“What I would love is for Sydney to start to understand how important swings are. There still seems to be a hangover about it, and I’ve had to really get it across to some people: It’s swings that are really keeping the industry running at this point.
Swings are— in my mind—absolutely remarkable, incredible artists and they should be celebrated.”
Padilla’s script is urgent and contemporary, although a little underdeveloped. However, Barrie and her team have taken the writing as it is, and created an impressive, powerful production that demands to be heard.
The One, by Vanessa Bates, doesn’t know what kind of story it wants to be. Directed by Darren Yap, the latest Australian play at the Ensemble Theatre, struggles with muddled storytelling and tonal dissonance. Marketed as an upbeat family comedy, The One is not as funny as it thinks it is. However, it’s also not…
Albion is an ambitious production of a formidable text that explores big ideas about humanity, class, family and social change. It’s a thought-provoking work of writing that has stayed with me all week. To successfully stage Bartlett’s intimidating and ideas-heavy text is a tall order, especially for an indie production, and Clements and the team have a real crack at it. An admirable attempt at a difficult text, Bartlett’s writing, combined with Briant’s lead performance and Langford’s thoughtful design makes this an impressive and thought-provoking night out at the theatre.
I’ve never seen a show quite like Moon Rabbit Rising and struggle to put the experience into words. All I can say is, sitting in the packed Downstairs Belvoir space on the first night of previews, I think the entire audience felt one thing: entranced.
M.Rock is a crowd-pleasing coming-of-age story that proves that it’s never too late to come of age and rediscover yourself. Anchored by two charming performances and supported by a witty and versatile ensemble, it’s a guaranteed good time at the theatre.
Watching Daddy Develops a Pill felt a bit like experiencing all the emotions of a party in one sitting. At times, the show’s chaotic and fast-paced tone feels like you’ve taken a handful of illicit substances and they’re all hitting you at once. Where are you? What’s going on? You’re not entirely sure. But you think you’re having fun. Other times the high-energy frantic action all feels like too much, and you crave an intermission (or even a brief quiet moment in the party’s bathroom to collect your thoughts).
ettter to small aussie communities, and the art form of theatre itself. A classic entry into the ‘show-within-a-show’ genre, it is full of audience interaction, and self-aware humour about rehearsals, auditions and the chaos of trying to stage a performance despite the world falling apart.
Picture this: It’s 1AM on a Saturday Night. You’re at the women’s bathroom in some godforsaken Sydney nightclub. The floors are sticky, the music is pumping, and a crowd of girls are crammed into the small bathroom in a queue to use the one toilet that: A. Has Toilet Paper, and B. Actually Flushes. Someone…
Earlier this month White Box Theatre Company and KXT Kings Cross Theatre hosted the world premiere of Dead Skin a new work by emerging playwright and actress Laneikka Denne. My review of the premiere can be found here. I recently sat down with writer and star Laneikka Denne, and director Kim Hardwick, to chat about developing new work, the importance of queer representation, and telling authentic stories about young people.
Denne’s story offers a painful look at two young women desperate to be loved but aching from the pain of choosing people who won’t love them back. At times Denne and Hardwick’s commitment to abstract storytelling confuses the story rather than helping it.
Stop Girl is a provocative reflection of what can happen when we succumb to the pressure to achieve at all costs, regardless of deteriorating health and mental health. In the age of the pandemic, where working from home is forcing the boundaries between our personal and professional lives to be blurred, the central message of Stop Girl—that your mental health is more important than any job—is not one to be neglected.
Scribbles of Stage and Screen 