Theatre Archive

When it premiered in Los Angeles in 2014, Marjorie Prime was reviewed as a comedy. At the Ensemble, under the very able direction of Mitchell Butel, there are certainly some funny moments but the treatment of Jordan Harrison’s play, which takes the …

There is so much to like about this new Australian play. Written by Joanna Erskine and performed at the artist-run Old 505 with a great ensemble cast, it is full of life, occasionally laugh-out-loud hilarious, and all about death! Ultimately, it’s how …

Soldier, maid, madwoman, saint, misguided teenager? The powers that were had difficulty working her out in the 15th century, so how can we hope to do better? Joan heard voices (the Archangel Michael, virgin martyrs St Catherine and St Margaret) and they …

“This time last year, I was plotting a murder.” As opening lines go, this one is hard to beat. It is spoken by David Holthouse (Graeme McRae), the protagonist in Stalking the Bogeyman, who goes on to tell us the true story of …

While there is no shortage of comedic elements to The Walworth Farce, the mayhem ultimately turns to menace. Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s tale introduces one of the most dysfunctional families you’re likely to encounter on stage. It’s manic, hysterically funny at times, …

At its heart The Sugar House, now at the Belvoir Street Theatre, is a play about family and, more specifically, how each generation wants more for their children. However, it is wrapped up in the changing face and fabric of Sydney and will have …

Written in 1985/6, Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine is something of a contemporary classic, but is it dated? Not in this production, with Sharon Millerchip in the title role. The only role, in fact, for this is a one-woman tour de force, and …

Tour de force can be an overused expression in reviewing theatre but I cannot think of a better way to describe Heather Mitchell’s wonderful portrayal of Cate McGregor. Cate’s journey from Malcolm McGregor – cricketer, rugby player, Duntroon graduate, speechwriter and advocate …

Fragmented in the telling and gently mesmerising, Youth and Destination is a series of 60 short scenes that reflect what it is to be young and aware in the 21st century. It runs the gamut from love to loneliness, flirtation to fear …

“You’ve never suffered from depression?” Lorna asks Connie. “No,” she responds. She’s been sad, but that’s not the same, is it? She seems slightly baffled at the notion of depression. “It’s an illness, right?” This exchange takes place at the beginning of The …