Category: John Bell

  Bell Shakespeare & Queensland Theatre Company Present THE ALCHEMIST by Ben Johnson, Directed by John Bell. THE ALCHEMIST written in 1610 by Ben Johnson is a satire of greed and the follies that ensue from the pursuit of it. The Bell program notes give us a thorough contemporary overview of practitioners we know. It includes references to Christopher Skase and Alan Bond, Bernard Madoff and Peter Foster. Contemporary texts/films of comparison include THE GRIFTERS, THE STING and DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Ben Johnson following on from the success of VOLPONE (1605-06) returns to the satire of his fellow man in…

I attended this production with just a little trepidation. The colour photograph in the Sydney Morning Herald with all that “blood” all over the actors and the set looked…. well…. as if I were heading into another….. “Koskyesque” adventure in the theatre. After THE WOMEN OF TROY with the typical production “tricks” of the Kosky oeuvre and my shell shocked experience in the Ride On Company’s production of FAMILY STORIES: BELGRADE maybe my sensibilities were a little depleted and distressed. Now, I do not know much about Heiner Muller, except a little I have gleaned from reading and brief conversations…