Cabaret, Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

Midsumma Festival 2017: FREE ADMISSION

Wise, witty, and built to break down boundaries

By Myron My

It’s been eight years since I first saw Ursula Martinez performing in London and was introduced to her hilarious tongue-in-cheek humour. Presented as part of this year’s Midsumma Festival, Martinez returns to the stage with Free Admission, a show full of her unique comedy stylings which has us questioning how our thoughts and choices can easily prevent us from leading the life we desire, while also wittily providing a literal lesson in construction for us.

free-admission

Martinez’s delivery is well-paced. with an intentional air of awkwardness as she initially explains in a slow speech, as if what she is sharing about life is taboo and shouldn’t be spoken about. As the show progresses the confidence in her voice begins to pick up and find her a new rhythm. While a small portion of the dialogue is quite jarring (and perhaps that is her intention), the majority gives Martinez the opportunity to open up amusingly but affectingly about her insecurities, hopes, fears and disappointments.

As she shares these with us, Martinez begins to build an actual wall between herself and her audience, further emphasising this idea of being caged in or locked up with your own thoughts and shutting out the world and other people. With America’s current attempts to build a wall along the border of Mexico, this is quite a powerful topical element of the show, and while Free Admission does not explicitly reference this, it is still poignantly political with reference to gender and sexuality, refugees, feminism and equality.

The last two concerns are further addressed with Martinez’s outfit; wearing a black top with a crisp white pant-suit and her hair tied up in a bun, she dons a pair of dirty work-gloves and begins constructing her wall. Appearances can be deceiving and Martinez is all about breaking preconceived notions and ideas.

By the end, Martinez shows the freedom and joy of breaking through the walls in our lives in a finale that is uplifting and positive. Free Admission is a well-crafted and intelligent comedy show that is busy building up big ideas and deconstructing important issues: it has a lot to say, and a whole lot more to love and think about.

Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd, Southbank
Season: Until 5 February | Fri 9:15pm, Sat 3pm and 6:30pm, Sun 5pm
Tickets: $35 – $45
Bookings: Midsumma Festival

Cabaret, Festivals, Review

Midsumma Festival 2017: PLAYING TO WIN

Witty, winsome – and definitely winning

By Myron My

Ash Flanders is confessedly one confused performer as he struggles to stay optimistic in a society and industry that like to chew people up before spitting them out in an instant. Presented as part of this year’s Midsumma Festival, Playing To Win has Flanders – in a wonderful kitten leotard – holding his cabaret audience hostage as he recalls the lowlights and the lower-lights of being in said industry, resulting in an evening of great songs and engaging storytelling.

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For the most part, Flanders draws on his own personal experiences with fame and success – including a tragically hilarious story involving Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy – but he also looks at the idolisation of reality-TV-star celebrities, particularly those who are famous for no discernible reasons. His send-up of Gina Liano’s “Gina” perfume ad is a great touch in emphasising his frustrations at slipping down the black hole of failure.

Admirably supported by musical director Dave Barclay and band Artistic Difference, Flanders has a select choice of songs that are used cleverly to colour and characterise his stories, including memorable performances of “Ride Like The Wind” by Christopher Cross and “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” by Celine Dion. The final song of the night (which is better as a surprise) succeeds in bringing his story full circle and includes some brilliant audience interactions.

Flanders does give his all in Playing To Win, and while it is full of satisfying sarcasm and cheeky comedy, there is an emotional aspect to his storytelling and a genuine openness in what he shares with us. In one way, his humour can be see as a defence mechanism on display, further highlighting his vulnerability. While Flanders might “only” be performing in the smallest venue at the Arts Centre, he is definitely destined for bigger things and bigger rooms, and Playing To Win is profound evidence of that.

Playing To Win was performed at Arts Centre Melbourne between 27 – 29 January 2017.

Music

The Substation Presents LONG STRING INSTRUMENT

Experimental soundscape a work in fascination

By Narelle Wood

It was with much curiosity I went to see the Long String Instrument, curious mostly about how long the strings actually were and what sort of music they would produce.

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‘Long string’ perhaps doesn’t evoke images of just how lengthy these strings actually are, spanning almost the full 27 metres of The Substation main room. Creator Ellen Fullman walks carefully as if on a tightrope between the collection of strings, running her rosin-coated fingers across the tense metal. Fullman’s soft and delicate movement belies the strength in her fingers to produce the continuous tonal hum from the instrument.

Fullman, along with Theresa Wong on the cello, perform the duet “Harbors”, a collaboration between the two musicians exploring the ‘soundscapes, stories and atmospheres’ around bodies of water. For me, though, the sound was far more industrial, which was perfectly suited to the Substation surrounds. The Long String instrument seemed to me to produce sounds similar to an electrical buzzing, albeit of different tones. I found the cello at times to be quite jarring, at a discord with the sounds produced by the Long String. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy it or find the musical experience interesting; I was simply expecting something far more tranquil from the composition.

This was a fascinating musical experience, and I would have very much liked to have had some explanation of how The Long String worked, how it’s transported, tuned and indeed if it works on a scale or if Fullman changes the tones depending on the composition. The most interesting part of the performance was when Fullman used what looked to be loops of string to create a plucked, staccato sound, rather than long continuous notes.

Unfortunately this was only a one-night performance. While I didn’t find the music relaxing, it certainly piqued my interest, both in composition and the production of sound and have since discovered how the Long String works, and its relationship to Star Wars. I highly recommend checking out both Fullman’s work and the fascinating sound of the Long String.

Long String Instrument was performed on January 27, 2017 at The Substation, 1 Market St, Newport. For upcoming events at the venue, visit http://www.thesubstation.org.au/.

Image by Keelan O’Hehir

Cabaret

The Butterfly Club Presents SUBURBAN GOTHIC

Fearsomely funny and frighteningly familiar…

By Myron My

Cabaret doesn’t get more macabre and twisted than in Suburban Gothic. There is definitely “some spooky shit going down” in the show, but what makes it even more unnerving is that it is all apparently taking place just down the road from where you live – or even closer to home… 

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What initially seem like charming and innocuous cabaret songs soon turn grim and morbid at the masterful musical hands of writers Karlis Zaid, Mark Jones and Karin Muiznieks. The songs and a torrid trio of stories cleverly expose the dark underbelly of the suburbs in wry and witty ways, with no topic taboo. 

Thus, a happy inner-city-dwelling couple head off to a friend’s house in Caroline Springs only to become frustrated and panicked upon getting lost in the ‘burbs, a “proud” father-of-the-bride gives a heartfelt wedding speech to his daughter and her “terrorist” husband Miguel, and two strangers at a park battle it out as to who is the prouder parent. 

Performers Aurora Kurth, Zaid, and Jones all have strong commanding voices on stage, well-crafted characterisation, and Kurth and Zaid’s duets are especially impressive. Jones accompanies these original songs on piano with his usual aplomb, and the numbers create an intended atmosphere of apprehension and uncertainty when arrangements of mostly upbeat “happy” music contrast unsettlingly with the grim and satisfyingly satirical tone of the lyrics.

Meanwhile, the settings of each song and scene are successfully constructed with minimal set pieces and a few quick wardrobe changes, allowing the audience to fully immerse themselves in the performance. This is all supported by Steven Gates’ simple but meaningful direction of the cast, and the neat and discrete lighting effects. 

It’s a complex mixture of feelings when Suburban Gothic ends. It’s a highly entertaining and ruthlessly funny and clever show, it’s also quite relentless in digging deeper and deeper into the things we usually would rather not think about or want to be confronted with. When the nervous laughter has subsided, we can of course take comfort, however, in knowing that it was just a show and these sorts of things don’t happen here. After all, as the trio say on stage, it’s all mostly satire. Mostly. 

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Until 29 January | Fri – Sun 8:30pm
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: The Butterfly Club

Review, Theatre, Whats On

The Butterfly Club Presents TAKE A SEAT

Death waits for no-one

By Myron My

When you die, will you be getting into heaven or will you be sent to hell? For a group of people this question will be answered sooner than they had hoped in Kieran Gould-Bowen’s Take A Seat. Set in a waiting room for the lately deceased, these recently departed are given an opportunity to reflect on their lives before judgement is passed upon them.

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The cast of seven consists of four actors making their stage debut, including Kotryna Gesait and Mursal Ahmadi who show distinct ability in understanding the characters and using their bodies and facial expressions to give authenticity to the depiction of what their lives were like.

As happens in waiting rooms, when your number is called it is time to go. So as one character leaves to meet their fate, Gould-Bowen has others enter – after all, death waits for no one and people die all the time. While this allows for dynamics to change between the remaining characters and for different emotions and reactions to occur, it also means that we don’t have the opportunity to further explore some of the more interesting characters that have come and gone.

I also feel the direction in Take A Seat needed to be tighter, for – while understanding the limitations of the setting – having characters constantly moving seats for the sake of movement proved to be quite distracting. Meanwhile, one character’s constant pacing and clicking of a pen to show his anxiety only becomes frustrating for me as an audience member. This device is also repeated in another character whose movement might have a different purpose but still has the same result: some more sophisticated techniques to exhibit character would have been preferable.

Gould-Dowen cleverly makes use of the piano on stage in having one of the characters play while others share their personal stories with these strangers. The underscore effectively adds poignancy in the script and builds on emotions the characters are feeling: it would be great if this could somehow be incorporated into the first half of the show with some of the other stories also.

Take A Seat is a look at some of the life issues people are facing in society today through the dead characters in its waiting room. There is potential here and some promising performances, but I feel further work is needed on direction, and in instigating deeper exploration of these characters to avoid any coming across as stereotypes or purely functional.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Until 29 January | Fri 6pm, Sat 7pm and 8:30pm, Sun 7pm
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: The Butterfly Club

Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

Midsumma Festival 2017: THE HELENDALE NUDE FOOTY CALENDAR

Laying truths bare

By Myron My

A local football club has run out of funds and is at a loss at what to do. “What is it that we have that people want?”, laments one footballer shortly before taking off his top and showing off his toned body. And so The Helendale Nude Footy Calendar adventure begins. However, there are two parallel stories occurring in two other country towns: at Karandah Heads, two locals encounter a celebrity staying at their caravan park, and at Galshank, a gay high school student tries to figure out what he wants. Presented as part of this year’s Midsumma Festival, the three stories in The Helendale Nude Footy Calendar explore sexuality, relationships and love, and the different ways these issues can present themselves.

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Helendale – the most fleshed out of the three stories (pun intended) – focuses on Angus (Chris Edwards) who secretly (or maybe not so secretly) swoons over footballer Mason (Guy Talon). Edwards is well cast as the shy, nervous and incredibly sarcastic Angus, with his body language and mannerisms bringing to the surface his anxieties and desires. The support cast members do well with their characters and are given the opportunity to show multiple sides of their personalities. They’re not just footballers but also friends, brothers and boyfriends and Sam Nix as Angus’ brother Tom is a great example of embracing this chance for strong character development. There are scenes of bravado when Tom is with “the boys” talking football but there are sincere moments when speaking to his brother about life and reaching for the opportunities it has to offer.

Over in Karandah Heads, Reef (James Hardy) helps run his mum’s caravan park when a highly awkward and not-out teen Curtis (Linus Tolliday) arrives with his family. The two form a friendly bond until a world-famous celebrity (Wil King) arrives to stay and subsequently throws their lives into chaos. Tolliday is perfect as Curtis with his awkwardness and stammered speech and Hardy puts in a great performance of someone who has put walls up so high that he has completely closed himself off from meeting anyone.

Galshank introduces a group of schoolboys all dealing with their impending adulthood and attempting to figure out who they are. Conor (Patrick Cook) is in love with his gay best friend Heath (Dean Robinson) who is more interested in experiencing life, which includes an interest in his English teacher, Jack (Jack Matthews), who also happens to be Conor’s stepfather. While Helendale and Karandah Heads have a clear focus in their stories, Galshank falters a little, stretching itself thin in sharing too many stories and perspectives.

At the root of all these stories are loneliness and the fear of being alone. All the characters are searching for a connection with someone in a way that befits him, and writer Jake Stewart explores this truthfully and honestly. Stewart also has a great eye for comedy and while there are many laughs to be had, he ensures the heart of each story is not lost. A scene in Karandah Heads for example surprisingly transforms into initially jarring farce that actually works in further revealing the states of mind of its characters. It is refreshing to see that in no story is there a character struggling to come out or to accept his homosexuality. Furthermore, no characters in any story have issues with being gay, most notably in Helendale with hetero footballers treating Angus the same way they treat each other – and even openly talking about Angus’ sexuality in a positive way.

Stewart also directs the show and he manages to create some evocative moments on stage. There are instances where characters from one town seemingly acknowledge the presence of those from another, building on the shared experience of loneliness and love. Stewart’s use of the space to tell these three stories while having eleven performers coming on and off stage is executed smoothly and the transitions between the stories never distract or remove you from the moment. 

The Helendale Nude Footy Calendar is a moving yet entertaining exploration of what people will do – or not willing to do – in order to connect with people, to love someone and to be loved in return; intelligently wrought, and performed with warmth and appeal.

Venue: Bluestone Church Arts Space, 8A Hyde St, Footscray
Season: until 4 February | Tues – Sat 7pm
Tickets: $24 Full | $19 Conc
Bookings: Midsumma Festival

Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

Midsumma Festival 2016: ANIMAL

Unleashing the beasts

By Myron My

Performed as part of this year’s Midsumma Festival, Animal explores what it means to be ‘human’ in relation to sexuality, relationships and society through the duality of man and beast. Created and performed by Mikey J. White, this is a multidisciplinary piece that incorporates theatre, music, burlesque, multimedia and spoken word, and has us questioning how superior we actually are to animals.

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White personifies a variety of animals throughout the show and there is an almost ritualistic process in becoming each animal through the wearing of a near-abstract, skeleton head-piece of the animal being portrayed. This results in a cleverly nuanced performance by White whereupon his physicality and mannerisms begin to be an extension of each animal. The hessian bag that is worn around his waist further highlights this duality that White is keen to explore. On the one hand, the bag is coarse and has a primal feeling to it and on the other, the makeshift trousers are a sign of respectability and civility.

While White’s intent is thus to unravel the complex connections of man and beast, the execution is not always fully successful. Where it does work best is with his more adult adaptation of children’s story book “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt”. The narrative is used to demonstrate how we have become so accustomed to the superficiality of life and only caring about ourselves. Similarly, his effective reading of Andrea Gibson’s poem “A Letter to My Dog, Exploring the Human Condition” also highlights how we need to start caring for one another and stop criticising and hurting each other.

Animal is an attempt to bring into question whether man is as different to the beasts of the world and he likes to believe. The performance raises this concern successfully and evocatively with some of the acts, but on the whole, I felt there needs to be stronger ties between the animals used and the way in which the issues White wants us to consider are presented for this promising work to reach its potential.

Animal was performed at Hares & Hyenas between 19 – 21 January 2017.

Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

Midsumma Festival 2016: I AM MY OWN WIFE

Finely crafted and utterly fascinating

By Myron My

The last song I expected to hear playing over the speakers as I entered the space for I Am My Own Wife was “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer. But the purpose is later made clear as we learn about the extraordinary and intriguing life of German transgender woman Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived both the Nazi and the Communist regime. While that might be a valid reason to admire her, it is not a guarantee that she was also a hero.

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American playwright Doug Wright travelled to Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and after a series of interviews with von Mahlsdorf totalling hundreds of hours,  wrote I Am My Own Wife. Thus, the show –  – is not just about von Mahlsdorf’s life but also Wright’s own role in this tale, and the impact that the experience of trying to get inside the head of this enigmatic person had upon him.

Ben Gerrard is simply captivating for the entire one-performer show and his German and American accents are well-maintained with great pronunciation and intonation. There is a recording of Wright’s voice that is played to the audience and upon hearing Gerrard’s impersonation of it, you would not be blamed for believing it was the same person. You may also find yourself unable to take your eyes off Gerrard as he faultlessly jumps between 35 varied characters, and his constant eye-contact with the audience draws you in, as if he is telling this story only to you.

Similarly building on this intimacy is Hugh Hamilton‘s sleek lighting design, supporting the tension of the narrative with spotlights anticipating Gerrard’s moves and changes. Shaun Rennie‘s sharp direction ensures that these movements are made with purpose and used to construct a stronger connection with the audience. Meanwhile the minimal set design by Caroline Comino allows us to focus also on Gerrard’s words and when set pieces are used, they are used creatively, effectively, and with the same skill of not detracting from the story.

The show leaves some deliberate ambiguity as to how much of a hero Charlotte von Mahlsdorf actually was: the threat of death was very real back then and hard choices had to be made. I Am My Own Wife doesn’t pass judgement or draw any conclusions: instead it lets us wonder about the life a resilient and extraordinary person led, who survived against the odds in a world that was set on destroying her.

Venue: fortyfive downstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
 
Season: Until 5 February | Tue- Sat 7.30pm, Sat 28 Jan & Sat 4 Feb 4pm, Sun 5pm
 
Tickets: $45 Full | $35 Conc 
Bookings: Midsumma Festival

Cabaret, Festivals, Review

Midsumma Festival 2017: ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS

Good celebrity siblings come in threes…

By Myron My

There are not too many people in the world who do not know who Kylie Minogue is. And the same could be said for her sister Dannii Minogue. But what about Erin Minogue? That’s right, the other, other Minogue sister who has also seeking her own piece of the fame pie. Presented as part of this year’s Midsumma Festival,  On A Night Like This: The Erin Minogue Experience focuses on the youngest Minogue sibling who is given her moment to shine in this well-crafted and stylish comedy cabaret about the true story of a fictitious person.

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Written by Chris Gist and Paul Kooperman with Lizzie Moore (who also performs as Erin), we are taken through the decades of the Minogue sisters’ lives and it is revealed what Erin’s role in each significant moment was or what the reason was for her absence. When it comes to the case of Young Talent Time for example, while all three were originally booked to audition, Erin had a doctor’s appointment she had to go to due to her mother’s concern of her unusual growth spurt…

The stories within each period are entertaining funny with a great mix of songs from the Minogue sisters, including “This Is It” by Dannii and “I Believe In You” by Kylie. Accompanying Erin on stage is her sassy and talented pianist, D’Arren (like L’Oreal – aka Brad Rush), who also joins in for a few notable songs. Erin’s recollections are sharp and witty with some brilliant one-liners and apart from a slight drop during the 00’s period, the story is tight and told with a purpose.

Moore is engaging on stage and her animated re-telling of these natty narratives feels genuine and convincing, as if Erin actually was indeed there. And if her words are not believable enough, there is a slideshow throughout the show with clever photographic ‘evidence’. Just like the Minogues, Moore also has an impressive voice, whereupon she is able to take the sisters’ hits and – with some pleasing musical arrangements by Anthony Costanzo – make the songs her own.

So while Erin may not be as famous as her sisters or have their international success, she still has things to be proud of, such as getting to run her very own dance school, the Erin Minogue Fame School in Frankston… On A Night Like This is a fresh, fun and enjoyable cabaret show about reaching for the stars, even if they seem too far away.

On A Night Like This: The Erin Minogue Experience was performed at Chapel Off Chapel between 20 – 21 January 2017.

Image by Joel Devereux

Circus, Review, Whats On

Cirque Du Soleil Presents KOOZA

An experience to treasure

By Myron My

Trying to put into words what watching Cirque Du Soleil’s Kooza (inspired by the Sanskrit word “koza”, meaning “box” or “treasure”) is not the easiest thing when you spend the majority of the show absolutely speechless and stunned with the skills and performances of its hugely talented cast. Returning to Melbourne with this brand new show, Cirque Du Soleil dazzles once again as Kooza tells the story of The Innocent as he is transported into a world of surprises in a kingdom inhabited by strange and peculiar people.

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The night is a non-stop run of entertainment and wonderment, which includes Mongolian contortionists Sunderiya Jargalsaikhan and Ninjin Altankhuyag twisting their bodies in ways and at speeds you’ve never seen before that would put The Exorcist to shame. Other memorable performances include an intense double high wire act, a romantic unicycle duo and a chair-balancing act that reaches some amazing heights.

However, the award for the most heart-stopping moment I have had when watching a live show would have to go to Jimmy Ibarra and Ronald Solisand with their 700kg Wheel of Death routine. Powered solely by the two Colombians, the huge wheel is rotated and counter-rotated at incredible speeds with leaps, jumps and skips that had everyone on the edge of their seats. A slight stumble from one of the performers sent fear rippling through the audience, reminding us that we are seeing high-risk acts where precision timing is key, with no room for even the slightest of errors.

Bandleader Carl Murr ensures the music is pulsing throughout the show with a fusion of jazz, funk and Bollywood beats, which includes a brilliant drum solo by Australian musician Paul Butler, making his official premiere with Kooza.

There are over 175 costumes on display during the show and designer Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt ensures that each one gorgeously builds on the spectacular world created by Stephane Roy‘s set design. The dazzling main set piece – the towering Bataclan – is inspired by Hindu culture, Pakistani buses and Indian jewellery, and exudes an aura of mystery and excitement. While taking in all these visual elements, you too, like The Innocent, have been transported into this extraordinary world.

The journey of self discovery for The Innocent ends the same way as it started, but there is a sense of confidence and strength in him now, and in some ways, this reaches out to the audience too. After having seen the spectacular acts in Cirque Du Soleil’s Kooza, you can’t help but leave the big top tent feeling like anything is possible.

Venue: Flemington Racecourse, 448 Epsom Rd, Flemington, 3031
Season: Melbourne season until 26 March | Tue – Fri  8pm, Sat 4:30pm and 8pm, Sun 7.30pm, Sun 1:30pm and 5pm
Perth season opens on 13 April
Tickets: From $60
Bookings and further information: Cirque Du Soleil

Image by Matt Beard with costumes by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt ©2012 Cirque du Soleil