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First on Entertainment

Each year I keep coming back for a repeat dose of Christmas cheer.   Why? Because The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol is a fine, heartfelt and meaningful production, in which the actor who plays Scrooge changes from year to year.   Charles Dickens’ tale of greed at the expense of humanity may date back to 1843, but its message never grows old.   And this representation is as slick, assured and as family friendly as they come, finishing with merriment and mirth. Photos by Michelle

In good conscience, I can’t say I could recommend this play to … well, anyone.   Within minutes, I was wishing I was anywhere else other than in Theatre Works watching Nihilistic Optimism On Trampolines. Photos by Sian Quinn Seeing workers at a trampolining facility hooking up, bonding, squabbling and bored out of their tiny minds hardly seemed like the most engaging of entertainment.   The work picked up somewhat after one of their number began composing a yarn involving the

An array of cocktails, mocktails and sleight of hand at close quarters, with some hijinks and a party atmosphere to boot.   That is what in store for you when you step into the Japanese Magic Bar experience. As you order your drinks, seated at five “stations” – a table and four bars – five magicians razzle dazzle you with their mind-bending repertoire of illusions.   One after another, you get a few minutes with each, before they move on to the next group.   And then there is

Intense. Visceral. Passionate. Angry. Confronting.   My instant reaction to a remarkable two-man show about art and what it means.   It is the late 1950s. A master painter lets loose – doesn’t hold back – in “schooling” his assistant. Photos by Olivia Morison In short, it is verbal diatribe of biblical proportions.   Ken (Jordan Briggs) is like the cat that got the cream, after being hired by renowned artist Mark Rothko (Dylan Smith) as his “helper”.   Ken is engaged to work

Taking its cue from bouffon, a form of theatrical performance rooted in grotesque mockery, satire and physical comedy, Golden Soil & Wealth For Toil takes aim at The Lucky Country.   Swiss dramatis t Friedrich Dürrenmatt ’s 1956 tragicomedy The Visit offered the perfect framing. Photos by Darren Gill For it is, indeed, a fair question to ask whether Australia is still the land of opportunity it was once seen to be.   Given the cost-of-living crisis and the widening gap betwee

Danish author and poet Hans Christian Anderson based the literary fairy tale The Red Shoes about a peasant girl named Karen on his loathed half-sister of that name.   The story, first published in an 1845 collection of his works, is that of a girl being forced to dance continually in red shoes.   The peasant girl’s mother dies when Karen is still very young.   Adopted by a rich, old lady, Karen grows up vain and spoilt. Photos by Brett Boardman Before her adoption, Karen had

Insults, treachery and love are interchangeable in this new, modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which crackles with absurdity and wit.   It centres around the vicissitudes faced by two couples feted to be together, but not before a whole heap of melodrama. Photos by Grego ry Lorenzutti I speak of the acerbic Beatrice (Alison Bell) and aristocratic soldier Benedick (Fayssal Bazzi), both sworn off love and marriage. They are constantly testing each other

Do you believe in ghosts?   Noted sceptic and author Professor Adrian Chambers (Peter Houghton) most certainly does not?   The 62-year-old has written 14 books on the subject.   At a very poorly attended new book reading and signing, he is waylaid by the only person who turns up, librarian Beth Jackson (Emily Trheny). Photos by Darren Gill Although their awkward exchange has Chambers cringing, he certainly takes notice when she offers him half a million dollars to take up a c

The multitalented PJ Lane takes us on a most entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable walk down memory lane, as he pays tribute to his famous father.   With special guests Patti Newton and Rhonda Burchmore, PJ Lane sings, dances and delves into the life and times of fellow entertainer, Don.   Complete with a striking 12-piece band and four glittering showgirls, PJ has a strong, powerful and melodic voice, which he uses to full effect. The variety show is interspersed with black

Passion, obsession, desperation, jealousy and rage make for a fiery combination in composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, newly interpreted by director Anne-Louise Sarks.   The sublime music, with such familiar refrains, also showcases a sassy, not to be messed with soprano in Danielle de Niese. She is irrepressible and oh so potent as the titular character.   Carmen attracts men as a shining light draws insects. Resistance is impossible.   Never truer words have been written and t

What a special show: the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at its glorious best and four popular and talented singers in fine voice showcasing the incomparable Billy Joel. The sound is magnificent. The experience unforgettable. Photos by Mark Gambino The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s catalogue is remarkable. Thirty-three top 40 hits in the US. Record sales exceeding 160 million worldwide. Six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year.   So, it becomes a quest

First love erupts into a fight for Country in Whitefella Yella Tree.   Teen indigenous Australians from different clans meet to exchange information.   Ty (Joseph Althouse) of the River mob is tall, wiry, reflective and intelligent. Neddy (Danny Howard) of the Mountain mob is slightly shorter and sturdier, a livewire who darts about. Photos by Prudence Upton They meet beneath the knotted branches of a newly rooted lemon tree.   They have eyes only for one another. It is all v

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