Ross & Rachel review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Theatre Works

Spoiler alert, when Ross and Rachel finally got together in Friends, there was much celebration from fans of the iconic TV show. After all, we'd been waiting ten years for this. Once the show was over, we assumed that that was their happy ending. They were meant for each other. But what happens when that happy ending doesn't come? James Fritz' Ross & Rachel picks up on this story ten years later and reveals that what we may have wanted back then could easily be what is slowly killing us now.

Fritz's play is intended to be performed by one actor in both roles. The transitions between characters occur instantly throughout and sometimes before a sentence has even been finished. This can make for a challenging narrative to follow, but the idea of losing one's self by being in a relationship is made abundantly clear. While this is told through the characters of Friends, it is still accessible for those who don't know the TV show as references to the show will appeal to fans but are vague enough that non-Friends fan will still be able to understand. Ross & Rachel isn't about Friends, it's about two people who thought they were meant to be together.

Ross & Rachel | Melbourne Fringe Festival interview

So no one told you life was gonna be this way. If that sentence immediately makes you think of the 90s TV program Friends, you are definitely not alone. It was a show, where for 14 years, the world patiently waited for one of TVs most loved couples to finally get together - and stay together: Ross and Rachel. It was all happily ever after for the two, but what really happened afterwards? Did they stay together? Were they happy? Did they stay in love? Presented by Spinning Plates as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, James Fritz' Ross & Rachel is an examination on The One That No One Told You About. 

"Ross & Rachel is about what happens after the end – not about getting together, but about staying together," actor Jessica Stanley explains. "The title really is so integral to the whole thing; it’s about how people can lose their identities inside of a relationship, how they’re no longer counted as two people but as one."

Andre Tonight! review | Melbourne Fringe Festival review | Arts House

It's unfortunate when you attend a show only to be told that it has to be cancelled because the band has called in sick, but that is what happens with Melbourne Fringe Festival's Andre Tonight! - or so we are led to believe. However, an audience member drunkenly volunteers her services and once she plays some music for our host, Andre DiVenuto, he decides the show must go on - and so it does. 

Created by Chris Ryan and Mark Winter and performed by music theatre star Ryan, Andre Tonight! is an hour of laughs that just don't seem to end. Ryan encapsulates the late-night variety show, and the European 20-something from Epping (my hometown) perfectly. I'm not sure where Ryan grew up, but he has certainly done his homework as the language, mannerism and style - including the hideous comb-over - scream Epping.

Top 10 TV Shows of 2014

Well here it is, my top ten television shows of 2014, which was actually quite easy to compile because even though I feel like I watch a lot of tv, these ones stood out so much more than any other shows I watch.
I know there will be some shows people will be surprised are omitted, but sadly I can't watch everything - although that would be great - and then there are some shows that completely and utterly bore me; hello Game of Thrones. 
The only annoying thing about TV this year has been the damn half season seasons. What happened to the days when the whole season was aired in one go?
Anyway, without further ado, here we go:

1. The Walking Dead (season 5)

It's an interesting choice for me because I feel like this show is very hit and miss with its plot and character development but my obsession for zombies and the stellar performance by Melissa McBride, Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln make this an unmissable series for me.
The quick but brutal wrap up of Terminus was definitely some smart writing and Carol going all Rambo-like was awesome. Slight lull mid-season but picked up again in the last few episodes.
In a show where characters are killed off regularly, the two deaths this half season have been very unexpected and brutal and am looking forward to the second half of the season in February.

Is the Walking Dead sexist?

Recently, I have felt that The Walking Dead – the TV series – has been treating its female character as second rate characters. Not caring for them and not developing them as much as they are the men. I’ve also made a note of the number of female characters who seem to kill themselves. It’s quite difficult to not compare the same character to the comic but I will attempt to look at the TV series separately to the comics for the most part.

In the beginning of the seasons, I remember the four women, Andrea, Carol, Amy and Jacqui (who later killed herself) washing their clothes when Shane attacks Carol's husband Ed for abusing her. The four women stood back screaming at Shane to stop, even Andrea. In later episodes, once he was dead, Carol felt guilty for wishing dead the man who beat on her and abused her daughter. Even now that her husband – and daughter – are dead, Carol is still shown as a weak person constantly being protected by the men of the camp, including T-Dog who sacrificed himself to save her and Darryl. Furthermore, Beth has been nothing but a babysitter for the most of season 3. We actually saw her kill two walkers in the finale behind the gates so at least she got to do something. Oh, and let’s not forget her own attempt at suicide in Season 2. Luckily now she stays under the watchful eye of her father, Hershel.