MATILDA @ The Lyric
Sourced from Roald Dahl’s novel of the same name, MATILDA boasts a book by Dennis Kelly and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, a delightful adaptation that imaginatively distills the highs and lows, the twists and turns, the light and dark of the story of the genuinely gifted girl, bullied for bibliophilia.
RIDE & FOUR PLAY @ Eternity Playhouse
As in his production of CONSTELLATIONS last year at The Eternity Playhouse, director Anthony Skuse, captivated by the building’s interior structure, has introduced an oblique plinth to cue the off kilter, cliff hanging emotional precipice of the plays.
MASTER CLASS @ The Hayes
Though not a musical, MASTER CLASS rightly deserves its place at The Hayes Theatre. Terrence McNally’s awesome aria to opera goddess, Maria Callas, has a beautiful rhythm in its writing, and is given magnificent voice in Maria Mercedes’ magnetic performance.
COCK @ The Old Fitzroy
Torn between two lovers, cock shocked and cunt struck, John is at odds with his old boyfriend and new girlfriend and with himself in Redline’s robust, ribald and bollocking production of COCK by Mike Bartlett.As the pussy among the penises, Matilda Ridgway gives a blistering account of a woman whose emotions will not be played with – she’s a cunt-burger with fries, and fairly sizzles when riled.
BLEEDING TREE @ The Stables
“Same old story, heard it a thousand times before, too many times to mention, same old story this time pushed too far.”
Shamefully familiar story, but THE BLEEDING TREE gives coruscating clarity, energy and power by word wallop, a trenchant text wielded like an emotional truncheon, bruising, bold and brilliant.
THE BLEEDING TREE, written by Angus Cerini, won the Griffin Award for New Australian Playwriting last year. The play is reminiscent of the muscular poetic clout of the best of Berkoff.
Visceral vernacular is hammered and shaped on an anvil of versification, made buoyant and cast aloft, floating and soaring in lyrical triumph, creating theme and character and nuance.
Apart from the characters presented on stage, others are evoked by sheer storytelling strength in word and delivery.
THIS HOUSE IS MINE @ The Eternity Playhouse
Milk Crate Theatre works with an ensemble of artists who have experienced homelessness or social marginalisation and in THIS HOUSE IS MINE we are presented with a series of connected vignettes interspersed with verbatim video vox-pops from the community of collaborators from which the narrative originated and evolved.
Seven actors take on characters that have suffered psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, dementia and domestic violence, or people who have perpetrated or been affected by domestic violence or mental illness.
THE PRESENT @ Ros Packer
Writer Andrew Upton has taken Chekhov’s first untitled play, re-jigged it, updated it to Russia in the 1990’s, post perestroika, and fashioned an expansive, exuberant and entertaining text, electrifyingly realised by director John Crowley and his wonderful cast.
Alice Babidge set design is exquisitely executed from the errant blades of grass shooting through the pavers of the patio, to rain lashed windows intimating a fish tank, an aquarium of acrimony.
THE PRESENT is a towering theatrical experience, triggering drama, detonating laughs.
Anna says, during the play, “Some days are magazines, some days are books.”
In this production of THE PRESENT, some scenes are magazines, some scenes are books.
