You get the impression that the cast of Belvoir’s new production of Into The Woods said "fuck it!" and went for some big swings in the rehearsal room, and if pays off… mostly. Your mileage may vary, but you can’t accuse this ensemble of complacency. The whole evening is full of that sense of community... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (Seymour Centre, Sydney) ★★★★
It’s hard enough to get a good man to fall in love with you, but worse to discover that the “other woman” vying for his attention… is you! A new, updated version of Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane’s 1960s musical On A Clear Day You Can See Forever has premiered in Sydney and it... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Collapsible (Old Fitz Theatre, Sydney) ★★★★
Esther (Janet Anderson) is lacking definition. She is asking the people in her life to describe her in a single word or phrase. The word she uses for herself is “collapsible”, like one of those chairs. Stable one moment and folded over the next. She has broken up with her girlfriend and lost her job,... Continue Reading →
HIV+ activist & theatre maker Jeremy Goldstein reflects on his Sydney WorldPride Arts experience
Renowned HIV+ theatre maker and queer arts producer Jeremy Goldstein surveys Sydney WorldPride Arts for The Queer Review, and finds a radically inclusive multi-artform festival of gender, identity, and sexuality. Beyond the Mardi Gras and the usual circuit parties, WorldPride Arts reinvents the harbour city as one of the world’s greatest LGBTQIA+ cultural destinations. I... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Sex Magick (Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney) ★★★★
Sex Magick lives up to its title with a lot of flavours of sex and seemingly endless amounts of magic (both the practical, theatrical kind and the more ephemeral). Funny, frisky, and confronting, Sex Magick leaves you spent but very satisfied. Ard Panicker (Raj Labade) is a former elite physiotherapist that’s been reduced to seeking... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: CAMP (Seymour Centre, Sydney) ★★★1/2
CAMP, a new play by Elias Jamieson Brown, chronicles the rise of the Australian Pride movement through the women who fought through their pain and losses to win us the freedoms we enjoy today. It’s a decades spanning tale, elevating Australia’s own Gay Liberation story, just in time for Sydney WorldPride 2023. Sydney, in the... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Blessed Union (Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney) ★★★★★
There’s a simple pleasure to be had in sitting back and watching everything on stage being done well. Belvoir’s new queer family dramedy, Blessed Union, is seamlessly terrific. Funny, emotive, and probing. Flawless. No notes. I could end the review here, but obviously I won't... Ruth (Danielle Cormack) and Judith (Maude Davey) have always upheld... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Hubris & Humiliation (Sydney Theatre Company) ★★★★
Lewis Treston’s new comedy, Hubris & Humiliation, takes Jane Austen and gives her a very Australian injection of camp, just in time for Mardi Gras season. The boys are sexy, the jokes are gloriously stupid, and the story is outrageous. Is it too much to call it “WorldPride & SocioeconomicPrejudice”? Elliot Delany (Roman Delo) is... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: The One (Ensemble Theatre, Sydney) ★★★1/2
Vanessa Bates’ The One, receiving its world premiere at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, delves into the nuances of identity through the lens of race, and to a lesser degree sexuality. It’s also incredibly bizarre and funny. In life, as at Jim’s Asian Restaurant & Milk Bar, there are no refunds and you have to make do... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Blithe Spirit (Sydney Opera House, Sydney) ★★★★
It begins with the dramatic opening chords of Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”, a flash of lightning and the vision of an ethereal Courtney Act hovering above the stage. It’s a warning, this isn’t any ordinary version of Noël Coward’s supernatural comedy. Charles Condomine (Matt Day) is a writer in need... Continue Reading →