Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

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

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

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.

BangarraDanceTheatrePresentsBlak

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

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.

Drive - Jason Cavanagh and Sarah Reuben jpg 2

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

REVIEW: The Graduates Present CRUISING PARADISE

Seeking connections and searching for identity

By Myron My

Cruising Paradise

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

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Snafu Theatre Present TEN MONTHS IN A COLD TOWN

Spy thriller hits the bullseye

By Myron My

SNAFU Theatre is back with their eighth production Ten Months in a Cold Town. In it, a man (James Gand-Hunt) enters a woman’s (Samantha Hill) house. They are both spies and he is there to receive some important documents. We watch as they wait for a fax transmission to come through before the documents are handed over…

Who is telling the truth? Is everyone who they say they are?

Ten Months In a Cold Town

Sam Wilson and May Jasper have written an intriguing and captivating script. I particularly enjoyed watching as scenes went from comedic and light-hearted to dark and serious quite fluidly and unexpectedly. The further we progress with the play, the more extreme the pendulum swung between these two contrasting genres and moods. It’s not until we are introduced to Irina (Cazz Bainbridge) that the story comes full-circle.

The scenes in Russian are intriguing to watch as you are left to your own devices to translate what is being said. Despite the fact I speak no Russian, the actors seemed quite comfortable with the language and apparently spoke fluently, and should be congratulated on their efforts.

This is predominantly a character piece rather than a narrative piece and with Gand-Hunt and Hill on stage from beginning to end, there is a lot riding on them being able to pull these characters off and they do exceptionally well.

There are touches of Waiting for Godot during the lighter moments in which the actors both appeared most comfortable, as the two spies discuss their time at “spy school” and their experience of marriage. However, during the more intense moments, I felt there could have been a push to explore their darker natures through emotions and reactions.

Overall, Ten Months in a Cold Town has a strong script and strong performances. It doesn’t answer all your questions but this is not a bad thing as it’s nice to not always be spoon-fed a story, and my friend and I spent some time discussing what we believe had happened – and was going to happen…

Venue: Industrial School, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford

Season: Until 4 May | Thurs-Sat 7:30pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings:http://www.trybooking.com/CPIG

Cabaret, Festivals, Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Suitcases, Baggage & Other Synonyms for MICF

Emotional luggage unpacked with wit and musical charm

By Myron My

Debuting at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival after a previous Fringe appearance, Suitcases, Baggage & Other Synonyms starts with a bang (literally). This is a musical comedy show about five friends living together who are trying to determine where to go on a holiday.

Suitcases Baggage and Other Synonyms

Along the way to reaching an agreement, they and we are faced with many distractions and songs.

There is snappy and witty dialogue throughout Suitcases, Baggage & Other Synonyms and the show is littered with fun pop-culture references and expressions. The self-referential humour is done well and the laughs are extremely strong during the inane conversations that the housemates have over such important topics as how long should you leave yoghurt out of the fridge for…

There are strong performances present and the characters have been embraced by all the cast (the 2011 Melbourne Short+Sweet Cabaret Gala finalists Hannah Daniel, Sarah Jackson, Casey Dolcetta, Melissa Kahraman and Barnaby Reiter). The acting is excellent with special mentions going to Dolcetta for her ability to subtly command the audience’s attention and Jackson for her hilarious portrayal of an OCD-suffering comedian-in-the-making. The musical composition by Reiter is very impressive and he plays with great dexterity and skill.

During the songs, the five voices sparkle and nicely complement each other, in particular the New York medley song. Unfortunately, there are a few numbers don’t feel as lyrically tight as the rest of the songs or of a calibre with the acting.  My other disappointment with the songs was the constant changing of speaking and singing throughout the song, making it difficult to fully appreciate melodies and musical nuances.

Suitcases, Baggage & Other Synonyms is ultimately a highly enjoyable performance put on by some very creative and talented people.Anyone who has ever lived in a share house will ultimately be able to relate to at least one of these five people either because they remind you of someone you’ve lived with – or of yourself.
 
Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland St, St Kilda

Season: Until 20 March | 8:00pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $20 Conc

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

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

Review: THOMAS GREEN’s Sign of the Times

Openness, intimacy, and comic ease

By Myron My

You’d be forgiven if you thought all comedy during the last few weeks was part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but you would also be wrong. When Thomas Green – fresh from his Adelaide Fringe Show – slinked into Melbourne to perform a few intimate gigs of his show Sign of the Times at The Owl and the Pussycat I decided to take a punt and I was not disappointed.

The thing I enjoyed most about Green’s show was the engaging use of the everyday normalities of life to create his stories and insights, including his job as a casual relief teacher, his marriage and an unfortunate encounter involving his parents – although perhaps this one isn’t an everyday occurrence for most people! It all comes to a hilarious end with Green confessing to us his biggest phobia in life and how he overcame it.

Thomas Green

I never usually take into consideration the number of audience members in a show – it is about quality and not quantity – but with only five people present this particular evening, I was interested to see how Green would handle this. Green asked us for our names and had a chat with us and really created the vibe of us all just being a group of friends catching up for beers and pizza.

At times during Green’s conversations with us, it felt like we were diverting from his material, but he always successfully managed to use these moments not only to create humour, but to eventually bring the show back on track. It is a testament to Green’s confidence and easy ability to make us laugh when he opens himself up so freely to spontaneity and open dialogue with his audience.

Billed as a 50-minute show, we were in the theatre for almost an hour and a half. At times I wasn’t sure if we were watching Green’s original act or if we were chatting. Either way, Sign of the Times was 90 minutes of enjoyment and laughter. Green is definitely one to look out for at next year’s
festivals.

Venue: The Owl and the Pussycat, 34 Swan St, Richmond

Season: Until 20 April | 8:00pm

Tickets: $20

Bookings: http://www.owlandcat.com.au/adelaidefringereview.html or at the door

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

REVIEW: Jared Jekyll’s LOONEY BIN

Crazy in all the right ways

By Jennifer Coles

If you’re looking for a broader range of entertainment and excitement crammed into your comedy show, Jared Jekyll’s Looney Bin is definitely the way to go.

One of the most promising (and certainly the most energetic) comedians to come out of Sydney, Jared Jekyll has created an unstoppable hour of beatboxing, magic, comedy and showmanship.  Jekyll’s self-deprecating and honest style of comedy is refreshing, and throughout the show he maintains a fantastic presence and relationship with the audience.

Jared Jekyll

Jekyll divides the show into several sections (or “bits” as he calls them), which focus around a certain topic or section. An absolute delight was his beatboxing section utilising a loop pedal, where he explains the basic functions of the equipment he was using, and proceeded to record his own voice and quite often afterwards, argue with it. He interspersed this with discussions with a parrot, magic tricks, and of course, puns.  His sections occasionally discussed the show’s broader themes, and he occasionally touched on a plot designed to keep the show running through.

Despite the energy and professionalism Jekyll displayed during the show, he was let down slightly by the script. The divisions between the sections of the show required stronger links to each other, however entertaining the individual portions were.

It appeared to be a show that could have utilised either a story and plot for its entirety, or just the standard storytelling usual in stand-up comedy shows. Because Looney Bin covered several different types of performance, and several different stories, better links were needed to keep the flow going.

In spite of that, I laughed myself silly. Jekyll displays amazing promise and dedication to his craft, and he is quite clearly going to have a long career. Looney Bin is hilarious, witty, and filled with surprises.  A wonderful and manic night out.

Dates: 18 – 21 April at 9.30 pm

Venue: Word Warehouse, 14 Goldie Place, Melbourne

Prices: $10-$15

Bookings: MICF online

Circus, Dance, Events, Festivals, Review, Whats On

Review: THREE HIGH ACROBATICS’ Knock Off

When renovation becomes a real balancing act

By Myron My

Making their Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut, Three High Acrobatics’ Knock Off revolves around three men who walk onto a building site and attempt to construct a contemporary circus show in eleven easy steps, including ensuring there is a love story present and having dramatic pauses throughout the story.

Three High Acrobatics

When it came to the acrobatics, the guys (Sam Aldham, Taka Seki and Christ Carlos) were strong as both charismatic performers and impressive athletes. The broom-balancing segment was beautifully performed and the aerial work had the audience mesmerised. There were a few mishaps here and there, but any show that involves such high physical demand from its performers is occasionally going to falter and, if anything, amplifies the mood in the audience to support them and see them succeed on the next attempt. The strength and the skill these three possess is not to be undermined and this is particularly proven in the final few moments of the show.

There are quite a few musical numbers– with the parody version of 90s song “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks now changed to “Bloke” being one of my favourites. One of their ‘steps’ is to include a contemporary dance scene and the one they chose had me grooving in my seat as it is also the one choreographed dance sequence by a boy band I wish I could perform! The music played is used to support and alter the mood they are trying to convey during each segment: one particularly clever example of this was during the love story, which allowed the guys to ham things up when needed.

However, as a comedy show I felt the humour in Knock Off was lacking in most parts. The energy was certainly visible but the comic element was often being stretched and didn’t feel very natural. The characters were not all that endearing and I found the ‘apprentice’ to be more annoying than anything. Clearly these guys were more comfortable with the acrobatics than with the acting.

Knock Off loses a little of its charm when it comes to the comedy, but Three High Acrobatics provide an entertaining show that will engage you with their exciting circus skills.

Venue: Wonderland Spiegeltent, 120 Pear River Rd, Harbourtown Docklands

Season: Until 20 April | 7:00pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $15 Conc

Bookings:www.ticketmaster.com.au, www.wonderlandspiegeltent.com.au, 9602 1311 & at the door

Events, Festivals, Review, Stand-Up Comedy

REVIEW: Felicity Ward in THE HEDGEHOG DILEMMA

Smooth Response to Prickly Comedy

By Darcy Whitsed

“When I first heard it, I thought it was about how hedgehogs had sex”, was how the audience was greeted by the extremely enthusiastic and hilarious Felicity Ward in her one-night-only Melbourne International Comedy Festival show The Hedgehog Dilemma.

In a show that went against almost all expectations of a live stand-up comedy performance, Ward had the audience engrossed in her outrageous personal anecdotes centered on the Freudian theory of hedgehog-related human intimacy.

Felicity Ward

After appearing as her own pre-show entertainment in a pair of bright pink high heels, tight black singlet and bike shorts and introducing the special DVD filming of the show, the audience was treated Ward’s story that ranged from her watching television alone in sadly unused wedding attire to discovering her potential as a comedian.

This journey was charismatically told with the help of surprisingly ocker sexual innuendos, a cute photo montage (with the shocking punchline of male genitalia), incredible physicality and moments of characterisation. Ward utilized every aspect of her gangly comic arsenal to have the responsive audience in stitches at each twist and turn.

The real charm of the show came from Ward’s unashamed connection to the material. Born from her personal experiences and despite being sad, embarrassing or hilarious, it was all put on display for the audience’s entertainment. The great story-telling within the show gave it an excellent sense of progression and drew the audience into Felicity’s wacky and wonderful world.

The show briefly lulled as the material fell into the clichéd realm of self-deprecating, alcoholic comedian whose life was so dysfunctional it couldn’t possibly be used for anything besides comedy. But this was not enough to taint the performance overall and when the hope-filled and unexpectedly serious conclusion arrived, it actually helped create a great sense of contrast and again surprised the audience by going against their expectations.

The Hedgehog Dilemma came to a teary close for both Ward and audience alike as it was performed for the last time in Australia, which in my opinion is a huge shame. I highly recommend picking up the DVD of this show when it arrives on shelves to anyone that loves comedy, drama, amazing story-telling, hedgehogs or penis-jokes.

The Hedgehog Dilemma was performed at Athenaum Theatre, Monday 15th April 2013.