Playing To Win review

Ash Flanders is confessedly one confused performer as he struggles to stay optimistic in a society and industry that like to chew people up before spitting them out in an instant. Presented as part of this year's Midsumma Festival, Playing To Win has Flanders - in a wonderful kitten leotard - holding his cabaret audience hostage as he recalls the lowlights and the lower-lights of being in said industry, resulting in an evening of great songs and engaging storytelling.

For the most part, Flanders draws on his own personal experiences with fame and success - including a tragically hilarious story involving Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy - but he also looks at the idolisation of reality TV star celebrities, particularly those who are famous for no discernible reasons. His send-up of Gina Liano's "Gina" perfume ad is a great touch in emphasising his frustrations of slipping down the black hole of failure.

Suburban Gothic review

Cabaret doesn't get more macabre and twisted than in Suburban Gothic. There is definitely "some spooky shit going down" in this show, but what makes it even more unnerving is that it is all apparently taking place just down the road from where you live - or even closer to home... 

What initially seem like charming and innocuous cabaret songs, soon turn grim and morbid at the masterful musical hands of writers Karlis Zaid, Mark Jones and Karin Muiznieks. The songs cleverly expose the darker underbelly of the suburbs in wry and witty ways, with no topic taboo.

Take A Seat review | The Butterfly Club

When you die, will you be getting into heaven or will you be sent to hell? For a group of people this question will be answered sooner than they had hoped in Kieran Gould-Bowen's Take A Seat. Set in a waiting room for the lately deceased, these recently departed are given an opportunity to reflect on their lives before judgement is passed upon them.

The cast of seven consists of four actors making their stage debut, including Kotryna Gesait and Mursal Ahmadi who show distinct ability in understanding the characters and using their bodies and facial expressions to give authenticity to the depiction of what their lives were like. 

The Helendale Nude Footy Calendar review | Kissing Booth | Bluestone Church Arts Space

A local football club has run out of funds and is at a loss of what to do. "What is it that we have that people want?", laments one footballer shortly before taking off his top and showing off his toned body. And so The Helendale Nude Footy Calendar adventure begins. However, there are two other parallel stories occurring in two other country towns: at Karandah Heads, two locals encounter a celebrity staying at a caravan park, and at Galshank, a gay high school student tries to figure out what it is he wants. Presented as part of this year's Midsumma Festival, the three stories in The Helendale Nude Footy Calendar explore sexuality, relationships and love, and the different ways these can present themselves.

Helendale - the most fleshed out of the three stories (pun intended) - focuses on Angus (Chris Edwards) who secretly (and maybe not so secretly) swoons over footballer Mason (Guy Talon). Edwards is well cast as the shy, nervous and incredibly sarcastic Angus, with his body language and mannerisms bringing to the surface his anxieties and desires. The support cast does well with their characters and are given the opportunity to show multiple sides of their personalities. They're not just footballers but also friends, brothers, boyfriends, etc. etc., and Sam Nix as Angus' brother, Tom is a great example of embracing this chance for strong character development. There are scenes of bravado when Tom is with "the boys" talking football but there are sincere moments when speaking to his brother about life and reaching for the opportunities it has to offer.

Animal review | Midsumma Festival | Hares & Hyenas

Performed as part of this year's Midsumma Festival, Animal explores what it means to be 'human' in relation to sexuality, relationships and society through the duality of man and beast. Created and performed by Mikey J. White, it is a multidisciplinary piece that incorporates theatre, music, burlesque, multimedia and spoken word that has us questioning how superior we actually are to animals.

White personifies a variety of animals throughout the show and there is an almost ritualistic process in becoming each animal through the wearing of a near-abstract, skeleton head-piece of the animal being portrayed. This results in a cleverly nuanced performance by White whereupon his physicality and mannerisms begin to be an extension of each animal. The hessian bag that is worn around his waist further highlights this duality that White is keen to explore. On the one hand, the bag is coarse and has a primal feeling to it and on the other, the makeshift trousers are a sign of respectability and civility.