PRETTY WOMAN The Musical - Theatre Royal - Sydney

Samantha Jade as Vivian Ward and Ben Hall as Edward Lewis in "Pretty Woman" 

Book by Garry Marshall & J.F. Lawton – Music and Lyrics by Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance

Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell – Recreated by Rusty Mowery

Resident Director: Liam McIlwain - Musical Director: David Skelton

Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations: Will Van Dyke.

 Scenic Design: David Rockwell – Costume Design: Tom Rogers

Lighting Design: Kenneth Posner & Philip S. Rosenberg – Sound Design: John Shivers

Produced by Jones Theatrical, ATG Productions & Gavin Kalin Productions

Theatre Royal, Sydney until 4th April 2026.

Sydney opening night performance on 4^th December 2025 reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Ben Hall as Edward Lewis - Samantha Jade as Vivian Ward and company in "Pretty Woman"

You don’t have to be a fan of the film, on which this musical is based, to be charmed by this delightful adaptation. Possibly one of the few souls on earth who missed the film, this reviewer still succumbed to the Broadway panache employed by director and choreographer, Jerry Mitchell, and his collaborators, in transforming this seductive adult fairy-tale into a stylish stage musical.

The casting is impeccable. Samantha Jade is bewitching as the feisty streetwalker, Vivian Ward, who wants to be “Anywhere but Here”.  An accomplished singer, actor and dancer, Jade draws on all those skills to create a character, constantly intriguing, as she traces the trajectory of Vivian’s journey. It is the role which will be remembered as her break-out role, and which stamps her as an exciting new musical theatre leading lady.  

Similarly, Ben Hall, as the ridiculously wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis, who intrigued by “Something About Her” provides Vivian with the opportunity (and money) to become her ‘real’ self. Hall has the look and bearing of a perfect Prince Charming and the voice of a Broadway leading man.

Ben Hall as Edward Lewis and Samantha Jade as Vivian Ward in "Pretty Woman"

Both have the presence, and the acting chops, to convince audiences to forget the improbability of the storyline, (thoughts of Sweet Charity, My Fair Lady, even Cinderella), and put questions of common sense aside to wallow in the lusciousness of their romance.  

But this is where Jerry Mitchell’s brilliance surfaces. Recognising the differences between a successful Hollywood movie and a successful Broadway musical, he has surrounded Vivian and Edward with a milieu of thoroughly delightful supporting characters, stylish settings, glamorous costumes, and clever choreography. Theatrical devices which delight the eye and burnish the storytelling.

Tim Omaji as Happy Man and cast of "Pretty Woman".

Principal among the supporting characters is Tim Omaji, completely lovable as Mr Thompson, the manager of Beverly Wilshire Hotel (Oh, for a hotel manager like this one). Omaji also plays an other-worldly, hippy character, Happy Man, who leads the ensemble through “Don’t Forget to Dance”.

Both roles provide Omaji with the opportunity to exercise the formidable dance skills for which he gained fame as Timomatic. The male dance duo during “On a Night Like Tonight” performed by Mr Thompson and the porter, Giulio, (an effervescent Jordan Tomljenovic), is a real showstopper which had the first night audience screaming with delight.

Another showstopper was the dreamy staging of “You and I”, in which Edward introduces Vivian, gorgeous in the iconic red dress, to opera. Snatches of “La Traviata”, gloriously sung by Rebecca Gulinello as Violetta and Callum Warrender as Alfredo, are threaded through swirling dancers in an intoxicating confection observed by Edward and Vivian from a red velvet opera box.

Michelle Brasier as Kit De Luca and cast in "Pretty Woman".

Michelle Brazier, as Vivian’s hooker friend, Kit De Luca, also gets opportunity to display her well-honed comedic skills and powerful vocals in “Welcome to Hollywood”, “Luckiest Girl in the World” and “Rodeo Drive”.

Good performances abound among the busy ensemble, who each play a variety of roles and execute Mitchell’s demanding choreography with enthusiasm and pizzazz.

So how does “Pretty Woman – The Musical” compare with “Pretty Woman- The Film”?

I’ve no idea, but if the film was half as good as the musical, then it is easy to see why it is a favourite for so many.

However, with the musical, as well as a captivating story, expect upbeat songs, spectacular dances, glamorous costumes and scenery, and a cast brimming with top-flight Australian talent. It might surprise you by becoming your favourite musical.

 

The cast of "Pretty Woman".



Photos by Daniel Boud.

GOD

 

 GOD by Ferdinand von Schirach and translated by David Tushingham.  Lexi Sekuless Productions, with Rare Bird Ensemble,  at The Mill, Dairy Road, Canberra, November 26 - December 18, 2025

Reviewed by Frank McKone
Dec 5

CREATIVES & COMPANY

Cast
Rachel Gärtner: Heidi Silberman; Ms Biegler: Alana Denham Preston
Dr Keller: Maxine Beaumont; Dr Sperling: Timmy Sekuless
Bishop Thiel: Richard Manning; Professor Litten: Helen McFarlane
Chair: Jay James Moody; Council Associate: Sarah Hartley

Contingency and understudy for Dr Keller: Chipz Jin (playing Keller 230pm & 730pm 13 December)

Production Team
Writer: Ferdinand von Schirach; Translator: David Tushingham 
Director and Designer: Lexi Sekuless
Sound Designer: Damian Ashcroft; Costume Designer: Annette Sharpe
Shadow Costume Designer: Nicola Vavasour
Lighting Designer: Andrew Snell; Scenic Painter: Letitia Stewart
Set Builders: Revive Canberra
Production Stage Manager: Bea Grant
Deputy Stage Manager: Paige MacDonald 
Assistant Director: Eli Narev
Photographer: Daniel Abroguena

Producer: Lexi Sekuless Productions 
Principal Sponsor: Willard Public Affairs
By Arrangement with International Performing Rights Ltd


GOD asks the first question: when death knocks on your door, would you call the butler and tell them to let you out into the void?

But then a second question arises, since you and the butler are members of society.  What if the butler is afraid of being charged with a criminal act?

The drama is set in what seems to be Germany where a law has been passed to allow the butler to open the door, but only if they are a doctor qualified to judge whether you are of sound mind, but not of sound body – and so agree you would be better off dead.

But a 55-year-old woman has appealed to us to allow her to call death in, despite being sound of both mind and body.  This is because she had suffered for many months with her husband while he was dying in hospital,  where his butlers, the doctors, finally agreed to stop trying to ‘save’ his life; and she, his literally ‘other half’, cannot live without him.  A court has rejected her application as ‘unconstitutional’.

We, no longer a mere audience, sit on the official Council (like the Australian Capital Territory Appeals Tribunal) to hear the woman’s lawyer and a series of expert witnesses for nearly two hours (including a 20 minute tea break), before submitting our votes for or against her request.

The effect is dramatic, to say the least, as we bit by bit realise that our vote in that last ten minutes is not playing out a game of theatrical fiction.

Last night the 35 people voted 19 in favour, 15 against with 1 abstention.  On other nights, I’m told, the balance of votes was quite different, in different directions.

The value, in fact I would say the importance, of presenting this play is to marvel at the author’s amazing capacity, through the medical, social and religious ‘experts’ he creates, to takes us through something like the last three thousand years of the development of Western Philosophy, to the point where we feel sincerely that our decision is for real.

Then we realise how high is the quality of the directing and the acting on everybody’s part to shift our experience beyond mere observation and thinking about the issues, into a state of personal decision-making as we submit our votes (of course, recorded privately by the Council clerk, with only the numbers each way announced).

This is certainly my kind of theatre, becoming one in a tradition at The Mill Theatre, and definitively not to be missed – I say even if I am a generation older and biassed by my approaching the time I may decide I need the law to be on my side.

 

 

 

Low Pay? Don't Pay!

 Low Pay? Don’t Pay! by Dario Fo. Translation by Joseph Farrell. Directed by Cate Clelland. Canberra Rep. Canberra Rep Theatre. To Dec 6. 

Low Pay? Don’t Pay! starts a little too slowly but once it gets up a bit of steam in the strong hands of director Cate Clelland and a capable cast it turns into a heartfelt production that is driven by Fo’s sense of history, politics and social justice. 

They’ve Anglicised the names and made references to suburbs in Canberra but this play remains resolutely Dario Fo and deeply Italian even in translation and really ought to stay there. But that’s a hard call; how do you translate the Italians?

Toni (Maddie Lee) and Maggie (Chloe Smith) are battling the cost of living and decide to take matters into their own hands when it comes to what they will pay for things, if anything. Hiding the goods is another matter and  Toni in particular becomes adept at spinning fantastical explanations and creating false pregnancies to conceal groceries.

Toni’s husband Joe (Lachlan Abrahams) falls for this and reveals his own fantastical view of how a pregnancy works. Maggie’s husband Lou (Rowan McMurray) is a little more grounded.

There’s good capture of characters who are battlers with heaps of attitude. It’s all happening in a working class suburb with graffiti and washing on the line.

Meanwhile the cops are watching out and not averse to a bit of aggro. 

Antonia Kitzel is simply billed as The Actor but that means she expertly plays a range of parts, from police heavies to wonderfully ancient tottering neighbours, transformations often assisted by a mysterious household cupboard upstage. 

And there is a large hardworking tribe of extras lurking around the backyards and verandahs, locals, cops, people with opinions, sometimes individuals, more often as a group. 

The collective sense of injustice builds until finally at the end of the play all the characters are standing with the workers moving toward the viewer in Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo’s powerful painting The Fourth Estate (Il quarto stato) (c 1900). It’s a shift from comedy to history but it does make sense. It makes the point that the struggle remains real. 

Alanna Maclean

‘illuminate ’25

Visual Arts Exhibition Review – Brian Rope

‘illuminate ’25 - Friends of the Gardens Photographic Group

Australian National Botanic Gardens Visitors Centre Gallery

21 November – 14 December 2025

Exhibitions in the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) Visitor Centre Gallery explore the Australian environment through diverse creative forms. This annual exhibition is of photographic artworks, using light to illuminate the subjects in a variety of ways.

As always the standard of the works in this annual exhibition is high – technically and creatively eye catching. Generally, the imagery is what we expect in nature exhibitions – focussed absolutely on nature with no non-nature intrusions, fauna and flora in their natural environment, in the correct colours of the subjects, and capturing the essence of nature so highly valued by people all over the world. There are, however, a few exceptions and that is fine in my view. All the images entered in the competition associated with this event were required to have been taken in the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG), A small number not entered in the competition did not have to be ANBG subjects; but may well also have been.

There are portraits of native plants, close-up images of Australian flowers, birds and insects, and intimate landscapes to be seen in the gardens.

This year’s judges selected two works by Pam Rooney for awards. One of them Bush Dialogue: Tracks and tunnels of the scribbly gum moth larvae won the Fauna category Award. This composite of five vertical images most successfully used selections of those wonderful scribbly patterns that we all enjoy seeing in the surfaces of gum trees. The well-balanced composition is Rooney’s own artwork created from the natural artworks that are the tracks and tunnels. Another member of the Gardens Photographic Group, Karen Neufeld, was Runner-Up in the Fauna category with her image of a masked bee, titled Bubbling Bee.

Pam Rooney – Bush Dialogue

Karin.Neufeld - Bubbling Bee

A work by Narelle Aldridge Dew drops in the desert was Highly Commended in the David Cox Memorial Award which honours and celebrate the contribution made to the Photographic Group’s activities by the late David Cox. The same artwork was also the Rangers’ Choice. The rangers at ANBG are experienced educators who specialise in bringing the stories of the Gardens to life.

Narelle Aldridge – Dew drops in the desert

Amongst the works which were “different” was Ben Harvey’s cleverly titled Banksy. The image is a black and white monochrome, so we do not see the colours of the bird perched on a banksia. But the detail in the print is excellent and provides plenty to be examined, making the artwork successful and most suitable for display in a modern home.

Ben Harvey - Banksy

A work by Mohamed Rageeb titled Through the Dragon’s Eye is most eye-catching. A close up of the dragon’s colourful eye surrounded by delightful shapes and patterns of the creature’s body surface stopped me in my tracks and commanded me to use my own eyes and look into the dragon’s.

Mohamed Rageeb - Through the Dragon’s Eye

Simone Slater’s work Seven! is another artwork most visitors will spend time with. It doesn’t take a long time to work out the title. On a Xerochrysum flowering plant native to Australia, there are variegated Adonis ladybirds. How many do you think there might be?

Simone Slater – Seven

 

Another Simone Slater piece Behind the Wire was also different. A flower in bloom, more or less framed through a section of wire fencing, completely captured my attention. I found myself wondering whether real frames might be created from wire to use instead of displaying images such as this in traditional black timber frames. Perhaps, someone reading this who has the necessary skills might like to have a go at doing what I have suggested?

This is an exhibition well worth visiting if you can - to see all the artworks, not just the ones I have shown and/or spoken about here. You would also have an opportunity to pick up some delightful Christmas gifts for friends or family whilst you are there.

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

Twiggy - movie

 

Twiggy – A Film by Sadie Frost.  Transmission Films in cinemas from December 4, 2025

Reviewed by Frank McKone



There’s plenty to read about Dame Lesley Lawson (née Hornby) on Wikipedia under the name “Twiggy”.

But, you need to see this documentary to understand and appreciate what her life became as Twiggy, “The Face of 1966” when she was 15 going-on 16, through to the making of this memoir.

I feel guilty now that ever since that year, viewing her instant rise to fame from colonial Sydney, she seemed no more than a shallow sparkle of superficiality.  It was a mystery to me how an accidental shape could change fashion as if it really mattered.

Then as I approached viewing, I feared I would be watching nothing more than another form of commercialised or unnecessarily glorified history.  After all, since my reaction back in 1966, I had never followed her career.  I didn’t need to see more thin legs and over-long eyelashes.

How short-sighted I was!!

It turns out that Lesley Hornby, daughter of a practical and sensible tradesman, has never been a go-getting girl, seeking fame.  That was the last thing she expected.  I think, in the film, it is Dustin Hoffman who says how simply open and honest she is; while perhaps it is Charlotte Tilbury who speaks of how Twiggy is a great example of a girl growing into a woman.

I’m probably biassed the other way now, since I found her north London upbringing, though ten years after me, was in a house exactly like mine and my tradesman uncle’s semi-detached.  He was practical and sensible, too.

I mustn’t give you spoilers, but I think the key to appreciating her story is in an interview on TV when she was still a teenager, now among the upper-class of modelling.  She was asked “Do you feel at home among these people, since you come from a working-class background?”

Twiggy / Lesley just looked at this male interviewer, calmly, and simply said “Why not?”

She became a model, an actor, a partner, a wife, a mother, a success in many different ways – in other words a woman who says “Why not!”, and now tells her story first-hand in this documentary for the first time.

Enjoy. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

HERE YOU COME AGAIN - Canberra Theatre

Tricia Paoluccio as Dolly Parton with the cast if "Here You Come Again"

Created by Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre, Tricia Paoluccio – Directed by Gabriel Barre

Australian adaption: Fiona Harris, Mike Dalgleish – Assoc.Director: Mike Dalgleish

Musical Director/Orchestrator: Andrew Worboys – Choreography: James Maxfield.

Set & Costume Design: Paul Wills – Lighting Design: Jason Bovaird

Sound Design: Marcello Lo Ricca – Illusions: Richard Pinner

Presented by Kay & McLean Productions – Canberra Theatre November 28 – 30^th, 2025.

Opening night performance on November 28^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Ash Murdica (Guitar) - Dash Kruck (Kevin Russell) - Tricia Paoluccio (Dolly Parton)
in "Here You Come Again"

 A diehard fan of Dolly Parton, failed entertainer Kevin Russell, following the break-up of his long-term romantic relationship, finds himself back home in Bendigo, living in the attic of his parent’s home, without prospects and pondering his future.

That is until his idol, Dolly Parton, miraculously materialises, and by drawing on her repertoire of hit songs, including “Jolene”, “9 to 5”, “Islands in the Stream”, “I Will Always Love You” and “Here You Come Again”, provides our Kev with the keys to navigating his chaotic life.

It’s a flimsy premise but creators Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio, have fashioned it into a charming feel-good musical, as a showcase for the remarkable ability of Tricia Paoluccio to channel the voice and personality of much-loved American entertainer Dolly Parton.

Dash Kruck as Kevin Russell - Tricia Paoluccio as Dolly Parton 
in "Here You Come Again".

This talent is perfectly captured in this entertaining  musical directed by Gabriel Barre, which following successful tours through the UK and USA, has now been adapted and Australianised by Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish for an impressive production in which Tricia Paoluccio repeats her starring turn as Dolly Parton, supported by a multi-talented, all-Australian ensemble led by Dash Kruck as a peripatetic, Kevin Russell.

Kellie Rode delights as Kev’s down-to-earth Mum, who together with Bailey Dunnage as his errant boyfriend Jeremy, and Laura Joy Bunting as Tish, all double as background vocalists and musicians along with the four outstanding musicians who make up the white-hot band.

Luke Herbert (Drums) - Andrew Worboys (Keyboard) - Tina Harris (Bass) -Ash Murdica (guitar)
in "Here You Come Again"

Whenever Andrew Worboys is listed as Musical Director, you know you are in for a treat. Here You Come Again exemplifies that reputation. Besides delighting as Kev’s taciturn Dad, Worboys has surrounded himself with an outstanding band consisting of Ash Murdica on Guitar, Tina Harris on Bass and Luke Herbert on Drums.  

The whole cast participate in James Maxfield’s cleverly staged production numbers, for which designer Paul Wills has provided suitably glitzy costumes and a setting crammed with surprises.  

But it is the songs associated with superstar Dolly Parton that are the focus of this production which does them proud. Tricia Paoluccio imbues them with a warmth and showbiz pizzazz so captivating that it’s easy to believe that Dolly Parton is in the room.

It’s an achievement that makes Here You Come Again a must-see for Dolly Parton fans, as well as those seeking an evening of memorable musical theatre.  

Tricia Paoluccia (Dolly Parton) - Dash Kruck (Kevin Russell) and the cast in the finale of 
"Here You Come Again"


Photos by Cameron Grant.


This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 29.11.2025.

 

 

      

 

 

 

unBECOMING

Visual Arts Review - Brian Rope

unBECOMING - Fernanda Pedroso

Grainger Gallery on Geelong

15 November – 14 December 2025 (Thu–Sun, 11am–5pm)

Originally from Brazil, Fernanda Pedroso moved to Australia in 2020 and is based in Canberra.  At the age of 40 she transitioned from a 20-year career in advertising to a new life in photography. In the few years since she has achieved a great deal, including being name Australasia's Top Emerging Photographer of the Year in 2024.

Her work has gained international recognition, earning distinctions in The Monochrome Awards, Australian Photography Awards, Asia Pacific and Iris Awards. She was a finalist in the Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize (2024, 2025) and semi-finalist in the Head On Photo Awards (2024, 2025).

This exhibition of her series unBECOMING is part of this year’s Head On Photo Festival Open Program. It is one of over seventy diverse, artist-run exhibitions in the Festival across Australia. Looking back through my blog to remind myself what I had seen/reviewed of this artist’s work previously, I noticed that I had seen one of the images, It Doesn't Sound Right, being exhibited here when it was shown in Terra:(un)becoming, a group show at Photo Access in December 2023.

It Doesn't Sound Right, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso

Her series Silent Currents, 2024, also shown at Photo Access in late 2024, explored “the quiet sadness” of Tokyo. At the time, I wrote that it was an excellent example of how photographers can explore specific urban areas and paint descriptions for those fortunate to see their imagery. And I very much appreciated this artist’s piece Transmuted, 2025 in the 2025 Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize, and its accompanying delightful poetry artist statement. 

I was unable to attend the opening of this current exhibition but saw the show, and met Pedroso, when attending a book launch at the gallery the following week. You will very likely meet the artist too if you visit the exhibition, as she is there most days.

Pedroso’s work is described as being “deeply inspired by her personal experiences, music, poetry, and the diverse cultures she has encountered. Drawing influence from other notable photographers and artists, she seeks to merge their techniques with her own perspective to create powerful and emotive imagery.”

In a media release by Head On, I read “Pedroso explores technology’s grip on human identity in debut solo exhibition. Are we becoming who we want to be, or who technology wants us to be?” And “Grainger Gallery on Geelong presents unBECOMING, photographer Fernanda Pedroso's powerful debut solo exhibition exploring how digital dependency can reshape human identity and connection.”

So, what is in this exhibition? Two years in the making and shot in Brazil in collaboration with makeup artist and designer Rafa Jones, there are twenty-seven striking images that explore how our hyperconnected age is impacting us. Are we truly more connected or are we, in reality, more isolated from each other? Right now we are witnessing and feeling the many impacts of artificial intelligence. Some think it is absolutely marvellous, at least in particular fields. Others are appalled by its current and almost certain impacts on photography and other arts. 

Disconnected, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso

Motherboard, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash)  © Fernanda Pedroso 

Overwhelmed 3, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso 

So this is a most appropriate time for us to be challenged, by these artworks, to think about the issues caused by the technological accelerations in our world. What are the costs to us personally of being more connected, whilst feeling disconnected? How has technology shaping our lives today? Is the impact any different to when I was one of the first mainframe computer programmers in Australia in the 1960s? Or when digital photography overwhelmed the analogue system we had always previously used?

As you’ve seen in the images above, the exhibition features haunting images of figures painted entirely black. This is intended to refer to the black mirrors of our screens. Seven striking models are adorned with copper wire masks, terminals, tangled cords and headphones. They are futuristic yet also have an ancient tribal feeling. Pedroso intends them to be a visual metaphor for a question she believes we all need to ask ourselves, “What am I becoming? Can I come back to myself, my own truth?” various accoutrements of technology.

Entwined 3, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso

The quality of the artworks is outstanding, and the overall exhibition is hugely successful. I am sure we will see more excellent work from this artist.

This review is also available on the author's blog here. And a shorter version has been published by Canberra City News here.