Stage Whispers July/August 2021 edition

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 1

In this issue

Meet The Stars Of Moulin Rouge! ..................................................................... 4 Des Flanagan, Alinta Chidzey and Simon Burke chat with David Spicer

4

Musicals: The Reel Deal................................................................................... 10 The marriage of screen and stage musicals ramps up The Show Might Go On .................................................................................. 14 Theatre’s bumpy coronavirus comeback

12

Back To A Chorus Line .................................................................................... 20 After closing in previews in 2020, the hit musical is back Forbidden Musicals......................................................................................... 22 Musicals that haven’t survived #MeToo and ‘Black Lives Matter’ Australian Music Theatre Festival 2021 ........................................................... 25 Launceston recently played host to the second instalment of the AMTF I Want To Be A (Young) Producer ................................................................... 26 Debora Krizak chats with some of our youngest entrepreneurs

15

The Art & History Of Puppetry ......................................................................... 30 Puppet treasures from the S,B&W archives Performing Arts Course Guide......................................................................... 35 Training for a career in the Performing Arts in 2022

25

Regular Features Script Extract: Hilary Bell’s The National Apology Centre 32

29 65

40

Staging & Theatre Tech

51

Stage On Page

52

Stage On Disc

54

What’s On

56

Reviews

65

Musical Spice: Musicals & Plays Mishaps

76

Get the most out of our magazine’s online interactions on your mobile device with a QR code scanner.

apple.co/2FKh0cJ

If your device doesn’t have one installed, browse your app store, or try one of these free options.

bit.ly/2NcB9r5

THE FOCUS OF THE NEXT ISSUE OF STAGE WHISPERS IS “PUTTING ON A SHOW”

72 2 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

PLACE YOUR AD BY AUGUST 14 CONTACT (03) 9758 4522 OR stagews@stagewhispers.com.au

Editorial Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, Yet again, as we go to print, the resilience of our theatre companies and producers is being put to the test, with another COVID-19 lockdown closing Sydney’s theatres for at least two weeks, and Perth’s theatres having density limits reinstated. All we can do for the moment is hope and pray that our stages will soon be creatively abuzz again, with our auditoriums welcoming audiences, but our once world-leading arts industry recovery remains fragile - highly susceptible to any new outbreak of the virus.

WAAPA Music Theatre alumnus Zoe Gertz, currently starring as Beverley in Come From Away, takes time out between performances to catch up on the latest news in Stage Whispers.

Despite current setbacks, the future of our theatre and film industry remains very much in the hands of each new cohort of graduates from our training courses. In this edition, we highlight some of those courses and the diversity of arts skills and disciplines they foster. There will be even more details about these courses in our free annual online Performing Arts Course Guide, available from mid-July at stagewhispers.com.au/training Ever since David Spicer and I became the owners of Stage Whispers, we’ve been very interested in highlighting the resources required for staging a play or musical. High on that list, of course, are the scripts from which we rehearse, and one of the great sources for them has long been performing arts specialist bookshop Book Nook.

For some time now, our website has featured a Stage Whispers Books section, so when Book Nook proprietors Mary and Jo Sutherland announced in February that they were closing down, we began negotiations to take over the business.

Book Nook’s updated website - featuring a huge range of play scripts, audition monologue books, drama theory and teachers’ resources, speech, dance, media and arts texts / biographies - will go live during July at booknook.com.au As an additional bonus, we are extending our existing Stage Whispers rewards program, giving free subscriptions to this magazine with book purchases, to Book Nook customers. You can read more about our rewards at stagewhispers.com.au/books/news/stagewhispers-books

Online extras!

Stage Whispers TV brings you a taste of Come From Away in Sydney. youtu.be/ROkdwSTz73Y

Online extras!

Stage Whispers is now the proud owner of Book Nook. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/Icuw962x-hA

Yours in Theatre,

Neil Litchfield Editor

CONNECT

Cover image: Alinta Chidzey, Simon Burke and Des Flanagan have been announced as the stars of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. They speak with David Spicer in our feature story on page 4.

Photo: Charlie Kinross.

Inset: Into The Heights.

Photo: Macall Polay. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 3

Cover Story

With its kaleidoscope of blended pop songs and eye-popping scenery, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is set to premiere in Melbourne later this year. David Spicer speaks to the stars - Des Flanagan (Christian), Alinta Chidzey (Satine) and Simon Burke (Harold Zidler).

In 2019 Des Flanagan stood on the stage of Moulin Rouge! at the Al Hirschfield Theatre on Broadway and stared out at the empty theatre. The young performer had just watched the production, from a standing room ticket space supplied by a friend in the cast.

On the set “she whispered into my ear that it was coming to Australia. I remember standing there and thinking this could be my stage,” he said.

It was a big leap of ambition. A few years out of studying at the VCA, Des had only ever had short term theatre jobs in ensemble or swing roles.

By contrast, Alinta Chidzey was already a seasoned star of musical theatre when she went for a lead role in Moulin Rouge! Her biggest challenge in the audition room was being 37 weeks pregnant.

“It was difficult to breathe properly as my baby was sitting on my diaphragm. I remember singing a song and they asked for a second. I asked can I breathe my baby out, as it took me a little longer to catch my breath,” she said.

Industry veteran Simon Burke found the process of lodging an initial

4 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

audition as a pre-recorded submission a little uncomfortable.

“Taping a scene with a mate for a film or TV role is nice. When you tape a scene for Harold Zidler screaming ‘Hello chickens!’, you wonder what the neighbours are thinking.”

I spoke to the trio as they were entering rehearsals (COVID-19 permitting) for the premiere of the musical at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in August.

Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film - which won two Academy Awards, for costumes and production - was successfully adapted into a Broadway musical in 2019. This finally delivered Australian production house Global Creatures an unambiguous commercial hit, after the disappointment of King Kong. Prior to the lockdown, Moulin Rouge! was one of Broadway’s hottest tickets and is nominated for 14 Tony Awards (the awards are set to be announced on September 14).

“Whenever I think of the show I just smile. It is just huge. Everything about it - the costumes, the set, the songs - are just so large,” says Des Flanagan.

“At interval I thought, ‘I would like to play this role’. From that moment I

Online extras!

The newly announced Australian cast perform songs from the musical. youtu.be/z5xjItp81jg Simon Burke and the Australian cast of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Photo: Charlie Kinross.

was quite driven, as the character resonated with me.”

Des screamed when news came through - two years later - that he scored the lead role.

“Christian, like myself, came from a small country town. I came from Beechworth and moved to Melbourne to study at the VCA. He wanted to come to Paris to become a great writer.

“Another parallel is the way Christian and myself express our emotions and desires. I grew up with this film. There is a lot I have sponged off characters like Christian throughout my life. He has such an openness and vulnerability, which are incredible qualities for a man.”

Des Flanagan could be described as an accidental music theatre star.

His passion has been singing pop songs and as a child he initially had to be roped into his school musicals by his sisters. His enthusiasm grew, but after a gap year Des was about to enrol in an Agriculture Course when his performing arts teacher encouraged him to audition for the Victorian College of the Arts.

“I threw my hat into the ring and the VCA took a gamble on me.”

Since graduating he’s had occasional short-term gigs, but his primary vocation has been in the disability sector.

“I performed to the kids at an autistic school. They were my toughest critics. Autistic children have (Continued on page 7) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 5

Cover Story

Online extras!

ABC’s 7:30 meets the cast and creatives of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. youtu.be/hROHuvWtpsY

Broadway set of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Photo: Matthew Murphy.

6 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

The Elephant Love Medley [Christian, spoken] All you need is love [Satine, spoken] You’re being ridiculous [Christian, spoken] All you need is love [sung] Just one night, give me just one night [Satine] There’s no way ‘cause you can’t pay [Christian] In the name of love, one night in the name of love [Satine] You crazy fool, I won’t give in to you [Christian] It’s so easy, all you have to do is fall in love [Satine] Love hurts [Christian] All you have to do is play the game [Satine] Love scars [Christian] All you have to do is Take on me [Satine] No, no, no, it ain’t me [Christian] Take me on [Satine] No, no, no because you’ll be gone in a day or two [Christian] I love you, always, forever Near or far, closer together Everywhere I will be with you [Satine] Love is a battlefield

Des Flanagan and Alinta Chidzey.

Photo: Charlie Kinross.

(Continued from page 5)

no filter. I certainly got feedback that I worked on,” he joked.

Working with the children helped keep him grounded and he reflects now on how his life has changed.

“The community of people you are around are so empathetic and compassionate. I don’t stop wanting to perform or make people happy.”

Alinta Chidzey has rarely been out of work as a dancer /singer / actor since she left the Victorian College of the Arts High School and did a short course at Centrestage Performing Arts. She was most recently seen as Velma Kelly in Chicago.

The role of Satine was famously played in the movie by Nicole Kidman.

“I love that she has a lot of humour. With people she is an extravagant sparking diamond - a star. But when layers are peeled off, she has this vulnerability.”

Alinta is relishing getting into a role which has “love (for Christian), humour, seduction and also heartache.”

At the audition Alinta said she “tried to find elements of myself in the character that I could personalise.

If I understand a character in depth, I can bring to life what is important.”

Love and loss have been a feature of her last year.

“I lost a friend to cancer, but I also gained a child. The love that is there for my child, family and friends - that is what I connect to most. It is something everyone deserves.”

Being heavily pregnant made the audition a challenge, especially at the dance call.

“I remember looking in the mirror thinking you are hilarious - what are you doing? You just have to own it.

Of course, it is not ideal dancing with a big belly, but you make do and keep soldiering on.”

Simon Burke has been in the entertainment industry since he was a teenager, winning an AFI Award at the age of 13. He will celebrate his 60th birthday on stage as the great showman and owner of the Moulin (Continued on page 8) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 7

Cover Story

The Broadway cast of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Photo: Matthew Murphy.

(Continued from page 7)

Rouge - Harold Zidler. He too agrees that an actor needs to find a connection with a character.

“It is kind of more a meta thing. I don’t have a connection with Zidler’s personal life. I think what you get from the film and the musical is that Howard is the essence of show business and theatricality. Harold represents the art side of things - a certain sort of human being who gives up everything to do what we do.”

In the musical, half of his dialogue is directly addressed to the audience, which is consistent with many of his recent roles including Play School and hosting the Helpmann Awards.

“I have done an awful lot of addressing the audience. It comes from being around for a long time.

You spend the first part of your career speaking to other characters on stage and the rest of your career with the fun of cheekiness of talking to the audience.”

When I spoke to Simon, he was on a film set preparing to go into the make-up truck. It was just a few days before rehearsals were scheduled to start for Moulin Rouge! I asked him if this made it difficult to turn up knowing his lines.

“I am a week four boy in rehearsals at my age,” he replied. “I know my lines when turning up to a film set, but I am firm believer in not knowing the lines in a stage production. I don’t even work on it. I don’t want to come in with any preconceptions. It is important not to miss out on the fun of working it out with people you are doing it with.”

Helping him learn his lines is an invention that was science fiction when he commenced his career in the mid 1970’s.

“There is a fantastic AP that’s changed my life called Line Learner.

You can do it for screen tests, theatre, learning, a song, film and TV. It is terribly simple. You record yourself and the other person’s lines, play it 8 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Moulin Rouge! The Musical Opens at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne in August. moulinrougemusical.com/australia/home back real time and you can leave out your lines.”

Alinta has something even better than an AP to help her prepare for the stage. The mother of a young baby has a husband prepared to be the primary carer when she is at work at the theatre.

“Rehearsals are rigorous but being a mother is forever. It is exciting bringing up a daughter in a theatrical world. She will have lots of entertainment backstage,” she said.

Des and Altina have a few more lines to learn than Simon and they are unusually complex. What makes the musical unique is that the songs are comprised of lines from different songs blended.

“People talk about how difficult it is to act a pop song. For the pop songs they have chosen, lyrically and tonally it is quite easy. It is as though it is a music theatre song written to develop a plot. When I read it, without listening to the music, it came off the page so well,” said Des. “A new song is a mash between ‘Crazy’ by Gnarls Barkley and ‘Rolling in the Deep’ by Adele. It is called ‘Crazy Rolling’. Christian is working

through his turmoil and projecting to the audience what is to come.”

The most spectacular example of blended pop songs is in ‘The Elephant Love Medley’. Christian pleads for Satine to live for love, and she responds with anti-love songs. They cut between different songs in a duel of lyrics.

Some of the songs have credits for more than a dozen writers and they are biggest names in pop music, from The Beatles to David Bowie to Dolly Parton.

Simon Burke said he’s not surprised at the popularity of Moulin Rouge! “This is the movie on steroids.

There are 40 songs in the movie but 70 plus in musical, and it has been updated with Lady Gaga and Adele,” he said.

He gets the vibe that the musical is going to be popular with members of the public who don’t get to the theatre very often.

“It is almost like going to the Easter Show, being promised two showbags by your parents, and coming back with every showbag.”

Simon was rather pleased with that pitch, as something the great Harold Zidler might come up with.

Subscribe now!

Subscription Form

Subscribe to our print edition and receive one of the following gifts.

Visit stagewhispers.com.au/subscribe Please nominate three choices, as supplies of some gifts are limited.

 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - DVD set  Carry On Film Collection 1 - DVD set  Cliff Richard Film Collection - DVD set  Deanna Durbin: Film Collection 1 - DVD set  Hart To Hart - DVD set  Musical CD or DVD Lucky Dip More choices at stagewhispers.com.au/subscribe DVDs Courtesy of ViaVision

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

SUBSCRIBE AT stagewhispers.com.au

Name: .....................................................................

Address: ..................................................................

Phone:.....................................................................

Email: ......................................................................

Please nominate your 1st, 2nd and 3rd free gift choices below:

.............................................................................................

Send your money order, cheque, credit card details, or request for invoice to:

Stage Whispers, PO Box 2274, Rose Bay North, NSW, 2030.

ABN 71 129 358 710

 Visa  MasterCard  American Express Expiry:......./........

Credit Card Number: .................................................................

CCV Number .............................................................................

Signature: .................................................................................

Sign me up for (tick applicable box):

6 issues  Print and e-mag for $39.50AUD / $49NZ OR  E-mag only for $24.95AUD 12 issues  Print and e-mag for $70AUD / $90NZ OR  E-mag only for $39AUD 18 issues  Print and e-mag for $95AUD / $120NZ OR  E-mag only for $55AUD (GST inclusive where applicable)

Online extras!

In The Heights is filled with toe-tapping energy and a kaleidoscope of dreams. youtu.be/u5pTICZ2oeg 10 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Musicals: The Reel Deal

With a batch of blockbuster musicals being released as movies, Coral Drouyn looks between the sheets at the marriage of screen and stage.

Anthony Ramos as Usnavi and Melissa Barrera as Vanessa in In The Heights.

Photo: Macall Polay / Warner Bros.

Entertainment Inc.

It’s here. Summer has returned to an Australian winter in the form of the film of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. You can almost feel the warmth of the summer sun in Washington Heights, and the plethora of bright colours (including skin colours) is dazzling to the eye. It’s a joyful affirmation of life and dreams and belonging and family - but so are most musicals, aren’t they? Some would say it’s not the job of a musical to be edgy or to make one think, though ultimately Miranda has managed to tickle our minds into forming opinions on social injustice, idealism and the importance of family. However, its primary job is to entertain, and the film deserves a thousand awards for that alone.

It’s a year for Broadway on screen, with Dear Evan Hansen on a large screen showing that Ben Platt (at close range) looks too old for the role (he’s 27!), Spielberg’s West Side Story (don’t we already have the classic version on film?) and tick, tick...Boom! with Lin-Manuel Miranda directing (the man is HOT and capitalising on it). There were plans for a film of Come from Away, but fortunately common sense prevailed and now there will be a filmed version of the stage show (did anyone want to see 7,000 extras crowding an airport?), which is intimate and innovative and the antithesis of big screen musicals. And the rumours abound that The Drowsy Chaperone will hit the big screen next year, along with Fun Home starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

Ultimately it raises that age-old question - should musicals be confined to the theatre, or opened up to achieve their potential on the big

screen? Purists will claim the former that theatre provides an intimacy, a willingness to suspend disbelief that can’t be found on a big screen; that every performance is different, and the audience is a participant rather than an observer. Others will claim that Broadway is just a stepping-stone to the big screen, where anything can happen on a twenty-foot-high screen, and a musical can go places in celluloid reality that we can only imagine within the limitations of a theatre. The fact is both are valid. The reality is it depends on the musical and the timing.

Musicals on screen tend to peak at the times in history when we need them most. During the depression musicals were created for the screen rather than Broadway. Most musicals are a feel-good experience and an escape from the misery of the real world for an hour or two, and that’s certainly the case in a pandemic. The Thirties made film stars of people like Fred Astaire - who had appeared on Broadway in such musicals as Lady, Be Good and The Band Wagon, but is remembered for a huge list of film musicals. Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz is still watched by kids of all ages today. It is timeless. And that went from screen to stage.

After the World War Two, and right into the Cold War, musicals once again provided an escape valve from the stress around us. Some screen musicals came from the stage; some originated on screen and then were adapted for the stage. So, the Golden Age of Musicals gave us such gems as Showboat, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, On The Town, Damn Yankees, Gypsy (Continued on page 12) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 11

Ariana DeBose as Anita and David Alvarez as Sharks leader Bernardo in West Side Story.

Photo: Niko Tavernise / Twentieth Century Studios.

and The Sound of Music. Their one “flop” (or least successful) stage to screen adaptation was Flower Drum (stage to screen) and Seven Brides for Song, a pity, because so many lovely Seven Brothers, An American in Paris, songs (“Love Look Away”, “A Singin’ In The Rain, and Gigi (screen Hundred Million Miracles”, “Sunday” and, of course, “I Enjoy Being a Girl”) to stage). These days, of course, it’s more likely to be Disney movie have been lost to lovers of musical musicals that are adapted to the theatre. Interestingly, their Cinderella was written in 1957 for the small stage, attracting an increasingly younger audience, much as screen of television (the first of 3 TV pantomimes used to entertain us versions, it starred Julie Andrews) and adults when we were kids, but far only later made its way onto the more elaborate. stage. The new Broadway production It took Rodgers and Hammerstein will reach our shores this year - on to turn the movie musical into a stage of course. stellar event, and almost all of their The Sixties bought smash musicals are equally at home on both Broadway hits like West Side Story, screen and stage. Let’s face it, few of My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly! and Funny us know that Mary Martin was the Girl to the screen and introduced us original Maria in The Sound of Music, to Barbra Streisand as well as Julie but even mention the title anywhere Andrews, then followed with the age in the world and we all conjure up an of Fosse. We were blessed with image of Julie Andrews on a hilltop, Cabaret and Sweet Charity, and a arms flung wide, telling us “The Hills British ring-in, Oliver!, which proved are alive…”, when most of us didn’t that a good musical is a good musical even know they’d been sick! no matter where it comes from. At Their musicals were smash hits on the other end of the scale a fairly screen, which led to additional average 1971 Broadway hit called productions on stage, which again Grease became a big screen publicised the films. It was a musical blockbuster in 1978 - which led, in merry-go-round - or should I say turn, to a rewrite of the stage show carousel? The list includes Oklahoma!, and far more productions than most Carousel, South Pacific, State Fair of us wanted to see. (twice filmed before its less than By the Eighties we had film stellar stage versions), The King and I versions of gems like Annie and A (Continued from page 11)

12 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Chorus Line, while by the end of the century the mega musicals had taken over the stages and ultimately the big screen. The Phantom of the Opera, Evita and Les Misérables are the classic examples of musicals that benefitted from being opened up fully on screen, allowing full exploitation of settings and grandeur. On the other hand, more recently Cats, one of the world’s longest running musicals, proved a total disaster on the big screen and a classic example of musicals that should have been left alone (who wants waving tails and twenty-foot-high puss bottoms in their popcorn?). Sondheim made it to the big screen (again) in the new century with Sweeney Todd and Into The Woods, the latter considered by stage (and Sondheim) fans to be overproduced at the expense of the complexities of the story. But the screen also gave the stage Once, while Broadway sent Hairspray and Chicago to the multiplexes.

So, while we can look forward to Sunset Boulevard (screen to stage and back again) and a remake of The King and I (why?), what musicals of the 21st century will thrive on screen and which should be left to the stage.

I certainly hope they don’t film The Book of Mormon - I like its almost cartoon quality and it could work if animated, but if based in a realistic

Dear Evan Hansen.

Photo: Universal Pictures.

screen setting it might be too offensive even for me. Also, I for one don’t want to see a realistic, panoramic Hamilton - with the lead character on horseback rapping ‘Wait ‘til I sally in on a stallion with the first black battalion’. Much like Come from Away, it’s the beauty of the imaginative production itself that allows us to suspend disbelief and lose ourselves in the magic. On the other hand, aren’t we all excited by the prospect of Matilda on a big screen? It seems ready made for film.

And Wicked will take us over the rainbow again to a fantasy world, some 80 years later Personally, I believe that every Broadway (or West End) musical should be filmed in performance for posterity. Something so important to our culture should be archived whether it’s good, bad or indifferent.

If you’re still not certain about the competitive merits of stage and screen, here’s a little check list for you.

Five reasons to see a Musical on screen:  You can take popcorn, lollies and soft drinks in with you. If you can afford Gold Class you can even have champagne and a hamburger.

 You don’t have to pay $100 plus for a ticket.

 You don’t have to dress up.  You can see close-ups of faces and the dancers’ feet.  The sound is generally better and you can sing along (quietly).

   



Five reasons to see a Musical on stage: You don’t have to sit next to someone with popcorn and cola singing all the songs in your ear.

You can dress up, especially if it’s for an opening night.

It’s an immersive experience with a participatory element.

There is spontaneity in the performances because it’s live and the sense of anticipation in the people around you makes it electric.

That’s the way the show was meant to be seen.

Which side did you come down on? I’m greedy - I want both. One thing is certain - Broadway musicals are no longer for the elite, or theatregoers of any kind. Every person has access to a screen, be it big or small. Which means there is no excuse for not seeing some of the best musicals in the world. And isn’t that a good thing for all of us? stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 13

The Show Might Go On

Beth Keehn checks in with theatre-makers across the country on their bumpy comeback in 2021.

To ensure that the impact of COVID-19 on our Arts sector and its community is never forgotten, The Street Theatre in Canberra put down a dramatic marker: they commissioned Together Alone, a striking street art mural by local artist Luke Cornish (E.L.K) to cover the side wall of their building. If you watch the time lapse film of the artist’s day-by-day progress - the theatre thrown in and out of sunlight as shadows flicker across the Shakespearean skull and a roulette wheel of theatre masks - you couldn’t get a better visual metaphor for theatre’s lumpy comeback.

As this edition goes to press, state theatre companies in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane are basking in the sun at 100% capacity, having announced complete programs for the rest of 2021. Meanwhile for theatres and audiences throughout Sydney, the outbreak of the dreaded Delta variant

has forced performing arts companies to cancel at least two weeks of performances.

Melbourne, meanwhile, is just emerging from another lockdown that devastated professional companies, as well as community and touring groups across the state.

After an all-online Fringe Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was hugely successful, squeezing in live performances just before another lockdown forced closures, including the shutdown of the new First Nations Rising Festival, which had just kicked off at the end of May. While Victorian companies emerge from the nightmare of refunding tickets and rescheduling shows, states relatively unaffected by COVID-19 spikes appear to be back on their feet.

Many companies are running their held-over 2020 seasons. Some are

refurbishing dated auditoriums and completing much-needed maintenance.

However in Brisbane, John Boyce, Artistic Director and CEO of Brisbane Arts Theatre, lamented the potential loss of 85 years of history and the amateur company that gave the likes of Barry Otto, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Dykstra and Carol Burns their start in the business. He told ABC Radio.

“We’ve found it very difficult to recover from the pandemic - it made a very big dent in our financial reserves. We’ve had no funding for over 30 years ... we find ourselves in a situation where we have an aging but beautiful and wonderful building that is difficult to maintain ... it’s just getting a little bit beyond us.” While the company is proceeding with its 2021 season, it will be looking to the state government for assistance and has started a GoFundMe campaign.

The Street Theatre’s Together Alone.

Photo: Creswick Collective.

Online extras!

Watch as the wall comes to life in this epic time lapse video. Scan or visit vimeo.com/531511959 14 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Our flagship theatre companies are using a mix of strategies - some presenting programs held over from 2020, while others have relied on much-needed local and state government funding, and support from sponsors and communities to help them keep staff and artists employed. All the practitioners I spoke to have praised volunteers and thanked audiences for being cooperative and supportive.

The key to surviving the next phase is fleet-footedness, pivot practise, and outside-the-square thinking. As I spoke to artistic directors and managers from across the country, a few clear themes emerged companies are eager to get artists and craftspeople back at work, but have learnt valuable lessons from the past year.

Belvoir’s The Cherry Orchard.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

Bryan Burroughs in The Boy Who Talked To Dogs.

Photo: Jessica Zeng.

Strategic Staffing The ever-present backdrop of anxiety for theatre teams is best summed up by Rick Heath, Executive Director at Black Swan State Theatre in Perth. “Living with the uncertainty is challenging. There is a sense of living on tenterhooks the whole time.

The biggest challenge is in that sense of weariness that people are feeling after last year and then being ‘match fit’ for this year.”

In Melbourne, La Mama’s Artistic Director Liz Jones said that they’d been pushed to the limits, especially as they plan for their rebuilt venue to open later in 2021. She praised her staff. “Making sure everyone is safe and that no regulations are flouted has required quite a lot of skill from my venue manager and front of house managers.”

To relieve some of that stress, Belvoir Street trained staff to cover multiple roles. Sue Donnelly, Executive Director, told me, “We have a large cohort of dedicated volunteers who assist us with the QR code checking when patrons enter the theatre.

COVID-19 has meant far more staff are required to man the theatre and the volunteers have been invaluable.”

(Continued on page 16) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 15

(Continued from page 15)

Split The Season Companies including Brisbane’s Metro Arts and Sydney’s Belvoir diffused the pressure by announcing a split or short season, with fewer works to budget for. Many have just announced their second-half program for July to December.

At State Theatre Company SA, they worked an invisible split season.

“We programmed relatively smaller shows for the first half of the year, and sales for all those shows have exceeded our targets,” Artistic Director Mitchell Butel told me.

“We’ve put all our bigger shows in the last half of the year because we were hopeful that by then the vaccine would have been rolled out - so it’s been a bit of a dance, but hopefully our dancing shoes are serving us well!”

At Belvoir, Sue Donnelly said, “We programmed 2021 in two pieces because we were uncertain about both our financial future and also whether there would be further lockdowns due to COVID-19. We also budgeted for lower attendances this year as we know that many people will not return to theatre until they have been vaccinated.”

Fleet-Footed Festivals Our festivals seem to be leading the way, perhaps because they are used to dealing with evolving

Street Serenades as part of Brisbane Festival 2020.

Photo: Morgan Roberts.

circumstances and limited budgets.

Both the 2021 Adelaide and Perth festivals went ahead.

Brisbane’s Anywhere Festival celebrated its 10th year in May. The festival stages performances in nontraditional spaces, nooks and crannies, cafes and outdoor spaces, and this year also used ‘black box’ spaces as creative hubs. As Founder and CEO Paul Osuch told us, the festival unearthed a wealth of new venues. “We learnt a lot by adapting to changing restrictions in 2020. At one stage, we could have 20 to 30 people in a back yard, but not in a commercial residence - a month later, it was the reverse. We worked with people who offered up their homes as venues, and we were able to bring back performances in venues like art galleries - and we did a driveway

Melissa Western in 1954: Ella, Etta, Eartha as part of Brisbane’s 2021 Anywhere Festival.

16 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

season. It made it possible to let those acts go ahead.”

In 2020, the Brisbane Festival was a beacon of community hope, with large static displays such as the Messengers of Brisbane project - six Gouldian Finches by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. This year, CEO Charlie Cush is looking at 2020’s success to plan ahead for this year.

“Being one of the first festivals to go live during the pandemic gave us a whole range of hard-learnt lessons,” said Cush. “The Brisbane Festival has the largest footprint of any capital city. Last year we took art to the people through Street Serenades - a program that delivered pop-up performances in the outer suburbs and in about 50 cul-de-sac performances. We found that having people within those communities

Courtney Henri and Daniel Buckle in Playthings.

Photo: Daniel J Grant.

have a hosting role gave us such a big connection to those communities.

And this year we can advertise the times and locations! Last year we weren’t allowed to promote mass gatherings, so we could not advertise.”

Venue Variety Venue variety became an essential survival tool in 2021. Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA decided that their first production of the year, The Cherry Orchard (in association with Perth Festival), would be in a large, partially outdoor venue, at the historic Sunset Heritage Precinct alongside the Swan River. The production was presented over three locations - acts 1 and 4 were indoors in the Grand Hall, act 2 in a family picnic by the river and act 3 on a grassed area under a verandah.

Black Swan’s second production for the year, Playthings, in collaboration with the Blue Room Theatre, was presented in the much smaller Studio Underground which was filled to 100% capacity at 250 people per show.

The Street Theatre in Canberra made the decision to operate only from one of their three venues, while State Theatre SA moved one production to the local showgrounds.

“We moved The Boy Who Talked To Dogs to a different venue due to COVID-19. Originally it was going to be in a much smaller venue, kind of an immersive cabaret, but that wasn’t going to work with social distancing -

so we went to the Adelaide Showgrounds which went fantastically well,” said Mitchell Butel.

Loving Local One unanimous declaration from all the theatre companies was that a clear advantage of the lockdown period was that talented local artists and theatre technicians were more readily available to develop and plan shows.

Sue Donnelly at Belvoir told me, “We were fortunate to receive government funding that meant we could proceed with programming 2021 and plan for 2022. When we were closed for six months during the COVID-19 lockdown, Belvoir undertook a major financial appeal to be able to employ artists (not eligible for JobKeeper) to work on creative developments and adaptations. We created 325 separate gigs for mainly local artists and now have a cache of new work that we can program over the next few years.”

Normally travelling internationally, Nicholas Paine - Executive Producer at Brisbane-based Dead Puppet Society said, “One lesson the lockdowns and pandemic has brought is that there are a lot of really fantastic Brisbane artists back in Queensland, who have been away for a long time. The cultural sector here right now is flourishing because of all our artists returning home and the local collaborations that are forming.”

The recent lockdown hadn’t dampened spirits at La Mama, where

Liz Jones told us they’ll continue to offer a diverse range of entertainment - an Indigenous trilogy, an International festival of puppetry, cabaret, poetry, cinema and music to make sure their stage is filled with local talent at all times.

“It’s our policy to be as open to artists as we can and, as an artist-led space, it does mean that there’s always someone ready to go. We are launching a very strong 2021 program, and hopefully most of it will happen. In the middle of our season we have the big opening of our new building - the restoration is going really beautifully - and we are launching our new Banksia Festival.”

At The Street Theatre, Artistic Director and CEO Caroline Stacey said, “A really inspiring component of this experience was seeing the range and the depth of the artists that you live next door to. We wanted to have new work by Canberra-based writers, and, of our season of five productions, two are new works by local writers.”

Anywhere Festival’s Paul Osuch said, “We noticed that there were Brisbane-based artists who had been working overseas - for example, Melon the Human, a circus performer who has been a major performer with Cirque du Soleil, and Coterie Cabaret whose key performers usually work in New York - were happy to be ‘stuck’ back in Brisbane. So we took advantage of that availability!”

Sydney’s Red Line Productions are so keen to get artists back on stage performing at their small 60-seater venue that they’ve developed a new After School Sports (ASS) program.

“It’s a late-night show program so when the main-stage show finishes we can put on some additional programs which help to provide another platform for artists to keep doing their work,” Executive Director Vanessa Wright explained. “It’s doing really well.”

The insatiable appetite for local stories is perhaps best illustrated by the success of the much-anticipated premiere of the coronavirus-delayed stage adaptation of Trent Dalton’s (Continued on page 18) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 17

(Continued from page 17)

Boy Swallows Universe which, as we go to press, has almost sold out its three-week August/September season as part of the Brisbane Festival. As Charlie Cush said, “It’s an absolute coup to have the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Boy Swallows Universe at the festival this year. I’ve sat in on some of the creative sessions and, as a fan of the novel, I’m so excited to see how it’s adapted to the stage.”

On The Road Again Touring out to new audiences was an important strategy. Some of the larger theatre companies were able to factor in quarantine as a contingent cost for their touring programs, while others decided to stay in-State to reach local regional audiences.

Opera Queensland blazed a trail, taking to the road for a far-flung tour of more than 30 performances from Cunnamulla to Cairns! Brisbane-based Dead Puppet Society also plan to hit the dusty Queensland roads, currently

preparing for three major productions. “We are rehearsing our COVID-19 delayed production of Ishmael for Brisbane Festival, and also Echoes in the Dust for the Queensland Music Festival’s ‘Music Trails’, a brand new work performed by six puppeteers with live music by Topology,” Executive Producer, Nicholas Paine revealed. “We’ll be doing a live performance out in Quilpie at a location called Baldy Top it will be performed as the sun sets.

We are also working with the Regional Council in Bundaberg on a piece called March of the Reef for the Milbi Festival - a big parade we are building with the community in conjunction with the hatching of the turtles.”

Seize The Day (And Diversify) Some companies are able to take stock of their talent and skills to diversify their offerings to meet other niche client needs. As well as performances, small independent group Minola Theatre in Brisbane

offers acting workshops and script assessment services.

Another brilliant example of diversifying is also in Brisbane. When their usual trips to New York and London were no longer possible, the creative Dead Puppet Society looked to their strengths, using the lockdown to speed their plans to split their business into dedicated streams for roving puppetry, and static art displays and collection pieces. “For the last 10 years we’ve had so much positive feedback that the puppets were so beautifully designed that we thought, why not make some available for display in people’s home, for hospitality fit-outs, or paired with architects’ plans?” Nicholas Paine explained. “Our designs just needed to be reproduced in higher-end metals like copper and brass. They’ve been doing well, and all the proceeds go back into our overall production budget.”

Cooperation And Collaboration While no one would wish to go through another 2020, Mitchell Butel

Opera Queensland’s Are You Lonesome Tonight?

18 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Online extras!

Artistic Director Mark Kilmurry extends his gratitude for public support. youtu.be/4R86kFHK-0I

revealed that “while COVID-19 has been terrible on so many levels, there has been a wonderful collegiality between all the state theatre companies. It’s been really hard for Melbourne, but we’ve been helping each other navigate this, and there’s a lot more talk about co-productions or buy-ins or co-presentations - that’s been one positive thing to come out of it.”

Rick Heath at Black Swan WA also commented on the co-operation among state theatre companies.

“Along the way, there has been great moral support and everyone has been really good at sharing COVID-19 plans and information and strategies for restrictions - that’s been really positive. I know it’s a cliché but we’re all in this together.”

In light of rapidly changing stay-at-home orders and indoor density limits nationwide, readers are reminded to refer to the latest COVID-19 rules and restrictions for their local jurisdiction. nsw.gov.au/covid-19 wa.gov.au/government/covid-19-coronavirus coronavirus.vic.gov.au

“While the pandemic was an uncertain time for everyone in the performing and visual arts in Australia, Ensemble Theatre managed to survive with the hugely generous financial support from our subscribers and from State and Federal government funding,” Artistic Director Mark Kilmurry explained.

“Over its 60-plus years, we have consolidated a healthy subscriber base, the third largest in Australia, and we were overwhelmed by the generosity shown towards Ensemble.”

Liz Jones commented that at La Mama, “the heartening thing for me Audience Support has been that this year we’ve hardly Perhaps the biggest common had an empty seat when we’ve been denominator among theatre-makers is open. Public support for the theatre the praise they have for the financial has been huge. So, while it’s been a support from their local and state rude shock to have to go into governments, their gratitude for lockdown again, we have to be dedicated staff and volunteers, and philosophical about that and it’s our the support from their community of policy to be reassuring people that, if audience members, including people that happens, they will be offered donating the value of their tickets. another season.

“We enjoy great support from our local and state government partners,” Brisbane Festival’s Charlie Cush said.

“We also have a great corporate sponsorship program. Our sponsors have really stood by us and we have some fantastic new partners coming on board this year - and a real triumph for us is our philanthropic program. It shows how much the people of Brisbane are deeply committed to the festival and how much they personally invest in it and that’s something we are really proud of.

“There was a sense of audiences being empathetic and accommodating the changes, wearing masks in the auditorium, relocated performances, extended seasons and shifted opening nights,” explained Black Swan’s Rick Heath. “Everyone has been very flexible and that has made the biggest difference to our staff, box office and the artists. So there’s a big ‘thank you’ to the audience for rolling with it.” stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 19

Back To A Chorus Line Tim Draxyl was in the cast of A Chorus Line with Sydney’s Darlinghurst Theatre Company when their production was cancelled last year.

He reflects on his journey back to the stage, as told to David Spicer.

We did four previews and then, on what would have been our opening night, we were all called into the theatre. They broke the news that they had to cancel the show. Thinking back, it was such a bizarre experience.

Nobody knew what was happening.

I remember sitting in the theatre with the cast and creatives. Some cast were dressed in opening night outfits.

It was quite scary. I had a brother living in Italy and heard what they were going through. The idea of that happening in Australia was terrifying.

The Darlinghurst Theatre promised us it would be the first show they put back on when they were allowed back. It did not happen as it was such a risky show, with 25 cast members making it their biggest show. They simply could not risk putting it on and closing again or being restricted to 50% houses. They waited until it was OK, and here we are, opening in August.

I have been in the industry for over 20 years and run the gamut of shows being cancelled, but nothing like this.

My focus was on people’s safety.

My heart broke for the rest of the cast. I was playing Zach, the director,

20 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

who does not really dance. The rest of the cast had worked their asses off.

For many it was their first professional gig. The dancing is incredible. It is a big show for those guys. I get to yell at them from the back of the theatre.

It was sad to see their disappointment.

The four previews we did got standing ovations every night. There was the weird paradox. The incredible energy of this show, with the fear should we be doing it? In the Eternity Playhouse the audience is right in front of you. One night I walked out and there was someone in the front row wearing a face mask. It was so confronting to see that for the first time. That was before it was the norm.

We went out and had a drink to say goodbye. There was not a lot of consoling. It was more comprehending - getting your head around what was happening.

I have been very fortunate. I have a partner who does not work in the entertainment industry. Without that I would have been sunk. There was talk of Government grants and millions of dollars to keep us afloat. Some people

got by - others have chosen other careers. It has been the catalyst and upheaval to people’s dreams.

It was disappointing that while others were offered JobKeeper, we were not eligible because we were not full-time employees.

It was nine or ten months before I got a gig - a virtual concert at Sydney Opera House performing to an empty auditorium - which was bizarre.

When there was a whisper of a lockdown, we drove down to my mother’s property on the south coast and bunkered down there for two months with our large dog. Down by the ocean, away from Sydney, there was no pressure to hustle for the next gig or pay-cheque. It was a luxury not feeling like I was missing out on an audition. Being at Mum’s, we were able to look after her. I painted the outside of her house and did the garden.

I remember coming back to Sydney and feeling anxious. I did a few virtual gigs then things started creeping back in. I had a couple of auditions. I got booked for an episode on an ABC series, The Newsreader. I went straight from that onto an

Online extras!

Check out the preview of Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s A Chorus Line. vimeo.com/543514625 (American) action film called Blacklight, directed by Liam Neeson. I did get to do a car chase sequence, which was an absolute ball. That was a great end to the madness of last year, but I got stuck because of the northern beaches cluster.

We start rehearsing A Chorus Line at the end of July. It will be so weird coming back after being so rudely

A Chorus Line On stage at Sydney’s Darlinghurst Theatre from August 26 until October 30. darlinghursttheatre.com

interrupted. Some old cast members are not coming back; we lost them to Moulin Rouge! and Hamilton. As the director Amy Campbell said, it won’t be the same show, as there will be different energy.

I love playing the role of the Director. A lot of performers get to a stage in their career and think, ‘I could direct.’ You work with amazing

This image and above: The cast of Darlinghurst Theatre’s A Chorus Line (2020).

Photo: Robert Catto.

and not so amazing directors. It is fun to embrace the headspace of being a director while not being a director.

Zach is notorious - quite misunderstood. People see him as a kind of a bully. He is difficult and quite aggressive, which is to do with the pressures of his own story and career. Underneath he is a very sympathetic character. His redeeming feature is that he is trying to break down their walls and get them to be real - to get a genuine performance out of the actor.

By today’s standards, if a director behaved like that you could call him a bully. By the standards of ‘70s that was an acceptable mentality. He is not doing it out of spite but wants the show to be perfect. A lot of creatives get heated or stressed. I have been in situations where I have said, ‘you can’t talk to me like that.’

In the show, Zach bulldozes past that. There are redeemable features where he breaks down that wall which performers put up. He gets through to them and then he lets go of his mask and becomes more sensitive and understanding. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 21

Black Lives Matter and #MeToo have changed the game for musical theatre. David Spicer reports on the new rules for the stage.

Classic musicals with glorious scores but problematic story lines or histories are under threat in a new order, as the world slowly returns to the stage. Some musicals have been withdrawn, others are being reinvented and strict new rules are being applied to the authenticity of casting.

Just over a decade ago a Broadway revival of Finian’s Rainbow was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The New York Times’ critic at the time lauded the “comforting pleasures of infectious song, exuberant dancing, jokes both lovably corny and unexpectedly fresh.”

In Finian’s Rainbow a spell is cast on a racist politician, turning him into a black man, so that he can experience life from the other side. What was accepted as satire only a few years ago is now considered offensive.

The issue was the hot topic across the Australian Musical Theatre Festival held in Launceston in May. Finian’s Rainbow is not the only musical now considered problematic. Another is Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr. How you ask?

Well, it is all about the song “Zip-A -Dee-Doo-Dah”, sung by a caterpillar to lift the spirits of Alice. Influenced by the 1830s folk song “Zip Coon”, “ZipA-Dee-Doo-Dah” was originally composed for the Disney movie Song of the South. Released in 1946, that movie is considered racist for evoking stereotypes of African Americans. One of the characters in the movie even describes how he missed being a slave.

22 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Also on the sidelines is Disney’s Peter Pan, for its depiction of Native Americans as Redskins. (Disney+ also recently quietly removed several movies from its children’s channels, including Dumbo and Aristocats, for similar reasons.)

Tyran Parke - head of Music Theatre at the VCA - tackled the issue of how to save creaky old shows with wonderful scores with a campaigner’s zeal at the festival. In one seminar he described how his job changed after COVID-19.

“I used to think my job was to stage a show. Now I need a position on text to make sure it is not racist, homophobic, or sexist,” he said.

The problem, as he described it, is that music theatre has largely been the domain of white middle class men. He has been challenged by his students to give them work to perform and study from a more ‘diverse’ group of writers (Tyran prefers the term inclusive rather than diverse, to include all backgrounds).

“It is not good enough just to put on stage what we have seen before. I am fighting the nostalgia of what I loved at the age of nine. I would show up to the VCA and 60 people would see the world differently from what I saw before. The students got ahead of me in respect to social change.”

Tyran now believes that if a musical makes someone from a minority group uncomfortable then it needs to be withdrawn or reinvented.

As an example, he cited a season of Thoroughly Modern Millie staged by The Production Company in 2019. The

musical has a lead character posing as an Asian woman with two Asian sidekicks. A white woman in yellowface sings ‘Mammy’ in Cantonese.

“An actor of colour in the audience was upset. If any person of colour finds it offensive, then it is offensive.

Whilst the production was incredibly successful ten years ago, The Production Company did not read the room,” (in terms of how it reacted to the criticism) he said.

Tyran said that the musical is now being re-written, while he also claimed that the furore contributed to the decision to close The Production Company.

Sentiment at the seminar was divided. Some called for outdated musicals to be dropped.

“Nostalgia for what?” was one comment.

“I have always shied away from old musicals. Maybe we can revisit them and make them relevant,” said another participant.

With that in mind, Tyran described how two directors recently approached one of the classic musicals - which has what he describes as a problematic ending.

The musical was My Fair Lady.

“One (recent production) was offensive. The other was remarkable.

Not a word was different.”

In the original play Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw has Eliza walking out on Professor Higgins to marry Freddie in the last scene.

However, when it was made into a musical, the ending was changed to

have Eliza return to Higgins subserviently.

As the text is written in the musical, Professor Higgins says in the last line, “Where the devil are my slippers?” He slumps in his chair, with his hat slipping down his face before the music swells. The revival, directed by Dame Julie Andrews for Opera Australia, took the traditional approach as it was a faithful revival of the original Broadway production.

This approach left Tyran unimpressed.

“What do young women make of that?”

A different staging took place in the recent revival on Broadway. Tyran said the director made the last scene a moment of empowerment for Eliza.

She went to find his slippers, then stopped and walked out on him through the audience. Professor Higgins then rose to give her a standing ovation as she leaves him.

“Eliza had become bigger than he made her. This staging goes some of the way to solving it,” he said.

Another case study was a concert version of Chess, which Tyran directed

Tyran also wanted the lines “You’ll find a God in every golden cloister, and if you’re lucky then the God’s a she” removed from the song. The lyric alludes to the hope that a lady picked up in a Thai bar is female. In this case he wrote to the lyricist Tim Rice and was given permission to change the words to “If you are lucky they will set you free.”

The musical Tyran described as the most “problematic” that he has directed is Barnum. It was staged in a season in Melbourne starring Todd McKenney.

“Barnum is deeply offensive. So how did we do it? We decided that this year. He described some of the Barnum was Donald Trump. We made lines in the songs as “scary”. ‘One every male character a cartoon and the Night in Bangkok’ is traditionally Ringmaster Kirby Burgess played all staged in a bar with scantily clad Asian these men. It worked enough so that is women. was not so offensive, but it may not “When done eight years ago, it had have entirely solved it. At the end we white people dressed as Asian people made Todd come out as a clown. In for this scene. The tricky thing is that it the original it ends with a triumph, but was a hit in the original show. What we had a different ending. Todd was was I to do with this piece?” speaking to an empty circus.”

“I decided to change it to a company number. Everyone sang a (Continued on page 24) part of it.”

A workshop at AMTF 2021.

Photo: Melanie Kate.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 23

My Fair Lady (2016).

Photo: Jeff Busby.

Callum Francis said he is very uncomfortable at casting being Tyran’s view is that it is still portrayed by clothing. acceptable to portray racism or sexism “Absolutely not. Hairspray without on stage, so long as there are the race part is just a fun, amusing consequences for the behaviour. musical.”

Callum Francis, the Helpmann As for the character of Lola in the winning lead of Kinky Boots, tackled musical Kinky Boots, Callum agreed the issue at another seminar, pushing that this should be cast with a person back at cancel culture. of colour, as the lyrics of the songs “If there is a troubled story which refer to this, and a critical scene is might make people uncomfortable, written to it. (we must consider that) it was written Having access to a high calibre of in a time from another era. Just artists from diverse backgrounds is not because it is on, doesn’t mean we always straightforward. It can be believe it now. I don’t believe in the especially problematic in regional cancellation of shows. It is still art,” he community theatre or schools with said. smaller pools of talent.

However, Callum endorsed moves Across the board, community for greater authenticity in casting. theatres are coming to terms with the There have been high profile new rules. In Priscilla Queen of the controversies in recent times in Desert, an indigenous artist must be community theatres in Brisbane and engaged for the indigenous character Melbourne. Companies came under in the musical. When Melbourne’s strident attack on social media for CLOC Musical Theatre could not find a casting In the Heights (with nonmale indigenous artist, they were Latinos) and Kinky Boots (featuring a allowed to cast a female indigenous white Lola). artist.

Stricter casting requirements have Some musicals won’t be staged as now come into place. The new rule of often. The new rules are expected to thumb is that if a writer stipulates that affect classics such as The King and I, ethnicity is critical to a character, then which is set in Thailand. Opera those wishes must be adhered to, or Australia got away with Teddy Tahu the rights may be withdrawn. On the Rhodes in the lead a few years back. flip side, if there is no ethnicity Could that happen again? Companies stipulated by the writer, then it should will have to work harder to widen their not be assumed that the actors must pool of participants at auditions. all be white.

Indigenous artist Naarah Shaye A few years ago, theatrical devices Barnes told the Diversity seminar that were allowed to portray race. Schools she would love to stage The Colour were given permission to stage the Purple in Hobart. She noted there was musical Hairspray with the African an audible groan from the audience at American characters portrayed by their how difficult this might be to cast. costumes. The seminar was told this is “The Hobart theatre scene is not no longer acceptable. very diverse. We have to change the communities we are talking to. I know (Continued from page 23)

24 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Chess (2021).

Photo: Jeff Busby.

so many (POC) families in Hobart who sing in church. Those people don’t know they could be in theatre. Staging The Colour Purple in Tasmania is 100 percent possible.”

Issues of racism and attitudes to women came to a head in Sydney this year when the Notable Theatre Company advertised auditions for Miss Saigon.

On social media, a writer called for a boycott charging that the musical is “famously racist and misogynistic and enforces a narrative about a southeast Asia politically and sexually subservient to white supremacy.”

Others countered that showing ‘uncomfortable truths’ is a pathway to further learning and further acceptance.

Indigenous artist Brittanie Shipway told the seminar that if Miss Saigon “is not put on, then all the Asian women in that community will miss out on an opportunity.”

The Notable Theatre Company attracted a large pool of quality audition candidates. Many in the cast have family connections to the Vietnam War. The company further resolved to “engage with representatives of the Vietnamese community to seek input to the staging of the production in a culturally-sensitive way.”

Callum Francis noted that when Miss Saigon opened in London, white British actor Jonathan Pryce wore prosthetics to alter the shape of his eyes, and make-up to alter the colour of his skin, to play the part of the scheming pimp called The Engineer.

His reaction to this had one syllable “Eek!” Acts like this have been consigned to history.

Australian Musical Theatre Festival 2021 The second Australian Musical Theatre Festival, held in Launceston, comprised 46 events across five days in May. Highlights included big concerts in the Princess Theatre, dance classes, new musical development, seminars and even Gin and Cabaret in the Botanical Gardens.

Online extras!

All photos: Melanie Kate.

Stage Whispers TV brings you all the highlights from the AMTF. Scan or visit youtu.be/AhIP0TUEBNw stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 25

I Want To Be A (Young) Producer In the second part of Debora Krizak’s series on unsung heroes of the stage, she speaks to producers making their mark at the ages of 19 and 21.

Mitchell Old.

26 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Getting my own first break into musical theatre was exciting. I had just moved from Adelaide to Sydney and was filled with determination and ambition. Landing that first show felt like winning the theatrical lotto. It’s preparation, meets opportunity, meets luck.

As luck would have it, I landed my first professional contract in GFO’s The Producers. The show is about a couple of unlikely “down on their luck” theatre producers who realise that they can make more money from a financial “flop” than a hit. Chaos and comic antics follow when the show turns out to be a hit.

Producing a show is, however, no laughing matter. At stake is money, time, relationships, reputation and the burden of getting enough bums on seats to break even. As a performer, I had little clue about these elusive people who were responsible for making the magic happen on stage and making sure I received a pay packet. I envisioned them to be middle aged men in suits with deep pockets and a penchant for wining and dining investors - or as the character Max

Bialystock calls them, “little old ladies”. Now there is a new breed of theatrical producers making their mark. Some are young, driven and morally conscious.

Behind The Scenes with Debora Krizak Photo: Claudio Raschella.

“There’s a lot more to you than there is to you.”

- Max Bialystock (The Producers)

unless I became more versatile. I trained as a classical musician and At only nineteen years young, actor, audio engineer, artistic designer and event manager. Without a diverse Mitchell Old has just launched his second show - Heathers: The Musical - skill set, it is hard to understand all the for his self-titled production company, elements that make up a production.”

Mitchell’s professional production The Mitchell Old Company. He identified three pathways into debut was The Last Five Years in producing: finding internships, February this year, which had a successful run at Sydney’s Pioneer associate producer roles or going out on your own. He chose the latter, Theatre. His vision was to create independently producing his first large professional opportunities for both scale event during his final year at young and emerging artists. school. It was a risk that paid off, “As an artist/creative myself, I found it difficult to find somewhere enabling him to gain support from industry mentors. that would give me a chance straight “When I realised that the out of high school. So, I went about creating opportunities not only for Performing Arts was the industry I wanted to spend the rest of my life in, myself but for other young artists to I realised I was not going to make it have a professional theatre career.”

Mitchell Old’s production of Heathers premieres at ARA Darling Quarter Theatre from August 5 - 14. mitchellold.com.au/heathers

(Continued on page 28) The Mitchell Old Company’s Heathers.

Photo: Nicholas Gomez.

Online extras!

Meet the cast of The Mitchell Old Company’s Heathers. Scan or visit youtu.be/vl-9l7etzK4 stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 27

Harriet Snaith.

emerging female producers is encouraging.

I first met 21-year-old Harriet Snaith when she was a volunteer behind the bar at the Hayes Theatre. I was instantly drawn to this quietly confident young lady who was eager to absorb all she could. Harriet has a diploma in Acting and had started a post-grad diploma in Arts Management before realizing she wanted to take a shot at producing her own shows.

In 2018, she took a production of Jane Watt’s Gate 64 to New York as part of the United Solo Theatre Festival. She was 18 years old and knew, then, that this was her future.

Having built her own company, Nineteen 98 Productions, she has just completed her first season at the Hayes Theatre Company with her production of Half Time - a musical about ten over-60-year-olds who learn to dance hip hop for a half time show.

Harriet says there is no manual that comes with producing.

“Working at the Hayes Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company in my teens as an usher and front-of-house coordinator, I was constantly chatting with Sydney theatre makers. As producing is largely people-managing, this was an important first step. I had the backing of a few important mentors who showed me the basics in financing, managing logistics and strategically mounting a production.

Producing is not something you can train for. It’s more about wrangling (Continued from page 27) Mitchell’s method of securing cast large groups of creative people So how does a new, independent members was to approach artists and together to make something magical.” company compete in the market? “ask nicely”. He has been able to cast When getting down to the nitty “The biggest struggle we had is his productions with a wide range of gritty side of how to make this that the budgets for my show are talent and experience. happen, Harriet jokes that her role 100% dependent on my personal bank “You can’t always offer them a often ends on the first day of balance. Securing financial backing for large amount of money. You can’t rehearsals. Most of the work is done a new production company - an guarantee significant exposure. All you before the actors and creatives start unknown entity started by a 19-yearcan do is make them believe in you. If rehearsals - negotiating contracts, old - is not an option. This means that your cause is worth it and has approaching creatives, discussing it all rests on your savings.” integrity, then all that is left is timelines with venues, and building professionalism, enthusiasm and a few important relationship with investors.

Max Bialystock: “The two cardinal good suits.”

But what about the challenges of rules of producing. One: Never put Some of those suits are in fact going from page to stage? your own money in the show!” good, strong power suits - and they “As a young production company, Leo Bloom: “And two?” come in the female form. In an we’ve had to be careful about keeping Max [yelling]: “Never put your own industry dominated by male producers an ongoing dialogue with our lawyers money in the show!” and creatives, working with young, and financial advisors, as well as our (The Producers) mentors, to make sure we don’t find

Behind The Scenes with Debora Krizak

28 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

out the big ‘don’t dos’ along the way.”

Setting a budget and securing funds for the project, predominately through investors or personal funds, is paramount to the success of every production. It is then about overseeing the project to ensure that it stays within budget.

But what happens when things do go wrong?

Harriet was forced to call off a planned season of Stepping Out in Melbourne. I was in the cast and knew the work that had gone into securing the short season at Chapel off Chapel.

The production came to a grinding halt when COVID-19 hit.

Harriet had to move her entire life.

Having given up her day job and house, she was left with no choice but to move back to live with her parents in country NSW. She developed a contingency plan and sought help from other producers to navigate her way back.

Fast forward a year and Half Time premiered at the Hayes Theatre, starring the incomparable Nancye Hayes. No mean feat for a young 21-

Nineteen 98 Productions’ Half Time.

Photo: David Hooley.

Online extras!

Watch a highlights reel of Half Time.

Scan the QR code or visit fb.watch/6jBDrqXJFc year-old who claims that securing a headline cast takes “a bit of creativity, a lot of networking, some luck and a positive attitude.”

There is no doubt that the industry is changing. A new generation of young producers are taking the reins.

Diversity is now an expectation, local performers are being approached over

international ones (largely due to COVID-19) and the community is slowly awakening to how much they rely on the performing arts.

“From a producer’s perspective, there is certainly a real hunger for new productions and shows are tending to sell very well across the board. It’s an exciting time,” said Harriet.

Stop The World, I Wanna Get On! What is your grand career plan?

Mitchell: The plan is to continue to grow The Mitchell Old Company to a point where we can be a competitive and innovative force within the Australian theatre scene - creating art that pushes the realm of what is considered musical theatre in Australia.

Harriet: I heard a great quote once: “A career is not something you plan for - it’s something you look back on.” I can’t wait to look back on a life bringing smiles to people’s faces and paving the way for female producers.

Biggest lesson learnt along the way?

Mitchell: Steamers set off fire alarms. A cast member was using a steamer which activated the fire alarm during a performance. The entire cast and audience had to be evacuated. Needless to say, steamers are now banned!

Harriet: Double your contingency plan.

Advice for other up-and-coming producers?

Mitchell: Never be complacent but always remain realistic. I am aware of my own limitations. Take time to experiment and find yourself as a producer before jumping in at the deep end. In an industry where reputation is everything, it is not a jump you want to regret.

Harriet: Ask questions. Other producers love to help the new kids on the block.

Dream show to produce?

Mitchell: Jesus Christ Superstar Harriet: Ask me this in a year!

If you could give piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Mitchell: Risk does not matter if you are investing in yourself.

Harriet: You know how they all say you’re driven? Lean into it. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 29

The Art & History Of Puppetry Are puppets all child’s play? Not according to Susan Mills. The archivist for the S,B&W Foundation says that puppetry is a universal, ancient art form which is for everyone.

A Puppet History Historians believe puppetry developed spontaneously from religious rites and rituals in societies where objects represented gods and deities. From there, the entertainment and storytelling art of puppetry was born.

Clay and ivory puppets have been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. The Ancient Greek philosopher Xenophon wrote about an entertainer from Syracuse present at a banquet with his ‘neurospasta’. This roughly meant ‘to pull threads’ of ‘marionette puppets’.

Indian legends tell of the divine creation of puppets when the God Shiva and his wife Parvati inhabit two wooden dolls, making them dance beautifully. The artisan who made the dolls is said to have been inspired to invent a system of strings so he could make them dance himself.

In Japan, a style of puppetry called Bunraku evolved in Osaka. The large puppets are operated by three visible puppeteers with their hands and rods, accompanied by chanting narration and shamisen string instruments. A performance of Bunraku can last for hours. This style can be seen The Lion King character of Timon.

Puppets range from simple finger puppets to Jim Henson’s fantastical world of Muppets and films such as Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. There are shadow puppets, rod puppets, and string puppets.

Marionettes, or ‘string puppets’, allow lifelike movement of heads, fingers and knees. Further head mechanisms move the jaw, eyes and eyelashes.

‘Marionette’ means ‘little Mary’ in French, a reference to biblical puppetry of the Middle Ages. Usually, marionettes have around 10 strings. The Salzburger Marionettentheater use up to eighty!

Left: ‘Albert the Magic Pudding’ puppets from various Marionette Theatre of Australia productions of The Magic Pudding.

Right: The Magical Tintookies Return in 1975.

In Australia, puppetry after European settlement was influenced by British traditions of ‘Punch and Judy’.

Amateur hand puppet and marionette productions became popular from the 1940s.

The Marionette Theatre Of Australia In 1965 the Marionette Theatre of Australia was founded by Peter Scriven and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Previously, in 1956, the pioneering puppeteer had staged his ground-breaking puppet musical The Tintookies - the ‘little people’ from the sandhills. It was the first large-scale puppet show in Australia with unique local themes.

For more than 20 years, they entertained Australian families, and toured Europe and Asia. By 1983, the company had its own theatre in The Rocks, until closing in 1988.

Terracotta Ancient Greek dolls, exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Photo: Giovanni Dall’Orto.

30 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

All puppets pictured are from the S,B&W Foundation collection. sbwfoundation.com

Stage Heritage

Harry The Hippopotamus, a rabbit, and Leo the Lion from the production of The Mysterious Potamus in 1979.

Deep in the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation archives collection in Sydney, safe and sound in their custom-made calico ‘sleeping bags’, are many of the company’s surviving puppets.

A warehouse fire in 1969 destroyed 350 of their early puppets. There are 150 surviving puppets in the collection.

They include The Explorers, The Magic Pudding, The Water Babies, Tales from Noonameena, The Magical Tintookies Return, The Mysterious Potamus and Sydney Coves.

The Magic Pudding, first performed in 1960, is based on the 1918 children’s book - written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay, who also drew the characters for the puppet designs. Bunyip Bluegum (a koala), Bill Barnacle (an ex-sailor), and Sam Sawnoff (a penguin) are favourites.

The little people made a triumphant comeback in the 1975 revival The Magical Tintookies Return, featuring new puppets based on the 1956 originals that were destroyed in the warehouse fire.

The Mysterious Potamus (1979) puppets were designed

by Norman Hetherington, the creator of the popular Australian television puppet Mr Squiggle, and made by

Ross Hill, who later worked as a designer and builder at the famed Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Puppetry Now And In The Future Puppetry is an overlooked art form. Puppets are an important part of the human tradition of storytelling.

Recent examples include The Lion King, War Horse and the King Kong musical. In Australia, Bluey’s Big Play featuring Bunraku-style puppets has been a recent hit!

In 2019, the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation and the Horizon Theatre Company held puppet shows for the North Sydney Children’s Festival in our library and events space. The children were delighted to use music to help wake up the puppets from the Foundation’s collection! Many grown-ups were also entranced, recalling the popular puppets from their own youth.

Preserving the specialised art of puppetry for the public, as well as researchers, honours the vision of Dr Rodney Seaborn in preserving all aspects of Australia’s unique performing arts heritage.

to provincial towns, and country fairs, as well as colonial Australia.

Governor Arthur Phillip makes no mention of the performance in his official report, perhaps fearing the On 4 June 1789, a little over a year after the First Fleet arrived in response from the authorities in Sydney Cove, a “party of convicts” presented the lively comedy The England. Convicts weren’t to be Recruiting Officer to celebrate the birthday of King George III. enjoying themselves, were they?

Author Thomas Keneally based his The play, a favourite of the time, no higher aim than humbly to excite novel The Playmaker on the was performed in “a convict-built a smile, and their efforts to please performance, which was later hut” and honoured by the presence were not unattended with applause.” adapted into a play, Our Country’s of His Excellency the Governor, The Recruiting Officer was written Good.

Captain Arthur Phillip and an by the Irish playwright George Cultural historian, Dr Heather audience of 60 officers and their Farquhar in 1706, and follows the Clarke explores the history, and the wives. social and sexual exploits of two dance and music associated with the The only way we know about this officers on a recruiting drive in the play at bit.ly/3vS7wQo. significant event is due to the writing town of Shrewsbury. The play Check the website for other of Colonel David Collins, who stated: enjoyed great popularity throughout stories of convicts, sailors, and “The aims of this first company of the 18th century and was performed settlers, all examined through music players were modest. They professed everywhere from London playhouses and dance.

Sydney’s First Play

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 31

The National Apology Centre

ROBIN: My card.

NATALIE: ‘The National Apology Centre’. Got it.

ROBIN: So, if you could just sign... Or you can use your finger, either works.

NATALIE: I’m not signing.

Sharp Darts - Chamber Plays by 7-ON, is a collection of 15 short ROBIN: There’s no charge, it’s a gift. plays by seven top playwrights. This new release from Currency NATALIE: I don’t want it.

Press is available from Stage Whispers Books and Book Nook. Stage ROBIN: Are you saying you don’t Whispers is pleased to present this excerpt from one of the plays, accept his apology?

The National Apology Centre by Hilary Bell.

NATALIE: That’s right.

ROBIN: I’m not sure you can do that.

[The lobby of a shopping mall. want to know why things ended NATALIE: I just did.

ROBIN approaches NATALIE.] so abruptly.

ROBIN: Hang on a sec.

ROBIN: Excuse me, are you Natalie?

NATALIE: Are you a friend of his?

NATALIE: Thank you.

[ROBIN motions for her not to NATALIE: ...Yes. ROBIN: No, wait, I’m thinking, I interrupt.]

ROBIN: I’m here on behalf of Andrew. haven’t had this hasn’t happen ROBIN: He felt that with his mind NATALIE: Andrew? Is he here? before, I don’t know what to do. already made up, prolonged ROBIN: If I can just have two minutes I’ll need to call the company about discussion would be pointless. His of your time. the protocol. Maybe it’s here priority was to spare you the somewhere...

NATALIE: Is he alright? Is everything humiliation of an uncomfortable alright?

[ROBIN scrolls through iPad.] scene, which is why he took the ROBIN: Natalie. I am aware of your NATALIE: Thank you, have a good step of informing you of his suffering. This past six months has day. decision by text, and then been a very difficult time for you.

ROBIN: We’re engaged to deliver a changing the locks. Now that six Quite apart from the emotional service. months has passed, he hopes that toll, there are the many practical any inflamed emotions have NATALIE: You’ve done your job. difficulties you’ve encountered. calmed enough for you to be able ROBIN: But it’s unresolved.

You were obliged to move out of to listen to, and accept, his sincere NATALIE: Not my problem. the home you shared with apology.

ROBIN: I don’t understand, why Andrew, and at the age of forty NATALIE: Who are you? would you reject it? you’re living with your parents.

ROBIN: My name’s Robin but that Feeling worthless you have let doesn’t matter, I’m here yourself go, putting on weight and representing Andrew. resuming your addiction to NATALIE: Did he send you? chewing-tobacco. The depression has had a negative impact on your ROBIN: Not me personally, but... creative output, and I understand NATALIE: What do you want? that you are now experiencing ROBIN: It’s what Andrew wants, severe writer’s block.

Natalie: to apologise.

[ROBIN motions for her not to NATALIE: I’m really confused. interrupt.]

ROBIN: It’s as simple as that.

ROBIN: These unfortunate facts mar NATALIE: How did you find me? the happiness of the man who ROBIN: Your mother said you’d be was once your husband. here.

NATALIE: Sorry, what is this?

NATALIE: Have you been to my ROBIN: It’s been hard for Andrew, house? seeing someone he used to love in ROBIN: She said you come to the such pain. He acknowledges that mall for the free Wi-Fi. he is the cause. Naturally, you NATALIE: Andrew sent you.

Buy Sharp Darts at stagewhispers.com.au/books to find out how The National Apology Centre ends.

32 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Script Excerpt

The launch of Sharp Darts by the seven playwrights that comprise 7-ON at Gleebooks in June 2021.

NATALIE: I’m not getting into an argument.

ROBIN: It’s a nice gesture: he hurt you, he wants to make up for it.

NATALIE: Why are you still here?

ROBIN: I’m new at this, I have to be prepared for all contingencies... please, would you mind explaining?

NATALIE: You don’t have some vague idea?

ROBIN: I’d really appreciate it.

[Pause.]

NATALIE: Imagine I were to punch you in the face.

ROBIN: Yes. NATALIE: And after the passage of time, a week, I sent somebody along to say sorry. Sorry, for what I did to you.

ROBIN: Hmm. I see.

NATALIE: How would you feel?

ROBIN: I guess it depends.

NATALIE: On what?

ROBIN: How much you spent. If you’d broken my nose and you went for the budget deal then yeah, I’d be pretty upset. Is that the problem?

He paid for a mid-range apology.

It may not be quite the same as a bespoke one, but it’s not cheap.

NATALIE: No? ROBIN: No. NATALIE: It’s because he sent you.

ROBIN: Oh! Oh... Well again, if you buy the bespoke package you get somebody more attractive. If you want real top-of-the-range, we have dignified older gentlemen or beautiful young women, who arrive with a gift-wrapped box of soaps.

NATALIE: He sent a stranger, with a phony speech.

ROBIN: If you mean the speech is too formal, we also offer home-style.

NATALIE: What?

ROBIN: Homestyle. Basic vocabulary, no elaboration, mutter and avoid eye-contact...

NATALIE: I don’t want home-style, I want Andrew here.

ROBIN: Wouldn’t that be very awkward for you both?

NATALIE: Exactly, yes. But worse for him.

ROBIN: I see, so it’s spite, you want him to suffer.

NATALIE: I do but that’s irrelevant.

The point is, what the hell kind of an apology is it if it’s made by someone else?

ROBIN: A clean and painless one.

NATALIE: For him, not for me!

ROBIN: He’s our client.

NATALIE: Right, and I’m not your concern.

ROBIN: [Gesturing to iPad] Here’s his contract. If you want home-style I can do it again and bill for it under ‘Extras’.

NATALIE: No I want him here to see me, overweight and nicotinestained in the lobby of a suburban Westfield. I want the person I shared my life with for ten years to look me in the face and ask me to forgive him, and there’s a good chance I won’t. Clean and painless, no: it’d be ugly and shameful, it might even make things worse for a while. What I don’t want is a robot spitting out fridge-magnet platitudes.

ROBIN: So... is that a yes?

(Continued on page 34) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 33

ROBIN: No way, no way.

NATALIE: Look at them all, page after page of gutless wonders.

(Continued from page 33) ROBIN: Give it back.

NATALIE: Have it, who cares, they’re all yours, all… eight NATALIE: What am I to him, a parking meter? Put in your hundred and sixty four of them? spare change and walk away?

ROBIN: Most people lead busy lives.

ROBIN: Oh I’m sure no, not a parking meter.

NATALIE: Actually, do you know what, Robin? Thank God NATALIE: Does he feel absolved? Is that all it takes, for you and your speech: I’m free of him. Go back and reciting your MasterCard number over the phone? tell him to shove his multiple choice, 200-word, midROBIN: He gave us a lot more than that. range apology, and that he’s given me a great idea for NATALIE: Took out a line of credit, did he, for future stuffa novel. ups?

ROBIN: [off the iPad] I would, except there’s one problem.

ROBIN: No no, personal things.

We’ve already guaranteed him a successful delivery.

[NATALIE scoffs.]

NATALIE: So what?

ROBIN: He told us about your life together, in some detail; ROBIN: If a client buys the warranty, we won’t fail. how he felt about the situation, NATALIE: Hang on.

NATALIE: Oh, he felt something?

ROBIN: If he’s paid for that, we don’t need your ROBIN: Yes, and the things he once loved about you. signature.

NATALIE: Did he now?

NATALIE: You can’t make me accept it.

ROBIN: Yes, he did.

ROBIN: No, we can’t, but all we need in order to fulfil the NATALIE: Like what? contract is to have delivered the commodity in person, the implication being that you received it. I should’ve ROBIN: He was quite specific. looked that up and saved us both a lot of trouble.

NATALIE: So he spoke to you?

NATALIE: Won’t he want to know how I took it?

ROBIN: Not ‘spoke’, exactly. And not to me. There’s an ROBIN: [scrolling through device] Done, delivered, online form with a box at the end for extra transacted… He ticked the ‘no feedback’ box. comments...

NATALIE: But this was supposed to be a present, to me, NATALIE: A form. he paid for the mid-range which isn’t cheap, and what ROBIN: ...though I believe the mid-range has a 200-word am I getting out of it? limit.

ROBIN: The offer was made, you chose to decline.

NATALIE: Multiple choice.

NATALIE: But that’s not fair, it’s wrong, ROBIN: Right, so like ‘What problems has this action triggered?’ e.g.: ‘addiction’. ‘What kind of addiction?’ ROBIN: I’m sorry ma’am.

You click on the appropriate one: ‘alcohol; gambling; NATALIE: You have to tell him I refused. smoking’. ‘What kind of smoking?’: ‘cigarettes; ROBIN: If you want to make a complaint you can take it marijuana’... up with your ex-husband.

NATALIE: Chewing-tobacco, his mouse must’ve slipped.

NATALIE: No, I can’t, I’m not speaking to him!

ROBIN: We compile all that information, process it through ROBIN: It’s been a pleasure doing business with you. If the template, and give it to the appropriate apologist you find yourself in need of our services, you have my to learn. Usually our recipients are very grateful. card. We also offer a full range of very moving wedding toasts and eulogies. Meanwhile I hope you’ll NATALIE: Are they? consider posting a testimonial on our website.

ROBIN: If you want to check out our website, you can read their testimonials.

[ROBIN makes to leave.]

NATALIE: And who writes those?

NATALIE: No, no, no, this is bullshit!

ROBIN: I... What? No, they’re actual people.

ROBIN: Let go of me, NATALIE: So is my ex-husband. They’d be paying some NATALIE: Take your stupid card and give me his company to write them. contract...

[ROBIN scrolls through pages on the iPad.] ROBIN: Oh, please.

NATALIE: ‘Give feedback’, tick that box and tell him what ROBIN: Don’t say that...

I said.

NATALIE: Feed the details into a template, ROBIN: Help! Somebody help me!

ROBIN: They’re real, they’re totally real, look at that, they can’t even spell.

[A scuffle over the iPad, in the process NATALIE hits ROBIN in the face.]

NATALIE: Homestyle.

Script Excerpt

34 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 35

Blending Screen And Stage Video is becoming more popular as a tool in live theatre. In an adaptation of Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, NIDA Technical Theatre and Stage Management Student Joel Mallett designed cinematic effects to extend the audience’s experience.

The original novella follows the story of Gregor Samsa waking up as a monstrous insect. The concept of the project was to combine the best elements of cinema and stage to allow the audience to get perspectives, reactions, and views of the play to elevate and extend their experience.

The screen started in front of the set and then moved up as seen in the photos. The reveal created a line between stage and screen to amplify and connect the cinematic aspect of the show from the moment the audience first entered the theatre.

We decided to mimic a 1912 horror film and contrast the colours in the set below to the black and white screen above. The cinematic experience for the audience was with a 35mm grain over the whole image, aiding in

36 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

the motif and concept of the show, while also helping to ground the production in time.

With a permanent wide shot of the set and live action below, the screen above allowed the audience to view close-up shots and delve into the characters’ journeys. The choice of shots, and their strategic use in scenes, allowed the screen to almost become a 6th character or the play’s narrator.

This production was technically ambitious. Using seven cameras, over 500 metres of cabling, a vision mixer, a media server, and a wireless video transmitter, the team of five in the video department had their work cut out for them. While looking visually simplistic, the amount of work that occurred backstage was astronomical from all departments. With additional

details not usually seen in theatre added to the set, props, costume, lighting, and sound elements, everyone on the production was a key collaborator to pull off the combination of live cinema and theatre.

I am incredibly proud of this production as my third-year design role as the Director of Photography and Video Designer at NIDA. My time in the Technical Theatre and Stage Management course has made me excited to see the implementation of video in future productions and the evolution of live cinema. When I graduate from this course next year, I want to become a Stage Manager for any genre of theatre as well as a video designer for independent theatre productions and video installations.

Showcase “This is one of my favourite moments of the play and highlights the benefit of the production being live cinema. As the family are still unsure what has happened to Gregor, someone unfamiliar to the family appears at the door. The haunting shadow aims to heighten the fright of the family and give another perspective to the audience.”

“This shot of the father aims to capture his attempts to return to a life of normality after discovering his son is now a bug. Despite Gregor, in the other room, roaming around under his bed and moving across the room, Father chooses to ignore this and starts isolating and alienating Gregor from his own family.”

“At the end of the play, Grete and the family try to make themselves more presentable for a possible tenant in their home. This would be the family’s first chance to elevate their status and earn more money since Gregor is unable to work. Capturing Grete applying makeup in the reflection of a window allows for the audience to see all the family members at once.”

“By showing the family from a different angle through the living room window, this shot aims to replicate their alienation of Gregor. This slanted shot mimics the chaos going on inside. By capturing the silhouettes of the family, it draws parallels to Gregor’s appearance in his room, and the loss of light and hope in him as also presented in the lighting design.”

Applications to study at NIDA in 2022 are now open. Visit apply.nida.edu.au stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 37

38 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Showcase Cairns musician Tristan Barton.

Making Music At A Distance Walking through a rainforest in far north Queensland helps CQUniversity Bachelor of Music graduate Tristan Barton compose music and reach new audiences.

Cairns might not come to mind as the best place in the world to launch an international music career, but the pandemic meant that for musicians, distance was no longer a barrier.

“I’m used to working remotely, and suddenly restrictions meant a lot of production houses could only use composers working remotely - so I was already set up for what they needed,” he said.

Tristan Barton’s recent projects include international ad campaigns, and even a documentary project about COVID-19 in Shanghai.

“Last year was my busiest year to date, which I know really went against the norm for musicians and how the pandemic affected the industry,” Mr Barton said.

“Because a lot of my music is used online, for social media, film and TV, that stuff never stops - and it actually got busier because there was so much more demand for screen content during lockdown.”

Mr Barton worked with Shanghaibased producers Campfire Stories, who were locked down from March 2020, and started work just as

Find out more on CQUniversity’s new podcast, How To Change A Life, a series showcasing CQUni people creating success on unique career paths. podfollow.com/1555993306 For information on the Bachelor of Music, visit cqu.edu.au/courses/bachelor-of-music Australian restrictions came into force.

The documentary, COVID: Our Lockdown in Shanghai, has screened globally on the Smithsonian Channel.

Mr Barton, who graduated from CQUni Mackay’s Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 2011, lived and worked across Australia and in Japan and Europe before settling in Cairns.

“Being in regional Australia has never been a downside; I think it’s benefitted me,” he said.

“I like to have a lot of space to think, and I’d grown up in Cairns for a period of my life - so now I can literally go for a two minute walk down the street and I’m in the rainforest!

“It’s great to decompress and come back with a fresh perspective.”

Mr Barton credits his early university experience with digital media for putting him on the path to remote music production, as well as inspiration from CQUni lecturer Graham Jesse.

“Studying with (saxophonist and lecturer) Graham Jesse, I researched a lot about his career, and that opened

my eyes to how much you can diversify - you can be a player, a composer, an engineer, a producer, a business manager!” he said.

Mr Barton has previously worked with global superstar Usher, composed music for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Special Olympics, and created music for brands including Audi, Mercedes and Tiffany and Co. He got his start by publishing compositions on stock music websites like Artlist and Music Vine, which have taken his music all over the world.

“It gets used a hell of a lot, and 80 per cent of the time I have no idea where!” he said.

“I’m used to it now, but the first time was a shock - my partner was watching music videos on YouTube and suddenly I heard one of my tracks, and it was an ad for Panadol!”

That was three years ago, and now Mr Barton is more certain than ever he’s made the right choice for his career by staying in Cairns.

“I reckon artists should live where they want to live, not where they think they need to live,” he said. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 39

WAAPA Lights Up The Stage The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) took up residence in Perth’s oldest and most beautiful venue, His Majesty’s Theatre, in June for a short season of George and Ira Gershwin’s delirious Crazy For You. Anton Mazandarani reports.

For the first time in its 41-year history, WAAPA staged a full-blown production in Perth’s exquisite His Majesty’s Theatre, but it was likely to be the first of many spectacular seasons in this space.

WAAPA’s mid-year musical is its biggest annual production, involving over 170 students from the Music Theatre, Music and Production and Design departments. The cast is made up of 40 Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) students with the 3rd years taking the principal roles and the 2nd years making up the ensemble, directed and choreographed by WAAPA full-time staff members, Crispin Taylor and Jayne Smeulders.

The 32-piece orchestra consisted of 30 music students from the Classical, Jazz and Contemporary Music streams under the baton of Sydney-based Music Director Tim Cunniffe.

The only professionals involved in the epic production and design of this season were Set Designer Matthew Raven, who graduated from WAAPA last year, and Lighting Designer Lucy Birkinshaw, a 2011 alumnus. Over 80

students from WAAPA’s Production and Design Department designed, built, crewed and stage managed this massive undertaking.

WAAPA prides itself on the practical nature of the training it provides, but when bringing a production of this scale into a professional theatre, it elevates the exercise from “industry-simulated” to real-life professionalism.

Something that united patrons and participants alike was the sense of privilege, that we, in Perth, Western Australia, could assemble and enjoy live theatre, when so many like-minded souls around the world could not.

It was obvious to the 7,500+ patrons who enjoyed this spectacle that not only were we being wonderfully entertained by the next generation of Australian arts practitioners, but that we were all participating in an almost sacred rite a celebration of art, music, theatre and life.

What the critics said: “The show looks gorgeous, thanks to some spectacular costume design, with a lovely feel for both era and character by (costume designer) Elyse McAuliffe. The production is very clean, and the pace very slick.”

- Kimberley Shaw, Stage Whispers “No part of the show had a ‘student’ feel to it. Any one of the cast or production crew could slot straight into any major show, it seems.”

- David Bravos, Broadway World “The show...was the distilled epitome of the Broadway musical, George and Ira Gershwin’s Crazy for You, and that production, by the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduating music theatre students (supported by the course’s sophomore class and the academy’s music students) was an utter delight.”

- David Zampatti, Seesaw Mag

Any of WAAPA’s acclaimed courses will prepare you for a rewarding career in the performing arts. waapa.ecu.edu.au

Online extras!

WAAPA’s Crazy For You. Photo: Stephen Heath.

40 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Hear first-hand from one of WAAPA’s Music Theatre students. Scan or visit youtu.be/_5RYlvOYCbI

Life Is A Cabaret

Showcase

The 2021 Bachelor of Music Theatre students at the University of Adelaide are relishing being back on campus doing what they do best: performing to live audiences.

Making the most of the oncampus University of Adelaide facilities, Director of Music Theatre George Torbay has made North Terrace’s Scott Theatre home, and recently celebrated with its first full graduating class production.

A sold-out season of Cabaret enjoyed standing ovations, as it took audiences on a seductive yet heartwarming ride through Berlin’s Kit Kat Klub circa 1929-1930. Performances left an enduring impression, not just on audiences, but on the artists too.

Playing the double-cast role of Sally Bowles, Sally Ostrowski reflected: “I think it’s so important to be seeing shows like Cabaret in our current social and political climate. History is constantly repeating itself, and the show makes such a well-crafted comment on the patterns that are always emerging in our world.”

Also cast as Sally Bowles, Amy Roff observed: “I think that my character Sally represents a part of our society that remains ignorant to important social issues, which is by choice.

Having the world at our fingertips has allowed us to cherry pick the

Jack Doherty (centre) as Melchior in Spring Awakening (2019).

information and news we educate ourselves with.

“For Sally ignorance is bliss, which I think many young people our age can relate to as many choose to distract themselves while ignoring the real, ongoing issues in the world.

“This has been an experience I will never forget.”

Cabaret was directed by Erin James, a graduate of WAAPA, whose professional directorial debut came in 2018 with She Loves Me at Hayes Theatre Co. The next production for the team will be Mamma Mia! with Zoë Komazec directing and choreographing. Zoë’s well-placed to run the show, having recently featured in the Australian tour.

Audition Rounds For 2022 Adelaide: September 30 & October 1 Perth: October 22 & 23 Brisbane: November 4 Sydney: November 6 Melbourne: November 13 Adelaide: November 25 & 26 Learn more and register at arts.adelaide.edu.au/study-with-us/undergraduate/music-theatre

The final show for 2021 will be Urinetown, directed by the Head of Music Theatre, George Torbay. The beguilingly titled show is a musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social and environmental irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself.

Urinetown, featuring the secondyear students, will be choreographed

by Alexander Kermond (Zan), who has been dancing since he learned to walk and has performed in many productions across theatre and television.

George Torbay and his team give artists a complete music theatre experience, so they graduate equipped to realise a career as a performer and in the broader world of theatrical arts and theatre making.

The University of Adelaide is interested in the complete, unique and passionate performer who is at home on the main-stage, commanding in the marvellous cabaret world, and ready to tackle the myriad of theatre-related tasks open to the talented and committed professional. Register for your place in this unique program. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 41

42 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Sydney’s New Music Theatre Course

Showcase

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is launching a new degree in Music Theatre, with the first intake of twenty students to commence in 2022.

Whilst Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth have full-time courses in the art form, Sydney has been without a degree in music theatre in recent years.

Current students at the Con are looking forward to enrolling. “Singing is my life! Dancing is my passion! I am so excited to be adding musical theatre disciplines to the incredible vocal training I am already receiving at the Con,” said Brea Holland.

“The Musical Theatre Principal Study in the Bachelor of Music (Performance) offers unparalleled opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and creativity, using the extraordinary resources of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music,” said course leader Dr Narelle Yeo. “The program will recognise the particular needs of singers working in musical theatre, offering stage skills, acting and dance - vital tools for triplethreat performers.”

The Conservatorium of Music already offers a renowned course for opera singers on a campus set in the Botanical Gardens. The Gothic building, originally used as the stables for the Governor of NSW, underwent a 100 million dollar refurbishment in 2001 which saw the upgrade of concert halls and studios.

Industry professionals are designing the course, led by Dr Yeo, who has taught and worked equally in opera and musical theatre. Also on the team are Olivia Ansell (dance Director, Sydney Festival), Felicity Jurd (drama - NIDA, the Actors Centre) and Peter Cousens (performance - current director of the Talent Development Project).

“Our graduates are going to draw on our diverse program offerings and the experiences of their industry mentors to reinterpret and reinvent musical theatre. We will equip them with the specific skills for success in music theatre, as diverse creatives and changemakers armed with Sydney Conservatorium’s known academic rigour for building well-rounded musicians,” said Dr Yeo. Musical theatre in Australia is the second largest market of the Live Performance industry (according to Live Performance Australia), with a growth rate of 4.4%, 3.3 million patrons per year, $347.7 million in ticket sale revenue, and with an increasing share of the government’s arts budget.

Brea Holland.

For more information visit sydney.edu.au stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 43

44 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

Showcase

NASDA Students Shine What does it take to be a successful performer in today’s competitive industry?

“You’ve got to be versatile and dynamic,” says Trevor Jones, programme leader at Ara Institute of Canterbury’s National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA), “and we’re proud to have a reputation for producing graduates who are exactly that.”

NASDA is nationally recognised in New Zealand as one of the best places to prepare for a career in musical theatre, either on stage or behind the scenes. Its three-year Bachelor of Performing Arts is taught in Christchurch by an international faculty of the highest calibre, who work collaboratively to maximise each student’s potential.

“Our teaching staff are passionate about helping students make the

most of their careers,” Trevor says.

“We nurture, encourage and inspire our students, and we equip them with the skills and tools they’ll need to thrive in this exciting industry.”

As well as the key skills of singing, acting and dancing, training is provided in screen acting, improvisation, music theory, movement, keyboard skills and devising work. Professional skills, audition techniques and theatre studies are also taught.

NASDA students benefit from gaining extensive live performance experience in a variety of productions.

“This ensures students make valuable connections with leading industry groups,” Trevor says. Those groups include The Court Theatre,

Whitebait Productions, Auckland Theatre Company and Playhouse New Zealand.

NASDA graduates can be found on stage and screen both in New Zealand and around the globe. They include Akina Edmonds (Angelica Schuyler in the current Australian production of Hamilton), Laura Bunting (the Australian tour of Muriel’s Wedding, The Voice Australia), Nic Kyle (West End productions of Closer to Heaven and Savage), Erin Wells (What Now), Erin Simpson (What Now and The Erin Simpson Show) and Kim Garrett, who’s a familiar face from Shortland Street as well as musicals including Romeo and Juliet, Mary Poppins and Waiora.

Auditions to study at NASDA in 2022 will be held in Christchurch, Wellington & Auckland, commencing in September. For more details, see ara.ac.nz stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 45

46 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

TAFE Queensland’s Theatre Community

Showcase

TAFE Queensland has proudly partnered with the University of Canberra to deliver two exciting three year degrees at their South Bank campus.

Located in the heart of Brisbane’s cultural precinct, and delivered in purpose-built facilities, are the Bachelor of Creative Industries (Acting and Performance) (ABB401) and the Bachelor of Creative Industries (Drama and Performance) (ARB404).

The acting and performance stream major trains actors and performers, whilst the drama and performance stream prepares the next generation of theatre practitioners.

Students benefit from an extended ‘community of practice’ which includes ongoing relationships with schools, the industry and alumni.

These partnerships broaden students’ knowledge of the performing arts industry and prepare them for employment and career opportunities.

Acting students regularly demonstrate their performance skills and abilities in live performance and production events. TAFE Queensland Acting’s partnership with Metro Arts and Robert the Cat Theatre Collective helps graduate actors showcase their work as emerging performers.

Student productions are promoted across Brisbane, with most performances happening in the Norman Price Theatre - located on campus.

TAFE Queensland also offers a Diploma of Screen and Media (Directing) (CUA51020), and a Certificate III in Community Dance, Theatre and Events (CUA30220), as part of the TAFE in Schools program.

Taught by award-winning industry professionals, the performing arts program elevates artists’ creative practice through fundamental skills training and specialist knowledge.

Graduates of the performing arts program have gone on to work as actors, performers, theatre makers and arts facilitators.

Central to the success of TAFE Queensland Acting is the relationship the program maintains with graduates. Staff and alumni come together to collaborate, utilise rehearsal space, access staff mentorship and use the campus theatre to develop and perform selfdevised work.

The combination of broad and focused training and education, in conjunction with ongoing graduate student support, creates a deep and passionate community of practice that is unique to TAFE Queensland Acting.

Students are not simply enrolling into an arts program, they’re enrolling into an extended support network to help them develop career opportunities well into the future.

These initiatives deepen the connection between TAFE Queensland’s training, drama teachers and students in the community, helping high school students to understand and engage with acting and the 21st-century theatre experience.

To learn more visit tafeqld.eventsair.com/acting.

Find out how TAFE Queensland can help kick-start your career in acting and performance. Visit tafeqld.edu.au or call 1300 308 233, and see where TAFE can take you.

2nd year student production of The Season At Sarsaparilla (2020).

Photo: Warrick Fraser.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 47

Federation University Arts Academy’s Exquisite Corpse (2021).

Exquisite Corpse

“I distinctly remember being shown their videos when I was 15 years old and thinking how incredibly funny these guys were and wondering if I too could make a career out of being whacky and having what seemed like the most fun you could possibly have. Fast forward six years, Federation University’s Bachelor of Performing Arts students staged and I am giving that dream my best Exquisite Corpse, a production which allowed them to display their shot.” full range of theatre-making skills and respond to the events of Federation University’s Arts 2020 with theatricality and imagination.

Academy has become the training Earlier this year, when third year “I have been pushed further than I ground for many of Australia’s awardBachelor of Performing Arts students thought I could go and my winning performers.

Located in the centre of Ballarat, staged Exquisite Corpse. Aubrey Daley understanding of myself and this -Lynch was also given the opportunity medium has grown exponentially over the Arts Academy provides students to write the opening scene, sing a self the last three years. Autonomy and with the opportunity to develop their -composed song, accompany multiple self-sufficiency, as well as skills and gain stage experience, people on the guitar and feature in a collaboration and connection, have ensuring they are ready for a career in saxophone solo. been drilled into us and in turn we the world or arts.

“When I auditioned for Federation have become balanced in our skills Highly acclaimed theatre University, it was with the idea that I and overall better people.” performers including Sarah Morrison Aubrey said she had enjoyed and Josh Piterman made their stage would be able to graduate and finally call myself an actor. As I am coming following the continuing excellence debuts in a musical at the Arts to the end of my degree, it is safe to and growing recognition of the Academy. say that my entire cohort is finishing comedy act Aunty Donna over the Josh, who played the title role in not just as actors or performers but as years, knowing that members of the The Phantom of the Opera in London true artists,” Aubrey said. group had also studied at the Arts in 2019, a performance he will reprise Academy. in Australia later this year, made his

Brought To Life

48 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

stage debut at the Arts Academy in Kiss Me, Kate.

“If it wasn’t for my time at the Arts Academy, the detail of the teaching methods and the work ethic it instilled in me, I wouldn’t be enjoying the career I’ve had over the past 12 years,” Josh said.

Sarah Morrison most recently performed in Come From Away, in the role of Janice and others, at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne.

After graduating, she went on to play Tracy in Dust for Queens Theatre/ Brisbane Powerhouse, and toured internationally with a number of children’s musicals for Nickelodeon and Pen2Stage. Sarah was then cast in the breakthrough lead role of Lisa in Ladies in Black, and also performed in Mamma Mia! in the lead role of Sophie Sheridan.

Current Bachelor of Performing Arts students follow the success of

alumni closely, knowing they have performed on the same stage.

Lecturer and Joint Performing Arts Program Coordinator Anthony Crowley said that Arts Academy staff were practising professional artists who brought a wealth of expertise and experience across a range of skills.

“We regularly invite imaginative and rigorous sessional lecturers including directors, designers, musical directors, acting, dance and voice teachers into our team. We want to prepare our students for an arts career that is exciting, fulfilling, and sustainable,” Mr Crowley said.

Showcase Comedy collective and Federation University alumni, Aunty Donna.

Photo: Anneliese Nappa.

For more on the Bachelor of Performing Arts degree visit federation.edu.au/arts-academy

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 49

Music Theatre ‘Star-Maker’ Since Queenie van de Zandt began her career 32 years ago, her success in musical theatre has ranged from lead roles in blockbuster musicals - including King Kong - to creating hilarious cabaret characters such as Jan van de Stool.

that has seen Queenie hailed in the press as a ‘musical theatre starmaker’.

Another unique aspect of AMTA is that their workshops, courses and Alongside her performance career, AMTA’s former students have masterclasses run out of a variety of she has also been teaching for 20 played lead roles in shows such as venues across Australia and years and in 2015 she created the Shrek, Ragtime, Charlie and the internationally.

Australian Musical Theatre Academy Chocolate Factory, Come from Away, So when COVID-19 hit, they were (AMTA). well placed to move their courses Book of Mormon, Beautiful: The The school’s focus is on online. Moving forward, marrying acting and AMTA is re-modelling its singing techniques, classes in musical theatre creating authentic and performance, career unique musical development, audition performance, teaching technique and creating Queenie’s unique audition cabaret, to work online as practice, and helping to well as face to face. develop the careers of “Although this COVID-19 creative artists. period is hugely “We do this through challenging for us all in the courses, workshops and arts, being creative artists, masterclasses where we actually have great students are coached, skills in innovation, taught and mentored by imagination and going the leading creative artists where no one has gone who are shaping live before,” says Queenie. “At AMTA alumni (L-R): Amy Lehpamer, Ty Baldwin and Bridie Connell. theatre today,” says AMTA we are already Queenie. finding new ways to help “What sets AMTA apart is not only Carole King Musical, Pricilla: Queen of our students combine their talent and the quality of our industry tenacity with our training. We look the Desert, The Rocky Horror Show, professional teachers and mentors, The Sound of Music, Grease, Matilda, forward to continuing to help them but also the success rate of our Singin’ in the Rain and Les Misérables. find their path to living creative, alumni.” passionate and fulfilling lives.”

It is the success of AMTA’s students

Queenie van de Zandt.

50 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

It Keeps On DASHin’

Staging & Theatre Tech

Ross Hopkins from Creative Film and TV highly recommends a new hand held LED light, the Rosco DMG DASH. Don’t let its size fool you, the battery-operated DMG DASH can produce up to an incredible 500 lumens of output - all from a fixture that’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

DMG DASH features Rosco’s patented six-chip MIX® Technology enabling it to produce the same colour-quality and True Rosco Color™ gel matches that other MIX lights do!

Each DMG DASH Kit ships with a set of beam-shaping accessories, including a flat diffuser panel, dome diffuser, eggcrate, and a gel holder for adding any Rosco gel or diffusion material desired DMG DASH is controlled from its on-board 1.3” OLED user interface, via the free myMIX® mobile app, or through optional wireless DMX by LumenRadio to provide CRMX and W -DMX control. It charges using a standard USB type-C connector and lasts three hours at 100% intensity.

The DMG DASH Quad Kit includes four fixtures and four sets of accessories. The kit also includes a DMG DASH LINK that can connect all four lights together into one unit!

DMG DASH is constructed from a lightweight aluminium alloy with an IP54 rating to provide a shockresistant and weatherproof housing.

It takes a thrashin’ and keeps on DASHin’!

Online extras!

Find out more about the versatile and portable DMG DASH. Scan or visit youtu.be/WkqZuZkimPs

For more information visit dash.rosco.com stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 51

Stage on Page

By Peter Pinne

Maddening Self-Indulgent Crap Peter Goers (Wakefield Press $34.95) I don’t know Peter Goers, but after reading his book I wish I did. It’s the funniest book I’ve read in a decade and it’s full of the most wonderfully laconic Australian humor. Goers is an icon of South Australia - a broadcaster, columnist, theatre guru and critic. The book’s title comes from a review Goers once gave a Fringe show in the 80s and is indicative of the self-deprecating wit that permeates the text.

Goers credits his most important creative influence as being Barry Humphries, whom he first met as a 15-year-old in 1971 when he worked in the tableware department of John Martin’s department store. The book, which is only a bit of a memoir, gathers material from his Fringe shows, anecdotes about showbusiness royalty - Ethel Merman, Bette Davis and Angela Lansbury; friendships with Anne ‘Willsy’ Wills and Max Harris; selections from his Sunday Mail columns; and a whole chapter of daily observations, quotations, bits from books he was reading, and from his daybook since 2012.

52 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

As the publisher’s blurb says, it’s not only nostalgic but also poignant.

He first trod the boards as the Artful Dodger in Oliver in 1971, and since then has worked in theatre on two continents as actor, director, designer, academic and entertainer.

There’s a lot to laugh at and a lot to love. He writes affectionately about being guest of honor at small-town lunches in community centres and town halls, plus his obsession with op shops. He once had a call from the local lady who ran his nearest op shop saying she had some clothes just in that were his size and perfect for him.

They were perfect alright, as he discovered when he saw them - he had donated them to the shop the week before, so not to disappoint he bought them again.

His Friday night parties when he lived in Woodville became legendary.

One time he’d just gone to bed at 6am when he was woken 30 minutes later with someone banging on his door. It was the girlfriend of a guest who had come to search for her partner’s missing teeth.

Goers lived in Istanbul, Turkey for 3 years and visited Gallipoli three times whilst he was there. His

This title is available in paperback for $34.95 from Wakefield Press bit.ly/3pXD2Lu accounts of experiencing the Dawn Service are potently moving. In Turkey he directed a production of Clem Gorman’s A Manual of Trench Warfare with young Turkish actors.

They’d translate a couple of pages in the morning and then rehearse them in the afternoon. He became suspicious as to whether words like f**k and c**t were being translated properly. He was right. Instead of ‘those f**king Turks’ they had

Get your copy of this title from Cinema and Theatre Historical Society of Australia cinemarecord.org.au translated ‘Those noble, brave misguided, but heroic Turks’.

On travel, he once took his grandmother back to Perth for a visit and carried her luggage. On enquiring why it was so heavy, she said she had a ‘side of lamb in there. The meat’s terrible in Perth.’

His Phyllis Diller quote is priceless ‘I realised I was 18 years behind with the ironing so I buried it in the back garden.’ Likewise the front page story and photo of Gladys Moncrieff from the Rockhampton newspaper - ‘Our Glad Leaves Hospital With Orchids Pinned To Her Crutch.’

Toni Lamond was playing the sharp-shooter Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun in Adelaide. She’d been invited to a wine tasting in the Barossa Valley and arrived back at the theatre not in showroom condition.

On her first entrance she had to walk downstage and fire her rifle at a weathercock, whereby a stagehand pulled a cord and made it fall. This night she entered and aimed in completely the opposite direction.

There was a very long pause before the stagehand realised what had happened and pulled cord to let the weathercock fall. Lamond saw it fall, grinned at the audience and said, ‘Ha! Ricochet!’

Goers was sitting in the back row next to two nuns at the Playhouse watching the flamboyant Frank Thring play Othello. Early in the second act Thring was alone on stage and someone started to groan in E row.

The groans increased and were followed by a death rattle as the patron died. Thring, furious at the disturbance, flounced off-stage as the curtain fell. Later, after the body had been removed, the play resumed. One of the nuns sitting next to Goers whispered, ‘Isn’t it awful,’ to which he replied, ‘I know, Sister, I’ve never been in a theatre when someone has died.’ The nun said, ‘No, I don’t mean that. I mean the show.’

His love for thespians he has worked with affectionately extends to four pages of names, whilst he credits his father with introducing him to the films of the Marx Brothers, his lifelong joy.

His love of country towns is obvious but he reserves his highest praise for Broken Hill. In talking about the movie Wake in Fright he says, it’s a movie about isolation, riotous drunkenness, aggressive hospitality, moral degradation, sodomy, dust, dirt, heat, the desert, violence and two-up. In Broken Hill they think it’s a documentary. But his best story about the Silver City is about controversial journalist and writer Jack Marx coming to work there and staying in a motel in Oxide Street. He came down to Argyle Street to get his lunch, a double-cut roll, in a snack bar. The woman making it was the wrong side of 60, blowsy and wearing that classic Broken Hill hairdo of platinum blonde bouffant. Marx said to this woman, ‘I’m staying at a motel in Oxide Street and it’s a bit pricey. That hotel across the road here in Argent Street - do you know what it charges per-night?’

She looked at him and said, ‘I dunno love. I haven’t been a hooker for years!’

I love the Silver City! And I love Peter Goers. I can’t wait for Volume 2.

The book comes with B&W photos and an index. A fabulous read!

Significant Country Theatres Of Australia And New Zealand - Cinema Record (CATHS $20 includes postage) This 60 page book is a marvelous pictorial record of 56 country theatres (mainly cinemas) in Australia and New Zealand, published by the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society of Australia Inc. Each page is dedicated to a particular theatre - some were converted from live theatres to cinemas, some cinemas have been converted to live theatres, and sadly some have been demolished.

The oldest is Ballarat’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, which was built in 1875 as the Academy of Music.

Originally owned by businessman and philanthropist William Clarke, it became Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1899. Today it’s operational as a live performing venue.

The second oldest is the Gaiety Theatre, Zeehan, a former mining town on the west coast of Tasmania.

Built in 1898 as a live theatre, it converted to silent movies in 1910, and sound in 1936. Today it’s part of the West Coast Heritage Centre, and operates as a pre-programmed tourist venue screening silent movies twice per day.

Launceston’s Princess Theatre was built in 1911 at a cost of £15,000 by Marino Lucas, a vaudeville entrepreneur from Hobart. It originally screened movies because the backstage area was incomplete, but they were so popular the theatre continued as a cinema. It has been a ‘live only’ venue since 1998.

Toowoomba’s art-deco showpiece, the Empire Theatre, opened in 1911, but was gutted by fire in 1933. It was rebuilt in the then popular art-deco style and remained a cinema until 1971 when it became a Walton’s department store, and later a TAFE college. It’s now heritage listed and operates as a multi-purpose venue.

The newest performing arts venue is Araluen, Alice Springs, which was opened in 1984.

The illustrations, mostly in colour except for the demolished theatres which are B&W, are high-quality glossy. The text, though brief, is detailed. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 53

Stage On Disc

Prince Of Egypt (Stephen Schwartz) (Dreamworks) The stage version of Dreamworks’ 1998 animated

By Peter Pinne feature (which had eye-popping artwork, an Oscar winning song, a star cast, and produced box-office gold), finally made it to the stage at London’s Dominion Fangirls (Yve Blake) (Ghostlight Records) Theatre on February 25, 2020. Closing when the The cast recording of Yve Blake’s sassy and sparkly musical about a young girl’s pop-star obsession delivers pandemic hit, it’s due to reopen in July 2021 when a score that is dynamic, funny, and filled with euphoric things get back to a post-coronavirus normal.

The cast recording features five songs from the pop-beats. It’s far and away the best Australian cast original movie score and a whole heap of new material. recording of recent times. Blake not only wrote the book, music and lyrics, but also stars in the role of Edna. The breakout song, ‘When You Believe’, a hit for Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston at the time, is still one of It’s a mammoth achievement and has international hit the best songs in the score, but Schwartz’s new stamped all over it. She began writing Fangirls in 2016 additions frequently hit the mark. ‘Make It Right’, a duet while in residence at the Australian Theatre for Young People, after being awarded the inaugural Rebel Wilson for the biblical brothers, Ramses (Liam Tamne) and Moses (Luke Brady), has an ear-worm melody and an Theatre-maker Scholarship.

The story follows 14 year-old Edna, a diehard fan of insistent drive, the ballad ‘Footprints on the Sand’ has the biggest boyband in the world True Connection, and some nice poetic images (‘Footprints in the sand, ripples on the river’), and ‘Heartless’ is a heartfelt mother’s its lead singer Harry. Body-shaming, a hot-button of lament, given a strong performance by Tanisha Spring as teenage angst, is cleverly covered in the great trio Nefertari. Old-stager Gary Wilmot does fine on ‘Through ‘Disgusting’ for Blake, Chika Ikogwe and Kimberley Hodgson; mums who won’t let their daughters go to a Heaven’s Eyes’, a holdover from the original film, and concert is amusingly parlayed in, ‘Actually Dead’, whilst Christine Allado adds classy diva vocals to Moses’ Midianite wife, Tzipporah. a nod to domestic violence appears in ‘Don’t Exist’.

The musical was heavily criticised as being too Disney, Blake Appelqvist plays Harry as a bit thick with a broad Brit council-estate accent, which is lovable and spot-on too Vegas, and too Cecil B. DeMille, with its in ‘Become Brand New’, a duet with Edna. A concert religious storytelling akin medley is irresistible pop with the entire cast, whilst Blake’s ‘Silly Little Girl’ is a powerful introspective ballad. to cheerleader-style gymnastics, and it is, But it’s the mother/daughter growing up ode, ‘Brave being grandiose, epic Thing’, that resonates with pathos and gives Sharon and awash with Middle Millerchip, as the Mum, a spotlight moment.

The music production and mix by David Muratore is Eastern themes.

Schwartz is a long way excellent, as are the vocal arrangements by Alice from his simple, Chance.

The musical, which premiered in Brisbane in 2019, is exhilarating Godspell.  currently on its second national tour. It’s already won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Production of a Musical, the Matilda Award for Best Musical or Cabaret, Online extras! and a 2020 AWGIE Buy or stream The Prince Of Egypt cast Award for Music recording from Amazon.

Theatre. The amzn.to/3A49joH American label Ghostlight picked up Cinderella (Andrew Lloyd Webber/David Zippell) the cast recording and (Polydor) released it digitally on The cast recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new April 30. It’s the first musical version of Cinderella was due to be released on Australian album to be June 25, too late for inclusion in this Stage To Disc round released by the -up, but Polydor have already officially released four company.  songs from the score. Ivano Turco, who plays Prince Sebastian, sings ‘Only You, Lonely You’, a ballad that’s sure to become a Lloyd Webber standard. A strong Online extras! melody, memorable lyrics, and a money-shot key-change Stream the world premiere cast give it emotional passion. Carrie Hope Fletcher, who recording of Fangirls on Spotify. plays Cinderella, sings a chart-destined power-ballad, ‘I spoti.fi/2TcS8Rt Know I Have a Heart’ (because you broke it), and also 54 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

the quirky ‘Bad Cinderella’. ‘Far Too Late’ has also been released and it’s another strong melody, though according to internet scuttlebutt it has already been replaced in the show by ‘I Know I Have a Heart’ which, granted, is more chart-friendly. 

Online extras!

Get a copy of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella upon its imminent release. bit.ly/3A2NuGg

Mame (Jerry Herman) (Stage Door STAGE 9082) Considering Jerry Herman’s Mame was such a big Broadway success, there’s not many versions of the score out there except the Angela Lansbury original and Lucille Ball’s pale soundtrack. Ginger Rogers played the role in London, but her version was not recorded. Instead, we have a reissue and first time on CD of Beryl Reid, better known as a straight actress (The Killing of Sister George), heading a 1969 studio cast recording with Geoff Love and His Orchestra and The John McCarthy Singers. It was Reid’s 2nd outing in a Herman musical. She’d previously recorded a studio cast of Hello, Dolly! in 1965.

Reid started in Music Hall, graduating to intimate revue. Her voice is not the greatest even though the attack is, and when she can’t reach the top notes, the chorus swiftly step in and finish the job. The score, one of Herman’s strongest, sounds best on the ensemble numbers (‘We Need a Little Christmas’ / ‘It’s Today’), with the title tune a standout. In fact the chorus work is one of the album’s big pluses. Reid brings some 1920s verve to ‘That’s How Young I Feel’, and duets well with comedienne Joan

Online extras!

Buy the 1969 London cast recording of Mame from Stage Door Records. bit.ly/3jvE54n Rating  Only for the enthusiast  Borderline  Worth buying  Must have  Kill for it

Turner (Vera Charles) on ‘Bosom Buddies’, one of Broadway’s all-time great comic numbers. The score’s other comic gem is ‘Gooch’s Song’, which finds Pat Whitmore scoring the laughs. Bonus tracks are by Joan Turner, from the BBC serial The Teckman Biography ‘The Shadow Waltz’ and ‘The Homecoming Waltz’ accompanied by Wally Stott and His Orchestra.  Songs From Australian Musicals (Jack Fewster/Tom King/Kenneth Duffield) (hoflandmusic.com) Writer, musician, and co-author of The Australian Musical - From the Beginning Peter Wyllie Johnston features in two concerts from the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2005 and 2007, and one from the Victorian Arts Centre in 2007, in a collection of songs from early Australian musicals. Fewster and King has songs by the composer and lyricist of Yantabingie, Yvonne, Juanita and Better Times, whilst Kenneth Duffield - From Saints to the West End offers songs by Duffield and P.G. Wodehouse, and his only book musical, Healo.

Johnston, a baritone, sings and accompanies himself on both Adelaide outings and is joined by soprano Jane O’Toole in Melbourne for Yvonne’s ‘Prayer to Buddha’ and ‘Only One Star’. These are the first recordings of this material since it was written in the 1920s and 30s.

Johnston is an ingratiating performer and his love of this material and its history shines through every bar of music. Also included are two songs from Johnston’s own Moses - The Spirit of Freedom. 

Online extras!

Get your copy of Songs From Australian Musicals from Hofland Music. bit.ly/3wpbocN

Stage Whispers Directory premium listing: $20

Get noticed on the Stage Whispers website with a premium listing at a great price stagewhispers.com.au/directory-central

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 55

On Stage A.C.T. The Governor’s Family by Beatrix Christian. Canberra Rep. Jul 1 - 17. Theatre 3. canberrarep.org.au Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox. shake & stir. Jul 8 - 11. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au Potted Potter by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner.

Potted Productions. Jul 13 - 18.

The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Jul 15 - 17.

Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au New Owner. Created by Arielle Gray and Tim Watts. The Last Great Hunt. July 23 & 24. The Street. thestreet.org.au

A.C.T.

COVID-19 Update As this edition went to print, a stay-at-home order was in place for Greater Sydney and surrounds. Indoor density limits were also in effect in Perth and Peel, as well as all of Victoria. The scope and length of these directions are subject to change suddenly.

Readers are advised to monitor the prevailing restrictions and public health advice in their jurisdiction. nsw.gov.au/covid-19 wa.gov.au/government/covid-19-coronavirus coronavirus.vic.gov.au Check with the relevant theatre group, venue or ticket outlet for specific performance impacts, cancellation or rescheduling information.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Musical by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott. Free-Rain Theatre Company. Jul 27 - Aug 21. The Q, Queanbeyan. theq.net.au

Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard.

Canberra Rep. Aug 12 - 21.

Theatre 3. canberrarep.org.au

Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, adapted for the Grease by Jim Jacobs and stage by Nicki Bloom.

Warren Casey. Canberra Slingsby. Jul 27 - 28. The

Philharmonic Society. Aug 19 Sep 4. Erindale Theatre, Wanniassa. (02) 6257 1950. philo.org.au Twenty Minutes With The Devil

by Gomez Romero & Manderson. Aug 20 - 29. The Street. thestreet.org.au

SHOW POSTPONED - CHECK DETAILS

56 Stage Whispers

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Once. Book by Enda Walsh.

Music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová.

Based on the film by John Carney. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Aug 26 - 29.

Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au New South Wales Hamilton. Book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Michael Cassel Group.

Ongoing. Sydney Lyric Theatre. hamiltonmusical.com.au Come From Away by Irene Sankoff and David Hein.

Junkyard Productions & Rodney Rigby. Ongoing. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. comefromaway.com.au The Woman in Black. By Susan Hill, adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatrat. Ensemble Theatre. Until Jul 24. ensemble.com.au Bunyips. Adapted for the stage

by Callan Purcell, from Steven

Herrick’s novel. Newcastle Young People’s Theatre. Until Jul 17. Young People’s Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4961 4895.

Triple X by Glace Chase. Sydney Theatre Company / Queensland Theatre. Jul 1 - Aug 14. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth. Luckiest Productions and Hayes Theatre Co. Until July 31.

Hayes Theatre. hayestheatre.com.au The Wedding Singer. By Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics

by Chad Beguelin, based on the New Line Cinema film written by Tim Herlihy. Jul 1 18. State Theatre, Sydney. weddingsingermusical.com.au Miss Peony by Michelle Law. Belvoir. Jul 3 - Aug 1. Upstairs

Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

A.C.T. & New South Wales Theatre, Belvoir Street. belvoir.com.au

Three Winters Green by Campion Decent. Lambert House Enterprises. July 6 - 17.

Mamma Mia! Music & lyrics by Fringe HQ Theatre Newtown.

Benny Andersson, Björn sydneyfringe.com Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson. Book

by Catherine Johnson.

A Hundred Words For Snow by Armidale Drama & Musical Tatty Hennessy. Jul 6 - 18.

Society. Jul 2 - 17. TAS Hoskins Flight Path Theatre.

Centre, Armidale. flightpaththeatre.org trybooking.com/746030 Carl Barron - Skating Rink for Alice in Wonderland by Janet Flies. A-List Entertainment. Jul Yates Vogt and Mark 7 - 14 & Aug 5, Civic Theatre, Friedman, based on the story Newcastle, (02) 4929 1977 &

by Lewis Carroll. Musical.

Aug 6 - 7, Newcastle Albatross Musical Theatre Entertainment Centre, Company. Jul 3 & 4.

Broadmeadow, (02) 4921 Shoalhaven Entertainment 2121. carlbarron.com Centre, Nowra. (02) 4429 Miss Saigon. Music by Claude5757.

Michel Schönberg, lyrics by shoalhavenentertainment.com.au Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain The Spook by Melissa Reeves.

Boublil, adapted from the New Theatre. Jul 6 - 31. original French lyrics by Alain newtheatre.org.au Boublil. Additional lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. Noteable Carmen by Bizet. Opera Theatre Company. Jul 8 - 18.

Australia. July 6. Civic Theatre, Concourse Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Chatswood. civictheatrenewcastle.com.au noteabletheatrecompany.com

Stage Whispers 57

On Stage

New South Wales

Back To DMS - A Musical Review. Dural Musical Society.

Jul 9 - 17. Dural Soldiers Memorial Hall. 0491 192 424. duralmusicalsociety.org Ladies in Black. Music and lyrics

by Tim Finn and book by Carolyn Burns. Novocastrian Players and Brunker Community Theatre. July 9 31. Theatre on Brunker, Adamstown (Newcastle). 0412 797 395.

Wherever She Wanders by Kendall Feaver. Griffin Theatre Company. Jul 9 - Aug 15. SBW Stables Theatre. griffintheatre.com.au The Lost Voice of Anne Bronte

by Cate Whittaker. Whittaker Players. Jul 9 - 10. Creative Arts Space (CAS) Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4925 4200.

Grease by Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey and John Farrar. Bling Productions. July 9 - 11. Lake Macquarie Performing Arts Centre, Warners Bay. (02) 4961 0490.

Chasing Smoke. Casus Circus.

Jul 14 - 17. Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. (02) 8839 3399. riversideparramatta.com.au

The producers of Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella have announced the lead cast members for their contemporary retelling of the Tony® Award-winning show.

Shubshri Kandiah will star as Ella (Cinderella) alongside her Aladdin costar Ainsley Melham who will play the role of Prince Topher. Rounding out the lead performances are Silvie Paladino, Tina Bursill and Todd McKenney.

Cinderella opens at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney on November 16.

Read more at bit.ly/3xTEHES cinderellamusical.com.au Photo: Hugh Stewart.

Are You Being Served? by David Croft & Jeremy Lloyd.

The Players Theatre Port Macquarie. Jul 16 - Aug 1. (02) Popular Theatre Company. Jul 6581 8888.

16 - 24. Civic Playhouse, playerstheatre.org.au Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. civictheatrenewcastle.com.au White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King. Sydney Theatre 70th Anniversary Concert.

Company. Jul 15 - Sep 4.

North Shore Theatre Company.

Wharf 2 Theatre.

July 17 & 18. Zenith Theatre, sydneytheatre.com.au Chatswood.

Parramatta. (02) 8839 3399. riversideparramatta.com.au

Mamma Mia! Music & Lyrics by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson. Book

by Catherine Johnson. Gosford Musical Society. Jul 23 - Aug 7.

Laycock Street Community northshoretheatrecompany.org Theatre, North Gosford.

Cleansed by Sarah Kane.

Apocalypse, in association with La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. gosfordmusicalsociety.com Red Line. Jul 15 - Aug 7. Old Opera Hunter. Jul 21 - Aug 1.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Fitz Theatre.

Lake Macquarie Performing Oscar Wilde, adapted by Kip redlineproductions.com.au Arts Centre, Warners Bay. (02) Williams. Sydney Theatre Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Jeffrey Archer. The Guild Theatre. Jul 16 - Aug 14. Guild Theatre, Rockdale. (02) 9597 4558. guildtheatre.com.au Things I Know To Be True by Andrew Bovell. The Very 58 Stage Whispers

4943 1672. operahunter.org.au

Wicked. By Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

Packemin Productions. Jul 23 Aug 7. Riverside Theatre,

Company. Jul 24 - Aug 22.

Roslyn Packer Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling. Newcastle Theatre Company. Jul 24 - Aug 14. NTC Theatre, Lambton. (02) 4952

4958. newcastletheatrecompany.com.au New Owner by Arielle Gray and Tim Watts. The Last Great Hunt. Jul 28 & 29. Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. (02) 8839 3399. riversideparramatta.com.au Here, There and Everywhere by Newcastle’s Nicholas Thoroughgood. Bearfoot Theatre. Jul 28 - 31. Creative Arts Space (CAS) Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4925 4200. bearfoottheatre.org.au Out of the Blue - Short Play Season. 4 New Plays by local playwrights. Blackheath Theatre Company. Jul 29 - Aug 1. Blackheath Community

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage

New South Wales & Queensland

Centre.

Sep 11. Old Fitz Theatre. blackheaththeatrecompany.com redlineproductions.com.au

(02) 4429 5757. nowraplayers.com.au

Redcliffe Entertainment Centre. redcliffemusicaltheatre.com

Hush by Ciella Williams. Jul 29 - Aug 14. Flight Path Theatre. flightpaththeatre.org

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hainsberry. Sydney Theatre Company. Aug 28 - Oct 9.

Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

Dreams and Visions. Southern Cross Soloists. Jul 11. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. southernxsoloists.com

The Shawshank Redemption.

Based on the novella by Stephen King. Hunter Drama.

Jul 29 - 31. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977. hunterdrama.com.au Entertaining Angels by Richard Everett. Castle Hill Players. Jul 30 - Aug 31. The Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill. paviliontheatre.org.au

You Can’t Take It With You by Mass Hart and George S. Kaufman. Bankstown Theatre Company. Aug 13 - 22.

Bankstown Arts Centre. 0481 869 858. bankstowntheatrecompany.com Mamma Mia! Music and Lyrics

by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson. Book

by Catherine Johnson. Aug 13 18. Town Hall Theatre Campbelltown. fb.me/woftam.productions

Queensland Our House by Tim Firth and Madness. Brisbane Arts. Until July 24. (07) 3369 2344. artstheatre.com.au

White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King. Queensland Theatre.

Until Jul 10. Bille Brown Theatre. 1800 355 528.

John Bell: And Another Thing...

Killing Katie: Confessions of a queenslandtheatre.com.au Ensemble Theatre. Aug 15 Book Club by Tracey Trinder.

Metamorphoses by Mary 22. ensemble.com.au Ensemble Theatre. Jul 30 - Sep Zimmerman. Gold Coast Little 11. ensemble.com.au Uncle Vanya by Anton Theatre. Until July 10. (07) Chekhov. Her Productions. Aug 5535 3224. gclt.com.au Life Without Me by Daniel 15 - 18. NTC Theatre, Lambton Keene. Arts Theatre Cronulla.

Quartet by Ronald Harwood.

(Newcastle). (02) 4952 4958.

Jul 30 - Sept 4. (02) 9523 2779 Villanova Players. Until Jul 11.

(9am-12pm).

A Streetcar Named Desire by Ron Hurley Theatre, Seven Hills. artstheatrecronulla.com.au Tennessee Williams. Lane Cove (07) 3395 5168.

Theatre Company. Aug 13 villanovaplayers.com Heathers The Musical. Book, 28. The Performance Space at music & lyrics by Kevin Murphy Alice In Wonderland by Lewis St Aidan’s, Longueville. & Laurence O’Keefe. Based on lanecovetheatrecompany.com Carroll. SK Entertainment and the film written by Daniel Tim Lawson in association with Waters. Mitchel Old Company. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert— Ethan Walker. Jul 6 - 9.

Aug 5 - 14. Darling Quarter The Musical by Stephan Elliott Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246.

Theatre, Sydney. and Allan Scott. Metropolitan qpac.com.au mitchellold.com.au Players. Aug 18 - 28. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 School of Rock by Andrew Spirit Level by Pam Valentine.

Lloyd Webber, Glenn Slater 1977.

Woy Woy Little Theatre. Aug 6 and Julian Fellowes. Redcliffe civictheatrenewcastle.com.au - 22. Peninsula Theatre, Woy Musical Theatre. Jul 9 - 18.

Woy. woywoylt.com Trevor by Nick Jones. Knock and Run Theatre. Aug 18 - 28.

Head Over Heels. Songs by The NTC Theatre, Lambton.

Go-Go’s. Adapted by James (Newcastle). (02) 4952 4958.

Magruder, based on The knockandruntheatre.com Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney, conceived & original book by The Trojan Women. A new Jeff Whitty. Hayes Theatre Co. retelling by Dena Razaghi, From Aug 6. Hayes Theatre. based on the play by hayestheatre.com.au Euripedes. Aug 19 - Sep 4.

Flight Path Theatre.

At What Cost? By Nathan flightpaththeatre.org Maynard. Belvoir. Aug 7 - Sep 5. Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir Orange Thrower by Kirsty Street. belvoir.com.au Marillier. Griffin Theatre Company. Aug 20 - Sep 25.

The Lovely Bones by Alice SBW Stables Theatre.

Sebold, adapted by Bryony griffintheatre.com.au Lavery. New Theatre. Aug 10 Sep 11. newtheatre.org.au Dinkum Assorted by Linda Aronson. Nowra Players. Aug Hand to God by Robert Askins.

21 - Sep 5. Shoalhaven Red Line Productions. Aug 12 Entertainment Centre, Nowra.

Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller.

Queensland Theatre. Bille Brown Theatre. Jul 14 - Aug 14. (07) 3010 7600. queenslandtheatre.com.au Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, adapted for the stage by Nicki Bloom. Slingsby.

Jul 14 - 18. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. Opera Queensland. Jul 15 - 31. Playhouse QPAC. 136 246. oq.com.au An Evening with Queensland Ballet. Noosa Alive! Jul 15 - 16.

The J Theatre. 0413 515 124. noosaalive.com.au Playhouse Creatures by April de Angelis. Javeenbah Theatre, Nerang. Jul 16 - 31. (07) 5596 0300. javeenbah.org.au Deckchairs by Jean McConnell.

Coolum Players. Jul 16 - 25.

(07) 5446 2500. coolumtheatre.com.au Brisbane Comedy Festival.

Brisbane Powerhouse. Jul 16 Aug 8. (07) 3358 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org

Stage Whispers 59

On Stage The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde. Nash Theatre, New Farm. Jul 16 - Aug 7. (07) 3379 4775. nashtheatre.com

Queensland & Victoria

5449 9343. noosaartstheatre.org.au

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert The Musical by Stephan Elliott Caesar by Claire Christian, Jean and Allan Scott. Spotlight Tong, Megan Wilding, Merlynn Theatre Co. Jul 23 - Aug 21.

Tong and Zoey Dawson, after Halpin Auditorium, Gold Coast.

Shakespeare. La Boite. Jul 17 - (07) 5539 4255.

Aug 7. (07) 3007 8600. spotlighttheatre.com.au laboite.com.au Christmas In July. Queensland Mamma Mia! We Are Back Pops. Jul 24. Concert Hall, Again! Björn Again. Jul 17.

QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246.

West Side Story by Arthur qpac.com.au Laurents, Leonard Bernstein Things I Know To Be True by and Stephen Sondheim. Opera Australia and GWB Andrew Bovell. Centenary Players. Jul 17 - Aug 1.

Entertainment. Jul 24 - Aug 22.

Chelmer Community Centre.

Lyric Theatre, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au 0435 591 720. centenarytheatre.com.au Great Inventions. Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Jul 25.

Politics In The Pub. Brisbane Powerhouse. Jul 20. (07) 3358 Concert Hall, QPAC. (07) 3833 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org 5044. qso.com.au Up For Grabs by David Williamson. Noosa Arts Theatre. Jul 23 - Aug 8. (07)

Landscapes. Camerata. Jul 29.

Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett. Mousetrap Theatre, Redcliffe. Jul 30 - Aug 15. (07) 3888 3493. mousetraptheatre.asn.au Countdown The Musical.

Regional Touring. Jul 30 - 31.

Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au Sunflowers by Nerida Day. Sunnybank Theatre Group. Jul 30 - Aug 14. (07) 3345 3964. sunnybank2020.com

28. (07) 3358 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org Titanic - The Movie, The Play.

Act/React. Aug 18 - Sep 12.

Brisbane Powerhouse. (07) 3358 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org Boy&Girl. Oscar Production Company. Aug 19 - 28.

Brisbane Powerhouse. (07) 3358 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org

Baggy Trousers. Madness River. Australian Chamber Tribute. Brisbane Arts. Aug 20.

Orchestra. Aug 2. Concert Hall, (07) 33369 2344.

QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au artstheatre.com.au Potted Potter by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner.

Potted Productions. Playhouse, QPAC. Aug 3 - 8. 136 246. qpac.com.au Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Griffith Musical Theatre. Aug 5 - 14.

Conservatorium Theatre. (07) 3735 3224. qtix.com.au Breathtaking Tchaikovsky.

Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Aug 6 - 7. Concert Hall, QPAC. (07) 3833 5044. qso.com.au Cinderella by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Phoenix Ensemble, Beenleigh. Aug 6 28. (07) 3103 1546. phoenixensemble.com.au 66th One Act Play Festival.

Ipswich Little Theatre. Aug 13 15. Incinerator Theatre, Ipswich. 0403 176 702. ilt.org.au Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti. Growl Theatre.

Windsor School of Arts. Aug 13 - 28. growltheatre.org.au Sand Song. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Aug 13 - 21.

Playhouse, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au Weathering Well - Jenny Woodward. Brisbane Powerhouse. Aug 14. (07) 3358 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org

Vivien Leigh’s School For Scandal by Michael Beh, Brian Bolton and Warwick Comber, after Richard Sheridan.

Villanova Players. Aug 21 - Sep 5. Ron Hurley Theatre, Seven Hills. (07) 3395 5168. trybooking.com/648303 Encore: Carole King’s Tapestry 50th Anniversary in Concert.

Aug 21. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au World of Musicals. Aug 22 24. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au Wallflowering by Peta Murray.

Aug 24 - 25. Gardens Theatre.

(07) 3138 7750 / 136 246. gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au President Wilson In Paris by Ron Blair. St Luke’s Theatre Society, Tarragindi. Aug 21 Sep 4. (07) 3343 1457.

Boy Swallows Universe.

Adapted from Trent Dalton’s book by Tim McGarry.

Queensland Theatre. Aug 30 Sep 18. Playhouse, QPAC. (07) 3010 7600. queenslandtheatre.com.au Victoria Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.

Ongoing. Princess Theatre Melbourne. harrypottertheplay.com/au

Blue Bones by Merlynn Tong.

Magic Mike Live. Channing Brisbane Powerhouse. Aug 18 - Tatum. Ongoing. The Arcadia, 60 Stage Whispers

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Birrarung Marr. magicmikelive.com.au Because The Night. Immersive Theatre Adventure. Malthouse Theatre. Until Sep 26. malthousetheatre.com.au Frozen. Music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Book by Jennifer Lee. Disney Theatrical Productions. Ongoing. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. frozenthemusical.com.au And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. The 1812 Theatre. Until Jul 25. (03) 9758 3964. 1812theatre.com.au

Victoria

Josh Piterman reprises his West End role as Phantom in Opera Australia’s forthcoming production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera. Joining him in this production are Amy Manford as Christine Daaé and Blake Bowden as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny.

The Phantom Of The Opera opens at the Sydney Opera House on September 3 before making its way to Arts Centre Melbourne on November 14.

Read more at bit.ly/3xLnaym opera.org.au Photo: Johan Persson.

Bluey’s Big Play. BBC Studios and Andrew Kay in association with QPAC’s Out of The Box and Windmill Theatre Co. Until Jul 29. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au Cactus by Madeleine Nunn.

Until Jul 4. La Mama Courthouse. lamama.com.au The Truth by Christopher Hampton. Melbourne Theatre Company. Until Jul 17.

Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. mtc.com.au This Way Up by Elizabeth Coleman. Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre Co. Until Jul 11. (03) 9735 1777. lilydaleatc.com

Online extras!

Prepare to be dazzled by the legendary musical The Phantom Of The Opera. youtu.be/k3X9NusV7vQ

Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Melbourne Theatre Company. Until July 10. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne.

The Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie. artscentremelbourne.com.au Malvern Theatre Co. Until Jul The Tower’s Edge by Lachlan 10. 1300 131 552.

Wilde. Jul 5 - 10. The Butterfly malverntheatre.com.au Club. thebutterflyclub.com Iphigenia in Splott by Gary Owen. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. Until Jul 18. redstitch.net

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom & Jeffrey Hatcher.

Geelong Repertory Theatre Co. Until Jul 10. The Woodbin Theatre, Geelong West. 1300 251 200. geelongartscentre.org.au

SYSTEM_ERROR. Chamber Made. Jul 7 - 11. Arts House Melbourne. artshouse.com.au

Still by Jen Silverman.

Heartstring Theatre. Until Jul 11. fortyfivedownstairs. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Comma Sutra. Jul 12 - 17. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Vigil by Morris Panych. Encore Theatre Inc. Jul 9 - 24. encoretheatre.com.au

Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. July 14 - 24.

Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au Love Song Dedications (Without Richard Mercer) by Tom Hogan and Bonnie LeighDodds. A Ten Tonne Sparrow Production. July 15 - 17.

Gasworks Arts Park. gasworks.org.au Next To Normal by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt. James Terry Collective. Jul 15 to 25.

Chapel off Chapel. nexttonormal.com.au The Full Monty by Simon Beaufoy. BATS Theatre Company. Jul 16 - 25.

Cranbourne Community Theatre. batstheatre.org.au Who, Me. The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Rob Lloyd. Jul 19 - 24. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com King Lear by William Shakespeare. Melbourne Shakespeare Company. Jul 20 Aug 1. fortyfivedownstairs. fortyfivedownstairs.com Keeping Up Appearances by Roy Clarke. MLOC Productions.

Jul 21 - 25. Grand Hall, Kingston Art Centre. mloc.org.au Three Little Words by Joanna Murray-Smith. Heidelberg Theatre Company. Jul 23 - Aug 7. (03) 9457 4117. htc.org.au Stage Whispers 61

On Stage The Architect by Aiden Fennessy. Brighton Theatre Co. Jul 23 - Aug 7. Brighton Arts & Cultural Centre. 0493 069 479. brightontheatre.com.au The Cuddle Parlour. Jul 26 - 31.

The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com Them by Samah Sabawi. July 28 - 31. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au Gone Girls by Patrick Livesey and Annabel Larcombe. Jul 29 - Aug 7. Gasworks Arts Park. gasworks.org.au Kelly by Matthew Ryan. Jul 27 Aug 1. La Mama Courthouse. lamama.com.au Bloody Murder by Ed Sala.

Frankston Theatre Group. Jul 30 - Aug 8. Mt Eliza community Hall. frankstontheatregroup.org.au Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl by Jane Miller.

Melbourne Shakespeare Company. Aug 4 - 15. fortyfivedownstairs. fortyfivedownstairs.com Miss Peony by Michelle Law. Asia TOPA. Aug 5 - 22. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au Curtain Up! By Peter Quilter.

Peridot Theatre Inc. Aug 6 - 21.

Unicorn Theatre, Mt Waverley. peridot.com.au PUFFS: The Play by Sam Cox. Centrestage Pty Ltd. Aug 6 21. centrestage.org.au Visitors by Barney Norris.

Warrandyte Theatre Co. Aug 6 - 21. Mechanics Hall Institute. warrandytehallarts.asn.au Archimedes War by Melissa Reeves. Darebin Arts Speakeasy. Aug 10 - 20.

NTHAC (Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre). darebinarts.com.au The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

Strathmore Theatrical Arts Group. Aug 12 - 28.

62 Stage Whispers

Victoria, Tasmania & South Australia

Strathmore Community Hall. stagtheatre.org

Jarrow. Adapted from the iconic Nickelodeon™ series.

Stage Right Youth Theatre.

Photograph 51 by Anna Aug 10 - 12. Princess Theatre, Ziegler. The Basin Theatre. Aug Launceston.

13 - Sep 4. theatrenorth.com.au thebasintheatre.org.au Zooom. Patch Theatre Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Company. Aug 11 & 12. The Book by John Logan, based on Studio Theatre, Theatre Royal, the Baz Luhrmann film. Global Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au Creatures. From Aug 13.

Regent Theatre, Melbourne.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream moulinrougemusical.com

by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Aug 12 - 14.

The Who’s Tommy by Pete Theatre Royal, Hobart.

Townshend. Victorian Opera. theatreroyal.com.au Aug 13 - 21. Palais Theatre.

Bluey’s Big Play: The Stage victorianopera.com.au Show. HVK Productions. Aug My Brilliant Career by Christine 13 & 14. Princess Theatre, Davey, from the novel by Miles Launceston.

Franklin. Skin Of Our Teeth theatrenorth.com.au Productions. Aug 14 - 29. skinofourteeth.com Animal Farm by George Orwell. shake & stir Theatre Company.

Jurrungu Ngan-ga (Straight Aug 20 & 21. Theatre Royal, Talk). Marrugeku. Aug 18 - 22.

Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au Arts House Melbourne. artshouse.com.au Peepshow. Circa Contemporary Circus. Aug 20, Princess Love Song by John Kolvenbach.

Theatre, Launceston, The Mount Players. Aug 28 theatrenorth.com.au & Aug 25 Sep 5. Mountview Theatre.

- 28, Theatre Royal, Hobart, themountplayers.com theatreroyal.com.au Therapy Is Expensive! (So I The Stranger by Agatha Wrote A Cabaret Instead). Aug Christie. Aug 27 - Sep 5. The 30 - Sep 4. The Butterfly Club.

Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. thebutterflyclub.com playhouse.org.au YES. The Rabble. Sep 1 - 12.

South Australia Arts House Melbourne. artshouse.com.au Clara and the Nutcracker - A Magical Adventure by Zoe Tasmania Muller. Hills Youth Theatre.

Pete the Sheep. Based on the Until Jul 4. Stirling Community book by Jackie French and Theatre. hillsyouththeatre.com Bruce Whatley. Monkey Baa Beautiful - The Carole King Theatre Company. Jul 14 - 17.

Musical. Book by Douglas The Studio Theatre, Theatre McGrath, words and music by Royal, Hobart.

Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry theatreroyal.com.au Mann & Cynthia Weil. Davine Swansong by Conor Productions. Jul 8 - 17. Star McDermottroe. Jul 22 - 24.

Theatres.

Theatre Royal, Hobart. davineproductions.com theatreroyal.com.au The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Impermanence. Sydney Dance Thornton Wilder, adapted by Company. Jul 28 - 30. Theatre Phillip Kavanagh. Brink Royal, Hobart.

Productions. Jul 9 - 24. Space theatreroyal.com.au Theatre. brinkproductions.com The SpongeBob Musical. Based School of Sharks by Jessica on the series by Stephen Bellamy and Property Rites by Hillenburg. Book by Kyle Alan Haehnel. Wings2Fly

Theatre. July 10 & 11. Holden Street Theatres. wings2flytheatre.com.au The 13-Storey Treehouse by Richard Tulloch, adapted from the book by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. CDP Kids & Adelaide Festival Centre. Jul 13 - 15. Dunstan Playhouse. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au True West by Sam Shepard. Jul 14 - 17. Bakehouse Theatre. bakehousetheatre.com The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S Lewis, dramatised by Joseph Robinette. Tea Tree Players Youth Group. Jul 15 - 17. Tea Tree Players Theatre. teatreeplayers.com Sex, Lies & Betrayal - Memoirs of a Hollywood Star by Margaret Fisk. JTM Productions. Jul 16 & 17.

Holden Street Theatres. holdenstreettheatres.com Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore. Blue Sky Theatre.

Jul 23 - 31. Stirling Community Theatre. blueskytheatre.com.au Potted Potter by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner.

Potted Productions. Jul 27 - 30.

Dunstan Playhouse. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au The 7 Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman. State Theatre Company South Australia. Jul 28 - Aug 7. Space Theatre. statetheatrecompany.com.au Beep. Windmill Theatre. Jul 30, Shedley Theatre, Elizabeth & Aug 3 & 4, Hopgood Theatre, Noarlunga. windmill.org.au Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward.

Theatre Guild, University of Adelaide. Aug 7 - 21. Little Theatre. adelaide.edu.au Hibernation by Finegan Kruckemeyer. State Theatre Company South Australia. Aug 13 - 28. Dunstan Playhouse. statetheatrecompany.com.au Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Therry Theatre. Aug

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage

South Australia & Western Australia Lane Theatre, Maylands. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au Bare: A Pop Opera by Damon Intrabartolo and Jon Hartmere.

Arise Productions. Jul 7 - 10.

Subiaco Arts Centre. ptt.wa.gov.au Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine.

Stirling Players. Jul 9 - 24.

Stirling Theatre, Innaloo. trybooking.com/BNVUF Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Jeremy Sams and Richard and Robert Sherman. Bel Canto Productions. Jul 9 - 18. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. trybooking.com/BQRLO York by Ian Michael and Chris Isaacs. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Jul 10 - Aug 1. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA, Northbridge. bsstc.com.au The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband by Debbie Isitt. Much Productions. Jul 15 - 24. Mid Century Café and Collectables, Yokine. trybooking.com/BRPRN

The shadow of a giant looms large over the baker’s wife (Maree Cole, left), baker (Tadhg Lawrence), Jack (Rp van der Westhuizen), Cinderella (Grace Johnson) and Red (Madeleine Shaw) in Into The Woods at Stirling Theatre WA from July 9 to 24. stirlingplayers.com.au 19 - 28. Arts Theatre. therry.org.au Roleplay by Alan Ayckbourn.

Tea Tree Players. Aug 25 - Sep 4. Tea Tree Players Theatre. teatreeplayers.com

Fire. Kalyakoorl Collective and The Blue Room. Until Jul 10.

The Blue Room Theatre. blueroom.org.au

Beginning of the End (Of Capitalism) by Phoebe Sullivan.

Phoebe Sullivan and The Blue I Wish... Patch Theatre and Room. Until Jul 10. The Blue Gravity & Other Myths. Aug 31 Room Theatre.

- Sep 4. Hopgood Theatre, blueroom.org.au Noarlunga. patchtheatre.org.au Trap by Stephen Gregg. Garrick Theatre. Jul 1 - 17. Garrick Western Australia Theatre, Guildford. (08) 9378 West Side Story by Arthur 1990. trybooking.com/BOBQK Laurents, Leonard Bernstein The Jungle Book by Markus and Stephen Sondheim. Opera Webber and Michael Summ, Australia and GWB based on the stories by Entertainment. Until Jul 17.

Rudyard Kipling. Laughing Crown Theatre, Perth.

Horse Inc. Jul 2 - 10. City of crownperth.com.au Gosnells Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

Thornlie. (08) 9498 9414. laughinghorse.asn.au Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier by Starkid Productions. Darlington Theatre Players. Jul 2 - 17.

Marloo Theatre, Greenmount. trybooking.com/BQHXL The Dresser by Ronald Harwood. Melville Theatre. Jul 2 - 17. meltheco.org.au

The Addams Family by Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Zealous Productions.

Jul 15 - 18. Regal Theatre, Subiaco. zealousproductions.com.au This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan. Life on Hold Productions. Jul 16 - 31.

Leederville Sporting Club. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au Small & Cute Oh No. Squid Vicious and The Blue Room. Jul 20 - Aug 7. The Blue Room Theatre. blueroom.org.au Borderline. stumble and The Blue Room. Jul 20 - 31. The Blue Room Theatre. blueroom.org.au

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks Vivas. Jul 3 - 16. Moana Hall,

by Richard Alfieri. KADS. Jul 23 Perth. trybooking.com/BNYVT - Aug 7. KADS Town Square Wind in the Willows. Adapted Theatre, Kalamunda. kadstheatre.com.au

by Todd Espeland from the book by Kenneth Grahame.

ARENA Arts and Entertainment. Jul 3 - 18. Roxy

A Christmas Carol. Adapted by Robbie Burns. Cluedunnit and Camelot Arts. Jul 24. Camelot Stage Whispers 63

On Stage

Western Australia & New Zealand

Theatre, Mosman Park. (08) Little Gem by Elaine Murphy.

9255 3336. camelotarts.org.au Irish Theatre Players. Aug 19 28. Townshend Theatre, Picnic At Hanging Rock by Subiaco. 0466 347 434.

Laura Annawyn Shamus, from irishtheatreplayers.com.au the book by Joan Lindsay, Stray Cats Theatre Company. Jul 29 - Così by Louis Nowra.

Aug 1. Mandurah Performing Roleystone Theatre. Aug 20 Arts Centre. manpac.com.au 28. Roleystone Hall. roleystonetheatre.com.au Annie by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Charmin. Mercedes College. Jul Macmillan with Johnny 29 - Aug 1. Regal Theatre, Donahue. Black Swan State Subiaco. ticketek.com.au Theatre Company. Aug 25 Sep 17. Studio Underground, Sleepy Hollow by Vera Morris State Theatre Centre of WA, and Bill Francoeur. Murray Northbridge. bsstc.com.au Music and Drama. Jul 30 - Aug 7. Pinjarra Civic Centre. 0458 One Act Season by various 056 414. mmdc.com.au authors. Darlington Theatre Players. Aug 27 - Sep 14.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Marloo Theatre, Greenmount.

by William Shakespeare. Bell marlootheatre.com.au Shakespeare. Aug 4 - 7. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre New Zealand Centre of WA, Northbridge.

Paradise or The Impermanence ptt.wa.gov.au of Ice Cream by Jacob Rajan Touch and Go by Derek and Justin Lewis. Indian Ink. Benfield. Serial Productions and Touring New Zealand. Until Old Mill Theatre. Aug 6 - 21.

Sep 1. indianink.co.nz Old Mill Theatre, South Perth.

Wicked. Music and Lyrics by trybooking.com/BRMBY Stephen Schwartz. Book by Juke Box Jive’n. Tivoli Club of Winnie Holzman. New WA. Aug 6 - 29. Tivoli Theatre, Plymouth Operatic Society.

Applecross. (08) 9364 5463.

Until Jul 3. TSB Showplace. tivoli.org.au npos.co.nz

Thames Music and Drama. Jul 3 - 10. Thames Civic Centre. thamesmad.co That Bloody Woman by Luke Di Somma & Gregory Cooper.

Auckland Music Theatre. Jul 3 17. Westpoint Performing Arts Centre. aucklandmusictheatre.nz The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Kerikeri Theatre Company. Jul 7 - 11. Turner Centre. kerikeritheatrecompany.com Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Music

by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lyrics by Tim Rice. Te Awamutu Light Operatic Society. Jul 8 18. teawamutulightoperaticsociety.com Disney’s Moana Jr. Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i & Mark Mancina.

Book by Susan Soon He Stanton. Based on the Disney film. Court Theatre, Christchurch. Jul 10 - 24. courttheatre.org.nz

Cooper. Jul 23 - Aug 20.

Centrepoint Theatre, Palmerston North. (06) 354 5740.

Winding Up by Roger Hall.

Circa Theatre. Jul 31 - Aug 28.

Circa One, Wellington. circa.co.nz Tiny Beautiful Things. Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted by Nia Vardalos.

Howick Little Theatre. Aug 4 7. hlt.org.nz It Runs in the Family by Ray Cooney. Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe. Aug 5 - 14. Muritai School Hall, Lower Hutt. 0800 BUY TIX (289 849) Frankenstein. By Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley. Court Theatre, Christchurch. Aug 7 - Sep 4. courttheatre.org.nz The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

Foolish Wit Theatre. Aug 11 15. The PumpHouse Theatre, Auckland. (09) 498 8360. pumphouse.co.nz

Twelfth Night by William The White Tree. By Peter Shakespeare. Top Dog Theatre.

Wilson. Little Dog Barking Aug 12 - 14. Isaac Theatre Theatre. Jul 10 - 25. Circa Two, Royal, Christchurch. 0800 842 Wellington. circa.co.nz 538. isaactheatreroyal.co.nz How Does Your Garden Grow I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Once. Book by Edna Walsh.

Steel Magnolias by Robert

by Geoff Bamber. Rangiora Change by Joe Di Pietro and Music and Lyrics by Glen Harling. Papakura Theatre Players. Jul 10 - 24. Rangiora Jimmy Roberts. Pristine Hansard and Markéta Irglová.

Company. Aug 14 - 28. Off Players Little Theatre. 028 255 Entertainment. Aug 12 - 15.

Based on the film by John Broadway Theatre. ptc.org.nz 89637. rangioraplayers.org.nz Downstairs at the Maj, His Carney. Court Theatre, Things That Matter by Gary Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. (08) Christchurch. Until Jul 24.

The Viewing Room by Mark Henderson, adapted from the 6212 9292. ptt.wa.gov.au courttheatre.org.nz Smith. Howick Little Theatre. memoir by Dr David Galler.

Jul 10 - 31. (09) 361 1000.

Confetti From Graceland by The Life of Galileo by Bertolt Auckland Theatre Company. hlt.org.nz Noel O’Neil. Maverick Brecht, translated by David Aug 17 - 29. ASB Waterfront Productions and Harbour Hare. Auckland Theatre Little Shop of Horrors. Book & Theatre. atc.co.nz Theatre. Aug 13 - 29. Camelot Company. Until Jul 10. ASB lyrics by Howard Ashman.

Every Kind of Weather by Bruce Theatre, Mosman Park. (08) Waterfront Theatre. atc.co.nz Music by Alan Menken.

Mason. Circa Theatre. Aug 19 9255 3336. camelotarts.org.au Halswell Drama Group. Jul 15 Elling by Simon Bent based on Sep 11. Circa Two, Wellington.

24. Halswell Community Hall.

Sydney II: Lost and Found by the novel by Ingvar circa.co.nz trybooking.com/nz/4923 Jenny Davis. Theatre 180. Aug Ambjørnsen. Circa Theatre.

Monty Python’s Spamalot.

18 - Nov 21. Live theatre Until Jul 24. Circa One, West Side Story by Leonard Book and lyrics by Eric Idle. performed in cinemas, at Wellington. circa.co.nz Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Music by John Du Prez and Eric various locations including Ace Stephen Sondheim. Whangarei Everything After by Shane Idle. Rotorua Musical Theatre.

Cinemas Rockingham and Oran Theatre Company. The Bosher. Brilliant Adventures. Jul Aug 20 - Sep 4. Casa Blanca Cinemas Albany, Perth.

Riverbank Centre. Jul 16 - 31.

2 - 18. Q Theatre, Auckland.

Theatre. theatre180.com.au or cinema whangareitheatrecompany.org.nz (09) 309 9771. qtheatre.co.nz rotoruamusicaltheatre.co.nz box offices.

The Complete History of Peter Pan and the Medallion’s Palmerston North by Gregory Secret by Alan Cumming.

64 Stage Whispers

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

Reviews

Belvoir’s The Cherry Orchard.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

The Cherry Orchard

By Anton Chekhov. Belvoir St Theatre. May 29 - Jun 27.

CHEKHOV regarded this, his last play, as a comedy; his first director, Stanislavski, thought it a tragedy. True, it is hard to pick the laughs! But they’re in the ironies and sad humour of this household of fallible Russian characters, individuals full of yearning and anxieties about what to do next.

Eamon Flack’s entertaining production takes a different path to this melancholy, choosing instead buffoonery and a languid Aussie tempo.

Ranevskaya returns to her debt-ridden ancestral home and beloved orchard, greeted by her incapable brother Gaev, her daughters and a host of eccentrics (like Lucia Mastrantone as the madly theatrical governess, and Priscilla Doueihy as the perennial student) and other clumsy staff and hangers-on (including Peter Carroll as the ancient servant).

It’s a fresh, very multicultural cast, irrelevant to character mostly but often adding new dimensions. The self-made realty man Lopahkin, who buys the orchard, as played strongly by African Australian Mandela Mathia, suggests not just a backstory of serfdom but also slavery.

Indian Australian Nadia Kammallaweera is also well cast as the frustrated housekeeper Varya.

Pamela Rabe is enigmatic as Ranevskaya, if finally made uncredible by an end which is strangely unmoving; while Keith Robinson’s Gaev, in a wheelchair, is a sentimental delight.

Chekhov gives each character their great and petty crosses to bear, in what should be a moving mosaic of encounters. Here the moments are sometimes underplayed and undervoiced, lacking focus amongst the high jinx across Romainie Harper’s broad featureless stage. For “relevance”, the setting and dress is modern, and the cast spirited and sometimes funny.

Martin Portus Almost, Maine

By John Cariani. Roleystone Theatre. Roleystone Hall, WA. May 14 - 22.

ALMOST, Maine is one of the most frequently performed plays in the United States, but Roleystone Theatre’s production is the Western Australian debut. A gentle, warm little show, the action takes place at 9pm on a cold, slightly surreal winter night, in a mythical “almost” town, called Almost, in Northern Maine.

Topped and tailed by a beautiful prologue and epilogue, the remaining story uses four actors playing multiple roles to tell stories about love and relationships.

Director Kristen Twynam-Perkins used much of the hall space as performance areas, turning the unconventional space to their advantage and meaning that the audience members were often very close to the action, and they adored this quirky, sweet and unexpectedly funny show.

Alan Gill creates some beautifully bizarre characters.

The delightful Ruby McKay made a welcome community theatre debut. Joanna Tyler was excellent throughout, with a series of relatable portrayals that won hearts, while

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 65

Online extras!

Get a taste of MTC’s sexually charged Berlin. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/OE9H0yECf5I

MTC’s Berlin.

Photo: Jeff Busby.

Samuel Addison shone in all scenes. This was an outstanding ensemble who worked superbly as a team.

Paul Treasure, as Pete, was on-stage throughout - a wonderful presence and a well-drawn character, while director Kristen Twynam-Perkins completed the cast in a very nicely placed, sweet cameo.

This show, set in the cold and dark, was perhaps the most heart-warming show you will see this year. Thank you to all involved in bringing us this little gift of a production.

Kimberley Shaw

Tom fall in love - or give way to the enormous attraction they feel for each other. But in the ‘cold light of day’ (beautifully rendered in Niklas Pajanti’s lighting), Tom, joking-but-not-joking, almost begs Charlotte that they run away together, right that minute…

Ms Cummings gives us a fine, nuanced performance.

Charlotte’s aggression-as-defence front crumbles touchingly, but her character’s fierce arguments for how she lives with the Nazi past are compelling, complex, and original - and what gives this play its distinction from others in similar territory.

Mr Wahr has rather the tougher time of it. He must Berlin make us believe in his character and then, when that

By Joanna Murray-Smith. An MTC NEXTSTAGE Original. character is revealed as something else - the characteristic Melbourne Theatre Company. Southbank, The Sumner.

Murray-Smith twist - giving us a decidedly queasy dismay, Apr 17 - May 22. have us still believe. Mr Sinclair’s intuitive staging here TOM (Michael Wahr), an Australian visitor to Berlin, catches in movement Charlotte’s shock and Tom’s has chatted up Berliner Charlotte (Grace Cummings), dominant agenda. This late reveal throws almost all we claiming he has no hotel. She invites him to sleep on her have seen and understood into new jolting perspective. couch. Joanna Murray-Smitch catches the awkward, semi- Ms Murray-Smith does not soften the past and in the flirtatious chat of two young people who were strangers event turns the warmth we have felt to ice. two hours ago. Director Iain Sinclair gives a nervous, Michael Brindley restless mode to Tom and calm if evasive wanderings upstage for Charlotte. When it emerges that Tom is, in Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert The Musical fact, a Jew, and Charlotte covers by making a joke of it,

By Stephen Elliot and Allan Scott. CLOC Music Theatre. we trip over into the meat of the play.

National Theatre, St Kilda. Apr 30 - May 22.

How do a contemporary young German and a TAKING a traditional approach to this iconic musical, contemporary young Jewish Australian think about - and CLOC ensures that the grandeur and extravagance of live with - the past? We are torn between ‘he’s right’ and Priscilla is reproduced, resulting in an effervescent ‘but she’s right too’. Despite their debate, Charlotte and performance. Many of the film’s favourite costuming 66 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

designs are carefully reproduced and electrify the stage.

The large-scale cast, clever use of space and lighting all serve to emphasise the majesty of this production. The detail of the interior of the bus and its contrast with the steely exterior produces a homely air of familiarity. Clever lighting effectively portrays the glamour of Sydney and the isolation of the outback.

The characterisation of the protagonists is also extremely faithful - Bernadette (Lee Threadgold) is cynical and jaded without being heartless, while Felicia/Adam (Daniel Baker) is thoroughly annoying. Baker employs great vocal range and costuming to achieve this. This is balanced by the more subdued and tender Mitzi/Tick (Angel Dolejší). Tick’s relationship with Benji (Jai D’ Alessandro/Thomas Smithers) is especially well-handled.

Dolejší and Smithers take a more subtle approach to the emotions to enhance the fragility and affection in their rapport.

The precision and polish to each number produces a seamless rhythm and the choreography keeps the dancing consistently energetic and enthusiastic. The heart-rending vocals highlight the emotions and fuel the poignancy of the story. The politics of this text may have been ahead of its time when first released as a film in 1994, but this production makes a point of reminding the audience there can be no subtlety in conveying the importance of its message, even today.

Patricia Di Risio

Crazy For You

By George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Ken Ludwig.

WAAPA. Directed by Crispin Taylor. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, WA. June 11 - 17.

WAAPA’s most public showing, the annual “big” musical, was presented at His Majesty’s Theatre. Crazy For You has a classic musical feel that is a great match for this large, ornate venue. Well-polished, with excellent production values, this was a lovely showcase - not only for Musical Theatre students and Music students, but for Production and Design students who shaped this production well.

The show looked gorgeous, thanks to spectacular costume design with a lovely feel for era and character by Elyse McAuliffe. Students dominate the creative team, including production manager Holly Ballam, a stage management team led by Nitya Garesh and excellent sound design by Madison Warnes.

Musical director Tim Cunniffe lead a very strong orchestra - predominantly present WAAPA students.

James MacAlpine headed the cast with a very loveable performance as Bobby Child. He worked beautifully with lovely leading lady Chloe Malek, a sweet Polly Baker. Great work also from the “other woman”, an elegant Amber Scates, and Kyle Hall as Bela Zangler.

It’s impossible to mention everyone in this 40 strong cast, but stand-outs included Tom Lerk’s “bad-boy” Lank Hawkins, Lachlan Obst and Paige Fallu as the travel

CLOC’s Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert The Musical.

Photo: Ben Fon.

Online extras!

Watch CLOC’s Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert Musical sitzprobe. Scan or visit fb.watch/6nxMKPDtWq Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 67

The Street Theatre’s Milk.

Photo: Creswick Collective.

Online extras!

Step into the rehearsal room of The Street Theatre’s Milk. Scan or visit vimeo.com/552747376 writing Fodors, and Gus Noakes as Polly’s father Everett.

Emily Svarnias made the most of brief appearances as ‘Mother’, Juno Sertorio was a lovely Tess, while Sam Maloney, Kyle Colburn and Sammy Allsop were deserved audience favourites, showing great teamwork as the Cowboy Trio.

Choreography from Jayne Smeulders was executed with precision, pizazz and energy which reached the gods.

Sweet and charming, this was a lovely glimpse of Australia’s emerging musicians, theatrical creatives and musical theatre performers.

Kimberley Shaw

that his ancestors suffered, and a deep sense of loss and frustration that he doesn’t know their stories. He is supported by two strong performances from Katie Beckett and Roxanne McDonald. Beckett plays the ghost of the man’s grandmother as she appeared in the 1970s: a freespirit, single, flirty, fun-loving, a “character”. But ultimately she’s pragmatic and strong and routinely hid her First Nations identity as a means to get by in a racist White Australia. For the most part she “passes” as White as a means of survival; when she is found out, she suffers terrible abuse. Playing the man’s great-great grandmother, McDonald gives a flawless performance as a traditional Palawa woman kidnapped in the 1800s and taken to Flinders Island, who was given as a wife to a white sealer then indoctrinated into the church.

Milk

By Dylan Van Den Berg. Directed by Ginny Savage. The All of the characters portray complexity arising from Street, Canberra. World Premiere. Jun 4 - 12. the internal conflict of surviving in two cultures, which then clash with their own individual needs.

200 YEARS of theft - of cultural continuity, land, children, liberty and often lives, each decade bringing a Milk is the first brand new production to come out of new form of oppression - have left generations of The Street’s First Seen program for 2021, developed Indigenous Australians traumatised. Palawa man Dylan initially during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020. That Van Den Berg’s exploration of his culture has resulted in period of development outside the theatre seems to have the play Milk, where the protagonist finds himself on given this play an emphasis on language and voice. The script is musical - the program includes a copy of the Flinders Island and able to ask the spirits of his grandmother and great-grandmother about events that script, and the poetry in the structure of the language. have been hidden from him. Slowly, he becomes aware of There is scope for the delivery to make even more use of stories of hardship and heartbreaking tragedy. the lovely rhythmic beats present in the language of the Van Den Berg plays a confused young man struggling script but director Ginny Savage has chosen a more naturalistic approach. to reconcile the White and Palawa parts of himself, expressing both guilt at having escaped the discrimination 68 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Milk is an important, beautifully written play that well deserved the NSW Premier’s Literary Award that it won this year.

Catherine Bannister Buy now from Stage Whispers Books: bit.ly/35UemKD The Hello Girls Music and lyrics by Peter Mills, with book by Mills and Cara Reichel. The Therry Dramatic Society. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. Jun 2 - 12.

THE Hello Girls is based on the true history (HERstory) of America’s first women soldiers.

Upon the first notes of this two act musical, also blessed with some great dialogue, it was clear that very capable artists were involved - the singing was mostly professional-level, the exacting dialogue was delivered brilliantly and the songs are all excellent. Throughout, the cast performed with a total commitment to excellence, and very few tonal slip ups. The orchestrations worked beautifully and the live band was a welcome success. All the characters were important within the story and each performer gave much, whether in moments of subtle humour or during an aura of sadness, both in song and spoken text.

All in all, The Hello Girls was well worth seeing - solid direction and choreography in a contemporary musical with a dream cast, a very professional production and an Australian premiere. Bravo to all concerned!

Lisa Lanzi

The Lifespan Of A Fact

By Gordon Farrell and Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell.

Based on the non-fiction book by Jim Fingal & John D’Agata. Melbourne Theatre Company. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. May 15 - Jul 3.

A CRACKLING three-hander comedy that goes much deeper than ‘funny’. Emily Penrose (Nadine Garner), editor of an up-market New York literary magazine, assigns intern Jim Fingal (Karl Richmond) to fact-check an essay by esteemed writer John D’Agata (Steve Mouzakis).

We soon realise that Jim will go all the way out on an obsessive limb in defence of ‘fact’. The piece to be checked runs to 15 pages; Jim’s fact check runs to 130.

Some of John’s ‘facts’ are not ‘factual’: some bricks are brown, not red; something happened ‘near’ a building, not ‘at’ it, and so on. John D’Agata is adamant about the poetry and rhythm of his prose and insists that his piece ‘What Happens There’, about a teenage suicide in Las Vegas, is an ‘essay’ not an ‘article’ - that is, not journalism. We can understand - and sympathise with John’s intentions - even if he is precious and arrogant. But we must acknowledge Jim’s sense of responsibility to the readers - even if Jim is maddeningly irritating and literalminded.

Andrew Bailey’s design shows Emily’s office in New York, all uncluttered glass and metal, while John’s house is shabby and dated with ugly furniture. Paul Lim’s lighting emphasises the contrast, and Kat Cham’s costumes show us Emily’s New Yorker style, John’s daggy

MTC’s The Lifespan Of A Fact.

Photo: Jeff Busby.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 69

Ensemble Theatre’s The Woman In Black.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Online extras!

Experience Ensemble Theatre’s spinetingling The Woman In Black. youtu.be/LOpwQmKJsKc careless writer, and Jim’s millennial just-outa-college jeans -and-sneakers for all occasions.

Petra Kalive never allows debate to dominate: she and the cast give us physical comedy entirely in keeping with characters and text. Nadine Garner makes the most of a largely functional role, but when she exerts a commanding authority, we are thrown back in our seats.

Steve Mouzakis gives us a John D’Agata irritably astonished at being questioned and then enraged. As for Karl Richmond, whose debut with the MTC this is, his Jim Fingal is a wonderful, sustained performance. With perfect comic timing, he generates an essential ambivalence in the audience.

Some may be disappointed in the lack of ‘resolution’ but how could there be one? The ‘truth’ that John D’Agata went after is that some people died - and that is a fact.

Michael Brindley The Woman In Black

By Susan Hill and Stephen Mallatratt. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Director: Mark Kilmurry. Jun 11 - Jul 24.

UNDER the banner ‘West End Thriller’ comes this new production of Stephen Mallatratt’s excellent two-man, one-ghost stage version of Susan Hill’s supremely spooky novel The Woman in Black. Opening in the West End’s Fortune Theatre in 1989, it has been running (with COVID -19 exceptions) and frightening audiences there ever since. Only Agatha Christie’s elderly The Mousetrap beats it.

70 Stage Whispers

‘It was 9.30 on Christmas Eve’, begins the story as retired solicitor Arthur Kipps (Jamie Oxenbould) engages a young actor (Garth Holcombe) to coach him on how to deliver an account he has written of his weird experiences as a younger man. His zero theatrical knowledge and clumsy delivery would seem to be a block on getting the work to be better known, but when the two men decide to swap roles they are soon underway. In a flash old Kipps becomes an expert player of a whole range of parts.

Now we have unexplained shrieks, galloping horses, impenetrable mists, a running dog, screams of a young child and woman - and the first of several appearances of the mute and mysterious Woman in Black. Oxenbould and Holcombe have a high old time with this ripe material.

The story is ideal material for the Ensemble crew and, lead by director Mark Kilmurry, they attack it with glee. A top team of Lighting (Trudy Dalgleigh) and Sound Designer (Michael Waters) deliver the unearthly goods in no uncertain manner.

Frank Hatherley Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Book by Douglas McGrath. Music by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. Blackout Theatre Company. Director: Jordan Anderson. Musical Director: Koren Beale. Pioneer Theatre Castle Hill. May 7 - 16.

BEAUTIFUL - The Carole King Musical covers over half a century of musical styles, song writers and singers. In late 2019 Blackout Theatre Company began production of this

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

difficult musical - then waited patiently for pandemic restrictions to lift before finally bringing Sydney’s first amateur production of Beautiful to the stage - with Elisa Vitagliani in the leading role.

Director Jordan Anderson describes Vitagliani, as “incomparable” and she certainly lives up to his description. She personifies the warmth that is so characteristic of King and her music, as well as embodying King’s vocal strength, range, energy and sincerity.

Christopher Melotti plays King’s lyricist husband Gerry Goffin, taking Goffin from a cocky teenager, to a troubled depressive who forsakes his wife and family. Fellow musical pair, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann are played by Fiona Brennan and Timothy Drummond, who highlight the humour that has been written into the roles.

Donnie Kirschner - music publisher and rock music producer - is played with restrained energy by Anthony Chester. Jodie Thornton plays King’s very supportive mother, Genie Klein, with bubbly energy.

They are supported by a strong cast who sing and dance with vibrant enthusiasm - and a twelve piece band skilfully conducted by Lindsay Kaul. The backstage crew work just as hard - organising 28 performers, 150 costume changes, 40 wigs and 130 props.

Blackout Theatre Company production is yet another example of the artistic heart that beats so strongly in western Sydney.

Carol Wimmer

Taming Of The Shrew

By William Shakespeare. Queensland Theatre (QT), Brisbane. Directed by Damien Ryan. May 13 - Jun 5.

DAMIEN Ryan’s Taming of the Shrew provides audiences with a delightfully funny play that pulls out all the stops - from slapstick pratfalls to sitcom smarts.

Placing his Padua in an Italian silent film set of the 1920s gives the audience the visual feast they deserve after a year away from the playhouses. The showcase of sophisticated stagecraft provides a playground for his performers, with rolling struts, platforms and ladders extending into the audience, plus projection screens to add to the fun. This is all courtesy of superb design realisation by Adam Gardnir, backed up by a witty and smart sound design by Tony Brumpton - that includes low -flying Tiger Moths, rolling seas, and film premiere flash bulbs, all amidst a jazz-era soundtrack - and pristine lighting design by Jason Glenwright.

This play is populated by some of our freshest talent, in a strong ensemble cast, supported by an exclusive club of our strongest character performers, including Bryan Probets, John McNeill, Barbara Lowing, Wendy Mocke and Leon Cain, who steals all his scenes.

In the leads, Anna McGahan is a feisty and modern Kate with a penchant for aviation, matched in her need to travel to greater heights by Nicholas Brown’s Petruchio, who envisions himself as a great sea-faring explorer. Both actors emit the right energy for these restless souls.

Patrick Jhanur (Lucentio) and David Soncin (Hortensio)

Online extras!

QT’s Taming Of The Shrew.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Watch a trailer of QT’s Taming Of The Shrew, or stream the whole production. youtu.be/jegwNm7MXsg Stage Whispers 71

State Theatre Company SA’s The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race.

Photo: Matt Byrne.

Online extras!

Watch a trailer for The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/XEguEnCFS18 play the charming suitors to the hilt, and both have a fabulously entertaining stage presence.

As the other Minola sister, Bianca, Claudia Ware has a strong stage presence, and an amazing sideline in Flamenco! The sister act is taken one step further with Ellen Bailey playing ‘Tania’, a new take on Tranio, in a gender-shifting charade that I think Shakespeare would have gladly sanctioned.

Beth Keehn

Nikki, with boundless energy (her commentary and lively rugby spectating scene are worth the cost of the ticket).

Bev, the main organiser of the Potato Race, is ill, overburdened, and in denial in a well-developed characterization by Carmel Johnson. New to the town, we have Rania, played perceptively by Susie Youssef, referring to herself as the ‘token’ multi-cultural element in the town.

The set, designed by Kathryn Sproul and constructed by the State Theatre Company, is a masterpiece of clever The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race mini sets, all of which emerge from what initially looks like

By Melanie Tait. State Theatre Company SA. Royalty a galvanised iron country shed wall. Sound is well Theatre. Jun 4 - 19. balanced, with excellent, well placed lighting playing an BASED on an annual race held in Robertson, NSW - an important part in each of the smaller scenes in particular. exclusively male event until 1988 - each character in this Jude Hines 90-minute play grapples differently with the unequal prize Buy now from Stage Whispers Books: bit.ly/2U7t929 money and, ultimately, the deeper issues women still face today. Elena Carapetis directs this warm, funny, and A German Life energetic romp, featuring five very different women who By Christopher Hampton. Starring Robyn Nevin. John Frost come together and change history in this ‘typical’ country for The Gordon Frost Organisation. Directed by Neil town.

Armfield. Canberra Theatre Centre. May 11 - 16, and Dr. Penny Anderson, a returning lesbian hometown touring girl, is played passionately by Anna Steen. She doggedly AS a young woman in the mid-1930s, the naive and mounts a challenge to the status quo in a town where, apolitical Brunhilde Pomsel found herself seconded to the from childhood, she has been less than welcome. The Department of Propaganda to work as a secretary for ‘dark horse’ is Barb, who initially appears excited and Joseph Goebbels. She went on to live to 106 and was one unswervingly cheerful about everything. Enthusiastically of the last people alive who had seen inside the Nazi played by Genevieve Mooy, her reflection on being machine, right to the terrible end. A documentary team marginalised in a small town is beautifully and sensitively interviewed her in 2012 and Christopher Hampton’s script drawn. Sarah Brokensha plays the women’s race favourite, is based on these recordings.

72 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Under Neil Armfield’s direction, Robyn Nevin has created Brunhilde with superb precision. Brunhilde’s joints may be stiffened with arthritis but she is always moving and clearly determined to be self-sufficient as far as she is able. Her slow and painful stoop to pick up a dropped tissue, and her fastidiousness in slowly and painfully wrapping a grape seed in a tissue before throwing it in a bin and then gingerly shuffling to a chair before settling on it lopsidedly, show a woman determined to stay dignified and in control as far as possible. Periodically in her story, Brunhilde comes to what is clearly distressing emotion, and then she falls into silence, holding her head and closing her eyes. At this point projections of film of the subject she’d been talking about appears on the walls of the room as though they were a flood of traumatic memory.

This design is meticulously crafted. Not trusting the idiosyncrasies of different theatres, the team has brought their own lighting rig to ensure not a beam is out of place. The effect is an exquisite realism: the room is constantly and extremely subtly changing mood via lighting through the net curtains, sometimes becoming duller as presumably clouds pass, later illuminating Brunhilde’s face with direct harsher light as the afternoon draws on. The set is a lovingly recreated nursing home room which anyone with a loved one in aged care will immediately recognise. The sound design and music are

no less flawless, with Catherine Finnis’ solo cello amplifying the sombre and intense mood.

Perhaps this isn’t a new story, but it is worthwhile to be reminded of how everyday people are drawn into evil, especially now that literal Nazism is regaining popularity.

Neil Armfield and Robyn Nevin are theatre aristocracy needing no introduction, and this play lives up to their reputation. This play is nothing short of sheer perfection.

Cathy Bannister We’ll Always Have Paris

By Jill Hyem. Adelaide Repertory Theatre. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. Jun 17 - 26.

NOT even the wrath of the elements could dampen the enthusiasm and warmth of the Adelaide Repertory Theatre’s latest production of We’ll Always Have Paris!

Set in a sixth-floor Paris apartment, the play tells the story of three friends, all from different backgrounds and all wanting to escape England and ‘live’.

Director Norm Caddick has made full use of set designer Brittany Daw’s spacious Parisian apartment.

Caddick gives the play the appropriate ebb and flow of pace as the story develops, while ensuring that the characters are fully rounded.

Deb Walsh’s Nancy is the glue that holds the play together. Her hysterical attempts at the lotus position while wearing a moonboot have to be seen to be believed.

Adelaide Repertory Theatre’s We’ll Always Have Paris.

Photo: Richard Parkhill.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 73

Hans at Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2021.

Photo: Claudio Raschella.

Online extras!

Hans sings with Alan Cumming at the 2021 Adelaide Cabaret Festival Gala. youtu.be/7zwL7-jaBWE The development of Lindy LeCornu’s Anna from a timid mouse of a person to a confident independent woman is a wonderful piece of acting.

Peter Davies’ Charlot is the ultimate lovable rogue. His presence pervades the play and he’s totally believable.

Sue Wylie’s Raquel is the quintessential cougar, with killer shoes! Her recount of her five marriages should be required listening for any marriage guidance counsellor.

Vicky Horwood’s Madam Boussiron is brusqueness personified, with a perfect French accent, a stylish wardrobe and a secret that is not discovered until act two.

There were a couple of opening night hesitancies, however these were probably caused by the actors having to project over the loud distraction of the rain on the roof of the theatre.

We’ll Always Have Paris is the ultimate feel-good play.

It is refreshing to see a play that features three women of a ‘certain age’ as the protagonists. It explores friendship, a touch of romance and of course celebrates everything that is French!

Barry Hill 74 Stage Whispers

Watchlist

By Alex Vickery-Howe. South Australian Playwrights Theatre. Bakehouse Theatre. Jun 2 - 12.

BASIL Pepper would have been a beagle had his mother had her way. Instead he paints fantasy figurines, until he meets Delia at his father’s funeral. She fills his head, he sleeps in her bed, and now he’s full of ideas and action.

Alex Vickery-Howe wrote this dark comedic tale after yet another year of terrible bushfires, but before the pandemic - which is prophetic, given where the narrative goes. Director Lisa Harper Campbell guides the great cast around her own stage design: an almond shaped boundary of red gum bark chips: an eye, containing Delia’s world of action within - everyone else’s apathy outside. Delia is the only one really looking at the world and the one being looked at.

Katherine Sortini’s Delia is captivating; she conveys the passion, determination, and uncompromising commitment to the cause. Gianluca Noble is Basil, the boy without a fight or a thought, who grows into what his mother feared. Eddie Morrison is Basil’s friend, Roger; he

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

is us, the audience, selectively informed and doing just enough to make us feel comfortable.

Katie O’Reilly is Marie, Basil’s mum - sardonic and mostly given up on whatever she believed in. Matt Hawkins is the other darkness, as Norman, the ‘agent’ who operates outside of the system, bringing comedy and fear.

The ‘boy meets girl’ narrative turns from comedy to politics and back again so easily, yet it’s not satire; it’s a frustrated tale of the state of the world that signals virtue but actions nothing important. It’s a call to arms, to be captivated by the planet as much as Basil and Delia are by each other - in her words, ‘I wasn’t supposed to like you this much’.

Mark Wickett The Variety Gala Adelaide Cabaret. Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. Jun 11.

DESCRIBED by Artistic Director Alan Cumming as a ‘smorgasbord of talent’, the Cabaret Festival opening event, The Variety Gala, may be equally well described as a Forrest Gump glamorous ‘box of chocolates’ or the exciting array of Christmas parcels under the tree that we cannot wait to open and enjoy.

Directed by Mitchell Butel and hosted by Adelaide’s ‘king of sequins’, Hans, the event gave tantalizing tastes, some sweet, some nutty and all that left you wanting more. Each with its unique ‘wrapping’, we were treated to both new and old Cabaret Festival stars including Alan Cumming, Meow Meow, Paul Capsis, Brendan Maclean, Trevor Ashley, Bob Downe and Anne Wills, James Galea, Michael Griffiths, Amber Martin, The Sisters of Invention, Mama Alto, Steph Tisdell and Jan van de Stool.

There was razzle, dazzle, clever, and also cheap laughs, and a real sense of Adelaide celebrating the opening of one of its most beloved festivals. In COVID times, Cumming drew on almost exclusively Australian performers and this did not dampen the gravitas of this three hour show.

The band, under the musical direction of Mark Simeon Ferguson provided a perfect accompaniment. The set, a 40’s style glamorous club, a backdrop with suspended chandeliers on ruched curtaining provided a ‘nod’ to Cumming’s club, one of the much anticipated features of this festival. At each of several gold topped tables were the night’s celebrity performers.

Host Hans twinkled and spangled his heart out, chatting to the audience, planting inuendos and blatantly strong language that would make a sailor twitch, but the audience adored him and he was a fitting host for this prestigious event.

The Variety Gala was a clear indication to Adelaide theatre-goers that they should dust off their suits, fluff up their faux furs and prepare themselves for a fabulous festival featuring shows of many genres and full of glittering talent.

Jude Hines

PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2021. VOLUME 30, NUMBER 3 ABN 71 129 358 710 ISSN 1321 5965

All correspondence to: The Editor, Stage Whispers, P.O. Box 2274, Rose Bay North 2030, New South Wales.

Telephone: (03) 9758 4522 Advertising: stagews@stagewhispers.com.au Editorial: neil@stagewhispers.com.au PRINTED BY: Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville, 2204.

PUBLISHED BY: Stage Whispers.

PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION & DESIGN BY: PJTonline Solutions. pjtonline@pjtonline.com DISTRIBUTED BY: Gordon & Gotch, 25-37 Huntingdale Road, Burwood, 3125.

DEADLINES For inclusion in the next edition, please submit articles, company notes and advertisements to Stage Whispers by August 14th, 2021.

SUBSCRIPTION Prices are $39.50 for 6 editions in Australia and $60AUD elsewhere. Overseas Surface Mail (Airmail by special arrangement). Overseas subscribers please send bank draft in Australian currency. Maximum suggested retail is $6.95 including GST. Address of all subscription correspondence to above address. When moving, advise us immediately of your old and new address in order to avoid lost or delayed copies.

FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS Are welcomed by this magazine and all articles should be addressed to Stage Whispers at the above address. The Publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material. Black and white or colour photographs are suitable for production.

DISCLAIMER All expressions of opinion in Stage Whispers are published on the basis that they reflect the personal opinion of the authors and as such are not to be taken as expressing the official opinion of The Publishers unless expressly so stated. Stage Whispers accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any opinion or information contained in this magazine.

LIMITED BACK COPIES AVAILABLE. ADVERTISERS We accept no responsibility for material submitted that does not comply with the Trade Practices Act. CAST & CREW Editor: Neil Litchfield 0438 938 064 Sub-editor: David Spicer Advertising: Angela Thompson 03 9758 4522 Layout, design & production: Phillip Tyson 0414 781 008 Contributors: Cathy Bannister, Anne Blythe-Cooper, Mel Bobbermien, Michael Brindley, Rose Cooper, Kerry Cooper, Ken Cotterill, Bill Davies, Coral Drouyn, Jenny Fewster, Graham Ford, Peter Gotting, Frank Hatherley, Jude Hines, John P. Harvey, Barry Hill, Tony Knight, Neil Litchfield, Ken Longworth, Kiesten Mcauley, Rachel McGrath-Kerr, Roger McKenzie, Peter Novakovich, Peter Pinne, Martin Portus, Sally Putnam, Suzanne Sandow, Kimberley Shaw, David Spicer, Anthony Vawser, Carol Wimmer, Mark Wickett and Beth Keehn.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 75

Musical Spice

Musicals & Plays Mishaps Front row members of the audience attending American Psycho the Musical at the Sydney Opera House had an unplanned immersive theatre experience when they copped a spray of stage blood during a preview performance in June.

Avid theatregoer Louis Vella told Stage Whispers he was “splattered”, although the show’s producer described it as more of a “sprinkle.”

“The shower curtain, instead of going up behind the actor, went in front. This caused a malfunction. It was everywhere. The lady next to me said we have blood all over us,” said Vella.

The mishap caused a delay during the interval as staff had to clean all the blood off the seats. The victims later had their dry cleaning paid for.

Vella, an avid Stage Whispers subscriber laughed it off and the report was one of the most popular items on our Facebook page. It prompted many reports of (harmless) mishaps ranging from swords flying into the audience, to a popping champagne cork hitting an audience member in the head.

Pamela Smith: A smoke machine under the stage during a performance of The Tempest at New Fortune outdoor theatre looked fabulous but attracted the attention of the police helicopter. It hovered overhead during the play’s quietest moment. The first line after the chopper finally pissed off? “Upon mine honour, sir, I heard a humming, and that a strange one too, which did awake me.”

Yvette Drager Wetherilt: During Babes in the Wood, where the two Babes are “asleep”, a friendly possum decided to relieve itself all over a child. Little trouper stayed “asleep” in the now very wet and smelly costume until intermission when there was a quick wash and dry ready for act two.

Neil Litchfield: I recall a during a production of The Pirates Of Penzance when a chorus member, dissatisfied 76 Stage Whispers July 2021 - August 2021

with his fake sword decided to bring his real one on stage, while during a production of Half a Sixpence, the ‘photographer’ in the ‘Flash Bang Wallop’ scene used too much powder in his flash pan and burnt off his facial hair.

Tim Bradshaw: During The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, one scene required the telephone to ring.

Unfortunately someone had mixed up the SFX CDs and, instead, we got “woman moaning”. A quick-thinking techie grabbed the mic and said, “ring ring, ring ring”. I’d love to say “and nobody was any the wiser”, but it was pretty bloody obvious.

Don Ezard: At an STC production of Abelard & Eloise, during a blackout we heard a heavy thump as an actor fell off the stage and scrambled to her feet. Our concern soon turned to laughter. A line in the play was about why one of the sisters was late to morning prayer. “Sister Jeanne had fallen previously and had broken her leg” announced another nun, at which point the entire cast “went up” with hilarious laughter, stopping the show for a few minutes.

Ben Elton’s Comedy Tour Almost everything went right for comedian Ben Elton - who crisscrossed Australia and New Zealand staying one step ahead of every lockdown - up until his last gig in Melbourne, which has been rescheduled to August.

I found his shtick so funny that it almost caused a rupture.

Along the way he found time to meet and greet four casts staging We Will Rock You in Bendigo, Ballarat, Brisbane and Dunedin.

He’s pictured here with the crew from Harvest Rain Theatre preparing for their arena tour of Australia kicking off in October.

David Spicer

STC’s American Psycho The Musical.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Read scripts, listen to music and order free catalogue at: davidspicer.com.au david@davidspicer.com (02) 9371 8458

Our Most Popular Musicals

NEW NEW

The Magic Pudding

NEW

Cruisin’ The Musical

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 1