Card Houses | Harrison Mills & Anywhere Festival
The chemistry and the dynamics between the actors were also brilliant. From their intense fight to a heart-felted conversation, the pacing was well performed throughout, which ultimately drew me deeper into their inner world.
The Poison of Polygamy | La Boite Theatre & Sydney Theatre Company
Modern Australia has always been diverse, and more stories need to focus on the reality of diversity in our country, even if that is a complicated story to tell. I found the work challenging in the best possible way and felt affected by the narrative. The Poison of Polygamy is a must-see for anyone seeking relevant, high-quality theatric works.
SHE | indelabilityarts
SHE is an evocative rollercoaster ride of emotions where the dark, the neutral and the light share the stage equally just like in real life. SHE is at once unsettling, discomforting, provocative, engaging, seamlessly invoking a plethora of emotions ranging from anger to serenity, from dark to light, from pessimism to optimism but above all, from hopelessness to hope. SHE is brave enough to take a deep dive into women and their particular mental health issues.
Venus in Fur | The X Collective
What truly made this play stand out was the performance of the actors, AJ and Nick Sinclair, who dynamically portrayed the two main characters. The performances were nothing short of exceptional, with both actors delivering nuanced portrayals of their characters. They both playfully and skilfully moved through the complex tonal and vocal shifts demanded of the piece.
REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN | Vena Cava Productions
REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN is an audacious and bold production. Breaking down text, vocabulary, and vernacular to its most surreal roots, it explores how words and society’s changing definition of them, have shaped the way we perceive and behave towards women, and placed arbitrary – and often absurd – boundaries around gender roles.
Nineteen | Underground Theatre Company
Overall, the actors as an ensemble were quite tight and captured the emotional repression and despondency that their characters were feeling. A special mention to Dominic Graves, who gave his character Noah’s broken masculinity and repressed trauma nuance and an emotional depth that was called for.
I Love You, Bro | THAT Production Company
Quick, now’s your chance to experience an excellent young actor in a small black box theatre before he hits the big time and is too famous for all of us. In all seriousness, Jordan Stott was flying - his performance leaps forward with presence and electricity, never leaving the audience behind. This performer knows how to work a crowd, and this piece was perfect for him.
The Mystery of the Valkyrie | Woodward Productions & PowerArts
Sherlock Holmes aficionados will love the twists and turns of the story that Director & Writer Michael Futcher brings and the relationship established by an exceptionally well-cast Holmes and Watson duo. Eugene Gilfedder really is Sherlock Holmes, and Anthony Gooley’s Dr John Watson was suitably endearing and enjoyable.
A Life in Theatre | Ad Astra
An absurd satire and love letter to theatre, director Pierce Gordon brought the text to life with such nuance; acknowledging the slice of the theatre industry it represents and finding parallels to contemporary theatre practices. From the actor’s relationship to the space, the dynamic role of the sets and the combination of naturalistic and comedic acting styles, Gordon expertly captured Mamet’s chaotic world.
La Boite Season 2023: Bolder and braver
When introducing the season, Stewart shared that she hopes that La Boite’s four main-house new Australian works will be the theatre classics of tomorrow. Stewart noted that it is, “… an entire season of necessary, never-before-seen work, brought to the stage by talented Australian artists and local creatives. From morality and betrayal, relationships and grief, identity and displacement, and crushes and cosplay, there is a show for everyone.”
"Our biggest and boldest season yet!" Lachlan Driscoll on the launch of Observatory Theatre's 2023 Season
I think seasons are a fantastic way to involve audiences more deeply in what we do as a company and also the shows themselves. The season becomes an invitation to get a bit closer. The curation of a season of work around a core focus is a chance for audiences to gain more meaning than if the shows were just standalone.
Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes | Josie Cross & Stephen Hirst
The emphasis on Jon’s inner thoughts and Hirst’s delivery poses the question of whether it is he who should be telling the story? Why aren’t we hearing the nineteen year old’s side? All of this gets resolved and answered in the most delicious way near the closing of the play. I actually shrieked in my seat and grabbed my friend’s hand in delight. Can you get better writing than that?
Bloom Girl | Charli Burrowes
Bloom Girl takes us to her world, a world of instant attention, interaction, gratification. Of being hyper alert ready for the next beep and armed with the next retort complete with the right hashtag. It reminds us of how demanding being connected to social media is, and what it like to be an influencer seeing what other influencers do. I’m led to think perhaps social media is a virus when I hear the mispronounced influenza spoken.
"This is for anyone with a smart phone, feeling a little bit less than." Charli Burrowes on her debut play 'Bloom Girl'
It’s a story about wanting to be loved (and 'liked'). With a few heartbreaks in my back pocket, I have combined my experiences of the digital dating scene to turn them into something a little fun, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Breaking | Counterpilot
A heavy feeling of helplessness and hopelessness overcame me as my anxiety increased with the unsettling news bulletins becoming grimmer and grimmer, sometimes bordering on the absurd, sometimes tinged with the darkest humour. Overall the weight of the well-scripted news bulletins was nothing short of palpable.
Slippery | Curtain World
There is a clear internal logic to the fantastical in Slippery, but with just enough of the familiar that it’s both hilariously weird and painfully relatable. Slippery feels like being pulled down a rabbit hole into a fantastical genderless fever-dream where everyone in the Vatican is gay, spoons are idiots, and cucumber vape juice will kill you. It’s unashamedly absurd, unapologetically queer, and hysterically funny.
Pierrot | Martelle Simon-Green
[Pierrot] was so intimate. I felt like it was just me and them and the simply dressed stage. I went with them wherever the performers took me. At times the performance was so tiny, but I was still with them, peeking into their stillness. I left feeling quite speechless which isn’t like me.
The Great Gatsby: An Immersive Theatrical Production | Viral Ventures
After a brief introduction to the show’s format by Robuck, the audience is dropped into the world of the novel, all being given the role of the narrator Nick Carroway. Throughout the show the rest of the cast intermittently interacts with each of us as Nick, which seemed to really resonate with a number of punters. Many were all smiles and giggles when they were referred to directly or invited to partake in a small part of a scene.
The Bluff | The Drawer Productions
The Bluff is an Australian Gothic play that utilises all of the tropes of the genre to full effect to explore the impacts of a tragic event on a small community, the burden of guilt and shame, the effects of gossip and rumour and the very question of our own existence. There are marshlands, apparitions, isolation, guilt and so, so many secrets; all the good gothic stuff. And this is all finely balanced by enough light moments that we don’t get sucked into complete maudlin Wuthering Heights territory.
Constellations by Nick Payne | All Entertainment
It is a great work out to be onstage essentially unending for an hour and a half and both Katie and William held their space and power for the entire time. They were able to create seamless transitions between the scenes and had some exciting choices and exploration with the dialogue and repeated scenes.