What Did She Think?

What: G'day Comrade When: 28 - 31 March 2018 Where: Imperial Hotel Performed by: Gosha Bodryi, Kaychu, Kirill Sietlov, and Gleb Tubushev Kaychu Russia is big news at the moment so needless to say there is a lot of great material for expatriated comedians to play around with and I was thrilled to see a show celebrating the old and the new in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year. Whilst the G'day Comrade comedians provided less Dostoyevski than advertised, there was just enough Putinesque paranoia to make this a night at Imperial Hotel full of belly laughs and merriment. Compare Brodryi got the laughs started and kept the show moving along nicely. All of the comedians are young and developing talents but what they lack in confidence they more than make up for with that beautiful Russian air of danger and intrigue. Tubushev kicked off the routines with the need to explain why he has a very North American accent. He was almost apologising for not be

What: The Tales of Witchmen When: 27 March - 1 April 2018 Where: The Butterfly Club Created and performed by: Oliver Cowen and Kayla Hamill Oliver Cowen and Kayla Hamill The Tales of Witchmen is a lighthearted, pantomime romp following the quest of a Knight ( Cowen ) to kill Witchypoo. Along the way he is - helped? - by a range of intriguing characters played by Hamill and the whole quest takes place in the downstairs venue of The Butterfly Club. This is a hat comedy. both Cowen and Hamill play a myriad of characters including Cabbage Girl and Owen-Megan The Vegan with an unexpected detour into a Raw Comedy parody where the hapless (and skill-less) comedy Barry Darren takes his turn on stage to be heckled by a heartless MC. The Tales of Witchmen is very funny and well performed, with Hamill really standing out with her acting diversity across such a range of characters. Perhaps, though, this show would really take off if it was cleaned up and put in a child friendly time

What: SQUASH! When: 17 March 2108 Where: Melbourne City Baths Created and designed by: Meg Wilson Composed by: Belinda Gehlert Performed by: Ashton Malcolm, Dana Miltins, Josephine Were and Meg Wilson Choreography by: Kiales-Nadine Williams Lighting by: Alexander Ramsay Meg Wilson Live Art, that slipperiest of all performance forms often comes close to the traditional definition of theatre and SQUASH! is the closest it got for me at the Festival of Live Art this year. A durational demonstration of bravado, brashness and bouncing balls off walls, SQUASH! is a performance created by visual artist Meg Wilson and her ensemble in 2017 and brought to Melbourne for the Festival. Durational performances have become a 'thing' which were made popular in modern times by the UK company Forced Entertainment . Now everyone is doing it. Personally, I am not sure that many of these performances are informed or add to the audience experience over time, but having said that La

What: Slippage When: 18 - 25 March 2018 Where: Main Hall Laneway, North Melbourne Town Hall Created by: Louise Lavarack The 2018 Festival of Live Art is basically a giant playground for adults. In particular, around Arts House in North Melbourne, there is a plethora of activities - many of them free - which invite the participant to observe and/or partake in the spirit of exploration, joy, and self-actualisation. Some are deeper and heavier than others, but there are plenty of light ones around which are a good in between snack as you wait for the next main course in your event itinerary. Slippage is one of those snacks. The concept is quite simple really. A bunch of long, brightly coloured (and very light weight) sticks have been loaded into the goods and services laneway beside the Main Hall of North Melbourne Town Hall. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to play with these sticks. Using nothing but gravity and our ingenuity, we find ourselves gradually embo

What: The Diva Dive When: 15 - 25 March 2018 Where: Hares & Hyenas Created by: Moira Finucane and Jackie Smith Performed by: Mama Alto, Clare St Clare, Maude Davey, Moira Finucane, Kathryn Niesche, and Yumi Umiamare Moira Finucane To attend a Finucane & Smith production is to be transported to a land of glory, freedom, and responsibility. It is a world where ugliness is exposed through beauty and truth, and freedom is gained through knowledge of self and others. To enter The Diva Dive at Hares & Hyenas is to open another portal into a transcendental meditation which promises liberation and delight. The poster says the artists may change each evening as is the tradition of both the company and the genre. Very few places or people offer traditional burlesque in real cabaret format, but at The Diva Dive this is exactly what you will get. On the night I went the particular smorgasbord of cabaret, drama, and variety consisted of some of Finucane & Smith'

What: Supper Club: Soft Money When: 15 March 2017 Facilitated by: Asha Bee Abraham and Dan Koop Designed by: Georgina Humphries Arts House has been a big leader in the Melbourne Live Art scene but it is not just about participation and self reflection. Since the first iteration of the Festival of Live Art Arts House has been exploring ways to use art to change people, change communities, and change the world within an active arts paradigm. As part of this, they have regularly engaged in creating experiences which are actually a form of participatory action research and the most current version is their fabulous Supper Club series. I was given the opportunity to attend the Soft Money event and although I have no idea what I was expecting, I know and awful lot more than I did when I turned up - and had a plentiful supply of cuisine provided by The Oriental Tea House . Yum! Participatory action research is a qualitative process which encourages action in the community using

What: Worktable When: 14 - 25 March 2018 Where: Main Hall, Arts House Created by: Kate McIntosh What is live art? For years I have said I don't have a clue but this year I think I've finally figured it out. Live art is an experience given to the attendee. It is an experience out of the ordinary. Something the person would not normally think to do in a way they would not normally think to do it. The idea is to provoke thought and insight and to just be something different for a small moment in time.Something other than perhaps you normally are both on your own and as a collective. Worktable, part of this year's Festival of Live Art , gives us all of this and more. The idea is so simple I left wondering why this hasn't happened before. Kate  McIntosh is the creator. She has a long history of creating live art experiences and Worktable can stand tall within her portfolio. This is not the first iteration of the event but I am so glad I have had the chance to e

What: It's Not Easy Being Green When: 7 - 11 March 2018 Where: The Butterfly Club Created by: Katie Visser Musical direction by: Joseph Daniel jnr Performed by: Joseph Daniel jnr and Katie Visser Joseph Daniel jnr and Katie Visser Cabaret is a wonderful beast because it can be just about anything.  The main requirement is that it forms an intimate relationship between the performer and the audience. Oh, and it usually includes some songs and even more occassionally comedy (although neither of these elements are essential). Visser 's show It's Not Easy Being Green at The Butterfly Club has all of these elements and with a voice made for power ballads with the strength and stamina of a full concert in her lungs, just going for the music alone would make this an enjoyable night out. It's Not Easy Being Green is about Visser's journey to veganism which she pledged to fully three years ago - a brief and unsuccessful attempt at vegetarianism in her youth no

Written by: Ayse Bayramoglu Directed and designed by: Lloyd Jones Performed by: Sandra Chui, Anna Ellis, Faith Karakas, and Zac Kazepis Stage Managed by: Laura Barnes Anna Ellis and Zac Kazepis - Photo by Darren Green Sometimes the most powerful pieces of theatre can be found in the most unassuming places and Windows , which is now playing at La Mama Theatre, is one of those experiences. Combining the writing of Bayramoglu with the direction of Jones is perhaps one of the most unexpected pairing I have seen in a long time and the evening brought people to tears. I am not saying the production is perfect...but maybe it is... I can't really say too much because I risk giving a major spoiler and I do not want to do that, but I will do my best to talk about what has me so excited about Windows. The play itself is a seething, unrelenting mass of despair and hopelessness. Bayramoglu's writing is as unforgiving as life itself. Riffing on the idea of fairytales and seeing

What: Twelfthnight When 2 - 4 March 2018 Where: Victoria Gardens Written by: William Shakespeare Directed by: Jennifer Sarah Dean Musical Direction by: Ben Adams Performed by: Iopu Auva'a, Nicola Bowman, Saxon Gray, Lelda Kapsis, Johnathan Peck, Mitch Ralston, John Reed, Paul Robertson, Alec Steedman, Bridget Sweeney, Peter Tedford, Chloe Towan, Annabelle Tudor, and Jacqueline Whiting. Set by: Karli Laredo Costumes by: Rhiannon Irving Stage Management by: Natasha Brown Annabelle Tudor, Nicola Bowman and Peter Tedford - photo by Burke Photography  For those of you who are feeling a sense of deja vu fear not, this really is the second Twelfthnight production this year and 2018 is a much better year because of it. As I said in my GJ Productions review, Twelfthnight is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays so I was beyond delirious when I found out Melbourne Shakespeare Company were bringing it to us again - in a park! - before the Summer leaves us and Winter drives

What: The Confessions of Jeremy Perfect When: 28 February - 11 March 2018 Where: La Mama Courthouse Written by: Sandy Fairthorne Directed by: Judy Ellis Performed by: Sean Paisley Collins, Simon Finch, Alex McTavish, Eva Justine Torkkola, and Ruby Wall Set design by: Elisenda Russell Lighting by: Richard Mclean Sound by: Jack Stirling Stage management by: Anne Powell Eva Justine Torkkola The Confessions of Jeremy Perfect is a new play by prolific playwright Sandy Fairthorne and is showing for the next two weeks at the La Mama Courthouse. It is a story about breeding and how we do it in 21st century Australia. It is also a play about people with all the complexities, beauty and ugliness which comes with our humanity. Fairthorne's ouvre is Australian family drama. Her work delights in exploring family dynamics and her wonderful facility with realistic yet clever dialogue helps her to create characters of depth and detail which audiences can't help but delight i