The evocative performance reminds the audience of how much the metropolis has changed, and how the unspoken interactions between strangers are a shared cross-cultural human experience.

The performers, James Vu Anh Pham, Tara Jade Samaya and Niharika Senapati are all exceptional; their synchronicity was perfect. I loved how they seemed to fly through the space, only to come crashing down to earth in a cloud of dust. The forecourt space, often forgotten and dismissed, is perfect for the production; as the dance builds to a crescendo the dust fills the air, which combined with the breeze means the audience is treated to a deeply textural sensory experience.

While the three performers occupy the vast and featureless performance space, the surrounds are populated by extras, performers the audience might only notice once they walk past a handful of times. Their participation only increases the audience’s immersion; even when a (presumably) unpredicted visitor walks through the performance, it caused ripples of laughter through the audience as though they were in on the joke.

Director and choreographer Anouk van Dijk has outdone herself with this production, and I cannot recommend it emphatically enough. The music from Ben Frost, Daníel Bjarnason and The Bug is reminiscent of Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar soundtrack – the sweeping, crashing score is acutely emotive and perfectly compliments the lighting design by Michael Carr and Blair Hart.

This finely tuned performance made for a wonderful evening’s entertainment and my only regret is not bringing a jumper. As the sun set behind the cityscape, I found myself staring across the skyscrapers, reminded of the traditional owners of this intriguing land.

Date: Until Saturday 14 March

Time: 7pm

Venue: Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt St, Southbank

Tickets: http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/depth-of-field

Dance, Review, Whats On March 8, 2015

REVIEW: Phantom Limbs Presents DREAMLOGIC

A beguiling reverie

By Caitlin McGrane

The opening 20 minutes of Dreamlogic took me slightly by surprise, it was like being in a psychological experiment and I did for a moment think that there might be an element of audience participation. Thankfully, I was mistaken. The two performers, James Welsby and James Andrews, begin by blowing up balloons and moving them around their bodies without using their hands. It’s incredibly awkward and hilarious to watch, as simultaneously audio from a psychology experiment plays in the background. The focus of the performance is on the subconscious mind, so it’s fitting that the opening seemed to encourage the audience to relax and let themselves be carried through the performance.

As the performance built to a crescendo, the space between the dancers reduced until they started to move beautifully together. I particularly enjoyed the surprising yet creative use of balloons, but was slightly disappointed they didn’t move around them towards the end as the balloons filled up the space. Choreographed creatively by Welsby himself and Amy Macpherson, the 50-minute show was delightfully captivating. The rhythmic ebb and flow of the performance captured the audience’s attention and held us in a dream-like state that continued even as I left the theatre. My absorption was only briefly distracted by the slightly clumsy lifts in the final act.

The subconscious mind and the spaces between people, the subject matter that inspired the performance, never felt tired or insipid. Instead, I found myself asking questions about the way that people interact with each other and how we move collectively through spaces. Dreamlogic is a delightful performance that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys thinking critically about how we interact.

Dreamlogic is showing at the Northcote Town Hall at 7:30pm until Tuesday 10 March. For tickets visit http://www.darebinarts.com.au/whats-on/dreamlogic-phantom-limbs.

Review, Theatre, Whats On March 8, 2015

REVIEW: Jane Cafarella’s E-BABY

A tale of two women

By Myron My

For some people, giving birth and becoming a parent is the most beautiful experience in life. There are unfortunately women who are unable to carry a baby to term and so turn to surrogacy. In Jane Cafarella’s e–baby, inspired by interviews with infertile women and surrogates who share their stories online, we meet an accomplished lawyer who has been trying unsuccessfully for her own child for seven years. She finds a surrogate to carry her baby and we follow the relationship of these two women over the course of the pregnancy.

Both Carolyn Bock (Catherine) and Sarah Ranken (Nellie) do a solid job in portraying the often-tense relationship between these two women. Whilst it initially and naturally took a few scenes for them to appear comfortable with their characters on the preview night of e-baby, their performances feel realistic and honest. Bock finds the right balance in showing a woman who is excited about the prospect of being a mother but also depicting the desperation and shame that she would feel in fear of being seen as less of a woman. She does this both subtly and powerfully through the most miniscule of actions: a fleeting stare, a taut smile and a twitching, fidgety hand. I would have liked to see her more emotive however in the moments where Catherine appears at her weakest and most frustrated.

Ranken similarly finds her stride as the somewhat chaotic but laid-back surrogate, Nellie. The vlogs she posts online to her surrogate community are used as a confessional for the Christian mother of two to express her doubts and uncertainties about being a first-time surrogate. Ranken organically brings to surface Nellie’s naivety in not fully comprehending what she has agreed to, and the conflict this then provokes with her religious beliefs.

Cafarella’s script examines the ‘forced’ friendship between these women, and the profound difficulties that each face after signing such a contract become apparent. The few repetitive scenes can be forgiven due to Cafarella’s tackling of the subject so sensitively and expertly, which is no surprise considering she has been exploring and writing about surrogacy for over 25 years.

There appears to have been great collaboration by production designer Matilda Woodroofe, lighting designer Siobhain Geaney, video designer Brian Cohen and sound designer Kahra Scott-James, as the various technical elements of e-baby come together well in building on the emotions of the characters, but never detract from the characters’ stories or leave us feeling overwhelmed. The poignant illumination of a pregnant woman on to the set’s wooden boxes was particularly effective in showing Catherine’s yearning for motherhood.

e-baby is a good character piece about two women who form an unlikely bond through the blurred lines of commercial surrogacy. The preview performance shows that there is a lot of heart and thought in this work from everyone involved, but the play stays resolutely away from sentimentality to bring to stage an affecting story that is all too real and sad for many people.

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran

Season: Until 15 March | Wed-Sat 8:00pm, Sun 5:00pm, Tuesday 10 March and Saturday 14 March 2pm

Tickets: $40 Full | $35 Conc

Bookings: www.chapeloffchapel.com.au or 8290 7000

Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On March 1, 2015

REVIEW: Luckiest Productions Presents SWEET CHARITY

Your friends should see this now

By Bradley Storer

Luckiest Productions’ Sweet Charity has made its way to Melbourne after successful sell-out seasons in Sydney and Canberra. This Helpmann Award-winning production more than lives up to expectations with a dark revisionist exploration of this Broadway classic.

Verity Hunter-Ballad in the title role of Charity Hope Valentine brings a refreshing touch of normality and relatability. The audience is always aware, beneath the zany and perky exterior, of the real flesh and blood human that Charity is. She also dances up a storm and brings exquisite vocal mastery to all of Charity’s songs, unleashing a full-throttle and soul-rending performance in the despairing ‘Where Am I Going?’. Martin Crewes shows surprising versatility as the various men in Charity’s life – at first showing seductive charm and gallantry as the charismatic Italian movie star Vittorio Vidal, then later morphing into the neurotic but lovable Oscar Lindquist, with a similar vocal transformation from operatic tenor to contemporary character singing.

The bare-bones production, under the direction of Dean Bryant, is unafraid to show the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of this seemingly comedic musical. The female ensemble are depicted closer to the prostitutes of Fellini’s original film than the taxi dancers of the Broadway musical, stuck in an eternal cycle of degradation and poverty that they’ve given up on escaping – most touchingly rendered in Nickie (Debora Krizak) and Helene (Kate Cole)’s by turns cynical and hopeful duet ‘Baby, Dream Your Dream’. Even Charity’s Act One comedic tour de force, ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’, is performed in a single light surrounded by darkness, as if suggesting the continual threat of the despair kept at bay by Charity’s hopefulness and optimism.

Cy Coleman’s classic Broadway score and Bob Fosse’s signature choreography are both thrillingly modified here to service the new production – new arrangements of music bring in such contemporary sounds as electric guitar, drums and synthesizer that drastically shift the feel of Coleman’s music to the modern. The famous ‘Hey Big Spender’ becomes less of a brassy Broadway belter and more like the guttural, dirty rock music of a strip club in the early hours. The ‘Rich Man’s Frug’ is transformed through the wonderfully imaginative choreography of Andrew Hallsworth into an angular and frenetic vision of a hideously modern New York party, and the psychedelic hippy celebration of ‘The Rhythm of Life’ into a rock-gospel revivalist meeting that sees most of the cast naked by the end.

The most drastic change is the very last scene, stripping away any pretensions to Broadway brightness with Hunter-Ballad’s achingly vulnerable and raw performance and an ending so shocking and unexpected that it leaves the audience dumb-founded. Such a dark and revelatory vision of a classic Broadway musical make this production of Sweet Charity a must see!

Venue: The Playhouse, Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne.

Dates: 25th February – 7th March

Times: Wednesday – Saturday 8pm, Tuesday 7pm, Matinees: Thursday 26 February, 1pm, Saturday 28 February, 2pm, Sunday 1 March, 3pm, Saturday 7 March, 2pm

Tickets: Tickets from $79.90, Under 30s concession pricing $30

Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au, 1300 182 183, at the box office.

Image by Jeff Busby

Cabaret, Review, Whats On March 1, 2015March 2, 2015

REVIEW: Miss Everheart Presents EARLY BURLY

Hilarity in high-heels

By Narelle Wood

Who wouldn’t love to sit back, cocktail in hand, and watch a tasteful striptease to finish off the week? Miss Everheart Presents: Early Burly is a sophisticatedly risqué combination of cabaret, comedy and burlesque presented by Miss Adelaide Everheart.

The show was comprised of four tantalising performers including the very flexible Caterina Vitt, smouldering Ainslie Adams, the comedic musical stylings of Anya Anastasia, and the crude, lewd and lame joke-teller herself, Miss Adelaide Everheart.

Throughout the hour we were treated to stripteases inspired by the Paso Doble and old-world glamour. Amongst my favourites for the evening was Caterina Vitt’s geek chic-inspired strip that would be very well placed on an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Although it did feel a little uncomfortable laughing at someone while they took their clothes off, the blend of Vitt’s facial expressions and choreography made the routine a slapstick burlesque delight.

While Ainslie Adams’ performance was glamorous, with stunning sequined frocks, suspender belts and sequined undergarments to match, Anya Anastasia went a direction all of her own. Providing some cabaret interludes to the burlesque, Anastasia treated us to an interesting rendition of “Mr Cellophane” and her early Marie Antoinette impersonation was dead on.

The theatre was packed, which is a testament to how entertaining the Early Burly is, but it did mean it was difficult to see at times, especially during Vitt’s floor choreography, but this was a small glitch in an otherwise thoroughly joyous alternative to Friday night drinks. Early Burly is definitely a show to catch next time round, which according to Miss Everheart is in May. From the burlesque beginner to aficionado Miss Everheart Presents: Early Burly is all-round great fun.

Venue: The Butterfly Club
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com.au

Review, Theatre, Whats On February 27, 2015

REVIEW: The Owl and the Pussycat Present FLESH EATING TIGER

Story gone wild

By Myron My

The Owl and the Pussycat returns for its 2015 season with the Australian premiere of Flesh Eating Tiger, written by Amy Tofte. I’m not going to beat about the bush with this one, I was sorely disappointed by this production and it is not at all what I have come to expect from this theatre venue.

My biggest issue lies with the script. When looking at individual scenes, it can be funny and sharp, but as an overall story it is just one big mess. Flesh Eating Tiger follows the relationship between two people, “A Woman” and “Some Drunk” and the destructive nature of obsession and love. However, before we can even get to know who these people are, the narrative is going off in so many frenetic directions that I could not keep up, and halfway through I frankly stopped caring enough about these people to even try.

The story is incredibly convoluted, which is surprising given how the scenes just seem to repeat themselves throughout the duration of the play. It almost reached the point where if “A Woman” cried one more time or “Some Drunk” got angry and shouted, I probably would have done the same thing.

Zak Zavod (Some Drunk) and Marissa Bennett (A Woman) show promise for what is some demanding character work but it did feel like the story was controlling their character’s choices rather than the other way around. There were moments where they did well but overall the performances still lacked the emotional depth and complexity needed to sustain such roles.

It is under the watchful eye of director Jason Cavanagh that Zavod and Bennett manage to deliver some great moments in Flesh Eating Tiger. He’s clearly pushed them to get to the level they do and has built some incredible trust between them to perform some of the more intimate scenes. Cavanagh brings some great moments to life and the film-noir scene sits firmly in place as one of the highlights of this show.

Unfortunately though, I walked out of Flesh Eating Tiger not having learn anything or felt anything other than frustration and confusion. Sadly, this production feels more like a big presentation on pretentious self-gratification than the destructive capacity of relationships.

Venue: The Owl and the Pussycat, 34 Swan St, Richmond
Season: Until 7 March | Mon-Tues & Thurs-Sat 7.30pm, Sat 2pm
Tickets: $30 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: http://www.owlandcat.com.au

Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On February 26, 2015February 26, 2015

REVIEW: Melbourne Premiere of SEXERCISE THE MUSICAL

Working out the kinks

By Myron My

Who ever said that sex and exercise have to be mutually exclusive? This is definitely not the case with the new musical comedy directed by Sara Grenfell and presented by Aleksandar Vass and Malcolm C. Cooke, Sexercise, where we follow a married couple’s journey to rediscovering the fun and sexy times in their relationship.

The strength and success of Sexercise lies very much with its talented group of actors. Despite two solid hours of acting, singing and dancing, the small cast all manage to keep their energy levels up and the further we progress with the story the more this dynamism is visible. Clearly there is much fun to be had on stage, with the audience and with each other.

Nicole Melloy and Lyall Brooks are both extremely likeable as married couple Sam and Joe. They could easily have been pigeonholed as the annoying nagging wife and the insensitive, ignorant husband but they are able to expose a vulnerability to their characters that is natural and subtle whilst still bringing on the laughs and delivering the jokes.

The rest of the cast consisting of Fem Belling, Cameron MacDonald, Kristin Holland and Lulu McClatchy display their ability to support the protagonists but also command the stage when required. It almost reached the point where I wanted to learn more about these people than Sam and Joe: what exactly is going on in Andy’s marriage and who is this woman that has broken Tania’s heart? Writer Derek Rowe does well to feed the audience just enough information that we eagerly await the return to the stage of these characters.

While there may be some funny and touching moments in Sexercise, there are scenes that are too long and seem to drag to their conclusion and others that apparently don’t even need to be included. At a running time of over two hours, I felt some editing is required to allow the story to stay snappy and constantly moving forward at a pace that allows our attention to not falter.

While the musical numbers, also by Rowe, are on the whole enjoyable, there are some that seemed unnatural and awkward but due to the talent of the performers, were still fun to watch. Sexercise’s musical highlights )directed by Trevor Jones and choreographed by Dana Jolly) included ‘Mates For Life’, ‘Are We Done Yet’ and ‘36 not 23’ but by far my favourite song of the evening would be MacDonald and McClatchy singing ‘It Might Be Different This Time’, a wonderful number which could have been the signature song for every characters’ journey in this production.

Sexercise is more than just a story of 30-somethings wanting to have sex. It is cheeky, it is fun and it is naughty but it’s also about a group of individuals trying to connect with someone else. By cutting down the running time and undertaking some rewriting, this new musical has the potential both to make that theme more meaningful and create greater enjoyment for the audience. Nonetheless, this production of Sexercise is still worth seeing for the stellar effort by the excellent cast.

Venue: Alex Theatre St Kilda, 135 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
Season: Until 15 March | Tues-Sat 8.00pm, Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm
Tickets: From $50.87
Bookings: http://sexercisethemusical.com