Category: Keith Agius

Red Line presents THE WHALE, by Samuel D. Hunter, at the Old Fitz Theatre, Cathedral St Wooloomooloo. 4 Feb – 4 March. THE WHALE, written by American writer, Samuel D. Hunter in 2012, has all of the ingredients of a classically constructed play – it ticks all (most) of the boxes of ‘good’, audience-friendly playwriting, tried and still true. A realist environment we all know; characters (we might nearly know) with complicated back stories; enough contemporary issues that we can, relatively, associate with: morbid obesity, religious tyranny and its corroding influence, sexual taboos, gay (bi-sexual) family, adolescent angst; and a…

Bell Shakespeare presents, HENRY V, in the Playhouse, at the Sydney Opera House, 21 Oct – 14 Nov, 2014. Some children and their teachers are trapped in a classroom/bunker in London during the German Blitzreig of World War Two. The teachers provide the children the text of HENRY V, by William Shakespeare, to read and rehearse in an improvised manner, to distract them from the surrounding chaos. With a concussive Sound Design (Composer and Sound Design, Steve Francis), and Lighting Design (Sian James-Holland), an atmosphere of alarm outside the room brings a reality of war to the environment. Anne Gardiner…

  PARADE THEATRES, THEATRE FORWARD and NIDA present THE SNEEZE from Michael Frayn after Chekhov in the Parade Studio at NIDA. This production arises from THEATRE FORWARD ALLIANCE, which is made up of the 2008 graduates of the NIDA Directing course, and supported by the NIDA SPRINGBOARD INITIATIVE. THE SNEEZE is a collection from Chekhov’s Short Play output, adapted by Michael Frayn. 5 directors have chosen a work each (there are other works in this compendium): THE EVILS OF TOBACCO (David Harmon); THE PROPOSAL (Morgan Dowsett); THE SNEEZE (Kate Revz); SWAN SONG (Imara Savage); THE BEAR (Sarah Giles) They have…

Photo – Whore – Rhiannon Owen Arts Radar in association with B Sharp presents the world premiere of WHORE by Rick Viede, at Belvoir Downstairs. WHORE is a play, in a set of numbered episodes, about two young people that decide that the world of the sex worker is a way to make money and be “interesting”. It covers a familiar trajectory of naive entry to the world and a series of initially benign adventures that gradually disintegrate to ugly confrontations. It charts a journey of friendship, comradeship between Sara (Rhiannon Owen) and Tim (Paul-William Mawhinney) as they get to…

  New Theatre present THE HERBAL BED by Peter Whelan. On a setting (Set and Costume design by Renee Mulder) that has simply stripped back everything to a bare space with an acting area surrounded by tubed lighting strings and then further closed in by a marked out oblong live-playing space with a minimal set of furniture and props, lit (sometimes under lit) with a very attractive design (Joshua Emanuel and Matthew Tunchon) the director, Sarah Giles, has guided a very committed set of actors through a thoroughly engrossing well made tale by British playwright, Peter Whelan. It is aesthetically…

“Oh I love the world! I love love love love the world.” Later. “I love the world. I know how that sounds, inexcusable and vague, but it’s all I can say for myself, I love the world, really I do….. LOVE” Later still… “The dust of Kabul’s blowing soil smarts lightly in my eyes, but I love her, for knowledge and love both come from her dust.” Homebody speaks to us for almost 40 minutes. She then disappears and her knowledge and love become part of the dust of Kabul and Mr Kushner leaves one with ones eyes smarting lightly…