TAKACS QUARTET with ANGIE MILLIKEN - Llewellyn Hall, Canberra.

 

Angie Milliken and the Takacs Quartet

Presented by Musica Viva Australia -Artistic Director: Paul Kildea

Concert on 16^th August 2025 reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

In his program notes, Musica Viva Australia's Artistic Director, Paul Kildea, explains how he hit upon the idea of commissioning Brisbane born composer, Cathy Milliken to work with the Takacs Quartet to create a work inspired by the Bertolt Brecht poem Sonnet of an Emigrant to celebrate Musica Viva’s 80^th year. The idea resonated with him because so many of the artists presented by Musica Viva since its establishment have experienced displacement.

For Cathy Milliken, a distinguished composer as well as a Brecht scholar, based in Berlin and living in an apartment overlooking the Berliner Ensemble Theatre established by Brecht and his wife, Helen Weigel, the commission provided the opportunity, not only to work with the Takacs Quartet, but also to compose a work to showcase the talents of her sister, actress, Angie Milliken.  

The subject of displacement was also a familiar one to each of the members of The Takacs Quartet, itself celebrating its 50^th year of performances.  

THE TAKACS QUARTET
Edward Dusinberre - Harumi Rhodes - Andras Fejer - Richard O'Neill

The Takacs Quartet consists of Edward Dusinberre and Harumi Rhodes (violins),   Richard O’Neill (viola), and Andras Fejer (cello), and although only cellist Fejer is an original member, the four play with such dazzling synchronicity and attention to detail that the opportunity to hear them premiere an original contemporary work by an Australian composer provided an unforgettable celebration of  Musica Viva’s Eightieth year.

This fact was highlighted by Cathy Milliken when she introduced her work emphasising that it was also 80 years since the first Jewish immigrants came to Australia, and that the eight Brecht poems she had chosen for her composition expressed their sense of displacement on leaving their country and finding a new home.

In stark contrast to the joyful Haydn String Quartet that preceded it, Milliken’s Sonnet of an Emigrant contrasted harsh, unsettling scraping sounds against the quiet beauty of Angie Milliken’s perfectly placed speaking voice as she spoke Brecht’s poems, mostly in English, but also in German, intricately embedded in discordance and unusual percussive sounds.

If occasionally the strings overwhelmed the words, this was hardly surprising in a live performance of a work that demanded extraordinary synchronisation from the narrator and the instrumentalists. Indeed, it added to the emotional intensity inherent in the composition and left the audience in no doubt that it had been present at the unveiling of a major new work.

Book-ending the feature work, were exhilarating renditions of two more familiar compositions which allowed the quartet full rein to demonstrate why it is considered one of the world’s great string quartets.

THE TAKACS QUARTET
Edward Dusinberre (Violin) - Richard O'Neill (Viola) - Harumi Rhodes (Violin) - Andras Fejer (cello)

For the Hayden String Quartet in G Minor which opened the program, the four musicians immediately established that they were so on top of the technicalities of the piece, that their attention would be focused on exploring the nuances.

The confident interplay between the four as they each achieved special moments is one of the pleasures of experiencing them live. Violinist, Edward Dusinberre leads with a dignified charm and an air of calm control, while cellist Andreas Fejer, the senior member of the quartet, smiles to himself whenever he, or a colleague, produces a particularly beautiful note or phrase.

Violinist, Harumi Rhodes and violist Richard O’Neill were even more animated. Both perch on the edges of their chairs. To signal the others they lean forward intently, make constant eye contact, and smile approval.

O’Neil goes even further, often jumping into the air during a particularly exciting passage, or gazing intently at the audience when deep in concentration.

All of this was particularly evident in the bravura rendition of the Beethoven String Quartet in C major (Razumovsky) which ended the program, during which the four musicians took the composer at his word with his Allegro molto instruction for the final movement, threw caution to the wind, clearly delighting each other, and their adoring audience, with a virtuosic, breakneck-speed race to the end.

No way they were going to get away after that, so the quartet generously calmed their over-excited audience with a drop-dead gorgeous rendition of the second movement from Ravel’s String Quartet.

Those who stayed for the relaxed and informative “Meet the Artists” talk learned that the ABC will be recording Milliken’s Sonnet for an Emigrant for later release.

                                                      Photos by Cameron Jamieson

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

 

Obituary - David Stratton

David Stratton was a major figure in the Australian film industry. Photo courtesy news.com.au

By Tony Magee

Australian film critic David Stratton, who died August 14 aged 85, will be fondly remembered starring alongside Margaret Pomeranz on The Movie Show on SBS and At the Movies on the ABC.

Tributes have flowed including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who said “With dry humour and sharp insight David Stratton shared his love of film with our country.

“All of us who tuned into At The Movies respected him for his deep knowledge and for the gentle and generous way he passed it on”.

Director George Miller said “His immense contribution included screening films at the Sydney Film Festival from Asia, Europe, the Eastern Bloc, India and Japan, influencing the directors who were breaking through in the 1970s.

“If Stratton had not screened the first short film that I made with producer Byron Kennedy in 1971 - Violence in the Cinema, Part 1 - it would not have been distributed by Greater Union and we would not have made Mad Max. That was directly attributable to David standing up for the film”.

A spokesperson for his family said, “David’s passion for film, commitment to Australian cinema and generous spirit touched countless lives.

“He was adored as a husband, father, grand- and great-grandfather and admired friend. David’s family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming support from friends, colleagues and the public recently and across his lifetime.”

Stratton also chronicled the history of Australian film in his books The Last New Wave, The Avocado Plantation and, in 2024, Australia at the Movies. His memoir I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film, was published by Penguin Books in 2008.

A “ten-pound Pom”, Stratton was born in Wiltshire in the UK in 1939, and moved to Australia in 1963 under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme introduced by the Chifley government in 1945.

In 1965, he took over as director of the Sydney Film Festival, a position he would hold for the next 18 years. He championed foreign-language films, rallying against the censorship that was rife at the time.

A spokesperson for the festival said “We would not exist without David’s remarkable passion and devotion.

“We praise his successful fight against censorship of films in Australia, the establishment of the Travelling Film Festival (which returns to his home town of the Blue Mountains next weekend), support for emerging filmmakers from Australia and around the world, and fostering of a brave and adventurous cinema culture in Australian audiences”.

He later gained greater fame for reviewing films on SBS and the ABC with Margaret Pomeranz, the two becoming one of Australian television’s most famous duos.

Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton were co-hosts for 28 years — first of “The Movie Show” on SBS
and then “At the Movies” on ABC. (Photo supplied / ABC TV)

“When we met I was a cinema enthusiast, not a walking encyclopedia of film like David.” said Pomeranz. 

“When he first came into SBS and I tried to talk to him, he brushed me off unceremoniously. I imagine a few people have had that experience with him but over the years he became much more welcoming of people approaching him – especially young film enthusiasts, many of whom he mentored and promoted. He was unstintingly generous in that way.

“So I became the producer of his movie introductions, to Movie of the Week and his beloved Cinema Classics. I had to create new lead-ins to these, and David and I decided to use Nino Rota’s music. I had such fun with the introduction to the Classics, with images of Polanski’s Knife in the Water, Bergman’s The Seventh Seal and from Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin. Of course David had to approve everything, and we formed a good working relationship.

“Our first film discussion, or vague disagreement, was about the Australian film The Empty Beach, directed by Chris Thomson, based on a novel by Peter Corris. I was dismissive but, as I listened to David’s support for the film, I realised that my reaction had been too facile. It was the beginning of Strats’ education of my film appreciation.

“It’s extraordinary that, over all the time we worked together, we never had a falling out.”

David Stratton experienced significant vision loss in his later years due to giant cell arteritis. The condition caused him to lose sight in one eye and severely limited his vision in the other. This impacted his ability to review films, leading him to retire from reviewing in 2023, though he continued to be involved in other film-related activities. 

Stratton has always stated that his all-time favourite film was the Gene Kelly musical Singin’ in the Rain.

“It’s probably the best of the MGM musicals in an era when the musical film was one of the most innovative forms of cinema,” he told digital editor Craig Platt. “It’s funny, it’s clever. The songs and dances are great, and it also has a fascinating story.”

Porgy and Bess - Ray Charles and Cleo Laine

Porgy and Bess

Ray Charles and Cleo Laine

Music by George Gershwin

Libretto by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward

2LP set

Decca London 1976

200g Quiex Super Vinyl re-issue 2024

By Tony Magee

With the passing of Dame Cleo Laine on July 24 2025, I’m reminded of the recent re-issue of her 1976 recording of Porgy and Bess with co-star Ray Charles.

Now available for the first time on 200g Quiex Super Vinyl, the two weave their soulful and hypnotic spells over the Gershwin-Heyward operetta, all under the watchful eye of legendary producer Norman Granz. 

This undertaking from 1976 not only teams two of the greatest voices of the century, but also showcases an all-star lineup of support musicians. Arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol, players who were name artists in their own-right are featured, including Joe Pass and Lee Ritenour on guitars, Joe Sample on keyboards, Ernie Watts on saxophones, J.J. Johnson and Britt Woodman on trombones, Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet, Sam Most on flute , Bill Perkins and Jerome Richardson on various reeds, Bud Shank on alto sax, plus Victor Feldman and Paul Smith.

Background:

Porgy and Bess" is an opera set in Catfish Row, a fictionalised African-American neighbourhood in Charleston, South Carolina, inspired by the real-life Cabbage Row. The story revolves around the love between Porgy, a disabled beggar, and Bess, who is trying to escape her abusive past with her ex-husband Crown and the drug dealer Sportin' Life. The opera explores themes of community, resilience, and the challenges of addiction and redemption. 

Key aspects of the setting:

Catfish Row:
This fictional neighbourhood is the central setting of the opera, depicting a close knit community with its own unique culture and struggles. It is described as a seaside area, reflecting Charleston's waterfront.

Real-life inspiration:
The opera is based on the novel "Porgy" by DuBose Heyward, which in turn draws inspiration from the real Cabbage Row in Charleston. Cabbage Row was historically inhabited by descendants of freed slaves.

Themes and atmosphere:

The setting of Catfish Row contributes to the opera's themes of community, resilience, and the challenges faced by its residents, including poverty, violence, and addiction.

The Selections: 

1. Summertime - Ray Charles 

2. My Man's Gone Now - Cleo Laine 

3. Woman Is a Sometime Thing - Ray Charles 

4. They Pass by Singin' - Cleo Laine 

5. What You Want Wid Bess? - Cleo Laine 

6. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' - Ray Charles 

7. Buzzard Song - Ray Charles 

8. Bess, You Is My Woman Now - Ray Charles 

9. Oh, Doctor Jesus - Cleo Laine 

10. Crab Man - Ray Charles 

11. Here Come de Honey Man - Ray Charles 

12. Strawberry Woman (Instrumental) - Ray Charles 

13. Strawberry Woman - Cleo Laine 

14. It Ain't Necessarily So - Ray Charles 

15. There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York - Ray Charles 

16. I Loves You, Porgy - Cleo Laine 

17. Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? (Instrumental) - Ray Charles 

18. Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? - Ray Charles 

19. Oh, Lawd, I'm on My Way! - Ray Charles

Alternatively, copies of the original 1976 pressing are usually available at pre-owned LP record stores, as well as outlets like the Lifeline Book-fair, eBay and Discogs.

Other jazz vocal versions of Porgy and Bess include those by:

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (Verve, 1959), also produced by Norman Granz

Mel Tormé and Frances Faye (Bethlehem, 1956)

Sammy Davis Junior and Carmen McRae (Decca, 1959)

Harry Bellafonte and Lena Horne (RCA Victor, 1959)

Living in the Seventies

Exhibition Review: Visual Art | Brian Rope

Living in the Seventies | from the collections of the National Library of Australia (NLA)

NLA Treasures Gallery | 14 August 2025 to 1 February 2026

1975 was a year to remember in Australia, especially so for those whose ages were such that they truly participated in everything that happened. Now the National Library of Australia (NLA) has reflected on what it was like to live in the seventies.

Dr Guy Hansen, the library’s Director of Exhibitions says Living in the Seventies explores whether there is more to 1975 than a dose of Baby Boomer nostalgia. “Looking at the collections held by the National Library of Australia reveals a much more complex story about a fascinating time in Australian history.” To consider the truth of that, I’ll focus on how exhibits in this great exhibition of posters, books, photos and more impacted on me (slightly older than the Baby Boomers).

The end of 1974 saw tropical Cyclone Tracy devastate Australia’s most northern city, Darwin. During a family get together, my brother-in-law received orders to prepare himself to go to Darwin the next day as part of the disaster relief contingent. That affected all our family, and most certainly had a major impact on him.

In 1975 music, art, fashion, literature and film transformed our view of the world. Significant films including Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Removalists proved we wanted to see Australian stories on the big screen. I certainly wanted to see more. Our favourite television show Countdown provided a soundtrack for suburban life with glam rockers Skyhooks. I watched the show regularly. And who didn’t love AC/DC and Aunty Jack?

Ego is not a dirty word_nla.cat-vn1843249

Attending the exhibition’s media preview provided an opportunity to chat with one of our favourite Australian TV personalities who entertained us through the seventies. No, it wasn’t Norman Gunston who was crowned “King of Canberra” in 1976. It was Denise Drysdale sharing some memories and reflections of the 70s – from TV to fashion, feminism and politics, and how 70s events still influence Australians today.

Norman Gunston and Denise Drysdale_nla.obj-148394048

The long-running Vietnam War which had a powerful impact on Australians finally ended. I wasn’t called up for Army service, but I knew a few people who were. The protest marches at that time recently very much came to mind again, with recent major marches relating to the current Gaza situation drawing comparisons.

Australia’s Federal government led by Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam implemented major social reforms including no-fault divorce but also found itself mired in a series of political controversies. The women’s liberation movement challenged many long-held assumptions about the roles of women. Funded projects for 1975’s International Women’s Year included another feature film, Caddie, a study of the working conditions of migrant women, and the establishment of various women’s centres and refuges. My wife was one of many women who had to resign as a public servant following our marriage in 1965. I knew activist and academic Elizabeth Reid before she was appointed, in a world first, as Women’s Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister.

Women on the march_nla.obj-137045864

1975 ended dramatically. Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the government on 11 November. I was then working for the Australian Public Service Board in offices quite close to the then Parliament House. After hearing rumours, I joined others running to see what was happening. We made it in time to hear Whitlam make his famous speech on the steps of the House.

Newspaper vendor_nla.obj-152388014

Flared jeans, platform shoes and burnt orange dominated 70s’ fashion. I wore them all. They were all gloriously rendered on brand-new colour television sets. And, yes, I owned one.

Colour TV What to look for_nla.cat-vn1285282

This exhibition has most effectively brought together a range of objects exploring politics, conflicts and disasters, as well as popular culture, food, fashion and sport, in a colourful celebration of iconic seventies design. Have you still got your copy of Margaret Fulton’s Cookbook?

Margaret Fulton Crockpot Cookbook_nla.cat-vn2834240

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

WALTZING THE WILARRA - HIT Productions at the Q. Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre.

Jalen Sutcliffe - Clancy Enchelmaier - Lorinda May Merrypor in "Waltzing the Wilarra"

 

Written and Composed by David Milroy – Directed by Brittanie Shipway

Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. 15^th & 16^th August 2025

Opening night performance on August 15^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS 

Hanna Underwood - Leonard Mickelo & Company in "Waltzing the Wilarra".

When premiered as part of the Perth International Arts Festival in February 2011,  Waltzing the Wilarra was hailed as a landmark production. 

An original Australian musical play, written and composed by David Milroy, the first act of Waltzing the Wilarra is set in a mix-race dance club in post-World War 11 Perth, at a time when curfews, and the fear of being arrested for consorting, were always present.

Clancy Enchelmaier & Lorinda May Merrypor in "Waltzing the Wilarra"

The action centres around the relationship between half-sisters Elsa (Lorinda May Merrypor ) and Fay (Juliette Coates), who were brought up by kindly indigenous elder Mrs Cray (Lisa Maza).

Elsa, an Indigenous child of the stolen generation, is resentful of the attention Mrs Cray lavishes on Fay, who is white.  Fay has a crush on Charlie Runaway (Shaka Cook) a young Indigenous man who is best friends with Elsa’s husband Jack (Clancy Enchelmaier), a drunken white ex-soldier. 

However, Charlie is in love with Elsa and rejects Fay’s advances. Following a brawl at the club, Jack and Charlie are carted off to gaol. Later it is revealed that Jack has been killed although, how, remains a mystery.  

The second act is set in the same club 40 years later, when the club is now slated for demolition. Elsa, Fay, Charlie join others at the club for a reunion hosted by Athena (Hannah Underwood) which soon descends into recriminations during which dark secrets are revealed.

Sutcliffe - Hannah Underwood - Shaka Cook in "Waltzing the Wilarra"

Whatever charm the original production may have had appears to have evaporated in this production directed with a heavy hand by Brittanie Shipway, who has her cast portray the characters so broadly that it is difficult to engage with any of them.

Without the benefit of a printed program, and with pre-publicity that suggested that the show was a three-hander about characters Charlie, Elsa and Fay, most of the audience were surprised to discover that this production involved a relatively large cast of 8 actors and 2 musicians.

The hardworking cast struggled to bring life to a set of stock characters in a show that attempts to address complicated racial issues by clothing them in a warm glow of nostalgia.

In addition to the artists already named, Jalen Sutcliffe played Mr. Mack, and Leonard Mickelo played Old Toss, Sandy Barr and a detective.

There are 16 original songs featured in the show, mostly to provide atmosphere rather than advance the storyline, but no information is available about the two musicians who provide the accompaniment, or the creatives responsible for the setting, costumes, choreography, lighting or sound.  

The Company of "Waltzing the Wilarra".



Photos by Matthew Chen


This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 16th August 2025.

 

  

WALTZING THE WILARRA

 

 

Waltzing The Wilarra. Written and composed by David Milroy.  

Directed by Brittany Shipway. Original Perth production directed by Wesley Enoch with set design by Jacob Nash and lighting by Trent Suidgeest. Produced by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Touring production staged by HIT Productions. Q Theatre. August 15-16 2025. Bookings: 62856290. , theq.net.au

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

Touring the country’s regional towns with a show can be a tricky business. Last night HIT Production’s Waltzing The Wilarra bumped in to The Q Theatre for two days and three performances only before bumping out and heading off to its next venue in an exhaustive nation-wide itinerary. The company is to be commended on bringing theatre that deals with important issues to Australia’s regions and HIT Productions has an enviable record of touring well staged and well-acted productions of Australian works that deal with issues  pertinent to an Australian community. Waltzing The Wilarra is no exception to the high production values that Christine Harris has demanded of her casts and creatives. However, with so little time to get the technical side of the production working well, and the sound levels of the miking especially, the performance can fall short.

But it is not this alone that made last night’s show less satisfying than it deserved to be. Writer and composer David Milroy has attempted to crowd his play with a potpourri of song and music, vaudeville satire and drama, so that the power of the drama becomes interrupted by the introduction of different conventions. The drama of the piece is not without impact. Wilarra is an outback country town in Western Australia where black and white residents live in relative harmony and come together to their club for entertainment. Jack is a returned and damaged soldier from the war. He is an alcoholic and married to Elsa, a victim of the Stolen Generation. Charlie is also a member of the Stolen Generation but keeps this chapter of his life to himself. He and Jack are brothers in arms not blood. Nanny is Elsa’s mother and has also raised the white girl, Fay, who was deserted by her mother. It is a source of bitter resentment by Elsa. Mr. Mack is the aboriginal host of the club, introduces the band members and runs the club’s competitions. Charlie is in love with Elsa and Fay is in love with Charlie but Elsa doesn’t love Charlie and Charlie doesn’t love Fay and Jack abuses Elsa who dotes on him. Tensions are exposed in the first half, but it is in the second half that they erupt in a flurry of confrontation. Nanny and Jack have both died when, forty years later, the club members return to remember the early days and protest against the removal of the club during a mining development. Hidden grievances are exposed. If family conflicts cannot be reconciled, what hope have generational and racial issues. And yet, Waltzing The Wilarra promises hope when Charlie’s death becomes a catalyst for reconciliation beneath an aboriginal flag and the removal of colonial shackles.

I have no programme to help an understanding of intention. The issues of love, loss, discrimination, jealousy, betrayal and bitter rivalry are lucid enough in Milroy’s play and Shipway’s production. Unfortunately, I could not decipher the lyrics in the most part because of poor sound mixing and diction with the exception of Lisa Maza’s perfect clarity as Nanny. Similarly. high pitched squeals and register by the vaudevillian caricatures left me bewildered. I suspect that Milroy’s Waltzing at Wilarra lacks the trust in the power of the lyrics and the text to capture and persuade. The songs were by and large incomprehensible and I thoroughly recommend a careful sound check in each venue. A play that deals with such relevant issues in post Voice Referendum Australia deserves to be clearly heard and effectively understood.

I notice while browsing the web that the original production appears to have been directed by Wesley Enoch and performed in a single venue over a substantial season. The touring production’s hard working and able performers deserve better support. Notwithstanding my reaction to the touring production difficulties experienced at The Q, audiences will find Milroy’s Australian musical largely entertaining and thought –provoking . A more tightly directed and edited work would make this production of Waltzing The Wilarra more impactful.

 

 

 

The Chosen Vessel

 

 The Chosen Vessel by Dylan Van Den Berg at The Street Theatre, Canberra, August 12 – 16, 2025.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
Opening Night August 12

Director: Abbie-lee Lewis
Set Designer: Angie Matsinos
Costume Designer: Leah Ridley
Lighting Designer: Nathan Sciberras
Sound Designer: Kyle Sheedy
Photos: Canberra Streets, Helen Fletcher

Cast

WOMAN and GHOST– Laila Thaker

SWAGMAN, HUSBAND, YOUNG MAN, HORSEMAN,
BARMAN, TRAVELLERS and PRIEST – Craig Alexander
__________________________________________________________________________________

Dylan Van Den Berg’s The Chosen Vessel is a work of poetic theatre.  Words have meanings beyond the immediate in a setting of half-seen images in light and sound, creating a world full of emotional power.  The writer’s imagination appears as if real in this wonderful yet disturbing production.  

When reading a good poem, one’s imagination and feelings respond to the words, reaching an aha moment as you find yourself coming to an understanding in the last line.  In the theatre, our imaginations are enhanced by the stimulating work in the set design, lighting, sound and costumes, as well as, of course, in the directing and skills of the two actors in movement, facial expression and voice.

Laila Thaker, Craig Alexander
in The Chosen Vessel by Dylan Van Den Berg
The Street Theatre, Canberra 2025
Photos: Helen Fletcher

 This excellent production in the small Street Two space becomes a total poem.  That last line is “If the dead can see, why can’t you?”  

Then you understand what it means to describe this work as "Aboriginal Gothic Horror", and realise the nature of the truth about the European cultural invasion of Aboriginal Land – in practical terms:

                        Baby cries.
                        GHOST hangs a string of shells around baby’s neck.
                        GHOST disappears.
                        Sounds of the river:
                                            Blackout.
                                           THE END



Australia’s iconic publisher of our theatre – Currency Press – have made the script available with the program.  I suggest, though, that you see the play as I did without preconceptions.  Then reading The Chosen Vessel by Palawa man Dylan Van Den Berg, “after the short story by Barbara Baynton” will take you through the experience again that only live theatre can give you, and keep it as a living memory and understanding forever. 

 

 Frank McKone's reviews are also accessible at www.frankmckone2.blogspot.com