Waking a queen: Melbourne Shakespeare Company resurrects Cleopatra and Antony with fresh, intoxicating ferocity

REVIEWED BY LUCY SONNEMANN EDITED BY CHARLOTTE FRASER On the stage of fortyfivedownstairs, the air thick with incense and anticipation, the cast of MSC’s Cleopatra and Antony sit around an imposing stone amphitheatre; all but one. In her absence, her supporting characters stare into the audience, their unflinching gazes demanding that we bear witness. This is the story of Cleopatra: Egypt’s last pharaoh, a woman … Continue reading Waking a queen: Melbourne Shakespeare Company resurrects Cleopatra and Antony with fresh, intoxicating ferocity

Who needs a shrink when you can go see Mr Big AKA Tatay, A Transwoman And That Tiring Tune?

REVIEWED BY ELIJAH VALERY SLAVINSKIS EDITED BY CHARLOTTE FRASER “Thank you for coming to my very public, very expensive therapy session” writes playwright Dax Carnay-Hanrahan in the program for Mr Big AKA Tatay, A Transwoman And That Tiring Tune (June 24th – July 5th @fortyfivedownstairs). Diana (Carney-Hanrahan), a trans immigrant, is preparing for her wedding, when she finds out her dad has died. Diana starts … Continue reading Who needs a shrink when you can go see Mr Big AKA Tatay, A Transwoman And That Tiring Tune?

Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s Eurydice makes you remember its melody

REVIEWED BY CHARLOTTE FRASER EDITED BY RACHEL THORNBY It almost felt as though I was descending into Hades myself, walking into fortyfivedownstairs to see Eurydice. Whatever I had expected this play to be, it wasn’t. Melbourne Shakespeare Company brought us into a world both recognisable and yet unfamiliar – one full of music, plastic sheets, tap-dancing and talking stones. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice … Continue reading Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s Eurydice makes you remember its melody

LOVE and SHIT

Longtime collaborators Susie Dee and Patricia Cornelius return to the Melbourne stage with a double-bill of Cornelius’ plays Love (2005), and Shit (2015), presented by fortyfivedownstairs. It’s all you could ask for: both award winning plays, by award winning artists, and on their way to the Teatro Biennale di Venezia – the first time any australian artist has been invited. Textually, Love and Shit make … Continue reading LOVE and SHIT

Mr Burns: A Post Electric Play

Up-and-coming Melbourne-based company Lightning Jar Theatre made a sound decision when it chose Mr Burns: A post-electric play as its latest production – one that paid off in a sold-out first season. Now it’s back, by popular demand, for a short re-run at fortyfive downstairs. Don’t be fooled by the primitive illumination: this is electrifying theatre. Critically acclaimed as one of the 25 best American … Continue reading Mr Burns: A Post Electric Play