Tag: reviews

Greenroom’s reviews of Queensland theatre

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Review: Trollop – Queensland Theatre Company at Bille Brown Studio

Some time ago, I pulled this quote from a longer article by John Lahr – The Illumination Business: why drama critics must look at and look after the theatre. I came across it again as I was reviewing another piece I’m working on. It continues to resonate for me, but the quote itself couldn’t have come at a better time as I sat down to record my response to Maxine Mellor’s play Trollop, the winner of the Premier’s Drama Award 2012-13 and receiving its premiere, world performance at Queensland Theatre Company.

Reviewing assumes that the plot is the play; criticism, on the other hand, knows that the plot is only part of a conversation that the playwright is having about a complex series of historical and psychological issues. The job of the critic is to join that conversation, to explore the play and link it to the world. The job of the reviewer is to link the play to the box office.

Mr Lahr is clearly not  keen to be described as a ‘reviewer.’ I don’t particularly care one way or the other; a critic by any other name will smell as pungent. Anyway, I did rather like the bit that notes the critic’s job in joining in the conversation. I’ve always been more interested in conversations with playwrights than budget bottom lines and I agree that plots are not the play, which is just as well. Continue reading “Review: Trollop – Queensland Theatre Company at Bille Brown Studio”

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Review: The Lady of the House of Love – Queensland Music Festival, Brisbane City Council and Metro Arts – Sue Benner Theatre

You go away for a bit and, when you get home, find out from friends just how many good shows you’ve missed. It’s inevitable, I suppose; Winter is the busiest time of the theatre year in SE Queensland. The indies are out in full force right now joining the main-house and touring productions at QPAC – harbingers for the coming Brisbane Festival and its accompanying fringe events in early spring.

It’s not hard to miss a show or two in Brisbane these days. The range and general quality is impressive. Greenroom has missed a couple or come to them late in their season – no bad thing of course, although it does mean you have rather missed the bus when it comes to getting a review out in the usual time frame for such things. As a side note, I managed to catch the marvellous Venus in Fur from Queensland Theatre Company before it closed last week. The reviews were universally glowing, and deservedly so for David Ives‘ intellectual hijinks superbly directed by Andrea Moor and magnificently played by Libby Munro and Todd Macdonald. People are still talking about it; I don’t think they knew what had hit them. Plays like this confirm why we love theatre. As do productions like The Lady of the House of Love an equally beautifully realised fantasy but in another theatrical key altogether. I also came late to this production and I am so glad I did not miss it. Continue reading “Review: The Lady of the House of Love – Queensland Music Festival, Brisbane City Council and Metro Arts – Sue Benner Theatre”

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Review: Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine: La Boite Indie and Tamarama Rock Surfers at Roundhouse Theatre

Image: Sarah Walker

Indie theatre – you just never know what you’re going to get, do you? I mean, you can grab a paper programme and try to guess as you sit yourself down next to some skinny-jean clad, high-haired hipster and a couple of girls dressed like your nanna, but really, anything could happen. It’s cheap, it’s cheerful, and sometimes it’s just spectacular.

The 2012 Melbourne Fringe and (the other) Greenroom’s award-winning Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine, directed by Scarlett McGlynn has been brewing since November 2011, when Tim Spencer conducted his first interview with “Not Nick,” a male sex worker. What followed was a series of interviews designed to reveal, challenge and ultimately be shown theatrically to “open up a dialogue around the inherently complex issue of sex work.” Continue reading “Review: Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine: La Boite Indie and Tamarama Rock Surfers at Roundhouse Theatre”

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Review: Joy, Fear and Poetry: La Boite Indie & Natasha Budd at the Loft, QUT Kelvin Grove

Image: Adam Shambrook

I love kids. No really, I do. Despite currently enduring three of them younger than seven years old, I never seem to tire of their small moments of genius – moments that make you truly believe, if only just for a second, that they are really just short adults.

Joy, Fear & Poetry, written, directed and designed by Natasha Budd, a Brisbane writer, is a “collection of ideas, perspectives and experiences sourced from over 100 children and performed by a cast of 7-12 year olds.” It’s currently showing as part of La Boite’s indie festival, and features two different young casts, who explore the ideas of joy, fear, poetry, art and life in a 60-minute mish-mash of live performance and improvisation, pre-recorded voice-overs, projected script and light and sound production. On opening night I had the pleasure of seeing the wonderfully rainbow-coloured cast ‘A’: David Ishimwe, Hayley Billings, Darcine Abbas, Olivier Nsengiyumva, Kaito Nelson, Ashleigh Geissler and Laurianne Gateka. Continue reading “Review: Joy, Fear and Poetry: La Boite Indie & Natasha Budd at the Loft, QUT Kelvin Grove”

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Review: The Empty City – The Human Company at Powerkids Festival @ Brisbane Powerhouse

The Empty City, directed by David Fenton, is based on the picture book of the same name by David Megarrity and Jonathon Oxlade. It explores an idea that has undoubtedly crossed the mind of every child: What if, for one day only, everyone disappeared and the city belonged to you? What would you do? Go on, you’ve already started picturing yourself eating and playing your way through a large department store, haven’t you? Jumping on all the beds, stuffing yourselves with gumballs, pouring your own McDonald’s thick-shake? Thought so.

Tom, our young protagonist, explores his options in the empty city between two projection screens that give the animated metropolis a 3D effect, allowing plenty of room for snazzy tricks and magical sleight of hand. Designer Jonathon Oxlade, lighting designer Freddy Komp, animator Luke Monsour and graphic designer Ray Pittman have done a fabulous job creating a city that is familiar yet mysteriously different; it could exist anywhere. The actors, Tom Oliver and Bridget Boyle collaborate inventively with their surroundings to tell Tom’s tale. Continue reading “Review: The Empty City – The Human Company at Powerkids Festival @ Brisbane Powerhouse”