BOMBSHELLS - Echo Theatre - The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre.

 

Written by Joanna Murray – Smith – Directed by Jordan Best

Lighting Design by Linda Buck – Set & Props designed by Jordan Best and Roz Hall

Costume Design by Jordan Best & Cast – Stage Managed by Owen Davis

Composed by Andrew Hackwill – Musical Arrangements by Leisa Keen

Choreographed by Nathan Rutup & Sally Taylor

Produced by Echo Theatre, The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre August 27^th – 29^th 2026.

Evening performance on August 29^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Written by Joanne Murray-Smith as a tour-de-force performance piece to showcase the talents of musical theatre star, Caroline O’Connor, “Bombshells” originally consisted of six short vignettes, focussed on the travails of six different women. O’Connor toured the piece nationally and it was filmed and broadcast on ABC television.

Later Sharon Millerchip, who had starred opposite O’Connor for a national tour of “Chicago”, repeated O’Connor’s feat by performing “Bombshells” for a season at the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney.

In 2024, Jordan Best, had the idea of staging a production of “Bombshells” for her company, Echo Theatre, casting each vignette with a different actress. It worked a treat. So much so that “Arts On Tour” has picked up the production for an eleven-city NSW regional tour, of which these performances in Queanbeyan were the first.

In remounting her production for touring, Best wisely took the opportunity to omit the nightclub singer segment designed to provide the opportunity for O’Connor to exercise her remarkable vocals.

This handsomely mounted touring version has been slimmed down to five different stories, told without interval, with each story performed by a different actress. Each has her own attractive setting, and all remain on stage for the duration of the play.

Yanina Clifton as Meryl.

Yanina Clifton delivers a poignant performance in the first monologue as Meryl, a mother on the verge of 40 and a nervous breakdown. Meryl verbalises her thoughts as she sinks under her efforts to meet her own expectations of being the perfect wife and mother, while breast-feeding her infant, trying to cope with her inquisitive daughter, and worries about completing the housework and having dinner prepared before her perfect husband arrives home from work.

Her situation is almost too sad to laugh at, but Murray-Smith’s razor-sharp dialogue makes it impossible not to.

Louise Bennet as Tiggy

Louise Bennet plays Tiggy, a cacti enthusiast from the Queanbeyan East Cactus & Succulent Club. In the midst of her illustrated lecture on cacti, Tiggy is distracted by her marital problems and her comments become as sharp and spiky as her cacti as she struggles to keep her lecture on track.

Sally Taylor as Mary O'Donnell

No such problems for Mary O’Donnell, captivatingly created by Sally Taylor.  Mary is supremely confident that she will cement her position as the Liza Minnelli of St. Clare’s College with her self-devised solo Shaunessy the Mystery Cat. Just as she finishes her rehearsal, Mary learns that her arch-rival has chosen the same solo. In desperation, Mary decides to dance her solo to the music of Shaft.

Ella Buckley as Theresa

Ella Buckley plays a bride, Theresa, who is preparing for her wedding. As she dons her wedding dress, Theresa confides her joy in finally getting to wear this gown. But as her thoughts drift towards her life after the wedding, Theresa begins to panic at the realisation that she knows very little about her groom, realising that her only reason for getting engaged was to wear the wedding dress.

Lainie Hart as Winsome.

The final character is portrayed by Lainie Hart. Her name is Winsome, and she’s a well-dressed, outwardly sophisticated widow, who at 65 decides to embark on a new hobby; reading books to blind clients. When one of her clients’ requests that she read him extracts from a racy novel, Winsome discovers rather more joys to book-reading than she had an imagined.

The five actors remain on stage in their individual settings for the duration of the performance, with each monologue separated by a short oscillating lightshow which hints tantalisingly at how each character has progressed following their revelations.

Stylish and absorbing, “Bombshells” is a delightfully satisfying production notable for the depth of characterisation achieved by each of the performers, and for the careful attention paid to every aspect, especially presentation and choreography.

                                                          Photos by Ben Appleton - Photox

TOUR DATES: Queanbeyan 27-29^th August. - Cowra, Sept. 2.– Springwood, Sept 4  - Picton, Sept. 5. -Coffs Harbour, Sept 11.– Port Macquarie, Sept 12. – Dubbo, 16. -Belrose Sept18 & 19. – Griffith, Sept 23. – Albury, Sept. 25. – Bathurst, Sept. 27.

                       This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW.Link Here

BOMBSHELLS

Bombshells by Johanna Murray-Smith. Directed by Jordan Best. Echo Theatre. The Q Theatre. August 27-29.

 

Johanna Murray-Smith’s Bombshells is a series of insightful sketches reflecting the lives of a motley collection of women.

 

Jordan Best’s thoughtful production is off touring and is a tighter version than the one she directed in 2024, dropping off the last character, a singer from America doing a desperate Australian visit. This gave the show a slightly tentative finish on opening night but director and cast will find the right energy to tighten this.

 

The result is strong and often funny stuff, beginning with the pressurised monologue of a mother (Yanina Clifton) dealing with the non stop demands of a new baby and a couple of other small kids. Then comes the older woman (Louise Bennet) who is trying to sublimate her marriage breakup by taking up a new  hobby, growing cactus. The results as they show up in her presentation to what seems to be a cactus growers’ club are angry and spiky and darkly funny.

 

A bride (Ella Buckley), about to marry, talks through the romantic elements until she is left with some pretty mundane realities. The dress is not everything. A performance mad teenager (Sally Taylor) learns that not everyone plays fair as a rival in the talent quest sets out to outmanoeuvre her.

 

And a gentle widow (Lainie Hart) finds surprising fulfilment in reading to the blind…

 

Lovely perceptive stuff full of strong personalities that should appeal on tour.

 

Incidentally the lighting crew are to be congratulated for their navigation of the loss of a vital light at a crucial moment.

 

Alanna Maclean 

I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Music by Jimmy Roberts. Book and lyrics by Joe Dipietro. Directed by Janie Lawson. Free Rain Theatre. ACT Hub. To Sept 5.

 

This is a lean and funny musical that has been around for a few decades but which has sensibly been updated to fit the times.

 

There are no great surprises in its tracking of relationships between the sexes nor in its music and songs but it is funny and poignant and a skilled cast of six (Amelia  Andersson-Nickson, Connor McNaught, David Pearson, Deborah O’Toole, Sam Thomson and Sarah Copley) gives it a good run. 

 

There’s no real plot unless it is the charting of various moments of connection (or non-connection) between a range of characters. Dating, failing to date, weddings, parenthood, a fraught family car trip, the perils of texting, the desperation of loneliness, birth, babies  and finding a date at a funeral are among the matters touched upon in a rapid procession of short punchy scenes and songs that, if not particularly memorable, do the job.

The cast of the show

There’s an odd chess metaphor being played out with giant chess pieces on a checkered stage and mysterious robed figures turn up from time to time to manipulate the action. The Hub doesn’t always make it possible to see the floor from all parts of the audience so the metaphor is a little lost except for a late vicious move by a Queen.

 

A musical duo (Leo Amadeus on piano and Laura Lay on violin) are the very hard working orchestra gorgeously underpinning it all.

 

Hard to pick favourites in a large song list but the teamwork and the singing of the cast is excellent and energetic and the range of ages, characters and genders done perceptively.  The ending, with an ancient couple picking each other up at a funeral, is an aptly funny comment on the whole parade of love gone right and love gone wrong.

 

Alanna Maclean 

GREASE

 

GREASE Book Music and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey

Director Bradley McDowell. Choreographer Jordan Kell. Musical Director Ella Ragless. Conductor Craig Johnson. Dance Captain Charlotte Cox. Intimacy Coordinator Jill Young. Stage Manager Lucy Van Dooren. Erindale Theatre. Canberra Philharmonic Society and Erindale Theatre. August 27 – September 12 2026. Bookings philo.org.au

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

From the opening number, Canberra Philharmonic thunders out a  piston-pumping production of the hit musical Grease.  Grease is a triple threat musical as American as Pumpkin Pie and director Bradley McDowell, Musical Director Ella Ragless, and Choreographer Jordan Kelly with their assistants have turned out a foot-tapping, cheering production that explodes with the exuberance and vitality of a top-notch ensemble of performers who show that they can sing, dance and act their way through a musical that is showing no sign of aging.

Samuel Whiter as Danny. Ashleigh Maynard as Sandy

McDowell and his team have kept the flavour of Grease's origins as far back as the 50’s at Rydell High, but forged a more eclectic version of Rock, Pop and Swing, Jive, Jitterbug and Twist even. Anachronism aside, Philo’s production is about energy and colour as McDowell suggests in his Director’s Notes. This version has plenty of that in the large Chorus numbers (Grease (Is the word), Shakin at The High School Hop or We Go Together (Finale). It explodes in Kelly’s highly physical choreography that is slick and snappy. This is given additional gusto with Alex Clifford’s lighting design and James McPherson’s sound design as well as the orchestra under Craig Johnson’s baton. Every aspect of this finely tuned production has been carefully detailed and the cast rise to the occasion with all the enthusiasm of amateurs in the true sense of the word – an ensemble of performers who love what they do and have the skill to hit the mark in their acting, singing and dancing, a joyous triple threat of the American musical genre.

Georgia Motto as Rizzo. Joseph Mansell as Kenickie

The challenge in producing a musical that has entertained millions on stage and film for half a century is to make it fresh, as though staged for the first time and offering new insight. McDowell has done this by approaching the musical as a rock musical. Kelly has introduced unique choreographic movements that keep pace with Raglessess’ lively arrangements, and has brought some new songs from the film to the stage version.

Danny, Kenickie, Sonny, Roger and Doody in Greased Lightning

But it is the attention to character by the cast that set this performance in many ways apart from other productions I have seen, and there have been many. What struck me was the vulnerability that cast members brought to their characters. Senior school can be a tough time, and beneath the male bravado and macho posturing or the girl’s cliquiness that disguises the insecurity that 18 year olds can experience as they face the future. Samuel Whiter’s Danny Zuko has it when he is initially forced to play the cool dude in front of Sandy (Ashleigh Maynard) Georgia Motto’s Rizzo is made to confront her fears when others learn of her pregnancy. Maynard’s Sandy faces the awkward challenge of fitting in and in a perfectly managed transition shakes off the insecurity by asserting her control (You’re the One I Want). It is to the credit of the performers that they are able to bring out a layer to their performance that gives this production insight that in no way diminishes the sheer fun and entertainment of Grease

 

Sandy (Ashleigh Maynard) and the girls in Summer Nights

There is not a weak moment in this show and every member of the company onstage and behind the scenes gives their all to make it a night to remember. In addition to Whiter (Greased Lightning), Maynard (Hopelessly Devoted) and Motto (There Are Worse Thing I Could Do), there are others in the cast who deserve special mention including Meaghan Stewart’s feisty, firebrand teacher Miss Lynch, Emma English’s Beauty School Dropout Frenchy, and comical nerd couple Patty (Chloe Archer) and Eugene (Edward Murphy) join the other students of Rydell High in this hilarious glimpse of life beyond the classroom. There are excellent performances too from the adults in the room; Michael Cooper gives a smarmy performance of celebrity guest Vince Fontaine. Declan Pigram is a gangly MC and Dave Collins makes his cameo appearance a commanding presence as Teen Angel.

Sandy (Ashleigh Maynard). Rizzo (Georgia Motto). Jan (Kay Liddiard).
Frenchy (Emma English) and Marty (ErinHawker) in Grease.

There are two great reasons for making sure that you don’t miss this show. One, you are a fan and love Grease. Two, you’ve never seen Grease on stage and Philo has turned out the best production you are likely to see in a long long time.  

Photos: Photox     

BOMBSHELLS

 

 Bombshells by Joanna Murray Smith.

Directed by Jordan Best. Stage Manager Owen Davis. Lighting designer Linda Buck. Set/props designer Jordan Best and Roz Hall. Costume designer Jordan Best and Cast.. Sound design Jordan Best. Musical arrangements and recordings and vocal coaching Andrew Hackwill and Leisa Keen. Choreography Nathan Rutups and Sally Taylor. Additional music William Best and Jordan Best. Production photography Photox- Canberra Photography Services. Echo Theatre. The Q Theatre Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. August 27 – August 29. Bookings: 02 6285 6290.

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

Joanna Murray-Smith’s Bombshells makes a welcome return to The Q in Echo Theatre’s revival under the direction of Jordan Best. Best has made certain changes. Instead of the six superbly written monologues in the 2024 production, the current version features only five. Yanina Clifton takes over the role played originally by Amy Kowalczuk of a mother struggling to cope with three young children. Clifton’s experience is achingly recognizable as she sinks into the whirlpool of relentless self-doubt. In place of Kate Harris, Louise Bennet plays Tiggy, a middle aged President of the Queanbeyan East Cactus and Succulent club, who digresses into a Harpie of fury and dismay at her husband’s betrayal. Sally Taylor reprises her wonderfully funny role as a St Clare’s schoolgirl entrant in the school’s Talent Quest with an hilarious performance of Mr Mistoffeles from CATS and an interpretative dance performance inspired by SHAFT. Taylor has lost none of her ability to raise a laugh before grasping the futility of her ambitious attempt to secure the prize. She is Murray-Smith’s sad clown and Taylor once again layers her character with comedy and pathos. Ella Buckley also returns with her performance of a bride consumed by doubt and the terror of indecision. A lifetime of marriage can be a high price to pay because you simply want to wear the dress. Buckley gives a humourous and poignant performance as the bride facing the reality of her wedding day. With the absence of Alice Ferguson who played the role in 2024, Lainie Hart takes on the character of Winsome, a widow, trapped in the routine of an elderly single woman seeking fulfilment in her single days with book clubs and bridge until she discovers ecstatic liberation and sexual awakening with a blind lover. Hart charts Winsome’s journey from the sedate to the ecstatic with expertly timed delivery of Murray-Smith’s dialogue. In casting Hart as Winsome, Best has cut the sixth monologue, played originally by Hart of Zoe, a singer who succumbed to addiction but defiantly battled to overcome her addiction and rise to become a Diva. Hart’s change to play Winsome once again demonstrates her versatility as an actor. Best and her cast illuminate Murray-Smith’s perceptive insight into the lives of five very different women, all stereotyped and struggling to break free from expectations that confine and define.

Set designer Roz Hall has provided each woman with their individual settings as an expression of their personality and circumstance and lighting designer Linda Buck isolates each character within Hall’s setting and recalls momentary glimpses of each character through atmospheric fade ups between the monologues.

In 2024 I concluded my review with the following paragraph:

“Director Best has elicited outstanding performances from her actors. Murray-Smith’s Bombshells exposes the fears and dreams, frustrations and disappointments and the individual character of each woman. Moments of hilarity segue to pangs of pathos. Murray-Smith and Best are orchestrators of emotion  and empathy. Women in the audience will identify with each character’s experience. Men in the audience will hopefully understand and recognize their role and responsibility. Bombshells is Echo Theatre’s gift to everyone. It touches the heart and opens the mind. Bombshells is a tale of Everywoman, beautifully told, insightfully  directed, perfectly performed  and creatively staged. It is a highlight of the Q Theatre Season that is not to be missed. “

The same holds true with this revival.

 

 

GREASE - Canberra Philharmonic Society - Erindale Theatre

 

 Book, Music and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey

Directed by Bradley Mcdowell – Choreographed by Jordan Kelly

Musical Direction by Ella Ragless – Conducted by Craig Johnson

Set Design by Bradley McDowell – Costumes designed by Ange Fewtral

Lighting Design by Alex Clifford – Sound Design by James McPherson

The Canberra Philharmonic Society – Erindale Theatre – Aug 27^th – Sept 12, 2026.

Opening night performance August 27^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

 

Ashleigh Maynard (Sandy) -Georgia Motto (Rizzo) - Emma English (Frenchy) - Kay Liddiard (Jan) 
Erin Hawker (Marty)

The first, and certainly the most popular, in what has become a genre of teenage musicals, Grease has received several Canberra productions over the years.

With music, lyrics and book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and set in Chicago in the fictional Rydell High School in 1959, the musical follows a group of students navigating the complexities of sexual exploration, peer pressure, teenage pregnancy, and gang violence.

Major reasons for the continuing popularity of Grease are its catchy rock-infused score, and, of course, the 1978 film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John which plays on high-rotation on streaming channels.

However, for this newest iteration by the Canberra Philharmonic Society the show has been reimagined by director, Bradley McDowell, as a high-energy dance extravaganza, thereby avoiding some of the darker aspects of the script.

The company performing one of Jordan Kelly's high-enegy routines.

Choreographer, Jordan Kelly, has created no fewer than twelve eye-popping full-stage dance numbers, performed with engaging enthusiasm by the entire cast. Kelly is a dab-hand at filling the stage with inventive moves, and his choreography cleverly showcases particular skills of various cast members to spectacular effect.   

A pity therefore that Alex Clifford’s otherwise dazzling lighting design occasionally compromised the routines by having the dancers working in darkness while picking out principal characters with spotlights.  

Subtlety is not a feature of the acting, and McDowell has obviously encouraged his cast to aim for fun rather than depth with their characterisations. Among the large, enthusiastic cast, Ashleigh Maynard sings her songs prettily and is appropriately winsome as Sandy, the girl willing to compromise her standards to get her man.

Ashleigh Maynard (Sandy) and admirers.

Samuel Whiter is engagingly gauche as Danny, the object of Sandy’s affections, and the leader of a dorky gang which includes Joseph Mansell as Kenickie, Hamish Chapman as Sonny, Sterling Notley as Roger and Toby Breach as Doody who offers an hilarious interpretation of his song, “Those Magic Changes”. 

Toby Breach (Doody) with Joseph Mansell (Kenickie) and Hamish Chapman (Sonny)
performing "Those Magic Changes"

 Their compliant girlfriends are played by Georgia Motto as Rizzo, Erin Hawker as Marty, Kay Liddiard as Jan and Emma English as Frenchy.

Among the feature roles, Meaghan Stewart chews up the scenery as Miss Lynch, Dave Collins provides a show-stopping performance as Teen Angel, with some amusingly eccentric characterisations offered by Chloe Archer as the go-getter, Patty, Declan Pigram as club owner, Johnny Casino, Michael Cooper as Vince Fontaine, Stephanie Waldron as Cha-Cha and Edward Murphy as Eugene.

Stephanie Waldron (Cha-Cha) and Samuel Whiter (Danny) winning the dance competition

Craig Johnson conducts the tight seven-piece band led by Ella Ragless on piano, Fergus Mashman and Kirsten Nilsson on saxophones, Ryan Yu on Bass, Thomas Breust, and Zoey Haar on Guitars and Tyler Forbes on Drums. 

McDowell's uncluttered set leaves plenty of room for the spectacular dance numbers, and for Clifford to demonstrate spectacular lighting effects, while Ange Fewtrell’s colourful fifties inspired costumes, with their swirling skirts for the ladies, are perfect for Kelly’s energetic dance routines.

All of which combine in this spectacular production to provide the perfect excuse to revisit this much-loved musical.

                                                             Images by PHOTOX

This is a slightly edited version of the review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on August 28th, 2026. Link here

I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE - Free Rain Theatre - ACT Hub

Deborah O'Toole - Amelia Andersson-Nickson -Sarah Copley - Sam Thomson - Connor McNaught - David Pearson.

 .

Book and Lyrics by Joe Dipietro – Music by Jimmy Roberts

Produced by Anne Somes for Free Rain Theatre - Directed by Janie Lawson

Assistant Director and Choreography by Amy Campbell

Musical Direction and Keyboard – Leo Amadeus – Set Design by Cate Clelland

Lighting Design by Craig Muller – Sound Design by James McPherson

Costume Design by Louise Newey – Stage Manager: Liz Phillips

ACT Hub from August 19^th to September 5^th, 2026

Performance on August 26^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Amelia Andersson-Nickson - Connor McNaught - Deborah O'Toole - David Pearson - Sarah Copley - Sam Thomson

Full marks to Janie Lawson for unearthing this little Jem; assembling a cast who know exactly how to perform it, then showcasing those talents with an impressive production that displayed them to perfection.   

Although described as a musical, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is essentially a collection of short individual vignettes, rather in the style of the famed Phillip Street revues, with no connection to each other than, in this case, commenting on changes in dating practices and relationships over a lifetime.

Originally written in 2018, this version of “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” has been updated to comment on same-sex relationships, dating apps, speed dating and dating in later life.

 The challenge for the actors is to immerse themselves in quickly creating, with broad strokes, rather like a cartoonist, believable characters who are immediately engaging, interesting, hopefully funny, or all three.

David Pearson - Deborah O'Toole - Amelia Andersson-Nickson - Sam Thomson

According to the publicity, Amelia Anderson-Nickson, Sarah Copley, Deborah O’Toole, David Pearson, Connor McNaught and Sam Thomson, between them, create 58 such character’s during 19 separate sketches. However, don’t distract yourself trying to verify these statistics because what those characters do is much too entertaining.

Favourite moments for this writer were David Pearson’s brilliantly scary, hysterically funny mass murderer, which he contrasted as a gentle, late-life husband poignantly wondering “Should I be Less in Love With You?”, and again as a cheeky senior chatting up a prospect at a funeral deciding “I Can Live With That”.

For both these items Pearson was teamed with Deborah O’Toole, who revealed, not only charming range and presence, but also a gorgeous contralto, with her rendition of the bitter-sweet, “I Will be Loved Tonight”.

Sarah Copley fascinated with her funny/sad widow struggling with posting “The Very First Dating Video of Rose Ritz”, while Sam Thomson charmed as the new father alarmed by his personality changes brought on by the arrival of a new baby.

Amelia Anderson-Nickson scored with “Always a Bridesmaid Never a Bride”, and her snappy “Marriage Tango” with Connor McNaught, for which Amy Campbell had provided inventive choreography.

Campbell’s clever choreography is an outstanding feature throughout the show, while McNaught’s comedic gifts were on full display, together with those of O’Toole, Anderson-Nickson and Thomson, in a cheeky sketch entitled “When a Man Texts a Woman – A Picture of a Penis”.

Cate Clelland’s uncluttered chess-inspired setting, along with Louise Newey’s attractive costume designs, realised in various shades of red, black or white, added a professional gloss to the production, as did Craig Muller’s evocative lighting, and James McPherson’s sound.

Special mention also of the contribution of keyboard player, Leo Amadeus, who together with Laura Lay on violin, provided charming accompaniment for the many clever songs which make up this score.

19-year-old Amadeus impressed with his theatrical savvy and alertness with intros and play off music. No doubt, during the run of the show, he’ll work on his inclination to play too loudly on those occasions when a little more sensitivity is required to avoid drowning the all-important lyrics, but as this is also his first musical directing assignment, he is already very impressive.  

Lawson’s thoughtful solutions to details such as inventive entrances and exits, smart directorial decisions like eliminating unnecessary props and weaving the placing of any necessary furniture by the cast, into the action, not only kept the show flowing seamlessly, but marked her directorial debut as very impressive, and boding well for her future ventures as a director.

Amelia Andersson-Nickson - Sarah Copley - Deborah O'Toole - David Pearson - Sam Thomson - Connor McNaught.

                                                    Photos by Janelle McMenamin

                  This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. Link here