Dry Land review

Amy and Ester share very little in common, apart from their place in the school swim team. But dive a little deeper and these two women discover they actually have many things in common, as well as secrets of their own. In Ruby Rae Spiegel's Dry Land, we are introduced to the (private) lives of schoolgirls and the real issues they are facing.



Luce Wirthensohn (Amy) and Cassidy Dunn (Ester) have a great ability in giving layered performances for their complex characters, but they are let down by a script that throws too much at them and the characters end up being driven by the narrative rather than driving the narrative. Dry Land would have been far more effective had we focused on the relationship between Amy and Ester, and by extension their individual lives, and not introduced to a number of secondary characters that add little to the story.

Beauty Queen review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Trades Hall

Narcissus takes centre stage in Emily Carr's new work as a young woman hell-bent on winning the Miss World Australia beauty pageant. With Carr's strong character comedy and a story that takes its audience to a few unexpected places, it's laughs aplenty and then some with Beauty Queen.

Carr is in full control of all the characters she portrays, clearly defining the various mannerisms and personality traits of each one. Voice and body language are distinctive and she doesn't take a misstep with presenting each one. Her interactions between "herself" and the AI program helping her write a feminist play that doesn't scream feminism are comical and it's amusing watching the tension and power battle between the two of them intensify.

Cygnets review | Theatre Works

Helen of Troy might be a familiar figure to people when it comes to Greek mythology but she is generally recognised as the cause of the Trojan War and little beyond that. Her sister, Clytemenstra is even lesser known, briefly acknowledged in her role of murdering her husband after he sacrificed their daughter to the Gods to aid in his quest for power. Cygnets brings these two sisters together to reclaim their voice and story as they work through the trauma and resentment they experienced at the hands of those around them.

The performances by Rebekah Carton and Delta Brooks are nothing short of magnificent. Brooks as Helen is put through the ringer with the distress and anguish she must convey, as well as reacting to the aggression she receives from her sister. Things get very messy and physically demanding but the commitment she keeps to each scene, as does Carton, is testament to the hard work the two have put in with director Harry Haynes and dramaturg Alanah Guiry in creating Cygnets. Carton finds an inspired balance of being vicious yet comedic, and fierce yet soft, as the woman who will mourn the loss of her daughter and then pay the price for exacting her revenge.

Set and costume designer Juliette Whitney has constructed an impressive set that draws you into the severely rousing moments that play out. Blood-red PVC strips confine us in the small makeshift arena that is used to great effect by Haynes where the drama is presented in a restrained yet impassioned pace. A group of four performers dressed in various red coloured outfits act as a sort of Greek Chorus entering the space for set changes and carrying in props. Their movements and interactions add to the intensity and the inevitable end for the two sisters.

Monument review | Red Stitch

Edith Aldridge has just 90 minutes to prepare for the most important day of her life, and it's not her wedding. Makeup artist Rosie has arrived at the hotel as a last-minute call-in to ensure Edith looks gorgeous, after all, how often do you get sworn in as the youngest female leader of a country? Written by Emily Sheehan, Monument explores the power that makeup, fashion and beauty hold over women and also the power that women can have from this. It's a delicate act that is captured by an intriguing and interesting premise.

Julia Hanna is brilliant as Rosie, a perfect foil to the matter-of-fact and calmly distressed Prime Minister. Her line delivery, pronunciation and speech patterns convey much about the character's background and make her inexperienced interactions with the Prime Minister seem genuine. Sarah Sutherland as the Prime Minister presents a woman who is slowly unravelling by forces outside her control and feeling the pressure of being relentlessly monitored over the minutest of details. She exposes Edith's emotional turmoil in a very raw way, including a compelling scene of her silently releasing her anger and frustrations out into the world.

The Fence review

We may see fences as the boundary of our property, where one house ends and another one starts. But what happens when that fence is literally and figuratively taken down? Written by Fleur Murphy, The Fence takes audiences into the home of one woman as she bears witness to the darker side of neighbourhood living.

Louisa Mignone plays a happily married woman with a three-year-old daughter. She works night shifts at a local supermarket stacking shelves as she and her husband plan on buying the house they are currently renting. When a couple move in next door and tear down the fence between them, it leads to emotions and feelings that begin to impact her life as she struggles with the implications of turning a blind eye or calling out what she suspects is taking place.

Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra: Sisters doin' it for themselves in Cygnets | Theatre Works

Helen and Clytemnestra. Sisters whose place in mythology has been one of persecution and revile. One is responsible for selfishly causing the Trojan War and the other brutally murdered her husband as he bathed. Nasty women indeed. But is there more to the story, to these women, than meets the eye? In The Liminal Space's upcoming production, Cygnets, the siblings reunite and open up about their shared history and the truth behind their actions.

Emerging actors Rebekah Carton and Delta Brooks take on the roles of Clytemnestra and Helen respectively, but it took the two performers a while to find a role that spoke to them, and challenged them, as performers, as women, as people. "Delta and I had been looking for a two-hander for a long time and were uninspired by the choices available to us. We had this ongoing banter about being ‘Gemini twins’, and I suggested perhaps devising a work around Castor and Polydeuces, the original geminis," Carton recalls. "It was only when reading into these characters that I connected the dots: Clytemnestra and Helen were sisters. Not only that, twins. How did I not know this? I had studied classics, I had read the plays, I’d even played Helen in The Trojan Women!"

Grass review

We're all guilty of thinking the grass is always greener but we don't often get to find out for certain if this is true. In Yvonne Martin's new play, Grass, over a bottle of wine, two friends who haven't spent time together in over a year, finally put this to the test as they open up about children, family, careers and the freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

This catch-up is interspersed with flashbacks showing the gradual deterioration of their friendship and while this gives performers Stephanie Daniel and Sarah Oldmeadow more to do with their characters, they don't add anything to the narrative as Lil and Aimee already express this in the present. We know why they drifted apart and how they blame the other for the rift in their friendship so seeing it act out provides no extra insights. Martin also allows an opportunity for the women to break out of the scene and share their inner thoughts with the audience. Her direction here is a little awkward as we wait for the other woman to leave the stage and would have been more effective if she had remained in the background as the monologue occurred.

What Every Girl Should Know review

Four young girls living in a Catholic reformatory in 1914 experience an awakening when they come across Margaret Sanger’s Family Limitation, one of the first guides on birth control to be published in the United States. Monica Byrne’s What Every Girl Should Know has the girls questioning and challenging the faith and beliefs they’ve held as they start to explore their desires and fantasies from their new-found enlightenment that offers them power and liberation. 

The ensemble - Ravenna Bouckaert, Rachel Kamath, Vivian Nguyen and Shirong Wu – do a great job of bringing these girls to life and while they have distinct personalities, they don’t let them become stereotypes as they create a depth and authenticity to them. Nguyen is a highlight of the production, providing some comedic relief to the otherwise bleak (yet hopeful) narrative and she displays a carefully considered depiction of Lucy’s apprehension, fear and struggles.

unHOWsed review

Made by a group of formerly homeless women over the age of 50, UnHOWsed provides an opportunity for these women to share their experiences with homelessness and to raise awareness of the constantly growing number of homeless women in the country. A collaboration between theatre company Tashmadada and housing organisation Voices of the South Side, this multidisciplinary performance piece is a stark yet poetic exploration of life on the fringe of society.

Each performer (Carla Mitterlehner, Susan V.M. McDonald-Timms, Jan Grey, Diann Pattison, Maurya Bourandanis, Catherine Samsury, Karen Corbett, Liza Dezfouli) sits on a chair in a pit of sand. There are beams of light shining down from the ceiling, lighting up their individual faces in the otherwise darkened space. They take in deep, sharp breaths and move their bodies as they do. It’s hypnotic to watch and the expressions they wear are indicative of the stories they have to tell. The impact from all these elements display the strength and resilience in each woman but also hints at their fragility and vulnerability.

The Disappearing Trilogy review

In Suzie Hardgrave's The Disappearing Trilogy, gender and character come under the spotlight with an actor expressing her confusion and uncertainty on what it means to be both a woman and a performer. Where does one end and one begin? Can they co-exist, or will one eventually cease to exist?

Hardgrave displays outstanding skill in her writing and acting with each of the three episodes, which partners her thesis on the topic of “the actress”, and performance and construct of gender and character. The first episode has Hardgrave lamenting a one-star review after a show has closed and determining her self-worth. The second, which is the most engaging, has her using her body to explore the demands and expectations placed upon a performer as a pre-recorded narrator verbalises what we are seeing. The final episode has the actor step out from the confines of the stage and attempt to speak to us as a genuine person.

Savannah Bay review | La Mama Theatre

An elderly woman sit patiently, but also impatiently, on a chair. She is waiting. For what, we do not know. Eventually a young woman arrives and begins to tend to her. As she does, they recall and share stories that bind them together. Written by acclaimed French writer Marguerite Duras, Savannah Bay explores memory and identity and how these connect us with others.

There's a strong bond between the two actors, Brenda Palmer and Annie Thorold. They allow their characters to exude a reciprocal compassion and sincerity. When The Young Woman is undressing and dressing Madeleine, there is plenty to take from that moment as to the dynamics of the relationship of these women and where they are at in their lives. There are instances throughout the show that capture this so intelligently and sensitively.

Let Men Tremble review | Theatre Works

Inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, experimental theatre company The Danger Ensemble's Let Men Tremble is a passionate exploration of just how much men have controlled, and continue to control, the minds, bodies and souls of women, and how women have had enough.

The cast of ten work extremely well together in keeping their energy up with some very difficult text and their impressive ability to slip in and out of characters. Alexandra Hines, Eidann Glover and Jane Cameron show masterful nuance in their roles, convincingly finding the comedy, the horror, and the something in between with the characters they portray. Danny Carroll and Leo Thompson display great physicality and expression with brilliant restraint throughout the production.

Make Me A Houri review

In Islamic religion, Muslim men who die as "believers" are rewarded with 72 beautiful perpetual virgins as wives in heaven. These women are known as houris. In Emina Ashman's Make Me A Houri, two women who meet in the afterlife begin to question and confront how religion and society view and use their bodies and their spirits. 

Ashman creates some moving poetry with her story of these two women as they come to grapple with their own desire and the expectations placed upon them. Regardless how confronting the topics discussed are, through her considered and open dialogue, she allows the audience to lower their guard and be drawn into what is transpiring. Where this story comes up short is that the characters are largely unchanged throughout it. There is no build up to anything climatic or revelatory and the women remain static as they recall personal experiences that lead into deeper philosophical analysis.

A Room of One's Own review | fortyfivedownstairs

In her essay, Women and Fiction, Virginia Woolf discussed why women throughout history were so limited in achieving success in literature. The essay and the series of lectures it evolved into in 1928, remain a potent feminist examination on three areas: what women are like, women and the fiction they write, and women and the fiction written about them. 

In A Room of One's Own Peta Hanrahan has taken Woolf's words and adapted them for the stage putting her 90-year-old thoughts under a compelling new light. First performed in 2016 at La Mama Theatre, Hanrahan's production returns for a second season at fortyfive downstairs with four actors expressing Woolf's thoughts and ideas as if they were an internal dialogue. Hanrahan eloquently interprets these to present an intelligent and articulate conversation on feminism while ensuring a relevance to the contemporary world we live in.

Twigs That Never Took review

It can be difficult to move forward when you can't let go of the past. Where you spend your time reminiscing about your younger years as you try to avoid the future that awaits. In Donna De Palma's Twigs That Never Took, a middle-aged woman grapples with her mortality and loneliness as she opens up to the audience about her two lost loves. 

There is so much potential for this to be a refreshing exploration on gender roles and ageism, however the show reveals few important or profound realisations. This is most noticeable in the first half that consists of our protagonist Bianca describing her two weddings as well as all the various things one must consider when planning a wedding. While there are humorous moments presented, very little of it leads to anything substantial.

The Three Graces review

Climate change, gender equality and the role of women in society all come together in Laura Lethlean's The Three Graces. Manifesting as a water fountain that has been turned off, three goddesses come together to voice their distress and opinions of where the world is heading and whether or not it's too late to work towards change. 

Madelaine Nunn, Candace Miles and Anna Rodway play Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne, collectively known as The Three Graces who were regarded to possess the essence of beauty, charm and grace. The three actors are dressed in various black jumpsuit-like outfits that echo peploi that The Three Graces would have worn, but also suits the characters they play in the contemporary scenes. While the three are adept with the material, the performances sometimes feel too exaggerated with big, expressive movements and dialogue that is awkward and unnatural.

Woman of the Hour review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Butterfly Club

In 2015, Sophie Joske performed her first solo show called Become a Functional Adult in 45 Minutes, a cautionary tale on society programming people to be what it wants them to be. In the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, she stars in her second solo show, Woman of the Hour, and while they are completely different shows, you can't help but wonder if the main character from her current outing, Cassandra Barbitoll, is the tragic outcome of the societal indoctrination highlighted in her first.

Cassandra Barbitoll is a Hollywood star. She has been one ever since she was a child. The media loved the youngster with a heart-melting smile but then she got older. She recalls moments of her life with her adoring public; from the life-changing pram stroll her mother took her on to the various auditions she attended over her illustrious career. There is nothing Cassandra won't share with her fans, but it's what she won't share that speaks volumes.

Ovariacting: A Period Drama - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Jamie Boiskin has the ultimate entrance for a cabaret about periods. Popping her head between a slit in a red curtain she eventually pushes herself out through the slit, to reveal a matching red coloured dress. Boiskin is a menstrual activist and in Ovariacting: A Period Drama, she is here to guide menstrual activist protégé Thomas (and the audience) on how to successfully graduate to becoming a fully-fledged menstrual activist. It’s a delightful (and educational) ‘vagourney’ in which the good, the bad and the bloody aspects of menstruation are discussed in a frank but amusing manner.

Boiskin covers many aspects to periods in this cabaret, but she ensures that the flow is paced just right to not overwhelm the audience with hard facts but also not to make the entire cabaret one big period joke. She is incredibly clever at finding the humour in something while making sure that its far-reaching effects are acknowledged. At one time she eulogises about the numerous pairs of underwear lost to menstrual battles; Boiskin may explore the comical side of living with endometriosis but she also makes clear the significant impact it has had on her life. At another point she lists various euphemisms used to describe 'that time of month'. Some are hilarious, some are disturbing, and some are simply offensive, but they highlight the perceptions that periods are something disgusting and gross and should not be talked about in public, particularly to men.

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.

The Butch Monologues - Midsumma Festival review

Butch. A butch woman. A woman who has masculine traits, behaviours and styles. For The Butch Monologues, playwright Laura Bridgeman interviewed numerous butch-identifying women living in America, the UK, Europe and the Caribbean. There are currently over 100 entries in The Butch Monologues, and 54 of these have been selected for the Melbourne premiere of this show to be read out by five members of the Melbourne queer community, some with little or no stage experience.

The stage is bare except for one chair and a small round table, but once Fiona Jones, Anne Harris, Quinn Eades, Jax Jacki Brown and Jacques De Vere appear on stage, it becomes filled with the lives and personalities of the people whose stories are being shared. While the topics and themes that are raised vary from being humourous to affecting to profound, they all work towards highlighting the trials of butch identity and politics.