Category: Review

Events, Opportunities, Performances, Review, Theatre

REVIEW: A Fistful of Scripts

An evocative and illuminating evening of new theatre

By Jennifer Coles

Firstly, I’d like to applaud Wise Works Media and Theatreworks for an evening like this. A Fistful of Scripts was a collection of new works presented as table reads for the benefit of their writers (cast included Leonie Leaver, Katharine Innes, Nadia Andary, Christopher Barry, Madeline Clare French, Stephanie Evison-Williams, Tom Kay, Callan Lewis, Alex McArthur, Adam Turnbull, Francesca Walters, Josie Parrelli and Kim Morrell). After each performance, the audience was invited to participate in a forum discussing the pros and cons of each script to provide the writers with invaluable information.

At the centre of Wafik ‘Fiko’ Doss’ The Heart of Rex was King Rasheed who failed to save his wife and children from murder. Believing his brother the culprit he banishes him, but is haunted by his wife’s ghost as his brother is haunted by family secrets. The piece had a beautiful grasp of Elizabethan language and some truly beautiful lines (delivered with gusto by the cast).

However Doss gets rather lost in his own words; lines were often elaborated, over-extended and repetitious. Influences from Greek theatre, Shakespeare and fairytales were abundant, but this clouded the piece – particularly the Greek chorus whose role needed to be more defined. The characters, although passionate and well-realised, lacked time to develop their motivations, leaving the ending predictable. What Doss has created is something just short of brilliance, but he needs to decide if this is a short play or a long one.

Dear and Departed (Sean McIntyre), a short monologue by a grandmother at her own funeral, contained moving images created by the woman’s memories: recollections of attempts to get her granddaughter to sleep resonated well with the audience. The piece needed to stay focused on the woman as it moved into vague territory before a significant plot revelation. This would have had more power if links beforehand been more structured.

Finally JILTED! (Parrelli and Morrell) tells the tale of unlucky-in-love Ebony who has just been stood up by her boyfriend. When she asks why her relationships fail, everyone has an opinion – particularly her loudmouth sister and brother-in-law. Dealing with modern themes, the ladies at Scorpio Productions have brought these situations to life with wonderful characters that read well together and really ‘bond’ as a dysfunctional family. JILTED! now needs to focus on defining Ebony’s character more in her search for self-improvement and answers.

Although the audience provided some insight into possible reworkings, occasionally suggestions offered were more for audience clarification than writers’ benefit. I hope the writers continue to develop these pieces and find the advice useful, for with a bit more polish, these scripts are all on the way to be insightful and moving works.

A Fistful of Scripts was produced at Theatre Works on Dec 6 2011.

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: April Albert is DIE KNEF

A tribute to a legend misses the triumph

By Adam Tonking

Die Knef, a cabaret written and performed by April Albert, traces the life of Hildegard Knef, a chanteuse whose survival of World War II coloured the rest of her career as a performer, but never held her back from her ambition.

Albert’s show is a brief insight into a relatively unknown figure in Australia, and showcases songs in a language that is too seldom celebrated outside of opera here.

Hildegard Knef, referred to by Albert as “the Edith Piaf of Germany”, was an actress and singer who enjoyed a long career spanning from the 1940s through to the 1970s. With Albert as Knef, Die Knef is at its most simple the story of one woman’s life, featuring the songs that made her famous.

But Albert presents it as a kind of nostalgia concert from a faded artiste you can imagine touring RSLs and pokies venues, and so Knef comes onstage with all of the pizzazz and charisma of a star, but gets distracted reminiscing about the many tragedies of her life.

Watching Knef unravel under the weight of her memories makes for fascinating viewing.

I had thought that a show containing entirely foreign language songs might present a challenge, but the audience quickly accepted the change and Albert seemed most comfortable when singing or speaking in German.

Although her commitment to the character is admirable, she rarely seemed to connect with the unimaginable horrors that Knef describes experiencing during World War II.

The script appears meticulously researched, peppered with pithy quotes for which Knef was well-known, but then focuses too heavily on these bad times, not on the successes that made her so famous and hence a character worth getting to know.

April Albert’s Die Knef was on at The Butterfly Club in South Melbourne from the 1st till the 4th of December at 7pm. 

For details of other upcoming shows, visit www.thebutterflyclub.com.

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: HOUSEWARMING – A New Musical

Home is where the heart is

By Bradley Storer

Housewarming, a new musical composed and written by William Hannagan-McKinna and Belinda Jenkin, opens on its lead character Tommy (Daniel Benge) on the threshold of a new adventure: the perilous plunge into share-housing.

Like the similar work which precedes it on Theatreworks double-bill, Give My Regards to Broady, Housewarming deals with universal themes of growing up and the struggle to move beyond the past.

Accompanying Tommy on the journey to independence is a mismatched group of fellow post-adolescents.

There’s Mia (Rachel Rai), the sheltered mummy’s girl with borderline OCD; Kelly (Elle Richards), the spoiled and self-aggrandizing rich girl; Luke (Drew Collet), the hard-drinking uni dropout; the dreadlocked Jo (Dave Barclay) and his ethereal, reiki-toting ex-girlfriend Daisy (played by Jenkin herself).

While these outlines may seem almost stereotypical in their construction, one of the joys of the evening is watching these skilled actors fill out and develop their characters beyond generic characteristics.

As the plot proceeds, unexpected twists reveal hidden depths to each character and their relationships with their housemates delving into unforeseen territory.

The ensemble are all strong performers and singers, and each are given a moment to shine with excellently composed moments of self-revelation and remembrance – highlights are Kelly’s ensemble-supported diva number ‘I Insist’, Daisy’s delicately heart-breaking ‘I Grew My Hair So Long’ and Tommy’s explosive solo ‘I Am Bruised’.

In comparison to the wacky comic mania of Broady, Housewarming approaches the same topic with seriousness and compassion while still retaining a light-hearted touch.

Aided by a committed and talented ensemble, Housewarming is a fantastic evening at the theatre, ranging from heart-warming to wrenching to youthfully optimistic all in the same show.

Housewarming: A New Musical is in a double-billing this month with Give My Regards to Broady!

Dates: 28 Nov – Dec 10 at Theatre Works, St Kilda

Times: Nov 30 to Dec 3 at 8:45pm / Dec 5-10 at 7:00pm

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Give My Regards To Broady

Trendy topical music theatre for all you Melbournites

By Bradley Storer

At the beginning of the show, the stage at Theatreworks is set up like the lounge room of a northern Melbourne share-house: strewn with the debris of the night before, accumulated mess, milk crate furniture and the bodies of several cast members.

Like the other work with which it shares the double-bill, Housewarming, Give My Regards To Broady is a musical dedicated to the mixed blessings and tribulations of youth through the experience of house-sharing.

The plot of Broady revolves around the daily lives and trials of a group of performing arts graduates all desperate for their big breaks and forced to find some way of co-existing peacefully. There’s Karin (Claire Healy), the lazy and poverty-stricken song-writer from Broadmeadows, her delightfully camp housemate and song-writing partner James (Leigh Jay Booth), a theatre-restaurant worker obsessed with celebrity networking, their friend Erin (Lauren Murtagh), a vainglorious South Melbourne heiress, and her ’accessory’ Luke (Joe Kosky). Lurking in the background is the rest of Karin’s housemates/backing band, with amusing interjections and intrusions from multi-instrumentalist Emma Muiznieks.

Broady is a love letter from its creators Karin Muiznieks and James Simpson, firstly to the enthusiasm and courage of young people who choose to work in the arts industry; when asked to compare her life with that of a Third-World child she sponsors, the character Karin counters ‘he doesn’t work in the arts!’.

Secondly to musical theatre itself, signalled by the posters of Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, Chicago and many other productions decorating the walls of the house. Muiznieks and Simpson play with standard musical tropes, amongst other things hilariously parodying the love duets of classic Broadway musicals and play out a wickedly vicious West Side Story-style scrag fight.

Lastly to the city of Melbourne itself, with songs devoted to topics like Melbourne Cup Day hook-ups, Crown Casino, half-built Ferris wheels – one song shows the characters trying to illustrate their relationships by comparing them to the qualities of different suburbs.

After a slow start, the show picks up strength and energy as soon as the first musical number appears. The four leads, under the direction of Scott Gooding, are all uniformly strong – the standouts are Murtagh and Kosky, who are given several moments to shine in numbers like ‘Erin’s Turn’ and the show finale. Healy and Booth ably handle the weight of keeping the show’s plot moving through several twists and turns with enthusiasm and flair. Give My Regards to Broady is an uproarious night at the theatre for music theatre lovers,  Melbournites who love their local references and for anyone in general who enjoys a good laugh.

Dates: 28 Nov – Dec 10 at Theatre Works, St Kilda
Times: Nov 30 to Dec 3 at 7:00pm / Dec 5-10 at 8:45pm

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: GERALDINE QUINN is The Last Gig in Melbourne

This is why Melbourne loves live music!

By Emma Muiznieks

In response to the floundering live music scene, Geraldine Quinn has invited you to the very last live gig Melbourne is ever going to host, and boy does she deliver.

For one hour, Quinn rocks out a set list of original songs, with the help of her band; musical director Casey Bennetto on keys and guitar, Tamara Murphy thundering on the bass, Sonja Horbelt on drums, and Martin Lubran rocking out like a legend on lead guitar. Last Gig pokes fun at the tropes of home-grown rock, but is at the same time a fine example of the very best sort of gig: it is well-structured, the music is tight, and Quinn owns the stage like a pro.

Covering a range of subject matter and musical subgenres, from a punk rock song about scrag fights to a poignant ballad lamenting the predominance of mobile phone usage during shows, Quinn takes us through the live music scene from when she herself first started bopping along as a teenager, to the current lackadaisical attitude of the modern concertgoer. As a songwriter, she has created music that is clearly original but has such an element of familiarity that you might swear you’ve heard the songs before on Rage or MTV. She presents us with a view from both sides of the microphone, and rather skillfully reminds us of how fun live gigs are while at the same time highlighting our responsibility to support the industry: there will always be new talent, but without an audience, it will go unheard.

Although each band-member is given the chance to shine, the show is very much a showcase for Quinn’s powerhouse vocals, clever lyrics and her complete and utter rock & roll spirit. There are few comedians on the scene today who possess such a strong stage presence; add to this a voice that can be so forceful one moment and so softly intense the next, and you have a performer capable of underpinning a comedy song with a real emotional resonance.

There are few people with enough cred, talent and moxy to claim the right to the last gig in Melbourne, but Quinn has definitely earned the honour.

www.geraldinequinn.com

The Last Gig in Melbourne

Dates: Friday 4, 11, 18, & 25 Nov

Time: 8.00pm (approx 1 hr duration)

Venue: Bella Union Bar, Trades Hall, Cnr Lygon and Victoria Streets, Carlton

Tickets: $25/$16 at door, discounts for pre-booking

Bookings: 03 9650 5699 or www.bellaunion.com.au

 

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: VCA Contemporary Plays Season – ST KILDA TALES

Strong performances in a problematic production

By Kate Boston Smith

There was much excitement to be felt while waiting for the start of the VCA School of Performing Arts‘ production of Raimondo Cortese’s St Kilda Tales directed by Mary Sitarenos.  As we were ushered into the huge studio warehouse towards the back of the VCA campus, this atmosphere suggested we would be in for a real treat. 

Utilising the entire length of the expansive warehouse, the sparse stage was split in two halves front and back, divided only by black cyclone fencing. The full cast boisterously entered the space through the back door in the far distance from the audience.  The performance area, which at this stage was only lit by the cold fluorescent lights, was immediately filled with the noise, music and chatter of St Kilda streets which then did not stop for the next two hours.  

It was very difficult to tune into the dialogue as characters constantly spoke over both one another and the loud music.  I felt the first ten minutes of setup was lost in this wave of aural activity, and it therefore took longer than preferable for us to settle into the story and understand the relationships between the characters. 

The play is a dark swill of interweaving stories from St Kilda’s underbelly.  There was little or no light or warmth between characters, each of whom move through the space writhing for attention, love or release from their golem-like existence.

The young cast gave very strong performances.  The intensity of each ensemble character was matched with the relentless soundscape consisting of late 90’s pop and rave anthems, distorted guitars and finally the soul-crushing wails of two female characters for the final  thirty minutes of the play. 

Stage design, lighting, and one elaborate costume in particular, enhanced the gritty, deranged world that the characters inhabited.  Comic relief was provided through the gimmicky but great animal heads of the resident crazy lady “Special” as played brilliantly by Rose Marlfleet.

However, when the house lights were once again raised, (long after the ninety minutes as stipulated in the program) it is honestly hard to say whether I enjoyed it or just felt relief it was over.     

St Kilda Tales was presented by the VCA graduating class in Studio 45, 28 Dodds St, Southbank.

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

Review: AUSTEN TAYSHUS is The Merchant of Menace

Merciless night of comedy with an Australian icon

By Anastasia Russell-Head

The Butterfly Club’s small performance space was comfortably almost-filled on Saturday night for Australian icon, the raw and politically incorrect Austen Tayshus.

Known to many for his hit 1983 single Australiana, he is a veteran of the stand-up scene, having performed over 10,000 shows.

Taking to the stage in his trademark dark suit and shades, he proceeded to spin a web of comedic tangents, sometimes with a punchline or two thrown in for good measure.

The subjects of his humour were shown no mercy, with Jews, Muslims, South Africans, and Australians alike in the firing line.

Most of this is hilariously funny, especially his imitations of accents, which are spot-on. Some of it however, sails rather close to the wind, and in my opinion several of the Muslim jokes in particular go a bit too far.

That said, his wit is unprejudiced, and everyone is tarred with the same brush – himself, his career, even the audience, who are berated if they are not laughing enough, and teased when they laugh too much.

The audience is often a source of comedic ammunition – people’s marriages, jobs, state-of-sobriety – but no-one is offended; rather we all feel part of the joke.

Genuinely funny, clever, and an extremely engaging performer, Austen Tayshus is one-of-a-kind – catch him while and when you can.

You may even be treated to a live rendition of Australiana if you’re lucky!

Austen Tayshus: The Merchant of Menace played at The Butterfly Club Nov 5 2011.

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Theatre

REVIEW: Tracy Harvey Smoking’ At The Paris Cat

A new musical in the works is turning up the heat…

By Kim Edwards

Tracy Harvey is a favourite and familiar lady of Australian comedy, but last night it was all about the music.

The intimate confines of the Paris Cat jazz club were bustling with local media and theatre folk as Harvey took to the stage to share some of her previous hilarious compositions and debut some of her latest music theatre songs.

The evening featured repertoire from her first show Call Girl the Musical that premiered in Melbourne in recent years, but also debuted new work from the upcoming and outrageously titled hospital musical Prick.

Harvey with her signature smile and ravishing dress was in exceptional company with Bryce Ives, Laura Burzacott, and the talented Jack Howard leading a superb jazz trio.

It’s a rare pleasure to see director Ives performing on stage himself, and his smooth showman charisma and Burzacott’s ever- stunning voice and understated wit formed a wonderful foil to Harvey’s irrepressible and frantic comic vivacity. Meanwhile, Jack Howard managed a little demure scene-stealing both on the trumpet and with his unexpected solo song ‘Like A Gondolier’.

Ives’ skill at creating atmosphere was in play as usual: the casual, relaxed vibe and unrehearsed patter were completely charming, and this rare sneak peak at a show in development was wonderfully beguiling.

The strength of the songs presented was in their casual Australian vernacular and broad vulgar humour, with plenty of topical and local jokes. Musically and lyrically, there is nothing particularly daring or sophisticated in any of the numbers, and every song seemed to include some extensive word or phrase repetition. However, these are of course works in progress, and the good-natured comedy and appealing energy always made each song highly enjoyable to hear and see performed.

Australia music theatre longs for original local works, and Harvey with her smokin’ hot companions and her flair for distinctly home-bred humour and fun song-writing deserves nothing but admiration and support.

It was exciting to be part of the inception of a new project, and it will be even more exciting to see it fire up into a fully fledged musical in the near future. So keep a look out for more about Harvey’s new show shortly – it’s not like you’re going to forget that title in a hurry.

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

REVIEW: Neil Pigot in WHITELEY’S INCREDIBLE BLUE

A dreamscape of art and addiction

By Anastasia Russell-Head

The subtitle of this play is very apt: “an hallucination”… hallucinatory by name, hallucinatory by nature. Given its subject-matter – one of Australia’s most famous artists, infamous for his addictions – the poetic, dreamlike nature of this show is a tribute in form as much as it is in its substance.

Beginning at the end, as it were, in the motel room in Thirroul where he died, the dead Brett Whiteley muses over his life and art. Neil Pigot is superb as Whiteley, alternately celebrating and regretting, remembering and forgetting, drug-addled and lucid.

Barry Dickins, the playwright, describes his script as a “magical monologue”, where “the words are a poetic synthesis of his own experimental paranormal paragraphs, his own ‘unlanguage’; if you like”. Words are used for their pictorial and evocative sense, and mostly this is extremely effective at conjuring up the decadent, swirling exuberance of Whiteley’s visual world – without actually showing any of his artworks.

In fact, visually this production is very sparse, with a sparing use of projections creating surreal imagery like blue tendrils slowly covering Whiteley as he speaks about the effect of heroin, and the neon “no vacancy” sign of the budget motel flickering into life outside the window.

The least effective aspect of this show for me was the use of voice-over, narrating impossible stage directions. Supposedly an attempt to add to the hallucinatory nature of the piece, this really detracted from the strength and power of the lone actor and the poetry of the text. For me this filled in the gaps too much, rather than leaving it to the imagination.

With an excellent musical score played live by the Calvert George Fine trio, this production is at once mesmerising and incomprehensible – as every good hallucination should be.

The premiere of Whiteley’s Incredible Blue is playing for the Melbourne Festival until Sunday 23 October

Fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Times: Tuesday to Sun 8pm, Fri & Sat 8pm & 10pm

 Tickets: $40-$45

Bookings: 03 9662 9966

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: MEL TRICKEY in Happiness 101

Do something that makes you happy!

By Adam Tonking

Happiness 101: Laughter is the Best Pseudo-Science! introduces us to esteemed academic Professor Geraldine Gravis, as played by Mel Trickey, who is here to lecture us on happiness, what it is and how to achieve it as proven through her scientific methods.

Not everything goes according to plan as her logic unravels and her inner yearnings reveal themselves, all for the entertainment of the audience.

This show is a perfect example of brilliantly-crafted cabaret, performed and written by Trickey. It has everything: a clear and engaging story, well-chosen songs to serve said story, a fully-realised character taking us along for the ride.

Trickey commanded the stage from the start, involving the audience – on Thursday night we were quite a small crowd which can be, well, tricky – but she was so charming that we were happy to play along. The left turn the story takes in the middle could have become trite and obvious, but as handled by Trickey was completely successful.

A lot of the humour in Happiness 101 relies on its ability to surprise the audience, and in the interests of people enjoying it as thoroughly as I did, I’m trying not to reveal too many of the details.

The show, however, reaches its pinnacle near the end in an amazing medley where the Professor realises her lifelong dream.  This moment is equal parts hilarious and spectacular, and I almost wish the show had ended at that point – it’s so good that anything after that feels like coming down.

Trickey was excellent in this show. She hits some amazing notes, assisted by accompanist Rowland Brache, who not only played beautifully, but also engaged in some lively banter with his esteemed colleague, much to the audience’s amusement.  Direction by Kim Edwards also deserves applause for making great use of the venue’s idiosyncrasies and keeping the action lively and varied.

I genuinely cannot say enough nice things about this show. Do yourself a favour and get on board. I can’t guarantee you’ll learn anything about happiness, but you will definitely be happier for seeing it.

Happiness 101: Laughter is the Best Pseudo-Science! is on at The Butterfly Club, South Melbourne, from 13th to 15th October at 7pm, and 16th October at 6pm.

Bookings through www.thebutterflyclub.com or 9696 2000.