Tag: Malthouse Theatre

Review, Theatre, Whats On

Malthouse Theatre Presents AWAY

An Australian fever-dream

By Leeor Adar

The Sydney Theatre Company/Malthouse collaboration of Michael Gow’s modern classic Away opens with Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to stir the summer heat from the stage to warm this Melbourne audience in winter.

Away

Matthew Lutton’s blaze through the Malthouse Theatre (and now as Artistic Director) has brought Melbourne audiences some extraordinary and outlandish theatre to feast upon in recent seasons. The announcement that Away would be on the banquet table for procuring no doubt left many theatregoers with a morbid curiosity. The matrimony between the rugged Australian summer depicted in Gow’s writing and director Lutton’s horror dream of dancing animal skulls somehow takes this classic to new contemporary heights. Yes, Dale Ferguson’s costume design keeps us well within the bounds of the 60s, but his set complies with the post-modern theatrics we’ve come to expect from the Malthouse under the gaze of Lutton. Lutton injects into Gow’s world a kind of dystopian synchronicity that plays out as the actors dance in formations together like glamourous zombies trying to forget their realities to Stephanie Lake’s choreography.

What we have depicted in Away is an Australia of then which is not that much different from the Australia of today. Everyone has high hopes for the Aussie dream, but even in the most comfortable homes the world outside will always rudely awaken us. What unites the families of Tom (Liam Nunan) and Meg (Naomi Rukavina), our high school would-be, could-be, not-be lovers, is the quiet sadness and acceptance of a life that was hard-won. The fear that something could steal the dream away lurks beneath the happy exteriors of (most) of Gow’s characters, and becomes a focal point of the play. That dream is already stolen from Roy (Glenn Hazeldine) and Coral (Natasha Herbert) through the loss of their son in the Vietnam War. Herbert’s Kim-Novak look-alike Coral continuously treads the line between reality and the past, slipping further and further away from the desperate grasp of her husband. Coral is not mad because Roy cannot control her; she is in such a deep state of grieving that the Aussie dream is well and truly lost for her. Herbert gives Coral a fluid naivety damaged by tragedy; her performance is one of the heart-breaking standout’s alongside Liam Nunan’s Tom.

Amongst the great pretenders are Vic (Julia Davis) and Harry (Wadih Dona) who manage to live in the moment as they watch their son Tom slip away from them due to his illness. We know the inevitability of grief will befall them, and they too may just stop smiling through their sadness and join Coral on her faraway shore.

In contrast we have the couple whose great tragedy is staying together, existing in a chronic state of unhappiness in which no holiday can salvage. Heather Mitchell’s Gwen is marvellously funny and annoying as her shrill voice drains her family of any moments of joy; a complacent husband Jim (Marco Chiappi) continues to accept his lot with a resigned shruggery. Their family is one blessed with health, but they are not untouched by the life of having lived as battlers-come-good. Gwen’s chronic state of stress is indicative of another kind of grief, one where a lifelong sacrifice for a future yet lived leaves traces of bitterness.

This is still a sensitive and poignant production by Lutton amidst the jarring devices of non-naturalism that threatens to break down the walls of their world. Audiences will be surprised from the outset of this play; if they are expecting a classic re-telling of Away they will be in for an awakening – but it really is a very good one.

Away will grace Melbourne audiences at the Malthouse Theatre until May 28th. Collect your tickets here: http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/away?gclid=Cj0KEQjwoqvIBRD6ls6og8qB77YBEiQAcqqHe6-xVP730ooUfRIBdx6VZ67CrJxYFl3Ytuu3-bHvzQcaAulB8P8HAQ

Festivals, Musical Theatre, Whats On

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2017: ASSISTED SUICIDE – THE MUSICAL

Seriously funny

By Joana Simmons

From turning dirty thirty, to having a poke at their nationality, to everything in between, this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival has artists with all sorts of reasons to put on a show. In Assisted Suicide, The Musical, the motive for putting on the show here is a very important one. Described as “a TeD Talk with show tunes” UK’s disability rights campaigner and actor Liz Carr (Clarissa Mullery in the BBC’s Silent Witness) and her cast of upbeat cheesy chorus members sing, dance and shed light on what can be seen as a dark issue, especially at this time as our Victorian Premier pushing for a parliamentary conscience vote on euthanasia this year.

Assisted Suicide the Musical.jpg

Opening with a classic kick-line chorus number “Choosing Choice”, we are warmed up for a night of musical messages and edgy issues. Liz Carr graces the stage in her glitter-filled hair and sparkly boots and is engaging and relaxed. She speaks with eloquence and passion, peppering facts with comedy, piece by piece revealing how assisted suicide is not black and white: there is a fine line between terminally ill and disabled. We see how by making it legal will eventually mean that people like her will feel like there is an exit sign hanging over their heads. The show is humorously and well written, including some wonderfully cringe-worthy puns and catchy tunes.

Many theatrical elements were used to make this discussion entertaining and compelling. Carr and director Mark Whitelaw have got in our faces and pushed us to think harder. The set is simple and effective, and space used well by all the cast. The choreography and singing is relatively basic: initally I was unsure if the chorus were meant to be taking the mickey or just giving a tacky delivery, but as the show went on there were some standout moments that left us chortling, such as the marking meeting meeting to ‘jazz up’  the idea of euthenasia with a new brandname, or the raunchy number to make end-of-life care more appealing (“Palliative Claire”). Composer Ian Hill’s music follows the famous showtune formula that we love, and the sound was good as expected in a venue like Malthouse. The lighting however was not as coherent, with some cast members being in half darkness or cues being missed the night I attended.

Amazing work and thought has gone into this show to deliver a complex and controversial subject in a comedic and highly digestible way. It’s meaty, it’s memorable, and sometimes it melts your heart. My eyes were opened and shows like this remind us how powerful theatre can be. If you are looking for something to sink your teeth into this comedy festival, or even have a nibble and then think a little; this is the show for you.

Assisted Suicide, The Musical

30th March- 9th April

6.00pm

Beckett Theatre, The Coopers Malthouse

Southbank

$17.50 – $25’

http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/assisted-suicide-the-musical

Circus, Festivals, Whats On

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2017: SOAP

Lather up

By Myron My

Bath time has never been this fun – and sexy – as Soap. Direct from Germany, Soap is touring Australia with original and engaging circus acts that will leave audiences with their mouths wide open as they witness the re-interpretation of what circus can be. Presented as pat of this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, it’s definitely a show that should not be missed.

Soap.jpg

The troupe – Adem Endris, Liudmila Nikolaeva, Lena Ries, Daniel Leo Stern, Mario Espanol and Moritz Haase – are on top of their game with their physically demanding and challenging acts. The acrobatics between Espanol and Haase create a firm highlight, displaying the performers’ athleticism and strength, and also being a rare opportunity where I have seen same-sex relationships highlighted in mainstream circus. Nikolaeva has a commanding presence each time she appears on stage, as she executes a variety of tricks with finesse and skill.

Joining the cast on stage is soprano Jennifer Lindshield, who adds an operatic tone to Tal Bashai’s musical arrangements. While this seems like a peculiar choice, the genre is integrated thoughtfully and creatively with the rest of the show. Lindshield’s “Splish Splash” re-imagining is particularly entertaining to watch and hear, as is Nicole Ratjen‘s commendable clowning ability in warming up the audience and providing laughs during the very smooth transitions.

Daniele Drobny‘s stage design of six bathtubs raised to various heights captures our attention before we’ve even taken our seat and its authoritative presence is never forgotten. The bath theme works well in creating moments of playful fun, like Endris’ juggling striptease, to something more intense and intimate, such as the loved-triangle themed acrobatic performance by Stern, Nikolaeva and Ries.

Soap is world-class circus that is bound to have audiences transfixed by what is being presented on the stage. It’s full of surprising moments and acts that – while they may have been done before – have never been done in this way. An extremely polished show that will have you looking at your bathtub in a different light.

Venue: Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Season: until 22 April | Tues – Sat 7.30pm, Sat 4pm, Sun 6:30pm
Length: 85 minutes
Tickets: Prices from $44.50 to $56.50
Bookings: MICF website

Review, Theatre, Whats On

Malthouse Theatre Presents THE HOMOSEXUALS

Gleefully funny

By Leeor Adar

How dare we, or you, or anyone, be politically incorrect (PC is very in, in case you weren’t paying attention). Lee Lewis’ romp as director into taboo territory is loud, colourful, slapstick, and rainbow-shoots dance hits of the bygones. This production of The Homosexuals is everything you would expect it to be, and then a little more sardonic.

The Homosexuals.jpg

And it is funny. The shining light of this show isn’t the performers so much as their sharp dialogue catapulted from Declan Greene’s pen. I can see the delivery only sharpening as the season goes on, and like Greene’s usual work, is so right now. Right now, and reflected in the play is the war between white homosexual men and other sexual and racial minorities that continue to be marginalised by cookie-cutter ideals. It rages in this production, and offers a farcical gaze upon the pompous rhetoric of queer theorist ‘Bae-Bae’ (played with natural grace and disdain by the genderqueer Mama Alto).

The play is set in a tiny modern apartment in Darlinghurst where Warren (Simon Bourke), the identified ‘older gay gentleman’ looks through his lens at the young and chiselled Adonis (Lincoln Younes). Clichés aside, Warren attempts to hide his interest in the Adonis from his shrieky partner, Kim (Simon Corfield). Cue the realisation that married paradise does not exist even for the queer community. What is meant to be the night of the Mardi-Gras and offensive costume party (hint: blackface/Hiroshimaface/Naziface), turns into a comedy of near-misses as a druggie and part-time cook (Mama Alto) is mistaken for the gloriously self-righteous ‘Bae Bae’. A series of mad antics ensue in what is sure to be a night of laughs.

A real shout-out must go to the top-notch comic delivery of Diana (Genevieve Lemon), who propelled the silliness on stage and brought a sage moment towards the close of the fare. Unfortunately this is where the script diverts too sharply from the rest of the play; the tone suddenly shifts to a serious place that doesn’t have the same wondrous reality-shatter of other works that manage to take comedy to dark places. The point is already made in the piece itself – the audience knows. The show ultimately ends with a whimper, no bang in sight. I found this a touch disappointing given all the walls shattered earlier in the evening.

However, if you want to catch a show that pokes fun at itself and definitely makes you laugh – then by all means, enter the rainbow world of The Homosexuals, or ‘Faggots’, currently showing at the Malthouse Theatre until Sunday 12 March.

Book your tickets here: https://tickets.malthousetheatre.com.au/booking/production/syos/3205

Image by Brett Boardman

Review, Theatre, Whats On

Western Edge Presents CALIBAN

Dynamic and captivating

By Leeor Adar

The culturally diverse Western Edge Youth Arts’ Edge Ensemble under the directorship of Dave Kelman and Tariro Mavondo delivers a spirited, vibrant and painfully accurate adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest with Caliban.

Caliban.jpg

Who is Caliban in this tale?

We are not dealing with a deformed witch’s son, but a native of an island, which carries the spirit of his mother – all mothers – in the sand, air and water. The Edge Ensemble’s Caliban (Oti Willoughby) is every pure thing, every angry living thing that despises the poisons inflicted by civilisation on the natural world.

In this tale Prospero is Prospera (Natalie Lucic), and Ariel (Piper Huynh) is a machine, not spirit, that can think up realities to save the planet from global warming and other ills that contribute to the inevitable downfall of our world. But Prospera needs capital. Propera needs wealth. Prospera’s adopted daughter, Miranda (Achai Deng), is shipped off with billionaire Afghani, Ferdinand (Abraham Herasan) for a better life, a life of opulence, but little freedom and incredible isolation. It is ironically a lonely and uncertain life at the top of the world, but all is not lost.

Caliban tackles big ideas with humour and poignancy. This is a remarkable and highly physical performance delivered by an ensemble with differing physicality. The performers are excellent, emotive, funny and totally humane. So much of the story told is delivered by this troupe through their bodies, and they each deliver something unique. Credit must be given to movement director, Amy MacPherson, who has successfully conjured the best of the cast. The set design by Lara Week, who previously worked with Mavondo in Greg Ulfan’s 3 Sisters, provides yet another bright and adaptable space that works well for the performers. Turquoise cylinders serve as podiums, seats, towers, and the ever-present reminder of man-made waste.

There is at the heart of this story a great longing for a home that is being stolen by land erosion and war. On one hand our lovers, Ferdinand and Miranda, each long for their homes, Afghanistan and the Sudanese Abyei Area, each torn, each broken by the worst of human nature. On the other, Phano (Rexson Pelman) longs for a Samoa with an uncertain future, and Caliban for his island home – two examples of the fate rendered by the hands of global warming, another ongoing man-made calamity.

The tragedy of our characters is that they each seek to do well, but fail fundamentally on their quest. It is deeply Shakespearean, but simply a timeless tale of humanity. Prospera is blinded by her mind, Ferdinand by his desire for respect, and Caliban by his anger. Their undoing is deeply psychological and a result of the previous ills of man-made affliction. And so is the cycle of human nature…

Caliban will be showing for its final night tonight, November 26 at 7pm at the Coopers Malthouse Theatre. Bookings: http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/caliban

Image by Nicola Dracoulis

Review, Theatre, Whats On

Malthouse Theatre Presents BLAQUE SHOWGIRLS

Truly outstanding

By Caitlin McGrane

Nakkiah Lui’s searing portrait of white Australia’s treatment of Aboriginal people, Blaque Showgirls, is vital viewing for all white people. In this production, Lui does not shy away from intensely uncomfortable subjects, but her punchlines always hit their target.

blaque-showgirls

The show opens as Sarah Jane (Bessie Holland) starts performing her signature dance, the Peking Emu on stage in Chithole, Queensland. Sarah Jane is a white-skinned ‘blaque’ girl who dreams of making it as a dancer at the famous Blaque Showgirls show in Brisvegas, just like her mother. With a voice that could shatter glass, and dance moves that would not be out of place in any reputable club in Melbourne, Sarah Jane is unceremoniously booed offstage. Sarah Jane makes the journey to Brisvegas to begin her journey to stardom, where she meets the amazing Chandon (Elaine Crombie), Kyle McLaughlan (Guy Simon), and Molly (Emi Canavan). Chandon and Kyle are the owners of Blaque Showgirls, the best and toughest show in town; Molly meanwhile is Sarah Jane’s Japanese sidekick who gets continually cut off when she’s talking. As Sarah Jane (aka Ginny) begins to work on her dancing with TruLove Interest (spelling: uncertain, Guy Simon) she starts to discover her true culture through the ‘Sacred, Sacred Really Sacred Dance’ (never-before-seen).

By the end of the performance my face hurt from laughing so much. Director Sarah Giles has worked magic with Lui’s exceptional script, and with it the duo has delivered something truly outstanding – the production perfectly skewers Australia’s bonkers and backwards attitudes to race and cultural appropriation, while Ginny continues to wreak havoc and destruction on the lives of those around her, her life continues to get better and better. Even finding out the truth about her past fills her with unconscionable optimism.

The production is completed with wonderful set and costume design from Eugyeene Teh, lighting design from Paul Jackson, composition & sound design from Jed Palmer, and movement direction from Ben Graetz. The team obviously have a tremendous passion for the subject matter, which left me deeply sympathetic to the tiny bumps in the production, which should be ironed out once the cast gets further into the show’s run.

There is so much more I wish I could say about Blaque Showgirls, but you should just go see it, especially if you’re white.

Blaque Showgirls is now on at the Malthouse until 4 December 2016. More information and tickets at: http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/blaque-showgirls

Image by Pia Johnson

Performances, Theatre, Whats On

Anthony Weigh’s EDWARD II

Tender chaos

By Leeor Adar

For all the chaos of Christopher Marlowe’s brief life, I’m sure he would have sat in the Merlyn Theatre last night with a wicked smile on his face to see the tender chaos Matthew Lutton and his team resurrected.

Edward II.jpg

But let’s be honest, with Anthony Weigh’s writing and Marg Horwell’s impressive set design, this work is a beast of its own glory.

The play is broken into the fragments of the artefacts the boy prince (Julian Mineo/Nicholas Ross) inspects from his father’s reign. The noble handle of a sword and handkerchief descends to a bag of faeces left at the palace gates. The frames of the scenes marked by the flint and steel of the lighter, signify the brief candle of these moments leading towards Edward II’s fall.

Edward II is a museum to the hypocrisy of the people’s love for their monarch. It’s a cold world, but despite the blood and pulp of the people within it, at the core of this rotten apple of yet another kingdom, is the most tender love story between two men I have ever witnessed on stage. Johnny Carr (Ned) and Paul Ashcroft (Piers) capture the heady, shaking, vulnerability of the impossible-to-bottle kind of love. Their energy was marvellous on stage.

Ned’s brutality and unpredictability at first drove this production, but even the bubbling inner-workings of an unstable prince could not quash the ambitions of the likes of Mortimer, played with mastery by Marco Chiappi. When Chiappi got going on Weigh’s words, it became Mortimer I. For all the sweat and passion of Carr and Ashcroft, Chiappi’s delivery drew the masses into the palm of his hand – audience and peasant alike. Even as Mortimer lulled a sensually delusional Ned towards death, we could not help but accept the sensibility of this decision. Because tomorrow, we will have another king.

The woman’s role in Edward II is to nurture the next king, but Sib (Belinda McClory) laments the loss of her potential in this world. Although Sib plays the role of the queen-to-be, there is ambition pulsing through her sinewy body for a surge of control. McClory’s voice is hollow and powerful as she pushes her lover aside and walks with purpose across the stage. But at the close of this play, she’s exhausted, calling out, unanswered, into the kingdom she birthed but could not rein.

The Malthouse Theatre has always been the Marlowe-esque bad boy of the Melbourne theatre world, challenging the dimensions of theatre and immersing its audiences in treacherous and thought-provoking terrain. This one such terrain was bold, decadent and ultimately heartbreaking.

Malthouse Theatre until August 21

http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/edward-ii

Review, Theatre, Whats On

Belvoir Presents THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Beautiful reimagining of a classic

By Bradley Storer

The Glass Menagerie, the first great success of legendary American playwright Tennessee Williams, is a curious thing – not entirely a traditional naturalistic play nor an abstract lyrical Symbolist piece, it lives in the blurry division between fantasy, reality and memory. Director Eamon Flack emphasizes this essential ambiguity from the outset, as narrator Tom Wingfield (Luke Mullins) enters casually through the audience and seemingly begins to construct the play both physically and textually before our very eyes in his opening monologue.

The Glass Menagerie.jpg

The multifaceted set designed by Michael Hankin, the tiny Wingfield family apartment that unfolds in continually surprising ways, is surrounded by cameras (with video design by Sean Bacon) that project images onto near by screens as the play unfurls, creating delectable moments of intimacy with the characters and thrilling moments of theatrical ingenuity at the same time it theatricalizes and distances these moments as though we are seeing scenes from an old Hollywood picture – further suggesting the way Tom has shaped and crafted his memories until the line between his nostalgic remembrance and the reality has disappeared completely.

Mullins as Wingfield is remarkable, combining the soul of a poet with a bitter and sardonic twist of humour that one senses is the result of a sensitive spirit yearning for the freedom his home life denies him. Pamela Rabe as his mother Amanda, one of the great Southern belles of the Williams canon, gives a truly titanic performance, moving from a shrewd no-nonsense woman beaten down by the harsh realities of her life to the winsome love-struck girl of her youth with ease in the space of a single scene, creating a portrait of a woman burdened by both her massive maternal love and the seething resentment underneath. Rose Riley as Laura, Tom’s shy and disabled sister, brings a surprising and refreshing tom-boyishness to the role, and when her closed-off but scintillating face is projected in big screen, it is easy to see why Laura is the heart (and the central mystery) of this nostalgic play.

The first act is close to perfection, but the second act where the lives of the Wingfelds is interrupted by the visit of a gentleman caller (a jovial Harry Greenwood) seems to get a bit lost, and the final moments of the play fail to bring together the wide-ranging resources used throughout into a  satisfying conclusion. But when this production succeeds, which it often does, those moments are truly magical.

Venue: Malthouse Theatre, Merlyn Theatre, 113 Sturt St

Dates: 18th May – 5th June

Times: Tuesday 6:30pm, Wednesday – Saturday 7:30pm, Saturday 1pm, Sunday 5pm

Bookings: www.malthousetheatre.com.au, (03) 9685 5111, boxoffice@malthousetheatre.com.au

Prices: Adult $65, Concession $50, Senior $60, Tertiary Student and Under 30’s $35

Image by Pia Johnson, Malthouse and Belvoir

Comedy, Festivals, Review

MICF 2016: Zoe McDonald in GOOD MORNING MOFO

Promising characters invite solid laughs

By Myron My

Zoe McDonald’s one-woman, multiple-character comedy show Good Morning Mofo begins before it even begins. As we enter the “studio”, Channel 8 intern, Jenny, “who’s not getting paid but really happy to be here” anxiously seats everyone and ensures all health and safety issues are recognised and everyone is comfortable. After a brief audience warm-up, Channel 8’s morning show Brunch begins with host, Chloe Davis, introducing us to Women’s Week, where the whole week of episodes  will be devoted to issues that are important to women. A whole week!

Good Morning Mofo.jpg

The sly and satirical ‘hot’ topics include how bad invisible panty lines are, and how to lessen the harsh reality of laugh-lines on your face. McDonald introduces us to a variety of women both in front and behind the camera of Brunch, including weather reporter Rochelle, Pamela from wardrobe and Anita from make-up.

McDonald does stellar work with her slick impersonations and the voice and demeanour of Chloe Davis in particular feel very real, as if she actually belongs in a TV show that is the love child of 60 Minutes and Frontline. This is where the humour in the show really finds its stride and feels less forced than at other times. The subtle anxieties that Davis feels about her career and future employment opportunities could even have been explored further though as they seemed to bubble on the surface of something much more poignant.

It is clear and worthwhile what McDonald is trying to say about the representation and treatment of women in the news and entertainment industry: however, by having so many characters appear throughout the one-hour show, the script feels a little disjointed and the connections we seek with the characters don’t always manifest.

I felt the $10,000 cash-prize phone call segments between Davis and “bogan” winner Jessica Murphy could easily have been removed without impacting the show in a negative way. The scenes with the talent agent brought to the surface the issues older women face in a seemingly younger woman’s world, but the extreme way in which she was portrayed made her feel less genuine and sympathetic as a person and more of an overt caricature.

Good Morning Mofo does well in providing the laughs to the audience as it portrays a variety of interesting women all trying to make it in the cutthroat television industry and struggling to be treated as equals regardless of gender, age or appearance. With some refinement over whose story McDonald is working to explore, these important concerns will become stronger, clearer and resonate even more with the audience.

Good Morning Mofo was performed at the Malthouse Theatre as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival between 23 March – 17 April.

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

MICF 2016: VELVET

Sparkling and sexy disco cabaret

By Bradley Storer

Even before the show began, the atmosphere at the opening night of Velvet was electric. Upon entering, the audience was immediately drawn into the hedonistic disco era through the beats being spun out by music director Joe Accaria on the deck above the stage. The opening image was stark and sudden – centre-stage, a young innocent-seeming man (Brendan Maclean), ukulele in hand and unsure of himself, drawn into the seductive world of a Studio 54-esque dance party filled with bright lights and sequins, the quintessential ‘Boogie Wonderland’, bringing us along with him like Alice down the rabbit hole.

Velvet.jpg

Velvet is not a traditional narrative theatre piece, but rather a variety-show combining music, song, fabulous costumes and incredible acts of acrobatics and aerial feats, held together by the Dionysian atmosphere of classic disco and the incredible charisma of the performers. After the opening Mirko Kockenberger launched us into the spirit of evening with an wonderful character act that combined acrobatics and strip-tease, channelling a sexy and cheeky energy that provoked the audience into a near frenzy.

Fellow acrobats Emma Goh and Stephen Williams would each have their own moments to shine across the rest of the evening, with amazing aerial acts that combined both of their talents, a highlight being their S&M-themed ballet in the air. Performer Craig Reid was quite possibly the biggest scene-stealer of the night: as a short chubby man dressed in sequined lycra, he was not the traditional image of burlesque glamour. But he wowed the audiences with such stunning hula-hoop skills and an impish and utterly joyful magnetism that you couldn’t help but watch him every second.

From the moment Marcia Hines, as the disco ‘fairy godmother’ of the evening, steps onstage she completely commands the audience. She takes centre stage and tears through numbers like ‘Never Knew Love Like This Before’ and ‘It’s Raining Men’ with such authority that you want to bow down before her. Hines is backed up by two wonderful singers, Chaska Halliday and Rechelle Mansour, who dance up a storm and send chills up your spine with their vocals in their own songs.

Maclean as the young man whose journey and transformation loosely ties the show together is completely charming, with a wonderful and emotive voice that truly comes into its own during the show’s more emotional moments. His blossoming into a fabulous disco creature of the night allows him to unleash his own wild stage presence that burns just as bright as that of Hines.

A daring attempt to fuse elements of cabaret, circus and burlesque, Velvet is a massive success, creating a spectacular world that thrills at every moment and is infused with such glamour, sex and excitement that you just want to visit it again and again!

Venue: The Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt St, Southbank

Dates: 23rd March – 17th April

Bookings: Ticketmaster.com.au

Image by Daniel Linnet