Performing Arts Reviews:
2008–2022

  Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) present THEN by Yve Blake and Co. in the ATYP Space, Wharf 4, Hickson Rd. (9 September – 19 September. ATYP have welcomed home an alumni, Yve Blake, who has had some success with her one woman/self devised project, overseas: THEN. From the program: A WORD FROM YVE. Way back in September 2013 I had an idea. What would happen if I tried to co-write a whole show with strangers? What would happen if I built a website where anyone could send me a story? […] I built WhoWereWe.com and the stories came…

Photo by Geoff Sirmai A Late Night Show: Renaissance Productions, in association with Red Line Productions, present BULL, by Mike Bartlett, at the Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo, 1-12 September, 2015. A late night show, this production of BULL, by British playwright, Mike Bartlett, is a 55 minute, black comic/tragedy of the possible horror of present day Darwinian office politics, where only the fittest will survive, pitched in a powerfully exaggerated manner. Three employees meet before an interview with the boss and the outrageous verbal cruelty of the bullying and humiliation of one of the three is a marvel to hear.…

O Photo by Rupert Reid Outhouse Theatre Co, in association with Redline, presents, THE ALIENS, by Annie Baker, at the Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo, 25 August – 19 September, 2015. Annie Baker’s 2010 play, THE ALIENS, is set in a fictional place called Shirley, in the state of Vermont. Two older men (early 30’s) in the backyard of a coffee shop befriend a young worker of the shop, and share their ambitions and observations of life. It is part of a collection of plays, four in total, set in Shirley, Vermont, the others being: CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION (2009) – produced by…

Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) present Brahms 3, Mozart Sinfonia Concertante, at the Sydney City Recital Hall, Angel Place, 18 Aug – 22 Aug. The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) in its biggest formation this year, brought some 50 musicians onto the stage. The sound is full and electric. The concert began with an exuberantly passionate ‘reading’ of the Overture from the opera, THE MAGIC FLUTE, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1791). The experience was surprising and arousing taken with a speed that had me hearing the work as if it were the first time. The dramatics of the scoring were delivered with…

JUMP FIRST ASK LATER – PARKOUR FROM THE STREETS OF FAIRFEILD, Produced and Presented by Powerhouse Youth Theatre (PYT) and Force Majeure, at the Fairfield School of Arts, 19-29 August, 2015, a World Premiere. Some Fairfield youth have explored and practised as individuals and, latterly, as an ensemble: The Dauntless Movement Company (DMC), to present a wide range of street physical engagements: B-Boying, Parkour, Free running, Hip-hop dancing, Tricking, a variety of martial arts, calisthenics, and acrobatics. In JUMP FIRST ASK LATER, six individuals, all founding members of DMC: Joseph Carbone, Johnny Do, Patrick Uy, Justin Kilic, Natalie Siri and…

A Late Night Show, FLAME PEAS, by Philippe Klaus, Nicole Shostak, and Griffin Blumer, at the Old Fitz Theatre, under the auspices of Red Line productions, 4 August -15 August. What has happened at the Old Fitz under the management of Red Line Productions is beside producing, presenting, a show at 7.30pm – the Main Event – a series of Late Shows have been curated – variously, 9 – 9.30pm, usually 40-45 minutes in length. This late night showing has attracted and allowed young companies and independent artists to use the space as a place for development of new work…