What Did She Think?

What: Holy Mothers (Dei Prasidentinnen) When: 20 February - 3 March 2019 Where: La Mama Courthouse Written by: Werner Schwab Directed by: Andre Bastian Composition and video by: Daniel Fenby Performed by: Alice Bishop, Helen Doig and Uschi Felix Designed by: Peter Mumford Lighting by: Stelios Karagiannis Stage Management by: Millie Levakis-Lucas Alice Bishopm, Uschi Felix, and Helen Doig Wow. I feel speechless and I feel confident most people will after seeing the production of Holy Mothers at la Mama Courthouse this week. Unfortunately that wow is not a good one... I have always wondered, given his magnificent wordplay and poetry, just how people have been able to translate Shakespeare into other languages. Having seen what Meredith Oakes has done with Schwab's writing I have come to realise for some writers, their work cannot be translated. Schwab's writing is mired in neologisms and linguistic deconstruction. To try and translate a deconstruction of the Ge

What: Creatures of the Deep When: 18 - 23 February 2019 Where: Upstairs, The Butterfly Club Composed by: Ryan Smith, Sean Sully, and Sarah Wall Performed by: Jake Edgar, Cat Sanzaro, Ryan Smith, Sean Sully and Sarah Wall Jake Edgar, Cat Sanzaro, Ryan Smith and Sarah Wall With the Green Room Award nominations having come out to day there seems to be little left for me to say except that Creatures of the Deep is sensational fun and intelligent and you would be silly to miss it. Winner of the Best Cabaret award in last year's Melbourne Fringe Festival , Creatures of the Deep is having a return season this week at The Butterfly Club as part of the Sustainable Living Festival and it will be hard for you to find a cleverer and funnier night out this week. Picked For Last Sport has created a marvelous cabaret documentary about the curious wildlife we find under the ocean and around the Great Barrier Reef. A group of unpaid interns (Edgar, Sanzaro, Sully and Wall) join Fat

What: Forgotten Places: From The Past a Future Begins When: 13 - 17 February 2019 Where: The Mezzanine, Chapel Off Chapel Directed by: Jayde Kirchert Composed by: Imogen Cygler Performed by: Jordan Barr, Kayla Hamill, Tomas Parrish, Willow Sizer, and Margot Tanjutco Art designed by: Stu Brown Costumes by: Aislinn Naughton Margot Tanjutco In a world obsessed with dystopian forecasting Citizen Theatre bring us something very, very different in the immersive experience of Forgotten Places: From The Past A Future Begins . You can enter their world of happy ending on The Mezzanine at Chapel Off Chapel and I guarantee you will smile and laugh and feel good for at least one hour of your life as you share this experience with the ensemble. Forgotten Places began as a community project where residents of Stonnington were invited to take a photography walk with the Citizen Theatre team. Walking down lanes and the 'forgotten' spaces of the district, participants were enco

What: Badass When: 10 February 2019 Where: The Toff In Town Written and performed by: Tash York Band: David (drums), Shae (bass), Tim (Keys & backup vocals) David, Tash York, and Shae You know a cabaret artist is in the A-league when they no longer needs props and costumes and have a personal back up band. For Tash York that moment has arrived and her new show Badass places her squarely in the big time of the cabaret genre. I first came across York when she was MC for The After Hours Cabaret Club and right from that first moment I knew she was a talent to be reckoned with. Since then I have seen her show Adulting and, most recently, Petty Bitches with Boo Dwyer and York has gone from strength to strength as a performer and as a story teller. In Badass York reveals her life goal to become a...well...badass. Beginning with a Micheal Jackson/Moulin Rouge medley York stamps her place on stage immediately and shows us she is not backing down from the fight. Riffing o

What: As You Like It When: 8 - 10 February 2019 Where: Alistair Knox Park Written by: William Shakespeare Directed and designed by: Meg Deyell Composed by: Remy Chadwick Performed by: Matt Bertram, Remy Chadwick, Louise Cocks, Meg Deyell, Tref Gare, David Harris, Shae Kelly, Josiah Lulham, Renee Mackenzie, Christina McLachlan, Dana McMillan, Francesca O'Donnell, and Dean Robinson Stage managed by: Seinnah Kaylock Christina McLchlan, Tref Gare, Josiah Lulham, Dana McMillan, and Louise Cocks Some four hundred years ago in England William Shakespeare wrote three plays and then wrote them over and over again, and, like a virus they have invaded our psyche and we keep putting them on over and over again. For those of you infected, you can see one of the last of this Summer's garden Shakespeares in Eltham this week (and Diamond Creek next week) with In The Park Productions ' version of As You Like It. As these things go, this version of As You Like It has the notab

What: Q When: 6 - 10 February 2019 Where: La Mama Courthouse Written and directed by: Aleksandr Corke Performed by: Alanah Allen, Aislinn Murray, Ashleigh Gray, Caitlin Duff, Edan Goodall, Max Paton, Reilly Holt, and Wil King Design by: Nathan Burmeister Lighting by: Georgie Wolfe Sound by: Justin Gardam Aislinn Murray, Max Paton, Alanah Allen, Ashleigh Gray and Edan Goodall For those who like their drama supernatural with more than a hint of the afterlife, Q is the play for you. Resembling the love child of The Good Place and No Exit , Q will keep you pondering long after the (metaphorical) curtain goes down each night at La Mama Courthouse this week. Q is a drama in two acts (but no interval) which asks the deceptively simple question 'If life has no purpose and death has no purpose, which is better?' Some of us may think this is not a question we have to ponder but Corke makes the case that regardless of religion - or lack thereof - we all end up in the sa

What: Jen Der Unpacks When: 31 January - 2 February 2019 Where: Hares & Hyenas Created and Performed by: Kat Mroz Kat Mroz Jen Der is the alter ego of Kat Mroz and you can meet Jen Der before she runs away to the USA at Hares & Hyenas this week. Playing for only 3 nights in this Midsumma Festival you have to be quick to catch this firebrand before she takes her wild leap into the unknown. Jen Der is a country girl who hails from Albury Wodonga. She has hit the jackpot (?) and finds herself with a green card and dreams of making it big in the Land of the Free. Her bags are packed, her playlist is full, and her eyes are wide open so as to not miss a moment of her big adventure. Jen Der's playlist is fabulous and rocks everything from Edith Piaf to Chaka Khan, from Bros to John Williamson, and she is going to dance her way across the world. Her accent has already traveled far and wide and slips from English to American before sliding back into a comforting broad