Mama Does Derby - Sydney Festival

 

 

Mama Does Derby by Clare Watson & Virginia Gay. Windmill Production Company in Sydney Festival at Sydney Town Hall, January 15 – 22 2026

Reviewed by Frank McKone
January 16


Credits

Co-Creator, Director – Clare Watson; Co-Creator, Writer – Virginia Gay

Assistant Director/Choreographer – Larissa McGowan
Designer – Jonathan Oxlade; Lighting Designer – Lucy Birkinshaw
Musical Director – Joe Lui; Sound Designer – Luke Smiles
Story Consultant – Ivy Miller

Performers:
Amber McMahon; Elvy-Lee Quici
Benjamin Hancock; Antoine Jelk; Dylan Miller
Annabel Matheson; Aud Mason-Hyde; Calliope Jackson

Derby Athletes – Members of the Sydney Roller Derby League
Sydney Derby Team Leader – Nicole “Ziggy” Eyles
Skate Consultant  – Jude ‘Vaderella’ Gaffney 

Hero image photography – Claudio Raschella and Bri Hammond



“A single mum, a teenage daughter, and a new life in a regional town where neither quite fits. Billie is 16 and restless, trying to navigate the chaos of adolescence. Mum, meanwhile, is spinning into a rebellion of her own – in the sweaty, rough and radical world of roller derby.”
https://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/mama-does-derby 

I have to call the form of this surprising show a theatrical cartoon Rock’n’Roll Derby, full of symbolism.  What’s surprising is that it succeeds in celebrating women’s overcoming their demons.

When a girl is born resulting from a failed, perhaps abusive relationship, how is her mother to raise her?  Mama Does Derby says go out and achieve in your own right, because your daughter needs you to be the model she needs to overcome her fears.  

So instead of a gloomy view in response to the issue of family breakdown, the show is a rock’n’roll entertainment which has all the women in the audience,  and I suspect some men, whooping and cheering as daughter and mother finally hug and understand each other – and the rock band strikes up for the curtain calls.

There is no curtain, of course, as my photo of the set as the show opens, shows: just the roller derby track, onto which set pieces are rolled on and off by the women rollers scene by scene, of rooms in the house, and a complete rock band.

A throughline in the plot shows the rather satirical episodes with the professional – woman – psychological counsellor working on the assumption that the daughter has mental health problems, and then starts to think the mother has some too. But Mama's success in winning the derby competition puts the counsellor in her place as they hug each other at last.

Of course in cartoon style there’s not much subtlety in the treatment of their demons, though the daughter has nightmares which become an amazing glittery figure played by someone who is, as daughter exclaims, very flexible. A tremendously attractive looking demon indeed.  Unfortunately the cast list supplied doesn’t name each performer’s role.

Though early on I wonder how things would go, in the end Mama Does Derby is drama with a happy ending, and I’m glad it is, for it offers women the encouragement they need to be strong and self-determined.

Opera for the Dead - Sydney Festival

 

Opera for the Dead by Mindy Meng Wang & Monica Lim in the Sydney Festival at Bell Shakespeare, the Neilson Nutshell, January 15-18 2026

Reviewed by Frank McKone
January 15

Credits

Creative Concept and Composition – Monica Lim and Mindy Meng Wang
Dramaturg – Ophelia Huang; Animation – Rel Pham
Set and Lighting Design – Jenny Hector; Choreography – Carol Brown
Costume – Leonas Panjaitan; Sound and Video System Design – Nick Roux

Guzheng – Mindy Meng Wang; Electronics – Monica Lim
Vocals – Yu-Tien Lin; Percussion – Alexander Meagher
Cello – Nils Hobiger

Production Manager – Justin Heaton
Producer – Penelope Leishman & Seb Calabretto, Insite Arts
Sound Engineer – Sascha Budimsk
Hero image photography – Michael Pham



“Inspired by Chinese mourning rituals but speaking to universal truths of grief and remembrance, Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim’s multi-sensory journey surrounds you with sound, movement and light.” 
https://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/opera-for-the-dead 

As the crowd moves into the performance space  where there are no seats, and people begin to move around and among elements of the set within which are the musicians, singers and electronic keyboard, they find themselves surrounded by devices quite unknown to traditional Chinese opera.

All around them hang 12-inch loudspeakers, facing upwards, with up to four ‘oranges’ on them, made from light-weight plastic, which are vibrating, even jumping up and down, because the speakers, hanging from above, are wired in to the sound of the percussion.

As I saw it, these represented the constant vibrations of the universe.  As the music and singing worked up towards a crescendo approaching the end of the 50 minutes, the oranges bounced more and more until many jumped right out of their concave loudspeaker homes.  Then I understood the concept expressed in the music about death.

Though an individual’s death is an end-point for them, the universe doesn’t die – it continues to vibrate with perhaps extra depth of feeling as each person dies.

So, though I have had only fleeting experiences of Chinese opera and have no understanding of the words being sung, in this very modern abstract presentation in visual effects as well as in sound, instrumental and voice, I found a peace of mind in knowing the universe continues on, while experiencing the feelings, often of despair, at the time of a loved one’s death.  

As a presentation in a cultural festival this is quite remarkable – an original work invoking an ancient culture in the histories of many Australians of Chinese origin, while passing on to others such as myself and other audience members I spoke to, a more philosophical way of thinking about death.

This Opera for the Dead is for the Living, too.

 

 

 

 

Nowhere - Fuel UK - Sydney Festival

 

Nowhere by Khalid Abdalla. Presented by Fuel UK in the Sydney Festival, 13 – 17 January, 2026 at Roslyn Packer Theatre.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
January 14

CAST & CREDITS
Writer and performer: Khalid Abdalla
Director: Omar Elerian; Set & Costume Designer: Ti Green; Choreographer: Omar Rajeh
Lighting Designer: Jackie Shemesh; Sound Designer: Panos Chountoulidis
Video Designer: Sarah Readman; Dramaturg: Ruth Little; Writing Mentor: Chris Thorpe
Associate Director: Riwa Saab; Set & Costume Associate: Jida Akil
Associate Lighting Designer: Rajiv Pattani; Associate Video Designer: Virginie Taylor
Lighting Associate: BROCKMAN; Press Representative: Bread & Butter PR
Poster Photography: Helen Murray; Trailer: Jamie Isbell / Jam + Post
Production Manager: Milorad Zakula; 
Company Stage Manager: Hannah Clare; Technical Stage Manager: Rachel Bowen



To say Nowhere is an original piece of theatre production is not sufficient.  It seems rather weird at first as you begin to wonder is this an actor playing himself?  He plainly is performing a script as an actor playing a role; but the role is himself revealing in choreographed, often almost dance-like, movement in response to the story he tells – via a variety of multimedia formats, visual and audio – of his life, born in Egypt and brought when very young by his parents as refugees to London, where Wikipedia records him as

an Egyptian-British actor and activist. He became known after starring in the 2006 film United 93.

Abdalla starred as Amir in The Kite Runner (2007) and acted with Matt Damon in Green Zone (2010), his second film with director Paul Greengrass. Abdalla appears as himself in Jehane Noujaim's documentary on the 2011 Egyptian revolution, The Square, which won the Audience Award at Sundance Festival in 2013. In 2022 and 2023, he starred as Dodi Fayed in seasons 5 and 6 of the historical drama series The Crown, for which he received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

He often appeared to be addressing us directly – even engaging us in an audience participation segment – and yet, it seemed on one occasion, he forgot his lines and had to ask for help from Prompt, who supplied the line he then repeated and continued on.  

Philosophically, at some point, he – in character – queried our perception of ourself compared with the self we would like to be, as if this is a real concern for Khalid.  Yet it’s obvious to me that his success on stage shows that he understands himself very well, in order to be able to act this ‘play’ called Nowhere.

In the end the essence of the play is represented by the white dove of peace trying time after time to find somewhere to land – but finding nowhere in modern times through the days of his great-grandfather, grandfather and father being jailed for their opposition to the British colonial government of Egypt, and the following governments, to the point where if he were to go back to Egypt now, his activism in the 2011 revolution could see him jailed.

And now The Guardian writes ‘An Arab in a post-9/11 world’: Khalid Abdalla’s one-man play about belonging comes to Australia

In Nowhere, The Crown actor interweaves personal experience and family history with commentary on western colonialism and the Israel-Gaza war.  In what is an example of good theatre taking risks, the script includes referring to the recent Bondi shooting in raising the question of the need to recognise the horror of the treatment of Jews in the Holocaust, while maintaining the need to support all people, and peoples, with equal respect – including the Palestinians at the time of the establishment of modern Israel and in Gaza today.

His audience participation game is gently and thoughtfully managed to reveal how multicultural the audience is in today’s Sydney, leaving us to consider the future of the white dove of peace for all.  The stage where he performs, he explains, is a safe place – but he calls it Nowhere, because nowhere else can the dove safely land.

In the light of what has just happened at the Adelaide Writers Festival, Kahlid Abdalla has taken a risk in presenting his life story in such a way, but this is what theatre is for – to reveal what we may not easily accept about human society.  Nowhere is highly recommended in my view.

Khalid Abdalla
performing in his play Nowhere, Sydney Festival 2026

STORYTIME BALLET - The Nutcracker - The Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse.

 

Bronte Mollison in The Nutcracker.

Choreography: Marius Petipa

Production and additional Choreography: David McAllister

Music: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Orchestra Victoria. Conductor: Nicolette Fraillon

Costume Design: Krystal Giddings – Set Design: Kat Chan

Repetiteur: Paul Knobloch – Stage Manager: Rebecca Zarb

Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse – 8^th – 11^th, January 2025.

2.00pm Matinee performance on 10^th January reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

One of the jewels in the crown of The Australian Ballet is their Storytime Ballet series. Devised by David McAllister during his time as Artistic Director, Storytime Ballet was conceived as an introduction to ballet for children as young as 3 years of age.

Each year, since 2015, the company has presented a popular classical ballet in the Storytime Ballet format. The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and The Nutcracker are popular choices.

Artfully scaled-back by McAllister to be performed without an interval for a performance lasting just under an hour, the productions preserve the original Petipa choreography, edited to meet time limitations, and augmented with McAllister’s own choreography to preserve continuity.

The synopsis crafted by McAllister for this production presents a Christmas Eve gathering, where Drosselmeyer the Magician captivates attendees with enchanted dolls that animate and perform for the assembled guests. At the conclusion of the celebration, Drosselmeyer bestows gifts upon each child; Clara, his host's daughter, receives a Nutcracker doll.

Later that evening, after the departure of all guests, Clara quietly descends the staircase to check on her cherished present. As midnight approaches, a magical transformation unfolds in which the Nutcracker becomes a Prince who springs to life and engages in battle with the Rat King. Clara intervenes, striking the King with her slipper and rescuing the Nutcracker.

 

Rory Taylforth as the Nutcracker Prince in "The Nutcracker"

In gratitude, the Prince escorts Clara to the Kingdom of Sweets, where she is entertained by an array of dances led by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Ultimately, the Prince returns Clara home, where she awakens at the base of the Christmas tree, embracing her Nutcracker doll.

All this is achieved seamlessly, without an interval, but with a charming setting by Kat Chan, which features a magical Christmas tree which grows and grows, and other clever effects to surprise and delight the young audience.

For some of the productions the company repurposes costumes from its mainstage productions of these ballets. For its Storytime Ballet version of The Sleeping Beauty, Hugh Coleman’s magnificent costumes from Maina Gielgud’s 1984 production were brought back into use. The company also tours a foyer display featuring some of these heritage costumes so that the young budding ballet dancers can see them up close.

The lovely costumes featured in The Nutcracker this year, were specially designed for the 2017 Storytime Ballet season of this ballet by Krystal Giddings.

As with previous Storytime Ballet seasons, the ten young dancers who make up the Storytime Ballet company are primarily drawn from the corps de ballet of The Australian Ballet, with some young, emerging dancers who have recently graduated from The Australian Ballet School.

The series provides valuable performance and touring experience for these artists, who tour under the watchful eye of repetiteur Paul Knobloch who has been associated with Storytime Ballet since its inception in 2015. All share roles, and most perform multiple characters, and costume changes, during the ballet.

 

Bronte Mollison as Clara in "The Nutcracker"

At the performance reviewed, Bronte Mollison won hearts as a delightfully animated and technically accomplished Clara. Natalie Henry shone as the Sugar Plum Fairy and  also portrayed Clara’s Mother in the party scene. Rory Taylforth impressed with his technical brilliance, princely bearing and attentive partnering as both The Prince and the Nutcracker.

As well as joining others to portray children in the party scene, Noah Sharpe proved suitably frightening as the Rat King. But it was during the Spanish Dance, for which he partnered Amelie Marks, that both got to exhibit their impressive style and attack.

Claudia Gordon as Columbine in "The Nutcracker"

Claudia Gordon and Alexander Mitchell charmed as Columbine and Harlequin, before   Claudia joined Calista Lewis to delight as cheeky Mirlitons, while Alexander Mitchell joined Zachary Medved to dazzle their audience with an athletic Chinese dance while manipulating a spectacular dragon costume.  

Flame - haired Reiley Kohler marked himself as a dancer-to-watch during his thrilling Russian Dance in which he exhibited remarkable ballon and athleticism.

The eleventh member of the team is the narrator, Sean McGrath, who performs an essential non-dancing role as the magician, Drosselmeyer, who also narrates the story.

 

Sean McGrath as Drosselmeyer in "The Nutcracker"

Remarkably, McGrath has narrated every Storytime Ballet performance since the concept premiered in 2015.

 It’s a role he executes with charm and style, captivating his young audience immediately with some deliberately mis-timed magic tricks, before encouraging them to wave their sparkling wands, or wriggle fingers if mum’s budget didn’t run to magic wands, while appearing to be as enchanted as they are as the real theatrical magic of the ballet begins to engulf them.

For adults, part of the charm of these performances is watching the young audience (and their mums, dads, and grandparents) respond to every nuance of the storytelling, enhanced by exquisite dancing, settings and costumes.

Following its Canberra season Storytime Ballet moves on to Brisbane from 15^th -18^th  January and Melbourne from 22^{nd -} - 25^th January.

                                                                   Photos by Daniel Boud 

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

 

 

 

    

 

 

PUTTING IT TOGETHER - Foundry Theatre - Sydney

Stefanie Caccamo - Nigel Huckle - Caroline O'Connor - Bert Labonte - Michael Cormick 

 Words and Music by Stephen Sondheim - Devised by Stephen Sondheim & Julia McKenzie

Directed and choreographed by Cameron Mitchell - Musical Direction by Kevin Wang

Musical Supervision: Guy Simpson – Set Design: Nick Fry – Costume Design: Nigel Shaw

Lighting Design: Trudy Dalgleish – Sound Design: Michael Waters

Produced by Craig Donnell – Associate Creative Producer: Sharon Millerchip

The Foundry Theatre, Sydney. 6th January to 15th February, 2025

Opening night performance on 8th January reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

This staging of Putting It Together at Sydney’s Foundry Theatre stands as a testament to the enduring genius of Stephen Sondheim, elevating his work through meticulously considered interpretation and a deep reverence for musical theatre artistry. The production is both a captivating entertainment and a probing exploration of the intricate craftsmanship that defines Sondheim’s compositions. Each number unfolds as a finely crafted dramatic vignette, allowing the cast to mine the emotional and psychological layers within the material while imbuing their performances with nuance and authenticity.

Originating in 1992, the revue reflects Sondheim’s collaboration with Julia McKenzie as they curated a program that bridges the gap between earlier revues and significant works spanning 1976 to 1992. The evening draws from an array of musicals—Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins—and includes selections from the film Dick Tracy, offering audiences a panoramic view of Sondheim’s creative evolution.

Central to the presentation is the intriguing ambiguity of its structure, which features two couples navigating the complexities of intimacy, underscored by an ever-present observer who threads thematic resonance throughout the evening. The question of whether these couples are unique or manifestations of the same relationship at different junctures is left deliberately unresolved, inviting reflection and interpretation.

Nick Fry’s set design conjures the sophistication of an upscale New York penthouse, swathed in elegant white drapery and anchored by twin baby grand pianos flanked by an expansive percussion setup. This refined environment is further enriched by thoughtful touches—a well-supplied cocktail cabinet, a generous lounge, and an elegant staircase—that set the stage for the characters’ interplay.

Director Cameron Mitchell’s vision eschews fidelity to the source context, instead urging his cast to reinterpret each song through the lens of the revue itself. His choreography is crisp and expressive, and his direction supports a cohesive, unified production that respects the spirit of Sondheim’s work while encouraging fresh artistic discovery.

Michael Cormick - Caroline O'Connor

 

Caroline O’Connor commands attention as the senior partner of the older couple, her rendering of “Could I Leave You” (Follies) and “Ladies Who Lunch” (Company) balancing technical mastery with emotional weight. Her impeccable comic timing, especially in ensemble moments like “Getting Married Today,” attests to her consummate skill and stage presence.

Michael Cormick admirably complements O’Connor, lending the proceedings a restrained gravitas and vocal warmth. His performances in “Good Thing Going” (Merrily We Roll Along) and duets such as “Have I Got a Girl for You” and “Pretty Women” resonate with sincerity.

    

Stefanie Caccamo - Bert Labonte - Nicholas Till (piano) -Nigel Huckle

Stefanie Caccamo makes a striking impression, displaying versatility and assurance, particularly in her standout delivery of “More” from Dick Tracy. Nigel Huckle delivers memorable work in “Marry Me a Little” and “Unworthy of Your Love,” bringing clarity and feeling to each phrase.

Bert Labonte sets the tone for the evening, deftly guiding the audience before launching into “Invocations and Instructions to the Audience” (Frogs), and continues to enrich ensemble and solo numbers, notably “Buddies Blues” (Follies), with dynamic energy.

Caroline O'Connor - Bert LaBonte

Musically, Guy Simpson and Kevin Wang merit special mention for their innovative arrangements, translating Jonathan Tunick’s orchestrations into a compelling tapestry of piano and percussion that heightens the lyricism of Sondheim’s songs. The company-wide choral adaptation of “Being Alive” emerges as a climactic highlight.

In sum, this production of Putting It Together demonstrates meticulous attention to detail and sensitive artistry, cementing Sondheim’s reputation as a towering figure in musical theatre. It offers audiences—whether devotees or newcomers—a vibrant and illuminating journey through some of the most significant achievements in the genre.

                                                       Photos by Daniel Boud

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

 

  

 

  

Women Photographers 1853-2018

Visual art exhibition review | Brian Rope

Women Photographers 1853-2018 | Various Artists

National Gallery of Australia | 11 October 2025 – 1 March 2026

Women photographers 1853–2018 is presented as highlighting “the transformative impact of women artists on the history of photography.” It is another Know My Name project, the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) initiative celebrating the work of all women artists to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life.

I confess expecting to see many more images covering the full period from 1853 to 2018. It actually is a modest selection from the NGA photography collection which, since its inception, has reflected the vital place of women in the medium’s history. Indeed, some of its earliest acquisitions were major works by women.

Highlights from the Australian and International collections have been identified to explore ways in which women artists have used photography to relate stories about themselves and other women. Their works created new ways of seeing how women were shaped by their relationships with the world in which they lived, negotiating its challenges, celebrating its beauty or whatever.

As a result, the NGA most certainly and validly is able to state it is “uniquely placed to consider how photography has changed the worlds in which women live, and how women have changed photography.” For women artists, making photographs arguably has always been an act of resistance. Photography certainly has given women access to spaces of knowledge, artistic practices and technology from which they once were excluded.

In the 1840s, English pioneer botanist Anna Atkins advanced botanical illustration and natural history. She assisted to steward new levels of scientific accuracy with her cyanotypes of algae. Here we see an example of her work from 1853 using what is one of today’s popular mediums. 

Anna Atkins - Heraclium Lanatum, America 1853

from Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Flowering Plants and Ferns

cyanotype, printed image 35.3 (h) x 24.8 (w) cm

sheet 47.8 (h) x 37.5 (w) cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Purchased 1986

In 1874 the famous poet Alfred Tennyson asked the Indian-born British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron to make photographic illustrations for a new edition of his Idylls of the King, a recasting of the Arthurian legends. Responding that both knew that “it is immortality to me to be bound up with you,” Cameron willingly accepted the assignment.

Julia Margaret Cameron - 'Elaine the Lily Maid of Astolat' 1874

albumen silver photograph, image 34.8 (h) x 28.2 (w) cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Purchased 1979

During the 1920s and 1930s, entrepreneurial women ran successful photography studios that brought tremendous innovation to photography’s place in fashion and advertising.

By 1940-41, Austrian-born American photographer Lisette Model was producing very different images. She is primarily known for the frank humanism of her street photography. After relocating to America to escape Hitler, she soon created two innovative series of photographs inspired by the energy of the city. In one, an ankle-high perspective and stylistic blurring powerfully reveal the hurried pace of the metropolis at rush hour. 

Lisette Model - Running legs, Fifth Avenue, New York 1940-41

gelatin silver photograph, image 49.5 (h) x 39.6 (w) cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Purchased 1981

In the 1970s, women photographers influenced by feminism and environmentalism produced personal, political and communal works. In the 1980s and 1990s, various Australian First Nations artists began to reclaim the medium that had played a part in subjecting their ancestors to colonial scrutiny by white settlers. 

In 1976, Australian photographer Ponch Hawkes photographed herself and her friends with their mothers in a series Our Mums and us, revealing the rhythms and patterns of intimacy in those families. 

Ponch Hawkes - Rosa and Ruth 1976 - from Our Mums and us

gelatin silver photograph

printed image 17.7 (h) x 12.7 (w) cm, sheet 25.4 (h) x 20.2 (w) cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Gift of the Philip Morris Arts Grant 1982

 

American photographer Cindy Sherman’s 1977 Untitled Film Stills is a suite of black-and-white images in which she posed in the guises of various generic female film characters, contributing to a needed conversation about oversimplified representations of women.

Cindy Sherman - Untitled film still # 3 1977 - from Untitled Film Stills

gelatin silver photograph

printed image 16.1 (h) x 24.0 (w) cm, sheet 30.4 (h) x 35.4 (w) cm

Frame 43.2 (h) x 58.5 (w) cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Purchased 1983

Annette Messager was born into a family of atheists who took a particular pleasure in their local Catholic church. Her work draws on religious iconography, with unholy intentions. In her 1989 piece, My Vows, tiny photos of body parts are hung in a cluster. Genitals, mouths and eyes hint at eroticism rather than spirituality. 

Annette Messager - Mes voeux [My vows] 1989

gelatin silver photographs, colour pencil on paper, string

installation variable 350.0 (h) x 90.0 (w) cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Purchased 1993

© Annette Messager. ADAGP/Copyright Agency

Patricia Piccinini (born in Sierra Leone) is an Australian artist who works in a variety of media. She is well-known for The Skywhale, a hot air balloon work, and also for investigating relationships between nature, science and technology. In Psychogeography 1996 she explores the genetic engineering debate. It examines reality and fantasy, by featuring Australian actress Sophie Lee cradling a LUMP™ (Lifeform with Unevolved Mutant Properties), evoking curiosity about a future with malleable human bodies.

Psychogeography 1996 - from The Mutant Genome Project (TMGP)

chromogenic photograph

printed image 120.7 (h) x 243.7 (w) cm, sheet 129.2 (h) x 271.2 (w) cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Purchased with Funds from the Moet & Chandon Australian Art Foundation

© Patricia Piccinini

Nowadays, numerous women make artworks testing the limits of photography and its relationship to the world.

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

 

A CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR - 2025. The Canberra Theatre.

Produced and directed by Michael Boyd – Choreographed by Matt Browning

Costumes designed by Cathie Costello – Stage management by Journey Malone

Lighting designed by Alex Fox – Sound designed by Tom Hawker

Canberra Theatre 22^nd, 23^rd December 2025.

Performance on 22^nd December reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

Prinnie Stevens and her boys.

Canberra was the final stop for The Christmas Spectacular   in a world-wind, six-city tour during December which also took in Melbourne, Newcastle, Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney.

Substantially the same production as presented in 2024, this year’s iteration was again helmed by vocalist, Prinnie Stevens, who delighted as the glamorous leading lady during   the many spectacular Parisian-cabaret-style production numbers. Stevens also charmed with her engaging storytelling while linking the various specialty acts.

Able to effortlessly produce sweet head voice or aggressive rock sounds at will, Stevens’ interpretations of favourite Christmas songs, “All I Want For Christmas is You”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, and “Jingle Bell Rock”, proved a perfect salve for an audience harried from hectic Christmas preparations.    

When she is paying attention to her lyrics, Stevens has few peers as a vocalist in the Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey mould. However, her tendency to wander the stage waving to audience members during her renditions of “Silent Night” and “White Christmas” indicated a disinterest in the lyrics of these two Christmas favourites, spoiling what could have been magic moments.

Aleisha Manion performing on the Aerial Hoop.

Ballet-trained acrobat, Aleisha Manion, captivated with her virtuosity with hula hoops. However, it was the grace and power of her presentation on the aerial hoop, for which she was supported by two dancers dressed as angels, which remains an indelible memory.

For many, it is the superb team of dancers, six statuesque showgirls and two accomplished male dancers, who are the outstanding feature of The Christmas Spectacular.  

Most are former Moulin Rouge or Lido dancers, skilled in the art of displaying Cathie Costello’s spectacular rhinestone and feather creations, while executing Matt Brownings intricately choreographed production numbers in perfect unison.

The Christmas Spectacular dancers performing the Toy Soldiers ballet.

Stand-outs among these clever routines, were a toy-soldier ballet for which the dancers wore stylish red and gold toy soldier outfits, and another in which the troupe, elegant in silver and black, spectacularly manipulated huge white ostrich feather fans around Prinnie Stevens as she sang “Joy to the World”.

Prinnie Stevens and The Christmas Spectacular dancers performing "Joy to the World"

But the clear favourite with the younger audience members, who shrieked with delight as they entered, was the dazzling routine for which the eight dancers, costumed as athletic reindeer, towed a sleigh carrying a very merry Santa Claus.

The Christmas Spectacular dancers perform "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer:

In 2024, The Christmas Spectacular was presented in the Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse.  While it too attracted capacity houses, the Canberra Theatre has almost twice the seating capacity as the Playhouse.  

Michael Boyd’s ability to attract near-capacity audiences for the two performances of The Christmas Spectacular this year in the much larger Canberra Theatre, is as much a testament to his abilities as an entrepreneur with high production values, as it is his talents as a world-class magician.   

Michael Boyd and ballerina perform the Nutcracker illusion.

 

But, while it’s always a joy to revisit his beautifully staged ‘Nutcracker’ illusion featuring a ballerina emerging magically from a huge velvet-lined jewel-box; or delight in the wonder of a tot from the audience, as he recounts the story of how he became a magician, his finale illusion at this performance was a disappointment.

Last year it was a snowstorm that filled the theatre with snowflakes. But whether it misfired this year, or was just not possible in the larger theatre, whatever the reason, those who thrilled to it last year were left wondering by this year’s effort.

During this performance, Prinnie Stevens mentioned the hope that The Christmas Spectacular would become an annual event. It is a hope fervently echoed by his loyal audience who each year look forward to the next Michael Boyd extravaganza.

                                                               Photos provided.