Image by Alison Lee Rubie
Sigmund Freud sits in his London study, having fled the Nazis in Austria, listening to the announcements of the war spreading across Europe and dying. He has had mouth cancer for some time now and is in increasing pain as he edges towards death. This hasn’t stopped him from being his inflammatory self, though, and on this day, he decides to invite CS Lewis, his theological opposite, for tea.
Annie has written the play of her life and she is devastated to see her production team destroying her creation. She tracks down a man who inspired her early on in her career, an Australian director named Peter, but finds him cast aside as the janitor of a theatre school. Against his protestations, Annie convinces him to work on her play without realising the permission he feels granted. The Director attempts to investigate behind the scenes of an abusive and unethical director and tries to dismantle the myth of genius that keeps people like this in positions of power. The discussion of dangerous directors is typically kept under wraps, contained in rumours and whispers, but Nancy Hasty’s play brings it to the fore for everyone to consider.
Image by John Marmaras
The 2016 election of Donald Trump was a rude global awakening that the West had quickly forgotten what Fascism looks and sounds like. In the two years since, still, little has been done to address the insidious ways dangerous ideas and attitudes infect policy and perspective on all shores, including our own. Rich white men (and women) continue to cut funding to necessary sectors like health and public schools, detention centres are active and normal, and, yes, Australia is still racist. That’s why we’re seeing Nazis on stage with more frequency and more urgency; as reminders.
Closing their tour to launch their newest album titled Snow in Summer, Evergreen Ensemble played a concert of the same name at the Independent Theatre on a muggy Sunday afternoon. Playing a mix of Scottish and Scandinavian styles and songs with some Italian influence thrown in, the program meandered through melancholic Highland ballads and joyous dance numbers.
Image by Brett Boardman Photography
On a windy evening in Lucca, Italy, Geppetto returns to his lonely workshop, returns to his friends, puppets of his own creation. With them he can shut out the rampant fascism and hatred taking over his precious country. On this night in particular, however, he may return to his memories for the last time.
Image by Clare Hawley
In its Australian premiere, the newest iteration of Stalker: the Musical explores themes of love and fear in a nameless town under the control of an all-powerful Mayor. When a Stranger wanders into the lives of the townspeople, he introduces new ideas that completely change what they’ve always thought to be true.
Image by Christopher Starnawski (Omnes Photography)
The team behind Little Triangle are at it again, bringing forgotten musical theatre gems back to the stage for a new audience. This time, instead of a single show, there are a lot of little bits plucked from their narrative context and woven into A Little Cabaret.
★★★★★ / 5
Mr Gørski is on the run for being too entertaining! He’s found a secret hideout, so he’s safe for now, but since we’re all here, he may as well show you some tricks! A clown under pressure does prove to be awfully entertaining.
Image by Steve Lee
In Maestro Lee Bracegirdle’s inaugural program since being appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra, the spring program was a bold welcome to the new season with some beautiful classics played wonderfully by the full orchestra. Equally exciting was the accompaniment by two internationally renowned soloists to the concert’s proceedings.
Image by Clare Hawley
The modern world is shifting and changing, becoming ever more unstable with increased house prices and rental numbers, the casualisation of the work force, and an overall rough globe politically. The Humans takes an honest look at how these changes are affecting a middle-class American family where everyone’s goals and dreams seem to be moving out of reach. Everything spills out over the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Night Writes 