Romeo and Juliet, Daramalan College

 

 

Romeo and Juliet Written by William Shakespeare, adapted by Tony Allan.  Directed and designed by Joe Woodward.

The Joe Woodward Theatre, Issoudun Performing Arts Centre, Daramalan College, Canberra.  26 and 30 April and 1, 2, 3 May at 7.00pm and 3 May at 1.00pm

Reviewed by Frank McKone
April 26




William Shakespeare almost certainly attended the King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford-upon-Avon until he was 14 or 15. This grammar school, just like Enfield Grammar School which I attended in the 1950s, was a free school, supported by Queen Elizabeth I, for boys and was located near his family's home.  

Though I studied his Henry IV and played the young Prince Hal when I was 13, William may well have read the story of Romeo and Juliet, about the families and the tragic results of their parents’ enmity in Verona, which was well-known in Italy for 100 years before his birth in April 1564.  

Possibly based on truth, it was first published as a short story written by Tommaso Guardati in 1476, as a novel by Luigi da Porto in the 1530s, in another version by Matteo Bandello in the 1550s, and then translated into French and English, in the form of a poem, by Arthur Brooke: The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562), which William Shakespeare adapted for the theatre when he was aged 30 in 1594.

Now in the Internet Age you can begin more research by going to www.veronissima.com/en/romeo-juliet-true-story.html (and have a look at Enfield Grammar School https://www.enfieldgrammar.org )

I tell you this to give the modern Australian young people a sense of the literary and theatre tradition within which Shakespeare wrote his plays 400 years ago (and still in the English tradition of my day, at least, some 70 years ago.)  This is to be in keeping with Drama Teacher/Director, Joe Woodward’s intention that “DTC’s new theatre production of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a rare Hermetic presentation to create a total theatre experience of drama, music, media, interactive entertainment, food and drink and visual art.”  

And indeed all these elements were there, with many in the audience seated at cafe tables, and a bar in the foyer beforehand, at interval, and after the show.  I did look up the meaning of ‘hermetic’ – “complete and airtight /  or, relating to occult tradition encompassing alchemy, astrology, and theosophy.”

I’m not sure all of that was covered, but the design, music, audio-visuals, costumes and choreography of movement made for an interesting approach, while the measure of success was very much in the final scenes, where education in and through drama came to full strength.

This was achieved not by too much talk and show-off action in the vein of Romeo’s ‘mate’ Mercutio, but in the stillness and silences of the tomb, the recognition of the tragedy they have caused by the Montague and Capulet fathers, and a very important last image added in perhaps by Woodward as teacher/director – or hopefully by the students in a rehearsal workshop.

In my script, which I guess is the 1623 Folio version (there were 7 versions after William’s first effort), the play ends with no more than a homily from the Prince of Verona:

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

But in this presentation, in the silence following this speech, Juliet’s mother – never a pleasant parent before this moment – picks up her now dead daughter, aware now of the poison and the dagger, and lays her down, down stage almost amongst the tables of food and drink, and holds her Juliet there, in tears. As the lights dim to blackout.

William has, of course, castigated the men throughout the play for their insistence on their ‘right’ to win at all costs, but Shakespeare still left those men in charge.  

In this largely gender-blind casting, these modern young Australians have taken up the rights of women in that one powerful ending moment.  This is learning through drama in action of the best educational kind.

Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, Tybalt
Act III, Scene 1, Romeo and Juliet
Daramalan College, 2025

 

Mother, Nurse, Juliet, Capulet Father
Act III, Scene 5
Daramalan College, Romeo and Juliet 2025

 

 

 

ROMEO & JULIET

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Joe Woodward

Daramalan Theatre Company

Joe Woodward Theatre, Dickson to 3 May

 

Reviewed by Len Power 26 April 2025

 

One of Shakespeare’s most well-known and accessible plays, ‘Romeo & Juliet’ encourages us to think about our own personal relationships and the decisions we make that affect others. But is there more to this story of the ‘star-crossed lovers’? In Joe Woodward’s new production, there is an examination of ancient and shadowy revelations that may have more bearing on the decisions we make. It’s a challenging and fascinating way to consider this most moving of Shakespeare’s tragedies. It applies to our world and our current actions, too, not just to the world of those young lovers.

Using a circular thrust stage, background projections and the considerable height of the theatre, director, Woodward, who also designed the production, creates a haunting, shadowy atmosphere for the play that is often startlingly effective. The careful use of music, including the love theme by Nino Rota of Zeffirelli’s 1968 film of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and the Flower Duet from Delibes’ opera, ‘Lakme’, adds a great deal of atmosphere to this production. The singers, Ruby Gifford and Ruby Holden, give a fine performance of the Delibes aria.

Oscar Lee (Romeo) and Evie Nicholls (Juliet)

As Juliet, Evie Nicholls gives a performance full of fire in the early scenes and, as Juliet falls in love, she gives the role an increasing tenderness that is quite touching. Oscar Lee plays Romeo with a toughness that contrasts nicely with his later romantic scenes with Juliet. The sudden change in his emotions during the balcony scene is quite effective, making Romeo’s discovery of the power of love quite believable.

Oscar Lee (Romeo) and Tybalt (Zac Olsen)

Performances from the large cast show a good understanding of the vision of this production. Vocal delivery is often uneven with a lack of projection in some cases and a tendency to speak too fast, so that the meaning and poetry of the words are lost. However, it takes years to perfect this and, for a student cast starting their journey in the world of theatre performance, they do very well overall.

The finale of the play, with the lovers’ deaths staged and performed simply, is especially touching. This is a fine and clear production with a thoughtful perspective that adds new depth to this great play.

Photos supplied by the production. 

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/.

  

Emotional Landscapes II

Visual Art Exhibition Review | Brian Rope

Emotional Landscapes II I Margaret Gordon, Manuel Pfeiffer and Alan Pomeroy

ANCA Gallery I 23 April – 11 May 2025

In July/August 2024, ANCA exhibited Emotional Landscapes I by Jenny Adams, Julie Delves, Eva van Gorsel & Delene White. Van Gorsel subsequently received a Canberra Critics Circle award for her imaginative and creative observations and, in particular, her key part in that exhibition.

Emotional Landscapes II featuring artworks by three other artists has the same purpose - questioning the dichotomy of being apart from nature versus being an integral part of it. Photographer and former climate scientist van Gorsel curated this show, in close consultation with the artists.

My initial reaction on entering the gallery was to immediately see the landscape in Pfeiffer’s pieces, but not in the other works. That was my narrow interpretation of landscape. Gordon’s works feature landscapes of nude human bodies, whilst Pomeroy has “set out to re-imagine the contemplative posture as a composite posture figure set against evocative landscapes.” Pfeiffer’s art is not a straightforward representation of landscapes as we might actually see them. Like those of all good artists, they are interpretations of what he saw.

Each artist has revealed something of their personal emotional experiences to a variety of landscapes, enabling viewers of the works to reflect on their own emotional responses to landscapes they explore.

Gordon most commonly produces small sculptural pieces of her models. But here she presents mostly pastel and charcoal drawings, with just one acrylic painting and one ceramic sculpture.

Margaret Gordon, 38 Small Form, 2024, ceramic sculpture, 13.5 x 18.5 x 10cm

Photograph provided by ANCA

All these human landscapes are female. She participates in a variety of workshops sketching both genders, but as selected pieces for this show she felt it appropriate to use only drawings of female models. The drawings are diverse, showing various amounts of detail in differing parts of the sketched bodies. That, plus the variety of body types reveals the diversity of the female body landscape. How we each respond emotionally will depend on our genders, ages, personal body types and more.

Margaret Gordon, 26 Another Seated Form, 2024, pastel and charcoal, 52 x 46cm

Photograph provided by ANCA

Six of Pfeiffer’s works on canvas are painted with acrylic; two are mixed media. All eight vibrantly colourful works are striking in appearance. As always with this artist, they are beautifully composed and executed. One most interesting feature is the inclusion of shapes, such as that of a diamond or an egg. They are paintings of landscapes many of us have visited or, at least, seen in photographs. We can clearly recognise some outback places. My favourite work is of the Devil’s Marbles, but they are all a joy to look at.

Manuel Pfeiffer, 04 Karlu Karlu (Devil's marbles), 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 24x36 inches (61x92cm)

Photograph provided by the artist

Some of the landscapes portrayed are less obvious, but the titles identify them. So, for example, we know the Nullarbor is being portrayed even if we don’t immediately recognise it. I very much enjoyed the clear representation of the long straight stretch of road through a flat landscape with no trees. The magical place known as Larapinta is also delightfully shown, almost demanding we walk on the long trail.

Manuel Pfeiffer, 07 Magic Larapinta, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 24x36 inches (61x92cm)

Photograph provided by the artist

And then there are Pomeroy’s wonderfully thought-provoking works. Again the catalogue titles arguably provide keys which enable us to open the doors to the material we need to explore in order to properly think about what this artist is saying. Each piece shows figures set against evocative landscapes. They are observing and meditating, fingers pressed against their mouths almost being gnawed. They are sitting on the fence in one work – seeking the wisdom of the three wise monkeys?

Alan Pomeroy 02, On the Fence, 2024, oil on canvas, 76 x 91.5 cm. Photograph, Alan Pomeroy. TBE

All are simply delightful paintings. And there is also a most affordable 40pp book featuring the artist’s own photographs of his art. In it his artist’s statement reveals the inspirations for these works in his continuing artistic inquiry, and his hoping to encourage awareness of the power of thought .

Alan Pomeroy 05, In Too Deep, 2024, oil on canvas, 76 x 112 cm. Photograph, Alan Pomeroy. TBE 

As with its forerunner, Emotional Landscapes I, this exhibition most successfully achieves what its artists set out to do. They have created artworks which cause us to reflect on our personal emotional responses to the natural world in which we live. And invite us to ask ourselves how and whether we can live in harmony with our natural environment.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

 

MADAGASCAR The MUSICAL - Canberra Theatre

 

The cast of "Madagascar the Musical"

Book by Kevin Del Aguila – Music & Lyrics by George Noriega & Joel Someilann

Produced by Layton Lillas & Brad Thomson – Directed by Nick Wilkinson

Musical Direction by Nick Braae – Choreography by Sonja McGirr-Garrett

Costume Design by Tina Hutchinson-Thomas – Lighting Design by Sam Moxham

Puppet Design by Martin Jago & Jon Coddington  

Canberra Theatre April 22^nd & 23^rd, 2025 – Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

Based on the DreamWorks animated film series, “Madagascar the Musical” follows the adventures of Alex the lion, Melman the giraffe, Gloria the hippo, and Marty the zebra, who, bored with life in the New York Central Park Zoo, decide to escape and explore the world beyond.

After outwitting the zookeepers and assisted by a quartet of penguins they achieve their goal but bewildered by the big city eventually find themselves shipwrecked in Madagascar, where King Julien befriends them.  

Performed by a cast of thirteen actors, some of whom portrayed up to five different characters, both animal and human, the storyline may have been difficult to understand for those not acquainted with the source material.

Although the young audience enjoyed recognising familiar characters, engaging with the songs and dances, and admiring the vibrant scenery and lighting, despite the lack of detail, more focus on characterisation could have made the production more memorable for the intended audience.

It was often difficult to identify the animals because the actors relied heavily on their costumes, without mimicking the animals' movements or behaviours.

Lochlan Erard as Alex the Lion in "Madagascar the Musical". 

Locklan Erard offered an engagingly athletic interpretation of Alex the Lion, even if his exuberant movements were more suggestive of a monkey than a lion. Jessica Ruck Nu’u charmed as Gloria the hippo, although her costume bore scant resemblance to a hippopotamus.

Despite having to walk on his knees to portray King Julien, Matt Henderson’s costume offered few clues as to King Julien’s species, although Samoan actor, Iosia Tofilau’s white and black striped costume guaranteed that there was no mistaking that he was playing the zebra, Marty.

 Jeremy Hinman was most successful in creating a memorable character by embracing the opportunities offered by his towering, part-puppet costume to portray the lovable Giraffe, Melman.

Iosia Tofilau (Marty the Zebra) - Jeremy Hinman (Melman the Giraffe) - Lochlan Erard (Alex the Lion) - Jessica Ruck N'u (Gloria the Hippo) plus the Zookeepers in "Madagascar the Musical"

Excellent settings, engaged ensemble performances, catchy soundtrack and choreography combine to make this production excellent school holiday entertainment.

THE BASEMENT – Photography from Prahran College (1968-1981)

Photography Book Review: Brian Rope

THE BASEMENT – Photography from Prahran College (1968-1981)

Published by Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh) (2025)

Print production Wilco Art Books, Amersfoort (NL) ISBN: 978-1-876764-88-3

277×208mm, 232 pages, 261 images

                                                            

This significant publication celebrates a key period in the history of the Photography Department at Prahran College, during the years 1968-81. First-hand accounts from people illuminate the related gallery scene and the cultural impact of the College.

It starts with a foreword by the Director of MAPh, an introduction by that gallery’s accompanying exhibition curators, and photos of the Basement’s teachers. There are six chapters covering different aspects – early years and exhibitions, new 1970s photography, street photography, making film, performative portraiture, and student life. Chapters are filled with images, as well as words.

There are illustrated insights into the memories and outputs of three students from the time. And there is an index, lists of students and illustrations, acknowledgments and a colophon. It is a most important new contribution to the published history of photography in Australia.

Contributors include Helen Ennis (who has delivered a number of other significant books about Australian photography – most recently Max Dupain: a portrait – reviewed on this blog), Daniel Palmer (who, with Martin Jolly, produced the excellent Installation view: photography exhibitions in Australia 1848-2020 – also reviewed on this blog), and Gael Newton (who researched and curated the Australian Bicentenary exhibition on the history of photography in Australia).

Ennis writes about the early years, Palmer about exhibitions in Melbourne 1960s-1980s, and Newton provides a visitor’s view. Each essay provides excellent context for the images that follow and the chapters to come.

 

 Quirk_Students Peter Johnson, Peter Burgess, Paul Cox & Unknown Potter Prahran _1972

          

Paul COX Age of Aquarius (Carol Jerrems, Jan Hurrell) 1970 gelatin silver print

Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection 2000.85

donated by the artist through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program 2000

reproduction courtesy of the artist

There are chapters by Stella Loftus-Hills (MAPh Curator), Adrian Danks (Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and Media, RMIT University), Angela Connor (MAPh Senior Curator), Bill Henson (a notable leading contemporary photographer) and Susan Van Wyk (NGV Senior Curator), Nanette Carter (photographer turned design historian), Nicholas Nedelkopoulos (contemporary artist), and James McArdle (retired Assoc. Professor, Deakin University). The talent involved with this publication is rather special.

Loftus-Hills’ chapter Down on the Street is about how the conventional art school began to move towards a more progressive teaching approach. A cross-disciplinary approach saw the introduction of a photography department. Teachers fostered creativity and student artists inspired by their desire for personal expression took their cameras to the streets finding and documenting everyday life.

 

Graham HOWE Protester, moratorium to end the war in Vietnam, September 1970

courtesy of the artist

Andrew CHAPMAN Lest we forget 1980

courtesy of the artist

The Danks chapter is about Paul Cox Making Film, frequently casting students as actors and using them as stills photographers and cinematographers, developing their skills and fostering community.

The Performative Portrait chapter has two parts. Connor discovered “many photographic gems” including Polly Borland’s “wonderful student folio from the early 1980s”. And A conversation between Bill Henson and Susan van Wyk is precisely that, with the former responding to questions from the latter.

 

Christopher KOLLER Bauhausler 1980 silver gelatin print

courtesy of the artist

Polly BORLAND Nick 1983 pigment inkjet print

courtesy of the artist and Sullivan+Strumpf (Melbourne)

Stella SALLMAN Sue on the bed, Bondi 1978

courtesy of the artist

Robert ASHTON

Carol Davies, Peter Crowe, Carol Jerrems, Richard Muggleton 1970

courtesy of the artist

Student Life has three parts. Carter - only at Prahran College in 1974 - writes of “a vibrant and dynamic environment that nurtured creativity, experimentation and community.” Her words immediately reminded me of some social media photography groups I am part of, which very much do the same albeit as online communities. The world has changed, but the immense value of such environments continues.

Nedelkopoulos looks back on his Prahran days with fondness because of their value to the rest of his creative life. And McArdle shares many personal memories; Athol Shmith ordering his students to freeze as they were and look around at the various poses of everyone else as doing that with any person would tell them how to photograph anyone. Cox’s challenge ‘Is it possible to photograph God?’ later inspired him to set the assignment ‘Photograph God’ for his own students.

Most readers will know at least some of the contributors mentioned earlier. I recall the first time I saw an exhibition of Henson’s work - Big Pictures (at the Australian National University’s Drill Hall Gallery). I very much value James McArdle’s major contribution to photography through his blog https://onthisdateinphotography.com/. There are a number of pieces on it about this book and accompanying exhibition.

There are, unsurprisingly, various other very well-known Australian photographers who were part of The Basement. They include the teachers Shmith (one of his books was the first acquired for my personal collection), John Cato and Cox. Then there is Carol Jerrems (recently the subject of a major retrospective at Australia’s National Portrait Gallery – also reviewed on this blog).


This review is also available on the author's blog here.

Sophocles' Antigone

 

Antigone by Sophocles, translated by Ian Johnston (Vancouver Island University, Canada).  Greek Theatre Now at Burbidge Amphitheatre, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra. April 2025.

Reviewed by Frank McKone

Cast
Antigone, daughter of Oedipus – Ella Buckley
Ismene, daughter of Oedipus, sister of Antigone – Sienna Curnow
Creon, King of Thebes – Ian Russell
Eurydice, wife of Creon – Sarah Hull
Haemon, son of Creon and Eurydice, engaged to Antigone – Alastair McKenzie
Teiresias, an old blind prophet – Michael J Smith
Guard, a soldier serving Creon – Justice-Noah Malfitano
Messenger – Crystal Mahon
Chorus Leader I – Neil McLeod
Chorus Leader II – Kate Eisenberg
Chorus, people of Thebes – Jessica Beange, Samuel Thomson, Selene Thomson, Sarah Hull, Justice-Noah Malfitano, Crystal Mahon, Alastair McKenzie, Sienna Curnow, Michael J Smith

Creatives
Graphic Designer / Photographer – Carl Davies
Costume Designer – Tania Jobson
Movement Director – Lachlan Ruffy
Director / Designer – Cate Clelland

Producer – Michael J Smith



Greek Theatre Now has the right show, in the right place, and on this Good Friday, the right weather.

Creon’s belief that being king gives him absolute power, never to be challenged by ordinary citizens, because good and stable government depends on having one man in charge, is a theme very relevant to the democracy / autocracy warfare by arms or in trade happening today.

His belief that men are superior to women is an equally relevant issue.

Though this amphitheatre is small by Ancient Greek standards in 440 BCE, Sophocles would be pleased with the acoustic quality here – as good as I was amazed to experience at Delphi, with its seating for 4,500! – and with the added advantage of so much more intimate contact with the audience here.

When Antigone confronts her expected to be father-in-law with “YES”, and tells him what-for in no uncertain terms why she broke his law, we felt for her, along with our friends in the Chorus.

And like them, we could see the different sides of the political argument and try to work out what was the truth, where was justice if the law was unjust, and when standing up for human rights is necessary, despite the personal consequences.

The small scale of this production, and clarity of this modern translation, made me feel that I was sitting near Sophocles and feeling along with him how exciting it was to see the message getting through.

I’m sure he was pleased with all of the actors, perhaps especially with Ella Buckley who made her Antigone such a force to be reckoned with; and impressed with Michael J Smith’s contrasting roles both in acting and in producing the show.

He also could see how definitively Cate Clelland had directed and shaped the performance – and surely was as concerned as all of us were for her brief episode of ill-health, with sincere hopes for her quick recovery.  Cate is one of Canberra’s long-standing and experienced directors and deserves a special acclamation for her work on Antigone.

 

 

 

 

Cries of the Anthropocene: Creative Practice in response to climate change

Visual Art Exhibition Review | Brian Rope

Cries of the Anthropocene: Creative Practice in response to climate change - Various Creative Practice Circle members

The Chapel, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (15 Blackall St, Barton, ACT, Australia)

2 – 24 April 2025, 10 am - 3 pm, Wed – Sat (closed Easter weekend)

After a successful exhibition at Wagga, Cries from the Anthropocene is now in Canberra. From poetry to painted car bonnets, the exhibition reflects growing concern about climate change. Creatives from Beechworth to Bathurst and in between (including in Canberra) have joined in response to climate change and its effect on us in their parts of Australia and the world.

The Creative Practice Circle is a network of creative and performing arts practitioners and researchers, born out of Charles Sturt University in 2016. The group meets regularly via Zoom and shares what is happening in the worlds of the members. One of the common threads holding them together is concern for the planet and all its inhabitants. How can they, as concerned creatives, help encourage everyone to act in the face of climate change? The Circle’s research theme for 2024-25 is “Cries from the Anthropocene – How might we respond?” Just one of the suggested research questions was: How might the arts intersect with the grief and anxiety of living in the Anthropocene?

The artworks are very diverse. There are hand-stitched stories which speak to issues of habitat. A variety of artwork media note the decline of the iconic Bogong Moth. Poetry makes the language and issues of the climate crisis accessible. Call to action posters provide ideas and information about small actions they can be taken to address climate change. Here is a selection of installation images that I took at the show to provide readers with a visual idea of the diverse artworks. 

Hazel Francis – Our Paths with Nature - Postcards

Frank Prem – I sing (a car a train an aeroplane)

 Scan the QR code on the above image and have a listen.

Donna Caffrey – Cal to Action posters

Claire Baker – broken (n)aimless (mixed media - foam packing sheets, embroidery thread, adhesive dots, broken shells, pebbles, glass splinter, ink)

Dr Tracy Sorensen – The Blue House (work in progress)

And I have to ask, is The Blue House casting a shadow on the wall behind in the form of a church steeple? This work by Sorenson comes with a QR code too (below). Scan it and check out what it reveals about augmented reality.

Detail of one of the Seven books of tears by Barbel Ullrich – tears that are sobs and tears in our world’s fabric. 

These seven huge books are extraordinarily beautiful – and you are allowed to turn the pages to look at them all.   

Toni Hassan – a four-part installation (acrylic on a reclaimed car bonnet, digital photo printed on rag paper with gouache moths on watercolour paper, textile mask with transfer prints and elastic). The part not shown in these images is a 3:47” (looped) stereo channel video.

These (and the other artists represented in this exhibition) are not the only creatives addressing the climate change issues. An article in https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385060095_Artistic_Practices_in_the_Anthropocene reviews Western perspectives (in a fruitful dialogue with non-Western perspectives) regarding the climate emergency and artistic experiences amid the ongoing debate about futures currently at stake in the climate crisis or climate emergency. It suggests, correctly in my view, that if the climate crisis ignited in the Anthropocene is a shared crisis - both political and aesthetic - then art, inseparable from life and hence nature, holds a crucial role in nurturing care and the potency of imagining other possible worlds.

Four years ago, the National Visual Arts Editor of ArtsHub, Gina Fairley, wrote After two summers that couldn’t be more different – from drought and fires to heavy rain – conversations about the Anthropocene, and artist activism around climate change, are ripe for new resolutions. Fairley suggested that a less recited stanza from Dorothea Mackellar’s much loved 1908 poem, My Country, captured the mood of Australia’s climate crisis, 110+ years on:

Core of my heart, my country!

Her pitiless blue sky,

When sick at heart, around us,

We see the cattle die –

But then the grey clouds gather,

And we can bless again

The drumming of an army

The steady, soaking rain.

It is good to see all the artists represented in this exhibition continuing to explore the critically important matter of climate change. Together they have created an excellent exhibition with much to look at, read, view on video, and think deeply about. I strongly encourage all who are able to visit the show in person.

This review is also available on the author's personal blog here.

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT - Opera Queensland

 

Marcus Corowa - Gabrielle Diaz - Jonathan Hickey in "Are You Lonesome Tonight".

Concept by Patrick Nolan - Directed by Laura Hansford

Designed by Penny Challen – Lighting by Wesley Bluff.

Musical Director: Steve Russell – Performance MD & Pianist: Trevor Jones.

Performed by Gabrielle Diaz, Marcus Corowa, Jonathan Hickey.

The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre – April 15. 2025 

Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Jonathan Hickey - Gabrielle Diaz - Marcus Corowa in "Are You Lonesome Tonight".

Opera Queensland created this production in 2021 and toured over 8000 kilometres, performing for more than thirty communities.

The production was revived this year to undertake a more extensive tour, including venues in NSW and new locations in Queensland.

Lucky Queanbeyan was the first NSW stop on this tour, following which the show will visit another nine NSW venues and a further seven in Queensland.

Initially conceived by the CEO and Artistic Director of Opera Queensland, Patrick Nolan, as a vehicle to promote the work of Opera Queensland to a wider audience, the idea was to demonstrate the rather tenuous connection between the origins of opera and that of country music; both being rooted in storytelling.

Conceived as a vehicle for three multi-talented singers, this iteration of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” is performed by Marcus Corowa and Jonathan Hickey, both original cast from the 2021 tour, with soprano Gabrielle Diaz replacing original cast member, Irena Lysiuk. 

The musical director, accompanist and occasional chorister is Trevor Jones, whose scene-stealing performance during the recent Canberra season of The Hayes Theatre production of “The Pirates of Penzance,” is a fondly remembered highlight. Though on this occasion, Jones is doing his best to curb his enthusiasm.

   

Jonathan Hickey in "Are You Lonesome Tonight"

In addition to their accomplished solo vocals, each are masters of at least one musical instrument, contributing instrumental interpolations as well as harmonies to Steve Russell’s ingenious music arrangements. Jonathan Hickey outstanding with his charming violin embellishments, with Marcus Corowa contributing guitar, and Gabrielle Diaz, cello.

They also take turns in delivering sections of the excellent explanatory dialogue which stressed the connections between opera and country music. However, in a misguided effort to connect with their audience, their delivery was often more flippant than necessary, sometimes “talking down.”

Excerpts from operas as varied as Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea,” Puccini’s “La Boheme” and Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” vied for attention with Pat Alexander’s, “I Love to Have a Beer with Duncan” and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”

Marcus Corowa in "Are You Lonesome Tonight"

Memorable solos included Marcus Corowa’s rendition of Troy Cassar-Daley’s “Take a Walk in My Country,” and Jonathan Hickey’s moving version of Banjo Paterson’s “Clancy of the Overflow.”

 Gabrielle Diaz demonstrated her vocal versatility by combining the “Habanera” from Bizet’s “Carmen” with the Nancy Sinatra hit, “These Boots were made for Walking.”

Gabrielle Diaz in "Are You Lonesome Tonight"

But the items which drew the most applause from the thoroughly engaged audience were the two most unlikely. A surprisingly effective quartet arrangement of the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from the Verdi opera “Nabucco,” and the real hit of the night, a beautifully rendered excerpt from the Kate Miller-Heidt opera “The Rabbits.”

Although early into this tour, it is perhaps worth noting that this intelligent, entertaining and engagingly presented program is at its best when the artists allow each item, whether opera or country music, to engage on its own merits rather than assist with superfluous schtick that detracts from the central premise of the piece.  

                                                              Images by Dylan Evans

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

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Ratburger

 

Ratburger by Maryam Master, based on the book by David Walliams.  Canberra Theatre, April 15-16, 2025.

Reviewed by Frank McKone

Creative Team

Director: Liesel Badorrek
Designer: Isla Shaw
Lighting Director: Jasmine Rizk
Sound Designer: Ross Johnston
Video Producer: Mic Gruchy

Cast

Zoe: Jade Fuda
Burt: Nicholas Hiatt
Albie: Mason Maenzanise
Tina/Sheila: Billie Palin
Dad/Mr Grave: Christopher Tomkinson
Understudies: Connor Banks Griffith, Hannah Wood

Watching Ratburger as I am in my second childhood, I feel more frightened than when reading any of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales in my first.  I’m sure Zoe’s step-mother in Ratburger is closely related to both Gretel’s mother and the wicked witch in the Hansel and Gretel story.

Reading the Grimm’s dark stories was a calm and thoughtful experience for me in my first childhood – as I hope it is for eight-year olds reading Walliams today – but this presentation of Ratburger on stage is loud audially and visually, turning the essential dark story into a kind of black comic satire.

This is what frightens me.  The set and video design is absolutely fascinating, intriguing to watch, drawing in even the toddlers in the audience.  The choreography is fast, theatrical and often funny.  The amplified voices range from loud to screaming, and cannot be ignored. The images are designed to create curiosity, especially about how the shadow effects are done – including when Zoe’s step-mother and Burt the Burgerman cause her father’s final divorce as they race each other off and into his grinding machine.  

The puppetry is exquisite.  The dialogue is full of ‘woke’ phrases.  And then we adults understand the satire.  

The young will only see the horror of nasty grown-up untrustworthy woman  and conniving even criminal man making burgers from rats, as they break up Zoe’s family again; and Zoe’s incompetent but loving man – the father she loves – coming good and helping save her favourite rat from the grinder.  

If they are old enough, they may see the extreme presentation as funny. In the performance I saw there were not many laughs.  Middling youngsters laughed at obvious gags (words and in actions); some adults laughed at the ‘woke’ dialogue; little youngsters mainly watched with little apparent reaction; some fiddled with the cushions they were given to lift them high enough to see the stage.

As an example of responsible theatre for children, it concerns me that those too young to cotton on to the satire will remember family breakdown and how unloving adult women behave; and will pick up on the sentimental message of the girl saving the rat despite everything, (and learning to like the girl next door, but only after she has apologised).

In my role as a grown up, I see the play for what it is – a satire of the tragedy of life where divorce is increasingly common and there are plenty of rats who make burgers from rats.  

But I think Master’s play is more for adult education than for children.  I haven’t had the opportunity to read the book by David Walliams, but hope children who read it may respond as I did to the Grimm Brothers’ fairy stories.

 

 

 

 

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT

 

Concept by Patrick Nolan

Directed by Laura Hansford

Opera Queensland production

Q Theatre, Queanbeyan 15 April 2025

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

Described as a unique celebration of country music and opera, featuring arias and songs by Puccini, Verdi, Slim Dusty, Troy Cassar-Daly and Dolly Parton, Are You Lonesome Tonight was a pleasant evening of song from both genres cleverly woven together.

The young cast of singers – Gabrielle Diaz, Marcus Corowa and Jonathan Hickey – moved from Opera to Country effortlessly. All three amiable individuals connected quickly with the audience in a down to earth manner and showed themselves to be very capable singers of both styles of music as well as being accomplished musicians.

Jonathan Hickey, Gabrielle Diaz and Marcus Corowa

On a colourful and attractive set, designed by Penny Challen, the cast gave a potted history of opera and country music, illustrated with various arias and songs along the way. There was some mild audience participation that added to the connection between cast and audience.

The show moved at a good pace with most of the arias being from very well-known operas like Carmen, La Traviata, The Marriage Of Figaro and La Boheme. The country music included songs by Hank Williams, Slim Dusty, Troy-Cassar-Daly and Dolly Parton, amongst others. The arrangements where arias moved deftly to country and back again were very well done.

The operatic arias were sung in their original languages, which might have been a barrier for audience members unfamiliar with the shows they came from, but they could not fail to be affected by the powerful melodies and emotions in the music. The country songs were well-chosen, also displaying emotions and melodies that make this a powerful genre for many.

It was the choice of a song from Kate Miller-Heidke’s opera, The Rabbits, that particularly showed that opera and country can come together very well. This was the highlight of the show.

The show finished with the song Are You Lonesome Tonight. It had been an enjoyable evening of song that should gain some converts to a genre of music until now unfamiliar to them.

 

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/.

INFAMOUS - Gungahlin ACT.

 

Conceived and Directed by Joseph Ashton.

Gungahlin ACT – April 11^th – May 3, 2025.

Performance on April 13^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Dante Ashton & Jansen Grant full flight on the Flying Trapeze.

It’s billed as an 'adults only' show, but that has more to do with liquor laws than the performance content. There are certainly risqué moments, but don’t be put off by the possibility of spotting a penis. You cannot always believe what you see.

“Infamous” is the brainchild of Joseph Ashton, a sixth generation Ashton, and patriarch of the famous Ashton circus family which has been presenting circuses around Australia for 180 years.

Following the trend towards circuses no longer featuring animals, and the growing appetite for virtuosic physical theatre usually presented in intimate spiegeltents, Joe decided to embrace the trend and create his own spiegeltent-style show.

Jansen Grant on the Wheel of Death

But there was a problem. Joe Ashton has a particular affection for large apparatus circus acts particularly the flying trapeze and the ominously named Wheel of Death. Joe is master of both, and these acts would never fit into even the largest spiegeltent.  

Joe decided to design his own tent and replace his animals with glamorous dancers to support his world-class acrobats and aerialists, and create a new format aimed at an adult audience and “Infamous” was born.

The “Infamous” tent itself is part of the experience. Embracing the latest in circus tent design technology, the “Infamous” tent is fully air-conditioned, with a foyer featuring a fully licenced bar serving wine and spirits (hence the “adult” label. Another bar offers non-alcoholic beverages as well as hot and cold snacks, and for those wishing to satisfy their inner urge to run away with the circus, there’s a well-stocked merchandise stall offering everything necessary.  

Comfortable tables and stools allow patrons to chill out with friends and soak up the atmosphere before moving into the main performance area.

Once inside, neon-outlined arches replace the familiar spiegeltent mirrors to create an intimate atmosphere for the rows of comfortable chairs arranged around raked flooring which provides excellent views of the central performance area. Patrons seeking an even more deluxe experience can book individual tables and chairs ringside.

Dancye Rae in "Infamous"

From the moment guests enter the main auditorium, clowns, glamorously costumed dancers, sensational Marilyn Monroe look-alike, Dancye Rae, and vocalist Tomi Gray, vie for their attention until showtime, which begins with a parade by the performers to introduce the Wheel of Death. 

This terrifying apparatus is manipulated by Kyle Wishart, while Jansen Grant performs a series of heart-stopping manoeuvres both inside and out of the apparatus.  Then follows a succession of outstanding circus acts sourced from around the world, among which a duo performed an extraordinary aerial bungee act, then later a sensuous slow-motion adagio in a bathtub. 

Dante Ashton & Mimi Lenoire in "Infamous"

 

Generations of the Ashton family are well-represented in all aspects of this family-run circus including aerialist star Dante Ashton, who dazzles with her solo aerial act, is joined by Mimi Lenoire for a duo-trapeze routine, and for the finale, by her mother Bekki Ashton, and her aunt, Michelle Ashton-Jarman, for their high-flying trapeze act.

Between the various circus acts, clowns and troupes of trim, taut and terrific dancers, both male and female, keep the audience entertained with provocatively choregraphed routines.

Pole Dancer Mimi Lenoire in "Infamous"

As is circus tradition, following the high-flying grand finale, the whole cast parade again to acknowledge the enthusiastic applause, leading to another tradition that is new and unique to “Infamous”, an invitation for audience members to meet and be photographed with the cast of the show at the end of the performance.

                                                                         Images provided.  

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