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.

The Johnston Collection presents "An Interior Life" exhibition

William Robert Johnston was a Melbourne based antique dealer and a collector of beautiful things from the age of eight, when his grandmother gave him a little teacup. As his collection grew, Johnston wanted to share these unusual and visually arresting items with the wider community. Upon his death in 1986, the not-for-profit museum, The Johnston Collection was established which comprises of 1,400 objects of mostly 17^th century English furniture, paintings, ceramics and objet d’art.

Part of the charm of the Johnston Collection stems from its revolving door of guest curators over the years which has included The Australian Ballet's Artistic Director David McAllister, milliner Richard Nylon, interior design studio Hecker Guthrie, and Barking Spider Visual Theatre company. Thse curators are offered the freedom to express their personal connection and response to what they display and how it is set up, giving people the chance to view these objects from different perspectives and ensures a great rotation of the collection.

Big Glittery Sh!tshow - Midsumma Festival review

When you call your show Big Glittery Sh!tshow, you’re giving the impression that things will get very loose and very messy, and oh how they do with this one. After winning the 2019 Gasworks Circus Showdown, Jack Wilde, Shona Cona and Laney Mejias return with their full-length spectacle of wackiness, absurdity and the cheekiest of humour. Audiences should leave their expectations at the door and simply enjoy this bumpy but hugely entertaining ride. 

There is a lot of excitability and liveliness from this emerging group of circus artists. Of note is Cona, who not only performs her routines with a brazen attitude but actively draws us into them from the (relative) safety of our own seats. Wilde has an incredible charm to him and the way he interacts with the audience lets our inhibitions down, willing to go along with whatever he has planned. Mejias sings several songs that provide moments to gather ourselves with enough pizzazz to simultaneously keep us hyped up. 

The acts themselves might not be mind blowing but the way they are executed makes them feel more evolved. We’ve seen juggling before but Wilde’s choice of juggling items, the lead up to their reveal and what he does with them creates something quite unique. Similarly, Cona’s hula hopping brings with it amazing visual effects that are completely mesmerising and you're almost disappointed when it's over.

Adam - Midsumma Festival review

Adam Kashmiry left Egypt, his home and country, at the age of 19. He travelled to Scotland to seek asylum in order so that he could live. Adam is a transgender man, and his journey of determination and hope is presented as part of the Midsumma Festival in France Poet's critically acclaimed Adam. 

Juan Gomez and Ollie Ayres both star as Adam, showing the complementary and contrasting nature of his personality, which links back to the contronyms (words that have two opposing meanings) that they discuss throughout the play. The opposite yet same "parts" of Adam struggle as they try to find a sense of wholeness. This fight becomes evident particularly when Adam begins taking his testosterone injections, and it is acted out powerfully and honestly.

Summer of the 17th Doll - Midsumma Festival review

Po Po Mo Co and friends

Ray Lawler's Summer of the 17th Doll premiered in Melbourne in 1955 and its public appeal stemmed from its distinctive Australian characters in a distinctive Australian setting. It resonated with Australians so much, that people travelled hundreds of kilometres to see it when it toured the country. A subsequent UK tour also saw it receive almost universal critical acclaim. Its impact has been long standing due to the discourse it created on the Australia way of life. Fast forward 65 years, and its recent production for Midsumma Festival will no doubt be sparking even more conversation.

Queer collective Po Po Mo Co bring together an assortment of performing arts makers who have been allocated a scene from the play. They are provided the freedom to explore, dissect and tear it up in any way they like, so while there is a queerness running through the scenes, the final product allows this to be presented with a variety of engaging styles.