PINOCCHIO

April 18th 2014 4:32 pm | Theatre | Review - By Felicity Dayhew

PINOCCHIO, Drama Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Opera House present Windmill Theatre and State Theatre Company of South Australia production, 11 April-4 May 2014. Directed and created by Rosemary Myers with writer Julianne O’Brien. Based on the books by Carlo Collodi.

REVIEWED BY FELICITY DAYHEW (AGE 10)

Pinocchio is an intense, yet moving, performance, with great costumes and an amazing set. The set is very cleverly made. There is always a tree in the background and they use it for projections. Even when they are miles away from the closest tree, they always have it cleverly disguised as something else.

The main characters are: Pinocchio, the fun loving wooden boy who dreams of being real (Nathan O'Keefe). Gepetto, the old man who loves carving toys and who just wants company (Alirio Zavarice). Stromboli, the evil, greedy man who wants fame, money and has a cruel heart (Paul Capsis). Kitty-poo, an attention loving cat who becomes friends with Pinocchio (Jude Henshall). Foxy, a grooving fox who, being friends with Kitty-poo, becomes friends with Pinocchio too (Luke Joslin). And finally Blue girl, the happy little girl who can’t remember who she is (Danielle Catanzariti).

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Strictly Ballroom The Musical

April 14th 2014 9:27 pm | Theatre | Review - By Bryce Hallett

STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL, Global Creatues at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, April 12 2104. Photography by James Morgan: above – James Lacey and Phoebe Panaretas; right – the company.

BY BRYCE HALLETT

The story of Strictly Ballroom’s journey from stage to screen – and back to the stage, this time as a fully-fledged musical - echoes the film’s David and Goliath and Cinderella themes, and its spirit of creative freedom and indomitable passion. From humble beginnings, Strictly Ballroom, with its glitzy theatricality, bold characters, layers of fantasy and heart-warming tone, justly became the stuff of legend.

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PERPLEX

April 13th 2014 6:39 pm | Theatre | Review - By Polly Simons

PERPLEX, Sydney Theatre Company Wharf 1, 31 March - 3 May 2014. Photography by Lisa Tomasetti. Above: Tim Walter, Andrea Demetriades, Glenn Hazeldine and Rebecca Massey. Right: Tim Walter and Andrea Demetriades.

BY POLLY SIMONS

Elk costumes. Vikings. Volcanoes. Severed heads. Expect the unexpected is a phrase that springs to mind when describing Marius von Mayenburg’s play Perplex.

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MUSIC

April 13th 2014 12:26 pm | Theatre | Review - By Whitney Fitzsimmons

Music - Griffin Independent and Stories Like These at SBW Stables Theatre, April 4 - 26 Photography by Kurt Sneddon main Anthony Gee; right: Anthony Gee and Kate Skinner

BY WHITNEY FITZSIMMONS

Music is writer Jane Bodie's second Griffin offering and by all accounts it's a worthy effort. However, it pales in comparison to her 2011 Griffin production This Year's Ashes, which was a wonderful, slick and contemporary new Australian work.

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THE GIGLI CONCERT

April 10th 2014 8:41 pm | Theatre | Review - By Whitney Fitzsimmons

THE GIGLI CONCERT, Darlinghurst Theatre and O'Punsky's Theatre at The Eternity Playhouse, 4 April - 4 May Photography by Wendy McDougall. Above: Maeliosa Stafford and Patrick Dickson; right: Patrick Dickson and Kim Lewis

BY WHITNEY FITZSIMMONS

Of all the existential questions posed by this production the one that resonated the most was, "Can O'Punksy's The Gigli Concert survive without actor Patrick Dickson?" Dickson's performance as the worn, shell of a man JPW King who still has enough zest for life left in him to eke out an existence is such a touching tour de force...

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