Year: 2011

AUSFENG presents MULAN. Acrobatic Show performed by CHONGQING ACROBATIC ART TROUPE OF CHINA at the State Theatre, Sydney. “Chongqing Acrobatic Art Troupe is one of the most famous acrobatic troupes in China and the oldest local acrobatic troupe since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. It has become renowned around the world.” For those of us that have grown bored with the format and formula of Cirque de Soleil (but certainly not its remarkable performers) this troupe from the People’s Republic of China brings an old fashioned (and unintentionally naive) entertainment of amazing acrobatic, gymnastic skills in the…

Griffin Theatre   Presents SPEAKING IN TONGUES by Andrew Bovell at the SBW Stables Theatre, Sydney. SPEAKING IN TONGUES was first presented for the Griffin Theatre Company in 1996, directed by Ros Horin. The play became a success both nationally and internationally. Since that time the text was adapted for the screen as LANTANA and in 2001 won seven Australian Film Industry (AFI) Awards. This production by Sam Strong is a part of the Griffin’s 2011 season and part of a plan by that company to look back and revive plays from the past of the Australian repertoire. This production…

    Chinese New Year Festival 2011 presents THE IMPERIAL BELLS in Concert at the Sydney Town Hall. Nine rows of nine lanterns hung on either side of a Chinese New Year banner for 2011. Behind, is the gloriously restored Baroque-looking organ. Two cultures present and meeting in an exchange of art and ideals, for in the foreground is a one third replica of the imperial bells, also called Bianzhong, and they have a history dating back 3600 years, and like the Western organ in our western music heritage, have played an important part in China’s ritual and court music.…

    NEW THEATRE present the Australian première of CANARY by Jonathan Harvey. CANARY by Jonathan Harvey premièred last year in Liverpool and subsequently at the Hampstead Theatre in London in May 2010. Jonathan Harvey probably came to most people’s attention with his play, turned film, BEAUTIFUL THING. This was followed by other plays and a television series called BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE and cult comedy series called GIMME GIMME GIMME. Coming back to the theatre, Mr Harvey has written an epic decade covering journey of some parts of Gay British history. Beginning in 1961 and spanning time ‘til now, Mr Harvey…

Sydney Festival 2011 present FOOD CHAIN. Gavin Webber & Grayson Millwood (Animal farm Collective) At the Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre. Having seen the two last works of Gavin Webber and Grayson Millwood under the company banner of Splintergroup: LAWN and ROADKILL, I was duly attracted to see this work as well. FOOD CHAIN is a new work commissioned from an invitation Physical Virus Collective (pvc) in Freiburg, Germany. “We wanted to explore the idea of animals experimenting on humans, viewing them like a David Attenborough nature documentary in reverse. And with this perspective we wanted to ponder how much ‘animal’…

Sydney Festival in association with Arts Projects Australia presents ENTITY from the Wayne McGregor/Random Dance at the Sydney Theatre. The Australian Ballet performed Wayne McGregor’s DYAD, 1909 (the program CONCORD – December, 2009). I enjoyed it very much but thought that some of the intricacy of the choreography was beyond some of the classic dancer’s competency, that night. So I was very keen to see this work made on and for this collection of dancers. Dancers from his own company Random Dance. The recent screening on ABC television of the December 2009, UK Southbank arts documentary, looking intensely at the…