Brodie Turner - Page 6

Beg, borrow, or steal a ticket to this show. It is peerless in the present landscape of Sydney theatre, a razor-sharp scintillation that remarks most precisely on current culture. It is what this reviewer has long been waiting for, and prays becomes a zeitgeist for contemporary Australian narratives and artistic talent to aspire to, nay blossom into. A toast to director Sarah Goodes for a play that held such gravitas and pregnancy, of course to playwright Ayad Akhtar with congratulations on winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and also to Steve Francis for creating a sound design that transcended typicality and brought collective consciousness to this reading room drama.

The Great Fire takes place in the all-too-familiar Australian disaster zone: mum and dad's place at Christmas. On an idyllic Adelaide Hills property, a family gathers to decide the next phase of their lives as part of the ever-gentrifying arts industry in this domestic drama written by Kit Brookman. This reviewer should declare that, having been born and raised in Adelaide and therefore aware of the artistic prowess of the Brookman family there, I may be somewhat biased in my familiarity for this piece. Nevertheless, we carry on.

Shut Up and Drive; or Sex, Liberty and the Automobile. I wonder if Milennials: The Musical was also considered for this vibrating take on 20th-century disease zeroed-in on the global symbol of independence and consumerism. A series of stories that weaves into itself as the play progresses, subtlenuance theatre company has collaged international talent to deliver a 360-degree message about the weight we place on freedom in the modern age.

On stage, a very promising triad of stripper poles to set the scene where we meet the camp and cavalier characters. The body confident Bev, a perfect fit for Melinda Ryan who drove every moment home, is finding her way toward a loving relationship. Trisha, enthusiastically played by Hayley Flowers, is finding her way toward a more loving relationship with herself. Faith is the blossoming virgin given every ounce of silly sweetness by Kaitlin DeLacy, while the crass Rita seeks an escape from her abusive home, played by Wendy Winkler. Rounding out the group is the older Sarah, who is revealed to be handling a relapse of breast cancer, Jeannie Gee giving the highlight performance of the piece as a complete natural. Shaping and narrating the action is their unconventional pole teacher Gabby. Together they attempt to raise funds in a pole performance for breast cancer research, and discover a lot about each other and themselves along the way.

Now showing at Seymour Centre, I sat down with director Clemence Williams to discuss her second new work Unfinished Works and how it engages gender stereotypes, the art industry, and the separation of craft from self.

There comes a moment for every child when you realise that the floor is not made of lava, and not because it suits you for it to be carpet so you can stop playing and have dinner, but because lava and carpet are completely different things that can never be the same or cross-mutable. Suddenly your entire scope of possibility changes and you realise you will never make-believe the floor is lava again. That Eye, The Sky is a piece of work nurtured in this very emotion of sad clarity, this point of the mind that reaches its tipping point past imagination into maturity.

If you could interview one living person in the litany of Australian creative gems, who would you choose?

A long-time favourite among Australian audiences, Dead Men Talking made a one-night stop in Sydney to tell the next chapter in the lives of two of the nation's best-known writers. In a fantastically irreverent move, the premise is Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson meeting up in Heaven to carry on a sharp but friendly rivalry singing, reciting and re-inventing traditional prose, poetry and song. Pitt St Uniting Church provided a wonderful setting, for all the there were some audio issues that impacted somewhat for the mostly mature-age audience.

No concept is ever simple, ladies and gentlemen, but if you are lucky the mercy will be in whether the concept is short and sweet, or exhaustive and painful. If you are an audience member of 80 Minutes No Interval, you are in luck, and you're the only one I might add. A might-be-absurdist-but-don't-let-that-stop-you take on the milieu of millennial struggles, 80 Minutes is writer-director Travis Cotton's return to working with Old Fitz Theatre, and he proves again to be a creative capable of marvellous humour and intrigue.

It wouldn't be Mardi Gras without a tribute to legend community icon Judy Garland, but only a few have the claim Daniel Downing's show has - epic vocal talent and a perspective too often forgotten. Through the eyes of Mickey Deans, Garland's husband at the time of her death, Downing strikes a stunning chord between the masculine and striking narration, and the exquisite feminine innocence of Judy's music. The crowd adored it, and not a few tears were shed in honour of some of the classics 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas', 'You Made Me Love You' and 'The Man That Got Away'.

Two reality TV stars. Two theatre icons. An orchestra as magical as the music they're playing. It was always going to be a recipe for delight and marvel for young and old. What Chong Lim and the gang have created here though is something one-of-a-kind, so don't think your Spotify playlist will suffice in place of begging, borrowing or stealing a ticket to Disney Under the Stars.

A man walks into a bathhouse...now there's an angle to an old classic we hadn't heard before! And New Theatre's The Ritz is nothing but twists on classics in this madcap tale of a man on the run from his murderous brother-in-law who accidentally hides out in a 1970s gay sauna thinking it's a swanky hotel! Hilarity seems bound to ensue, but even I was surprised by how much of a hoot this In-&-Out-meets-Boogie-Nights show would be. In 1975, The Ritz was playwright Terrence McNally's Broadway debut and was so acclaimed a film version was produced within a year. The Ritz has become a cult film for the gay community but is loved by all audiences for its progressive approaches to gay culture, fetishes and homophobia. The story was inspired by real New York sauna, The Continental, that was visited by people of all sexual persuasions and celebrities looking to meet the artsy and fartsy.

What is it about love that captures the artist so wholly and capitalises so perpetually? Why is it that no two things written about love seem to be the same, or have the same resonance, but every new contribution exists as a thrilling dimension to this emotion seemingly essential to human life? In this tale of lasting love, two of Australia's greatest known writers find themselves in the throes of a relationship never meant to be. All My Love is the true story of Henry Lawson, known as Australia's 'greatest short story writer', and radical writer and poetess Mary Gilmore who find a budding relationship in 19th century Sydney. As their secret engagement becomes entangled in a rivalry between their early-feminist mothers, a series of love letters exchanged between them never arrive, and by the time they discover that what was thought to be rejection was nothing more than a cruel twist of fate, it is too late to turn back from their destinies.

It was every music theatre nerd's dream come true: Broadway legends from Australia and the States converging in Sydney to give intimate treatment to the songs of one of our generation's most acclaimed songwriters. Stephen Schwartz's inimitable music is almost unarguably sure to have passed your lips at some point in the decades he has been active as a treasure of theatre and film. The Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer is best known for his touches on Disney's Pocahontas, as well as contributions to famed musicals Godspell, Pippin and - perhaps most notably - Wicked.

The Ritz director David Marshall-Martin is commendably composed for a man about to launch a three-week production come Thursday 18th February. Marshall-Martin attributes the anticipative success of the show to its long history entertaining audiences of all kinds. The Broadway debut of Terrence McNally, The Ritz follows a garbage-man on the lam who unwittingly seeks refuge in a gay sauna in 70s Manhattan.

In lieu of the amount of times members of communities gay, straight, between, beyond have been teased with the promise of Madonna returning to Australia, anything will do to get one's Material Girl fix, and those of you who simply cannot wait for the latest carrot-dangle of her tour this time next month, Tunks Productions and The Old 505 Theatre is giving audiences their life with 'The Girlie Show'.

This morning the musical theatre creme of Sydney gathered at the spicy Oxford Art Factory all eager to see who would be marking the return after ten years of one of the world's most applauded shows; We Will Rock You is all set to roll onto Sydney Lyric Theatre on April 28, then onto Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth then wrap in Adelaide.

Tooth and Sinew theatre company have once again shown their penchant for controversy and passion in their latest offering, an abstraction of renowned Scottish playwright Anthony Neilson's Year of the Family. When an audience member steps into the domestic environment of strangers, they always know they're in for an experience to push boundaries and transport into real introspection, which Ash Bell has pushed even further in her stage design. Ultimately, what audiences can expect is a humourously voyeuristic piece they can comfortably walk away from feeling better about their own trauma.

It would be best not to use the phrase 'whale of a time' when discussing the potential enjoyment of Red Line Productions' 'The Whale' showing at Old Fitz Theatre. Chiefly because puns do not usually denote a refined critic. Rest assured, this one's a good one.