Phèdre, Bell Shakespeare, May 23, 2013

Written by Jean Racine, translated by Ted Hughes

Bell Shakespeare production 

Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, May 22 until June 2, 2013 

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on May 23 

Stars:TBC 

This review will appear after May 23, when I see it. The review will not be published in Herald Sun. KH

flowerchildren, May 22, 2013

flowerchildren: The Mamas and Papas Story

By Peter Fitzpatrick, featuring songs of The Mamas and the Papas
Presented by Magnormos

Comedy Theatre, May 22 until June 23, 2013
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on May 22
Stars:TBC 
The full review will appear after publication in Herald Sun online or in print. KH

The impressive and unforgettable hit songs by 1960s group, The Mamas and the Papas, combined with the chaotic but passionate personal lives of its members, makes Peter Fitzpatrick’s musical, flowerchildren, both entertaining and moving.

A versatile cast (Matt Hetherington, Laura Fitzpatrick, Dan Humphris, Casey Donovan) effortlessly sing the complex harmonies, difficult melodies and distinctive lyrics, capturing the idiosyncratic sound of the Californian, Flower Power quartet.

Their four-part harmonies make such classics as California Dreamin’, Creeque Alley, Monday Monday, and I Saw Her Again Last Night, absolutely thrilling to hear.

Hetherington, with his affecting vocal tone, is compelling and impassioned as the formidably talented but drug-addled and arrogant songwriter, John Phillips, the man responsible for most of the band’s memorable tunes... continues

The full review will appear after publication in Herald Sun online or in print. KH

One Man, Two Guvnors, May 21, 2013

By Richard Bean

Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
Songs by Grant Olding
A National Theatre of Great Britain production, Co-presented with Arts Centre Melbourne and MTC
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, May 21 until June 22, 2013
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars:TBC 
Full review will appear after publication in Herald Sun online or in print. KH

 
Carlo Goldoni’s celebrated 18th century Italian comedy, The Servant of Two Masters, features Arlecchino (Harlequin), a lusty, desperate servant, who tries to keep his belly and his pockets full by serving two masters simultaneously.

It all goes pear-shaped, of course.

Richard Bean’s updated version, One Man, Two Guvnors, directed with wit and pizzazz by Nicholas Hytner, updates Goldoni’s characters and slapstick to 1960s Brighton, England, in a style that straddles vaudeville, Carry-On movies and old-fashioned, Butlins holiday camp entertainment.

Francis (Owain Arthur), sacked from his skiffle band, signs on as a minder/assistant for two bosses – Roscoe Crabbe (Rosie Wyatt), a cockney gangster, and Stanley Stubbers  (Edward Bennett) an idiot toff.

Roscoe is really Rachel disguised as her dead twin brother who was killed by Stubbers, Rachel’s idiot, boarding-school-toff boyfriend.

This modern farce, like its Italian parent written at the end of the heyday of the Commedia dell’Arte, is riddled with ridiculous disguises, mistaken identities, blunders, near-misses, unrequited love, broad physical comedy, asides to the audience, plenty of laughs and improvisation.

Most of the comedy arises from Francis juggling his two jobs, and scrambling to keep his bosses apart.

Bean blends snappy, stand-up style, verbal comedy with innuendo and knockdown, sight gags and clown routines directed skilfully by Cal McCrystal.... continues

Full review will appear after publication in Herald Sun online or in print. KH

 

Cast includes:

 Owain Arthur, Edward Bennett, Amy Booth- Steel, Nick Cavaliere, Colin Mace, Mark Monero, Kellie Shirley, Leon Williams, Rosie Wyatt

Director Nicholas Hytner;

Physical Comedy Director Cal McCrystal;

 Designer Mark Thompson;

Lighting Designer Mark Henderson;

Music and Songs Grant Olding;

Sound Designer Paul Arditti;

Associate Director/Choreographer Adam Penford;

Fight Director Kate Waters

No Child... May 7-19, 2013 *****+

By Nilaja Sun
Theatre Works, May 7 to 19, 2013
Stars: 5 +

I saw Nilaja's show again today and, once again, makes me laugh and cry and admite every cell of her creative self. When I left the theatre last yer and again today, i could have watched it all over again immediately - twice!

 

 See below for my 2012 review which ran only on this blog, not in Herald Sun. KH

Presented by Theatre Works, Melbourne Festival & Brisbane Festival

Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, Oct 9 to 14, 2012

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Oct 9, 2012

Stars:*****  (I'd give it more if I could)

THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE LEAPT TO ITS FEET AS ONE at the end of No Child... by Nilaja Sun. This is one of those rare, theatrical jewels that is so perfectly wrought in every way that it is impossible to fault.

Sun may be alone on stage, but she transforms herself, and transports us into another world, populating the empty space with a parade of eccentric, vividly painted characters, all students and staff at a dysfunctional, uptown New York High School.

This masterly, award-winning performance, directed by Hal Brooks, is a testament to Sun’s theatrical skills as both a writer and a performer, and it balances hilarious, observational character comedy with poignant commentary on the failure of the US public education system to cater for these needy teenagers from Brooklyn.

Miss Sun (a version of the actor herself) is a teaching artist who ambitiously enters Malcolm X High to work with challenging Year 10s to stage a theatrical production of Our Country’s Good, an Australian play about convicts and freedom that is strangely relevant to the kids.

Menagerie, May 17, 2013

Daniel Schlusser Ensemble, supported by NEON, MTC
The Lawler Studio, MTC, until May 26, 2013
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on May 26
Stars: TBC 
This review will appear in full after publication in Herald Sun online or in print. KH

 Edwina Wren in Menagerie. Photo by Sarah Walker

 

The inspiration for Menagerie is American playwright, Tennessee Williams's, chequered life and extraordinary writing.

Directed by Daniel Schlusser, Menagerie is not a deconstructed version of a Williams’ play, although it includes echoes of the family from The Glass Menagerie and scraps of dialogue and themes from his major plays.

In a shabby, paint-peeling, weatherboard shack (Dale Ferguson), a trailer-trash family bickers and scratches out a desperate existence surrounded by the detritus of poverty and disillusionment: car tyres, wheely bins, empty bourbon bottles and a battered paddling pool.

There are several layers of reality in the piece; the actors play characters that reflect Williams and his real family, then portray Tom, his sister and mother from The Glass Menagerie, and later in the piece, play themselves, using their own names.... continues

This review will appear in full after publication in Herald Sun online or in print. KH

By Kate Herbert

Nixon In China, Victorian Opera, May 16, 2013 ***1/2

OPERA

Music by John Adams, libretto by Alice Goodman; by Victorian Opera 
Her Majesty’s Theatre, May 16, 18, 21 & 23, 2013
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on May 16 
Stars: ***1/2

Review published in print in Herald Sun on May 21 and online on May 22. KH.

"February 21, 1972, the week that changed the world."

 

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For many listeners, the contemporary music of John Adams may sound as alien and difficult as that of the exotic Peking Opera, so it makes a strange sort of sense that his opera, Nixon In China, uses his minimalist music.

On February 21, 1972, US President, Richard Nixon, arrived in Peking to meet with Chairman Mao and his Premier, Chou En-Lai, during “the week that changed the world”, just a year before his presidential demise after Watergate.

Orchestra Victoria, under the impeccable leadership of conductor, Fabian Russell, brings life to Adams’ edgy, complex score that incorporates a smattering of other styles into its mostly minimalist structure.

Adams’ repetitive music has a tidal ebb and flow that surges at times with emotional, dramatic crescendos, echoes of ceremonial celebrations, militaristic revolutionary bands and plenty of brass.

Librettist, Alice Goodman, cleverly intersperses imagined scenes, dreams and conversations amongst real events and meetings between the characters.

Director, Roger Hodgman, deftly captures the ritualism and formality of the Chinese regime, its odd collision of rigidity, pride and pomp, accentuated by Richard Roberts’ design of rich, enormous, scarlet drapes and stark, geometric furniture in a cavernous stage.

Nixon In China, first performed in 1987, is not easy listening, and those who are not aficionados of contemporary opera may find it impenetrable, but it is certainly challenging and this production features some exceptional singers and orchestra.

Barry Ryan’s powerful voice lends Nixon both strength and vulnerability, Bradley Daley’s thrilling tenor makes the aged and ailing Mao compelling, and Christopher Tonkin plays Chou En-lai with dignity and composure.

Tiffany Speight brings to life the peculiarly unemotional Pat Nixon, singing Pat’s meditative aria, This is Prophetic, when she visits the peasants and factories, with her warm voice and perfect control.

A highlight is soprano, Eva Jinhee Kong’s tough, resilient Madame Mao, and her impassioned, exhilarating aria, I Am The Wife of Mao Tse-tung.

Andrew Collis plays Nixon’s adviser, Henry Kissinger who, in Goodman’s libretto, is the butt of jokes, rather than the canny manipulator and diplomat.

The trio of Mao’s secretaries, sung by Sally-Anne Russell, Dimity Shepherd and Emily Bauer-Jones, provides humour and political commentary, while the rich vocal quality of the chorus brings a fine, vocal foundation to the music.

It may be a challenge to the ear but, if you want to experience one of the more accessible modern operas, choose Nixon In China.

By Kate Herbert

Cast

Chou En-lai Christopher Tonkin 
Richard Nixon Barry Ryan 
Henry Kissinger Andrew Collis 
Mao Tse-tung Bradley Daley 
Pat Nixon Tiffany Speight 
Chiang Ching (Madame Mao) Eva Jinhee Kong 
Nancy T’ang (Secretary to Mao) Sally-Anne Russell 
Second Secretary to Mao Dimity Shepherd   
Third Secretary to Mao Emily Bauer-Jones

Links to reviews of Love Is My Sin, May 9, 2013

 See reviews of Love Is My Sin at these links:


Link to Jim Schembri review Herald Sun online Tues May 14, 2013:
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/review-love-is-my-sin-la-mama-theatre/story-e6frfmq9-1226642052477


Joe Calleri blog, May 10, 2013: 
 http://joecallerireviews.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/love-is-my-sin-review-and-photos-by-joe.html

Aussie Theatre - Joanne Bowen, May 9, 2013
http://aussietheatre.com.au/reviews/la-mama-love-is-my-sin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=la-mama-love-is-my-sin 

Tickets are available at the door, even if the online booking page says "Closed". KH

Legally Blonde, Melbourne, May 11, 2013 ****1/2

Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin
Book by Heather Hach
Produced by Gordon Frost Organisation & ATG Ambassador Theatre Group
Princess Theatre, Melbourne, until Sept 29, 2013 (or later)
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on May 11
Stars: ****1/2 
This review was also published in Herald Sun NEWS on line on the night of Sat, May 11 at 10.20pm, and on line in ARTS page on Mon, May 13. KH

On a scale of 1 to 10 for perkiness, Legally Blonde is an 11 on the perk-o-meter, and Lucy Durack as Elle Woods, the relentlessly upbeat, candyfloss pink, California gal, hits a 12.

Durack is perfectly cast as the ditzy, vivacious, seemingly brainless blonde, who emerges as a clever, capable young law graduate and amounts to more than her platinum curls, cheerleading smile and gaudy dress sense.

There’s plenty of high voltage song and dance numbers so, if you thought Glee was chirpy and saccharine, wait until you see this show!

The effervescent Australian production bounced into Melbourne with a glitzy opening night attended by musical theatre and media celebrities including: Lisa McCune, Eddie Perfect, Anne Wood, Teddy Tahu-Rhodes, Tony Bartuccio, Caroline Gillmer, Patti Newton, Brian Mannix and Colette Mann.

For those unfamiliar with the plot of the movie on which this musical is based, Elle chases her self-absorbed, UCLA college boyfriend, Warner (Rob Mills), to Harvard Law School to win him back after he dumps her to find a smarter gal.

In Durack and Mill’s early duet, (Time to Get) Serious, the dislikeable cad, Warner, played with smug, swaggering arrogance by Mills, deflates Elle’s buoyant nature when he unceremoniously and unexpectedly drops her.

Durack’s vibrant vocal tone with its bright, musical theatre twang, lends energy and poignancy to songs by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the title tune is eminently singable.

Elle’s spirited opening chorus of Omigod You Guys– with her cheerleading gang of UCLA, Delta Nu, sorority sisters (Ashlea Pyke, Chloe Zuel, Shaye Hopkins) in their mini-skirts and even mini-er shorts ­– is a lesson in colour and vitality.

In another bonanza of sassy chorus and choreography, What You Want, Elle presents the stuffy Harvard entrance committee with her three-dimensional, all-singing, all-dancing “personal essay”.

O’Keefe and Benjamin’s song list includes chirpy, funky choruses and smooth ballads with clever, satirical lyrics that illuminate the story and cunningly expand the characters’ intentions and feelings.

Heather Hach’s book makes Legally Blonde a morality tale for teenage girls that will also appeal to families, and it is riddled with cheerfully silly dialogue and acerbic humour about college kids and their idiotic obsessions.

Elle learns that she can be accepted for her own style, that her street smarts and fashion tips can be applied to the law, and that she is more than a lolly-pink heroine.

David Harris is warm and charming as Emmett, the scruffy law graduate (and the thinking woman’s hottie) who overcame adversity, loves Elle and helps her fulfil her capacity as a lawyer and be true to her self.

Helen Dallimore is deliciously cheap and brassy as Paulette, Elle’s hairdresser/confidante and Ali Calder is suitably cool as Elle’s nemesis, Vivienne, the social-climbing, evil, preppy Law student.

Erika Heynatz is a delightful revelation as Elle’s client, Brooke Wyndham, Cameron Daddo makes a boo-able villain as the unscrupulous legal shark, Professor Callahan, singing the chilling song, Blood In The Water.

Zoe Jarrett as Enid the lesbian-feminist lawyer is a hoot, and Mike Snell received clamorous applause for his cameo as Kyle, the sexy postie.

Jerry Mitchell’s direction is slick and swift-paced, his choreography athletic, feisty and energetic, and the costumes (Gregg Barnes) and set design (David Rockwell) feature vivid, high-gelato colours.

If sweet, shiny, girly-pink things and cute puppies make your teeth ache, then this show may not be your kind of cupcake, but it is a fairy-floss of flamboyant fun.

By Kate Herbert

Love Is My Sin, Shakespeare's Sonnets adapted by Peter Brook, by NOT ME IT'S YOU, May 9-19, 2013

Some readers may be interested in this production I am directing in Melbourne with NOT ME IT'S YOU theatre company. It opened May 9 and runs until May 19.

Tickets are available at the door, even if the online booking page says "Closed". KH

Venue: La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday Street, Carlton VIC 3053


Tickets: $25 Full / $15 Concession


Season: May 9 to 19

Times:  Wed 6.30pm; Thurs 8.30pm; Fri 6.30pm; Sat 8.30pm; Sun 4pm. Extra matinee Sat May 18, 4.30pm

Bookings: www.lamama.com.au or 03 9347 6142

Links to reviews:

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/review-love-is-my-sin-la-mama-theatre/story-e6frfmq9-1226642052477

http://aussietheatre.com.au/reviews/la-mama-love-is-my-sin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=la-mama-love-is-my-sin

http://joecallerireviews.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/love-is-my-sin-review-and-photos-by-joe.html

29 Sonnets; a man and a woman; the vagaries of love; the cruelty of time; the strains of a cello

In 2007, renowned director, Peter Brook, staged Love Is My Sin at his Paris theatre, Theatre Des Bouffes du Nord, featuring Brook’s wife, Natasha Parry, and Bruce Myers. It was subsequently performed with Parry and Michael Pennington in the UK and US.

Brook adapts 29 Shakespeare sonnets into a duet that explores the anatomy of love, skilfully dividing the sonnets into an elegant, non-naturalistic, four-part sequence to illuminate the vagaries of relationships, love, separation, jealousy, forgiveness, and the changes wrought by Time.

In Love is My Sin, the audience weaves its own narrative as a man and a woman speak Shakespeare’s evocative poetry, elucidating thoughts and feelings about the past and present, age and youth. Characters are unnamed, their narrative non-specific, but Shakespeare’s language tells a story with passion, truth and lyrical beauty.

The fluid stream of reverie and reminiscences is punctuated and underscored with live cello, featuring excerpts from Bach’s Cello Suites, and is performed in a minimalist design that allows us to dream our own story of love.

“An elegantly fascinating study in the vagaries of human relationships.” Michael Billington, The Guardian, 2011

“It leaves behind a haunting after image of the struggle to make evanescent things…defy life’s inevitable endings.” Charles Isherwood, 2010 NY Times

Kate Herbert is a Melbourne-based director, reviewer, playwright, performer and lecturer in performing arts and writing. Jenny Lovell has performed on stage, screen and TV for 20 years and Geoff Wallis is an actor, writer and creator of performance. Both have extensive experience performing Shakespeare. Helen Barclay is a Melbourne-based cellist.