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.

I See Me; and Meryl Streep review

Everyone has an actor, singer, athlete or performer of some sort that they idolise and dream of being. As people get older, they generally grow out of the fantasy but not 17-year old Alexandra Keddie. She wants to be Hollywood actor, Meryl Streep, or at least be just like her. Welcome to cabaret show, I See Me; and Meryl Streep.

The stage immediately reminded me of when I was a teenager and my bedroom was adorned with posters, and memorabilia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. From what I can see, Keddie appears to have every single film Streep has made, photos and posters, cushions and clothing with her face printed on them, and a signed frame image of her too. The finishing touch is the "Mountain to Meryl" chart, where she has a picture of Meryl's face at the top of a mountain and her own at the bottom. Each time Keddie perfects a new skill or accent, she climbs up the mountain, inching closer to her idol.

Home Invasion review

Home Invasion is a play that looks at obsession and disconnection. It's about people dealing with destructive behaviours in their lives; a housewife who is haunted by JonBenét Ramsey, a schoolgirl with violent tendencies and a mechanic who feels guilty for the death of a young woman.

The cast of six - Kristina Benton, Nathan Burmeister, Trelawney Edgar, Ashleigh Goodison, Wayne Tunks and Grace Travaglia - worked well in exploring their characters and allowing them to go down the dark path. There were some well-crafted moments among them, with strong scenes between Benton and Goodison and Edgar and Burmeister.