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.
Tag: theatre
Review: Daddy Developed a Pill at KXT
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).
Everything I Watched in March Ranked Best to Worst
It’s April 1st. which (probably) means its far too late to publish my ‘Top 10 Movies of 2021’. So, I present you with this: The Best and Worst of Everything I watched in March. (Although I might need to caveat my click-baity title: unlike other critics, I don’t tend to watch something If I think…
The Boomkak Panto Review: A Joyful Return to the Theatre for Sydneysiders
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.
Hot Mess Review: A Love Letter to Drunk Girls in Bathrooms
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…
Interview with Dead Skin Creators Laneikka Denne and Kim Hardwick
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.
Dead Skin: Teen Writer Explores Young, Queer Love in Compelling But Scattered New Play
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 Review: Long-Winded Tale of PTSD
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.
Review from the Archives: The Feather in the Web
If The Feather in the Web is one thing – it’s audacious. Like his protagonist, a woman who does whatever she wants and is afraid of nothing, Nick Coyle’s bold new play has a fearlessness that is perfect for the Griffin Theatre Company stage. Kimberley, played by Claire Lovering, is a like a bowling ball,…
Review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Six trembling pre-teens take the stage for the competition they have prepared for their whole lives. It’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and the stakes (and nerves) are high for these academically inclined youngsters. The UNSW Theatre Society’s 2019 major production, conceived by Rebecca Feldman, written by Rachel Sheinkin with music and lyrics by William Finn, is…
Fangirls: A Musical That’s So Much Fun You’ll Think You’re At An Actual Pop Concert
Take a bag of glitter, a dozen red bulls, and thousands of pre-teen girls’ high-pitched screams and you’ve got Fangirls, a musical so rich with energy and euphoria you’ll think you’re at an actual pop concert. It’s 2019 and fourteen-year old Australian schoolgirl Edna (playwright and composer Yve Blake) is desperately in love with Harry…
The Almighty Sometimes: Brave and Heart-Wrenching Tale of Motherly Love
Narratives about fathers and sons have dominated the canon of great plays for centuries. Sophocles, Shakespeare, Miller: these men, and their oft told tales of struggling patriarchs, are still staged internationally today. Male playwrights, directors and actors have for so long taken up all the space in the cultural conversation. Plays are designed to show…