Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Christopher Bryant’s INTOXICATION

Theatre at internet speed

By Myron My

I still remember the excitement in my house when we signed up for dial-up Internet. It brought a new world into my living room with just a tap of the keyboard and a click of the mouse. Seventeen years later, the technological advances we have made have brought this virtual world closer to us, but has it pushed us further away from the real world? Presented as part of the 2016 Midsumma Festival, Christopher Bryant’s Intoxication raises questions about how our reliance on social media, dating apps and smart phones are hindering us from building honest and meaningful relationships with actual people.

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The three performers – Ryan Forbes, Amy Hack and Bryant – each sit on an individual cube and, as if they are in a confessional, share their anxieties with us. Even though there is barely, if any, interaction between the three during these moments, the thoughts and emotions shared are very similar, building on Bryant’s idea that despite all having these tangible insecurities and feelings of loneliness, we seem to drive ourselves further away from reality and into the digital world, where we are free to project the life we wish we had and want the world (wide web) to see.

Forbes, Hack and Bryant are engaging on stage and the interactions they do share have a nice authenticity to them. Despite having similar concerns and worries about being alone and falling in love, they each bring individuality to their characters and stay committed to them the whole time.

Bryant is a talented and thoughtful writer and I would love to be able to read the script to Intoxication so I could fully comprehend everything that he has to say. Every line uttered has importance and carries much weight, however the delivery is so fast and non-stop that when you take a second to contemplate what is being said, you’ve already missed the next two lines of dialogue and find yourself trying to keep up with the performers. There are a few musical interludes to help even out the pace but they feel slightly out of place in their current execution.

Intoxication has many home truths it puts forth to the audience, and I found myself agreeing countless times and seeing myself in the thoughts and emotions expressed by characters. However, allowing the audience to reflect on these thoughts during the show, as well as after, would create stronger emotional connections between the viewers and these characters, and thus produce an even stronger impact from the production overall.

Venue: La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton
Season: until 7 February | Wed – Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4pm
Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc
Bookings: La Mama Theatre

Dance, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Paul Malek’s BOYZ

Intense and absorbing new dance work

By Myron My

Your 20s are a time in your life where you finally step out into the wider world and attempt to make sense of it all. For most, it includes moving out of the family home, graduating from studies, and finding your place in life. Easier said than done though. Presented as part of this year’s Midsumma Festival, Paul Malek‘s new contemporary dance piece BOYZ explores what it means being a gay man in your 20s.

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Whilst there is a feeling of frustration and boredom, things begin serenely enough with five males – Jayden Hicks, Samuel Harnett-Welk, Charles Ball, Lachlan Hall and Kurt Dwyer-William – living under one roof. However, the gradual exploration of their sexuality, individuality and how they fit into a society such as ours, has them experiencing new and foreign moments. Malek incorporates some engaging storytelling through his choreography, and the characters the dancers take on maintain a sophisticated depth to them that I rarely witness in contemporary dance.

This is a physically demanding piece that expects much from its performers who are more than able to rise to the challenge, with the menage-a-trios between Ball, Hicks and Hall highlighting this better than any other sequence in BOYZ. Precision timing is required from all three, as their bodies become one but remain in constant movement. The choreography is so intricate that if one arm or one leg is misplaced even for a second, it would visibly disrupt the flow they have created.

There is a strong Dionysian influence throughout BOYZ, for just like the excesses of the Greek God of wine and ecstasy, the moments shared by the characters on stage are highly intense and passionate, whether it be through drugs, dancing, or with each other. Look deeper and you can see that while these events and the transition into manhood can potentially cause harm and tragedy, they can also be viewed as an opportunity for growth and self-discovery.

The choreography is perfectly timed to music by Danish electronic musician, Trentemøller, which at various times sounds like a rapidly beating heart that’s about to explode. The basic and simple set design by Chris Curran, consisting of a white sofa, table and chairs, is the perfect contrast to the frenetic nature of the characters’ experiences, and together with Curran and Hicks’ costuming and Craig Boyes‘ lighting design, create some evocative aesthetic moments.

While the ending is fitting in itself, with the dancers collapsing into slumberous exhaustion from all they have gone through, it is at a much slower pace than the rest of the show, and as such the overall impact of BOYZ lessens. Cutting the length of the finale would still allow for Malek’s desired effect but would also have us remain completely engaged with the piece.

BOYZ is an hypnotic and honest performance piece that, regardless of sex and sexuality, audiences can strongly relate to in appreciating the events and emotions these five dancers go through. From Malek’s perspective, the world can be a big scary place when you’re set free in it, but it’s the experiences we have, both good and bad, that will ultimately decide who we are and how we can find what we are looking for in life.

Venue: Transit Dance, 2/10 Elizabeth St, Kensington
Season: Until 30 January | Wed – Sat 8.30pm
Tickets: $30 Full | $22 Conc
Bookings: Midsumma Festival

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Bernadette Robinson in PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

Gripping, glamorous, and remarkably funny

By Narelle Wood

When I read the release for this, it sounded to me like The West Wing crossed with a musical, which would be awesome. But what the collaboration of playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, director Simon Phillips and actor Bernadette Robinson accomplished in Pennsylvania Avenue was something far better than I could have ever imagined – and my expectations were pretty high.

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Set in the Blue Room of the White House, famously directed by Jackie Kennedy, Harper Clare Clements (Robinson) takes us through her 40-year journey working in the entertainment department. This fictitious character, Harper, laments her personal narrative, interspersed with stories of musical greats whose performances are as much entrenched in the history of the White House as the ‘great’ men who held office. The tails begin with Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedy era and meanders all the way through to the Clintons and Aretha Franklin, all the while Clements describing her part in the musical as well as the political history.

Clement offers a unique and intriguing perspective of the power, privilege and unexpected perks of working adjacent to the Oval Office. And while Clement’s haunting past often acts as a conduit for the music, moments of political struggle and significance are also captured in dialogue and song: JFk’s assassination, the civil rights movement and the Vietnam war, to name but a few.

Anyone could be forgiven for thinking Harper Clare Clement and her exploits to be true. The story is so compelling and plausible: the historic events are portrayed so accurately and Clement’s tale seems an all-too-familiar one in an era that placed such little value on a woman’s voice. The movement of narrative from the ordinary, tragic, and joyous to the extraordinary would perhaps in other setting be unbelievable, but in The White House, anything seems possible. The plausibility is further facilitated by an array of still photographs that appear in the background, capturing and reinforcing the narrative as it moves along. But ultimately the believability factor must be contributed to the combination of Murray-Smith’s punchy writing, Phillip’s direction and Robinson’s embodiment of every character she plays. So accurate is Robinson’s mimicry in both voice and movement of the great musicians that after a Sarah Vaughan number the band broke into applause.

This production deserves every accolade it receives and more. Laugh-out-loud funny, charming and heartrending, Pennsylvania Avenue has all the ingredients for a killer political drama with a killer soundtrack to boot.

Venue: Playhouse, The Arts Centre, Melbourne
Season: Until 14th February, Tue – Thu 7.30pm, Fri – Sat 8pm, Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 5pm
Tickets: From $65
Bookings: artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/musicals/pennsylvania-avenue

Circus, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Daniele Finzi Pasca’s LA VERITA

Circus spectacle celebrates surrealism

By Jessica Cornish

La Verità – directed, choreographed and written by internationally renowned creator Daniele Finzi Pasca, and inspired by Salvador Dali’s surrealist depiction of the fraught love story between Tristan and Isolde – was a visually stunning production, with breath-taking acts executed by well-seasoned performers.

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Travelling with an incredibly strong cast of 13 acrobats, musicians, clowns and dancers, La Verità morphed the State Theatre into a beautiful melancholic circus, with sumptuously rich scenery often silhouetted by the beaming golden cyc cloth hanging upstage. The performance work also incorporated trance-like shadow theatre, stark imagery, contrasting bold lighting states, shapes and the morphing of colours powerfully and continuously throughout the two acts.

La Verità’s aerial acts were particularly stunning, featuring double-helix ladders spiralling through the air, ultraviolet-lit hula hoops dancing across the stage, and the incredible acrobats illustrating human form at its peak of perfection. The performance also included one of the best choreographed and most intricate and quirky juggling scenes I have ever seen, and a wonderfully cringe-worthy contortionist, to name only a few memorable moments. My only criticism of the performances was that Act One heavily relied on comedic relief to transition between items: I didn’t really find the shiny silvery characters very funny, and felt the slapstick humour a little lame and unnecessary at times; however, my companion clearly enjoyed the glittery clowns, so maybe I just need to adopt a better sense of humour!

Meanwhile, the comedic narrators provided some background information on Salvador Dali through a mix of English, French and Spanish ramblings, retelling remarkable snippets of his life such as the time he tried to present a lecture in a diving suit and nearly suffocated in the process. To further accentuate Dali’s work and influence, some of his other famous iconic images were also smattered throughout the items, such as the melting away of time and the recurring rhinoceros, (he believed the latter’s patterned horn possessed the same logarithm as both cauliflowers and sunflowers…!)

A captivating and stunning night of entertainment, overall – if you are a lover of all things circus and beautiful, go see this show!

VENUE
State Theatre
DATES
Friday 22 January, 7:30pm
Saturday 23 January, 2pm
Saturday 23 January, 7:30pm
PRICE RANGE*
Premium: $85
A Reserve: $65
B Reserve: $45
Under 30: $30 (strictly limited)
Concession and family tickets available
BOOKINGS
Phone: 1300 182 183

https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/circus-physical-theatre/la-verita

Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: MTC Presents LADIES IN BLACK

Sleek, stylish and utterly winning

By Caitlin McGrane

The lead-up to Ladies in Black has been, for me, quite mysterious. It is the creative brainchild of Carolyn Burns (North by Northwest) and Tim Finn, so my expectations were suitably high, particularly because the production is also directed by Simon Phillips (North by Northwest). During the interval of Ladies in Black I struggled to think whether I had ever seen an Australian musical – would Priscilla or Strictly Ballroom count? And generally speaking musicals aren’t my thing, but Ladies in Black was jolly good fun, uproariously funny, and most importantly melted my feminist heart.

Ladies in Black starring Kathryn McIntyre, Kate Cole, Christen O’Leary, Naomi Price, Lucy Maunder, Deidre Rubenstein, Carita Farrer Spencer.jpg

It is the gentle, uplifting coming-of-age story of Lisa (Sarah Morrison), a shy, bookish Sydney teenager in the 1950s and her job at Goodes’ department store. Her colleagues in cocktail frocks Fay (Naomi Price) and Patty (Lucy Maunder), along with the magnificent Magda (Christen O’Leary) and lovely Miss Jacobs (Deidre Rubenstein) softly introduce her to life in the adult world. Although excellently played by Morrison, I found Lisa was sometimes competing for stage space with other characters in ways that felt, to me, a little jarring. That is not to say that anyone or any scene was unnecessary, I think writer Carolyn Burns did an exceptional job of rounding out every character as much as she could, to me this seemed like the consequence of not wanting to leave anyone out because they were all so worth seeing. I particularly enjoyed the (wonderfully oft-repeated song) about men being bastards and the way in which it was the male characters that were sidelined and showed shame for their sexual appetites, neatly subverting historical convention and giving the play a truly modern edge.

My only reservations about the whole production are: I would have loved to see the New Year’s Eve party, and some lines from other scenes sometimes felt like unnecessary exposition. Even though O’Leary’s Magda was terrific rattling through the evening’s events at breakneck speed, I would have enjoyed seeing Lisa and Fay dancing; however, I appreciate that the focus of the play was the women, not their male beaus.
The play is beautifully staged, and the opening of the second act was a particular highlight. The band (Gerard Assi, David Hatch, Matt Hassall, Jo To and Paul Zabrowarny) playing the music (nicely visible behind the stage) were outstanding – each scene felt accompanied by the perfect jazz riff or subtle tinkling of atmospheric music.

Unsurprisingly the costumes (from designer Gabriela Tylesova) were breathtaking, and now I really want to own at least one cocktail frock. Lighting (designed by David Walters) was suitably impressive – moving seamlessly from snowy street to sunny beach to moody bar.

My usual aversion to musicals has been swiftly demolished by this beautiful performance: it was extremely difficult not to get caught up in the whimsical daydreams of all the characters, and I left feeling as though it was the first production I had seen in a long time that didn’t talk down to the audience and really relished in the shiny, glossy newness of a beautiful dress.

Ladies in Black is now playing at The Sumner Theatre at the Melbourne Theatre Company in Southbank until 27 February 2016. More information and tickets at: http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/season-2016/ladies-in-black

Image by Rob Maccoll

Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Wayne Tunks’ THE GIRLIE SHOW

Funny, engaging and satisfying new theatre

By Ross Larkin

While writer and producer Wayne Tunks’ latest venture, The Girlie Show, is in some respects an homage to pop’s most famous diva Madonna, the play is more accurately a universal story about relationships, pain and self-discovery.

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Directed by Josh Karlik, The Girlie Show revolves around a vibrant group of teenagers in the 90s, who, while queuing to purchase tickets for a Madonna concert, become close friends, bound initially by music and idolisation but ultimately by love and passion.
As the teens navigate their own personal challenges including infidelity, sexuality and the smothering of strict religious parents, the group’s bond widens against a backdrop of song, dance and humorous pop culture references.

Charlotte Fox plays songstress Natalie, who must choose between career and self-worth, while Sam (played by Adam Haylock) deals with a broken family and an addiction to risky habits. Oliver Bailey and Adam Noviello play Jason and Derek respectively, both faced with the conundrum of their feelings for each other versus Jason’s struggle to come out of the closet. Meanwhile, shy and meek Mary (Caitlin Spears) is forced to confront her controlling parents as she rebels against a life of repression.

Fox is particularly excellent (her solo ballad is a highlight), while most of the comical moments are provided by the supporting cast including Tunks himself, who plays Sam’s jovial dad, Tony. Geoff Wallis is hilarious as Vic, a toupee-wearing, sleazy record company executive and also as Jason’s densely naive father, along with his wife, played by Perri Cummings (among other support roles) whose performance and stage presence is strong and engaging.

One of the show’s best moments is a dance number (choreographed brilliantly by Kristen Adriaan-Benton) featuring the whole cast in a slew of outrageous, Madonna-inspired costumes as a centrepiece to the show.

The Girlie Show is a satisfying, coming-of-age mixture of comedy, drama, music and dance whose themes are universal and is, as such, most certainly not just for Madonna lovers!

The Girlie Show is playing now as part of the Midsumma Festival until January 31st, 2016 at La Mama Courthouse Theatre, 349 Drummond street, Carlton.

Tickets via lamama.com.au or (03) 9347 6142.
Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: UNTITLED, OR THE SEAT OF NARCISSA

Faultlessly funny

By Ross Larkin

From the outset, a certain curiosity swells at the prospect of a play with no title, while simultaneously bearing a highly distinct and decided one. This is not coincidental, but rather a sneaky peak into the contrary madness that awaits in writer/director Sofia Chapman’s hilarious new production.

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Initially a love triangle between three quirky, tenacious women, Untitled, or The Seat of Narcissa quickly evolves to include multiple love-crazed subjects in a chaotic swarm of hysteria while infidelity and passion abound along with music, dancing and poetry.
Penny Larkins is the egocentric and deceitful Viscountess Narcissa, who chews up her lovers and spits them out, all the while demanding the utmost respect and attention.
Falling under her spell are Erica Chestnut as the sassy Duchess of Dullcote and Kate Hosking as feisty go-getter, Baroness of Inverness, while Narcissa’s seemingly dazed and confused servant, Marcello, played by Madeline Hudson, intersects the melodrama with great intrigue.

The humour and wit of Chapman’s writing is immediate and doesn’t stall for a single moment, aided by a strong and energetic cast whose comic timing and delivery had the audience cackling from beginning to end.

Chapman is also responsible for the hilariously witty poetry which merges with the play beautifully, as well as the very fitting and engaging music and comical lyrics. Hudson’s song on the accordion with Hosking on the cello about knowing a Jewish person is a particularly priceless moment.

Add to the mix some wacky and amusing dancing, gorgeous costumes and a slew of double entendres and clever one-liners and the result is a barrel of non-stop laughs, comparable to the likes of Monty Python, Black Adder and Absolutely Fabulous. This is one Midsumma show for the top of your list!

Untitled, or The Seat of Narcissa is playing now at La Mama, 205 Faraday street, Carlton until January 31st.

Tickets available at http://lamama.com.au/ or on (03) 9347 6948.
Image by Annabel Warmington
Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Midsumma Presents THE LATE NIGHT SEXY SHOW

Sex and all that jazz

By Myron My

Even though it plays at the not-so-late night sexy time of 8.30pm, you may want to fasten your seatbelts with The Late Night Sexy Show, as you’re going to be in for a bumpy night! Performed as part of the 2016 Midsumma Festival, musician, singer and comedian, Grant Busé humorously explores the wonderful world of sex, sexiness and everything else in between.

The Late Night Sexy Show.jpgBusé enters the stage in a suit, gradually losing one piece of clothing with every sexy song he performs. Between songs, we are treated to some erotic reading material that will have everyone getting a little hot under the collar and spend some “quality time” with Busé in which he calls out questions to the audience and in return, we direct questions to him regarding sex, desire and anything else we can think of.

Talking about the topic of sex can be an incredible awkward thing to do, as is creating a safe and welcoming environment for all audience members regardless of sex, gender and sexuality. Whether it be singing about the perils of car sex or having that connection with someone, Busé’s cheeky sense of humour allows him to build a strong rapport with everyone and therefore welcomes us to relate to his experiences and observations.

Busé has a strong  appealing singing voice which he puts to full use. The variety of original songs he sings and music he plays nicely showcase the range in which he can perform. Much like the show itself, Busé allows sex to be imaginative, emotional and invigorating but also for it to be fun, respectful and not dirty (except in the good way). Even when he takes on a more serious tone with regards to sexual consent and equal marriage rights – in one of the best numbers of the evening, “Hypocrite” – it is executed in a suitably serious yet light-hearted manner, where the laughs are permitted to keep on coming.

At one point during the show, Busé referred to The Late Night Sexy Show as being a “silly, stupid, sexy show”. I would like to add ‘highly entertaining, cleverly constructed, sharply written and full of laughs’ to that description. There’s a reason this show has received sell-out seasons throughout the country and overseas, and with its short run during the Midsumma Festival, I would act quickly on seeing this one. Busé has a burgeoning talent and charm that is very close to exploding onto the Melbourne comedy scene.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Until 24 January | Wed – Sun 8.30pm
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: Midsumma Festival

Events, Performances, Review

REVIEW: THE ULTIMATE VEGAS SHOW

Plenty of glitz

By Myron My

The Ultimate Vegas Show is a night of magic, illusion, circus, songs, dancing and music. It’s got all the ingredients for a brilliant and captivating show, yet, sadly this experience left me feeling underwhelmed and wanting to head back to ‘Melbourne’.

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Host/MC David Cotter did pleasantly well with his Dean Martin impersonation, but that’s all there was to it. Cotter’s Martin did not possess enough dynamic stage presence or charisma to keep the audience strongly entertained and generate excitement about the upcoming acts, although perhaps in a more intimate setting as opposed to the expansive space of The Palms, he might have had more of an effect.

Among the performances themselves however, producer Michael Boyd‘s magic and illusion act was definitely a showstopper, with some of his tricks defying logic and eliciting a lot of delighted “How did that just happen?” from the audience, especially the charming one involving his loyal sidekick, Thurston the Duck. Similarly Spain’s Duponte Nicole with his clowning and mime act was perfectly timed and his finale had everyone gasping with amazement and laughter at the same time.

The inherent problem with this show was filling all the space between these two mentioned acts. While the vastness and glitz you expect from a Vegas experience was present, I felt it lacked the heart and real sparkle to really draw the spectators in and take them along for the ride (although many of the older women in the audience would disagree with me judging by their enthused and emotional reactions to Elvis impersonator Marcus Jackson‘s vocal numbers). Furthermore, the dance numbers had relatively uninspiring choreography that left me feeling like I was watching a lot of the same routines just with different costumes on.

The Ultimate Vegas Show had potential to be a captivating spectacle on a grand scale. Unfortunately, in its focus to capture the “Vegas vibe”, it seems to have forgotten about capturing all its audience. Maybe it is an iconic example of the showy grandeur of the productions in Vegas – I confess I’ve never seen one so I don’t know – but in this case and for me, I felt what happens in Vegas really should have stayed in Vegas.

The Ultimate Vegas Show was performed at The Palms at Crown Melbourne between 15 – 16 January 2016.

Comedy, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Circo Aereo Presents THE PIANIST

Riotously funny and utterly delightful

By Rachel Holkner

The Pianist is a character of grace, charm and poise, but only in his own mind. In this Circo Aereo production, Thomas Monckton takes on this role in a battle against a downright vindictive grand piano. The result is an hilarious show as Monckton engages in more and more bizarre problem-solving in order to get his music concert started.

The Pianist.jpg

This dialogue-free performance is laughs from start to end, from embarrassed titters to outright side-splitting convulsions as the Pianist mimes, dances and contorts his way around the stage. It is constructed as beautifully as any concerto, with slow and subtle beginnings, clever and timely phrase repetitions, and building gradually to an uproarious crescendo.

The situations are absurd as the pianist character, while not exactly hapless, is doomed to suffer through his own misjudgements as the simple staging and very few props are determined to bring him down. And all the while he is dearly wishing for his work to be taken seriously.

Monckton is a virtuoso performer, keeping the audience fully engaged for an hour through his expressive movements, whether spectacular full-body acrobatics or minute facial tics. He is a skilled mime artist, aware of his own nonsense, but revelling in the audience’s enjoyment.

The entire production reminded me of no less than a classic Looney Tunes cartoon brought to life with the overconfidence of Daffy Duck together with the charm of Bugs Bunny and the bad luck of Wile E. Coyote. I could not read the make of piano from where I was sitting but would not be surprised had it said ‘ACME’.

The audience during this performance was one of the most varied I have seen with all ages well represented and equally enchanted with The Pianist‘s antics; this is truly a show that anyone will enjoy. I can’t recommend it highly enough as a refreshing escape.

Showing at Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne
12 – 16 January at 7:30pm
Saturday 16 Jan at 1:00pm
Sunday 17 Jan at 3:00pm
Tickets $39 with family prices available.

Phone: 1300 182 183
https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/circus-physical-theatre/the-pianist