Category: Whats On

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Scarlett Belle’s SCARLET LETTERS

Embracing female sexuality?

By Caitlin McGrane

It’s difficult to know where to begin with this production. The show was full of promise – tantalisingly suggesting that ‘sex, love and the space in between’ would be embraced and examined by Scottish chanteuse Scarlett Belle. And indeed the evening started promisingly enough with Eyes Wide Shut-esque masks handed to the audience on their way in, and the opening song that cleverly played on the idea that little girls dream of marrying millionaires, if only to exploit them for money. I started off really rather enjoying the no-holds-barred nature of Scarlett Belle’s exploration of young female sexual identity,,but as the performance went on I admit I started to fall out of love with her brand of sexual emancipation that seemed to involve disparaging sex workers and women who lead sexually adventurous or risqué lives.

Scarlett Belle.jpg

This performer does have a wonderful singing voice, and the potential to be very funny, but as the performance went on I started to become uncomfortable with how the stories were played out – where her character seemed to have no agency, instead appearing incredibly and worryingly passive in her behaviour, while still trying to make people laugh. The scene transitions were also confusing – going from an awfully sad story about an extra-marital affair into the whimsical and playful scene transition music without any emotional pause or consideration.

I really wished I could have enjoyed this more; I am a sex-positive feminist, and the moralising concluding monologue really upset and bothered me in the way it chastised young women and girls for their sexual appetites and behaviour. If Scarlett Belle wants us to learn from her character’s mistakes, I think it would be better to critically examine why one’s sexual history can be retrospectively unfulfilling, rather than encouraging women to find love (as if it’s something one can just do).

Scarlett Belle showed some great talent, so I hope she will continue to grow and develop as a performer. I think I ultimately interpreted the sex-comedy writing as rather trite, and had hoped for more as we really could do with more women exploring sex and sexuality without shame of either oneself or others.

Scarlett Belle’s Scarlet Letters is showing at The Butterfly Club until 14 February 2016. For more information and tickets visit: https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/scarlett-belle-s-scarlet-letters

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW:The Butterfly Club Presents INTERNATIONAL STUD

Beguiling and beautifully unexpected story-telling

By Amy Planner

International Stud takes a rather philosophical approach to life, love and all the messy stuff in-between. Searching far and wide for love, whatever that may be, and finding nothing but slightly crushed hopes and a list of ‘not enoughs’; that is the intriguing comedic romance of International Stud.

International Stud.jpg

International Stud follows Arnold, a twenty-something drag performer, on his eternal search for love. When Arnold meets Ed, love blooms but as quick as it comes, it may go.

This small cast is surprisingly diverse. Jacob Antolini stars as the somewhat troubled Arnold. Antolini’s interpretation was fascinating, although comfortably clichéd in parts. Adam Hetherington is Ed, the slightly older yet unsure side of this tumultuous relationship. He was supremely charismatic and charming which lent itself to the allurement Arnold’s character was trying to portray.

Antolini and Hetherington should be commended for the large amounts of dialogue they executed. The use of a type of one-sided storytelling was a fresh way to utilise the quaint space of The Butterfly Club stage and to make great use of the small cast. It allowed the audience to get to know the characters individually by focussing on every subtle aspect of the performer’s interpretations. Finding reaction from no real counterpart can be difficult, but Hetherington especially, glided through it with ease and charisma.

When Ed and Arnold are finally brought together on stage, the pair reaches a poignant culmination, searching through a long list of emotional responses and fighting for a love that seems it will never be enough.

Their relationship wasn’t explored a great deal on stage, which left the audience unsure of where the dramatic change came from when it arrived. However, filling the gaps in the story meant the more emotional moments had more of an impact in the best way.

The musical composition was truly distinctive. Caitlin Berwick (who also played Lady Blues) and Paddy Adeney took popular songs and gave them new life in an unpredictable musical journey through Arnold’s love life.

Some scenes were quite lengthy and could have used a little trim here and there but the flow of conversation was very natural. Other scenes were shockingly unexpected but perhaps that’s a surprise best left for those venturing into the this particular theatrical world.

This self-proclaimed Freudian love-romp is a feast for the mind and will make you wonder, consider and question your boundaries.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Off Little Collins St, Melbourne.

Season: February 10th-14th, 7pm.

Tickets:https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/international-stud

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Red Stitch Presents THE VILLAGE BIKE

Compelling and confronting play performed with aplomb

By Christine Young

British playwright Penelope Skinner’s The Village Bike is a gripping study in lust, love and gender politics. And hormones. Lots of them.

The Village Bike.jpg

 

Red Stitch Actors Theatre in St Kilda is presenting the Australian premiere of The Village Bike which opened to rave reviews and won a local award in London five years ago. The theatre company’s Artistic Director, Ella Caldwell, takes on the lead role of Becky who is a newly-pregnant schoolteacher on summer break. She has recently moved to a village in the country with her husband John (Richard Davies from Channel 10’s Offspring) who seems like the ‘perfect man’. He cooks, cleans, reads baby books and caters for most of Becky’s needs. Sigh. Right, ladies? Wrong. Becky’s sex drive is going through the roof due to pregnancy hormones, while John is off the boil.

In a 2011 interview at theatreVOICE, Skinner said she found plenty of evidence on the internet “that men go off sex during their partner’s pregnancy”. Therein lies the rub. Becky buys a bike from a local, the womaniser and eccentric Oliver (comedian/actor Matt Dyktynski), and they soon embark on an intense sexfest. They agree this is a temporary fling while Oliver’s wife is away. But the true course of rampant sex, fulfilling previously unsated fantasies, never did run smooth. As my plus one said: “Life is not a porno”.
But what happens if it becomes one?

The play brings into question both gender roles and stereotypes, and conventional expectations of men and women in relation to sex and marriage, and the cast teases out the dark shadows of the characters’ desires into the full force of daylight. Caldwell as Becky is enthralling, though her performance was a little self-conscious at times in contrast to Davies and Dyktynski. I felt the latters’ experience in naturalistic acting in film and TV meant they gave more authentic and relaxed performances here. And while there is an initial charm to their characters, the actors gradually reveal that John and Oliver aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Nor is Becky but Caldwell carefully explores the fact she is more aware that she is going through life pretending and feeling like an imposter in her own existence.

This production has a lot of simulated sex acts which it’s easy to be blasé about when we have easy access to so much internet and film porn. But theatre sex is different to filmed sex and not everyone will be comfortable with it. If that is you, perhaps just ask for tickets further up the back.

The Village Bike at Red Stitch is definitely worth seeing though because it keeps you talking and thinking long after the lights go down.

Venue: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Rear of 2 Chapel St, St Kilda East
Dates: Until March 5, 2016
Tickets: $25-$45
Booking: redstitch.net

Image by Jodie Hutchinson

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: INFERNO: A Double Bill

Two dark and hellish tales

By Myron My

It’s not as an easy thing to go and explore the darker side of your humanity. For most, it’s the potential repercussions of those actions that prevent us from going any further than a fleeting thought. Citizen Theatre, in association with 5pound theatre and Attic Erratic Theatre, present Inferno: A Double Bill, two distinctly different yet thematically similar plays that question what it is that makes us human and how far would we go to get what we want.

Inferno.JPG

The first play by Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe, Crestfall, follows three women living in a tough and brutal town who are dealing with the abuse and hardness that characterises their location. While the performances themselves by Freya Pragt, Marissa O’Reilly and Marissa Bennett are highly committed and convincing, it was very difficult to engage with and remain engaged with the show the whole time.

Although the material is harrowing, and it therefore becomes difficult at times to listen to the women’s stories, the main issue for me was that the actors do such a good job with the accents, that at times you miss out on what is being said while trying to understand the thick brogue. It doesn’t happen often but it happens enough that I found it prevents you from being completely absorbed by what is happening.

With a minimalist stage design of bare white walls and a white-painted ladder, an unfortunately ineffective lighting design, and – while not a fault of the show itself but more to do with the choice of venue – the noise coming from the Speakeasy occurring one floor above, it was very difficult to stay absorbed in this world and fully comprehend the plight these women faced.

After a short intermission, the second of the double bill, Ariel Dorfman’s Purgatorio is performed, which, to be perfectly frank, is brilliant. Directed by Celeste Cody, it has the markings of an Attic Erratic performance with its emphasis on creating flawed and authentic characters that drive the plot.

Purgatorio finds a couple that must atone for their sins and learn to forgive each other if they are to be set free. The intelligent stage design for the show helps build the isolation and uncertainty that the couple find themselves in. The audience is split in two, sitting on either end of the stage and with a black scrim screen between the two performers, there are substantial periods of times where you can only hear and not see the other performer.

Pragt returns as the Woman and is just as focused and committed as she was in Crestfall. There is a moment when Pragt is handling a knife, and watching how she held and interacted with it displayed the level of skill and nuance she has in allowing the character take her over. Jason Cavanagh as the Man manages to convey a broken figure who is devastated but at the same time angry at what has been done to him, and finds the perfect balance of difficult emotions in his portrayal. The interactions between the two are gripping throughout and demand our attention.

While both plays in Inferno: A Double Bill take a look at what it is that makes us be human and questions why we do the things we do, i found the overall production of Crestfall to be rather disappointing. It seems rely too much on the skills of its excellent actors and not enough on creating the environment and mood of the piece. Purgatorio, on the other hand, brings together a variety of theatrical devices and creates a unique and visceral theatre experience. 

Venue: L1 Studios, 1/377 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, 3000
Season: Until 14 February | Tues -Sun, Crestfall 7.15pm, Purgatorio 9pm
Tickets: Both shows: $42 Full | $38 Conc, Single show: $28 Full | $22 Conc
Bookings: Citizen Theatre

Cabaret, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Hoy Polloy Presents MEEKA

True crime meets fiction

By Narelle Wood

Meeka is a tale of fraud, deceit, arsen and a brutal attempt at murder told with all the straight-talking humour you would expect from a play set in the outback.

Meeka.jpg

The storyline focuses on a local school pricipal John (Kevin Summers) who is trying to do the best he can with his small isolated community school. However dealing with budgetary issues becomes a bigger burden than he had bargained for, especially when the city folk in the department send auditor Kevin (Keith Brockett) up to Meeka to check the school’s finances. John is not fooled by the apparent routineness of the audit and is determined to watch the Kevin’s every move. To complicate issues John’s relationship with his staff is on tenter hooks for a whole range of reasons, including issues of favouritism and power plays, that potentially implicate his staff in the alleged fraud. When Kevin arrives all seems to be going well, but bit by bit things slowly start to unravel ending with Kevin’s head blending profusely, Kevin claiming John tried to kill him, and John professing self defence. Under normal circumstances that would be a spoiler, however Meeka is based on a true crime, so the focus is not so much on the murder attempt but the events leading up to the heinous crime and who exactly is responsible.

The cast is full of wonderful Aussie archetypes: the straight-talking, no-holds-barred woman Eileen (Kelly Nash); the quintessential bloke PE teacher Tom (Liam Gillespie); the uptight English teacher Tiffany (Christina Costigan); and the primary school teacher Bec (Claire Pearson) with a hint of rebellion behind her caring demeanour. It is superbly cast, each performance complimenting Dan Walls‘ dialogue which is witty, and generally well paced. There was quite a colourful array of explicit language used throughout, sitting naturally alongside the very Australian twangs and colloquialisms of many of the characters. Under Shaun Kingma‘s direction there is complete authenticity to each of the performances, and the transitions between scenes are fast and make great use of the large space and simple sets.

If there was one thing that perhaps didn’t work as well for me was the middle section; it seemed to lag a little in comparison to the snappiness of the beginning and end. That aside, Meeka is a strangely funny take on some very dark subject matter; what makes the narrative work is the humour comes from the characters and not the situation. An exceptionally well-written and executed play.

Venue: Fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Season: Until 14th February, 8pm, 3pm Sundays
Tickets: Full $38
Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/events

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Bette & Joan:Bitch. Slut. Liar. Whore.

Fresh and fun, with the potential for more

By Myron My

These days, you just need to look at a cover of a magazine or access a website to be bombarded with Hollywood stories and gossip. Some might say it’s the price to pay for being in the industry, however in Bette & Joan: Bitch. Slut. Liar. Whore., writer and performer David Morris explores how this type of reporting is predominantly focused on women and how not much has actually changed since Hollywood’s golden era.

Bette & Joan.jpg

As she sneaks into her bedroom to escape a dreary party, Bette Davis (Morris) comes to find the real party is in her bedroom, as she finds thirty audience members in there. She begins to reminisce about her life and the lost loves she has encountered. Of course, one such as Davis cannot reminisce about her Hollywood life without an appearance by her infamous arch-nemesis Joan Crawford, brilliantly played by Tom Halls. Having two gay men portray these immortal Hollywood stars is an effective and clever idea in reminding the audience of the fact that men who behave in this way are rarely scrutinised or expected to justify themselves to anyone.

Accompanied by pianist Shanon Whitelock, the musical numbers are highly enjoyable with the title track “Bitch. Slut. Liar. Whore.” perfectly displaying the tension between the two actors. The re-imagining of popular iconic tracks such as “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé and “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa are a great way of having them express their own sexuality and their own desires rather than playing to the male gaze.

While the narrative touches on the struggles these women faced in order to make it in Hollywood, I feel more thought was required on how to tell this complex story. Some moments, such as when Bette is recalling her failed marriages, ultimately add very little to the overall direction of the show, and seem to be forgotten about as quickly as they are brought up. The finale unfortunately also doesn’t seem to add anything of substance to the profound themes being explored, and cutting it in length would have kept the story tighter and more focused.

Despite the emotional turmoil and sacrifices Bette had to endure in order to be considered “as good as” and “as talented as” men, for me the extravagant and somewhat over-the-top way that Morris plays Bette doesn’t quite correlate with the more subtle emotional impact of what is being said. Similarly, the dialogue between Bette and Joan when they question the way they were treated in Hollywood feels rather forced and doesn’t ring with conviction over what is being said.

Bette & Joan: Bitch. Slut. Liar Whore is a distinctly enjoyable show with great music and quite a few laughs, that is admirably attempting to depict the struggles that these female stars faced in the golden age of Hollywood. Had there been a deeper look at how this really affected them though, I feel sure the show could then have created something even more telling of gender, sexuality and celebrity antagonism in the society they lived in then, and the one we live in now.

Venue: La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday St, Carlton
Season: Until 7 February | Fri, Sun 8.30pm, Sat 10.15pm
Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc
 Bookings: La Mama Theatre

Image by Luke Warm

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Return Season of NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Seeking the adventure again

By Caitlin McGrane

The reimagined Hitchcock classic North by Northwest gets an excellent presentation at the Melbourne Arts Centre after its fantastically successful run in 2015.

North by Northwest 2.jpg

For those who don’t know, the story is that of Roger O. Thornhill (Matt Day), Madison Avenue advertising executive mistaken for the mysterious George Kaplan in The Plaza Hotel in New York; thus setting in motion a chain of events that takes Thornhill to the United Nations, Chicago, and Mount Rushmore. His partner in crime is Eve Kendall (Amber McMahon), an enigmatic femme fatale with whom Thornhill forms an instant connection on a train.

Writer Carolyn Burns and director Simon Phillips really have done a terrific job of bringing the classic film to the stage; Burns has successfully managed to tread the very fragile line between appreciating and replicating the original, especially given it is such a well-loved text. Hitchcock’s contemporality is appropriately heightened through clever direction from Phillips, so some of the uncomfortable and backwards politics of the 1950s can be seen through a modern lens.

The ensemble cast, comprised of Nicholas Bell, Ian Bliss, Lyall Brooks, Leon Cain, Sheridan Harbridge, Matt Hetherington, Tony Llewellyn-Jones, Gina Riley, Lucas Stibbard and Lachlan Woods are all clearly having a ball. Harbridge, Llewellyn Jones and Riley all delivered standout performances, providing just the right number of nods and winks to the audience and some truly excellent accents. It would perhaps have been nice to see more chemistry between the two leads, and it sometimes felt to me like McMahon’s Eve was not as self-assured as her silver screen counterpart. But these minor critiques did not hamper my enjoyment of their respective performances.

It would be extraordinarily remiss of me not to mention the exceptional creative work from the backstage team. Nick Schlieper’s lighting and set design were joyously clever and funny, Ian McDonald’s composition and sound design catapulted me back in time to my first screening of North by Northwest, while Josh and Jess Burns’ innovative and hilarious use of video really stole the show. I shall never see Mount Rushmore the same way ever again.

To have a bad time watching North by Northwest would be an extremely difficult thing, and while this may seem like damning with faint praise I really would be surprised if anyone came out of seeing this production feeling anything but contented. Sometimes what I need is a big sugary treat from the theatre, and North by Northwest delivered deliciously comforting familiarity in spades. This is the second time I’ve seen the production, and it is the combination of joy, self-awareness and fun that makes this such a pleasure to watch.

North by Northwest is now showing at The State Theatre at the Arts Centre until 13 February 2016. More information and tickets from: https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/theatre-drama/north-by-northwest-2016

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Bradley Storer in TRICKSTER

Deliciously dark

By Narelle Wood

Trickster is a cabaret stripped down and redressed to reveal the sinister side of the musical genre.

Trickster.jpg

Performed by Bradley Storer, the show begins in the shadows with a great rendition of Kate Bush’s “Babushka”, and then briefly hovers around the expected with some songs and jokes about sex. But just when I thought it was going to be a show based on easy laughs, Storer plunges head-first into the darkness of a number of insensitive topics. There are a few haunting arrangements of some popular songs to drive the insensitivities home: pop songs with a happy-go-lucky vibe all of a sudden take on an entirely new, and extremely menacing, meaning.

The song selection is a fascinating mix, from Aqua to Rage Against the Machine, with a brilliant mash up of Guns ‘N’ Roses and Judy Garland. Under the direction of Emma Clair Ford, Storer delivers some must-see moments; a tap dance that words could not possible describe and an execution of a Dresden Dolls ‘classic’ that borders on the sociopathic.

There are tasteless jokes touching on a whole range on taboo topics, but Storer seems to have found the line between funny and offensive, often acknowledging that he is pushing the boundaries of socially acceptable comedy. Some of the funniest moments come from Storer’s self-deprecating humour where he unabashedly voices what everybody is probably thinking. This, coupled with Storer’s interaction with the audience, makes the show charming despite the disturbing and sometimes ominous topics of choice.

Trevor Jones, the accompanist, provides a stellar performance on the piano, adding more to the show than the instrumental. Jones’ interactions with Storer, along with the lighting (provided on the night by Sam Duncan), work together to alter the mood of the show, sometimes instantaneously. There was one point that the lighting of Storer’s pale made-up skin was so eerie that we could have been watching a dead man singing on stage…

While the show purports to be a ‘dark-indie cabaret’, it is so much more; it’s also very funny and strangely cathartic. If you have an hour to spare, go indulge the more disturbed parts of your sense of humour and see Trickster.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: 8.30pm Until 7th Feb
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Meow Meow’s LITTLE MERMAID

Blithely bewitching cabaret

By Amy Planner

Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid is a quirky take on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale that looks into the modern gal’s plight for romance. This cabaret performance is a quest for love explored through music, a journey that discovers the two are sometimes unescapably intertwined and a tale that proves sometimes you’ll find it where you least expect it.

Meow Meow's Little Mermaid.jpg

 

With a little burlesque, a smidge o’ circus, a touch of mermaid-esque audience participation and a whole lot of cabaret, Meow Meow has created a truly original show based on an age-old tale.

Meow Meow is a real performer’s performer. She has a voice that would silence a riot and a performance capability that would have the rebels all in a conga line in no time. Comedy Director Cal McCrystal did a fantastic job keeping the hilarity rolling, and when paired with Meow Meow’s innate sense of farce, it was utterly entertaining.

Meow’s on stage lover, Chris Ryan, enters the show quite late but has the desired effect. He has an important charisma and deserves major kudos for singing wonderfully in German, not to mention pulling off some outrageous costume moments. Ryan had a subtle presence, but perhaps that was just in comparison to Meow Meow’s tremendous allure and sparkle that we know and love.

The flow of the cabaret style show was a little unsteady in parts: Meow Meow seemed to become so wrapped up in the audience’s favourable reception that there was a little rockiness created. However, it was barely a blip on the cabaret radar as the audience awaited the next unpredictably delightful moment.

The costuming by Anna Cordingley is unique and impressively well-fitted in Meow Meow’s case. She sparkled as she crowd-surfed over the unsuspecting audience, hung from the ceiling, wriggled and writhed in a net that swung over the stage, and hobbled around in a high heel and in a ballet toe point as her ‘land legs’ grew.

Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid is certainly not for the faint of heart, unless of course your heart is faint but in desperate need of a lesson on love and a night of superbly witty entertainment.

SHOW DETAILS
Venue: Merlyn Theatre, The Coopers Malthouse, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Season: 28 Jan – 14 Feb
Tickets: Adult $65, Senior $60, Concession $50, Student & Under 30s $35
Bookings: malthousetheatre.com.au

Image by Pia Johnston

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Christopher Bryant’s INTOXICATION

Theatre at internet speed

By Myron My

I still remember the excitement in my house when we signed up for dial-up Internet. It brought a new world into my living room with just a tap of the keyboard and a click of the mouse. Seventeen years later, the technological advances we have made have brought this virtual world closer to us, but has it pushed us further away from the real world? Presented as part of the 2016 Midsumma Festival, Christopher Bryant’s Intoxication raises questions about how our reliance on social media, dating apps and smart phones are hindering us from building honest and meaningful relationships with actual people.

Intoxication.jpg

The three performers – Ryan Forbes, Amy Hack and Bryant – each sit on an individual cube and, as if they are in a confessional, share their anxieties with us. Even though there is barely, if any, interaction between the three during these moments, the thoughts and emotions shared are very similar, building on Bryant’s idea that despite all having these tangible insecurities and feelings of loneliness, we seem to drive ourselves further away from reality and into the digital world, where we are free to project the life we wish we had and want the world (wide web) to see.

Forbes, Hack and Bryant are engaging on stage and the interactions they do share have a nice authenticity to them. Despite having similar concerns and worries about being alone and falling in love, they each bring individuality to their characters and stay committed to them the whole time.

Bryant is a talented and thoughtful writer and I would love to be able to read the script to Intoxication so I could fully comprehend everything that he has to say. Every line uttered has importance and carries much weight, however the delivery is so fast and non-stop that when you take a second to contemplate what is being said, you’ve already missed the next two lines of dialogue and find yourself trying to keep up with the performers. There are a few musical interludes to help even out the pace but they feel slightly out of place in their current execution.

Intoxication has many home truths it puts forth to the audience, and I found myself agreeing countless times and seeing myself in the thoughts and emotions expressed by characters. However, allowing the audience to reflect on these thoughts during the show, as well as after, would create stronger emotional connections between the viewers and these characters, and thus produce an even stronger impact from the production overall.

Venue: La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton
Season: until 7 February | Wed – Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4pm
Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc
Bookings: La Mama Theatre