Promise of more…

By Myron My

In Anya Anastasia’s Fear-Eater Theatre, we are treated to a variety of songs and performances that have been inspired by various fairy tales or iconic figures.

Anastasia’s grand and glamorous entrance as Marie Antoinette was effective in grabbing our attention, but soon after the attention waned and unfortunately I found myself encountering less and less to enjoy about this show.

Granted, this was a preview performance for this Melbourne season, and there were a few overt things that needed refinement, such as call cues and effective positioning of UV lights, but I must admit for me, the show itself failed to entertain on the level one would have expected.

The inclusion of guest dancer Briohny May not only felt completely out of context with what the rest of the show was about, but the three songs to which she danced felt like three too many. I found no charisma or charm in the performance personally, and was left puzzled as to why Anastasia has chosen to include the numbers in Fear-Eater Theatre.

Similarly, Anastasia’s performances appeared to be too focused on getting out the right moves, rather than enjoying herself on stage. Again however, I would like to put this down to preview-night nerves and an artist testing new routines.

Anastasia’s greatest strength lies in her songwriting; her ability to take an idea and spin it around until a different perspective is revealed is intriguing to witness. Her skill is evident and admirable in creating quirky and original songs.

I walked out of Fear-Eater Theatre not feeling I had been transported into an “extravagant fantasy realm” as stated in the show’s description, but that this was a performance that perhaps still needed more work and thought before being put on stage again.

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

Season: Until 14 September | 9:00pm, Sunday 8:00pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $22 Conc

Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com