In this radio spot, I talk with Mal Chambers – show host for today and fabulous visual artist – about Global Smash Club, by Finucane & Smith 17-19 Oct 2024 (It’s the 20th anniversary show by this burlesque company), and After Rebecca, On Screen at La Mama until 29 Oct.
THEATRE ONLINE
Written by Emma Gibson
At La Mama On Screen only, until 29 Oct 2024
https://watch.lamama.com.au/programs/after_rebecca?category_id=223063
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 19 Oct 2024. KH
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| After_Rebecca_Michelle Cooper-image by Darren_Gill |
After Rebecca is a solo, self-narrated piece that effectively translates Daphne du Maurier’s gothic novel, Rebecca, into a contemporary context.
The content is challenging: a naïve and under-confident, single, young production assistant on the reality show, The Farmer Wants a Wife, is swept off her feet by a handsome contestant and whisked away from the show, her job and her life to his remote and enormous farm.
Soon after arriving at his property, she realises to her astonishment and eventual horror, that she is a virtual prisoner, isolated and controlled by a man who still mourns his dead wife.
Performer, Michelle Cooper, captures the creeping sense of foreboding that follows the woman’s initial, romantic infatuation. This glamorous man, Max, treats her with physical and emotional cruelty and she is unable to escape his coercive control.
Emma Gibson’s script is a clever reworking of Rebecca, and its self-narration allows the audience to conjure the locations and characters from prose that is dotted with some dialogue.
Cooper hits her stride in the later, more dangerous section of the story but, initially, the nervous giggle that she employs to express the woman’s anxiety and uncertainty, becomes repetitive and distracting.
The message is clear: look before you leap! Glamorous strangers can take you up a perilous path - and leave you there!
By Kate Herbert.
Written and co-directed by Emma Gibson
Performed and co-directed by Michelle Cooper
Designed by Daniel McCusker
CABARET/BURLESQUE
Created by Finucane & Smith
At Trades Hall Ballroom until Sat 19 Oct 2024 (7pm & 9pm on 18th & 19th)
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 19 Oct 2024. KH
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| Moira Finucane -FRINGE_LOWRES_@MAXROUX |
If you’ve always wanted to see a Finucane & Smith burlesque show, Global Smash Club is the one to see! But it’s only on this weekend, and if you’re sensitive to sexual references, content, nudity or explicit language, stay home.
Global Smash Club is risqué bordering on erotica, glamorous sometimes tilting into parody or even kitsch, and confronting with an occasional edge of danger.
Moira Finucane is the pulsating heart of this eclectic burlesque line-up and this 20th anniversary show features several of her audacious, eccentric pieces: the Milk Queen who generously sprays her bottles of milk, her hilariously chauvinist yobbo, and the soup eater who sensually splashes her tomato passata over her white gown.
Many of the acts are classic burlesque: cheeky, mischievous characters in flamboyant costumes that are often stripped off, simple but naughty narratives, lots of full-frontal female nudity, some simulated sexual action, and occasional confronting engagement with the audience. This includes the front row cowering under umbrellas and plastic picnic tablecloths to avoid being showered with milk.
Maude Davey thrills the excited crowd with several outrageous characters and wild songs, the wildest being Am I Ever Going to See Your Face Again complete with the shouting audience responding, “No way! Get fucked! Fuck off!” as they did for the The Angels in the ‘80s.
My heart sings when I see Yumi Umiumare in anything. She enters in a red kimono, moving slowly with grace and beauty, then reveals the Samurai below, then the Ninja below that, and finally a scrap of costume that leaves her near-naked, but never vulnerable.
An exceptional piece is a fiercely parodic take on Hello Kitty with Umiumare, Finucane and Davey wearing cutesy Hello Kitty, fluffy, pink and white costumes, but the tone becomes darker when Umiumare transforms into a grotesque, masked feline that terrorises of the crowd.
Burlesque queen Imogen Kelly emerges in a magnificent swirl of hooped white lycra that transforms with a twist into a Dior gown, a Melbourne Cup hat or a floating tent. She later reappears as a sassy, begowned and bearded gal in a saucy strip routine.
Other acts are more serious such as Mama Alto singing a jazz-inflected ballad, Xiao singing a personal lament and a guest duet by Yorta Yorta Taungurung Wiradjuri elder, Glynnis Briggs and country star, Ian Muir.
Finucane & Smith’s transgressive, bold and dangerous style has endured 20 years longer than its critics predicted 20 years ago. Squeeze it into this weekend if you can. It is wild and eye-opening!
NB: Many of the acts are 5 stars, but a few pieces are not at the same standard. That brings the show’s overall rating down, unfortunately. K
by Kate Herbert
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| Yumi Umiumare (back)-FRINGE_LOWRES_@MAXROUX |
Featuring a cascade of stars across the season:
Queen of Provocative Variety & Empress of Burlesque Bizarre MOIRA FINUCANE
Performance Art Legend MAUDE DAVEY
Butoh goddess of dark fever dreams YUMI UMIUMARE
The voice of angels MAMA ALTO
Las Vegas crowned Queen of Burlesque IMOGEN KELLY
Astonishing Starlet ZITAO DENG
Uber cello virtuoso XIAO XIAO
NO Risque club kitten IVA ROSEBUD
Yorta Yorta Taungurung Wiradjuri elder multi-faceted artist Glynnis Briggs and country star Ian Muir.
THEATRE
Written by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, with most songs from Tina’s catalogue
At Princess Theatre until 26 Jan 2025
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ****
Ruva Ngwenya & Ikettes TINA The Musical_credit-Daniel Boud
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 5 Oct 2024. KH
Ruva Ngwenya is electric as Tina Turner in this musical. She ignites the stage with her powerful presence, voice, vivacity and pure ebullience. She does not simply impersonate Tina but she channels the vocal quality and energy of Tina.
The audience stood as one for the last 15 minutes of the show, dancing and clapping through her remarkable performance of Simply the Best and an encore of Nutbush City Limits.
Ngwenya is the vivid presence at the heart of this show that is deftly and imaginatively directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The production features a fine supporting cast, and Anthony van Laast’s spirited choreography, performed by the vibrant and talented ensemble, incorporates some of Tina’s own moves.
Tina is a juke-book musical; unlike other musicals for which original songs are written, almost all of the songs in Tina are from the repertoire that Tina performed or recorded over her career.
The song list includes numerous huge hits and some lesser-known tunes. (Strangely, none of the songs’ writers are credited in the program. I had to hunt online for those.) You might think you're not a Tina Turner fan, but you’ve probably caught yourself singing along to them in the car: Simply the Best, What’s Love Got to Do With It, River Deep Mountain High, Private Dancer, We Don’t Need Another Hero and that old chestnut, Nutbush City Limits.
The book for Tina, written by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, traces her life. The dramatic text is chronological, following Tina’s biography from her difficult childhood (child Anna Mae was played by the exceptional Zoe Desmier) when she was called Anna Mae Bullock. Her mother, Zelma (Ibinabo Jack), abandoned her but took Tina’s sister, Alline (Jayme-Lee Hanekom), to St. Louis, leaving Tina with her volatile preacher father (Augie Tchantcho). She then lived with her Granny (Deni Gordon) until Mum took her back – with a push from Alline.
Here begins her slow climb to singing and the ill-fated encounter with Ike Turner – played with sassy villainy by Giovanni Adams – who recruited her as a singer for his band, then used and abused her, resented her talent, and manipulated her into marrying him, evidently so he could control her and take advantage of her greater talent and marketability. After such violence, coercive control and manipulation, Tina escapes Ike, bruised, abused and poverty-stricken with two kids; it is a slow crawl up a very long hill towards the Tina we recognise.
Translating a biography into dramatic form is tricky; a life rarely has a clear dramatic arc and there are so many episodes, twists and turns and characters that must be edited and contracted to form a cohesive and coherent dramatic story. (Jersey Boys was the most effective of this form.) This may mean that too much or too little is included. In Tina, rather too much of her early life and some later, less fully developed episodes are included, and her chequered life is a lot to cram into a musical once you add the songs.
Some characters are not fully fleshed out, including her second husband, Erwin Bach (Matthew Prime), and her Aussie manager, Roger Davies (Mat Verevis). This is a reflection on the writing rather than the performances.
Despite its few shortcomings, Tina is an exhilarating production and Ngwenya’s ebullient and impassioned performance makes it a memorable night.
By: Kate Herbert.
Cast
Ruva Ngwenya -Tina Turner
Giovanni Adams - Ike Turner
Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy -Tina Turner alternate
Zoe Desmier Chidl Anna Mae
Ibinabo Jack -Tina’s mother Zelma Bullock
Deni Gordon - Tina’s Grandmother Gran Georgeanna (GG)
Nadia Komazec - manager Rhonda Graam.
Jayme-Lee Hanekom -sister Alline Bullock & Ikettes
Augie Tchantcho -father Richard Bullock,
Rishab Kern -first love Raymond Hill,
Matthew Prime -Erwin Bach
Mat Verevis/- Roger Davies,
Matthew Hamilton Phil Spector and Lyricist Terry Britten
Blake Erickson musician Martyn Ware and Carpenter.
Ensemble members include Mia Dabkowski-Chandler, Nicholas Eaton, Abu Kebe as Ronnie, Jenni Little as Toni,Loredo Malcolm, David Mairs-McKenzie as Craig, Emily Nkomo as an Ikette, Gus Noakes, Kristin Paulse, Ilana Richardson, Tendai Rinomhota, Noel Samuels, Rebecca Selley as an Ikette and Tigist Strode as an Ikette.
Creative Team
Written by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins
director Phyllida Lloyd
choreography Anthony van Laast
set & costume Mark Thompson
musical supervision, additional music & arrangements by Nicholas Skilbeck,
lighting Bruno Poet,
sound Nevin Steinberg
projection design Jeff Sugg
orchestrations Ethan Popp
wigs, hair & makeup design Campbell Young Associates.
Songs credits
Act I
• "Nutbush City Limits" (Tina Turner) - Richard, Young Tina and Company
• "Don't Turn Around" (Albert Hammond, Diane Warren) - Tina, Gran Georgeanna and Company
• "Shake a Tail Feather" (Otha Hayes, Verlie Rice, Andre Williams) - Alline, Tina, Ikettes and Company
• "The Hunter" (Booker T. Jones, C. Wells, Al Jackson, Jr., Donald Dunn, Steve Cropper) - Ike and Ronnie
• "Matchbox" (Ike Turner) - Ike, Tina and Company
• "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (Rose Marie McCoy, Sylvia McKinney) - Zelma, Ike, Tina, Alline, Ikettes and Company
• "A Fool in Love" (I. Turner) - Tina and Ikettes
• "Let's Stay Together" (Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Jackson) - Raymond and Tina
• "Better Be Good to Me" (Holly Knight, Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn) - Tina and Company
• "I Want to Take You Higher" (Sly Stone)- Tina, Alline and Ikettes
• "River Deep Mountain High" (Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich) - Tina and Company
• "Be Tender with Me Baby" (Knight, Hammond,) - Ike, Tina, Alline, Ikettes, Ronnie and Richard
• "Proud Mary" (John Fogerty) - Tina, Ike, Alline and Ikettes
• "I Don't Wanna Fight" (Lulu, Billy Lawrie, Steve DuBerry) - Tina and Company
Act II
• "Private Dancer" (Mark Knopfler) - Tina
• "Disco Inferno" (Leroy Green, Ron Kersey)- Tina and Company
• "Open Arms" (Martin Brammer, Colette van Sertima, Ben Barson) - Rhonda, Tina and Company
• "I Can't Stand the Rain" (Ann Peebles, Don Bryant, Bernard Miller) - Tina, Ike and Company
• "Tonight" (David Bowie, Iggy Pop) - Young Tina, Gran Georgeanna, Tina and Roger
• "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (Terry Britten, Graham Lyle) - Tina, Ikettes, Ronnie and Raymond
• "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" (Britten, Lyle) - Tina and Company
• "The Best" (Knight, Chapman) - Tina and Company
• "Finale: "Nutbush City Limits (Reprise)" (T. Turner) / Proud Mary (Reprise)" (Fogerty) - Company
Songwriters in parentheses
In the Broadway production "Rocket 88" replaced "The Hunter" and "She Made My Blood Run Cold" was included after "Matchbox". Beginning in 2021, the same change was made to the West End production.
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| Nikki Coghill, Geoff Wallis- LUNG- image Darren Gill |
Book Now for LUNG by Kate Herbert On Screen ONLY. 21-27 Oct.
Part of Seniors Festival Victoria with La Mama On Screen.
Click the Link to book:
https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/seniors-festival-at-la-mama-2024/lung-online/
In this radio spot, I talk with Arts Weekly producer, Nick Tolhurst, about Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and about Making it Up (One Playwright to Another).
In this radio spot, I talk with Arts Weekly producer, Nick Tolhurst, about Frankenstein, adapted by Shake & Stir, and Mother by Daniel Keene with Noni Hazlehurst directed by Matt Scholten.
THEATRE
Mother by Daniel Keene
At Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, until 21 Sept 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 7 Sept 2024. KH
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| Noni Hazlehurst in Mother_photo Brett Boardman |
Mother by Daniel Keene is an unforgettable theatrical experience. It is a jewel that doesn’t sparkle, but burns with the pain of Christie (Noni Hazlehurst), a homeless, alcohol-addled, ageing woman.
In this provocative and heart wrenching solo performance as Christie, Hazlehurst grabs us by the scruff of the neck and shakes us about like a rag doll, not releasing her vice-like grip until the tragic end.
Keene’s dialogue and Hazlehurst’s vivid performance are unsentimental but sympathetic, bold but sensitive, hurling us from aching hilarity to searing tragedy in a moment. Not a breath can be heard by the awful last moments of revelation.
Directed with muscularity and delicacy (Yes, I know that sounds impossible!) by Matt Scholten, Hazelhurst’s audacious characterisation is nuanced and impeccably detailed. She is totally credible as this homeless, loveless, hapless woman and captures her physical friability with fluttering hands clutching at her stained clothing, tottering steps that barely keep her in balance and filthy bare feet that tell the story of the long and painful track Christie has trod to bring her to this place.
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| Noni Hazlehurst in Mother_photo Brett Boardman |
Hazlehurst spends 70 minutes on a stage that is littered with dead leaves, the detritus left behind by others and her own meagre collection of items. She hugs to herself a grubby sling that seems to hold something precious as she moves painfully through yet another relentless day. We travel through Christie’s memories of her baby boy, her husband Lenny, her drinking “the good stuff” with Mrs. Kennedy, blackouts, visits to the hospital, pubs and back streets. The environment is expressed simply and clearly with just the call of a magpie, the ding of a tram or the distant chime a church bell.
Keene’s dialogue is both lyrical and gritty, capturing the grime of street language and the poetry of the heart. He is back in territory that feels like theatrical home for him. Many decades ago, I savoured every season of the Keene/Taylor Theatre Project, and his short plays about the underclass, the disenfranchised and dispossessed, many of which were performed in venues as down-at-heel as the characters he depicted.
We would pass Christie on the street and swipe our gaze away, deleting her from our view. Her history and herself may be obscured from our vision, and she may appear to us as a dirty, down-and-out drunk, but she never gives up and has the will to continue to live her life, such as it is. Somebody else might be worse off – but not many, she quips wryly.
Mother is theatre at its best – and what an impressive and thrilling team this actor, writer and director make!
By Kate Herbert
Cast
Performed by Noni Hazlehurst
Creative Team
Directed by Matt Scholten
Associate Director Andrea Mina
Produced by Hey Dowling
Set, Props and Costume by Kat Chan
Lighting Design by Tom Willis
Sound Design by Darius Kedros
