The Pirates of Penzance Hayes Theatre Hayes theatre presents a Richard Carroll adapted by and directed production of the G&S favorite “The Pirates of Penzance” This is a story about a sailor, Frederic, who, having turned 21, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tender-hearted pirates. He meets the high-born daughters of the incompetent Major-General Stanley, including Mabel, and the two young people fall instantly in love. Frederic soon learns, however, that he was born on 29 February, and so, technically, he has a birthday only once each leap year. His indenture specifies that he remain apprenticed to the pirates until his "twenty-first birthday", meaning that he must serve for another 63 years.  Bound by his own sense of duty to honour his bond with the pirates, Frederic's only solace is that Mabel agrees to wait for him faithfully. The pirates' maid-of-all-work, Ruth, eventually reveals a fact that saves the day. In this version we have only 5 hard working performers singing to a mixture of backing track and live music. The music is co-arranged and supervised by artistic director Victoria Falconer.  It is on the on-stage Trevor Jones who is co arranger and musical director. He’s a total glue stick and brings not only maturity and skill to the stage but an inherent understanding of the G& S oeuvre.  He is delicious in his roles and his Major- General is top notch in his rendition of the obligatory patter song: “I am the very model of a Modern Major General”.  Maxwell Simon is admirably cast as our hero Frederic with looks and a fine tenor voice to die for.  Brilliantly matched by soprano Brittanie Shipway as Mabel and maid-of-all-work Ruth, Shipway has some show stopping vocal moments and dazzles with her comic chops. She is a genuine star!  Jay Laga’aia plays the Pirate King and the Sergeant of Police.  He’s not a singer and brings little charisma to either of these roles.  But big shoes to fill as the ghost of John English haunts the Aussie stage from as far back as the 1990s in the famous Simon Gallaher disco-inspired productions (sound track readily available!). Bille Palin is a stalwart and plays several minor roles as on-stage swing. The production is delightfully set in what looks and feels like an am-dram pocket theatre (design - Nick Fry; costumes - Lily Mateljan, lighting - Jasmin Rizk).  Sound design by Daniel Herten mixes the multi-modal delivery of sound quite well but in such a small space and with the home-grown feel of the production it is a wonder it is not acoustic. Act One dazzles, full of promise with some reasonable genuine audience interaction.  Act Two fizzles. It reveals a paucity of point of view and audiences are left behind.  With a cast of five it is very hard to realise the complexity of this music and the text – as dazzling as it can be – has mostly been reworked for our contemporary times. That’s Ok but some of the original text is funnier. Go for the cast who are working their butts off.  There is some memorable work! One is reminded how tricky it can be to recreate the buzz and excitement of an original in a re-worked classic.  It shouldn’t stop anyone trying but do we lack the courage and madness of our musical forebears? Review by Kate Gaul

Masterpiece Flow Studios   “Masterpiece” made a splash at Sydney Fringe 2024. The season sold-out, awards were received. What next?   “Masterpiece” is in return season at Flow Studios as a prelude to an Adelaide Fringe debut at The Courtyard of Curiosities. Like the way of the best clowns this show has something for everyone.   The blurb invites us: “Welcome to the gallery. Enter two clowns who endeavour to complete the simplest of tasks: hang up a piece of art. What they didn’t plan on however, is an audience watching and a live musician scoring their every move. How hard can it be?”  This show is non-verbal physical theatre performed by two theatrical wonders Will Bartolo and Rae Colquhoun-Fairweather accompanied by musician James Tarbotton.  Over the 55 minutes of the show there is time for some improvised audience interaction.  But don’t be fooled – this looks easy, maybe even loose, but this is a precise, tight and well-conceived and delivered show. That’s the joy of a great clown show – often the most superb moment passes in an instance. A roller door lifts, and two monochromatic figures stand with a huge bubble wrapped canvas; arrows indicate which is way up – the big joke of course is that the signs come off and as the bubble wrap is removed something quite abstract is revealed. Part Laurel and Hardy; more than a pinch of Buster Keaton; and an oversupply of joi de vie, these performers are charmers. One relishes in the innocence of the characters but also the performers – these are professional artists, shapeshifters who give the gift of simplicity in a world over-supplied with complexity. And the audience love it! Plot points to die for are the repetition of posh gallery music on live violin as the show gets off to a rocky start; the magical revelation of objects from behind the canvas including a clock with spinning hands stressing the rising stakes (this painting MUST be hung!); the lunch bell which signals a stop work and what happens next; a persistent alarm (who crossed over the gallery line!).  No-one will forget the Irish dance sequence – I say no more (you have to be there!). The musician also has a part to play – he’s a plain faced character who permits a laugh during some lunch break scrolling.  I would have loved a stronger musical element throughout – it can be a bit too whimsical and background - but when the wall hanging is reaching its zenith the music becomes heroic and that is fabulous. It drives the action; it could subvert the action too but maybe that is a component that can be developed in the future. One nice touch is the incidental placing of a donkey on top of a short step ladder.  Is this Sancho Panza’s Donkey and these two humans representational of - on the one hand - common sense and humour to balance the idealism and imagination of the other?  Will and Rae are constantly shifting foils to each other which highlights the tension between the  fantasy and reality of life. Possible layers – great!   This is joyful, rigorous theatre! And the coup de theatre that ends the show? – well, “Masterpiece” is small jewel in the firmament of original work.  Recommended!!! Review by Kate Gaul

Yoga Play Paramatta Riverside Theatres   National Theatre of Parramatta in collaboration with La Boite Theatre presents the Australian premiere of Calcutta-born, American playright Dipika Guha’s “Yoga Play”. Dipika Guha is a writer who has inspired and cultivated a fan base from her playwriting and television shows like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. “Yoga Play” is set inside the administrative headquarters of Yoga clothing emporium Jojoman. Joan the new CEO of the yoga apparel giant is hired to stabilise the athleisurewear company after her predecessor was brought down by an unsavoury fat shaming scandal. But trouble is brewing, sales are plummeting and her plan to save the business is getting riskier and riskier.   The play is described as a “razor-sharp comedy” – a phrase that surely strikes fear in our hearts as we discover that this is an evening of 2hours 20 minutes including interval. It’s easy to chuckle at the athleisurewear-meets-enlightenment mind-set, as when Joan talks up Jojomon’s “concept fabric,” Joyon, which is infused with a slow-release organic lavender fragrance and “inspired by best-selling author Marie Kondo’s ‘if it sparks joy’ motif.”   The producers invited America director Mina Morita to lead the company. This is a reasonable production which, while I didn’t find it thigh-slappingly funny, leans into engaging themes around the accumulation of wealth vs spirituality, personal identity, racism and cultural appropriation. Andrea Moor plays the burnt-out Joan navigating a world that she can’t understand. It’s an understated and confident performance. Nat Jobe plays sarcastic employee Raj.  He has some of the best comic chops in the show and has plenty of material to get his teeth into as he must become the Spiritual Leader he most certainly is not. Jobe lands his story arc with a plomb as Raj juggles his personal aspirations and his cultural heritage. Jemwel Danao plays co-worker Fred.  His is a touching story line as he grapples with his immigrant status and sexuality. Camila Ponte Alvarez brings a radiant energy to the stage as a cliched LA Yoga queen (and doubles as various offstage voices) and Thomas Larkin plays multiple roles and is striking as the cave dwelling Guru.   Slick set design by James Lew incorporates video design by Mark Bolton. More and more productions are inviting projection into stage design.  “Yoga Play” calls for some kind of visual representation of the video communication that are central to the plot. It doesn’t land as vibrantly as it could.  The production is handsomely lit by Kate Baldwin and Will Hughes completes the team as composer and sound designer.  The play has lots of small scenes and the team keep the pace tight. I suspect there is a much shorter play trapped within this sprawling work.    Was I entirely won over by “Australian actors doing Indian accents” (Dialect Coach: Linda Nicholls- Gidley)? This does point to what the play is interrogating but it was uncomfortable.  What kind of comedy is this?  I wasn’t cool about laughing at the expense of Indian culture. But for some “Yoga Play” may spark joy.  Namaste!   Kate Gaul

My Brilliant Career Southbank Theatre, The Sumner   MTC is the latest company to give Miles Franklin’s novel “My Brilliant Career” a makeover – this time as a musical. We all know the story of Sybylla Melvyn - a woman growing up in 1890s Australia.  Options are limited but her talent and drive as a storyteller are in abundance. Forced to choose between romance and her own genius, her family and a future she defines, she’s decided she’s having it all. The musical is a super accessible genre for those hard-to-attract to youngsters to mainstage theatre and for curious theatre goers who may be wondering whether we really need yet another version of this story.  What can it have to reveal to us in 2024?   This is a rollicking production.  The original team: book and lyrics by Dean Bryant, music by Mathew Frank, are blessed with the feisty, original, gold-plated-thigh-slapping comic genius of writer Sheridan Harbridge who joined the team as book writer on this production. Directed with elegance and elan by Ann-Louise Sarks with choreography by Amy Campbell, this version of “My Brilliant Career” has a top-notch team.   The music stakes a claim from the opening number – soaring pub rock style delivered with chutzpah by the phenomenal Kala Gare as Sybylla.  Fusing everything from folksy bush tunes, pop, rock and anything in between this musical melange is led by powerhouse musical director Victoria Falconer and delivered by a multi-talented cast who play all the instruments and characters across the 2 hours of the show. The songs are a bit hit and miss, often repetitive leaving he second half, in particular, running on empty.  This Sybylla doesn’t benefit from a strong character arc and the second half scenes were overly long and we all know where it ends.   The staging, the performances and design are its strengths.  Marg Horwell’s work shines as both set and costume designer.  She takes a unique twist on the ninetieth century dress styles, runs all through a twenty-first century wringer and created a visual delight that keeps on giving.  The poetic dry grass covered stage conjures the vast emptiness of drought stricken Australian grazing lands and a feral playground on which to bring Sybylla Melvyn and her twenty first century attitudes to life.   The cast is also a production highlight.  Kala Gare, as mentioned, is beyond incredible and worth the price of a ticket alone. Actor Musicians include Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward (who is hilarious as suiter Frank and plays a mean cello), Lincoln Elliot (playing multiple roles and impressing as always with his musical prowess), Raj Labade (hot guitarist and ultimate love interest), Drew Livingston (delightfully playing fathers, and uncles) , HaNy Lee (luminous as Gertie, Sybylla’s sister and suprising as socialite Blanche), Ana Mitsikas (gorgeous and witty as Grannie amongst other roles), Christina O'Neill  (outstanding as both mother and Aunt Helen – she definitely needs another song) and Jarrad Payne (percussion and ensemble).    It's a rare thing to encounter a solid, ambitious Australian musical and hats off to MTC for developing the project over the last five years.  “My Brilliant Career” is on its way and hopefully will have time following this outing to refine and shine. Examination of the work of white feminists and fellow travellers active at the time of Federation have risen in prominence in Australian culture.  Adaptation into new forms helps highlight the stories, struggles, and (possibly) the complexity surrounding figures such as Miles Franklin. Is it beyond the scope of a musical adaptation of a palatable popular novel to explore feminist pioneers and their politics?  For me, this “My Brilliant Career” needs a little more grit in the oyster to create a pearl. Kate Gaul (image: Pia Johnson)

Sweat Wharf One   Lynn Nottage is one of America’s most important political playwrights and so it is an absolute treat to see Sydney Theatre Company finally tackle her 2015 play “Sweat”. It won the 2027 Pulitzer Prize.  The Ensemble have previously presented Nottage’s play “Clyde’s”.   “Sweat” portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood friends and had worked in the same factory. Most of the action takes place in a fictional bar in  Pennsylvania beautifully designed by Jeremy Allen.  When the scenes shift briefly to other locations and other time periods some classy lighting solutions (Verity Hampson) help guide the way.   We meet a group of friends that work for the steel factory, named Tracey, Cynthia and Jessie. Tracey is a middle-aged woman played with both guts and glory by Lisa McCune. She loves to hang out at the bar with her friends and cannot stand the way Reading beginning to change. Her friend Cynthia (a spectacular Paula Arundell in this production) also loves to hang out at the bar and is a hardworking woman in the factory. She is on and off with her addict husband, Brucie (played here with genuine pathos by Markus Hamilton).  Jessie completes the trio (an equal parts hilarious and scary Deborah Galanos).  The play is partly detailing the disintegration of these relationships.   Everyone has their own problems and bar man Stan hears and sees it all.  Yure Covich shines in this central role.  Gabriel Alvarado plays Oscar, a bar busboy. Oscar is Colombian and is usually not even acknowledged by the characters in this play.  As tensions rise in the town due to closures and increased fear of migrants, you just know there will be trouble and boy – what a climax. Alvarado impressed in Ensemble’s ‘Clydes” and is just as exceptional here.  One to watch!   And then there is Jason, Tracey's son (a strong James Fraser who was deliciously good in STC’s “Appropriate”). His best friend is Chris, Cynthia’s son (Newcomer Tinashe Mangwana who has talent by the bucket load). They both work at the factory and hold concerns they will be laid off. They both are arrested for assault and are released eight years later. Hence the time shifts and changes as we go back and forth over the how’s and whys.   Director Zindzi Okenyo has assembled a brilliant team and directs with confidence.   “Variety ”  described Nottage as taking us deep into "the heart of working-class America". Reviews of the play have described how she tackles the devastating impact of loss of work and of de-industrialisation on modern America. Based on extensive interviews with residents of the rustbelt town of Reading, Pennsylvania, it shows the anger and despair that helped fuel the election of Donald Trump. These characters as representing blue-collar workers who voted in Donald Trump as president the first time around.   Behind the play’s portrayal of the damage done to individual lives by what Nottage calls “the American de-industrial revolution” lies a wider picture of collapsing hopes and corporate ruthlessness. I found the play engrossing and the production splendid. In this current climate of debate around which artist can tell which story it was a pleasant change to simply sit in the theatre and empathise with lives unlike mine and wonder at the rich seam of American playwrighting that throws up such gems. Recommended!   Kate Gaul

4000 Miles Wharf 1   Amy Herzog’s Obie award winning play from 2010, “4000 Miles” is given a sumptuous revival by Sydney Theatre Company, directed by Kenneth Moraleda.  It was last seen in Sydney as an indie production in 2014.  The set up is simple: After finishing a bicycle trek across the US, from Seattle to New York, Leo arrives at 3am at his grandmother’s – Vera’s- looking for a place to stay. Leo has hauled plenty of baggage with him, which is unpacked over several weeks. Vera is a spirited elder who struggles with her aging body, failing mind and loneliness. An odd-couple-esque scenario ensues but never fear, these two travellers through life find they have more in common than once thought.  There is a fascinating writers note  on the STC website that explains Herzog’s inspiration for the play – based as it is on her late grandmother (an outspoken communist agitator). What is striking to me is the notion of the 4000 mile distance that became a rite of passage for young Americans dating back to the 1960s and 1970s. Rather than slide into a life of comfort and consumption young people took to the road armed with copies of Walt Whitman, Rainer Maria, Rilke and Kahlil Gibran and commenced a meditative journey filled with the most heartfelt encounters that would soften even the most cynical amongst us.  Strangers open homes to cook meals, provide shelter and advice. In his book “Walking to Listen” Andre Forsthoefel (one such seeker) concludes that there is only one story he needs to accept: his own. It was "the only way I was ever going to find peace, otherwise I'd be wandering forever, searching for an impossible something else."  And so it is with Leo in this play.  Having survived the brutal death of his best friend on the road he finds himself in limbo when arriving in New York and is confronted with a woman who understands death from a different point of view. There’s the parallel story involving Vera’s cross-the-hall neighbour, an aging former actor. The two women call each other daily to make sure that neither one has dropped dead without anyone knowing it. The snatches of calls provide humour and eventually leads to a touching final scene that gently underscores Herzog’s theme of what constitutes community while ending the play on an elegant grace note. The importance of rituals in our lives is bought home by Leo’s ex-girlfriend who spells it out for us as she encourages Leo to dip his front bike wheel into the Atlantic – as it’s customary at the end of a transcontinental bicycle ride to dip the front wheels into the opposite ocean. Herzog never really deep dives into anything in this 90-minute play but between the politics, the rituals, the communication challenges and generational divide it is diverting, unoffensive and occasionally funny. Nancye Hayes (as Vera) is reason enough to go see this production. Her energy, precision and wry humour are sparkling gifts for the audience.  One wishes she had better material to play with. Shiv Palekar (as Leo) never really convinces as the self-proclaimed hippy but is charming enough in this slight work. Ariadne Sgouros is deft and certainly moving as Leo’s erstwhile girlfriend.  Shirong Wu is a bight spark of joy as a one-night stand in an hilarious scene where Vera’s books on communism more than dampen the sexy mood.  Jeremy Allen designs a beautiful Manhattan apartment which looks incredibly neat for a space that has not been redecorated since 1968. Perfect fare for a mid-week matinee. Review by Kate Gaul

Peter and the Starcatcher Capital Theatre, Sydney   "Peter and the Starcatcher" is a play based on the 2004 novel “Peter and the Starcatchers” by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, adapted for the stage by Rick Elice. The play provides a backstory for the characters of Peter Pan, Mrs Darling, Tinker Bell and Hook, and serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy. It was originally a Disney developed work and hales from the 2021 – 2014 period.  I mention this because while watching its Australian premiere courtesy of Queensland’s Dead Puppets Society I wondered why this why now?   I guess it’s a charming story of the origins of Peter Pan.  It offers great possibilities as an ensemble piece. This productiona feels like to belongs in a studio (sans volume turned up to 10) not a commercial theatre stage.  The staging techniques are smaller in scale with limited scenic and staging elements to play with – all deliberate decisions. Lovely on their own but lost in a production that is yearning to be bigger and bolder. The huddle of musician’s upstage centre is a delight but from the stalls the full-size upright pianos block the view of anything that might be happening from the band.  The cast is an interesting mix of theatre heavyweights with the likes of Alison Whyte, John Batchelor, Lucy Golby, Ryan Gonzalez - who bring first rate story-telling and characterisation to the stage – pitted against consummate comedians Colin Lane and Pete Helliar. Essentially and thankfully the comedy wins out and this production is basically a panto experience. There is plenty of the adults to chuckle too.  We never quite get a “he’s behind you” but almost…. Colin Lane is a laugh a minute and once the confusion about what this show is passes there are laughs a plenty.   The English accents are incredibly grating – why can’t this story be told in our voices???  And they are inconsistent – perhaps a deliberate comedic touch? The work’s sexual politics have been well critiqued since it first premiered off Broadway. To see a young woman (playing a 13-year-old) at the beck and call of three hapless boys (even when we and she know she is braver, stronger and possibly more intelligent) was mind numbing. Molly in this production has more agency than her counterpart in the original “Peter Pan” but not much. I couldn’t figure out who the Molluskes were until I realised this was a rendition/interpretation of the island’s “natives”. Ouch!!!   The performances are committed, the costumes colourful and the puppetry is serviceable. If you love a broad stroke panto this show is for you. Review by Kate Gaul

Rainbow Chan is an award-winning vocalist, producer and multi-disciplinary artist. Driven by a DIY spirit, Chan melds catchy melodies and off-kilter beats made up of field-recordings and found sounds. Both heartbreaking and tender, her idiosyncratic brand of pop reflects diasporic experiences and deeply personal tales of love and loss. In 2022, Chan was recognised in the "40 Under 40: Most Influential Asian Australians Award" for her contribution to arts and culture. She won "Artist of the Year" in the 2022 FBi SMAC Award In “The Bridal Lament” Chan draws on her Weitou ancestry (the first settlers of Hong Kong),and reimagines a Weitou ritual known as the bridal lament, a public performance of grief in which a bride wept and sang in front of family and friends. In this liminal space, brides expressed bitterness towards the prevailing patriarchal rule when arranged marriages took place by parents or even through matchmakers. This ritual tradition allows the bride to express her sorrow and loss of personal identity and marriage to a man she has never met. A husband that, in most cases, will take the bride away from her village, family, and friends. It was as if the bride had died. The husband-to-be was referred to as the King of Hell.Conceived and structured as a song cycle, “The Bridal Lament” (哭嫁歌), brings to life intergenerational and cross-cultural perspectives on diasporic experiences and the complex history of Hong Kong. With direction from Contemporary Asian Australian Performance’s (CAAP) Artistic Director Tessa Leong, this is an elegant and sophisticated production. Over 70 minutes, Chan beguiles and captivates as she takes us through the stages of the bridal process. Our journey is told through song and narration, striking projection and lighting.  The music is all modern and electronic, pre-recorded.  Chan moves delicately sometimes with her entire body or maybe just a hand or finger – everything is poised, hypnotic and infectious. Each song is preceded with a recoded narration from Chan’s mother (in Cantonese) translated into English via the spectacular projection (Rel Pham).  This was charming and very moving as we have a direct contact with a community elder, passing down story and tradition only to be made new by her daughter. Onstage there is a huge crystal bead curtain – more of an installation in one part of the stage (designed by Al Joel and Emily Borghi).  Its shape echoes a square Chinese character.  The character we are told means “return”, “cycle”, “new beginning” –the multiple but related meanings are all there for us to reflect on as is the way Chan moves within and around the installation – to be caught, carried, hidden and ultimately freed. “The Bridal Lament” is a beautiful and mighty work that resonates deeply long after it is over. As theatre it is a breath of fresh air with a deeply felt but lightly held insight into migrant experience, the plight of women and the (still prevalent) arranged marriage culture. The unique story and the level of artistry make it a Sydney Festival highlight this year. Not to be missed! Kate Gaul

Bribery, deception and disguise: “The Barber of Seville” tells the story of two young lovers and their quest to be together. Main character Figaro needs all his wiles to help the Count outwit Dr Bartolo and ensure true love wins the day. Originally directed by the great and much-loved Elijah Moshinsky for Opera Australia, this production hails from 1995.  This is its fifth revival with the company. Composed by the lively Rossini - the most significant composer of the first half the nineteenth century.  Italian Rossini was influenced by the French, and broke traditional forms of opera by using unusual rhythms to bring the orchestra to the fore. “The Barber of Seville” is considered a great comic opera.  Count Almaviva is pursuing Rosina, a beautiful young woman he has fallen in love with. He disguises himself as a poor student so she will love him for himself rather than his wealth and position. Almaviva faces fierce opposition from Rosina’s guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who wants Rosina and her substantial dowry for himself. To help him succeed, the love-sick count enlists the help of Figaro, the quick-witted barber who frequently visits Bartolo’s house. Revived with brio by director Heather Fairbairn this current iteration is charming. The Buster Keaton-esque production has plenty to look at and there is a mountain of precision required in the staging to match the effervescent music. In spite of the fun, it can be a tough sit-through. It’s a long evening of the same comedic territory over and over again.  The story is banal and the production deals with the dodgy sexual politics by making it all cartoonish.   The star of the night is the music and under the baton of conductor Daniel Smith who makes his Australian Opera debut.  The production begins with a bang – Smith intends to play this opera fast and the overture received an incredible applause.  The spirit, joy and love are evident from this brilliant conductor. In an “In Conversation”  interview Smith revealed that this was his first operatic experience at the age of 9 and it was in fact this  production.  So, a bit of a full circle moment for him!  This was a wonderful evening of music.   Samuel Dale Johnson impresses as Figaro.  He sings with great flourish and completely embodies the physical style required by this production.  He is fluid and daring in his slap-stick style.  His work is at its best when it feels improvised, and he delivers with pinpoint accuracy. Rosina is sung by Italian Serena Malfi and demonstrates a sparkling bel canto style. John Longmuir as Almaviva is similarly impressive.   Standouts include Andrew Moran as Dr Bartolo who articulates with great dexterity and clarity and understands the power of standing still to convey his authority.  David Parkin is ridiculously creepy as Don Basilio and eats the scenery accordingly. Soprano, Jane Ede – the only other woman in the piece - plays Berta. In this production Berta is a nurse who is fond of mixing a cocktail or three. She is quite the scene stealer with her mostly silent role and when she did sing it was off the charts brilliant!   This production has a long season which reflects the opera’s popularity.  It is a splendid opportunity to catch Maestro Daniel Smith in action and hope that it won’t be the last time he is engaged by Opera Australia. Kate Gaul

Or What’s Left of Us Summerhall Sh!t Theatre are Rebecca Biscuit & Louise Mothersole. They make politically engaged shows with a deliberately DIY aesthetic using a collage of live documentary, song, comedy and multimedia. They research, write and perform their own work, also taking the roles of lighting, sound, video designer and musical director between the two. They make superficially chaotic but actually deeply crafted shows that are frequently fuelled by political anger ‘It is possible to be desperately sad and have fun at the same time” declare Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole in Sh!t Theatre’s Or What’s Left of Us,  and what a mantra that proves to be.  The origin of this production is inspired by the momentous losses both experienced - of a parent in Mothersole’s case, and of a partner in Biscuit’s: Adam Brace, who was also the team’s director. How do you go on after this? How do you continue to create? The show isn’t particularly sad.  For most of the hour the pair bring their usual intelligence, tom foolery, humour, and brilliant close harmony singing to the fore.  They pass around a bowl of beer and tell us how they joined the community of a Yorkshire folk club and take mushrooms before attending a music festival and cross paths with Steeleye Span. There’s a great story about a tea towel! They wear a black and white combo of medieval peasant costume and for some of the show don Wicker Man- esque headress.  They talk about the film Midsummer.   They explain that they are not using a slideshow for this show, and neither are they wearing their usual white face. Turning to folk helped them get through a rough patch. They’re both great singers and music has always featured prominently in their work, and  Or What’s Left of Us  has them performing folk ballads, songs which often are ribboned with death. These songs, about the harvest, the passing seasons and the possibility of renewal, took on new painful resonance. It’s not until the end of the show that the duo – Rebecca in particular – try and expel the poison, spitting out bitter, absurd shards of painful memory, from feeling weirded out by the dressed body to a bizarre chat with a New York Times obituary writer.  The last 10 minutes are as raw, candid and personal as it gets, and somehow managed to be about their specific experience of loss as well as capturing the brutal rug-pull of losing anyone suddenly. Following the show we’re invited to hang out with Sh!t Theatre in the Summerhall bar and sing some songs. It’s entirely optional but it’s a unique and generous offer from these confident and beautiful performers. Sometimes we need to sing together. Some quotes around this show which I think are interesting from Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole: “There’s a widespread, ancient belief that excessive grief disturbs the dead; that your tears will burn holes in the corpse of your loved one. Which is why it’s important to get merry at funerals, and why this show has jokes. Joy and sorrow don’t cancel each other out - they can exist at the same time.” “We genuinely got into folk music because we were looking for a way to be together in our grief, and this show has come organically out of our very real love for folk music and the real joy we felt when we first went to a sing around at a folk club. At the same time, we aren’t going to shy away from the horror of grief.” “Folk can be twee. Yes, it is a bit embarrassing. But it’s also unnerving, terrifying, comforting and joyful. Sh!t Theatre strives for the same. Twee and terrifying.” One of this year’s best at Edinburgh Fringe. The really great news is that Sh!t Theatre are part of Sydney Fringe’s International Touring Hub in September 2024 (at New Theatre) with an earlier show called Drink Rum with Expats . They are super cool artists and create rigorous and inspired work. Highly recommended! Kate Gaul

Danish company fix+foxy produces original experimental work of theatre, sound performances and digital formats. The work is driven by curiosity and a desire to create complex narratives through playful, entertaining, and accessible formats while challenging our prejudices – our presumptions and misconceptions about ourselves and the world around us. “Dark Noon” is one of the most staggering and relentless experiences I have had in the theatre. In “Dark Noon fix+foxy collaborate with black South African actors in white face to create an epic examination of formative events from North America’s history. There are cowboy cruelties, sexual assaults, summary executions of native Americans in the dust; a saloon, gold mine, railway and church, actors film a western with cowboys and Indians, gold diggers, missionaries, and a host of deadly gunfights. Together with director Tue Biering and choreographer Nhlanhla Mahlangu the actors dive into a time when 35 million hungry and poor Europeans fled west across the Atlantic to get a second chance, conquer gold and chase an American dream. Neither black nor white lives matter in the pursuit of happiness and the relationship between the West and Africa is turned inside out. The audience never knows what to expect; we are dragged onstage to be sold Coca-Cola or sold off in a slave auction. This is savage theatre, an electric 100 minutes which is part documentary, part fiction told by cannibalising wild west cliches – the shootout, the saloon, the little house on the prairie – only to eviscerate them with increasingly entertaining displays of post-colonial vandalism. “They say history is told by the victors,” the show’s tagline reads. “In “Dark Noon”, the story is told by the vanquished.” Broken into chapters and beginning on a large, empty stage of dry clay on canvas, North America is literally built before our eyes. An entire frontier town is gradually constructed on stage. Multilingual, supported by live video and a revolving suite of narrators, song, comedy, and physicality “Dark Noon” exposes the awful absurdity of the notion of European supremacy that has permeated and dominates the global imagination. The show uses the tropes of Wild West cinema conventions (the Western) to critique the invasion of the Americas and position the frontier as a site of colonial violence. It's often gruesome and leans into grand guignol as “Dark Noon” is as expansive as it is personal, chaotic, and intimate. The tawdry theatricality of a cheap blonde wig atop a hastily whitened face becomes sweat stained and smeared with dirt and lipstick. Action frantically mounts as cheerleaders dance while First Nations peoples are massacred. Meta theatricality is rife and all contributed to a rich historical and social commentary. “Dark Noon” is a unique event in my theatre going life and I am very pleased to have experienced this brilliant creation. Kate Gaul

Fell Carriageworks   Sometimes Sydney gets it right.  Hanging out at Carrriageworks this week is one of those occasions where the Liveworks festival has the place jumping.  The venue is vibrant with artists and audiences all eager to share, experience all that is on offer in this nine-year old, five day program. Liveworks 2024 subverts expectations via performance, dance, interactive installations and full-blown musical ensemble works. It’s Sydney go-to event for experimental arts and is ever more important as making arts becomes out of the reach of many as we juggle making a living and attracting audiences. In the foyer of Carriageworks hangs an elegant (real) log suspended by yellow ropes. This log, it turns out, has been repurposed from the last production in Bay 17, Sydney Chamber Opera’s “Gilgamesh”. The performance starts in the foyer as audience members are invited to carry the log into the theatre space. It is gently lowered onto their shoulders and carried – like a coffin.  The foyer has already become quite and focussed during this event, and we follow procession like into Bay 17.  A massive white floor and backdrop serve as the canvas for the next part of the event. Lighting by Katie Sfetkidis is stark but not glaring.  The natural colour of the log, its yellow ropes and green of performer Luke George’s shorts are a striking combination. The 75 kg log is gently placed on the stage floor and Luke George proceeds to assemble the ropes and knots that will lift it and him high into the air over the next 40 minute or so.   In “Fell”, Luke George retraces his roots in Tasmania / lutruwita, recalling the impacts of the logging industry. The marketing blurb tells us that “in seeking a state of balance between himself and a log that is equal in weight to his body, George attempts to suspend the narrative of a human will to power so that other memories, including those of nature might also become sensible.” From and SMH interview, “Most of my childhood and teens were spent in or around the bush,” he says. “I also grew up amidst the state’s logging, mining and energy industries that would clear-fell vast stretches of old-growth forests. We lived in communities where neighbours quite literally were on either side of the fence of environmental politics and practices.   “Tensions were high. So much was at stake. Yet somehow, people had to live and find a way to co-exist in this tough terrain and climate.”   “Fell” is performed without a soundtrack.  It holds the audience in its thrall. As the log and human become suspended high in the cavernous space of Bay 17, Luke George leans back and both human and log are perfectly balanced.  It is possibly dangerous but transcends such notions as the image resonates with reminders of ongoing struggles played out in areas threatened by logging.  Importantly, it is a moment of respite, a utopian vision, a powerful plea for change. Utterly brilliant. Kate Gaul