Kate Herbert RADIO REVIEWS Arts Weekly, 3MBS on Sat 10 June 2023.

 Here's my radio spot on Arts Weekly, 3MBS on Sat 10 June 2023. I review The Rock Horror Show at Atheneaum and Jacky at MTC, comment on (not review) Climbers at 45downstairs and mention Rising Festival, Puppetry Festival at La Mama and La Mama On Screen. 10mins 30sec.

Climbers COMMENT 4 June 2023

THEATRE

Written by Elly D’Arcy, by Fever103 Theatre

At 45 Downstairs until 11 June 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

This is not a review but, rather, a comment as I was unable to see the second half of the show. I’ll mention this show on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 10 June 2023. KH

 

(L to R) Sebastian Li, Charlie Veitch, Eddie Orton, Meg Taranto-pics by Harrison Baker

Climbers, by Elly D’Arcy, is an ambitious production with a large, mostly young cast that includes recent acting graduates, many of whom are from VCA Drama school.

 

Meg Taranto is ebullient and audacious in the lead role of Rosalind, and Taranto has a bright future ahead of her if this performance is any indication of her talent.

 

The play takes place in 1939 and Rosalind is an A-grade student reading English at Cambridge University in a time when young women are still not admitted to full degrees. Rosalind is a ‘modern woman’, as her newfound male friends describe her, and she wants to engage in all the pursuits available to the men including drinking in pubs and joining the men’s illicit climbing group that gambols over the tops of Cambridge buildings in secret.

 

 If she is caught in such a pursuit or even caught fraternising with men at night, she will be sent down. Double standards abound and all favour the men. Rosalind revels in her secret freedoms, her risky climbing and her burgeoning romance with Fred (Eddie Orton). However, the joyful frivolity of the first part of Rosalind’s story becomes something darker.

 

On a simple but effective, abstract set design of white wooden climbing frames and floating fabric (Savanna Wegman), Monique Mariani directs the large cast with energy and the youthful actors are enthusiastic and vivacious.

 

I cannot provide a review of the entire show, but D’Arcy shows promise as a writer and Taranto is a fine discovery.

 

 Kate Herbert

 

Elly D’Arcy- Writer

Monique Mariani - Director

Justin Gardam- Sound Designer

Savanna Wegman Set & Costume Designer

Georgie Wolfe - Lighting Designer

 

a

Meg Taranto (she/they) - Rosalind

Eddie Orton (he/him) - Fred

Sebastian Li (he/him) - Alex

Charlie Veitch (he/him) - George

Tyallah Bullock (she/they) - Ruth

Tahlia Jameson (she/her)  - Tommy

Lotte Beckett - (she/her) Dilys

Vitoria Hronopoulos (she/her) – Jane

Milijana Cancar (she/her) – Beatrice

Chris Broadstock (he/him) - Radlett

 

 

 

 

 

Jacky REVIEW 29 May 2023 **1/2

THEATRE

Written by Declan Furber Gillick, by Melbourne Theatre Company

At Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne until 24 June 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars:***1/2

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 10 June 2023. KH

MTCJacky_Greg Stone, Guy Simon, photoPiaJohnson

“It’s complicated” is one way to describe the lead character’s life and relationships in Jacky, a new play written by Declan Furber Gillick and directed by Mark Wilson.

 

Jacky (Guy Simon) straddles the two worlds of his indigenous culture and his adopted home in the city with its "whitefella" culture.

 

He is a young, indigenous man whose aboriginal family lives on a mission (AKA “the Mish”) up north, but he now lives in the city where he dexterously negotiates the complexities of urban life, working as sex worker, in a pub, in an office internship or doing cultural performances of his mob’s dances. He’s hoping to purchase an apartment, if he can get full-time contract work.

 

Enter Jacky’s kid brother, Keith (Ngali Shaw), straight from the Mish where he is a rowdy, irresponsible kid who drinks a bit, jokes a lot and has (or is that “had”?) a baker’s apprenticeship that Jacky believes Keith will transfer to a city apprenticeship – if Keith ever leaves Jacky’s couch, the X-Box and Uber Eats to bother to pursue work.

 

Jacky’s life takes a turn when Glenn (Greg Stone), his new regular client who has a particular penchant for black men, behaves in an unacceptable way. In another twist, Jacky’s anticipated contract role for a community services organisation run by Linda (Alison Whyte) appears to be on shaky ground and Jacky makes a decision he will regret and that will jeopardise his relationship with his indigenous community.

 

Gillick’s script, developed over several years in the NextStage new works writing program at MTC, is smart, funny, well-observed and challenging to any preconceptions. Simon’s portrayal of Jacky is credible, sensitive and complex as the character navigates the volcanic events that he faces – or does he trigger them?

 

Shaw is a vivacious and charming rascal as Keith, Stone is both sympathetic and dislikeable as the confused Glenn, while Whyte plays Linda with a nervy edginess and bossiness that is absolutely suited to a woman desperate to get funding for her pet employment projects.

 

Jacky is an eye-opener in many ways that cannot be explained here without spoilers. Suffice to say that Jacky’s choices at the end of the play are the result of a complex web of circumstances, wrong turns and drastic missteps. I now understand a lot more about indigenous attitudes and beliefs about culture, relationships, community, work and social expectations.

 

By Kate Herbert

 

Cast

Guy Simon -Jacky

Ngali Shaw -Keith

Greg Stone - Glenn

Alison Whyte - Linda

 

Creative Team

Director Mark Wilson
Set Designer Christina Smith
Costume Designer Emily Barrie
Lighting Designer Matt Scott
Composer & Sound Designer James Henry
Intimacy Coordinator Amy Cater
Voice & Text Coach Matt Furlani
Assistant Director Joel Bray
Dramaturgs Jennifer Medway and Mark Wilson

 

Moth REVIEW re-posting from 17June 2011

Moth by Declan Greene

At Theatre Works until. 1 June 2023

This is not a review of the current 2023 production but of a past production of Moth.

I'm re-posting my review of Moth by Declan Greene that was produced in June  2011 by Malthouse with Arena Theatre.

See link to blog review here:

 MOTH REVIEW 17 June 2023

 

 

Cho Cho San by Handspan 1984 *****

Cho Cho San, Nov 1984

 

Peter Wilson with Cho Cho puppet 1984 

 

For those of you who saw it and adored it, her is a Gallery about Cho Cho San by Handspan Theatre  from the 1984 mesmerising production with Ruth Shoenheimer and Danny Nash singing, and sublime puppetry by everyone else. 

 

This is for all those who requested the link. Please share it with other folks. When I posted this on Facebook, there was an outpouring of love and admiration for this show. I miss Handspan.

 

Click this link:

Cho Cho San Handspan Gallery 

 

Director - Geoff Hooke

Lighting - Phillip Lethean 

Music - Dalmazio Barbare & Boris Conley

Book - Daniel Keene

Designer - Ken Evans

Singers: Ruth Shoenheimerr & Danny Nash

Puppeteer for Cho Cho - Peter Wilson

Puppeteers: Carmelina Di Guglielmo, Lizz Lethlean, Andrew Hansen, John Rodgers.

 

 (If I omitted anyone, please let me know.)

From the Gallery:

"A bitter-sweet revision of the Madame Butterfly story written by Daniel Keene, directed by Geoff Hooke and designed by Ken Evanswith a score composed by Dalmazio Babare and  Boris Conley.

"Cho Cho San played a four-week season in an intimate performance space at the Universal Theatre, Fitzroy. The set occupied the long side of the rectangular room and performers and musicians shared the stage."

KATE HERBERT REVIEWS Arts Weekly 3MBS SAT 27MAY2023

 

In this radio spot, I review two shows: Killing Time by Jack Hibberd at La Mama Courthouse, and Worstward Ho, adapted from Samuel Beckett's novella performed by Robert Meldrum, directed by Richard Murphet & produced by Victorian Theatre Company. I

 then talk about the recent cluster of older theatre artists, in these two shows and also Cavalcade by Wits' End. 10 mins. k

The Rocky Horror Show REVIEW 24 May 2023 ***1/2

MUSICAL THEATRE

The Rocky Horror Show, Book, Music & Lyrics by Richard O’Brien

At Athenaeum Theatre, Collins St Melbourne until 30 June 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ***1/2 (3.5)

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly 3MBS on Sat 27 May 2023. KH

Jason Donovan, Henry Rollo The Rocky Horror Show Australia 2023 --Pic Daniel Boud

 Richard O’Brien’s phenomenally successful rock musical, The Rocky Horror Show, has endured for 50 years since its first explosive, fringe production in London in 1973 and later in Melbourne in 1974 in the derelict and dilapidated Fitzroy Tele-theatre. O’Brien’s show is exhilarating, mischievous, salacious and has occasionally been controversial.

 

When he created the show, O’Brien, the sole writer of the music, lyrics and book, tossed a trashy drag show into a particle collider with classic 1950s, B Grade sci-fi and horror movies to produce this idiosyncratic and transgressive rock musical.

 

The Australian 50^th Anniversary production is directed by Christopher Luscombe and stars Jason Donovan as Frank-N-Furter, the sexy, alien transvestite from the planet Transylvania who lives in a gothic mansion with his weirdo alien minions. Frank epitomises all that is sexually transgressive in this musical’s world of the squeaky-clean America of the 1950s as depicted in its late night, double feature movies.

 

Donovan, garbed in corset, fishnets and stilettos, reprises the role he played for many years in London, creating a Frank-N-Furter that switches between audacious, sexy, manipulative, sultry seducer and crouching, prowling, cackling mad scientist. His first entrance is a hit with the crowd when he appears upstage, clad in a vampire-style, black velvet cloak and belting out the hit tune, Sweet Transvestite.

 

Deirdre Khoo starts as a sweetly coy, pert and innocent Janet, then launches her helter-skelter into debauchery, while Ethan Jones as Janet’s clean-cut, naive fiancé, Brad, tumbles headlong under the corrupting influence of Frank-N-Furter.

 

Darcey Eagle is perky as Columbia, Frank’s shrill and vivid groupie, Stellar Perry is Magenta, Frank’s hedonistic housekeeper, Loredo Malcolm is suitably buff and dim-witted as Frank’s perfect creation, Rocky, while Ellis Dolan plays double roles of Eddie and Dr Scott.

 

Henry Rollo, as the loyal, totally depraved, alien servant, Riff Raff, leads the cast in Time Warp, the timeless, pelvic-thrusting, chart-topping dance tune that gets the crowd up dancing in the aisles in the finale.

 

Perhaps the many Narrators I have seen in previous productions have shaped my taste, but Myf Warhurst lacks the stage presence, gravitas and vocal power to grab the audience’s attention in the role.

 

The first half is a sex-fuelled, rock music-driven juggernaut, but the second half has pacing problems, with some spongy dialogue and flat spots that might be resolved with more detailed and skilful, comic business between characters. However, Donovan draws us back with the sentimental ballad, Going Home, and Time Warp brings the show home with a bang at the end.

 

It’s difficult not to compare this with previous versions, but I’ve seen more versatile casts playing The Rocky Horror Show and raunchier, more exuberant and vivacious productions, one being the notorious production starring Craig McLachlan. However, O’Brien’s narrative, characters and singable rock tunes have made this musical timeless and almost foolproof for 50 years – and probably for 50 more.

 

Kate Herbert

 

NB: For the final 3 weeks in Melbourne, Frank-N-Furter will be played by Olivier Award winning David Bedella and Nicholas Hammond will play the role of The Narrator in Perth and Canberra.

 

 

by Kate Herbert

 

Cast

Jason Donovan –Frank N Furter

Henry Rollo – Riff Raff

Myf Warhurst – Narrator

Stella Perry – Magenta

Ellis Dolan – Eddie/Dr Scott

Darcey Eagle – Columbia

Ethan Jones – Brad

Deirdre Khoo –Janet

Loredo Malcolm –Rocky

 

Creative Team

Christopher Luscombe- Director

Choreographer – Nathan M. Wright

Set Design – Hugh Durrant

Costume Design –Sue Blane

Lighting Design – Nick Richings

Sound Design -Gareth Owen

Musical Arrangements – Richard Hartley

Musical Director – Jack Earle

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW AUSTRALIA 2023 - Timewarp- PIC CREDIT DANIEL BOUD

Worstward Ho REVIEW 25 May 2023 ****

THEATRE

Adapted from Samuel Beckett's novella, produced by Victorian Theatre Company & Theatre Works

At TW Explosives Factory, Rear Laneway, 67 Inkerman St., St. Kilda until 3 June 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: **** (4)

 This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 27 May 2023.KH

Robert Meldrum Worstward Ho pic by Chelsea Neate

 Worstward Ho is a challenging performance for both actor and audience, but actor, Robert Meldrum, is compelling, inspiring and mesmerising in this solo, 60-minute work which almost defies description – but let’s try.

 

Adapted from Samuel Beckett’s final piece of writing, a novella of the same name, Worstward Ho resonates with Beckettian style and his themes of the human existential dilemma.

 

The piece is non-narrative, abstract, non-linear and demands our full attention. Meldrum is an unnamed, non-specific man, who wrestles with words and their meaning, wrangling language into new patterns, syntax and poetic forms. He begins with single words only as he struggles to understand his environment and anything or anyone that enters his orbit.

 

We are meaning makers, so we render the remainder of the picture from those few, fragmented words and mangled, paradoxical phrases he speaks. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he advances to almost complete sentences. I say almost, because the connective tissue of language is often absent: he uses no personal pronouns, constructs new words or strings them together in absurd but strangely meaningful ways, such as “better worse” or “best worst”.

 

He is grappling with existence itself – or, rather, the end of existence – facing “the shades”, “the dim”, “the void”, “the gulf”. In this “dim” he perceives “the bowed back” of what may be an old woman, “the twain”, an old man walking, holding the hand of a small child, and he perceives “the head” that is later reduced to “the skull”, or even simply “the stare”.

 

Meldrum’s rich, dark-honey voice lulls and compels us to listen to his every word, then startles with sudden outbursts of frustration or rage. His physicality elucidates the character's inner thoughts and feelings, with his movements shifting unpredictably from slinking to jolting and his expressive face softening and hardening with every mood change.

 

Richard Murphet’s direction is complex, nuanced and conjures an otherworldly atmosphere within which Meldrum exists. Murphet's lighting is bold and evocative, creating another character – even characters – on stage, with stark shadows that haunt Meldrum as he prowls around the dim space, slumps at a table where he is lit by only a desk lamp, leans against the rear wall lit by harsh side lighting, or steps into darkness until he emerges in a new patch of dim light.

 

Worstward Ho is a must if you love Beckett and are up for the challenge.

 

by Kate Herbert

Robert Meldrum Worstward Ho pic supplied by Theatre Works

Beautiful Highness PREVIEW ONLY 17-28 May 2023

 As I'm unable to see and review this show, I am posting a preview from the Media Release as it sounds interesting. Some of you may know Chelsea Plumley's work in musical theatre. 

It runs at Chapel off Chapel from 17-28 May 2023. KH

 From Media Release:

"Beautiful Highness is a new Australian Black Comedy written by five-time Green Room
nominated, award-winning musical theatre actress and musician, Chelsea Plumley."

Photo supplied.

"Inspired by Plumley’s family, the play celebrates the incredible grit and determination it takes to live with a mental health diagnosis and crystallises just how important a sense of belonging is for those people who often only experience stigma and discrimination. Beautiful Highness is an inter-generational, heartwarming story that is unsentimental and at times, laugh-out-loud funny.
 

"Synopsis: 

Shelley - a spunky, wise-cracking battler - lives with a soundscape of non-stop Voices plaguing her every waking minute. The only relief comes from weekly visits to see her kids - who  live with their Nana - daily phone calls to her siblings, and really, really loud music."

Photo supplied.

 

Killing Time by Jack Hibberd REVIEW 14 May 2023 ****

THEATRE

At La Mama Courthouse until Sun 21 May 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: **** (4)

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly, 3MBS, on Sat 27 May 2023. KH

Jim Daly, Don Bridges pic Darren Gill

 

Jack Hibberd’s new play, Killing Time, shows that time cannot stem the flow of his wit and style. Jack is back! Or, rather, Jack’s still here!

 

This two-hander, directed with comic flair, wit and intelligence by Denis Moore with the inimitable Jim Daly and Don Bridges, features an existential crisis for two men as they deal with the achingly slow, frustrating passing of time and their relentless march towards death.

 

Jim Daly’s Father Time is a pompous, snobbish Englishman who prides himself on his taste, his schooling at Charter House and his knowledge of classical music and literature. He bellows for his factotum, Tod (Don Bridges), until he remembers that Tod is dead and buried.

 

But, just to prove that nothing is known or immutable, a scruffy, grumbling Tod – who, until this moment, also thought he was dead –shambles in, wearing a tattered, dusty old waiter’s outfit. His master greets him by taunting him and beating him on the head. The abuse continues. Wearing a smoking jacket and seated at a coffin/table, Father Time orders Tod to bring cognac, then food and to massage his aching leg, then sprays him with a soda fountain and subjects him to other indignities. He even compels Tod to be a stand-in for his lover during Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, Father Time’s particularly quirky aphrodisiac.

 

Intermittently, their status relationship switches when Tod smugly and delightedly asserts himself and takes the power – albeit briefly.

 

As is common in other Hibberd works, this play centres on an existential crisis. This Father Time is not immortal. He and Tod are marking time, treading water, killing time while it is slowly but surely killing them. The two are trapped in Greg Carroll’s evocative set that accentuates their predicament: a claustrophobic, grim, black, brick-walled dungeon from which there is no escape.

 

Hibberd is one of Australia’s pre-eminent and lauded playwrights and Killing Time superbly encapsulates his idiosyncratic take on Australian slang blended with poetic and metaphorical dialogue, philosophy, cultural and topical references, literary quotes, snatches of classical music and flights of fancy. His dialogue often reminds us that we are watching a play: “Isn’t the theatre a wonder?” muses Father Time.

 

Daly and Bridges are a wonderful, comic double act, feasting on Hibberd’s cunning verbal comedy and relishing Moore’s inspired physical direction. It is a joy to see this entire team at work here!

 

By Kate Herbert

 

Jim Daly’s Father Time

Don Bridges - Tod

 

Writer – Jack Hibberd

Director – Denis Moore

Designer – Greg Carroll

Lighting Designer – Jason Bouvard

 

Don Bridges pic Darren Gill

Jim Daly pic Darren Gill

Jim Daly, Don Bridges pic Darren Gill

Radio REVIEWS Arts Weekly 3MBS SAT 13 MAY 2023

 

In this radio spot, I review four shows:

•  Calvalcade by Wits' End (Apologies for my error: I know Cabaret Voltaire was in Zurich, not Vienna, damn it. Oops!)
• Once the musical by Darlinghurst Theatre
• Beckett's Happy Days with Judith Lucy at MTC
•  Loaded with Danny Ball at Malthouse.

Cavalcade REVIEW 11 May 2023 ***1/2

THEATRE

Cavalcade by William Henderson, by Wits’ End

At 170 Leicester St Fitzroy until 21 May 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars:***1/2

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly, 3MBS, on Sat 13 May, 2023. KH

Cavalcade-Peter Houghton-pic Ponch Hawkes

Leave your bourgeois expectation of a narrative at the door because you ain’t gettin’ a linear story line in Cavalcade, by William Henderson and Wits' End. Dada has travelled a hundred years from Europe to Fitzroy to divert and befuddle you.

 

There are a few threads that those desperate for sense and meaning can grab. There are bicycles galore: tricycle, tandem, velocipede, unicycle; there are two characters, Evelyn (Peter Houghton) and Vivien (Tom Consadine), cleaners who must ad-lib a performance because the acting company has been waylaid on a rogue bus that is reportedly languishing somewhere in Lara, Bayswater or Frankston.

 

Evelyn and Vivien stumble valiantly but chaotically from one vignette to another, arriving perched primly on an absurdly long, multi-rider tandem – which they immediately crash noisily backstage – donning bowler hats, performing dialogues, testing props, making costumes from loo brushes and egg cartons, running a competitive sack race, dancing a waltz with a Dadaist unicycle, flipping eggs, cleaning up – and on goes the idiocy.

 

Major, early 20^th century artists are represented: Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (a urinal) Magritte’s bowler-hatted men, allusions to, and parodies of Wilde, Beckett, Brecht and Shakespeare, and pianist, Peter Dunsday, plays Erik Satie’s music, including the rarely heard Sports et Divertissements, on piano.

 

There are collisions of texts, rambling stream of consciousness voice overs (John Jacobs), simultaneous rantings about sovereignty and politics, a sour-faced schoolmaster who berates his recalcitrant student called (hilariously) Truncheon. Screened sporadically on the rear wall are scene titles, bicycle references, lists of known and unknown concentration camps, poetic snatches and an array of bizarre instructions to the pianist from an unseen Erik Satie, the last of which elicited applause from the audience.

 

Cavalcade is like one long, concrete poem with words, images and action – and clowns. This eccentric performance defies description and it deserves an audience.

 

by Kate Herbert

 

Cast: Peter Houghton, Tom Consadine, John Jacobs

Pianist: Peter Dunsday

Writer: William Henderson

Loaded REVIEW 10 May 2023 ****1/2

THEATRE

Adapted by Christos Tsiolkas & Dan Giovannoni from the book by Tsiolkas

By Malthouse Theatre

At Beckett Theatre, Malthouse until 28 May 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: **** ½ (4&½)

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly, 3MBS, on Sat 13 May, 2023. KH

Loaded_ Danny Ball as Ari_ pic Tamarah Scott

Danny Ball’s performance in Loaded is riveting, extraordinary and alarming as he propels Christos Tsiolkas’ 19-year-old, gay, Greek youth, Ari, through his brutal, hedonistic, high-octane, drug-addled, sex-sodden life.

 

Tsiolkas’ 1990s debut novel, Loaded, is the basis for this solo show, but Tsiolkas and writer Dan Giovannoni have dragged Ari cursing and writhing into 2023 with an intense, dense and graphic script that challenges both actor and audience.

 

Ari is still Greek-Australian, still doesn’t want to be gay, still doesn't want to be Greek, is still having sex with strangers in public and private places, still afraid of his mother’s wrath and still filled with self-loathing.

 

But now, he is slamming a panoply of new drugs, visiting new clubs and haunts, and talking about hipsters, Vegans, Uni wankers (that’s probably the same), wokeness and other 21^stc century contemporary issues.

 

Loaded takes place over one, long, dangerous and terrifyingly drug- and sex-fuelled night in Melbourne, during which Ari gallops and stumbles from his parents’ home in Brunswick, to drug pick-ups, parties and clubs in Collingwood, Preston, some eastern suburb, then St Kilda. On his anti-hero’s journey, he collects stoned siblings and friends, a drag queen, drug dealers, anonymous sex partners and other unsavoury characters. If you’re a denizen of Melbourne, there are plenty of laughs about suburbs and culture.

 

Ball is charismatic, compelling and has impeccable vocal, physical and acting technique. He is muscular and sensual and plays Ari with manic energy and remarkable, nuanced delivery, creating a totally credible, grotesque, sympathetic, funny and distressing character. He populates the stage with a parade of characters, some of whom he embodies briefly, and others that remain off-stage. He tosses us from laughter to gasping, from playfulness to despair. It is gruelling for the audience – particularly the sexually explicit scenes – but far more punishing for Ball.

 

Stephen Nicolazzo’s taut direction is so rapidly paced that it is hard to catch a breath as we witness Ari in his horrific spiral into drug and sex chaos.

 

I can’t say that it is an enjoyable experience, but Ball in Loaded delivers a dexterous and masterly piece of theatre. The crowd leapt to its feet as one at the finish. 

by Kate Herbert

 

Cast - Danny Ball

Director - Stephen Nicolazzo

Adapted by Christos Tsiolkas & Dan Giovannoni from novel