Midnight Mass, Dec 15 , 2000

Midnight Mass

at Trades Hall, December 15 to 23, 2000

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

If you're a lapsed Catholic, Midnight Mass is the Christmas comedy show for you. If you're not and you can tolerate a little obscenity, go along anyway. It's a sacrilegious hoot.

This two hours show is an hour longer than the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass that it parodies and about ten times as funny, depending on the parish priest you have and how much altar wine you can get your hands on.

Picture the Virgin Mary as a foul-mouthed feminist stand-up comic (Andrea Powell) or as a tacky interpretive dancer in a flimsy leotard. (Felicity Menadue)

Imagine the Three Wise Men as Three Wise Queens of the Priscilla kind. (Scott Brennan, Paul McCarthy, Damien Callinan) The choir is a Christian boy band called "Boys' Town".

The parish priest is a brash and opinionated conservative called Father Matey (Lawrence Mooney) and his curate is a newly arrived stereotypical Irishman called Father Cliche. (Damien Callinan)

Even the church has succumbed to commercialism in this instance. The Mass is sponsored by Fosters beer and Flag Motels. The priests even wear Victoria Bitter labels on their cassocks.

The Mass follows the sequence of a real service but, within its structure, we experience a mad collection of disparate sketches. There is a clever TV game show called "Who's Sorry Now" based around local sinners confessing their mortal and venial sins on public television.

Parishioners are auditioned for the Nativity Play. A favourite is Gove, the sad-sack whose wife left him. His audition piece is an excerpt from his psychodrama therapy.

The rebel faction CARDY (Christians Against Repressing Deep Yearnings) comprising the dorkiest of the congregation, take the Baby Jesus hostage before the nativity play until their demands are met.

The performances are strong and the whole is held together by the two priests, Callinan and Mooney. A cavalcade of characters are played by the other cast members.

The show could benefit from a hefty edit. There are some scenes that just slow it down unnecessarily but it is hilarious Chrissie fare. They even have Holy Cards of themselves depicted as saints to swap with your mates.

By Kate Herbert

Melbourne Theatre Wrap Up 2000, Dec 11, 2000

THEATRE WRAP UP 2000

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

The millennium year was a good one for theatre with a few corkers in both fringe and main stage. Small companies may have disappeared off the face of the earth with government funding cuts over the past few years, but projects and cooperatives are still going strong.

Two Australian shows were highlights this year was A Beautiful Life  by Brisbaneís Matrix Theatre,  a poignant, beautifully written and realised production based on a true story of an Iranian immigrant arrested for terrorism in Canberra. The Theft of Sita, one of the few shows to travel from Adelaide Festival to Melbourne, was a startling combination of traditional Indonesian and contemporary Australian art.

The Melbourne Theatre Company had a critical and artistic success in Hannie Raysonís Life After George. The Chairs, The Unexpected Man  and The Beauty Queen of Leenane were all fine examples of local productions of overseas plays.

What we need now is more support for the development of local product and new work to the same level. We need scripts that have been tried and edited and developed before they hit the mainstage. 

There were several outstanding individual performances. Julia Blake in Life after George, was luminous.  Brian Lipson in A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, demonstrated his comic genius. John Gaden was powerful in The Unexpected Man and Paul Blackwell and Julie Forsyth were hilarious in The Chairs.

 In Quartet, a little La Mama late show, Susan Bamford was magnificent and outrageous as the French countess. Jim Daly was a juggernaut in The Procedure. Bob Downe, wins accolades as the funniest man on the planet.

The fringe scene had several hot properties although none of them were locally written.  Laurence Strangioís Portrait of Dora about Freudís patient, was a superb piece. The eccentric show, Happy 1000, used Australian sign language, English and Indonesian. In the Fringe Festival, The Good Thief, had strong acting and exceptional direction while Crave and Canít Stand Up for Falling Down were well-acted and written, albeit tragic plays. The music theatre parody, Forbidden Broadway, was also hilarious.

Playbox had a mixed year. Meat Party was theatrically their most interesting and innovative play. The Goldberg Variations and Sweet Road were disappointing but Crazy Brave had its moments. The Inside 2000 season of short plays by new writers had a good ensemble but the plays were limited.

The commercial stage was confused and uninteresting.  Carmen was more glitz than substance. In the musical genre, Sound of Music never quite made the grade and Fame was more like a TV show on stage.

There were a couple of lowlights over the year. The Watch in the Window was a long night in the theatre as was Escape from the Living Dead. But the ultimate excruciating show award must go to the farce, Donít Dress for Dinner, a distressingly unfunny night at Crown Ballroom.

La Mama continues to produce more plays than any company and to save many artists from depression, insecurity and underemployment. A new venue, The Storeroom, produced shows above a pub in Fitzroy.

Chapel off Chapel and North Melbourne Town Hall provide venues for many new works while The Black Box at the Arts Centre is highlighting the fringe. Non-theatre spaces are being used: a Backpackers hotel, 3RRR, Sunbury Jail, Ripponlea and old Mechanicsí Institutes.

We no longer have shows in smash repair garages but who know? 2001 might be the year of the cheap alternative venue again, given nobody has much funding.

By Kate Herbert

Harry's Christmas by Steven Berkoff & Fathers by Louis Milutinovic, Dec 7, 2000

at La Mama, Dec  7 to 17, 2000

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

 Fathers is a short play written by Louis Milutinovic during the NATO bombing in 1999, his first year in Australia. It has striking moments, moving themes and some slick dialogue. This is a fine piece on which La Mama ends its year.

It is an abstract play that takes the relationships between fathers and sons into the afterlife. We realise this only after the initial scenes. Milan Petrovich, (John Flaus) an ageing father, searches the Serbian battlefields for his lost son, Ivan. (Gary Abrahams)

What he finds is three men all called Ivan Petrovich, all soldiers, all related to him, all dead on the battlefield. He too is dead.

There are echoes of Sartre's No Exit which has a group of mismatched and angry people in a room together. Milutinovic's men are also confused about their fate. Slowly their relationships are revealed. Deda (Paul Hooper) is actually Milan's grandfather who died young. The Communist partisan (Scott Gooding) is Deda's son and Milan's uncle.

"It is hard being Serbian - but beautiful," quips the grandfather. Milutinovic writes potent dialogue and an intriguing narrative which resonates with the anguish of a war-torn and troubled nation.

The play could have been longer. It is good leaving an audience wanting more. The only problem was the introduction, in the final minutes, of the women searching for their men. It was melodramatic and unnecessary for the drama.

Harry's Christmas was written by the extraordinary English actor/writer/director, Steven Berkoff. This production, directed by Wendy Joseph, is performed by Kiran D'Costa.

D'Costa simply does not have the acting skill to tackle this role. It is too complex and the intricacies of the text and character are buried in this production.

Berkoff is a versatile and charismatic actor who wrote his own material to highlight his exceptional physical and vocal skill. This script for one actor playing Harry, is a beautifully written study of a disturbed and lonely man as he faces the emotional black hole of Christmas.

Harry tilts from faked joy and faint hope to despair when he can find no old girlfriend to join him for a drink. He is a prime example of the dysfunctional urban suicidal male. Harry is not a role for an amateur actor.

By Kate Herbert

Collected Stories, MTC, Dec 6, 2000

Collected Stories by Donald Margulies

MTC presents Northside Theatre Company at Fairfax Studio  until 30 September

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

To see two charismatic performers on stage together is theatrical bliss. Ruth Cracknell and Sarah Norris are such a duo in Collected Stories by Donald Margulies.

Margulies' play is also a winner. In a naturalistic style, the US playwright creates a spring-autumn relationship between two women, both fiction writers, both spirited, wilful, sensitive and volatile.

Lisa Morrison (Norris) is a clever but dizzy post-graduate student of Prof. Ruth Steiner, (Cracknell) a short story writer of some renown. During 1993, in  a state of anxiety about meeting her heroine, the wide-eyed Lisa visits Ruth's Greenwich Village apartment for a private writing tutorial.

So begins a seen year friendship which begins as a mentor-student relationship but blossoms into a friendship between equals when Lisa publishes her collected stories.

However, love of any kind can be a bumpy ride. Writers are sensitive and sensitised. They also have a nose for a good yarn and are inclined to plunder not only their own lives but those of friends and family for material.

When Lisa uses in her novel, Ruth's confidential anecdotes  about her youthful love affair with the poet, Delmore Schwartz, Ruth sees it as a betrayal, Lisa as a homage.

Margulies captures the heightened experience of the writer and the delicacy of feeling that accompanies the writing process. Even in her ailing winter years, Ruth feels wounded and jealous of her protege. Writers are the repository of human feeling. They give a voice to the world.

Margulies writes brisk, witty dialogue that exposes and expands his two characters. Their burgeoning friendship is fascinating and its impending doom rivetting.

Both performances are potent and delightful.  Cracknell is stately, recalcitrant and lovable as the intellectual mentor. Her presence, as always, is commanding and she brings a fine sense of irony to the character.

Norris sparkles in early scenes as the exuberant, nervous and cat-like Lisa. She gives a convincing portrayal of a young woman maturing over years.

Director, Jennifer Hagan, focuses on the intimacy and intensity of these two women. She sets the action in Wendy Osmond's realistic apartment which is stacked with books. Sarah de Jong's evocative music highlights the relationship and provides a subtle background of the streets of New York.

By Kate Herbert

Art and Soul, MTC, Dec 2000

Melbourne Theatre Company

Fairfax Studio until December 16, 2000

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

New work can be exciting and innovative or incomplete and confused. There is some of both in the MTC program of seven short plays, Art and Soul, directed by Kate Cherry and Peter Houghton.

Writers whose work has not been seen at the MTC were invited to write a play stimulated by Homage to Rembrandt, a recent painting by Garry Shead , winner of the 1993 Archibald Prize.

By far the most successful of the seven selected works is Matt Cameron's Whispering Death . Cameron takes less literally than some of the other writers, the pre-requisite "to reflect in some way the configuration of the painting".

Zed (Kim Gyngell) is delightful as a filing clerk made redundant. His dream-like journey into weirdness, is an alphabetical rhyme-fest. He meets Oblivion, Paranoia, Quietude, Regret and so on through the ABC.

The writing is witty and ironic, clever and often hilarious. The performers (Louise Siverson, Genevieve Morris, Ben Rogan, Kate Kendall) relish every moment and every wacko character.

Joanna Murray-Smith's Untitled begins very well with Gyngell as a grieving widowed artist who is visited by a woman he thinks is a life model. She is surprised when he demands she take off her clothes.  The dialogue is smart and funny with broad references and lots of surprises. The pay-off - that the woman is an angel come to end his grief- is a good idea but the resolution is not as successful as the beginning.

At Last the Famous Artist is Dead by Tom Wright is wildly funny and absurd. A bunch of peculiar characters wait drinking tea for the famous artist (Robert Essex) to die. Wright wittily takes a few swipes at Sydney's superficiality and at Melbourne's glut of middle-class artists and at the entire art-loving world for celebrating a prize-winning painter who is, in fact, blind. Essex's mad diatribe as the painter is splendid.

Aidan Fennessy's The Slaughterhouse,  first on the bill, has merit but does not challenge the issues of the artist. Melissa Reeves' Ray's Painting is given a jaunty ride by a naked, playful and romping Louise Siverson.

Glenn Shea's Masterpiece and Tee O'Neill's Homage to Rembrandt are the least successful.

The concept is challenging but a theme does not always stimulate a writer's best work. A night of seven plays is too long. Five pieces at two hours would be a happier length.

By Kate Herbert

2000 Reviews - Kate Herbert

 

2000 Reviews Kate Herbert

The following are all reviews published in Herald Sun during 2000. They are still available through www.newstext.com.au

They will all be uploaded in full soon.  KH

 A beautiful year   Herald Sun, 27-12-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 062, 687 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Two Australian plays take the honors in the best and fairest list, writes KATE HERBERT THE millennium year was a good one for theatre, with a few corkers in both fringe and main stage. Small companies may have disappeared off the face of the earth wi...

    Your say   Herald Sun, 22-12-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 016, 611 words , OPINION
Footy, booze a bad mix ST KILDA Football Club has put up its hand to accept some responsibility for the actions of Rod Owen, blamed in part on alcohol abuse that was a culture of the club. Can we expect other clubs will now begin to do something abou...

    Your say   Herald Sun, 21-12-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 016, 1375 words , OPINION
Council chop was earned WELL, they asked for it and now they've got it! And not before time. I congratulate the Bracks Government and Local Government Minister Bob Cameron for not dilly-dallying and for making the right decision. The early ``removal'...

    Making it impossible   Herald Sun, 19-12-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 017, 932 words , OPINION
TELSTRA was ``Making it easy for me . . .'' late the other night, stranded at the train station, surrounded by phones, none of which accepted coins and me without a phonecard! I guess the bigwigs decided that the most profitable option was to scrap c...

    Mass appeal just right for Christmas   Herald Sun, 16-12-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 102, 331 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Midnight Mass I F YOU'RE a lapsed Catholic, Midnight Mass is the Christmas comedy show for you. If you're not and you can tolerate a little obscenity, go along anyway. It's a sacrilegious hoot. This two-hour show is an hour longer than the Christmas ...

   Male strength and weakness   Herald Sun, 09-12-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 110, 414 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Fathers and Harry's Christmas Where and when: La Mama until December 17 THIS is a short play written by Louis Milutinovic during the NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, his first year in Australia. Fathers has striking moments, moving t...

    Deviant tale thin on style   Herald Sun, 01-12-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 092, 277 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Deviations, by Allen O'Leary Where and when: Elbow Theatre at La Mama, until December 17 DEVIATIONS, described in the program as ``a stylish black comedy about sex''. We can agree that it is quite grim and comical at times and that it focuses on sex....

    Merging strong minds   Herald Sun, 27-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 325 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A Large Audience in Attendance Where and when: The Royal Society of Victoria until December 3 BRIAN Lipson's solo show about British scientist Francis Galton is one of the most riveting performances this year. The writing is complex, intelligent and ...

    Blend of canvas in words   Herald Sun, 25-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 112, 339 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Art and Soul Melbourne Theatre Company Where and when: Fairfax Studio, until December 16 NEW work can be exciting and innovative or incomplete and confused. There is some of both in the MTC program of seven short plays, Art and Soul, directed by Kate...

   Barred from society   Herald Sun, 24-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 094, 404 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Women's Jail Project Where and when: Women's Refractory, VUT Sunbury campus; until December 9 Bookings: 9744 3567 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE visit to the Federation-style, late 19th-century Sunbury women's jail is strangely disembodying. We hear ...

    Life is lost in ramble   Herald Sun, 17-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 096, 246 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Escape from the Living Dead Where and when: La Mama at The Courthouse, until December 2 THE original intention of a playwright can sometimes be obscured in the final script. This seems to be the case with Abe Pogos's Escape from the Living Dead. Pogo...  

  Vivid and perfectly insane   Herald Sun, 13-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 087, 281 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Wozzeck, by Alban Berg, Opera Australia Where and when: State Theatre November 11, 16, 22, 25, 28 Bookings: 13 66 66 THE score of Alban Berg's 1925 opera Wozzeck rises and falls like a roller-coaster with the escalating madness of the soldier Wozzeck...

    Single minded humor   Herald Sun, 13-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 315 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Girl Talk Where and when: Merlyn Theatre until November 17. Bookings: 9685 5111 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THEATRE comes to us in many forms for many different kinds of audiences. Girl Talk is a light-hearted play, which will appeal to a wide audience. P...

   Healthy diet of humor   Herald Sun, 06-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 117, 342 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Procedure Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall until November 18 Reviewer: Kate Herbert PICTURE a politician one Friday evening, drinking himself into a stupor while coming to terms with the possibility that he may have cancer. Sounds seriou...

   Violent challenge   Herald Sun, 04-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 109, 396 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Maquina Hamlet Performed by: El Periferico de Objetos Where and when: Playhouse until tonight Reviewer: Kate Herbert EL PERIFERICO de Objetos is an unsubsidised theatre company from Buenos Aires which has a substantial reputation in Europe and the Am...

    Myth in modern context   Herald Sun, 04-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 110, 347 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Theft of Sita Where and when: Malthouse; final show today Bookings: 9685 5111 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THIS telling of the abduction of Sita is distinctively Australian-Indonesian. It is told evocatively with Indonesian shadow puppets and contemporary ...

   Sound barrier slips   Herald Sun, 03-11-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 098, 276 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Unexpected Man Where and when: Fairfax Studio, until November 4 Reviewer: Kate Herbert WHEN a skilful playwright meets a director and two actors of matching talent, it is a recipe for success. The Unexpected Man combines the talents of French pla...

   Shopper never hits the mark   Herald Sun, 30-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 098, 296 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
How to Shop Where and when: Athenaeum I until October 31 ARE you scared to enter a supermarket? In How to Shop, British performance artist Bobby Baker has some handy -- if peculiar -- advice. How to Shop is presented as a lecture complete with lecter...

    Giving food for thought   Herald Sun, 27-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 098, 239 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Food of Love Where and when: Beckett Theatre, until October 28 IN SHAKESPEARE'S Twelfth Night, Duke Orsino says, ``If music be the food of love, play on.'' Seduction Opera's show Food of Love is a peculiar but satisfying miscellany of music, food, ar...

    Fun and flair by the score   Herald Sun, 23-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 095, 314 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Gilbert and Sullivan Where and when: Regent Theatre, until October 27 THE Gilbert and Sullivan Show is a light-hearted, delightful night. Director Roger Hodgman creates a musical salon atmosphere on the Regent Theatre stage as the exceptionally skill...  

 Class conscious   Herald Sun, 21-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 111, 411 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Small Poppies Where and when: at the Playhouse until October 28 REMEMBER your first day at Big School? It can be traumatic. I fell from the monkey bars on to my head. That explains a lot....  

 Winning numbers come up   Herald Sun, 20-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 098, 372 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEWTHEATRE Happy 1000, 1000 Bahagia Where and when: La Mama at The Black Box, until October 22, Tuesday-Friday 8pm; Saturday and Sunday 3pm and 8pm American Dreamchasing with Spirit Drive not Ego Jive Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall, unt...

   Comedy's dark side is no joke, but it's funny   Herald Sun, 14-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 107, 308 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Huge Fletcher's Spontaneous Broadway Where: Czech Club; until October 20 Reviewer: Kate Herbert CONTEMPLATING a career in stand-up comedy? Think again. Be an accountant. Be anything else....

    Victims put up a fight   Herald Sun, 14-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 112, 289 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Can't Stand Up for Falling Down Where and when: The Storeroom, until October 22 Bookings: 9658 9600 Reviewer: Kate Herbert CAN'T Stand Up for Falling Down is a play about three women and their relationship with an abusive man in an English village. I...

    War epic hits a chord   Herald Sun, 13-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 096, 297 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Meat Party By Duong Le Quy Where and when: Playbox at Merlin Theatre until October 28 TWO differing styles meet in Michael Kantor's production of Duong Le Quy's Meat Party. Kantor's direction is abstract. His visual spectacular draws on modern Japane...

    Crave captures pain drain   Herald Sun, 13-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 099, 226 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Crave Where and when: The Storeroom until October 22 Bookings: 9658 9600 Reviewer: Kate Herbert SARAH Kane writes about depression and lost love, abandonment and fear of death. Crave was first produced in the UK in 1998. Kane committed suicide the fo...

   Remote not always in control   Herald Sun, 11-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 056, 335 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Remote Man, Woman, Sex, Revenge Where and when: La Mama until Sunday THE the latest cabaret production from Ella Filar's Crow's Bar Cabaret, Remote, is a musical miscellany divided into three stories. Filar's original songs are in the style of 1930s ...

    Double dose of Hamlet   Herald Sun, 10-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 054, 260 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Hamlet in One Hour Where and when: Trades Hall until October 21 This Distracted Globe Where and when: La Mama until October 15 Bookings: 9347 6142 THE Fringe Festival is sporting two Hamlets. Neither is Shakespeare's version, though both draw on his ...

   Mug's game makes good comedy   Herald Sun, 10-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 054, 390 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Whore Whisperer: Confessions of a Madam Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall until October 21, 9.45pm Bookings: 9658 9600 WE EXPECT the Fringe Festival to challenge us in all sorts of ways. Meshel Laurie's Whore Whisperer certainly does so w..

.    Bravery unlocks doors   Herald Sun, 09-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 330 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE So Full of Brave Where and when: Fairfax Studio, Victorian Arts Centre, until October 14 THE women in So Full of Brave are just that -- full of bravery. The show, created by them, tells of their lives and the lives of other women who a...

   TIGHTROPE   Herald Sun, 07-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 108, 309 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
by Krinkl Theatre Where and when: The Diggers, North Melbourne Town Hall until tomorrow THE Fringe Festival is always riddled with extremes of skill and quality of performance. Tightrope is one of the more inventive and satisfying pieces, and you cou...

   BAG OF NAILS/MIND EATER   Herald Sun, 07-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 109, 286 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Bag of Nails by Anthony Morgan Mind Eater by Gumbo Theatre When: until tomorrow Both at: North Melbourne Town Hall Reviewer: Kate Herbert ANTHONY Morgan is back. He retired from the comedy scene two years ago, but he forgot he had no skills to surviv...

    Thief a scene stealer   Herald Sun, 06-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 096, 283 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Good Thief Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall, until October 21 Bookings: 9658 9600 IF YOU see nothing else in the Fringe Festival, see this. It is rare to see a monodrama that is impeccably written, performed and directed. The Good Thief ...

    Tortured tale strikes a powerful chord   Herald Sun, 02-10-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 108, 354 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Filch Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall until October 8, 10pm FILCH is the fourth in a series of solo shows written and performed in vivid style by Angus Cerini. Themes recur in Filch that were dealt with in each of Cerini's previous works. T...

   Quirky play on emotions   Herald Sun, 30-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 120, 345 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Enormous Club Where and when: the Black Box (next to the Melbourne Concert Hall), until October 5 Reviewer: Kate Herbert BORN in a Taxi is a group of four performers who specialise in creating physical theatre and movement improvisation. The Enormous...

   Margaret's cracker of a show   Herald Sun, 25-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 050, 344 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Bang! A Critical Fiction! by Margaret Cameron Where and when: La Mama, until October 1 THERE is humor and anguish in Margaret Cameron's eyes. Emotion is etched in her expressive face....

    Love and the lie   Herald Sun, 25-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 051, 396 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Flame, by Joanna Murray-Smith Where and when: at La Mama, until October 1 THIS play by Joanna Murray-Smith deals with grief about not only the death of a loved one, but the death of a love. Max (Alex Pinder) and Louisa (Michele Williams) stand in an ...

    Stripping away the sexiness   Herald Sun, 18-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 054, 355 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Daily Grind Sprat Boy Productions Where and when: Trades Hall until September 24 STRIPPERS have their own raft of problems associated with work conditions. Daily Grind, by Vicky Reynolds, highlights the most significant change for strippers in recent...

    Superheroes don't get off the ground in pub play   Herald Sun, 16-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 059, 321 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Pure Escapism Where and when: Storeroom, Parkview Hotel, Fitzroy, until September 23 Reviewer: Kate Herbert A SOLO play written and performed by Scott Gooding, Pure Escapism, is yet another venture at the Storeroom, a new venue above the Parkview Hot...

    Pixels work focuses on the big picture   Herald Sun, 13-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 054, 299 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW STAGE Pixels in the Picture Where and when: Parkview Hotel, until September 16 S HORT plays in novel locations with a limited number of audience members are the signature for Robert Reid's Theatre in Decay. In the past few months they have per...  

 Off to Greece   Herald Sun, 13-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 056, 294 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW STAGE 5th International Women's Playwrights Festival Where and when: Readings at Beckett Theatre, September 9 ELEVEN plays written by Melbourne women are going to Athens next month for the 5th International Women's Playwrights Festival. The tw...

    Passion between the lines   Herald Sun, 09-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 112, 329 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Love Letters, by A.R. Gurney Where and when: Chapel Off Chapel, until September 16 IT IS a joy to see actors without the trappings of lighting, special effects, costumes or even stage action to interfere with their craft. To be specific, it is a joy ...

    Fun on the farm   Herald Sun, 08-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 092, 352 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Dog Farm, Back to Back Theatre Where and when: at La Mama until September 17 THIS is an exciting, funny and insightful collection of short plays by Back to Back Theatre. The three idiosyncratic plays are generated by the five members of the ensemble,...

   Collected passions   Herald Sun, 06-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 051, 242 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. Where and when: MTC presents Northside Theatre Company at The Fairfax, Victorian Arts Centre, until September 30 Reviewer: Kate Herbert TO SEE two charismatic performers on stage together is bliss. Ruth Cracknel...

    Jokers in a pack   Herald Sun, 02-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 111, 548 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
KATE HERBERT goes to San Francisco to play games with her improvisation guru IMPROVISING is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. We play games, make up stories and pretend to be other people. Doctors might call this mental illness. For imp...

    Victor's motor in need of fine tune   Herald Sun, 01-09-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 324 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Victor by Adam May Where and when: La Mama at The Courthouse until September 16 THE Victor is actually a play about a Victa lawnmower, circa 1952, which became an Aussie icon. The title refers not only to the name given to the mower by Jack (John...

   Simplicity keeps show afloat   Herald Sun, 29-08-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 057, 317 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE The River Project Where and when: La Mama until September 3 THIS is the second show this week about a life's journey performed by a solo male actor in a virtually empty space, the first being John Bolton's Jumping Mouse. The River Proj...

   Bolton's mouse one jump ahead   Herald Sun, 28-08-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 097, 279 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jumping Mouse By John Bolton Where and when: Trades Hall, until September 3. THERE is nothing more satisfying than a single actor in an empty space weaving a spell using only his physical and vocal skills to create characters and tell a story. Such i...

   Just Wilde about Oscar   Herald Sun, 26-08-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 118, 347 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEWT HEATRE The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde Where and when: Princess Theatre from August 24 THE Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, is a very funny play and this Anglo-Australian production boasts a very fine performance f...

    Chasing a wild fantasy   Herald Sun, 05-08-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 120, 304 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Sweet Road, by Debra Oswald Where and when: Playbox at Merlin Theatre until August 19 IN our wide brown land, we understand ``being on the road''. We travel vast distances on straight roads between towns separated by hundreds of empty kilometres. The...

   Play on the ball for pathos   Herald Sun, 29-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 117, 301 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Best and Fairest: Reserved Seating Only and Misdirected Where and When: Trades Hall July 20-August 19 WHETHER you are married to Aussie rules or you are a football widow who loathes the grip the game has on your spouse, you will enjoy Best and Faires...

    Eskimo delivers pack of laughs   Herald Sun, 28-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 092, 322 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Eskimo, by Matt Cameron Where and when: Beckett Theatre, until August 12 IN MATT Cameron's latest play, The Eskimo, Pedro (Peter Houghton) travels to villages near the northern polar icecap with his hawker's case of medicinal lotions and potions....

   Good witches' brew   Herald Sun, 25-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 076, 387 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE Macbeth, by William Shakespeare Where and when: in the chapel at the Convent Gallery, Daylesford, Fri-Sun until August 6 I T WAS peculiarly appropriate staying at Abergeldie B&B before seeing Macbeth. Abergeldie is named after a castle...

   Age shall not weary 'em, at all   Herald Sun, 24-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 106, 357 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Sex, Drugs and Walking Frames Where and when: La Mama, Carlton, until August 6 Reviewer: Alison Barclay CALLING someone too old to ``do that sort of thing'' are words infuriating enough to trigger a revolt -- and in Kate Herbert's new play, they just...

    Log on to new world   Herald Sun, 24-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 108, 343 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Virtual Humanoids Where and when: Planetarium until July 30 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THIS is an LSD trip without the paranoia, technology without the expense, comedy without the smoky venue. The Men Who Knew Too Much take us into theatrical cyberspace ...

    Willy's shattering life-and-death saga   Herald Sun, 22-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 114, 233 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Death of a Salesman Where and when: Fairfax Studio; until August 26 Reviewer: Kate Herbert WATCHING Willy Loman's deterioration in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is like having emotional sandpaper dragged across one's nerves. It is excruciating....

    Sexy old things   Herald Sun, 19-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 051, 512 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
It's great fun when seventysomethings get up to hanky-panky, writes ALISON BARCLAY ONE could grow old gracefully, but why risk death by utter boredom? In any case, endless surveys keep pointing to a reassuring statistic -- the over-60s enjoy a much c...

   It's a real laugh, sport   Herald Sun, 15-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 111, 247 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Theatresports Where and when: Theatreworks, St Kilda, Sundays until Aug 27. Grand final, National Theatre, Sept 3 FROM the moment teams are announced, you realise you're in a room with more hams than a porcine abattoir. Theatresports, a round-robin c...

    Art creates aliens among the exiles   Herald Sun, 14-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 378 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Exile in Jerusalem Where and when: Saltpillar Theatre at St Martin's Theatre, until July 30 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE fate of Jews seeking a safe haven after World War II is well-documented. According to Israeli playwright Motti Lerner's Exile in Je...

    Refugees saga is provocative   Herald Sun, 11-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 061, 426 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A Beautiful Life Where and when: Matrix Theatre at Beckett Theatre, until July 15 Bookings: 9685 5111 GOOD theatre moves, transforms and transports an audience. A Beautiful Life does all this, forcing us to assess our views, question our society and ...  

 Second-thoughts Rose returns to her first love   Herald Sun, 07-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 088, 406 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Trelawny of the Wells Where and when: Melbourne Theatre Company at Playhouse, until July 29 Reviewer: Kate Herbert MELBOURNE has seen very little of Arthur Wing Pinero since 1968. Perhaps we should see more. Trelawny of the Wells is a fine, broad com...

   Hibberd, Krape deliver bags of laughs   Herald Sun, 05-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 056, 326 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Lavender Bags Where and when: Chapel off Chapel, until July 30 Bookings: 9522 3382 Reviewer: Kate Herbert P LAYWRIGHT Jack Hibberd is a master of language. Actor Evelyn Krape is a human dynamo. Their collaboration in Lavender Bags is a splendid and c...

    Where is Willy?   Herald Sun, 01-07-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 120, 288 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Shakespeare's Last Supper by Daniel CassarWhere and when: La Mama at Trades Hall, until July 16 PIRANDELLO wrote Six Characters in Search of an Author. In Shakespeare's Last Supper, Daniel Cassar has twelve characters in search of their playwright, w...

   Brilliant cast enhance social think-piece   Herald Sun, 30-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 080, 346 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Crazy Brave, by Michael Gurr Where and when: Playbox at Malthouse, until July 22 LET'S face it. In Australia we have so little gross social injustice to fight. We have no war, no oppression, no military junta, no ``failed businessman'' holding the go...

   Dangerous liaison   Herald Sun, 28-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 061, 417 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE Truth and Brutality, by Jessica Lockhart Where and when: at La Mama, until July 2 THE first thing one notices about Truth and Brutality is the elegant and beautifully designed set by Meredith Rogers. The second is the detailed and comp...

   Giver of dramatic doubt   Herald Sun, 26-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 114, 319 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Giver of the Gift Where and when: Vagabond Theatre at La Mama; until July 2 Bookings: 9347 6142 Reviewer: Kate Herbert IN her quartet of short plays, Giver of the Gift, Jess Kingsford wants to present the audience with doubt and difficulty. And it is...

    Sexpack froths in city hotel   Herald Sun, 23-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 092, 337 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Customers Where and when: Theatre of Decay at Hotel Bakpak, until July 1 TWICE in 10 days we have been party to theatre in a bedroom. The Secret Room (IRAA) is one woman's intensely personal revelation performed in her own home. Customers, by Robert ...

    Carry on cringing   Herald Sun, 17-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 118, 412 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Don't Dress for Dinner Where and when: Crown Showroom until June 25 Bookings: 132 849 Reviewer: Kate Herbert NUDGE, nudge. Wink, wink. You need to see Don't Dress for Dinner to believe it. It's like a time capsule....

   Too many leaks in this dam   Herald Sun, 17-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 120, 354 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Dam Where and when: La Mama at The Courthouse until July 1 Bookings: 9347 6142 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE great strength of Kim Durban's production of The Dam is in the performances rather than the text by Johann McIntyre. The actors work wonders...

   Bridging troubled waters   Herald Sun, 16-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 392 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Where and when: Melbourne Workers' Theatre at Theatreworks until July 1 I N CRISIS, people may reveal themselves in ways we never expected, or they may behave completely in character: simply, honestly, dangerously, deceptively, even self-interestedly...

   Tongue-in-chic humor   Herald Sun, 13-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 060, 389 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE Fourplay Where and when: Trades Hall until June 25 Bookings: 9685 5111 Reviewer: Kate Herbert J ANE Bodie writes great dialogue. Fourplay zips along at a fast pace, peppered with laughs. The relationships between the four characters ar...

   Telling a secret   Herald Sun, 12-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 113, 391 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Secret Room Where and when: venue revealed on booking, Tues-Sat Reviewer: Kate Herbert THIS must be a first. The entire audience of The Secret Room went for coffee together after the performance. Of course, the audience is restricted to seven. Th...

   Night of light and shade   Herald Sun, 10-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 120, 318 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare Bell Shakespeare Company Where and when: Athenaeum Theatre 1, until June 24 THE opening scene of Elke Neidhardt's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream suggests cheekily that we are in for an S and ...

   Child, or alien invader?   Herald Sun, 09-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 091, 335 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Pickle or the Pickle Jar, by Maude Davey Where and when: La Mama until June 18 IMMEDIATELY Maude Davey informed me she was pregnant, I bet my fortune she would appear naked and pregnant on stage. This is the show, and a damned fine show it is. Th...

    Wit to woo an audience   Herald Sun, 06-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 052, 333 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Wrecked Eggs Written by: David Hare Produced by: Aquarius Productions Where and when: Chapel off Chapel until June 25 IT IS always a pleasant surprise to stumble across a good show when one is not expecting it. Wrecked Eggs is one such, in spite of i...

   Ups and downs of skipping   Herald Sun, 03-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 118, 378 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Skipping Where and when: Lunchtime Theatre at Trades Hall until June 30, 12.10pm and 1.10pm Bookings: 9531 9204 IT IS astonishing how an artist can leave her individual imprint on a show. Director Maude Davey has left her identifiable fingerprints al...

    It's Wilde, by Dickins   Herald Sun, 02-06-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 087, 327 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Believe Me, Oscar Wilde Where and when: La Mama, until June 18 Bookings: 9347 6142 Reviewer: Kate Herbert BELIEVE me, Oscar Wilde had a helluva life and a hellish ending. Barry Dickins' play, Believe Me, Oscar Wilde, tears at the scab that thinly cov...

    God-awful   Herald Sun, 30-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 059, 341 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE The Watch in the Window Where and when: Chapel off Chapel until June 11 SOME nights in the theatre seem like an eternity. The Watch in the Window is one of those nights. The play begins by being incomprehensible and continues so for at...

   Unrest for the wicked   Herald Sun, 29-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 124, 298 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Thy Kingdom Come Where and when: La Mama, until June 10 THE opening scene of Thy Kingdom Come is exceptionally well-written. In fact, it was originally a short play until Daniel Lillford developed it further. Two young Belfast men stand shrouded in m...

    Joyful night of skill and spontaneity   Herald Sun, 27-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 107, 292 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Ostinato by Born in a Taxi Where and when: Theatreworks, until June 4 OSTINATO is one of my most satisfying and joyful nights in the theatre recently. It is improvised (don't squeal) movement performance that creates some beautiful random choreograph...

 A family which is spoken for   Herald Sun, 26-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 093, 409 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Goldberg Variations Written by: Ron Elisha Produced by: Playbox Theatre Where and when: Merlyn Theatre, until June 17 FAMILIES can be fraught with emotional blackmail, madness, anger and misunderstanding. They are also the people we rely on in a ...

   Spanish miss hits raw nerve   Herald Sun, 26-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 093, 270 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Carmen Where and when: State Theatre, until Sunday SPANISH director Salvador Tavora is obviously passionate about rescuing the myth of Carmen from the romantic opera traditions of Bizet and others. In fact, as an Andalusian, he sees his revitalisatio...    Lost in mind field   Herald Sun, 20-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 119, 263 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Off the Point Where and when: La Mama at Trades Hall, until May 28 MENTAL illness is less of a taboo subject these days, but still it engenders fear in the community and confusion and despair in the families of sufferers. Directed by David Symons, Mi...

   In praise of Piaf   Herald Sun, 19-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 083, 280 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW STAGE Piaf Where and when: Playhouse until June 17 THERE is no one like Caroline O'Connor. There is no one like Piaf. Casting the former as the latter is a stroke of genius. O'Connor is vivid, vibrating with joy and anguish as she sings and sw...

   Shades of disharmony in Orpheus   Herald Sun, 12-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 329 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Orpheus: An Australian Tragedy Where and when: La Mama at Carlton Courthouse, until May 20 Reviewer: Kate Herbert ANCIENT Greek theatre was a poetic form. In fact, theatre was written as poetry until quite recently when naturalism took a leap into th...

   Sit-down feast of chaos   Herald Sun, 08-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 098, 292 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE The Chairs Where and when: MTC at Fairfax Studio, until June 3 A COMIC routine often works on repetition. In his 1951 play, The Chairs, Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco pushes repetition to its farcical extreme. By the end of the pla...

    What friends are for   Herald Sun, 06-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 111, 234 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Goodbye Mrs Blore Where and when: Whitehorse Centre tonight; regional centres until June 6 TWO very fine actors, Carole Burns and Ailsa Piper, bless this production of Robert Hewett's play. Middle-aged Kathleen Blore (Burns) arrives at Dr Julia Lewis...

   Tight grip on a hysterical woman   Herald Sun, 02-05-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 058, 369 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE Portrait of Dora T HE directorial works of Laurence Strangio are always a treat at La Mama. He takes complex, poetic texts, generally by French women, and stages them in an abstract, deceptively simple form. After tackling pieces by Ma...    Intruding into five worlds   Herald Sun, 29-04-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 112, 328 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Funniest Man in the World Keene/Taylor Theatre Project Where and when: Grant Street Theatre, until May 13 WATCHING Daniel Keene's short plays is like peeking into people's underwear drawers -- they are intensely personal and we feel like intruder...    Time to stand up tall and be counted   Herald Sun, 17-04-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 118, 242 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
IT HAS always been the duty of artists to reflect and critique society. Playwrights observe our political, historical and psychological behavior, often with devastating accuracy. Theatre is in the vanguard of social change. So what are the topics pre...    Downe humor dazzles   Herald Sun, 10-04-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 106, 377 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Bob Downe -- Whiter! Brighter! Where and when: at the Capitol Theatre until April 23 Bookings: Ticketmaster 13 61 00 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE glare from Bob Downe's whiter than white teeth is enough to wake the dead. So is the reflected light from ...    Wil can charm but he can't bite   Herald Sun, 07-04-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 083, 276 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Who Wants to be a Wilionaire? By: Wil Anderson Where and when: Victoria Hotel until April 23 Suburban Riot By: Denise Scott Where and when: Cloak room, Melbourne Town Hall until April 23 HOW many more plays on Wil Anderson's name are still to come? L...    Rod's Utopia a hoot   Herald Sun, 05-04-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 054, 284 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW COMEDY Utopia Where and when: Assembly Hall, Collins St until April 22 Billy Possible By: Neil Cole Where and when: La Mama at Courthouse until April 15 Reviewer: Kate Herbert ROD Quantock performs his new show, Utopia, in the superbly designe...    Great works off track   Herald Sun, 28-03-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 050, 696 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
All is not lost with a great art project which took a wrong turn, writes KATE HERBERT IMAGINE paintings by our top artists being tossed into storage, their frames falling apart and the paintwork damaged. Given the price artwork by Clifton Pugh and Ho...

   Prime cut needed   Herald Sun, 25-03-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 107, 227 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Butcher Where and when: Theatreworks until April 1 Reviewer: Kate Herbert I S it possible that a newborn infant bears the taint of original sin? Are humans innately evil? Matt Crosby's play The Butcher is an abstract study of guilt and innocence,...  

  Lend me your fears   Herald Sun, 13-03-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 106, 249 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Giulio Cesare THERE were grim and thoughtful faces after the opening of Giulio Cesare by Societas Raffaello Sanzio. It is a challenging and beautifully composed vision of the inner world of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. We are confronted with stark st...

   Bare stage fuller than cluttered Faust rave party   Herald Sun, 11-03-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 115, 397 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW STAGE Ur/Faust Where and when: Adelaide Festival, March 6-11 Virtual Solitaire Where and when: Adelaide Fringe, until late March Reviewer: Kate Herbert T HIS review of Ur/Faust is written by Jade, who thinks it is amazing, and Jaded, who knows...  

 Skin deep with feeling   Herald Sun, 08-03-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 052, 274 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Skin Where and when: Space Theatre, Adelaide; March 5-8 The Eye By: Theatre Katanka Where and when: Old Adelaide Gaol, March 4-7 C RYING in Public Places have created another charming, ironic and poignant show with minimal technology, a capella singi...  

 Beastly marriage   Herald Sun, 07-03-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 062, 307 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Dance of Death Where and when: Royalty Theatre, Adelaide, until March 11 Reviewer: Kate Herbert T HE characters in Roger Pulvers' production of Strindberg's play Dance of Death prowl around inside a rubber cage. Alice (Anna Volska) and Edgar (John Be...  

  Marathon fails to last pace   Herald Sun, 06-03-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 326 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE Ecstatic Bible Where and when: Adelaide Festival at Scott Theatre until Wednesday Reviewer: Kate Herbert ONE emerges with a sense of achievement after an eight-hour play. The sheer effort compels a meditative state allowing images, tho...  

 Passion and power   Herald Sun, 28-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 096, 366 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW STAGE Antony and Cleopatra Where and when: Gasworks Theatre, until March 12 Bookings: 9699 3253 LOVE and war: these are two of the great passions of the human race. In Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, the two collide when the obsessional lo...

   Indian love call lost in the heat and dust   Herald Sun, 25-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 429 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE The Elephant's Tusk Rosemary Johns Where and when: La Mama at the Carlton Courthouse until March 4 THE art of story-telling is a subtle and complex one and the creation of a new morality tale is not an easy task. In The Elephant's Tusk...

    Time for more oomph   Herald Sun, 23-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 048, 336 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Killing Time Where and when: Chapel off Chapel; until February 27 Reviewer: Kate Herbert K ILLING Time. If you place the emphasis on the first word, it means one thing. If it is on the second, the meaning alters. This is the intention of English play...

    An Irish beauty raises her ugly head   Herald Sun, 23-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 048, 343 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Beauty Queen of Leenane Where and when: Melbourne Theatre Company at Fairfax Studio, until April 1 Reviewer: Kate Herbert T HERE is no beauty pageant in Leenane. There is little beauty left in the barren landscape of Connemara, Ireland, and in it...

   Feet first but it's skin deep   Herald Sun, 21-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 376 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Skin Flick THE audience's physical position can dictate the form and content as well as the impact of a performance. The audience at Skin Flick sit with their eyes at floor level. Chairs are set under the false stage floor and viewers' heads poke thr...

    Blokes' guilt trip a hilarious journey   Herald Sun, 19-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 104, 384 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
It's a Dad Thing Where and when: Darebin Arts Centre, until mid-March Bookings: 9416 8933 Reviewer: Kate Herbert SLEEP deprivation, screaming, noises in the night, excrement, incarceration, feelings of incompetence, forgetfulness. No, these are not a...

    Aflame with social passion   Herald Sun, 14-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 116, 305 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Torch Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall until Sunday THE final minutes of The Torch are filled with potent images and powerful, passionate social commentary. Even after the curtain call, the poignancy continues when Uncle Emanuel Cooper, ...

    Satellite spins out in a cheap camping ground   Herald Sun, 11-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 413 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Satellite of Love Where and when: Trades Hall until February 26 THE joys of camping are a mystery to me. There you are, incarcerated in a steamy, plastic teepee. No room to move, no air to breathe, a long sprint to the loo, loud, drunk neighbors. Mud...

   Faulty formula   Herald Sun, 09-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 049, 261 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Three Hotels Where and when: La Mama, until February 13 REMEMBER the uproar when a company sold baby formula to the Third World? Women in Africa had no clean water, could not read the directions, did not understand how to prepare it and diluted it to...

   From bath to bizarre   Herald Sun, 07-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 360 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE Song for a Siren, by Santha Press Tokyo DasSHOKU Girl, by Yumi Umiumare Where and when: Gasworks, until February 13 SIRENS may be divinely beautiful and sing songs to melt the hearts of men but, let's face it, they are nasty creatures ...

    No pot at end of rainbow   Herald Sun, 05-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 103, 234 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Miles Franklin and The Rainbow's End Where and when: Theatreworks until February 12 Reviewer: Kate Herbert PEOPLE'S lives do not have a dramatic arc; they do not have a climactic event at the appropriate moment to make good drama. It is essential, th...

    Very mixed bottom line   Herald Sun, 04-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 096, 264 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Homme Fatale, by Barry Lowe Where and when: Theatreworks until February 12 JOEY Stefano was famous for his bottom. It made him a porn star and a sexual icon for gay men and straight women. Of course, ``bottom'' was also a term for the passive partner...

    Full of soul and life's meaning   Herald Sun, 02-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 047, 387 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
In a Soul Where and when: La Mama at the Courthouse; until February 12 Bookings: 9347 6948 Reviewer: Kate Herbert HAVE you ever had a week when every event, conversation, movie and book seems to be about the same idea? This week everybody and everyth...

    Hunting gays' sacred cows   Herald Sun, 01-02-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 047, 345 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Midsumma Night's Scream by Lieder of the Pack Where and when: Chapel off Chapel, January 19-22. THE gay culture certainly stakes a claim on particular icons of the entertainment industry, including Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Madonna, Shirley Basse...

   Very good company   Herald Sun, 29-01-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 101, 257 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Company Music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Where and when: Melbourne Theatre Company at Playhouse; until February 26 STEPHEN Sondheim broke the mould of the conventional musical by choosing a non-linear narrative. His works focus on ideas and emotion...

    In need of fine tuning   Herald Sun, 24-01-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 084, 335 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Prodigal Son Where and when: Chapel off Chapel until February 5 NEW Australian musicals are thin on the ground. The reason is not a shortage of talent but a lack of courage on the part of producers and audience to take a punt on a no-name show. Prodi...

    Kisses open closets   Herald Sun, 22-01-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 104, 340 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Judy Garland Slept Here & Full Frontal Male Nudity Where and when: David Williamson Theatre until Jan 30 M ARK Dunn is a very clever playwright. His short plays cunningly address issues surrounding homosexuality in our presumably tolerant society. Ju...

   Arts volunteers bail out industry   Herald Sun, 18-01-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 046, 501 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The arts industry runs on shoestring funding and volunteers, writes KATE HERBERT MELBOURNE'S arts industry is full of volunteers. They include mostly women, from highly skilled artists to young artists trying to make contacts. What was once community...

   Holmes' hounds good fun   Herald Sun, 10-01-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 080, 398 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE The Hound of the Baskervilles Where and when: Rippon Lea, Wed to Sun until January 30 Reviewer: Kate Herbert S EVERAL elements keep an audience interested in this production of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Not the least is the statel...

   Lively death   Herald Sun, 08-01-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 101, 352 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Life After George Where and when: Melbourne Theatre Company at Fairfax Studio until February 12 HANNIE Rayson's Life After George sneaks up on you. It begins as a political-sociological analysis, then merges into the deeper personal-psychological mir...

 Dreamy nights   Herald Sun, 07-01-2000, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 082, 288 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A Midsummer Night's Dream When and where: Royal Botanic Gardens, until February 26 WHEN bats poop on the actors, you know it's outdoor theatre. A Midsummer Night's Dream is again strutting under the stars with a cast of actors, comics and fruit bats....