Mostly Melbourne theatre reviews
30 September 2011
Fringe artist profiles part 2
Gremlins stole these profiles off AussieTheatre.com, so here's Miles O'Neil, Miranda Hill, Jennifer Williams and Robert Lloyd
Fringe artist profiles part 1
Web gremlins stole these off AussieTheatre.
So here's Stephen House, Johannes Scherpenhuizen and Sarah Hamilton.
So here's Stephen House, Johannes Scherpenhuizen and Sarah Hamilton.
Fringe artist profiles part 3
These disappeared from AT, so here's Anna Lumb, Dan Kilby, Spencer Gignall and the Wau Wau Sisters.
Fringe artist profiles part 4
Internet gremlins stole their original links, so here's Timothy Clark, Bron Battern, Ash Flanders and Kate McLennan.
FRINGE review: X
MELBOURNE FRINGE 2011
Terrible Comfort and Barking Spider Visual Theatre
27 September 2011
Lithuanian Club, Son of Loft
to 8 October
When a narrator has a swirly red skirt that I covet and fur the exact purple that I've been trying to dye my hair, I know I'm in safe hands.
Puppet-friendly companies Terrible Comfort and Barking Spider lashed themselves to the same mast to ride out the not-so-perfect storm of developing a new show. X marks the spot and names this gorgeous (I mean terrifying) new romp.
Robert Reid's story is even more fun than his recent MTC show, especially because this one's full of pirate stereotypes that have been forced to walk the plank for being outdated and dull, and been replaced with a rollicking adventure that's simply the best pirate-seazombie-steampunk-robot-monster-ghost story ever.
The design is as lush as a posh opera's and the monsters (created by Sayraphim Lothian) are so gorgeous you'll want to take them home to cuddle. I mean, Lily and Mike (and their companions Penelope Bartlau and David Rosenblatt) are brave and tough monsters who aren't at all cute and will haunt my nightmares.
And Danny Diesendorf and Hanna Camilleri will probably never want to be cast as anything other than pirates from now on.
X makes the tiny Son of Loft room feel bigger than a galleon, so it HAS to move on to bigger theatres, but don't miss the fun of being so close that the temptation to reach out and pat tummies is almost irresistible.
Take your kids and your friend's kids and your friends. This is theatre for children that lets children be smart and lets grown ups be kids.
FRINGE review: Sweet Child of Mine
Sweet Child of Mine
Bron, Jim and Linda Batten
and The Last Tuesday Society
28 September 2011
Studio 246, Brunswick
to 1 October 2011
I've seen some great shows this Fringe, but I haven't loved any quite as much as Sweet Child of Mine. My heart is still grinning from this show that's made from love – and there's only a couple chances left to for you to be able to say that you there when Jim told his dad jokes.
Jim and Linda Batten have six children; one, Bron, left their Warrnambool home to study contemporary dance and drama.
Jim and Linda love their daughter Bron. Melbourne's independent-cool-arty-farty hipsters (and arty-farty bloggers) love Bron's hilarious and subversive art. Jim and Linda like beautiful art that makes sense and doesn't have nudity or bad language. So what do they make of a daughter who understands post structuralism, danced a chicken abortion in an empty swimming pool and has spent a lot of time in a blue sleeping bag pretending to be a whale?
They perform this show together, on film and on stage.
Jim Batten is the star of this Melbourne Fringe. As scantily-clad Bron swirls around in symbolic white chiffon smock and practical Bonds underwear, Jim tells us what it's like to be the dad of an artist and, on film, Bron asks Jim and Linda to tell her what they think she does.
Apparently contemporary art isn't clear to everyone and artists are known to have unreliable incomes.
Linda and Jim Batten like art that has some emotional kick to it, that's uplifting, that is understood and makes an impression.
So they're pretty lucky to be in a show that ticks every single box. And it has obscure references, a beaver, bad language and blue paint for the rest of us!
Sweet Child of Mine is for anyone whose parents don't understand what they do (yes Mum, I'm still doing "some writing") and for parents who don't know why their artist offspring don't want a steady job.
But is it art?
Jim and Linda Batten have six children; one, Bron, left their Warrnambool home to study contemporary dance and drama.
Jim and Linda love their daughter Bron. Melbourne's independent-cool-arty-farty hipsters (and arty-farty bloggers) love Bron's hilarious and subversive art. Jim and Linda like beautiful art that makes sense and doesn't have nudity or bad language. So what do they make of a daughter who understands post structuralism, danced a chicken abortion in an empty swimming pool and has spent a lot of time in a blue sleeping bag pretending to be a whale?
They perform this show together, on film and on stage.
Jim Batten is the star of this Melbourne Fringe. As scantily-clad Bron swirls around in symbolic white chiffon smock and practical Bonds underwear, Jim tells us what it's like to be the dad of an artist and, on film, Bron asks Jim and Linda to tell her what they think she does.
Apparently contemporary art isn't clear to everyone and artists are known to have unreliable incomes.
Linda and Jim Batten like art that has some emotional kick to it, that's uplifting, that is understood and makes an impression.
So they're pretty lucky to be in a show that ticks every single box. And it has obscure references, a beaver, bad language and blue paint for the rest of us!
Sweet Child of Mine is for anyone whose parents don't understand what they do (yes Mum, I'm still doing "some writing") and for parents who don't know why their artist offspring don't want a steady job.
But is it art?
Fuck* yes!
(*Sorry Linda.)
PS. Jim and Linda, I'm a bit older than Bron and still supplement my income with that govt arts payment and am heading towards spinsterhood...
A version of this review appears on AussieThearte.com
PS. Jim and Linda, I'm a bit older than Bron and still supplement my income with that govt arts payment and am heading towards spinsterhood...
A version of this review appears on AussieThearte.com
29 September 2011
MELBOURNE FRINGE HINT 11
The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper
GH Hotel and Daniel Clarke
GH Hotel, 1 Brighton Rd St Kilda
to 9 October
The wow wow Wau Wau sisters are back!
If you missed them earlier this year, get on your knees and (while you're down there) thank the theatre gods for their return and don't you dare displease them by not worshipping at Wau Wau temple at the re-vamped GH Hotel (that we will always call the Grey Hound).
I saw The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper not long ago.
And am still looking for a pair of Fuck Yeah undies...
GH Hotel and Daniel Clarke
GH Hotel, 1 Brighton Rd St Kilda
to 9 October
The wow wow Wau Wau sisters are back!
If you missed them earlier this year, get on your knees and (while you're down there) thank the theatre gods for their return and don't you dare displease them by not worshipping at Wau Wau temple at the re-vamped GH Hotel (that we will always call the Grey Hound).
I saw The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper not long ago.
And am still looking for a pair of Fuck Yeah undies...
FRINGE review: I HEART JACK
MELBOURNE FRINGE 2011
I Heart Jack
Anna Lumb 23
September 2011
Fringe Hub, Rehearsal Room
I Heart Jack
Anna Lumb 23
September 2011
Fringe Hub, Rehearsal Room
to 8 October 2011
I HEART Jack is totally heartable.
Anna Lumb has worked with by DJ Lazer Ferrari and fringe/circus/everything legends Maude and Anni Davey to create a boutique circus of cult, wit, regret and broken hearts.
From en pointe balancing on bottles to making the tiny stage seem like a roller rink, Anna introduces three new characters who are based on cult legends and who share one sad event.
The narrative links could tighten up a bit, but it really doesn't matter because the combination of circus trick, monologue, music and live dance magnifies the emotion of each story and shows us people who try to keep their secrets but can't help but show their hearts.
And you get to watch Anna perform. She fearlessly shows us the hidden hurt of people who rely on their image, she lets us laugh and does the freakiest Hockey Pockey ever.
As other independent arts festivals grow and welcome commercial shows, the Melbourne Fringe still lets brand new work like this find its place and lets us share the kind of art performers really want to create.
This originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com
Anna Lumb has worked with by DJ Lazer Ferrari and fringe/circus/everything legends Maude and Anni Davey to create a boutique circus of cult, wit, regret and broken hearts.
From en pointe balancing on bottles to making the tiny stage seem like a roller rink, Anna introduces three new characters who are based on cult legends and who share one sad event.
The narrative links could tighten up a bit, but it really doesn't matter because the combination of circus trick, monologue, music and live dance magnifies the emotion of each story and shows us people who try to keep their secrets but can't help but show their hearts.
And you get to watch Anna perform. She fearlessly shows us the hidden hurt of people who rely on their image, she lets us laugh and does the freakiest Hockey Pockey ever.
As other independent arts festivals grow and welcome commercial shows, the Melbourne Fringe still lets brand new work like this find its place and lets us share the kind of art performers really want to create.
This originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com
FRINGE review: World Around Us II
MELBOURNE FRINGE 2011
23 September 2011
Fringe Hub, Rehearsal Room
to 8 October 2011
World Around Us was one of my favourite of last year's Fringe, and this year's part II is just as gorgeous. Intimate, gentle and so fucking beautiful, it's impossible to watch without crushing on Miles O'Neil.
Everybody seems to have a story – and that's brilliant!
So says Miles, as he shares some unlikely cans of VB. His cream brocade jacket and pink-rose tie defines Melbourne op-shop hipster chic, but there's nothing ironic about his nostalgic collection of stories, found 8mm (and super 8) film and original songs. This year, they're about love.
There's stories like Bob's. He's the Jetstar lost property delivery dude who was once "6 inches away" from asking a girl to marry him and delighted in watching the sun set over a power pole. There's a 1950s film of a nanna watching her grandchildren, who may now be grandparents themselves. There are backyard pools, animals, Neil Diamond (thank you for bringing him back) and blue V Dub that will never leave your heart.
Miles makes these stories of day-to-day life so irresistible and joyful by finding the unexpected beauty and love in each one. Love isn't about grand gestures and contrived events; it's really quite simple and sometimes it takes a taxi driver or a family watching performing seals to remind us just how beautiful our lives and our loves are.
Miles O'Neil's World Around Us II is on late each night at the Fringe hub. It's too beautiful to miss.
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com
There's stories like Bob's. He's the Jetstar lost property delivery dude who was once "6 inches away" from asking a girl to marry him and delighted in watching the sun set over a power pole. There's a 1950s film of a nanna watching her grandchildren, who may now be grandparents themselves. There are backyard pools, animals, Neil Diamond (thank you for bringing him back) and blue V Dub that will never leave your heart.
Miles makes these stories of day-to-day life so irresistible and joyful by finding the unexpected beauty and love in each one. Love isn't about grand gestures and contrived events; it's really quite simple and sometimes it takes a taxi driver or a family watching performing seals to remind us just how beautiful our lives and our loves are.
Miles O'Neil's World Around Us II is on late each night at the Fringe hub. It's too beautiful to miss.
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com
I missed this a couple years back...
28 September 2011
More FRINGE review previews
MELBOURNE FRINGE 2011
When a narrator has a swirly red skirt that I covet and fur the exact purple that I've been trying to dye my hair, I know I'm in safe hands.
Robert Reid's story is full of pirate stereotypes that he's forced to walk the plank for being outdated and dull, and they've been replaced with a rollicking story that's simply the best pirate-seazombie-steampunk-robot-monster-ghost story ever.
The design is as lush as a posh opera's and the monsters are so gorgeous you'll want to take them home to cuddle. Sorry, I mean, that Lily and Mike are brave tough monsters who aren't at all cute and will leave me with nightmares.
Take your kids and your friend's kids and your friends. This is theatre for children that lets children be smart and lets grown ups be kids.
I Know There's A Lot Of Noise Outside But You Have To Close Your Eyes
I'm Trying to Kiss You
26 September 2011
137 Greeves St, Fitzroy
The last show was tonight and they were sold out anyway.
So if you missed this one and all I can say is "Sucked in" and next time I'm Trying To Kiss You do a show, buy your tickets early because you don't want to miss theatre that's this confronting, beautiful, and slightly scary.
I haven't seen a dud Fringe show this year, but the three I've seen so far this week have been especially awesome. Just see them, except the one that's sold out.
The full reviews will be on AussieTheatre.com soon (when I've had some sleep and the keyboard doesn't look like a blur) and will be published here in a few days.
28 September 2011
Studio 246, Brunswick
to 1 October 2011
I've seen some great shows this Fringe, but I haven't loved any quite as much as this and my heart is still grinning. There's only three chances left to see it.
Jim and Linda have six children; one left their Warrnambool home to study contemporary dance and drama.
Jim and Linda love their daughter Bron. Melbourne's independent-cool-arty-farty-hipsters (and bloggers) love Bron's art. Jim and Linda like beautiful art that makes sense and doesn't have bad language. So what do they make of a daughter who understands post structuralism, danced a chicken abortion in an empty swimming pool and has spent a lot of time in a blue sleeping bag pretending to be a whale?
They perform this show together.
This for anyone whose parents don't understand what they do (yes Mum, I'm still doing some writing) and for parents who don't know why their artist children don't want a steady job.
But is is art?
Fuck* yes!
(*Sorry Linda.)
X
Terrible Comfort and Barking Spider Visual Theatre
27 September 2011
Lithuanian Club, Son of Loft
to 8 October
Terrible Comfort and Barking Spider Visual Theatre
27 September 2011
Lithuanian Club, Son of Loft
to 8 October
When a narrator has a swirly red skirt that I covet and fur the exact purple that I've been trying to dye my hair, I know I'm in safe hands.
Robert Reid's story is full of pirate stereotypes that he's forced to walk the plank for being outdated and dull, and they've been replaced with a rollicking story that's simply the best pirate-seazombie-steampunk-robot-monster-ghost story ever.
The design is as lush as a posh opera's and the monsters are so gorgeous you'll want to take them home to cuddle. Sorry, I mean, that Lily and Mike are brave tough monsters who aren't at all cute and will leave me with nightmares.
Take your kids and your friend's kids and your friends. This is theatre for children that lets children be smart and lets grown ups be kids.
I Know There's A Lot Of Noise Outside But You Have To Close Your Eyes
I'm Trying to Kiss You
26 September 2011
137 Greeves St, Fitzroy
The last show was tonight and they were sold out anyway.
So if you missed this one and all I can say is "Sucked in" and next time I'm Trying To Kiss You do a show, buy your tickets early because you don't want to miss theatre that's this confronting, beautiful, and slightly scary.
FRINGE review: Who, Me
MELBOURNE FRINGE 2011
Who, Me
Vicious Fish and MILKE
23 September 2011
Fringe Hub, Meeting Room
to 8 October 2011
Directed and co-created by Scott Gooding (still going with Peter Davison?), it takes us into the-bigger-on-the inside mind of a passionate obsessive as his alter ego fracks with the wibbly wobbly and forces Rob to put his love on trial. Would Rob have a better life had he not donned a velvet jacket in the 90s and put his devious-and-too-honest VHS-stealing plans to more a more productive purpose?
The uber-meta time-travel/brain/trial story is the structure, but the double-heart of the night is Rob's story. His confessions of his fan behaviour create wonderful squirming recognition, including a moment when you can pick how many people in the audience had their first kiss when they were well out of high school.
Still, by trying to find a balance between in-jokes and references for the fans and still making it fun for the non-fans (although I don't understand how anyone could NOT love Doctor Who*), the show’s spending some time in the void between the 'verses.
I'd love to see the references turned up to 11. Name those companions, show us the tower of Target books, throw in the really obscure stuff and go as close to the copyright breach as you dare. At the same time, the less-nerdy viewers need a clearer peek into the uber-nerd world they don't understand. The description of the Trek V Wars 90s is as good as stealing a vortex manipulator and mixing at a 90's sci fi party with your theory that Starbuck would have been much better as a woman. But pics from a convention are not enough to even hint at the jaw-dropping nerdiness of these events**.
But fan or not, it's impossible not to adore Rob as he unzips his normal suit and lets his nerd out to frolic with an atrocious stand up routine and a final vignette that hurts to watch (it makes Wesley's unaired dance in "Waiting in the Wings" – I know you have the DVDs and have watched the extras – seem cool), but it hurts even more to realise that you understand it.
For all its meta wankiness and TARDIS/penis jokes, Who, Me is a love story. The genuine passion and embarrassingly affectionate love we have for these fictional creations has got so many of us through bad times. And, like all loves, it's so much better when it's shared.
Rob and Scott share their passion to assure us that there's nothing wrong with knowing more about a tv show than our own family. And would Rob's life have been better with the Doctor? I'll leave that answer to a TARDIS birthday cake.
Doctor Who fans, don’t you dare miss Who, Me. Non-fans – what’s wrong with you!? See it anyway and you can catch up with the box sets after the Fringe.
* On Sundays, I gather in a secret location with a group of people old enough to have watched it on the ABC every week night and old enough to not be embarrassed when someone brings along a new dolly for show and tell. The tiny Jammie Dodger with the first Matt Smith doctor action figure was my favourite.
** Of course I know that from experience. I went a Buffy etc convention. There was a Firefly preview leaflet, I saw Spike and Giles and discovered that my fandom barely rated on the geek scale. Mixing with these nerds, I felt cooler than Pinky Tuscadero when she was dating Fonzie.
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com
Who, Me
Vicious Fish and MILKE
23 September 2011
Fringe Hub, Meeting Room
to 8 October 2011
In 1999, Rob Lloyd saw THAT Star Wars film more than once. This kind of honesty deserves admiration, but can I still respect him? (Even if he does look like David Tennant.)
David Tennant is MY Doctor. Jon Pertwee is Rob's. Who, Me is about Rob's obsession with sci fi, particularly Doctor Who (which is the name of the TV show; never the name of the character – except that once).
Directed and co-created by Scott Gooding (still going with Peter Davison?), it takes us into the-bigger-on-the inside mind of a passionate obsessive as his alter ego fracks with the wibbly wobbly and forces Rob to put his love on trial. Would Rob have a better life had he not donned a velvet jacket in the 90s and put his devious-and-too-honest VHS-stealing plans to more a more productive purpose?
The uber-meta time-travel/brain/trial story is the structure, but the double-heart of the night is Rob's story. His confessions of his fan behaviour create wonderful squirming recognition, including a moment when you can pick how many people in the audience had their first kiss when they were well out of high school.
Still, by trying to find a balance between in-jokes and references for the fans and still making it fun for the non-fans (although I don't understand how anyone could NOT love Doctor Who*), the show’s spending some time in the void between the 'verses.
I'd love to see the references turned up to 11. Name those companions, show us the tower of Target books, throw in the really obscure stuff and go as close to the copyright breach as you dare. At the same time, the less-nerdy viewers need a clearer peek into the uber-nerd world they don't understand. The description of the Trek V Wars 90s is as good as stealing a vortex manipulator and mixing at a 90's sci fi party with your theory that Starbuck would have been much better as a woman. But pics from a convention are not enough to even hint at the jaw-dropping nerdiness of these events**.
But fan or not, it's impossible not to adore Rob as he unzips his normal suit and lets his nerd out to frolic with an atrocious stand up routine and a final vignette that hurts to watch (it makes Wesley's unaired dance in "Waiting in the Wings" – I know you have the DVDs and have watched the extras – seem cool), but it hurts even more to realise that you understand it.
For all its meta wankiness and TARDIS/penis jokes, Who, Me is a love story. The genuine passion and embarrassingly affectionate love we have for these fictional creations has got so many of us through bad times. And, like all loves, it's so much better when it's shared.
Rob and Scott share their passion to assure us that there's nothing wrong with knowing more about a tv show than our own family. And would Rob's life have been better with the Doctor? I'll leave that answer to a TARDIS birthday cake.
Doctor Who fans, don’t you dare miss Who, Me. Non-fans – what’s wrong with you!? See it anyway and you can catch up with the box sets after the Fringe.
* On Sundays, I gather in a secret location with a group of people old enough to have watched it on the ABC every week night and old enough to not be embarrassed when someone brings along a new dolly for show and tell. The tiny Jammie Dodger with the first Matt Smith doctor action figure was my favourite.
** Of course I know that from experience. I went a Buffy etc convention. There was a Firefly preview leaflet, I saw Spike and Giles and discovered that my fandom barely rated on the geek scale. Mixing with these nerds, I felt cooler than Pinky Tuscadero when she was dating Fonzie.
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com
27 September 2011
A good Dickens
Eagles Nest Theatre's production of Charles Dickens performs 'A Christmas Carol' is back at the Atheneum in December.
Here's the new promo vid or go to charlesdickensperforms.com.
2006 review
2010 favourite award
Here's the new promo vid or go to charlesdickensperforms.com.
2006 review
2010 favourite award
Buzzcuts FRINGE reviews
One of my favourite reviews reads each Melbourne Fringe is Express Media's Buzzcuts.
Buzzcuts has been training and encouraging young writers and broadcasters in critical arts reviewing since 1997 and provides the most comprehensive coverage of the Fringe.
Buzzcuts has been training and encouraging young writers and broadcasters in critical arts reviewing since 1997 and provides the most comprehensive coverage of the Fringe.
26 September 2011
Our AWGIE winners
With the excitement and over-exhaustion of Melbourne Fringe opening weekend, some of us may have missed the announcement of the AWGIE winners.
The AWGIES are presented by the Australian Writers Guild and recognise the "integral role the story plays in film, television, radio, interactive media and theatre." They're a pretty good one to win.
And how cool to read a list of winners and want to do a happy dance because they are all such incredible writers.
Theatre for Young Audiences
Moth
Declan Greene
Major Award
Do Not Go Gentle
Patricia Cornelius
2011 KIT DENTON FELLOWSHIP
For Courage and Excellence in Performance Writing
Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan
(Kate was also too busy doing her Fringe show, Homeward Bound.)
And, because I love both of these writers so very much.
Comedy - Situation or Narrative
Laid: Episode 4
Marieke Hardy
2011 FRED PARSONS AWARD
For Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy
Chris Lilley
all the AWGIE winners
The AWGIES are presented by the Australian Writers Guild and recognise the "integral role the story plays in film, television, radio, interactive media and theatre." They're a pretty good one to win.
And how cool to read a list of winners and want to do a happy dance because they are all such incredible writers.
Theatre for Young Audiences
Moth
Declan Greene
Dec was far too busy at FUGLY - the best night at the Melb Fringe Club ever - to even think of anything as tacky as an award ceremony. And he's prettier than me.
Major Award
Do Not Go Gentle
Patricia Cornelius
2011 KIT DENTON FELLOWSHIP
For Courage and Excellence in Performance Writing
Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan
(Kate was also too busy doing her Fringe show, Homeward Bound.)
And, because I love both of these writers so very much.
Comedy - Situation or Narrative
Laid: Episode 4
Marieke Hardy
2011 FRED PARSONS AWARD
For Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy
Chris Lilley
all the AWGIE winners
23 September 2011
Review: Clybourne Park
Clybourne Park
Melbourne Theatre Company
22 September
Sumner Theatre
to 26 October
www.mtc.com.au
Let's get it out in the open. Let's just be honest and talk about what Clybourne Park at the MTC is really talking about. It's an issue I feel very strongly about, something I won't change my mind about, and something that makes too many Melbournians behave like selfish knobs. It's about property development.
And it's about racism and about stuck up, white cunts.
As the MTC continues to explore how tough it is to be a middle class property owner, along comes American playwright Bruce Norris, who won the Pulitzer for this little beauty set in a family home in a white Chicago neighbourhood in 1959 and in the same house in 2009 as the now-black neighbourhood is being gentrified.
At first, it feels like the ultimate white-do-gooder, racism-and-sexism are-bad rant. It's like a competition to see who can resist sniggering the longest, and the first laughs are like watching Guess Who's Coming to Dinner with your Indigenous Australian pal while your dad makes monkey noises each time Sidney Poitier appears and yells at your mum to open his beer. We DO NOT laugh at such things.
Of course we don't, and no one coming to see a show by a posh university-run theatre company with the likes of Greg Stone, Alison Whyte and Berte La Bonte in it is going to expect a hooray-for-segregation story. So there's no need for director (Peter Evans) to hold back and stress the social commentary in act one. My date for the evening compared the first half to The Help and didn't believe that it was meant to be funny.
It is funny. It's nails-down-the-blackboard satire filled with ridiculous people that is written to be laughed at as loudly as possible.
Act two is much freer with the comedy. Perhaps because it's easier to laugh at conversations we've had or heard. When an argument (Norris writes very fine arguments) develops about whether a joke is funny/offensive because it's about a black man, anal sex or rape, the delicious pain is not in the joke but in the squirming embarrassment and huffy indignation as each person the tries to explain, justify or deny the intent of their harmless words.
Norris says that too many people think "that my plays are about exposing hypocritical liberals...and what's missing from that assessment ... is that I'm something of a hypocritical liberal too." Writing, programming, being in or seeing Clybourne Park should never be about tut-tutting at the ignorant and misguided, but about cringing at our own blatant hypocritical attitudes.
The suburb cast (Stone, Whyte, La Bonte and Patrick Brammall, Laura Gordon, Zahra Newman, Luke Ryan) grasp this tone and relish in Norris's exquisite parallel structure. Each present the worst of their character, but finds their wholeness and their humanity, leaving them so real that the tipping point between laughing and crying is so precarious that's it's easy to slide down the other side without noticing.
Don’t wait for permission to laugh in Clybourne Park. Laugh because it’s so wrong and because it’s so true. Laugh because we know better and because we never learn. Laugh to prove you’re not uptight and because you know you really are.
Photo by Jeff Busby
22 September 2011
Even more FRINGE profiles
And here are some more Melbourne Fringe artists, who had a chat with AussieTheatre.com.
Stephen House is based in my home town (Adelaide), but he's performed all over the world and wrote Appalling Behaviour while on the streets of Paris; the seedy and dangerous streets – addressing homelessness, this is far from a gay Paris romp. Stephen would love to work with Pedro Almodovar and has a fondness for the beautiful sadness in The Glass Menagerie, but he doesn't know what the TARDIS – so no time travel for him!
Still to come: Daniel Kilby, the Wau Wau Sisters, Spencer Bignell, Anna Lumb, Jonno Katz
Stephen House is based in my home town (Adelaide), but he's performed all over the world and wrote Appalling Behaviour while on the streets of Paris; the seedy and dangerous streets – addressing homelessness, this is far from a gay Paris romp. Stephen would love to work with Pedro Almodovar and has a fondness for the beautiful sadness in The Glass Menagerie, but he doesn't know what the TARDIS – so no time travel for him!
Johannes Scherpenhuizen has brilliant taste in pizza (artichoke) and coffee (with chocolate) and is Finus Flume in the children's show Finius Flume and The Fabulous Fandangle Factory. I'm pretty sure that the reason I love theatre so much is because I saw it as a child. If you haven't taken children to the theatre, grab some and do it because watching kids watch a show is one of the easiest ways to remember just how magical and important stories are.
Sarah Hamilton knows how important stories are to our lives and has convinced me that I should try corn chips on a pizza. I last saw her perform in the beautiful Oasis Oasis in 2008. A Donkey and a Parrot is a 300-year-old story that been passed down through her family. As a child she was gobsmacked by the tale of her French ancestor’s escape to England. As an adult she researched the story and revealed an even more delicious plot.
Still to come: Daniel Kilby, the Wau Wau Sisters, Spencer Bignell, Anna Lumb, Jonno Katz
Review: Future of the species part one
Future of the species: part one
La Mama
8 Sept 2011
La Mama
What's the value of a human life? When is it OK to kill? When does life begin? End? I wonder if anyone I know would have the same answers? Maude Davey's Future of the species: part one doesn't leave you questioning the characters and their world, but questioning your own life and the beliefs you hold (often secretly) about whether life or death is something deserved.
Before going into the theatre Maude asks members of the audience to answer a quick survey. Moments after sitting, she describes her generous answerers and we're asked who is worth more. No one can answer. The same questions become more general, but even Nicole Kidman or Martin Byrant doesn't get an answer, but Kylie Minogue or Kyle Sanderlands does. If we can't laugh at the impossibility of such comparisons, what hope do we have?
In her underwear in a cell, Maude is woman who is alone and frightening lonely in a lab where she chose to be for money. Her eggs are harvested and the stem cells used for medical applications. She's wants a family and has conflicting feelings about a rat's babies. Should we fell sorry for her?
She is also a man on death row. He's sexually violent and there's comfort knowing that he's locked away from "us". Would we object when he faces the needle?
Directed by Ingrid Voorendt, it's intimate and visually confronting, yet leaves so much space for interpretation that its audience have no choice but to question themselves. This is brilliant stuff.
Future of the species part one was first performed in Adelaide in 2004 and parts two and three are planned confront our beliefs about family and community. I suspect that the three seen together may be almost too much to watch.
This review originally appeared on AussieThearte.com.
La Mama
8 Sept 2011
La Mama
What's the value of a human life? When is it OK to kill? When does life begin? End? I wonder if anyone I know would have the same answers? Maude Davey's Future of the species: part one doesn't leave you questioning the characters and their world, but questioning your own life and the beliefs you hold (often secretly) about whether life or death is something deserved.
Before going into the theatre Maude asks members of the audience to answer a quick survey. Moments after sitting, she describes her generous answerers and we're asked who is worth more. No one can answer. The same questions become more general, but even Nicole Kidman or Martin Byrant doesn't get an answer, but Kylie Minogue or Kyle Sanderlands does. If we can't laugh at the impossibility of such comparisons, what hope do we have?
In her underwear in a cell, Maude is woman who is alone and frightening lonely in a lab where she chose to be for money. Her eggs are harvested and the stem cells used for medical applications. She's wants a family and has conflicting feelings about a rat's babies. Should we fell sorry for her?
She is also a man on death row. He's sexually violent and there's comfort knowing that he's locked away from "us". Would we object when he faces the needle?
Directed by Ingrid Voorendt, it's intimate and visually confronting, yet leaves so much space for interpretation that its audience have no choice but to question themselves. This is brilliant stuff.
Future of the species part one was first performed in Adelaide in 2004 and parts two and three are planned confront our beliefs about family and community. I suspect that the three seen together may be almost too much to watch.
This review originally appeared on AussieThearte.com.
Review: The Dollhouse
MELBOURNE FRINGE 2011
The Dollhouse
fortyfivedownstairs and Daniel Schlusser
16 September 2011
fortyfivedownstairs
to 25 September
It might be best to get to the fortyfivedownstairs for The Dollshouse before the madness of the Fringe begins. Just don’t regret missing it. Don't worry if you like or despise Ibsen, because this remarkable adaption will leave you with a new perspective. It's overtly theatrical, but feels like overhearing your neighbours fighting and you can't tear yourself away from the delicious uncomfortable intimacy.
It doesn't take long for Ibsen and nineteenth-century naturalism to turn up in any drama or theatre studies class. And it takes less time to realise that naturalistic dialogue and situations are far from naturalistic. As all scriptwriters learn, the art is in making the terribly contrived sound real and, even in translation, Henrik Ibsen is a fine starting point.
The opening of Daniel Schlusser's adaptation doesn't start with Ibsen. Nora (Nikki Sheils) is in a black slip, Torvald (Kade Greenland) is on his games chair with a big TV, Dr Rank (Josh Price) and Kristine (Edwina Wren) are talking about massage and Nils (Schlusser) has a microphone and is looking at vodka. Described by Schlusser as "hyper realism", their conversations are far from the known text ("Torvold have you seen my phone?") and feel improvised, but there's far too much order and design, and the heightened theatricality of the extended stage of cold beaten metal and the interaction with the audience and crew only adds to the sense of inclusion.
Schlusser has re-written Ibsen's story as its subtext. For all its deceit and lack of communication, when these people speak, they say what they mean. This is so unnatural, but the effect is so real. Perhaps it because we don't have to interpret the falseness, so are able to understand and feel for everyone on the stage. Or maybe because there is so much awkward humour in the tension and unraveling horrors. It’s more natural to try to laugh when things are bad than to make a serious speech.
This is the first time I've seen an Ibsen and totally got it. It must be as close to understanding what the1879 audiences felt like when they witnessed such a new style of writing and performance, and I'm betting that Henrik himself is gazing down and high-fiving Chekov at the use of Chewy costume.
And having a can't-see-the-acting cast doesn't hurt. All are so comfortable on the stage that even with the excessive fairy lights and tissues from Ben the sound operator, it's wrong to think that they are performing, as they are simply what Ibsen must have thought of. Sheils especially shows a Nora who struggles, without making us pity her or hate her. (And if you saw Nikki in Don Parties On, please see this so you know it was the play and not the actor.)
The ending may surprise. In 1880 Germans producers insisted on a new ending and Ibsen wrote the alternative saying, "I prefer, having learned from previous experience, to commit such violence myself, rather than surrender my works to treatment and adaptation by less careful and less skilful hands than my own."
If all adaptations were as skillful as this one, great writers would never have to worry.
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.
Photo by Marg Horwell
The Dollhouse
fortyfivedownstairs and Daniel Schlusser
16 September 2011
fortyfivedownstairs
to 25 September
It might be best to get to the fortyfivedownstairs for The Dollshouse before the madness of the Fringe begins. Just don’t regret missing it. Don't worry if you like or despise Ibsen, because this remarkable adaption will leave you with a new perspective. It's overtly theatrical, but feels like overhearing your neighbours fighting and you can't tear yourself away from the delicious uncomfortable intimacy.
It doesn't take long for Ibsen and nineteenth-century naturalism to turn up in any drama or theatre studies class. And it takes less time to realise that naturalistic dialogue and situations are far from naturalistic. As all scriptwriters learn, the art is in making the terribly contrived sound real and, even in translation, Henrik Ibsen is a fine starting point.
The opening of Daniel Schlusser's adaptation doesn't start with Ibsen. Nora (Nikki Sheils) is in a black slip, Torvald (Kade Greenland) is on his games chair with a big TV, Dr Rank (Josh Price) and Kristine (Edwina Wren) are talking about massage and Nils (Schlusser) has a microphone and is looking at vodka. Described by Schlusser as "hyper realism", their conversations are far from the known text ("Torvold have you seen my phone?") and feel improvised, but there's far too much order and design, and the heightened theatricality of the extended stage of cold beaten metal and the interaction with the audience and crew only adds to the sense of inclusion.
Schlusser has re-written Ibsen's story as its subtext. For all its deceit and lack of communication, when these people speak, they say what they mean. This is so unnatural, but the effect is so real. Perhaps it because we don't have to interpret the falseness, so are able to understand and feel for everyone on the stage. Or maybe because there is so much awkward humour in the tension and unraveling horrors. It’s more natural to try to laugh when things are bad than to make a serious speech.
This is the first time I've seen an Ibsen and totally got it. It must be as close to understanding what the1879 audiences felt like when they witnessed such a new style of writing and performance, and I'm betting that Henrik himself is gazing down and high-fiving Chekov at the use of Chewy costume.
And having a can't-see-the-acting cast doesn't hurt. All are so comfortable on the stage that even with the excessive fairy lights and tissues from Ben the sound operator, it's wrong to think that they are performing, as they are simply what Ibsen must have thought of. Sheils especially shows a Nora who struggles, without making us pity her or hate her. (And if you saw Nikki in Don Parties On, please see this so you know it was the play and not the actor.)
The ending may surprise. In 1880 Germans producers insisted on a new ending and Ibsen wrote the alternative saying, "I prefer, having learned from previous experience, to commit such violence myself, rather than surrender my works to treatment and adaptation by less careful and less skilful hands than my own."
If all adaptations were as skillful as this one, great writers would never have to worry.
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.
Photo by Marg Horwell
19 September 2011
More FRINGE profiles
Keep an eye on AussieTheatre.com for a week of Melbourne Fringe artist profiles. Including:
Miles O'Neil is one of The Suitcase Royale trio, who are another one of my absolute favourites. I first encountered their junkyard theatre when they made an awesome monster out of stuff they found at the MIAF Kid's Club in 2005. World Around Us was Miles's first solo show and was so unexpected and just so gorgeous. This year he's found some more films for World Around Us II. He'd love to be in Tarantino's next Western and I can see it so clearly that it has to happen.
Musician Miranda Hill creates art with classical musicians who don't fit in and film makers. She says that Moving Scores is for anyone who is curious about experimental music and wants to make new art accessible, transparent and fun to a new audience. As she's addicted to Dr Who, would love to be at the first performance of The Rites of Spring and to have John Cage see her work, I'm convinced that it's a show worth seeing.
Jennifer Williams is Australian and living in Ieland, but that's not stopping her from doing a show. No Matter Where You Go, There You Are is a collaboration with Cathie Clinton (who's from Ireland, but living here) that combines live performance and video. She's organised it from her laptop, when she wasn't thinking about kissing the likes of Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Viggo Mortensen; so she's got good taste. The show's on at Richmond, which means it will miss the spontaneous audiences of the hubs, but that's no excuse for us in the know to not see it.
Rob Lloyd is nerdier than me! I only watch each new episode of Dr Who twice in the firs tweek, only have one theory about what's going to happen to River Song and don't own any Dalek toys. But Russell T Davies is my favourite TV writer and Seven Moffat is a pretty close second. And in 1982 I wrote "Adric lives" on my wooden school ruler. That was before I discovered Avon. And, yes Rob is still far nerdier than me. Last Fringe, Rob and co-creator/director/uber-nerd Scott Gooding gave us A Study in Scarlet (A Study of) about Rob's obsession with Sherlock Holmes and how we long to be fictional people. Rob loves our Time Lord more!
PS. I really did think his Fringe pic was David T.
Musician Miranda Hill creates art with classical musicians who don't fit in and film makers. She says that Moving Scores is for anyone who is curious about experimental music and wants to make new art accessible, transparent and fun to a new audience. As she's addicted to Dr Who, would love to be at the first performance of The Rites of Spring and to have John Cage see her work, I'm convinced that it's a show worth seeing.
Jennifer Williams is Australian and living in Ieland, but that's not stopping her from doing a show. No Matter Where You Go, There You Are is a collaboration with Cathie Clinton (who's from Ireland, but living here) that combines live performance and video. She's organised it from her laptop, when she wasn't thinking about kissing the likes of Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Viggo Mortensen; so she's got good taste. The show's on at Richmond, which means it will miss the spontaneous audiences of the hubs, but that's no excuse for us in the know to not see it.
PS. I really did think his Fringe pic was David T.
Review preview: Future of the species, part one
Future of the species, part one
La Mama
8 Sept 2011
La Mama
What's the value of a human life? When is it OK to kill? When does life begin? End? I wonder if anyone I know would have the same answers? Maude Davey's Future of the species: part one doesn't leave you questioning the characters and their world, but questioning your own life and the beliefs you hold (often secretly) about whether life or death is something deserved.
The full review appears on AussieTheatre.com and will be published here in a few days.
17 September 2011
MELBOURNE FRINGE HINTS 10: Church or Laundromat
Another way to choose your Melbourne Fringe shows is to find the oddest venues.
Nigel Sutton
This "curious encounter" is performed at The Full Load laundromat in Altona.
Bernard Caleo
Or there's this "illuminating" story at St Paul's Cathedral.
FRINGE review preview: The Dollshouse
MELBOURNE FRINGE 2011
The Dollhouse
fortyfivedownstairs and Daniel Schlusser
16 September 2011
fortyfivedownstairs
to 25 September
It might be best to get to the fortyfivedownstairs for The Dollshouse before the madness of the Fringe begins. Just don’t regret missing it. Don't worry if you like or despise Ibsen, because this remarkable adaption will leave you with a new perspective. It's overtly theatrical, but feels like overhearing your neighbours fighting and you can't tear yourself away from the delicious uncomfortable intimacy.
This full review appears on AussieTheatre.com and will be published here in a few days.
Melbourne Fringe Fever Profiles
This week, Melbourne Fringe artists have been answering 20ish questions about the Fringe, Melbourne and the art that's influenced them.
It's wonderful to find at least one unexpected cultural link with every artist, but I'm realising that Sarah Collins and I are the only people who like SLH*s.
Head to AussieTheatre.com for the Fringe Fever profiles.
Here are some previews. Their name links to their profile and on their show name to their Fringe page.
Timothy Clark, a first-time Fringe comedian in 4's KIN (ha, ha...), where four young comedians show us what they can do. (Gotta say, brilliant way to do your first show.) I met Tim in a writing for TV class, where he silenced the room with a fisting joke. He descibes the show as "good, clean smut" and has been influenced by Captain Feathersword, Sidney Lumet and Batman.
Bron Battern's doing a show with her parents and understands the incredibleness of blue cheese on pizza. Her show Sweet Child of Mine is already the most popular answer to "What other Fringe show will you NOT miss?". I first saw her in 2008 (Two Little Spiels), and she does the best onstage animals ever.
Coming up
There's not much I haven't said about the Sisters Grimm Ash Flanders and Declan Greene. There's one chance to see them at the Fringe and it's going to be FUGLY! as they invite the likes of Angus Cerini, Post and The Rabble to try drag. You'll hate yourself if you miss it.
I was invited to their first show, Fat Camp, a few years ago and didn't go because there was no way I was going to watch kids make fun of fat people. I regret my decision (and it's a lesson to all to make sure that your media releases really reflect the nature of your show), because the Sisters may well be my favourite Melbourne company.
Kate McLennan's shows have always left me with a sore jaw from constantly smiling. She creates characters who are so real and so flawed that you have to love them. More recently she's been opening up her own life to create heartfelt and fucking hilarious work. I say it a lot, but it's the artists who really show us their hearts that we go back to see again and again. She also tells me that she's developing this Fringe show, Homeward Bound, into a book. I'll be first in line for a copy.
Soon: Miles O'Neil, Stephen House, Jennifer Williams, Johannes Scherpenhuizen, Miranda Hill, Rob Lloyd and a heap more.
*Soy latte with honey
It's wonderful to find at least one unexpected cultural link with every artist, but I'm realising that Sarah Collins and I are the only people who like SLH*s.
Head to AussieTheatre.com for the Fringe Fever profiles.
Here are some previews. Their name links to their profile and on their show name to their Fringe page.
Timothy Clark, a first-time Fringe comedian in 4's KIN (ha, ha...), where four young comedians show us what they can do. (Gotta say, brilliant way to do your first show.) I met Tim in a writing for TV class, where he silenced the room with a fisting joke. He descibes the show as "good, clean smut" and has been influenced by Captain Feathersword, Sidney Lumet and Batman.
Bron Battern's doing a show with her parents and understands the incredibleness of blue cheese on pizza. Her show Sweet Child of Mine is already the most popular answer to "What other Fringe show will you NOT miss?". I first saw her in 2008 (Two Little Spiels), and she does the best onstage animals ever.
Coming up
There's not much I haven't said about the Sisters Grimm Ash Flanders and Declan Greene. There's one chance to see them at the Fringe and it's going to be FUGLY! as they invite the likes of Angus Cerini, Post and The Rabble to try drag. You'll hate yourself if you miss it.
I was invited to their first show, Fat Camp, a few years ago and didn't go because there was no way I was going to watch kids make fun of fat people. I regret my decision (and it's a lesson to all to make sure that your media releases really reflect the nature of your show), because the Sisters may well be my favourite Melbourne company.
Kate McLennan's shows have always left me with a sore jaw from constantly smiling. She creates characters who are so real and so flawed that you have to love them. More recently she's been opening up her own life to create heartfelt and fucking hilarious work. I say it a lot, but it's the artists who really show us their hearts that we go back to see again and again. She also tells me that she's developing this Fringe show, Homeward Bound, into a book. I'll be first in line for a copy.
Soon: Miles O'Neil, Stephen House, Jennifer Williams, Johannes Scherpenhuizen, Miranda Hill, Rob Lloyd and a heap more.
*Soy latte with honey
Review: Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Bell Shakespeare
7 September 2011
Fairfax Studio, the Arts Centre
to 17 September, and touring
www.bellshakespeare.com.au
Julius Caesar isn't the sexist of Shakespeare's writings. It's one of the politics and togas plays that's favoured in high schools for its large cast, relative shortness and the "lend me your rears" pun. Bell Shakespeare brave this neglected history play and bring it into a recognisable world of factions and power suits with many shades of grey.
JC is a wordy play about the power of words. Most of the action takes place off, so its success lies in making the on stage story about the decisions and dilemmas facing those reporting and those hearing.
This adaption, by director Peter Evans and dramaturge Kate Mulvany (who also plays Cassius), is about the group of conspirators and is structured to ensure it's about people dealing with the consequences of their choices, rather than reacting to the changing will of the masses. And the masses have been reduced to voices.
This lets it become a personal story that soars towards the end as Brutus (Colin Moody) is left alone to face the new world he created. (Purists be damned, the choice to bring the ending back is brilliant.) This would be even stronger if we were with Brutus from the beginning. Act one suffers from not choosing a side. Breaking to interval as Caska (Gareth Reeves) declares, "Speak hands for me!” I wasn't sure if we were meant to be scared for Caesar (Alex Mengelet channeling a Godfather-like Brando) or excited that the faction looked likely to succeed in toppling their leader. We love Shakespeare's stories because they explore so many perspectives, but none of this complexity is lost by the choice to interpret and focus on a hero.
It's also a play known for its wishy washy chicks. Mulvany's Cassius obviously addresses the balance, but Calphurnia (Rebecca Bower) and Portia (Katie-Jean Harding) are far more persuasive than often seen and leave us wishing that Caesar and Brutus listened to their wives.
As this Rome believes in omens and gods Evans' direction allows for a fluidity that allows for "strange and wonderful signs", but some choices felt more style than substance, especially when the slow-mo entrance/exits took focus off the story action and on to the mechanics of getting actors on and off the stage.
Julius Caesar is touring, so each venue will adapt to the staging in different ways and it's a minor quibble for a production that lets heart, dilemma and regrets drive its history.
This review originally appeared on AussieThearte.com
Bell Shakespeare
7 September 2011
Fairfax Studio, the Arts Centre
to 17 September, and touring
www.bellshakespeare.com.au
Julius Caesar isn't the sexist of Shakespeare's writings. It's one of the politics and togas plays that's favoured in high schools for its large cast, relative shortness and the "lend me your rears" pun. Bell Shakespeare brave this neglected history play and bring it into a recognisable world of factions and power suits with many shades of grey.
JC is a wordy play about the power of words. Most of the action takes place off, so its success lies in making the on stage story about the decisions and dilemmas facing those reporting and those hearing.
This adaption, by director Peter Evans and dramaturge Kate Mulvany (who also plays Cassius), is about the group of conspirators and is structured to ensure it's about people dealing with the consequences of their choices, rather than reacting to the changing will of the masses. And the masses have been reduced to voices.
This lets it become a personal story that soars towards the end as Brutus (Colin Moody) is left alone to face the new world he created. (Purists be damned, the choice to bring the ending back is brilliant.) This would be even stronger if we were with Brutus from the beginning. Act one suffers from not choosing a side. Breaking to interval as Caska (Gareth Reeves) declares, "Speak hands for me!” I wasn't sure if we were meant to be scared for Caesar (Alex Mengelet channeling a Godfather-like Brando) or excited that the faction looked likely to succeed in toppling their leader. We love Shakespeare's stories because they explore so many perspectives, but none of this complexity is lost by the choice to interpret and focus on a hero.
It's also a play known for its wishy washy chicks. Mulvany's Cassius obviously addresses the balance, but Calphurnia (Rebecca Bower) and Portia (Katie-Jean Harding) are far more persuasive than often seen and leave us wishing that Caesar and Brutus listened to their wives.
As this Rome believes in omens and gods Evans' direction allows for a fluidity that allows for "strange and wonderful signs", but some choices felt more style than substance, especially when the slow-mo entrance/exits took focus off the story action and on to the mechanics of getting actors on and off the stage.
Julius Caesar is touring, so each venue will adapt to the staging in different ways and it's a minor quibble for a production that lets heart, dilemma and regrets drive its history.
This review originally appeared on AussieThearte.com
Review: Look Right Through Me
Look Right Through Me
Malthouse Theatre and KAGE
9 September 2011
Merlyn Theatre, The Malthouse
to 18 September
www.malthousetheatre.com.au
Leunig's images and optimistic pessimism is as ubiquitous to Melbourne as having an opinion about Collingwood. If there's a household in this city that doesn't have one of his cartoons have on the fridge or notice board, they must have only moved in a few days ago.
While far from a translation of Leunig's illustrated world, each scene was inspired by one of his cartoons or pieces of writing. What results is a dark world behind an imposing wire fence where the Leunig-like boat is junk, the familiar tree is bare, a rope transforms from noose to swing and playful dance can becomes violent fight.
But there are lanterns and friendly ducks to guide everyone from the darkness and it's ultimately a world where love, innocence and gentleness win; so much that the final images are almost twee in their fluffy gorgeousness.
Mr Curly may never dance so fluidly, but the beauty of Look Right Through Me is that something unexpected was created from artists excited and willing to discuss and discover a new world.
Photo by Jeff Busby
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.
Malthouse Theatre and KAGE
9 September 2011
Merlyn Theatre, The Malthouse
to 18 September
www.malthousetheatre.com.au
"What lovelier hounour and influence could there be upon me than to see my work used in this way by an intelligent and prodigiously gifted new generation of artists. I think this is what's called a blessing."Michael Leunig wrote this about physical theatre company KAGE's production of Look Right Through Me, a collaborative development between Leunig, Kate Denborough (director) and dancers Craig Bary, Fiona Cameron, Timothy Ohl, Cain Thompson, Gerard Van Dyck and, youngest member of the ensemble, Oscar Wilson.
Leunig's images and optimistic pessimism is as ubiquitous to Melbourne as having an opinion about Collingwood. If there's a household in this city that doesn't have one of his cartoons have on the fridge or notice board, they must have only moved in a few days ago.
While far from a translation of Leunig's illustrated world, each scene was inspired by one of his cartoons or pieces of writing. What results is a dark world behind an imposing wire fence where the Leunig-like boat is junk, the familiar tree is bare, a rope transforms from noose to swing and playful dance can becomes violent fight.
But there are lanterns and friendly ducks to guide everyone from the darkness and it's ultimately a world where love, innocence and gentleness win; so much that the final images are almost twee in their fluffy gorgeousness.
Mr Curly may never dance so fluidly, but the beauty of Look Right Through Me is that something unexpected was created from artists excited and willing to discuss and discover a new world.
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.
13 September 2011
MELBOURNE FRINGE HINT 9: Music and Film
3 Shades Black
3 Shades Black describe themselves as classical musicians who don't blend in. There's also film makers and visual artists.
For one night, Moving Scores "takes traditional music notation and removes the rules". Influenced by John Cage, they are experimenting with structure to see how scores and the resulting music change in a different context influenced by film and performance.
Miles O'Neil's World Around Us 11
3 Shades Black describe themselves as classical musicians who don't blend in. There's also film makers and visual artists.
For one night, Moving Scores "takes traditional music notation and removes the rules". Influenced by John Cage, they are experimenting with structure to see how scores and the resulting music change in a different context influenced by film and performance.
Miles O'Neil's World Around Us was a surprise hit of last year's Fringe and everyone lucky enough to see this delicious and mellow late-night delight, will already have it on their show list.
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