I TELL YOU WHAT I THINK
First on Entertainment

It is Melbourne’s newest entertainment precinct (off Lonsdale Street), with a sizzling hot new show, involving seven spirited performers.   I speak of Spiegel Haus Melbourne and the adults only, risqué cabaret Blanc de Blanc Encore. Photo by Cameron Grant (front page image also by Cameron Grant) It is slick, sexy and in your face – in short, a walk on the wild side – with audience involvement turned up to scorching.   And it works … magnificently, providing patrons with an ex

Poppycock and balderdash. That sums up the theatre of the absurd production that is Bladderwrack at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory.   It is errant nonsense – a fruit loop pantomime with a few operatic interludes.   Inspirations include Spike Milligan and The Goon Show, so we shouldn’t be surprised. Photos by Steven Mitchell Wright Bladderwrack starts with some light-hearted banter and audience interaction.   Actors David Tredinnick and Oscar Munro introduce themselves as S

Artist Joy Hester (21 st August, 1920 – 4 th December, 1960) didn’t run with the pack.   Despite being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 27, given a year to live and told to put her house in order, she continued to do things her way.   She thumbed her nose at the doctor and at the establishment.   Where is Joy? is a look at the life and times of a rebel, who was unapologetically bold.   It is the perspective of a creative who, too, has been through the wringer and ca

I can’t speak highly enough of the comic might of Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (with libretto by Cesare Sterbini), as performed so adroitly by Opera Australia.   If you have not seen this hilarious opera, let me draw a comparison to the cleverness inherent in arguably the finest popular British TV comedy Fawlty Towers. Like that sitcom, this is orchestrated mayhem on a grand scale, led with distinction by baritone Samuel Dundas as the masterful central figure, Fi

What a great talent this man is. Reuben Kaye headlines a bawdy show to remember, introducing three Australian Opera headliners in the camped-up Opera Up Late.   Making its first appearance in Melbourne, it has been a staple in Sydney since it was conceived by Kaye and award-winning director Shaun Rennie for WorldPride in 2023. It is a fusion of the operatic with musical theatre, seen through a queer lens, liberally lashed with risqué humour.   Shocks and surprises are plentif

Given the state of the world, the anti-war message carried by the tribal, love, rock musical Hair is as relevant today as when it exploded onto the stage in 1967.   With a book and lyrics by  Gerome Ragni  and  James Rado , and music by  Galt MacDermot , it began off-Broadway that year.   It started its Broadway and West End runs the following year. Photo by Ben Fon The US was embroiled in the Vietnam War.   A flood of young men was drafted (2.2 million conscripted between 19

If you are in the mood for some light-hearted fun and hijinks, head for The National Theatre to see theatrical’s production of School of Rock.   Debuting on Broadway in December 2015, it is based on the 2003 film, which was a hit for Jack Black, who played the most unlikely of teachers.   The musical features the mastery of Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian Fellowes. Photos by Natalie Edge Dewey Finn can’t take a trick. He is a struggling, ou

Carpe diem is a Latin phrase meaning "seize the day”.   That is exactly what small time conman Tom Ripley (Will McDonald), who works in an advertising agency, does when presented with an unlikely opportunity.   It is the late 1950s. Photos by Cameron Grant and Prudence Upton The New York native is approached by Herbert Greenleaf (Andrew McFarlane) with a proposition.   Shipping magnate Greenleaf is Dickie Greenleaf’s (Roman Delo) father and believes Ripley went to school with

After a grand, unexpected and memorable opening to the play,   Genevieve Morris introduces herself as writer Cory Taylor.   In 2005, just before she turned 50, she was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma and, with that, she was given a death sentence.   The way she was told was cold and clinical, a doctor using medical terminology she didn’t understand.   When asked how long she had, the doctor was vague. Photos by Pia Johnson He said that while symptoms may be slow to appear at

Inspired by the 1933 film The Invisible Man starring Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart, and its 2020 reimagining, INVISIBLE is a sensory experience, not for the claustrophobic.  That is made clear during a brief introduction, after which we are ushered into a refrigerated shipping container (that, fortunately, is not refrigerated), containing two rows of theatre seats.   Once seated, we don tethered headphones and wait for the lights to be switched off, after which it is pitch d

A 110-minute set from James Blunt had the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena totally sold from the get go, as his distinctive tone rang out across the stadium.   For a born entertainer who has been touring for the past year and three quarters, his passion and enthusiasm remain surprisingly fresh and infectious.   That, in itself, is quite something. Dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket and trainers, he looks super fit and moves about the stage with the agility of

Making it in the world of entertainment is invariably difficult. It is a path liberally splattered with potholes.   And so it is that Chloe Halley – in her mid 20s – charts just such a journey.   Is it her personal voyage? Well, we can’t be sure, but it definitely sounds like it is.  Photos by Matthew Chen It is a hilarious recounting in narrative, song and tap dance of a passion to be on stage … the centre of attention, from the age of eight.   She takes to the task – obstac

We are venturing into a brave new world, one in which artificial intelligence threatens to overwhelm and overpower the human brain.   That is my take on the exploration of self, contained in writer Keziah Warner’s Control.   It is a play set in the future and told in three time frames. Photos by Kate Cameron The first sees four people in a spaceship hurtling towards Mars.   This is not a science experiment, but a reality game show, in which participants win money by completin

I saw the feel good, comedic, part musical, part play, part concert Here You Come Again when it was first in Melbourne for a brief run in July and I enjoyed it.   I appreciated it even more second time around.   It is a lot of fun and carries a relatable message that resonates.  Photos by Cameron Grant The legendary, wholesome Dolly Parton with a mischievous streak is on show.   It is the conceit of the creator and star of the piece, Tricia Paoluccio, who has a magnificent, r

It took me a while to understand just what was going down and to get into the flow of Who No Kno Go Kno, but once I did I fully embraced it.   It is colourful and combative for all the right reasons.   It dreams of a better world, in which humans don’t pillage the land, but treat it with respect and dignity.   Natural resources are not mined for greed, but protected and cherished.   This understanding is gained by a youngster and passed on to his elder, though it doesn’t happ

While the underlying message of Be More Chill, namely to be yourself and be true to yourself, is pertinent, this is a very silly musical, pitched at a teen audience.   Featuring a number of catchy, up-tempo songs, Saltpillar Theatre does a good job with the material, such that it is. Photos by Peter Haskin Frankly, at two and a half hours including interval, it feels like a long show.   It is certainly one that calls upon you to suspend belief.   You are best to simply go wit

It is chaotic and a bit of fun and nonsense.   A room full of people has signed up for a show titled Handle with Care.   It is the work of internationally renowned, interactive, Flemish theatre company Ontroerend Goed. As one enters the space assigned to this offering, I couldn’t help but notice a medium sized sealed box on the platform stage.   With no actors or technicians, we are it. We are in charge for an hour.   It is up to us to start proceedings. That happens when all

The creativity and excellence in diverse forms of movement and the emotion it generated in Week 1 of Dance X continues with aplomb into Week 2.   The major program has four companies each performing a short work over a total of two hours including interval, at Playhouse in Arts Centre Melbourne.   Stephanie Lake Company’s Auto Cannibal is a development from that commissioned by other companies, which premiered in Beijing in 2019. Photo by Jade Ellis (front page photo also by

Her mother-in-law made her life hell.   That is the starting point for one of Victorian Opera’s most masterful and innovative works.   I speak of Katya Kabanova (Desiree Frahn). Katya is a woman trapped. Subjugated, she dreams of freedom. Photos by Jeff Busby Katya lives in a provincial town by the River Volga. Her mother-in-law, Kabanicha (Antoinette Halloran), is the tyrannical widow of a rich merchant.   Kabanicha can’t stomach that her son (Katya’s wife), Tichon (Michael

I can’t think of a better way to introduce young ones to the power of dance than by seeing Dream Swamp.   That is due to the remarkable feats of Michaela Tancheff and Harrison Ritchie Jones.   Both are so agile and potent, as they leap, roll, throw and catch in a mesmerising display of athletic prowess, as we enter a magical, child-like world.  Photos by Gregory Lorenzutti Complete with attractive cartoon visuals and a beautiful score drawn from Peer Gynt, The Nutcracker and