Duck Pond review | Princess Theatre

Circa return to Melbourne with Duck Pond, a reimagining that fuses two timeless tales, Swan Lake and The Ugly Duckling. In the former, a cursed princess trapped in a swan’s body finds love with a prince, only for deception and obsession to lead to tragedy. In the latter, an outcast mocked for his difference endures cruelty and loneliness before discovering he was a swan all along. These parallel narratives form the backbone of Duck Pond, a production that uses circus as both spectacle and storytelling.

Acrobatics are seamlessly integrated into the plot, with silk routines, lifts, throws, and balances doing as much narrative work as the text itself. Through its movement, the show connects Swan Lake and The Ugly Duckling around ideas of flight, vulnerability, and transformation. The tossing, jumping, carrying, and leaping are shaped by the journeys of the Black Swan and the Duckling rather than circus grandness for its own sake.

Orpheus - Midsumma Festival review

After a stellar year of concerts in 2018, Forest Collective kicks off 2019 with possibly one of its most ambitious projects to date. Presented as part of the Midsumma Festival, Orpheus is a new ballet-opera based on the myth of Orpheus, Eurydice and Calaïs. Accompanied by a ten-person orchestra led by Composer and Musical Director Evan Lawson, an opera singer and a dancer pair up to share the three roles, conveying their thoughts and feelings through their individual art form.

Once again, Lawson has put together an exemplary group of musicians with a variety of instruments to create a powerful composition that guides the audience through Orpheus' relationships with Eurydice and Calaïs. Lawson also highlights the queerness of this story with his inclusion of lesser-known parts of the myth as he explores Orpheus' love for Calaïs. Told in four parts, the composition clearly distinguishes the episodic sections and with whose perspective we are witnessing the story unfold.

Garry Starr Performs Everything - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Fresh from his Adelaide Fringe Emerging Artist Weekly Award win, Damien Warren-Smith brings his first solo show, Garry Starr Performs Everything, to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Dismissed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the jaded thespian is determined to show them the error of their ways and attempts to perform every single genre of theatre in under 50 minutes. 

The audience is forced to endure watching Starr perform a variety of theatrical and live performance genres, ranging from butoh to slap stick comedy to ballet. His modernisation of Shakespeare during his tragedy genre is a tragedy in itself, but it is perfectly executed by Warren-Smith and hearing the laughter in the audience grow as they recognise what is happening, with Warren-Smith remaining as straight-faced as they come, is pure joy.

Tree of Codes - Melbourne Festival review

When choreographer Wayne McGregor, composer Jamie XX, and visual artist Olafur Eliasson come together for a new contemporary dance production, expectations are high. Taking inspiration from Jonathan Safran Foer's 2010 book, Tree of Codes, this production of the same name is a stunning collaboration of movement, lighting, sound, and stage design.

Interestingly, Foer's book was inspired by another book, Bruno Schulz's The Street of Crocodiles, a collection of short stories of a merchant family in a small town. Schulz story is full of metaphors, mythology and a blurring of fantasy and reality, and for his book, Foer cut out a large number of words and sentences from Schulz's stories and re-arranged them to form new stories and ideas. Even the title itself is made up of the letters from Schulz's book title.

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.

Frame of Mind review | Sydney Dance Company | Southbank Theatre

Sydney Dance Company has returned to Melbourne with Frame of Mind a double bill of extraordinary contemporary dance, featuring the Australian premiere of William Forsythe's Quintett and Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela's Frame of Mind. Although the execution of each work is very different, they both convey the same poignant message about the fleeting nature of life.

The evening began however, with a pre-performance talk with Bonachela and dancers Cass Mortimer Eipper and Chloe Leong. It's always great to hear the thought process that goes into creating any art form, so when the opportunity arises to attend one of these talks, I jump at the chance. It was interesting hearing about the development of the choreography of the pieces; particularly with Frame of Mind and how it grew into the performance we were about to see. Eipper's transition from ballet to contemporary dance and as a choreographer provided an opportunity to learn about some of the challenges that dancers face. The hour flew by and before we knew it, it was show time.

My Top 10 Shows of 2013

So I managed to see 123 shows in 2013 - a variety of comedy, theatre, dance, performance arts and often something in between. Here are my top ten…
If I reviewed the show on an official basis, the link to the review is attached.

1. This Trick produced by Stella Electrika
    Performed at La MaMa Courthouse

Written and directed by Kat Henry, This Trick, tells the story of a young married couple, obsessively in love with each other.
Strong performances by the leads, Penny Harpham and Matt Hickey had me completely enveloped by the story and the level of commitment they brought to the roles was more than impressive.
The minimalist set design contrasted with the dynamic lighting and choreography was well thought out and placed in telling this story of such love, where even death is not enough to separate them.

REVIEW