Year: 2011

TRAPTURE presented by Sands through the Hourglass in association with Tamarama Rock Surfers Theatre at the Old Fitzroy Theatre. TRAPTURE, says the blurb, is bleeding theatre into performance art. Oh, yeah. “Outrageous and visceral”! – mmm? For who? A woman (Sarah Enright) dressed in slinky full length dress and gag greets each of us as we enter the Old Fitz theatre space. The walls are draped in plastic, the seats are covered in plastic. There is an air of fun (and potential danger?) Above the stage there is a technical arsenal of sound gear, being treated by Basil Hogios, live,…

  One of the strengths of Lachlan Philpott’s playwriting so far has been the sense of deep authenticity that he brings to the worlds he explores in his plays. BISON (2000-2009) and COLDER (2007) have powerful and grave impact, particularly, as Mr Philpott’s point of view is embedded with ‘real’ knowledge and creative identification of the characters and the events of the action of the plays. He has first-hand ‘knowledge’ of what he writes. The plays have the pulse and wealthy inside knowledge that only connected, close, lived observation can give. Part of their power is the exposition of worlds…

  SIREN THEATRE CO presents AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare in Bay20 Carriageworks, Sydney. AS YOU LIKE IT begins at court where Dukes have usurped Dukes, brothers have fought brother, and daughters are separated from families and become ‘sisters’ to unite and run off into exile. All end in the Forest of Arden. This mythical version of Arden – “a sylvan sanatorium for the political exiled, the lovelorn, and assorted undesirables…it’s topography being a fantastical mixture of flora and fauna, including snakes, lions, and palm trees.” It is where magic and the balm of nature gives room for…

Belvoir presents CUT by Duncan Graham in the Belvoir St. Downstairs Theatre. This is the third piece of writing by Duncan Graham that I have seen, in Sydney: OLLIE and the MINOTAUR (Downstairs Belvoir St, 2009) and ONE LONG NIGHT IN THE LAND OF NOD (Old Fitzroy,2009), being the other two. This production, CUT, is certainly the most satisfactory experience of this writer’s work that I have had. The artistic collaboration of all of the artists involved, have worked to create a fully rounded gem of performance art- a dramatic monologue. The space in which the actor, Anita Hegh, moves,…

“THE SPARE ROOM is an exciting new development on the independent theatre scene in Sydney. THE SPARE ROOM facilitates co-production between New Theatre and independent companies, providing a platform for the creation of challenging and stimulating contemporary performance by both emerging and established artists.” ARTHUR (a theatre company), is the inaugural partner of this enterprise. ARTHUR, has a company brief, which you can find on Facebook. Too full of too much whimsical persiflage to seriously quote here. DIRTYLAND by Elise Hearst, is a new Australian play and is the first offer of this most welcome development from the New Theatre:…

TAMARAMA ROCK SURFERS THEATRE COMPANY present FOOLS ISLAND by Darren Gilshenan & Chris Harris at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi Beach. The principal creative force for FOOLS ISLAND, Darren Gilshenan: “So here is what I think …Theatre is its own delicious creature, full of symbol, metaphoric imagination and collaboration, it is bland when it is literal. It offers us a unique experience to explore an intimate relationship with a live audience. My aim was to challenge myself as a performer and utilise a wide skill set of performance qualities by creating a piece of theatre full of opposites; Physical performance…