She Slayed: A Drag Murder Mystery review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

What happens when four drag divas try to put on a show together? With such big egos and big hair, there can only be one answer: murder. She Slayed: A Drag Murder Mystery is a deliciously camp, uproarious whodunnit of a drag queen who is viciously murdered - but in a fashionable way.

Created by Nicholas Reynolds, She Slayed feels like it's a drag show pretending to be a comedy show instead of a comedy show pretending to be a drag show, and this is partly because of the four cast members and the confidence and experience they have as performers. The script, while allowing for plenty of ad-libbing and improv, is full of great one liners and sassy retorts between the characters. Reynolds has played to the individual strengths of the cast and so the concern here is not about finding the truth of their character but to go out there and have fun, which spills out into the audience.

Comedy Cluedo review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

A murder has taken place. Specifically, Lucy Henderson's. And she's been given one more hour on Earth - as a ghost - to solve her murder, with the help of her audience. In Comedy Cluedo, Henderson shares anecdotes of her life as we try to piece together the puzzle of who killed her, where and with what.

Henderson has designed a creative slide deck of the locations, suspects and weapons, with each one serving a unique story and jokes that provide clues to her untimely death. It's unfortunate that tech difficulties prevented Henderson from displaying this on a screen and instead was projected on a brick wall which made the images and words close to impossible to decipher.

Blackrock review

It's been over two decades since Nick Enright's Blackrock was first performed, which explored the fallout in a beachside town after a teenager is brutally gang raped and murdered. Sadly these crimes have become a common occurrence in Australia, and EbbFlow Theatre Co.'s production is a timely reminder as to how little has changed in attitudes to violence against women. 

Whereas Enright's play focuses predominantly on the men and themes around loyalty and mateship, director Nicola Bowman ensures that time is provided to the women of Blackrock and that their voices are heard. Ordinarily this would give a new perspective to the source text but in this instance the majority of female characters are all angry and disgusted by what has happened and while they are completely justified in this, it does not allow for any dramatic tension and many of its teenage characters blend into one.

You Are The Blood review

A serial killer is caught and spends the rest of his life in jail. While the victims' families might feel like justice has been served, what happens to the family of the serial killer? In Ashley Rose Wellman's You Are The Blood, the spotlight turns to the wife and children of David Boden, a man convicted of murdering seven people.

Shelby (Jessica Stanley) works as an office manager at a comedy club whose life is quite a mess, both literally and figuratively. Her mother Linda and brother Ben (Vivienne Powell and James Cerché) seem to be doing somewhat better but things reach a tipping point when it is reported that their murderous family member (Andrew Blackman) has recently become engaged to performance artist Sylvia (Jem Nicholas). Unfortunately, the story does not go much deeper than that and after almost 2.5 hours, you are left scratching your head and wondering how this production ended up much like Shelby's life.

Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

After killing it at Melbourne Fringe Festival last year, the residents of Murder Village have returned to Melbourne for another season of murder most improvised. Presented by Dave Massingham, the premise of Murder Village is simple but incredibly effective; one where the audience individually vote for who they would like to see die and who should be their killer. After that, it's up to our improvisers to make the story come to life while keeping us guessing who the two shall be. It's all rather quite dramatic.

Amberly Cull, who plays village sleuth Jemima Marmalade, has been left in the dark as to who the killer is, and alongside Detective Inspector Own Slugget (Massingham), she interrogates all the suspects before gathering them together and confirming if she has unmasked the murderer or lynched an innocent person. The scenes between these two law-abiding citizens are a great example that these "people" are not stereotypes but characters with history and convictions, who just happen to be heightened versions of themselves.

Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

We all enjoy a heartwarming murder mystery. Trying to spot the clues as they are laid out for us, or in some cases watching as the detective pieces everything together, can be a thrilling adventure. As part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, audiences have the opportunity to commit their own slice of murder with an improvised homage to Agatha Christie in Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit, a show presented by Dave Massingham and the iconic The Butterfly Club.

Massingham's love for the perfect murder stemmed from a childhood of watching them enacted on stage, TV and in board games. "Ever since I was a kid I loved the cozy murder mystery. Agatha Christie was a perennial favourite. Cluedo was always my preferred board game. I even remember watching episodes of Inspector Morse and Jonathan Creek with my family," he recalls. "When I became interested in improv comedy I knew that I would love to one day develop a classic British whodunnit format. In 2009 I came up with a show structure called Agatha Holmes and put it on with my old Brisbane improv troupe ImproMafia. That would be the bones that would eventually become Murder Village."

Sneakyville review

Serial killer Charles Manson may be dead, but the infatuation society has with him seems like it will never die. Christopher Bryant's Sneakyville is a darkly comedic look at this obsession through events that took place during that time, events that could have happened and events that could happen when the darker side of our nature is explored.

In the first act, Bryant gives the audience a crash course on who the Manson Family were leading up to the evening of August 9, 1969 when actor and model Sharon Tate - along with five others (including her unborn child who she was 8.5 months pregnant with) -  was brutally murdered. Bryant's script and Daniel Lammin's direction ensure that the tension is dialled up without the need to depict any violent or gruesome scenes. Bryant cleverly speeds through the next 50 year period informing us on the aftermath of the murders, including the Family's eventual arrests, sentencing and parole appeals, and how Manson influenced (and continues to influence) popular culture.

The Baby Farmer - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

What happens when those who are put into positions of care - like nurses and nannies - end up being the people who should fear the most? Presented by the The Laudanum Project, The Baby Farmer is storytelling at its most unsettling and grotesque with its exploration of infanticide - and a firm highlight at this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival. 

Set in London's East End in the 1870's, The Baby Farmer revolves around a mother and daughter, Winnifred Alcorn and Agatha May, who get caught up in the gruesome murders of a number of babies. What makes this story even more disturbing is that it is loosely based on fact, where in the late-Victorian era, women (baby farmers) would take custody of a baby or child in exchange for payment. One infamous baby farmer was Amelia Dyer who is regarded as one of the world's most prolific serial killers, said to be potentially responsible for up to 400 murders.

If that wasn't enough to creep you out, our storyteller, Alphonse Cheese-Probert, finishes the job. Dressed in tattered black clothes with a ghoulish appearance and eyes that take much courage to look into, he begins to relay the tale of Winnifred Alcorn. Nick Ravenswood's performance is flawless, with a magnificent transformation in speech, body language and movement. Each syllable of every word is carefully pronounced so as to create maximum tension and his silent pauses throughout give the audience just enough time for his vivid descriptions to sink in. His ability to capture an audience and retain their attention through nothing but his words is a sign of masterful storytelling.

The Baby Farmer - Melbourne Fringe Festival preview

Ghoulish, grotesque, unsettling and suspenseful. These are some of the words used in my review of The Laudanum Project's 2014 Melbourne Fringe Festival show, The Grand Guignol Automaton. Thankfully, these masters of horror storytelling are back this year with The Baby Farmer. Admittedly when I first read the title of the show I thought it was going to be a cute comedy piece but when I saw who was behind it, I went to a very dark place very quickly.

"I have to say that it’s extremely heartening to hear that just seeing our name can do that to you. Happiness gained through other peoples' discomfort is what we do best I suppose," Nick Ravenswood, the show's writer tells me. "The Baby Farmer is best described as a dark Victorian fable that is set against the backdrop of London’s East End during the 1870’s. The story centres around six year old Agatha May and her mentally disturbed mother Winnifred Alcorn."

"Since fleeing to London to escape the horrors of her past, Winnifred has found work as a baby farmer and is currently caring for five newborn infants. The miserable drudgery of Agatha and Winnifred’s existence is turned upside down as an ever-growing nightmare of nocturnal premonitions and visitations befall them. As Agatha and Winnifred’s desperate world slowly begins to unravel a shadowy stranger appears on the streets of Whitechapel and initiates a terrifying game of cat and mouse that will leave both mother and daughter changed forever."

And Then There Were Not As Many - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

For fans of Agatha Christie or Cluedo, And Then There Were Not As Many is the Melbourne Fringe Festival show for you. Using as many as possible of the murder-mystery tropes at its disposal, the show revolves around a group of strangers invited to a secluded, large, dark manor for a party that they will be dying to leave. 

And Then There Were Not As Many does not take itself seriously at all; in fact, I would put it under the "it's so bad, it's good" category. Actors stumble through lines and break character quite a few times but it's clear they are having a good time on stage and enjoying playing their characters and with each other, so we in turn enjoying watching them crack a smile when they should be shocked.

Desire Under The Elms review

Written in 1924 by Eugene O'Neill, Desire Under the Elms, is a story that explores profound human connections and the depths that people will go to have what they desire. Inspired by the myth of Phaedra, Hippolytus and Theseus, O'Neill's story is set in New England where patriarch Ephraim (Darren Mort) returns to his home in New England with new wife, Abbie (Diana Brumen). This does not bode well with his three sons (Garikai Jani, Timothy Smith and Sam Lavery) as the tension builds to a devastating end.

Lavery perfectly encapsulates youngest son's Eben's resentment towards his father and the rage that burns inside him, yet at the same time brings to the surface the tenderness and love that he can also feel. His scenes with Brumen are gripping and you're never quite sure which way their story is going to go, even if it is based on a Greek tragedy. Brumen's manipulative and scheming Abbie is convincing, but it is during her horrific and tragic final scenes that she is able to channel everything Abbie has been experiencing until that moment.

L'amante Anglaise review

Based on Marguerite Duras' 1967 novella, L'amante Anglaise (The English Lover) is on the surface a murder mystery story, but look a little deeper and it is an exploration of what happens to a person when the life they are leading turns out to be the life they never wanted. Originally performed at La Mama, this stage adaptation has been remounted for a second season at fortyfivedownstairs. Having missed it first time round, I was very thankful I managed to get to it now for it really is a breathtaking performance. 

The story unfolds in two interviews conducted by nameless interrogators over the brutal murder of a woman in a small town in France. The dismembered body is discovered at a railway viaduct, missing her head. Furthermore, the novella is based on true events, adding to the darkness and brutality to the proceedings. 

Blonde Poison review

Seventy-one year-old Stella Goldschlag is nervously anticipating the arrival of a visitor. It is 7am and he is expected in just under four hours. Her anxiety stems from her past as a Nazi collaborator, where in order to save herself from the horrors of Auschwitz, agreed to inform on other Jews in hiding to the Gestapo. Presented by Strange Duck Productions, Blonde Poison, is the intriguing yet disturbing true story of Stella and the cost of her survival.

Belinda Giblin as Stella is an example of when casting is perfection. The accent is flawless, even when Stella's emotions sometimes get the better of her as she recalls the more horrific moments of her life. The poignant facial expressions and wide eyes made up with black eyeliner are still printed firmly inside my mind. You can't help but sympathise with Stella but at the same time, she is responsible for the death of thousands of Jews. Giblin's portrayal of the desperation and defeat enveloping Stella in the final moments of the show are powerful and conflicting that leave you wondering if Stella has managed to manipulate yet again. It truly is an amazing performance.

Butt Kapinksi - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

Butt Kapinski. The name alone drives fear into the hearts of the coldest of criminals. This Private Investigator, means serious business when it comes to solving crime. Their no holds barred approach in this comedy film noir murder mystery puts the audience as active participants in the show but with more emphasis on having an immersive experience rather than the dreaded audience participation that so many fear!

"Audience participation shows usually involve somebody getting dragged up on stage and made a fool of. That never happens in my show," Denna Fleysher, the US-based performer of Butt Kapinski confirms. "Nobody gets out of their seat. It's more like The Rocky Horror Show. It's fun to be a part of, nobody gets embarrassed, and everyone has a lot fun.

The Boys review

Survivors of domestic violence and violence against women come from all walks of life. The crime does not discriminate, but what do you do when your son or your boyfriend commits a heinous crime against another person? Do you call the police, or do you turn a blind eye?  In Gordon Graham's highly acclaimed play, The Boys, these themes are explored through the eyes of the female figures in the perpetrator's lives.

Linda Cookson does a magnificent job in her portrayal of Sandra, the matriarch of the family. All she wants is to have her three sons together and everything she does is done out of a mother's love for her children. There are moments where Sandra is in scenes where she is in the background as conversations happen around her, yet you can always feel what she is thinking and trying to push the troubling thoughts away with how her facial expressions and body language is conveyed. 

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story - Midsumma Festival review

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two young, highly intelligent men from wealthy families about to embark on a career towards law who were also lovers. However, the two men began to see themselves as far more intelligent than those around them, and to prove this, began to commit crimes, such as theft, arson and the eventual murder of a local boy in 1924, leading them to be nicknamed, "The Thrill Killers".

Presented as part of Midsumma Festival, Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story, with book, lyrics and music by award-winning writer/composer, Stephen Dolginoff, is a musical theatre show that examines the relationship between these two men and the lengths they went to, to get what they wanted. The story is effectively told in flashback with Nathan facing a parole hearing, having already served 33 years in prison. He recalls his infatuation with Richard, the lead up to the murder of Bobby Franks and their subsequent capture and arrest. Despite the outcomes of these real-life events being known already, the two actors manage to keep the audience engaged with the narrative and their relationship.

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story - Midsumma Festival preview

When someone hears "musical theatre", they think fun times and happiness - usually. Throw in the word "gay", and you assume you are going to be in a world of high camp fun. But not with one offering at this year's Midsumma Festival. In Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story is a dark and deadly musical that retraces the exploits of the notorious 1920’s Chicago ‘thrill killers’.

"It's a fast moving, very atmospheric contemporary musical," explains its director, Terence O'Connell. "The songs are incorporated into the show in a really unusual way, there are no applause spaces so the story keeps rocketing along," he says. "And it has two really hot performances from Vincent Hooper & Stephen Madsen and Daniele Buatti’s driven piano playing, melded with a great production design."

Nathan Leopold (Hooper) and Richard Loeb (Madsen) as well as being wealthy young law students, were lovers and killers. The two kidnapped and murdered a 14 year-old boy in their efforts to prove their intelligence and get away with the perfect crime. It is their relationship and their actions that inspired Alfred Hitchcoks's acclaimed film Rope. "Their story is iconic in popular culture and their rather twisted relationship and the crime it produced has inspired plays, films, books, documentaries and now this musical," says O'Connell. "The show is a sequin and mirror ball free zone (ha!) and we're hoping that it will be the thinking man and woman's musical for Midsumma!"

Sideshow review

The circus has come to town, but in the case of Sideshow, this is not a family-friendly - or even a human-friendly - circus. There are powers of darkness, death, murder and spirits from the other world that are part of this troupe and in this immersive performance, it is down to the audience to stop this travelling carnival of horrors from causing doom.

Sideshow is certainly fun but there are a number of reasons it unfortunately does not work. Firstly, the experience just isn't as scary as it proclaims to be and this is bound to be a huge disappointment for its audiences. Apart from our creepy clown friend, there aren't any frights or tension, unless the constant repeat of people jumping out of the "darkness" and growling at you are where your fears stem from.

City of Angels review

Life Like Company's 2015 production has been the much-loved, Tony-Award winning musical comedy thriller, City of Angels. Paying homage to the 1940s era of film noir while also taking a swipe at the Hollywood film industry, it is a heavily engaging and engrossing meta-story of betrayal, love, passion and murder.

Despite being first performed 26 years ago, the book by Larry Gelbart still come across as fresh and relevant. It may be a little politically incorrect and chauvinistic for current times (despite being mediated through characters we’re invited to critique) but the cheeky wit and cleverness of the script and the direction of Martin Croft ensure you still enjoy watching the relationships being depicted on stage. Led by Musical Director Kellie Dickerson, the live band superbly bring to life the upbeat challenging jazz score by Cy Coleman and the cast certainly do justice to David Zippel’s sharp lyrics in their performances.

The Last Supper review

Being a leader is not the easiest thing to be. Especially when you are a leader of a mob group or crime syndicate and have to determine who is genuinely looking out for your safety and to constantly second-guess in whom you can put your trust in. In The Last Supper, crime lord Dorian is facing these problems. What follows is an evening of truths being spoken, lies and deception revealed and the extremes that people will go to, to be a leader and claim the power.

Dorian (Gregory Caine) has invited his most inner circle to a meeting, his "trusted" associates and partners. Those invited include his brother Brody (Karl Sarsfield), Madam President, Claudia (Ashley Tardy), the Head of Intelligence, Novak (Kashmir Sinnamon) and the Chief of Police, Vaughan (Christopher Grant). Once Dorian is finished with his interrogations, this may indeed be the last supper for some of them, as failure to perform their jobs results in death.