In the Dark | Big Fork Theatre
Being almost completely pitch black, it gave the presentation a live podcast vibe or even something reminiscent of an old-time comedy radio show. Not being able to see much also allowed the audience to use their imagination, which made it feel more immersive.
Corpus Null | AXIS
Corpus Null opened strong. A lone walker approached the audience, slow, barely moving at all. One by one, bodies emerged, running in figure eights, crashing into the walker’s line of sight, as if hit by an electric shock over and over again. It conjured up images of the daily grind, being lost among the chaos of the unrelenting rat race. I was distressed and captivated.
Get Her Outta Here | Broccolini Productions
Get Her Outta Here is a quirky show created and performed by Isabella Broccolini at Sideshow as part of Anywhere Festival. It is a monologue that lasts for about 40 minutes that will make you rack your brain to find meanings and connections. You have to go in there with an open mind because there is nothing straight about this show.
Coterie Cabaret
Wow, wow, wow! What a shit hot and sexy show! Coterie Cabaret Creative Directors Anna Johnston and Emily Stockwell have struck gold with their debut show, Coterie Cabaret, producing a gasp-inducing, laugh-out-loud, sexy, international quality show that celebrates kink and sex-positivity in all the best ways. Starring some of Brissy’s finest circus, dance and cabaret performers, Coterie Cabaret is a stellar night out that hits all the right spots and leaves the audience begging for more.
Pink Martini Pop-up Cabaret | Evoke Dance & Theatre Company
Showcasing a range of dance styles including salsa, tango, samba, the cancan, contemporary, jazz and even a conga line, gorgeous costuming and backed by a stellar eight piece band, the cabaret hit all the right places. As someone who got swept up in learning Latin dance years back, it made for great night of nostalgia, leaving me smiling and humming along. The local audience seemed to agreed, as they clapped and stamped their feet throughout.
Dear Adults | Virag Dombay and Harry Fritsch
Dear Adults is a verbatim piece performed by children that explores different dynamics they have with adults and provides a stage for their questions and concerns to be heard. It’s the kind of show that I wished I would’ve had access to as a child, especially with growing up in a rural town and the difficulties that arose there. To be able to have those honest discussions with the adults in my life is something I yearned for when I was younger and still do to some extent.
101 Ways to Stare At A Wall | Sharmila Nezovic
Sharmila Nezovic is a thinker. An artist who layers ideas on inspirations and metaphors, who intersperses themes from across her lifetime of artmaking into curious installations. A one-time event, 101 Ways to Stare at a Wall is simultaneously a critique of our over-urbanised lives, hemmed in by the endless cemented infrastructure of modern cities, and also a kind of love letter to the hidden beauty of accidental architecture and human place-making.
It Takes A Lot Not To End Up Dead | NiK NaK Productions
In this unique musical cabaret, local folk singer-songwriter Lizzie Flynn takes us on a heartwarming journey through her youth via the key people and events that inspired her repertoire of original songs. It Takes A Lot Not To End Up Dead is a fun and wholesome time. I’m a big fan of putting singing and storytelling together. Singing itself is storytelling, but add a sprinkle of honest, in-character storytelling and you’ve got something extra special.
The Pageant | The Beryls
Roger Seahorse, played by Laura Trennery, was a stiff, wide-eyed dork of a man, clad in a bedazzled pale blue suit. He was timid but endearing and practically plastic with fake tan and glowing white teeth. Victoria Beauvoir, played by Patrick Dwyer, was lush, larger than life, suggestive and sexually available in a shimmery gown and a cloud of blonde curls. Both characters were extreme, almost demonic, caricatures of pageant hosts. The footlighting cast shadows across their faces that twisted their white smiles.
Utopia! And the Calamity Caravan | Observatory Theatre
Using circus, tap dance and clowning, the team at Observatory Theatre have made a vibrant and lively adventure story that is sure to please the kiddos. This is a pretty good first draft of a fun family show, and I genuinely enjoyed it and would like to see it transformed into a real winner, so I am going to put on my circus producer hat for this one.
Vasilissa | Sylph Circus & Sirin Ensemble
I hope that Sylph Circus continues this path in future productions, finding other girl-centred stories to tell, to share, to enjoy the creating and performing of, to embed knowledge and learn it joyously, to share it with whomsoever comes to trip down the forest path on a crisp morning in autumn.
The Great Grandiosa | Act React
If you have ever wanted to know what the winning lottery number is going to be, or what riches are coming in your future, then you might not find that at The Great Grandiosa. What you are guaranteed though is a fun night of hilarious comedy and a peek into what might’ve happened in our past lives as you are swept away by The Great Grandiosa’s psychic charm, tarot card readings and a deep delve into horoscopes.
I am King. I am Queen | Roýmata Holmes & Room to Play
It is still very rare to see the stories of queer people of colour on the stage and screen, especially Pacifika peoples, that celebrate their joy and the importance of ongoing connection to culture in their lives. It was a joy to see Roýmata share these experiences as a part of the showing and I particularly loved the passion that they showed sharing the stories of their family and the dances from The Cook Islands.
Coterie Cabaret
If I had only one word to describe Coterie Cabaret, it would undoubtedly be sexy! Coterie is a celebration of human bodies and all the kinky ways that they connect. This is not a show for the prude, and you will leave with a new checklist of kinks to try!
The Shelter | Here + There Productions
Trapped in a random person’s garage with a group of strangers and limited time to get out may not be everyone’s cup of tea or idea of a fun night out. For many, this probably sounds tantamount to volunteering yourself for torture. If you’re in that category, bear with me, because I’m going to convince you getting yourself trapped will be a highlight of your Anywhere Festival.
Begotten | Minola Theatre
We see the relationships the women have with men unravel from healthy and supportive to dysfunctional and abusive. We see these women losing their identities and finding themselves, embracing motherhood and running away from it and either fighting against or succumbing to the hardships in their lives.
A Bed of Roses | Arbour Theatre Company
The five improv actors were so good I kept forgetting they were acting. They did an incredible job of staying in character despite so much distraction around them, while also handling the crowd through the scene changes.
Starter Boyfriend | Squirt Productions
We ventured into the mythical but very real ‘Virginity Store’ where the performers broke into song and synchronised dancing, listing some of the many ways to define sex. They drew focus away from traditional hetero-centric ideas of penis-in-vagina virginity and celebrated all the different ways to have sex, and thus virginities to be lost. It honestly got me excited for more first times in my life. There is such a big deal made over that one first time that often we forget to celebrate the others.
SHELTER | The Drawer Productions
SHELTER is a powerful and moving performance. I’d encourage anyone interested in immersive theatre to check it out if it gets the opportunity to run again. There’s a lot more to it than what I have touched on, but a big part of the experience is going in not knowing much and watching the mystery unfold, interacting with the bunker and following the Chapman family around as their complex relationships with each other are played out for us in a close and personal way.
Prison X | UNITED NOTIONS Film & KOA.XYZ
While it borrows traditional gaming elements, it also plays our as a documentary. It’s an opportunity to learn about a different culture and heritage as well as a current society in a different part of the world. And with it being created by not only Violetta Ayala, but a team of female Andean artists and POC designers, it brings a genuine authenticity in the work that they’re sharing.