KNOT by Darkfield Radio, 23 June 2021 ****

 

AUDIO THEATRE

Darkfield Radio KNOT, 'Immersive 360 Audio'

Streamed on your phone. Fri- Sun at 5pm, 6pm & 7pm (All of these times) until 31 July 2021

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: **** (4)

KNOT, another in a series of immersive, audio performances by Darkfield Radio, is an evocative and unsettling dreamscape.

 

This is a solo listening experience in three parts. The audience listens to the performance through earphones on their mobiles. We experience Part One on a park bench of our choosing, Part Two in a car alone, and Part Three back in our own home. With eyes closed, the world is populated by a parade of characters, and filled with soundscape that evoke each location.

 

KNOT relies on the audience, as active listeners, being willing to be transported to other places and times and willing to believe in this new reality. We are not merely audience, but each of us is an intrinsic character in this narrative – silent, but still present and significant.

A Celebration of Student Songs, by Lincoln Center Theater, 17 June 2021 ***1/2

MUSICAL THEATRE/ONLINE CONCERT

Produced by Lincoln Center Theater (sic) - Songwriting in the Schools

Online Lincoln Center Theater via  Broadway on Demand until 20 June 2021

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: 3.5

This review published only on this blog. KH 

Songwriting in the Schools is part of Lincoln Center Theater’s Open Stages Education program during which students from High Schools write music and lyrics for their songs, ably assisted by their teachers.

 

This hour-long performance is usually performed on stage at Lincoln Center. However, for this year’s Pandemic performance, participants recorded video introductions to their songs and the singers performed them to a camera, probably from their own homes.

 

The songs cover issues ranging from the Pandemic to racial justice, gun control, LBGQT rights, love and pets.

BATS Improv Online, 5 June 2021 ****

IMPROVISED THEATRE

Canadian Horror Story by BATS Improv Online (San Francisco) BATS Online

On Facebook and Zoom, 5 June 2021 (Sun 6 June AET)

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ****

Regina Saisi -Rafe Chase  BATS Canadian Horror Story, pic from Zoom show

Canadian Horror Story, the brainchild of Canadian improviser, Karen Brelsford, is the latest online improvised show from BATS Improv Online in San Francisco.

 

Brelsford, appearing in black and white, introduces the show in the persona of a late-night, horror movie host. From the audience suggestions – posted in the Zoom Chat – Brelsford decides that the story will be set in Doug Hollow, a small, bucolic, Canadian town that is visited by two cousins on a car trip.

 

This improvised horror show is variously hilarious, spooky, demented and gory. The story takes us, via virtual backgrounds, to a car interior, a rustic log cabin / gas station, the town bar, the interior and exterior of an isolated motel and a creepy forest at night. Joshua Raoul Brody’s music has echoes of the original Twin Peaks score.

The Lifespan of a Fact, MTC, 21 May 2021 ****

THEATRE

Written by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, by Melbourne Theatre Company

At Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, until 3 July 2021

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ****

This review is published only on this blog. KH

  
Steve Mouzakis,  Karl Richmond

 

The Lifespan of a Fact is bound to trigger arguments about the vices and virtues of literary non-fiction and the value of fact and truth in this purportedly non-fiction literary form that demands the same poetic licence as fiction writing.

 

Creative non-fiction colours and enhances a true story by imbuing it with literary flourishes and making it a more palatable story. From where I’m standing, if you don’t use facts, i.e. empirical truth, then it’s no longer non-fiction.

 

Evidently, facts don’t appeal to lots of people because they are dry and require effort to process. We need to be fed facts wrapped in a story to which we can relate. This is what myths and religious stories such as the Bible provide, and now, it seems, so does literary non-fiction.

The Royale, Lincoln Center Theater, online until 16 May 2021 ****1/2

THEATRE Online

Written by Marco Ramirez

Online- Lincoln Center Theater(sic) Private Reels via  Broadway on Demand

Available until 16 May 2021

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ****1/2

 This review published only on this blog. KH

 

  Clarke Peters, Khris Davis

‘I’m gonna change things!” says Khris Davis as the charismatic, African-American heavyweight boxer, Jay ‘The Sport’ Jackson, in The Royale by Marco Ramirez.

 

But can Jay risk winning his bout against the white champion, Bernard Bixby, when it may change things for both the better and the worse for his African-American community?

 

Set between 1905 and 1910 in various places in the US, Ramirez’s confronting and compelling play is directed imaginatively and deftly by Rachel Chavkin who conjures a dramatic and conflict-driven world that seems to be even more perilous outside the ring.

Hamlet - The Radio Play, Online until 25 April 2021 ****

THEATRE – AUDIO ONLINE

By William Shakespeare 

Produced by Melbourne Shakespeare Company & Victorian Theatre Company 

Online to April 25 2021 2hrd 20 mins in 5 separate acts 

Tics at: MelbourneShakespeareCo (stream or download) 

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: **** (4)

This review published only on this blog. KH

 Brian Lipson (L) , Mathew Connell (C) pic by Jak Scanlon

 

Having seen multiple versions of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in theatres, it is a treat to listen to this Hamlet –The Radio Play walking in the park or relaxing at home.

 

This audio production in five, downloadable acts, is deftly directed by Kurtis Lowden. It is evocative and colourful (Yes! Colourful!) with many fine performances of Shakespeare’s silken language, the stand outs being Mathew Connell as Hamlet, Brian Lipson as Polonius and Robert Menzies as The Ghost of Hamlet's father. These three are vocally impeccable and expressively interpret the poetic language.

 

Connell’s voice is honeyed and warm, subtly and intimately seeping into our ears. We can almost feel his breath on our cheeks as his Hamlet muses and struggles over his mother, Gertrude’s (Evelyn Krape) marriage to Claudius (Mark Wilson), his father’s brother, who is also his father’s murderer.

Berlin, MTC, 22 April 2021 ****

THEATRE

Written by Joanna Murray-Smith, Melbourne Theatre Company

MTC Southbank Theatre until 22 May 2021

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars:****

This review published only in this blog. KH

Grace Cummings & Michael Wahr, pic Jeff Busby

 

Berlin by Joanna Murray-Smith is a two-hander that shifts from seduction to philosophical discussion before taking a turn into complex, social and political issues.

 The play, directed by Iain Sinclair, takes place in Charlotte’s (Grace Cummings) hipster apartment (design, Christine Smith) in an expensive part of Berlin. Having met Tom (Michael Wahr), an Australian tourist, in the bar where she works, she invites him to her home after he tells her he has no accommodation.

 

Their playful, confident and sensual seduction is a like a game of cat and mouse – or cat and cat – as they tease and entice each other with wine, poetry and half-truths.

Charlie and the War Against the Grannies, 14 April 2021 ****

CHILDREN’S THEATRE

Written by Alan Brough with Sarah Kriegler, based on book by Alan Brough

Melbourne Comedy Festival

At Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne Wed 14 to Sat 17 April

Fri 16 Apr: 10am,12pm; Sat 17 Apr: 10am,12pm,3pm; Sun 24 April 12pm is a Relaxed Performance

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: **** (4)

 This review published only on this blog. KH

 

Anna Francesca Armenia and Alan Brough

 

Charlie and the War Against the Grannies, written by Alan Brough with Sarah Kriegler, is an action-filled, fun and funny performance and the children were fully engaged and entertained from start to finish.

 

Charlie (Andy Conaghan) calls himself a digital orphan, meaning his parents are permanently attached to their iPhones and pay him no attention. Funny thought when you consider that we call youngsters digital natives.

 

Charlie spends his time with his friend, Hils (Anna Francesca Armenia), who wants to join the army and consistently barks orders in army lingo, such as, ‘affirmative’, ‘negative’, at ease’. Charlie translates Hils’ language for us.

Jungle Bungle ONLINE, 14 April 2021 ***

CHILDREN’S THEATRE ONLINE

Jungle Bungle written & created by Craig Christie

TheatreWorks streamed online 14 & 15 April 2021

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ***

This review published only on this blog. KH

Meg McKibbin, Rhys Wilson

 

Jungle Bungle, written and created by Craig Christie and directed by James Coley, is a children’s musical adventure about Oliver’s (Rhys Wilson) first day at a new school where he meets Claire (Meg McKibbin), who becomes his new friend.

 

This performance was live streamed from Theatre Works, so some of the detail in sound and audience activity may have been lost in translation.

 

It begins with an introduction by Mitch Ralston, dressed in a safari outfit, who teaches the family audience their participatory words and actions. When they hear the words, ‘Life is crazy! Whoa-Oh-Oh. Life is crazy!’ they must do crazy dancing. When they hear the lyrics ‘Safari A, Safari O’, they must mimic their favourite animal: monkey, elephant, lion or snake.

 

Oliver has changed schools often and is considered to be ‘weird and freaks other kids out’. He uses his trusty, but now faulty, compass to navigate the new school which is a dangerous jungle to Oliver. (The compass, we learn, tracks his emotions rather than cardinal directions.)

 

 Meg McKibbin, Rhys Wilson, Mitch Ralston

Impetuous Oliver wants to go camping, but sensible Claire resists as she needs to be home by 4pm. They go to Oliver’s garden to play but Claire is annoyed and frightened when they become lost, and she can’t reach her mum by phone. The garden is a jungle populated by unseen creatures and freaky noises, and the two get separated.

 

Although some songs are less than successful, Look Before You Leap has a lively tune and clear message for kids, while Safari A, Safari O, is a part jungle beat, part rap.

 

Ralston, as Peter Pan, prompts the dance moves during his song, Life is Crazy! which is the most cohesive and entertaining part of the show, with the optimum participation for the live family audience.

 

The message in A Bit Unusual, is a little too obvious, but clear for kids: it’s OK to be yourself and a bit unusual. It becomes clear that Oliver is fearful and isolated and has been running away from fear itself.

 

Meg McKibbin as Claire has a pretty, tuneful voice but Rhys Wilson as Oliver slips off key on occasion.

 

The very basic introductory song and dance moves and Ralston’s directions suggest that the show is for very young children. However, Oliver and Claire are played older, perhaps Year 5 or 6. They are relatively independent, use mobile phones, and their songs have complex lyrics and melodies that do not encourage or include any participation.

 

The narrative needs stronger dramatic structure, the action on stage has little physicality apart from the dance moves during songs, and the dialogue sometimes rambles.

 

This production is probably more engaging in the theatre but, if you can’t or don’t want to sit in the glass boxes at Theatre Works, streaming is a good option for kids’ holiday entertainment.

 

By Kate Herbert

Que Será Será, Midsumma Festival online 14 April 2021 ****

MULTI MEDIA PERFORMANCE

Que Será Será: A Life’s Journey of Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression

By Zelda AKA Judith Z. Miller.  Part of Midsumma Festival (Online)

Online- 19 April to 5 May 2021

Tickets Free/Donation Requested: https://www.midsumma.org.au/whats-on/events/que-sera-sera-a-life-s-journey-of-sexual-orientation-gender/

Reviewer: Kate Herbert (14 April 2021)

Stars: **** (4)

 This review published only on this blog. KH

 Zelda AKA Judith Z Miller

 

The title of this gently confronting and evocative storytelling performance says it all. It is A Life’s Journey of Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression told by the charming and engaging Zelda (AKA Judith Z. Miller) who opens her heart and her life to the audience.

 

With her expressive face, sharp features and multi-coloured beaded hair, Zelda reads her equally colourful life’s story while standing at a lectern, imbuing her memories with passion, joy and melancholy as images of her younger self are projected behind her.

The Listies in ROFLSHALBOWCO, 6 April 2021 *****

 

CHILDREN’S THEATRE

Rolling On The Floor Laughing So Hard A Little Bit Of Wee Comes Out! by The Listies

Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, until 18 April, 2021 (11am Tues-Sun)

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: *****(5)

This review published only on this blog. KH

Matt Kelly & Richard Higgins - The Listies

Forget about the night-time stand-up comedy and just go see The Listies doing ‘kidult’ comedy in their riotous and ridiculous new show, ROFLSHALBOWCO.

 

Straight jokester, Rich (Richard Higgins), and goofy, rubbery Matt (Matt Kelly) are the hottest cult kids’ duo in and out of town. Just saying the title of their show, ROFLSHALBOWCO, provokes roars of naughty laughter from the kids. (Yes, it means, ‘Rolling On The Floor Laughing So Hard A Little Bit Of Wee Comes Out!’).

 

On an almost empty stage, the pair cavort chaotically, making fart jokes, telling fractured fairy tales and singing Death Metal lullabies – well, Matt sings those.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Online 4 April, 2021 ***1/2

THEATRE ONLINE

 

Written by Christopher Durang

Lincoln Center Theater (sic) Online at Broadway on Demand until 11 April 2021

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ***1/2

 This review published only on this blog.  KH

L-R: Sonia- Kristine Nielsen , Masha- Sigourney Weaver & Vanya - David Hyde Pierce

 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by Christopher Durang, is a parody of Anton Chekhov’s style, incorporating versions of characters from various Chekhov plays into a modern, American setting.

 

The play is a partially successful comedy about regret and missed opportunities that scatters existential commentary amidst broad farce. It feels like a sketch that has been stretch to a full-length play.

Jesus Christ Superstar (2012 UK), Online 4 April 2021 *****

MUSIC THEATRE

Jesus Christ Superstar, Arena Spectacular (2012)

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Tim Rice

Online Youtube, The Shows Must Go On (UK production 2012): Superstar 2012 UK

Reviewer: Kate Herbert 4 April 2021 

Stars: *****(5)

See also my review of Australian production 2013: Review Superstar 2013

 This review appears only on this blog. KH

Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot

 

Laurence Connor's inspired UK Arena production of Jesus Christ Superstar catapults the story of Jesus into the 21^st century with the momentum and urgency of a youthful, political revolution. This production streamed on Youtube over 2021 Easter weekend.

 

Laurence Connor's inspired UK Arena production of Jesus Christ Superstar catapults the story of Jesus into the 21^st century with the momentum and urgency of a youthful, political revolution. This production streamed on Youtube over 2021 Easter weekend.

Enoch Arden, streaming until Thur 1 April 2021 ***1/2

 

THEATRE /MUSIC THEATRE

Poetry by Alfred Lord Tennyson, music by Richard Strauss

By Brisbane Music Festival and Victorian Theatre Company

Streaming Wed 31 Mar & Thurs 1 April at 8pm AEDT (Melbourne/Sydney time)

Tickets; www.brismusicfestival.com

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars:***1/2

This review only published on this blog. kh

                                                       Matthew Connell

The epic tale of Enoch Arden by Alfred Lord Tennyson, with melodramatic music by Richard Strauss, is imbued with sweet melancholy until its final, heart breaking moments.

 

This is a tale of a loving, lost and shipwrecked husband whose selflessness allows his wife to live a contented life without him even after he is rescued and returns to his home. 

 

As children, Enoch Arden and his friend, Phillip both love Annie, but it is Enoch she chooses to marry when they grow to adulthood. Annie and Enoch have children and live happily until fortune turns against them. Enoch, in a desperate plan to provide for his family, goes to sea, but is marooned for more than a decade on an isolated island, unbeknown to his wife.

 

Phillip cares for Annie and her children in Enoch’s absence and finally, after a decade, proposes marriage to Annie. Then Enoch returns.

 

This streamed version, is a moving, unembellished, on screen reading by Matthew Connell with subtle and sensitive piano accompaniment by Alex Raineri, who is also on screen.

 

Tennyson’s evocative, lyrical language paints the poignant tale of the optimistic but ill-fated sailor, Enoch Arden, while Strauss’s music underscores the emotional landscape. The two performers share the screen with a visual design (Jak Scanlon) comprising images of rural landscape, seething oceans and inky, cloudlike designs.

 

Connell, wearing headphones, reads Tennyson’s words with his warm, lyrical and emotive voice, capturing the melancholy of the story and the winds of change in Enoch’s life. Connell’s youthful, almost Raphael-esque appearance – intense, blue eyes, softly curling hair, cherubic mouth – add to the eerie otherworldliness of the performance.

 

Although the visual design is inventive and often beautiful, at times it is over-wrought, such as when it depicts two hands wringing and clenching in despair.

 

Enoch Arden is a compelling 70 minutes of viewing which does justice to both Tennyson’s poetry and Strauss’s composition.

 

by  Kate Herbert 

                                                                                    Alex Raineri on piano