On A Night Like This: The Erin Minogue Experience review

There are not too many people in the world who do not know who Kylie Minogue is. And the same could be said for her sister Dannii Minogue. But what about Erin Minogue? That's right, the other, other Minogue sister who has also been seeking her own piece of the fame pie. Presented as part of this year's Midsumma Festival,  On A Night Like This: The Erin Minogue Experience focuses on the youngest Minogue sibling who is given her moment to shine in this well-crafted and stylish comedy cabaret about the true story of a fictitious person.

Written by Chris Gist and Paul Kooperman with Lizzie Moore (who also performs as Erin), we are taken through the decades of the Minogue sisters' lives and it revealed what Erin's role in each significant moment was or what the reason was for her absence. When it comes to the case of the Young Talent Time, while all three were originally booked to audition, Erin had a doctor's appointment she had to go to due to her mother's concern of her unusual growth spurt...

Reefer Madness review

Reefer Madness was originally a 1939 film intending to dissuade youth from smoking cannabis and highlighting the risks linked to this "pastime". In 1999, Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney opened their musical version of the show in Los Angeles and 17 years later it is presented by RL Productions, and the entire time watching, I kept wondering - why?

While I understand the tongue-in-cheek humour and the satirical nature of the cult show, I simply cannot find any laughs in rape or domestic violence. I will admit that I am not familiar with the film and unsure to what extent it makes these references but stating women will be raped if they are stoned and watching a female character being physically and verbally assaulted by a male - and played for laughs - is not on. Yes, you can argue that it was in the musical's book (from 1999), but these issues are so problematic for today's audience that I felt this production needs to consider and address this in some way.

The Consort of Melbourne: Playing with Fire

In November last year, I attended the National Gallery's Friday Nights event during its Masterpieces from the Hermitage exhibition. As I wandered through the gallery, I came across a choral performance that had me transfixed and extremely eager to hear more. The group was the Consort of Melbourne, a professional vocal ensemble who champion historic and contemporary chamber vocal repertoire. Since that experience, I have eagerly awaited the opportunity to see (and hear) them perform again, and this month they return to the Melbourne Recital Centre with their Local Heroes season.

"We have presented a regular concert series in the Melbourne Recital Centre for many years and we're always excited to return," Artistic Director of the Consort of Melbourne, Steven Hodgson tells me. "Our Local Heroes season has a 'Fire and Water' theme with the first concert, Flames within being a very exciting and dynamic program centred on explosive vocal music by composers Claudio Monteverdi, Carlo Gesualdo and Luca Marenzio."

Dogfight review

Dogfight, based on the 1991 River Phoenix film, revolves around the actions of three marines on their final night in a small town in 1963, just before they are to be deployed to Okinawa, and then on to Vietnam. While the trio come from seemingly similar backgrounds, they are friends bound by circumstances of war. Over the course of this night, these bonds are tested, especially when Eddie meets the naive and innocent Rose.

The original production of Dogfight, with book by Peter Duchan, premiered in New York in 2012 and won the Lucille Lortel Outstanding Music Award as well as being nominated for a number of others. However, so much of the show feels outdated, and unfortunately there is nothing new or especially engaging being offered by this story – whereupon even those who are not familiar with the film itself can see exactly how things are going to pan out.

Epic Comedy at The Butterfly Club - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has a staggering 600-odd shows being performed during its season, so the choice of what show to see can be somewhat overwhelming as well as navigating around all the different venues around Melbourne. Fortunately, iconic Melbourne venue, The Butterfly Club has you covered, presenting 19 shows that spans a huge variety of comedy styles.

"I think it's very kind of you to infer we are any good at all, so thank you for the compliment," says The Butterfly Club director, Simone Pulga. "We received some 200 enquiries for this year's festival and reading through them was a reward in itself. The majority turned out to be remarkably well thought-out projects and when that happens, the job at hand is to focus on quality and variety: lots of different shows, all performed by people who know exactly what they're doing."

Clara Cupcakes: Hot Patootie - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

One of Melbourne's favourite vaudevillian and raconteur returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with another offering of her unique humour and take on life. Yes, Clara Cupcakes is back with one of my favourite show titles in this year's festival, Hot Patootie.

"Hot Patootie is fun! Like really fun! Well I guess that's all opinion but I have so much fun performing it so I would hope that it's fun for people watching. It's a choose your own adventure style show so the whole audience gets involved which is nice," Clara explains. "It's actually two different shows - Hollywood and Circus. The audience picks which one they want to see and then there are a whole bunch of choices within the show they get to make. I have no idea what the show is going to look like when it starts. That's pretty fun for me!" 

Miss Friby, All Alone…At Last | Big West Festival preview

The big day has arrived and you have spent so much time and energy planning the event to end all events. But then it happens: one by one all your guests cancel and you end up alone. Alone on your birthday. Presented as part of the Big West Festival, Miss Friby, all alone...at last will examine her current life status with a new dazzling and captivating burlesque cabaret show.

Green Room Award nominee and Australia's Got Talent finalist, Miss Friby, promises plenty of fun and excitement for her guests. "There will be wild theatre, hilarious banter, impeccable choreography, incredible aesthetics and the unique brand of old world theatre. The show will also feature a live band, and the back room of the reverence will be transformed into a pop-up speakeasy, fit for a true diva spectacle, she explains. To top it all off, each night will also include a special guest performer including the brilliant Sara Yael, Miss Burlesque Australia 2014 Zelia Rose and Mr Boylesque Australia 2015 Daniel Ham.