Category: Whats On

Comedy, Events, Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On May 16, 2013May 16, 2013

REVIEW: Legally Blonde – The Musical

Omigod, you guys – Lucy Durack is the new pink!

By Kim Edwards

Appropriately playing at The Princess Theatre (that has enjoyed a facelift in pink lighting for the occasion), Legally Blonde – The Musical has opened in Melbourne. Based on the 2001 Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy, Elle Woods, a beautiful blonde sorority girl from Malibu, is dumped by her boyfriend and decides following him into Harvard law is the only solution for winning him back. It’s fluffy, frivolous, decidedly fuchsia – and wonderfully good fun.

Lucy Durack as Elle is simply effervescent: that beautiful lucid voice and irrepressible vivaciousness on stage is coupled with astute comic timing and delicate character nuances. The effect? Irresistible! Rob Mills does a sound job as Elle’s smarmy ex, Warner, and his song ‘Serious’ is a musical highlight. Cameron Daddo is svelte and smooth as predatory Professor Callahan, while Helen Dallimore comes into her own by the second act when she lets loose as Elle’s new best friend Paulette, and Mike Snell is uproariously funny in his cameo as sexy delivery man Kyle. However, it is David Harris who wins the most hearts as scruffy love interest Emmett Forrest: his disarming naturalism forms an appealing contrast to the high theatricality of the rest of the cast.

For this is definite musical comedy, from the cheer-leading dance moves and cute Barbie doll sets to the scene-stealing antics of Bruiser the purse puppy and Rufus the bulldog. Most of the changes made to get the movie onto the stage are admirable, with new topical jokes and witty lyrics: the opening number ‘Omigod You Guys’ and the cheeky ‘Is He Gay or European?’ are both hilarious and endearing. Less successful is the rather awful title song, the problematic implications of the infamous ‘bend and snap’ technique, and the rather silly plot developments in Act Two, whereby we are left wondering what Elle has actually accomplished for her career and her gender if the legal system and ‘real world’ outside of Delta Nu proves to be as ridiculous and sexist as sorority life.

However, these minor quibbles ultimately do not detract from the merits of this particular Australian production. Legally Blonde – The Musical is pretty in pink, joyously energising, and sparklingly funny. The costumes aren’t always as visually exciting as one might hope, but there is plenty of colour and spectacle, elegant and fluid scene changes, excellent character work from the rest of the cast – and Lucy Durack. Come prepared to fall a little bit in love with this show – and a lot in love with its leading lady.

Legally Blonde is now playing at The Princess Theatre in Melbourne. Tickets are available online through Ticketmaster or ph: 1300 111 011.

Comedy, Events, Performances, Review, Whats On May 15, 2013May 15, 2013

REVIEW: Michael Burke and CUBEHEAD

A show that thinks outside the square

By Myron My

In Cubehead, Michael Burke creates two characters, each with their own existential crisis. One is the eponymous extra-terrestrial Cubehead, and the second is… well, Michael Burke.

Burke fuses the stories of two very different beings as they search for something more to life than what’s just around them. The respective narratives were strong but the transitions between Cubehead and Burke’s tales were a little awkward.

Initially the device was quite humorous, but continually having a recording advising the audience when to open and close their eyes to allow Burke to prepare for the next scene forced us to come out of the experience and reminded us that we are watching a show.

The pre-recorded narration also posed an issue with pace and flow in Cubehead. At times, Burke would be standing on stage, waiting for the narration to be completed before continuing on with the show. Even though he would sometimes be waiting in character, it was very difficult as an audience member to remain engaged with the performance in this way.

However, there are some genuinely funny moments scattered throughout, and a good level of creativity (seeing what Burke can do with some old Nokias was a highlight).

Naturally, Burke seemed very relaxed and more comfortable when he was himself, especially when reminiscing about the ten-day silent ‘retreat’ he went on. The people he met there and things he experienced had us all intrigued and could easily have been a show on its own.

Cubehead is not a performance where the laughs are fast and loud: Burke is not jumping around being wildly animated and attention-seeking. He has a quiet persona on stage and it is ultimately his subtle and intelligent humour that wins the audience over. This is a gentle comedy show that will have you thinking (and surprised four times). Oh – and bring a Furby…

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

Season: Until 19 May | 9:00pm, Sun 8:00pm

Tickets: $23 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

Circus, Events, Review, Theatre, Whats On May 14, 2013May 14, 2013

REVIEW: Fear & Love & Clowns at THE MALTHOUSE

You think you know clowning…?

By Myron My

Fear & Love & Clowns is the first production from Fear & Love, a group of five soon-to-be graduate actors from the Victorian College of the Arts. Using clowning at its most fundamental level, we follow the story of four clowns who find themselves embroiled in a villainous plot.

There is a nice blend of slapstick and pantomine in this show: the characters bumble and stumble and fall, and sometimes the humour does get a little crass. However, there is great heart to the story which is told mainly through mime. The five actors – Alistair Frearson, Chelsea Zeller, Emil Freund, Tristsan Barr and Michael Gosden – successfully develop the narrative through animated and dynamic movement, gestures and facial expressions.

Furthermore, the performers display a high level of character physicality and give great individuality to their roles. Personally, I found Frearson to be quite exceptional in his clowning persona, as was Freund as the ‘straight’ clown. Frearson was also particularly strong as the villain of the piece, and really did create some genuinely tense moments with his evil doings.

Fear&Love&Clowns has solid direction, and a great production team behind it with Jackson Trickett on lighting and Bart Welch on sound with the latter’s vocal effects adding much to the show. On a performance level, whilst the energy generally remained high, it did waver occasionally with a few flat moments here and there. The cast and crew have done their best to keep the action short and pumping, but perhaps these moments still need addressing.

Fear & Love have attempted to engage their audience not only as observers but as participants in openly reacting to what we seeing – which is not hard when we’re offered themes such as sex, revenge and murder. Yes, this is still just clowning at heart, but it is a very different type of clown show – especially with an ending that would make Stephen King’s IT proud…

Venue: Tower Theatre, The Malthouse, 113 Sturt St, Southbank.

Season: Until 18 May | 7:00pm

Tickets: $28

Bookings: http://www.malthousetheatre.com.au or 9685 5111

Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On May 11, 2013

REVIEW: Amity Dry in MOTHER, WIFE AND THE COMPLICATED LIFE

Reality TV star turns music theatre mum

By Jessica Cornish

Swapping her reno boots for stage shoes, Amity Dry the 2013 Block All Stars winner has written and produced her premiere musical comedy, Mother, Wife and The Complicated Life, exploring the not-so-glamorous side of motherhood and marriage.

Following the lives of four female friends, we learn how each woman is struggling to juggle her own situation. Kate (played by Amity) finds herself pregnant to a man she has only been with six months, and feels that motherhood is consistently beyond her.

Meanwhile, Lily (Rosanne Hosking) is believed to have the perfect marriage but business finds her relationship crumbling, Jessie (Rachel McCall) is the young newlywed bridezilla who is determined to maintain her sex life and not become a boring grumpy mother, and finally Bec (Nikki Aitken, who stole the show) provides comic relief as she gets on with all the everyday, thankless tasks that a mother just does.

Disappointingly, the production side of the show struggled at this venue. Several audio cues were missed, leaving cast talking without amplification, and the lighting was poorly focused, creating patchy dark spots across the stage. Some of the staging was odd whereupon on numerous occasions the cast were performing with their back to the audience: it would have been nice to see their faces rather than their back sides.

However, don’t get me wrong! The crowd really loved this show: the audience were consistently laughing and cheering through the performance, so I don’t think they were affected by the technical issues.

The songs were cheeky and blunt, but then serious when needed with some beautiful four-part harmonies. All the performers were excellent singers, and with the majority of them coming from strong musical-theatre backgrounds, their individual performances were faultless.

Mother,Wife and The Complicated Life will be performed tonight at 8pm at Karralyka Theatre in Ringwood East, before heading up to Sydney and Adelaide.

SYDNEY: Everest Theatre

Date: 23 May- 1 June, Wed – Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm & 8pm

Tickets: $59.50, Conc $55.50, VIP $89.50

Bookings: 02 9351 7940

ADELAIDE: Star Theatre

Date: 7 June, 8pm

Tickets: $49.50, Conc $44.50

Bookings: http://www.motherwifemusical.com/events/Default.aspx?EventGroupID=1

Events, Review, Theatre, Whats On May 10, 2013May 10, 2013

REVIEW: One for the Ugly Girls at LA MAMA

Things get ugly

By Myron My

In One for the Ugly Girls by Tahli Corin, Alistair (Syd Brisbane) is an artist searching for a lookalike of his late wife so that he can bring her back to life on canvas.

Jade (Lori Bell) responds to his request online and although she is not the ideal image of beauty and not exactly what Alistair has envisaged, he agrees to paint her – until a second Jade (Hannah Norris) arrives and things get a little complicated.

Most of the themes that One for the Ugly Girls deals with are skimmed through and not much closure or complexity is given to the characters. The intense themes of loss, holding on to the past and longing to be loved are all present but they are just glossed over.

Furthermore, there is a lot of raw emotion in the play and sadly, it is to its detriment. The scenes of excessive shouting and yelling seem unnecessary and moments of anger towards others appear without real motive or reason.

Unfortunately Brisbane fails to get the audience to empathise with Alistair as we never really get to know what he is thinking and who he really is. There are a few times when the choices he makes seem to be completely out of character. Furthermore, the motivations of the two Jades for doing what they have done are never explained and you are left with quite a few questions by the end.

In saying that, I would have liked to see more of the two Jades’ relationship. Even though this was predominantly a story revolving around Alistair, there was so much going on between the two girls that it warranted some form of exploration, and suggested a history to be expanded upon. However, both Bell and Norris put in very strong performances and play their characters quite convincingly given the material they’ve got.

Overall, I felt stronger direction was needed by first-time director Adriana Bonaccurso for a play such as this, to allow the story to evolve in a more organic way. One for the Ugly Girls had the potential to be something special but lost its way in the process.

Venue: La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday Street Carlton

Season: Until 19 May | Wed, Fri 8:30pm. Thurs, Sat-Sun 6:30pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc

Bookings: http://lamama.com.au or 9347 6948

Events, Review, Theatre, Whats On May 9, 2013May 9, 2013

REVIEW: The Good Person of Szechuan by BERTOLT BRECHT

Brecht play is for goodness’ sake

By Myron My

The Good Person of Szechuan, directed by Laurence Strangio is a theatrical parable by Bertolt Brecht being performed at La Mama. The play has the typical conventions of Brecht: the audience interaction, the direct speaking to the viewers, symbolic props and the opportunity for the unique use of the stage – and if you have been to La Mama before you will be amazed to see how it has been transformed.

The play, as with many of Brecht’s works, has a profound social statement to make, this time about what is good, how do we become good and more importantly who decides who is good. Furthermore, it looks at various addictions such as tobacco, heroin and selfishness. Despite the frenetic nature of the play and at times, its absurdist humour and fantastical nature, the themes explored are done so with care and honesty.

The cast (Marc Lawrence, James Deeth, Carmelina Di Guglielmo, Zoe Ellerton-Ashley, Terry Yeboah and HaiHa Le) portray a total of 25 characters which adds to the intensity of Brecht’s work. Most likely due to my attending on a preview night, there were some characters that feel more authentic and fleshed-out than others but the passion from the actors is constant so I was only too willing to overlook this. I was impressed with Di Guglielmo’s portrayals of both God 2 and Mrs Shin, and with Yeboah’s characterisation of Yang Sun especially.

HaiHa Le has the difficult task of depicting Shen Te the prostitute and Shui Ta the cousin, and does particularly well in portraying the innocence and goodness of the former.

There are so many thought-provoking scenes in this play and with a running time of almost two and a half hours, an intermission would have been a nice break. This was apparent especially towards the end where the pace slows down a bit and the exhaustion of what has transpired begins to make itself felt on the audience.

The preview night performance of The Good Person of Szechuan was thoroughly enjoyable and provoked much discussion with the issues it covered and its solid ensemble casting.

Venue: La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton

Season: Until 26 May | Wed 6:30pm, Thu-Sat 8:30pm, Sun 6:30pm, Wed 1:00pm (except May 8) and Thurs 11am.

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc

Bookings: http://lamama.com.au or 9347 6948

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On May 8, 2013May 9, 2013

REVIEW: Nijala Sun’s NO CHILD

Compelling school tale reaches new audiences

By Myron My

I missed Nijala Sun’s No Child when it was first performed during the Melbourne Festival in 2012 so when I heard Theatreworks was bringing it back this year for a limited run I jumped at the chance to see it and am extremely glad and grateful I had the opportunity.

No Child revolves around a new enthusiastic tenth-grade teacher at a rough Bronx high-school in New York where the children run circles round their educators. Miss Sun has a vision of these students performing Our Country’s Good, a play about British convicts on the first fleet. Ironically, the more we see of life in this school – and the students’ lives in general – disheartening parallels can be drawn between the two environments.

The unique thing about this production is the minimalist approach Sun employs in telling this story. There are only four chairs on stage and minimal props, no costume changes and Sun portrays all the sixteen characters. Her detail and commitment to each and every character’s physicality and personality is impressive and the transformations between them are flawless. Along with the strong story, No Child is therefore full of visual delights and thought-provoking dialogue and issues.

These issues are problems teachers face every day: how to engage children who – on the surface – don’t want to be engaged. Sun looks at this from various points of view and she questions how we can inspire students and have then feel safe enough to take risks, when we have all this testing and accountability to contend with. However, Sun doesn’t get preachy and tell us what we need to be doing, but her work encourages discourse on the matter with all – especially with children.

Adding to the performance is Mark Barton’s lighting, whose work created another layer of emotion into the show. The light changes happened quite subtly but with much effect, especially with the more emotive scenes at the end. Hal Brooks’ direction is strong and gives much support whilst also allowing much freedom for Sun to do what she does.

Despite the fact No Child is a commentary on the New York City public school system, it’s fair to say that anyone involved in the education system here will find relevance in the issues raised. If you haven’t seen this show you need to do everything you can to make sure you do. We all could learn a little something.

Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St Kilda

Season: Until 26 May | Tues-Sat 8:00pm, Wed-Thurs 1:00pm and Sun 5:00pm

Tickets: $45 Full | $35 Conc and under 30

Bookings: 9534 3388 or www.theatreworks.org.au

Dance, Events, Performances, Review, Whats On May 5, 2013May 5, 2013

REVIEW: Bangarra Dance Company’s BLAK

Traditional and contemporary clash and coalesce

By Tania Herbert

Founded in 1989, the Bangarra Dance Company has been heralded as one of the most important Indigenous performance groups in Australia, and it’s easy to see why with their newest work, Blak.

Blak takes the audience members on a journey of exploration of what it means to be an Indigenous Australian in modern society, with several stories through dance depicting stories of men and women caught in a clash of cultures old and new.

The show opens with seven men in hoodies and skinny jeans- urbanized, disenfranchised and often violent, dancing an urban corroboree caught out of place and time. Through dynamic explosions of movement, we see the men slowly revert from lost inner city boys to men celebrating their traditional culture.

From the men we move to the women- and see a reverse story of women first from the sea, then moving to the village and into modern society Equally engaging and impassioned, the piece deals with strong and emotive issues of women being silenced in modern society, a mother mourning the difficulties of passing on her culture to her daughters, and the fear of speaking out.

For me, however, the highlight of the performance was the following piece- where we saw men and women come together equally. Barely able to be differentiated from one another, the partner work was beautiful and uplifting. The performance closes with a stunning rain effect, and if the standing ovation of opening night was any indication, the audience was able to connect with the plethora of emotions portrayed by an amazingly talented troupe of dancers.

This is well and truly a contemporary dance show– the basic concepts are communicated clearly, but some of the complexities of the stories being told were not always so clear. However, when dancing is this beautiful, it is easy to just sit back and absorb.

The soundscape by composer David Page is an engaging as the dancing, with deep electronic beats interwoven with a haunting score, sounds of indigenous instruments, and stories told in English, Creole and Language. Costumes were beautifully designed and the onstage costume changes between modern and traditional presentation (including application of body paint) greatly added to the immersion experience.

Blak is playing at the Playhouse, Melbourne Arts Centre, and will then be touring in NSW. See website for more details: www.bangarra.com.au

Melbourne performances:

Tues 7 May, 6.30pm

8 – 11 May 2013, 8pm

Saturday 11 May, 2pm matinee

Tickets: $29 – $89

Bookings: http://artscentremelbourne.com.au or call 1300 182 183

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On May 4, 2013May 4, 2013

REVIEW: Mockingbird Theatre’s HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE

Steering audiences into daring but dark theatre

By Ross Larkin

Melbourne’s Mockingbird Theatre are fast building a reputation for tackling challenging, confronting and somewhat heavy-handed works – a risk for even the most iconic and established theatre companies to consider.

It would be reasonable to question whether such a choice were wise in a relatively young collaborative.

Incest, mental illness, homophobia, sex and violence have been the hot subject matters of late for Mockingbird; the mere suggestion of which would drive the less brave to contemplate a Wizard of Oz remake.

An astonishing relief, therefore, to not only feel comfortable Mockingbird can pull it off, but to know they can, and have, knocked it out of the park.

How I Learned to Drive, by American playwright Paula Vogel, is arguably the closest to the bone Mockingbird have ventured to conquer thus far. The 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning script, examines perhaps the heaviest and most controversial of issues imaginable. Pedophilia.

Not a subject many of us care to discuss, let alone be subjected to head on in theatrical format. However, herein lies the success of the play. It delicately and subtly unpacks the story of a teenage girl, affectionately referred to as Lil’Bit, growing up in Maryland, during which time, her uncle Peck teaches her to drive.

Some of the most poignant moments of the play evolve from the insinuating language, as Uncle Peck warns her of the dangerous drivers on the road, and how to defend herself as a driver. Truth be told, the real monster is right beside her in the vehicle, grooming and brain-washing, to later take advantage of her in various calculated ways.

While her Aunty insists Lil’Bit “knows exactly what she is doing”, and cries about wanting “her husband back”, How I Learned to Drive becomes Lil’Bit’s struggle to defend herself against, not only her predator, but the scorning, victim-bashing tongues of the time.

Sarah Reuben is exceptional as Lil’Bit, portraying innocence and fear with a believability that moves and disturbs, while the equally engaging and nuanced performance by Jason Cavanagh as Peck, will send tingles down your spine.

Meanwhile, viewers battle between hatred and pity over such an unhinged, yet somehow frail character as Peck, who is, apparently oblivious to the horror of preying on the teenage girl he claims to love.

A remarkable supporting cast, and the usual firm direction from Chris Baldock, makes How I Learned to Drive another proud notch in the Mockingbird belt, and one certainly not to be missed.

How I Learned to Drive is playing now at the Mechanics Institute in Brunswick, Tuesdays to Saturdays 8pm from May 3 – 18, 2013. Bookings via Trybooking.com or bookings@mockingbirdtheatre.com.au

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On April 28, 2013

REVIEW: The Graduates Present CRUISING PARADISE

Seeking connections and searching for identity

By Myron My

Cruising Paradise by Terence O’Connell takes a number of Sam Shepard’s (American writer, playwright, actor, and television and film director) short prose tales and stages them as a variety of monologues and scenes. Presented by graduates of The National Theatre Drama School in St Kilda and performed at fortyfivedownstairs, the piece is certainly an interesting and ambitious project.

Shepard is well known for creating environments of loss, desolation and solitude in his stories which Cruising Paradise is able to convey, but it is at the loss of allowing the audience to remain fully engaged with the piece. Part of the problem is that too many stories are performed; Shepard’s stories are already so rich and demanding for an audience that it just felt unnecessary to have so many similar stories on stage in such a short time.

Furthermore, there is little differentiation between how the majority of the monologues are delivered, which made it difficult to follow some stories. It’s quite a shame as the cast (Mandie Combe, William Ewing, Camille Meghaizel, Lucy Norton and James Stanistreet) have clearly put significant thought and effort into their roles, with notable mentions going to the more senior members of the company Meghaizel and Combe, who embrace their characters with much gusto.

The stories that did work well were therefore the ones that had the actors interacting with each other in some way or where there was a slight costume change that greatly assisted in distinguishing between different tales. Unfortunately this did not happen throughout the night.

The musical interludes were entertaining to watch and a nice break from all the monologues. The composition by Paul Norton was well-suited to the voices of the three main singers Combe, Ewing and Meghaizel.

Overall, the stories in Cruising Paradise dealt well with themes of lonely people who are looking for a connection, trying to figure out who they are and searching for an identity. I only wish the show itself could (instead of simply drowning us in so many of Shepard’s stories) have had some of that insight and been able to give each tale individuality, while drawing all the pieces into a whole.

Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Season: Until 12 May | Tues-Sat 8:00pm, Sun 5:00pm

Tickets: $36 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: http://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com or 9662 9966