Month: October 2008

This play is written by a Serbian author dealing with the games children (may) play in the debris of a war zone. The war zone can be that of the domestic house front between the sexes, between the generations, between the neighbours, next door or next city. It is the terrible tale of the Human Animal when placed in extremes of stress. The stress is always relative and always viable for those in the thick of it. My body. My bed. My bedroom. My house. My suburb. My city. My country. And it is the humanity of it. The mothers…

There has been a BUZZ around this production. I made sure I got there despite my schedule and the uncommunicative Box Office at Belvoir. I rang twice, hung on twice for almost ten minutes and finally walked to the theatre, the day before, to get my ticket. Now isn’t that dedication to my pursuit of a good time? Part of the reason why, may be the reputation of the writer. Tracy Letts, an American writer, is the new flavour of the year. His play, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY first presented at STEPPENWOLF Theatre in Chicago opened last year on Broadway and…

Arguably, five great classics of the repertory were promised this year in Sydney. The Bell Shakespeare presented HAMLET. The ANTIGONE at Belvoir. THE WOMEN OF TROY at the Sydney Theatre Company. The Ensemble Theatre as part of its celebratory 50th Anniversary Season offered DEATH OF A SALESMAN (Arthur Miller), and now the great German play Friedrich Schiller’s MARY STUART in a new version by Peter Oswald. This acclaimed version was premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in 2005. Peter Oswald is a verse dramatist himself and has written this new version in a mixture of prose and poetry. MARY STUART is…

I attended this production late in its season. I had read and been told a lot of things about this production. None of them encouraging. And it did prove to be a very dispiriting night in the theatre. It had nothing to do with the performances . In fact, I should like to begin by congratulating the Actors of this company for a great show of professionalism. Valiantly giving committed and cheerful performances in what could only be a disheartening project. The theatre auditorium, fairly empty and those of us there, generally responding supportedly, but in a bewildered manner. Peter…

BLOWING WHISTLES is an English play by Matthew Todd skilfully adapted to the local Sydney scene by Alice Livingstone and Pete Nettell. This is a revival of a production of this play after a successful season at the B Sharp venue at Belvoir during the 2008 Mardi Gras festivities last February. The post card blurb suggests that “straight and gay audiences alike will relate to this comedy”. Certainly the gay audience will embrace it. They did last night. The play’s main story deals with two men, Nigel (Lindsay Moss) and Jamie ( Neil Phipps) on the night of their 10th…

This is the final work of the Sydney Dance Company in 2008. An intermediary year of three choreographers working with the dancers whilst in the hiatus of searching for a new Artistic leader. I personally feel the company has benefited much from the input and experience of the three guest choreographers: Meryl Tankard, Rafael Bonachela and now Aszure Barton. This work has the feel of a deliberate choice that is as opposite to The Bonachela as possible. The Bonachela 360 Degrees was bombastically contemporary in every area of creativity. It’s stature has grown for me over time and is even…