Performing Arts Reviews:
2008–2022

Photo by Joris-Jan Bos Sydney Opera House and Etihad Airways present NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, at the Sydney Opera House. The Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT) presented four dances last week at the Sydney Opera House: SWEET DREAMS, SARABANDE, SH-BOOM !, and SHOOT THE MOON. One could not wish for a better night at the theatre. Every element of the works: dancers, choreography, costume, setting, lighting, music-sound, the programming, achieved such an integrated standard of excellence, a transporting experience of both beauty and intellectual puzzle, such a grasp of what it is to be human, that one could…

The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), Tour Four – Tognetti presents ACO2 ACO2 was formed in 2005, and is a part of the Emerging Artists Program created by the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). It is made up of young artists working closely with the artists of the ACO cohort, being mentored and coached by them. ACO2 perform and tour as a separate entity around the country. This program is the first presentation of this second orchestra with members of the ACO on a national subscription tour. For history’s sake: the young artists are: Benjamin Caddy, William Clark, Peter Clark, Monique Lapins,…

The National Theatre of Great Britain and Global Creatures present WAR HORSE, based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford, at the Lyric Theatre, Star Casino, Sydney. I saw WAR HORSE in London in January, 2010 (please read the earlier blog as well – for a fuller appreciation, of this great work). WAR HORSE from the National Theatre of Great Britain is a shining example of what is possible when a theatre organisation has clear and broad concepts of what a theatre company can do for its community. WAR HORSE was building on the success of, among others,…

Vivid Live at the Sydney Opera House presents KRAFTWERK: THE CATALOGUE 12345678 TOUR DE FRANCE (2013) in the Joan Sutherland Theatre. Somehow I got through the seventies and eighties without ever knowing KRAFTWERK existed, or even what it was. Kraft made cheese, didn’t it? So what is KRAFTWERK? In the seventies and eighties they may have impinged into edges of my reality: AUTOBAHN and THE MODEL, perhaps, even COMPUTER LOVE registered in my life experiences. THE MODEL, definitely. How that happened, I do not know, or, I can’t remember, or, I won’t tell – repressed motivations, denials. I have always…

Expression Dance Company and Queensland Performing Arts Centre presents Natalie Weir’s R and J, at the Riverside Theatre, Parramatta. After attending contemporary dance programs, VANGUARD and G I travelled out to Parramatta to see the Queensland based company, Expressions Dance Company, on its tour around Australia with Natalie Weir’s R & J. This is work inspired by the Romeo and Juliet romance. It is not a dance or ballet of those lover’s story. It is rather three short scenes set across three different eras. The choreography of each act: PASSION, ROMANCE and DEVOTION, is basically a duet, intruded briefly by a third…

Belvoir with the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse presents FORGET ME NOT by Tom Holloway, at the Belvoir St Upstairs Theatre. FORGET ME NOT is new play by Tom Holloway, it, having been commissioned, jointly, by Belvoir and the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse. This play has its origins in the tragic history of child migration. The origins began in Great Britain in 1618 and concerned the colony of Virginia. The last child migration party arrived in Australia in 1970. The reality was that children as young as three were removed from their homes. Many children were removed without their parents knowledge…