Category: Whats On

Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Attic Erratic Presents TRIPPED

Significant, simmering theatre

By Myron My

Two men have each tripped a landmine; if either step off, they run the risk of blowing themselves apart. One is an Australian soldier trying to protect his country and the other is a Muslim civilian trying to protect his family. In Attic Erratic’s latest production for the 2014 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Tripped, these two men begin to realize that perhaps their differences are not so polarised after all.

Tripped

Nick Musgrove’s script is intense, and from early on my mind was racing as to how this was all going end. Although I did not artistically agree with the ending and found it somewhat self-indulgent, it was still unexpected and organic and drove home the issues of who exactly is the enemy and what do we fight for.

My other issue with Tripped was the role of the priest (Liam O’Kane). As a priest, the character seemed completely unaware of the gravity of the situation in which he found himself, and it felt like he was being played for comic relief rather than as a person whose helicopter has just crashed and killed seven men and who is caught in a war zone .

Overall though, Celeste Cody continues to impress with her direction, ensuring the tone and impact of the script remains constant as it is comes to life on stage. With the actors’ movements obviously limited, Cody ensures that engagement with the audience is maintained through other avenues, including the lighting and sound effects.

Angus Brown does a great job as Australian soldier Norm. He manages to show a human, troubled side to a character that could have easily just been an ignorant “jock” soldier if  given to the wrong actor. However, it is Ezel Doruk who really shines as Ahmed, the “rag head” civilian who gets caught in the crossfire. His performance of a man who falls victim to his circumstances and faith was emotive and raw. I thoroughly enjoyed the tête-à-tête between the two as the story built up to its dramatic conclusion.

With the recent news of terror arrests and killings happening in Australia, this is a timely reminder on how easily it is to get caught up in the propaganda of fighting a war we know or understand very little about. Tripped is yet another exciting topical piece of theatre by Attic Erratic – good writing, strong direction and gripping performances.

Venue: Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne

Season: Until 4 October | 6:30pm

Tickets: $24 Full | $19 Conc

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

Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Ghost Light and Moving Light Productions’ CARRIE: THE MUSICAL

Things will get bloody…

By Margaret Wieringa

Initially, the tale known by most as a horror film from the seventies seems like an odd choice for a musical. But, at the heart of Stephen King’s novel Carrie is the story of a girl who is oppressed by her mother and tormented by her peers until she breaks. The twist, as most people know, is that she has telekinetic powers, and wreaks a brutal revenge of those who have hurt her. Carrie: The Musical deals a story so epic it could have been an opera.

Carrie The Musical

The show begins with a musical number that shows off the talents of the strong supporting cast. The busy and eye-catching choreography by Lisa Minett draws the audience into the world of the musical as well as the angst of high school. When Emily Milledge enters, she brings all of the awkward misfit elements of Carrie and even when the beautiful swan emerges, she retains a hint of the fearful girl within. The duets between Carrie and her mother, played by Chelsea Gibb, are intense and passionate. It really is a cast of strong female performers, with Chernae Howlett also capturing the deep nastiness of Chris Hargensen as she manipulates those around her, and sets out to ruin Carrie’s life.

The stand-out performance, however, came from Hollie James as Sue Snell. Easily able to hold the stage on her own, she showed all the poignant sweetness and kindness the character required. Her duet with Jack O’Riley playing Billy Ross at the start of the second act was delightful.

Clearly, it was going to be a challenge to have objects flying around and the utter destruction of a whole town shown on stage – especially the small stage at Chapel Off Chapel. However, director Terence O’Connell and his excellent production crew really make a little go a long way. While the explosive scene at the prom is quite short, the combination of the sound and lighting with clever choreography gave it the intensity to be extremely effective. The solid musical accompaniment of the band helmed by David Piper allowed the cast to shine throughout, especially during this dramatic finale.

Carrie: The Musical is the debut production for Ghost Light, a company that aims to present premieres of musicals locally, as well as creating new musical and physical theatre. They have certainly started with a bang, and will be worth keeping an eye on.

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel,
Season: 25 September – 12 October, Wednesday – Saturday 8pm, Saturday matinee 4th and 11th October 2pm, Wednesday matinee 8th October 1pm, Sunday 6pm
Tickets: $49.50 Full, $39.50 Concession and groups of 10+
Bookings: http://chapeloffchapel.com.au/

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

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Hedger and Nicholson’s HOOK UP

Utter delight

By Myron My

15% were single, 15% were seeing someone and 70% were in a relationship – these were the audience statistics taken by Nick Hedger on the evening I attended his 2014 Fringe Festival show, Hook Up. It seemed fitting seeing as the show is a cabaret about relationships and what makes them work (or not work).

Hook Up

Written by Hedger and Ben Nicholson and performed on the piano by the talented Hedger, the diverse range of songs throughout Hook Up showcase the talent of these two men and it’s no surprise they won the Short + Sweet Fringe Development Award last year for this show. With the use of his magic piano and inspired by some real-life stories by friends, Hedger places four people in various relationship scenarios to see how they respond to their circumstances.

The four actors/singers, Michelle Brasier, Josh Ellwood, Vincent Milesi and Laura Johnston each have a brilliant stage presence. Every relationship they portray seems genuine and memorable, and considering they only have a few minutes within each scenario, this is no easy feat. They are able to display the humour and emotion that plays in every real relationship and the connection they have with each other when they’re singing is beautiful both to watch and to listen to as they blend together harmoniously (literally and figuratively).

Josh Ellwood’s fantastic song as a lonely nerd searching for his Pikachu is stuck firmly in my mind, and the homage to 90s video games was a great touch. Similarly, Milesi’s opening number had me in stitches and the duet between Brasier and Johnston and their word games therapy was great to watch.

I walked out of Hook Up grinning from ear to ear and it’s hard to believe this is the Hedger and Nicholson’s first show as a writing team. With its skillful lyrics, amazing voices and a script full of laughs, there is nothing to not like about this show.

Venue: Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne

Season: Until 26 September | 10:15pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $20 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