William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs review

In their latest production, Ghostlight League bring the worlds of William Shakespeare and Quentin Tarantino together with William Shakespeare's Reservoir Dogs. It's not a combination you would normally expect, but this retelling of one of Tarantino's best movies moved into the Victorian era is thoughtfully composed with a few surprises along the way.

Steven Hopley has done wonderful work in "translating" Tarantino's script, with notable scenes cleverly but accurately recreated to great effect. The opening scene where the group discuss Madonna and "Like A Virgin" appropriately sets the tone and the accompaniment of a live band playing period specific covers of the film's soundtrack enhances both genres.

Linda (for one more week) review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Linda is dead. Except she shouldn't be. There's been an administrative stuff up and she's actually one week early. So, she is sent back to Earth. For seven more days, in which Linda decides to throw caution to the wind, quit her job at Harris & Ford, and book herself onto a cruise. What's the worst that could happen? While we never meet Linda in Linda (for one more week), we instead witness the interactions and stories of various people on board the Anders & Cooper cruise ship.

Andy Balloch and Justin Porter perform as all the characters, ranging from a frustrated magician and his assistant, to lifeguards yearning for something more, to wellness workers with big aspirations. The sketches are self-contained but gradually they become to intertwine and cross paths with others which leads to some interesting narrative threads. This also means quick costume changes for Balloch and Porter, as well as switches in movement and voice work, which they seamlessly accomplish, until they start having perhaps too much of a good time.

Running into the Sun review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Before starting my review of Running into the Sun, I want to express how exciting it is that Nadiyah Akbar and Ben Ashby have relocated from Wellington to Melbourne and brought their dance and physical theatre company a2 Company with them, because we are going to be in for some amazing treats. It's actually a challenge to write a review that will do this show justice as there is so much to see, hear, think and feel, as this nine person ensemble take to the stage and through music, projections, movement, song and scripted scenes, explore how fucked up the world is while simultaneously leaving you feeling joyful and warm.

Global Smash Club review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

My first foray into the world of Finucane & Smith was way back in 2010 with Carnival of Mysteries. I remember the sense of awe and excitement as I wondered from room to room, seeing what magic I would come across. In the 14 years following, Finucane & Smith have consistently put on incredible productions that focus on love, joy, connection and community. Their most recent one, presented alongside the Melbourne Fringe Festival, is Global Smash Club, which is also celebrating twenty years of Finucane & Smith. Twenty years of this dynamic duo giving their all, not only to their audience, but to the countless artists they have provided opportunities to allow their "voices" to be heard.

In Global Smash Club, an array of Finucane & Smith living legends come together through musical numbers, burlesque, dance and live art. It's a combination of old and new but with the structure and style of Global Smash Club, even previously seen acts retain their intensity, innovation and exhilaration.

Burlesque and performance artist Imogen Kelly dazzles in a routine that might involve the most impractical dress ever, but as a prop it is simply divine to watch how it’s used and guides their choreography. Maude Davey’s cover of The Angels' "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" is always going to hold a special place in my performing arts heart and seeing her do it again is a pure delight. The rest of the Finucane & Smith family, including Yumi Umiumare, Mama Alto, Zitao Deng, Xiao Xiao, Iva Rosebud, Piera Dennerstein and Kate Foster, captivate us in their respective acts and roles, and the sheer stage presence they possess as they move around the room and interact with each other and audience members is remarkable.

Prune review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Prune has such an absurd premise that it makes for the perfect Fringe Festival fodder. Written and directed by Isabelle Carney and Pat Mooney, Prune tells the story of a woman called Prune, who one day takes a bath and decides to not leave. Despite her family’s best efforts to get her out of the water, she refuses to budge. She likes it there.

Cue squabbling siblings, each with their own secrets, a husband who’s not sure what to do and a fumbling doctor with questionable skills and morals and suddenly Prune seems like the sane one. Maybe she knows something we don’t?

The casting is top tier with Hannah Camilleri, Oliver Coleman, Jason Geary and Jennifer Vuletic playing this highly dysfunctional family. Camilleri and Coleman bring excellent physicality, particularly Coleman as the anxious milk-drinking Chip. Camilleri is the easily agitated daughter who doesn’t appreciate being kept in the dark about her family’s issues while doing the same to them. She’s not necessarily an unlikeable character but Camilleri allows her to be more than just angry and shouting.

Sugar review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

We all yearn to be pampered with love, affection and clothes, even if we have to literally work for it. In Sugar we are introduced to the seductive world of sugar babies and daddies and what happens when one person may have bitten off more than they can chew.

Written by Ro Bright, our protagonist, Sugar (Tomáš Kantor), takes us on the tumultuous adventure of becoming a sugar baby and the precarious relationship between their new-found daddy, Richard. It sounds like the perfect recipe for a cabaret, but the script is unable to deliver the drama or excitement that is expected, and we end up with a cursory exploration of Sugar’s journey and self-realisation in this world.

Hit n Hope: A Character Cabaret review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

From its opening moments, Hit n Hope: A Character Cabaret is utterly ridiculous. Ridiculously hilarious. When they venture out into the audience and ask us "what kind of fish are you?" you just know you're going to be in for an incredibly riotous time with Sugar Bits (Nicola Pohl, Tessa Luminati and Stephanie Beza).

The three performers present various sketches on the male douche bags out there. It's a strong feminist show but with a sharp eye for comedy value and cleverly conveying just how impossibly foolish - and dangerous - men can be.

Even with audience participation, they create a safe environment for all. Their engagement, responsiveness and re-activeness to what is said and done in the crowd - even when they're not seeking anything - is very impressive. And it's the small things that make a huge difference. When someone awkwardly mumbles "oh my god I hate this", Pohl lets it hang in the air and plays with the silence and what has been said.

The Last Song review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

In The Last Song, the world ending is no longer a concept but a reality. For two childhood friends, George and Ollie, it means honouring a long-held pact to spend their last day on Earth together. With alcohol, candy and a local radio station counting down to the ultimate last song, secrets and grudges are revealed that could make this end of the world pale in comparison.

The performances are quite entertaining, with Chloe Towan and Kim Devitt finding exciting chemistry and constantly keeping each other’s character on their toes. Devitt has plenty of fun as the carefree and outrageous Ollie with Towan playing a complementary contrast to Ollie as the straight and narrow George. The little bit of improv that occurs, is a fitting indicator of the confidence the two have with their characters and with each other.

Where the production comes unstuck is with Towan’s script which is missing dramatic tension, and it’s mainly because these two adults are still clinging to things that happened when they were in school. A lot of what the two friends share doesn’t include the other person and you can’t help but wonder if The Last Song would work better if it were between George and her fiancé or her mother where the stakes are higher.

Locus review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

There’s something enticing about a show that will only reveal its location once you are at the designated meeting point. Locus is one of those shows, where a group of 30 people gather next to a car repair shop to begin their journey into the unknown.

We are greeted by one of our three hosts - Lawrence Leung, Vyom Sharma and Dom Chambers – and asked to select a numbered lanyard from 1 – 30 and a word from the 70 in a bowl that speaks to us and hide it inside our lanyard. During this introduction, one door closes and another one opens to a whole new world. Illusion meets reality and the scene for the rest of evening is set.

From here on, we are all known by our lanyards, I am number 9. Our hosts are L1, L2 and L3. This anonymity allows us to shed the shackles of our lives and enter the space with an open mind. The magic and illusions that the three perform are utterly baffling and mind-blowing. There are obviously logical reasons as to how these are executed – and I desperately want to know – but in the moment, you can’t help but believe. At one point we are invited to grab our phones and record the magic while our eyes are closed. Watching back the footage leaves me gobsmacked.

Ballkids (or, scenes from a friendship) review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Are there many of us who have maintained a friendship for over twenty years? Are there any of us who have held onto a best friend for over twenty years? In Liv Satchell's Ballkids (or, scenes from a friendship) we follow two people from the age of 13 at a ballkids training session for the Australian Open and how this fateful encounter would change Holly and Sam's lives.



I've said it constantly over the years, and I will continue to say it: it is just a matter of time until big things come to Izabella Yena. An immensely charismatic performer who consistently gives herself over to her characters and she is all aces as Sam. What seems like a straightforward role, Yena turns into an extremely layered and sensitive portrayal. Similarly, Michelle McCowage shows growth and development as Holly and skilfully uses moments from Holly's past to shape the person on stage. The two together display wonderful rapport with each other and you can see how they have found a deep connection between these two characters and share it with everyone in the room.



Seen & Heard review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

It's been almost ten years since Rebecca Church debuted Seen & Heard - a variety show which gives voices to performers who do not have the opportunity to often speak due to their chosen careers. Think circus and burlesque performers, drag queens and sex workers. In this format, these people share personal stories that surprise, entertain and inform us as to who the person behind the persona is. After a six-year gap, the show returns to Melbourne Fringe for a new season, new storytellers and new stories under the direction of Church.

Wes Snelling is our host for the evening and he does a wonderful job of making sure this mixed bag of misfits stay on track. Of course, Snelling's alter ego Tina del Twist is a different story, causing a ruckus in the audience with her fishbowl of wine. Snelling's recount of his Rock Eisteddfod dreams is quite affecting and a reminder that no one puts Wes in the corner and there is no such thing as a small role.



Lazy Susan, recently announced as a cast member in the upcoming season of Drag Race Down Under, is a sheer delight as she discusses the reality of getting old and whether Botox is the way to go. This has Lazy Susan recalling how much she has pushed herself to achieve drag success and how her mother's cancer diagnosis impacted one of the biggest successes of her career. These performers are always so fierce and in control on stage and you can be caught off guard seeing them be genuinely vulnerable and emotional.

Con 2077 review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

It’s the year 2077 and it’s been fifty years since a meteor wiped out every comedian on earth. Every single one. Except one. Con Coutis. And he is humanities last hope. Woken up from a cryosleep, Con must now try and rediscover the hidden artform known as “the joke” and save the world. Intense stuff. Fortunately, Coutis easily finds the humour in such a dire situation resulting in plenty of laughs with Con 2077.

The show begins with a bit of straightforward stand-up with Coutis discussing his recent move to Brunswick but his quirkiness and the true nature of Con 2077 gradually begins to come through. The further we get into this epic adventure, the more out there the acts become. Despite such high stakes – the world will never laugh again! – Coutis keeps the tone and pace calm and allows time for his jokes to breathe. The way he can simultaneously go big but stay small is quite an achievement.

Coutis’ warmth and openness allows him to quickly build rapport with his audience. The playful audience participation, which happens from the safety of your seat, feels like you’re having a silly time with a friend.

Con 2077 is overflowing with impressive lighting and sound cues – including some unique voice recordings past Con makes for future Con to discover – and while there are a few gaffes here and there, Coutis smoothly incorporates them into the story and elicits even more laughter than planned.

A Scary Thing Happened By The CAMPFIRE review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Where do men go to become better men? Camping of course. In circus show A Scary Thing Happened By The CAMPFIRE, two mates go bush not knowing they are being stalked by a forest dwelling creature. Escaping the beast proves more difficult than it sounds, as it may involve them talking to each other about ... their feelings.

The show is co-created by Alonso Pineda, Samuel Boyd, Louis Green and Griffin Hooper, with Pineda and Boyd serving as directors and Green and Hooper as performers. As circus, it is very entertaining and recent NICA graduates Green and Hooper display great skill in their paired acrobatics as well as their solo routines. There are a few wobbles here and there, but seeing them work through them and eventually execute them is where the excitement of circus comes from.

The idea of two men going camping and having to deal with their emotions and talk to each other through horror circus is an extremely interesting one but unfortunately this is where the show misses the mark. A stronger narrative is needed to bring this together as it is too abstract and vague in its current form, especially the conclusion which is quite muddled and confusing as to how we've reached this ending.

Assigned Magician at Birth review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

We all have a part of ourselves we don’t present to the outside world, the secret self that we don't want anyone to know about. Tricksy Collins has been doing that for many years. She has been an award-winning comedian but … also a professional magician. Quelle Horreur!!! But she’s ready now to publicly embrace the title of magician and in Assigned Magician at Birth, she talks about the magic community and the challenges of trying to fit in when something is not quite right.

Collins is completely in her element and while there are some nerves apparent in the opening moments, her rapport with the audience quickly has them onside and she begins to enjoy herself with her acts and her audience even more so.

This Is The Dust We're In review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Goodness, This Is The Dust We're In is an absolutely delightful show. Hot Lunch research and investigate existing stories and narratives, and in this production, they have turned their heads to Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, referred to as "the most famous Australian play ever written", with its exploration of growing up, gender norms, masculinity and idealisation vs. reality. It’s a lot to unpack in an hour, but Hot Lunch make use of every second to cover this and then some.

Written, developed and performed by Delta Brooks, Rebekah Carton, Thomas Richards and Henry Kelly, the quartet present their analysis in three parts: Nostalgia, Growing Up and Dreams vs Reality. Themes, characters and passages are utilised from the text liberally and loosely that allows Hot Lunch to place their own interpretation of how we can come to understand such an influential text.

I Hope This Means Something review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

I Hope This Means Something is Patrick Livesey's latest solo performance and boy, have they come a long way since their debut solo work, The Boy, George, from all the way back in 2018. Livesey plays a young activist Corinthian whose move to Melbourne for a job with an environmental NGO sets in motion their downward spiral into saving the planet from its biggest threat, climate change.

Livesey delivers a fantastic performance as Corinthian. Their gradual transformation into a zealous climate activist is evident and you can see how their physicality, facial expressions and speech begin to change, begin to be more frenetic and impassioned. Further to this, Livesey takes on the roles of all the other people in Corinthian's life, including their mother, work colleagues and grindr hook ups, and for the most part, they give equally authentic portrayals to these people as they do to Corinthian.

Victory Lap review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Victory Lap is a semi-autobiographical one-person show by Mashaka Gunnulson that gently and sensitively explores mental health and suicide with a nostalgic look at friendships gone by, and what saying goodbye feels like.

This is a meditative tale where not much happens on stage but plenty takes place in our minds through Gunnulson's descriptive language and the vivid imagery it conjures. One particular scene where a character is visiting a morgue paints a highly detailed picture of what is being seen, heard and smelt. Their direction of Adam Marks as Billy is minimal yet considered as it allows the performance to be in tune with the tone of the story.

Kinder review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Drag Queen extraordinaire Goody Prostrate is getting ready for a scandalous night out, but a misunderstanding has them realising they are performing drag storytime for children and not an adult-themed drag show. With the clock ticking, Goody needs to come up with something appropriate, and fast. Written by Ryan Stewart who also delivers a sensational performance as Goody, Kinder opens the conversation on the politics surrounding children and queerness.

Stewart is incredibly passionate and committed as Goody, showing exceptional control over the character and comfortably navigating the highs and lows of Goody's temperament and personality. Their choreography and lip-syncing acts keep in line with who Goody is, and you can easily see that Stewart has become Goody Prostate.

Gina Rhinestone: Pig Iron Queen of Asstraya review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Tina Arena’s "Chains" and Merril Bainbridge’s "Mouth", iconic Australia pop songs, greet us as we take our seats for Kimberley Twiner’s Gina Rhinestone: Pig Iron Queen of Asstraya. The political satire on Australia’s richest woman digs into the life of Gina Rinehart while raising questions about how much wealth and power one person should possess.

Twiner makes a monster of an entrance as she rides atop a bedazzled child’s toy excavator. She performs a number of sketches from “Gina Rhinestone’s” life, including baby Gina’s first words to the valuable “daddy thoughts” she has been raised on, with some incredibly racist comments about Indigenous people made by her father, comments that Rinehart has never publicly condemned.

We are also treated to the more adult events in her life, such as being named Telstra’s Businesswoman of the Year, where she shares her own “me too” ordeal, and the debacle over her demands that a portrait of her hung at the National Gallery of Australia be taken down. Twiner finds marvellous humour in these sketches, sometimes exaggerated and sometimes subtle, but mostly cleverly highlighting the power and influence that Rhinestone’s wealth has afforded her. Some toilet and bodily function gags undermine the thoughtfulness and consideration that Twiner has put into the show and perhaps there's a need to reconsider those moments.

I'm Fine review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Saxon Evans is a 29-year-old dental assistant who is hurtling towards gay death... he is turning 30. But does his depression run deeper than just getting older? Written and performed by Evans, I'm Fine is a one-man play that explores millennial mental health and navigating self-acceptance and belonging.

Performing as a character based on himself, Evans has a pleasing presence on stage that is evident from the moment he appears. His pace, tone and delivery of lines highlight his personality and perspective of how he sees and understands the world around him, and in turn, establishes a strong connection with the audience.

Even as he deals with mental health, suicide and self-harm, Evans finds good doses of humour to scatter throughout I’m Fine, ensuring that we are never left overwhelmed with what we are learning and comprehending the gravity of the circumstances he is in.

While Evans is an engaging performer and the narrative is entertaining, the structure remains a little rough, particularly with its ending. Evans provides great insight into the mind of this angry dental assistant, but the final act feels hurried and concludes quite abruptly. Some re-working of this would ensure this part of the play is afforded the same care and consideration as the rest of the show.