In this radio spot, I review The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke with Zahra Newman, MTC. I talk about Yentl at Malthouse and Nick Tolhurst tells me about the show I missed, Eat Your Heart Out by Shift Theatre at La Mama Courthouse.
Kate Herbert is a Melbourne theatre reviewer at Arts Weekly 3MBS & formerly The Age (2022), Herald Sun, Melbourne Times. Kate is a director & playwright (21 plays). Pub. Currency Press. Teacher: Scriptwriting & Theatre Industry since 2019 at Melb Polytechnic; Worked as actor, comedian, improviser, teacher: Acting, Improvisation, Playwriting, was Head of Drama NMIT, Coordinator Writing/ Editing, Swinburne Uni 2010-18. Reviews at theage.com.au/culture/theatre or heraldsun.com.au/arts
In this radio spot, I review The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke with Zahra Newman, MTC. I talk about Yentl at Malthouse and Nick Tolhurst tells me about the show I missed, Eat Your Heart Out by Shift Theatre at La Mama Courthouse.
Trans Woman Kills Influencer by Dax Carnay
At La Mama Theatre On Screen: Online Season: Feb 13 - Feb 27, 2024
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: *** (3)
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll
present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 10 March 2024. It is a review of the live production On Screen. KH
Image by Darren Gill supplied. Cast names not provided. |
Trans Woman Kills Influencer, by Dax Carnay, tells its story from the perspectives of the four characters, until finally reaching its denouement after 70 minutes.
The title of the play is certainly an attention grabber, and the premise has dramatic potential, which is fulfilled to some degree in parts, and most effectively in its final scene.
Denise, known as Dee, is a trans woman who manages the advertising campaign for the evidently straight, male influencer, Alejandro, who, for some reason, is promoting a feminine hygiene product.
Dee’s colleague and frenemy, Jen, is frustrated and angry that Dee took the senior position in the agency that Jen believes she deserved. The fourth character is Dee’s shrill and high-camp personal assistant.
The narrative unfolds in sections, each presented from the perspective of a different character. Each character’s view generates stereotypes of the other characters in their story.
For example, Jen is represented as angry, aggressive and vile from the others’ perspectives. In her own version, she is milder, reasonable and more genuinely distressed when she tries to explain why she believes a man who has become a woman is just another man who is taking a high-level job from a woman.
Part of the story is told in video projections of TV interviews or stylish Vlog and influencer posts. All the characters are American, placing this story firmly on another continent that is notorious for its melodramatic and over-acted soap operas, which are echoed in this production.
Some of the potential drama and authenticity of the story is lost because of the hysterical behaviour of characters in particular scenes.
However, Trans Woman Kills Influencer is certainly a novel and catchy idea.
by Kate Herbert
Written By Dax Carnay
Directed by Emmanuelle Mattana
Performed by Dax Carnay, Khema De Silva, Vateresio Tuikaba and Ryan Henry
Stage Direction by Finn McLeish
Set and Costume Design by Filipe Filihia
Content
Warnings: Violence, Hate Speech, Haze, Strobe, Blood, Use of Replica Weapons
Written by Gary Abrahams, Elise Esther Hearst & Galit Klas, based on Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short story
Malthouse Theatre and Kadimah Yiddish Theatre
At Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse until 17 March 2024
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
As I did not see the second half of the production, I cannot review this but I will make a comment.
It is published only on this blog. I’ll mention it on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 9 March 2024. KH
Amy Hack & Evelyn Krape_photo Jeff Busby |
Yentl is an adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s original Yiddish language short story. Parts of the dialogue are delivered in Yiddish with surtitles, which adds a layer of authenticity and eccentricity.
It tells the story of Yentl (Amy Hack) a young woman who wants to be a Jewish scholar, but is not permitted because of her gender. Religous study is the preserve of males.
Yentl studies in secret with her father but she must change plans when he dies. Dressed in man’s clothing, and with the encouragement of a mischievous, at times, wicked Dybbuk (Evelyn Krape), she goes on a journey to a distant town where she meets a young man who introduces her to a Yeshiva - a traditional Rabbinical school - where she becomes a scholar and a favourite.
The production is visually compelling and boasts a talented and versatile cast.
Krape balances the comic and the grim as the Dybbuk, scuttling about the stage like a demented creature. Amy Hack is passionate and credible as young Yentl as she wrangles her secret life.
Directed by Gary Abrahams, this production draws on the styles and forms of Yiddish Theatre, Polish theatre, cabaret and a range of other styles to weave its narrative. The design is almost monochromatic on stage, with actors in white face and black-and-white costumes with splashes of colour.
There is more to say about the production but, to quote the Dybbuk, there are three weddings, only one of which lasts, and Yentl’s life becomes more and more complicated and messy.
by Kate Herbert
THEATRE
Adapted by Maxine Beneba Clarke from her memoir, Malthouse Theatre
At Beckett Theatre, Malthouse until 17 March 2024
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: 4&1/2
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat March 2024. KH
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Zahra Newman is a force of nature in The Hate Race, commanding the stage and populating it with a parade of characters from the life of the woman at its centre, Maxine Clarke. The Hate Race is adapted from Clarke’s memoir about her childhood in Australia when she was exposed to racism and micro-aggressions because of her skin colour and heritage.
Newman is an exceptional and charismatic performer, impeccable in her telling of the story, and she skillfully embodies characters from Clarke’s life, including her British Afro-Caribbean parents, teachers, best friends, worst enemies, and assorted bullies, transforming herself and transporting us to the world of Maxine’s childhood.
Although this is a solo performance, Newman is not alone on stage, but is accompanied by the magnetic Kuda Mapeza, who cannot simply be described as a singer or musician; she uses her voice and instruments to create not only song and music, but the entire environment and atmosphere that surrounds Newman’s characters.
The direction, by Tariro Mavondo and Courtney Stewart, is inventive, imaginative, sleek and deft, while Clarke’s stage adaptation of her novel is spare and swift-moving, avoiding incorporation of tracts of prose and making the text theatrical and accessible to an audience. The use of self-narration by Newman as Maxine captures the intimacy and authenticity of the memoir.
As the child Maxine, Newman reveals episodes of her being bullied by boys on bikes and by students in playgrounds, making friends with white students, being called ‘Blackie’ and being told she is ‘brown’, which seems to be the only characteristic that other children could identify in her, despite her intelligence, competence, and fascinating life stories.
The most compelling and transformational moment was Newman’s jubilant description of Maxine’s victory at her final school debate. Her escalating energy, joy and delicious sense of triumph was thrilling. This scene brought tears to my eyes as she honoured her father, her heritage, her politics and her own conscience, exposing the entrenched subjugation of people because of their race or colour.
by Kate Herbert
Performed by Zahra Newman (actor) & Kuda Mazepa (musician)
Directed by Tariro Mavondo and Courtney Stewart
THEATRE
Written by William Shakespeare, music by Paul Norton
Australian Shakespeare Company (ASC)
At Botanical Gardens, Southern Lawn, until 4 Feb 2023
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: **** (4)
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll do a radio review on Arts Weekly on 4 Feb 2023. KH
Cast-of-Much-Ado-About-Nothing 2023_Credit-Ben-Fon |
Shakespeare’s plays were performed under an open sky for people who were not fancy-pants literati. Glenn Elston’s audacious, summer production of Much Ado About Nothing, set against a backdrop of lush trees in the Botanical Gardens, would have delighted the bard’s audience, so don’t expect a stodgy or even predictable version of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy.
The production opens with a comical intro by clown security guards /roadies, Dogberry (Madeleine Somers) and Verges (Antony Rive), followed by The Babes: four of the female characters sassily singing a hot rock number. Then the lead male characters, a band of returning soldiers, enter as rock band, The Loved Ones, all accompanied by on-stage guitarist, Tony Harvey.
Paul Norton’s songs are deliciously eclectic and, although they were written for a previous ASC production of Much Ado in 1998, they sound new and contemporary. Norton’s use of Shakespeare’s poetic text as lyrics or titles in these rock/pop songs is a cunning addition that adds another layer of enjoyment.
The entire cast is versatile, able to play both the comedy and drama and to perform the repertoire of songs. Nicholas Cameron is suitably seductive, arrogant, witty and charming as Benedick, playing the character as a loose limbed rock star in the style of Michael Hutchence. Anna Burgess, playing Benedick’s equally combative love match, Beatrice, captures the boldness, verbal sparring and seductiveness of the character.
Special mention must be made of Larissa Teale as the sweet, loving and tragically abandoned Hero. Teale’s warm and lovely vocal quality singing Hero’s solo ballad was a thrilling surprise.
Elston’s new production of Much Ado About Nothing is a rollicking, Shakespearean rock musical that provides another summer treat. Get a picnic and a bottle of wine and get down to the gardens before 4 Feb.
by Kate Herbert
CAST
BENEDICK Nicholas Cameron
BEATRICE Anna Burgess
CLAUDIO Alex Cooper
DON PEDRO Hugh Sexton
DON JOHN Kevin Hopkins
BORACHIO Elizabeth Brennan
LEONATO Claire Nichols
ANTONIO Syd Brisbane
HERO Larissa Teale
MARGARET Meg McKibbin
URSULA Olivia McLeod
DOGBERRY Madeleine Somers
VERGES Tony Rive
BALTHASAR/MUSICIAN Tony Harvey
CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR Glenn Elston
MUSICAL DIRECTOR Paul Norton
COSTUME DESIGN Karla Erenbots
Kate Herbert RADIO REVIEWS Arts Weekly 3MBS Sat24Feb2024
Click link above.
You will also see on this blog, my written review of Medea with the link to NT Live.
THEATRE
Medea adapted by Ben Power from Euripides
At National Theatreat Home Collection - online
https://www.ntathome.com/videos/medea-full-play
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars:***** (5)
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 24 Feb 2024. KH
Helen McCrory in Medea -image supplied |
If you want to see a genuinely inspired performance in an exceptional production, you must see Helen McCrory in Medea by National Theatre. It is available to rent on NT Live website.
McCrory has left this mortal coil now, but her remarkable work lives on in this, and other filmed productions.
Medea has been rejected and abandoned by Jason, played with cool cruelty by Danny Sapani, her one great love for whom she betrayed her family. He is to marry a young princess and Medea is banished from Athens by the King (Dominic Rowan), while Jason demands that she leave her two young sons behind with him.
She pleads for, and is granted, one day’s grace before her exile. During these few hours, Medea, In her grief and rage and bitter desire for revenge, poisons the princess and murders her own sons to exact her vengeance on Jason.
Her Medea is passionate, compelling, volatile, complex, sympathetic and, ultimately, doomed. McCrory embodies the grief, ferocity and potent sense of betrayal of this spurned woman, plumbing the depths of despair, devotion and fierce violent jealousy.
Carrie Cracknell’s direction is deft, inventive and polished. McCrory commands the stage but she is surrounded by a chorus that dances and sings her story and her fate.
Michaela Coel’s Nurse is Medea’s champion and narrator of her achingly painful journey from queen, to deserted lover then murderer. Her emotional telling of the story foreshadows the horrors of its ending.
There is more – much more – to tell, but you must see this production to feel its potency, its clawing pain and its flawed and shattered heroine.
By: Kate Herbert.
Helen McCrory in Medea -image from video on website |
THEATRE
Written by Zinnie Harris
By Melbourne Theatre Company
At Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, until 16 March 2024
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: *** (3)
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 24 Feb, 2024. KH
L-R Sheridan Harbridge, Jing-Xuan Chan_photoPiaJohnson |
In Meet Me at Dawn, two women wash up, half-drowned and disoriented, on the deserted shore of an unknown and remote location. They are partners who were on a recreational boat trip when their craft capsized forcing them to scramble desperately to apparent safety.
This two-hander, written by Scottish playwright, Zinnie Harris and directed by Kary Maudlin, charts a single day after their seafaring accident. As the sensible but anxious and troubled Robyn, Jing-Xuan Chan acts as narrator, speaking directly to the audience, establishing details of their adventurous, albeit foolhardy boat trip, the accident and their arrival, marooned, on the blue shore.
Sheridan Harbridge plays Robyn’s brittle and acerbic partner, Helen, who appears to have been injured in the boating accident but seems no worse for wear. She is feisty, frosty, witty and certain they will be found. Robyn, however, is more pessimistic and wrestles with the facts of their foolhardy boating trip and her doubts that they will be found safe and sound.
Meet Me at Dawn is the dramatic collision of delicate love story and philosophical mystery. What begins as a seemingly simple story of love and survival, slowly evolves into a mystery in which reality converges with reverie or illusion.
The truth of their predicament is fairly clear from quite early in the play, but there’ll be no spoilers here – just in case you are slow to grasp their reality. The pair struggles to understand what happened, how they survived, why the strange woman in the distance ignores them, whether they can really see a distant, inhabited shore and when they will be rescued.
This is an engaging, often funny and ultimately touching 75-minute piece that gently explores love and grief – with a nod to Orpheus and Eurydice.
By Kate Herbert
Sheridan Harbridge- Helen
Jing-Xuan Chan - Robyn
Creative Team
Katy Maudlin - Director
Daniel Nixon -Composer & Sound Designer
Amelia Lever-Davidson -Lighting Designer
Romanie Harper -Set & Costume Designer
Geraldine Cook-Dafner -Voice & Text Coach
Intimacy Coordinator- Isabella Vdiveloo
First radio post for 2024. I review Seventeen at MTC Jan and Groundhog Day the Musical at Princess Theatre on 1 Feb.
I also mention briefly The Choir of Man and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by ASC in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.
(I seem to have a squashed head in the image!)
MUSICAL THEATRE
Book by Danny Rubin, Music and Lyrics by Tim Minchin
At Princess Theatre Melbourne until 7 April 2024
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***** (5)
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 10 Feb 2024. KH
Andy Karl, Aust. prod Groundhog Day The Musical. Photo Jeff Busby. |
Groundhog Day the Musical is an ebullient, frenetically paced, madly entertaining and funny musical adaptation of the classic 1993 movie starring Bill Murray. Every component in this production is inspired: from Tim Minchin’s songs, to Danny Rubin’s book, Matthew Warchus’s direction, the lead actors and support cast.
Andy Karl is exceptional in every way in the role of Phil Connors, the cynical and egotistical TV weatherman who resents his assignment to cover the eccentric Groundhog Day in the backwoods town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Every year, on February 2nd, these folksy townspeople celebrate the appearance of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil. If Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.
When a blizzard travels off its expected path into Punxsutawney and closes all the highways, Connors and his hopeful, cheerful producer, Rita (played with warmth and humour by Elise McCann), and cameraman, Larry (Kaya Byrne), are stuck in Punxsutawney overnight. Here begins Phil’s hellish reliving of that same day for months, perhaps even years. It is a splendidly absurd concept.
The repetition become comical, then desperate, fraught and nightmarish, but Phil still manages to remain a conniving jackass who abuses, cheats, ridicules and sneers at everyone, and uses his foreknowledge of the day’s events and people’s needs to take advantage of people and manipulate them, particularly Rita.
It’s odd to think of a story advancing when it is built on the repetition of the same day. Repetition is often criticised in stage productions, apart from reprises of songs. However, in this instance, it is the genius of the show; music, lyrics, story, stage action, choreography, dialogue, character interactions and the banal detail of Phil’s repeated day all cohere to create an effervescent, thrilling episodic narrative in which we witness Phil evolve from total jerk into a genuine and caring member of this simple community. This morality tale forces Phil to repeat his 24 hours until he becomes the man he never was.
Minchin's
music is celebratory and eclectic, and his songs cleverly advance the
story, illuminate characters and develop relationships. His lyrics are infused with black humour as is Danny Rubin’s dialogue in this narrative that is cunningly constructed for the stage. (Song list below)
Matthew Warchus's direction is remarkable, assured and always surprising. He dovetails vibrant pageantry and effusive choreography (Lizzi Gee) with comical, dialogue-based scenes, poignant character vignettes, quirky visual design (Rob Howell) that incorporates the cunning use of a miniature landscape and a flying car chase through suspended snow-covered houses. One remarkable element is the startling illusions by Paul Kieve in which Karl, as Phil, disappears and reappears in his repeated ‘suicide’ attempts.
Go see Groundhog Day the Musical, even if you are not familiar with the movie. It’s a rollicking, fun show with heart and a simple message: be kind.
By: Kate Herbert.
Cast
Andy Karl - Phil Connors
Elise McCann - Rita Hanson
Lays Byrne - Larry
Alison Whyte- Mrs Lancaster
Tim Wright - Ned Ryerson
Ashleigh Rubenaxch - Nancy
Conor Naylon - Gus
Connor Sweeney - Ralph
Matthew Hamilton - Sheriff
Afua Adjel - Debbie
Creative Team
Danny Rubin - Book
Tim Minchin -Music and Lyrics
Matthew Warchus- Director
Rob Howell - Scenic & Costume Design
Lizzi Gee - Choreography
Christopher Nightingale - music supervision orchestrations
Hugh Vanstone - Lighting Design
Simon Baker - Sound Design
Paul Kieve- Illusions
Andrzej Goulding- Video & Animation
Finn Campbell- additional movement
Campbell Young Assoc- Hair, Wigs & Make-up
Warwick Griffin - Assoc Director
SONG LIST
ACT ONE
ACT TWO