Performing Arts Reviews:
2008–2022

  Griffin Independent with Virginia Hyam present NOSFERATUTU or Bleeding at the Ballet, by Tommy Bradson, at the SBW Stables Theatre, Kings Cross. 7-21 January. NOSFERATUTU, or Bleeding at the Ballet, is a new work by Tommy Bradson, Directed by Sheridan Harbridge. This is a showcase piece written by Mr Bradson for Mr Bradson. It is a quasi comic piece with some songs supported by a live band/orchestra led by talented Steven Kreamer on keyboards- (Sally Schnickel-Brown, Cello; Olga Solar, Violin). Ms Harbridge and Brandyn Kaczmarczyk feature in two supporting roles. This concerns a Creature, Kevin, who has for four…

  Belvoir presents a La Boite Theatre Company and Brisbane Festival production in association with Sydney Festival, PRIZE FIGHTER, by Future D. Fidel, in the Upstairs Theatre, at Belvoir St Theatre, Surry Hills. 6-22 January. This Australian play, PRIZE FIGHTER, has been written by a refugee from the civil war torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Future D. Fidel. It is his first play. It was developed by the La Boîte Theatre Company in Brisbane. In the program notes Mr Fidel tells us, reminds some of us, that the mineral rich DRC has had a reported death toll of 5.4…

Cheek By Jowl with Pushkin Theatre Moscow present MEASURE FOR MEASURE, as part of the Sydney Festival, in the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay. 7-11 January. Some once said something like: If you want to know a man, give him power. (George Brandis, Bronwyn Bishop, Susan Ley, Alan Trudge, et al?) In MEASURE FOR MEASURE (1603-4), William Shakespeare’s play, The Duke of Vienna, Angelo and Isabella particularly are given power and what we see is there hu-maness. That all three have both God and the Devil moving their actions, each of those ‘concepts’ of God and Devil taking control-turn when…

Some more “Pictures” 1. ALLIEDBrad Pitt and Marion Cotillard are teamed up by Robert Zemeckis (ROMANCING THE STONE (1984); the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy; FORREST GUMP (1994)) in ALLIED. Max Vatan, a Canadian espionage agent meets up with a French Resistance agent, Marianne Beausejour, in Casablanca to assassinate some Nazis. They do. They fall in love. They return to London. They marry. They have a daughter. Then, guess what? British Intelligence suspects that Marianne is a double agent. Oh, poor Max has a dilemma, country or wife and child? His duty is to assassinate her, immediately, when the British…

2016 was a disappointing year at the theatre in Sydney. Most of the Good Work came from the independent co-op productions and theatres. The Sydney Theatre Company just seems to be consistently artistically rudderless and moribund (is it driven, led, by Corporate visionaries or by artists? Money or art? Bums-on-seats rather than genuine artistic risk, exploration? Who are the dominant Board members? Bankers, Administrators or Artists? Be interesting to talk to Jonathan Church, don’t you think?)  Belvoir appears to be in some dynamic of flux with a balanced mixture of hits and misses – a gradual return to consistency in…

My movie glut continues… 1. DANCER. A documentary film originating in the United Kingdom. Teaching acting, one of the primary questions I ask my students is “What will you give up to get what you want?” Sergei Polunin born in the Ukraine appeared, even as a baby, to have a gifted body. And, this film poses and even more startling question: “What will the family (poor) give up to get what they want/need for their son?” Father goes to Portugal, grandmother goes to Greece to find work to pay for the fees necessary to promote their son’s career – there…