The Jewish mother has somewhat become a stereotype in entertainment. The portrayal of the overbearing matriarch, who steadfastly drills in to her offspring the crucial importance of retaining the Jewish tradition, has been widely represented in literature, film and theatre.
Short & Sweet offers a good opportunity for theatre dramatists to have their work seen by the general public, to be validated as artists, to practice and grow in their craft.
Swan Lake is a bold, dynamic and clever interpretation. Bourne throws in elements of jazz, modern dance, Latin (including an energetic paso doble set to Tchaikovsky’s Spanish Dance) as well as ballroom and folk.
Nothing quite adds a sense of reality to a “night in the woods” like a diegetic thrum of real cicadas. At one point a chorus of kookaburras struck up, as if perfectly on cue to provide a fanfare for Titania’s entrance!
Young girls tumble across the stage, flip over and over, handle enormous numbers of hula hoops, stand on large balls, and fly, twirl and spin through the air. And this is only the overture.
Burkett is undoubtedly a master of guiding his cast through all matter of human (and otherwise) gesture, but the real magic is his ability to convey characters across his player puppets.
Boston Marriage, performing at the Darlinghurst Theatre depicts two deliciously etched bitches with one thing on their mind. It’s not the same in each case, however.
A gifted embroider of words, Friel combines soft lyricism and hard meaning in his play, a tragical comical historical pastoral on a spree and spoiling for a spirited spar.
In the care of Pinchgut Opera’s director, Erin Helyard, this music, formulaic as it indeed is in some respects, sprang off the page into an experience rich in emotions.
Iolanthe and Janet Anderson work in cosmic, comedic accord, characterisation charismatic, timing impeccable, delivery precise, together a tour de force that ascends the cliché.
Blind faith and rational belief are always sparring partners in dramatic conflict and so it is here with the power play tinged with superstition and salaciousness.