Robot Song review | Theatre Works

Robot Song is an emotionally driven theatrical work that weaves live music, inventive design, and impressive robotics to explore childhood isolation, creativity, and the search for identity. Eleven-year-old Juniper May receives a letter signed by her entire class declaring her “the most hated person in the school.” It becomes a catalyst for her unravelling as she struggles to understand why this has happened and how she is meant to cope. Based on a true story and created by writer and director Jolyon James, the production presents a lived-in world that draws the audience into the experiences of a young person navigating a challenging moment in their life.

At the heart of the production is a striking performance from Adeline Hunter, who convincingly captures the temperament and attitude of eleven-year-old Juniper without slipping into bratty exaggeration or sugary sweetness. Her portrayal feels grounded and truthful, allowing the emotional stakes to land with quiet force, including an expressive vocal performance that transforms each moment into something personal and affecting. Phillip McInnes shares a tender and believable bond as Juniper's father, where their scenes together are filled with warmth and affection that anchor the story’s emotional core.

Oh Great, It's Jessie Ngaio! (Midsumma Festival)

From a young age, Jessie Ngaio has fantasised about killing herself. Originally performed in early 2023, Oh Yuck, It's Me is her dark yet exceptionally entertaining exploration of sexuality, trauma and climate anxiety and finding the will to survive when everything seems stacked against you.

Ngaio received much acclaim during her original season, leading to two 2023 Green Room Awards for Best Performer and Best Production. In 2024, Oh Yuck, It’s Me returns as part of the Midsumma Festival, where she one again hopes to engage her audience with the wider themes of the show while offering an outlet of mutual laughter, vulnerability and honesty.

The Aspie Hour - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

At last year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival, a joyous little cabaret was performed at The Butterfly Club. Initially with little fanfare, word of mouth soon spread making it one of the most sought after tickets at the festival. The show was The Aspie Hour and it returns for an encore season at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Written and performed by Ryan Smedley and Sophie Smyth, they share two 30 minute stories on their experiences of living with Asperger's Syndrome through their mutual love of musical theatre. The two met while studying a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) at the University of Ballarat. While they were a year apart, in their respective final years they each had to create a ten-minute cabaret that ended up being very similar. "Both were about music theatre and about our experiences with Asperger’s. They were focussed so specifically on the same issues that it just made sense when our director, Fiona Scott-Norman, suggested expanding and combining the two," they tell me.

From there The Aspie Hour was born, resulting in an extended sell out season at the comedy festival and most recently picking up two Green Room Award nominations for Best Writing and Best Ensemble for cabaret. "We certainly felt very lucky to receive so much interest, particularly as the season progressed. Sometimes when creating a show, it can take until the end of its development before the most potent themes emerge. I eventually realised the show is summed up in a lyric at the end of one of our duets: "Everyone is different, yet the same," Smedley says.

The Aspie Hour - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Meet Sophie Smyth and Ryan Smedley. They both love musical theatre, they have both travelled to New York for the sole purpose of watching as much musical theatre as possible and they both have Asperger's Syndrome. In their comedy cabaret show, The Aspie Hour, the two share moments of their lives and reflect on what it's like living with Asperger's.

Even though eye contact makes them nervous and not liking physical contact with people, Smyth and Smedley seem to absolutely love being on the stage and make clear eye contact with the audience throughout, instantly creating a connection with us. Their openness and vulnerability allows the audience to better understand not only what Asperger's Syndrome is, but also how it impacts the lives of the people who have this type of autism. 

Pinocchio Restrung - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

We all know the “traditional” tale of Pinocchio: the wooden puppet who just wanted to be a real boy. Created as a grim Italian children’s novel by Collodi, and sanitised for the Disney movie, emerging theatre company A_tistic have cleverly re-imagined this story as part of the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival in quite a different way and with some brilliant results.

A_tistic aim to tell stories that highlight the experiences and create an understanding of autism spectrum disorders, so writer and director Tom Middleditch has adapted Pinocchio’s tale as an allegory for a boy with autism who is attempting to become a "real boy". Middleditch, himself on the autism spectrum, has created a thoughtful story that not only looks at the anxieties and difficulties people with autism can experience but also those of their parents attempting to understand and accept their child as they are. 

Pinocchio Restrung - Melbourne Fringe Festival preview

We all know the story of Pinocchio, about a puppet who wanted to be a real boy. For this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival, emerging theatre company, A_tistic Theatre present Pinocchio Restrung, a re-imagined tale with Pinocchio's story used as an allegory of the life of an Autistic boy. Formed through Monash Uni Student Theatre (MUST) in 2014, the company aims to integrate the experience and understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into contemporary "spectrum theatre".

"Spectrum theatre, came from a number of different influences, building one on top of the other," explains writer/director of the show, Tom Middleditch. "I was getting to the end of my Arts Degree, and wanted to put the knowledge I had gained through my study of philosophy and theatre to good and effective use. I was looking for a project to put on at MUST, and Artistic Director Yvonne Virsik suggested I look at devising something around Autism, of which I had expressed interest in the past, due to my own diagnosis on the spectrum." 

Top 10 Films at 2016 Melbourne International Film Festival

So two and a half weeks of craziness come to an end yet again! With work and study commitments, I was only able to attend a dismal 48 films this, one less than last year! So I now present you my Top 10 movies from the 2016 Melbourne International Film Festival.

1. The Neon Demon

Probably one of the most divisive films of the festival with strong opinions by all, and all with valid reasons, but I loved the way it was filmed, with some beautiful camera work and editing. The soundtrack by Cliff Martinez is incredible and I am still listening to it pretty much on a daily basis. The cast are great - especially Elle Fanning and Jena Malone - and direction by Nicolas Winding Refn is slick and effective.

My only criticism is that it could have ended a little sooner than when it did. People who've seen the film will probably be able to guess as to which scene should have been the final scene, as it is a very strong scene.

Top 10 Films at the 2015 Melbourne International Film Festival

So two and a half weeks of craziness come to an end, and after getting to watch a mere 50 films, I now present you my Top 10 movies from the 2015 Melbourne International Film Festival.

1. Mustang 

Admittedly, when I think of countries creating brilliant cinema, Turkey is not one of the first countries I think so, but this will change with Mustang. Similar to that of Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides, five sisters are locked inside their house by their uncle and grandmother after they are seen rubbing their legs against boys' necks in the beach. The girls are subjected to virginity tests and systematically married off to local boys with devastating results. 
The five females are incredible in this, and worth noting this is the first time any of them have acted in a movie. Gunes Nezihe Sensoy, who plays the youngest sister Lale, in particular has such a strong screen presence, that it would be a shame if we never saw her on the big screen again.
The suspense builds up in this tragic but uplifting story about the suppression of female sexuality by the patriarchy and how in many cultures women are still being seen as just a mother or wife. 
The film also boasts a beautiful score by Warren Ellis.
The trailer is in Turkish still but I think you can see the brilliance of the film beyond the language.