Category: Whats On

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Whats On

REVIEW: Nick Hedger in CRAP I FOUND IN MY ROOM

Promising cabaret just needs a little tidying

By Christine Moffat

Crap I Found In My Room is a cabaret about a young man leaving home: or more precisely, a young man being asked nicely by his parents to move out.  Writer/performer Nick Hedger presents an idea that seems to be a very personal story, but gives it a wide appeal.  Many people have lived through the slightly traumatic move from childhood home into ‘the world’ – or have at least considered it…

Crap I Found In My RoomHedger has transformed the small theatre at The Butterfly Club into (this reviewer guesses) a stage version of his actual bedroom. The space (including the seats) is strewn with laundry, boxes, laptops etc, plus countless toys.  It looks like Gen-Y beat up Toys’R’Us.

These objects really gave the show a sense of place, but Hedger only interacted with a few objects.  To make ‘his stuff’ and the show’s title more meaningful perhaps he needed to use a few more of them more as props, and not just as set pieces.  The same feeling may have been achieved by having a few less objects visible and using more packing boxes: pulling things out of boxes suggests volume, without creating audience expectations that visible props be used.

However, a great moment of meaningful use of props was a funny segment involving a Magic 8 ball.  Hedger’s interaction with the audience and the Magic 8 ball really worked because cabaret is essentially about connection, and Hedger gave the audience something immediate and unique.

The writing is a great strength of this show. It is written as a combination of universal experience and personal testimony.  However, for this reviewer, overall the script feels a bit too obvious.  The mood changes and corresponding tone of songs are too defined when moving through a fairly straightforward narrative.  Mixing upbeat and sombre songs more elegantly and breaking out of the predictable flow would have given the finale a nice sense of discovery and surprise, as the finish felt a little soft and unresolved.  That being said, Hedger did still close the show with pathos and depth, suggesting real growth in his character.

Hedger has a great voice and in such a small venue can safely throw away his microphone.  Some of the songs involved rather too much prior music-theatre knowledge to truly get the jokes, but Hedger’s original songs and some of his pop interpretations were fabulous.  This show has a great premise, and Hedger has an engaging stage presence.  If you aren’t currently trying to gently shuck your own teenager from their room like an oyster from its shell, this show will definitely entertain you.  If you are, it’ll be great therapy!

Aug 1st – 4th, Fri-Sat 9pm / Sun 8pm

The Butterfly Club: Carson Place (just off Little Collins Street in CBD)

www.thebutterflyclub.com

A Magnetic Hand production

Directed by Jon Stephens

Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Reunion at THE BUTTERFLY CLUB

Clash of an ex-high school quartet

By Myron My

Reunion

In the short play Reunion, four friends organise a catch-up to see what life has been like for each since they graduated from high school five years previously. We meet best friends, Charlie and Phil (Gabriel Bergmoser and Finn Gilfedder-Cooney), Charlie’s ex-girlfriend Sophie (Ashley Tardy), and Jane (Kayla Symons), who seems to be harbouring some strong animosity towards the group. As the evening progresses and the shots are downed, secrets are revealed and the tense friendships are tested even further.

Bergmoser, who is also the writer of Reunion, has created some highly entertaining dialogue between Charlie and Phil. Their rapport is very believable and easily establishes the long-time relationship between the two friends. Both Bergmoser and Gilfedder-Cooney also do extremely well in then bringing Charlie and Phil to life. By contrast, I was disappointed with the dialogue and characterisation of Jane and Sophie. I felt more work was needed to give these two women more depth and emotion.

Unfortunately the story of Reunion is also a bit disjointed and underdeveloped, so when it’s revealed why Jane is so angry with the group, I couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated. As an audience member, you are racking your brain throughout the play trying to determine what Jane’s issue could be, and when the reason comes out, my first thought was ‘Is that it?’

The lighting and sound design by Boden Lee Tennant worked effectively in creating the fluctuating atmosphere and I enjoyed the way the sound worked to set the environment for each scene. In fact it was so appealing, I would have liked this to have been continued throughout, with some traffic noises for scenes set outside or water running in the bathroom.

Reunion is a good attempt at character investigation and interaction: although there are still some creases that need to be ironed out, there is great potential for this show should the narrative and relationships be explored further to allow these characters to reach their full potential.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (entry via Carson Place), Melbourne

Season: Sunday 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th August | 9:30pm

Tickets: $23 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Musical Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Jemma Rix with David Young in THE RANDOM VARIETY

Wicked star braves the cabaret stage

By Bradley Storer

Introduced by her accompanist David Young, Jemma Rix, the recently-announced Elphaba for the new Australian production of Wicked, took to the stage of The Butterfly Club with a shy but toothy grin. Here she launched into a wonderful original song investigating the meaning behind the title of the show and ending in a medley of countless tunes shouted out on the spot by Young.

Jemma Rix

A misstep was following this rollicking song with the Eagles’ sombre ‘Hotel California’, an odd choice which drained the energy she’d built up in her first tune. For the first part of the evening Rix was clearly nervous and had trouble maintaining eye contact with her audience – not such a big problem for musical theatre but difficult for the intimacy of cabaret. She asked the audience’s forgiveness for her understandable nerves in her first outing as a cabaret performer.

After seeming a little unsure of herself through the first few pop songs on the set list, resorting to a few stock pop-singer stage moves at some points, one could almost feel her give an internal sigh of relief when she reached the first show tunes of the night – a winning combination of Stephen Schwartz’s ‘Beautiful City’ and Sondheim’s ‘Another Hundred People’, with Schwartz’s idealistic vision of a ‘city of men’ bringing out a surprising beauty in Sondheim’s bleak landscape of urban alienation.

The first moment where it felt Rix truly connected with her audience was with the song ‘With You’ from the musical Ghost – here her inhibitions melted away  and I felt transported as Rix brought us into the heartbreaking grief of losing a loved one, and from here on out she was on solid ground. Once her nerves were gone, Rix revealed herself as a charming and engaging performer, along with her voice of startling power and floating delicacy.

The later half of the evening brought some surprising and rewarding choices in repertoire. Rix informed us of her uproarious idea of a Romeo and Juliet juke-box musical based around the music of Rihanna (the only thing lacking were some daggy dance moves!). Her banter about the plight faced by youth today in an environment pervaded by cyber-bullying led into a brilliant fusion of ‘Quiet’ from Tim Minchin’s Matilda with David Guetta’s ‘Titanium’ that held the entire audience spell-bound.

A promising first show from an established music-theatre performer which assures us of great things for her cabaret future! 

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (enter off 5 Carson Place), Melbourne City

Dates & Times: 23rd, 24th, 28th at 8pm, 25th, 26th, 27th at 9pm.

Tickets: Full $28, Concession $25, Group $23, Tightarse Tuesday $20.

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com , 9663 8107 or at the door.

Events, Musical Theatre, Opera, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Victorian Opera’s SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Simply – see this

By Bradley Storer

Victorian Opera undertakes a gargantuan challenge, both technically and artistically, with their production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

This Pulitzer Prize-winning exploration of the life of French artist Georges Seurat and his painting ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grand Jatte’, and the life of his fictional descendants, indelibly changed the landscape of the Broadway musical when it premiered in 1984, and the shadow of the original production is hard to escape. An opera company attempting to mount the musical presents even more challenges, given the fundamental differences between the art forms.

I can happily say that Victorian Opera has risen to the challenge and exceeded it spectacularly. The set design alone, inherently important to the meaning of the show, is astonishing. A simple bare scaffold  and a winding staircase unfolds into a continual array of surprising and delightful scenes – trees, buildings, sketches and pieces of George’s work fly in and out, all contained within a frame that resembles the outline of an artwork.

Alexander Lewis as the artist Georges Seurat brings a humanity, vulnerability and anguish to the role, as well as a flawless operatic tenor voice – for this reviewer, he lacked the fire and intensity at times needed to believe him as a visionary artist, but this is a small complaint. Christina O’Neill as his lover Dot overplayed her sensuality and sexuality at the beginning to a strident degree, but in the character’s more reflective moments she was perfection, and as this quality became more pronounced over the course of the show O’Neill created a strong and heart-breaking character who, more so than even George, is the soul of the show.

Nancye Hayes as George’s mother is hilariously understated and her Act One duet with Lewis ravishes with its delicate loveliness. The ensemble of Sunday, a mix of musical theatre and opera singers, are uniformly strong, all bringing hilarious and touching characterizations . The finale of Act One, the culmination of George’s work in assembling his masterpiece, is a glorious tribute to the power of art to create meaning in the human condition.

Having attended a panel discussion with the artistic team for Sunday, it is clear that this is a labour of love from an ensemble of artists that have enormous respect for the work and a singular vision for its creation. Here this union creates a magnificent production, a stunning and original artistic vision expertly executed and a triumph for all involved.

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

Dates:    Sat 20 , Tue 23, Wed 24, Thur 25, Fri 26, Sat 27 July at 7.30pm and Wed 24, Sat 27 July at 1:00pm

Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com, Ph: 1300 182 183

Comedy, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Evgeny Shwarz’s THE DRAGON

Comedy trio Tripod spread their draconian wings

By Ross Larkin

Corruption. Power. Denial. Oppression… Sound amusing? Well, it is.

Toby Schmitz has adapted Evgeny Schwarz’s 1944 satirical play The Dragon into a modern theatrical feast of fiery wit and cleverly apt and poignant dialogue.

From the outset, some skepticism is understandable. Has director, Marion Potts, created a fairy tale? A pantomime? A musical? It’s a little hazy. Soon after, however, it really doesn’t matter.

TheDragon

Melbourne’s ingenious comic trio Tripod (Scott Edgar, Steven Gates and Simon Hall) have not only written the music for the piece, they also perform their catchy soundtrack while portraying the good guy onlookers as well as the contrasting evil three-headed dragon – one hilarious head each.

Sir Lancelot (played with gorgeous charm by Jimi Bani) arrives in a small village to slay said dragon and relieve its inhabitants of the oppression and control inflicted by their so-called ‘almighty’, while rescuing a fair maiden (Nikki Shiels), condemned to wed the manipulative beast.

However, the brainwashed town and its foolishly egocentric and impressionable mayor (the ever-impressive Kym Gyngell), are under the illusion the dragon is to be worshipped as their all-knowing leader, and remain under its spell, oblivious to their repressed existence, and therefore resistant to Lancelot’s quest.

In an Orwellian struggle to revolutionise a totalitarian-wracked culture (coincidently, or more likely deliberately, in line with current Australian politics), Schmitz’s impressively astute and often poetic dialogue, meshed with Tripod’s loveable commentating music and lyrics, is a delightful merry-go-round of tension and fun.

Perched on a very effective revolving set, The Dragon is confronting, thought-provoking, amusing and highly satisfying, thanks to a brilliant script and soundtrack, not to mention a delightfully talented cast.

The Dragon is playing now until July 26, 2013.
Wed to Sat 7.30pm, Sat 2.00pm matinee,
Sun 5.00pm, Tues July 23 at 6.30pm.

The Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Melbourne.

Bookings on (03) 9685 5111 or at www.malthousetheatre.com.au

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

REVIEW: The Stand-Up Experience Present EXIT LAUGHING

Stand up and make us laugh!

By Deborah Langley

What can you learn in a week? Well, according to Stand Up Comedy coach Robert Grayson, you can learn how to be more confident, make people laugh and potentially launch a national comedy career.

On Sunday night, I went along to The Last Laugh Comedy Club to see what all the fuss is about.

You Stand Up

For the week prior to this performance, nine aspiring comedians took the plunge into Robert Grayson’s one-week intensive stand-up comedy workshop. This step-by-step introduction, for beginners or intermediates, promises to take participants to a whole new comic level and give an anxiously awaiting audience of supporting friends and family a night of belly laughs at the end of the week.

Firstly, my congratulations go out to all the performers. Truly one of the scariest things you can ever do is present your own words in front of a group of people in the hopes that they will find you funny. I’ve done it myself and can honestly say that all the performers I saw on Sunday night did an amazing job.

Some highlights for me were fresh-faced 27-year-old Ben who brilliantly told of getting carded and not being about to pick up because he looks like a 12-year-old; NT tough man, Wing who had some of the most ‘un-tasteful’ jokes I’ve heard in a long time – but made the audience laugh nonetheless; and bed salesman Sam who looked so natural on stage that he’s sure to have a future in the stand-up game.

As this was a workshop demonstration I will leave my performance review there – hit and miss jokes, but a fun night to support your friends.

Unfortunately, if we are going to review the experience as a whole, the sentiment starts to fall down. As someone who had never made it up the stairs to The Last Laugh, it was extremely hard to find, and I actually ended up in a HillSong Church Service (weird) because there was no signage and no information to help people find their way. Once in the right place we, the audience, had to wait almost half an hour after the scheduled start time to see anyone up on stage: a frustration made much worst by having to be subjected to blaring heavy metal music for almost all of that time. After 30mins of the successful and not-so-successful gags and far too much stage time by the Comedy Coach himself, we were given an intermission, which was not needed and was basically taken as an invitation for people who had already seen their friends to leave.

Disappointing, because it had all the makings to be an easy-to-find, laid-back environment for a really great on- hour gig with some cringe moments and some genuine laughs – perfect for friends and family showing support, and the general public after a cheap night of entertainment which some unexpected big laughs – exactly what you would expect from a ‘open mic’-style show.

For more information about the comedy workshop check out the website www.youstandup.com and give yourself the chance to make people laugh at all the silly things that go through your head.

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Greyhound Hotel and HOLY SHIP! The Stage Show

Camp musical comedy is making waves

By Myron My

Set during the 1920s, Holy Ship! is a loose combination of love story and ode to the perils of being at sea. However, life on board ship and the romance between Bonnie (Danae Vincent) and Charlie (James Traille) is not why we’re here. Holy Ship! is about fun, and with all the songs, dances, burlesque, circus acts, tap dancing and flesh on display, it would be very difficult not to have plenty of it here.

The majority of Holy Ship! is about being camp, naughty and sexy. Yet our narrator and Captain of the ship, Andy Balloch did create a beautiful a cappella moment that really echoed the loneliness of life at sea, and Vincent – in particular – and Traille owned their songs convincingly, and with seemingly little effort.

Holy Ship! 2

Despite these strong voices however, I did feel the ballads were misplaced in this production overall. There is little character development and I found it difficult to care about the central relationship beyond a superficial level, and was eager to return to the cheeky and more dynamic performance elements.

The merman scene for example, performed by Mr. Boylesque 2012 Raven, was a great addition, allowing the show the opportunity to surprise, stun and reel us back in. Furthermore, the tap-dance number, and the silk and the rope routines were nicely spaced-out and offered something different and visually engaging for the audience to enjoy.

Ian Knowles has clearly put in some hard work with the choreography and on the whole, the dancers have great control and remain in perfect rhythm in their Charleston-inspired numbers. As there is not much in terms of set, the atmosphere created by the live band, and the period costuming and make-up allow the speakeasy era to make itself clearly present throughout the show.

Holy Ship! is the largest show in 150 years that the Greyhound Hotel has hosted and it’s easy to see why. There is nothing small about this production: everything is large, loud and showy but more importantly, the show is sexy, enjoyable and fathoms of fun.

Venue: Greyhound Hotel, 1 Brighton Rd, St Kilda

Season: Until 13 July | 8:00pm

Tickets: $35 Full | $25 Conc

Bookings: www.holyshiptix.com & at the door

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Comedy, Dance, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Revolt Productions Presents TWO POUND PARLOUR

Vegas vaudeville – with a twist

By Myron My

Set in post-apocalyptic Vegas, Miss Friby’s Two Pound Parlour showcases a variety of dance, burlesque, cabaret, vaudeville and all those things in between.  With live music from Rapskallion, it’s a sexy – and sometimes messy – two-hour rollercoaster of fun for the audience.

Two Pound Parlour

Our MC for the evening, Miss Friby (Elizabeth Dawson-Smith) wins the audience over with her conflicting nature throughout the show. She is charismatic yet vulgar, charming yet rude, confident yet insecure. She definitely has the ability to lead this raucous evening with style, and she does it with much ease.

All of Miss Friby’s girls, Trailor De’Lamore, Zaire De Congo, Loreal Disastre and Lady Steponhe show impeccable commitment to their roles in every skit, dance and performance number. The standout of the night for me was Lady Steponhe, with her excellent comedic timing and remarkable physical fitness that allowed her to pull off such amazing routines.

The highlights of Two Pound Parlour included “Heaven In A Box” by Steponhe, which had the audience in stitches, the stomping-dance routine led by Zaire and the kissing skit/song between Trailor and Steponhe. All the dance numbers were varied and engaging to watch, however, I felt the skit/performance aspect of Two Pound Parlour was sometimes a disappointment, such as the Vegas wedding and Loreal’s rendition of “Not In A Gay Way”.

There were a few sound and mic issues, such as hearing the performers when we shouldn’t be and not being able to hear them when we should.  As great as the band was, there were moments where their sound overpowered the singing of the ladies on stage and made it difficult to hear the lyrics.

As creator of Two Pound Parlour, Dawson-Smith’s dedication and hard work has clearly come through and has put together an enjoyable show that has something to suit all – as long as you have a naughty side to explore…

Venue: Revolt Productions, 12 Elizabeth Street Kensington

Season: Until 14 July | 7:30pm, Fri-Sat 10:15pm

Tickets: $35 Full | $30 Conc

Bookings: http://revoltproductions.com

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: The Production Company Presents GYPSY

Everything’s coming up up roses

By Bradley Storer

The Production Company brings together a star-studded cast in this presentation of what can be described as the greatest musical in the American tradition. Like a musical version of King Lear, Gypsy presents the tale of Mama Rose as she fights, batters and tramples all the obstacles in the way of propelling her two daughters to stardom, even as they resist and try to escape her iron grip.

Caroline OConnor

Christina Tan as the young girl who grows up to be the eponymous Gypsy Rose Lee, is perfect as both the boyish, plain Louise at the beginning of the show, looking adorably innocent in her baggy oversized clothes, as well as the glamorous and seductive burlesque star that she becomes over the course of the narrative. However, in the strip tease sequence in Act Two (which illustrates Gypsy’s rise to her full potential as well as to stardom) Tan does not fully embody the burgeoning self-confidence and realisation that would bridge the gap between the two sides of the character.

Gemma-Ashley Kaplan as Baby June, Rose’s favoured child, brings both perkiness, a bright piercing belt and an underlying exhaustion to the role – her younger counterpart is equally amazing, possibly more so in some of her dances! Nathan Pinnell as the dancer who runs away with her steals the show with just one song and a brilliant choreographed dream ballet (choreography by Andrew Hallsworth).

The brilliant Caroline O’Connor is a phenomenon as Mama Rose, bringing layer upon layer to this larger-than-life character. This is a woman so consumed by her dreams and fantasy of stardom (vicariously lived out through her daughters) that she is hopelessly disconnected from everyone around her, most of all her family. In every one of Baby June’s dances we see Mama Rose flitting in and out of the background and off to the side of the stage repeating the choreography; whenever she by chance enters the spotlight her face breaks out in with unadulterated pleasure that is simultaneously comic and pathetic. O’Connor’s characterization brings to mind those other great tragic characters of American literature, Willy Loman and Blanche DuBois, both sustained and eventually destroyed by their dreams.

Matt Hetherington as Herbie, her lover/business partner is quite subdued, but the pair have a sweetness that makes the disintegration of their relationship as a result of Rose’s ambition all the more poignant – here Hetherington shines with a quiet dignity.

Gale Edwards brings an expansive directorial vision to this great American musical, emphasising how all these characters, whether or not they are onstage, are performers – acting out their own internal fantasies or forced to live inside a role that has been thrust on them by someone.

Venue: The State Theatre, The Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd

Dates: Sat July 6th/Wed 10th/Thur 11th/Fri 12th/Sat 13th at 7:30pm; Sat July 6th/Sat 13th at 2pm; Sun July 7th/Sun 14th at 3pm

Prices: From $23 (C Reserve U18) to (A Reserve) $115

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

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Jessamae St James is TIED UP

Bending and bonding over cabaret

By Myron My

It’s always a risky move when a performer takes an unsuspecting audience member on stage and makes him get down on all fours so she can sit on him. But when that audience member is your reviewer, you better damn well hope you have a great show to move on with!

Tied Up

Fortunately, burlesque performer Jessamae St James does have just that, and in the context of her show my participation was quite – er – tame… As part of this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Tied Up looks at fetishes and BDSM, including ‘forniphilia’ – a form of bondage and sexual objectification in which a person’s body (namely mine) is incorporated into a piece of furniture.

Wearing a black, body-hugging corset, St James easily captures the audience’s attention as she talks and sings her way through some more lesser-known but just as intriguing fetishes. Once the sometimes lengthy monologue describing each fetish is completed St James breaks into a song and this is where she truly does shine.

Her voice is sultry and seductive, and appropriately, she nails each and every number she sings. Moreover, St James is joined on stage by an amazing four-piece jazz band whose skill and talent take the musical aspect of this show to a whole new level.

St James does create a highly intimate and sensual environment overall, but considering the obvious impact of the music and her vocal ability, I feel less talking and more songs would have kept the enjoyment level of this show at a maximum.

I must als0 admit I would have liked to have been confronted even more with Tied Up. St James is discussing some highly sexual and often taboo themes and it would have been great to see her push some of those boundaries herself on stage, which I am sure she would be capable of doing, given her exciting performance history.

Having said that, Tied Up is still a highly entertaining show, I made a particularly fine stage seat, and I’m certainly keen to see where St James dares to go from here…

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (entry via Carson Place), Melbourne

Season: Until 7 July | Sat 7:00pm, Sun 6:00pm.

Tickets: $28 Full | $25 Conc

Bookings: http://melbournecabaret.com