SWAMP review

Created by Andy Freer and Nick Wilson, and presented by Snuff Puppets, SWAMP sends its audience into a fascinating journey into the impact humans have had on Earth's geology and ecosystems through the adventures of a number of Australian animals.

Large scale intricately designed animal puppets - including koalas, mosquitos, cane toads and lyrebirds - are bought to life by puppeteers in "short stories" of their interactions with each other and their changing environment. Varying in their humour and dramatics, each story effectively highlights their plight, and how humans have explicitly and implicitly made their homes a risk to their safety and lives.

Top 10 Show of 2018

Every year I say to myself no more saying yes to going to all the shows in Melbourne and while I exaggerate, I do end up going to a lot. This year, I managed to get to 221 pieces of theatre and live performances (and being one shy of 222 is really going to bug me). Naturally I kept a list of all the shows I saw and below I present my top ten of 2018. If I reviewed the show then a link to the review is also provided.

This is also a great reminder that sometimes the most memorable and exciting experiences are not always the big budget, flashy ones but the ones that are only on for four nights at a small theatre venue. So remember to support your independent theatre makers and venues - some shows can cost you as little as $15 and can be one of the most original and though provoking theatre you might see.

Here we go:

Gravity & Other Myths. Photo Credit: Steve Ullathorne

1. A Simple Space - review

This was actually the first show I saw in 2018 and it still feels like I only saw it yesterday. With this show, Gravity & Other Myths perform a circus show with only a handful of props on a black mat roughly four metres wide and six metres deep. With our attention ultimately glued towards the seven acrobats, they work with the only thing that's left: their bodies. They demonstrate surprising feats on what the human body is capable of, through a variety of acts.
What is great to see in GOM that isn't often seen in other circus or performance shows is their personalities coming through and the camaraderie they share. While we are seeing a show, there is a sincerity and openness present where it's very clear that these people love what they do and are having a great time doing it. Can't wait until their return to Melbourne.

Lifetime Guarantee review

Written by Ross Mueller, Lifetime Guarantee is a story shared by five characters whose lives intertwine as they seek love and connection in the modern world. Julian Dibley-Hall and Charles Purcell play Charles and Daniel, a couple living together who don't seem to actually want to be with each other despite their protestations. Charlie's new assistant Jodie has some interesting sexual predilections and Daniel's ex-wife Chloe is trying to move on with her life. And then there's Francis, whose interactions with each character seems to put them in situations they'd rather not be.

Unfortunately Mueller's script feels under-developed with some questionable character motivations throughout. The cast themselves do well with their characters' limited development, and with direction that seems surprisingly over-the-top, awkward and unnatural. Candace Miles manages to breathe some life into the aggrieved Chloe, bringing pleasing nuance to her portrayal. Izabella Yena as Jodie is initially full of spark and creates interest in her character, but once the assistant's "secret" is revealed, Jodie immediately becomes one-note and repetitive where even Yena's energy and effort is unable to make her relevant again.

Motor-mouth Loves Suck-face preview

There's a new apocalypse in town, and it's a musical; a zombie musical. Written and produced by Anthony Crowley, Motor-Mouth Loves Suck-Face takes place during the final days on Earth before a zombie apocalypse will wipe out humanity. So how does one prepare for such a catastrophic end? For high-school geeks, Motor-Mouth and Suck-Face, it's to throw a party to end all parties.

"Motor-Mouth Loves Suck-Face is high on energy and absurdity and music. The characters are a mix of archetype with their own idiosyncratic twist, which makes them real in a human sense, but stuck in our absurd world," Crowley tells me. "The story is told out of sequence as we zip back and forwards through time. The plot is bizarre and has its roots in comedy shows like Red Dwarf, The Young Ones and The Mighty Boosh, where the story is crazy but there’s also a sustained logic and the characters - as well as the audience - are completely trapped in the craziness."

Thank You for Coming: Attendance review

Attendance is the first work of a three-part series entitled Thank You for Coming by Brooklyn-based choreographer and director Faye Driscoll. Presented as part of Melbourne Festival, the dance performance explores how we react in social situations and how we perceive ourselves and others in these environments.

After an entertaining reminder to switch off our phones, the five dancers (Giulia Carotenuto, Sean Donovan, Alicia Ohs, Toni Melaas and Brandon Washington) enter the stage, set in the round, and their bodies begin to intertwine and form various intricate tableau-like poses. Legs rest on shoulders, arms grab legs and heads rest on stomachs; despite the chaos and the unnatural poses created, there is a sense of calmness and tranquility in the moment.

Top 10 shows of 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival

Well, it's that time of year again! After seeing a mere 61 shows, here are my top ten shows of the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival. 
Admittedly, there are shows I really wanted to see but timing and life meant that I just couldn't make it work!
If the show was reviewed, you will find a link next to its name for more detailed thoughts and opinions. 

1. Notorious Strumpet and Dangerous Girl - review

Winner of New Original Circus at the Festival, Jess Love's Notorious Strumpet and Dangerous Girl is a great mix of circus, theatre and performance that explores her relationship with her family, particularly Love's affinity with her great, great, great, great grandmother Julia Mullins and her addiction to drugs and alcohol.

It is an incredibly touching show and the way Love explores her addiction through the circus acts is extremely skillful and emotive. 
One of the most striking visuals of the evening occurs when Love dresses up to resemble what Mullins might have worn back in her time, and presents a cheeky but touching homage to her distant relative.
Directed by Ursula Martinez, this was an undeniable favourite of mine three days into the Festival.

4 + 4 = 4 - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

Presented by The Flying Xamels as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, 4 + 4 = 4 is a surrealist circus experience looking at four different lives, how the co-exist together and individually and who they are finding their way around. Four circus artists with four ropes perform as individuals and as an ensemble as a poignant metaphor on trying to fit in with life and following the right path. 

There is much to take in and analyse in 4 + 4 = 4, as the way these themes are explored can take on different and personal meanings for everyone in the audience. Fortunately the cast are all too aware of this and ensure that the tricks we see on stage are performed in a meditative and dream-like state. When you consider the technical aspects to some of the tricks, to be able to appear that calm actually requires great skill and confidence, which these artists possess to a high degree. 

Undertone - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

Produced by Black Carnation Productions, Undertone is a circus show that - while presenting some impressive tricks and laughs - also explores the relationship between the body and sound. With a live electronic score, it pushes the boundaries of what circus can be, creating a different show at every performance.

There is a strong physical demand throughout Undertone, which the four performers make seem effortless as they jump through the air, climb on each other and fling their bodies across and under tables. Due to the concentration and focus of these tricks, the performers have also included a good dose of clowning throughout. Under the direction of Avan Whaite, this allows them to break the tension so the audience can breathe calmly and invite us to create a bond with them. 

Blind Spot - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

In 1972, Edwin John Eastwood and Robert Clyde Boland, kidnapped six female pupils and their teacher in the rural town of Faraday. They demanded a million-dollar ransom but were later captured when the hostages  escaped. Fast forward 34 years later, and Daniel Santangeli's immersive theatre performance Blind Spot offers a fresh look at this crime and its related events for Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Blind Spot is a show for two people at a time (so bookings are absolutely essential) and begins at the end of the story as we work our back to the start. As we play the role of the two men, we are taken through various moments surrounding this event, located in prisons, courtrooms and homes. The less said about the story and the process of the show the better, as the element of surprise and the unknown works best here.

Pixel review

Fans of contemporary dance are in for a real treat with Mourad Merzouki's Pixel performing in Melbourne for a very limited season. Mixing dance and interactive video images projected onto a black scrim screen, it is a poetic blending of two worlds - technology and nature - and how they must find a balance to co-exist in harmony.

The light projection by Adrien M / Claire B Company is perfectly executed and visually captivating. There are exciting moments occurring throughout, at one point a wall of digital white pixels come crashing down outward towards the audience and crushing the dancers on the stage. There are scenes where the dancers struggle to pass through the haze of pixels and overpowered but then there are also moments of whimsy and nostalgia as the pixels gently fall through to the floor. It is this mutual respect that is being explored throughout Pixel.

Blind Spot - Melboune Fringe Festival preview

Melbourne Fringe Festival is always an opportunity for not only artists to try new things, but also audiences, and this year, Blind Spot is definitely going to be one of those shows that is bound to have people talking long after it's over. This latest work by performance-maker Daniel Santangeli is a story told in reverse and is performed to an audience of only two people at a time.

"In Blind Spot, you experience a crime story in reverse order. It starts with the main character's release from prison and finishes 11 years earlier on the night before the crime. The audience are literally on their feet the whole time, being led through each episode and it's not until the end that they can piece it all together," Santangeli tells me. "Blind Spot is being made with sound designer Rosalind Hall so a lot of the work is experienced aurally: through payphones, hidden speakers and helmets with sound devices in them made specifically for the show."

Undertone - Melbourne Fringe Festival preview

Circus artist and choreographer Avan Whaite, is bringing his unique circus style to the Melbourne Fringe Festival this year with Undertone. This award-winning show reinvents the idea of what circus can be, with its use of live triggering creating soundscapes from the performance itself. This interactive process allows for Undertone - and its performers - to create a unique performance for every show.


"I came by the idea through some conversations I had with a couple of people who were making music using a program called Ableton Live, which is a software music sequencer and digital audio workstation. After thinking about it, I realised that the real-time functions of this program were perfect for integrating with physical performance, which always has an element of unpredictability," Whaite explains. "When I spoke to Zoltan Fesco, our musical director, he immediately resonated with the concept and had a number of suggestions of how to realise it. His prior experience with experimental electronic instruments was invaluable and the process of putting it all together is ongoing, so it is a constant learning experience between the artists and Zoltan."

Blurring reality with Kill Climate Deniers

I first came across David Finnigan's work at the 2013 Melbourne Fringe Festival show, Kids Killing Kids. In this, Finnigan and three other playmakers responded to the worldwide response they received to their adaptation of the Japanese novel/manga/film Battle Royale. It was an incredibly thought provoking piece on the responsibilities theatre makers have to their cast, their audience and the wider community. Kill Climate Deniers, is Finnigans' most recent work, which despite not even been staged yet, has already received much media scrutiny.

Kill Climate Deniers revolves around one evening where 96 armed eco-terrorists who - while Fleetwood Mac are performing a concert at Parliament House - take over the building and threaten to execute everyone inside, including the Environment Minister unless the Prime Minister puts a stop to climate change.

Member - Midsumma Festival review

Presented as part of the Midsumma Festival by Fairly Lucid Productions and directed by Casey Gould, Ben Noble's Member was incited by the death of gay man Scott Johnson in 1988, when his body found at the bottom of a cliff at Manly. Deemed a suicide, there has always been speculation that he was a victim of a gay hate-crime. However, the narrative focuses on Corey, your typical Aussie living in Manly with his wife and child. We follow Corey through various moments in his life that have led to where he is now, in a hospital room, his son lying unconscious, seemingly fighting for his life.

Ben Noble is exemplary in his performance as Corey (and all the other characters he plays). From the very beginning, our eyes are glued on him and even as he begins to unravel and the truth becomes clearer, we still cannot look away. Corey is a complex character but Noble is able to bring some insight into his actions and thoughts while still holding him accountable for them.

Intoxication - Midsumma Festival review

I still remember the excitement in my house when we signed up for dial-up Internet. It brought a new world into my living room with just a tap of the keyboard and a click of the mouse. 17 years later, the technological advances we have made have brought this virtual world closer to us, but has it pushed us further away from the real world? Presented as part of the 2016 Midsumma Festival, Christopher Bryant’s Intoxication analyses and raises questions about how our reliance on social media, dating apps and smart phones are hindering us from building honest and meaningful relationships with actual people.

The three performers - Ryan Forbes, Amy Hack and Bryant – each sit on an individual cube and, as if they are in a confessional, share their anxieties with us. Even though there is barely, if any, interaction between the three during these moments, the thoughts and emotions shared are very similar, building on Bryant's idea that despite all having these insecurities and feelings of loneliness, we seem to push ourselves further away from reality and into the digital world, where we are free to project the life we wish we had and want the world (wide web) to see.

Intoxication - Midsumma Festival preview

Despite living in a society where we are more connected with each other around the world more than ever before, it is ironic that many of us are also feeling a disconnect with those physically around us. While we spend our time taking the perfect selfie, instagramming that delicious dinner and finding entertainment on dating apps, we seem to be getting lonelier and lonelier.

Presented as part of the 2016 Midsumma Festival, Intoxication shows just how deeply affecting one person's loneliness can be to everyone around them. "We live in a world of fast-food connection: quick, junky, and not particularly nourishing. It’s a bizarre thing, to be so connected, but still so unable to connect, when it should be easier to connect with the people around you, but in actual fact, it’s harder," writer of Intoxication, Christopher Bryant explains. "The play is about the ways we pursue happiness, myself included. If I’m lonely, horny, bored or drunk I can just download an app and meet someone in half an hour flat. It's about social anxiety and the fear of being alone that rules modern society, but in particular modern gay society." 

"It’s a difficult but necessary discussion, especially since in the homosexual community, we’re not afforded the social freedom, perhaps of heterosexuals. By that I mean, aside from the usual set of open desires and shared interests, everyone you meet can’t necessarily be a viable romantic option by virtue of presumed sexual preference. In this regards, the play is about learning to be alone, and that being alone isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be better than a lot of negative relationships."

Top Ten Shows of 2015

I managed to see 154 shows this year! Not exactly sure how I managed that with life and everything but there you go. That's an average of one show every 2.3 days!

Yet again, I count the fact that I live in Melbourne to be a strong reason as to having seen so much this year. The performing art scene here is some type of wonderful and just so lucky to be able to experience so much variety on stage. 

There has been a huge number of theatre, dance, performance, cabaret, burlesque, circus and so much more to go see and experience this year. Interestingly enough there are quite a lot of circus and dance shows in my top ten this year.

Like I said last year, even if your work ranks at 154, big thanks to you for making that work and creating shows for people to see and experience. However, this is my list of ten ten show of 2015, so without further ado...

(If I reviewed the show, there is a link to the original review too)

1. FAG/STAG
The Last Great Hunt - review  

There have only been four shows I have seen more than twice in my life. FAG/STAG is one of them. Playing during the Melbourne Fringe Festival, it was a beautiful exploration of life, friendship and everything else in between.  
The story follows two best friends, Jimmy and Corgan (Jeffrey Jay Fowler and Chris Isaacs - who also wrote this) and the lead up to the wedding of Corgan's ex-girlfriend. Their friendship, thoughts and feelings on life and love were explored through the small insignificant moments right up the big stuff.
Fowler and Isaacs brought much honesty and vulnerability to their characters and as writers, they knew when to go further with something and when to draw back and allow the audience come to their own conclusions.
Like I've stated previously, not only is FAG/STAG the kind of theatre that I wish was made more often but FAG/STAG is the kind of theatre  people need to go and see.

The One review

For its festival debut, new kid on the block, Poppy Seed Festival, asked artists, individuals and theatre companies to submit proposals for a theatrical production. From all its entries, Poppy Seed Festival green lit four shows to be performed. The final show to open is Vicky Jones’ award-winning The One. Presented by Fire Curtain Co., it is a 65-minute analysis of one couple’s relationship and its use of love, power, and abuse over the course of one night.

From the beginning we can sense that this is not a couple that is completely happy in this relationship as Jo (Kasia Kaczmarek) casually munches away on twisties while Harry (Ben Prendergast) watches porn on the TV as the two have sex. The arrival of Harry's friend Kerry (Emily Tomlins), who believes her partner has just sexually assaulted her, gets the cogs turning for what will eventually be a fateful night for all three.

Miss Friby, All Alone…At Last - Big West Festival preview

The big day has arrived and you have spent so much time and energy planning the event to end all events. But then it happens: one by one all your guests cancel and you end up alone. Alone on your birthday. Presented as part of the Big West Festival, Miss Friby, all alone...at last will examine her current life status with a new dazzling and captivating burlesque cabaret show.

Green Room Award nominee and Australia's Got Talent finalist, Miss Friby, promises plenty of fun and excitement for her guests. "There will be wild theatre, hilarious banter, impeccable choreography, incredible aesthetics and the unique brand of old world theatre. The show will also feature a live band, and the back room of the reverence will be transformed into a pop-up speakeasy, fit for a true diva spectacle," she explains. To top it all off, each night will also include a special guest performer including the brilliant Sara Yael, Miss Burlesque Australia 2014 Zelia Rose and Mr Boylesque Australia 2015 Daniel Ham. 

Beers and Trees review

Performed as part of La Mama's 2015 Explorations season and developed with the assistance of Theatre 451, Beers and Trees by Allee Richards is a humorous yet thoughtful look at not only what makes a person strive for good, but what makes a 'good' activist and just how important this activity is? We all want to change the world and make it better for everyone but we also want to be happy and fulfilled by our own needs and desires. It's a fine balancing act to get it just right and the question of where this balance lies is what the five characters presented here attempt to answer. 

Adrian Del-Re is the stand out performer in the cast with his portrayal of Brad being highly natural, nuanced and convincing. The delivery really highlights the comfort that Del-Re has found with this character, and his scenes with Julia Hanna (Ruby) are the most entertaining of the show. Playwright Richards has succeeded admirably in finding clear voices for these two characters and really fleshing them out.