THIS IS LIVING

■ The New Year’s Eve getaway at Hepburn for couple Hugh (Marcus McKenzie) and Will (Wil King) exposes tensions and frustrations compounded by illness and fundamental character flaws.

The occasion is further complicated by the three female friends who regularly share the yearly getaway with them each of whom have their own preoccupations; Alex (Belinda McClory), a TV host; Jo (Maria Theodorakis), a university lecturer; and Sharleen (Michelle Perera), a recently divorced mother.

To begin, Matilda Woodroofe’s set and costumes establish the truth behind the façade of these character’s lives.

A large sliding door is the central feature allowing access to the sights beyond but the backdrop is a picture.

The set panels are also evident beyond the well laid out performance space.

The outfits, and even Alex’s hairpiece, suggest appearance prevents these characters from appreciating the actuality that simmers below the surface.

The wit and invective in Ash Flanders's script is also clever and entertaining but as verbal barbs are exchanged, we wonder if any resolution is possible.

Hugh’s cancer diagnosis leaves him narcissistically deflecting Will’s attempts to help but the psychology of this is never fully explored or accounted for.

And the women’s concerns highlight their own obsessions which are all viable loci for discussion - the male ego, educational mothering and divorce - but which are not germane to what could be the collapse of Hugh and Will’s relationship.

The naturalism of Matthew Lutton’s direction is best highlighted in the pace of the dialogue and its overlapping nature.

Even the offstage dialogue echoes the carryon of real life when people arrive. And the drama technique of howling is comically believable hinting at a send up of workshops all the cast could well have encountered.

The cast delight in their roles inhabiting character and finding not just the comedy but an underlying emotional core but much of what plays out serves as scene setting.

There is a truth behind what these characters experience – especially when it comes to caring for a dying partner.

But Flanders has tended to deflect the focus. We are left with the feeling that the drama of their lives will be repeated come next New Years. This is living – or is it?

Performance Details: Until July 30

Venue: Malthouse Theatre

Booking: www.malthousetheatre.com.au

- Review by David McLean

Sisters In Crime

■ Sisters in Crime presents Lethal Practice: Murder + Mayhem + Malice in the Medical World on Friday, July 28, at 8pm at the Rising Sun Hotel, 2 Raglan St, South Melbourne. Medicine is supposed to be about healing and helping but the medical world can also offer many opportunities to do harm ... even kill.

Guest authors Anne Buist (Locked Ward), Jacinta Halloran (Dissection) and Sue White (Cut), , are all medical doctors who know the issues firsthand and will tell all to host Toni Jordan.

Anne Buist is the Chair of Women’s Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. She has 30 years clinical and research experience in perinatal psychiatry, including perinatal medicolegal work (cases of infanticide, kidnapping, murder, and abuse) for Protective Services, Children’s and Criminal courts.

She is the author of four crime novels with tart noir heroine, psychiatrist Natalie King, Medea’s Curse (shortlisted for the Davitt as debut and overall), Dangerous to Know, This I Would Kill For, and Locked Ward (released January) and a stand-alone rural thriller set around a postnatal depression group, The Long

● ● Maria Theodorakis (Jo), Belinda McClory (Alex), Marcus McKenzie (Hugh) and Wil King i(Will) in This Is Living. Photo: Pia Johnson Shadow . She has been married to Graeme Simsion for 30 years, and with him has written feel-good mid-age-finding-yourself novel on the Camino and Chemin dÁssie/Via Francigena: Two Steps Forward, and Two Steps Onward which were published in 14 countries. Their joint book set in a health facility, Out of the Blue, will be released next March.

Book by ThursdayJuly 27, 2pm. https://buff.ly/ 44poHKM

- Cheryl Threadgold

Away

■ With an award winning director- Steven Mitchell Wright - at the helm, Away was set to be something special.

Written by Michael Gow this is a story of three families on their Christmas vacation all with various issues. Characters cross over, events take place, truths, lies, tragedies explored amongst a Shakespearean backdrop.

This production is a collaboration with students from Collart- Collingwood, beginning with them covered in blue paint reciting Shakespeare as the audience took their seats.

This leads itself to the first scene in Away, the high school production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream with Tom (Rupert Bevan) as Puck. The Shakespeare does not end there, there is an intertwining with movement, costume and dialogue throughout the show.

There is much to enjoy about this production, yet I feel too much going on. I was confused at times with both the look and action.

The play is set in the sixties, an era of smoking, yet in a small, crowded theatre, Gwen’s (Eleanor Howlett ) chain smoking was uncomfortable.

There were many stylised aspects to this show, so using real, lit cigarettes did not seem necessary. There were inconsistencies throughout in the stylised ‘blocking’, costumes , accents with a lack of attention to detail. An example of this, the wigs.

Amongst some beautiful Shakespearean pieces were some ‘very ordinary’ hair pieces causing a distraction.

Performances amongst this experienced well rehearsed ensemble were consistently good. Particular mention to Bevan in his various roles, he has a strong physical presence on stage. Justin Hosking as the nervous dad (Jim) was very ‘moving.’ Eleanor Howlett , demanding as she should be as Gwen. The vocals of Stephen Tall (Roy) a very memorable surprise element toward the end.

This production has a lot to offer amongst a clever set (Greg Carroll), beautiful lighting (Ben Hughes). Expect a feast for the senses plus the brain.

Performance Details: Until July 22

Venue: Theatre Works, 14 Acland St., St Kilda

Bookings: www.theatreworks.org.au

- Review by Elizabeth

Semmel

Digital Edition

● ● ● ● Fresh digital issues of the Melbourne Observer are published weekly, February-Christmas. You can read the issues on the web, and have a link sent to your inbox. www.FreePaper.com.au

■ Mid winter and afternoon concerts are a great combination, especially when followed by a delicious afternoon tea.

That’s what’s on offer at Diamond Creek Uniting Church on Saturday (July 22) when Julie Houghton and Friends present their

‘There’s No Business Like Showbusiness’ concert.

The concert will be an enticing mix of wellloved songs from Gilbert and Sullivan, music theatre, parlour music and poetry.

‘There’s No Business Like Showbusiness’ promises to be an entertaining afternoon with tunes you know performed by fine professional singers.

Joining associate artist Isaac Mouskavias at the piano are soprano Suzanne Shakespeare , mezzo soprano Jennifer Wakefield, baritone Alex Owens and actor/ singer Julie Houghton.

Following the concert you are invited to a delightful afternoon tea, which is included in the price of the ticket.

You can book at trybooking.com or buy a ticket at the door.

‘There’s No Business Like Showbusiness’ is the latest concert in the Diamond Creek Concert series and kicks off at 2 pm on Saturday July 22 at Diamond Creek Uniting Church, Wensley St, Diamond Creek.

- Molly Donahue

Guys and Dolls

■ Antipodes Theatre Company reimagines Guys and Dolls for its 70th anniversary from August 10-19 at Chapel off Chapel in Prahran

Embracing the 'Musical Fable' of the title, the show reflects the passion and politics of 2023 as it transforms Chapel off Chapel into a prohibition-era nightclub.

Artistic Director Brandon Pape says: “Guys and Dolls is a beloved musical and, like any story that has stood the test of time, we quickly realised there was an opportunity to tell this story in an exciting way that created opportunities for artists who may not traditionally have had access to this work.”

During their research, the ATC creative team immersed themselves in the 1920sworking to incorporate the energy of New York Nightlife and Queer Culture at the time into the production.

The production will also feature live music and a bandstand on the stage, with Green Room Award winner Jonathan Homsey exploring and incorporating waacking into the world; a form of dance that originated from gay clubs in 1970s California through the African American and Latino population, taking its cues from the poses and body language of the movie stars of yesteryear.

Based on the short stories of Damon Runyon, featuring classic songs like Luck Be a Lady, Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat and Adelaide’s Lament, Guys and Dolls is directed by Trudy Dunn and Brandon Pape, with musical direction by David Butler , movement direction by Jonathan Homsey and choreography by Carolyn Ooi.

Performance Details: August 10 - 19

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St., Prahran

Bookings: www.antipodestheatre.com

- Cheryl Threadgold