Long Live the Queen
Performing Shakespeare’s plays presents any theatre maker with numerous obstacles: the language must be relatable, without losing the flavour of the original; the setting, if modern, must be unpretentious; and if traditional must still be meaningful to a modern audience. Ultimately, MUSC’s production of Henry IV Part 1, directed by James Christenson, manages to overcome these hurdles, and present a relevant modern adaption of Shakespeare’s … Continue reading Long Live the Queen
Do It Anyway
On Saturday 9th April 2016 Union House Theatre hosted a Piercing Examination of Student Theatre Symposium, this year held around the theme of ‘Back To The Future’. The event reviewed the current state of student theatre in Melbourne, comparing it to its past and gauging how far it has to go in the future. There were three panels scheduled in the event. Each panel was … Continue reading Do It Anyway
Not-So-Private Lives
A mix of playfulness and passion characterised the Balloon Head Theatre Company’s inaugural production, Private Lives, taking the audience on one heck of an emotional rollercoaster. Noel Coward’s classic comedy of romance, with all its twists and turns, is encapsulated by the line ‘Chance rules my life’. The company carried this essence beautifully, with a truly endearing performance that managed to maintain a definite level of professionalism without ever … Continue reading Not-So-Private Lives
It’s Got Heart
Enthusiasm and feeling permeate MUSLSA’s Annual Charity Play On Time, which follows the Fernando family as they move into a new neighbourhood, next door to notorious old grouch Bernie Wilson. Manjitha Wijesinghe skilfully portrays this character both as a spirited young man and a curmudgeonly seventy-year-old. Sharini Arachchige is delightful as the bubbly seven-year-old Lucy; and Ariana (Inushi Ilangamage), the unexpected hero, drew laughs in the second … Continue reading It’s Got Heart
(Im)pure Imagination
Welcome to a world we thought we knew. A world where ‘pure imagination’ makes children feel like anything is possible. These dreams will be stomped on as you visit the factory of Willy Wanka: a complete disaster and downright wanka. Willy Wanka follows the original plot of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but with the added threat of bankruptcy. You’ll need to go and see … Continue reading (Im)pure Imagination
Interview with Simon Farley
Kate Weston sat down with her co-director and emerging playwright Simon Farley to talk about their upcoming production The Nun and The Highwayman. First presented by FLW Theatre at Mudfest, the play won a place in La Mama’s 2015 Explorations season, and opens this Thursday 26 November, running until Saturday at La Mama Theatre. Kate and Simon have known each other for entirely too long, and … Continue reading Interview with Simon Farley
Hear Them Roar
In an ideal world, this show wouldn’t need to exist. This is not an ideal world, and so The Roar had to be made. And had to explain itself in both beginning and end. Because people – and I include myself here – fail to see the lack of female representation in theatre, fail to see the inequalities and perhaps have asked at one time … Continue reading Hear Them Roar
An Implausible Species
Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Female of the Species is zany romp through the shifting politics of feminism. A conceited writer is held hostage in her mansion by a former student, while her rhetoric is placed under interrogation. Hilarity ensues. The college crowd audience were immensely entertained by the opening night performance I watched. At times, some of the dialogue was lost under the crowd’s laughter. A … Continue reading An Implausible Species
Fantastic but Problematic
UMMTA ticks a lot of boxes with its take on the hilarious, absurd and incredibly sexist A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This is a traditional take on a classic farce that first opened on Broadway in 1962. Set in Ancient Rome, it follows the exploits of a slave called Pseudolus as he attempts to win his freedom from his young … Continue reading Fantastic but Problematic
The Shrew We Need
It’s a brave enterprise to stage a production of Shakespeare’s most notoriously misogynistic play to draw attention to a devastatingly relevant issue in Australian culture: the cycles of family violence and abuse. The dangers are obvious. Make one wrong move artistically, and you risk reinforcing the very thing you’re condemning. MUSC’s production of The Taming of the Shrew walks atop this razor’s edge, and the … Continue reading The Shrew We Need
The Dialog 