Stage Whispers May/June 2023 edition

Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, Back in the days when Dionysus was god of the theatre, lighting control, too, was in the hands of the gods. Lighting was a general wash, with no specials, and everything was operated by a single dimmer. Some days the operating god might choose to throw in a few clouds for good measure, or a sudden downpour - all a bit random, like a technician having some fun trying out special effects. The time of day determined the intensity and angle of the lighting.

Working with a single lighting state, weather or time of day may have been suggested by effects like a thunder sheet, or even simply through the playwright’s words.

Projection, in the case of long plays, might come in the form of a sunset, but only if the theatre was built facing in the right direction.

That other form of projection, the vocal type, was down to the actors. Sound systems and body mics were well over 2,000 years away.

Shakespeare’s lighting was controlled by a very different deity, yet even taking into account Henry VIII’s Reformation, stage lighting in Tudor times had changed very little over all those years.

This gets a mention, albeit brief, in Stage Whispers’ annual Staging and Tech supplement.

Skipping past limelight, gaslight, footlights, etc. (huge advances though they were), in today’s world of theatre tech, the advent of moving pictures has laid the groundwork, supported by the availability of advanced modern video technology, to make ‘Cine-Theatre’ the new buzz, and that’s reflected in several features.

But before getting to the tech supplement, there’s heaps of non-tech reading in store for you in this edition, looking at various productions around the country, what’s happening on Broadway and in the West End, the latest theatrical recording releases, and a glimpse into Australian theatre history.

Yours in Theatre,

NeilLitchfield

Editor

Vale Barry Humphries

News has reached Stage Whispers, as we go to print, of the passing of great Australian comic actor Barry Humphries at the age 89. We love this Stage Whispers cover from 1994, featuring his immortal comic creation Dame Edna.

Cover image: Brendan Xavier and Shubshri Kandiah will dazzle audiences as they take the lead roles in Disney’s Beauty And The Beast Read David Spicer’s conversation with the stars of the show about their favourite Disney moments on page 8.

Julie Adams.

Photo:

The cast of The Rocky Horror Show catch up on the latest Stage Whispers news.

Stage Briefs

Wicked

Online extras!

Stage

Sheridan Adams will play Elphaba alongside Courtney Monsma as Glinda in the upcoming revival of Wicked, flying into the Lyric Theatre, Sydney from August 25. wickedthemusical.com.au

Photo: Hugh Stewart.

Online extras!

Meet the cast of the 2023 revival of Mamma Mia! The Musical. vimeo.com/802187787

Mamma Mia!

Seen by over 65 million people globally, Mamma Mia! The Musical returns to Australia in 2023. Packed with 22 of ABBA’s greatest hits, the production opens at Sydney Lyric Theatre in May, followed by seasons at QPAC in Brisbane and Melbourne’s Princess Theatre. mammamiathemusical.com.au

Photo: Sam Bisso.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was the company’s first blockbuster film to musical adaptation in the 1990s. As the beloved production returns for a Sydney opening ahead of an expected national tour, David Spicer speaks with three of the stars about their favourite Disney moments.

On my first trip to Broadway, I bought a matinee ticket to Beauty and the Beast, as it is the type of musical which you can enjoy a second or third time. Curiously there were five empty seats next to me.

After interval a beautiful family arrived - Mum, Dad and three children who had made a long trip from New Jersey. One parent sheepishly admitted at having made a mistake about when the performance started. Her children had to make do with seeing half a Broadway musical.

A first trip to the cinema or theatre to see a big Disney production can be memorable for many reasons.

Shubshri Kandiah (Belle) recalls seeing The Lion King at Perth’s Crown Theatre, whilst she was in high school.

“I remember being so overwhelmed as I had never seen a musical that had puppets. I remember feeling emotional - my eyes were welling up,” she told me.

Brendan Xavier (The Beast) remembers his first trip ever to the movies.

“I was three years old when I saw Tarzan in 1999, which was one of my favourites.”

On stage he saw The Lion King twice.

“It shaped what I wanted with my career. I felt myself represented on stage and it drove me to want to be in big Disney shows.”

Rohan Browne (Lumiere) said he watched a lot of Disney cartoons but remembers being “blown away at the scope” of the animated film Aladdin

“Robyn Williams as the genie was so impressionable and mercurial. I remember him turning into a camel and spinning.”

So, what makes Disney productions so enduring?

“They are such universal stories, which everyone can connect to. I love how inclusive they are,” said Shubshri.

“The fairy tales have a moral compass of true north. Everyone can connect with them in some way shape or form. Adults find nuggets of joy. Kids love them because of the characters they create,” said Rohan.

“It has got a lot to do with themes of friendship and teamwork,” said Brendan.

If each of the actors had a magic wand and were able to be cast in any

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Disney’s Beauty And The Beast waltzes onto the stage in Sydney in June.

youtu.be/3g6PW4RtsyM

Shubshri Kandiah and Brendan Xavier step into the lead roles in Disney’s Beauty And The Beast

Photo: Julie Adams.

(Continued from page 8)

Disney production - apart from Beauty and the Beast - what would it be - was my next question.

Shubshri’s fantasy role would be Mulan.

“I remember watching Mulan and learning about Chinese culture and history. That was my first taste of experiencing a different culture. I loved her cheekiness and disobedience. She was courageous and fought for what she believed in.”

Brendan has his eyes on the role of Simba in The Lion King

“I would love to play him because of the journey he goes on and the nuances in his character.”

Rohan’s dream Disney role is more obscure, from the movie The Emperor’s New Groove.

“It is about a stubborn King who is turned into a Lama. It was drawn very differently with a lot of square shapes and set in South America.”

The character he loves is Kronk.

“He was big hearted and a bit simple. The sidekick of the villain who didn’t realise he was aligned with a villain. Everything he did was through

Beauty And The Beast

Opens at Capitol Theatre, Sydney on June 14. beautyandthebeastmusical.com.au

love. Kronk is the character I would love it to play if it was ever made into a musical,” he quipped with a laugh, admitting that it is highly unlikely to happen. (The latest Disney movie being developed into a musical is Hercules with the same composer as Beauty and the Beast, Alan Menken.)

Having said that, for Rohan the role of Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast has been served on a platter for him.

The actor plays a human who has been turned into a candelabra by a spell.

“Lumiere is an absolute joyful role to play. He’s debonair, a maître d’ who loves to entertain. He is larger than life, loves to host parties and I get to sing the song Be My Guest.”

Rohan says the role is a perfect fit.

“I love hosting dinner parties where I cook, serve wines and tell stories with my wife (actor/singer) Christie Whelan Browne.”

I asked Rohan what might be on the menu if I was lucky enough to be one of his guests?

“I cook a great simple Bill Grainger carbonara. It is a real winner. I just add some nice chilli oil. I had a friend who worked at Chin Chin, so I do a lot of modern Asian cuisine. I do cook a great steak frites and I do a beautiful pumpkin ravioli. At 43 I have learned a few skills in the kitchen.”

His two-year-old son, however, gets something simpler.

“He loves chicken nuggets.”

To prepare for the season, Rohan packed up his belongings in Melbourne and discovered the program for Beauty and The Beast from its last professional season in Australia. It included Hugh Jackman as Gaston.

“I saw it at least five times. I would save up and buy house seats as I had friends in the cast. We had seen Les Misérables and Cats but this was the first grand Disney ‘90s blockbuster. It blew people’s minds.”

At face value it might be harder to relate to the character of The Beast, but Brendan Xavier said he found

Cover Story

Gavin Lee (Lumiere) and Courtney Stapleton (Belle) in the UK production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Photo: Johan Persson © Disney.

beautiful qualities to draw a connection to.

“As soon as I got the material I related to the character. He is an underdog and is deeply misunderstood. I love that he is not perfect. He starts as villain and has to change for the better, and has to constantly improve himself.”

Brendan said the experience of being bullied as a teenager or being an outcast is also common.

“As a teenager I was moody, stubborn and angsty. There is so much angst and frustration in him.”

Shubshri loves that her character Belle has strong beliefs and “sticks to her guns”.

“She is taken aback by his appearance, but I am not sure she is judging him (on his looks).

“The way I connect to her is that she sticks to what she believes in, and what she loves, and tries to see beauty in all things.”

The actress is on a dream run of lead roles, first riding the magic carpet in Aladdin, then scoring the lead in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, closely followed by playing Cinderella again in Into the Woods

“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella knew from the start who she was and just needed the opportunity to see that. The Sondheim Cinderella did not know what she wanted and was indecisive and clumsy, which was closer to me in real life.”

Her casting alongside Brendan in Beauty and the Beast is another milestone for inclusive casting.

“I think it is an incredible feeling to not feel restricted by the colour of your skin. Some of these opportunities might not have been available to me even ten years ago.

“I get a lot of messages on social media or people coming to the stage door. Parents or other young people coming and telling me they feel they can do it because I have done it. I never saw myself doing it (when I was younger) but children can feel they can do it.”

Brendan Xavier said the message Disney sent out at the audition was that they would find the best people for the job. He comes into the musical from the deep freeze of Disney’s Frozen, which he toured with for two and a half years.

“It has been the most rewarding experience in my life. It taught me perseverance and how to manage being in a show for so long.”

Rohan has had a different preparation, appearing in a small cast new Australian musical Not Finished With You Yet, in the art-imitating-life role of the husband of Christie Whelan Browne’s character.

“I have been in seven shows with Christie, but it was the first time I got to play her spouse.”

I hope to find out more when an invitation comes around for a Monday night dinner party!

The new production of Beauty and the Beast has had a digital make-over. Some of the scenes have been updated with scenic effects described by Time Out at the West End remount as including “gasp-inducing quick changes and beautiful 3D sets, most notably the dreamy tunnel of nightblossoming pink roses.”

So carefully check that you have the start time down properly and get to the theatre in time for the overture.

Rohan Browne (Lumiere), Jayde Westaby (Mrs Potts) and Gareth Jacobs (Cogsworth) will star in the Australian production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast Photo: Griffin Simm © Disney.

Ruva Ngwenya will star as Tina Turner in Tina

Photo: Daniel Boud.

She burst onto the stage, all legs and flailing hair, in a gold shimmy dress that screamed attitude, and impossibly high heels. The horn section vamped while she eyed the audience like an Amazon warrior ready to attack, as the drummer played a cross stick rock rimshot, and the tall, mean-looking guy in the too large zoot suit (or maybe he’d just lost weight from all the drugs) eyed her with a sense of ownership and perhaps anger that the follow spot was on her, his creation, and not on him.

Then she sang, with a voice like gravel dipped in chocolate (from memory the song was ‘Shake a Tail Feather’) and no-one in that audience would ever be quite the same again. And I was there, in 1975, when the act did a two-concert stopover in Sydney, waiting for Tina’s signature song ‘Nutbush City Limits’. Australia was the only country in the world where the single reached number one on the charts.

That’s one of the better things about growing old; you got to see the legends before they became mythical characters or simply part of history. Tina Turner is one such legend, so it’s hard for me to rationalise that it’s nearly fifty years ago, yet more people know her name now than at any time in her long life as a performer and a woman.

But it didn’t start with ‘Nutbush’. I was a fan of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, as were most of us back in the ‘60s. It was extravagant, over the top, lush - the antithesis of all the “new” groups of the time that relied on guitars and a pared back sound. ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ was an assault on the senses and was played round the clock on radios and jukeboxes. Spector’s time came and wentalong with his music, and most of the credit went to Phil and not to Ike or Tina. But Tina was a survivor, right from the time she was Anna Mae Bullock, living out in those City Limits, or when Ike Turner picked her up and put her on stage at age 18, billed as Little Ann.

We now know all about the domestic violence, the drugs, the toxic co-dependent relationship, the horrors Tina Turner endured on the road to legendary status. We’ve read the books and the newspapers, seen the docos and the telemovies, watched her star fade only to burst into a supernova and be reborn. We understand, even though we can’t ever really know what it cost a simple southern girl who was working as a domestic servant for a white family, to ask a celebrated musician like Ike Turner (already a star in his community) to let her sing with him. It was her way out, but what a price she had to pay.

It seems that the only medium left in which to explore the story was a musical. Tina - The Tina Turner Musical is now far enough removed from the events of the past, that we can look at the story that underpins the great music, and ask ourselves, without Ike (despite the abuse), would there ever have been a Tina - Queen of Rock and Roll?

Add that story to nearly 30 all-time great musical numbers and it’s not hard to see why it’s a must-see show. And there’s a strong Australian connection. Roger Davies was Tina’s manager for the last 30 years of her career and is widely credited with giving her the break that launched her solo career.

The Broadway run of the show was cut short because of COVID-19, but still managed to log nearly 500 performances and garner 12 Tony nominations. To date, the show has received over 37 award nominations worldwide and been seen by hundreds of thousands of people who weren’t even alive when Tina won her first Grammy. That includes the two stars of the Australian production which opens on May 4 at Sydney’s Theatre Royal.

(Continued on page 14)

Coral Drouyn reminisces on 50 years of Tina Turner, while she and David Spicer talk to the stars of Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, which opens in Sydney this month.

(Continued from page 13)

Ruva Ngwenya and Tim Omaji are both exceptional African / Australian talents, for whom music is part of their life blood - as natural to them as breathing. It’s exciting to finally see real diversity on our stages and we couldn’t let the chance to talk to these two amazing performers pass us by.

David Spicer had a chance to talk to Ruva, while Coral tried not to appear like the senior member of the Timomatic fan club when she talked to Tim.

Zimbabwean Australian actress Ruva Ngwenya attracts talent scouts like a bee to honey. At school she was tapped by a teacher to sing a song Tina Turner style. Her first pro gig was as a 16 year old in a jazz bar, and since scoring the role of Shenzi in The Lion King, she has skipped from one musical to the next.

David Spicer: What was your first big break in show business?

Ruva Ngwenya: I was studying Jazz at the VCA when I was scouted on Facebook by a casting director from The Lion King. I said to my friends I was invited to sing for this ‘Disney thing’. Then I got cast in the biggest show at the time, toured for three years and realised I found my home.

David: So did you finish university?

Ruva: I am a college drop out. I left uni because I got a gig and never looked back.

David: Doesn’t getting the lead in Tina count for a few units?

Ruva: I was in third year.

David: Maybe we should start a campaign to lobby Melbourne University to give you an honorary degree. And haven’t you been singing a long time?

Ruva: My nickname growing up was songbird. I would walk to school and the bus stop singing. Even today some people think I am crazy on the street as I am always singing. It is part of my DNA.

David: What made you take singing seriously?

Ruva: I was in Kew High [public school in Melbourne]. I was a big sports girl, in the netball state team and was representing Australia in volleyball. Then the drama teacher told me I had to do the school musical in Year 10. I said OK. It was Leader of the Pack and there is a scene where my character had to sing a Tina Turner song - ‘River Deep, Mountain High’.

David: Did it go well?

Ruva: It was transformative. I blitzed it. I did commit to the costume (fishnet stockings and a cheap wig) and it was a really cool moment. Even to this day, people stop me and say I remember when you were in high school playing Tina Turner and everyone couldn’t stop talking about it, now you are doing it for real.

David: Did you tell this story about your high school performance at the audition for Tina?

Ruva: I didn’t. I was just trying not to vomit.

David: Did you succeed in not vomiting?

Ruva: Yes, I nailed it. It was one of the hardest audition processes. The dancing was gruelling. Everyone was on bended knee gasping for air, doing ‘Proud Mary’

Tina Turner.

Photo: Alberto Venzago.

for the tenth time. But also the acting, because the story of her life requires everything of you to be authentic and raw. You can’t go in there and be a showgirl. There was no time to be nervous. You had to really dig deep.

David: How big a break for you is this role?

Ruva: I am so grateful to jump from Moulin Rouge [in the role of Le Chocolat] to my first lead role in another massive spectacular show. I am very privileged.

David: When you were researching the story of Tina Turner, were you surprised about anything in her background?

Ruva: I didn’t know about her humble beginnings. Also, I was surprised just how much grit she had, and how hard she had to work, supporting her kids by doing domestic work. Before her massive hit ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ she was hustling.

David: I imagine you are on stage a lot?

Ruva: She does not leave stage. I am only away for three minutes.

David: What sort of stamina do you need?

Ruva: I am in the gym every day, staying on top of my mental health and trying to eat as healthy as I can. When you are out there singing ‘Proud Mary’ and sweat is pouring down, you have got to be strong.

David: Is it a heavy dance show?

Ruva: It is a massive dance show. But it is so much fun. When I saw it, I wanted to get up and dance.

David: How do you boil it down in a nutshell, or should I say Nutbush?

Ruva: Tina is an icon who broke down every barrier. More than the music also fashion and race. She is an inspiration.

Nigerian born Tim Omaji might have been born into an academic African family, but his stage personaTimomatic - is an all-Australian Superstar - singer, dancer, writer, choreographer and multi-platinum recording artist. A brilliant hip-hop stylist with the grace and flair of Fred Astaire, Tim decided conquering the dance world wasn’t enough to quench his thirst as an entertainer, so he started writing and recording songs. But that doesn’t explain the sideways move into musical theatre. Tim sums it up in two words:

Tim: ‘Accident’ and ‘opportunity’. I’ve always been about exploring how far I could go with whatever talent I have. Let’s face it, I’m making it up as I go along. I never had the formal training that most of my peers in theatre had. But I made up for it with unshakeable faith that this was what I was meant to do (entertain). So Fame (the musical) came up by accident because of my appearances in So You Think You Can Dance, and then In The Heights was offered because of that and my rapping/ singing, and I seized the opportunity because it is such a great show, but I had no plans for musical theatre when I started.

Coral: And the acting?

Tim: Again, accidental! But I became fascinated by the power of it. You’re connecting with an audience at a much deeper level, even though you are being someone

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Ruva Ngwenya in Kew High School’s Leader Of The Pack (2008)

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(Continued from page 15)

else - it isn’t real, and yet it has an even deeper truth than performing as yourself. The more I do, the hungrier I become to do more.

Coral: That makes this show and the role of Ike an absolute gift. How much did you know about Ike Turner before this?

Tim: Very little. Hey, I never knew them as an act; they split before I was born. I first heard Tina Turner when I was about six. She was at the NRL Grand Final in 1993 singing ‘Simply The Best’. I hadn’t heard ‘Nutbush’ or any of the earlier songs. Back then it wasn’t the kind of music we played in our straight Christian household. But the song stayed with me because I knew even then that I wanted to be the best I could possibly be at whatever I did.

Coral: So how do you approach playing a man who is basically considered a villain, a very flawed human being?

Tim: We are all flawed human beings so hopefully I’m approaching it with compassion and some degree of humility. I need to explore the human reasoning behind the man. We need to be aware of what shapes another person’s perspective. People who are hurt go on to hurt other people - and Ike was certainly hurt throughout the years that shaped him.

Coral: That’s a very mature P.O.V - obviously this is the right time for you to take on such a role.

Tim: Well, I’m at a point where I need my life to be authentic and mature, and Ike deserves to be played with authenticity and maturity. Was he a villain? Or someone who was very damaged and couldn’t find a way to his inner self? I’m not making a judgemental statement - just trying to give him HIS truth, not mine. Some people will be shocked by the domestic violence and toxicity, especially the fans of my music.

Coral: Does that worry you, especially in an era where role models are so scarce?

Tim: I don’t really feel a sense of responsibility. If I am ever a role model, then someone else has made me one. I do believe in my responsibility to be true to myself, and if I achieve all I can, then hopefully young people, whatever their colour, will take heart and know that it’s okay to aim high. That’s all I can do.

Coral: Yes, I call that “honour the gift”.

Tim: I like that, and “cherish the moment”. Sometimes you only need a three word mantra to keep you moving in the right direction.

Coral: And do you feel like you’re moving in that direction?

Tim: Step by step. Right now, the most important thing is for me to make Ike a character the audience can connect with compassionately. I just hope I can make that happen.

Aisha Jawando as Tina Turner in the UK production of Tina

Photo: Manuel Harlan.

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical Playing at Theatre Royal, Sydney from May 4. tinathemusical.com.au

Midnight: The Cinderella Musical

A team of Australian creatives has penned a new musical interpretation of the fairy-tale Cinderella, which is opening with an all star cast in Melbourne in June. David Spicer spoke to one of song writers, John Foreman, and leading lady Brianna Bishop about what makes this version unique.

There have been thousands of variations of Cinderella dating back to ancient Greece. A folk story emerged of an Egyptian servant who married the King after her sandal was plucked up by a bird and dropped into his lap.

This story was shaped into the 1697 French fairy tale Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre (Cinderella, or the little glass slipper), that featured the familiar narrative of a mistreated youngest daughter, a supernatural helper, and a prince who falls in love with her.

Disney made it into a successful animated film in 1950 featuring mice, and songs ranging from ‘BibbidiBobbidi-Boo’ to the sultry waltz ‘So This Is Love’ Rodgers and Hammerstein’s updated edition recently toured Australia, while Andrew Lloyd Webber’s own Bad Cinderella is currently on Broadway.

Rewind a little to seven years ago, when a group of Australian script writers had the idea that it was time to do their own update of the Cinderella story.

On the team of creatives was John Foreman, the debonair music director and composer who was first introduced to national television by the late Bert Newton.

“Most presentations start with Cinderella, her stepsisters and mother, and no explanation as to how we got to that point,” John told me.

“Now there are so many different combinations of families. It is not unusual to have a stepmother and have parents remarry.

“(In our version) we meet Cinderella (Ella) as a child, and see how her step-mum and step-sister came into the picture.

“She is developed into a wellrounded character who has a sense of

humour, is feisty and wants to change the world on her own terms.”

A unique aspect of this adaptation is the inclusion of Cinderella’s father (played by Raphael Wong).

“This is an important element; we see how much she loves her father.

“When we meet Ella as child, she has a strong heart and wants to change the world.”

The creative team includes writers Dean Murphy and Pip Mushin, with music and lyrics by John Foreman and Anthony Costanza. One song has also been written by Kate Miller-Heidke.

“(We’ve written) a combination of big Broadway showstoppers alongside some fun comedic moments. Dean and Pip have a fantastic sense of humour.”

For John Foreman this is his first foray into a full book musical.

“I have composed individual pop songs, but this is new territory for me.

Brianna Bishop in Midnight Photo: Clint Peloso.

It is fascinating to put yourself in the head space of a character.

“People write pop songs from their own life experience. In this we have to put ourselves in the headspace of a character at a particular time. What they are feeling, what they might want to telegraph to the audience, what the audience knows but the character does not know.

“You have to make sure that the language used is consistent with the character, so you can’t have a character who speaks in a straightforward way suddenly using intricate rhymes. It all has to feel seamlessly linked to character.

“A good example is the song ‘Popular’ in Wicked. The words Glinda uses, and the style of melody feels perfect for that character.”

What song should audiences look out for in Midnight?

“Anthony has written a beautiful melody for ’Why Can’t I?’,” said John without hesitation.

“That line, ‘Why Can’t I?’ can be interpreted in two different ways - a frustrated person who is saying why aren’t I able to achieve what I want to achieve, and listening to the same lyric as a rhetorical statement - there is nothing stopping me doing this.”

If the musical itself asked the question ‘Why couldn’t I be seen on stage until now?’, the answer would be COVID-19.

Midnight was scheduled to open in 2020 and was pushed back like many productions in the industry.

“The knock-on effects have been quite profound from the backlog of shows. Audiences are now enjoying so many wonderful shows.”

The work has been written by Australian creatives, but the outlook is universal.

“It is not set in Australia, rather an imaginary kingdom. We are proud that it comprises newly composed music.”

The stage talent put together for the world premiere is considerable. It includes Shane Jacobson as the King, Lucy Durack as Ms Madrina, Verity Hunt-Ballard as Madame Bellington, Matt Lee as Andrei and Thomas McGuane as the Prince.

“We are thrilled at how enthusiastic great performers are, in supporting new Australian work.”

In the lead is Brianna Bishop as Ella. Just a few days after completing the season of Hairspray in the major role of Amber Von Tussle, she is “riding an emotional roller coaster”, fulfilling her “dream to go from one job to the next”.

Brianna says both characters are strong women, describing Amber as an antagonist - opposing the existing order of segregation - whereas Ella is a protagonist for good.

“I am stepping into a world I am comfortable in, as Ella and I are similar. We are both introverts. I like my alone times to sit think and dream about what the future holds and what our place is in the world. Ella does that often, constantly thinking of how to be of service to others,” she said.

“[Like Ella] I grew up with hardship. Things were not always easy. We grew up quite poor. We were sometimes living on two dollars a week. Any refuge place where peace was found was nurtured and special. I grew up focussed on what really matters in this world. What matters is love, human connection and listening. Nothing else matters.

“Going through grief is another topic in the show - one that I am fully connected to, as I lost my Dad two years ago. Ella has lost her Mum and thinks she has lost her Dad too.

“She is someone I adore. She is a beautiful person who wants to do the great things, and has the tenacity, the gumption and gusto to do it on her own from her innate wisdom. It is special role to be stepping into.”

Midnight: The Cinderella Musical Playing at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne from June 23. midnightmusical.com.au

As well as being a good soul, Brianna says Ella is a comedian.

“With the hard topics there comes this lightness. What have we got at the end of the day? Each other and fun and happiness. This plays to my strength because I am a dag.”

Another trait Brianna Bishop shares with Ella is tenacity. After obtaining a diploma from NIDA, she spent two years as an entertainer on cruise ships.

“I packed up and left and ran away. It was cool. I went to many different countries. Any job offered I would take. I did it for two years, then came back because of COVID-19. Then I joined the cast of Chess as part of the ensemble for the national tour.

“I was a latecomer to the Hairspray auditions. They could not find an Amber. There I was. They also needed someone to be Rhonda Burchmore’s daughter and we are very similar.”

When I spoke to Brianna, she had just completed a photo shoot lying on pine leaves in a nice dress with no shoes on, which made her feel like a fairy.

However, wearing a nice frock to a ball is not what she is most looking forward to, rather it is the songs she gets to sing.

“It is hard for ’Why Can’t I?’, which was just released, not to be a favourite. It is an epic triumphant song.”

But trumping that song for Brianna is ‘Without You’, composed by Kate Miller-Heidke.

“The way she writes is similar to the how I express myself when I am singing. The theme is about griefwhat am I without you, where am I going now?

“It takes you to the depth of your core. To the roots of your being. What do you really want in this life? What are you going to with it?

“It is a beautiful song which will be very loved when it is released.”

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Brianna Bishop performs “Why Can’t I” from Midnight: The Cinderella Musical youtu.be/2-zqwxolzB4

Gilbert & Sullivan: Joy Unbounded

A feast of a Gilbert & Sullivan Festival is looming in Adelaide under the baton of performer and artistic director extraordinaire Stuart Maunder. Barry Hill caught up with him to pose the question, “Are we still in love with G&S?”

When I was fifteen and a half my next-door neighbour asked me to join the local Gilbert & Sullivan company as a chorus member. I turned up at rehearsal, a shy, stuttering nervous teenager way beyond his comfort zone. Within weeks I was hooked!

That was many years ago and my association with Gilbert & Sullivan has grown to directing nine operas from the repertoire (some more than once), playing the comedy baritone in five, as well as being on the Board of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of SA and their secretary for a number of years.

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Stuart Maunder, Artistic Director of the G&S Fest, began his association with Gilbert & Sullivan at roughly the same age as me and also had a copy of ‘Martin Green’s Treasury of Gilbert and Sullivan’ - which we both “just devoured from cover to cover”.

We both started our Gilbert & Sullivan journey in small local companies. He played Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore with Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School in rural NSW and I started as a chorus member in the Henley Beach Methodist Gilbert and Sullivan production of Patience. We both developed a “passion which has bloomed since then”.

He went on to explain his attraction to the masters of English operetta. “I loved Gilbert’s play with words, the wit of them, the joy, the sheer madness of the libretti and then of course, you add the music of Sullivan.”

I agree they are the “perfect marriage”.

Stuart’s G&S Fest has twelve events to choose from. In fact, it

contains events to satisfy any G&S buff or someone wanting to know more about the dynamic duo who never really found recognition apart.

I cautiously hinted that the purpose of the Fest might be to continue our love of G&S, or create a new love for them. Apparently, I hit the nail on the head. Stuart quickly quipped, “That’s exactly why I was put on this earth Barry Hill!” He was quick to point out, “People who claim to hate opera or G&S almost invariably have either never been, or have had one experience that wasn’t quite right.”

The ‘Fest’ showcases full scale productions of The Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore, and a production of Trial by Jury set in the Adelaide Supreme Court. As Stuart says, “We’ve already had a trial run of Trial”.

There is also a ‘Big Sing’ production of The Sorcerer, with 180 choristers alongside an orchestra and professional soloists, a quiz night and a long lunch, sharing a meal with some living legends of Australian opera and theatre.

Stuart himself will feature in Mad Songs of Englishmen, a nostalgic journey, accompanied on the piano by Anne-Maree McDonald (both proud parents of Lucy Maunder), where he will dish up his all-time favourites alongside songs from George Grossmith and Noël Coward. He also has a one man show, A Song to Sing, O, that he tours outside the Fest, which originally starred Dennis Olsen and then Anthony Warlow.

As if that wasn’t enough, there is also a G&S film night featuring three

Nicholas Jones and Jessica Dean in H.M.S. Pinafore

Photo: Andrew Beveridge.

films based on Gilbert & Sullivan, and Here’s a How-de do, featuring South Australian favourites Rosie Hosking and Rod Schultz, who will join Penny Cashman to recreate many of the zany characters from The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and Iolanthe.

I was particularly interested to hear about Sacred Sullivan, featuring Sullivan’s fiery and little heard Thanksgiving for Victory Te Deum, composed in the last few years of his life, featuring his famous melody ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’.

Sullivan in Love is a fascinating look into the heart of a true Victorian gentleman, featuring Sullivan’s music and lyrics by Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Tennyson, and of course his eternal The Lost Chord

The program notes that, “Although he never married, Arthur Sullivan was always surrounded by adoring women, and if his diaries are to be believed, he was never short of a love interest. His most lasting liaison was with a married woman, Mrs Fanny Ronalds, his constant companion for the last twenty-five years of his life.”

“His parlour songs reveal his secret, simmering passions, his grief at losing family members and his love for the great works of poets.”

The ‘Fest’ uses different venues, from the large to the intimate. The

(Continued on page 22)

Tra La La Bar, as well as playing host to many events as part of the festival, will present a piano bar and open mic nights, pre-show talks and post-show food and drinks.

Maunder is recreating the same winning formula as the original Savoyards themselves. He has created an ensemble for the ‘Fest’. “I love the idea of creating an ensemble where you see people through a different lens, but new eyes and a glorious cast!”

With such a feast of a ‘Fest’, I posed the question “In this era of ‘woke’ restrictions being applied to productions all over the world, is G&S still relevant, and if so, will it remain so in the years to come?”

Stuart was quick to answer.

“We as humans are complex creatures, but in some ways, we are the same as we were in Victorian times. I can’t see why G&S won’t still be played in 100 years from now.” He

went on to observe, “The joy of G&S is that it is never malicious - the operas are all masterpieces and will always have a place in the repertoire.”

The Mikado has recently been under fire as poking fun at the Japanese, however as Maunder points out and I agree, “We know that The Mikado has nothing to do with Japan - we have lost a sense of irony.”

Maunder is convinced that young people still have a fascination with these bards of over 100 years ago, citing his production of Iolanthe at the Queensland Conservatorium where his cast had little or no knowledge of G&S at the start of rehearsal, and “by the end, they were completely addicted to it!”

If the pre-bookings for the G&S Fest are accurate heralds of the season, then G&S is still popular. Trial By Jury is completely sold to young and old. Perhaps it’s because “People don’t get a chance today to experience the wit and incredible word play that Gilbert does.”

When asked about his favourite phrase or lyric, he was quick to reply, “Bless you, it all depends” (Pitti-Sing from The Mikado), which is one of his standard replies when the outcome is unsure and “Dear me!”, which covers a multitude of difficult situations.

So, are we still in love with G&S? It appears we are, and I will be at the G&S Fest to cheer for my friends onstage and their intrepid Artistic Director, Stuart Maunder!

Barry Hill AOM

G&S Fest

May 11 to 21 at venues throughout Adelaide. gandsfest.com

Stuart Maunder.

Trial By Jury

Photo: Jenny Kwok.

In The Spotlight

With Les Solomon

Online extras!

Into The Woods director Eamon Flack talks about the show. Scan or visit youtu.be/Xia_AbSHrZg

Everything Old Is New Again

Theatrical agent Les Solomon loves some recent musical revivals, but wants directors to be given more scope to update outdated plotlines.

Since writing my column for the last edition where I discussed how good it would be to see more reproductions of older musicals, three companies have taken up the challenge.

In addition to the terrific reworking of La Cage Aux Folles, which transferred to Sydney’s State Theatre (with hopefully more states to follow), there were three new productions of classic musicals.

Firstly, the Hayes Theatre staged Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, an old Jule Styne musical. As always, this remarkable theatre company gave it all the flash and panache it needed. A fabulous band who could be seen above the stage all night (well there was not really a stage; a series of staircases were moved and played around by the actors).

Despite all the delightful distractions by the actors, there is no doubt the show’s plot had aged. The idea of

(Continued on page 24)

Shubshri Kandiah in Belvoir’s Into The Woods

Photo: Christopher Hayles.

In The Spotlight With Les Solomon

two women going man hunting to find a rich husband was creaky to say the least and it’s a shame the production could not have used more of the Marilyn Monroe film version’s considerable plot improvements.

It’s disappointing the way the original stage book is rarely allowed to be changed, even though in many cases a screenplay has added massive improvements to the original book. I think particularly of shows like The Sound of Music and more recently Matilda, where a rewritten screenplay gives extra life to an often pallid and dated book of the stage musical.

The Sound of Music has allowed some of the songs to be juxtaposed into the stage version (as we also saw in Grease), but the clunky nature of the book often spoils any attempt to update the product. This is one of the biggest challenges of revising older shows and it’s mainly because the owners (nearly always American) are so precious about ignoring any screenplay improvements and sticking to an often tired and dated book.

The Hayes’ production of Gentlemen smartly made it clear that they knew that the book was slight and silly, so in the beginning of Act Two, the musical director did a sort of comedy stand-up routine around the piano which greatly livened proceedings. The second act of the show

really belongs to the song “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” and once Georgina Hopson got started on that song, any concerns about the tired book were forgotten. What a remarkable talent she is and she squeezed every inch of delight (and every verse - known and unknown) out of the song, so after she mounted the dazzlingly lit staircase for one final piece of delicious gusto, there was not much to do but quickly tie up the plot and send the audience home.

Full praise to Richard Carroll and his team for finding ways of circumnavigating the tired book and using his superb cast to give great class to a musical that is very rarely performed.

Another musical that is very rarely performed is On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, in fact Squabbalogic’s production at the Seymour Centre I think is the show’s the first professional production in Sydney, if not the whole of Australia.

Another silly and dated script was given a lease of life with some gender swapping. The main female role was now shared the “now” of the character is a man (Jay James Moody very funny and clever) and the “past” part of the role is played by a woman in a plot that would take the rest of the column to explain. In case you haven’t guessed, the show plays around with reincarnation and hypnotism and is inspired in part by the classic book and

Hayes Theatre’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Photo: John McRae.

movie The Search for Bridey Murphy, which deals directly and often controversially with the subject.

I have always loved the Broadway Cast album, and of course there is the Streisand soundtrack, but the movie with her is forgettable. This reworked version, created and directed by (and starring) the amazing Jay James Moody, was an interesting, odd and musically stunning piece of music theatre, that was surprising and enchanting.

This is a hard show to revive and make it work for a modern audience, and the fact that Moody mostly got it to a point of delightful fantasy says a lot about knowing how to repaint a diamond that has lost a lot of its original glow.

Into the Woods was on both sides of the nation during March/April. The Irish production restaged by an Australian company in Perth and in Sydney, the Belvoir Street /Hayes Theatre production, devised by a local creative team.

The Belvoir production, which I have seen, directed by Eamon Flack, chose to have the very American musical performed with mostly Australian accents (with a few notable exceptions), a decision that was greeted with mixed delight from critics. The production had a very definite Belvoir house style and a multitude of gags and effects that were often very Australian.

But here again was a great way of reinventing material even if it didn’t delight all the die-hard lovers of the show. As with Georgina Hopson in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the lynchpin of the show’s success was a superstar performance from Tamsin Carroll as the witch, with an accent and style that comes, perhaps, from somewhere in Germany, with touches of Marlene Dietrich, via hints of fictional characters such as Norma Desmond, with perhaps a glimpse of Auntie Mame.

I found this utterly delightful. Tamsin is a superstar who has been missing from our stages for too long (mostly working in the UK) and it’s great that Belvoir has brought her back in a vehicle that gives her ample room to display her unique talents. Now someone please cast her as Momma Rose in Gypsy.

I am delighted that each of these productions were created by local creatives and it’s equally exciting that the style and vernacular of each production veers far away from original productions of the shows.

This is what rediscovering older musicals is all aboutfinding a new and modern way into the material. It doesn’t always work and it shouldn’t - failure and success are rich tools to work side by side to bring grand shows to our audiences and redesign them for a new future.

Time To End Self-Tests

I also wanted to make some comments on the muchdiscussed topic of self-tests for actors.

When Mad Men star January Jones came out in public slamming self-tests, the talkback in social media went crazy. This was the first time a high-profile actor had come out so powerfully and slammed the current practice which has been adopted worldwide, that first rounds of

auditions for just about everything are performed at home on-line and sent to the casting agents.

This practice began when COVID-19 struck so aggressively and it seemed sensible considering actors going into casting agents’ offices seemed highly dangerous. In the States, most casting agents fled home so self-tests became essential. I attended a meeting during this period with MEAA and the promise was that they would carefully watch the situation and insist selftests subsided when coronavirus concern declined.

Now, two years later, coronavirus concern has subsided if not gone away, but self-tests seem to have become the way of the world. The reaction to all this has been somewhat mixed. While roughly a third of actors like self-tests for first rounds, two thirds do not.

I believe that first round self-tests for music theatre need to be stamped out as soon as possible. I think a video - often recorded with poor sound and with actors without the facilities needed to make their voices sound top notch - leaves performers badly disadvantaged. Even worse is doing first round dance or movement auditions on video or zoom. Having seen a few really good actors with strong dance skills try to look capable in their lounge room or some local dance studio, trying to give a good try at written choreographic instructions is beyond ridiculous. I leave this open to discussion; I would love to hear more of what performers think about this contentious subject.

Happy theatre going everyone.

Squabbalogic’s On A Clear Day You Can See Forever Photo: David Hooley.

Barry Crocker’s Banjo Goes Digital

Stage and screen legend Barry Crocker has released his play Banjo - about the poet who penned ‘Waltzing Matilda’ - as a radio play on streaming service Australian Theatre Live. Barry Hill caught up with the 87-year-old, now retired from performing, but still actively writing.

Anybody who watched or listened to the media during the golden years of the 1970s, 80s or 90s will know Barry Crocker. He was, and is, a household name here and internationally.

On the big screen he will eternally be remembered for The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, as well as Donnie Destry in Razzle Dazzle. He appeared as himself in Muriel’s Wedding and played featured roles in Spicks and Specks, Pizza and Twisted Tales to name a few.

On our television screens, he is remembered for The Barry Crocker Show in the mid-60s, while he welcomed us to Neighbours singing the theme song.

Playing Lazar Wolf alongside the legendary Topol in Fiddler on the Roof is one of Barry’s most memorable stage highlights. It was “a great chance to work with a Master”. In fact, Crocker says, “In the two years we worked together, the only people that never missed a performance were the two oldest ones!” The two became close friends - they were both the same age. Topol passed away in March and “it was like a part of me left with him!”

Being born in the thirties makes Barry a ‘senior’, but only in years. Although recently retired, he remains as busy as ever or as he says, “with two irons in the theatrical fire”.

He is writing his second autobiography and recently produced

and starred in his own radio play, Banjo, an adaptation of the live performance play he toured. He quipped, “I won’t need to do the makeup!”

His fascination with Paterson began at a friend’s christening where he was asked to recite ‘A Bush Christening’. They then requested ‘The Man from Snowy River’, which Crocker did not know. This ignited an interest in Banjo Paterson, a poet who did not have the advantages of his contemporaries. Unlike fellow poet Henry Lawson, Paterson died unrecognised. In fact, according to Barry’s research, there were only 17 people at his funeral.

Barry (along with Katy Manning) started to develop Banjo. The wry and

Online extras!

Listen to an excerpt of a performance of Barry Crocker’s Banjo. Scan or visit 2ser.com/barry-crocker-banjo

sentimental play explores various "chapters" in the life of Andrew Barton Paterson. It is told in flashback as the elderly Paterson, not long before his death in 1941, addresses the students at Sydney Grammar.

Crocker read every book he could get his hands on, and even contacted Banjo’s descendants. One mystery he wanted solved was why Paterson refused to recite ‘Waltzing Matilda’. Barry discovered it was because Banjo had “sold the rights of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ for five pounds!”

He tracked down the grandniece of Christina McPherson, the composer of ‘Waltzing Matilda’, and obtained some surprising answers about the song that are contained in the radio play.

The original production at the Stables Theatre in Kings Cross ran for three and a half hours, so a lot of editing was needed, or, as Barry says, “We have to kill the babies” (an old theatrical term for editing a new work). A revamped version opened in 2011 and toured all around Australia including regional centres for two years, in sometimes stifling temperatures of over 40 degrees. “I almost suffocated the people watching the play!” he said.

It featured projections to highlight significant moments in Paterson’s life.

To get into character, Crocker used an old fob watch and a pair of old shoes. “I felt Banjo travelling up from the shoes into my head.” He opened to positive reviews - ‘With a clear, smooth voice and a gift for mimicry, the performer almost vanishes as the poet takes fuller flight in the telling of romantic, hapless yarns, and the soldierly quest - born of insecurity and notions of masculinity - which drove him on.’ - Sydney Morning Herald.

One woman was heard to comment after the play, “This is very nice, but when is Barry Crocker coming on?”

Time passed and Banjo seemed too rewarding a script to leave on the shelf, so Crocker has resurrected it, voicing the titular role, with musical direction by Craig Gower, Jack Thompson narrating, and Michael Caton voicing Henry Lawson

(supported by Nick Jasprizza, Gerard McGuire and Martine Williams as miscellaneous voices).

Banjo is not just a highly entertaining radio play about one of Australia’s bards, it is so much more thanks to the exhaustive research and talent of Barry Crocker. It is his tribute to Banjo Paterson - his works, his life and the fascinating story of the writing of ‘Waltzing Matilda’.

It is not so much a life story as a sit down and chat with Paterson himself. Crocker uses his ability to mimic accents to give life - to give Banjo a real accessibility. The play is nicely paced and makes full use of some great Australian talent. It is recommended listening for all Australians.

Not one to rest, Barry is now editing his autobiography and is in the process of adding photos to illustrate it.

When asked for any advice he has for young would-be actors, his response was simple - “Do you love what you are doing? ….If you do, go for it?”

If not, find another way of fulfilling your ambitions.

Barry Crocker’s radio play Banjo is available at the Australian Theatre Live website for a small subscription fee per month or per year. “You can see plays in your home for only $7.99!”

When asked why we should be revisiting Banjo Paterson’s work or looking at it for the first time, Crocker had one compelling reason, “Banjo Paterson was the Burt Bacharach of his time!”

Wise words, Paterson represents a part of Australia culture, the outback and was the lyricist of what many people believe should be our National Anthem, ‘Waltzing Matilda’!

Barry Crocker’s Banjo

A new comedy about glitzy Asian beauty pageants will be staged in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Geelong this year. Miss Peony by Michelle Law centres on the character of Lily, who is pushed by her grandmother into the highly competitive event.

SCENE 11

[A hot pot restaurant. The women sit in silence, solemn. LILY stirs the hotpot and serves everyone, trying to lighten the mood.]

LILY: More fish?

MARCY: [to JOY, in Mandarin] (Don’t worry about Zhen Hua. He’s a fool.)

JOY: [in Mandarin] (I’m ashamed to say this, but I was scared.)

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (It WAS scary!)

JOY: I never scare of Ken Lam. I scare of myself because I felt like I have enough rage to hurt him. Maybe even kill him. All of my anger towards men almost spill over, cause a mess. Does that make me evil?

LILY: Evil? It makes you relatable!

JOY: [in Mandarin] (Do you know what I did when he pulled out his dick? I sighed, because I am so used to that kind of behaviour from men.

And then I was angry because I shouldn’t have to be used to it. Sometimes I just want to get a boyfriend so other men will finally leave me alone. If I belong to another man, at least they will respect his ‘property’.)

SABRINA: Oh Joy. You don’t believe that.

LILY: What’d she say?

SABRINA: She wants a beard, but even that won’t stop guys from being gross scumbags.

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (She’s right. Society teaches men to hate women from a young age. Even the so-called ‘nice guys’ may feel emasculated if you’re more intelligent than them or earn a higher salary.)

LILY: I had one customer at work wearing a ‘The Future is Female’ shirt kiss me at a buck’s night,

tongue and everything. It wasn’t even the kiss that disturbed me. It was his attitude. The sense of entitlement.

SABRINA: Once I had a guy peeping tom me in the Market City Timezone toilets and I called the police but it took them ages ACAB so the guy got away and it never got resolved. In the end I was so freaked out I had to stop going to Timezone and give my VIP membership card to my nephew. He used all my points on a Sonic backpack. It was terrible. So, it’s understandable why you’re so angry, Joy.

JOY: [in Mandarin] (Maybe I brought this upon myself. I’m an academic in gender studies taking part in a beauty pageant! What am I doing? I should quit.)

SABRINA: Don’t quit, Joy!

LILY: Miss Peony needs you, Joy. What you did was inspiring. You’re all inspiring. Forget about Zhen Hua and and have some more quail eggs instead!

JOY: Thank you, Lily. For your words, and for your eggs.

MARCY: We’re ‘inspiring’ are we? I thought you’d rather be dead than be like us.

Opens at Belvoir on July 1 and Arts Centre Melbourne on August 2 belvoir.com.au / artscentremelbourne.com.au

Online extras!

Michelle Law talks to director Eamon Black about her show Miss Peony youtu.be/cM6miAhEDSA

Miss Peony

LILY: I’m sorry. I can’t believe I said that.

SABRINA: I’m sorry too, guys. I promised myself I wouldn’t be bitchy and competitive when I entered because that’s not who I am. I’m just heaps passionate because the women in Miss Peony were my heroes growing up. They were the first people I saw on TV who looked like me and were winning at life instead of, you know, being investigated on A Current Affair and stuff. I entered because I was like, whoa, it’d be awesome to be that person for someone else one day. Be a role model for the other ABCs out there. And on an international stage in Beijing! Getting to meet all the other Miss Peony winners from around the world.

JOY: Very good, Sabrina. On hard days like this, good to remind myself why I enter Miss Peony: to find a loving partner.

[MARCY spits out her tea.]

JOY: So many beautiful women competing and watching better than dating app. Maybe I can find best friend. Then hopefully fall in love. I can’t have that at home. Even though Taiwan make gay people legal, still my parents no accept. Still punishing me.

MARCY: I have the opposite problem. My parents gave me everything and now it’s my turn to repay them. My brother ran our company into the ground. I’m the one with the business smarts but he has too much pride to let me take over. I entered Miss Peony to save Ausway; we need the prize money. If sales don’t improve, we will lose all eight locations across New South Wales and have to file for bankruptcy. Please don’t tell anyone.

SABRINA: Oh Marcy, I’m so sorry! My parents love buying bulk paw paw ointment from Ausway! Why did you enter, Lily?

LILY: I entered for my grandmother. And once the pageant is finished, I’ll move to London.

JOY: Why you go to England? You want to be colonised again?

LILY: I guess the destination never mattered. I’m more drawn to the idea of starting anew.

MARCY: Trust me as a business owner when I say that starting anew can be overrated. Sometimes it’s more worthwhile to focus on fixing what you already have.

JOY: Excuse me. I have to go weewee.

[JOY exits.]

LILY: I haven’t eaten hot pot since I was a kid. This has been really nice.

SABRINA: Hot pot is the best! But make sure you always go with your Chinese friends ’cause whenever I go with whities they’re like, ‘So you have to cook your own food?’ It’s so frustrating. I just want to drink my watermelon juice in peace.

LILY: I don’t have many white friends. Or Chinese friends for that matter. I’ve always kind of been a lone ranger.

MARCY: Oh Lily, that’s sad.

LILY: I’m fine! I’m always busy with work. And I like to read. I just finished reading Jane Eyre

SABRINA: That whole book is about lonely women.

LILY: Oh.

SABRINA: Here! Have some more juice! [Filling everyone’s cups] We should toast to to making friends! And to making the top twelve and persisting despite all the shit that went down. I can’t believe Miss Peony ends tomorrow night.

[THEY raise their glasses.]

LILY: Wait. Where did Joy go?

SABRINA: To the toilet. Good on her. Exposure therapy.

MARCY: No, she did not go to the toilet. She went to pay!

[JOY returns to the table and smugly takes a seat.]

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (Are you serious right now?!)

JOY: [in Mandarin] (My shout, my shout!)

SABRINA: [in Cantonese] (No you stupid cow! I’m paying!)

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (I AM PAYING.)

SABRINA: [to JOY, in Cantonese] (I’ll make them refund your card!)

Script Extract

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (Give me the bill or...)

JOY: [in Mandarin] (Or what?)

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (Or I’ll wish you bad luck!)

SABRINA: [in Cantonese] (I’ll fart in your face!)

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (I’ll trip you over!)

SABRINA: [in Cantonese] (I’ll give you an arm burn!)

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (I’ll punch you!)

SABRINA: [in Cantonese] (I’ll poison you!)

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (I’ll break your leg!)

SABRINA: [in Cantonese] (I’ll slash your tyres!)

MARCY: [in Mandarin] (I WILL BREAK INTO YOUR HOUSE WHILE YOUR FAMILY IS SLEEPING AND SLIT THEIR THROATS UNTIL THEY DROWN TO DEATH CHOKING ON THEIR OWN BLOOD.)

SABRINA: Marcy. What is wrong with you?

MARCY: I am older than you both! It’s my responsibility.

SABRINA: I’m the youngest! I should be shouting!

LILY: Well, I’m the eldest here. How about we just split the bill equally between us all?

[The other women fall silent, disturbed.]

New Zealand’s Theatre Comeback

Musical Theatre companies in New Zealand are slowly returning to their pre-pandemic level of production, although some are still wounded following cancellations. David Spicer reports from Blenheim - in the north of the south island - which hosted Musical Theatre New Zealand’s annual conference in March.

For the first time in three years, I had the excitement of flying to New Zealand to attend my 21st MTNZ conference, which is a mixture of the business of selling musicals and plays to community theatre companies, and the ‘pleasure’ of costume parties.

Blenheim is a small country town of just 28,000, in the wine country of Marlborough. Its biggest attraction is an extraordinary museum collection of World War I planes and replicas, restored by director Peter Jackson.

The local company - Blenheim Musical Theatre - founded in 1918, is typical of community theatres across the country that punch so far above

their weight. Every year it stages a musical which sells up to 6,000 tickets - equivalent to one fifth of the population.

The secretary of BMT, Peter Meikle, told me that the town has hidden talent.

“The wineries bring a lot of internationally oriented people. When we did The Phantom of the Opera, we had a woman in the cast who was a fully trained coloratura opera singer. You would be hard pressed to hear someone like that in London,” he told me.

Their next big production is Priscilla Queen of the Desert the

Musical. Whilst they have hired a bus, the company is making many of their costumes.

“We have 105 years of wardrobe stashed away in our club building and various containers. I found this extraordinary collection of wonderful period costumes.

“Fifteen of the Gumby costumes (flamboyant drag with large head pieces) are being made from scratch.”

Meikle says the dancing is put together by an “international choreographer” who leads an “extraordinary” dance troupe including a star male dancer who has

Stage Whispers TV visited NZ for the 2023 MTNZ conference. Scan or visit

deferred his study at a ballet school to take part.

Blenheim Musical Theatre miraculously escaped having to cancel a production due to COVID-19, even though up to 47 members of the company were on leave.

“We were right in the middle of Les Mis and watched our sister societies having to cancel their shows. We somehow fell between cracks of major outbreaks.”

One of those companies which was taken to the brink by COVID-19 was Act Three Productions in the town of Palmerston North. It has had to call off a season of We Will Rock You three times.

The President Allan Nagy said he had never seen so many tears as when he told cast and crew in January 2022 that the show, again, wouldn’t be going ahead. Their response was to perform it anyway, for each other, in place of that day’s rehearsal.

“We actually put on the show, without any set or costumes, sung through and acted through the show,

and once again it all ended in tears,” he told the NZ website Stuff.

The risks are higher for community theatre companies in New Zealand that are members of the consortium, a group which purchases professional standard sets and ships them around the country.

Act Three had to bump in the set multiple times and was paying wages and accommodating an Australian actor to rehearse the lead role for several months.

The company is making its fourth attempt to stage We Will Rock You in August.

The President of Musical Theatre New Zealand Helen Horsnell says many clubs - which typically have production budgets between $10,000 to $400,000 - have had to be more conservative in their show choices this year.

“Like the rest of the world, it has been tough to mitigate the risk of staging a production,” she said. “Clubs are doing smaller budget shows and revues.”

Helen says double casting is now common. “People have been happy to learn a role even if they don’t get a chance be part of the company.”

Are things back to normal?

“Definitely not. We are still getting lots of outbreaks of COVID-19. Some companies that have taken the risk have lost a lot of money. They might have brought the set in, and been in the theatre, then there is an outbreak in the cast and they had to close their seasons, whilst others have flown through.”

She said that audiences are still coming.

“As soon as restrictions lifted, people just wanted to get out. However, as the cost of living is high a lot of people have less dollars to spend.”

Placing further strain on the economy in New Zealand were the devastating floods and storms in January, which impacted on Auckland and other parts of the North Island.

“Some theatres had to postpone productions. Many people lost road access and their electricity for months.

(Continued from page 31)

In Napier, a lot of the city was evacuated, with the water up to roof levels. A couple of theatres were damaged.”

The MTNZ conference is a key social event for musical theatre people and includes a trade show, awards and excellent seminars.

Whilst it has been bursting to the brim in the past, this year only 140 attended due to the difficult economic times.

Sadly, one of the icons of Musical Theatre New Zealand from conferences over the last 40 years was absent. The self-styled keeper of conference ‘virgins’ Valda Peacock

was not well enough to attend. In her absence, the tradition of honouring people attending the conference for the first time and a bottle of wine for best fancy dress costumes continued.

My first stop before these weekends is always the local theatre company’s costume hire department.

The wardrobe mistress Viv Patchet found me a seaweed costume for the first dinner, which had a theme of ‘under the sea’. For the gala dance on Saturday night - themed Priscilla - a tight dress and blonde wig was just the number. I now sympathise with women, that dresses have no pockets.

The Blenheim Music Theatre’s clubhouse comprises a set-building shed, an extensive wardrobe of costumes, and their own little theatre that can be set up for dinner theatre, or 84 people seated theatre style.

Peter Meikle says one of the company’s biggest hits in their little theatre in recent times was Aotearoa: A New Zealand rock musical that I am proud to represent.

“It has a lovely collage of New Zealand songs that resonated with the community. We brought in a cultural advisor, had the authentic sound of local composers and it sold its socks off.”

The next Musical Theatre New Zealand conference takes place in Rotorua in March 2024.

Evita Comes To Darwin

Big musicals productions in the top end are about as rare as sightings of an albino crocodile. Local production company Superstar Productions - run by the community choir The Darwin Chorale - tries to get one staged every two to three years. Geoffrey Williams speaks to Annette Gore, the production manager for the upcoming July performances of Evita.

What can you share with us about the history of Superstar Productions?

Superstar Productions was initiated in the late 1990s by the Administrator of the Northern Territory - Dr Neil Conn AO - for a joint venture to stage a large musicals. The first show, Jesus Christ Superstar (1999), involved the Darwin Chorale, Cavenagh Theatre Group, Darwin Theatre Company, and the Darwin Entertainment Centre. Superstar Productions was formed with next major production being Les Misérables

How have you found Superstar Productions to be received by the theatre-loving community of Darwin?

Darwin audiences have always responded well to the arts. For many years Les Misérables held the record for largest number of ticket sales sold at The Darwin Entertainment Centreonly to be knocked off by Billy Connolly. Comments overheard from theatre goers having seen Superstar Productions’ shows include, “That was just as good, if not better than when we saw it in London”.

Darwin is home to a prodigious amount of musical talent, but there has been little in the way of musical theatre performances. Is this something Superstar Productions would like to see change?

Darwin is rarely included in any “national” tours by opera or musical theatre groups and Superstar Productions would love to be able to perform regular musical theatre shows, but the costs are prohibitive. The Darwin Entertainment Centre is a professional theatre with a capacity of approximately 1,000 seats. As there are no small community theatres suitable for musicals, we are restricted as to how often we can produce a show.

Can you introduce us to some of the creatives working on Evita?

NIDA graduate Steve Kidd is the director of the show. Steve is passionate about creating quality theatre in the Territory and loves to direct, act, and teach his skills. Steve lives in Alice Springs, so creating and directing a show in Darwin involves hours of communication and clear ideas (being delivered remotely). Steve will have five weeks face-to-face with the cast.

Nora Lewis AO is the Music Director and conductor emeritus of the Darwin Chorale. Nora, now retired, was the Principal of the NT Music School for many years.

Our set designer is Beck Adams who started off doing stage lighting for many years, then studied architecture.

Rochelle Cabry is the youngest team member and another talented Territorian. She studied dance in Melbourne and Paris and has worked as a dancer in Oslo and Paris.

Evita is a challenging choice for your next production. How are your productions selected?

We select musicals that can cater for a large ensemble from diverse

backgrounds that basically represent society and will have an appeal to Darwin audiences.

What can you share with us about the cast of Evita?

We have a cast size of 72 singers, including 20 children aged between 8 and 12. The ensemble cast have singers and dancers ranging from 14 to 70 years of age, with fifty percent of the cast under 25. We have a set of brothers and sisters performing, mother and son, father and son, two husbands and wives, and a grandmother and granddaughter in the cast.

The role of Eva Perón is a tremendous showcase for the actress who takes on the role. Where will you find your Eva Perón?

We found our Eva Perón - Rachel Wharam - amongst our local Darwin talent, with nine local singers auditioning for the role. Rachel began singing at the age of 4 in the Darwin Youth and Children’s Choir and has sung with many choirs. Since 2014, Rachel has been teaching at a local primary school and is a mother of two girls aged 5 and 7.

Les Misérables.

Scouting For Shows

Australian producers have long trod the paths to the West End and Broadway to import plays and musicals for the local market. Impresario J.C. Williamson took such a trip in 1909. Archivist Susan Mills takes us on his journey, via his diary held by the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation.

On the 29th of June 1909, J.C. Williamson arrived in England on the Seydiltz steamer, having left Australia some 21 days earlier. He was met at Southampton by Pat Malone, the London representative of J.C. Williamson Limited, and taken to the Savoy Hotel. That evening he saw The Fires of Fate by Conan Doyle at the Lyric Theatre. He liked it, but wrote in his diary, “I doubt whether it would be any big success for Australia”.

J.C. Williamson was on a tour to scout for productions that ‘The Firm’, as the J.C. Williamson company was known, could take to Australia. He saw one or two shows every day, as well as holding business meetings.

It wasn’t all work. After three weeks in London he travelled via Paris to the fashionable German holiday spa town of Marienbad (now Mariánské Lázně in the Czech Republic). There he enjoyed carbonic baths, daily massages, and sightseeing. He saw a few local shows and hob-nobbed with many of the high society on holiday, including famed actor and theatre manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, with whom he spent a very pleasant day motoring through the countryside.

After visiting Munich music halls and Milan (where he auditioned a selection of opera singers for the J.C. Williamson Grand Opera Company’s upcoming season), he arrived back at the Savoy Hotel in London to resume his theatre-going before hopping on board the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II to leave for New York.

J.C. Williamson’s visit to New York also mixed the personal with business. His birthday on the 26th of August was spent lunching with his niece - and being interviewed by the

New York Dramatic Mirror and the New York World - and by early September he was off by train to Chicago and Minnesota to visit family.

Arriving in Vancouver, Canada, he had a Turkish bath and saw a vaudeville show at the Orpheum (“a cheap Music Hall”) before boarding the RMS Makura the next day, bound for Australia, arriving at Brisbane on the 2nd of October 1909. His whole trip has lasted some four months.

Was his trip a success? Let’s look at the example of Our Miss Gibbs, an Edwardian musical comedy that was a great London hit, running for an astonishing 636 performances.

After seeing the 7th of July performance at the Gaiety Theatre, J.C. Williamson wrote in his diary “A splendid performance. The piece is full of comedy [...] Certainly one of the best Gaiety pieces they have had. Packing the house, could not get a seat a month ahead, not even at the libraries. It is a certain success for us if we can get a good cast.”

The J.C. Williamson company’s Royal Comic Opera Company would open Our Miss Gibbs at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney on the 24th of September 1910, and it was indeed a success. J.C. Williamson brought out English actress and singer Blanche Browne from the Gaiety Company to Australia for the role of Mary Gibbs.

Like it’s London predecessor, the Australian run of Our Miss Gibbs proved to have longevity. The day after the premiere, the Sunday Sun reported, “The J. C. Williamson management has every reason to congratulate itself on the striking success of Our Miss Gibbs, produced last night before a tremendous house in Her Majesty's Theatre” and praised the performance of the cast, the

costumes and scenery. Our Miss Gibbs finally closed on the 10th of May 1911 in Sydney with its 230th performance. J.C. Williamson himself gave a speech before the audience, declaring the tremendous success of the production, which he said 389,720 persons had witnessed.

An interview with Blanche Browne in the Argus gives an insight into the actress at the heart of the show. The reporter remarks on the natural air of Miss Browne, perfect for the role of Miss Gibbs - “…it is difficult at times to remember which is whichwhether Miss Mary Gibbs is ‘Our Miss Browne’, or Miss Blanche Browne ‘Our Miss Gibbs’.”.

Perhaps what comes across the most in the interview is her love of Australian nature and the quiet life, adding to the reporter’s conclusion that “there is nothing of the stage about her”. Indeed, Blanche Browne would stay on in Australia as part of the Royal Comic Opera Company until her marriage to a Tasmanian fruit farmer saw her settle into a quiet life.

After its Sydney run, Our Miss Gibbs opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne on the 13th of May 1911, where it ran until the 5th of August before embarking on a non-stop tour of Australia (except Western Australia) and New Zealand. Our Miss Gibbs returned to Melbourne for a Christmas season in early December of 1911, before finally landing in Sydney on the 26th of December for one last showing that ended on the 12th of January, 1912. The entire run of the Royal Comic Opera Company’s production of Our Miss Gibbs, from September of 2010 to January of 1912, was said to have broken records.

J.C. Williamson’s personal diary of his 1909 travels to England, Europe and northern America is held by the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation archive, and forms part of the ‘J.C. Williamson Distributed Collection’ registered on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register. A document transcribing the diary with extensive annotations and a fully researched introduction has been completed by researcher John Senczuk and is available on the Foundation’s website. sbwfoundation.com

Stage Heritage Programme for Our Miss Gibbs which opened on September 24 1910, at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney.

The special souvenir programme of the 200th performance of Our Miss Gibbs on April 12 1911, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney.

J.C. Williamson.

Stage Sounds

By Peter Pinne

Funny

Girl - New Broadway Cast Recording (Jule Styne/ Bob Merrill) Masterworks Broadway 19658788882)

Lea Michele has done the impossible by stepping into a floundering show and making it a hit. Not only a capacity, standing-room-only hit but a hit that keeps on setting new box-office records. From the moment she starts singing ‘I’m the Greatest Star’, she puts her stamp all over Funny Girl, the revival of the 1964 Broadway musical about Ziegfeld performer Fanny Brice. She is sensational. Of course we all knew she could sing the role, (she’s been auditioning for it for years on five seasons of Glee as Rachel Berry), and auditionees don’t come much better than this. It’s the best version of the score since Barbra Streisand made it her own in 1964. She effortlessly belts ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’ and brings down the emotional quiver of ‘The Music That Makes Me Dance’ to a tender vulnerability. This is not a new production, having already been seen in London in 2016 where Sheridan Smith essayed the title role. Directed by Michael Mayer, who directed Michele’s first Broadway

Online extras!

Stream the Funny Girl cast recording on Spotify. Scan the QR code or visit spoti.fi/40qrZLC

outing, Spring Awakening, 26 years ago, her voice is still breathtaking, with a new maturity. ‘Find Yourself a Man’ is still cut, but ‘Temporary Arrangement’ is included (it was dropped because leading man Sydney Chaplin couldn’t sing it), as is the duet of ‘Who Are You Now’, which is beautiful and heartbreakingly real. At last we have a leading man, Ramin Karimloo, who can really sing Nick Arnstein’s numbers. Not only does this help Fanny’s duets ‘You Are Woman, I Am Man’ and ‘Sadie Sadie’, but it helps flesh out the character. Tovah Feldshuh is a waspish joy as Brice’s mother, and gets full-mileage out of ‘Who Taught Her Everything She Knows’ with Jared Grimes. The song ‘Funny Girl’, which was used in the movie version, is performed by Karimloo, and at the finale by Michele. The orchestra is led by Michael Rafter, who does a great job with Jule Styne’s score. When you start off with an ‘Overture’ like this, who can go wrong? Along with Gypsy (also by Styne), it’s one of the Golden Age’s iconic masterpieces!

Mark Vincent - In The Eyes Of A Child (Sony Music 194399 914427)

Tenor Mark Vincent won Australia’s Got Talent in 2009 and since then has had a meteoric rise on the entertainment scene, having released ten studio albums. In the Eyes of a Child is more of the same: some Broadway and movie themes, plus a host of power ballad classics. The title song by Air Supply is a very affecting opening, with a symphonic sound and choir. Mariah Carey’s ‘Hero’, with backing chorus, and Ragtime’s ‘Make Them Hear You’, segue into a powerful vocal of Freddie Mercury’s ‘Love of my Life,’ followed by John Miles

Barbara Streisand performing at The Bon Soir nightclub in New York in November 1962.

Errington’s 1971 hit ‘Music’, complete with a full orchestral break. Richard Marx’s hit for Josh Groban ‘To Where You Are’ and Bryan Adams’s ‘Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman’ (Don Juan DeMarco), rub shoulders with ‘The Power of Love’, ‘A Time For Us’, ‘Canto Della Terra’ and ‘Il Mondo’, to complete an excellent 12 track selection. Chong Lim conducts a superb orchestra, the sound is incredibly lush, and Vincent’s vocals are jaw-droppingly thrilling.

Online extras!

Grab a physical or digital version of In The Eyes Of A Child. Scan or visit markvincent.com.au/music

Barbra Streisand - Live at the Bon Soir (Columbia Records, Legacy Series 19658713762)

This new release from Barbra Streisand has been sixty years in the making. Originally recorded at the Bon Soir Supper Club in Greenwich Village, New York, back in November 1962, Barbra, then 18, began her career singing Broadway standards. She earned a buzz, the contract kept being extended, and resulted in a recording contract from Columbia. Never released before, the album of 24 tracks is everything that she sang on November 5, 6, & 7, 1962. If some things were a little bit kooky, for instance Cole Porter’s ‘Come To the Supermarket (In Old Peking)’ from the television musical Aladdin, and ‘Napoleon’ from Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg’s Jamaica, there was still plenty to get excited about - ‘Cry Me A River’, ‘A Sleepin’ Bee’ and a languid and haunting ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’, which later developed into her signature song. Nine of the tracks had previously been released on her four album Just for the Record box-set in 1991, and the pick of the bunch is one of those tracks, Rodgers and Hart’s ‘Nobody’s Heart’ from By Jupiter. The voice is pristine, youthful and bewitching!

Online

Liz Callaway - To Steve With Love - Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim (Working Girl Records)

Liz Callaway has been in love with Sondheim since she appeared on Broadway in Merrily We Roll Along as a teenager. This album is essentially the program Callaway presented here in Brisbane, with a piano-bar vibe. She has fun with ‘What Do We Do? We Fly’ from Do I Hear a Waltz and ‘Another Hundred Lyrics’, a clever send-up of the difficulty of singing Sondheim set to Company’s ‘Another Hundred People’. She couples two of Sondheim’s most luscious numbers from Evening Primrose, ‘I Remember’ and ‘Take Me To The World’, and sings Merrily’s ‘Move On’ with her son, who just happens to have a robust baritone. Her patter is easy, with a conversational warmth. She talks of her parents loving Company, but walking out of Follies, suspecting the subject matter was a little too close to the bone. They divorced a few years later. Callaway’s vibrato is a little too wide these days, but there’s no doubt she knows her subject well. It’s a classic selection of the Sondheim oeuvre.

Online extras!

Listen to To Steve With Love on Apple Music. Scan the QR code or visit apple.co/3oyAya1

The Musicality Of Bart - Lionel Bart (Jay CDJAZ9018)

For many years Jay Records have been releasing their ‘Musicality’ series of Broadway and West End composers. The latest is the music of Lionel Bart. Bart was a colourful Cockney who could pluck melodies seemingly out of the air and had great success with Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be, Lock Up Your Daughters, Maggie May and Blitz! But his crowning achievement was Oliver! There are songs from all of them, including his big flopperoo Twang!!, a musical version of Robin Hood The big chorus numbers are a boisterous ‘Consider Yourself’ (Company), ‘Who’s This Geezer Hitler’ (Diane Langton) and ‘Maggie, Maggie May’ (Graham Bickley), but for sheer emotional pull you can’t go past ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ from Oliver! Sung by Josephine Barstow, it has that marvelous theatrical presence of being sung in a theatre!

Online extras!

Stream or buy The Musicality of Bart from Jay Records. Scan or visit bit.ly/3Akdn5U

The final production eligible for the 2023 Tony Awards to open, the Brooklyn Academy of Music's transfer revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, starring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, found itself a Broadway home at the James Earl Jones Theatre following the postponement of Emma Donoghue's Room. Opening night, April 27, was the Tony Award cut-off, ahead of nominations being announced on May 2. The 76th Tony Awards will be presented at the United Palace Theatre, New York City, on Sunday, June 11.

Several other productions flirted with the Tony deadline. In a week thick and fast with opening nights, Australian playwright Suzie Miller’s Olivier Award winning Prima Facie opened on April 23, with Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) repeating her Olivier Award winning role. Doug Wright’s Good Night, Oscar cut it closer, opening on April 24. Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht followed the next night in David Auburn’s Summer, 1976, while making it there on April 26 was New York, New York. By contrast, The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse premiered a whole week ahead of the deadline.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's modern makeover musical Bad Cinderella, which opened in March at the Imperial Theatre, didn’t go down well

with the critics - the New York Times review headline proclaimed “The Title Warned Us”, while Vulture’s banner wished, “If Only Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bad Cinderella Were Worse”. By contrast, the return of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd, with Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in the leads, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre received reviews ranging from positive to raves. The Lincoln Center revival of Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot, with its new book by Aaron Sorkin, though, disappointed, with mostly mixed reviews and some outright pans.

So, on June 11, we’ll know which shows will be bolstered at the box office by Tony wins, and which ones will shutter quickly?

TV coverage allowing, everyone enjoy your Tony Award parties.

While Broadway’s replacement Fanny Brice, Lea Michelle, turned around the fortunes of the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, attracting capacity houses, and recording the role on the revival Broadway Cast recording, the production is now scheduled to close in September 3, by which time it will have chalked up a respectable 600+ performances.

The 2023-24 Broadway season will kick off with Once Upon a One More Time - Britney Spears at the Marquis Theatre on June 22, with its score of Britney Spears’ chart-topping

hits. Other productions in the wings for 2023-24 include Back to the Future, Grey House, High Noon, Pal Joey, Sing Street, Merrily We Roll Along, The Wiz, Jaja's African Hair Braiding, Just For Us, Here Lies Love, El Mago Pop, The Cottage, I Need That, Purlie Victorious, and the New York debut of West End staple, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. And where will the ideas for even more new musicals spring from, after that collection of Broadway opening nights?

With F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby now royalty-free, at least two separate musical versions are in the works. Novels Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Sideways are also aiming for Broadway, while from the other end of the bookshelf there’s The Ten, a new gospel musical loosely based on Moses and the Ten Commandments.

Films and TV continue to be popular sources. Shows based on small screen series Soul Train and The Nanny are in development, while musicalisation projects from the cinema screen include Thelma and Louise, Like Water for Chocolate, La La Land, 13 Going on 30 and 17 Again The Devil Wears Prada, with its Elton John / Shaina Taub score has already played a Chicago tryout, though Broadway Vacation’s out-of-town premiere was stymied by COVID-19.

A new musical based on the 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles, about socialite Jacqueline Siegel, will star Kristin Chenoweth, reuniting her with Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz.

Entertainment bio-musicals are set to continue plundering playlists. Old Blue Eyes and songwriter Diane Warren have both attracted the attention of book writer Joe DiPietro and director Kathleen Marshall.

Grammy-winning blues musician Bobby Rush is collaborating with Stephen Lloyd Helper (book and codirector) on a bio-musical, and there’s also a show about Rock & Roll Hall-ofFamer Dion DiMucci in the works.

And will Muhammad Ali ‘float like a butterfly’ across a Broadway stage? That’s certainly the plan.

Broadway Buzz

Once Upon A One More Time.

Photo: Emilio Madrid.

Following sold out runs at both the National and Sheffield theatres, the Olivier Awardwinning Best New Musical Standing at the Sky's Edge transfers to the Gillian Lynne Theatre in the West End from February 2024. Written as a love letter to Sheffield and an ode to the brutalist Park Hill Estate, Standing at the Sky’s Edge features songs by Richard Hawley, with a book by Chris Bush. It charts the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades.

From May 24, the Spitting Image puppets take to the stage of London’s Phoenix Theatre for a threemonth season of Idiots AssembleSpitting Image The Musical, which had its premiere at Birmingham Rep, where it was developed with guidance from original Spitting Image co-creator Roger Law. The satirical puppet musical, based on the television show, is written by Al Murray, Matt Forde, and Sean Foley.

Brokeback Mountain, a new play with music (based on Annie Proulx’s short story) written by Everybody’s Talking About Jamie creators Ashley Robinson (book) and Dan Gillespie Sells (songs), has its world premiere at @sohoplace from May 10 to August 12. Jonathan Butterell directs Mike Faist as Jack and Lucas Hedges as Ennis, with the songs performed by Eddi Reader.

London Calling

Online extras!

Watch the preview for Standing At The Sky’s Edge. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/EnlW7Mi4RmQ

Set in Tuscany during World War II, new musical Glory Ride tells the story of renowned Italian athlete and Tour De France winner Gino Bartali, who was secretly instrumental in saving hundreds of Jews and refugees from Fascism, smuggling false identity documents in the frame of his bicycle. The show, with book, music, and lyrics by Victoria Buchholz and Todd Buchholz, opens on April 28 at the Charing Cross Theatre, playing until July 29.

“I'm a worshipped opera singer… renowned swordswoman…and a flaming bisexual! I sometimes get a cheer for that, but okay…” - Julie D'Aubigny from Julie: The Musical. A new musical by Tarita Botsman tells the 350-year-old story of the life and adventures of historical LGBTQ+ icon Julie D'Aubigny. One of the first public figures to live as an openly bisexual woman, she seduced nuns, duelled multiple men at once, burnt down convents, was bribed by princes, innovated opera all before she turned 30. Julie: The Musical promises live music, comedy, tap dancing sword fights, twerking nuns and kazoo choruses. At the New Wimbledon Theatre from May 31, then The Other Palace from July 25.

Elizabeth Thompson, the baddest, bitchin' babe of art, heads to the Kiln Theatre from June 29 to July 15 in Modest, a bioplay by Ellen Brammar,

with music by Rachel Barnes, ‘that seamlessly blends theatre, music hall and drag king swagger!’, promising a talented cast of the UK's finest drag performers. In 1874, revolutionary artist Elizabeth Thompson is about to shake the core of the Royal Academy with her painting “The Roll Call”. Five years later, she falls two votes short of becoming the first woman elected to the academy. Thompson was the first woman to be granted the title of "Lady" by Queen Victoria, in recognition of her artistic achievements.

When a new production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying arrives at Southwark Playhouse on May 12, 'The Book' will have an altogether different voice, RuPaul Drag Race judge Michelle Visage. Tracie Bennett will star as J B Biggley, with Gabrielle Friedman as J Pierrepont Finch and Allie Daniel as Rosemary Pilkington.

Regents Park Open Air Theatre is reviving two Broadway musicals in 2023, Once On This Island from May 10 to June 10 and La Cage Aux Folles from July 29 to September 16.

Sinatra The Musical, with a book by Joe DiPietro, and directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, will have its world premiere production at Birmingham Rep from September 23 to October 28.

Standing At The Sky’s Edge Photo: Johan Persson.

Immersive Experiences

From virtual art spectaculars, to the fusion of cinema and performance, to virtual ABBA concerts, Coral Drouyn looks at the changing face of entertainment and how technology and A.I. might influence it in the future.

For as long as there has been recorded history we have been drawn to theatre. Whether it be the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians or the Mesopotamians, or Shakespeare in his round “Globe” theatre, or Victorian Melodramas and everything between and beyond, it’s all theatre.

There have always been restrictions though, that can…and do…shackle theatre. There is always a performing area - let’s call it a stage - and an area where the audience sits and watchesthe auditorium.

Automatically we are dividing the passive observers (the audience) and active participants (the players). The trick over many centuries has been to try to obliterate the line between them.

For a long while the solution seemed to be to involve the audience more, artificially create the connection. It was taken to extremes in Victorian melodramas - the audience hissed the villain, and cheered the hero and heroine. A chairman even held up placards to prompt them, though the

throwing of peanuts (provided by the management of course) was left to the discretion of the audience. Some emptied their peanut bags in the first ten minutes. I would have eaten mine!

We can’t imagine audiences behaving that way today - O.H.& S. would never permit it. We always hope for the magic connection which allows us to absorb the audience into the performance.

We’ve all seen how stages have physically changed and the fourth wall often disappears altogether. We’ve had multi-storey stages, thrust stages, round stages for theatre in the round, triangles - even sunken auditoriums with surround stages, but so often the barrier still remains between those performing and those watching.

And here’s the paradox.

Theatre is three dimensional, with living actors able to emote and connect - it is peripatetic, rarely are two performances the same. It is real, happening before our eyes. At least it SHOULD be real, except that we can

see the stage, and the set, and we know there is nothing real about it.

Film…cinema, is the anthesis of this. The performances are set in stone; it plays the same whether there are 1,000 people or nobody watching. It’s not real in any way. And yet so often it transports us to another place and we accept the illusion without question. Film is more immersive than theatre, and it just shouldn’t be that way.

Theatre can’t compete with the enormity of film, but the push is on to blur the lines, to make theatre more immersive, even if it means adding film to do so.

“Immersive” usually means one of two things - small and intimate, with the audience in the midst of the “action” (Brisbane production company The Midnight Visit are masters of this kind of atmospheric experience which moves the audience through a series of spaces and experiences) - or a huge technical event like

(Continued on page 42)

Monet In Paris.

ABBA’s Voyage, which uses a technique called “Motion Capture” to create holographic avatars (which are dubbed ABBATARS) to recreate images of the Swedish pop group in their heyday, some 45 years ago.

It is NOT film. It is a facsimile of a real concert, with a live band accompaniment. Already the show is locked in until 2026. But is it a gimmick, albeit a very lucrative one? The barrier remains between audience and “performers”, even when they are not real, so it can never be spontaneous.

Australia’s own innovative director Kip Williams has found an alternative which is far more interesting. He calls it cine-theatre and it involves live actors in performance married with live video of those performances, married with pre-recorded video of the same actor(s) in different roles. In the case of his highly acclaimed The Picture of Dorian Gray, one actress (the brilliant Eryn Jean Norvill) plays 26 characters, interacting with herself as different characters.

In an interview last year with Elissa Blake, Williams explained:

“My snapshot is that it takes the best of cinema and the essence of theatre and combines them into a new space where you can see the juxtaposition of those art forms,” he says. “I want audiences to get lost in that blurred area between film and stage.”

He has proved now that a new kind of theatre is possible, but has he erased that barrier between spectator and participant?

The leaps and bounds in technology, including CGI and Virtual Reality (which can be fully immersive with the use of headsets) mean that not only can the barriers be erased, but there are no limits to how immersive theatre of the future might be.

Perhaps the most ambitious immersive experience to date is the upcoming (June 7, Brisbane) event Monet in Paris. It follows the hugely successful Van Gogh event of 2021but is far more expansive.

Monet in Paris is held in a purposebuilt venue where the experience starts

before you enter the doors. It’s theatre, rather than a museum or gallery event.

I talked to Technical Director Richard Dinnen about the quest for a fully immersive event and the design vision it required.

“We’re so lucky to have Anna (award winning Australian designer Anna Cordingley) create the entire venue - The Grand Palais,” he tells me. “It is virtually a full square of Montmartre in Paris as it would have been at the time of The Impressionists. You start to immerse yourself before you enter the building. Rather than a lighting plot, there is an atmos-scapethe sounds of Paris and its music engulf you. There’s a café, and a French restaurant where you can have dinner, shops where you can buy everything from souvenirs to art supplies. The magic starts there. And there’s even an absinthe bar with the chattering of the Parisian illuminati to accompany your drink. You believe you actually are in Paris.”

When you realise that this structure is being made to tour, it’s astonishing to hear that it’s an enormous 25 x 80

Online extras!

Experience the incredible lifelike effects of ABBA’s Voyage. Scan or visit youtu.be/iEikjzZO2N8

ABBA’s Voyage

Photo: Johan Persson.

metres - that’s over 2,000 square metres, where some 500 patrons at a time can roam the streets, so it will never be too crowded.

Inside you wander through Monet’s gardens, surrounded by flowers. To add to the sensory experience there is a form of “smell-ovision”. You can smell the flowers, the streets, the air of Paris.

Then the giant screens engulf you and assault your senses with not just Monet’s work, but that of some of the finest French artists the world has ever known.

I asked about the paintings themselves and how they are projected.

“It is CGI, but recreated from the paintings - as close to the real thing as you can get but many times bigger. So, you walk on a sky painted by Monet, or be confronted by hundreds of paintings in frames or a single gigantic Degas ballerina who makes you feel the size of a fly.”

I am wondering how many banks of computers and technicians it takes to present such a show.

“Surprisingly few,” he concedes. “The entire show is run remotely. Once the computers are programmed, the show can be run by a single operatorin this case in Melbourne, but it could even be from overseas.”

I’m thinking that wouldn’t be a great idea given my broadband connection, but what happens in situ? Richard fills me in.

“Ten years ago, maybe even five, we couldn’t have mounted an event like this. The technology wasn’t there. Now it is all pre-production, tech run after tech run to know we have perfected the process, but in terms of performance, there is a technician on site at the venue to check everything is keyed up correctly. Then he hands everything over to the chief tech, who simply pushes the playback button.”

Despite the simplicity that new technology has provided, the set and equipment fills 35 shipping containers. That’s a heck of a bump in and bump out. And though the event erases the barriers for the audience, it also has done away with the key components of theatre - actors and narrative storytelling.

“But this is just the beginning,” Richard assures me. “We’re already working on ways to involve spontaneous interaction and storytelling. This may involve live actors in situ or on video, or holographic avatars, representing characters. Within 5-10 years, Artificial Intelligence should have reached the stage where an avatar can respond spontaneously to any situation or question from the audience. In turn they will create situations which the audience can respond to, building on the storytelling. It’s very exciting.”

Yes, indeed it is, but for me, I would rather see highly skilled improv actors in that situation - answering my questions, telling me a story to which I can write my own response. I can think of a whole conversation I want to have with another French painter, ToulouseLautrec. Now THAT’S exciting, and will create more, not less, work for live performers. Either way, that barrier between the stage and the auditorium is destined to be a thing of the past, and I can’t wait to immerse myself.

Staging & Theatre Tech

Transforming A School Hall

Trent Pickles from the LifeLike Group explains how his company transformed a tired school hall into a state-of-the-art AV facility that springs to life at the push of one button.

St Joseph’s College in the Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill came to us to upgrade their school hall that was, in a word, abominable.

The facility was straight out of the 1980s a hodgepodge of random lights, half-working sound, an old projector drumroll screen on stage, dilapidated curtains and the bio box was in a mess.

Our company works on projects that range from simple upgrades to a full-scale system overhaul.

In this case we gutted the entire hall and our team of experts came up with a solution to combine simplified, intelligent scene control of sound, lighting and audio visual.

The space is used regularly for assemblies, rallies, exams, mass and performances.

Now the system can change-over from a simple school assembly to a full theatrical production at the touch of a button.

The most visually striking feature of the upgrade is the screens. On the stage is a 12.5 metre wide by 4.5 metre high LED wall, surrounded by two 4 by 2.5 metre screens.

There is a new motorised curtain rig. We reinforced the ceilings and installed five motorised lighting bars. The lighting rigs comprise 20 ETC LED lights and 18 Axcor washes and spots

and the new sound system is a 24 element MARTIN line array.

In the bio box is an Allen & Heath AVANTIS sound console, an ONYX NX1 lighting console, and a Blackmagic DESIGN vision production suite.

There is an overarching Q-SYS control system for simplified operation by any user.

A teacher who knows nothing about tech can simply press one button, and it will turn the lights on, turn the video walls on, open the stage curtain and get the sound ready for presentation.

Some of our clients have gone on to use the theatre control technology to integrate site-wide school paging and audio-visual distribution.

St Joseph’s College is over the moon at the upgrade. It cost over a million dollars but we have also completed upgrades for other schools for less than $50,000 Our team has a wide range of solutions available, all dependent upon existing equipment, operational requirements and budget.

For more information reach out to the expert team via email info@lifelike.com.au or call Sydney (02) 8880 6766, Newcastle (02) 4915 9615 or Melbourne (03) 9118 8201. lifelike.com.au

Staging & Theatre Tech

‘Cine-Theatre’ A Fad Or The Future?

Tony Knight, the former Head of Acting at NIDA, has his doubts about the fusion of cinema and live performance.

Kip Williams, Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre Company, has identified a new genre of theatre called ‘Cine-Theatre’, exemplified by his highly successful productions of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Essentially, this is a combination of aspects of the cinema and the theatre, including the use of ‘close-ups’, and ‘live’ film recording on-stage.

While not disputing the success of these productions, both of which were highly thrilling visually and psychologically, nonetheless, the combination of film and theatre is as old as filmmaking itself. Throughout the latenineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, there were numerous experiments in combining these two art forms, particularly in ‘melodrama’, which included spectacular train crashes that thrilled audiences.

Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, numerous productions have combined elements of film with the theatre. This includes the work of American director Robert Wilson, Canadian director Robert Le Page, and the highly influential Belgian director Ivo van Hove, whose productions of the Roman Tragedies and Kings of War, based the plays of William Shakespeare, as well as recently A Little Life, have been major productions in the Adelaide Festival.

Closer to home there has been the work of Benedict Andrews, notably his productions of Patrick White’s The Season of Sarsaparilla at the Sydney Theatre Company, and Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire at the National Theatre, London. These were all productions in which the combination of film and theatre was harmonious and highly effective, although not everyone was enthralled.

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Eryn Jean Norvill in STC’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray (2023).

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Kip Williams discusses the development and challenges of using ‘Cine-Theatre’. youtu.be/FrJoDjSQVA8

While ‘Cine-Theatre’ may be Kip Williams’ label for his work, nonetheless, despite its success, it is neither innovative nor new, and not, as Dorian Gray has been called, ‘a reinvention of the theatre’; more a reinvention of the wheel. Kip Williams’ work is excellent, but he is standing on the shoulders of other theatre directors whose work at the time was regarded as ground-breaking and innovative.

Watching Dorian Gray and Jekyll and Hyde, I was struck by the technical and performance challenges of working in this so-called new genre, ‘Cine-Stage’, facing the actors, and how this may impact of modern acting training.

For a start, however, it needs to be noted that the performers in these productions, Eryn Jean Norvill (Dorian Gray), and Ewan Leslie and Mathew Backer (Jekyll and Hyde), are highly skilled and trained actors; in the hands of untrained actors, particularly without a dynamic range of physical and vocal expression, I fear the productions would be much less effective.

Listening to the actors speak about the respective rehearsal processes, there is an essentially a conventional theatre approach regarding the naturalistic based process of telling a dramatic story, albeit in a highly theatrical

way; these productions have their own artistic truth that is fully honoured by the actors.

Major challenges include the physical and vocal demands, which are considerable. I was not surprised to hear that when a show was finished, the actors went straight home to rest in preparation for next day’s performance as they were physically exhausted. This is one aspect regarding any potential training for ‘Cine-Theatre’the physical fitness and resilience required, which is more like a two-hour endurance race.

Furthermore, although the productions had a terrific fluidity, the challenge for the actors was to hit particular ‘marks’ on stage to achieve a seemingly seamless narrative. Looking at the plethora of multi-coloured tabs on the stage floor, this too is major technical challenge.

Whether ‘Cine-Theatre’ will become a major theatre genre remains to be seen. I have my doubts. What will be the next step? It is difficult to see how ‘Cine-Theatre’ will evolve; but it may. Nonetheless, despite the theatrical thrill and seeming novelty, it is not the same experience as a conventional play, that can easily be performed without much technical and digital brilliance. For many, the bare bones approach of Peter Brook’s ‘Empty Space’ is a lot more satisfying, with no technical wizardry between actor and audience.

Ewen Leslie and Matthew Backer in STC’s Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde (2022).

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Staging & Theatre Tech

A New Outlook

One of Melbourne’s largest audio companies - Outlook Communications - has a new owner and a new direction that includes lighting.

Company founder Greg Ginger sold his business to his long-term employee Jack Jones in January, after providing audio services to schools, amateur theatres, sports and festival clients for 30 years.

Operating from a warehouse in Preston, clients ranged from the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the F1 Grand Prix to high school musicals.

Mr Ginger is concentrating on a new business called 61 productions, which focusses on professional theatre and musical productions.

Outlook Communications is now offering integrated sound and light services to customers.

“A lot of our school clients are enjoying being able to lock in a price for audio and lighting,” Mr Jones said.

Contact

The new direction for Outlook Communications was showcased last year at the Nati Frinj Biennale. The Frinj festival takes place every two years in a town called Natimuk, a regional town with a population of 500.

Outlook was the technical supplier, managing the technical

Staging & Theatre Tech

Jack Jones from Outlook Communications.

aspects across the whole festival including lighting and sound across all the venues.

The systems ranged from a basic PA to the system that was used for the main draw card of this year’s event, the lighting of giant silos.

The “bamboo exquisite tower moment” was a community lead project. The brief was to create “a bamboo tower that sits with hammocks strung up high, slacklines cut across the night sky.”

Patrons of the festival were challenged to consider “who put them there and what might come out to play on the Tower once darkness falls.”

Outlook supplied a full Funktionone res 1.5 system from the resolution series with minibass 212 subs from the bass series and a full mc2 amp kit.

The PA system, designed by Greg Ginger, supported the artful composition created by Russell Goldsmith, a highly respected Victorian based composer.

The full lighting rig was supplied by Outlook and designed by Jack Jones.

Outlook supplied 12 Horizon 300 wash movers, which gave the design a high-performance LED moving head.

A versatile unit, the Horizon 300 can fill the roles of multiple fixtures. That’s because it combines both wash and beaming functions all into one compact, easy to manage light weight fixture.

In the rig there were also 8 IP rated RGBW DMX controllable flood lights. The final fixture was 18 chauvet Freedom flex H4 IP, which is a battery operated, wireless dmx, RGBAW+UV fixture which is an amazing product as it’s 100 percent wireless. The whole production was programmed and operated on an ETC ion 6k.

The show had over 1000 people attend the performance and bought the whole community together. Outlook strives to provide innovative technical solutions for theatrical productions, concerts and events.

When Theatre Is A Way Of Life

Trent Pickles, Director of LifeLike Atmospheres, says that putting on a show can make a difference in the lives of young people by supporting their creativity, self-confidence and communication skills.

The team at LifeLike Atmospheres has been putting on shows for over 21 years now, with hundreds of school and theatrical groups, and we're proud to say that we're helping more young people shine every year.

If you're looking to put on a show, you want students to be engaged and excited about being part of the experience. The key is having them involved in the design, programming, set-up and operation of the production.

LifeLike’s team of experts in design and technology bring a passion for education and a deep understanding of what it takes to empower students. They have worked on projects ranging from $100,000 plus major musicals to a $1500 school play.

We aim to meet or exceed our client’s expectations within their budget.

Our services include:

 Lighting design, audio engineering, staging design and technical drawing as well as 3D concepts for projected backdrops.

 Equipment hire including lighting, audio, projection, LED video walls, rigging, truss, staging and special effects.

 Pre-event and onsite training programs tailored for teachers and students.

If you're ready to empower your students with everything they need to get the most out of their experience, we invite you to reach out today!

For more information reach out to the expert team via email info@lifelike.com.au or call Sydney (02) 8880 6766, Newcastle (02) 4915 9615 or Melbourne (03) 9118 8201. lifelike.com.au

Metropolitan Players’ Wicked (2016).

Tech Wizardry

A very funny and very black comedy mixes live action and technology to satirise human imaginatio n and its failings. The frenzy theatre company locates their on-stage characters ‘inside’ a Windows PC computer and uses The Sims computer game to ‘create’ them. The characters are SIMS (played by supremely disciplined actors): that is, they’re created, controlled, explored and experimented with by three teenage girls whom we see only on a huge video screen. The play begins maybe back in 2000 when The Sims game was launched.

First, five actors in orange and black uniforms and with happy, inane smiles trot about the stage in fixed patterns of brisk, repetitious movement. These are the figures that come as standard SIMS within The Sims game. The real show begins when five more complex, but still incomplete SIMS appear on stage ‘created’ and manipulated by the teenage girls. They are all recognisable ‘types’: a busty blonde bombshell, who laughs, then cries, then laughs, then cries; a good-looking but searching-for-charisma guy in a suit; a kind of floppy long-haired guy in a dressing gown; a sexy ‘French’ maid, and a tall and standard ‘pretty’ young woman.

Only one of the teen girls is really interested. She stares wide-eyed, rapt in her SIM creatures - and what she can

make them do…and what she can’t. She is making and exploring another, alternate (better, safer?) electronic world to see its possibilities…like, what would it be like to be a…gender-fluid person? But on stage, other things are going on simultaneously - and there are video screens either side of the stage containing commands for the SIMS (e.g., ‘KEVIN - BOOST CONFIDENCE’), banal text message exchanges, and PAUSE and PLAY.

The apparent lack of focus is deliberate. Director Belle Hansen knows what MOTHERLOD_^E is about: what’s happening on stage is messy, repetitious and cliché (and pointed), always constrained by the imagination and limitations of the SIMS creator, the girl playing the game. In the show’s second half, that girl is now a mature woman looking back at her SIMS creations; she is amazed, embarrassed, disdainful, bored, and vicious. One SIM (the maid) is put on an exercise bike and then forgotten. She pedals on, and on, and…it’s funny, but we keep checking her out; how long can she go on? The mature woman player leaves the room (PAUSE on the video screens), returns (PLAY), ignores her screen while she masturbates…bored again…she brings on a new SIM, the Grim Reaper. Implicit here is the resort to violence.

Stage Whispers reviewer Michael Brindley was impressed with the inventive and ironic use of technology in the independent production of MOTHERLOD_^E staged by the frenzy theatre at Theatre Works Melbourne in January.

MOTHERLOD_^E

Photo: Dan Rabin.

When you can’t do anything more with this SIM, or that one is boring kill them.

The frenzy theatre people’s purpose here is to demonstrate, via these SIM avatars, a sense of bleak cynicism or disappointment about the limits of imagination, the banality of ‘alternate reality’ or the banality of those people playing The Sims game in their attempts to create an alternate reality and the inability to take these SIM characters beyond clichés.

Director Belle Hansen explains to David Spicer how it was put together.

“AV was going for the entire time. We had two shows in one. The players on screen controlled the sims live on stage, and had the live actors at their mercy.

“We used a projector for the back of stage AV and two screen for in world commands that included typing, messaging, sound, and lighting effects.

“It was low budget high concept work from early career artists a massive undertaking with a full complement of 14 people that included film makers and editors.

“The whole show was timed to a T, with the prerecorded film choreographed to specific movements on stage.

“The broadcast affected what lighting we could use and the projection angles. No lights could be pointed at the back wall because it would wash out video screen.

“We used Canva to do our animation and layering of images.

“It was a fully filmed trajectory, where the characters start as teenagers on screen, then we see one of them as an adult.

“We are hoping to take the production on tour.”

Staging & Theatre Tech

MOTHERLOD_^E

Photo: Dan Rabin.

The Broadway Junior Shows Of Stephen Schwartz

The celebrated composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz has created some of the most beloved musicals of recent times, including Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Baker's Wife and Working.

Stephen Schwartz has picked up three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and a special Tony Award for his commitment to new talent.

His passion for mentoring young artists and supporting educational initiatives is matched perfectly to Music Theatre International’s (MTI’s) commitment to adapt shows for young performers and provide resources for youth theatre programs.

Together with MTI, he has been involved in adapting several of his fulllength shows for young performers, including Godspell JR, Captain Louie JR, Children of Eden JR and My Son Pinocchio JR. These shows provide age-appropriate material that is both challenging and accessible for young performers, and they have become

staples of youth theatre programs around the world.

“I think Musical Theatre as a part of education not only provides performance and teamwork skills, but also provides important life skills such as empathy, community and expanded imagination. I am honoured to have my shows available as a part of MTI's Broadway Junior series and to share my work with a new generation,” Stephen Schwartz said.

Godspell JR. is an adaptation of one of his earliest and most famous musicals, based on the biblical parables of Jesus Christ. Boasting a score with chart-topping songs, this show is designed to be staged in a simple, stripped-down manner that emphasises the message and spirit of the parables.

Based on the children's book The Trip by Ezra Jack Keats, Captain Louie JR. is a musical about a young boy who moves to a new neighbourhood and must navigate the challenges of making new friends.

In Disney's My Son Pinocchio JR., the classic tale of toymaker Geppetto's little wooden puppet is given new life as it retells the classic Disney story from Geppetto’s perspective, featuring the beloved classic songs

“When You Wish upon a Star” and

“I’ve Got No Strings”, alongside a host of new songs by Schwartz.

Children of Eden JR is a musical that explores the stories of the Bible's first families, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and his family, and has been celebrated for its powerful message of family, community, and faith.

Stephen Schwartz's shows for young performers have become beloved staples of youth theatre programs around the world, inspiring generations of young performers to discover the magic of musical theatre and the power of storytelling.

“It was great fun for me to rethink and redesign these shows with a younger cast in mind, and I am excited to see where it takes these young artists. I encourage all young people to get involved in theatre and to discover the magic of musicals for themselves,” Stephen Schwartz said.

The musicals of Stephen Schwartz can be licensed for performance through Music Theatre International. mtishows.com.au

Stephen Schwartz.

Photo: Ralf Rühmeier.

Love Never Dies Now Available For Amateur Productions

ORiGiN Theatrical in association with The Really Useful Group are thrilled to announce the amateur release of Love Never Dies in Australia and N.Z.

Our favourite characters from The Phantom of the Opera return.

It is 1907, ten years after The Phantom’s disappearance from the Paris Opera House. The Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak-shows of Coney Island, working on his music and yearning for his one true love and musical protégée, Christine Daaé.

Christine, now an opera superstar and struggling in an ailing marriage to Raoul, arrives with her family in New York to sing at the opening of Oscar Hammerstein’s new theatre. In a bid to win back her love, The Phantom lures

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Choosing A Show

them to the glittering and subterranean splendours of Coney Island, where all is not what it seems.

Love Never Dies features the smouldering duet “Beneath a Moonless Sky”, the haunting “The Beauty Underneath” and the triumphant showstopper “Love Never Dies”.

Characters: Christine Daaé, opera diva; The Phantom, a composer and magician known as the Opera Ghost; Raoul, married to Christine, now a stoic and functioning alcoholic; Madame Giry, the ballet mistress and mother of Meg; Meg Giry, Madame Giry’s daughter, member of the ballet chorus, Christine’s best friend; Mr Gangle, Mr Squelch, Fleck, mystical characters who comment on the story; Gustave, Christine's Son.

Orchestrations: Available for 14, 16 or 21 piece orchestra

Settings: Coney Island/Pier, Theatre at Phantasma, Madame Giry’s office, Manhattan, Hotel Suite, The Maze of Mirrors, Decrepit Bar, Dressing Room.

Credits: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Glenn Slater. Additional lyrics by Charles Hart. Book by Ben Elton. Based on “The Phantom of Manhattan” by Frederick Forsyth.

On Stage

A.C.T.

Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley. Canberra Rep Canberra Rep. Until May 13. canberrarep.org.au

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia. May 11 - 21. Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Puffs by Matt Cox. Echo Youth. May 11 - 20. The Q, Queanbeyan. theq.net.au

The Alphabet of Awesome Science. David Lampard and Emma Bargery. Nicholas Clark Management and That Science Gang. May 26 & 27. The Q, Queanbeyan. theq.net.au

Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade. Canberra Rep. Jun 15Jul 1. canberrarep.org.au

Come From Away by David Hein and Irene Sankoff. Rodney Rigby and Junkyard Dog Productions. Jun 8 - Jul 2. Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Footloose Music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, book by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. Queanbeyan Players. Jun 23 - Jul 2. The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. queanbeyanplayers.com

A.C.T. & New South Wales

COVID-19 Notice

Readers are advised to monitor public health advice in their jurisdiction and check with the relevant theatre group, venue or ticket outlet for specific performance impacts, cancellation or rescheduling information.

New South Wales

Julia by Joanna Murray-Smith. Sydney Theatre Company. Until May 13. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. sydneytheatre.com.au

Fences by August Wilson. Sydney Theatre Company. Until May 6. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward. The Theatre on Chester. Until May 6. The Theatre, cnr Chester and Oxford Streets, Epping. theatreonchester.com.au

Metropolis by Julia Robertson and Zara Stanton. Little Eggs Collective in association with Hayes Theatre Co. From Apr 21. Hayes Theatre. hayestheatre.com.au

Cracks in the Mirror. Script and lyrics by Lyn Townsend & music by Gail Smith. Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society. Until May 7. The Little Theatre. parkesmandd.com.au

All My Sons by Arthur Miller. New Theatre. Until May 27. newtheatre.org.au

Rumors by Neil Simon. Maitland Repertory Theatre. Until May 14. Repertory Theatre, Maitland. mrt.org.au

Identity. The Australian Ballet. May 2 - 20. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

The Culture by Laura Jackson. May 3 - 20. Flight Path Theatre, Marrickville. flightpaththeatre.org

At What Cost? by Nathan Maynard. Belvoir. May 4 - 21. Belvoir Street Upstairs. belvoir.com.au

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical. By Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins. Paul Dainty AO/TEG DAINTY in special collaboration with Stage Entertainment, Tali Pelman and Tina Turner. From May 4. Theatre Royal, Sydney. tinathemusical.com.au

Hot Brown Honey The Remix Quiet Riot Creative. May 4 - 14. Studio, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

Jewels. The Australian Ballet. May 4 - 20. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage. Ensemble Theatre. May 5 - Jun 10. ensemble.com.au

The Producers. Music & Lyrics: Mel Brooks. Book: Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. Holroyd Musical and Dramatic Society. May 5 - 13. Redgum Centre, Wentworthville. hmds.org.au

Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Penrith Musical Comedy Company Inc. May 513. Glenmore Park High School Performing Arts Centre. penrithmusical.org

Chicago. Book Bob Fosse. Music by John Kander. Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Book and lyrics by

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

On Stage

Online extras!

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has had audiences guessing for 70 years. youtu.be/UHt3-DwmXT0

The world’s longest-running play, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap continues its 70th anniversary tour of Australia. Audiences will be guessing ‘whodunit?’ when the show opens at Canberra Theatre in May, with seasons at QPAC, Brisbane and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta to follow. themousetrap.com.au

Fred Ebb. The Players Theatre, Port Macquarie. May 5 - 28. playerstheatre.org.au

All His Beloved Children by Frieda Lee. KXT on Broadway. May 5 - 20 KXT On Broadway, 181 Broadway, Cnr Mountain St, Ultimo. kingsxtheatre.com

Be More Chill. Music and Lyrics by Joe Iconis. North Shore Theatre Company. May 5 - 13 Zenith Theatre, Chatswood. northshoretheatrecompany.org

Relativity by Mark St. Germain. Joining The Dots Theatre. May 10 - 13. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Sport for Jove Theatre. May 11 - 19, Riverside Theatre Parramatta, riversideparramatta.com.au & May 24 - Jun 2, Seymour Centre, seymourcentre.com

Pony by Eloise Snape by Nicholas Brown. Griffin Theatre Company. May 12 - Jun 17.

SBW Stables Theatre. griffintheatre.com.au

The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Willoughby Theatre Company. May 12 - 28. The Concourse Theatre, Chatswood. willoughbytheatreco.com.au

School of Rock by Julian Fellowes, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater. Coffs Harbour Musical Comedy Company. May 12 - Jun 4. Jetty Memorial Theatre, Coffs Harbour. jettytheatre.com

Assassins. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by John Weidman Lane Cove Theatre Company. May 1228. The Performance Space at St Aidan's, Longueville. lanecovetheatrecompany.com

Mr Bailey’s Minder by Debra Oswald. The Guild Theatre. May 12 - Jun 10. 87 Railway

Street, Cnr Walz St, Rockdale. (02) 9597 4558. guildtheatre.com.au

The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race by Melanie Tait. Arts Theatre Cronulla. May 12 - Jun 17 artstheatrecronulla.com.au

The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol. Translated by June Goss. Newcastle Theatre Company. May 13 - 27. newcastletheatrecompany.com.au

Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams. Ensemble Theatre. May 15 - Jun 10. ensemble.com.au

Things I Know to be True by Andrew Bovell. Pymble Players. May 17 - Jun 11. Pymble Players Theatre. pymbleplayers.com.au

Shrek The Musical Music by Jeanine Tesori. Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. Engadine Musical Society. May 19 - 28. Engadine Community Centre. 1300 636 063. engadinemusicalsociety.com.au

The Hollow by Agatha Christie. Woy Woy Little Theatre. May 19 - Jun 4. Peninsula Theatre, Woy Woy. woywoylt.com

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Peter Parnell. Blackout Theatre Company. May 19 - 27. Pioneer Theatre, Castle Hill. blackouttheatre.com.au

The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. EUCMS. May 19 - Jun 4. Eastwood Uniting Church eucms.org.au

Girl Band by Katy Warner. New Ghosts Theatre Company / National Theatre of Parramatta. May 18 - 27. Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Ada and the Engine by Laura Gunderson. Glenbrook Players. May 19 - 27. Glenbrook

Photo: Brian Geach.

On Stage

Theatre. glenbrookplayers.com.au

Do Not Go Gentle by Patricia Cornelius. Sydney Theatre Company. May 23 - Jun 17. Roslyn Packer Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

Mamma Mia! Music and Lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and some songs with Stig Anderson. Book by Catherine Johnson. Originally conceived by Judy Craymer. From May 24. Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick. Sydney Lyric Theatre. mammamiathemusical.com.au

Driftwood The Musical. By Jane Bodie. Based on the memoir by Eva de Jong-Duldig. Music and lyrics by Anthony Barnhill with additional lyrics by Tania de Jong and Jane Bodie. May 2428, Glen Street Theatre; May 31 - Jun 4, Riverside

Parramatta & Jun 7 - 18, Eternity Playhouse,

Darlinghurst, driftwoodthemusical.com.au

The Pyjama Girl by Stephen Goldrick. Composer: Steven Wood. May 24 - Jun 3. Flight Path Theatre, Marrickville. flightpaththeatre.org

Peter Pan. Hills Musical Theatre Company. May 26 - Jun 3. Model Farms High School Auditorium. hillsmtc.com

Scenes from the Climate Era by David Finnigan. May 27 - Jun 25. Belvoir Street Upstairs. belvoir.com.au

Porpoise Pool by JoJo Zhou. Bite Productions / Belvoir 25A. May 31 - Jun 18. Belvoir Street Upstairs. belvoir.com.au

Consent by Nina Raine. Outhouse Theatre Co. Jun 124. Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

33 Variations by Moses Kaufman. Castle Hill Players. Jun 2 - 24. The Pavilion

Theatre, Castle Hill Showground. paviliontheatre.org.au

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Red Line Productions. Jun 3 - Jul 1. Old Fitz Theatre. redlineproductions.com.au

Jellyfish by Ben Wetherill. New Theatre. Jun 6 - Jul 1. newtheatre.org.au

Rabbits on a Red Planet. Creators Andy Leonard, Irving Gregory and Ryley Gillen. Carrot and Stick. Jun 7 - 24. Flight Path Theatre, Marrickville. flightpaththeatre.org

The Poison of Polygamy. A play by Anchuli Felicia King, adapted from the book by Wong Shee Ping, translated by Ely Finch. Sydney Theatre Company. Jun 8 - Jul 15. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

New South Wales

One Act Play Festival. The Players Theatre, Port Macquarie. Jun 9 - 11. playerstheatre.org.au

Carrie The Musical. Based on novel by Stephen King. Music by Michael Gore. Lyrics by Dean Pitchford. Book by Laurence D Cohen. The Regals Musical Society. Jun 9 - 18. Rockdale Town Hall. theregals.com.au

The Addams Family. Book: Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Music and Lyrics: Andrew Lippa. Miranda Musical Theatre Company. Jun 9 - 16. Sutherland Arts Theatre. mirandamusicaltheatrecompany.com.au

Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Opera Australia. Jun 1326. Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Composer: Alan Menken. Lyricist: Tim Rice. Book: Linda

Stage Whispers

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

On Stage

New South Wales & Queensland

Online extras!

Discover Driftwood’s story of creativity, survival, family, freedom and love. youtu.be/2nUuxCswi0E

Woolverton. From Jun 14. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. beautyandthebeastmusical.com.au

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia. Jun 15 - 25. Riverside Theatre Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Slide Night! With Rove McManus. Jun 15 - 25. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

Benefactors by Michael Frayn. Ensemble Theatre. Jun 16 - Jul 22. ensemble.com.au

When Dad Married Fury by David Williamson. Hunters Hill Theatre. Jun 16 - Jul 2. huntershilltheatre.com.au

Aida by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Antonio

Ghislanzoni. Opera Australia.

Jun 19 - Jul 21. Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare.

Driftwood The Musical follows the lives of renowned Austrian/ Australian sculptor Karl Duldig and his artist/inventor wife, Slawa Horowitz-Duldig from pre-war Vienna, Slawa’s ingenious invention of the foldable umbrella, to miraculously escape of the Holocaust and rebuilding their careers as artists in Melbourne. The show returns to Chapel Off Chapel from May 3 to 30, then tours New South Wales until June 18 before heading to New York. driftwoodthemusical.com.au

Jun 23 - Aug 27. The Neilson Nutshell, Pier 2/3, Dawes Point. sydneyoperahouse.com

Ladybird Ladybird by Linda Nicholls-Gidley. Vox Theatre. Jun 28 - Jul 15. Flight Path Theatre, Marrickville. flightpaththeatre.org

The Elixir Of Love by Gaetano Donizetti. Rockdale Opera Company. Jul 1 - 9. Rockdale Town Hall. rockdaleopera.com.au

Miss Peony by Michelle Law. Belvoir, in association with Arts Centre Melbourne and QPAC. Jul 1 - 30. Belvoir Street Upstairs. belvoir.com.au

Queensland

As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Queensland Theatre. Until May 13. Bille Brown Theatre. queenslandtheatre.com.au

Guys and Dolls. Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.

your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

Gold Coast Little Theatre. Until May 6. gclt.com.au

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Sunnybank Theatre Group. Until May 6. sunnybanktheatre.com.au

Four Days in Dallas by Ken Cotterill. Cairns Little Theatre / Rondo Theatre. Until May 6. therondo.com.au

Burn by John Muggleton. Toowoomba Repertory Theatre Society. May 2 - 13. Rep Theatre, Toowoomba. toowoombarep.com.au

SHE. A collaboration between indelabilityarts and The Good Room, presented by Metro Arts. May 3 - 13. New Benner Theatre. metroarts.com.au

Swingers by April Phillips. Mates Theatre Genesis. May 414. Donald Simpson Centre, Cleveland. matestg.org.au

Bard Wars by John Grey. Brisbane Arts Theatre. May 427. artstheatre.com.au

Urinetown The Musical. Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollman. Book and Lyrics by Greg Kotis. Phoenix Ensemble, Beenleigh. May 5 - 27.

phoenixensemble.com.au

The Poison of Polygamy. Adaptated from Wong Shee Ping’s novella by Anchuli Felicia King. La Boite/ Sydney Theatre Company. May 8 - 27. Roundhouse Theatre. laboite.com.au

From Here to Eternity - one act plays. Ipswich Little Theatre. May 11 - 27. ilt.org.au

Girls’ Night Out by Dave Simpson. May. Tugun Theatre Company. May 11 - 26. tuguntheatre.org

Cats Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Book by T.S. Eliot. Queensland Musical Theatre. May 12 - 21. (07) 3252 5122. queenslandmusicaltheatre.com

Five Women Wearing The Same Dress by Alan Ball. Nash

Photo: Cameron Grant.

On Stage Queensland

Theatre. May 12 - Jun 3. nashtheatre.com

Drinking Habits by Tom Smith. Centenary Theatre Group. May 13 - 28. centenarytheatre.com.au

Robin Hood: Care of Sherwood Forest by Louis Nowra. Brisbane Arts Theatre. May 13Jul 8. artstheatre.com.au

Moulin Rouge! The Musical Book by John Logan, based on the Baz Luhrmann film. Global Creatures. May 16 - Jul 27. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. qpac.com.au

46th One Act Play Festival. Noosa Arts Theatre. May 1828. noosaartstheatre.org.au

Ishmael by David Morton. Dead Puppet Society. May 19 - 27. Cremorne Theatre. qpac.com.au

The Happy Prince. Oscar Wilde and David W Young. Metro Arts. May 19 & 20. New

Benner Theatre. metroarts.com.au

Gypsy Music by Jule Styne. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Arthur Laurentis. The Spotlight Theatrical Company. May 19 - Jun 10. The Halpin Auditorium, Benowa. spotlighttheatre.com.au

Apologia by Alexi Kaye Campbell. Javeenbah Theatre. May 19 - Jun 3. javeenbah.org.au

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia. May 25 - Jun 11. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. qpac.com.au

At What Cost? By Nathan Maynard. Queensland Theatre. May 25 - Jun 10. Billie Brown Theatre. queenslandtheatre.com.au

The Addams Family. Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa. Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Mackay Musical Comedy

Players. May 19 & 20. MECC. mackaymusicalcomedyplayers.com

Daylight Saving by Nick Enright. Villanova Players. Jun 3 - 18. villanovaplayers.com

Così by Louis Nowra. Brisbane Arts Theatre. Jun 3 - Jul 22. artstheatre.com.au

Murder At Checkmate Manor by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jr. St Luke’s Theatre Society. Jun 9 - 24. Christ Church Hall, Yeronga. stlukestheatre.asn.au

Tiny Beautiful Things. Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed Adapted by Nia Vardalos. Queensland Theatre. Jun 17Jul 8. Bille Brown Theatre. queenslandtheatre.com.au

Break. The Farm and Cecilia Martin. Jun 14 - 16, HOTA, Gold Coast, hota.com.au & Jun 21 - 24, New Benner Theatre, metroarts.com.au

Once. Book by Enda Walsh. Music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Based on the film by John Carney Jun 17 - 11. HOTA, Gold Coast. hota.com.au

A Vicar of Dibley ChristmasThe Second Coming. Sunnybank Theatre Group. Jun 23 - Jul 8. sunnybanktheatre.com.au

Armed N Dangerous by Len Randall. Tweed Heads Theatre Co. Jun 23 - Jul 9. Tweed Heads Civic Centre Auditorium. tweedtheatre.com.au

42nd Street. Music by Harry Warren, Lyrics by Al Dubin. Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes. Savoyards Musical Comedy Society. Jun 24 - Jul 8. Iona Performing Arts Centre, Iona College, Lindum. (07) 3893 4321. savoyards.com.au

Stage Whispers

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

On Stage

Cinderella The Pantomime. Spotlight Theatrical Company. Jun 28 - Jul 8. The Basement Theatre, Benowa. spotlighttheatre.com.au

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Cairns Little Theatre / Rondo Theatre. Jun 30 - Jul 9. therondo.com.au

Victoria

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling. Reimagined one-part production. Until Jul 9. Princess Theatre, Melbourne. au.harrypottertheplay.com & Juliet. Music: Max Martin. Book: David West Read. Ongoing. Regent Theatre, Melbourne. andjuliet.com.au

Jumpers for Goalposts by Tom Wells. Williamstown Little Theatre. Until May 6. Williamstown Little Theatre. wlt.org.au

True West by Sam Shepard. HSTheatre. Until May 7. fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon. Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre Co. Inc. Until May 6. lilydaleatc.com

Extremities by William Mastrosimone. Geelong Repertory Theatre Company. Until May 6. Woodbin Theatre, Geelong West. geelongartscentre.org.au

Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Malvern Theatre Company Inc. Until May 6. malverntheatre.com.au

Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel. Heidelberg Theatre Co. Until May 6. Heidelberg Theatre, Rosanna. htc.org.au

Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury. Red Stich. Until May 21. redstitch.net

Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare.

Until May 14. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

It’s Only a Play by Terence McNally. Mordialloc Theatre Company Inc. Until May 13. Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale. mordialloctheatre.com

Happy Days by Samuel Beckett. Melbourne Theatre Company. May 1 - Jun 10. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. mtc.com.au

If Unicorns Were Real by Mollie Mooney. The Butterfly Club. May 1 - 6. thebutterflyclub.com

#BacchaeToo. Based on The Bacchae by Euripides. Adapted and directed by Elise D’Amico and Joe Dias. Peridot Theatre.

May 4 - 14. Clayton Community Centre Theatre. peridot.com.au

School of Rock. Based on the Paramount movie written by Mike White. Book by Julian Fellowes. Lyrics by Glenn Slater. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Bairnsdale Production Line Theatre Co. May 5 - 21. Forge Theatre and Arts Hub. bairnsdaleproductionline.org

The Boy From Oz. Music and Lyrics by Peter Allen. Book by Nick Enright. Williamstown Musical Theatre. May 5 - 20. Centenary Theatre Williamstown. wmtc.org.au

Loaded. Adapted by Christos Tsiolkas and Dan Giovannoni, from the novel by Christos Tsiolkas. Malthouse Theatre. May 5 - 28. Beckett Theatre. malthousetheatre.com.au

Once. Book by Enda Walsh. Music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Based on the film by John Carney. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. May 6 - Jun 4. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. darlinghursttheatre.com

F.A.A.G.: Footballers Are A Godsend by Samuel Roberts.

Queensland & Victoria

The Butterfly Club. May 8 - 13. thebutterflyclub.com

Killing Time by Jack Hibberd. La Mama Courthouse. May 9 - 21. lamama.com.au

Gunga-na Dhum-nganjinu (The Stories We Hold Tightly) by Isobel Morphy-Walsh Yirramboi Festival. May 9 - 14. fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Last Illuminations by Peter Murphy. Music composed by Peter Graham. La Mama Theatre HQ. May 10 - 21. lamama.com.au

My First Time. The Butterfly Club. May 10 - 13. thebutterflyclub.com

MEERTA - Rise Up! The Ballad of James Arden. YIRRAMBOI. May 11 & 12. The Pavillion, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

I Wanna Be Yours by Zia Ahmed. Melbourne Theatre Company. May 11 - 27. Southbank Theatre, The Lawler. mtc.com.au

Catch Me If You Can. Book by Terrance McNally. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. CLOC Musical Theatre. May 12 - 27. National Theatre, St Kilda. cloc.org.au

Buried Child by Sam Shepard. The Mount Players. May 1228. themountplayers.com

Satyagraha in Concert by Philip Glass. Opera Australia. May 13. Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Paul Capsis - Dry My Tears. May 17 - 28. fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Tannhäuser in Concert by Wagner. Opera Australia. May 17 & 20. Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Waiting for God by Michael Aitkens. The 1812 Theatre, Upper Ferntree Gully. May 18Jun 10. 1812theatre.com.au

The Three Musketeers - A Comedy Adventure by John Nicholson & Le Navet Bete. Beaumaris Theatre. May 19Jun 3.

beaumaristheatre.com.au

Fabuloso by John Kolvenbach. Brighton Theatre Company. May 19 - Jun 3. Bayside Arts and Cultural Centre, Brighton brightontheatre.com.au

Jekyll and Hyde. Book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Music by Frank Wildhorn. Warragul Theatre Company. May 1927. West Gippsland Arts Centre. warragultheatrecompany.org.au

Gender Euphoria: Mighty Real. Created by Mama Alto and Maude Davey. May 19 & 20. State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Jacky by Declan Furber Gillick. Melbourne Theatre Company. May 22 - Jun 24. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. mtc.com.au

Adrift by Jane Miller. La Mama Courthouse. May 24 - Jun 4. lamama.com.au

The World According to Dinosaurs by Belle Hansen and Amelia Newman. La Mama Courthouse. May 24 - Jun 4. lamama.com.au

Winona. The Butterfly Club. May 24 - 27. thebutterflyclub.com

The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Mountain District Musical Society. May 26 - Jun 4. The Karralyka Theatre. mdms.org.au

Dusty. Songs recorded by Dusty Springfield, book by JohnMichael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow.

On Stage Victoria

McKellar. Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. Benalla Theatre Company. Jun 16 - 24. BPACC. benallatheatrecompany.org.au

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.

Warrandyte Theatre Company. Jun 16 - Jul 1. Warrandyte Mechanics Hall. warrandytehallarts.asn.au/theatre

Ladies in Black. Book by Carolyn Burns from the novel by Madeleine St John. Music and Lyrics by Tim Finn. Ararat Musical Comedy Society. Jun 17 - 26. Ararat Town Hall. araratmusicalcomedysociety.com

Is God Is by Aleshea Harris. Melbourne Theatre Company / Sydney Theatre Company. Jun 19 - Jul 15. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. mtc.com.au

Monster Truck Extravaganza 3000 by Lachie Gough

Handful of Bugs Theatre Co

The Butterfly Club. Jun 19 - 24. thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret Night Fever. The Butterfly Club. Jun 19 - 24. thebutterflyclub.com

Wonthaggi Theatrical Group. May 26 - Jun 9. Wonthaggi Union Community Arts Centre. wtg.org.au

An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley. Strathmore Theatrical Arts Group. Jun 1 - 10. stagtheatre.org

Climbers by Elly D’Arcy. Fever103 Theatre. Jun 1 - 11. fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. fortyfivedownstairs.com

RISING. Jun 7 - 18. rising.melbourne

Little Brother, Big Sister by Michel Paul Tuomy. La Mama Courthouse. Jun 7 - 18. lamama.com.au

Woman With a Tomahawk by Ruth Katerelos. La Mama

60 Stage Whispers

Theatre HQ. Jun 7 - 18. lamama.com.au

Tracker Australian Dance Theatre in association with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company. RISING. Jun 7 - 18. Arts House. artshouse.com.au

Seussical The Musical. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Based on stories by Dr Seuss. Windmill Theatre Company. Jun 9 - 18. Bunjil Place Theatre, Narre Warren. windmilltheatre.com.au

All Shook Up. Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley. Book by Joe DiPietro. Babirra Music Theatre. Jun 1018. Karralyka Theatre, Ringwood East. babirra.org.au

Robyn Archer: An Australian Songbook. RISING. Jun 12 &

13. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Hide the Dog by Nathan Maynard (Trawlwoolway pakana) and Jamie McCaskill (Māori). RISING. Jun 14 - 17. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Exiles by James Joyce. Bloomsday in Melbourne. Jun 15 - 25. fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler. Mordialloc Theatre Company. Jun 16 - Jul 1. Shirley Burke Theatre. mordialloctheatre.com

The Drowsy Chaperone. Book by Bob Martin and Don

Trees // Who Really Cares (Lest We Forget - It's Vital) by Lloyd James in collaboration with The Ensemble Team. La Mama Theatre HQ. Jun 20 - 25. lamama.com.au

Frankenstein. Written and directed by Christine Davey. La Mama Courthouse. Jun 2025. lamama.com.au

Shhhh by Clare Barron. Red Stich. Jun 20 - Jul 6 redstitch.net

The Whales of August by David Berry. Malvern Theatre Co. Jun 23 - Jul 8. malverntheatre.com.au

Midnight. Book by Dean Murphy. Music/lyrics by John Foreman and Anthony Costanzo and featuring an exclusive song by Kate MillerHeidke Aspect Entertainment, Sounds Write & Impresario Productions. From Jun 23.

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

CLOC’s Catch Me If You Can tells the astonishing story of Frank Abignale Jr (played by Will Woods, pictured), a world-class con artist who, by the age of 21, had passed himself off as a doctor, lawyer and jet pilot. The show takes flight at the National Theatre St Kilda on May 12. cloc.org.au

Photo: Ben Fon.

On Stage

Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. midnightmusical.com.au

MESShead. The Butterfly Club. Jun 23 & 24. thebutterflyclub.com

The Grumpiest Boy in the World. Score by Joseph Twist. Libretto by Finegan Kruckemeyer. Victorian Opera. Jun 23 & 24. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Roald Dahl’s The Twits. shake & stir theatre co. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. Jun 27 - Jul 1. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Continental Quilt by Joan Greening. Williamstown Little Theatre. Jun 28 - Jul 15. Williamstown Little Theatre. wlt.org.au

Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl by Jane Miller. 15 Minutes from Anywhere. Jun 29 - Jul 9. fortyfivedownstairs,

Victoria, Tasmania & South Australia

Melbourne. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Switzerland by Joanna MurraySmith. Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre Co. Jun 29 - Jul 15. lilydaleatc.com

My Old Lady by Israel Horovitz. Heidelberg Theatre Co. Jun 30 - Jul 15. htc.org.au

Proof by David Auburn. Geelong Repertory Theatre Company. Jun 30 - Jul 15. Woodbin Theatre. geelongartscentre.org.au

The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Ballarat Lyric Theatre. Jun 30 - Jul 9. Civic Hall, Ballarat. ballaratlyrictheatre.com.au

The Producers. Music & Lyrics: Mel Brooks. Book: Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. Leongatha Lyric Theatre. Jun 30 - Jul 15. Memorial Hall

Leongatha. leongathalyric.com.au

Monty Python’s Spamalot. Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle. Music by John Perez and Eric Idle. Diamond Valley Singers. Jun 30 - Jul 8. Warrandyte High School Theatre. dvsingers.org

Disney High School Musical 2. Book by David Simpatico. Fab Nobs. Jun 30 - Jul 9. 33 Industry Pl, Bayswater. fabnobstheatre.com.au

Tasmania

Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe Moggie Riot. May 46, Studio Theatre, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au and May 12, Theatre North, theatrenorth.com.au

Now Scheming - The Uni Revue 2023. The Old Nick Company. May 5 - 20, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au and May 24 - 27, Princess Theatre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au

The Motherload. Never.the.less productions. May 12 & 13 Studio Theatre, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au and Jun 1 - 3, Theatre North, theatrenorth.com.au

Australian Musical Theatre Festival Launceston. May 1721 Various venues. amtf.org.au

The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan. Hobart Rep. Jun 924. The Playhouse Theatre. playhouse.org.au

The Snow Queen. Victorian State Ballet. Jun 16, Princess Theatre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au and Jun 17 & 18, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au

The Sunshine Club by Wesley Enoch, with music by John Rodgers. Hit Productions. Jun 23 & 24. Theatre Royal, Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au

Forest Song & Don Quixote. Grand Kyiv Ballet of Ukraine. Jun 25, Princess Theatre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au and Jun 26 and 27, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au

Festival of Voices. Jun 30 - Jul 9. Various venues. festivalofvoices.com

South Australia

Competitive Tenderness by Hannie Rayson. Noarlunga Theatre Company. Until May 6. The Arts Centre, Port Noarlunga. noarlungatheatrecompany.com

Kiss Me, Kate. Music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Sam and Bella Spewack. Hills Musical Company. Until May 13. Stirling Community Theatre. hillsmusical.org.au

Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan. State Theatre Company South Australia Until May 13. Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. statetheatrecompany.com.au

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller. State Theatre Company South Australia. Until May 13. Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. statetheatrecompany.com.au

The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien. Until May 13. Festival Theatre. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Looped by Matthew Lombardo. Holden Street Theatre Company Inc. May 220. Holden Street Theatre. holdenstreettheatres.com

The Wonderful World of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. May 4 - 14 Little Theatre, The Cloisters, University of Adelaide. adelaide.edu.au/theatreguild

Ulster American by David Ireland. Joh Hartog Productions. May 10 - 20. Holden Street Theatres. holdenstreettheatres.com

On Stage

Nunsense: The Mega Musical Book, music and lyrics by Dan Goggin. The Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of SA. May 11 - 20. The Arts Theatre, Adelaide. metmusicals.com.au

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. State Opera South Australia. May 11 - 20. Her Majesty’s Theatre. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Legally Blonde. Music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Book by Heather Hach. The Murray Bridge Players & Singers. May 12 - 27. Murray Bridge Town Hall. mbplayersandsingers.com.au

H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan. State Opera South Australia. May 12 - 20. Her Majesty’s Theatre. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race by Melanie Tait. Tea Tree Players. May 24 - Jun 3. teatreeplayers.com

Hope and Gravity by Michael Hollinger. Galleon Theatre Group. May 24 - Jun 3. Domain Theatre. galleon.org.au

A Chorus Line. Conceived by Michael Bennett. Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics by Edward Kleban. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of SA. May 25 - Jun 3. Arts Theatre Adelaide. gandssa.com.au

The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman, translated by Peter Tegel. Red Phoenix Theatre. May 25 - Jun 3. Holden Street Theatres. holdenstreettheatres.com

Rolling Thunder Vietnam. Blake Entertainment Pty Ltd. May 26 & 27. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Company. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by George Furth. Therry Theatre. Jun 8 - 17. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. therry.org.au

62 Stage Whispers

South Australia & Western Australia

Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Jun 9 - 24. Adelaide Festival Centre. cabaret.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

At What Cost? By Nathan Maynard. State Theatre Company South Australia / Belvoir St. Jun 16 - Jul 1. Odeon Theatre. statetheatrecompany.com.au

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em by Guy Unsworth - TV series by Raymond Allen. Jun 16 - Jul 1. Blackwood Memorial Hall. blackwoodplayers.com

An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. Adelaide Repertory Theatre. Jun 22 - Jul 1 Arts Theatre, Adelaide. adelaiderep.com

Tick, Tick … Boom! Book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. The Lot Theatre. Jun 27 - Jul 1. The Queens Theatre, Adelaide. thelottheatre.au

Western Australia

Through These Lines by Cheryl Ward. Darlington Theatre Players. Until May 13. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount. marlootheatre.com.au

The Bleeding Tree by Angus Cerini. Black Swan State Theatre Company and the Blue Room. Until May 14. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre WA.

artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

The House of Bernarda Alba by Frederico Garcia Lorca. Tempest Theatre. May 3 - 6. Subiaco Arts Centre. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

My Brilliant Career by Kendall Feaver. Garrick Theatre. May 4 - 20. Garrick Theatre, Guildford. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au

Full Circle by Janet Shaw. Wanneroo Repertory Club. May 4 - 20. Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au

Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Stray Cats Theatre. May 4 - 7. Mandurah

Performing Arts Centre. manpac.com.au

I’m Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You’ll Have to Spend the Night by Sheldon Allman and Bob Pickett. Murray Music and Drama Club. May 5 - 20. Pinjarra Civic Centre. mmdc.com.au

Weather the Musical by Margaret Korver, adapted from the novel by Julie Capaldo. Looking Pretty Productions. May 5 - 14. New Lyric Theatre, Bunbury. bmcg.org.au

Composers Concert Series: Anything Goes with Cole Porter. AKANNA

Entertainment. May 5 - 6. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Come From Away by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. May 6 - 28. Crown Theatre, Perth. comefromaway.com.au

Hell is Other People by Yuan Karlsson. Monkey Brain Theatre. May 9 - 25. The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

The Effect by Lucy Prebble. Fremantle Theatre Company. May 10 - 27. Victoria Hall, Fremantle. fremantletheatrecompany.com

Quiz by James Graham. May 12 - 22. Melville Theatre, Palmyra. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au

Up and Running by Derek Benfield. May 12 - 27. Spectrum Theatre, Albany. paperbarks.com.au

Keeping Up Appearances by Ray Clarke, Endeavour Theatre. May 12 - 21. Function Hall, Stirling Leisure Centre, Hammersley. endeavourtheatre.org.au

At Home with the Sheridans by Yvette Wall. Life on Hold Theatre Company. May 1227. Ed’z Sports Bar, Hamilton Hill. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au

Sisterhood of the Travelling Lighter by Courtney McManus. Crash Theatre Company. May 15 - Jun 1. The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

Lovers: Winners by Brian Friel. PAANDA. May 17 - 27. University of Notre Dame, Fremantle. fremantlepaanda.com

Mono by Angus Fitzsimons. Bunbury Productions. May 1721. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. monoshow.com.au

HMS Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan. The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of WA. May 18 - 27. Dolphin Theatre, University of Western Australia. gilbertandsullivanwa.org.au

Once Upon a Mattress by Mary Rogers, Marshall Bower, Jay Thompson and Dean Fuller. Art in Motion Theatre Company. May 18 - 26. City of Gosnells Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie. gosnells.wa.gov.au

The Wolves by Sarah Delappe. WAAPA Third Year Acting. May 18 - 20. Story of a girls’ soccer team. Enright Studio, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University. (08) 6304 6895. waapa.ecu.edu.au

Fatherland by Scott Graham, Karl Hyde and Simon Stephens. WAAPA Third Year Acting. May 18 - 20. Enright Studio, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University. (08) 6304 6895. waapa.ecu.edu.au

Mourning Tea: A Romantic Comedy to Die For by Angus Fitzsimons. Bunbury Productions. May 18. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

The Lighthouse Girl by Jenny Davis and Hellie Turner, based on the books by Dianne Wolfer. Theatre 180. May 1928, ACE Midland Cinemas and Jun 9 - 11, ACE Cinemas Rockingham. theatre180.com.au

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

On Stage

Western Australia

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. May 19 - 28. Stage Left Theatre, Boulder. stageleft.org.au

The Children’s Hour by Lillian Herman. May 26 - Jun 11. Roxy Lane Theatre, Maylands. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au

Murders on the Nile. Cluedunnit. May 26 - 27. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Things I Know To Be True by Andrew Bovell. Black Swan State Theatre Company and the Blue Room. May 27 - Jun 18. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre, WA. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Strictly Ballroom by Baz Luhrman. Drew Anthony Creative. May 31 - Jun 25. The Royale Theatre at Planet Royale, Northbridge. drewanthonycreative.com.au

Composers Concert Series: All That Jazz with Kander and Ebb.

AKANNA Entertainment. Jun 2 & 3. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Reconcile by Boyname. Blue Room Theatre and Boyname. Jun 6 - 17. The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

Catch Me if You Can by Marc Shaiman, Scott Whittman and Terrence McNally. Koorliny Arts Centre. Jun 9 - 17. Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana. (08) 9467 7118. koorliny.com.au

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen adapted for the stage by Kate Hamill. Jun 9 - 24. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. oldmilltheatre.com.au

Audition for Murder. Cluedunnit. Jun 9 & 10. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Here on the Flight Path by Norm Foster. KADS. Jun 9 - 24. KADS Town Square Theatre,

Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

Funny, poignant, and relatable, Black Swan State Theatre Company’s Things I Know To Be True is a beautifully complex story of love and loyalty that’ll make you want to run home to squeeze your perfectly flawed family and never let go. The show’s season runs from May 27 to June 18 at Heath Ledger Theatre. blackswantheatre.com.au

Kalamunda. kadstheatre.com.au

Precious Little Talent by Ella Hickson. Harbour Theatre. Jun 9 - 25. Camelot Theatre, Mosman Park. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au

Footloose by Dean Pitchford, Walter Bobbie and Tom Snow. WAAPA Third Year Music Theatre. Jun 9 - 15. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Let’s Murder Marsha by Monk Ferris. Rockingham Theatre. Jun 9 - 18. The Castle, Rockingham. rtcrockingham.com

9 to 5 by Dolly Parton and Patricia Resnick. Goldfields Repertory Club. Jun 9 - 24. The Rep Club, Kalgoorlie. goldfieldsrepclub.org.au

Where Water Once Was by Evan Rickman. Blue Room Theatre and Evan Rickman. Jun 13 - 29. The Blue Room

Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Midnite Youth Theatre. Jun 21 - 23. Subiaco Arts Centre. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Rockin’ Robin by Judith Prior. Primadonna Productions. Jun 30 - Jul 1. Pinjarra Civic Centre. trybooking.com/CHFTV

The Truth by Terry Pratchett, adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs. Roleystone Theatre. Jun 30 - Jul 7. City of Gosnells Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie. roleystonetheatre.com.au

The Snow by Finegun Kruckemeyer. Barking Gecko. Jun 30 - Jul 15. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. barkinggecko.com.au

Photo: Frances Andrijich.

Reviews

Into The Woods

Book by James Lapine. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Co-produced

modern mockery and metatheatrical winks. To say nothing of Sondheim’s swirling melodies and James Lapine’s storyline.

by

Belvoir and Hayes Theatre Co. Belvoir Street Upstairs Theatre. Mar 18 - Apr 30.

SINCE Stephen Sondheim conjured this mad entwining of Grimm’s Fairy Tales back in 1987, hundreds of big stars in musical theatre and screen have redrawn our memories of these iconic characters.

Eamon Flack’s production for Belvoir’s corner stage may be a smaller, more ensemble affair than others, but his impeccable casting ensures a true and intimate experience as we follow these characters into the woods.

It’s a place where dreams and wishes can be answered, human bonds shattered and forged, spells broken, self-knowledge gained, and pain and terror let loose. And the wolf is lurking.

It’s also hilarious, with a pantomime humour that makes even me laugh, probably because the slapstick sits on the solid genius of Sondheim’s ironic lyrics with their

Justin Smith is the kindly Baker, and Esther Hannaford supreme as his quixotic wife. They’re childless from a spell cast by Tamsin Carroll’s fabulously droll Witch (who was once a beautiful cabaret artiste). Into the woods they go to break the spell, and meet a very attitudinal Little Red Riding Hood (Mo Lovegrove), an earnest Jack of Beanstalk fame (Marty Alix) and his exasperated Mum (Lena Cruz).

We swerve into Shubshri Kandiah’s convincing Cinderella, her step-Mum (Anne-Maree McDonald) and the very camp “ugly” sisters (Andrew Coshan, Stefanie Caccamo) who lose blood, toes and are struck blind but still get to be royal.

Their passport of course is Tim Draxl’s puppet-perfect Prince, but his charm loses some paint after he goes bonking in the woods. Coshan also excels as the younger prince in agony over never reaching Rapunzel (Caccamo) atop of her tower. And veteran actor Peter Carroll has fun trying to narrate this confusion.

This is a cast of quality singers, blessed with musical stars like Hannaford, Carroll, Draxl and Baker, but even in this intimate theatre some of Sondheim’s witty lyrics aren’t enunciated. Equally some staging rhythms get lost, but who cares?

Guy Simpson’s orchestrations effectively reduce the score to just percussion and two grand pianos. With music director Simon Holt at one, both pianos are set on a small centre-stage rostrum, adding a cabaret style to Michael Hankin’s otherwise simple curtained space.

Despite its length, it’s an absorbing showpiece, drawing on our fairy tale memories from childhood but exploring uncertain adulthood, humanity and darker themes. Vital to this simply staged pantomime are the magnificently inventive costumes by Micka Agosta (some co-designed with Hankin).

Damien Cooper lit the show and David Berman’s sound often reaches to the sky, especially as the giantess pounds across us. Into the Woods is worth the trip, it’s a delight.

Martin Portus

Circus Oz

Directed by Nicci Wilks. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Forum Theatre, Melbourne. Apr 7 - 23.

ALLELUIA, they’re back! Launched in 1977, Circus Oz became a national treasure and international brand delivering a unique style of circus. An emphasis on stunning and breath-taking acrobatics combined with quintessential Australian larrikin style humour made them highly sought after. Funding body issues sadly saw the company close in 2021.

This new show draws on all the company’s comedic heritage and is devised and performed by Debra Batton, Sharon Gruenert and Spenser Inwood, Jarred Dewey and

Belvoir’s Into The Woods

Photo: Christopher Hayles.

Olivia Porter, Flip Kammera, Leo Pentaland, Carl Polke and Chris Lewis, with cameo appearances from circus legends. It is truly a blast of non-stop energy. The performers display emphatic enthusiasm and their joy to be back on stage is extremely visible. The show features awesome variations of trapeze interspersed with some hilarious juggling, clowning and crazy fun antics. They often defy gravity and the gracefulness of their mid-air movements and flights make the show very exciting.

The music is always thumping and while the show was very much a ‘back to basics’, the vibrant costume design was striking, making good use of light flowing fabrics. The gender-bending appearance of the performers and the casting speaks to a commitment to diversity. The sheer level of delight and glee is absolutely contagious, and this is a show that will leave you wanting much, much more of this sensational Australian phenomenon.

Patricia Di Risio

The Sheep Song

Adelaide Festival. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide. Mar 16 - 19.

UNLIKE Snowball's condensation of the Seven Commandments of Animalism “Four legs good, two legs bad” in George Orwell’s satirical, allegorical novel Animal Farm, the main character in The Sheep Song believes that two legs will fulfil all of his dreams.

This breath-taking theatrical experience begins with our protagonist, a sheep, who is grazing peacefully. But he is restless, unhappy with his lot and he struggles to stand on his hind legs and walk upright.

The sheep hesitantly joins the human world, and we follow his trials, tribulations and many strange encounters in his brave new world until his adventures turn tragic. Our friend finally and sadly realises that you are what you are and, in his case, that four legs are good and two legs are bad - but is there a way back?

Circus Oz.

What I love about The Sheep Song is that it is approachable from many angles - the allegorical, the philosophical and the spectacle.

Jonas Vermeulen is to be commended on a bravura performance as the title character. He is onstage the whole performance in a costume with limited visibility and shoes which force him to walk on the front part of his feet. Even though his sheep’s head has no expression (a wise decision as this implies innocence), his physical acting more than makes up for this.

The Sheep Song is a glimpse into the mind of a theatrical visionary and a reminder that even though our lot seems unjust, the alternative may not be what we imagine!

Barry Hill OAM

Explore the world of Sheep Song in this preview of the show. Scan or visit youtu.be/jn-NHTWqoxA

The Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical

By Jayan and Sarah Nandogoapn. Guy Masterson, Floating World Entertainment & Joanne Hartstone. Adelaide Fringe. Wonderland Spiegeltent. Feb 26 - Mar 7.

THE Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical is about as perfect as a production can be! From the pens of Jayan and Sarah Nandogoapn, with Oscar-winning sound designer Wayne Pashley, Olivier Award-winning West End director Guy Masterson, and Melbourne based film director Chris Mitchell, The Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical follows the story of Joseph Merrick, better known as the Elephant Man.

A social outcast, Joseph endured circus ‘freak shows’ and the loathing of the public for years until a young doctor offered him asylum at the London Hospital in 1879.

“

The Marvellous Elephant Man is an utterly original and completely inaccurate musical tragicomedy about Joseph Merrick, the so-called ‘Elephant Man’,” Co-

Director Chris Mitchell says of the show. “The Marvellous Elephant Man is a heartwarming-yet-heartbreaking tragicomedy musical about a man with a face not even a mother could love.”

The cast is a dream. Ben Clark (Opera Australia) is a masterclass in acting as Merrick, Annelise Hope is endearing as Nurse Hope, and Kanen Breen (Opera Australia) is deliciously evil as a twisted Dr Fredrick Treves (and numerous other roles).

Add to this dynamic trio an ensemble of six who play multiple roles, slipping in and out of an astonishing number of costumes with ease, each talented performers in their own right, and you have the perfect cast, supported by a tight band with excellent balance.

There are highlights aplenty in this production. My favourites are ‘Italy’, ‘The Ugly Can be Beautiful’, ‘Mumuschka’ and the jail scene. However, the real highlight is the way the performers interact to produce a cohesive moral tale with a happy ending.

The Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical is a must see and the jewel of the Fringe.

Barry Hill OAM

Online extras!

Grab a copy of Nicholas Brown’s Sex Magick from Book Nook. bit.ly/3H8rajL

Sex Magick

By Nicholas Brown. Griffin Theatre Company / Sydney WorldPride 2023. Feb 17 - Mar 25.

YOU’VE probably never seen a play like this, with so many angles and provocations; it’s queer theatre shapeshifting the limits of play-making itself.

Seeing all this on Griffin’s tiny stage and modest budget makes this captivating new play and production all the more remarkable, co-directed by the playwright Nicholas Brown and artistic director Declan Greene.

A half-Indian Aussie sports physiotherapist, Ard, is thrust together in a tantric sex retreat in southern India with Liraz, a sometime lesbian from Sydney. Both are on their own voyages of sexual and spiritual revelation as the play leaps between countries and time, and through a kaleidoscope of characters on much the same festive journey.

Blazey Best, Mansoor Noor, Stephen Madsen and Veshnu Narayanasamy (also an outstanding Kathakali dancer) flesh out these characters with wit and empathy. And Catherine Van-Davies and Raj Labade are vitally effective maintaining the sincerity and appeal of Liraz and Ard through this seeming madness.

The nudity is appropriate, and the comments on colonial racism and homophobia here and in India are sharp and insightful. Production elements come perfectly together: Danny A. Esposito’s musical mix through

The Sheep Song

Photo: Tim Standing.

The Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical

Photo: Paul Scott.

Reviews

meditative, house and disco, Kelsey Lee’s feast of lighting changes, and Mason Browne’s character-appropriate, usually exuberant costumes. Browne’s set of crumbling colonial arches fronted by two rows of changing room lockers nicely facilitates the constant entrances, costume changes and shapeshifting central to the play. It runs nearly three hours but somehow that’s part of this psychedelic trip, as Brown keeps us laughing till the end, dreaming of our only-one-life stretch for happiness.

Martin Portus

Julia

By Joanna Murray-Smith. Sydney Theatre Company. Director Sarah Goodes. Drama Theatre Sydney Opera House. Apr 4 - May 13.

JOANNA Murray-Smith took on a difficult task when agreeing to write this play. It is never easy to create a piece of theatre about someone who is living, especially

someone whose words have resounded internationally. Someone like Julia Gillard.

Murray-Smith is a wise, astute playwright. She knows how to manipulate words and characters - as she has done in this clever theatrical insight into the woman whose remarkable personal and political achievements were overshadowed by chauvinism, sexism, and misogyny.

Intuitive director Sarah Goodes and talented performer Justine Clarke bring Murray-Smith’s interpretation of “Julia” on to a big stage, made to appear even larger and more introspective by a high frame of glass that merges reflections with ghosted videoed images.

At first it almost dwarfs Clarke, but the glass encompasses the action, the reflections inferring the complexity of the character and her feisty fortitude.

Clarke maintains an energy that implies the drive and momentum of her character - an energy that sustains her through ninety minutes on stage, and a stirring delivery of the famous “not now, not ever’ speech - with all the right pauses, changes in timbre, and all the tight control.

Online extras!

Justine Clarke in STC’s Julia

Photo: Prudence Upton.

Joanna Murray-Smith’s new play tackles the misogyny faced by Julia Gillard. youtu.be/7I9MDT1pw7k

This is a play that was carefully and sensitively conceived. Goodes has directed it with similar care and sensitivity, for both the actor…and the person she portrays.

Carol Wimmer

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

By Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane. Adaptor / Director: Jay James-Moody. Squabbalogic Independent Music Theatre. Seymour Centre. Mar

17 -

Apr

15.

THIS cleverly adapted production takes the ideas of the original 1960s musical fantasy and brings them cunningly into the 21st century without losing the any of the romantic whimsy of the original play or the 1970s movie.

Jay James-Moody - adaptor, director and performerhas contemporised the story by splitting the original double female role of Daisy/Melinda, into a male and female character. Daisy becomes David, a gay thirty-yearold. The idea works - probably because the plot is so implausible…

Psychiatrist Dr Mark Bruckner becomes interested in David’s strange abilities under hypnosis, especially the 1920s ‘ghost’ of Melinda Welles, who inhabits David when he is under hypnosis. Bruckner falls for the beautiful Melinda, just as David begins to fall for Bruckner.

There are other parallels too. David’s strained relationship with his fiancé Warren; Melinda’s relationship with her controlling husband Edward; and David’s search for himself. Underlying it all is the inherent danger of hypnosis and using psychoanalysis to explore repressed memories.

There is also some comedy, the delight of Burton’s music and a surprising and colourful set (Michael Hankin), that blooms with ever-increasing window boxes of flowers.

Jay James-Moody brings a vast experience across musical theatre to this role - and indeed the whole production. Perhaps it is that experience and his perceptive vision that makes the contemporary context work.

Carol Wimmer

Squabbalogic’s On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

Photo: David Hooley.

My Fair Lady

Book & Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner. Music: Frederick Loewe. GSOV. Director: Robert Ray. Musical Director: Timothy John Wilson. Alexander Theatre, Melbourne. Mar 30 - Apr 2.

MY Fair Lady is the perfect choice for Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Victoria’s first venture into Broadway theatre. Directors Robert Ray and Daniel Felton have presented a production ‘spruced up and looking in its prime’. Ray’s versatile set, including four granite columns and constantly rearranging panoramic scrims is remarkable. Ray’s superlative choreography, together with the plethora of impressive costumes is a feast for the eyes, especially during the Ascot and Ball scenes. The orchestra under MD Timothy John Wilson handled the gruelling score with aplomb.

Lauren Lee Innis-Youren’s (Eliza Doolittle) pitch perfect vocals, both in cockney slang and elegant English are

stunning. Ash Cooper (Henry Higgins) handles one of theatre's most wordy roles with confidence. Kieran Murphy (Colonel Pickering) is well cast as Higgins sidekick. Their comedic banter together is impeccable. With a career spanning 70 years, Ron Pidcock plays the role of Alfred P. Doolittle with the youthfulness of a man half his age. Jennifer Wakefield’s tender portrayal of Mrs Higgins endeared her to the audience, receiving much applause for her one-liners. Daniel Felton’s (Freddy Eynsford-Hill) old-world charm and rich baritone voice kept us spellbound. Nicky Wortley’s portrayal of Mrs Pearce with her well-honed accent was credible. Andrew McGrail played fraudster Zoltan Karpathy with panache. The quality of the fifty strong ensemble was outstanding, changing roles and costumes seamlessly.

‘You did it’ GSOV! Your first Broadway show. ‘You could have danced all night’ and we would ‘still have begged for more!’

Jonathan Cox

GSOV’s My Fair Lady

Photo: Pinni Biber.

The Rocky Horror Show

By Richard O’Brien. Produced by Rocky Horror Company Ltd. Theatre Royal, Sydney. Opening night, February 18.

50 YEARS on, The Rocky Horror Show remains a glorious Technicolor celebration of diversity, with the audience full of anticipation as a lonely usherette crosses the stage, drawing back a sparkly red curtain allowing all to suspend disbelief for 2 hours.

We find All American sweethearts Brad (Ethan Jones) and fiancée Janet (Deirdre Khoo) with a flat tyre. Lucky ‘There’s a light…over at the Frankenstein Place,’ as this is a ‘50s parody of B-grade sci-fi, so there are no mobile phones. Gosh dang it! They must head on out to the mansion. The innocent young’uns have no idea what they are in for when they meet the (not so) locals who really (really) like to party. Henry Rollo as Riff Raff greets the hapless duo with a ‘time warp’, stealing the first of many of the scenes he is in.

Reviews

National treasure Jason Donovan is delightfully delicious as the transvestic alien from Transylvania who just wants to build his beautiful Rocky (Loredo Malcolm). Donovan adds a layer of vulnerability to the pleasureseeking mad scientist, in this, his second spin around the town as Frank. He is in control of the action while still letting the cast shine during their own moments, comfortably smashing out the musical favourites, strutting in his stilettos. Both the rock ballad “Coming Home”, and his playful “Sweet Transvestite” had the audience cheering early on.

The ensemble handles things with ease as narrator Myf Warhurst guides them. Darcey Eagle as jilted lover Columbia, and Stellar Perry as feisty Magenta/Usherette were great fun as the servants and companions to the master.

Online extras!

50 years on, audiences still flock to the chance to do the Time Warp, again. youtu.be/lIxF00KvOIE

Loredo Malcolm in The Rocky Horror Show.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

This 50th Anniversary Rocky feels shorter, sharper. It seems to be missing some of its esoteric script in act 2 and while some won’t notice, Rocky has a cult following and some purists may have an opinion on it.

Nicole Smith

Appraisal

By Tim Marriott. Adelaide Fringe. Kryztoff at the Goodwood Theatre. Feb 16-26.

OFFICE politics and corporate games are in full force in this one-act play from the award-winning writer Tim Marriot. A senior manager is going through the annual review process with one of his team. It’s a two-hander that needs only a straightforward set (desk, laptop, bottle of scotch in the bottom drawer) and two terrific actors to drive the story through its twists, turns and backtracks.

Nicholas Collett is great as the old-school manager, relishing his power-trip over his stellar performer played by Emily-Jo Davidson, who is just brilliant opposite her reviewer: prepared, defiant, and contemptuous of his assumed authority.

Marriott’s writing is intelligent and incisive, exposing the abuse of corporate efforts intended to address inequalities of age, sex, and everything else that doesn’t matter to those who still cling to power. Yet it’s not

overwrought, it builds and releases tension so wonderfully, then does it again in a different way. Despite being a play about an office performance review, it’s really funny. And it gives such depth and complexities to the two characters - it has enough ambiguity in the characterisations through most of the hour that it’s never quite certain which is the bad guy.

Davidson and Collett are utterly captivating, convincing enough in their dialogue, but also in how they react to each other’s words: there is as much of the story in what isn’t said.

Mark Wickett

Hans & Gret

By Lally Katz. Adelaide Festival. Queens Theatre. Mar 312.

WINDMILL’S modern interpretation of the 700-yearold story is set in a near-future dystopia, with an emphasis on the choices that children make, as much as those of their parents. Designer Jonathan Oxlade presents a shiny house on a circular platform that rotates to change each scene. It has a mirrored exterior, so we start by looking at ourselves - but when Richard Vabre’s excellent lights illuminate the interior, we see a family sitting around a table, all on their mobile phones. Mum (Jo Stone) tries hard to get the approval of her daughter, Gret (Temeka Lawlor). The son, Hans (Dylan Miller) builds an app that

leaves digital breadcrumbs, and asks questions about his grandfather, which are deflected into nothing by Dad (Jim Smith).

Written by Lally Katz from a concept from Rosemary Myers, via the Brothers Grimm, it's a modern and familiar setting, yet besides the dialogue on stage, we’re also influenced by a narrator - just not all of us in the same way. Putting on headphones before the show begins, we answer unconnected questions whose answers categorise the audience, who then hear different words from the narrator throughout the performance. It may be sympathies directed to the child, or to the parent; it could be an invitation to join the performers on stage.

It's more immersive than observational, each part of the audience experiencing different emphasis and interpretation. What is visible to all are the impacts of over-protecting your family, and the risks of rebelling against it.

Director Clare Watson pulls together the actors and technology, and it is shiny, slick, loud, and hilarious. Beyond these surfaces, the deeper, more important themes could be explored further in the family. But maybe that’s our role, after the show, to make us examine our own choices and experiences, to make us realise the price we’re willing to pay to get what we want - or rather, our willingness to make others pay.

Mark Wickett

Plaza Suite

By Neil Simon. Melville Theatre. Directed by Clare Talbot, Michelle Sharp and Siobhan O’Gara. Roy Edinger Theatre, Melville, WA. Feb 17 - Mar 4.

MELVILLE Theatre’s Plaza Suite featured three stories, set in the same room of New York’s Plaza Hotel, in 1968. The three acts had different directors, but featured the same beautiful set design (by creative director Susan Lynch), and effective sound and lighting design by Clare Talbot. Gorgeous, era appropriate costumes were designed by Michelle Sharp. Despite three directors, this production had unity and a sense of being a single show. In Act One, Visitor from Mamanrock, Karen arrives to celebrate her wedding anniversary with husband Sambut this is not the happy occasion she is anticipating. A beautifully fresh and vibrant performance from Natalie Burbage, foiled nicely by the reserve of Joel Samples’ Sam. Audrey Poor has impact as Sam’s secretary Jean, with good support from Laura Mercer.

Visitor From Hollywood sees a Hollywood producer inviting his high school girlfriend, now married with children, to visit him in his suite. Brian O’Donovan has subtle swagger as Jesse, with Sarah Diggins sweet and impressionable as Muriel Tate. The inevitable seduction was intimacy co-ordinated with effect by Michelle Ezzy. The final act, Visitor from Forest Hills, is the most frantic. As guests wait downstairs on the day of

Online extras!

Watch an explainer of the show’s use of bone-conduction headphones. youtu.be/iOO9bCYvEoE

Windmill Theatre Company’s Hans & Gret.

Photo: Claudio Raschella.

Reviews

their daughter’s wedding, Norma and Roy anxiously urge her to come out of a locked bathroom. Fabulous teamwork and excellent characterisations from Susan Lynch and Geoffrey Leader as fraught parents, with clever cameos from Audrey Poor as daughter Mimsey and Brian O’Donovan as Borden.

This classic comedy clearly won over its audience.

Kimberley Shaw

Wolf Play

By Hansol Jung. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. Mar 4 - Apr 2.

WOLF Play is about a Wolf at the centre of a family drama - a catalyst who brings to the surface all the flaws and troubles of flawed and troubled people. He is a wolf, played by Yuchen Wang; a lone wolf - who speaks, who howls, who tells of wolf lore and of wolf needs - and he is also a six-year-old boy, sold on the internet to a new family, and represented by a puppet.

Childless Robin (Jing-Xuan Chan) buys a child on the internet. Robin aches for normality and niceness - even though her partner, Ash (Brooke Lee) wants to be a professional boxer. Ash’s coach is Ryan (Kevin Hofbauer), Robin’s brother, a loud and failed boxer himself, living vicariously through Ash. Ash, whose character armour is attack, is violently against any child and threatens the child’s father, Peter (Charlie Cousins), when he delivers the child…who will prove contrary (he is, after all, a wolf)brilliant but disruptive, destructive yet tender.

All these angry characters are Americans and director Isabella Vadiveloo makes no attempt to Australian-ise them. We don’t check out on them because this excellent cast shows us what each is hiding; we feel for them, even

the pathetic Peter. As for the Wolf, it’s astonishing how much emotion can be generated by a blank-faced nonnaturalistic puppet.The puppet is created and made by Tamara Rewse.

The drama plays out on Sam Diamond’s all blue and white striped set that suggests a stadium for contest and conflict - and serves to bring together several locations with minimal changes. It’s a play about many things, but the strands intertwine and reverberate so skilfully that they make up a coherent whole. This is a strikingly original and sophisticated play, realised by a skilled and tenacious cast, director and designers.

Michael Brindley

Bernhardt/Hamlet

By Theresa Rebeck. Melbourne Theatre Company. Southbank, The Sumner. Mar 4 - Apr 15

SARAH Bernhardt (Kate Mulvany) is going to play Hamlet - but there’s too much ‘poetry’. Why is Hamlet so passive? Why doesn’t he do something? Her colleague Constant Coquelin (Marco Chiappi) disagrees - as do her lover, Edmond Rostand (Charles Wu), designer and artist Mucha (Tim Walter), theatre critic Louis (John Leary), even Sarah’s adult son, Maurice (William McKenna).

But Sarah will prevail. For a woman to play Hamletand demand Rostand rewrite it - is a provocative artistic decision, but also a calculated commercial decision. It’s 1899, Bernhardt is fifty-five, too old for the ingenue and dying heroine roles that have made her the most famous actress/celebrity in the world. It’s this realism about theatre making that gives the play its richness, intellectual challenges, feminist heft, and its comedy.

Marg Horwell’s set and costume designs are splendid. There are wheel-on naturalistic sets, but also multi-

purpose collapsing backdrops and drifting trees - the most delightful and witty creations seen in quite a while.

Anne-Louise Sarks’ bold imagination is clear hereand what nerve to pick this monster as her first show as director in the MTC’s 2023 season. She uses the big Sumner stage extremely well and the transitions from comedy to pathos to genuine vulnerability work well - for instance, a scene between Mulvany and McKenna as her son Maurice, allows us to see another side to the Divine Sarah.

One could argue that it’s a play about too many things. Some scenes seem to be there to air the issues rather than advance the narrative. Rostand’s wife Rosamond (Izabella Yena) protests that this Hamlet rewrite is interrupting her husband’s real work, something called Cyrano de Bergerac

What holds it together is Mulvany. She attacks the role with - to borrow the term Rostand made famouspanache - so much so that her supporting cast (apart from Chiappi) rather pale into cut-outs: they’re there because they were there.

The play’s final scene - Bernhardt on an almost empty stage - reminds us of what this has all been about: putting on a show. Playwright Theresa Rebeck may not present Sarah Bernhardt in all her complexity, but then she has other fish to fry.

Michael Brindley

Online extras!

Enter the brilliant world of Sarah Bernhardt in MTC’s Bernhardt/Hamlet youtu.be/fh20OJgq5zk

PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE

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MTC’s Bernhardt/Hamlet

Photo: Pia Johnson.

“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere,” goes the song. And so Aussie expat musician/conductor Isaac Hayward was thrilled to see Stage Whispers magazine quoted on the New York subway. Peter Young also spotted us on the London Tube.

The advertisement quoted a Coral Drouyn review, describing an Australian performance of the Shen Yun dance troupe.

More interesting than Stage Whispers getting a plug in the most unexpected place, is the story behind our New York ‘correspondent’. Isaac Hayward is currently in a Broadway pit playing guitar for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bad Cinderella.

I asked him a few questions.

How long have you been working in New York?

I've been here (on and off) since February 2018. I also spent time in 2019 working on Muriel's Wedding in Australia and The Secret River in Edinburgh and London.

What sort of jobs?

I played piano as a sub for students at CAP21, music directed readings at the NYU Tisch Graduate Music Theatre Writing Program and did a little bit of cabaret. Then I got King Kong on Broadway. Since then, I've done some readings, Unmasked at Paper Mill Playhouse, subbed on keyboard and guitar at Big Apple Circus, subbed on The Phantom of the Opera and now I'm on Bad Cinderella. I also play and arrange for an artist called Lacy Rose, and have done arranging work.

How does the experience compare to working here?

The volume of work is one of the

biggest differences. The performing arts are front-and-centre in New York City. With so much performing art around, and often at such a high quality, New Yorkers are constantly aware of what is going on in their city.

There are about forty Broadway theatres, with capacities ranging from 597 (Helen Hayes) to 1,933 (Gershwin). But theatre work extends much wider there are major non-profit theatre companies, and then there are also loads of off-Broadway houses, operated by those companies and independently, ranging from 100 to 499 seats.

Aside from Broadway houses, there are some wonderful larger spaces for performances, such as the venues at Lincoln Center, and excellent jazz, rock and cabaret venues.

In theatre, there is also a huge emphasis on new work, which Australia doesn't have. At any given time, there are loads of readings in the works, from the smallest 29-hour readings with a piano to 5-week workshops with a band and a sound system in an off-Broadway theatre.

Another difference is that being a full-time musician is still a viable career in New York. Even musicians that don't play on Broadway can often earn enough to support themselves without also teaching, from off-Broadway, cabaret, church gigs, and club dates.

Between the big orchestras (New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Metropolitan Opera), the part time orchestras, and orchestras based just outside the city, there are a huge number of classical musicians in the city.

Unfortunately, only a limited number of people can do that in Australia.

I read recently that some members of the Phantom orchestra stayed for 30 years - how likely is that?

It's correct. I was lucky enough to sub there on keyboard for a bit. Many of the musicians had been there from the beginning, and more still had been there 20+ years. Although it may seem like a boring job, as part of the union agreement you are permitted to take off 50% of shows, provided you have a substitute. This gives you the security of your Broadway chair but allows you to take on other projects.

What was Lord Lloyd Webber’s involvement with the Broadway premiere of Bad Cinderella? What was it like working with him?

ALW was there on and off in the rehearsal process and for a while from orchestral rehearsals on. Due to his son's illness and passing, he didn't make opening night. I can't say I had a lot of direct contact with him, but on multiple occasions he was effusive in his praise for the orchestra, and for my guitar playing on that day!

Have the negative reviews for Bad Cinderella affected the company?

The company is mostly unfazed by the reviews they are one of the more positive companies I've worked with. When you watch the show, you can see that the whole ensemble absolutely loves their job this is one of the things I love most about working on the show!

In 2018 Isaac won a Helpmann Award for Best Music Direction for Muriel’s Wedding the Musical and in 2022 he won a Mike Walsh Fellowship.

David Spicer