DUCKPOND

 

 

DUCKPOND

Directed and designed by Yaron Lifschitz. Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa ensemble. Composer  and sound designer Jethro Woodward. Costume Designer 
Libby McDonnell. Lighting Designer Alexander Berlage. Associate Director 
Marty Evans.  Dramaturg/Associate Choreographer Rani Luther . The Playhouse. Canberra Theatre Centre. September 18-20 2025.Bookings: 62752700 or canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

 

The audience clapped, whistled, cheered and stood in rousing ovation at the end of Circa’s  performance of their breathtaking parody of Swan Lake. Duckpond is not a title that conjures images of balletic grace, acrobatic precision or soaring feats of aerial elegance. And yet this is what Circa has created in its cheeky reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s immortal ballet. Instead of a princess to steal the prince’s heart we are presented with an ugly duckling in Elizabethan pantaloon, hose and ruff. It is a liaison all too soon doomed to failure. And yet it remains a tale of a broken dream until the duckling can survive the tumbling rejection of the Corp de Swans in clinging black and discover with feathered Cupid true love in the arms of the black swan. Sounds crazy? It may be, but the entire daredevil performance by Circa is a tad crazy.

Instead of swans on points with white tutus the stage explodes with acrobatic leaps, lifts, tosses and twirls. The duckling must face obstacles to prove her worth in a struggle for survival. She must endure being thrown across the stage into the arms of another or hurled high onto the shoulders of another, standing on the shoulders of the person on the floor. And then if that is not risky and scary enough her hope is dashed as she falls through the airs into waiting arms. Trust was never challenged to this degree.

The stage becomes a cascade of tumbling bodies, somersaulting acrobatics and spinning cartwheels. Amidst the aerial displays on a falling ribbon of cloth, the triad formations of balancing bodies and the gasp-inducing perfectly timed physical feats of unbelievable control Cupid provides a narrative thread to remind us of the duckling’s search for true self and community. The percussive score tinkles at times like swirling water or raindrops on the pond and then at the moment of acceptance into the tribe, Tchaikovsky’s rich and deep music swells with portent. We are reminded for a moment that Circa’s parody can still excite the sheer drama of the search for self. It may be expressed through the astounding skill of Circa’s brilliant ensemble but is still to be felt in the heart-stirring danger of the circus.

A comedic highlight is the ludicrously absurd parade of the ducks, dressed in oversized yellow dungaree and sporting flippers and mops. Every circus has its clown but none that I have seen has a Corp de Ducks to waddle their way in unison across the stage mopping as they go. The sound of a young child’s laughter rang out in delight.

Like all good fairytales, Duckpond ends happily. Transformed, black and white combine in loving harmony, but ruffled feathers are never far away as a video of squabbling swans reminds us that every relationship will have its trials and tribulations.

Transformation is the theme and Circa surprises with a finale on a Cyr wheel and a hoola hoop routine on a stripped-back stage. All too soon the evening ends with the cheeky tease of a burlesque parade of each company artist.  The Ensemble returns to its true identity, a company of circus entertainers. Duckpond is a spectacular display of thrills and acrobatic skills that will delight, amaze and enthrall. It is a tale of resilience and survival in the quest to find acceptance and true love. Above all, it is an evening of entertainment and amazement not to be missed during its all too short season.

 

 

 

 

LEND ME A TENOR - Free Rain Theatre - ACT Hub.

John Whinfield (Max) - William 'Wally' Allington (Tito Merelli) in Free Rain Theatre's production of  "Lend Me a Tenor"

Written by Ken Ludwig – Designed and Directed by Cate Clelland

Costumes designed by Fiona Leach – Properties by Rosemary Gibbons

Sound design by Neville Pye – Lighting Design by David Brown

Stage Management by Charlie & Sam Harbison-Gehrmann

Free Rain Theatre, 17 – 27 September 2025.

Opening night performance on 17^th September reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Michael Sparks (Saunders) - Justice-Noah Malfitano (Bellhop) - William 'Wally' Allington (Tito Merelli)- Sally Cahill (Julia) - Christina Falsone (Maria) - Meaghan Stewart (Diana)- Maxine Beaumont (Maggie) in Free Rain Theatre's production of "Lend Me A Tenor).

An Opera Company’s worst nightmare. The Cleveland Grand Opera Company’s expensive world-famous guest tenor, Tito Merelli, has not arrived in time for its all-important dress rehearsal for his once-only appearance in their production of Pagliacci.

When Merelli eventually arrives, accompanied by his fiery wife, Maria, he is unco-operative and pleading the need to rest, refuses any rehearsal before that evening’s performance.

Frustrated by his star’s behaviour, the General Manager of the opera Company, Henry Saunders charges his harried assistant, Max with the task of making sure Merelli gets to the opera house in time for the performance.

On learning Max has an interest in singing opera, Merelli gives him a singing lesson, after which, to insure Merelli gets his rest, Max slips a tranquilizer into his drink, unaware that Merelli has already taken a double-dose of tranquilizers.

Later, when Max tries to awaken Merelli, he finds him unresponsive and assumes that he is dead. Horrified, he notifies Saunders, and Julia, the Chairperson of the Opera Guild. Chaos ensures while they hatch a preposterous plan to have Max substitute for Merelli in the opera.

Meanwhile, Merelli revives and slips out via a side door, providing the perfect set-up for an evening of hilarious, cleverly staged slapstick, replete with witty dialogue, mistaken identities, and a surprise behind every door in the striking art-deco setting designed by Clelland.

John Whinfield (Max) - William 'Wally' Arlington (Tito Merelli) in "Lend Me A Tenor"

Supporting the deco concept, costume designer Fiona Leach captures the period by costuming the ladies in gorgeous authentic thirties-period gowns, furs and lingerie, and the men in smart period day and evening wear.

Under Clelland’s direction her accomplished cast captures the correct mood, creating well-rounded characterisations without losing the essential silliness necessary to engage the audience with the farcical situations.  

William 'Wally' Allington (Tito Merelli) - John Whinfield (Max) in "Lend Me A Tenor"

William ‘Wally’ Allington and John Winfield are well cast as the capricious opera star, Tito Merelli, and his reluctant carer, Max. The essential camaraderie of their developing relationship is engagingly realised, and their impressive rendition of the duet “Dio che nell’alma infondere” from the Verdi opera Don Carlos earned them an appreciative ovation.

Sally Cahill (Julia) - Michael Sparks (Saunders)- Justice-Noah Malfitano (Bellboy) 
 John Whinfield (Max) - Maxine Beaumont (Maggie) in "Lend Me A Tenor". 

Michael Sparks is totally convincing as the Opera Company’s General Manager, Saunders, the outraged father of the adventurous Maggie, engagingly portrayed by Maxine Beaumont, while Sally Cahill delights as the dotty, manipulative Opera Guild Chairperson, Julia.

Christina Falsone revels in the role as Merelli’s fearsome Italian wife, Maria, and while Meaghan Stewart’s interpretation of Diana, the man-eating soprano who doesn’t rely on her voice to achieve operatic heights, is entertaining, a little less aggression, and a little more elegance, would make her portrayal more believable.

Meaghan Stewart (Diana) - William 'Wally' Allington (Tito Merelli) in "Lend Me A Tenor"

And proving that there is no such thing as a small role, Justice-Noah Malfitano milks every moment he is on stage to steal more than his fair share of the laughs as the pushy bellhop fan of Tito Merelli.

With this delightfully entertaining production of “Lend Me A Tenor” Free Rain Theatre have produced a winner.  It would be a pity to miss it.

 

                                               Photos by Janelle McMenamin

   This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au

   

 

LEND ME A TENOR by Ken Ludwig. Directed by Cate Clelland. Free-Rain Theatre Company. ACT Hub. Sept17-27.

                                                     Photo: Janelle McMenamin 

Lend Me a Tenor is an unabashed romp about life behind the scenes at the opera. There are six doorways in the hotel suite on stage and they’ll get a work out in this farce about backstage events in a 1930s American opera company who are doing Pagliacci with a somewhat doleful guest artist, world renowned Italian tenor Tito Merelli (William ‘Wally’ Allington). He's staying the hotel. The visit will not go smoothly. 

Saunders (Michael Sparks) is the wily company manager whose shy offsider Max (John Whitfield) harbours some singing ambitions as well as a passion for Saunders’ daughter Maggie ( Maxine Beaumont). Maggie is dying to meet Tito and is a little dismissive of Max. She wants a bit of excitement in her life before any settling down. 

The somewhat daffy Julia (Sally Cahill), chair of the Cleveland Opera Guild and fond of extremely bedazzling dresses, enlivens the scene. 

And the hotel’s wide eyed bellhop (Justice-Noah Malfitano) has an intense crush on Tito and comes in at all the wrong moments. 

Tito comes complete with brisk and passionate wife Maria (Christina Falsone) and neither have a great deal of English. 

The opera company’s leading lady is the powerful Diana (Meaghan Stewart), wolfishly ambitious and eager to use Tito to climb the singing heights.

There’s a presumed death and dual tenors in full identical clown costume and makeup as Max has to take over the role.  Luckily he can sing. 

Much confusion and use of those multiple doors is the well controlled order of the night under the firm hand of director Cate Clelland. The play’s demands are easily met by a strong cast and the pace does not slacken.

It’s not deep but it is a theatrical workout for all concerned and an excuse for some seasoned performers to let their hair down. 

Alanna Maclean

LEND ME A TENOR

Written by Ken Ludwig

Directed by Cate Clelland

Free-Rain Theatre Presentation

ACT Hub Theatre, Kingston to 27 September

 

Reviewed by Len Power 17 September 2025

 

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face, American playwright Ken Ludwig’s farce is a crazy story of mistaken identity, misconception, mistakes and mis-everything. First performed in London’s West End and on Broadway in the 1980s, the play has been an international success.

Although the Cleveland Grand Opera company are delighted to have secured world-famous tenor, Tito Merelli, to sing Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci for one evening in 1934, his late arrival sets off a chain reaction in which everything possible goes wrong.

On a substantial hotel two room set cleverly squeezed into the ACT Hub Theatre, set designer and director, Cate Clelland, has delivered a high-energy farce with fine performances.

Michael Sparks is Saunders, the opera company’s general manager and a nervous wreck with an explosive temper. Maxine Beaumont as Maggie, his daughter, is not as innocent as she seems. John Whinfield, as Max, her intended, is also the long-suffering assistant to Saunders. Sally Cahill is Julia, very much the grande dame chairwoman of the opera company. Meaghan Stewart is the glamorous, man-eating soprano, Diana, and Justice-Noah Malfitano is an opera-mad bell-hop. William ‘Wally’ Allington is the temperamental Italian opera star, Tito Merelli, and Christina Falsone is Maria, his formidable and fiery Italian wife.

From left: Michael Sparks (Saunders), Justice-Noah Malfitano (Bell-hop), one of the Pagliaccis (I got confused over who was who about here), Sally Cahill (Julia), Christina Falsone (Maria), Meaghan Stewart (Diana) and Maxine Beaumont (Maggie)

Everybody in the cast is at the top of their game, performing with extraordinary energy and finely-honed comic timing. Both Whinfield and Allington display fine singing voices with their opera duet from Don Carlos.

John Whinfield (Max) and William 'Wally' Allington (Tito Merelli) - no wonder I got confused!

Fiona Leach has designed excellent and eye-catching period costumes. The most outstanding is Sally Cahill’s sparkling gown which fails to impress the general manager, resulting in one of the funniest lines in the play, delivered to perfection by Michael Sparks.

There’s nothing like a classic stage farce done well and Free Rain Theatre’s new production of Lend Me Tenor is as close to perfection as you can get.

 

Photos by Janelle McMenamin

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/. 

LEND ME A TENOR

 

Lend Me A  Tenor by Ken Ludwig. 

Directed and designed by Cate Clelland. Sound design Neville Pye. Lighting design David Brown. Costume design Fiona Leach. Properties Rosemary Gibbons. Free-Rain Theatre Company at ACT HUB, September 17-27. 2025. Bookings 62108748 or enquiries@acthub.com.au

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

 

Sall Cahill as Julia, Justice-Noah Malfitano as Bellhop, 
Maxine Beaumont as Maggie and Michael Sparks as Saunders
in Free Rain's production of Ken Ludwig's Lend Me A Tenor

Ken Ludwig’s farcical romp, Lend Me A Tenor is given a side-splitting production by Free Rain Theatre under Cate Clelland’s sparkling direction.  An outstanding cast give their all in this riotous cavalcade of mix up and mayhem.

John Whinfield as Max. William ("Wally") Allington as Tito

When international opera star Tito Merelli (William (“Wally”) Allington) is unable to perform in Cleveland Opera Society’s gala premiere meek and mild Max (John Whinfield) is forced by society President (Michael Sparks) to fill in. And that is where the chaos begins. This is farce at its very best, timed to perfection, played with grand operatic fervour by a company of actors in full command of Ludwig’s frenetic characters. Sparks’s Saunders desperately tries to keep control of the ludicrous situation. As Max’s fiancée, Maxine Beaumont is sweet innocence itself in contrast to neurotic and vampish soprano Diana (Meaghan Stewart). Christina Falsone once again commands the stage with a volatile performance as Tito’s fiery Italian wife Maria. Natural comic Justice-Noah Malfitano is pure Commedia as the manic Bellhop and Sally Cahill is immediately recognizable as Julia, the country Grand Dame of the local provincial society.  Whinfield is perfectly cast as the straight man caught in a maelstrom of hilarious madness.

Meaghan Stewart as Diana, WilliamWally) Allington as Tito

Ludwig’s mastery of plotting is brilliant invention as both Max and Tito, dressed as identical clowns cause utter confusion.  Clelland maintains expert control of the action as Keystone Cops meet the Marx Brothers meet Fawlty Towers. Clelland also keeps a tight leash on any ham acting that could lapse into incredulity. The actors play absurdity with relish but never at the expense of the willing suspension of disbelief. This is farce mixed with passion that at any moment could result in catastrophe.  Ludwig has loaded his play with the perilous moments of panic and discovery.

Willim "Wally"Allington as Tito. John Whinfield as Max

Lend Me A Tenor is not instantly a play that I would associate with an ACT HUB repertoire. When it is done with such flair and theatrical virtuosity then it deserves to be seen by every audience. The curtain call speed run of the entire play is a thrill worth every bit of the laughter and applause that it received on opening night. The play is a witty parody of every local arts society. The tongue is firmly in the cheek  and there will be many a member of an audience who will recognize poor Max caught in an impossible situation or the blustering apoplectic Saunders, the vampish lead soprano Diana, the innocent Maggie or the clownish Bellhop. Tito and Maria’s slanging matches are true to Italian passion.

Special mention should be made of Allington and Whinfield’s singing coaches in the creation of a stunning duet between the two tenors. Sarah Louise Owens and Sharon Tree ensure that Max is a worthy substitute for Il Stupendo Merelli while Dianna Nixon and Tara Mac Davidson lend fine voice to Allington’s Tito. Clelland’s keen eye for detail in characterization and stage business gives professional gloss to this joyful production.

Free-Rain’s production of Lend Me A Tenor is the perfect antidote to the woes of troubled times. Leave your critic’s head at home and simply delight in this first-rate production of Ludwig’s fun-filled parody. Even if you wince in recognition, just remember this is farce, superbly played and hitting the high notes of an entertaining night at the theatre.  

Photos by Janelle McMenamin

THE INDEPENDENTS: FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS - Week 1

 

Christopher Samuel Carroll in "The Cadaver Palaver" -  Photo:Carlos Hernan

The Courtyard Studio – Canberra Theatre Centre. 12^th – 21^st September 2025.

As part of a year of celebrations marking its 60^th Anniversary year, the Canberra Theatre Centre has inaugurated a new festival aimed at connecting Canberra with contemporary performance on a national scale.

Over two weekends the Canberra Theatre Centre will present four productions by independent artists, all of which will also be presented at the 2025 Sydney Fringe Festival.

The productions chosen for “The Independents” are The Cadaver Palaver (Christopher Samuel Carroll), Superposition (Gabriel Sinclair and Jazmyn Carter) both from 12^th to 14^th September.  

I watched Someone Die on TikTok (Charlotte Otton) and Takatapui (Daley Rangi) will be presented from 19^th to 21^st September.

This review looks at the two productions presented each night of the inaugural weekend.

Christopher Samuel Carroll in "The Cadaver Palaver". Photo: Carlos Hernan

The Cadaver Palaver – Written and performed by Christopher Samuel Carroll.

It is hardly surprising that all four performances of The Cadaver Palaver drew capacity audiences to the Courtyard Studio. Having enjoyed successful seasons at the Adelaide Fringe, The Butterfly Club, Melbourne, and most recently at the Edinburgh Fringe, these performances offered the first opportunity for Canberra audiences to see what all the fuss is about.

A much-admired Canberra- based artist, Christopher Samuel Carroll has trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin and Ecole Internationale du Theatre Jacques Lecoq, Paris, and is a prolific creator of solo shows for himself, in addition to maintaining a busy independent career as an actor, director and teacher.

This latest and threatening to be his most popular creation to date, is a masterwork of storytelling, which holds his audience in thrall from the moment his alter-ego Bennett Cooper Sullivan is revealed sprawled on a carpet.  

For the following hour, which feels like ten minutes, sartorially outfitted in an elegant three-piece Edwardian suit lined with red satin, a cane his only prop, (unless you count that suit),  Bennett Cooper Sullivan, an enthusiastic adventurer and raconteur, regales his audience with a long, complicated, perhaps dubious, but wonderfully entertaining explanation as to how he came to find himself in such a predicament.

His story has Monty Pythonesque overtones involving hands being cut off in duels with syphilitic lunatics, falls down endlessly deep holes, encounters and conversations with all manner of nefarious villains who speak in a variety of accents, which he recreates and demonstrates amidst gales of laughter from his delighted audience.

It’s a tour-de-force performance notable as much for the elegance of its execution, as for the cleverness of its presentation. It is also a wonderfully entertaining showcase for Carroll’s impressive skills as a writer, actor, raconteur and mime.

Gabriel Sinclair & Jazmyn Carter in "Superposition". Photo: Andrew Sikorski

Superposition – Choreographed and performed by Gabriel Sinclair and Jazmyn Carter.

Described in the promotional publicity as “a bold contemporary dance performance where movement meets machine”, this iteration of Superposition is an extension of a shorter work originally performed at the 2024 Melbourne Fringe.

It commences in silence with the two performers facing each other, in a circle of light, emotionless, except that their hands are constantly moving, machinelike, around each other’s, scrupulously avoiding contact.

They are costumed identically in long skirts and tops created from multi-coloured fabrics which responds to changes in lighting states.

For the best part of an hour, they continue this movement, expanding it into wide fan-like sweeps as the surrounding light expands and contracts. Occasionally one will advance on the other, then retreat as the other takes the initiative, as if caught in some magnetic push-and-pull. However, the initial hand movements continue, by now, driven by an electronic soundtrack.

The effect of the repetitious machine-like movement is mesmerising. But what to make of it?  A duet in perpetual motion? A deconstructed pas de deux perhaps?  While pondering these possibilities, tiny changes in the timings and directions of the movements propel thoughts towards wonder at the ability of the performers to maintain concentration as the movements become more tender and intimate while still avoiding contact.

Superposition is a challenging work which makes extraordinary demands on both the performers and their audience. For those who witness it, reactions and responses will undoubtedly vary, but there will be little argument as to the originality of the work, or the excellence of its execution.  

Stella Eve performing at "The Independents" Photo: Bill Stephens

 

A delightful inclusion pre – between- and post-show, was the courtyard performance by songstress Stella Eve presenting a selection of her original songs. 

     This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au 

 

 

 

 

     

How to Plot a Hit in Two Days

 

https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/how-to-plot-a-hit-in-two-days/

How to Plot a Hit in Two Days by Melanie Tait.  Ensemble Theatre, Sydney, August 29 – October 11, 2025.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
September 13

Playwright: Melanie Tait
Director: Lee Lewis; Assistant Director: Tiffany Wong
    
Set & Costume Design: Simone Romaniuk
Lighting Design: Brockman; Composer & Sound Design: Paul Charlier
Stage Manager: Jen Jackson; Assistant Stage Manager: Sherydan Simson
Costume Supervisor: Renata Beslik

This production is made possible by the Commissioners’ Circle and The Tracey Trinder Playwright's Award.

Cast
 Sharon – Amy Ingram
 Dell – Genevieve Lemon
 Bert – Seán O'Shea
 Judy – Georgie Parker
 Sally – Julia Robertson



Turning the death of Molly into a heart-warming comedy was a stroke of genius on Melanie Tait’s part.

For anyone else as ignorant as me, who never watched A Country Practice, the crucial question is, Did Molly Really Die?

As serendipity would have it, my wife and I missed our usual appointment to watch ABC TV’s 7.30 just last Monday.  You can watch it now, at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-08/behind-molly%E2%80%99s-heartbreaking-death-on-a-country/105750504 celebrating 40 years since Molly’s “heartbreaking death” as “a new play goes inside the writer’s room to reveal how that heartbreaking storyline was created. Richard Mockler brings us this story” including interviewing the actors, Anne Tenney (Molly) and Shane Withington (her husband, Brendan).

So the answer to that crucial question is complicated.  Molly was a fictional character, so “iconic” that she still hasn’t died in our cultural memory.  But that’s only because she really did die, in that fiction.

And now, Melanie Tait – who is obviously very real – has created her fictional story of the group of writers, as she imagined them, who created the fictional Molly for the very real Anne Tenney to act, 40 years ago.  In deciding, over many fraught sessions, about how to “kill” Molly, Tait’s writers find themselves imagining why Anne has decided to leave the show, and so create for them this awful task of writing Molly out.  Was it just for a better paid acting job somewhere else?

The real Anne doesn’t say in the 7.30 interview, but does say “They coined my character mad Molly, for some reason or other. She was very involved in local issues and very environmentally aware.” Hmm!

 

Writers Team: 
Julia Robertson whose other job is ICU Nurse, Sally, 
who has seen someone die from leukemia.
Georgie Parker as Judy, the final writer who "kills" Molly.

Writers Team:
Genevieve Lemon as Dell Isn't there another character we could make a theatre critic
and get Judy to kill? (The Mirror's Woeful Theatre Section revolting little man)
Seán O'Shea as Bert, whose wife takes off with a camera grip on a film shoot in Darwin.
Georgie Parker as Judy

Amy Ingram as Sharon, in full motorcycle gear.
Full rock star/former jail inmate vibes.

In the end the important thing, as you watch Melanie Tait’s imagination made real before your very eyes by the terrific top-quality actors, so precisely directed in every detail of lifted eyebrow, rolled eyes, widened eyes and clarity of ironic speech, the real answer is that at many points you will die laughing.

But in the end you will be seriously impressed by Tait’s skill making humour telling.  A Country Practice  may have been a commercial television soapie, but the way that team of writers finally came up with the way Molly dies – maintaining for the audience not just a conventional sentimentality about her unfortunate passing, but a positive view of her life as a mother and wife – turned A Country Practice into a positive social force.

The play, How to Plot a Hit in Two Days, is wonderfully enjoyable to watch, especially because the group of writers, each quite different personalities, work so well together, understanding each others’ feelings about problematic situations in their own lives which arise from working out the effects on people who will watch Molly’s death – from understanding medical issues (she dies from leukemia), social and family issues, and environmental issues (after all, it’s a country practice).

The theatre company is not called Ensemble for nothing.  This is an ensemble production of the best kind – light-hearted in performance and strong-hearted in effect.

As the playscript says (it includes the program, for $10: Currency Press), This isn’t your average conference room.  It’s where writers are expected to come up with ideas, so it’s comfortable, lived in and welcoming.  Indeed it is.

Certainly not to be missed.