Kate's top shows of 2011, Dec 6, 2011

My 5 top shows of 2011

 By Kate Herbert

(Note: This article was published in Herald Sun on Friday, December 16, 2011, in print and online)

MY 5 TOP SHOWS IN 2011 are mostly from other countries or major companies.

 

Anthony Black’s exceptional, solo performance in Invisible Atom (Canada) is a testament to the power of the actor in this inexorable, poignant, ironic tale about a man’s journey from security toward an inevitable calamity. *****

 Aftermath (USA, Melbourne Festival) is delicate, beautiful, painful theatre based on touching interviews with Iraqi refugees that reveal their resilience, grief and simple joys. It is simply staged but boasts subtle, rich performances and unembellished characterisations.

The Scahubuhne production (Berlin, Melbourne Festival) hurls Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, into the 21^st century with impeccable, nuanced acting, seamless direction and a stark, contemporary design that conjure a claustrophobic, fraught world of human drama. *****

In the compelling, challenging Howie The Rookie (Red Stitch), Mark O’Rowe’s Irish vernacular lingers between vulgarity, comedy and lyricism, vividly portraying a poverty-stricken, urban landscape, violent, unpredictable, hilarious characters and muscular, with barely-contained physicality and poignant performances. ****1/2

With its dexterous direction and formidable cast, the impressive production of Clybourne Park (MTC), Bruce Norris's insightful, acerbic play about bigotry in Chicago in 1959 and 2009, highlights Norris’s consummate dialogue and plotting and his astute, socio-political observations. ****1/2

I’d like to commend Silent Disco , Meow Meow’s Little Match Girl (Malthouse ) and Liza on an E for their imaginative and energetic productions that all warranted ****1/2.

I also really enjoyed:  

Apologia  (MTC) ****
Namitjira  (Malthouse) ****
I am Playing Me  (Butterfly Club) ****
Court in the Act (Rod Quantock) ****
Smoke and Mirrors (IOTA-Spiegeltent) ****

Next read my rant about what I want in the theatre in Melbourne in 2012 - and beyond....

By Kate Herbert