UGLY MUGS

July 24th 2014 12:11 am | Theatre | Review - By Diana Simmonds

UGLY MUGS, Griffin Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre at the SBW Stables Theatre, 18 July-23 August 2014. Photography by Brett Boardman: Steve Le Marquand and Peta Brady; right: Peta Brady.

An ugly mug is the unacceptable face of the mug punter. Both are customers of the street sex workers of, in this case St Kilda, but would be familiar on the dark corners of any major city or town around the world. The mug punter is the ordinary john (another term of endearment for the blokes who hand over the cash), while the ugly mug can be violent, kinky, repulsive and - in the main - to be avoided unless one is utterly desperate for a dollar. Unfortunately, at the lower end of the sex industry, the women can be desperate…

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A DOLL'S HOUSE

July 20th 2014 1:55 pm | Theatre | Review - By Diana Simmonds

A DOLL’S HOUSE, Sport for Jove at the Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre, 19 July-2 August 2014. Photography by Seiya Taguchi: main - Matilda Ridgway and Francesca Savige; right: Matilda Ridgway and Annie Byron.

In his program notes, director Adam Cook writes of A Doll’s House’s Nora and Henrik Ibsen’s other heroines, “What freedom can they have without a husband, and without money? Money is the more binding of the corsets that the female characters have to deal with.” 

He goes on to talk about the “freedom to move” - which, of course, also comes back to corsets and the lack of money. And it’s that lack of freedom to move - physically, economically and psychologically - that still hampers so many women, 135 years after the play’s first performance in 1879. And, if anyone should ask, it’s the answer to the question of whether the play, and others like it, are relevant in the second decade of the 21st century…

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THE EFFECT

July 16th 2014 7:32 pm | Theatre | Review - By Whitney Fitzsimmons

The Effect, Sydney Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company Production, Wharf 1 Theatre, 14th July - 16th August. Photography: Lisa Tomasetti, Main: Mark Leonard Winter, Angie Milliken, Anna McGahan. Right: Angie Milliken.

Mental health and the issues surrounding it are at the heart of writer Lucy Prebble's play and it is a noble effort. 

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Helpmann Award nominations 2014

July 14th 2014 8:25 pm | Theatre | Feature - By Diana Simmonds

HELPMANN AWARDS NOMINATIONS 2014 - announced this evening - 14 July 2014.

The most thrilling thing, from my point of view, is the eight nominations for Sweet Charity and Hayes Theatre Co. It shines another light on this new outfit and the extraordinary efforts and imagination we've seen from the company in this, its inaugural year. 

Congratulations to everyone else too, of course! 

And the nominations are...

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TOM SHARAH - THAT 90S SHOW

July 14th 2014 12:20 am | Theatre | Review - By Diana Simmonds

TOM SHARAH - THAT ’90s SHOW, One-Eyed Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co, 6-13 July 2014 (look out for future touring dates).

Tom Sharah is having one hell of a year and it’s only July. He is growing and developing as a performer before our eyes and it’s a thrilling thing to witness. Barely into his 20s, Sharah has always had chutzpah to spare as well as humour, charm and charisma - and talent, of course. 

Now, these sometimes overpowering qualities are being tempered by maturity and wider experience. The latter gained most recently and most notably from his first “straight” role as Adolpho in Squabbalogic’s smash hit production of The Drowsy Chaperone (also at the Hayes Theatre).

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OTELLO

July 13th 2014 8:39 pm | Theatre | Review - By Whitney Fitzsimmons

OTELLO, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House,  9th July - 2nd August. Photography: Branco Gaica; Main: James Eggleston, Lianna Haroutounian and Jacqueline Dark. Right: Claudio Sgura and Simon O'Neill.

If you're an opera traditionalist, you will love Opera Australia's production of Otello. It has big sets, big costumes, big voices and enough ham on stage to cater for a Christmas lunch.

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