Uncategorized Archive

Light Shining in Buckinghamshire is a two-hour history lesson. It will appeal to those minutely interested in the events of England’s Civil War, from the years 1642 to 1649. The ensemble cast deliver their lines perfectly, and with passion. The first part …

Opening Night is cleverly constructed: a play within a play, with the rehearsals and real-life scenes with the actors interwoven; and with leading lady Myrtle Gordon (Leeanna Walsman), a star of the stage for years, flitting in out of her realities and …

New York film composer Arky Levin’s dilemma is this: Respect his wife Lydia’s dying wishes to not visit her in her final days, or be with her at her death. An excellent moral dilemma as posited in Heather Rose’s novel of The …

  Belinda Giblin’s relentlessly optimistic Winnie was a joy to behold and will remain a vivid memory.  I have not seen a better production of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, directed here by Craig Baldwin. From the moment the lights go up and …

These two one act plays are linked by their examination of death and the road to dying. Yielding is first. It’s a two-hander, performed by Tricia Youlden and Emma Dalton, and it is unremittingly bleak, which may have been writer Emma Workman’s …

  Compelling, moving and a visual delight, Claudel is the tragic story of a woman whose ambition to excel as a sculptor was cut short, oppressed by disapproving family and the strong hand of the patriarchy. It is written and directed by Wendy Beckett …

These two Australian coming-of-age stories both ask, in different ways, for us to take a fresh look at ourselves, how we see ourselves and each other. First up is:  The Sorry Mum Project, written and performed by Pippa Ellams. Mothers are embarrassing, …

‘All for one and one for all’, that’s the pledge Susan, Frances, Elizabeth and Jackie make each other as schoolgirls. We meet them as adolescents, wondering about the facts of life and how best to rile their art teacher. The girls are …

What a joy to be once more in a theatre and entertained, in this case by the super-slick cast and crew of Pippin. Billed as a musical, Pippin is more than that: it is also part magic show part cabaret and part …

A riot of sharp humour and farce from beginning to end, No Way? No Pay! is an absolute standout. Director Sarah Giles is an adept at comedy (as anyone who saw 2018’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist can attest) and the stellar cast …