Month: March 2009

  Small Things Productions in association with B Sharp presents LADYBIRD by Vassily Sigarev at the Downstairs Theatre. Vassily Sigarev a contemporary Russian writer has had three of his plays presented in Sydney: PLASTICINE (2000); BLACK MILK (2002) and now LADYBIRD (2004). Each of these plays deal with the desolation of parts of the Russian society in the era of Putin’s government. The lower depths of the very recent past time. Some commentators have, in an attempt to define Mr Sigarev’s niche, suggested him as the contemporary Gorky or Dostoyevsky. This may be somewhat premature. Certainly in the “world“ of…

Australian Chamber Orchestra present TOUR TWO, INNER VOICES: BACH & SIBELIUS with Pekka Kuusisto, Guest Conductor. I had listened to the Music Show (Radio National) on the Saturday before the concert I attended. I thought Pekka Kuusisto sounded very quirky and interesting. This proved to be so. The two Bach pieces, Brandenburg Concerto No.3, BWV 1048 and the Violin Concerto No.2, BWV 1042, were both familiar and so very easy and comforting to hear. Perfectly delightful. The celebratory work for the 20th Anniversary of Richard Tognetti’s association with the Orchestra commissioned by the ACO from Andrew Ford, BRIGHT SHINERS, was…

Performance Space present ROADKILL by Splintergroup at CarriageWorks. When you enter the Space in a surround of black clad walls sits a red car just stage left (audience perspective) of centre. Up stage right is a telephone box. Used tyres and tree branches are heaped up in downstage right corner. The lights dim, we hear the beginning of morning birds waking and occasionally twerping. The inside of the vehicle lights up and we see a man and a woman inside. The woman sleeping. What follows is a detailed enactment by the man in attempting to start the car, it responds…

Sydney Theatre Company and Griffin Theatre Company present CONCUSSION by Ross Mueller at Wharf 2 Theatre, Sydney.   CONCUSSION IS A VERY GOOD PLAY. It seemed to me to be a play about the World Concussed. We are shown six characters, some of them functioning in areas of social responsibility that were once (and maybe still are) Pillars of the Community: Doctor, Police Officer (detective), and then two more modern “pillars”: marketing consultants, a spin doctor and, sadly, a young representative of the future, “a male potential dropout.” This is a play where people have been given, in our present…

  You can see the quote in context in Kevin Jackson’s blog on FLOATING. The Sydney Opera House charges an extra $5 for tickets purchased over the box office counter. Do you think this is fair? Have your say in our online poll. → Pearl (Moderator)

RASA UNMASKED presented by Lingalayam Dance Company -Australia with Sutra Dance Theatre – Malaysia at The Studio at the Sydney Opera House. “Rasa is produced when man comes into contact with Life. His reactions to life stimuli are reflected on his many facial expressions and body language. The sum total of his ‘rasas’ produces the mask, the face of his highest ideal: of Man and also his God. ”THE NINE RASAS: WONDERMENT; LOVE; VALOUR; COMPASSION; LAUGHTER; DISGUST; TERROR; ANGER; SERENITY. In dance the story of the Courtesan, Nayika and the Hero, Nayak is told. These two companies one from Australia…