Stage Whispers July/August 2019 edition by Stage Whispers Magazine

In this issue

Come From Away - A 9/12 Musical ........................................................... 6 Our conversation with the creators, David Hein and Irene Sankoff

Blind Casting Drama ............................................................................... 12 International controversy over local Community Theatre casting Broadway’s Starry Spring Season ............................................................. 16 Peter Pinne’s look at some of Broadway’s current hits Is Musical Theatre Art?............................................................................ 21 Great debate at the Australian Musical Theatre Festival

Shakespeare In Love ................................................................................ 24 Behind the scenes at the new Melbourne Theatre Company production Meeting Sondheim, Schwartz And Prince ................................................ 28 Tyran Parke’s dream trip to New York Since Ali Died .......................................................................................... 33 Omar Musa on his show and the poetry of Muhammad Ali Hydra - Script Excerpt.............................................................................. 34 A peek at Sue Smith’s play about Charmian Clift and George Johnston

Ladies In Black - Director’s Diary .............................................................. 36 Staging Strathfield Musical Society’s NSW Premiere production Performing Arts Course Guide 2020 ........................................................ 39 Training in the Performing Arts across Australia

Regular Features Choosing A Show

London Calling

Stage On Page

Stage On Disc

Goods & Services

On Stage - What’s On

Auditions

Reviews

Musical Spice

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Editorial Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, What a momentous month June 2019 has proven on social media for Stage Whispers, as we passed the milestone of 20,000 likes. Since establishing our Facebook page early in 2010, our social media presence has grown steadily. Our Twitter following is now rapidly approaching 5,000. We regularly add local showbiz videos to Stage Whispers TV on YouTube, with our most popular clip receiving almost half a million views. More recently we’ve expanded our online presence with an Instagram page. Back when we launched our Facebook page, Stage Whispers was still printed on newsprint, predominantly in black and white, a far cry from our current glossy full-colour mag, both in print and online. Our website - stagewhispers.com.au - then in its infancy, now receives up to one and a half million visits a year. Over the years, the internet has also enabled us to launch free online resources for Performing Arts teachers and students. Paired with this edition of Stage Whispers, with its focus on Performing Arts training, is our free online Performing Arts Course Guide 2020, available from mid July at stagewhispers.com.au/training I’m particularly proud of this resource, which I would have loved to share with my students in my previous life as a High School Drama teacher. We look forward to announcing a brand new free online resource for schools and community theatre companies shortly, but more of that next edition. Yours in Theatre,

Neil Litchfield Editor

Cover image: Jenn Colella in the 2016 Broadway production of Come From Away. Read Neil Litchfield’s interview with the musical’s creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein on page 6. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

CONNECT www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 5

Ahead of the Australian premiere of Come From Away, the musical’s creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein chat with Neil Litchfield about their Broadway hit, celebrating extraordinary kindness and humanity in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

At first glance it’s among the most unlikely of ideas for an award-winning musical - the story of the 7,000 airline passengers whose 38 flights were diverted to Gander, Canada on 9/11 after US airspace was closed, and the Newfoundlanders who made them welcome. Four creative teams had turned the project down before Irene Sankoff and David Hein came on board. Yet, since commencing Broadway previews in February 2017, Come From Away has consistently played to Standing Room Only. When I sat down with the writing / composing team ahead of the July opening at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre, I began by asking …. Where were you on 9/11? Irene Sankoff: We were living in a residence for international students on the upper West Side of New York. We were asleep and the phone rang. It was my dad and he said “there’s been a terrorist attack”. I said, “No, no, no, no. A helicopter just flew into a building. This is New York stuff.” And he said, “No, there’s been a terrorist attack. Turn on your TV.” He must have been the last person to reach Manhattan. David saw the second plane hit the building on TV. I wasn’t in the room. It was terrifying. We spent the rest of the day waiting for news about the other students in our residence, who miraculously all came back, and David’s cousin, who fortunately got out of the Towers. David Hein: There were 700 students from 110 countries, so a lot of what we remember of those days, as Canadians in New York, was people from around the world coming together to take care of each other. A month later we were part of the Carpe Diem - Seize the Day movement. We went to City Hall in New York and eloped. My cousin, who had been in the Towers, was our witness. None of us realized that this was the first time she had come back, so afterwards she took us down to Ground Zero and led us through the path by which she had escaped. It was a very strange day of celebrating love in the shadow of this tragedy. So, a lot of what happened in Gander - the people who fell in love there, the friendships that were made and the overwhelming kindness - really resonated with us. 6 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

Tell me about being offered Come From Away by Michael Rubinoff from the Canadian Musical Theatre project, after four other teams had turned it down. David Hein: The difference between us and those other teams is that they saw a 9/11 musical, while what we saw was a 9/12 musical. It was a musical about how this town responded with kindness, generosity, joy and friendship to this tragedy. It wasn’t a story about 9/11; it was a story about the response to it. Irene Sankoff: After moving back to Canada it was something we’d stopped talking about. Then starting to read the stories on Facebook about people who had (Continued on page 8)

Cover Story

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Cover Story

Online extras!

Check out a preview of Come From Away, arriving in Melbourne in July. https://youtu.be/7Yx_WPj8Rws

The original Broadway cast of Come From Away. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

(Continued from page 6)

stayed in touch after having been put up by people in Gander, who were still friends ten years later, we just fell in love with the story. Because we were staying in an international student residence, we saw what it was like to be with and comfort people from around the world. In some way it was like, ‘we lived this’. I’ve heard Come From Away described as ‘an unlikely musical’, but you didn’t think so. Irene Sankoff: There was a moment when we were doing the interviews, and I loved the way the people of Newfoundland answered us, and the “Come From Aways” (that’s what the Newfoundlanders call them) too, and I thought for a moment, is this more like The Laramie Project? Is music a part of this? David Hein: Is this docu-drama? We wanted to use the verbatim storytelling, and the words they were giving us, but I’ve grown up on Newfoundland music … Irene Sankoff: And he was like, “Just wait until the concert tonight. Wait until you hear the music, and then we can discuss it.” And when we got there that evening and the band started, it was like “My god you’re right, this is a musical.” It would be disrespectful to tell a story about Newfoundland without music. David Hein: It’s because it’s in the DNA of the people out there - it’s how they’ve gotten through their terrible winters. Everyone brings their instruments over to their neighbours’ kitchen and they tell stories and they sing songs and they dance, and they stay warm by coming 8 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

together as a community. That’s how they survive. The music is this life-affirming, amazing Celtic/Folk/Rock that is in response to the hard life that they live - these terrible winters, this rock that they live on, the fishing industry and how they’ve lost so many people at sea. Give me a feel for the re-union and the interviews you had there. David Hein: It was incredible. Seeing these people coming back together and re-uniting, but we’d also researched a lot about them - these ordinary people who had made sandwiches for everyone. They were practically rock stars to us. We went through this whole experience with the people who are the characters in our show and became friends with them. Everyone was welcome, and everyone was commemorating - beautifully recognizing that this tragedy had happened - but people were also hugging, crying and talking about the kindness they had seen. Among your interviewees was Captain Beverley Bass, who became the first female Captain for American Airlines in 1986, and was the only female Captain who was grounded at Gander that day. David Hein: We spoke to her on the 10th anniversary, literally, on the morning of September 11, 2011. With so many of the interviews we did, we’d do these three-hour interviews and someone at the end would be, “Now what’re you doing? You’re telling us you’re doing a musical about people making sandwiches for other people?” We’d be like “Yeah.”

And they’d say, “Yeah, good luck with that.” Beverley talked about how she thought we were these young kids who were clearly crazy. Irene Sankoff: It seemed like a school project, and because we were writing it for a college, I think it got confused. And then we just were asking Beverley every question we could, because her history is so fascinating becoming the first female Captain. There’s a song in the show that’s pretty much verbatim her journey to becoming a Captain. David Hein: You could literally take her words - all of their words were so wonderful. We were recording them and transcribed them, and we lived with them for years … Irene Sankoff: In our heads. David Hein: We set them to music Irene Sankoff: … reshaped them, and gave some words to different people. David Hein: Then when we were workshopping the show they would come to see it, and they wouldn’t realise how intimately we’d been living with them in our heads for a long time. It’s been a really powerful experience showing someone their experience back to them. Our goal the entire time was to be authentic, and for them to say “you got it right”. And when Beverley came to see the show, after her initial response to you, how was the experience? Irene Sankoff: In our defence, we had sent out a CD of some of the demos of the music. Maybe it never got to her. Then we invited her to watch it streamed when we were doing the show at Sheridan College, but she had a terrible connection, so she couldn’t see it. She was completely unprepared for how big a part she was. David Hein: She came to a party the night before seeing the show, met all the cast, and was telling them

stories. The words coming out of her mouth were, literally, dialogue from the show, and the cast was like, “You don’t say. Interesting. I think you’re going to like the show.” Since then she’s been to the show well over a hundred times, and she brings back countless pilots, flight attendants … Irene Sankoff: … countless female pilots at a time, and I’m just “Whoa!” The air shifts in the room. David Hein: And now young girls are inspired to go into the aviation industry because of her. She broke ground, she was a pioneer, and she’s this amazing figure that we get to celebrate, along with the people from Newfoundland. And transforming the verbatim text into a song? David Hein: It took a long time. Irene Sankoff: We did have a child, and we were unemployed, so we transcribed all of our recordings ourselves, and ran our interviews over and over again, highlighted things that were interesting to us, made piles of articles and letters - like this was all about food, this was all about the women in the community, this was all about faith… David Hein: A lot of it was that we didn’t go in trying to follow the rules of musical theatre. Irene Sankoff: We didn’t have to because … David Hein: We weren’t trying to go to Broadway. Irene Sankoff: We were trying to write a show for Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. So you never imagined writing the huge international hit the show has since become? David Hein: No, but beyond that path there was a freedom behind that, because you could just write a song (Continued on page 10)

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 9

Cover Story

Kendra Kassebaum and the original Broadway cast of Come From Away. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

the images on TV and Chris (Director Christopher Ashley) has them staged just standing at the lip of the stage and based on all the Newfoundland music that you loved, and staring out. Every single member of the audience knows not think how is this going to translate to the stage. exactly what they’re looking at. You don’t have to say it. Irene Sankoff: Is this going to be a good song in a Irene Sankoff: We’re so used to seeing horrific things cabaret act? We didn’t have to do that. We didn’t have to on TV, or wherever you get your news, which just make conform to a formula. you sick to the stomach. First of all we’re traumatized and David Hein: There’s pieces in the show which are not now we’re a little bit numb. I think to see something (and songs; they’re 30 second musical sections, that sometimes again the English language fails) that is overwhelmingly were just inspired by a line that we read in our good, overwhelmingly kind, is just shocking. transcriptions. Someone said, “We were on the plane for David Hein: What’s been amazing to us is that even over 28 hours, over an entire day. There was only one though it’s in the shadow of 9/11, and everyone’s aisle in the middle. Everyone knew every inch of that tracking their memories of that, we’ve been amazed at plane.” And there was something musical about that. It how funny the show is. People laugh throughout it. And was literally everyday poetry that people were giving to when they talk about crying, they say they cry eight or us. It’s the whole plane singing that. nine times, but what they don’t say often is that it was What makes the show resonate with so many people? because they’re so happy. Is there something about those universal moments of Irene Sankoff: Or surprised, or relieved. shared consciousness - of knowing where we were when David Hein: Tears of joy. That was our experience in an event occurred - like, say, the Kennedy assassination? Newfoundland, and I think that’s what people bring to Irene Sankoff: Or Pearl Harbour or the Challenger the show. explosion. David Hein: What’s interesting about the show, in Come From Away will have its Australian terms of breaking the rules of musical theatre, is that Premiere on Saturday July 20 at Melbourne’s there isn’t an antagonist in the show. It’s about two Comedy Theatre. protagonist groups that come together. If there’s an comefromaway.com.au antagonist in it, it’s really 9/11, and it’s this moment that we all remember; this moment in the show about all of Come From Away is also on the VCE Theatre these characters, who have been trapped on these planes Studies Playlist. Visit for 28 hours with barely any information - before you could Google things on cell phones. They finally get to see comefromaway.com.au/education (Continued from page 9)

10 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

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Theatre companies in Australia are coming under attack from overseas networks about the ethnicity of their casts. It’s an issue that is causing grief in professional theatre, community theatre and in schools. David Spicer reports.

The angry people were in large part from North America, who had a sudden interest in the casting decisions of a community theatre production on the other side of the In April, CLOC Musical Theatre in auditionees who presented at the world. Melbourne released a statement on auditions.” Locals were more sympathetic. their Facebook page responding to The reaction was furious. Peter Jovicic described the backlash as criticism of their casting for the Maureen Sherman-Mendez wrote: spiteful: “We have straight people musical Kinky Boots. “blind casting” is coded language for playing gays, gays playing straights, “CLOC has a long standing ‘blind “we’ll hire as many white people as clearly 20-year-olds playing teenagers, casting’ policy for all roles in our we can get away with.” people of colour playing white shows from leads to ensemble. CLOC Ari Aaron wrote: “If you don’t find people, but as soon as a white person invited auditionees of all shapes, sizes the right actor at your auditions for is cast in a person of colour role, it’s the role, you leave it un-cast and discrimination, racism and and ethnicities to audition for Kinky Boots,” the statement said. continue to search for the person of whitewashing.” “It was not a requirement of the the right ethnicity to play it.” The manager of the rights to the Beau Rush wrote: “People are musical was fine with the casting. show to cast a person of colour in the role of Lola and we cast from the angry and are allowed to highlight Stuart Hendricks, from Music Theatre how this is racist.” International Australasia, told a forum 12 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

at the Australian Musical Theatre Festival that “we want people to (stage Kinky Boots) as it is an important story. “Kinky Boots is based on a true story. The original person was not a person of colour. The character morphed into an Afro American. The story is not about race but is based on acceptance,” he said. Other shows have different rules. “In Ragtime the cast has to be of colour. In one show Caroline or Change they have to be Afro Americans,” Hendricks said. Individuals targeted by overseas networks have suffered from on-line harassment. Mathew Ward Entertainment cancelled a season of In the Heights in Brisbane in 2017. The company was accused of whitewashing after posting pictures of cast members with a European heritage instead of Latino, as written in the musical. Kim Ransley from Origin Theatrical told the Music Theatre Festival that after an “actor was attacked on-line, the local community was really

worried about him. He was not checking into rehearsal. The producer said we have had enough and shut it down. It was horrible,” she said. The festival was told that an actor who did not get one of the parts took the issue overseas and tagged the composer of the musical, Lin ManuelMiranda. The issue was later reported in the New York Times. “We don’t have (requirements for race-based casting) it in our contract for amateur rights. This production was only amateur. Everyone attacking them was overseas,” Ransley said. Opera Australia this year came under fire for its casting of leads in the Handa Opera on the Harbour season of West Side Story. The pivotal role of Maria was not cast with a singer of Puerto Rican background as written. Opera Australia’s Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini told the ABC: “It doesn’t matter what their ethnicity is. I come from an Italian background, [but] that doesn’t mean I should be the only person singing Italian opera.” (Continued on page 14)

Kinky Boots. Photo: Ben Fon.

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(Continued from page 13)

The company’s colour-blind casting policy applies across the board. Most notably star singers from an Asian heritage have been given lead roles in operas with distinctly European storylines. Todd Jacobsen is playing Tony in the touring season of West Side Story. He says that “in 2019 we just have no excuse to not find someone who is culturally appropriate or equivalently culturally appropriate. “Our production has made an effort to cast the right people in their roles. It makes it more believable and right.” Natalie Wood was infamously black face when she played the role of Maria in the 1961 movie. “That looked incredibly odd,” said Todd. This year Stephen Spielberg is doing a re-make of the movie and is said to be casting it with ethnicity that is authentic. The role of Maria in the touring production is being portrayed by Sophie Salvesani, who has Italian heritage, which Todd says qualifies for being culturally appropriate. “In Australia we would struggle to have a 100 percent Puerto Rican cast,” he said. The character of Tony is an “all American boy” of Polish heritage. Todd admits that he has a natural advantage in auditioning for cheesy white characters which are plentiful in the musical theatre world.

14 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

Kinky Boots. Photo: Ben Fon.

The issue also affects High School productions. Liz Bennet from Launceston College waited until she had the right mix of students to stage the musical Hairspray. She selected equivalent ethnic students for the roles of colour. “We had Brazilians, children adopted from Ethiopia and some Aboriginal kids in the chorus. We did get a lot of criticism and couldn’t do it now,” she said. “We had the most brilliant experience. After the show the kids gave us the most beautiful bunch of flowers to thank us for telling their story,” she said. The experience of segregation in the United States had parallels with

what happened to them when they were in primary school. Other schools with limited students from diverse backgrounds use other ways to stage the musical. In Queensland, Sheldon College staged Hairspray this year conveying the diversity of characters through design. Most of the white cast members (particularly the racist characters like Velma and Amber Von Tussle) were in very blonde wigs and light-coloured clothing, while those playing African-Americans simply used their natural hairstyles and wore bright colours. Stage Whispers reviewer Natalie Bochenski wrote that “for the most part, the conceit works well, even if hearing the word “Negro” used so often by white people is somewhat jarring. The word is faithful to 1962, the year in which the story is set; to not have it there would be failing to acknowledge the language used to oppress for generations.” The backlash against nonprofessional theatre companies is very bruising. Companies such as CLOC make huge investments in sets and costumes which means once they reach the audition stage they can’t switch musicals. The backlash seems certain to ensure that theatre companies will be more cautious when staging shows with non-Anglo characters in the future.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 15

Broadway was not short of star power this season as Peter Pinne discovered on his recent trip. It was a chance to see TV luminaries Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) up close and personal, as well as catching several of this year’s Tony Award winning performances. When the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is featuring a program Camp: Notes on Fashion, that attempts to illustrate the concept of camp, it seems entirely appropriate that one of Broadway’s biggest new musical hits should be a stage adaptation of the 1982 crossdressing Dustin Hoffman movie Tootsie. Don McGuire and Larry Gelbert’s story, which is mired in political incorrectness these days, has been given a very clever contemporary makeover by Robert Horn, a poppy score by David Yazbek and a Tony Award winning title performance by Santino Fontana. Horn has wisely moved the concept from soap-opera to the Broadway stage, setting it in the present, which allows for lots of Broadway self-satire and mockery. Fontana, as self-serious pretentious actor Michael Dorsey, interrupts the rehearsal of his latest show by asking what’s the authenticity of his character “Guy who walks by” and gets fired. When his ex girl-friend (Sarah Stiles) asks for help to learn lines for an audition for Juliet’s Curse, a continuation of Romeo and Juliet, his feminine alterego Dorothy Michaels is born. His housemate Jeff (Andy Grotelueschen) thinks it’s wrong on so many levels but Dorsey won’t listen, goes for the audition, gets the part, and becomes an unlikely feminist trailblazer. Fontana sings magnificently, finding two different voices for his dual parts and is superb in both. He makes the vapid audition16 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

piece “I Won’t Let You Down” into an anthem and draws genuine pathos out of “Talk To Me Dorothy”. Stiles is a powerhouse on the tongue-twisting “What’s Gonna Happen”, a neurotic litany of thespian audition insecurities, and Grotelueschen is ironically deadpan funny with “Jeff Sums It Up” (“You F**cked it up”), the second act opener in the style of Book of Mormon’s “Turn it Off”. One of the funniest additions is Max Van Horn (John Behlmann), a handsome hunk with no acting ability and the winner of TV reality show Race to Batchelor Island. Taking his shirt off at every opportunity (‘It’s what they’re coming for”), his number “This Thing” about his attraction to Dorothy is a riot - “It’s odd you’re so old, I’m so young/and my abs are like slabs of granite/My bod is like gold and I’m hung/and you’re so old, oh I said that, but dammit!” Roy Rogers is great as the smarmy director, who gets every laugh out of Denis Jones’ cheesy choreography “Accentuated movements, people! Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce! Five, six, seven, eight! Fosse, Fosse! Fosse, Fosse!”. Director Scott Ellis’ comedic touch is evident everywhere, Yazbek’s lyrics are consistently witty and his tunes easy to hum, but the writer Horn is the true star of this show. Almost every line of dialogue is a laugh line. It’s the funniest book for a musical since Mormon and deserved its Best Book Tony. (Continued on page 18)

Santino Fontana in Tootsie. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

Online extras!

Watch a preview of Tootsie, starring Tony Award winner Santino Fontana. https://youtu.be/FpJfFGNlFgo www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 17

(Continued from page 16)

Bryan Cranston has now added a Tony to his Olivier Award for his performance of news-anchor Howard Beale in Lee Hall’s adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky’s Network. At twohours (sans intermission) I was frequently on the edge of my seat, and totally blown away by his electrifying performance. The plot starts with an angry Beale threatening to commit suicide on camera, and ends with his murder. In between we see the disintegration of the man who loses the plot on camera, becomes something of a celebrity messiah, and exhorts the country to open their windows and scream “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” Ivo Van Hove’s production pulses with authenticity in a TV studio set with multiple screens and hand-held cameras capturing the action. Every grimace, every bead of perspiration, and every emotion is minutely on display in close-up. And Cranston knows how to seduce and play for the cameras. It’s a true star performance. Although Howard Beale’s story dominates, Tony Goldwyn as his best friend and burnt-out producer boss Max is effective as he negotiates his mid-life crisis with the ball-breaking and ruthless Diana (Tatiana Maslany), who ends up his Judas and his lover. The consummation of their affair scene, which began on hand-held camera in 44th Street outside the theatre (where it was raining) and followed them into the theatre through back alleys and onto the stage where Diana came to orgasm while talking about audience shares, was priceless. The play has weaknesses, but Van Hove’s whistles-and-bells production manages to hide most of them. Still, it’s Cranston’s show. He’s the one you remember and he’s magnificent. The story of one of the great Motown R&B groups of the sixties is on display in Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of the The Temptations. It’s another in the long line of jukebox musicals that mine hits of the era and a second cousin to 18 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

Jersey Boys. It also has the same creative team as Boys, director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo, whose work here is sensational and won him a Tony. Based on the memoir of Otis Williams (Derrick Baskin), the founder and last surviving member of the group, it follows the ever-changing line-up of guys who made up The Temptations through the years, their problems, egos and relationships. Dominique Morisseau’s book has moments of wit and is smart, as it tells how the group calibrated their silken sound to suit a mainstream (i.e. white) audience and achieved cross-over success. All the hits are covered, everything from “The Way You Do The Things You Do” to “My Girl”, “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, “Shout” and What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”. The group, who found success during the 60s civil rights era, wanted to record the protest song “War”, written for them, but Motown’s head honcho Berry Gordy objected and it became a hit instead for Edwin Starr. Gordy insisted that “TV and radio black was not the same as political black” to the disillusioned group. He was right. And The Temptations held their fan base. Very few women make an appearance in the story except Rashidra Scott, who makes the most of her stage time as Otis’ wife, and a sequence when The Temptations are battling it out for top R&B group with The Supremes. Peter Nigrini’s projection of black and white newspaper ads of the group’s appearances enhances Robert Brill’s set, which effectively conveys recording studios, behind-the-scenes and on-stage locations. When The Supremes appear in red slinky dresses singing “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “Baby Love” and “Come See About Me”, the stage is suddenly ablaze with glorious colour. This is a superior jukebox musical, not a good as Jersey Boys, but very close, and hugely enjoyable. (Continued on page 20)

Bryan Cranston in Network. Photo: Jan Versweyveld.

Oklahoma! Photo: Little Fang Photography.

Ainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Too Proud. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

Online extras!

Discover the intricately choreographed anatomy of a scene in Network. https://youtu.be/pv5v6K_GoF4 www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 19

it has become the highest-grossing American play ever. Since it opened on 13 December 2018 it has not played to a single empty seat. Well, how good is it? Beautiful to look at courtesy of set designer Miriam Buether. The front curtain, a weathered burnt-red autumnal side of a barn, just reeks of the South, whilst the furniture has a well-worn functional feel. Ann Roth’s mid-1930s costumes are period perfect, as is Adam Guettel’s original hymn-like score for pump organ and acoustic guitar. But it’s Bartlett Sher’s direction, working with the luxury of a cast of 25, that gives the piece its overall elegiac mood. Sorkin’s adaptation, heavily criticised by the Lee estate as defacing the source material, has made excellent cast. Ado changes, but the plot still Annie’s “I Cain’t remains the same, a white Say No” was a lawyer in small-town Alabama fireball of fun in defending a handicapped black Ali Stoker’s sexy man falsely accused of raping a version, which young woman. deservedly won Daniels’ Finch is superb, a man her a Tony. trying his best to do the right thing With the show stripped back to although the result is never in doubt. basics, the material had to hold the Yes, there’s a lot of Daniels’ TV audience, and it did, with lots of Newsroom performance on show, but laughs for Hammerstein’s book and lyrics. It felt like people were hearing there’s also a realisation imparted that Finch is flawed and not the perfect them for the first time. Rodgers’ role model he was depicted as in the melodies still captivated and an 1962 film version. occasional bluegrass sound only LaTanya Richardson Jackson gives added more authenticity. Some a mighty performance as Finch’s scenes were played in darkness, housekeeper and conscience including one intimate coupling of Curly and Laurey that added a ton of Calpurnia, while Celia Keenan-Bolger’s Tony Award winning performance as sexual passion. Likewise, a smokehouse scene with Curly and Jud Finch’s daughter Scout is simply brilliant. (“Poor Jud”), when Curly coldIs it a great play? heartedly suggests Jud hang himself, No, but it’s a good play, despite is chillingly captured on hand-held not getting a Best Play nod at the camera. There was a homoerotic Tony Awards, and a version of Lee’s intimacy about the scene. Another original novel that resonates with the original touch was being served chilli audience. But Sorkin conveniently and cornbread, cooked on stage by Aunt Ella (the marvellous Mary Testa) ignores Lee’s complicated and less flattering view of Finch that she gave during the first act. in her novel Go Set a Watchman, Finally we come to the most talked when she tells us the character is about play in recent Broadway history, racist and used to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan. It’s murky and muddy in Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper its social conscience, but highly Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird with Jeff Daniels playing Atticus Finch. Already successful and commercial. Jeff Daniels and Gbenga Akinnagbe in To Kill A Mockingbird. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

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When Oklahoma! opened in 1943 it revolutionised the American musical theatre. This new production, playing in-the-round at Circle in the Square, revolutionises Oklahoma! Daniel Fish’s down-home reduction of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic strips it back to a cast of 12 and an orchestra of seven with a country sound. What’s more, the hero Curly strums a guitar, Ado Annie is in a wheelchair, and it ends with a mercy murder. I was wary walking into the theatre, which had plywood on the walls with clutches of guns. Was it avant-garde taken to the extreme, or just a gimmick? I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, some things didn’t work, like turning the accidental death of Jud Fry into a murder, and Agnes de Mille’s first-act ballet danced by a disciple of Martha Graham, but most of Fish’s reinterpretation brought a fresh eye to this iconic musical. Amazingly, with no alterations to script and score, its feeling was more frontier Oklahoma circa 1903 and at times hoedown happy. Although the orchestrations had been changed and the instruments included a pedal steel guitar, fiddle, banjo and mandolin, R&H’s glorious score still sounded the same and was well-sung by this 20 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

The first Australian Musical Theatre Festival was held in Launceston in May, and organisers immediately showed they had a sense of humour by lining up some sharp-shooting comedians to poke fun at it and debate “Is Musical Theatre Art?”

school drama classes. From then, they are re-runs, reinterpreted and covers of the originals. Music Theatre is not an art form. It is small versions of four art forms stacked up on top of each other in a long coat wearing a hat and a fake THE NO TEAM: Ned Townsend couch drooling while the pasta boils on moustache to try and sit at the grownMusicals are made of singing, the stove? Again, where the hell is the up table. dancing and light. All of these on their music coming from? Art is how we decorate space. own can be considered art forms. But If you don’t like musical theatre you Music is how we decorate time. In the when they are cherry picked and are not here. I love musical theatre but case of music theatre it is not the stacked on top of each other, you are I don’t consider it art. I like bananas decoration on your wall of what a so distracted you cannot focus on but I don’t consider it art. If you are priceless painting would be. It is more anything else. involved in musical theatre you know of a Coles brand scented candle that This allows musicals to mask things how much it takes to get it along from you use to cover up the dog turd under like poor writing, bad character the script to opening night. the couch that you couldn’t get out development, boring and trivial events. Late night on choreography, before the guests arrived. All of those can be blotted out by a bit learning lines, hitting notes, of music and distraction. remembering cues, putting your whole THE YES TEAM: Cheyne Mitchell When you come to see a musical, life on hold. If you have gone to that Composers and lyricists don’t just you accept certain things such as extent you would bloody well expect it write musicals for the hell of it. They’ve everyone bursting into song to be art by the time it gets up. written them because the modern spontaneously. We blindly accept this But you can’t argue it is art because musical is most effective means for the most unrealistic feature. it is ephemeral. It is a live performance, dissemination of art we have. The singing is either internal or performed again and again. It can’t There are the catchy tunes and the external. The song happening help but change a little bit. If musicals promise of a tap number. Showing the externally is the least believable one. could ever be considered art, it would audience the world through other How can an entire town of people be only be for a very short time when they people’s eyes. Teaching them really dancing and singing at the same time? first start. They are put into the world useful information, such as how many Everyone knows the choreography, and established, eventually done in big minutes there are in a year. everyone knows how to rhyme and theatres with glitzy opening nights. Hamilton is very intentionally an where the hell is the music coming Then they go to smaller and smaller immigrant story. The diversity of the from? theatres with different casts and story of Americans then, told by For songs that are internal … what directors, eventually consigned to the Americans now. happens to your body in the real regional theatre circuit before (Continued on page 22) world? Are you just sitting there on the eventually being butchered by high www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 21

Princess Theatre.

The Launceston College cast of Matilda. Photo: Iris Ryong.

Matthew Garwood. Photo: Iris Ryong.

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Dear Evan Hanson is a look at teen suicide and the consequences of white lies in a world fuelled by twitter. Next to Normal is a heart-breaking look at a mother’s battle with depression and struggle to hold her family together. Rent, based on La Boehme, is about what life was like in the shadow of impending death. Les Mis - the ultimate the musical of musicals - teaches us about suffering of others. You learn lessons about love and honour and how student rebellions can get you killed. Musicals combine the art of acting, the beauty of dance, the music, the costume design, painting with light and the sets. Of course music theatre is art. If it has taught you anything. If it has made you feel, or let you stand in someone else’s shoes, then music theatre has to be art. THE NO TEAM: Belinda King. The attitude that I hate musical theatre is not an uncommon sentiment among actors. When you put music 22 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

and theatre together, some want to gouge their eyes out and plunge daggers in their ears. I used to think musical theatre the theatrical equivalent of Las Vegas. A shallow and glitzy spectacle that appeals to gay men and the elderly. When I arrived in Launceston I discovered I was wrong. Lesbians also enjoy musical theatre. Musical Theatre has been described as one of the few American indigenous art forms along with jazz and gun violence. If the musical is art, let’s look at some of the components. Let’s start with the lyrics. In the musical Catch Me If You Can one of the first lines is “I have a story I want to tell you.” (How obvious is that?) Another example is the songs. In the musical Sister Act (a fantastic movie they turned it into a musical) they couldn’t get the rights to the songs, so they banged out a cheesy score. Good acting is supposed to be invisible. You should be seeing real flawed human beings. But in musical theatre genuine emotions are

subservient to cold efficient technical requirements and over the top scripts. For absolute proof look no further than our Government. When I set up Encore Theatre in Launceston, I looked for Government funding. In small writing it stated funding does not apply to musical theatre, especially amateur theatre. THE YES TEAM: Dan Taylor Sure music theatre can be naff and boring, giving plebs and commoners the pips. But imagine joining The Ten Tenors creating a theatre company? The Webster Dictionary describes art as creativity and expression of human imagination. Music Theatre combines three core ingredients of creativity - singing, dancing and the ability to act. Well I don’t have that talent, but I am about to crack some facts. The brain responds to music the same way it responds to sex. Dancing reduces stress and tension to the mind and body. Acting touches nerves that you have no control over. What is art without the artist? (Matthew Garwood “the tattooed

tenor” entered the stage singing the following Phantom spoof) I am dark and handsome. Sick tattoos up my sleeve. My voice unique and profound. Makes Ricky Martin turn round. Swipe me right on Tinder. I’ll Snap Chat gracious news. On Myspace AM till PM. Let me slide into your DMs. Say you’ll share some Skype time. Let me stalk your Mum on Instagram. And hashtag the tenor with tattoo. THE NO TEAM: BRADLEY McCAW The Collins Dictionary defines art as an activity that is concerned with creating objects, works or performances that are beautiful or have serious meaning. Ladies and Gentlemen, one of the most famous musicals gave us a man without a brain, another without heart, a lion without courage and a wizard who was a middle-aged nerd with a green screen in his living room. If musical theatre were a country, its national symbol would be the jazz hand. Its tools are a hot glue gun and

a roll of sequins. It is so over-the-top that even Hi-5 say guys, you really have to tone it down. Look at Russell Crowe as Javert, Madonna as Evita, Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! and the entire song book of Grease 2 - no such form could be art. Music theatre is, however, magic. A passion so consuming that it makes you stay up all night. It is a religion you think about it and refer to it like the bible of your life. It is something you fund while tending a bar in your thirties, whilst living with your mother. Not that there is anything wrong with living with your mother. But it is difficult to take someone back to your apartment. Ladies don’t particularly like posters of Stephen Sondheim. It is really hard to make a romantic move while listening to an Assassins soundtrack. So, if it is not an artwork, it is raw, it is ugly, perverse, simple, and angst ridden, but not an art form just bloody awesome. THE YES TEAM: Kerri Gay I went to the library and looked through volumes of ‘goo’. I found a

girl who knits scarves from her (private parts). I am not saying the scarf was made of fallopian tube. She puts the wool in her (hallway) then sits and knits…the scarf. That is in a museum/art gallery and they call it art. She is a very young sweet thing. At my age you could fit the shearer the spinning wheel and silk. I would be the art installation. Musical theatre is art for the masses. It is a participation sport. Let’s start at the very beginning. When you read you begin with (audience responded with) ABC. When you sing you begin with (audience responded with) Doh Rae Me. If it wasn’t a piece of art, you wouldn’t know the words! Musical theatre is an art form because it is popular and it is good.

The debate was won by the affirmative on a show of voices. Read more about the Australian Musical Theatre Festival in Musical Spice on page 108. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 23

As the eagerly anticipated Australian Premiere of Shakespeare in Love began rehearsals in Melbourne, Simon Parris ventured behind the scenes for a look at the army of arts professionals bringing the new production to life. From The Producers to Tootsie, musical theatre adaptations of movies are all too common. Taking a different angle when bringing Academy Award-winning hit Shakespeare in Love to the stage, West End producers created a straight play, albeit one with a generous serving of music and with the lavish cast and staging of a musical.

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Shakespeare in Love dominated the 1999 Academy Awards, winning seven statues, including Best Picture. Screen writers Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman won Best Original Screenplay for their amusing, romantic, imaginative work. Suffering writer’s block, the young Will Shakespeare toils in vain on his latest comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter. Will falls in love with Viola, a headstrong young woman in disguise on the all-male stage. Director Simon Phillips has delivered a string of acclaimed productions of Shakespeare’s works for Melbourne Theatre Company, from traditional joys such as last year’s Twelfth Night to high concept works such as Richard III (2010) in the style of revered television series The West Wing. Humbly aware that it might sound “a bit show-offy”, Phillips described the pathway the play took to being produced by MTC: “I’ve done quite a lot of Tom Stoppard’s plays, and [the international producers] wanted to get Shakespeare in Love on in Australia. Tom suggested that they contact me to see if I’d be interested in doing it, and so they sent the scripts to me and then I said to the MTC, ‘well Disney want this production to happen in Australia and I’d be keen to do it’ and so that’s how it happened.” Shakespeare in Love played in London’s West End for nine months, but eventually succumbed to economics. “I think the dilemma they had was that they conceived it on the scale of a musical and there were 28 people in the cast. It was successful enough, but the box office they earned couldn’t sustain it,” said Phillips. “I’m the first to do it with 14 actors and one musician, so I’m the first person

experimenting to see if the show can be done with half the number of actors it was originally done with.” Phillips is joined by long-time collaborator Gabriela Tylesova, who will recreate Elizabethan England with her unique talent for set and costume design. Tylesova’s intricate designs of 80 costumes are being crafted on site at MTC headquarters by 40 wardrobe staff, including two bespoke shoemakers, two wig makers, two art finishers and two milliners. A dedicated team will make 30 Elizabethan ruffs by hand, each taking more than a day to craft, including one for a special canine cast member, Daisy, playing the role of Spot. Phillips said, “The very fabric of it is dependent upon us being in Elizabethan England. If you did anything different you’d just be going ‘What’s the point?’” He explains that the key aspect of the design is finding a way to make the theatre audience come to feel that they are the audience for Romeo and Juliet in the story. “I think one of the trickiest things that I remember from the film is how wonderfully the film’s able to convey the effect of Romeo and Juliet as first delivered for an audience. It can just manipulate that so brilliantly. You can see all the audience crying and cheering and bravo-ing. We are dependent on having that effect on the theatre audience because we haven’t got an audience [as part of the cast].” In keeping with the traditional Elizabethan theme, music is extensively interwoven into the performance. The musical director is Andrew Kroenert, a vibrant young performer and experienced musical director often seen on the musical theatre stage. Following the recent Melbourne season of School of Rock, Kroenert toured with the musical to China, performing there for some four months. Kroenert’s name was put forward for Shakespeare in Love by MTC Associate Director Dean Bryant. “They were looking for a specific set of skills - to play guitar and lute in the show.” Joining the show meant

that the producers had to allow Kroenert to get out of his School of Rock Brisbane contract. He said, “They were all really excited for me and allowed it to happen.” The play’s score, by Paddy Cunneen, features an impressive array of instruments, such as the hurdy gurdy and the melodion. The music was recorded by the band from the West End season, and the backing tracks will be supported by Kroenert playing live on stage. Kroenert said, “I am basically on stage the whole show, and I’ll be jumping into a couple of small roles.” Kroenert will be mainly playing a six-string lute, which MTC already had in their stocks. Kroenert said, “This is the first time I have played one. It tunes like a guitar.” There is also a significant amount of choral music, which Kroenert describes as “really lovely. It has the beauty of a standalone piece of music.” There are the odd theatregoers here and there who are not necessarily aficionados of the plays of Shakespeare. Phillips addressed the broad interest of the play, saying “As per the film, there is such a gorgeous romantic story that if you don’t know any Shakespeare, that’s enough. And the story guides you through the actual Shakespeare that you hear. On the other hand, in the adaptation for the stage even more than the original film, there are in-jokes for people who know a lot of Shakespeare. They are completely unnecessary to you

understanding the story; they’re just a little bit of a cherry. They’re Easter eggs if your knowledge of Shakespeare is good.” Shakespeare in Love has been intelligently adapted for the stage by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot). Phillips described the way that Hall has woven three forms of language into the script. “There is language that is as near to contemporary as possible. It’s robust; it’s English virtually as we speak it now. There’s a kind of a middle language, which Stoppard, I think came up with, which is like a formalised version of contemporary speech when people are getting more formal or more romantic. There’s a kind of a lovely bridge in the contemporary language where the language becomes poetical without being poetry, and it kind of helps you into the stuff where we’re doing Shakespeare. So we’re doing a scene from Romeo and Juliet and it’s clearly in verse but we’ve been helped there a bit by the language of the play.” Leading the cast of Shakespeare in Love in the role of Will Shakespeare is Michael Wahr, a talented young actor who has toiled some 12 years for this chance to become an overnight success. Having graduated from VCA in 2007, one of Wahr’s key roles was in the 2012-2013 Australian tour of War Horse. That performance involved acquiring new skills: “Learning (Continued on page 26) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 25

Francis Greenslade, Peter Houghton, Michael Wahr, Daniel Frederiksen, Andrew Kroenert and Simon Phillips during rehearsals for Shakespeare In Love.

(Continued from page 25)

puppetry and being a puppeteer was amazing.” Since then, Wahr said, “I’ve been touring a fair bit around the country and a little bit internationally.” Having done the Shakespeare that I’d gone through high school with, [which included] King Lear and Twelfth Night, I felt like I was missing it a bit. I got an opportunity with the Bell Shakespeare Company, and so I ended up doing their national tour of Hamlet (2015) playing Laertes and Guildenstern, and worked with Nigel Poulton who’s the fight choreographer on this show as well. And then the year after that I was in Othello, playing Michael Cassio, working with Pete Evans, the Artistic Director of Bell.” Wahr’s lifelong affinity for the work of Shakespeare was enhanced with a recent visit to the Bard’s hometown. He said, “Walking around Stratford or going on the River Avon it just felt familiar. I love the stories and the imagery in the places where the stories come from.” Wahr was shooting a TV series in Indonesia when he heard MTC’s 2019 season announcement. “I was put up for Shakespeare, with a couple of the cornerstone scenes within the play to audition with. Everyone was auditioning in pairs - I think that Simon was looking at the dynamic between the actor and the language, as well as a chemistry between playing with that language 26 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

and playing against each other, being able to own it and feel comfortable and find that dynamic.” Wahr’s penchant for Shakespeare attracted him to this play. “But,” he explained, “it’s not to do with the film; it’s to do with the texts that are referenced in the film. It’s about creating Romeo and Juliet and that evolution there and in real life, the things that are happening with Will and Viola that get put into the relationship of the play and then lead into creating Twelfth Night and so

Shakespeare In Love plays at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse July 15 - August 14, before touring to Canberra Theatre Centre August 22 - 31.

Claire van der Boom and Michael Wahr. Photos: Deryk McAlpin.

forth. What jumps out at me in the text of Shakespeare in Love is that there are a lot of echoes or throwbacks or references or gags, subtle or not, that are often hugely complex. And ambiguous references to a poet like Thomas Decker that no one will get except for theologians of the 16th century!” A Melbourne boy and long-time theatregoer himself, Wahr is thrilled to be playing this leading role. He said, “It feels nice to get a job in my hometown at a state theatre company that I’ve been coming to since I was like five or six when my dad and my mum were bringing me to theatre and seeing all these actors up on stage. It’s cool that I’m here regardless of whatever role it is, whether it’s spear carrier number three or whether it’s William Shakespeare. I belong here.” Wahr will be joined by Claire van der Boom as Viola de Lesseps, the role that won Gwyneth Paltrow her Academy Award for Best Actress. MTC stalwart Deirdre Rubinstein will play Queen Elizabeth, for which Judi Dench won Best Supporting Actress. Further talent in the ensemble cast includes Adam Murphy (Aladdin) as Fennyman and Chris Ryan (Lazarus) as Ned Alleyn. Popular choreographer Andrew Hallsworth, another regular creative partner of Phillips, will create Shakespeare in Love’s choreography, which is sure to include a healthy dose of wit amidst the traditional Elizabethan stylings.

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Tyran Parke (far left) with his VCA students in New York’s Theatre District.

Meeting Sondheim, Schwartz And Prince

many of them, a guy called Hal Prince. (I had little concept of what a director did but I saw his name often in bold, so I figured he had an important hand in the creation of these shows.) Fast forward thirty-five years to January 2019 and I had just been made From flipping burgers in Newcastle to meeting Broadway royalty. head of Musical Theatre at the Tyran Parke - the new head of Musical Theatre at the VCA Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). My describes his dream trip to New York. first project was taking our third-year students on the first annual ‘Global Newcastle in the 1980’s was not false appreciation, I’d get the ‘Sunday Atelier’ (a fancy University term for exactly famous for its cultural activity. shift’ at penalty rates, which lead to a school excursion!). There was the youth theatre company modest bag of treasures from my For any aspiring Music Theatre where we would perform pantomimes fortnightly trip to the record store. student, New York, the home of so and moody self-devised pieces, but I’d The double album original cast many of those cast recordings, is never seen a Shakespeare till I was an recordings from Broadway or London, undoubtedly the mecca. adult and Arthur Miller was just a guy with fold out images and booklets with The highlights included who had a famous wife. But, what we librettos and essays, were my education masterclasses with legendary Broadway DID have were cast recordings… in musical theatre. They introduced me directors, amazing teachers, actors, I coveted Broadway cast recordings to my heroes. Chief among them was daily dance tuition at ‘Broadway Dance’ and going to “Rice’s Second-Hand Book Stephen Schwartz (I had two copies of and a remarkable day at the Michael and Record Store” was always a huge the Australian cast of Pippin starring Chekov school in Hudson. We were treat. My boss at McDonalds John Farnham in case one scratched), pushed, challenged, supported and (impressed at my burger flipping) told Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd engaged for two weeks during the day me I had “a great future” in that changed my life) and the guy who and while students spent their evenings company. If I entertained that idea with seemed to stretch himself across so 28 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

in Broadway theatres, I went on my own journey… Rewind a few years. I was working on a project (Compositions) that required an array of songs, each written by different composers to capture an image, taken by my older brother, photographer Trent Parke. One of those artists was Stephen Schwartz. It still blows my mind that this man, responsible for so many of the musicals I’d loved as a child (not to mention recently that lil’ old bizzillion dollar juggernaut, Wicked) would be so generous as to write ME a song. I pitched the idea to him in New York in 2012. In his living room, surrounded by his Tonys, Grammys and Academy Awards I told him that each image would have a different composition that I would sing. So apparently this kid from Newcastle had grown up and was now suggesting a collaboration with Stephen Schwartz! When he accepted, my face must have revealed my surprise. “Tyran I’m a writer, all I need is a good idea and a deadline.” This cut down all the perceived walls between me and him. This stayed with me always. All I needed was a deadline and a good idea. In early 2019, Stephen was juggling the film of Wicked with new projects and ongoing care of the existing ones. He was mid-way through a workshop with Trevor Nunn, which I assumed meant we would not meet, but he told me that, as a Tony judge, he was required to see everything. So, despite

Hal Prince and Tyran Parke.

being tired, it was his “job” to go to the theatre. He had two free tickets to anything. And he asked me to take my pick. Seeing Bryan Cranston in Network was an experience I will never forget. On the way home for drinks, we ran into Ed Grey on the Street. Ed had been Boq in the last Australian tour of Wicked and Stephen proved again how he never seems to forget anyone. Through Stephen I had been lucky enough to meet his son, director Scott Schwartz. I had a lunch date with Scott at 1pm the following Monday, scheduled to allow me plenty of time after an important morning meeting with a new and somewhat intimidating acquaintance…

Monday arrived. I entered the Rockefeller Centre with trepidation. I underwent security checks, provided ID, signed in and was issued an identity sticker detailing whom I was there to see. I was thirty years older than that kid in Newcastle and over that time I had been educated as to why the name deserved bold. On my sticker it read, “Tyran Parke, guest of Hal Prince”. How did this possibly happen? Well, it appears if you know (composer / performer) John Bucchino, you know everyone. A year earlier he casually mentioned he was staying with “Hal and Judy”. Wow! I wrote to him saying how lucky he was. (Continued on page 30)

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approaching meeting. When I caught glimpse of Hal’s daily diary the whole News of his hosts gave permission day was taken in bold letters, ‘Tyran for me to spew forth ‘the Prince of Parke’. Well, I’ve never had a better Broadway’ speech, mostly given to reason to postpone lunch with Scott students about the importance of Hal Schwartz. Prince and his immediate effect on the What stayed with me from our day theatre, and my life. together, was that Hal said that About three minutes later, I got a everyone is trying to write musicals message, “When are you in town? And based on musicals they have already for how long?” seen. They say, this is the moment like John was reading my messages in Wicked and Phantom. aloud to “Judy” in the kitchen. She had Whereas he always created responded with, “Hal has to meet this moments and musicals out of man.” something that was not an obvious As it came to pass, that year, idea. despite an invite to his office, Hal had He’s currently working on a musical to cancel that appointment due to about a silent autistic child. What a illness. But I was determined not to be great idea for a musical! the ‘guy who almost met Hal Prince’. People think that the musical A year later I was sitting in his Cabaret is so obvious and clear but at waiting room looking at the posters the time it was a new way into music that adorned his office. This was the theatre. man who was a key player in everything It made me reflect on what efforts I from Fiddler on the Roof, West Side am undertaking to develop new work Story, Sweeney Todd to The Phantom in Australia. of the Opera. I was wondering how on As we neared the end of our Earth I ended up there? conversation, Hal said casually, “Are What followed was one of the most you seeing Steve while you’re here?” I delightful days I’ve ever experienced. I blushed. Oh please. talked to Hal (he refused to let me call About a week later, I nervously rang him Mr Prince) about theatre and the doorbell to the rather regular design and all the people he looking brownstone on the upper east remembered so fondly in Australia… side. “So what’s Nancye up to?” “I haven’t I was ushered in, given instructions heard from Reg Livermore for a while.” on where to sit and a glass of wine and “That John O’May, now there’s an soon the voice of Stephen Sondheim actor”…. called down from upstairs … “won’t be a minute.” The man is more than double my age but is still so sharp. I almost forgot about Scott Schwartz and our ever(Continued from page 29)

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“Take your time,” I squawked, my inner nine-year-old self-combusting inside me. I have read every book on Stephen Sondheim and was very familiar with his lack of patience for small talk but what could I possibly say … “Hey, I know Maria sounds too educated through the rhyming patterns in ‘I Feel Pretty’, but man, let it go - it’s a great song” or “I’m really sorry about Merrily - those critics just didn’t understand you.” I needed to focus, or I’d sound like the nine year old fan from Newcastle. “Mr Sondheim, I want to thank you.” I wanted to thank him for giving intelligence and heart and craft and for capturing what it is to be human, complex and nuanced inside of an art form he made me love and therefore devote my life too. Sondheim has often been misunderstood. His musicals have rarely made money or even been reviewed well. Only over time have our ears caught up with what he was doing. I thanked him for his musical Sunday in the Park with George, which not many people understood when it was on Broadway. But in 1984 I saw grown people crying at a production in western Sydney. He got it. He replied, “that’s the power of communication.” It may not happen immediately, but it can happen over time. He created works ahead of their time, which people later caught up with.

Communicating something from his younger self across the world and across time was very fulfilling for him. And then we got down to conversation. About history and photography and theatre and my desire to direct every one of his works. (To which he was thrilled and thanked ME!) I did my best for the international theatre community to encourage him to write one more musical. I mean just even a one act, if he’s tired. He sighed heavily and explained that it was over. “Ageing is a continual act of letting go”. I suggested that maybe ageing is the right theme for a show. He laughed and conceded it might well be. There’s hope yet. Later, I escorted him to 41st Street he was off to see a revival of his work. We arranged to meet again. I heard myself hoping openly that it happens. Goodbye Sondheim. As I left him I realised for the first time how the thirty -five years since I had heard Sweeney Todd had registered in his body. He was almost eighty-nine and was starting to wear it. With a start, I realised the time, 7.15pm! If I grabbed a quick bite, I might just make Waitress, so I raced helplessly to the that international saviour of fast food and downed a meal of sorts … a cheeseburger. My nine-year-old self would be happy. Hopefully so is my future eighty -nine-year-old. These days I occasionally get my own name in bold at the bottom of a program and my large record collection (known as the ‘Ty-brary’) has come full circle, progressing through CDs and returning to records again. Lots has shifted and moved on just as these men, and myself will one day. Because everything changes. Except one thing: “Rice’s Book and SecondHand Record Store” - the last dinosaur holding on for dear life in the age of technology in Hunter St Newcastle. I can only wish every other nine-yearold, or VCA student or skinny asthmatic has the pleasure of this journey, regardless of the outcome. And, that the experience of meeting their heroes leaves them feeling as though their own name deserves to be in bold, if only for a moment.

Laser Beak Man

Writer/Creative Producer of Laser Beak Man Nicholas Paine explains the secrets behind the delightful puppet show, on stage at Arts Centre, Melbourne in September. How would you describe the artwork of Tim Sharp which inspired the production? It is quite electric, very bright, inspiring and unusual. Tim has a distinct style. He has an interesting background. Yes, he is the same age as me but he has autism. His Mum found artwork as a way for him to express himself in his early years. Now he is a legendary artist in his own right. How do you communicate with him? He is quite verbal. When he was younger, he wasn’t. If you ask him questions, he will respond like anyone. Does his perspective on life have a special connection with young children? I think he has a special connection with everyone. He’s such a joyful, grass is always greener sort of guy. It is equally inspiring to adults. You can’t look at his artwork and not feel inspired. When you talk to him there is not an ounce of negativity. He just smiles. How is the narrative informed by his artwork? It is very much of a collaboration. We worked with him and his Mum to look at all his artwork. We saw a set of characters present through the artwork. We thought there must be some narrative in there. We worked with him for two or three years to understand that and pull it together. We took some liberties, but all those characters are present in his own work. What is the core story? Laser Beak Man is a superhero with a bit of a difference in that he has the ability to turn bad things into good things. The core of our story is a place called Power City that is under destruction. He does what he can to save the city and his friends. What are the puppets made of? All of our puppets are designed on computer and cut on laser. We use plywood and aluminium. All the pieces come in an Ikea-like flat pack. So (if one gets lost or damaged) any time we can make some more.

Laser Beak Man is at Arts Centre, Melbourne September 19 - 21 artscentremelbourne.com.au

Online extras!

Watch a preview of Laser Beak Man. Scan the QR code or visit https://youtu.be/KMB4iKumL1U

Laser Beak Man. Photo: Dylan Evans.

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Since Ali Died (2018). Photo: Robert Catto.

Since Ali Died

Rapper, poet and award-winning author Omar Musa brings his show Since Ali Died to Melbourne in August at the Arts Centre. What was it about Muhammad Ali which inspired you? Muhammad Ali proudly stood up for what he believed in, against the status quo, even at a huge cost to himself and his career. I read something about him that described him as simultaneously being a master of the pugilistic science of boxing and the world’s most famous pacifist. He was sweet, funny, compassionate and brave. He was flawed. He was real. When he said he was “The Greatest”, he was really saying that black was beautiful, in a world that said it wasn’t. That had a huge impact on me when I was growing up (even though I’m not black) - it gave me a sense of empowerment at a time when I could have

internalized racism and hatred - and made me think that I could live my life proudly and boldly. What do you think he was best at - boxing or his poetry? Boxing. He was arguably the best boxer of all time. I don’t think he would make many people’s list for best poet of all time. What is your favourite Ali poem? In When We Were Kings, George Plimpton recounts a time Muhammad Ali was giving a talk at a university. He was telling the students that he hadn’t had the opportunities in life that they’d had, and that they should use their privilege to make the world a better place. When he finished, someone yelled from the back of the auditorium asking for a poem. He thought for a second then opened his arms and said “me... WE!”, which is still the shortest poem in the English language, but says a whole lot. I have it tattooed. How difficult was it growing up as brown skinned boy in Queanbeyan? Not as difficult as it was for a lot of other people. Yes, I faced some racism growing up, but I was very privileged in a lot of other ways. Even though Muslim-Australian identity (whatever the hell that means) is a highly contested, often controversial thing in the febrile Australia we live in, anything I have faced pales in comparison to the daily racism and injustice Aboriginal Australians face. Would it be different growing up there today? Sure. Quite a different demographic now, and also less working class than it once was. Strange thing about a place, though - a place holds a soul, a temperament humming somewhere beneath the soil, that moves at a different pace to modern developments and “progress.” What excites you most about the stage production? If you hit the right note, there can be a special alchemy in a stage show, where forged between people of all different backgrounds, disparate in their thoughts and persuasions, is a moment that unifies them into something magical and wondrous. It’s ephemeral but very beautiful, and there’s nothing else like it.

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Script Extract

HYDRA

A Play by Sue Smith

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Queensland Theatreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hydra. Photo: Jeff Busby.

This is an extract from Hydra by Sue Smith, now available in paperback from NewSouth Publishing www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/hydra NewSouth Publishing has commenced publication of Australian Plays. One of the first is Hydra, staged this year by Queensland Theatre and the State Theatre Company of South Australia. The Greek island of Hydra - rocky and remote - is an unlikely place to loom large in the story of Australian post-war cultural expatriation. Novelists Charmian Clift and George Johnston found themselves on the Greek Island after they left Sydney in 1951, where they would write, quarrel, love and have children. Ursula: Oh for goodness sake George you are being astonishingly dense. Vic: Urs Ursula: The poor girl’s trying to tell you she wants to write it on her own. Can’t you see? She doesn’t want to be the junior partner for the rest of her life. [Beat.] George: You know that for a fact do you Ursula? Ursula: I do, actually. She told me. As far as I can tell she’s doing a more than adequate job without your interference. George: Interference? Vic: I wish you hadn’t done that Urs. Ursula: I remember at her age, you George: Interference? It used to be called mutual support. It used to be called ‘side by side’. [Charmian begins to leave.] Don’t fucking walk out. Vic: Sh-t Urs. George: Don’t walk out. Charmian: You are a machine, darling. You work so fast I can’t keep up with you. You steamroller me. George: I’m a bloody newspaperman. Charmian: And I’m a writer. [A long silence.] George: Fine. Whatever you want. [He tears the rewritten page in half, and exits.] Martin: My father would never help my mother write again. [Charmian alone on the stage. Martin lights a small candle and hands it to her. He then drops a blanket around her shoulders. The candlelight barely registers against the immensity of the darkness.] Charmian: The house has a little terrace tucked under the tall bronze mountain that curls over the town. I sit up here wrapped in a blanket, listening to the dialogue of donkeys. My face is cold turned up to the cold stars. Inexorable and orderly they move across heaven,

star beyond star, nebula beyond nebula, universe beyond universe wheeling through a loneliness that is inconceivable. Wrapped in its own darkness and mystery and loneliness the child in my body turns, as though to remind me of mysteries closer to hand. On the dark little terrace under the dark mountains I have a childish desire to shake my fists and shout into the impossible emptiness between those wheeling stars, ‘This is all very well, but who am I?’ [Black. And the ocean sounds re-emerge. As they flow in - and out - once again, they sound like breathing. In and out. We stay with this for a long moment, and then: Charmian holds a swaddled baby aloft. It howls in protest. Everyone gathers to cheer and applaud.] Vic: Well, that’s a set of lungs. George: He’s got a big c-ck as well. Ursula: Quel dommage if he hadn’t. Tony! Nick! Martin: I read five chapters of the Iliad to my mother between contractions. She says it helps. The midwife gives her ouzo. That really helps. [Holding the child, Charmian is now surrounded by a Greek Orthodox priest, George and Martin. The Greek Orthodox baptism of the baby. Stained glass windows, and the giant shadow of a crucifix hangs over the little family. A deep bass chanting. The bundled baby is dunked three times into a deep font of water. It is mysterious and magnificent - except for the tiny boy bellowing his fury.] The first summer smells of limestone and sage and wild thyme … [The harbour front materialises on the stage. A row of coloured lights hangs over the action.] Our house by the well is filled with an immoderate happiness. Dad whistles a lot, spoils us kids extravagantly, gets drunk with fishermen. [Charmian strolls along the waterfront, carrying the baby in a hand-made papoose.]

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Director’s Diary

Cathy Boyle took charge of the NSW Amateur Premiere of Ladies In Black by Strathfield Musical Society. Here are her musings. I can still remember the QTC production of Ladies in Black which I saw at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. I loved the gorgeous 50’s styling, was envious of the magnificent revolve that wafted scenes on and off the stage, found Tim Finn’s music absolutely approachable and loved the idea of doubling a number of the roles. At interval, I said to my friends “I am really loving this, what about you?” They just replied “Oh yes!” Our opinions didn’t change during Act 2, where we all soaked up the happy endings that abounded in this gentle, charming musical. When I saw that David Spicer had obtained the rights to this show, I was really keen to do it - but which society would take a risk on this new 36 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

musical? The short answer is Strathfield Musical Society. And how very grateful I was! The format I eventually decided on for Ladies in Black was very different from what I had seen and loved. Roles were not doubled, the revolve was not going to be included (although to be fair I wasn’t really expecting to use one on Strathfield’s stage) and offstage “voices” from the QTC production would become an ensemble as citizens of Sydney in all their various guises. My staging was a simple one three large ascending rostra that would become multi-use acting areas. Some items of furniture rolled on and off but much of the store furniture lived permanently at the edge of the

rostra, very often shrouded in the cream colour that made up the palette of the stage. I think that all of that cream would have been very boring, except for the beautiful projections designed by Adam Ring and Chae Rogan. The projections not only represented all the locations in the story (and believe me - there are LOTS of locations!) but were able to help delineate the many multi-scene moments of the show. Every projection added something to the show. I was thrilled when a row of designer gowns appeared behind Magda (Tisha Kelemen) as she sang “Model Gowns”. Whenever you use projections in shows, you need a very sympathetic lighting designer and I was fortunate to have Gints Karklins. The haze that often creates beautiful and complex lighting effects had to be toned down

Ladies In Black. Photos: Haydn Allbutt.

to minimal levels; the items of furniture that lived permanently onstage created difficulties with the side lighting that can make beautiful patterns; tiny areas of the stage needed to be lit whilst scenes were being set up in other dark areas and of course, there could be no strong lights towards the back of the stage. One of the aspects of the QTC show I wanted to keep was that of the beautiful 50’s styling and I had Sharon Palmer as Costume Coordinator and Angela Mosley as Props Co-ordinator. We scoured online retro clothing sites and Sharon purchased and made an enormous number of costumes. Not only were there many, many bodies to be clothed in a variety of scenes but there were also racks of clothes that were never worn but hung on the store racks of Goode’s Department Store. Many of the cast had also been entranced by the prospect of wearing delectable 50’s clothes and offered some of their own clothes either for themselves or as display models. Props were also very important to sustain the feel of the 50’s. I had my first, rather addictive, experience with Facebook marketplace and we were able to source some lovely authentically styled furniture. I think

my favourite was the emerald green formica topped table with matching chairs. We also had authentic, correctly dated “Women’s Weekly” magazines and newspapers, Mum’s sewing box was exactly like the one I remembered from my childhood and our beach scene was full of lovely details like binoculars, folding chairs, picnic baskets and towels. Angela’s advice to always ask the cast was very wise indeed. Tim Finn’s music was simple and conversational for the major part of the show and my singers were able to manage it very nicely - thanks to Elisabetta Sonego, my Musical Director. However, there were a number of pieces where quite complex rhythms had to be mastered: two that spring to mind are “Sales Talk” and “Pandemonium”, where shop assistants and customers either spoke over each other or had to pick up another line of their song as another singer was still finishing their line. My performers struggled with the fact that only a few of the songs were available to listen to and these were not the tricky numbers. A cast recording would have been a great help to us in the early stages. We were glad that we had allocated (Continued on page 38)

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Director’s Diary

Ladies In Black. Photo: Haydn Allbutt.

roles for them. Fortunately, again, the critical people appeared at auditions. I regular revision sessions for the have never felt that an orientation complex numbers. evening had been so worthwhile! Probably the most important My cast was very patient as I aspect of this show was the cast. We talked to them about their characters, had many talented women audition - quoting from the novel or even the probably we could have double cast a film. I’m sure their hearts sank as I number of roles - but the truly appeared at rehearsals with even problematic role was Lesley Miles. more post-it notes in my copy of the Supposedly a sixteen-year-old, thin, novel! The fact that so few either shy bookworm, this actor is the knew the novel or had even seen the lynchpin of the show. Fortunately for musical meant that we spent longer us, Isobel Lim appeared at the final than normal developing our session of auditions and we were in understandings of what was safe hands - but it is a really tough happening in these people’s lives. It role to cast. There was also a difficulty was time well spent. I think that as in getting men to be interested in the show time approached, we felt we show - they just didn’t know that had fleshed out these lovely people there were beautiful, character-driven (Continued from page 37)

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and could present something that was honest and true to life. So, what were the pros and cons of doing a new musical? One huge positive for me was that I was able to work with my team to really create something. So often in musicals you are re-creating or trying to satisfy audience expectations about what the show should be like. We felt we had an almost blank canvas and that was exciting. One difficulty with all that freedom is that lots of time is required and lots of talking has to happen so that everybody involved is clear about the destination. We had a long rehearsal period and I think that I probably spent two or three times as long as I normally do in mulling over characters and events. There weren’t the resources that are available for most musicals and that sometimes made our progress quite slow. A wonderful woman from Western Australia (Kimberley Shaw) started a Facebook group for those of us who were planning to present the show and that was great. We chatted and were able to solve a couple of the dilemmas presented in the script and score. Would I do a new show again? Absolutely! I would need a team as dedicated as the one I had for Ladies in Black and I would hope the stars would align as beautifully as they did for us - but it is possible. And when it works, it is immensely satisfying!

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Showcase Photo: Jeff Busby.

AIM Celebrates Muriel’s Wedding

It’s not every day that someone lands their dream role in a huge stage production spanning five months and three cities - and even rarer that it’s their first professional stage production.

Maggie McKenna, who was cast as the lead in the original season, headed to the United States for a national tour of Dear Evan Hansen. Enter 23-year-old Australian Takes It All’ - and I had lots of people As for Natalie’s future, she’s Institute of Music (AIM) alumni Natalie coming up to me saying that I had hesitant about working overseas. Abbott, who stepped into the lead role done really well and that I had a great “It would obviously be great to go of Muriel Heslop in the 2019 seasons voice. and do that one day but at the same of Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. “While I was a bit uncertain about time I also kind of want to stay here in With another three alumni in the myself and what I was studying, after Australia. performing that piece I knew for sure production, Natalie is one of many “There is so much great talent here, examples of the calibre of AIM that Music Theatre was what I wanted from actors to directors and everyone graduates who have made their mark to do.” in-between. I remember we used to on the Australian Performing Arts Asked what she enjoyed most perform these really great musicals industry. about her time at AIM, Natalie says written by my Music Theatre teacher at From a young age Natalie enjoyed she built up a strong camaraderie with AIM but apart from that the scripts performing in front of people but her fellow Music Theatre students, would just sit unused and unread came to a crossroads when she connections which she still has to this under his bed.” day. finished school and had to decide In any case, big things lie ahead for whether to pursue acting or singing. A Her teachers were also a great Natalie as she looks to embark on friend suggested she combine her two inspiration to her. Natalie credits their what will most likely be the most passions by studying Music Theatre continued support and mentorship challenging yet rewarding experience and the rest is history, but it wasn’t with a role in her success. of her life so far. straightforward. “I actually really struggled in my Founded over 50 years ago, AIM pairs cutting-edge technology and first year. I was shocked at how facilities with experienced teaching staff from practical, industry-based difficult it was, plus moving up to backgrounds. The AIM community lives and breathes music and the Sydney from the South Coast was also performing arts. On campus you’ll be surrounded by likeminded creatives tough, so it was all a bit that will challenge you to advance your own artistic development while overwhelming.” preparing you for the rigours of the Australian Performing Arts industry. Natalie kept at it and eventually it all clicked. To find out more or to book a tour, visit “I got the chance to perform a solo www.aim.edu.au/programs piece - it was ABBA’s ‘The Winner

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Showcase

Climbing The Acting Treehouse The roles keep rolling on for Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM) alumnus Teale Howie. The CQUniversity Bachelor of Theatre graduate played the lead role of Terry in the Australia-wide production of The 78-Storey Treehouse last year. Since then, Teale has travelled to New York to undertake further study under various voice and acting coaches, before returning as Terry in a shorter tour of The 91-Storey Treehouse. His next gig was as the choreographer on the Canterbury Theatre Guild’s Tarzan the Musical, directed by fellow graduate Hannah Barn, playing at the Bryan Brown Theatre in Sydney this July. This came after another acting gig in Anatomy of a Suicide at Sydney’s Old Fitz Theatre. “It’s a theatrical triptych in which the stories of three generations of women are told simultaneously,” Teale explains. “It’s such a gorgeous show and piecing it together with a phenomenal team has been incredibly rewarding. 42 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

“Music theatre training has come in handy as it’s quite a musical and harmonic script, and the movement between scenes is both fluid and tightly choreographed.” Teale believes his ever-expanding list of credits has been made possible because of his training at CQUniversity.

For more information about theatre, music and creative arts courses at CQUniversity, including audition dates for courses commencing Term 1, 2020, visit cqu.edu.au/auditions

“CQCM has equipped me with the foundational tools for making a career in the arts, and while I’ll never stop learning, it’s very comforting to have this toolbox to pull from,” explains Teale. While studying with CQCM, Teale performed in productions of Safety Circus and Choices, two awardwinning CQUniversity theatre performances. “My fondest memories at CQCM were made in production weeks when students and tutors would come together over three weeks and create a show. It’s still my favourite part; the creative and developmental process. “We’d also get to work with industry folk during these times which was pretty special - and those relationships are still standing.” CQUniversity’s theatre, music and creative arts courses help transform students’ talent and passion into the career dreams are made of, just as Teale has done. Students benefit from the expertise of highly-acclaimed industry professionals and skilled teachers in a supportive and vibrant setting, preparing them for successful careers in the arts, whether it be locally, nationally or internationally.

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Behind The Scenes At WAAPA

Showcase

Behind every great show, be it live theatre, concerts, events, film or television, there is an army of talented creatives, designing and building the sets, costumes, props, scenery, lighting and sound. WAAPA provides Production & Design students with a greatest diversity of ‘on-the job’ theatrical experiences. Enjoy this photo gallery of students involved in WAAPA’s production of Strictly Ballroom The Musical.

Production photos: Jon Green.

Behind-the-scenes photos: Stephen Heath.

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Australian Ballet School The Australian Ballet School is the national centre for elite vocational classical dance training and the school of The Australian Ballet.

some of Australia’s leading dance teachers. Early Learning, Children & Boys Programmes are term-based, offering regular weekly classes at the school’s Southbank studios in Melbourne. Featuring live piano accompaniment, Entry into the School’s training the Early Learning and Children’s programmes is via audition and Programme caters to girls and boys through the after school programme, aged 3 to 10. The boys programme is intra/interstate & international extended for those aged up to 15yrs, training programme and full-time to learn from celebrated male classical programme. The school’s eight-level ballet teachers. No audition is training programme produces dancers required for either programme. of the highest calibre for local and Open Masterclasses are held in international world class companies. major Australian capital cities every The school nurtures young talent year and run for approximately 1.5 so that every provision is made for the hours. These classes offer students best to be the best - to guide students aged 9 to 17 years the exclusive to develop into well-balanced human opportunity to work with and beings, with a strong ethical sense experience the high level of expertise well fed in body, mind and spirit. on offer at Australia’s national centre Year round the school also offers of excellence in dance training. All open enrolment opportunities, no students are welcome to enrol, audition required, for young dance regardless of previous dance students to experience training with experience.

Showcase The Australian Ballet School’s annual Summer and Winter Schools attract both national and international students and offer comprehensive training in classical ballet and other dance styles. Held at the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre in Melbourne, the artistic faculty for both is drawn from school staff, guest teachers from The Australian Ballet and the wider dance community. The summer school is for two 5-day weeks (3-7 Jan & 8-12 Jan) with four alternate streams (creative, open, boys & pre-professional), each stream catering to differing needs of students aged between 6 to 18 years. Winter School is a 3-day workshop open to students aged 9-15.

To learn more about The Australian Ballet School and any of its training programmes, please visit australianballetschool.com.au

Online extras!

Discover why The Australian Ballet School produces successful graduates. https://youtu.be/ARoPTESMehQ

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Photos: Perform Australia.

Showcase

For more info on Perform Australia’s courses, visit perform.edu.au

character, memorise your lines, and rehearse all by yourself - then turn up on the day and do the job required. Screen acting requires you to work independently before you even step foot on set. And if you do rehearse with your fellow actors before shooting, it’s going to be minimal. Screen etiquette. The screen environment has its own etiquette around call times, schedules, who to speak to when you have a problem, how to behave on set, and so on - just as theatre has its own requirements and expectations. The stage actor shifting to screen needs to have a working knowledge of the environment they’re now operating in, Elizabeth Scott from Perform Australia explains what stage actors as well as the workplace health and safety issues faced in that context. need to know about making the transition to screen acting. The best way to make the transition Many actors start out in the theatre words. So, when acting for camera, from stage to screen is through - either in a school play or musical, or you need to contain your entire training. Alongside its CUA40513 with a local amateur theatre society. physicality to what’s in the frame. Certificate IV in Musical Theatre, But before long, the keen actor realises Script turnaround. When perfect for singer/dancer/actors that the stage is not the only avenue performing in a stage play or musical, interested in stage work, Perform for their talents. Whether inspired by a you’ll likely have weeks to rehearse and Australia runs the 10197NAT favourite TV series, or the latest movie perfect every scene. In a screen project, Certificate IV in Acting for Stage and release, the theatre actor may start however, you may get the script only Screen. This course gives students a dreaming of a life on the silver screen. days, or even hours, before you need good balance in working in both Acting for screen has a few distinct to perform. In some projects, you media, allowing them to test out differences from acting for stage, and won’t even get a whole script - just their suitability for screen work, the theatre actor wanting to transition the pages with your lines in them. while developing and refining to screen needs to make a few So, your job is to prepare your their stage skills. adaptations. Your voice. The stage actor is told, “Project, project, project!” while the screen actor needs to realise the mic is right up close. Using a stage voice into a lapel mic, or even a boom mic, is not going to do anyone any favours, least of all the sound technician! Bring your voice right down. But don’t let this advice make you think the voice is not important for screen. Good vocal technique and articulation are crucial in a good screen performance. Your physicality. In the theatre, you might be in front of an audience of hundreds or even thousands. Your gestures, movements, and expressions need to be big to be seen. But in screen, the camera sees all: every twitch, every nuance in a facial expression, every gentle touch. Your eyes alone can speak a thousand

From Stage To Screen

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building a character, audition experience and choosing repertoire.” Showcase Other graduates are currently Georgina Hopson. appearing in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Jordan Malone, Madison Green) and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Connor Sweeney) and Aladdin (Shubshri Kandiah and Courtney Monsma). Queensland Conservatorium Director Professor Scott Harrison said: “The success of our alumni reflects the calibre of teaching and learning happening at the Conservatorium our students are given a worldclass music education and are ready to make their mark when they graduate.” As part of its 2019 performance season, the Conservatorium will mount a blockbuster production of Les Misérables. The show features a cast of 80 students, two orchestras and more than 300 costumes over 12 epic performances. Head of Performing Arts Associate Professor Paul Sabey said students were being given the chance to tackle some of the most iconic shows in the musical theatre canon. The Queensland Conservatorium is producing dynamic “These mainstage productions are performers, with musical theatre graduates starring in some one of many opportunities provided to of the biggest shows to hit Australia. students throughout their degree. “It’s vital they leave us with the skill Emerging stars are delivering stellar Matilda Theatre Award for Best set that will enable them to tackle any performances in blockbuster Emerging Artist and won the prestigious role, on any stage,” he said. productions like Evita, West Side Story, Rob Guest Endowment last year. The Conservatorium is also home to Fellow musical theatre graduates Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Harry Alex Woodward (2015), Tom Davis and a Bachelor of Acting, which launched in 2018. The acting program prepares Potter and the Cursed Child. Billy Bourchier (2014) are currently graduates for a career on the stage and touring with The Book of Mormon. Georgina Hopson, who graduated Tom Davis has been crisscrossing the screen under the direction of from the Bachelor of Musical Theatre in internationally renowned teachers and 2014, starred in Evita alongside Tina country with the show for two years. performers. “This is my first major musical, and Arena. Associate Professor Paul Sabey said it’s still such a thrill. The audiences love “There is a real sense of both courses offered a pathway to a camaraderie,” she said. the show; it’s so funny and brilliantly career in the industry for aspiring “Even after university, the Con family written.” Tom is originally from Narrandera in performers. is still alive and well. “Our goal is to ensure that talented “The Bachelor of Musical Theatre at regional NSW and moved up to Brisbane after high school to attend the performers are equipped with the Griffith has really established a passion, drive and skills to perform reputation in the industry for quality, so Queensland Conservatorium. across a range of disciplines, from it’s great to see that being recognised.” “I started singing at a very young theatre to film and TV.” age - I used to dance around with a Since graduating Georgie has spoon in my hand as a microphone!” become one of the breakout stars on the Australian Musical Theatre scene “I didn’t apply anywhere else - I just Learn more about the went for it, there was no Plan B. handpicked by Dame Julie Andrews to Queensland Conservatorium at understudy the lead role in Opera “The support from the teachers was griffith.edu.au/music Australia’s My Fair Lady, she received a amazing - from developing accents, to

The Con Family Thrives

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Sophia launched her EP with a live show at the Royal Oak Showcase Balmain with many APGS students in attendance. “Replay” instantly shot to number 1 on the country music charts and reached number 3 across all genres on iTunes. “Replay” climbed the charts and was featured on the KIX country radio Hottest 20 chart at number 16; it reached number 10 on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association 100% Independent Singles Chart. Sophia released a music video for “Replay” and performed at Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Sydney Royal Easter Show. All of this coincided with the start of Sophia’s final year of high school, as she was entering Year Sophia Chesworth released a song that went to the top of the 12 and focusing on achieving country music charts whilst still at High School. She attends the academically in her HSC. Australian Performing Arts Grammar School (APGS), which allows When asked about balancing students to study and chase a creative career. academics and her dream of making it big as a musician, Sophia said, “The Sophia moved to the inner-city APGS has several showcases support I’ve been given has enabled Performing Arts school in Sydney for throughout the year in venues me to pursue opportunities for my her senior studies because she wanted ranging from the school’s own hall to own music and the school has helped to be supported to pursue her the Seymour Centre. In Sophia’s first me maintain the same academic passions. Showcase after she joined APGS she grades that I’ve been getting, which is “I have to say my favorite thing sang an incredible country pop song really important to me.” about APGS is how supportive it is,” that she had written and blew APGS is a unique school where just say Sophia. everyone away with her incredible over a hundred students with At APGS Sophia is surrounded by voice and catchy lyrics. passions in the arts come to extend peers with similar creative goals and a Later that year Sophia worked themselves and be around people teaching staff that understands hard outside of school developing her who have the same drive. At APGS creative learners. At APGS the EP. The song she performed at that Sophia is surrounded by students who academic curriculum is fitted into the showcase, “Replay”, was the title share the same passion that she does, first four days of the week and track of her EP as well as the first but for others at the school their students enjoy a full day of single she released. passion might lie in musical theatre, Performing Arts on Fridays. On the day the song was released acting, film making, drumming or In these specialist classes students on iTunes and Spotify there was a lot dancing instead of singing. The are led by industry professionals. of excitement at APGS. Sophia arrived students at APGS come together to Sophia is working towards her HSC to her classmates singing her song in celebrate their creativity. in subjects she loves; she is also the halls and the school celebrated 2020 enrolments are now extending her skills and talents with the launch with an assembly where open. For information call people in music industry and making Sophia performed the song with (02) 9518 5123 or visit valuable contacts in this close-knit everyone singing along with her. community. www.apgs.nsw.edu.au

High School Student’s Hit Song

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NIDA’s Singing Actor Degree NIDA’s world-famous actor training course will offer a Singing Actor stream for students to choose in 2020. The move recognises the increasing opportunities for actors to take lead roles in music theatre productions, for example recent graduate Mark Hill performing the role of Riff in the Opera Australia production of West Side Story.

aspects of the training for actors who possess a high level of vocal competence.” NIDA’s Executive Director Conservatoire Dr Amanda Morris said that the move responds to the demands of an ever-changing The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) difference in 2020 is that students performance industry. “NIDA is led by the Director, Centre for enrolled in the Bachelor of Fine Arts students already work with leading Acting, John Bashford with The (Acting) course will be able to choose industry experts in their field, and the Singing Actor stream coordinated by between The Actor or The Singing Singing Actor stream will not be any NIDA’s Head of Music Andrew Ross, Actor stream. All the students study different, with students working with with teaching undertaken by Andrew acting, movement, music and voice, guest directors, choreographers and and a variety of teachers from within but those who choose to can engage musical directors. NIDA as well as many external in discipline-specific training in “NIDA also has a very successful professional practitioners. singing, movement and dancing. short course, the one-year vocational “NIDA acting training has a NIDA Head of Music Andrew Ross Diploma in Musical Theatre. The new strong base in classical and said: “Storytelling through song is a Singing Actor stream in the Bachelor contemporary techniques (based on skill increasingly in demand for our of Fine Arts (Acting) course provides Stanislavski’s principles) to equip contemporary theatrical landscape. an avenue for performers to engage students with a multitude of ways to The Singing Actor stream allows the with rigorous and in-depth training, approach performance,” said John opportunity for some students to which will see Australian artists take Bashford. “It enables all students to audition for and undertake a course an even higher profile in the music attain the highest level of excellence of study that highlights and expands theatre industry.” in acting for stage and screen, musical theatre, or storytelling Applications for all of NIDA’s courses, including NIDA’s Bachelor of through song.” Fine Arts (Acting), open on 1 July 2019. To register your interest in NIDA Student Production seasons the course and for information about auditions, visit nida.edu.au. often include musical theatre. The

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54 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

Showcase Charles Sturt graduate Laura Flanagan.

A Day In The Life At Charles Sturt Uni to jump into the recording booth to record some intros. Afterwards I head back to my dorm on campus and squeeze in a quick power nap! 4pm: I head to a rehearsal. The third-year theatre media students showcase original works at the annual Today, my theatre media classmates Sprung Festival of Creativity, using and I are planning our upcoming other Charles Sturt theatre media performance at the Ponton Theatre. students as their cast and crew. I’m As the set designer, I discuss the playing the lead role in an original performance with the directors and musical, which is a lot of fun but it’s brainstorm ideas with the rest of the also a huge commitment. We have design and production team. Before class ends, we have a group discussion frequent rehearsals in the theatre about our e-portfolios due at the end media building. 7pm: I’m sweaty, sore and of the year. energised after our three-hour 12pm: Class has finished, so I head rehearsal. I swing by the dining hall to the Food Bowl for lunch, where I for dinner, then head over to my dorm bump into some of my ‘dormies’. It’s to relax. A few of us have a free sunny outside, so we decide to enjoy evening after a busy day, so we relax our meals on the library lawn where on the balcony, then play cards in the there’s live music. common room while watching TV. 1pm: I have a short break after 9pm: I do a bit of reading and lunch, so I head to the library to look researching for an upcoming over a play I’m giving a presentation assessment at my desk. Before getting on next week. ready for bed, I share a tea with one 2pm: I have a meeting with my friend for a group assessment for my of my dormies who is having a study break. I’m looking forward to a sleepelective radio subject. We plan and in and another productive, creative draft some segment scripts for our radio show task - and even have time and exciting day!

Do you dream about the day you get the call to star in the next big Netflix series or would working behind the scenes on movies and TV shows give you a buzz? Maybe you’ve got plans to make it big on Broadway? You’ll need the right training and that’s where Charles Sturt University comes in. The Bachelor of Creative Industries (Acting and Performance) or Bachelor of Theatre Media will kick start your creative career. At Charles Sturt you learn the ins and outs of the industry and get to dream up exciting ways to bring stories to life. The acting and performance degree will help you reach your full potential with your passion for drama, acting or working in event management, lighting, costumes and props. You’ll also complete placements with theatre companies and media production houses, or with film, radio, television or event production companies. But what’s life like as a theatre media student? Student Sonia Dodd provides an insight. 8am: I go for a run around Kanga Track, just behind the campus at Bathurst, and get a good dose of the country air. 10am: After eating breakfast in my dorm kitchen, I meet some friends for a quick coffee before walking to class.

Turn your passion into a profession at Charles Sturt University. Find out more and register for an audition at scci.csu.edu.au/courseconsultation www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 55

Seussical. Photo: Jodie Hutchinson.

Showcase

Federation Uni’s Arts Academy The Arts Academy, Federation University resides in the heart of Ballarat. In rehearsal rooms that look out over trees bursting with autumn, students throw themselves into acting exercises.

students sharpen their skills and develop professional relationships by nurturing our own theatre industry. “It was a thrill to work with the Weeks earlier these students were “There tends to be a sense of intelligent, motivated and talented performing the musical Working to community, especially when the music theatre students at Federation majority of the students are not from University. Developing a new work is a sell-out audiences, a month before that Oscar Wilde and Bertolt Brecht the surrounding towns. Everyone gets tricky thing, and the Arts Academy were brought to life, a month later to know each other on a more students made our work all the better personal level and it makes working for it with their enthusiasm, wit and the musical Seussical. “It’s pretty simple - if it wasn’t for together much easier.” - Iopu Auva’a, diligence. Federation University’s high my time at the Arts Academy, the former student, currently in Harry -performance standard, mixing an detail of the teaching methods and Potter and the Cursed Child emphasis on autonomy and proactive the work ethic it instilled in me, I It is this ability to embrace the attitudes, is perfect training for students hoping to work and survive wouldn’t be enjoying the career I’ve past, present and future that makes had over the past 12 years.” - Josh the Arts Academy a leader in as artists in Australia.” - Ash Flanders, Piterman, former student, awardpresenting new Australian work. former Acting student and co-artistic director of Sisters Grimm winning music theatre performer and From The Hatpin to Sovereign recording artist At the Arts Academy, students are Wife with Sisters Grimm, from the The Arts Academy is unique. A work of Anthony Crowley and Eddie taught the skills they need to establish regional campus dedicated to a sustainable and diverse career in the Perfect, to Shane Warne the performing arts excellence. Like Musical and Ladies In Black, Academy performing arts. It values a community of artists, emerging and Ballarat itself, it is a hub of tradition Become audition-ready at and innovation, skill and rebellion. established, who use their art to Federation University’s Here, Romeo and Juliet are as relevant contribute to a sustainable, ethical world, full of powerful and innovative as Heathers the Musical. Singing, Audition Masterclass to be acting, dance, art, design and theatrestory-telling. If you are interested in held on October 2 & 3, 2019 making co-exist in a vibrant at Arts Academy, Camp Street becoming a part of that learning community, get all the details at community of young artists who live Campus, Ballarat. and learn together. www.federation.edu.au/artists

Call 1800 333 864 for details

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The Wizard Of Oz.

Showcase

Brisbane Academy’s Very Own Dorothy The Brisbane Academy of Musical Theatre is celebrating the success of Diploma of Music Theatre student Carly Bettinson.

entertainment industry and provide industry standard training to prepare for further study or employment. Carly has made her professional big.” It sounds crazy out of context, BAMT is the only musical theatre debut in the lead role as Dorothy Gale but it confirmed for me that my training program in Australia housed in Harvest Rain’s The Wizard of Oz dreams were not too big or wild and within a major performing arts venue. that I had the power to make things The headquarters is also the home of Arena Spectacular, touring arenas around Australia in 2019/2020. She’s happen. Harvest Rain, Australia’s largest notperforming to crowds of over 4,000 “It doesn’t matter where you come for-profit youth arts organisation and from or what your skill set is - work producer of musical theatre. Students each show. “After starting a Bachelor of hard, be kind and respectful to undertake their training in the same Music, I realized I was not happy with everyone, forgive yourself when you venue where some of Australia’s where I was going. I discovered the fail and make mistakes and just keep biggest musical theatre stars are world of Musical Theatre after going. rehearsing and performing. “BAMT has given me the working as an usher at QPAC, and soon applied to the BAMT Musical confidence and the skills to continue a Theatre Course. I was accepted into creative career. I’m currently touring with The Wizard of Oz and learning the Certificate IV course and I have never looked back. I left Uni and so much. Studying at BAMT has given dedicated all my energy into learning me the confidence to go anywhere.” as much as I could from my trainers BAMT’s Full Time Course is an and peers. intensive one-year of musical theatre “At BAMT, it felt like I had found training and networking with some of home. The CEO of Harvest Rain, Tim the best and most prominent people O’Connor, told me right at the in the business. The course provides beginning of the year something that students with a year of theatre has changed my worldview - he said, experiences that broaden knowledge “You are not a ‘small’ Carly, you’re and understanding of the

Entry is processed by direct application on the BAMT web page and applicants are required to demonstrate, through skills assessment or other form of evidence, competence in vocal, dance and acting skills. For info visit www.bamt.com.au 58 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

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Mr Dance Factory

Does it apply to both part time and full time studies? Yes. Not only are we the only commercial dance courses in Victoria Mark Laguerre, Artistic Director of Dance Factory, has a resume that offer this funding, we are also that includes commercial dancer, musical theatre performer, Government approved to accept teacher and Artistic Director of the Victorian State Schools Spectacular. He shares some insights into the Performing Arts and international students. So what is the approach of Dance Dance training. Factory training? Dance Factory has been at the I understand Dance Factory’s Technique and performance. Solid, forefront of dance education for courses are Government funded now. strong technique is the thing that many years. On reflection, what gives What does that entail? separates dancers, that draws your you the most satisfaction? The Victorian Government, after eye to that one dancer in particular, It has to be our graduates the TAFE shakeup, have put in place a and that strength of technique comes watching them move into the industry funding program that financially through hard work, application and and embark on very successful supports students seeking further dedication. We focus on that in all careers. We have Dance Factory education. It’s called “Skills First” and our classes, but technique works hand students working throughout our courses are funded through that in hand with performance, seeking to Australia, New York, the West End, initiative. engage the audience, giving voice to Europe and Asia. We are very proud How does this differ from the the emotion, character and story of of Jasmin Sheppard who is now a HECS scheme? the dance. Giving the audience the principal dancer and choreographer The HECS scheme is a loan from sense that they are sharing in with Bangara. Jolene Slater has been a the Government that the student is something spontaneous and “live”. principal dancer at Moulin Rouge in required to repay in the future. “Skills That comes down to a dancer’s ability Paris for many years and Sean First” is a grant to the students; the to perform, and you learn that by Hingston has been working with Government is paying for a large part being in front of an audience. Susan Stroman in New York. We have of a student’s tuition fees, which So our courses are practical and directors, choreographers, performers, means that the student doesn’t have physical - lots of classes and a major teachers, studio owners and dancers. to repay the grant. performance at the end of each term. It is gratifying to know that they The funded amount varies Some schools work all year toward a trained with us and when they come depending on the courses studied but single show but we have one every back through Melbourne and teach it generally ranges from around 50% ten weeks. Get in, learn fast and also, guest classes, I can see that of the course fees, up to (if you have perhaps, make mistakes, but learn knowledge and experience being a health card) as much as 80 - 90%. from mistakes and grow from passed on to our current students. mistakes.

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Showcase

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Bethany Fellows.

Showcase

From Peanut Butter To Stage Design Have there been particular Bethany Fellows knew she wanted to study at the Victorian College highlights during your studies at VCA? of the Arts, but she never knew she’d end up studying stage “The very first collaboration I did in design in the Master of Design for Performance. In the course she the Master of Design for Performance made everything from peanut butter sandwiches to tiny furniture. degree was the most ridiculous thing, The path to studying at the VCA was circuitous for you, wasn’t it? “I majored in printmaking and art theory during my undergraduate degree and shifted to focus on live art during my honours year. I’ve done lots of different things - graphic design, sock-selling, bike store management, event management - and I was at a crossroads in life. I realised stage design was a good nexus of my skills, because I’m creative yet practical - and I really wanted to collaborate with other people.” There is no “typical day” at the VCA is there? It’s a rollercoaster of activities. “There’ll be some meetings, some classes, some searching for sustenance and caffeine. If I’m working on a show I might be locked in a shed cutting wood for a week or running around the city looking for a very particular but seemingly innocuous T-shirt for a character.” 62 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

What inspires you? “Human ingenuity - people coming together to make something happen. My brain is so lateral, I find inspiration in the strangest places, like rubbish discarded on the street, a cookbook, or the tilt of a tree. I try to keep my mind open and take in everything around me. You never know where your next idea might come from.” You say your biggest challenge during the course has been figuring out your work/life balance. “It can be exhausting but it’s also immensely rewarding. And working with so many people can be difficult, because everyone always has an opinion! But I love meeting new people. I’ve met some wonderful collaborators who I’ll keep working with past my time here at VCA.”

but it was also an absolute highlight. It was just three hands in a box trying independently to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - but I knew then that I had made the right decision to go into stage design. It was a reassuring signpost in life. “One of my favourite projects in the course has been making 1:25 scale models - I cannot describe how much joy it brings me to make tiny furniture for tiny actors.” And the path to a career in stage design? “There are so many important things to do to begin. Go to shows. Look at art. Learn to draw. Observe the world. The VCA has also really given me a leg-up that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. The industry experience, contacts and practicable outcomes that our course offers are considerable.”

Discover more about study options for Performing Arts at the VCA Open Day, Sunday August 18. For more info visit finearts-music.unimelb.edu.au

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The festival was a great a success, and will continue as an annual event, Showcase paving the way for ongoing events led by TAFE Queensland graduates. In addition to the current Bachelor of Acting and Performance (304JA.1), 2020 will see the commencement of a new Drama and Production major at TAFE Queensland. This new major will produce graduates able to engage as arts facilitators, educators, producers and project managers. A further expansion of TAFE Queensland’s Community of Practice is developing relationships with drama teachers and students in high schools throughout Queensland. The bachelor program is keen to deepen the connection between training and young people in our community, to appreciate how they understand and engage with the nature of the acting and theatre experience in the 21st century. The combination of broad and focused training and education, in conjunction with the ongoing support performers in challenging New theatre collective ‘Robert and presentation of graduate contemporary theatre practice. the Cat’, showcasing TAFE students and their work, creates a Graduate students are also deep and passionate Community of Queensland acting alumni, has Practice that is unique to TAFE become the resident company at welcomed to return to TAFE Queensland to utilise rehearsal space, Queensland. Students are not simply Metro Arts Brisbane. staff mentorship and the campus enrolling into a three-year arts theatre to develop and perform their program, moreover, enrolling into an Established by staff members Lisa self-devised work. In April, a group of extended support network that will O’Neill, Anatoly Frusin and Rosalind graduates produced and staged the help pave the way to where they want Williams, the company’s inaugural first ever Brisbane Sci-Fi Theatre to go, well into the future. production, Love and Information by Festival in the Norman Price Theatre. Caryl Churchill, will be staged in August. Central to the success of TAFE Queensland’s acting degree (delivered in partnership with the University of Canberra) is the ongoing relationship and support of its graduates and providing them a platform to showcase their work as emerging 2017 3rd year student production of The Chair Plays. Photo: Warrick Fraser.

Brisbane Theatre Showcases Graduates

Audition bookings: 1300 308 233 Further course information can be found at: tafeqld.edu.au/acting TAFE Queensland RTO 0275 CRICOS 03020E | TESQA PRV13003 University of Canberra CRICOS 00212K | TESQA PRV12003 64 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

2018 3rd year student production of 13. Photo: Warrick Fraser.

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London Calling

TheatreWorks’ The Prince Of Egypt (2017). Photo: Kevin Berne.

By Peter Pinne Continuing the trend to bring animated movies to the stage, a stage version of Dreamworks 1998 movie The Prince of Egypt is set to play London’s Dominion Theatre from February 5, 2020. Stephen Schwartz, who wrote songs for the film, will write additional music and lyrics, with a book by the film’s writer Philip LaZebnik, and direction by Scott Schwartz. “When You Believe”, the Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey duet, was the score’s breakout hit and it will be included in the stage version along with “Deliver Us”, “All I Ever Wanted” and “Through Heaven’s Eyes”, plus 10 brand new songs. The musical received a London reading in early 2019 and a previous stage version played TheatreWorks, California, in 2017. The Prince of Egypt reimagines the Exodus tale of “two young men in Ancient Egypt, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, who find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past. One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people: both face a destiny that will change history forever.” Actor John Malkovich returns to the London stage for the first time in almost 30 years in Bitter Wheat, a new play by David Mamet which will play the Garrick Theatre until September 21. Inspired by recent Hollywood scandals surrounding Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, Bitter Wheat follows Barney Fein (Malkovich), a Hollywood producer who falls from grace and is left with a tarnished reputation. The cast also includes Alexander Arnold, Teddy Kempner and Doon Mackichan. Mamet, no stranger to controversial subjects, previously wrote Oleanna, Speed the Plow and Glengarry Glen Ross. Following the successes of Cinderella, Dick Whittington and Snow White, the London Palladium is again to present a pantomime during the Christmas season. Goldilocks and the Three Bears will feature Paul O’Grady as the evil ringmaster, Julian Clary as the good ringmaster, Nigel Havers as Daddy Bear, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin as Silly Billy and Gary Wilmot as Dame Betty Barnum. The show will also feature a number of ‘specialty acts’ - illusionist Paul Hitchcock, the high-speed roller-skating act The Skating Medini, Rola Bola balancing act Sascha Williams and Europe’s youngest stunt rider, Peter Pavlov. It plays from December 7 to January 12. Ian McKellen is bringing his one-man show, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Others and You, to the Harold Pinter Theatre from September 20 until January 5, 2020. Devised by McKellen, and directed by Sean Mathias, the show sees the acting legend deliver personal anecdotes from his illustrious stage and film career, while also delivering passages and monologues from some of his most acclaimed roles. In the West End he has appeared in King Lear, The Tempest, Richard III, Othello, Macbeth and 66 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

Online extras!

Watch a clip from TheatreWorks’ 2017 production of The Prince Of Egypt. https://youtu.be/FEYF4Fh3PN0 Hamlet, and on screen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the X-Men series and Gods and Monsters. The show, currently touring the UK to celebrate the actor’s 80th birthday, began at The Space in January and played a number of London theatres. It continues to tour the UK, with a gala performance scheduled for the Olivier Theatre at the National on September 15, the closing date of the tour. Disney have finally announced the much-anticipated London production of Frozen will open in autumn 2020 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The musical, which has been playing on Broadway since March 2018, is created by the same writing team behind the film, Jennifer Lee, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, with new songs especially written for the stage version. Frozen tells the story of two sisters, Anna and Elsa, whose kingdom is stuck in an endless winter because of Elsa’s magical ability to turn things into ice and snow. It will be the first show to play Drury Lane after the completion of a major refurbishment that will have restored it to its 1812 glory. The improved facilities include a new street level entrance, ramps to the stalls, 5 new accessible bathrooms and a 16person passenger lift catering to all levels of the theatre. “The auditorium is being reconfigured with 200 seats lost to create wider seats, more legroom and better sightlines,” said Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose company TW Theatres is undertaking the upgrade. There will also be an expanded front of house in order to make it a daytime eating venue as well as a theatre. Juliet Stevenson (Truly, Madly, Deeply) will star in The Doctor at the Almeida Theatre, which runs from August 12 until September 28. Written and directed by the Almeida’s associate director Robert Icke, the play is freely adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s 1912 play Professor Bernhardi. Schnitzler’s play is set in 1900 Vienna, and explores antiSemitism and Austrian Jewish identity. It was first performed in Berlin in 1912. Banned in Austria until the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was last performed in London at the Arcola Theatre in 2005.

Stage on Page

years older than her father, a member of British aristocracy, unaware he was a fascist, a By Peter Pinne popular trait amongst the gentry at the time. Ironically Australia’s Sweetheart the plot of An Englishman’s Online extras! by Michael Adams Home had her falling in love Read a preview of the book and buy (Hachette $32.99) with a spy, which Gordonyour copy now. Scan or visit If you asked anybody Canning was later charged http://bit.ly/2MQDXxp today, even a film historian, with being and sent to gaol. who Mary Maguire was, Prior to his arrest, Mary they’d be hard pressed coming became pregnant and sired a up with an answer. Michael son who tragically died when Adams’ new book, Australia’s he was a one-year-old. Sweetheart, looks at the life of With her husband in gaol this teenage Australian film star. and rumours of her being Mary braved the cut-throat complicit in his fascist Hollywood industry in the network, Mary helped put thirties, became a contract bread on the table by player, mingled with the movers returning to work in the and shakers of the time, married propaganda movie This Was in England to British aristocracy, Paris, and a regional stage but also found illness, tragedy, tour of the play Bedtime and more disgrace in her private Story. It was during this time life than any of the heroines she she met her second husband, portrayed on screen. American pilot Philip Legarra. She was born Helene Teresa They returned to America, Maguire in Melbourne in 1919 to where Murphy tried to an Irish mother Bina and a resuscitate her film career, barenuckle boxer father Mick. but it wasn’t to be. Instead During the 20s the family were she and Legarra became publicans of several Melbourne functioning alcoholics. hotels, before moving north and After her husband died, she becoming proprietors of ended up living in Long Brisbane’s grand Belle Vue Hotel Beach in an $80 per-month in 1933. apartment, a far cry from the Star-struck Mary’s first luxury of her early days at the professional role was on stage in Belle Vue Hotel. She died in a pantomime, Jack and the 1974, one day shy of 40 Beanstalk, which played as a years since her discovery by support for the Mary Pickford film Kiki she dated 20th Century Fox chairman Charles Chauvel. at the State Theatre, Flinders Street. At Joe Schenck, Alfred Vanderbilt Jr and Her parents, always supportive, Howard Hughes. Schenck signed her 13 she was cast as a secretary in Pat moved to the U.S. and England to be to a seven year contract at Fox, where with her and also took their other four Hanna’s movie Diggers in Blighty, she made Mysterious Mr Moto with followed by Irish colleen Biddy daughters with them. The daughters Peter Lorre. O’Connor in Charles Chauvel’s epic all married into money, which would Then came Picadilly Circus, later have pleased their mother Bina who historical drama Heritage (1935), and the female lead in The Flying Doctor retitled Keep Smiling (U.S. title Smiling always wanted her daughters to marry Along), a Gracie Fields movie shot in (1936). well. It’s a fascinating story of England. While she was in the UK Fox Australia’s early radio, film and On arrival in Hollywood she was put under contract to Warner Bros, renegotiated her contract and sold it aviation industries, Hollywood’s to ABPC (Associated British Picture where she was called the Australian Golden Era, European fascism and the Corporation) where she made two London Blitz. With little first-hand Mary Pickford. Her first Hollywood movie was Love Begins (retitled That more movies, The Outsider with research available, Adams has done a George Sanders and Black Eyes with mighty and compelling job of bringing Man’s Here Again), followed by Otto Kruger. Before she started her Mary Maguire’s story vividly to life. Confession with Basil Rathbone, next film, An Englishman’s Home (U.S. The book, which comes with B&W Alcatraz Island and Sergeant Rourke photos and an index, is a great read. (with newcomer Ronald Reagan). title Mad Men of Europe), she fell in Constantly photographed for publicity, love with Robert Gordon-Canning, six www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 67

Stage On Disc By Peter Pinne

AIN’T TOO PROUD - The Life and Times of the Temptations (Various) (UMeB0029940-02). The story of one of the best R&B groups to come out of the Motown stable, The Temptations, is ripe for the jukebox musical treatment. This CD is like a ‘greatest hits’ album with narration - lots of it. The cast are excellent, musically sound with precise vocals, and the arrangements mirror the originals. Early on a couple of doo-wop numbers set the 60s period, “Gloria” and “In the Still of the Night”, before we get to the infectious “Shout” and a succession of chart-toppers - “Get Ready”, “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”. Ephraim Sykes is simply marvellous as bad-boy David Ruffin on “My Girl”. Jeremy Pope’s stratospheric vocals shine as Eddie Kendricks, Jawan M. Jackson’s bass is a creamy plus as Melvin Franklin, whilst Derrick Baskin as Otis Williams, one of the founders of the group, is a charismatic narrator. The Supremes make an appearance in the story with a medley of “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “Come See About Me” and “Baby Love”, with some stunning Diana Ross-worthy vocals by Candice Marie Woods. Various songs are used to delineate emotional moments in their story: “War” and “Ball of Confusion” (the civil-rights movement), “I Wish It Would Rain” (the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.), “Cloud Nine” (the group’s drug use) and “For Once In My Life”, when James Harkness as alcoholic Paul commits suicide. The album opens with their first hit, “The Way You Do The Things You Do”, and closes with one of their biggest chart successes, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”. In between, we have over two-dozen R&B classics that have never sounded better. Great songs, great charts and great performances! 

Online extras!

Download the album from Apple Music today. Scan the QR code or visit https://apple.co/2KlaVEj ALADDIN (Alan Menken/Howard Ashman/Tim Rice/ Justin Paul/Benj Pasek) (Walt Disney Records D00318302) Disney’s latest live-action movie, based on the Broadway original, has had the critics underwhelmed. Not surprising, as it goes back to the bad old days of Hollywood when the studios bought a Broadway show 68 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

and eviscerated the score. This version, a pale shadow of the stage version, sees the songs of Babkak, Omar and Kassim ditched, depriving the film of the second-act showstopper “Somebody’s Got Your Back”. Pasek and Paul (La, La, Land) have written new lyrics to the opening “Arabian Nights”, “Prince Ali” and a new song for Princess Jasmine, “Speechless”, with music by Menken. There are 37 tracks on the disc but 25 of them are Menken’s underscore, which sounds lush and at times super romantic, played by a huge orchestra. The only really big production number is “Prince Ali”, sung by Will Smith as the Genie. Smith also gets to put his distinctive sound on “Arabian Nights” and is cheekily comic on “Friend Like Me”. Mena Massoud is a likeable Aladdin, with Naomi Scott appealing as Jasmine. Their “A Whole New World” duet is pretty, without being magical. The new song, “Speechless”, obviously included to get an Oscar nomination, is a female empowerment ballad that Scott belts in true diva-style. The end-titles include a rap version of “Friend like Me” by Smith, a full version of “Speechless” by Scott and a new pop-single of “A Whole New World” sung by ZAYN and Zhavia Ward. It’s an enjoyable soundtrack, but the magic of the Broadway version has been lost on the way to Hollywood. 

Online extras!

Amazon has the Aladdin soundtrack ready to ship straight to you. https://amzn.to/2Kea08l ROCKETMAN (Elton John/Bernie Taupin) (Virgin CDV 3231). I loved this movie and I love this soundtrack. This biographical musical about Elton John’s early life and writing partnership with Bernie Taupin has been written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and given some nice cinematic musicalgenre direction by Dexter Fletcher. It continually feels like a musical, with some of the songs given the full production treatment with dance routines and chorus. Taron Egerton is marvellous as John. No imitation, but he finds a

Online extras!

Stream the Rocketman movie soundtrack on Spotify. Scan or visit https://spoti.fi/2KdcDav

sound of his own that stands up well to John’s originals. Egerton impersonated John as Johnny the Gorilla in the animated feature Sing, where he sang “I’m Still Standing”, which repeats to close Rocketman with a big finish. With a song-stack of hits - “Crocodile Rock”, “Tiny Dancer”, “Take Me to the Pilot”, “Honky Cat”, “Bennie and the Jets” and the title song, the album never loses momentum. “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” are used for the story’s emotional beats, but it’s John’s breakout hit, “Your Song”, that’s the winner. A new song, “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”, is sung by John and Egerton over the end credits. With a great R&B feel, the soundtrack proves that after 50 years John and Taupin have not lost their brilliance.  ANY MOMENT (Bradley McCaw) (Spotify & iTunes) Bradley McCaw’s new musical Any Moment… is set over the course of 24 hours, beginning at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Similar in style to Pasek and Paul’s songcycle Elegies, there’s some good writing in this collection. Two singletons, Judy Hainsworth and Shaun Kohlman, sing about their most intimate relationship - with their phone - “My Phone”, which connects. Lauren McKenna’s “Next Time” is melancholic and sad as she sifts through old photos and memories, whilst ‘Doin’ It For the Kids” finds the parents at a sports game more competitive than their kids. Emily Kristopher’s “Rover’s Song” is a cute idea, with a young girl telling her dog about her parents’ impending divorce, but it’s Kurt Phelan’s “A Church on Murphy Street”, about a guy moving on after his ex gets married, which has heart. 

Online extras!

Purchase the concept recording of Any Moment... when it becomes available. https://www.oldfpc.com ON THE TOWN (Leonard Bernstein/Betty Comden/ Adolph Green/Roger Edens) (Stage Door 9060) MGM bought the film rights to On the Town before it opened on Broadway but didn’t get around to filming it until five years later because Arthur Freed thought Bernstein’s score was too avant-garde. Therefore, only two of Bernstein’s songs were included in the movie, with the rest of the score written by Roger Edens to lyrics by the show’s original lyricists Comden and Green. This British studio cast recording, released in 1959, was the first time the film’s songs had been released on record. It’s a marvellous recreation that uses the iconic original Conrad Salinger movie orchestrations, which

sound fresh, exciting and vibrant, especially on “New York, New York” and “On the Town”. Soap-Star Noele Gordon gets the most out of the Ann Miller number “Prehistoric Man”, Lionel Blair is an affable Gene Kelly replacement on “Main Street”, while Dennis Lotis and Stella Tanner, subbing for Frank Sinatra and Betty Garrett, give delightfully sharp performances of “Come Up to My Place” and “You’re Awful”. But it’s the orchestra, under Geoff Love’s baton, which is the star with those magnificent sounding Salinger arrangements. The disc also features a selection of songs from MGM’s Broadway Melody with Millicent Martin, Bruce Forsyth and Gerry Dorsey (who later changed his name to Engelbert Humperdinck). 

Online extras!

Buy the cast recording of On The Town and Broadway Melody on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2Kf0u53 ALFRED DRAKE - LUCKY TO BE ME: A LIFE IN MUSIC (Various) (Stage Door 9062/2CD Set). At 51 tracks over a 2CD set, Stage Door’s Alfred Drake retrospective is certainly complete. It’s a collection of studio and live performances and includes songs from his major Broadway performances in Oklahoma!, Kiss Me, Kate and Kismet, plus tracks from On the Town, Sing Out Sweet Land, Kean, Zenda, the TV musical The Adventures of Marco Polo, along with rare demo recordings of songs from Courtin’ Time and The Liar, two shows he directed in the early fifties. Two songs from Brigadoon with Roberta Peters (“Almost Like Being in Love”/ “The Heather on the Hill”) have old-style charm, whilst “Soliloquy” from Carousel has never sounded better. It’s nostalgia, but classy nostalgia, from a Broadway great! 

Online extras!

Get your copy of Lucky To Be Me from Stage Door Records. Scan or visit http://bit.ly/2Klc3rx

Rating  Only for the enthusiast  Borderline  Worth buying  Must have  Kill for it www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 69

Wicked.

Schools On Stage

Wicked Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Winnie Holzman. Rouse Hill Anglican College (NSW). May 22 - 25. ROUSE Hill Anglican College turned several shades of green as it opened one of the very first school productions of Wicked. An honour, yes! Also, perhaps a little daunting - but with a very committed production team and a large, talented cast, the school did Schwartz and Holzman’s ‘untold story of the witches of Oz’ proud. Fifty-six students, under the direction of Luke Ferrantino, danced and sang their way through the popular story, backed by a thirty-two strong orchestra led by musical director Heather Skinner. The stress of a school production is always shared. Principal Peter Fowler oversaw the production as executive producer. Loretta Foster was production manager, and many other staff and students worked in areas such as stage management, technical coordination, make up, front-of-house and publicity. The set and costumes from Miranda Musical Society gave the production an extra professional spark - as did the green smoke, pyrotechnics, pneumatics and movable LED lights! But what of the witches and their friends and foes? No school could have expected more of their enthusiastic students. They worked as an animated, colourful, committed ensemble, whether singing, dancing, moving props, or crouching on all fours as the winged monkeys with Tayla Pettit and Stephanie Molloy bewitching as Elphaba and Glinda, Liam Dwyer their ‘swain’ Fiyero and 70 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

Caitlin Stephenson an impressively fearsome Madame Morrible. Wicked will be something this cast, crew and the school will always remember with pride. Carol Wimmer A Hymn To The Hateful By Finegan Kruckemeyer. Running with Scissors. DreamBIG Festival. Adelaide High School Hall. May 20 - 24. “IT is easier to hate than to help,” says one of the fourteen young people performing this new play by Finegan Kruckemeyer. It’s a tremendous and tumbling washing machine of emotion, angst and anger, each of the many scenes presenting a different piece of dirty laundry: school bullying, group hate, self-loathing, domestic violence and victim-blaming are just some of the themes. The ensemble, part of Running with Scissors, the theatre company at Adelaide High School, perform in the round with huge energy and passion, ensuring the audience is not just an observer. Kruckemeyer workshopped the stories from discussions with the ensemble. As a result, the stories of hate are cutting, raw and real. David Tyler directs with precision but not rigidity Michaela Moors’ movement whooshes the cast around and into each other, stimulating the audience with action, not just words, offering a true sense of group, and of being alone.

The Addams Family.

The production is bold and brash, with imagery-rich art direction and design from Francine Legaspi; wonderful costumes by Lisa Kriaris and Catherine Aldous; and creative lighting from Matthew Ralph. The sound design from Catherine Aldous is strong, though occasionally too loud. The enduring theme of order - of being told what to do and think - is exemplified in the rhythmic, shuddering thud of wooden poles on the stage. This production will provoke discussion between teenagers and their parents: “There is no them,” says the ensemble, “there is no them versus us - there is only us.” Mark Wickett

Lea Klein’s well-designed set gives us a doll-house like, yet imposing, Addams house with an adjoining graveyard in which Musical Director Harry Oliffe’s talented 12 piece band is placed. Patriarch Gomez Addams is superbly played by Thomas Matthews with a very John Astin-like vibe. He had wonderful emotional and physical chemistry with Maia Harcourt’s sophisticated Morticia. Amalie Meneghetti brought a gorgeous vocal performance to Wednesday Addams, with her rendition of “Pulled” pulling the biggest applause of the night. Ella Hardy Atkins was lovely as confused little brother Pugsley. Gabe Sharra brought outstanding comic timing and The Addams Family the occasional epic falsetto as an excellent Uncle Fester, with Ashley Barrin owning the stage in her best moments By Marshall Bickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa. John Curtin College of the Arts Theatre, Fremantle, WA. May as Grandma Addams. Liam Hurley was lovely as a tall and 22 - 25. almost silent Lurch, revealing a terrific bass later in the show. JOHN Curtin College of the Arts is a Western Australian High School with Gifted and Talented Arts The visiting Beineke family were well played by Mayarn program, with selective courses including music, dance, Little Bell, as Alice, who grabbed “her moment” with both hands, Neketa Buck who brought maturity to Mal and drama and music theatre. The Addams Family featured Year 11 and 12 Music Theatre students, staged by guest Julian Cope (Lucas) as a likably unlikely boyfriend for director/choreographer Lisa McCormack and John Curtin’s Wednesday. A small (10 member) chorus worked very well Music Theatre Co-ordinator Michelle Ezzy. throughout as the Addams Family Ancestors. Lovely individual performances with a solid ensemble mindset. I loved the obvious camaraderie of this production, Get all the latest Schools On Stage updates with a cast that have a true zest for performing and a true from our website support for each other. stagewhispers.com.au/schools Kimberley Shaw www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 71

Choosing A Show

Choosing A School Play Or Musical ORiGiN Theatrical origintheatrical.com.au / oztheatrical.com As She Likes It An anthology of short plays from Shakespeare’s canon. These plays offer great roles for women, opportunities for thoughtful scene study, educational exploration and a larger conversation about how these women’s stories resonate in our current era. Full length play. Cast size: 4 to 18w, 1 to 2 either gender.

The Hatmaker’s Wife by Lauren Yee A young woman moves in with her boyfriend expecting domestic bliss. Soon the walls of her new home are talking. They reveal the magical tale of an old hatmaker and his long-suffering wife, who runs away with his favourite hat. This sweet and surreal story bends time and space to redefine family, home, and true love itself. Full length play. Cast: 3F 3M. Jasper In Deadland by Hunter Foster and Ryan Scott Oliver Jasper is lost in the living world. When you’re failing classes, kicked off the swim team, and your family is on the skids, life can feel like it’s going to hell. “A Magnificent Musical! … moved me in such a way that it brought tears to my eyes!” - New York Theatre Guide. Cast: 5M, 4F.

Be More Chill by Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz Jeremy Heere is just an average teenager. That is, until, he finds out about “The Squip” - a tiny supercomputer Hamlet and Zombies! By Will Averill that promises to bring him everything he desires most: a Shakepeare’s original rich verse and intricate detail, date with Christine, an invite to the raddest party of the along with a few contemporary updates, this fun, tongue- year and a chance to survive life in his high school. Cast: in-cheek version of Hamlet is sure to move your heart and 6M, 4F + ensemble. eat your brains. One act play. Cast: 5M, 2F, 13 to 33 either gender.

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Maverick Musicals And Plays maverickmusicals.com.au The Black Hole by Mark Bourgeois and Craig Chambers The new musical by the writers of Creepytown, one of Maverick’s top selling school musicals. When an intergalactic portal is opened between the galaxy Andromeda and the Milky Way, a lowly team of satellite repairmen must battle black holes, aliens and asteroid fields to overcome a menacing threat to planet Earth. When the dreaded Cyborgs enter the portal to claim the Milky Way for themselves, the fate of planet Earth is placed in the hands of the most unlikely of heroes, an engineer named Sparkie - a day-dreamer who loves to gaze longingly into space. Compass Rose by Timothy Tuck. Feisty but self-centred Constance-Rose McAlister escapes from her father’s ship to Easter Island to fulfil her dream of becoming a famous explorer. But the fun of exploration turns sour when she and her new best friend, the island Chief’s son, are captured by the pirates. Fantastic character roles for all of your students. Both now available, with free perusal materials at the new Maverick Musicals website. Music Theatre International, Australasia mtishows.com.au West Side Story - Schools Edition Young lovers are caught between prejudice and warring street gangs in a high school adaptation of one of the most important and powerful musicals of all time. With additional resources for students and directors, West Side Story School Edition makes the iconic musical more accessible and meaningful for high school performers. Read the Director’s Guide libretto for free and sample choreography videos! mtishows.com.au/west-side-story-school-edition

Hans Christian Andersen Stories from The Ugly Duckling to The Little Mermaid have sparked young imaginations for centuries. With music by legendary composer Frank Loesser, Hans Christian Andersen is a musical storybook that brings the timeless tales (and the struggling cobler in Denmark who created them) to life onstage. Based on the 1952 film starring Danny Kaye and features classic songs “I’m Hans Christian Andersen”, “Thumbelina”, “Inchworm”, “The Ugly Duckling” and more! mtishows.com.au/hans-christian-andersen-0 Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience A rockin’ show about being comfortable in your own skin - or suit, based on the hit children’s book by Mo Willems. Wilbur and all his fellow naked mole rats in the Tunnel have always been, well...naked. Wondering what other possibilities are out there, Wilbur discovers a love for clothing and style. mtishows.com.au/naked-mole-rat-gets-dressed-therock-experience David Spicer Productions davidspicer.com.au Beach Blanket Tempest by Dennis Watkins and Chris Harriott. “The summer sun is cookin. The guys and chicks good lookin. And school is over for another year…” A surf rock musical inspired by Shakespeare. In the early 1980’s writer Dennis Watkins made the link. “I tried to imagine what would be the most ludicrous update of Shakespeare you can think of and I arrived at the Beach Party movie genre.” Includes a genie and a quiz show finale. davidspicer.com.au/shows/beach-blanket-tempest Cruisin’ The Musical by Rod Christian and Peter Waterman. Set in the late 1950’s. Vinnie Russo is a 17-year-old kid torn between his love for music and his family traditions. His father thinks that Vinnie is wasting his time with rock and roll music instead of concentrating on his Italian heritage and a solid career in the family small goods business. Filled with comedy, pathos and musical numbers that culminate in the Battle of the Bands. davidspicer.com.au/shows/cruisin-musical Both of these quirky school musicals come with CD backing tracks. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 73

Buttons To Dye For Tracey Nuthall from Costumes Without Drama pins down the secret to gorgeous fasteners. Buttons can make or break a costume. Did you know how easy it is to dye buttons? The process is simple: in fact, it is easier than dying fabric. Start with plain white buttons or translucent buttons. Dying synthetics involves a different process to dying natural products. Sublimation dying incorporates the dye right into the structure of the fibres/plastic, meaning that the colours last longer, and remain stable - we all know that a cotton garment will fade when laundered - synthetics and their colours last much longer. Sublimation dying generally requires heat, pressure and duration to set the colour, so when printing a synthetic t-shirt, the dye is printed onto transfer paper in reverse, and pressed onto the t-shirt with heat and pressure, for a set period of time. Dying fabric usually involves putting the garment into a container or pot and heating over a stove, in a microwave or on a hot washing machine setting. The washing machine on a very long hot cycle gives a great result, usually with an even finish.

74 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

If you need custom made costumes, or anything from Costumes Without Drama’s collection of more than 12,000 inventoried items for hire, visit costumeswithoutdrama.com.au Buttons use very little dye and can be dyed in a coffee cup. Simply mix equal quantities of liquid dye, vinegar and water in a cup (10 -15 ml of each would suffice) add the buttons, place in a microwave for thirty seconds then wait 30 seconds. Lift one button out with a fork or spoon and check for the intensity of colour.

If it isn’t dark enough, heat and wait another couple of times (I find about 3 X 30 seconds gives a good rich colour). If it still isn’t dark enough add some more dye to the cup and repeat the heating and standing until the colour is attained. Once the correct colour has been reached, lift the button/s out of the liquid and rinse under water. Dry with a towel. If it is too dark, you cannot go back, so it is strongly recommended that you start with a weaker solution and gradually add more dye. In theory, from start to finish it can take less than 5 minutes. The dye bath in a cup may be used for multiple buttons in one go remembering to stir well between heating, or batches one after another. The dye colour will gradually become weaker, so add more dye concentrate if necessary. Don’t forget, different proportions of dye, vinegar and water may change the colour slightly so batch colours will vary (quite a bit of the water evaporates as part of the microwave process).

Goods & Services

It’s the most common question CVP Events, Film and Television is asked by school and amateur theatre companies. Can you do Projection Mapping? The answer is yes and it’s quite simple.

it and repeat until you are happy. A slow, frustrating process but cheap. Other packages let you move and scale the object live, thus speeding up Projection mapping is the art of will make it easy (M-Box, Catalyst, the programming dramatically. placing images onto a surface and ArKaos, Pandoras Box, Green Hippo Another highly useful tool when being able to position and scale the etc). Qlab is an ideal tool as you can projection mapping is to put masks image to align/complement the rent it for the duration of your show, over your content. You can use the surface/piece of set you are projecting but you can even do this in mask when you make your content, onto. In other words, take the PowerPoint. put them in the projector (to mask beautiful moon picture you have If you want a more complex high- out a permanent piece of set), or your downloaded and have it appear to end solution, then Watchout or playback software may let you do it as the right size to sit exactly above the Disguise servers come into play (you part of its programming. house you have built. can chat to CVP about rental The important bit is to make the It gets more challenging when arrangements). mask line up with your set. The trick projecting on complex 3d surfaces like All you need is a software package is: buildings, with multiple projectors, that allows you to move and scale 1. Open Photoshop (or any but those complexities are solved by your images/videos. If you were using drawing program). Make a having the right software tools. PowerPoint then you would put the white rectangle that fills the The right software dictates how image on the slide, display it and if it screen. simple or challenging the process is. doesn’t look quite right, go back to 2. Set it up so the white rectangle Any lighting/DMX-driven media server edit mode, adjust the content, display is outputting to your projector and is in full screen mode. 3. Then simply trace around the piece of set you want to create a mask for. You will now be able to create a mask that is exactly the right size and proportion for your projector. Alternatively, you can take a photo of your set, taken from where the projector lens is. Projection mapping is one of the things that is often wrapped in mystery but is quite simple and turns projection into a useful tool for any theatrical production.

For information on how CVP can help with you next project, call (03) 9558 8000 or visit www.cvp.com.au www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 75

microphone right at the hairline, at the top of the actor’s forehead, is a great Goods & Services place to hide the microphone. It also picks up a very natural sound from the singer, without overloading the capsule via a ‘proximity effect’ (the more pronounced bottom end sound which you may get from a handheld mic when it is closest to the source). Other places include elsewhere around the hairline, such as above the ear. Underneath clothing is an option for some actors and costumes, but the horrible sound of clothing rustle on a microphone capsule (which can sound like wireless microphone interference) may then arise. Tale Of The Tape Essential in the theatre audio toolkit is tape, and lots of it. Gaffer Tape (the 510matte variety), Hypoallergenic surgical Artie Jones from Factory Sound shares his tips tape, Lav tape, and specially prepared for schools and amateur theatre companies on Undercovers and Stickies are all useful in discreet and crackle free use of microphones. making sure the capsule stays put, and the actor is comfortable. An incredible amount of research, feature headset microphones. Should a microphone need placing design and engineering goes into More sophisticated productions will under clothing, the UNDERCOVER range producing every microphone you can see ‘feature’ microphones totally hidden of adhesives makes sure that the apparel (and those you can’t see) in use on the from the audience, but what is the best does not rub against the capsule. In an stage and in studios around the world. way to do this? emergency, try the triangle-tape This won’t guarantee perfect Invisible, Not Impossible technique, to secure and surround a performance every time. There are steps Moving to miniature microphones, lavalier capsule. you can take to improve performance often called lavalier microphones, is a Stashing The Pack or at the very least, prevent audible step in the invisibility direction, but this For each mini microphone, a wireless interference or physical problems that usually comes at a cost. A hightransmitter (bodypack) will be required. arise from misuse. performance microphone capsule smaller It’s easy to imagine simply popping it Shrinking Graduation than your pinky fingernail is not only under some clothing, but steps need to In Primary School performances, lead often priced higher than the other be taken to ensure both the integrity of roles often pass a handheld wireless options, but there is no guarantee the the wireless signal, and also the longevity microphone to each other when there is sound will be great, unless some careful of the wireless transmitter. a line to deliver or a song to sing, while steps are followed Sweat from an actor’s skin is the many Secondary School productions will Securing a miniature lavalier number one enemy of sensitive

Keeping Mics Hidden

76 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

electronics, so care must be taken to avoid direct skin contact. A protective neoprene pouch is often used to safely strap a pack to the waist area. Sometimes an extra layer of protection via a latex sheath is used if the actor is “a sweater”. Moisture seeping into the electronics of a bodypack will decrease the functional lifetime and affect the wireless integrity. Antennas must be clear of any metals to avoid ‘detuning’ the wireless signal and ensure they are allowed to sit in their ‘straight’ position, without an unnatural bend. Before Moving To Miniatures Both the “Primary” and “Secondary” microphones listed above are not without their charm and benefits. While a handheld microphone has the obvious drawback of taking a performer’s arm away, it does offer the most flexibility for a powerful singer. We can all visualise the action of a singer being able to control how far away from their mouth the microphone capsule sits, depending on how hard they’re belting out a note. The headset solution turns fixed distance into a feature, by ensuring the microphone capsule is in exactly the same place for the entire performance. In effect, the microphone moves with a performer’s mouth, so every time they turn their head for a stage direction or choreography, the microphone capsule is right there ready to capture the sound without missing a beat. As always, if wireless microphones are causing more headaches than you can handle, get in touch with an RF specialist to make sure you get looked after.

Book Nook For Sale Australia’s premiere on-line Performing Arts Bookshop Book Nook is on the market.

school purchase orders from throughout Australia and delivering them by post, with a very high rate of return custom. It has had a national reputation for outstanding The owner Mary Sutherland said, customer service and product “We wanted our enthusiastic and knowledge for over 30 years. valued customers to be the first to “For a new owner there would be know. the opportunity to grow the “Have you ever loved the books business within the current market so much you wanted to buy the or expand into a shop venue, business? Are you looking for a work perhaps in combination with a café. change to suit a life change? A love It’s limited only by your of Drama and basic administrative imagination,” she said. skills are all you require.” “Book Nook can be located Book Nook is being offered for anywhere in Australia with access to sale as a going concern. It is a family postal services. Relocation, delivery run micro-business supplying plays, and training can be negotiated.” drama texts and stagecraft books to drama teachers, schools, actors, View listing: bit.ly/2x6Thvk directors, private drama teachers and Email mary@booknook.com.au students around Australia. to make an expression of Book Nook’s current operation is interest or order a prospectus. well-established as an online Newsletter: bit.ly/2x5ooYc business, taking web-orders and

factorysound.com

Stage Whispers Books Visit our on-line book shop for back issues and stage craft books www.stagewhispers.com.au/books www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 77

Goods & Services

Scenic Studios

Melbourne-based company Scenic Studios has been trading for over 40 years, specialising in theatrical painting of scenic backdrops and theatre scenery, offering the highest level of craftsmanship. The company also manufactures scenic paints and hires scenic backdrops and drapes. Scenic Studios is currently painting backdrops and scenery for the Australian Balletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production of Happy Prince. The company enjoyed undertaking scenic painting earlier this year on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and last year for School Of Rock. Their scenic hire range includes over 200 professionally painted backdrops which give depth to the scene and allow for lighting tricks and ambience. The standardised size (12m x 6m) fits most theatres and school auditoriums. Many different themes are available, from traditional productions such as Oliver!, The Lion King, Seussical and Beauty And The Beast to ballrooms, circuses, forests and gardens. The company also has sequin drapes, slash curtains, lame curtains and crush velvet drapes to give your theatre production that something extra. To help create your own backdrop, the company has 28 colours to choose from. These include special durable paints such as texture, canvas / surface primers and stage black. The company ships paints and backdrops Australia wide.

www.scenicstudios.com.au

Masks & Puppets Plus

Scroll through the menu on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website to view its large range. Prices are available on application. Tessa Wallis is an experienced designer and mask maker. She has been supplying performance masks to theatre companies and schools for drama in education for many years. Her comfortable, flexible masks are individually hand crafted and hand painted, using quality materials. They are made to order and/or custom built to suit particular performances.

www.masksandpuppets.com.au

78 Stage Whispers July - August 2019

On Stage A.C.T. Kinky Boots. Book by Harvey Fierstein. Music & lyrics by Cindi Lauper. Based on the Miramax film. Free Rain Theatre Company. Jul 12 - 28. The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. (02) 6285 6290 or www.theq.net.au The Young King by Oscar Wilde. Slingsby. Jul 11 - 13. Courtyard Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700. canberratheatrecentre.com.au Bangarra: 30th Anniversary Season. Jul 18 - 20. Canberra Theatre. (02) 6275 2700. canberratheatrecentre.com.au Six Short Plays from the Series Coarse Acting by Michael Green, Rupert Bean and Jane Dewey. Canberra Rep. Jul 25 Aug 10. Theatre 3. (02) 6257 1950. canberrarep.org.au Filling The Space. Quantum Leap Ensemble. Aug 8 - 10. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700. canberratheatrecentre.com.au Shakespeare In Love. Based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall. Melbourne Theatre Company. Aug 22 - 31. Canberra Theatre. (02) 6275 2700. canberratheatrecentre.com.au Belfast Girls by Jaki McCarrick. Echo Theatre. Aug 24 - 31. The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. (02) 6285 6290 or www.theq.net.au New South Wales Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. Book by PJ Hogan. Music and Lyrics by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall. Based on the movie, with additional songs by ABBA. Global Creatures. Ongoing. Sydney Lyric Theatre. www.ticketmaster.com.au Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, book by David Greig, with additional songs by Leslie

Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 1971 Warner Bros motion picture. Capitol Theatre, Campbell Street, Haymarket. Until Jul 21. ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 795 267. Murder On The Wireless by Arthur Conan Doyle & Mark Kilmurry. Ensemble Theatre. Until Jul 13. World premiere. (02) 9929 0644 or www.ensemble.com.au Things I Know to be True by Andrew Bovell. Belvoir. Until Jul 21. Upstairs Theatre. (02) 9699 3444. belvoir.com.au Diplomacy by Cyril Gély. Translated and adapted by Julie Rose. Ensemble Theatre. Until Jul 13. (02) 9929 0644 or www.ensemble.com.au Razorhurst. Book and lyrics by Kate Mulley. Music by Andy Peterson. Until Jul 13. Hayes Theatre Co, Elizabeth Bay. hayestheatre.com.au The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Campbelltown Theatre Group. Until Jul 6. Town Hall Theatre, Campbelltown. 0426 285 287 www.ctgi.org.au Once. Book by Enda Walsh. Music & Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Until Jul 21. Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst. www.darlinghursttheatre.com Madama Butterfly by Puccini. Opera Australia. Until Aug 10. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au Bangarra: 30 years of sixty thousand years. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Until Jul 13. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com Persuasion by Jane Austen, adapted by Tim Luscombe. Genesian Theatre Company. Until Aug 17. Genesian Theatre, Sydney. 1300 237 217. genesiantheatre.com.au Anna Bolena by Donizetti. Opera Australia. Jul 2 - 26. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

A.C.T. & New South Wales Zirk! - Russia’s Big Top Circus Spectacular. Russian State Circus Company and Moscow’s Nikulin Circus, Andrew Guild and Simon Bryce (Theatre Tours International). From July 5. The Showring, the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park. www.zirk.com.au Disney’s Aladdin Jr. Wyong Musical Theatre Company. Jul 5 - 21. Grove Theatre, Wyong. 1300 366 470. wmtc.com.au A Very Choppy Christmas (In July) - Or, Mistletoe Is Just Another Noxious Weed. Radio play - jazz cabaret. Smokin’ Chops. Jul 5 - 14. Royal Exchange, Newcastle. (02) 4929 4969. trybooking.com/509027 Sydney Cabaret Festival. July 5 14. Festival Hub - Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com All-Star Gala. Sydney Cabaret Festival Opening Night Spectacular. Jul 5. City Recital Hall. sydneycabaretfest.com Jennifer Holliday: The Original Dreamgirl. Sydney Cabaret Festival. Jul 6 & 7. Sydney Town Hall. sydneycabaretfest.com Cheeky Cabaret. Sydney Cabaret Festival. July 5 - 14. Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com No Cabaret for Old Men - Phil Scott and Jonathan Biggins.

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Sydney Cabaret Festival. Jul 5 7. Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com The Red Tree. Adapted from the book by Shaun Tan, with script and lyrics by Hilary Bell and music by Greta Gertler. National Theatre of Parramatta. Jul 6 - 10. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com The 101 Dalmatians (The Play). Adapted for the stage from Dodie Smith’s children’s novel. Newcastle Young People’s Theatre. Jul 8 - Aug 17. Young People’s Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4961 4895. ypt.org.au Glittery Clittery: A Consensual Party by Fringe Wives Club. Griffin Theatre Company and The Furies. Jul 8 - 20. SBW Stables Theatre. (02) 9361 3817. griffintheatre.com.au Robot Song by Jolyon James. Arena Theatre Company. Jul 9 & 10. Glen Street Theatre. (02) 9975 1455. glenstreet.com.au WaistWatchers: The Musical. Book and lyrics by Alan Jacobson, music by Vince DiMura. Dana Matthow in association with HIT Productions. Jul 9. Cessnock Performing Arts Centre. (02) 4993 4266. waistwatchersthemusical.com

Stage Whispers 79

On Stage

New South Wales

John Bell and John Gaden star in Diplomacy, the WWII thriller about Nazi Germany’s plot to destroy Paris, playing at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre until July 14 ensemble.com.au, then Geelong Performing Arts Centre from July 17 - 20 gpac.org.au, Glen Street Theatre, Belrose from July 23 - 27 glenstreet.com.au, Orange Civic Theatre on July 31, The Joan at Penrith on August 2 & 3 thejoan.com.au, The Art House, Wyong on August 6 & 7 thearthousewyong.com.au and Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on August 10 shoalhavenentertainment.com.au. Photo: Prudence Upton.

Van De Maar Papers by Alexander Lee-Rekers. Jul 9 20. Old 505 Theatre, Newtown. old505theatre.com Tarzan. Music & Lyrics by Phil Collins. Book by David Henry Hwang. Based on Disney’s Animated Musical adventure & Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, Tarzan of the Apes. Canterbury Theatre Guild. Jul 10 -14. Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown. canterburytheatreguild.com Cabaret Competition Grand Final. Sydney Cabaret Festival. Jul 10. Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com Love is a Drag - Tim Draxl. Sydney Cabaret Festival. Jul 10 & 11. Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com Angry Fags by Topher Payne. New Theatre. Jul 10 - 27. www.newtheatre.org.au The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh. Mad March Hare Theatre Company. July 11 - Aug 10. Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo. redlineproductions.com.au 80 Stage Whispers

Relentless - Natalie Joy Johnson. Sydney Cabaret Festival. Jul 11 - 13. Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com 50 Years Together. Cumberland Gang Show (Scouts and Guides). Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. July 1220. www.gangshow.asn.au Lost Socks, Love and Lollipops in the Court of King Caractacus by Craig Parris (a new Pantomime). Holroyd Musical & Dramatic Society. Jul 12 - 21. Red Gum Theatre, Wentworthville. hmds.org.au Omar & Dawn by James Elazzi. Apocalypse Theatre Company. Jul 11 - 27. KXT Kings Cross Theatre. kingsxtheatre.com A Centenary of Ella Fitzgerald Alison Jiear. Sydney Cabaret Festival. Jul 12 & 13. Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com Wicked. Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Winnie Holzman. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Albatross Musical Theatre Co. Jul 12 - 21. Shoalhaven

Online extras!

John and John discuss the show and their performances. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/2oNp5pHURLI Entertainment Centre, Nowra. 1300 788 503. amtc.org.au The New Works Slot - Anvil by Steve Goldrick (Australian Drama). Wollongong Workshop Theatre. Jul 12 - 27. WWT Theatre, Gwynneville. 0431 875 721. wollongongworkshoptheatre.com.au Snow White by Marjorie Sokoloff. Maitland Repertory Theatre. Jul 12 to 27. (02) 4931 2800. maitlandreptheatre.org Stepping Out by Richard Harris. Newcastle Theatre Company. Jul 12 - 27. Newcastle Theatre, Lambton. (02) 4952 4958 (Mon-Fri 3pm-6pm). newcastletheatrecompany.com.au Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts. shake & stir theatre company. Jul 12 - 21. The Studio, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com Dimboola by Jack Hibberd. Acting Factory Inc. Jul 12 - 29. Penrith RSL, 8 Tindale Street, Penrith. actingfactory.com

Disney on Ice Celebrates Mickey & Friends. Feld Entertainment. Jul 12 - 14. Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Broadmeadow. (02) 4921 2121. disneyonice.com/au Toni Lamond - Showqueen. Sydney Cabaret Festival. Jul 14. Seymour Centre. sydneycabaretfest.com Whiteley by Elena Kats-Chernin and Justin Fleming. Opera Australia. Jul 15 - 30. Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au Beep. Windmill Theatre Company. Jul 16 - 20. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com Roald Dahl’s The Twits. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Jul 16 & 17. Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au ‘Allo ‘Allo by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. Roo Theatre Company. Jul 17 - 27. The Harbour Theatre, Shellharbour. (02) 4297 2891. www.roo-theatre.com.au

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On Stage Natural Causes by Eric Chappell. Pymble Players, Cnr Mona Vale Rd and Bromley Ave, Pymble. Jul 17 - Aug 10. (02) 9144 1523. pymbleplayers.com.au A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller. Ensemble Theatre. Jul 18 - Aug 24. (02) 9929 0644. ensemble.com.au The Torrents by Oriel Gray. Sydney Theatre Company / Black Swan State Theatre Company. Jul 18 - Aug 24. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. (02) 9250 1777. sydneytheatre.com.au Catch Me If You Can. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman. Book by Terence McNally. LPD in association with Hayes Theatre Co. From Jul 19. Hayes Theatre Co, Elizabeth Bay. (02) 8065 7337. hayestheatre.com.au Cabaret Season. Willoughby Theatre Company. July 19 - 21. The Pavilion Room, The

Concourse, Chatswood. willoughbytheatreco.com.au Rock of Ages. Book by Chris D’Arienzo, with 1980s songs. Hunter Drama. Jul 19 - 20. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. hunterdrama.com.au The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard. The Theatre On Chester, Epping. Jul 19 - Aug 10. theatreonchester.com.au Lord of the Flies by William Golding, adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams. Sydney Theatre Company. Jul 23 - Aug 24. Roslyn Packer Theatre. (02) 9250 1777. sydneytheatre.com.au Diplomacy by Cyril Gély. Translated & adapted by Julie Rose. Ensemble Theatre production. Jul 23 - 27. Glen Street Theatre. (02) 9975 1455. ensemble.com.au Circumference Of A Squirrel by John Walch. Knock and Run Theatre. Jul 24 - 28. Royal Exchange, Newcastle. (02)

New South Wales 4929 4969. Aug 2 - 3. The Launch Pad, Tuggerah. knockandruntheatre.com The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Music and lyrics by William Finn. Book by Rachel Sheinkin. Conceived by Rachel Feldman. Blackout Theatre Company. Jul 24 - 28. blackouttheatre.com.au Jaq And The Green Pork. A locally written fractured fairy tale by Maureen Burgess. CHATS Productions. Jul 25 Aug 4. Jetty Memorial Theatre. jettytheatre.com Table by Tanya Rondler. White Box Theatre. Jul 25 - Aug 17. Seymour Centre. (02) 9351 7940. seymourcentre.com Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett. WEA Hunter Academy of Creative Arts. Jul 25 - Aug 2. The Creative Arts Space (CAS Theatre), Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4925 4200. riversideparramatta.com.au The Pirates of Penzance by W.S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.

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Opera Hunter. Jul 26 - Aug 4. Lake Macquarie Performing Arts Centre, Warners Bay. (02) 4943 1672. operahunter.org.au We’ll Always Have Paris by Jill Hyem. The Sutherland Theatre Company. Jul 26 - Aug 4. The Sutherland Memorial School of Arts. (02) 9150 7574. thesutherlandtheatrecompany.com.au My Fair Lady. Music by Frederick Loewe. Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Bankstown Theatre Company. July 26 - Aug 4. Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown. bankstowntheatrecompany.com Strictly Ballroom by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Gosford Musical Society. Jul 26 - Aug 10. Laycock Street Community Theatre, North Gosford. gosfordmusicalsociety.com.au Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater. Book by Doug Wright. Muswellbrook Amateur

Stage Whispers 81

On Stage Theatrical Society. Jul 26 - Aug 10. Muswellbrook High School Hall. mats.org.au Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon. Castle Hill Players. Jul 26 - Aug 17. Pavilion Theatre, Doran Drive, Castle Hill. (02) 9634 2929. paviliontheatre.org.au Banging Denmark by Van Badham. Sydney Theatre Company. World Premiere. Jul 26 - Aug 24. The Studio, Sydney Opera House. (02) 9250 1777. sydneyoperahouse.com City of Gold by Meyne Wyatt. Griffin Theatre Co. Jul 26 - Aug 31. SBW Stables Theatre. (02) 9361 3817. griffintheatre.com.au Next Phase. Various New Works. Jul 30 - Aug 18. Old 505 Theatre, Newtown. old505theatre.com Roald Dahl’s The Twits. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Jul 31 Aug 2. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. civictheatrenewcastle.com.au The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith. Arts Theatre Cronulla. Aug 2 - Sep 7. 6 Surf Road, Cronulla. artstheatrecronulla.com.au Wink by Jen Silverman. Wheels and Co Productions. Aug 2 24. KXT Kings Cross Theatre. kingsxtheatre.com Mamma Mia! Music and Lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Book by Catherine Johnson. Packemin Productions. Aug 2 - 17. Riverside Theatre, Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au Boy From Attunga. Inspired by Bill Gleeson - A Life Told in Song. Tamworth Musical Society. Aug 3 & 4. Capitol Theatre, Tamworth. tms.org.au Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, adapted by Tom Wright. Belvoir. Aug 3 - Sep 15. Belvoir Street Upstairs Theatre. (02) 9699 3444. belvoir.com.au Play in a Day 10. New short plays by local writers. Newcastle Theatre Company. Aug 3. NTC Theatre, Lambton. 82 Stage Whispers

New South Wales (02) 4952 4958. newcastletheatrecompany.com.au The Grapes of Wrath. Based on the John Steinbeck novel, adapted by Frank Galati. New Theatre. Aug 6 - Sep 7. newtheatre.org.au Still Life With Chickens by D.F. Mamea. Auckland Theatre Company. Aug 7 - 10. Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au Giordano by Andrea Chénier. Opera Australia. Aug 8 - 11. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au Where Angels Fear to Tread by EM Forster. The Guild Theatre, Rockdale. Aug 9 - 31. (02) 9521 6358. guildtheatre.com.au Rainbow’s End by Jane Harrison. Darlinghurst Theatre Company in association with Moogahlin Performing Arts. Aug 10 - Sep 1. Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst. darlinghursttheatre.com Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense by David & Robert Goodace. Based on the novel The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse. Richmond Players. Aug 10 - 24. Richmond School of Arts. richmondplayers.com.au Hitler’s Daughter. Based on the book by Jackie French. Monkey Baa Theatre. Aug 13 - 15. Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au Disney’s Beauty And The Beast. Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Book by Linda Woolverton. Aug 14 - 24. Metropolitan Players Inc. Civic Theatre, 375 Hunter St, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. metropolitanplayers.com.au Love Magic by Theocritus, and Behind the Wire by Carl Caulfield. One-act plays from ancient Greece and contemporary Australia, looking at oppression. Stray Dogs Theatre. Aug 14 - 17. Royal Exchange, Newcastle.

(02) 4929 4969. royalexchangenewcastle.com.au Stepping Out by Richard Harris. D & S Media Productions. Aug 15 & 16, Laycock St Theatre Gosford. (02) 4323 3233. centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/theatres & Aug 23 & 24, The Art House, Wyong. (02) 4335 1485. thearthousewyong.com.au Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard (Comedy). Tamworth Dramatic Society. Aug 16 - 24. Capitol Theatre, Tamworth. (02) 6766 2028. capitoltheatretamworth.com.au Four Flat Whites In Italy by Roger Hall. Woy Woy Little Theatre. Aug 16 - 31. The Peninsula Theatre, Woy Woy. woywoylt.com Managing Carmen by David Williamson. Lane Cove Theatre Company. Aug 16 - 31. The Performance Space at St Aidan’s, Longueville. lanecovetheatrecompany.com The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Reamus Youth Theatre. Aug 16 to 31. Maitland Repertory Theatre. (02) 4931 2800. maitlandreptheatre.org West Side Story. Music: Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim. Book: Arthur Laurents. Opera Australia / GWB Entertainment. Aug 16 - Oct 6. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com Picasso and his Dog. Lemony S Puppet Theatre. Aug 19 - 21. Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au Chicago. Music by John Kander. Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. John Frost and Suzanne Jones. From Aug 20. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. chicagothemusical.com.au An Intervention by Mike Bartlett. Aug 20 - 31. Old 505 Theatre, Newtown. old505theatre.com

Caroline, Or Change. Book and Lyrics by Tony Kushner. Music by Jeanine Tesori. LPD in association with Hayes Theatre Co. From Aug 23. Hayes Theatre Co, Elizabeth Bay. (02) 8065 7337. hayestheatre.com.au One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale Wasserman, from the novel by Ken Kesey. Ballina Players. Aug 23 - Sep 1. Ballina Players Theatre. ballinaplayers.com.au Goodbye, Mrs Blore by Robert Hewett. Hunters Hill Theatre. Aug 23 - Sep 1. Hunters Hill Town Hall. 9879 7765 / huntershilltheatre.com.au A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller (Drama). Newcastle Theatre Company. Aug 23 - Sep 7. Newcastle Theatre, Lambton. (02) 4952 4958 (Mon-Fri 3pm-6pm). newcastletheatrecompany.com.au Legally Blonde: The Musical. Adapted from the novel by Amanda Brown. Book by Heather Hach, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin. Theatre on Brunker. Aug 23 - Sept 13. St Stephen’s Hall, Adamstown (Newcastle). (02) 4957 1895. theatreonbrunker.com Xanadu by Douglas Carter Beane (Musical). Nowra Players, Bomaderry. Aug 24 Sep 7. 1300 788 503. nowraplayers.com.au Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Aug 27 - Sep 27. The Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com Storytelling Festival. Curated by Joanna Erskine. Wheels and Co Productions. Aug 27 - Sep 7. KXT Kings Cross Theatre. kingsxtheatre.com Possum Magic. Adapted by Eva Di Cesare and Sandra Eldridge from the book by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas. Monkey Baa Theatre Company. Aug 27 28. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. monkeybaa.com.au

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On Stage

New South Wales & Queensland

Murderer by Anthony Shaffer. Javeenbah Theatre, Gold Coast. Jul 12 - Aug 3. (07) 5596 0300. javeenbah.org.au Henry IV Part I by William Shakespeare. Nash Theatre, New Farm. Jul 13 - Aug 3. (07) 3379 4775. nashtheatre.com My Brilliant Divorce by Geraldine Aron. HIT Productions. Gardens Theatre. Jul 17 - 18. (07) 3138 7750. gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au My Urrwai. Performing Lines, in association with ILBIJERRI Theatre. Studio 1, QPAC. Jul 17 - 22. 136 246. qpac.com.au Don’t Get Your Vicars In A Twist by Lesley Bown & Ann Gawthorpe. Centenary Theatre Group. Chelmer Community Centre. Jul 20 - Aug 10. 0435 591 720. centenarytheatre.com.au James And The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, adapted by David Wood. Brisbane Arts. Jul 20 Oct 5. (07) 3369 2344. artstheatre.com.au The Great Symphony. Simone Young and Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Concert My Brilliant Divorce by Sydney. 1300 237 217. Effects of Gamma Rays on Man Hall, QPAC. Jul 20. 136 246. qpac.com.au Geraldine Aron. Christine Harris genesiantheatre.com.au -in-the-Moon Marigolds by Slingsby’s The Young King by and HIT Productions. Aug 27. Paul Zindel. Cairns Little Queensland Oscar Wilde. Slingsby. Jul 23 Cessnock Performing Arts Theatre. Jul 5 - 13. 1300 855 Madagascar by Kevin Del 27. Cremorne Theate, QPAC. Centre. (02) 4993 4266. 835. therondo.com.au Aguila, George Noriega and 136 246. qpac.com.au cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au Joel Someillan. Brisbane Arts. The Gospel According to Paul Avalanche: A Love Story by by Jonathan Biggins. Cremorne Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes Until Jul 13. (07) 3369 2344. Julia Leigh. Sydney Theatre artstheatre.com.au/madagascar Theatre, QPAC. Jul 9 - 13. 136 & Dirty Beasts. Shake & Stir. La Boite Roundhouse Theatre, Company presents a Barbican Oliver! by Lionel Bart. Brisbane 246. qpac.com.au Kelvin Grove. Jul 24 - 28. (07) London and Fertility Fest The Little Green Road to Arts. Until Aug 3. (07) 3369 3007 8600. laboite.com.au Production. Aug 29 - Sep 14. Fairyland by Paul Boyd. 2344. artstheatre.com.au/oliver Roslyn Packer Theatre. The Witches Of Eastwick by Playhouse, QPAC. Jul 11 21. City of Gold by Meyne Wyatt. sydneytheatre.com.au John Dempsey & Dana P. 136 246. qpac.com.au Queensland Theatre. Bille Rowe. Phoenix Ensemble, Picasso And His Dog. Lemony S Brown Theatre. Until Jul 20. The Cemetery Club by Ivan Beenleigh. Jul 26 - Aug 17. Puppet Theatre. Aug 29 - 31. Menchell. Ipswich Little 1800 355 528. Glen Street Theatre. (02) 9975 queenslandtheatre.com.au Theatre. Jul 11 - 27. (07) 3812 (07) 3103 1546. phoenixensemble.com.au 1455. glenstreet.com.au 2389. ilt.org.au High Fidelity by Tom Kitt & Opera At Jimbour. Opera Q. The Last Wife by Kate Hennig. Amanda Green. Beenleigh Dr Lurve and the Syringe of Jimbour House, Western Ensemble Theatre. Aug 30 Shame by Lisa and Kevin Blair. Theatre Group. Until Jul 13. Downs. Jul 27. 136 246. Sep 29. (02) 9929 0644. Coolum Players, Civic Centre, (07) 3807 3922. ensemble.com.au Coolum. Jul 12 - 20. (07) 5446 oq.com.au beenleightheatregroup.com Storm Boy by Colin Thiele, Towards Zero by Agatha 2500. coolumtheatre.com.au Yank! by David Zellnik & adapted by Tom Holloway. Christie. Adapted by Agatha School of Rock by Andrew Joseph Zellnick. Brisbane Queensland Theatre. Christie and Gerald Verner. Lloyd Webber & Glenn Slater. Powerhouse. Jul 4 - 14. (07) Playhouse, QPAC. Jul 29 - Aug Genesian Theatre Company. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. From Jul 3358 8613. 17. 136 246. qpac.com.au Aug 31 - Oct 12. Genesian 12. 136 246. qpac.com.au brisbanepowerhouse.org Theatre, 420 Kent Street, Zahra Newman stars in the Olivier Award winning musical Caroline, or Change, with book & lyrics by Tony Kushner and music by Jeanine Tesori, playing at Sydney’s Hayes Theatre Co from August 23. hayestheatre.com.au Photo: Marnya Rothe.

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Stage Whispers 83

On Stage

Queensland

Tim Draxl, Jake Speer and Simon Burke star in Catch Me If You Can, playing at the Hayes Theatre Co from July 19. The musical is based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr, a precocious teenager seeking fame and fortune. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged cheques, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, pursued relentlessly by FBI agent Carl Hanratty. hayestheatre.com.au Photo: Robert Catto.

84 Stage Whispers

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Higher & Higher Revival by Jamie Watt and Peter Laughton. Spotlight Theatre Co. Aug 2 - 24. (07) 5539 4255. spotlighttheatre.com.au Tally Hall Radio Plays. Sunnybank Theatre Co. Aug 2 10. (07) 3345 3964. stg.org.au L’Appartement by Joanna Murray-Smith. Queensland Theatre. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. Aug 3 - 31. 136 246. qpac.com.au Les Misérables. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text byAlain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Aug 8 - 17. Conservatorium Theatre. 136 246. queenslandconservatorium.com.au Ladies in Black by Tim Finn and Carolyn Burns. Brisbane Arts. Aug 10 - Sep 7. (07) 3369 2344. artstheatre.com.au Nicole Car In Recital. Opera Q/ QPAC/Andrew McKinnon. Aug 11. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au Latin American Gala. Alondra de la Parra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Concert Hall, QPAC. Aug 17. 136 246. qpac.com.au Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute. Brisbane Arts. Aug 18 -

Sep 24. (07) 3369 2344. artstheatre.com.au Mary Rose by J.M. Barrie. Growl Theatre. Aug 23 - Sep 7. boxoffice@growltheatre.org.au Bangarra: 30 Years Of Sixty Five Thousand. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Playhouse, QPAC. Aug 23 - 31. 136 246. qpac.com.au Spencer by Katy Warner. Gardens Theatre. Aug 23 - 24. (07) 3138 7750. gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au Picnic At Hanging Rock by Laura Annawyn Shamas, based on the novel by Joan Lindsay. Villanova Players. Aug 24 - Sep 8. (07) 3395 5168. villanovaplayers.com Romeo And Juliet. Ballet by Kenneth MacMillan. Queensland Ballet. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Aug 28 - Sep 7. 136 246. qpac.com.au That’s Show Business. Queensland Pops Orchestra. Concert Hall, QPAC. Aug 31. 136 246. qpac.com.au The Addams Family by Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Aug 31 - Sep 29. (07) 5532 3224. gclt.com.au Victoria Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.

Queensland & Victoria Continuing. Princess Theatre, Melbourne. harrypottertheplay.com Storm Boy by Colin Thiele, adapted for the stage by Tom Holloway. Melbourne Theatre Company. Until Jul 20. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. (03) 8688 0800. mtc.com.au Wake In Fright. Adapted from Kenneth Cook’s novel by Declan Greene. Until Jul 14. Malthouse Theatre. (03) 9685 5111. malthousetheatre.com.au A Man Of No Importance by Terence McNally, music by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Williamstown Little Theatre. Until Jul 13. wlt.org.au Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett. Starring Max Gillies. Jul 2 - 14. fortyfivedownstairs. (03) 9662 9966. fortyfivedownstairs.com Bluebeard’s Castle by Bartok. BK Opera. Mycelium Studios, Brunswick, Jul 2 - 10 & Northcote Town Hall, Aug 8 & 9. bkopera.com.au Come From Away. Book, music and lyrics by David Hein and Irene Sankoff. Junkyard Dogs Productions and Rodney Rigby. From Jul 3. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. comefromaway.com.au The Cabin. Created by Joseph O’Farrell (JOF) with Emily Tomlins. Darebin Arts Speakeasy. Jul 3 - 13. Northcote Town Hall. darebinarts.com.au A Season of One Act Plays. The Hartwell Players. Jul 4 - 14. Ashwood High School Performing Arts Centre. 0422 010 830. hartwellplayers.org.au Annie Get Your Gun. Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, revised by Peter Stone. Diamond Valley Singers. July 5 - 13. Warrandyte High School Theatre. dvsingers.org Disney Aladdin Jr. Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice. Book

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adapted & additional lyrics by Jim Luigs. Music adapted and arranged by Brian Louiselle. Fab Nobs Theatre Inc. Jul 5 - 14. fabnobstheatre.com.au The Book Of Everything. Adapted by Richard Tulloch from the novel by Guus Kuijer. Geelong Repertory Theatre Company. Jul 5 - 20. GPAC. (03) 5225 1200. geelongrep.com Look Back in Anger by John Osborne. Eltham Little Theatre Inc. Jul 5 - 20. 0411 713 095. elthamlittletheatre.org.au It’s A Wonderful Life (A Live Radio Play) by Joe Landry. Heidelberg Theatre Company. Jul 5 - 20. (03) 9457 4117. htc.org.au Speaking In Tongues by Andrew Bovell. Ballarat National Theatre Inc. Jul 6 - 13. bnt.org.au I Hope It’s Not Raining In London by Nicholas Thoroughgood. Jul 8 - 13. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Pomona by Alistair McDowall. Red Stitch Actors Theatre. Jul 9 - Aug 11. (03) 9533 8083. redstitch.net AutoCannibal by Mitch Jones. Oozing Future. Jul 9 - 21. Theatre Works. (03) 9534 3388. theatreworks.org.au Jungle Bungle by Craig Christie. VTM Productions. Jul 9 - 14. Theatre Works. (03) 9534 3388. theatreworks.org.au Beep. Windmill Theatre Company. Jul 9 - 13. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183. windmill.org.au The Bacchae by Robert Reid. A MUST and Robert Reid CoProduction. Jul 10 - 21. La Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 6948. lamama.com.au Tulips by Matt Bostock. Jul 10 13. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Bring It On - The Musical. Book: Jeff Whitty. Music: Tom Kitt & Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lyrics: Amanda Green & LinManuel Miranda. Produced by Stage Whispers 85

On Stage David Venn. Jul 11 - 27. Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne. bringitonthemusical.com.au Well Hung by Robert Lord. Encore Theatre Company Inc. Jul 12 - 27. 1300 739 099. encoretheatre.com.au Heroic Bell Canto by Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. Victorian Opera. Jul 14. Hamer Hall. 1300 182 183. victorianopera.com.au Shakespeare In Love. Based on the screenplay by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall. Melbourne Theatre Company. Jul 15 - Aug 14. Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse. 1300 182 183. mtc.com.au Paradise Lost. The Bloomshed. Jul 15 - 20. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Ross Daniels: One Small Trip. Jul 15 - 20. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Jul 17 - 27. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183. bellshakespeare.com.au A Room Of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, adapted for the stage by Peta Hanrahan. Sentient Theatre. Jul 17 - 28. fortyfivedownstairs. (03) 9662 9966. fortyfivedownstairs.com Oliver! by Lionel Bart. Aspect Theatre. Jul 18 - 27. Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale. aspecttheatre.org.au Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Latrobe Theatre Company. July 19 - Aug 4. La Trobe Performing Arts Centre, Traralgon. latrobetheatrecompany.org.au Last Words by Joseph Sherman. Jul 24 - Aug 4. La Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 6948. lamama.com.au Make Me a Houri by Emina Ashman. Jul 24 - Aug 4. La Mama Courthouse. (03) 9347 6948. lamama.com.au The Madwoman With The Mannequin. Jul 25 - 27. The 86 Stage Whispers

Victoria & Tasmania Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com We Three by Hayley LawsonSmith. Dramatic Pause Theatre. Jul 25 - Aug 1. Gasworks Arts Park. gasworks.org.au Yes, Prime Minister by Antony Jay & Jonathan Lynn. Frankston Theatre Group. Jul 26 - Aug 4. Mount Eliza Community Centre. 1300 665 377. frankstontheatregroup.org.au Die Fledermaus composed by Johann Strauss Junior, to a libretto by Carl Haffner & Richard Genee. Performed in English. Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Victoria. Jul 26 - 28. Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre, Preston. gsov.org.au A Midnight Visit. Inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Broad Encounters. Jul 30 - Sep 15. Across 36 rooms in a North Melbourne Warehouse. amidnightvisit.com Warmwaters. Jul 31 & Aug 1. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Disney Aladdin Jr. Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice. Book adapted & additional lyrics by Jim Luigs. Music adapted and arranged by Brian Louiselle. Williamstown Musical Theatre Company. Aug 2 - 11. Centenary Theatre, Williamstown. wmtc.org.au The Red Tree. Adapted from the book by Shaun Tan, with script and lyrics by Hilary Bell and music by Greta Gertler. National Theatre of Parramatta. Aug 3 & 4. Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183. Thoroughly Modern Millie. Music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. The Production Company. Aug 3 - 11. State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183. artscentremelbourne.com.au Everything’s Coming Up Sondheim. Aug 2 - 4. Chapel off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000. chapeloffchapel.com.au

One The Bear. Black Honey Company. Aug 7 - 10. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183. artscentremelbourne.com.au ‘night, mother by Marsha Norman. Aug 7 - 17. Chapel off Chapel. (03) 8290 7000. chapeloffchapel.com.au Baskerville - A Sherlock Holmes Mystery by Ken Ludwig. The 1812 Theatre. Aug 8 - 31. 1812theatre.com.au Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, book by David Greig, with additional songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 1971 Warner Bros motion picture. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. From Aug 9. charliethemusical.com.au The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Peridot Theatre. Aug 9 - 24. The Unicorn Theatre, Mt Waverley. 0429 115 334. peridot.com.au Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti. The Basin Theatre Group. Aug 9 - 31. The Basin Theatre. 1300 784 668. thebasintheatre.org.au Golden Shield by Anchuli Felicia King. Melbourne Theatre Company. Aug 12 - Sep 14. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. (03) 8688 0800. mtc.com.au In Concert: Andrea Chénier by Giordano. Opera Australia. Starring Jonas Kaufman. Aug 13. Hamer Hall. 1300 182 183. opera.org.au Since Ali Died by Omar Musa. Griffin Theatre Company / Big World, Up Close. Aug 13 - 17. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183. artscentremelbourne.com.au Let Men Tremble by The Danger Ensemble. Aug 14 - 25. Theatre Works. (03) 9534 3388. theatreworks.org.au Picnic At Hanging Rock. Adapted by Tom Wright, from the book by Joan Lindsay. Lilydale Athenæum Theatre

Company Inc. Aug 15 - 31. (03) 9735 1777. lilydaleatc.com Children Of The Wolf by John Peacock. Strathmore Theatrical Arts Group. Aug 15 - 24. Strathmore Community Hall. (03) 9382 6284. stagtheatre.org Stargazers by Reina Hardy. Brighton Theatre Company. Aug 16 - 31. Brighton Arts & Cultural Centre. 1300 752 126 brightontheatre.com.au The Lady From The Sea by Henrik Ibsen. Warrandyte Theatre Company. Aug 16 31. warrandytehallarts.asn.au/theatre Pillow Talk by Andy Payne. Beaumaris Theatre. Aug 16 31. beaumaristheatre.com.au Victorian College Of The Arts: Music Theatre Showcase. Aug 19. Hamer Hall. 1300 182 183. Confetti. Flashlight Theatre Company. Aug 19 - 24. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Consistency Is Key: A Story Of Redemption. Aug 26 - 31. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Ulster American by David Ireland. Red Stitch Actors Theatre. Aug 20 - Sep 22. (03) 9533 8083. redstitch.net The Other Place by Christopher Bryant. Before Shot. Aug 28 Sep 8. Theatre Works. (03) 9534 3388. theatreworks.org.au Deer Woman by Tara Beagan. Article 11 / Big World, Up Close. Aug 28 - Sep 1. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183. artscentremelbourne.com.au Ladies In Black by Carolyn Burns and Tim Finn. Malvern Theatre Co. Aug 30 - Sep 14. 1300 131 552. malverntheatre.com.au Tasmania Treasure Island by Ken Ludwig. Hobart Repertory Theatre Society. Until Jul 20. The Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. playhouse.org.au

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On Stage

Tasmania & South Australia Anthony Warlow and Jemma Rix will star in a concert production of Jekyll & Hyde, celebrating the musical’s 25th Anniversary, presented by Concertworks at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne on Friday 25 October and at Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney on Saturday November 2. concertworks.com.au/jekyll

Online extras!

Watch the preview of the 25th Anniversary Concert of Jekyll & Hyde. https://youtu.be/H_OR917gjZM Bare The Musical by John Hartmere & Damon Intrabartolo. DoMaur Productions. Jul 8 - 13. Burnie Arts and Function Centre. (03) 6430 5850. burniearts.net 101 by Cameron Hindrum. Blue Cow Theatre in association with Three River Theatre. Jul 18 - 25, Earl Arts Centre, Launceston, (03) 6331 0052 & Jul 30 - Aug 3. Peacock Theatre, Hobart, (03) 6234 8414. bluecowtheatre.com Circus Oz Rock Bang - A Circus Rock Opera by Otto & Astrid Rot. Jul 20, Princess Theatre, Launceston, (03) 6331 0052. Jul 23, Paranaple Arts Centre, Devonport, (03) 6420 2900. Jul 25 - 27, Theatre Royal Hobart, (03) 6146 3300. circusoz.com We Will Rock You by Queen and Ben Elton. Encore Theatre Company. Aug 1 - 10. Princess Theatre, Launceston. (03) 6331 0052. encoretheatre.org.au Absence Of Light. Makeshift Dance Company. Aug 8 - 10. Earl Arts Centre, Launceston.

(03) 6331 0052. theatrenorth.com.au Tarzan: The Stage Musical. Music and lyrics by Phil Collins. Book by David Henry Hwang. Stage Right Youth Theatre. Aug 12 - 14. Princess Theatre, Launceston. (03) 6331 0052. theatrenorth.com.au Sydney Dance Company. 50th Anniversary Triple Bill. Aug 15 17. Theatre Royal, Hobart. (03) 6146 3300. theatreroyal.com.au Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical. Music & Lyrics: Tim Minchin. Book: Dennis Kelly. Launceston College. Aug 21 24. Princess Theatre, Launceston. (03) 6331 0052. theatrenorth.com.au Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Aug 27, Burnie Arts and Function Centre, (03) 6430 5850; Aug 29 - 31, Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) 6146 3300. bellshakespeare.com.au

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts. Shake & Stir. Aug 27, Princess Theatre, Launceston, (03) 6331 0052; Aug 29, Paranaple Arts Centre, Devonport, (03) 6420 2900; Sep 2 - 4, Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) 6146 3300. shakeandstir.com.au South Australia Strictly Ballroom The Musical by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Matt Byrne Media. Jul 4 - 27. The Arts Theatre then Shedley Theatre. mattbyrnemedia.com.au The Outsiders. Based on the novel by S.E. Hinton. Deadset Theatre Company. Jul 9 - 13. Bakehouse Theatre. trybooking.com/484621 Bats by Simon Denver. Tea Tree Players. Jul 11 - 13. Tea Tree Players Theatre. (08) 8289 5266. teatreeplayers.com A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller. State Theatre Company SA. Jul 12 - Aug 3. Dunstan Playhouse. 131 246. bass.net.au

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It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry. Wings2Fly Theatre. Jul 13. Holden Street Theatres. trybooking.com/474243 The Vicar of Dibley Christmas The Second Coming by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter. Jul 19 - 28. Noarlunga Theatre Company. Port Noarlunga Arts Centre. noarlungatheatrecompany.com Les Misérables by ClaudeMichel Schönberg & Alain Boublil. Scotch College. Jul 26 Aug 3. Fisher Chapel. scotch.sa.edu.au/lesmis Midway to Nowhere by George Djukic. Jul 31 - Aug 3. The George Martin Players. Star Theatres. (08) 8234 1800. startheatres.com Pilgrims by Claire Kiechel. Oily Rag Theatre. Aug 1 - 10. Bakehouse Theatre. bakehousetheatre.com Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Aug 3 - 17. Little Theatre. trybooking.com/447578 Stage Whispers 87

On Stage An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley. Therry Dramatic Society. Aug 15 - 24. The Arts Theatre. trybooking.com/453501 Jasper Jones. Adapted by Kate Mulvany, from the novel by Craig Silvey. Aug 16 - Sep 7. State Theatre Company SA. Dunstan Playhouse. 131 246. bass.net.au Rookery Nook by Ben Travers. Tea Tree Players. Aug 21 - 31. Tea Tree Players Theatre. (08) 8289 5266. teatreeplayers.com Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote. Red Phoenix Theatre. Aug 22 - 31. Holden Street Theatres - The Studio. holdenstreettheatres.com Princess Ida by Gilbert and Sullivan. SALOS. Aug 23 - Sep 1. Tower Arts Centre. (08) 8294 6582. Look Back in Anger by John Osborne. Adelaide Repertory Theatre. Aug 29 - Sep 7. Arts Theatre. (08) 8212 5777. adelaiderep.com Western Australia Popcorn by Ben Elton. Garrick Theatre. Jul 4 - 20. Comedy. Garrick Theatre, Guildford. trybooking.com/BCWXQ or bookings@garricktheatre.com.au Terry Pratchett’s Lords and Ladies. Adapted for the stage by Irana Brown. Roleystone Theatre. Jul 5 - 13. Based on the novel. Roleystone Hall. trybooking.com/510123 An Evening With Sherlock Holmes by Jules Tasca.

South Australia & Western Australia Wanneroo Repertory. Mystery directed by Shelley McGinn. Jul 4 - 13. Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo. 0499 954 016 or limelighttheatre.com.au A Chorus of Disapproval by Alan Ayckbourn. Darlington Theatre Players. Jul 5 - 27. Comedy. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount. 0490 098 552. marlootheatre.com.au My Robot by Finegan Kruckmeyer. Barking Gecko Theatre Company. Jul 6 - 14. Ophelia builds a robot. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. ptt.wa.gov.au Fox. From the book by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Jul 6 - 20. Puppetry and dance fusion for kids. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Fremantle. (08) 9335 5044. sppt.asn.au Fiddler on the Roof Jnr. Book by Joseph Stein. Music by Jerry Bock. Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Jul 9 - 20. Bel Canto Performing Arts. Youth Musical. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. oldmilltheatre.com.au Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. West Australian Opera. Jul 13 20. Dark musical theatre. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. ptt.wa.gov.au Trivial Pursuits by Frank Vickery. KADS. Jul 17 - Aug 3. A behind the scenes comedy. KADS Town Square Theatre, Kalamunda. kadstheatre.com.au

Auditions Place your audition notice in the next edition of Stage Whispers magazine. Email stagews@stagewhispers.com.au or call (03) 9758 4522

Online extras!

Check out all the auditions that didn’t make it to print. Scan or visit www.stagewhispers.com.au/auditions 88 Stage Whispers

Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Art in Motion Theatre Company. Jul 19 - 27. Don Russell Performing Arts Centre. trybooking.com/BBZZD Are You Being Served? by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. Stirling Players. Jul 19 - Aug 3. Based on the TV series. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo. (08) 9446 9120. trybooking.com/443982 Oliver! By Lionel Bart. Laughing Horse Productions. Jul 26 - Aug 3. Koorliny Arts Centre. koorliny.com.au Sista Girl by Elena Carapetis and Alexis West. Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Jul 30 - Aug 3. Look at the search for identity. Subiaco Arts Centre. yirrayaakin.com.au 52 Hertz. Beyond the Yard. Aug 1 - 3. Inspired by 52 Blue loneliest whale in the world. Subiaco Arts Centre - Studio. ptt.wa.gov.au Annie Jr by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan. St George’s Anglican Grammar School. Aug 1-3. Youth musical. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. ptt.wa.gov.au Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. Mercedes College. Aug 2 - 4. Musical prequel to the Wizard of Oz. Regal Theatre, Subiaco. ticketek.com.au The Nerd by Larry Shue. Aug 5 - 24. Serial Productions. Comedy. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. oldmilltheatre.com.au Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare/ Bell Shakespeare. Aug 7 - 10. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA. ptt.wa.gov.au Bring It On - The Musical by Jeff Whitty, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt and Amanda Green. Aug 8 - 18. Cheerleading musical. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. bringitonthemusical.com.au Medea by Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Aug 8

- 25. A new adaptation of Euripides’ classic play. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. ptt.wa.gov.au Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price. Garrick Theatre TAG (teens at Garrick). Aug 9 - 17. Adapted from Antigone, and set in a high school. Garrick Theatre, Guildford. trybooking.com/505670 Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes And Dirty Beasts. shake and stir theatre company. Aug 13 - 16. Family show. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA. ptt.wa.gov.au The Apparatus by Humphrey Bower. Aug 13 - 31. Absurd comic horror. The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge. blueroom.org.au Tick, Tick…Boom! By Jonathan Larson. Koorliny Arts Centre. Aug 14 - 24. Intimate pop musical. Koorliny Arts Centre. koorliny.com.au The Wizard Of Oz. Based on the book by Frank L. Baum. Music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg. APAN Entertainment. Aug 17 - Sep 1. Musical based on the 1939 film. Regal Theatre, Subiaco. ticketek.com.au The Wolves by Sarah De Lappe. Red Ryder Productions. Aug 20 - Sep 7. Pulitzer Prize nominated play. The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge. blueroom.org.au The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht. The Midnite Youth Theatre Company. Aug 22 - 24. Subiaco Arts Centre. ptt.wa.gov.au Hair by James Rado, Gerome Ragini and Galt McDermott. Perth Theatre Trust and David M. Hawkins. Aug 22 - Sep 1. The original tribal rock musical. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. ptt.wa.gov.au An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. WAAPA 3rd Year Acting. Aug 23 - 29. Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6895. waapa.ecu.edu.au

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. WAAPA 2nd Year Acting. Aug 23 - 29. Battle of the sexes. Enright Studio, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6895. waapa.ecu.edu.au Sweet Charity by Neil Simon, Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields. WAAPA 3rd Year Music Theatre. Aug 24 - 31. Tony Award Winning Musical. Geoff Gibbs Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6895. waapa.ecu.edu.au Perpetual Wake by Gita Bezard & Jeffrey Jay Fowler. The Last Grey Hunt. Aug 28 - Sep 7. Dark comedy. Subiaco Arts Centre - Main Auditorium. ptt.wa.gov.au Acting Can Be Murder by Eddie McPherson. Principal Academy. Aug 29 - 30. British style comedic farce directed by Caitlin Beresford-Ord. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. oldmilltheatre.com.au Thrills and Chills by various authors. KADS. Aug 30 - Sep 7. One act plays. KADS Town Square Theatre, Kalamunda. kadstheatre.com.au One Act Season by various authors. Darlington Theatre Players. Aug 30 - Sep 7. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount. 0490 098 552 or marlootheatre.com.au New Zealand Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton. Until Jul 20. The Court Theatre, Christchurch. (03) 963 0870 / 0800 333 100. courttheatre.org.nz We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. Tim Bray Productions. Until Jul 20. The PumpHouse Theatre, Auckland. (09) 489 8360. pumphouse.co.nz Room On The Broom. Adapted from the book by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler. CDP / Tall Stories. Jul 3 & 4, Baycourt Theatre, Tauranga, 0800 842 538; Jul 8 & 9, Clarence St Theatre, Hamilton, 0800 842 538; Jul 12 - 14,

Opera House, Wellington, 0800 111 999; Jul 17 - 21, Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland, 0800 111 999. ticketek.co.nz The Aliens by Annie Baker. Red Scare Theatre Company. Jul 4 13. Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre, Wellington. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). redscare.co.nz The Book Of Everything. Adapted by Richard Tulloch. Howick Little Theatre. Jul 6 27. (09) 361 1000. hlt.org.nz Hansel And Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, adapted by Amalia Calder. KidzStuff. Theatre for Children. Jul 6 - 19. Tararua Tramping Club Clubrooms, Wellington. kidzstufftheatre.co.nz The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Adapted by Joseph Robinette from C.S. Lewis. Hamilton Playbox. Jul 6 - 20. Riverlea Theatre, Waikato. playbox.org.nz The Children’s Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. The Stage Company and Pop-up Globe. Jul 8 - 20. Pop-up Globe Theatre, The Shakespeare Gardens, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). popupglobe.co.nz Bathtime Bubbles: A Messy Magic Adventure by David Ladderman and Lizzie Tollemache. Rollicking Entertainment. Jul 9 - 20. Circa Theatre, Wellington. (04) 801 7992. circa.co.nz The Dunstan Creek Haunting by David Ladderman and Lizzie Tollemache. Rollicking Entertainment. Jul 9 - 20. Circa Theatre, Wellington. (04) 801 7992. circa.co.nz Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Pop-up Globe Exeter’s Company. Jul 13 - Aug 25. Pop-up Globe Theatre, The Shakespeare Gardens, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). popupglobe.co.nz Troll by Ralph McCubbin Howell. Trick of the Light Theatre Company. Jul 13 - 20.

Western Australia & New Zealand Circa Theatre, Wellington. (04) 801 7992. circa.co.nz The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton. Pop-up Globe Exeter’s Company. Jul 14 - Aug 24. Pop-up Globe Theatre, The Shakespeare Gardens, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). popupglobe.co.nz Legally Blonde The Musical. Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Book by Heather Hach. Papakura Theatre Company. Jul 13 - 27. Off Broadway Theatre. iticket.co.nz The Red Plague by Penny Taylor. Histrionics. Jul 18 - 20. The Suter Theatre, Nelson. 0800 224 224. theatreroyalnelson.co.nz Tributes to Jerome Kern & Irving Berlin. Jul 19 - 27. Auybn Theatre, Hamilton. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Popup Globe Exeter’s Company. Jul 20 - Aug 23. Pop-up Globe Theatre, Ellerslie. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). popupglobe.co.nz The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Jul 25 Aug 3. TET Cue Theatre, North Taranaki. (06) 756 7030. cuetheatre.co.nz Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling. Jul 26 - Aug 11. Octagon Theatre, Whangarei. (09) 438 4406. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe. Aug 1 - 10. bctt.org.nz Moonlight And Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson. Dolphin Theatre (Auckland). Aug 2 - 17. dolphintheatre.org.nz The Father by Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton. Aug 3 - 24. Court Theatre, Christchurch. (03) 963 0870 or 0800 333 100. courttheatre.org.nz Brown; It’s Complicated by Antonia Kamu. Te Oro (Auckland). Aug 6 - 10. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). teoro.org.nz

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Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Pop-up Globe Nottingham’s Company. Aug 8 - 15. Pop-up Globe Theatre, The Shakespeare Gardens, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). popupglobe.co.nz Is the Real You Really You? By John Tobias. Elmwood Players. Aug 8 - 17. Elmwood Auditorium, Merivale. elmwood-players.org.nz Measure For Measure by William Shakespeare. Pop-up Globe Nottingham’s Company. Aug 9 - 14. Pop-up Globe Theatre, The Shakespeare Gardens, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849). popupglobe.co.nz Les Misérables. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Additional Material by James Fenton. Abbey Musical Theatre. Aug 9 - 24. Regent on Broadway. abbeymusicaltheatre.co.nz Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare. Auckland Theatre Company. Aug 14 - 29. AQSB Waterfront Theatre. 0800 ATC TIX (282 849). atc.co.nz Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling. Company Theatre. Aug 17 - 31. The Rose Centre, Auckland. 0508 484 253. companytheatre.co.nz The Arsonists by Jacqueline Goldfinger. Aug 17 - Sep 17. Court Theatre, Christchurch. (03) 963 0870 or 0800 333 100. courttheatre.org.nz The Ellerslie Festival of One Act Plays. Ellerslie Theatrical Society. Aug 22 - 31. ellerslietheatre.co.nz Bare: A Pop Opera by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo. Stagecraft Theatre (Wellington). Aug 28 - Sep 7. stagecraft.co.nz Rent by Jonathan Larson. Whangarei Theatre Company. Aug 30 - Sep 14. whangareitheatrecompany.org.nz Stage Whispers 89

Reviews: Premieres

The Double.

The Double Written and directed by Claire Testoni. Bow and Dagger. The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge. Apr 23 - May 11. IN The Double, subtitled a “cyber gothic nightmare”, a young actress sells her image to a tech giant. Although she soon feels disconnected with the way the double is developing; her face and voice are now on every phone, every screen, everywhere. Bow and Dagger’s world premiere production blends the human and digital worlds as central character Victoria interacts with her double Vici and a variety of people in her life via Face Time style calls. Victoria is played by three actors - Phoebe Sullivan, Amanda Watson and Michelle Aitken - who swing between playing Victoria and the other characters via video - using “borrowed faces” from other actors. The technology is clever and effective, although the slight delay between voice and image was somewhat distracting. A really engaging piece of theatre, expertly acted with outstanding ensemble work from the three actors, its clear, clean design and style are reminiscent of the aesthetics of our bigger tech companies - featuring sound design by Joe Lui, lighting by Rhiannon Petersen and creative production by Natalie Di Risio. A production with lots of food for thought, which flows beautifully and is engaging throughout. Kimberley Shaw 90 Stage Whispers

Cyprus Avenue By David Ireland. Empress Theatre in association with Redline Productions. Old Fitz Theatre, Sydney. May 15 Jun 8. FEW Australians would have a solid understanding of Northern Ireland and the impact of fanaticism there. These days, extremism is often framed as Islamic or that of the far right. But we all fear people who are different and this shocking play is a warning of how ugly that fear can become. The protagonist Eric Miller lives in Belfast with his family and is non-negotiably Protestant and British. He is traumatised by the past, which is presumably why he believes his five-week old granddaughter looks like Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Eric is worried she’ll be raised Irish and Catholic - and that makes him violent, emotionally and physically. Director Anna Houston and designer Ester KarusoThurn have set this play against a bright, white set, in the intimate Old Fitz Theatre. The acting in superb. Roy Barker truly inhabits Eric, capturing such a sense of bewilderment as he struggles to comprehend the changing world. Alongside Barker is Jude Gibson, also brilliant. In fact, it’s hard to pick a fault in the wonderful ensemble of actors. Unfortunately Cyprus Avenue veers slightly off track the violence becomes so extreme that the play loses focus. But it’s still fascinating - and the acting is five-star. Peter Gotting

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Prima Facie By Suzie Miller. Griffin Theatre Company. SBW Stables Theatre, Kings Cross. May 17 - Jun 22. BARRISTER and prolific playwright Suzie Miller has written a full courtroom battle delivered by just one woman. Sheridan Harbridge is Tessa, from a working class background but striding success in a privileged world as a criminal defence barrister. She knows this game. She’s at her best manipulating female plaintiffs charging sexual assault into a confusion of doubts. Tessa is riding high, until an office one night stand is repeated, and then becomes a violent rape. Defying her usual “legal not emotional instinct”, she charges the man and is recast by the system into the wounded victim. Miller’s 100 minute monologue is rich in witty, empathic details of moment and character. It runs like a thriller and finely builds Tessa’s contrasting experiences of winner and victim into a powerful demand for a justice system not ossified by old male notions of logic and gender. Prima Facie is almost word perfect and Harbridge makes each one count. Mostly atop a small cube podium, alone with a smart office chair, and surrounded by a sea of corporate carpet, Harbridge by speedy gesture and vocal variety companionably suggests a full cast through Tessa’s life. Under Lee’s Lewis’ direction, every moment is lived. With a flick of her head, Harbridge takes us to new settings and times change, aided by Trent Suidgeest’s subtle lighting shifts on designer Renee Mulder’s walls behind. And Paul Charlier’s sound is quietly forbidding. As long as there are actors as good as Harbridge - and this justice issue still burns - this outstanding play should have many re-tellings. Martin Portus

as they might be. Award-winning filmmaker Natasha Pincus supplies the mostly astonishing video material. The intention is juxtaposition or another layer to the text, but the fast-flowing images, projected on a huge stage-width screen (amazing design by Nick Roux) can overwhelm and distract from the actors on stage and the dense allusiveness of Bowie’s often gnomic lyrics. There are, however, truly outstanding performances that survive the bells and whistles. Mike McLeish as Michael brings presence, intrigue and clarity to a character only briefly part of the story. iOta as Valentine, personification of Death and destruction - and Bowie’s own paranoia - has a creepy niceness and chilling menace. Emily Milledge is the key character ‘Girl’ and she creates a gawky naiveté and innocence that gives Newton the hope for which he has been searching. Chris Ryan sings with power and conviction, but he is a little too boyish and not enough the sick, alcoholic and tortured isolate the text requires. Phoebe Panaretos, meanwhile, as Elly, is a beautiful singer and an actor of such presence and emotion that she comes close to taking over the story. Bowie very deliberately selected Irish playwright Enda Walsh as his collaborator. We don’t know the nature of their collaboration - although an awed Mr Walsh says it was wonderful - but we do know Bowie was someone who insisted on his own way. Lazarus is about Bowie, it is Bowie - it’s why we sit through in this disordered - or, if you like, enigmatic - work. Michael Kantor, his cast and crew have made something amazing out of what - to me - is a flawed and solipsistic piece. Michael Brindley

American Psycho The Musical Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sarcasa. Music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik. Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. BB Lazarus Arts Entertainment & Two Doors Productions in By David Bowie & Enda Walsh. Music & lyrics by David association with Hayes Theatre Company. May 10 - Jun 9. Bowie. Directed by Michael Kantor. The Production THE novel American Psycho is still kept in plastic Company and EY, in association with Mene Mene Theatre. wrapping in parts of the world, such is the R-rated nature Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. May 18 - Jun 9. of its content. In this production it was the stage that was EIGHTEEN David Bowie songs, satire, a Japanese wrapped in plastic, as the serial killer Patrick Bateman sequence - in Japanese - a vicious killer, jazz ballet dance kitted out in a raincoat - got to work on a victim. numbers, a rocket ship, dazzling video projections and Sitting in the Hayes Theatre - next to Nancye Hayes - I visceral sound design. Lazarus continues the fate of almost felt the urge to cover her eyes. Thomas Jerome Newton, the alien David Bowie played in Jokes aside, this is a beautiful and terrifyingly good Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth. production of a musical with some stomach-churning It’s also Bowie’s own dreamscape autobiography; and ‘a content. A glitzy mirrored revolving stage (designed by rock opera’ - a bewildering high-tech jukebox musical. Isabel Hudson) sets a cracking pace for the cast. Helped And what is the story? Don’t expect narrative logic or by sharp light and choreography the drama moved swiftly coherence here. It is - or could be - all in the head of the from offices, to night clubs, to homes and New York gin-hazed, dying Newton (Chris Ryan) an alien, trapped in streetscapes. a New York apartment, longing to escape to the stars or Round and round some more it goes with the cast to die. And yet there is a kind of emotional logic which adroitly weaving around each other and doorways. holds it together. The onstage band, under the direction The male characters, clearly all hot and bothered from the of Jethro Woodward, is impeccable, matching every brisk pace, needed to frequently take their shirts off. They change of style and mood. Director Michael Kantor and upstaged the females in their glamorous chic attire. his team put a multi-media extravaganza on stage, The music is a combination of classic cover tunes from packed with ideas, even if not all of them are as successful the era, with a heady mixture of house and electric music Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

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grooves. It lacked a knockout solo which gave you an insight into the mind of the central character but the programmed score kept the narrative moving. Leading man Benjamin Gerrard makes you want to keep the lights on at night. A member of the audience who had the experience of having him stare straight at her at close proximity was completely spooked. Other stand outs were Blake Appelqvist, as Patrick’s rival Paul Owen, and Erin Clare, as Courtney Lawrence, who brought the house down with her routine deflating a blow up doll. You leave the theatre feeling a little dizzy and dazzled. David Spicer Heisenberg By Simon Stephens. Directed by Tom Healey. Melbourne Theatre Company. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. May 17 - Jul 3. AN unlikely love story between Georgie Burns (Kat Stewart), an unhappy, over-sharing forty-two-year-old American, and Alex Priest (Peter Kowitz), a taciturn, reclusive seventy-five-year-old London butcher. Her first move is to kiss him on the neck. That’s the ‘meet-cute’ of the traditional rom-com and Heisenberg does indeed move through the steps of that genre. The title refers to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, which states that both the position and the velocity of a particle cannot be measured at exactly the same time. If that metaphor for Georgie and Alex seems forced - or cute - it is the metaphor of the play, which tells us to open ourselves to that which cannot be measured - to take a risk, take a chance and become more alive. Director Tom Healey elicits detailed performances and opts for minimal sets (design by Anna Borghesi) with Bronwyn Pringle’s lighting changes. Locations are indicated by text projected above the stage. This works well enough, even if it involves the cast trundling furniture and props around in blackouts between scenes. Heisenberg is a chamber piece play that in the end is rather slight and, really, it would - or could - work as well, in fact better, as a television play - without blackouts. If Ms Stewart were less blessed with comic timing and fast mood changes, and less vivacious, and if Peter Kowitz lacked his extraordinary ability to transform himself so as to give such a layered, detailed Alex, then this piece just would not sustain. Simon Stephens has an intimidating list of credits, but he might well have written Heisenberg over a weekend. It’s undemanding - except on one’s credulity - and, in its straight naturalism, rather old fashioned in today’s theatre. Michael Brindley

window of the nun’s house in the deprived Yorkshire seaside town of Withernsea. There’s nowt so queer as Folk, as the saying goes, and playwright Tom Wells takes pleasure in introducing us to three of the queerest, most mismatched characters ever to share space in the same play. There’s big-hearted Sister Winnie (Genevieve Lemon), swearing, smoking, drinking her canned Guiness; uncertain, disapproving Stephen (Gerard Carroll) who can’t possibly play his guitar anywhere outside the house; and no-hoper Kayleigh (Libby Asciak), who is pregnant via a boyfriend who’s been recently killed in a motor accident. Fortunately she’s intuitive, can sing like a bird and plays a mean tune on the tin whistle. With seemingly little between them, these three face the 90-minute duration of Folk as distinct individuals and gradually, slowly meet and make a difference. This was noticeable to the first-night audience at the Ensemble, who for the first half of the show withheld their affection. That they recovered, and indeed rent the air with their cheers at the end, is a sure sign of Wells’ writing quality and of the acting chops of this small company. Significantly, it’s Genevieve Lemon’s contribution that seals the deal: her warmth and commitment is palpable. Libby Asciak begins under the enormous constraint of a thick, Northern Yorkshire accent, so dense at times to be hard to penetrate. But she perseveres, winning through with her bonding into this surrogate family. Directed by Terence O’Connell, this charming little play proves a winner in the end. Frank Hatherley

Small Mouth Sounds By Bess Wohl. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Director: Jo Turner. Eternity Playhouse, Sydney. May 3 - 26. THE small mouth sounds referred to in Small Mouth Sounds by American Bess Wohl are conversations, everyday chatter. All speech has been banned from the group of six starting a weeklong silent retreat at a hippie institute somewhere in country Australia. At the start of the week there’s Rodney (Dorje Swallow), well-toned in full Zen serenity; woolly-hatted Ned (Yalin Ozucelik), the only one whose pen absolutely refuses to work; Jan (Justin Smith) who attracts biting insects to every part of his body; Joan (Sharon Millerchip) and Judy (Jane Phegan), a lesbian couple going through a rough patch in their relationship. Crashing in late with multiple bags and packets of chips is frazzled Alicia (Amber McMahon), ditsy and snuffling, madly tapping out messages on her mobile phone. The cast expertly demonstrate that speech can be dispensed with: the packed, enthusiastic first-night audience filled in all the gaps required. Only one character Folk gets the chance to speak and Dorje Swallow lets rip with why he must always wear that hat, an appalling reason By Tom Wells. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Director: Terence O’Connell. 3 May 3 - Jun 1. which leads to why his ex-wife slept with his younger SISTER Winnie’s regular Guiness and singalong evening brother, and considerably more. The American play has been well Australianised, with with middle-aged guitarist Stephen is abruptly shattered when 15-year-old Kayleigh hurls a brick through the front the week-long retreat fitting exactly with our current 92 Stage Whispers

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Water. Photo: Daniel J Grant.

Online extras!

Check out the trailer of Black Swan State Theatre’s Water. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/yhx314JYsDU thinking. Direction is splendid, with the cast doing wonders on the narrow Eternity stage. Frank Hatherley Water By Jane Bodie. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Directed by Emily McLean. Studio Underground. State Theatre Centre of WA. May 9 - 26. BLACK Swan State Theatre Company’s World Premiere of Water, by Jane Bodie, set around the themes of water, immigration and family, looks at three families over three eras. Almost three interlocking plays, Water is a fascinating new work. Fiona Bruce’s set design beautifully and elegantly transforms before our eyes from modern island holiday home, through to processing buildings on Ellis Island in the twenties, to plantation buildings in early 20th century Queensland. Strongly emotive lighting design from Lucy Birkinshaw, with Dr Clint Bracknell providing an organic, interesting sound design. In the first act, set in the near future, we meet a family in crisis, with recently retired politician Peter (an expertly layered and very strong performance by Igor Sas) celebrating his birthday, with wife Beth (a believable Glenda Linscott), serious older daughter Gemma (a strong Amy Matthews) and free thinking younger daughter Joey (a dynamic Emily Rose Brennan). Joey has brought home a guest, Yize (an outstanding Richard Maganga), an asylum seeker, whose life has been irreparably altered by Peter’s immigration policies.

Subsequent acts examine an Australian couple detained at Ellis Island, featuring an especially strong performance from Glenda Linscott as the very vulnerable Elizabeth, and a complex, forbidden relationship in 1905 Queensland between a cane field worker and the master’s daughter, sensitively portrayed by Richard Manganga and Emily Rose Brennan. A moving and poignant examination of families, the need for asylum and water as a life source, this is strong and emotive story telling. Kimberley Shaw Ten Quid By John Grimshaw. Stirling Players (WA). Directed by Jane Sherwood. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo, WA. Apr 26 - May 11. TEN Quid, a locally written World Premiere, is a story of the call to home of the migrant. Mark, who immigrated to Australia, returns to Manchester to scatter his brother’s ashes and meets Cody, a Scottish single mother, to whom he tells his story. Director Jane Sherwood has chosen her cast well, with central characters who create tangible and likeable characters and a believable relationship. Peter Neaves (Mark) delivers one of his best performances to date as an awkward but genuine former immigrant, with Lara Brunini lovely, as the seemingly tough Cody, with a gorgeous Scottish accent. Adeson Oyasope is excellent as Cody’s son Alex, and shows skilled skateboarding on the way, with Sean Smith

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Alice In Slasherland. Photo: Robert Catto.

working hard as Tommy. Paul Anderson is worth waiting for in his late to the stage appearance as grumpy Bernard. There were some impressive stage debuts, with Oscar Hawkes nailing the Mancunian accent as Young Mark, Brian Matete impressive as the Security Guard, Nathan Di Giovanni delightfully larger than life as DJ Pete and Pauline Gibb lovely as Paula. A challenge for the set designer, the locales include a skate park (with a nicely employed ramp), Maine Road Football Ground, a karaoke bar and an airport, with director Jane Sherwood’s design nicely realised. Lighting, also designed by Jane Sherwood, was effective, with well managed sound design by Ian Wilson. Always great to see a new show, with the bonus of seeing a lot of new talent. An interesting story, nicely told. Kimberley Shaw

unrequited love. The horror starts with young Alice back from Hades with murderous intent, and in her wake a masked thing slashing his way through the schoolyard. Lauren Peters’ set of shifting walls, entrances and a stairway to hell aids this blood-splattering rush of horror, but Rachel Kerry soon loses control of her enthusiastic shouting cast, who trample Nguyen’s already slim satire into the ground. Singer Laura Murphy as Lucifer, posing initially as the college nympho, is a standout exception, and so too the performer masterfully manipulating a foul-mouthed blokey bear along for the ride. Julian Starr’s sound and pop house music helps drive over the bumps and Nigel Poulton is busiest of all, choregraphing the show’s excess of Wham! Bam! fights. There were laughs, yes, the crude sex banter was naughty, but all this show’s creative expertise was misdirected away Alice In Slasherland from getting best timing from the performers and, By Oui Nguyen. Last One Standing Theatre Company / Red ultimately, to staging a play best left Off Off Broadway. Line Productions. Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo. Apr Martin Portus 18 - May 11. JUDGING by American writer Oui Nguyen, millennial Kinetics audiences go for teen college shlock mixed with slasher By Sue Wylie. MANPAC Community Partnership. Directed horror movies, zombies and other demons from the by Kim Angus. Fishtrap Theatre, Mandurah Performing netherworld. It certainly makes for graphic comic book Arts Centre. May 9 - 12. theatre. And presumably it’s a spoof. KINETICS, performed for the first time outside the UK, Bardiya McKinnon, who’s also the producer, brings is a true story of a woman in her fifties with Parkinson’s some truth and self-deprecating wit to Lewis, a gangly Disease, who encounters a teenage boy who is into teen turned hero, and the show starts stylishly with Parkour. projections of his under-watched blog pining for an 94 Stage Whispers

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Produced by Sue Edge, who also has Parkinson’s disease, the show sought to spread awareness of the condition, while also being a fascinating show. Both named Sue, and both teachers, the writer and producer have quite a few things in common, including being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 50 and 51 respectively. Central character Rose, beautifully and empathically portrayed by Natalie Burbage, is newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s and feeling alone and trapped by her body and the desire to move, until a chance encounter with a rebellious teen, who is obsessed with free running Parkour. Matthew Manning expertly portrayed the young man Lukas, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and also cannot control his desire to move. An excellent pairing of performers, we saw a meeting of minds and needs in a beautifully crafted story. Great support from actors Peter Shaw, as Lukas’ chemistry teacher, in a well-crafted performance, and Colin Howe in a moving and funny cameo as Mr Burton. While the driving force behind this production was to raise awareness of Parkinson’s, this was also excellent theatre, with a beautiful and moving story. Kimberley Shaw

It could be referencing religious/spiritual groups, health and yoga retreats, or indeed reality shows where people are cooped up together and encouraged to vent, lash out and behave shoddily. Scene changes are sharp, loud and jarring and interactions are often brutal and cruel. And it is funny clever funny and shocking funny and callously funny. Characters display little compassion or concern for each-other. Ultimately one character becomes the scapegoat and most often targeted for ridicule. Described as Absurdist by director Gavin Quinn, it could be interpreted as a cathartic experience - an antidote to the barrage of the nauseatingly positive posts on social media. Vital, challenging and immediate, it may leave some wanting and others satiated. Suzanne Sandow

Postcards From Kafka By Carl Caulfield. Newcastle Theatre Company. NTC Theatre, Lambton. Jun 1 - 15. THE renowned Czech writer Franz Kafka had a troubled life, with bureaucrats continually criticising and threatening him because he took a realistic look at people’s behaviour. It was only in the last two years of his The Temple short life, when he wed a supportive young German Created by Gavin Quinn, the cast and Nicola Gunn. Pan woman, that he had any bliss. Pan / Malthouse Theatre. Becket Theatre. May 2 - 26. Newcastle playwright and director Carl Caulfield and his wife and two daughters learnt what Kafka had to go THE Temple is a co-production with the innovative Irish company Pan Pan. It’s provocative theatre at its most through when they went to the Czech capital Prague in acute. Actors Alijin Abella, Ash Flanders, Genevieve 2015 to visit places where he lived and worked. Caulfield used the problems they had with police and moneyGiuffre, Mish Grigor and Marcus McKenzie work as a tight, well-oiled and rehearsed ensemble. They portray a grabbing people as the basis for this darkly funny play, group of characters - young contemporary individuals which has a Melbourne university professor visiting engaged in a self-lead residential retreat. Prague to try to obtain Kafka documents that two We seem to be watching a kind of freeform interactive university students claim to have found and having trouble with corrupt officials. His problems are interwoven experience inspired by the cult of self/self indulgence. This co-created work requires cerebral, intense and with scenes showing a relaxed and smiling Kafka with the focused performances. All actors are stunningly and wife who has brightened his life. rivetingly fascinating in their roles.

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It was a very engaging work, with the cast making the people real figures. Richard Murray brought out the increasing frustrations of the academic, Professor Marcus Murray, and Tracey Gordon, as his not-so-happy wife, who wants to put together a wireless interview with Kafka fans, increasingly wondered why they had come to Prague. The other actors each played two roles, and the characters raised smiles and laughs with their differences. Tim Blundell was a relaxed Kafka and, amusingly, a law student who is a Kafka fan and works at the Kafka Cafe. Eily Pleming was the professor’s bored daughter and Kafka’s comforting wife, Dora Diamant. And Dez Robertson and Charlotte Gapps brought out the intention of the students to get as much money as they could for the documents and the stern nature of two very crooked police who ignored the professor’s complaints that virtually every official he had met had virtually tried to maltreat him, showing instead that they were masters of such felony. The production also made good use of a puppet version of Kafka, which amusingly underlined the writer’s desperation to escape the problems he had faced through much of his life. Ken Longworth When The Light Leaves By Rory Godbold. Director: Jayde Kirchert. La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street Carlton. Jun 12 - 23. VOLUNTARY Assisted Dying (VAD) is a topic that has long been avoided in our legal, social and moral discourse. Rory Godbold challenges this through a deeply personal account of the loss of a loved one and this brings an engrossing rawness and authenticity to the play. The harsh and imminent reality of death is painstakingly depicted through Dan (Tomas Parrish). Despite being psychologically full of life, he often appears both skeletal and spectral. His slight physicality and the low-key lighting highlight his dark fate. His devoted and distraught partner Liam (Leigh Scully) is played with passion and fire. His sister, Kate (Veronica Thomas), is equally devoted to her baby brother, despite family tensions. Thomas portrays Kate as the older sister with the hard-outer shell which only serves to mask her vulnerability. Dan’s nurse, Alice (Michelle Robertson) is no less affected by his illness and demise and the combination of these characters allows the play to fully enter the shadowy universe where the threat of death lingers. The performance is housed in a sparse but homely space with delicately suspended props. They become highly evocative through simple but innovative movement. The clever use of flashbacks and flashforwards allow the complexities of the story and the characters to gradually and beautifully unfold. At the end of the play the stillness and sombre setting tends to say more than the script needs to state. Patricia Di Risio 96 Stage Whispers

Reviews: Plays Cat On A Hot Tin Roof By Tennessee Williams. Sydney Theatre Company. Roslyn Packer Theatre. Apr 29 - Jun 8. KIP Williams with designer David Fleischer sweeps away Tennessee Williams’ Mississippi mansion for the empty stage he so often prefers, except for an island of mixed period, mirrored furniture. It’s the sexless bedroom of the favoured son, Brick, a sports star turned drunk, and his frustrated wife, Maggie - the Cat. The agile Zahira Newman prowls and cajoles around her husband’s sexual withdrawal, but is staying on that roof long enough to win the mansion. It’s the birthday of plantation magnate Big Daddy, who’s just won a reprieve from a deadly cancer prognosis. His bustling wife and his older, neglected, son, Grooper (Josh McConville) and his covetous wife Mae (Nicki Shiels) and their four wonderfully monstrous children all gather to ‘celebrate’ with cake. Williams’ mesmerising Southern language, lilting and delusional then foul-mouthed and violent, uncovers through hints and counter-gossip the lies of this family. Often they lurk in the shadows, eavesdropping, but each has their spotlight. Hugo Weaving brings awesome power, even empathy, to Big Daddy, a giant with a foot in the grave, while Pamela Rabe plays his ‘fat-arsed’ Big Mummy, with less nuance than expected. As Brink, Harry Greenwood is perfect as the lanky defeated drinker, escaping from selfloathing after an abandoned homosexual love. Backed by Nick Schlieper’s astonishing lights, Stefan Gregory’s slow rumbles and drums, and Mel Page’s expressive costumes, this is a big theatre, Gothic telling of a play which naturally has less shock value than in 1955. The play is long and so, often, is the pausing but it still reaches up to the Gods to hit you hard. Martin Portus The Miser By Molière, translated & adapted by Justin Fleming. Bell Shakespeare. Arts Centre Melbourne, The Fairfax. Apr 25 - May 12. JUSTIN Fleming up-dates Molière’s text with a distinctly Australian idiom but retains the convoluted plot - true to the spirit, if not the letter, of Molière. Director Peter Evans and a great cast invest all their skill in Mr Fleming’s farcical take and run with it. The result is a hugely entertaining romp. One ‘modern’ change is that the servant, Valère, is female (a spirited Jessica Tovey) so the intended marriage between Valère and the Miser’s daughter, Élise (a sweet but none-too-bright Harriet Gordon-Anderson), is very modern indeed, but no one blinks an eye and the show

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Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Photo: Daniel Boud.

glides over this and on. Meanwhile, Cléante (a manic Damien Strouthos), the Miser’s son, wants to elope with Marianne (Elizabeth Nabben), but there’s only one money -lender in town. Cléante’s servant La Flèche (Sean O’Shea) milks laughter from his every appearance - but brings a kind of foppish dignity to Signor Anselm, the gentleman ex machina necessary to resolve the plot. Mr O’Shea and Michelle Doake, as Frosine, the lascivious matchmaker, come close to stealing the show. Jamie Oxenbould, with white poker face like a silent movie stooge, is Master Jacques, Harpagon’s ineptly ambitious coachman and cook. But it is John Bell, as the eponymous Miser, who dominates the stage - conveying an aged, slit-eyed mean decrepitude hilariously vitalised by greed and lust. True to the traditions of farce, designer Anna Tregloan provides a row of doors for entrances, exits and a great deal of noisy slamming. Her costumes are arbitrary but suggestive - for instance, Cléante’s brocaded coat, green wig and bare feet - or, by contrast, Valère’s prim, plain blouse and skirt. Matt Cox’s lighting only momentarily dims and isolates old Harpagon - reminding us there is a serious undertone to all this frenetic frivolity. Peter Evans makes the show a success: it moves at a breathless clip in which the energy never flags, in which the cast’s commitment to their cartoonish characters is total and their comic timing impeccable. Michael Brindley

When The Rain Stops Falling By Andrew Bovell. WAAPA’s Third Year Acting Students. Directed by Peggy Shannon. The Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. May 3 - 9. ANDREW Bovell’s intricate and poignant crossgenerational family drama is presented by WAAPA’s Third Year Acting students, and designed, built and crewed by WAAPA Production and Design students. It’s a wonderful showcase of talent, with beautiful handling of sensitive material in an expertly crafted presentation of this sad and disturbing, yet ultimately uplifting play. The show opens to “real rain” on designer Danielle Chiltern’s thoughtful multi-locale set, aided with excellent effects from Lighting Designer Dillan Kuiper and Sound Designer Cassius Marshall. Riley Tapp’s costume design helps to tell a story of both time and character with seemingly simple, but clearly very carefully selected, choices. Lachlan Stevenson gives an excellent portrayal of Henry Law, a man capable of dreadful things, whom the audience come to regret liking. Saskia Archer brings great depth to his intelligent young wife Elizabeth, while Camilla Ponte-Álvarez is moving as the seemingly distant and broken older version of this character. Alexander Dilley is a likeable and believable Gabriel Law, whose loss we feel deeply. Jessica Veitch is charming as country girl Gabrielle York, with Lucinda Howes giving wonderful layers to the demented and confused older

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Gabrielle. Justin Bell gives gravity to the role of Joe Ryan, Gabrielle’s husband, who lived in the shadow of her lost love. Kyle Barrett, whose scenes bookend the show, is impressive as Gabriel Law, delivering a stunning monologue, and Jonathan Lagudi’s last minute appearance as Andrew Price is very well rounded. Thoughtful and clean direction from Peggy Shannon allowed these young performers to fly. Kimberley Shaw

asylum patients in a show - a big challenge when bipolar Roy (Robert Menzies), insists on Mozart and Da Ponte’s Così fan tutte. Mr Menzies is terrific as Roy, desperate would-be thespian, aggressive, acerbic and yet achingly sad - but funny. Katherine Tonkin gives a great slow-burn performance as OCD patient Ruth. Glen Hazeldine’s silent Henry comes into his own in the second half. Rahel Romahn is a delight as sex-obsessed pyromaniac Doug, and Bessie Holland as Cherry (with her eating disorder) gives the show the oomph it sometimes needs. Esther Hannaford is Lewis’ boringly politically correct girlfriend, Cluedo! The Interactive Game and doubles as drug addict patient Julie. Director Sarah Written by Xanthe Jones. Game designed by Ben Lynsky. Goodes yet again demonstrates her talent for physical and Directors: Xanthe Jones and Ben Lynsky. Music directed by character comedy. Jye Burton. Brisbane Immersive Ensemble. Apr 17 - May 25. Ms Goodes and designer Dale Ferguson opt to use the IT’S Australia in 1936, and you’re invited to a superb entire Sumner stage which can keep the characters party. Champagne is flowing, a jazz band is swinging, somewhat remote, but Jonathan Oxlade’s costumes are just right for character and the 1971 setting. and everyone is having a blast. What could possibly go wrong? It’s the time of the Vietnam moratorium You’re submerged in a carefully curated world with demonstrations and Lewis’ girlfriend Lucy and his mate familiar characters: Colonel Mustard (Zane C Weber), Zac (Gabriel Fancourt) are dismissive of Lewis’ endeavours, Professor Plum (Joel O’Brien), Madame Peacock (Elizabeth but politics and Lewis’ personal growth here take second Best), Mrs White (Jessica Kate Ryan), Reverend Green place as he becomes an enabler for his cast of mental (Tristen Teller), and Miss Scarlett (Geena Schwartz). It’s a patients. The clumsy exuberance of their uninhibited final combination of scripted and improvised entertainment performance is so well done that the continuation into wrap-up and resolution that follows is rendered with which you can interact. During part two of the evening, guests are split into unnecessary. groups to investigate the murder. It’s impossible to see Michael Brindley and hear everything, as the action takes place around seven rooms. Cinderella The cast are adept at the scripted sections, with some By Matthew Whittet. Myths Made Here. Cremorne stronger than others at improvisation. Best acting comes Theatre, QPAC. Apr 26 - May 5. from Colin Smith in the role of host, Doctor Black. CINDERELLA is a sharp debut by Myths Made Here, a Professor Plum (Joel O’Brien) and Reverend Green (Tristen fresh Queensland-based creative collective. Teller) also show excellent focus and characterisation. The Daniel Evans directs this short two-hander deftly, and best female improviser is Elizabeth Best as Madame the result is a highly entertaining piece. Amy Ingram and Peacock. Geena Schwartz as Miss Scarlett provides some Thomas Larkin are warm and engaging, playing two lovely realism in the improvised interrogations. stressed-out singletons with likeable ease. You simply fall The live band is outstanding however you do in love with Ingram’s Ashley - she is pretty and perky, but sometimes struggle to hear the actors. The sets are forever keeping her ever-anxious personality under wraps. amazing. Every room is beautifully realised. The She moves effortlessly from bubbly and funny to sad and costuming by Kaylee Gannaway is superb. lonely - the woman longing to believe in the pop-song Cluedo! The Interactive Game is a singular experience fantasies but wanting to just be accepted for being herself offering great value for the ticket price. It’s a lot of fun for - love of 80s pop, pet cat, herbal tea collection, and all. those who enjoy solving puzzles and especially enjoyable Larkin has the challenge of realistically portraying a if you’re willing to get into the spirit and dress up in charming chap with his heart in the right place. He 1930’s formal wear. succeeds with a fine performance that balances the Kiesten McCauley gormless with a natural comic appeal. Who wouldn’t want their evening saved by his timely appearance? Cosi With witty use of Hall and Oates 80s pop classics, the By Louis Nowra. Melbourne Theatre Company. Southbank action starts with a panic attack at a nightclub. A blind Theatre, The Sumner. Apr 30 - Jun 8. date - of sorts - ensues. Sparse but effective set and POSSIBLY politically incorrect, this 1992 play is very lighting designs cleverly reinforce the themes of funny. We care about a group of mental patients without separation and isolation. There is a returned missing shoe any pussy-footing sentimentality. And it has heart: a and impending midnight chimes - it’s Cinderella, but not group of misfits overcome their disabilities and come as we know it - a date-night modern fractured fairytale. together to make something. The cast maximise the comic potential of the quirky script, Lewis (Sean Keenan), a naïve uni graduate, is hired by yet something doesn’t quite ring true - if this is a ‘dream social worker Justin (George Zhao) to direct mental date’, then some of the dialogue could be more fantasy 98 Stage Whispers

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and less flat. There is an opportunity to say more about the harsh realities of being ‘desperate and dateless’. Even so, the two performers keep the spark alive, and let us hope for a happy ending. Beth Keehn

The show runs at a leisurely pace, with cast members often a little slow to pick up cues. Despite this, teamwork is strong, and their dedication is palpable. Best acting in the cast is delivered by Penny Murphy as May Trickett. May is also the most well rounded of the characters in Toksvig’s script. Penny does a great job of bringing realism to the character. Julie Moran is very entertaining Four Dogs And A Bone By John Patrick Shanley. Q44 Theatre Company. as the more flamboyant character of Gloria. She attacks Abbotsford Convent (Vic). May 9 - 26. the alpha female role with gusto. While younger people may enjoy this show, Silver THE ‘bone’ in question is a low-budget Hollywood movie. The ‘dogs’ are four very self-interested parties: Linings is definitely made for the 60+ age group. It has a fading lead actress, Collette (Tania Knight), who knows little language and adult themes, but nothing that will this movie could be her last chance to save her career; the raise an eyebrow on the generation that were once beset producer, Bradley (Kostas Ilias) who doesn’t like hippies and punk rockers. Collette’s performance but the ‘weak’ director is, Kiesten McCauley unfortunately, his best friend; the ambitious ingenue Brenda (Xanthe Gunner) who is simply ruthlessly Romeo And Juliet ambitious underneath her naff New Age routines; and the By William Shakespeare. Directed by Todd MacDonald. La ‘sensitive’ writer, Victor (William Atkinson) trying to Boite and QUT Creative Industries. Roundhouse Theatre. protect his (autobiographical) script, is prey to all of them. May 25 - Jun 5. Director Gabriella Rose-Carter says in her program note THIS is a visually stunning piece of art. Todd that she was drawn to this satire by her fear of how real it MacDonald shows directorial brilliance and wonderful use is - and it’s real enough. But in this 1993 satire, there’s of the Roundhouse. His vision and concepts are supported not much story: it’s a situation in which John Patrick by outstanding set design by Anthony Spinaze. Shanley takes revenge on Hollywood, casting a caustic eye The choice to use modern garb and music enhances on the sort of people who ripped him off and ruined his the relatability for the audience, yet you still feel this tale script. But if the characters care about this movie, but we is not of our time. Although the script’s cut, there’s a lot aren’t invited to, so we don’t - and nor do we care about of respect given to Shakespeare’s text. these characters. The text mixes ‘satire’ and attempts at Grady Ferricks-Rosevear (Mercutio) is physically exciting depth, but the characters are types. Ms Rose-Carter to watch. He has amazing acrobatic skill and is especially stresses the importance of the dialogue, but her cast emotionally moving. Romeo (Jack Bannister) does leave keeps gliding over snappy, punchy lines or past them at one somewhat wanting for a more convincing, speed - and the characters rarely seem to be talking to emotionally motivated performance. Darcy Gooda plays each other. the part of Juliet as a jazz musician plays a trumpet. She It’s a brave decision for Q44 to mount this difficult delivers lovely, unexpected notes that still make sense. play, but they have a penchant for mounting difficult Kerith Atkinson (Capulet) and Colin Smith (Montague/ plays and usually the results are excellent. Apothecary) are brilliantly adept at emotionally Michael Brindley interpreting the text. Eugene Gilfedder’s (Friar Laurence) perfectly paced, clearly enunciated dialogue and Silver Lining outstanding focus make him captivating. Bridget Boyle By Sandi Toksvig. Centenary Theatre Group. Directed by (Nurse/ Prince) is arguably the star of the show. The Brian Hinselwood. Chelmer Community Centre. May 11 - audience loves everything she does. She brings so much Jun 1. comedy, warmth and nurturing to the Nurse role, A GROUP of senior women in a care facility are trapped by rising floodwaters. All hopes for rescue seem dashed, when help appears in the form of a young woman called Hope. In preparing to evacuate, the women fight off a looter, challenge one another’s beliefs and reveal some of their darkest regrets. Many of the characters are somewhat stereotypical. The easily recognisable characters heighten the audience’s enjoyment of the farce. The viewpoints and life experiences emerging in the show appear relatable to the mostly senior crowd of community theatre supporters. The one-room-set by Rhyll Bucknell and Tristan Holland is well realised. Direction by Brian Hinselwood Get noticed on the Stage Whispers makes best use of the space and the cast’s abilities. website with a premium listing Lighting is best during the lightning.

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contrasted with the command and poise in the role of Prince. Anna Whitaker’s sound design is cinematic. Nigel Poulton’s fight direction is part dance, part stage fight. It’s thrilling to watch, as too are the dance sequences. It’s always a challenge to bring something new and interesting to Shakespeare’s work. This production succeeds in delivering an artistically gorgeous, visually memorable and truly romantic interpretation. Kiesten McCauley Don Juan In Soho By Patrick Marber. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild Inc. Little Theatre, The Cloisters. May 11 - 26. IN the ‘Me Too’ era, Director Megan Dansie is courageous and provocative in presenting Patrick Marber’s Don Juan in Soho. Updated in 2017, this play is more than a comedy. Set in modern day Soho in London, it pointedly flaunts modern hedonism by confronting the audience with a gentrified “twit” who lives his life unashamedly for his own pleasure. Based on Moliere’s highly controversial 1665 play, the script is acerbic, witty and biting, skillfully weaving pathos and comedy. It brings together a very unlikable lead character with ‘puppets of his pleasure’, and a disenfranchised male servant, Stan, played by Matt Houston. The raunchy text is full of coarse language, with suggestions and simulations of sex. The star of the show is undoubtedly Houston. He has skilled comedic style, excellent timing and uses his physicality well. He elicits pathos and invites the audience to laugh at the genuinely funny. He is the only character that the audience can like and empathise with. Seasoned actor Peter Davies, as Don Juan, has his finest moments with a poignant soliloquy at the end of the play, “looking death in the face”. He heaps scorn on modern society and is totally unapologetic for his life and actions. This play has divided critics and audiences overseas, and is likely to do so here. This beautifully written script, full of nuance and modern day relevance, deserves to be seen and debated. The message is universal and full of portent for us all. Jude Hines A View From The Bridge By Arthur Miller. Director: Chris McLean. Heidelberg Theatre Company. May 3 - 18. EDDIE Carbone (Mark Tregonning) is a down-to-Earth wharfie working hard on the New York docks to provide for his family. He is dedicated to his wife Beatrice (Catherine Christensen) and her niece Catherine (Ruby Duncan), whom he has raised as his own daughter. The idea of aiding relatives from their home country is portrayed as a genuinely altruistic act which is indicative of the kindness and compassion that the family shows towards each other and their community. Tregonning expertly captures Eddie’s good nature and natural charm, which makes his angry outbursts and 100 Stage Whispers

refusal to accept the romance that blossoms between Catherine and Rodolpho (Jack Kenny) difficult to fathom. This situation draws out the darker side of his character and slowly transforms him into a menacing and unpredictable persona. Christensen is outstanding as Beatrice. She adds an element of martyrdom to the role which makes her position particularly poignant. Duncan is able to convey the naivety and innocence of Catherine, but she is also able to transform this into decisive rebellion. The striking stage design is particularly evocative. It effectively locates the story as well as highlighting the grandeur and scale of this gripping drama. An insightful production that offers an array of fine performances. Patricia Di Risio Boy Out of the Country By Felix Nobis. Company of Rogues. Bondi Pavilion. Directed by Erica Lovell. May 9 - 25. THIS production has an intriguing credit for an Olfactory Designer, which I learnt afterwards was for an essence of eucalyptus that was lightly sprayed on the audience as they entered the theatre. Whilst the scent wasn’t quite strong enough to register with me, other senses were aroused during the performance. Boy Out of the Country is a soap opera set to vernacular verse in country Australia. Two brothers, Hunter (Tom Harwood) and Gordon (Jason Glover), are reunited after one has spent time in prison, to duel over inheritance, care for their mother and past relationships. Mixed into bitter disputes were delightful flashbacks to their youthful pranks and misadventures. At one point they accidentally became glued together, but symbolically are left with each other’s skin on them, when they are painfully torn apart. The female characters provide welcome warmth to the production - first Amelia Robertson-Cunninghame as the spouse of one brother (Rachel), then Jeannie Gee as the matriarch of the family (Margaret), who steals the show when she recalls a past romance. Stan Kouros makes a welcome return to the stage as the local Police Officer, Walker. The drama moves efficiently from a police station, to a family home, to a nursing home, to outside in the bush, aided by a simple but clever moving set and nice sound effects which meant you could almost smell the country town (or maybe the subliminal eucalyptus was working). An entertaining and gripping night in the theatre. David Spicer Pygmalion By George Bernard Shaw. New Theatre, Newtown, NSW. Apr 23 - May 25. DEBORAH Mullhall’s decision to use a Steampunk theme for this production works surprisingly well. That 1980s fashion, mixing Edwardian costumes with the symbolic cogs and goggles of the industrial revolution, pushes Bernard Shaw’s characters into a more

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Pygmalion. Photo: Bob Seary.

contemporary age - highlighting the fact that the themes he wrote about in 1912 haven’t changed greatly. The world is still classist and judgemental. There is still inequality. Chauvinism still abounds. The minimalist set - a white ‘railway line’ bookshelf curving around the stage and a metal stairway, designed by Tom Bannerman - establishes the ‘industrial’ aspect theme, yet accentuates the elaborate detail and slinky chains of the Steampunk costumes. The action is tightly focused. The characters are finely developed. The dialogue is sharp and clear, pushing the pace of the production in line with the theme. Steve Corner and Emma Wright as Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle parry delightfully, he haughtily espousing his triumphs, she deflecting his opinionated arrogance with righteous indignation. Both wear their characters and their costumes confidently and decisively, breathing freshness and vitality into roles created 106 years ago! Mulhall recreates Colonel Pickering (Shan-ReeTan) and Mrs Pearce (Natasha McDonald) as younger, more ‘with it’ characters - keeping the tone of the play more ‘edgy’. This production of Shaw’s classic, nudged into a more futuristic time slot, sustains the elegance of the language and the characters, and the messages they convey. Carol Wimmer

Wondered By Elodie Boal. Mira Ball Productions and Trent Sellars. Anywhere Theatre Festival, Brisbane. The Sideshow. May 10 - 17. THE Mad Hatter’s tea party gets a gothic horror twist in the delightfully dark Wondered. This creatively twisted tale is certainly no children’s story. The Mad Hatter is more like a psychotic hatter, putting Alice, the Cheshire Cat and the Tweedles in terribly hot tea indeed. The set design is chaotic and creative, with little nods to Lewis Carroll’s original tales among the trinkets and tea things. Costuming for Alice, the Hatter, and Dee and Dum is true to the familiar characters, but with a gothic flavour. The only character that’s a challenge to identify is Ches - the Cheshire Cat (Lindi Milbourne) - who neither looks, nor particularly acts cat-like. Alice (Elodie Boal) is suitably saccharin and wide-eyed. Reagan Warner’s Hatter snaps between Victorian era gentleman and screaming psycho. He makes great use of levels and delivers some nicely unexpected physicality. Dee (Gary Farmer-Trickett) and Dum (Trent Sellars) show great teamwork and commitment to character, relishing their roles with a palpable joy and professional technique. The whole tale appears to be a clever metaphor for the experiences of a passionate writer/producer/director, with

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the Hatter representing that person. His journey mirrors that of an isolated, visionary auteur. If you’re the sort of person who likes Poe’s The Raven more than Shelley’s To a Skylark, then Wondered is likely to be your delicious cup of tea. Kiesten McCauley

The opening scene has two women entering a bar and individually making similar comments about the meetings they are about to have. The two men behave likewise. Leaving as couples, each pair voice largely identical remarks as they stand on either side of a double bed. But it becomes clear that they are actually meeting well apart and their different reactions bring out their very different Highway Of Lost Hearts feelings. By Mary Anne Butler. Directed by Kat Dekker. Minola The relationships between these four people take up Theatre. The Amphitheatre at Seven Hills Hub. May 9 - 18. the play’s first half. In the second half other characters A WOMAN trying to heal her heartbreak travels appear, seemingly well distant of those initially seen. But thousands of kilometres through the Australian outback. as the story progresses, some things mentioned earlier on assume greater meaning and there are increasing links In true ‘road movie’ fashion, her physical journey also comes with a journey of self-discovery. between the people. Highway of Lost Hearts is presented by Minola Theatre Ken Longworth as part of the 2019 Anywhere Theatre Festival. The writing by Mary Anne Butler is poetic, relatable and heart- X-Stacy warming. By Margery Forde. Moreton Bay Theatre Company. Director: Elodie Boal. Neverland Theatre. May 24 - Jun 2. Director Kat Dekker is making creative and effective use of an outdoor amphitheatre space. An added DIRECTOR Elodie Boal has a well-formulated vision for this production. Boal creates an immersive environment, challenge for this production - it’s also right under a using the entire space, including placing a ‘bouncer’ on major flight path. The one woman cast member, Bianca Butler Reynolds, doesn’t let the aeroplanes interrupt her. the front door and giving everyone glow sticks as they enter. Acting is believable and Bianca shows great physical skill and technique. She projects her voice very well above Lighting Design by Bruce Noy makes you feel like you the jet engines without losing emotional impact. Her are at a rave. The strip lights that make up the crystal in the night club and the crucifix in the church perfectly interpretation of the dog character is a delight. The simplicity of the suitcase as the one prop is a lovely support the play’s allegorical themes. Sound Designer Mal Boal deserves great praise. The idea and extremely versatile. The many levels of the amphitheatre are well used, most notably in the ascension soundscape is amazingly well thought out and music is scene. completely on point. The sound effects enhance your understanding of the ecstasy drug culture and the Sound design by Calvin Barker is unobtrusive and supportive of the narrative. Calvin’s lighting design makes characters’ experiences. resourceful use of a limited selection of states; doing Set Designer Tom Antonio finds some clever solutions to the play’s scene changes. There’s a good balance especially well at capturing the searing heat of the outback. between simple and effective and an eye for little details that tell a big story. The strength of this show is the cast and crew’s Alison Telfer-McDonald delivers a stand-out dedication to the narrative. The storytelling is captivating, with an unmistakable Australian flavour, making Highway performance as Anne. She’s very believable in the role of of Lost Hearts a lovely way to spend an evening under the Ben and Stacy’s mother and shows a calm control where others may have indulged in melodramatic histrionics. Southern Cross. Katie Clarke brings a nice energy to the role of Zoe. Kiesten McCauley There’s a natural rapport between Ben (Connor Hawkins) and Stacy (Ruby Sanders), while more could be done to Speaking In Tongues By Andrew Bovell. Maitland Repertory Theatre. May 1 - 19. build chemistry between Fergus (Arun Clarke) and Jenna (Ebony Hamacek). AUSTRALIAN playwright Andrew Bovell’s Speaking in This production forces you to look at the human cost Tongues is very demanding of its acting and staging of treating young people’s drug use as a criminal issue. It team, with four actors - two male and two female reminds us that humans have always searched for a way playing nine characters and moving around in time and place so that watchers come to see the relationships and to reach a state of ecstasy. Kiesten McCauley interactions of people who initially seem to have no connections. Shadowlands But performers Maddy Clare Lardner, Faiz Khan, By William Nicholson. Director: Helen Ekundayo. Villanova Brittany Writer and Daniel Stranger, and co-directors Brendon Harris and Jacob Agius, engagingly brought out Players. The Ron Hurley Theatre. Jun 8 - 23. THIS philosophical work covers a short span in the life the diverse natures of the people and the pressures placed of author and theologian C.S. Lewis. Set in 1950s Oxford, on them, with many of the situations having a dark we see the conservative Christian Lewis’ unlikely romance humour. 102 Stage Whispers

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with an American Jewish divorcee and fellow writer, Joy Davidman. The unexpected, blossoming romance and Joy’s failing health become impetus for the author to question his faith, change his views on marriage, consider the purpose of suffering, and the existence of an afterlife. Pacing is slow, with ample use of long pauses during which you can contemplate the themes. It appears the pausing is in part due to actors still working to remember lines and skilfully hiding their memory lapses with thoughtful facial expressions and meaningful glances. Garry Condoseres as C.S. ‘Jack’ Lewis has the lion’s share of dialogue. He’s thoughtful in his portrayal and believable as a straitlaced academic. Lucy Moxon retains the American accent throughout her depiction of Joy Davidman. Her emotional interpretation throughout Joy’s fight with bone cancer is touching. Supporting cast all show commitment and focus in their roles. Direction by Helen Ekundayo is well thought-out. Lucy Moxon’s set and props are beautifully realised. There’s a keen attention to detail in capturing the style of the era. Lighting design by Rod Thompson is particularly effective during the scene in which Lewis discusses his partner’s deteriorating health with his closest friends. Shadowlands is fascinating for anyone asking themselves the big questions or for fans of Lewis’ works. Kiesten McCauley Don’t Dress For Dinner By Marc Camoletti. Tugun Theatre Co, Gold Coast. Director: Rianna Hartney-Smith. May 9 - 25. WHAT a laugh! What a hoot! What a play! Tugun’s Don’t Dress for Dinner is a wonderful mix of humour, great performances and good direction. Written by Marc Camoletti (he also wrote Boeing, Boeing), it is brim-full of comedy and slapstick, reminiscent of the good old days of farce. The scene is a refurbished barn conversion, two hours from Paris, with workable barn doors that seemed to be mastered by everyone except the home owner! In only her third direction, Rianna has assembled a splendid cast of Bernard, Lachlan Mitcherson; Jacqueline, Chantel Elyse; Robert, Brock Honnery; Suzette, Jay-Louise Clark; Suzanne, Kate Paraskevos and Goerge, Chris Hawkins, who milk the script for humour whenever possible and they all do it with flair. Brock - playing Robert - has recently finished Year 12, yet he handled some very wordy explanations to the numerous delicate situations unfalteringly, as though he had been doing it all his life and Jay-Louise (Suzette) was marvellous in her change of accents and physicality, with the everincreasing portrayals of the numerous characters thrust upon her. All in all, a fabulous piece of theatre. Roger McKenzie

Reviews: Musicals Victor Victoria Book by Blake Edwards. Music by Henry Mancini. Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Director: Julie Smith. Beenleigh Theatre Group (Qld). Apr 26 - May 11. THIS is an enthusiastically realised version of Blake Edwards’ gender bending musical comedy. A lot effort has gone into pre-production and rehearsal. The set design by Andrew Alley is impressive. Costumes by Alyson Dean are excellent. Opening night sees a few nerves from the actors. Most outstanding acting is delivered by David Austin as Carroll ‘Toddy’ Todd, who shows lovely physicality and warmth. Isabel Kraemer is hilarious as Norma Cassidy; her characterisation is strong. Best singing is performed by Jane Rapley in the demanding role of Victoria Grant. Her range and skills are very impressive, she just needs to relax and trust herself more when acting. Some of the singers and brass hit flat notes throughout the show, but you forgive that sort of thing in community theatre. Julie Smith has done well to direct the cast and crew. Blocking is well executed. Scene changes are tight. There’s a clear vision behind the production that everyone is doing their best to realise. Lighting is most effective when using the scrim downstage in combination with gobos. Sound engineering is also notable, especially considering all of the headset microphones in use. Choreography by Lynette Wockner is at its best in Le Jazz Hot. Victor Victoria delivers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. There are some lovely, realistic scenes among the humour and plenty of song and dance numbers that keep the entertainment flowing. Kiesten McCauley Les Misérables Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text by Alain Boublil and JeanMarc Natel. Director: Rod Herbert. Musical Director: Anthony Cutrupi. Choreographer: Sarah Friedrich. Manly Musical Society. Glen Street Theatre. Apr 19 - 27. TEN years ago Les Mis was given a re-tread designed to appeal to a generation brought up on Marvel movies and the Fast & Furious franchise. This pro-revival toured Australia in 2015. It is this version that director Rod Herbert recreates on the Glen Street stage. This tribute to the pro-revival is not surprising when you consider the director’s son played Gavroche in that production. There’s one major difference (with no disrespect to the director’s son): Manly had the better cast

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Ladies In Black. Photo: Kenn Santos.

Marcus James Hurley as Jean Valjean fits the role like a glove. He is equally matched by Joshua Rogers as Javert. Elizabeth Cornwall as Eponine will have you in tears. Reece Lyndon channels Heath Ledger as Enjolras. Isabelle Kohout makes Cosette more than a token love interest. Harrison James does a really good Gavroche. It wasn’t made clear who played Young Cosette and Young Eponine, but whoever those girls were they also deserve kudos. Garth Saville and Sally Redman stole the show for me as the Thenardiers. But wow! That Chorus! Every one of them delivered vocal and stage magic. You could have done away with the set and just have the Chorus alone. Two things concerned me: some of the orchestra weren’t always in tune and some cues were missed, and there was overtly simulated sex during “Lovely Ladies”, which distracted from what was happening to Fantine. A production worthy of storming the barricades to see. Peter Novakovich Ladies In Black Book by Carolyn Burns. Music and Lyrics by Tim Finn. Ipswich Musical Theatre Company. Apr 26 - May 5. WITH a completely sold-out season, the Queensland amateur premiere of Ladies in Black is in very safe hands. Confidently directed by Tammy Sarah Linde, with Music Direction by Matthew Semple, this is an energetic and enthusiastic production. Ladies in Black is a demanding piece, with a large cast needed to tell Madeline St John’s 104 Stage Whispers

romantic comedy, set among the frocks in a Sydney department store in the 1950s. It requires finesse from its performers and accomplished singing skills. As the lead character, Lisa, Bailee Scott shines bright, drawing us into her gentle coming-of-age story. As the two struggling Aussie girls, Harriet Jackson (Fay) and Lauren Roche (Patty) are absolutely delightful as they navigate the minefield of Aussie male deficiencies and female frustrations. Tristan Foon’s hapless Frank is surely going to have difficulty handling women’s lib! More confident of surviving the sexual revolution is Phillip Fitzjohn’s Rudi, with a creamy tenor voice to match his suave persona. As the warm Hungarian immigrants, Danika Saal (Magda) and Chris Kellett (Stefan) are welcoming and secure themselves as the heart of the piece. As Mrs Miles, Krystie French conveys the sadness at her own wasted potential and her determination for her daughter’s future. The Goodes Department Store supporting cast are strong, with memorable performances by Elyse Rea, Miriam Slattery, EJ Campbell and Alex Andujar. The main challenge for community theatre groups will be the mixed bag of tunes by Tim Finn, flitting from the comic and quirky ‘He’s a Bastard’ to the joyful ‘On a Summer Afternoon’. However, the energy and pace of this cast does not falter. With a combined background in theatre training and experience, you won’t see a better so -called ‘amateur’ cast. Beth Keehn

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Catch Me If You Can Book: Terrence McNally. Music and Lyrics: Marc Shaiman and Lyrics: Scott Wittman. Spotlight Theatre, Benowa, Gold Coast. Director / Choreographer: Clay English. May 17 - Jun 8. THIS musical version of the popular movie is based on an incredibly true story and follows the exploits of teenage rebel turned con-man on his journey, passing himself off as a pilot, a doctor and lawyer and briefly as an FBI agent. As the wily Frank Abignale Jnr (an expert at forging identities and passing dud cheques), Jack Harbour leads FBI agent Carl Hanratty, played by Chris Catherwood, on a merry chase around the USA and beyond; always managing to keep one step ahead until he falls in love and decides to get married which leads to his downfall. Harbour and Catherwood work well together and with a strong supporting cast bring Director Clay English’s vision to life. The minor principals feature many of Spotlight’s regulars including Russell White, Dana White, Ann McMahon and Nigel Tolsten. The production is slick: with 3 revolving stages and a chorus of leggy dancers (used to advantage) and ably supported by an ‘on stage’ band led by Musical Director Shari Ward. An entertaining piece of Musical Theatre. Roger McKenzie Sweet Charity Book by Neil Simon. Music by Cy Coleman. Lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Willoughby Theatre Company. Concourse Theatre, Chatswood. May 24 - Jun 2. THE large, energetic and talented cast of Willoughby Theatre Company’s visually spectacular Sweet Charity did the script and score true justice in their superb storytelling, song and dance. The stage was full of colour thanks to the brilliant lighting design / operation of James Wallis and Matthew Lutz. Simon Greer’s sets worked a treat, as did eyepopping creations from Joy Sweeney and her costume team, from the hippy gear in “The Rhythm of Life”, to the sophisticated society outfits in the Fosse dance routine “Rich Man’s Frug”. Sweet Charity relies on an outstanding triple threat in the title role. Amy Curtin played Charity exceptionally, displaying the requisite vulnerability, on top of her splendid vocal and dance skills. Kathryn Harradine and Taryn-Lea Bright played Charity’s Fandango Ballroom friends, Nickie and Helene, with great comic timing, dancing up a storm in “There’s gotta be something better”. The leading male roles - film star Vittorio, and Oscar, Charity’s boyfriend - aren’t as strong as the women, but both were well acted. Matt Hourigan as Vittorio sustained the Italian accent throughout, receiving rousing applause for “Too Many Tomorrows”. Jack Westbury-Driscoll’s Oscar had good chemistry with Curtin, although perhaps overacting in moments. Dylan Hayley stood out in the smaller role of Vittorio’s passionate lover Ursula.

The production team of Janina Hamerlok, Harrison Collins and Melissa Ayers have collaborated brilliantly to bring their vision to the stage. Large ensemble numbers delighted, painting wonderful onstage pictures. Collins’ orchestra really brought the whole theatre to life, well synced with the sound. Ayer’s choreography would have pleased Bob Fosse. James Russell Sweeney Todd Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler. Directed by Theresa Borg. Darling Harbour Theatre, Sydney. Jun 13 - 16. SWEENEY Todd has been re-imagined by Director Theresa Borg as a costumed work with a 24-piece orchestra sharing the wide stage with a full range of actor/singers. The actors enter and exit effectively through the orchestra lead by glamorously attired Vanessa Scammell. It’s something to see. Anthony Warlow, Australia’s greatest baritone performer, leads the cast with his dour, frightening Sweeney, a man who’s been reduced to a chilling outline of humanity. Gina Riley is not as dour as some I have seen as the selfish Mrs Lovett, but she delivers the goods. Her teaming with Warlow is a joy. Debra Byrne is excellent as the two-faced Beggar Woman who holds the key to Sweeney’s story; Daniel Sumegi is the horrid Judge Turpin who rules the roost but who gets it in the end; Owen McCredie and Genevieve Kingsford are the two lovebirds, he ready for anything as long as his Johanna is around, she heading fast towards personal disaster. The show’s arrival on Broadway in 1979, 40 years ago, is living proof of the effective brilliance of Sondheim as both composer and lyricist. The words just dance. Frank Hatherley The Addams Family - A New Musical By Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The South Coast Choral and Arts Society (SA). Victor Harbor Town Hall. May 4 - 18. THE Addams Family - A New Musical is extremely popular with audiences, because at its heart it is about ‘family love’. Wednesday Addams, the dark and melancholic daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams, loves a relatively ‘normal’ young man, Lucas. They plan to elope, and it is this journey of ‘love’ that is the story of this delightful musical. Directed by Jonathan Ogilivie, with Emma Muhlack and Tim Wormald (Musical Directors), the South Coast Choral and Arts Society’s production was absolutely wonderful. This creative team cleverly integrated the Chorus as the story-teller and it made the production a stand-out. The leads were terrific, in particular Greg Eden (Gomez), Georgia Martin (Morticia), Jon McKay (Uncle Fester), Bill Reddin (Lurch), and Megan Davidson (Wednesday). I also loved Emma Lynn as Alice Beineke,

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High School Musical Jr.

Lucas’ mother, who has a penchant for speaking in rhymes - hilarious! The stand-out song was Morticia’s sardonic “Death is Just Around the Corner”, climaxing with Morticia and the Chorus doing a fabulous ‘kick-line’ that had the audience cheering. Georgia Martin was wonderful as Morticia as was Greg Eden as Gomez. In the final ‘tango’ number Morticia must reveal her legs. Her tight fitting dress must open so that she can ‘tango’ with Gomez. Full praise to costume designer Millie Doherty for going against the easy but noisy ‘velcro’ convention and getting a silent ‘zipper’ to actually work. Wonderful! This production was full of creepy fun, performed with great commitment and skill by the entire ensemble. Tony Knight

Chemistry between the lead performers was in ample supply. Gemma Dandie was delightful as new student Gabriella. For the most part her vocals were strong and given her tender years, she will only improve. Leading man Nathan Stafford brought life and charisma to his portrayal of high school jock, Troy. His vocals were strong and his stage presence was undeniable. Sharpay (Caley Watt) was irritatingly obnoxious, and along with her ‘bestie’ Ryan (Oscar Bridges) produced some fantastic comic moments. Kiara Linke was brilliant in her portrayal of the uptight Ms Darbus, commanding attention whenever on stage. Well-rounded performances were also offered by Ryan Vandermyle (Chad), Holly Abbott. (Kelsi), Justin Maddern (Zeke) and Joel Pathius (Coach Bolton). A big shout out to the ensemble, who filled the stage with polished performances and infectious energy. High School Musical Jr. Backed by musical director Jesse Buddel and his skilled Book by David Simpatico. Adelaide Youth Theatre. Apr 26 musicians, this was a well-rounded production. - 28. Kerry Cooper IT’S a good sign when you don’t want a performance to end, a feeling I experienced at Adelaide Youth Theatre’s Annie High School Musical Jnr. Music: Charles Strouse. Lyrics: Martin Charnin. Book: From the opening number there was an explosion of Thomas Meehan. Queensland Musical Theatre. vibrant energy. Direction by Thomas Phillips and assistant Queensland Musical Theatre, Schonell Theatre, St Lucia, Jun 5-9 director Matthew Monti was flawless. Attention to characterisation made this musical stand KIDS, a dog, and toe-tapping songs - what more can out, while Rosanna Commisso’s choreography was you ask of a musical? Annie ticks all the right boxes and creative and contemporary for a show jam-packed with this production by Deian Ping did it proud. high energy musical numbers. 106 Stage Whispers

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The chorus of kids were great, Jade Kelly as Annie had the voice of a pro and belted her songs to the rafters, and you couldn’t wish for a kinder and more solidly appealing Daddy Warbucks as played by Nathaniel Currie. They were the heart and soul of the show. Kelly was note perfect as the red-haired moppet, sang “Tomorrow” with conviction, and brought some sparkle to “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here”. Currie as Warbucks was not so much curmudgeonly as stern with a warm attitude. He brought feeling to “Something Was Missing” and also got to sing “Why Should I Change a Thing”, a song written for Anthony Warlow for the 2000 Australian production. Lisa Mellor was blowsy and vulgar as the hard-hearted Miss Hannigan, whilst Darcy Rhodes and Ellen Axford brought OTT life to the scheming rogues Rooster and Lily. All three easily filled the stage in a stylish routine by Julianne Burke for “Easy Street”. Abby Page was a super Grace, singing and moving well, especially in N.Y.C, whilst Neil Ballment scored kudos as the wheelchair-bound President Roosevelt. Trenton Dunstan’s band was the best I’ve ever heard for a QMT production. Peter Pinne Barnum, The Circus Musical Music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Michael Stewart and book by Mark Bramble. StoreyBoard Entertainment. Director: Tyran Parke. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. Opening Night May 2. BARNUM showcases the depth and breadth of talent in the Australian theatrical scene, featuring outstanding performers who provide astonishing and captivating performances. Todd McKenney plays P.T. Barnum with unabashed enthusiasm. His ability to be responsive to the audience is one of the many delightful ways he exhibits his exuberance. Rachel Beck as Charity Barnum manages to be both stern and compassionate, bringing some complexity to the character. Suzie Mathers does indeed have a voice like a nightingale and is perfectly cast as Jenny Lind. Kirby Burgess as the Ringmaster is especially dynamic, displaying great versatility in the range of roles she undertakes. One of the many strengths of the show is the ensemble cast of highly talented circus performers. They provide much of the colour and spectacular acrobatic feats in the show. The extraordinary examples of circus acts such as juggling and trapeze dazzle and delight the audience. The set and costume design is extremely vibrant, intricately detailed and particularly evocative of the era. The bizarre and eccentric atmosphere is beautifully complemented by the rich and emotional musical score. Barnum is undoubtedly a fantastic and energetic theatrical experience that celebrates and enriches the musical genre, as well as providing intense and moving entertainment. Patricia Di Risio

PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2019. VOLUME 28, NUMBER 4 ABN 71 129 358 710 ISSN 1321 5965

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Stage Whispers 107

leading local theatrical light who has his own youth theatre company called Musical Spice Stage Right. Danny is staging Tarzan at the Princess in August. I attended an excellent large cast production of George Orwell’s 1984, staged by the Launceston Players Theatre Company. Even the local schools do shows on an enormous scale. Elizabeth Bennett runs the spectacular musical theatre program for Launceston College, a public school with a student body comprised of Year 11 and 12 students. “We have kids who come to the school to do the musical. We find it is a great way for them to feel they Elizabeth Bennett from Launceston College. belong, as they are only here for two years,” she said. Of course, only the 950 seat Princess Theatre will do. This year’s school musical is Matilda and the nine performances are expected to sell out. Think of it, a school musical selling 8000 tickets. When you think of musical theatre spin, which fits nicely into the “This year we are putting a big does Launceston - population Tasmanian Government’s aim to effort into the magic side of things. 106,000 - come to mind? decentralise arts spending. We have a very high-level of tech and The good folk in the northern But scratching the surface, he use an LED screen. We are flying in a Tasmanian city want that to be the might be onto something. The largest blackboard and using animation for case from now on. local amateur group - Encore Theatre the chalk.” It has a long theatrical tradition Company - sells up to 10,000 tickets a The Lavender Lady will be and even a theatre ghost! season. That is a tick under ten impressed. Launceston’s beautiful Princess percent of the town’s population. Its Theatre is said to be haunted by the next production is We Will Rock You. David Spicer Lavender Lady, an actress who starred The Deputy Mayor of Launceston, in The Merry Widow and slipped off Danny Gibson, just happens to be a the stage into the orchestra pit one evening, fatally breaking her neck. Locals had better luck, recently securing funding to host the Australian Musical Theatre Festival there for five years. The inaugural festival in May was mightily well organised, with excellent seminars for people who put on a show. There was also a sparkling concert that showcased local talent, boosted by out-of-towners Rob Mills, Jemma Rix and Queenie Van der Zandt. The festival director is Hobart actor/producer John Xintavelonis, recently seen across Australia as the Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Online extras! He said Launceston was chosen as Check out more of the festival on Stage the location because it is the “biggest Whispers TV. Scan the QR code or visit lover and collaborator of musical https://youtu.be/1bkpJc4Hp8c theatre” in the country. That is his

Australian Musical Theatre Festival

108 Stage Whispers July - August 2019