Watching Dead Skin—which won the State Theatre Company of South Australia’s Young Playwright’s Award and had its world premiere at the Kings Cross Theatre Sydney this week—I was impressed by the complexity of the narrative structure, the ease and flow of dialogue that authentically captures the energy and angst of youth, as well as the... Continue Reading →
One thing we’ve learnt through this pandemic is that “Zoom theatre” is gawdawful. And while previously recorded theatre productions (like London’s brilliant National Theatre Live) have gone some way to filling the gap, new productions have been rare and of vastly varying quality. Which is why this production of The Picture of Dorian Gray is... Continue Reading →
After a particularly challenging week in the news cycle, the outright misogyny and with those in power continuing to act with impunity, this show could not have been performed at a more important time. On Friday night, Sydney's Riverside Theatres was host to a compelling and cathartic piece of performance art that reminded the audience... Continue Reading →
After a hit debut run at Belvoir Theatre in 2020, the new musical Fangirls has made its way to the larger Seymour Center in Sydney to bring some preemptive post-pandemic music-mania to the stage. The tale of three schoolgirls and their obsession with the boyband True Connection and lead singer Harry (yes, you may notice... Continue Reading →
Jonathan Larson’s iconic musical Rent is 25 years old this year and this 1990s period-piece is suddenly feeling sharply contemporary again. Forced evictions, gentrification, art vs. commerce, love and drugs - all told against the backdrop of a community managing a pandemic…welcome to 2021. Kicking off this anniversary year, a new production has settled into... Continue Reading →
Adaptation has been on my mind for most of 2020. As we all have had to isolate from each other and figure out a way to move forward amidst this global pandemic, our ability to adapt has remained a formidable challenge. Although we wear masks, work from home, stay six feet apart, and stream movies... Continue Reading →
The prestigious celebration of West End theatre, the Olivier Awards, took place at London's Palladium yesterday. Well, sort of. As with much of theatre this year, the Oliviers were an odd mix of the live and not-quite-live. Some awards had already been given out, with the winners sworn to secrecy, and the full ceremony streamed... Continue Reading →
Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley's frequently hilarious high camp queer absurdist dark comedy Circle Jerk is very 2020. It's confronting, chaotic, unrelenting, far-fetched, deranged, and overstimulating. The theatrical equivalent of spending 100 minutes or so multi-screen doom scrolling yourself down a wormhole of alt right conspiracy theory threads punctuated with viral TikTok lip sync videos... Continue Reading →
The 2020 Tony award nominations were announced this week, and in what is perhaps the most 2020 of theatrical metaphors, nobody actually knows when the winners will be announced. Much like the uncertain future of Broadway theatres, which will remain closed through May 30th 2021. The belated nominations announcement, which should of course have happened... Continue Reading →
The opening of amfAR’s digital The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America, which premiered on Broadway.com’s YouTube channel on October 8th, places the memory of the AIDS pandemic at its worst alongside now all too familiar images from 2020’s battle with COVID-19. The opener is a stark and sobering reminder of an obvious... Continue Reading →
