Category: Drama
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Switzerland (Ensemble Theatre) ★★★½
I can’t imagine the team at Ensemble Theatre knew that Netflix would drop its long anticipated ‘Ripley’, a new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ at the same time as they had programmed Joanna Murray-Smith’s play Switzerland but synchronicity is a wonderful thing.
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London: The Plays (Part Two)
Long Day’s Journey Into Night ★★★ / For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy ★★★★★ / Remembrance Monday ★★★ / Spirited Away ★★★1/2 This kind of variety is why I love London.
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London: The Plays (Part One)
The Hills of California ★★★1/2 / Machinal ★★★★ / Minority Report ★★★ / People, Places and Things ★★★★★ I saw a wide variety of plays from big West End blockbusters to fringe two-handers. As always, more money and bigger names doesn’t always mean it’s a better show.
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London: The Cine-theatre
Stranger Things: The First Shadow ★★★★ / The Picture of Dorian Gray ★★★★★ / Opening Night ★★ / ABBA: Voyage ★★★★. The collision of technology and the stage is nothing new but across all the shows I saw in London, a few used the blend of cameras, screens and live performance better than others.
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The President (Sydney Theatre Co) ★★★★
Olwen Fouéré and Hugo Weaving star as fascists on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
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A Case for the Existence of God (Seymour Centre) ★★★½
A Case for the Existence of God feels fresh in the way it handles male relationships and masculine ennui (or “crisis of masculinity” if you prefer).
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Into The Shimmering World (Sydney Theatre Co) ★★★1/2
Into The Shimmering World uses a seemingly simple man to raise a lot of questions.
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Holding The Man (Belvoir) ★★★★
Holding The Man is dear to me. I can’t remember how many copies of the original book I’ve given away over the years, or how many times I re-read it.
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The Great Divide (Ensemble) ★★★1/2
Retirement obviously does not sit well with playwright David Williamson, or maybe Australia is just in need of its great chronicler to help illuminate the way and he’s heeded the call to duty… whatever the reason, he’s back.
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37 (Melbourne Theatre Company) ★★★
It’s short on nuance but big on short shorts – much like the game of AFL itself.
Cultural Binge 