EMPIRE

Lucia Carbines - Miss A in a Bubble

Empire.

Spiegelworld

 Canberra Theatre Centre forecourt until 3^rd November

Reviewed by Bill Stephens

With its cast of beautiful girls and muscular handsome men performing breathtaking world-class feats of remarkable daring and audacity, “Empire” certainly delivers in spades on its promise to smash the boundaries of circus, cabaret, vaudeville and burlesque.

A sense of danger, decadence and anticipation is quickly established as the audience enter the smoky, mirrored interior of the Spiegletent to be greeted by cast members dressed in exotic Andrew Strathie costumes, who pose, strut and flirt outrageously.

Soon the lights dim and a huge transparent bubble containing beautiful contortionist, Lucia Carbines, descends from the lavishly draped ceiling. Carbines gracefully manoeuvres her body into ouch-inducing positions among thousands of floating bubbles. Next a couple perform a quick-change costume act which draws gasps from the audience, and  ends unexpectedly when someone forgets to pack the next costume, resulting  in even bigger gasps.

Extraordinary sexy, clever, funny acts follow each other in quick succession. Each act is superbly staged, skilfully executed, and performed on a miniscule stage in the centre of the audience, heightening the sense of danger and eroticism, enhanced by musical soundscapes performed live by singer Casey Jamerson and guitarist John Shannon. The show climaxes with mesmerising balancing act performed by Memet Bilgin - The 3 D Graffiti Guy -  involving fourteen branches and a feather, which has to be seen to be believed.

Memet Bilgin - The 3D Graffiti Guy

Much of the humour certainly pushes the boundaries of vulgarity, and one felt for the hapless audience member coerced into participating at one stage, but if you’re up for a superbly presented, sophisticated and clever adult show, don’t miss “Empire”.   

 

Gorilla Girls 

                                This review appears in the  October 17th edition of "CITY NEWS".

THE WHARF REVUE - WHOOPS!

Written and Created by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott

Sydney Theatre Company

The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre

15 – 19 October, 2013

Review by Len Power

Who would have thought politics could be so much fun?  This edition of “The Wharf Revue” is clever, witty and very funny.  Cast members Jonathan Biggins, Amanda Bishop, Drew Forsyth and Simon Burke work their way expertly through a rapid fire program of sketches playing just about every politician from the present and recent past as well as other Australian identities that all deserve a good roasting.  These seasoned actors can produce the essence of these well-known identities in an instant and their sense of timing is impeccable.  Much of the fun is the surprise of seeing who they’ll play next.  They’re all good singers, too.

There’s not one sketch here that falls flat.  The writing is intelligent, well-constructed and the jokes come thick and fast.  The show is obviously updated as it tours.  There was even a topical joke about Anna Burke and the faceless men on opening night.

David Bergman, the sound and video designer, has done exceptional work with some great video sequences that complement the live action.  Lighting by Matthew Marshall creates a great atmosphere for the show.  Andrew Worboys, the wild and wacky accompanist on piano, is also the show’s musical director.  The well-designed set by Barry Searle incorporates an interesting optical illusion if you’re looking down on it from the theatre’s balconies.

The show has been written and created by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsyth and Phillip Scott.  It’s a delight from start to finish and much more interesting than this year’s election ever was.

Originally published in the Canberra City News digital edition 16 October 2013

Whoops!

Whoops! – The Wharf Revue by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott, with Amanda Bishop and Simon Burke. Musical director and accompanist, Andrew Worboys; sound and video designer, David Bergman; video artist, Todd Decker. Sydney Theatre Company at Canberra Theatre Playhouse, October 15-19, 2013.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
October 15

The central theme of last night’s Revue, so successfully expressed in the lengthy political satire based on the absurdist play Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead, was thoroughly confirmed by the explanation in today’s Canberra Times (Times 2, p.4) by economics correspondent Peter Martin of why the award of a Nobel prize to the economists Eugene Fama, Robert Shiller and Lars Hansen is so invaluable.

As Martin reports, Australian economists Richard Holden at the University of NSW and Justin Wolfers at the Brookings Institution summed up the findings online as being that financial markets are efficient (Fama), except when they’re not (Shiller), and that we have empirical evidence to prove it (Hansen).

Though not all the fifteen items in this year’s Revue were as good as last year’s  Fall of the Garden of Earthly Delights, (the National Rifle Association country and western song, and even the ever-giggling Dalai Lama were a bit ordinary as satire goes), this year the “new maturity in the writing” which I noted last year, and the quality of the video work by David Bergman and Todd Decker, have become established.

The characterisations of Tony Abbott’s hypocrisy, Gina Rinehart’s pontifications, Bob Katter’s country pub pretence, and Julia Gillard as an operatic Carmen were all on the money (just  to maintain the economic metaphor).  In fact Amanda Bishop’s Gillard Habanera swansong, in that long slinky brilliant red gown, stirred the house to the same kind of reponse that we saw in the Sydney Opera House when Anne Summers interviewed the real Julia on September 30, 2013: (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-30/live-coverage-julia-gillard-at-the-sydney-opera-house/4989792).

This year, too, the whole company’s singing throughout, perhaps especially in The Tale of Eddie Obeid and The Wizard of Oz (who lives in The Lodge), demonstrated the point that effective satire depends on top quality performance.  For me the ultimate moment, or rather very long moments, came at the opening in excruciating silence of Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Instead which developed deeper and deeper into the sense that there is no possibility of these sidelined characters ever being able to understand the central characters of politics because, as the Nobel-winning economists have empirically proved about financial markets, politics make sense except when they don’t.

Whoops! leaves us all realising that we are all sidelined like R&G.  The laughter and extensive whoops of appreciation at the curtain calls can’t paper over the cracks which reveal the dark side of political life, which we are all engaged in whether we like it or not.  It’s only through art and science, as the Revue showed so well in the item The Culture Wars, that this kind of truth can be expressed.

We need the annual Wharf Revue, at least to be able to laugh at the absurdity.

THE FRIDGE

Written and Directed by Alister Emerson

Duck Bunny Theatre

The Street Theatre, 11 – 13 October 2013

Review by Len Power

Billed as ‘a Monty Python-esque comedy’ and a re-imagining of John Steinbeck’s, ‘The Pearl’, Alister Emerson’s, ‘The Fridge’ seems to have an identity crisis.  A simple moral story of greed and its nightmare outcome is swamped with zany characters, wacky situations and a monsoon of dialogue.  It’s hard to see what the author’s point of view really is.

Doug Small has lost his job, his wife’s pregnant, the rent is due and everything looks bleak until he is given a second hand fridge that produces golden eggs.  Seduced by his sudden wealth, Doug finds out that having money isn’t everything.

Apart from the main characters of Doug and his wife, Florin, played by Andrew Eddey and Linley Jenkins, the other six actors play multiple characters.  There is no-one to identify with here.  Doug is stupid, his wife is colourless and the other characters are all obstructive, greedy, unpleasant and cliched.  Performances by the cast were uneven and the naturalistic delivery lacked projection.  Child actor, Daniel Minns, does, however, stand out from the rest of the cast in his portrayal of the very worldly adult, Carson Forbes.

The set designed by Chris Brain, utilizing multitudes of cardboard boxes, seemed a bright idea at the start but caused some very clunky scene changes.

There were far too many directorial indulgences and the script needs serious editing but there were glimmers here and there of clever writing and inventive directing by Alister Emerson.  “The Fridge” needs more work on it yet.

Originally published in Canberra City News digital edition 12 October 2013

THE 39 STEPS

Adapted by Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon

Directed by Terence O'Connell

Christine Harris & HIT Productions

Q Theatre, Queanbeyan, 8 - 12 October 2013

Review by Len Power

 

Everyone enjoys an adventure yarn with a handsome, still upper lip hero, beautiful woman and dangerous crooks and John Buchan’s, ‘The 39 Steps’, is an exciting 1915 novel with all of those elements.  Film director, Alfred Hitchcock, thought so too and made a classic movie of the novel in 1935.  Jump to 2005 and a stage production, based on the movie, opened in London’s West End where it has been running ever since.  Now it’s Queanbeyan’s turn to see this fun show.

Adapted by Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, ‘The 39 Steps’ becomes a smart, witty theatrical vehicle for four actors playing a multitude of characters using various mundane items scattered about the stage to represent important items in the story.  For example, step ladders become the Firth Of Forth Bridge and a couple of steamer trunks and appropriate lighting represent a railway compartment.

Originally from Queanbeyan, Mike Smith plays the dashing hero, Richard Hannay, with great appeal and a good sense of timing.  Anna Burgess plays three different women and her characterisations are sharply defined, well-played and very funny.  Sam Haft and Michael Lindner play a bewildering number of characters, both male and female, as the play progresses and they are hilarious.  They must be exhausted by the end of each performance.

Costumes designed by Kim Bishop were in period and had a sense of fun about them, especially the costumes and accessories and wigs worn by the men who were playing female characters at times.  Lighting designer, Jason Bovaird, and sound designer, Nicholas J Reich, have done a fine job creating the right atmosphere.  The various elements of the set designed by Jacob Battista were well chosen but on the Q Theatre’s large stage the overall effect was one of sparseness.  It probably works better in a more intimate theatre.

This touring production, directed by Terence O’Connell is a fun entertainment, engaging the audience’s imagination throughout the play.  There seemed more reliance on character and plot in this production and less on the use of props.  This kind of crazy entertainment needs to be fast and frenetic but in this production the pacing at times was a bit too deliberate.  Still, it’s a fun show that should appeal to audiences of all ages and it’s not surprising that it’s become London’s longest-running comedy ever.

Originally broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 ‘Dress Circle’ program on Sunday 13 October 2013.

The 39 Steps

Mike Smith and Anna Burgess

Sam Haft and Michael Lindner

The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble & Nobby Dimon, based on the novel by John Buchan and the film by Alfred Hitchcock.  Produced by Christine Harris & HIT Productions; directed by Terence O’Connell.  At The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, October 8-12, 2013.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
October 8

Having been born in the opening salvos of World War II, a period of history I prefer to forget, I never read Buchan’s World War I novel or saw Hitchcock’s 1935 film, so I didn’t recognise the allusion to North by North West as Richard Hannay (nicely played by Mike Smith) scooted around Scotland on a mission to prove his innocence on a murder charge and to save Britain.

If you didn’t either, I’m with you, but there apparently are many still fascinated by spy stories of that era, and happy to enjoy the fun.  This adaptation from a concept based on a film of the novel turns out to be an example of English farce – a spoof of a spy story – very funny in parts (like the curate’s egg), but otherwise completely inconsequential.

The strength of this production is not only in the vocal and movement skills of all the actors – Mike Smith, Anna Burgess, Sam Haft and Michael Lindner – in the rapidity with which they changed costumes and characters for the innumerable short cameo scenes.

The major award must go to Alana Scanlan for her remarkable choreography.  Burgess’s first role as the murdered spy Annabella was made into a quite extraordinary character by her movement style – even when dead!  And Haft and Lindner had all the right dance steps to be justifiably applauded as they took to the London Palladium stage.

The English have always made fun of war, from Shakespeare to the Goon Show, and even to the point where it’s funny not to mention it, but I found too much of The 39 Steps is dated and cliché.  The only point where it moved a fraction of the way to more interesting satire was the election speech made by the escapee Hannay who the lower-class locals assume to be their famous upper-class visiting speaker.  There’s even a sort-of nod here, reversing the social classes, to Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator but the point is soon lost in the farce that follows.

Since my own (very minimal and entirely amateur) acting career included playing Mr Mole in the English farce Love’s a Luxury (by Guy Paxton and Edward V. Hoile – see http://www.ba-education.com/for/entertainment/sjt/lovesaluxury.html for some interesting reading), I can’t pretend to complain.  In fact I laughed along with a substantial audience at The Q, but came out wondering about whether the intention behind this adaptation was to use an expressionist style to turn farce into satire – which really didn’t work – or to simply indulge in a cultish fascination with Hitchcock and spies, which went over my head.

And I can’t complain about the performances.  Very entertaining and done with professional precision.

ANNIE

Lydia Milosavljevic and Clare Pinketon with Maverck

 

 

Presented by Phoenix Players

ANU Arts Centre until October 19^th

Reviewed by Bill Stephens

There are good reasons why the musical “Annie” is among the most frequently revived musicals among both professional and amateur companies.  Set in depression-era New York, Its tuneful score and appealing story about a relentlessly optimistic young orphan girl, who is plucked from a run-down orphanage by a billionaire, who enlists the help of the American President to find her parents, offer excellent opportunities for star performances, and delightful roles for child actors.  

Lydia Milosavljevic, who alternates the role with Clare Pinkerton, is delightful as Annie. Acting confidently and possessing a clarion clear voice, she gives a feisty performance in the central role. Judy Satrapa is strangely subdued as the tyrannical Miss Hannigan. She certainly looks the part, but could sharpen her attack more to fully exploit the comedic possibilities of the role.  She receives good support from Dim Ristevski (Rooster) and Maigan Fowler (Lilly).

It seemed a strange decision for Don Bemrose to play Daddy Warbucks with a full head of slicked-back hair, given that the role is based on an iconic bald-headed comic strip character, however he brought a fine singing voice and strong presence to the role, though little chemistry.

Miranda Cookman was an attractive Grace Farrell, and Bill Lord an appropriately stately President Roosevelt.   

Directed by Kelda McManus, this is an ambitious production from Phoenix Players. There are many effective moments, an irresistible children’s ensemble, a huge cast and a terrific band under Rose Shorney. Pity therefore that on opening night the show appeared under-rehearsed with the ensemble scenes lacking the expected polish, and the sparkle dulled by technical problems with scenery and lighting.  

 This review appears in the digital edition of CITY NEWS and in the print edition from October 9