Performing Arts Reviews:
2008–2022

Sydney Theatre Company in association with Frantic Assembly present STOCKHOLM by Bryony Lavery at Wharf 1. This is a co-production between the Sydney Theatre Company and an English company, Frantic Assembly. Frantic Assembly is a company that creates and explores physical theatre skills as part of the dramatic language of their productions. Steven Hoggett, one of the co-directors – choreographers of STOCKHOLM (the other being Scott Graham), was associate director of the National Theatre of Scotland’s BLACK WATCH, which was part of the 2008 Sydney Festival. (Best remembered for an inventive physical transformation sequence.) STOCKHOLM was developed in close collaboration…

  Ion Nibiru presents Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinness at The Pact Theatre. “Ion Nibiru is a new production company dedicated to breaking the mould and offering fresh perspectives in creative enterprises. Co-founded by Rod Byrnes and Ray Sullivan…. along with Zac Jardine and a working relationship with Production Company Darqhorse (headed by John Ma)”. They state later in their program notes, “It is not a different direction; rather, an alternate perspective.” Frank McGuinness is an Irish playwright whose most recent work, GRETA GARBO COMES TO DONNEGAL, has just opened in London (January). Besides his own plays…

  Sydney Theatre Company Education presents THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE by Martin McDonagh at Wharf 2. THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE by Martin McDonagh is on the school syllabus and so the Education wing of the Sydney Theatre Company have mounted a production to take the play from the page to the stage, to give some students the brilliant opportunity to see the text as intended: Full of the life of actors telling the story to them in a space where they are part of the creative exchange that is the magic of the theatre. Actor and audience together,…

  Performing Lines with Performance Space present MY GENERATION, WILLIAM YANG at Bay 21, Carriageworks. William Yang has been taking photographs for a very long time. He has had many exhibitions of his work, the first, SYDNEYPHILES at the Australian Centre for Photography in 1977. He has had several books of his works published (I have three of them: Sydney Diaries, Sadness and Friends of Dorothy). MY GENERATION is the tenth full-length performance piece by Mr Yang. They have toured Australia and International Festivals. He is the most internationally toured Australian performer. Two large screens at a slight V-shaped angle…

Sydney Theatre Company present SPRING AWAKENING. A New Musical. Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater. Music by Duncan Sheik. Based on the original play by Frank Wedekind. At the Sydney Theatre. Oh, look……Oh, boy…..Oh, wow…..Oh, woe…… I deliberately waited until late in the season (the last week, in fact) before attending this production. Neither the press reviews or the “word of mouth” was particularly encouraging about this production. [Less than half a theatre full.] I knew that the company were young and mostly inexperienced and a big musical (I have seen it in New York) needs proper time to find…

Sydney Opera House presents JOHN WATERS: THIS FILTHY WORLD. A New Mardi Gras Festival Event. John Waters famous for his “push the boundaries “ or “bad taste”, depending on where or how you “sit”, “fit” in the world about you, in pink sneakers and glossy grey jacket with black dress pants was welcomed onto the Concert Hall stage at the Sydney Opera House with the full force of the positivity of an adoring audience. The performance began on a real high of affection and enthusiasm and, mostly it stayed there, and even skittered higher. The performance was a sophisticated, as…