Our Seventh String review | The Motley Bauhaus

In Our Seventh String, six friends and former housemates reunite at their Melbourne sharehouse after seven years apart. Over the course of the evening, long-held rivalries, love confessions, heartbreaks, and old resentments are reopened as the group contends with the changes they have all undergone in the intervening years, and what happens when the people you have spent so much of your life with are no longer the people with whom you should spend the rest of it.

Paperfolk Theatre is a new independent theatre company with emphasis on folk-inspired work, so it is no surprise that music plays a significant role in Our Seventh String. With music and lyrics by Emily Napolitano, Henry Smith and Lauren Green, the production features some moving and heartfelt songs, with well-crafted melodies and a variety of instruments that complement the various voices. With seven performers, there is a great range of vocal styles, but it is the duet with Frances (Miriam Ellins) and Thea (Harper Elwyn) that stands out as a particular highlight.

弦外之影 Hidden Tunes review | The Motley Bauhaus

Presented by Small Ripples Theatre, 弦外之影 Hidden Tunes is a Mandarin language pop musical focusing on the #MeToo movement at a prestigious music university. Exploring the themes of sexual assault and violence against women within a musical setting comes with its own challenges and sensitivities, and for the most part, this production does an admirable job at presenting entertainment through pain.

A group of students are ready to take on the new year at university under the tutelage of the revered and influential Professor Yang. When Xiao Qian (Lansy Feng) is assaulted by the Professor, rumours spread like wildfire across the campus, with even her friends uncertain as to who or what to believe. The story is predominantly told through the eyes of A Jia (Yujia Du) a new student and friend to Xiao Qian who strongly suspects something terrible has happened, but where acknowledging it would cause problems for her.

Glittergrass - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

The Fringe Wives Club return to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with Glittergrass, a feminist explosion of music, comedy and storytelling. The original Wives - Victoria Falconer, Tessa Waters and Rowena Hutson – are now joined by two new members in Laura Frew and Sharnema Nougar. Together they open conversation on a variety of issues around feminism but as this is a show about acceptance and inclusiveness, the Wives don’t focus on people holding them back but rather how they can learn from and support each other.

The talented quintet shares the leads in the musical numbers in both instrument playing and singing, and under the musical direction of Falconer, charm us with their tongue in cheek humour and their matter of fact attitude. In one song, the Wives (along with the audience and the onstage musicians) are asked to check their privilege - with Nougar confessing she is a fortunate home owner in Fitzroy - and another acknowledging the representation and the intersectionality the five performers cover within the scope of feminism.