Sometimes, but only sometimes, reviewing’s a breeze. Sometimes, but only sometimes, the opportunity presents itself to suspend all carping and criticising, because only praise is warranted. This is one of those times. Bell Shakespeare’s current, touring production of Julius Caesar is possibly the finest, most satisfying Bell production I’ve yet seen (and that’s saying something). [...]
READ MOREOctober, 2011
REVIEW: No Way To Treat A Lady | Darlinghurst Theatre, Sydney
It all began with Hollywood screenwriting icon William Goldman’s 1964 novel of the same name. Four years later, Jack Smight (an oddly apt name given it’s a murder mystery) had John Gay adapt it for the screen. Why not Goldman? Good question. The film boasted a stellar cast: Steiger; Segal; Remick. It was Douglas J. [...]
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REVIEW: The Love Of The Nightingale | Opera Theatre, Sydney
How often do you hear of a homegrown opera? Well, occasionally, I suppose. Not often enough. But then, it takes a lot of resources, which are relatively scant, to get such a major undertaking off the ground. And a lot of commitment. What we can be sure of is that Richard Mills, who composed and [...]
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REVIEW: The Land Of Yes And The Land Of No | Sydney Theatre
Apparently, when Sydney Dance Company was recruiting for a new artistic director after the departure of Graeme Murphy, the man that landed the job, Raphael Bonachela, included a video of The Land Of Yes And The Land Of No as part of his resume. I can see why he was hired. This, I reckon, is [...]
READ MOREREVIEW: City Jungle: Syd vs Melb | The Reginald, Sydney
I love percussion. Things that go bang in the night. And there, surely, can be no greater exponents of the art than Speak, from Melbourne, and Synergy, from Sydney. And ain’t it great to revive the old rivalry, in such a healthily competitive way? City Jungle, as the name implies, focusses in on D ‘n’ [...]
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REVIEW: This Year’s Ashes | Griffin Theatre, Sydney
“This isn’t her place” (or words to that effect) reads the neon sign above the bed, the focal point of the set for Ms Jane Bodie’s This Year’s Ashes, which recently began its Griffin Theatre Company season at the SBW Stables Theatre (ye olde Nimrod), Nimrod Street, Kings Cross. It’s one of the wittier nuances [...]
READ MOREREVIEW: The Dysfunctional Project | Newtown Theatre, Sydney
It had to happen. I wanted to deny its probability, but have been living in fear; a fool’s paradise. Three nights of the very best the theatre has to offer. And I was going for a fourth. What a long weekend that would’ve been. But no. I was presented with the execrable. The Dysfunctional Project [...]
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REVIEW: Double Think (Melbourne Festival) | Arts House
This dance work, a new creation from choreographer/director Byron Perry, works well as a brief little satire on the human bias toward imaging the world in dualist categories, and particularly in terms of binary oppositions. I have to quote the program here, because I really like their way of describing the show: “Through movement-based conversations, [...]
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REVIEW: Unit 4 | The Reginald, Sydney
The raison d’etre for The Reginald’s (the theatre formerly known as Seymour Downstairs) inaugural season is to showcase numerous of Australia’s best small and emerging performance companies. Hence curation of Dislocate’s Unit 4. Dislocate may not ring bells or be instantly recognisable in the way of the major companies, but it stands as one of [...]
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REVIEW: Bloodland | Wharf 1, Sydney
You never quite know where Stephen Page will go with a production. And I’ve a feeling, neither does he. His method seems to be organic. And it works. Of course, if you’re one of the country’s most distinguished indigenous artists, and bring on board colleagues of comparable calibre, you probably can’t go too far wrong. [...]
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