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Written by Caryl Churchill and first performed in 1982, Top Girls follows the lead character of Marlene as she strives for success in a male-dominated workplace. Ad Astra’s production is directed by Mikayla Hosking, with assistant direction by Samara Louise, and stars an excellent ensemble of character actors, led by Aurelie Roque as Marlene. In... Continue Reading →
Tony Nixon and Janelle Bailey as André and Anne (front), Ophelia Novak as Laura (back). Image credit: Kris Anderson Content Warning: Depictions of dementia, emotional distress, themes of aging and mortality, family conflict, and sensitive language and scene depicting elder abuse. Heartbreaking and beautifully crafted, The Father is a story of love, loss, and caretaking... Continue Reading →
Amanda McErlean and Rebecca Day as Olympia and Basra Macquarie Content warnings: Frequent mentions of climate change, coarse language, sexual references, and use of strobe lighting. Observatory Theatre has opened its 2023 season with a darkly funny political farce about the climate crisis, set in a collapsing world that feels closer every day. Melbourne has... Continue Reading →
Steven Grives and Fiona Kennedy in Bakersfield Mist Content warnings: Use of herbal cigarettes, coarse language and sexual references, depictions of violence, mentions of suicide. The California sun is baking inside Ad Astra's black box theatre for Bakersfield Mist. Directed by Jennifer Flowers, the clash of character between Steven Grives’ sophisticated art expert and Fiona... Continue Reading →
Content warning: partial nudity, sexual references, loud noises, strobing light effects, prop weapons. The X Collective presents an electric and engrossing production of David Ives’ Venus in Fur, directed by Wayne McPhee and starring AJ and Nick Sinclair. Power, fantasy, and desire collide in this exploration of interpersonal dynamics, especially as they relate to love, sex,... Continue Reading →
Umberto Clerici conducts Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Brisbane Chamber Choir in Beethoven's ninth symphony, photographed by Sarah Marshall Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s first Maestro concert of the year, and their first with Umberto Clerici formally appointed as Chief Conductor, Ode to Joy had three performances at the QPAC Concert Hall. Featuring a program of Beethoven and... Continue Reading →
Charli Burrowes as Bloom Girl Multidisciplinary artist Charli Burrowes has christened the Talbot Theatre, part of the newly renovated Thomas Dixon Centre in West End, with her debut theatre show Bloom Girl. An 80-minute solo show written, performed, and co-produced by Burrowes and directed by Elise Lamb, Bloom Girl tackles social media, authenticity, and the... Continue Reading →
Samuel Valentine, Stephen Geronimos, and Aidan O'Donnell Review of 12 October performance Content warnings: Violence, partial nudity, strong coarse language, offensive language, scenes of binge drinking/alcohol consumption, ableism, adult themes, murder, and discussion of physical and sexual violence. PIP Theatre presented Gordon Graham’s haunting suburban drama The Boys in October, directed by Cienda McNamara. Drawing... Continue Reading →
Content warning: White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, contains coarse language and references to violence and suicide. In October, The X Collective presented the intriguing avant-garde theatrical experiment White Rabbit, Red Rabbit at Fate Container Studios in West End. Written by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, its key point of interest is not in the script, but in... Continue Reading →
Gregory J Wilken & Felix Jarvis as Ned Weeks & Felix Turner in Ad Astra's production of The Normal Heart. Image supplied. Content warnings: The Normal Heart contains coloured, flashing lights and blackouts, loud music, loud voices, coarse language, adult themes, and strong themes of homophobia, illness, death, and grief. Ad Astra close their 2022... Continue Reading →
Image credit: Stewart Tyrell Content warnings: BUNKER contains coarse language, heightened psychological states, haze / smoke effects, loud music, and strobe lighting effects. Recommended for audiences aged 15+. What would you do if you received an alert that your world was ending? Who would you call? Where would you go, and what would you take... Continue Reading →
Image supplied by David Massingham Content warnings: Parental guidance is recommended for audiences aged under 13. David Massingham brought his solo sketch comedy show, Little Sketch Book of Horrors, to Big Fork Theatre just in time for Halloween. Part of the Fringe Brisbane programme, this was classic sketch comedy at its best – a hilarious... Continue Reading →
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