XXX, by La Fura Dels Baus, Feb 3, 2004

XXX by La Fura Dels Baus 

adapted from Philosophy in the Boudoir 

by the Marquis de Sade

 Comedy Theatre, From Feb 3 to Sun Feb 15, 2004

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

There was a hoo ha  when America  saw Janet Jackson's breast this week. They should cop a look at XXX!

XXX is just that - triple X rated. Well, here it manages an R rating because people's naughty bits are obscured on video.

How does one explain this show? It is a meeting of a live sex show, Quentin Tarantino movie and Playschool. They even have a food fight.

The four performers are compelling. Directors, Alex Elle  and Carlos Padrissa allow no boundaries, either emotional or phsycial.

They use contemporary technology, web cams, live video feeds inter-cut with pre-recorded scenes to confuse and horrify us. (Franc Aleu, Emmanuel Carlier)

The music (Mike Espuma & Big Toxic) is atmospheric and the design (Roland Olbeter) simple but effective.

 The flimsy narrative is about Eugenia,  a teenage girl, (Sonia Segura) who arrives at a casting session only to discover it is a clandestine hard pornography set run by three weirdo S and M  freaks.

Sonia is seduced, titillated, abused, raped and taught the niceties  of the Marquis de Sade's  views on pleasure and pain.

XXX is based on de Sade's Philosophy of the Boudoir written in 1795.  His words are projected or spoken throughout. If we are truly liberated we will love abuse and abusing. Criminal acts will be acceptable.

Poor little hypocrites we are, living our normal little lives.

Sonia is so taken with Madame Lula, (Teresa Vallejo) Giovanni (Damia Plensa) and Dolmance (Jorje Flores Dr Flo) that she returns for more. And more there is.

XXX depicts grotesque, violent, aberrant and abhorrent sexual acts. The intention is to portray pornography in a cynical and critical way. However, the product is often just indulgent, pretentious and almost adolescent in its attempt to titillate and shock an audience.

What is interesting is that at no time is it erotic or even sensual. There is nothing sexy about the sex.

Of course, each time an on-screen woman did something sexual to a man, the bloke behind me made loud yobbo comments.

The women are disembodied, made into commodities. The men get off lightly, as one male audience member shouted.

The sex is aggressive and angry. The abuse offensive, particularly the final scenes when Sonia' mother is hauled in to be violated in ways reminiscent of war zone rape camps. Without any political framework it is simply hard core porn.

Having seen the other two La Fura shows in Adelaide and Sydney, I was delighted that during XXX, I was not spattered with blood or run over by machine.

These shows always bring out the look-at-me audience. One leather-clad man was attached to a woman by dog leash.

Funnily, the show-offs were all silent and invisible when volunteers were called to make comments, go on stage or to take their clothes off in the auditorium.

By Kate Herbert

Paris, by Jon English & David Mackay, Jan 29, 2004

Paris (Musical)

 by Jon English & David Mackay   

Stella Entertainment

National Theatre, St. Kilda, Jan 29 to Feb 7; Frankston Arts Centre  Feb 11 to 1, 2004

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Feb 2, 2004

Published in Herald Sun 2/2/2004

Jon English and David Mackay's musical, Paris, is not about the romantic city but about Paris, the young Trojan who abducted Helen from Greece and transported her over the Aegean Sea to Troy.

Thus began the ten year Trojan War. Blind, selfish love sent a betrayed King Menelaus, Helen's husband, to seek revenge.

It all ends in tears when the Greeks, at the gates of Troy, feign defeat and leave a huge wooden horse at the gate as a tribute.

When Troy takes it inside it walls, Greek soldiers pour out, destroying Troy.

English and Mackay wrote this classic Rock Opera, twenty years ago but this amateur production is its premiere.

It is a lively score comprising ballads, comic ditties and driving rock numbers.

The eight-piece band, directed by Andrew Patterson, is a great asset with its tight arrangements and skilful musicians.

Peter Fitzpatrick directs over twenty principals plus ensemble and dancers. It is a youthful group with a few more experienced artists.

The sheer number makes staging a little awkward at times.

Jessica Enes plays the Prophetess, Cassandra, sister to Paris. Her voice is rich and her presence compelling. Her opening song, Head Without a Heart (OK) and, later, Oh, Paris, (OK) were thrilling.

Angela Scudi, playing Helen, is a year twelve student with a powerful voice beyond her years. Her performance is passionate although the character could benefit from a broader emotional range.

As Paris, Ben Spaull  has moments when his vocal quality is evident but he is straining in the upper register.

Amongst the men are several fine performances. Tony Appleby plays Ulysses  with great composure and a fine theatrical presence.

 Peter Dennis is a wonderfully villainous Agamemnon, and Phil Haby brings weight and dignity to King Menelaus. 

David Bramble is a feisty Hector and Norm Smart effective as Priam of Troy. Aaron Hughes is very funny as the plump drunk, Thersites.

Paris is an energetic and ambitious epic. English and Mackay engender a sense of love and danger on stage with both musical arrangements and lyrics. This new amateur company gives it a commendable first production.

By Kate Herbert

A Thousand & One Night Stands, Barry Lowe, Jan 28, 2004

 A Thousand and One Night Stands 
 by Barry Lowe
 Performing Arts Productions Australia

Theatreworks, St. Kilda,  Jan 28 until Feb 14, 2004

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Jan 28, 2004

A Thousand and One Night Stands is a misnomer for this play about the sordid and tragic life of Jon Vincent.

The concept of the one night stand pales into insignificance in the light of Vincent's often violent sexual cavalcade.

His life involved years of male prostitution, a long career in gay porn, all sorts of addictive drugs and alcohol and several marriages.

Barry Lowe's  play is based on the book of the same name written by Vincent's friend, Hope A. Carson,  and conceived in the months before Vincet's death from a heroin overdose.

Aaron Smith,  faces the challenge of one hundred minutes on stage alone and naked, talking directly to the audience as Jon Vincent about his damaged, drug-riddled and nearly pathological life.

Vincent travels from potential US baseball star to porn star in his early twenties.

There is, admittedly, some morbid fascination for his tragic life, even for those who do not know his videos. The story is compelling in a perverse way.

Lowe's script is extremely dense with dialogue describing Vincent's past exploits. There is little action. Smith does not move from the single bed that is surrounded by hypodermic needles.

Such a torrent of expository dialogue is difficult for the actor to sustain and the audience to absorb. It leaves little room for theatrical or emotional action.

Director, Robert Chuter,  compensates with small stage action, constant doorbells and phones ringing and Vincent's frequent onstage drug taking.

Although Smith does not physically resemble the bulky, athletic Vincent, he makes the dialogue credible much of the time. However, he is inclined to maintain the same vocal rhythm and pace and his Southern accent is intermittent.

Some unsuccessful directorial choices are made with the background sound. Snatches of dialogue and songs are often out of place.

Anthony Breslin's  set design is effective with huge white drapes and hypodermics strung as curtains.

As part of the Midsumma Festival,  this production and its companion piece about Joey Stephano,  will appeal to a part of the gay community.

It might not be your cup of tea.

By Kate Herbert

My Life as a Dyke 3 - More Tales From The Dyke Side, Jan 22, 2004

 My Life  as a Dyke 3 - More Tales From The Dyke Side   
by Nik Willmott  and Rachel Forgasz  

La Mama, Jan 22  until Feb 8, 2004

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Jan 22, 2004

Published in Herald Sun on Jan 26, 2004

Nik Willmott and Rachel Forgasz describe their sketch comedy very accurately as "simultaneously self-deprecating, affirming and downright silly." They are also very funny.

My Life as a Dyke 3 - More Tales from the Dyke Side,  is the third in their series of comedy shows for the Midsumma Festival.

Although it claims to be about lesbians, the jokes are universal.

It opens with Wilmott singing a silly song and follows up with the very memorable Professor  (Forgasz) presenting part three of her lecture series - Lesbianism 301.  

The Prof,  supported silently by her lab-coated assistant, Elizabeth, (Willmott) pontificates and prowls like a panther in a cage.

This year's lecture pertains to Breaking Up  in lesbian relationships. Forgasz plays the seductive and patronising Ph D who serves up hilarious advice and abuse with alacrity.

The next sketch is also a follow up of two popular characters from the previous shows and is riddled with great gags not only relevant to lesbians.

Susie  (Willmott) comes home after another disastrous first date with a woman who presented her relationship CV.

Her flat mate (Forgasz) attempts to write Susie's own CV until she realises that hobbies such as playing air guitar  and a patchy relationship history will never recommend Susie.

Scattered amongst the longer character sketches are numerous tiny one liners from Willmott that are very silly.

Forgasz, wrapped in a feather boa, sings an outrageously lascivious and naughty song that has to be seen to be believed.

A husband (Willmott) and wife (Forgasz) deciding whether their daughter is a lesbian is a clever scene that argues the positives of having a lesbian daughter.

The finale is their "Dyke Anthem" - a wonderfully cheeky adaptation of All That Jazz  from Chicago.  with Bob Fossey  style choreography. The clever lyrics name celebrities that they think should be lesbians.

Forgasz and Willmott are charming, relaxed and really funny. Their sketches are unusual and intelligently written and their characters are vivid and accurately drawn.

The pair has a wicked sense of humour and will try anything.

This is a show that gives you laugh out loud comedy about characters who just happen to be lesbians.

By Kate Herbert

Illegal Harmonies by Combo Fiasco, Jan 22, 2004

Illegal Harmonies  by Combo Fiasco   

Chapel Off Chapel  Jan 22  until Feb 1, 2004 

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Jan 22, 2004

Published in Herald Sun on Jan 26, 2004

Combo Fiasco are splitting up after their upcoming national tour, so you need to see them now.

Sean Murphy, Tony McGill  and Charmaine Clements  have sung their clever harmonies for eleven years since meeting during the music theatre show, The Secret Garden.  

The trio sing tightly harmonised tunes accompanied by McGill on piano. A percussionist and double bass player back them..

Vocal and musical arrangements, by McGill and Murphy, are inventive and often surprising. Their a capella  version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow   has a soaring vocal quality.

Their repertoire comprises old favourites such as Sweet Georgia Brown  as well as less familiar or famous numbers.

This show is tailored to the predominantly gay audience for the Midsumma Festival so the group has re-jigged some lyrics accordingly for comic value.

Clements quips, "Gay men and single women in our thirties have a lot in common. We are both a disappointment to our mothers."

They then sing Mr. Sandman which takes on a new dimension with the lyrics, "Mr. Sandman bring me a man."

The wicked song, If There's God He's a Queen,   is followed by McGill's rewrite of The Wind Beneath My Wings.  Itis a satirical jibe at boring ex-partners. "Did you ever know that you're a zero?"

Murphy makes a feast of the naughty Come Ti Gusta Mi Pinga?  that asks, in Spanish, a question that would be very rude in English.

The show is slick and seamless, shifting from song to song with a little comic patter as cement between.

There are several beautiful ballads, some less familiar than others. Where Do You Go To My Lovely  is sung as a medley with a sad tune about Marilyn Monroe's  last night.

Clements sings the very pretty, Someone is on Your Side  from Sondheim's  musical, Into the Woods.

The comic highlight of the show is still Clements version of the satirical I'm on the Stage.  She plays the musical star who "can't carry a tune in a bucket," but lands the lead role.

It is sad to say farewell to the trio so get a look at them now before it's too late.

By Kate Herbert

Hinterland, Matt Cameron, MTC, Jan 16, 2004

 Hinterland  by Matt Cameron  
 Melbourne Theatre Company

 Fairfax Studio, Jan 16 until Feb 21, 2004

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Jan 16

Published in Herald Sun on Jan 20, 2004

Hinterland is Matt Cameron's serious comedy that pokes fun at just about everything in Australian politics and society.  It is a very dark and very funny play with an exceptional cast and direction.

Cameron's style draws on European absurdism, echoing Beckett  and Ionesco.

This is a laugh out loud play with slick direction by Peter Houghton , complex and evocative lighting by Philip Lethlean  on a transformational design by Dan Potra.

It is set in a 1950s Australian home and office. Henry Quely  (Tom Long) and his wife, Olive,  (Christen O' Leary) are a parody of old fashioned family values. They repeat a well-worn script in their daily routine of spousal interaction.

Everything is hunky dory   - until their slightly scruffy home is raided by government Minister, Winsome Snell  (Helen Thomson) accompanied by Frank Gruel,  (Kim Gyngell) her volatile head of security.

The government is dodgy. It keeps the public in the dark about  - well, just about everything.

Cameron's parallels with the Howard government and its policies are blatant, evoking spontaneous laughter and applause.

There is a suppressed report - aptly named "The Cumbersome Report" - that criticises the government.

In the "Hinterland", behind hidden doors and in secret corridors, reside the Opposition who are shadowy and frightened replicas of the Government.

Each character in the visible world has a nervous doppelganger in the shadowy hinterland.

The message is obvious. Ignorance is not bliss; government is deceptive, obsessed with power; fear is the best controller; a little safety is no replacement for liberty.

This is a consummate ensemble of four comic and dramatic actors.  Long plays Henry  with a palpable sense of his trembling existential crisis and he transforms beautifully into his doppelganger's  macho bravado.

O'Leary's Olive is cold, fickle, manic and colourful until she shifts into the shadow Olive who is warm and sensitive.

Gyngell is mad and unpredictable as the violent and confused henchman, Gruel Thomson is sexy, dangerous as Winsome. This double act has impeccable timing.

Hinterland is a fine beginning to the MTC year and a feather in Cameron's cap.

By Kate Herbert

Romeo & Juliet in The Gardens, Jan 15, 2004

 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 
The Australian Shakespeare Company

 Botanical Gardens,  Gate F, Dec 2003  until March 6, 2004

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Jan 15, 2004

Published in Herald Sun on Jan 19, 2004

 

Thanks to The Australian Shakespeare Company, we now have a long tradition of summer Shakespeare in the Park akin to cities such as New York.

This year Greg Carroll  directs Romeo and Juliet. The production is the similar to previous years but changes in casting and location and individual style and banter make it feel new.

As usual, the actors perform on the perfect set: the Botanical Gardens lush greenery and the twitter of occasional nights birds may not evoke Verona  in the fifteenth century but they provide atmosphere.

Actors enter from amongst the audience or through the foliage. Juliet appears as if by magic in the top of a tree for her balcony scene.

If you have been livings on Mars and do not know the story, here it is.

Romeo (Philip Cameron Smith) falls in love with Juliet, (Andrea McEwen) the daughter of a rival family. He kills her cousin, Tybalt,  (Brendan O'Connor) and it all ends in tears and death for both the lovers.

The adaptation makes Shakespeare accessible to everyone. It is colourful, cheeky and peppered with boyish banter and harmless Shakespearian innuendo.

Playing intimate love scenes outdoors is difficult but Andrea McEwen brings a delicacy and bright childlikeness to Juliet. Cameron Smith seems more at home in his scenes with Romeo's mates  than in love scenes.

A highlight is the rakish fight scene between Romeo's friend, Mercutio,  (Kevin Hopkins OK) Tybalt and Romeo himself. It is feisty, funny and has an edge of thrilling danger.

Ross Williams  plays Juliet's father, Capulet  is beautifully observed. He portrays him delightfully as a vain society father who is good humoured until he is defied.

Dennis Coard  finds a slightly bawdy and vulnerable edge to Friar Lawrence  while Anthony Rive  as Romeo's loyal comrade, Benvolio,  is a sympathetic and mischievous character.

There are dignified performances from Helen Hopkins as Lady Capulet  and Peter Hosking  as Romeo's father.

Christie Sistrunk  seems awkward as Juliet's impish Nurse  and looks too young for the role.

The incidental music and the additional songs add a new and contemporary dimension to the production. "A Pair of Star-Crossed Lovers" is a very singable tune with poignant lyrics.

Remember the woollies and a blanket. It can get cool out there.

By Kate Herbert

Love! Valour! Compassion! Dec 14, 2003

 Love! Valour! Compassion!

by Terrence McNally

Gasworks, Albert Park, from Dec 14, 2003

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Terrence McNally is a supremely funny and intelligent playwright. His play, Love! Valour! Compassion! is no exception.

Chris Baldock's production for the Midsumma Festival is a slick and very successful version of this often hilarious, sometimes poignant play about seven gay men.

The group of old pals and sometime enemies visit Gregory's (Dion Mills) upstate New York house for three long weekends in summer. We revisit them for Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labour Day weekends.

One single, clumsy act of sexual betrayal changes the dynamic of the summer.

 Gregory's young blind partner Bobby, (Brett Whittingham) has a fumbling liaison by the Frigidaire with surly, English John's (Chris White) sexy boyfriend, Ramon (Juan Mondinger)

This thoughtless act has the repercussions of a stone in a pond.

The acting from virtually all the ensemble is believable, detailed and compelling.

The majority of McNally's howlingly funny lines are saved for Buzz, (Jacob Boehme) the most effeminate of the crew.

Boehme plays this shrieking, costume designing Queen with relish. His commitment to the character, total physical transformation and impeccable comic timing are a delight.

As the role model long term professional gay couple, Lee Threadgold and Richard Foster are entirely credible and admirable.

 The beauty of the play is that it can make these few weekends so resonant. McNally's consummate craft creates a complex web of scenes.

The narration changes hands, characters comment on the action, the story moves back and forward in time while we catch up with the machinations of these friends.

They are warm, vengeful, loving, sweet, tragic and achingly funny in the space of three hours.

Baldock's direction is sleek and seamless. His own set design of a series of steps and landings, provides an uncommonly effective location for the many inter-cut scenes.

This movement across the space is complemented by an atmospheric lighting design by Stelios Karagiannis.

McNally won four Tony awards for this play, Masterclass, Ragtime, the controversial Corpus Christi and Kiss of the Spider Woman. His credits go on and on.

This witty exposition of life as a gay man in the 1990's is a must see.

By Kate Herbert

Best & Worst of Theatre in Melbourne in 2003

The Best and Worst of MelbourneTheatre in 2003

Reviewer: Kate Herbert, Dec 15, 2003

Published in Herald Sun, Dec 2003

This year may have seen no exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime nights at the theatre but there were a number of fine pieces of work. Unfortunately, as always, there were a few screamers dotted amongst the goodies.

One name kept coming up in the 'best' column for both small and large companies: Tom Wright.  With director, Nick Harrington, Wright is responsible for two extraordinary, moving and grim plays at La Mama, both dealing with prisoners on Death Row in America.

This Is A True Story  featured Wright as a hapless, confused, uneducated man awaiting the Death Chamber in Mississippi.  It is a true story, which made the experience more eerie and mesmerising as Wright, in the dim, cavernous space, tells his desperate tale.

Wright and Harrington receive a second accolade for the companion piece, Lorelei,  another true story. Anna Galvin  was luminous as Lorilei, a woman with a big heart who is trying to save from Death Row the paedophile (Wright) who murdered her son.

Wright receives more high praise for sheer audacity and good fun for Babes in the Wood,  (Playbox) a political, absurd, rollicking good night out.

The Melbourne Theatre Company had several winners. Frozen  was another chilling story of a paedophile with compelling acting from Helen Morse,  Frank Gallacher  and Belinda McClory.  

Matt Cameron's  Ruby Moon  (Playbox) was another challenging play about a missing child.

Blue Room  (MTC) wins the sexiest play award for Marcus Graham's  impeccable performance while The Visit  (MTC) boasted the cream of Melbourne's older acting fraternity.

Bell Shakespeare  scored highly with its new Hamlet  while Love, Valour and Compassion was an hilarious, sometimes poignant play about seven gay men. (Midsumma Festival)

Several individual performances merit a mention. Canadian actress, Marie Brassard gave a consummate performance in the solo show, Jimmy.  Jonathan Hardy was hilarious and moving in Ron Elisha's A Tree Falling.  In Two,  another Elisha play, Bruce Kerr and Anastasia Malinoff  created a rivetting relationship.

Kenneth Ransom  was captivating as a genuinely likeable and charming serial killer on Death Row in Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train  (Red Stitch.

Jean Paul Hussey  was a human dynamo on stage in his solo work, Chocolate Monkey.

Another La Mama production, Below, deserved far more attention than it received. It was a gripping, gritty and often funny tale with superb acting, writing and direction.

There were fewer clangers this year. The musical, Cabaret, was not all we hoped it to be and Lisa McCune was not up to the lead role.

There are those who disagree with my assessment of the script of Falling Petals (Ben Ellis - Playbox) It is a play that won awards but it is poorly constructed and inconsistent. The director and actors did their best to make it work but audiences were disappointed.

One Night in the Well,  at The Courthouse, was a messy trio of short pieces. The music and video designs were effective but the disparate elements were not sufficiently well integrated.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,  a theatrical dinosaur by Dance Encore Productions,  New Zealand,  took the award for outdated writing, choreography and jokes. However, the little kids participated cheerfully and were more tolerant than my two companions who left apologetically in a hurry at interval.

The War Against Short Trousers was thin and dated political satire with predictable jokes peppered with the odd clever satirical moment. It was redeemed by a couple of good performances.

Another fringe show, Sideways, about two low-level drug dealers, suffered from too much talk and too little space for silent stage action or comedy.

Given the news headlines these days, the fact that Death Row, paedophiles and serial killers featured this year is not surprising but it is disturbing. Strangely, they made some of the most gripping nights in the theatre.

By Kate Herbert

My Secret Circus, NICA, Dec 11, 2003

My Secret Circus
National Institute of Circus Arts with Myer Melbourne  

 Myer Mural Hall,  6^th Floor, Myer Bourke St.  Daily 11am, 1pm,  until December 19, 2003 

Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Dec 11, 2003

The silly season finally got too much for the big department store. Myer is running away with the circus - and having a hoot of a time.

Years One and Two of The National Institute of Circus Arts are performing two short shows in the lovely old Myer Mural Hall usually saved for banquets and morning teas.

This sassy group of over thirty young circus students, under the stylish direction of John Saunders,  produce two skilful, delightful and memorable shows.

The first show is designed with 8 year olds in mind. The set is chock full of Chrissie   trees, gifts and string lighting. It has plenty of slapstick and clowns and other physical comedy. There is even a wonderful Keystone Cops  chase scene.

The littlies in the audience are keen to participate and call out, He's behind you!" when the cops chase the robber. There is more comedy with two goofy painters who do a routine on the Russian Bar,  a flat board like a wide tight rope.

A Christmas tree angel comes to life on her hoop trapeze and a group of ballet girls in tutus team up with some punkettes  on a triple trapeze. Some exceptional skill is demonstrated by a group of young men balancing horizontal on a vertical pole.

Both shows have energetic group choreography.  (Trish Squire) but show number two has a break dance and hip hop finale that had the crowd cheering.

This second show has a more of a teenage edge. It is sexy as well as funny and clever. Five naughty looking gals in purple writhe around each other on the cloud swing. A Sergeant Major hollers  at his dancing squad then, astoundingly, tap dances on his hands.

 Later, Cleopatra slinks up and down on her enormously long orange fabric scarves, attended by two doting male slaves. A group of sensuous Marilyn Monroe look alikes perform a teasing routine with innumerable Hula Hoops.  The boys follow with their sensational Chinese Hoop diving.

What makes these shows is the charm, energy and commitment of the group of performers and their palpable joy at doing what they love. Running away to the circus.

By Kate Herbert

Done Deal by Michele Davis, Red Stitch, Dec 4, 2003

Done Deal  by Michele Davis  

Red Stitch Actors Theatre,  until December 21, 2003

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Red Stitch Actors theatre is now producing Australian plays and Michele Davis' Done Deal is a strong start.

It has a contemporary story, interesting plot convolutions, detailed characters and fraught relationships.

Holt (Brett Cousins OK) answers the door to Carla (Olivia Connolly OK) who is euphemistically asking for a cocaine deal left for her by Holt's brother, Davey. (Daniel Frederiksen OK)

Holt, named after Harold Holt  by his delusional mother, makes a huge mistake with Carla that night. It involves sex and drugs and it happens on the evening before his fiancee, Laney,  (Kat Stewart OK) is to arrive.

What transpires is a funny but dramatic web of lies, deception and revelations between the characters.

Davis' writing is well observed and naturalistic.  Her characters are real and recognisable in the 20-something  corner of our urban society.

She ridicules gently the youthful obsessions with third world, drugs, paranoia about terrorism and making one's mark in the world.

The dialogue is believable and swift moving. Arguments between brothers, Holt and Davey are very real with their twisted sense of superiority over each other and their inability to relent or accept advice.

The short scenes cover only two days and action is concise and credible. The plot surprises us often and there is never a dull moment in this rapid play.

Director, Catherine Hill,  keeps the pace and the rhythm tight.

Cousins gives a delightful performance as Holt. He finds a wonderful balance of charm and deception.

As his brother, Frederiksen plays a complex palette of emotions. Davey is successful but a drug dealer, balanced but paying off a huge debt, concerned about his brother's pending marriage but in love with his brother's fiancee. It is a fine characterisation.

Stewart plays the only person not involved with drugs. She has just enough suspicion not to make Laney seem stupid and to maintain her dignity and the truth of her love for her sweetheart of nine years, Holt.

As Carla, Connolly is able to make real the desperate dope head who is also a successful real estate agent. She gives Carla a vulnerability that can easily turn to revenge.

Done Deal is an entertaining little play with commendable acting.

By Kate Herbert

The Man Who Lost His Head, La Mama, Dec 4, 2003

The Man Who Lost His Head
by James Clayden  

La Mama,  December 4 to 14, 2003

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

The Man Who Lost His Head is a short piece, well under half an hour. Writer- director, James Clayden, combines video with tow live actors, himself and Helen Hopkins.

 It is about two films Clayden never made for various reasons but both of which are still rattling around in his head. The show is closer to a performance art piece than theatre.

Clayden begins the piece by playing a snippet of a film with a disjointed voice over. It makes no sense to us until Clayden announces in his low-key, very unactorly voice, that it is a trailer for a film he never finished.

The film was to be called The Man Who Lost His Head. The images from the trailer make more sense when Hopkins appears in a long silky gown and describes the man in the movie.

He is obsessed with photographic images and lives and stares at them long and hard until he falls asleep and his head falls off - perhaps in his dream?.

Once again Clayden's laconic commentary intervenes and he tells us the idea transformed into another film called Unidentified Woman  about, he says, the birth of cinema.

It seems to be set in Prague in snow filled streets. Hopkins is seen as the pregnant woman on screen and then on stage speaking poetic text explaining the concept of this film.

What we see live on stage is a series of vignettes in which the man crawls under the woman's long skirts, reappears. He attempts to kill her. She attempts to control him by slamming his head down on the table. He pours a cup of water, spilling it, she grabs it and tips it out.

It is a gladiatorial representation of the birth and death of cinema. The metaphor is stretched perhaps too far and becomes so obscure it is difficult to hold the focus. Hopkins performance is intense and lyrical. Clayden works in a completely different style - anti-actor.

The blended film and theatre world is not concerned with narrative but with psychological impressions and metaphor.

The piece lacks a spine. Perhaps the commentary could have continued throughout as a convention instead of just at the beginning to give it some context. This is an unpredictable but interesting piece.

By Kate Herbert

2003 Reviews - Kate Herbert

2003 Reviews Kate Herbert

The following are all reviews published in Herald Sun during 2003. They are still available through www.newstext.com.au

They will all be uploaded in full soon.  KH

 Making all the Wright moves   Herald Sun, 24-12-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 042, 546 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
No standouts, fewer duds. That's the year onstage, writes KATE HERBERT THIS year may have seen no exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime nights at the theatre, but there were a number of fine pieces of work. Unfortunately, as always, there were a few scream...    

There's so much in store   Herald Sun, 15-12-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 104, 388 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
My Secret Circus Where and when: Myer Mural Hall, sixth floor, Myer Bourke St. Daily 11am, 1pm or listed times until Dec 19 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE silly season finally got too much for the big department store. Myer is running away with the circu...  

  Drugs and sex shake up family values   Herald Sun, 09-12-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 061, 264 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Done Deal Red Stitch Actors Theatre Where and when: Rear 2, Chapel St, Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 6.30pm, until Dec 21 RED Stitch Actors Theatre is now producing Australian plays and Michele Davis' Done Deal is a strong start. It has a contemporary story, inte...  

 Missing: one backbone for a tale about a head   Herald Sun, 09-12-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 062, 350 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Man Who Lost His Head, by James Clayden Where and When: La Mama, Wed, Thu and Sat 6pm; Fri 10pm; Sun 8pm, until December 14 LT HIS is a short piece, well under half an hour. Writer-director James Clayden combines video with two live actors, himse...  

  Odd bods are good   Herald Sun, 03-12-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 056, 184 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Odditorium Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall, 8.30pm today-Sat, also Dec 11-13 THE new show by the Women's Circus, Odditorium, has the best show title this year and, directed by Andrea Lemon, is more sideshow or vaudeville than a circus. The ...  

  Stars unleashed   Herald Sun, 02-12-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 062, 394 words , ARTS &

ENTERTAINMENT
Unleashed National Institute of Circus Arts Where and when: Sidney Myer Circus Studio, Wed-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 6pm, Sat 2pm, until December 14 THE 17 exuberant and talented performers in Unleashed are the first graduates of the National Institute of Circ...

   Pantomime with bite   Herald Sun, 01-12-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 326 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Babes in the Woods Playbox Theatre Where and when: Merlin Theatre, CUB Malthouse, 6.30pm Mon and Tues, 8pm Wed to Sat, until December 13 TOM Wright's pseudo-colonial pantomime, Babes in the Woods, is a rollicking good night. This is not the style of ...

  A grim battle over sex and life   Herald Sun, 24-11-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 082, 230 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Stitching Theatre@Risk Where and When: Black Box, until December 7 THIS play by Scottish playwright Anthony Neilson caused plenty of controversy last year in both Edinburgh and London. Theatre@Risk takes up the challenge, with Simon Kingsley Hall and...

   Stitch looks good in new Shorts   Herald Sun, 18-11-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 068, 333 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEW THEATRE Red Shorts Where and when: Rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda, 8pm Tues-Sat; 6.30pm Sun; until November 23 RED Stitch Actors Theatre leaps into a new form of work with its Red Shorts program of short plays directed by Greg Carroll. It's a firs...  

 A gripping two-hander   Herald Sun, 14-11-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 095, 161 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEWTHEATRE Two Where and when: Theatreworks, Mon 7pm, Tues to Sat 8pm, until November 29 C OMPLEX and intelligent writing with impeccable acting -- there's a good recipe for a night at the theatre. Ron Elisha's play, Two, has both. It deals with m...  

  Laughter that smells really good   Herald Sun, 11-11-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 060, 308 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THEATRE Filler Up Where and when: Fairfax Studio, Victorian Arts Centre, tomorrow 7.30pm; Thu, Fri at 8pm; Sun 6.30pm Reviewer: Kate Herbert DEB Filler's solo comedy show may not fill the Fairfax Studio, but it's a diverting and engaging performance ...  

  A ride on the side   Herald Sun, 11-11-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 061, 281 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THEATRE Ride Where and when: Store Room, Wednesday to Saturday 8pm, Sunday 6pm, until November 23 Reviewer: Kate Herbert PLAYWRIGHT Jane Bodie is a great observer of life. Ride is a disquieting glimpse of two people who wake up in the same bed and ha...  

  Murderous reactions   Herald Sun, 04-11-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 068, 248 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Lorilei by Tom Wright and Nicholas Harrington Where and When: La Mama, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat 8pm, Wed, Sun 6.30pm, until Nov 9 ALTHOUGH capital punishment has been abolished in Australia, it still exists in the US. This short monodrama, Lorilei, provide...  

 Flame reveals the pain of grief   Herald Sun, 04-11-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 069, 254 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Flame by Joanna Murray-Smith, Still by Jane Bodie, by Look Look Theatre and The Malthouse Where and When: Tower Room, Malthouse, Mon-Tues 7pm, Wed to Sat 8pm, Sat 4pm, until Nov 15 JOANNA Murray-Smith's short play Flame, directed by Joy Mitchell, pee...  

 Tribute Rats pack all the old familiar punches   Herald Sun, 31-10-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 091, 408 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Rat Pack Where and when: Her Majesty's Theatre, Wed to Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm, matinees Wed and Sat 2pm, until Nov 9 THE Rat Pack is back and they are in fine form. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr make a posthumous comeback in Direct From...  

 When Push comes to shove   Herald Sun, 31-10-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 094, 208 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Push Up Where and When: Rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda, Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 6.30pm, until Nov 9 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE corporate world is a dog-eat-dog environment. Roland Schimmelpfennig's play, Push Up, peers in through the double-glazed windows of a ..

.    Like Flynn at a distance   Herald Sun, 21-10-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 061, 252 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Beasty Girl, by Scott Rankin Where and when: St Martin's Youth Arts Centre, Tues to Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm, until Sunday ERROL Flynn was not only our most famous movie star but the most recognisable face of his generation. Beasty Girl is a lateral look at ...  

 Golden oldies delight   Herald Sun, 14-10-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 067, 210 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Road to Heaven Where and when: Playhouse, Monday YOU'LL kick yourself for not seeing Young @Heart in Road to Heaven. All I can say is you missed something warm, funny, moving, theatrical and musically challenging. The company, led by dynamic director...

   Male still nails laughs   Herald Sun, 15-09-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 091, 177 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Certified Male, by Scott Rankin and Glynn Nicholas Where and when: Her Majesty's Theatre, 7.30pm FOUR years after its inception, Certified Male is still a galloping, goofy comedy show. Boss Jarrad (Frankie J. Holden) is going through a life-changing ...    

Be it ever so humble ...   Herald Sun, 05-09-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 179 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Humble Boy Melbourne Theatre Company Where and When: Playhouse, until October 4 HUMBLE Boy, written by Charlotte Jones, resembles an older-style drawing-room comedy but from contemporary England. It has a collection of eccentric characters in a villa...

 Plucky seven   Herald Sun, 29-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 091, 290 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Women, Men, Nazis and Trucks Where and When: La Mama at Fitzroy Gallery, Wed & Sun 7.30pm, Thurs-Sat 8.30pm, until September 14 THIS play wins the award for the grabbiest title. It's not a single play but a collection of seven works. The title is a c...  

  Heart to art   Herald Sun, 29-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 094, 241 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Ishmael Club, by Bill Garner and Sue Gore Where and When: Trades Hall, Tues-Fri 8pm , Sat 2pm, 8pm, until September 13 THE Ishmael Club is a charming piece about bolshie Australian artists. It has a delightfully old-fashioned feel. It focuses on ...  

  Postcards tell fascinating story   Herald Sun, 26-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 065, 156 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Vietnam: A Psychic Guide Where and When: North Melbourne Town Hall, 7.30pm Thurs to Sat, 3pm Sun, until Sunday. Bookings: 9362 8845 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THIS is a happy and deceptively simple combination of the physical, visual and textual. It is a...  

 Island of song, wit and zest   Herald Sun, 22-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 085, 359 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
South Pacific Where and when: State Theatre, 7.30pm until Saturday S OUTH Pacific is chock-full of memorable, singable melodies. Though this concert version by The Production Company is without all the bells and whistles of a full production, it is e...    Yes, we do like it   Herald Sun, 15-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 085, 277 words , ARTS & ENTE

RTAINMENT
As You Like It, by William Shakespeare Bell Shakespeare Where and When: Playhouse, Victorian Arts Centre Mon-Sat 7.30pm, Mon 6.30pm, until August 23 AS YOU Like It is one of Shakespeare's plays that has the recipe for success. It is a romantic comedy...

   Like minds flourish for Lindy   Herald Sun, 12-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 068, 365 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
EVEN over the phone, Lindy Davies is a powerful, knowledgeable presence. As director of Shakespeare's As You Like It, she has no trouble applying her process -- her way of penetrating the meaning of a play -- to actors who have never worked with her ...  

 No comic refuge   Herald Sun, 11-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 289 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Seeking Djira Where and when: fortyfivedownstairs, 8pm Tue-Sat, 6pm Sun, until August 17 SEEKING Djira, by Linda Jaivin, is like Noel Coward meeting Neighbours. It's a comedy of manners that deals in a superficial way with the detention of asylum see...  

  Suitably grand for opening   Herald Sun, 08-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 086, 257 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
What: Two Suits and The Grand Opening Where and when: La Mama at the Courthouse until August 16 TWO Suits is a cheeky, surprising and clever piece of movement-based humour. Paul Roberts and David Corbet, who devised and perform this show, wear busine...

  Ruby Moon's shining light   Herald Sun, 04-08-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 226 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Ruby Moon Playbox Theatre and Neonheart Theatre Where and when: Beckett Theatre, Malthouse, until August 16 THE topic of child abduction is not a comic one, but Matt Cameron's cunningly written play manages to be sensitively, yet grimly, funny. Aidan...

   Flout like a butterfly   Herald Sun, 29-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 044, 331 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Dirty Butterfly Where and when: rear 2A Chapel St, St Kilda, Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 6.30pm, until August 17 THERE is an ominous feeling from the start of Dirty Butterfly. We sense that someone is to be damaged irreparably. English playwright Debbie Tucker ...  

 Getting under the skin of beauty   Herald Sun, 25-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 085, 247 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Call Me Komachi Where and when: fortyfivedownstairs, Tues-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm; until August 3 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE global phenomenon of beauty as a commodity is the subject of Call Me Komachi. Though the three women played by Kaori Hamamoto are ...  

  The wild secrets of love   Herald Sun, 21-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 115, 295 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
All Het Up Where and When: Chapel off Chapel, Tuesday to Sunday, 8.30pm, until August 3 IF YOU have ever been hyped up about a new love affair -- and let's face it, who hasn't? -- All Het Up will be a very entertaining night of song and humour for yo...  

  Caught in the crossfire   Herald Sun, 21-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 116, 695 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Falling Petals is gritty theatre, but it has attracted plenty of winter fallout, writes PAUL GRAY AFTER a recent performance of award-winning Ben Ellis' play Falling Petals, one couple from the audience angrily confronted theatre management. They vow...  

  A cut above   Herald Sun, 18-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 080, 365 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Below Where and when: La Mama, Wed and Sun 6.30pm, Thu-Sat 8pm until July 27 Reviewer: Kate Herbert BOOK a ticket now for Ian Wilding's play, Below, at La Mama. It not only has an exceptional script, but the acting is superb and direction skilful. Be...  

  Your say   Herald Sun, 08-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 015, 878 words , OPINION
So-called art a waste of money ONE can only wonder about the mental state of those willing to pay to see the shocking and tasteless display of pictures at Federation Square depicting the abuse, murder and decaying body of a girl. A work of art, I thi...

    A vibrant visitor gets dark   Herald Sun, 07-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 084, 293 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Visit Melbourne Theatre Company Where and When: Playhouse, Victorian Arts Centre, until August 2 SIMON Phillips' production of Friedrich Durrenmatt's The Visit is a theatrical feast marking the return to the Melbourne stage of theatrical luminary...  

  Bush drama tortured to death   Herald Sun, 04-07-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 403 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Falling Petals Where and when: Beckett Theatre, Malthouse, Mon to Wed 6.30pm, Thu 8pm, some matinees, until July 19 THE writer's note by Ben Ellis says the aim of Falling Petals is ``to make reality of metaphor'' and suggests he wants to dispel stere...

   Consummate clown   Herald Sun, 20-06-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 088, 360 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Scaramouche Jones, by Justin Butcher Where and When: Athenaeum Theatre I, Tues-Sat 8pm, Sunday 2pm, until June 29 PETE Postlethwaite is exceptional as ancient clown Scaramouche Jones in Justin Butcher's play of the same name. He is alone on stage for...

   Dirty Laundry a work in progress   Herald Sun, 16-06-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 097, 453 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WRITING a play is an evolving process, Melbourne writer Kate Herbert says. She laughs. The notion that the stage's most celebrated plays owe their existence to a spontaneous stream of consciousness, captured in perfect dialogue in one easy draft, amu...

   Murky politics of Myth a hit   Herald Sun, 16-06-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 099, 209 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America Where and When: Merlyn Theatre, until June 21 IN THIS new Stephen Sewell play, the protagonist, Talbot (Nicholas Eadie), may draw a long bow with his comparison of the current US ...  

 Tree falls in just the right spot   Herald Sun, 03-06-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 042, 180 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A Tree, Falling Where and when: Chapel off Chapel, until Saturday Reviewer: Kate Herbert JONATHAN Hardy is exceptional in Ron Elisha's witty, moving and beautifully observed new play, A Tree, Falling. He portrays Lenny Riefenstahl, a confused old man...

    Monologues could say much more   Herald Sun, 28-05-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 053, 291 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Waiting Where and when: fortyfivedownstairs, Tues-Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm; until Sunday WRITTEN by Dina Ross and directed by Greg Carroll, Waiting comprises three short monologues about three women in Melbourne. Petra Schulenberg plays all three characters....

   Hair not so unruly now   Herald Sun, 23-05-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 092, 372 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Hair Where and when: Her Majesty's, Tues-Sat 8pm, with matinees Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm DAVID Atkins' production of Hair, the '60s musical, is peppy and jam-packed with effervescent youthfulness. But it's a very squeaky-clean version of hippie lifesty...

   Comic-lit night   Herald Sun, 19-05-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 099, 273 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Twelfth Night Where and when: Theatreworks, Tues 7pm, Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm, until June 1 Reviewer: Kate Herbert TWELFTH Night is a comedy with a dark edge. It incorporates all the tasty elements of Shakespearean comedy: confused identity, pretty twin...

    Jesus and a killer   Herald Sun, 16-05-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 086, 157 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jesus Hopped the A Train Where and when: Red Stitch Actors' Theatre, Prahran, Wed-Sat 8pm until June 1 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THERE are three exceptional elements in Jesus Hopped the A Train : Kenneth Ransom's acting, Peter Evans's direction and Step...

    Brief to jolt is sidetracked   Herald Sun, 12-05-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 091, 275 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Paragon, by Adam Hatzimanolis Sidetrack Performing Group for Theatre in the Box Where and When: Black Box, Victorian Arts Centre, until May 18 THEATRE in the Box is an initiative of the Victorian Arts Centre designed to present culturally diverse...

   Expect the unexpected   Herald Sun, 09-05-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 094, 240 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Claustrophobia Where and When: La Mama, Wed to Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm, until May 25 Reviewer: Kate Herbert WITH Claustrophobia, Barry Dickens takes a backhanded look at deaths in custody. It is not what we expect. John White (John Francis Howard) is a coun...

    A horrible drama that fascinates   Herald Sun, 05-05-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 089, 339 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Frozen Melbourne Theatre Company Where and when: Fairfax Studio, Mon, Tues 6.30pm; Wed to Fri, 8pm, Sat 8.30pm, until June 7 JULIAN Meyrick's production of Frozen is compelling for many reasons. It features three of our best actors: Helen Morse, Fran...

   Left breathless by Chekhov take on ethnic cleansing   Herald Sun, 29-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 037, 332 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Breath by Breath Where and When: La Mama at the Courthouse, until May 10 THERE is something haunting about Breath by Breath, written by Peta Tait and Matra Robinson. The play fabricates a collision of two periods of time and two events during the lat...

    Long, slow slide into darkness   Herald Sun, 22-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 045, 316 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Slide Night Where and when: La Mama, Carlton, until May 4 THIS is only Simon Hughes' second play, but it is written with intelligence, wit and sympathy. Since writing his first play 19 years ago, Hughes has had an eclectic life as a Shakespearean act...

    Caveman punts and collects   Herald Sun, 21-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 087, 361 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Defending the Caveman Where and when: Forum Theatre, until Sunday (extension possible) RUSSELL Gilbert has leapt from his role as a stand-up comic to a more theatrical form of comedy. It is a courageous move as the show calls for significant acting s...

    Too many rights   Herald Sun, 18-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 068, 424 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Birthrights Melbourne Theatre Company Where and when: Playhouse, until May 17 Reviewer: Kate Herbert DAVID Williamson's new play is pregnant with issues of contemporary life. It is stuffed so full of issues that characters become mouthpieces rather t...

    Fat boy served a mixed grill   Herald Sun, 18-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 070, 330 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Fat Boy Where and when: Playbox at the Malthouse, until April 26 Reviewer: Kate Herbert A PRECARIOUS balancing act is going on in Tony Ayres' new play, The Fat Boy. The script teeters awkwardly between moments of tragedy and high-camp comedy. The...

   Let the truth arrest you   Herald Sun, 16-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 055, 273 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
This is a True Story Where and when: Courthouse Theatre, Carlton, until Saturday IT IS a very peculiar feeling to be drawn inside the heart and mind of a man whose understanding of himself and the world is dim and confused. This is a true story, as t...

    Not very sexy but very funny   Herald Sun, 14-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 089, 383 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Comedy Is Still Not Pretty Where and when: Lower Melbourne Town Hall until April 20. Reviewer: Kate Herbert HOW is it possible to get laughs out of the death, cancer and menopause? This trio manages to make us belly-laugh at all three. All these wome...

   A one-man Goon Show   Herald Sun, 11-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 095, 311 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Boothby Graffoe Where and when: Melbourne Town Hall, until April 20 BOOTHBY Graffoe is funny in a way unlike other comics in the Comedy Festival. This makes him a refreshing change from regular stand-ups. He is like a one-man Goon Show. He does reall...

   Desperate to live the DIY dream   Herald Sun, 09-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 051, 346 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Open For Inspection Where and when: La Mama, Carlton until April 13 THIS is a short comedy about two incompetent out-of-work actors (Andrea Tatman and Tom Bradley) who want to be TV show hosts. And not hosts of just any show, they want to host a DIY-...

   Dynamic duo know the meaning of diversity   Herald Sun, 08-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 051, 400 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Tan Jose, by Josephine O'Reilly and Tanya Bulmer Where and when: Melbourne Town Hall, until April 20 A COMBINATION of improvisational comedy and set comic routines, Tan Jose creates risky comedy and makes every performance a different animal. Sydneys...

   Licence to be licentious   Herald Sun, 08-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 052, 305 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jeff Green Where and when: Melbourne Town Hall, until tomorrow ENGLISH comedian Jeff Green is a very naughty rascal, but the audience gives him heaps of licence. He gets away with plenty of overtly rude material because he is just so damned charming ...

   Belly laughs with an aching heart   Herald Sun, 04-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 093, 370 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Rod Quantock: The Axis of Stupidity Where and when: Victoria Hotel, until April 20. AS FAR as this reviewer is concerned, attendance is compulsory at Rod Quantock shows. Of course, this smacks of conscription, and Quantock is not in favour of conscri...  

 Failure inspires a laugh-a-minute success   Herald Sun, 02-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 047, 346 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Chocolate Monkey Where and when: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, city, until April 13 JOHN-PAUL Hussey is an Eveready bunny, a human dynamo. From the moment he enters the space, he is on an electric grid. Chocolate Monkey is a self-narrated, c...

    Duo's slapstick madness wears many coats   Herald Sun, 01-04-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 037, 409 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Men in Coats, by Mick Dow and Maddy Sparham Where and when: Capitol Theatre, until April 20 IF YOU prefer a quirky visual gag to a glib line, Men in Coats will be your cup of tea. This UK duo (Mick Dow and Maddy Sparham) is all slapstick and low-budg...  

  Daffy duo's deadly decisions   Herald Sun, 28-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 091, 366 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Picking Up Daisies and Plucking Out Pubic Hairs Where and when: La Mama until April 13 Reviewer: Kate Herbert PICKING Up Daisies and Plucking Out Pubic Hairs is a rough, rowdy play about two men and a dead body. Correction -- an apparently dead body....

    Mad journey is a gas, gas, gas   Herald Sun, 26-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 049, 331 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Gas Connection Where and when: Gasworks Arts Park until April 6; Bendigo Gasworks, April 11-13 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THE Gas Connection is a collage of eccentric characters, imaginative leaps, poetic dialogue and fascinating diatribe. Bizarre co...

   New sky, old fears   Herald Sun, 24-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 076, 204 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A Different Sky Where and when: Chapel off Chapel, Prahran, until March 30 AS WE face insecurity because of war, the issues in A Different Sky become even more relevant. The play is a short, touching, naturalistic piece about a Dutch Jewish family th...

    Unmasking the naughty bits   Herald Sun, 19-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 048, 391 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Howard Slowly Does His Man Part, by Howard Stanley Where and when: La Mama, until Sunday HOW do we describe Howard Stanley's alter-ego, Howard Slowly? About 10 years ago, he was known in the comedy clubs as ``the comedian's comedian''. He might be ca..

.    Evoking the ghosts of passengers past   Herald Sun, 18-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 045, 283 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Ghosts, Women's Circus Where and when: Shed 14, Victoria Dock, 8.30pm Wed to Sat, until April 5 THIS show is to some extent a departure in style for the Women's Circus. With new director Andrea Lemon at the helm, Ghosts has fewer circus stunts and mo...

    Murder most foul, done with gusto   Herald Sun, 14-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 089, 307 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Macbeth Company X Where and when: Athenaeum II, until March 23 THE Scottish Play is not an easy one to stage. There are battle scenes, murders by the cartload and a forest that walks. Company X, under the direction of Simon Piening, takes on the play...

    Three enterprise   Herald Sun, 11-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 048, 287 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Svila, Mr Phase and Bumping Heads Where and when: North Melbourne Town Hall, until Saturday SVILA, Mr Phase and Bumping Heads comprises three short pieces that had success during the 2002 Next Wave Festival. The evening is eclectic because each emplo...

    Livin', fightin' on the land   Herald Sun, 07-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 097, 442 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Inheritance, Melbourne Theatre Company Where and when: Playhouse until April 5 Reviewer: Kate Herbert LIFE on the land is difficult enough without hostility within a farming family. Hannie Rayson's play, Inheritance, depicts two families warring over...

    Gambling with a girlfriend   Herald Sun, 05-03-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 052, 283 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Thinning Complex Where and When: The Storeroom, North Fitzroy, until March 15. Reviewer: Kate Herbert. THERE is nothing cheerful about The Thinning Complex. It is a relentlessly dark and angry piece about a man with a gambling problem and the wom...

    Falling through the past   Herald Sun, 26-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 053, 239 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Somewhere Along the Way Where and when: La Mama, Carlton, until Sunday RECOLLECTIONS of a past relationship are the basis of this short play, written and directed by Telia Nevile. The performance has no linear narrative. It is a series of snapshots o...

    Lost in space   Herald Sun, 25-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 046, 315 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Snapshots Where and when: Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park, until March 2 THE cavernous Gasworks Theatre needs to be filled. Snapshots, written by Peter Hardman and directed by Susan Pilbeam, makes a valiant attempt, but the space still remains huge and...

    Rooms open up inner life   Herald Sun, 21-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 099, 449 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Three Interiors of Lola Strong Where and when: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, city, until March 2 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THERE is a quiet intensity in The Three Interiors of Lola Strong. It is a quality that emanates from actor-writer Car...

   Behind closed doors the night Nixon cried   Herald Sun, 14-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 094, 376 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Nixon's Nixon Where and when: Athenaeum Theatre, until tomorrow Reviewer: Kate Herbert PERHAPS we can identify with the political corruption in Nixon's Nixon because we are, at present, bedevilled by our own secretive leaders. American playwright Rus...

    Telling truths   Herald Sun, 12-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 049, 425 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Mavis Goes to Timor MAVIS Goes to Timor feels more like a good long chat with a few women than a play. There are various reasons for this. The story is based on the experiences of a mother and daughter, Mavis and Elwyn Taylor, from Yarrawonga. In the...

   Think of an enigma and double it   Herald Sun, 07-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 099, 289 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
MIND READER Marc Salem's Mind Games Where and when: Malthouse, until February 23 MARC Salem in Mind Games is audacious, confronting, charming -- and wildly entertaining. He reads minds, yet insists he does no such thing. The beauty is that Salem expl..

.    A night to forget in the Well   Herald Sun, 03-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 068, 401 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
One Night in the Well Where and when: La Mama at The Courthouse; until Friday Bookings: 9347 6142 Reviewer: Kate Herbert THERE is one strength in the trio of plays called One Night in the Well: the live quintet in the first play, Stitch. The tangos o...

    Intimate fun in the Big Apple   Herald Sun, 03-02-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 072, 358 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
What is it Zach? and Daddy Wolf Where and when: Chapel off Chapel, until next Saturday Reviewer: Kate Herbert FROM the 1980s, Lindzee Smith lived in New York and staged short plays by James Purdy. The show called What is it Zach? and Daddy Wolf is a ...

    Magnificent seven   Herald Sun, 27-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 088, 206 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally Where: Gasworks When: Tuesday to Sat 8pm, Saturday 2pm, Sunday 6pm TERRENCE McNally is a supremely funny and intelligent playwright....

 Ben(t) needs some straight talk   Herald Sun, 27-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 090, 411 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
What: Ben(t) by Ben Grant Where and when: La Mama, Wednesday to Sunday until February 9. BEN Grant takes one afternoon of his life and makes an unassuming narrated musical show of it with director Louis Dingemans. The particular afternoon may not hav...

    Midsumma sizzles and fizzles   Herald Sun, 24-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 097, 370 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Open for Inspection; My Life as a Dyke Too: The Shequel Where and when: La Mama, Wednesday to Sunday THE Midsumma Gay and Lesbian Festival tosses our way all levels of performance. These two shows are examples of the good and the unsuccessful. Open f...

   Fiasco turn up Midsumma heat   Herald Sun, 21-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 048, 342 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Combo Fiasco in Illegal Harmonies Where and when: Chapel off Chapel, Saturday COMBO Fiasco is always a treat to hear. This trio of musical theatre artists met on a production of The Secret Garden. Now they sing show tunes together and quip their way ...

    Blue chameleons   Herald Sun, 17-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 086, 484 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Blue Room Melbourne Theatre Company Where and when: Playhouse until February 22 THE Blue Room, the much-publicised play by David Hare, has weathered the hype surrounding its arrival. Simon Phillips's slick and funny production is a crowd-pleaser....  

  Comedy dominates in this dream   Herald Sun, 13-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 076, 332 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare IT IS that time again. After dark, Melburnians flock to the Royal Botanic Gardens to sit on plaid picnic blankets snacking from wicker hampers. Yes, it's time for another ebullient production by Glenn ...  

  Pirates deliver ship-shape performance   Herald Sun, 13-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 080, 455 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Pirates of Penzance Where and when: Melbourne Concert Hall, until January 21 SIMON Gallaher's company, EssGee Entertainment, has a huge hit on its hands with this production of The Pirates of Penzance. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the ...

   From floating on air to falling with a thud   Herald Sun, 10-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 081, 408 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Cloud Nine Melbourne Theatre Company Where and when: Fairfax, Victorian Arts Centre, until February 8 THOUGH it was developed and written in 1978, Caryl Churchill's play Cloud Nine seems a product of the '60s. Churchill is less concerned with narrati...

    Three decades old and still standing tall   Herald Sun, 08-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 041, 388 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
What: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Dance Encore Productions Where and when: Comedy Theatre, until January 19 IT'S impossible to judge this production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as one would other shows. It is a success because the kids ..

.    End of their rapier wits   Herald Sun, 08-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 043, 364 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Three Musketeers ALL for one and one for all! The Three Musketeers are sword-fighting around Albert Park Lake for King and country. This adaptation by Touche Productions has its tongue firmly in its cheek most of the time. It is very funny with p...

    Winner in the willows   Herald Sun, 07-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 049, 392 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Wind in the Willows Where and when: Botanic Gardens. Enter Gate F, 10am and 6pm, Tue-Sat until Jan. 25 Reviewer: Kate Herbert EACH new cast of Glenn Elston's production of The Wind in the Willows brings a different edge to this charming outdoor c...

    Queen-size fun   Herald Sun, 03-01-2003, Ed: 1 - FIRST, Pg: 072, 529 words , ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe TIS the season for family entertainment and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is perfect family fare. This enormous visual theatre show is from the company that produced the successful version of The Hobbit. Th...