While waiting in the foyer for This Is Eden to begin, a young woman in a bonnet and dress appears. Her name is Jane (Emily Goddard), a Female Convict Heritage Tour Guide, who provides us with a brief but entertaining overview on the history of female convicts. Jane is wide-eyed and enthusiastically explains how most women convicts who were sent to the Cascades Female Factory in Hobart were non-violent criminals, and we all laugh as she fumbles with putting on a spiked iron collar that women convicts often wore; it's easier to discount the tales of atrocity experienced this way.
Devised by Goddard and Susie Dee, This Is Eden is more than just a story about Australia's convict history. It is also about the treatment of Indigenous people throughout time and our treatment of asylum seekers today. Through
the show, it is clear we have yet to learn from our mistakes and like Jane, we
seem to be more upset over failed relationships than we do by sending people to
certain death.
Once ushered to our seats, Jane hopes we enjoy the show and as she leaves, we are enveloped by silence and darkness.
Moments later, Goddard reappears on stage, unrecognisable this time as
convict Mary Ford. Her wild hair and near deranged demeanour is
unsettling yet captivating as she shares the stories of her captors.
It was only a matter of time before experimental feminist theatre company The Rabble decided to take on the life of Joan of Arc, the woman who helped France win the war over Orléans and was later burnt at the stake for heresy and cross-dressing. Twenty-five years after her death, she was declared innocent of her crimes by the courts and was canonised in 1920. Her struggle and persecution is something that still resonates with us today, and with a fierce and poignant feminist perspective on her story, co-creators Kate Davis and Emma Valente bring her plight into a contemporary spotlight.
The show begins with a projection of an eye onto a scrim at the front of the stage. While it originally challenges the audience, there is a vulnerability and apprehension to the blinking eye that lingers in the room. The sound of burning logs and crackling wood as it continues to stare into the audience further builds on the unease and is a hint of what's to come. While we may know the story of Joan of Arc, there are still plenty of surprising and gripping moments to unfold in this production.
This year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival has hosted a variety of shows that has fortunately included a large number being performed where it hurt too much to laugh. Different Party is no exception, being a perfect example of sketch, physical comedy, storytelling and mime all coming together for a hilarious hour of comedy you never want to end.
Dennis Chang and Grareth Krubb are Consultation Specialists at Ruck's Leather Interiors and we are privy to observe a regular day at the office for the two businessmen. However, when these two characters are played by Barnie Duncan (Weekend At Barnie's) and Trygve Wakenshaw (Nautilus), you know that a regular day for them is going to be extremely entertaining one for us.
How much hijinks can a dead man get up to? Quite a lot if you are Dani Cabs and Barnie Duncan. Using the cult classic 80s film Weekend at Bernie's as the premise for their new Melbourne International Comedy Festival show, Weekend At Barnie's has Cabs (Poncho Orange) and Duncan flexing their physical theatre and clowning skills in a way that would make Bernie very proud.
Duncan is brilliant as a stiff and really allows his body to be flung left, right and centre by Cabs, and various people from the audience, to create some ridiculously entertaining moments. Cabs play off Duncan's antics perfectly and while performing the relatively 'straight' man role of the two, he still manages to bring his own quirks into the character.
I don't like wine, never have, and after seeing These Things Take Wine and the effects it has had on cabaret performer Tash York, I don't think I ever will. However, this comedic alcohol-fuelled love song to wine is a highly entertaining show that I could easily go back to for seconds.
With her hair dishevelled, lipstick smeared on her teeth, black dress creased and with most certainly a myriad of alcohol stains embedded deep into the fabric, York looks a right mess. Yet we immediately warm to York, because we've all been there and we know exactly what that hangover feels like.
While waiting in the foyer for This Is Eden to begin, a young woman in a bonnet and dress appears. Her name is Jane (Emily Goddard), a Female Convict Heritage Tour Guide, who provides us with a brief but entertaining overview on the history of female convicts. Jane is wide-eyed and enthusiastically explains how most women convicts who were sent to the Cascades Female Factory in Hobart were non-violent criminals, and we all laugh as she fumbles with putting on a spiked iron collar that women convicts often wore; it's easier to discount the tales of atrocity experienced this way.
