30 November 2013

Playtime rocks


This is a Door 13
Pop Up Playground
29 November to 1 December
Theatre Works


Go outside and play!

Well, go to Theatre Works this weekend and play!

The Pop up Playgrounders are the most brilliant people you'll ever meet, who have one goal: to ensure that everyone has fun.

And they succeed every time. 

And you might get to be a Valkyrie (I was an excellent Valkyrie) or a spy (I was a really crap spy), or talk about an impossible book, or escape from a minotaur, or throw things at famous people.

Or there's lego poetry or cutting up paintings to make better paintings, if you need a quiet moment.

There are day and night sessions, so there's no excuse to not take kids, grandparents or strangers you meet on the way.

Here are some pics from last night (taken by Sayraphim and Rob).









26 November 2013

Play with the Valkyries

This is a Door – All Day Play Room
Pop Up Playground
29 November to 1 December
Theatre Works
theatreworks.org.au
popupplayground.com.au


Pop Up Playground are bloody wonderful.

Robert Reid, Sayraphim Lothian, Ben McKenzie and their gorgeous game makers realised that we weren't having as much fun as we should be and have been popping up all over the city with games for everyone.

A Pop Up Playground event is guaranteed to have you feeling happier than when you arrived.

And you get to play!

The second This is a Door is on at Theatre Works this weekend. Here's what we got up to last year.
And this was the Fresh Air Festival in February.

What I already love more than I can say about this year's Door (#tiad13) is this:



Being deep in the Ring Cycle, when I saw that Sarayphim had made her sewing machine into a Valkyrie, I said how much I'd love to play the Valkyrie game.

Sadly, the game didn't exist.

Until, I saw this on Twitter:


What?!

Then these:



The Valkyrie Game is real and I'm going to be playing it on Friday night.




25 November 2013

Photos: Götterdämmerung


The Melbourne Ring Cycle
Götterdämmerung
Opera Australia
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Elizabeth Campbell, Jacqueline Dark and Anke Höppner as The Norns
The curtain to Götterdämmerung is coming down as the stage burns – and we can share the images to the fourth and final opera in the Melbourne Ring Cycle.

The cycle is complete, but there are two more cycles to go and there are still return/rush tickets available from 9 am on the day of each opera.

I saw the dress runs. I loved every moment of its 21 hours and I now understand why this opera – for all its oddness – is so loved.

All photos by Jeff Busby.

Daniel Sumegi as Hagen and Sharon Prero as Gutrune
Barry Ryan as Gunther, Daniel Sumegi as Hagen & Stefan Vinke as Siegfried. 
Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde & Sharon Prero as Gutrune.
Barry Ryan as Gunther, Daniel Sumegi as Hagen, Stefan Vinke as Siegfried, Sharon Prero as Gutrune & Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde.
Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde, Barry Ryan as Gunther, Daniel Sumegi as Hagen, Sharon Prero as Gutrune & Stefan Vinke as Siegfried.

Jane Ede as one of the Rhinemaidens. 
Stefan Vinke as Siegfried, Jane Ede, Lorina Gore & Dominica Matthews as The Rhinemaidens. 
Stefan Vinke as Siegfried, Barry Ryan as Gunther & Opera Australia Chorus.
Dominica Matthews, Lorina Gore and Jane Ede as the Rhinemaidens, Stefan Vinke as Siegfried and Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde 
Dominica Matthews and Lorina Gore as Rhinemaidens, Daniel Sumegi as Hagen, Stefan Vinke as Siegfried, Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde, the Opera Australia Chorus and extras

Review: Super Discount

Super Discount
Back to Back Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre
15 November
Merlyn Theatre, Coopers Malthouse
to 1 December
malthousetheatre.com.au


Back to Back Theatre are the superheroes of Melbourne theatre who leave us wanting to wear our undies on the outside, don a sexy cape and do something that leaves someone else feeling better every day.

 Super Discount began because ensemble member Brian Tilley is obsessed with superheroes: those outsiders who hide from society and are only admired when their difference is on display.

With director Bruce Gladwin, the company developed a show about good and evil, where they start by deciding who gets to play Mark Deans's gold-caped super hero, who mostly prefers to be quiet. With Simon Laherty, Scott Price and Sarah Mainwaring making the decision, Brian thinks it should be him because he understands superheroes and intellectual disability, but David Woods (non-company member, but regular guest) puts himself forward because he can act disabled and should therefore be equally considered – especially because he might be more convincing.

Cringing? Uncomfortable? Hell, yeah!

Formed in 1987, Back to Back is based in Geelong and is the only company in Victoria with an ensemble of full-time of actors, who are all perceived to have an intellectual disability. They've toured the world, won piles of awards and part of their artistic rationale is to "create theatre to challenge the gods".

They rock in all the great ways and continue to confront latent prejudices and assumptions about disability and heroism with theatre that bites with sharpened teeth, but only hurts because you've laughed so hard.

This was on AussieTheatre.com.

23 November 2013

Photos: Seigfried


The Melbourne Ring Cycle
Seigfried
Opera Australia
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Stefan Vinke as Siegfried.
Seigfried, the third opera in the Melbourne Ring Cycle, opened on Friday night.

This one had a picture of the thylacine from One and Two, has dragons with and without scales and is the last time the astonishing voice of Terje Stensvold, as Wolton and The Wanderer, is heard in the cycle.

All photos by Jeff Busby.

Terje Stensvold as Wanderer.
Jud Arthur as Fafner, the dragon.

Warwick Fyfe as Alberich & Terje Stensvold as Wanderer. 
Jud Arthur as Fafner. 
Stefan Vinke as Siegfried & Jud Arthur as Fafner. 
Terje Stensvold as Wanderer, Deborah Humble as Erda and Elizabeth Oley (Erda double). 
Terje Stensvold as Wanderer & Stefan Vinke as Siegfried.
Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde
Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde & Stefan Vinke as Siegfried.
Stefan Vinke as Siegfried & Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde.



21 November 2013

Photos: Die Walküre

The Melbourne Ring Cycle
Die Walküre
Opera Australia
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Jud Arthur as Hunding, Miriam Gordon-Stewart as Sieglinde & Stuart Skelton as Siegmund.
The Ring Cycle continues with opera two, Die Walküre, opening in Melbourne last night. 

This is the one where it's totally ok for brother and sister to fall in love with each other and introduces the famous Valkeries, who rescue the souls of heroes and take them to Valhalla to be with the gods. And it's the first appearance of Brünnhilde, sung by English soprano Susan Bullock, who sings high Cs like she's blowing a kiss.

If you don't have tickets, but want to hand out with the "Ring Nuts" from all over the world, there's the FREE Festspielhaus in the Arts Centre courtyard. There's a bar and an entertainment program featuring Ring performers and Melbourne favourites.

All photos by Jeff Busby.

Terje Stensvold as Wotan & Jacqueline Dark as Fricka.
Terje Stensvold as Wotan & Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde.
Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde, Stuart Skelton as Siegmund & Miriam Gordon-Stewart as Sieglinde.
The Valkyries: Elizabeth Campbell as Grimgerde, Roxanne Hislop as Rossweisse, Dominica Matthews as Schwertleite, Sian Pendry as Siegrune, Hyeseoung Kwon as Helmwige, Deborah Humble as Waltraute, Anke Höppner as Gerhilde & Merlyn Quaife as Ortlinde. 
Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde & Terje Stensvold as Wotan. 






20 November 2013

November review previews


Super Discount
Back to Back Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre
15 November
Merlyn Theatre, Coopers Malthouse
to 1 December


Back to Back Theatre are the superheroes of Melbourne theatre who leave us wanting to wear our undies on the outside, don a sexy cape and do something that leaves someone else feeling better every day.

 Super Discount began because ensemble member Brian Tilley is obsessed with superheroes: those outsiders who hide from society and are only admired when their difference is on display.  

....

The full review is on AussieTheatre.com and will be here in a few days.

19 November 2013

Photos: Das Rheingold

The Melbourne Ring Cycle
Das Rheingold
Opera Australia
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
melbourneringcycle.com.au

Lorina Gore, Dominica Matthews & Jane Ede as The Rhinemaidens & the Sea of Humanity
After three years of work, gossip and a bit of controversy, Opera Australia's Melbourne Ring Cycle opened last night with the first of the four operas, Das Rheingold.

I was among the very lucky people to see all four dress rehearsals, which were not for review. And what a week  it was: 21 hours of either seeing or talking about opera in the five hours of intervals. I loved every moment of it and am looking forward to hearing what others think as the first cycle rolls out this week.

All I will say is that the opening of Das Rheingold is exquisite.

In the meantime, photos have been released.

Great news for those who missed out on tickets. There are rush tickets available, details here.

Or there are plenty of shows, exhibitions, talks, tours, concerts and dinners as part of The Ring Festival if you miss out again or your eyes drop out at the cost. The also festival includes lots of FREE events, so everyone can get a dose of opera.

But here are some photos. All by Jeff Busby.

Warwick Fyfe as Alberich, Lorina Gore, Jane Ede & Dominica Matthews as The Rhinemaidens & the Sea of Humanity
Jacqueline Dark as Fricka, Hyeseoung Kwon as Freia, Jud Arthur as Fafner, Terje Stensvold as Wotan & Daniel Sumegi as Fasolt.
Jud Arthur as Fafner & Daniel Sumegi as Fasolt. 
Richard Berkeley-Steele as Loge & Terje Stensvold as Wotan. 
Warwick Fyfe as Alberich.
Graeme Macfarlane as Mime, Warwick Fyfe as Alberich & Opera Australia Chorus and volunteers. 
Warwick Fyfe as Alberich & Opera Australia dancers.
Warwick Fyfe as Alberich, Richard Berkeley-Steele as Loge & Opera Australia Chorus and volunteers.
Jud Arthur as Fafner, Andrew Moran as Donner, Hyeseoung Kwon as Freia, Andrew Brunsdon as Froh & Richard Berkeley-Steele as Loge. 
Deborah Humble as Erda.

Andrew Moran as Donner, Hyeseoung Kwon as Freia, Jacqueline Dark as Fricka, Andrew Brunsdon as Froh & Rainbow Girls.