Category: Review

Festivals, Review, Theatre

REVIEW: Fr!sk Presents I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOMO

Telling, amusing musings

By Myron My

We read about the countries where homosexuality is illegal and even punishable by death. In fact, it’s not so long ago that homosexuality was still illegal in Australia. But what if Australia was in fact, the worst place to be gay? This is what I Still Call Australia Homo speculates over in a clever and humorous way.

I Still Call Australia HomoWritten and performed by Emma Annand, Sonja Bishopp, Adam Ibrahim and Ryan Forbes, the laughs in this performance come through thick and fast whilst the narrative still gets its poignant message across. I enjoyed the fact the writers chose a lighter tone to tell this story rather than going down the dark and serious path. Even though this alternate-Australia is now persecuting homosexuals and experiencing a bombardment of rallies, protests and violence, we don’t see any of that. In fact, apart from some news grabs, we really don’t deal with this powerful backdrop at all.

What we do see are two married couples living the suburban dream, a Stepford Wives-like existence, and this is in part to do with Jack Fordham’s simple yet creative and effective set design and costuming. The couples both have their perfectly kept lawns and rose bushes and their white picket fences while enjoying their BBQs, dinner parties and yoga classes… unfortunately, the two “husbands” are actually falling in love with each other, and it’s here the struggle and turmoil occurs.

With regards the acting, all the cast are admirable, but Bishopp more or less steals all her scenes as the extremely uptight and frustrated Pippa: her nuanced facial expressions, physicality and voice epitomised the overwrought and repressed housewife. Forbes also does well with the male macho bravado of Jake, and with revealing his internal struggle to be true to himself in a world that just won’t allow it.

I would love to see I Still Call Australia Homo get a second life at some point, as more people should have the opportunity to see this play. It is a highly enjoyable piece of theatre, which cleverly mixes humour with an important and meaningful message about equality: does it really matter if the guy next door could in fact be the gay next door?

I Still Call Australia Homo was performed during Fr!sk Festival at the Victorian College of the Arts, as part of the 2014 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Revolt Presents PANIC

Simple, elegant, soulful and sleek

By Myron My

Coming to Australia for the first time and produced and performed by Godot Art Association from Macau and Theatre Moments from Japan for this year’s Fringe Festival, Panic is based on a short story written by Kōbō Abe, a Japanese novelist and dramatist and once a candidate laureate of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Panic

The story revolves around a man who takes an employment exam for a company and ends up waking up next to a dead body. From here, the nightmare has just begun as his life begins to collapse in front of his very own eyes. The running theme in many of Abe’s works of alienation and society’s role in this, are explored and displayed effectively.

The play is performed in three languages: Cantonese, Japanese and English, which is already an interesting aspect to the show, and evokes the idea that we are all the same, and all connected and affected by the world in which we live. It’s enjoyable to attempt to follow the story without understanding what is happening all the time and base your interpretation on the physicality of the actors and your imagination, but to those that do require this ‘security’, there are English subtitles displayed on the wall.

Panic uses a minimalist approach for the whole production, from the staging, to costumes and to props. This forces the companies to get creative with how the themes and narrative are conveyed and portrayed and they do a brilliant job in addressing this issue. Apart from a trolley, toilet paper is the only item used in the performance and takes the place of all the ‘props’ used, from mobile phones to beer and to hairdryers, the insinuation being that, at the end of the day, all these material possessions mean nothing and just get “flushed away”.

Although this doesn’t necessarily affect how I feel about a show, it was a pleasure to see actors on stage genuinely beaming with joy at having performed to an audience. On opening night the applause continued for quite some time after Panic ended, and it was deservedly so.

Venue: Revolt, 12 Elizabeth St, Kensington

Season: Until 28 September| 6:30pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $15 Conc

Bookings: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au

Events, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Malthouse Theatre and BOMBSHELLS
90 minutes. Six women. One actress. No holding back.
By Bradley Storer
Joanna Murray-Smith’s Bombshells, now playing at the Malthouse Theatre, is a theatrical tour de force for the right actress. Six monologues about women of differing locations, ages and personalities, all strung together by the thematic concept of being ‘close to the edge’. Each one is a different set of challenges with the star never leaving the stage (and often barely stopping talking), demanding Herculean stamina and focus from the lead actress.
Bombshells
Luckily, actress Christen O’Leary is more than up to the task, tackling the role from the very beginning with gusto. The first character Meryl, a beleaguered housewife and mother of three, is a whirlwind of frenetic energy, beset by constant anxiety and the never-ending problems of a modern day mother. O’Leary never pauses for a moment, either physically or vocally, drawing both big laughs and eventually great sympathy from Meryl’s trials.
O’Leary individuates all six characters with fantastic vocal and physical choices, embodying each woman with complete authenticity, whether it be an elderly British cactus enthusiast, a boisterous bogan bride-to-be, or an attention-seeking Toorak schoolgirl. The reoccurring flash of a camera reiterates the ‘snapshot’ the audience is receiving of these women’s lives. The finest work is done with the character of Winsome, an ageing widow who ruminates on the philosophical and social implications of widowhood. This sensitive portrayal avoids simple caricature as it takes the audience on a journey both hilarious and touching, ending with an unexpected revelation that simultaneously shocks and leaves you with a smile on your face.
The one low point of the show is the character of Zoe, a Garland-esque diva whose tale of addiction, heartbreak and loss is told cabaret-style in both speech and song. Zoe’s story reads  like a weak parody of the common ‘celebrity breakdown’ narrative and lacking in fine individual detail or interesting twists, a surprise considering how well this occurs in every other part of the play. This is in no way the fault of O’Leary, whose performance remains as energetic and committed here as in the rest of the show, allowing her to show off an impressive set of pipes!
This one complaint aside, Bombshells is an enthralling piece of theatre, with each character a joy to spend time with and a disappointment to see finish.
Venue: Coopers Malthouse, Beckett Theatre, 113 Sturt St, Melbourne.
Dates: 23rd Sept – 28th Sept.
Time: Tue – Sat 8pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 5pm
Tickets: $58, Senior $48, Conc $48, Group 6+ $48, Student $28
Bookings: www.malthousetheatre.com.au or at the venue.
Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Fringe Festival’s GET LUCKY

Hard to swallow

By Myron My

In Get Lucky presented by the Grey Matter Collective and directed by Brendan Glanville, our protagonist Brien cannot keep an erection. As such, his girlfriend breaks up with him, leading Brien on a journey of self-discovery… except there isn’t much discovering to be done. In fact, I have to say there isn’t much here at all. The story is pretty hard to accept, and there no real depth to be found despite the play’s obvious efforts to look at sexuality and explore the idea of what it is to be a man.

Get Lucky

In terms of acting, Matt Peacock is the strongest by far as the awkward and unsure Brien. The rest of the cast work well with the material given, but I feel they have very little to do other than play out the stereotypes they have been given.

Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much consistency in either the writing or the development of the characters. At one point, the female character played by Tara Jade is angry with Brien for lying to her about his knowledge of a pretty serious incident at a nightclub, yet a few minutes later she states that she will go out with him because he is the first man to be ‘honest’ with her!

The sexuality aspect in Get Lucky also comes across quite flippantly and without any conviction. Brien has a bit of a wrestle with a fellow gym member and suddenly has an erection and assumes he’s gay. This leads him to having a less-than-memorable experience with a man, and just like that he is straight again. What’s even worse is the way that a female character’s sexual assault at a nightclub is handled. I can see what the writers were trying to accomplish by showing these narratives, but it was misguided and unsuccessful, and made me feel extremely frustrated as an audience member.

Get Lucky really sounded promising on paper, but unfortunately there is more than just performance anxiety preventing this show from taking off.

Venue: Revolt, 12 Elizabeth St, Kensington

Season: Until 4 October | 7:00pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $19 Conc

Bookings: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au

Festivals, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: The Laudanum Project’s THE GRAND GUIGNOL AUTOMATON

Haunting tale of horror…

By Myron My

The Laudanum Project returned to Melbourne Fringe Festival for an exclusive season of The Grand Guignol Automaton. Their fourth production is set in Paris, 1920, and tells the horrific story of Sandrine Moreaux who finds herself at the Theatre du Grand Guignol. It is here she faces her fears, desires and obsessions with beauty.

Our storyteller, Alphonse Cheese-Probert, is masterful in his execution and his ghoulish appearance adds further effect to this visceral story. it’s a highly descriptive narrative that leaves you hanging on to every word as the tale delves into darker and more grotesque territory with every sentence, even without using any props or visual aids.

The Grand Guignol Automaton

Despite his strong presence on stage and the visual delights of the set and costumes, there came a point where I felt something different needed to happen on stage. The story is so intricate and demanding that it was difficult to retain the same level of concentration for over an hour when simply watching a person narrate. The reveal towards the end was very effective in resolving this, but I felt something needed to happen earlier also.

The music is a strong component to this show; the three musicians built the intensity and suspense to high dramatic effect. Costume-wise, the musicians, Lady Sophronia Lick-Penny, Barnabas Oral and Shiny Helen are just as grotesque as the story. Helen on the accordion wears an elephant-man like red silk sack, percussionist Oral has a blindfold covering his gouged-out and bleeding eye sockets and Lick-Penny on the keyboards appears as a ghoul. Always in the background but never overpowering, they blend into the story; and the moments of silence when they are not playing for effect are just as impactful.

The Grand Guignol Automaton may be an unsettling piece of raconteur theatre but it is also a great piece of theatre. It was while I was exiting the venue that I realised I had been holding my breath for quite some time from all the suspense and horror. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what The Laudanum Project come up with next.

The Grand Guignol Automaton was performed at Club Voltaire as part of the 2014 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Circus, Festivals, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Fringe Festival’s CARNEVIL

Unravel the mystery

By Myron My

I don’t even know where to begin in reviewing CarnEvil, and that is impressive. Conceived by Timothy Christopher Ryan, in collaboration with Stephanie Wood, Alexandra Meerbach, Joseph Chapman, Sam Whelan and Nithya Nagarajan, it is part show, part immersion, part murder-mystery and a whole lot of fun.

Carnevil

Firstly, the transformation of the Collingwood Underground Car Park into a carnival ground is extreme and effective – it even has a maze (and a creepy maze at that). There are tents and stall set up including fortune tellers, medicine women, a peep show and a few carnival games like bobbing for apples. However, even when murder occurs (which it does), the fun and games continue with various performances taking place throughout the course of the night.

We are free to roam and do as we please, and interaction with the actors/performers is heavily encouraged. There are clues and hints to assist in finding the killer and the only way to learn of these is to immerse yourself into the carnival world. I felt like a nosy reporter trying to get as much information as I could.

The variety of dazzling acts range from burlesque, singing and clowning with my highlights on the evening I attended being Whelan’s pole dance routine and guest performer for the night, Sir Hoops A Lot and his mesmerizing hoops work.

The commitment that all the performers have to their characters allows the authenticity of this world to flourish, which is not the easiest thing to do when you don’t really have a script to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Meerbach, Whelan and Woods’ characters and how they interacted with the audience.

CarnEvil is a highly recommended two hours of fun and intrigue – just keep an eye on that pesky clown, you don’t know where he’s going to pop out from…

Venue: Collingwood Underground Car Park, 44 Harmsworth St, Collingwood

Season: Until 27 September | 7:30pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $18 Conc

Bookings: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au

Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: The Collective Presents PARADE
You don’t know this man
By Bradley Storer
New Melbourne company The Collective make their theatrical debut with the first professional production in Australia of Jason Robert Brown’s modern classic Parade, a tale of injustice, prejudice and murder in early 20th-century Atlanta.
Parade
Luigi Lucente as Leo Frank, the Jewish factory superintendent who is accused of murdering young Mary Phagan (Jemma Plunkett), turns in a performance perfect from head to toe. Lucente portrays Frank as a man whose alienation from the community has left him a lonely sensitive soul with a icy, defensive exterior – not shying away from the more strident aspects of Frank’s personality, Lucente intertwines them in such a way that they strike a delicious note of ambiguity over whether Frank is capable of committing murder. His plain-spoken appeal to the jury, ‘It’s Hard to Speak My Heart’, is heartrendingly beautiful.
Laura Fitzpatrick brings a subdued gentle air and a sweet, touching voice to Frank’s wife, Lucille. She takes a quieter, less belty approach to Lucille’s big numbers ‘You Don’t Know This Man’ and ‘Do it Alone’ than some interpreters, but this means we never lose sight of Lucille as an ordinary woman driven by an immense inner strength which blossoms over the course of the story. The delicacy and chemistry which she and Lucente bring to the couple’s penultimate love duet ‘All the Wasted Time’ is electrifying, sending shivers up the spine.
The supporting roles are filled out admirably – Cameron MacDonald has charisma to burn as reporter Britt Craig. who whips the South into a media frenzy over the controversial trial, and turns in solid work as Governor Jack Slaton. Tod Strike is a commanding presence as amoral prosecutor Hugh Dorsey, and Andrew Doyle brings an impish charm to Frankie Epps, the teenager who spearheads the mob violence which leads to the musical’s tragic conclusion. The ensemble overall are top quality, bringing fierce commitment to a variety of roles and levels of moral ambiguity.
The performance space, which has the audience split in two on either side with action playing out in the middle, is used to thrilling effect in the first act. The isolation of husband from wife in ‘Leo at Work/What Am I Waiting For’ is illustrated perfectly as they stand at the separate ends of the stage echoed later by the chillingly emotional image which closes Act One. The cleverly staged trial sequence symbolically and physically makes the audience implicit in the condemnation of Leo, as well tapping into the inherently theatrical nature of a trial itself. However, this fades in Act Two where the staging is used less imaginatively and begins to impede the effectiveness of the show instead. The split staging and somewhat confusing direction of the last scene dilutes the impact of its final revelation, reducing the poignancy of what should be the emotional sucker-punch of the musical.

These small issues aside, this is a strong debut from the emerging company with a challenging and immensely satisfying piece that should be a ‘must see’ for all Melbourne music theatre enthusiasts!

Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, CBD
Date: 17-28 Sept, 2014
Times: Tues–Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm
Tickets: $45, Conc $40, Groups (8+) $40
Bookings: Ph 03 9662 9966 or www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Fringe Festival’s YOU TOOK THE STARS

Sweet meandering romance

By Myron My

The opening moments of You Took The Stars succeed in setting a romantic and whimsical environment as we are led from the front of the North Melbourne Town to the neighboring alley. Taking a seat at one of the four candlelit tables, we are serenaded by musician Matt Furlani singing Sarah McLachlan’s “Ice Cream”, and then witness the first encounter of Maisie and Paul, and their ensuing relationship.

You Took The Stars

But this is not a traditional love story, or even much of a story for that matter. Writer Cat Commander has chosen to tell this story through the characters rather than through narrative. This sounds very interesting in theory, but in this instance, it was difficult for me to feel an emotional connection to Maisie and Paul, as they perform the various scenes their imaginations create and found myself unable to maintain the level of interest I initially had.

This is through no fault of the acting by Kasia Kaczmarek and John Shearman who do an exceptional job as the two lovers and their performances are what had me most engaged with this show. Alice Darling’s direction further strengthens the chemistry between the two and ensures that issues from performing in such a long, narrow outdoor venue are minimized. It is encouraged, and at times, necessary, as an audience member to move around to get a better view of what is happening as well as hearing the dialogue that is drowned out due to outside noises.

Despite its shortcomings, You Took The Stars is a nice enough show that (literally as well as metaphorically) takes you outside of all the craziness that happens at Fringe and gives you a moment to reflect. And make sure to rug up: this is an outdoor performance.

Venue: Meet on the steps of North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne

Season: Until 26 September | Tues-Fri 7:00pm

Tickets: $18 Full | $15 Conc

Bookings: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au

Comedy, Festivals, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Impromptunes – WHOSE CHORUS LINE IS IT ANYWAY?

Madcap musicals made to order

By Narelle Wood

Whose Chorus Line is it Anyway? is improvised comedy and musical theatre all rolled into one and a show you could certainly see more than once, because every night is a brand-new performance.

Whose Chorus Line Is It Anyway

The premise of the show is simple; the audience give the cast the title of the musical and what happens from there is anyone’s guess, even the cast members. We were treated to a musical entitled Friday Nights, which had jail breaks, glitter use and a campaign for culottes, which are able to free women from the oppression of skirts and men from the constriction of tight pants. The result of these shenanigans was the creation of a genderless society, mnan, who put the ‘com (that is communication) back in community’. In the realisation that a genderless society would struggle to repopulate the earth, the mnan once again become man and woman. But there are no spoilers in this tale, for who knows what new journey tonight, or any of the shows, will take you on.

The extremely talented cast includes the likes of the company’s director Emmet Nichols, Stuart Packham, Emily Taylor and George Gayler, just to name a few. It was fascinating to watch how they were able to pick up and run with whatever their fellow cast members came up with, no matter how insane or bizarre. This was especially evident during the musical numbers where they seldom missed a beat. Nichols’ portrayal of a Scotsman, with an accent so thick it’s unintelligible to anyone but a fellow Scotsman, was a highlight, and epitomised the phrase ‘it’s funny because it’s true’.

Lights and musical accompaniment helped set, or in this case develop, the scene and musician Rainer Pollard provided the cast with every music theatre genre, from ballads to toe-tappers, to work with: there was even a dance break. Musical highlights included “There’s a Jail Break”, “I’m Changing Me”, and the title number from the show, “It’s Friday Night”.

If you’re comfortable with laugh-out-loud, zany storylines, put together by clever performers, who can and do change the story’s trajectory on a whim, then Whose Chorus Line is it Anyway? is a show well worth seeing.

Venue: The Loft, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne
Season: September 20th to October 4th, 6.45pm, Sundays 5.45pm
Tickets: Full $24| Conc $19
Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/impromptunes/

Festivals, Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Isabella Valette in MEDIA RELEASE

The turn on of reality TV

By Myron My

Media Release for this year’s Fringe Festival is a cautionary tale about the follies of fame, the foibles of being popular and the extent people to which seek such fantasies. The story revolves around a young woman April (Isabella Valette) who is at a audition and is asked to deliver her lines like specific Hollywood celebrities, such as Britney Spears, Emma Watson, and Mischa Barton – and to be sexier. From there, we witness her demise – in a lighthearted way – as she betrays family members, friends and herself in succumbing to the lure of being a reality star.

Media Release

 Spanning a two-year narrative time period, a lot is covered in this 55-minute show – so much in fact, that I feel there was too much going on to let the story feel fully organic and believable. It would have been nice to see the story driven by the actions of the characters, rather than the characters going through the motions to tell the story.

Apart from Valette, the rest of the cast (Oliver Waters, Maddie Chaplain and Luke Chaplain) perform a variety of characters, some of which are brought to life convincingly and others that don’t seem as realistic. Surprisingly, the latter appear more often to be the “straight” roles, rather than the over-the-top but more plausibly portrayed characters of producers, narcissistic “actors” and talent agents.

However, Valette brings April’s innocence and naivety to the surface with conviction and believability, as well as  exploring her desire to achieve her dreams. The well-paced and cleverly re-written musical numbers performed by Valette showcase her voice and are definitely a highlight of Media Release.

Media Release is an entertaining hour of song and laughs for audiences that have been surrounded by and obsessed with reality TV “stars” for almost two decades, and there is definitely potential for this to develop into something bigger and generate an even more dynamic response .

Venue: Court House Hotel, Cnr. Errol & Queensberry St, North Melbourne

Season: Until 26 September | Tue–Sat 6:00pm, Sun 5:00pm

Tickets: $21 Full | $16 Conc

Bookings: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au