Friday, 1 December 2000

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....

Wednesday, 29 November 2000

Deviations , Nov 29, 2000


by Allen O'Leary  Elbow Theatre
at La Mama until December 17, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Deviations, by Allen O'Leary, is described in the program as "a stylish black comedy about sex." We can agree that it is quite grim and it is comical at times and that it focuses on sex. Unfortunately it is not stylish.

There are some funny moments arising out of this reflection of inner-urban angst and contemporary confusion about relationships, love, sex and sexual preferences. These wear thin after two hours.

O'Leary's script is crying out for a ruthless edit. This might make a reasonable one hour play but at 120 minutes, it is far too long. Scenes keep repeating themes, characters are dislikeable, unsympathetic and  shallow.

The story is over-stuffed with social issues, deviant behaviour that is hardly shocking and stereotypes. The narrative is predictable but slow to unfold. The dramatic murder at the end was followed by a series of unnecessary scenes.

The four actors (Pip Branson, Michael Butcher, Lenore McGregor, Lucie O'Brien) look and sound uncomfortable throughout. They struggle with repetitive dialogue that is riddled with platitudes. There is far too much shouting in place of real emotion.

Iain Sinclair's direction lacks imagination. The scene changes are interminable and the repeated moving of furniture around the space in black-outs is irritating and unnecessary.

He has difficulty making this piece of naturalistic television drama work on stage. It is wooden and there is not design or lighting to pull it out of the ordinary into the theatrical.

Karen and Matt (O'Brien and Branson) are a young couple who have not had sex for two years since Karen was raped. Susan (McGregor) is a feisty and forward lesbian who owns an architecture practice. Her best friend is Richard, (Butcher) a gay man who is an unsuccessful and depressive poet.

What happens is a hot pot of shattered romance, lost love, betrayal, deceit and lies. Everybody is experimenting sexually. The straight characters play with the gays and vice versa.

By Kate Herbert

Saturday, 25 November 2000

A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, Nov 25, 2000


A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, by Brian Lipson
at The Royal Society of Victoria, Nov 25 until December 3, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

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 colourful, the style absurd and Lipson's performance outrageous and hilarious.

Lipson makes imaginative leaps using Galton's eclectic scientific interests and his recognised genius as the starting point for a fascinating theatrical event.

We enter, via a cramped foyer and narrow stairway, the upstairs chamber of The Royal Society building in Latrobe Street. This entry echoes Galton's peculiar image of the conscious mind as a chamber with an adjoining antechamber in which ideas wait to enter the consciousness.

Lipson, dressed initially in full period costume, is seated in a tiny replica of a Victorian study, jammed with odd scientific devices, projection equipment, lamps, candles, umbrellas and pictures.

This is not merely an impersonation or characterisation of Galton nor is it a dramatisation of his life and work. Lipson/Galton is constantly conscious of being played by an actor.

He refers to the actor, reminds us he is faking, that us Galton is dead and that this is a theatrical environment which must abide by the conventions of theatre. He even writes 'Mr. Lipson' on his forehead to reinforce that this is an actor.

There is no logical sequence to the dialogue. Lipson/Galton dives from rough experiments which end in his being kicked in the face by his own boot (hilarious) to lantern slides demonstrating his theory of eugenics. (frightening)

Galton's obsession with the nature of the Jewish physiognomy is at the core of Lipson's interest in him. Galton was the first to study eugenics. He proposed the perfecting of the human race by selective reproduction. He was the precursor to all that was evil in the Nazis racial purification.

Lipson leaps about both inside his tiny Victorian cubicle and amongst the audience. He manipulates our behaviour as much as his own or Galton's. He both ridicules and fears Galton's bizarre behaviour and experimentation.

This is the perfect combination of theory and practice, theatre and reality, present and past, truth and fiction. It is a splendid, disturbing and compelling performance by a skilful actor with impeccable comic timing.

By Kate Herbert

Wednesday, 22 November 2000

The Women's Gaol Project, Nov 22, 2000


by Karen Martin
at Women's Refractory VUT Sunbury campus
November 22-December 9, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert


The visit to the Federation style late 19th century Sunbury Women's Gaol is strangely disembodying.

We experience the site of women's incarceration, we hear the stories of women committed as insane when they were actually suffering menopausal, post-natal depression or alcoholism. We see the tiny cells and the canvas straight-jacket camisoles in which they were trapped.

One needs to either shift the experience to arm's length to avoid the emotional pain of empathy with theses victims or else to enter whole-heartedly even skinlessly into it to feel the weight of history and its abuse of the women.

The restored Building M6A at the gaol is the site of this installation performance written and directed by Karen Martin and performed by Helen Hopkins, Maria  Papastamopolous Ruth Bauer and Judy Roberts.

The building was called The Women's Refractory because it as for 'refractory' of difficult, violent, noisy, uncontrollable patients.

We enter the cyclone wire gates and out first stop is the verandah where historical computer, photographic and painterly images tell the stories of women who were 'committed by friends or by 'husband and brother' or who 'knifed a nurse'.

Inside the rectangular courtyard we may move between three sites. At each location a woman appears near-naked, painted the colour and pattern of the federation brickwork. (make-up by Jane Ormond OK) She is so dehumanised by her incarceration that she has become part of the brickwork.  It is haunting, surprising and moving.

Bauer climbs acrobatically on ropes speaking in the language of contemporary cultural theory  and as writer Virginia Woolf who was a depressive.

Papastamopolous voices the desire for touch, speaks as the ancient Greek prophetess, Cassandra and cries 'How long must one live like this?, a question that wrenches at the heart as we see and hear the abuses to which they were subjected.

The references to Woolf and Cassandra are not necessary or particularly relevant and the production is not theatrically or textually very innovative. It is not creation of believable dramatic characters that moves us but the constant reminder of the reality of the stories and the palpable presence of the women crying out from the past in this place.

Roberts stands atop a roof singing and reciting a litany of case histories of women from the institution.

This is a powerful piece that drags us screaming into the past to visit the horror of institutions at the turn of the century. Are we kinder now? Who knows.

By Kate Herbert
for 2 pages:

Friday, 17 November 2000

GIrl Talk by Patrick Edgeworth, Hit Productions, Nov, 2000


GIrl Talk by Patrick Edgeworth 
Hit Productions at Merlyn Theatre until November 17, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Theatre comes to us in many forms for many different kind of audiences. Girl Talk is a commercial and light-hearted play that will appeal to a wide audience who are not interested in high art, obscure themes or depressing issues on stage.

Playwright, Patrick Edgeworth, writes for film and television as well having written the hit West End play, Boswell for the Defence, which starred Leo McKern. Girl Talk opened in the UK in 1995.

The style and plot of Girl Talk are related to television comedy-dramas or even to sit-coms. The story deals with serious issues such as grief, abandonment and divorce, in a superficial but entertaining way.

It is directed with finesse by David Latham who keep the pace swift and funny. The design by Judith Cobb is a large square living room with an ornate rose window as its rear wall.

The Merlyn is perhaps too big for the play but the two actors are able to draw us toward them.

Performances by Jackie Weaver and Christen O'Leary , are bright and funny. Their relationship on stage is warm and they represent two very different types of single mothers in the suburbs.

Julie (Weaver ) emigrated to Australia from the north of England 23 years ago with her new husband, Brian. Now in her 40s, she finds herself abandoned when Brian runs off with a 25 year old, leaving her with two teenagers.

Gail (O'Leary) is younger and profoundly unhappy in her singledom. She chooses inappropriate men to fill her lonely days and nights: a married handyman and  a young shelf-stacker at the supermarket, to name two.

The story is a suburban fantasy. When middle aged women who spent their lives bearing children, caring for family and pandering to husbands are left alone, they generally suffer profound grief and loss. This story sees Julie whip through her pain with a few gentle tears.

She finds a new lover who is the perfect man, confidently sends her Pam Ayres-style poems to publishers and becomes a sexual athlete overnight. Pure fantasy, but very cheering to audiences who fear the end of plodding relationships.

This play by Hit Productions, is touring the country during 2000-2001 and should be a great success with the crowds.


By Kate Herbert

Wednesday, 15 November 2000

Escape from the Living Dead, Nov 15, 2000


by Abe Pogos
La Mama at The Courthouse, Nov 15 until December 2, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

The original intention of a playwright can sometimes be obscured in the final script. This seems to be the case with Abe Pogos's play, Escape from the Living Dead.

Pogos states in the program that the play is about "the nature of racism and misogyny. It dramatises the different ways these attitudes manifest themselves amongst people who believe they are acting with the best intentions..."

However, these two issues are  dealt with in such a heavy-handed manner that the point is blunted. Pogos employs a great deal of preaching to the audience through the characters that does not allow any genuine human dimension to the issues or the characters.

The five actors (Dennis Coard, David Davies, Jane Conroy, Lisa Maza, Andrea Swifte) work very hard to make Pogos's characters come to life. Each finds moments of emotional truth or humour. They struggle to bring to life characters who speak inconsistent and repetitive dialogue.

Kathy (Maza) is a Koori actor in a country town theatre company run by Ted (Coard). She works on a Boris Karloff style zombie play with other actors, Bernadette and Travis (Conroy  Davies)

Kathy is patronised, abused and mistrusted by the actors and the deeply conservative publican at the hotel where she lives. (Swifte) She is given roles of only children or animals. Her work is criticised, her culture demeaned and her opinions ignored.

One major problem with the script is that Pogos has all the characters describing or discussing each other much of the time rather than allowing us to see their interaction or observe their characters living and breathing.

The narrative has no clear through line. It is confusing an the story is often incoherent. This is through no lack of effort or skill on the part of the actors.

The style is non-naturalistic most of the time. The schlock-horror play within a play is directed in a broad 30s movie style. This epic style spills over into the Arne Neeme's direction of the 'real' scenes.

Conroy as Bernadette tries,= with missionary zeal to teach Kathy to act. Coard, plays Ted as a dogmatic, slightly nutty priestly character while Davies as Travis is scarily obsessive about appropriating Kathy's indigenous culture. Maza manages to play Kathy's journey from child-likeness to rebellion.

The play has potential and good acting but the style and script are in the end unsatisfying.

By Kate Herbert

Saturday, 11 November 2000

Wozzeck by Alban Berg, Opera Australia, Nov 11, 2000


Wozzeck by Alban Berg
Opera Australia at State Theatre
 November 11, 16, 22, 25, 28, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

The score of Alban Berg's 1925 opera, Wozzeck, crawls inside the tormented mind of the soldier, Wozzeck. (Jonathan Summers)

The score rises and falls like a roller-coaster with the chaos of Wozzek's escalating madness and culminates in his murdering his lover, Marie. (Margaret Medlyn)
Berg's libretto is based on Georg Buchner's powerful but incomplete play, Woyzek, from 1837 which in turn was based on a real murder in Leipzig in 1821.
His music is extraordinary, making this one of the 20th century masterpieces. Berg, a pupil of Shonberg, worked in an atonal 12 note form but also employs eclectic musical forms and borrows from or satirises other composers.
Buchner's play has 27 episodes. Berg uses 15 scenes in three acts. Adding to his moving music is the spare language, passionate outbursts by characters in recitative and song, as well as the ridicule and oppression of the poor, simple, deluded soldier.
The outcome is a moving representation of Wozzeck's moral, physical and mental breakdown leading to the murder of his lover.
Director, Barrie Kosky, creates a visual and emotional landscape. He places the orchestra on stage and the action on a steeply raked, uncluttered floor over the orchestra pit. 
Peter Corrigan's vivid, grotesque design comprises huge German Expressionist images rising like nightmares from hell. A plastic rubbish bin is the only prop.
The music swells under the exceptional conductorship of Gabor Otvos. The score carries us along in a flood of emotion culminating in the sustained natural B crescendo when Wozzeck's mind collapses.
Summers performance and voice as Wozzeck are commanding and his characterisation is impeccable and sophisticated. As Marie, Medlyn is impassioned and sympathetic and her role is beautifully sung.
Wozzeck's tormentors, the Doctor and Captain, are sung with relish and humour by Barry Mora and Richard Greager . The featured cast is delightful and includes Adrian McEniery, Horst Hoffmann, Tyrone Landau Jennifer Birmingham , Warwick Fyfe and Roger Howell .
Kosky's beer garden party looks like an insane Sydney Mardi Gras complete with leather outfits and half-naked revellers. The children's chorus appears decked in Christmas tinsel and the Idiot (Landau) is a street clown.
There are no flaws in this production. It is relentless both musically and emotionally. The tension soars with the music and the final image of Wozzeck's tiny son crawling inside a rubbish bin after the death of both his parents, is poignant.


By Kate Herbert

Friday, 3 November 2000

The Procedure, Nov 3, 2000


by Peta Murray Melbourne Workers' Theatre
at North Melbourne Town Hall until November 18, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Actor, Jim Daly, loves a solo show and he does them superbly. In The Procedure by Peta Murray. he plays Mike, a corrupt politician who roams his office one Friday evening, drinking himself into a stupor while coming to terms with the possibility that he may have colon cancer.

Sounds serious? In fact, it is hilarious. Daly scampers about the open space of the Supper Room at North Melbourne Town Hall like an addled puppy. Peta Murray's script, even though it is based on her own experience of colon cancer, is fast-moving, witty and well-observed.

Although Daly is on stage alone for 95 minutes, Murray peoples the play with vivid and lively off-stage characters by giving Mike a series of phone calls to and from his media officer, doctor pal, wine-growing mate, his wife and son.

The audience is seated on two sides of the action as Mike, the Health Minister and ex-pharmacist, darts from several phones on his desk to a cupboard filled with pills and potions. He dives in and out doors, changing clothes, making plans, panicking and preparing his own obituary and eulogy.

The politician is called Mike, as is every other off-stage character to whom he refers, except his wife, Ellen.

The action gets wilder and more out of control as Mike gets drunker and more convinced that he has cancer. As Health Minister, he instituted  "The Procedure' which is a cheap and efficient health test for bowel cancer. He receives a cryptic message from his mate the surgeon about his own stool test and believes it is a cancer diagnosis.

Daly builds from smug, lying and composed politician at the beginning of the play, to almost delirious madness. His drunken ramblings are a riot as he tears off his suit, pops more pharmaceuticals from his hoard and prowls like a caged lion in his Health Department offices.

Murray seems to change styles in the second half, shifting from broad political satire to a more abstract and slightly confused form.

Director, Aidan Fennessy, highlights the insane roller coaster ride that Mike goes on as he faces his fate. The space is lit dramatically in strong almost cartoon-like colour (Jens Milbret) and various audio visuals provide Mike with a trip into his past and future.


By Kate Herbert

Thursday, 2 November 2000

Theft of Sita, Nov 2, 2000


 by Nigel Jamieson
at Malthouse until November 4, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

This telling of the story of The Theft of Sita is distinctively Australian-Indonesian. It is told evocatively not only with Indonesian shadow puppets but with contemporary Indonesian images of environmental destruction, rebellion, mostly English dialogue with heaps of Aussie slang.

The narrative is a funny and moving portrayal of the Sanskrit epic, The Ramayana. Director, Nigel Jamieson, collaborated with composer, Paul Grabowsky, Director of Puppetry, Peter Wilson  and Dalang, (Indonesian chief puppeteer) I Made Sidia to create a rich visual and aural world.

The production's great strength is its successful parallel of the mythical story of King Rama's wife, Sita's abduction by the demon Rawanna with modern issues of ecology, power, wealth and urbanisation.

The beautiful Sita is stolen as she wanders the forest with her husband. She is kept caged in a sprawling city by Rawanna. Sita's kidnapping comes to represent the rape of the exotic landscape of Indonesia that is flooded for tourism, deforested for building and rid of native fauna for profit.

The form of the production is in the style of the Indonesian Wayang Kulit, or shadow puppetry. Jamieson uses the clown servants of King Rama, Twalen and Merdah, as the protagonists in the narrative.

This father and son duo go on a quest to rescue Sita and face forest fire, famine, wood-chipping, white water rafting and a surreal urban chaos.

The shadow puppets are innovative. Not only do we see traditional characters but there are shadow forest animals, musical instrument creatures playing rock songs, and huge electric pylons and buildings.

In addition, there is distressing film or photographic imagery of real riots and blasted landscapes in Indonesia  The images are thrown onto a small screen and then a full screen that covers the entire front of stage.

The musicians, puppeteers and actors and singers are secreted for most of the 95 minutes, at the rear of the stage .They create magical and disturbing images for us that are designed by Julian Crouch and lit by Damien Cooper

Not least of the elements is the spectacular musical composition by Grabowsky. He combines the sounds of Indonesian Gamelan music with melodic or cacophonous contemporary western music. The music is transporting.

Sita is challenging both theatrically and sociologically. It is also a hoot for the family. Kids loved it.

By Kate Herbert

Wednesday, 1 November 2000

Maquina Hamlet, Nov 1, 2000


by Heiner Muller El Periferico de Objetos
at Playhouse until November 4, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

El Periferico de Objetos is an unsubsidised theatre company from Buenes Aires which has a substantial reputation in Europe and the Americas.

The combination of this visual theatre company (directors: Daniel Veronese, Emilio Garcia Wehbi and Ana Alvarado) with German playwright Heiner Muller's 1979 abstract script, The Hamletmachine,  is startling and disturbing.

Muller might not recognise his play but he might be delighted with this company's extrapolation on its ideas. Maquina Hamlet  is visually compelling and resonates with oppressed cultures worldwide.

The Hamlet story is merely a vehicle for observations about totalitarianism, death, obsession, revenge, repression, suicide and incarceration.

The bleakness of the world of dictatorships from which this play comes, namely East Germany and Argentina, is present in the production. It is grim and relentless in its condemnation of man's inhumanity to man and woman. Violence is like a machine that reproduces abuse century after century.

The piece is divided into five sections. Each title and all the text translated into English is projected onto the rear wall of the Playhouse while a voice over in Spanish recites the script.

At times the lighting (Jorge Doliszniak) is grim and confined. At others, the entire stage is lit starkly in the "alienation" style of Brecht and Heiner Muller's Berliner Ensemble.

Images are often grotesque and distressing. The opening scene, A family Album, is like a banquet table at which are seated life-size mannequins and actors (Felicitas Luna, Emilio Garcia Wehbi, Jorge Onofri, Alejandro Tantanian -all) with little dolls representing Hamlet's family and playing out their gruesome tragedy.

Part Two, The Europe of Women, sees Ophelia dressed as hooker, caged and tortured by rat-men. Part three, Scherzo is a night club setting with mannequins at tables, actors dancing with and abusing women on wheels and a chanteuse singing.

Part Four contains disturbing photographic projections of massacre, war, revolution and abuse and a mannequin used as a dart board. In the final scene, a life size doll is torn limb from limb by his torturers.

 Although I was strangely unmoved emotionally by this piece, it is theatrically challenging and takes the Hamlet narrative and Muller's script to new and interesting locations.

By Kate Herbert