What Did She Think?

What: Ghosted When: 30 May - 1 June 2019 Where: The Loft, Chapel Off Chapel Written by: Michael Thebridge Directed by:Gabrielle Reiher Performed by: Holly Chadwick, Lucinda Cowden, Ian Hart, Max Meaden, Kostas Moutsoulas, and Jayden Popik Props by: Gabrielle Reiher and Isobel Summers Costumes by: Chris Snow Sound by: Matt Brown Animation by: Bel Giles Stage Managed by: Brendan Coppa Kostas Moutsoulas, Brendan Coppa, and Holly Chadwick It is cold this winter and what better way to warm up than a good belly laugh in a warm theatre with friendly bar staff? This is what you get when you drop into Chapel Off Chapel this weekend to see Thebridge 's expanded stage play  Ghosted . Ghosted is a fun rom-com which began it's life as a 20 minute episode of The Owl and Cat team's Box Set 2018 at Club Voltaire. Whilst this production does not appear to be flying under the banner of The Owl and Cat it is basically the same creative ensemble who are taking the leap to a

What: Garden Dance When: 24 - 26 May 2019 Where: Oak Garden, Royal Botanic Garden Choreographed by: Jo Lloyd Composed by: Duane Morrison Performed by: Deanne Butterworth, Sheridan Gerrard, Hillary Goldsmith, Rebecca Jensen, Shian Law, Claire Leske, Jo Lloyd, Nasim Patel, Emma Riches, Rachael Wisby, and Tom Woodman Designed by: Andrew Treloar Garden Dance has been specifically created for the Royal Botanic Gardens by one of our master choreographers, Jo Lloyd . The picture above was taken in the hall of the National Herbarium because the show opened on a rain day, but the final two performances will hopefully (weather permitting) take place out on the Oak Lawn (near gate F) which is where it will reach it's intended heights and impact. Having said that, the opening performance was still incredible powerful and enhanced my awareness of the gardens in generals as I meandered through them afterwards. The objective of Garden Dance is to explore how 'grid systems are

What: The Believers Are But Brothers When: 22 - 25 May 2019 Where: Main Hall, Arts House Written by: Javaad Alipoor Directed by: Javaad Alipoor and Kirsty Housley Performed by: Javaad Alipoor and Luke Emery Set and lighting by: Ben Pacey Video by: Jack Offord Sound by: Simon McCorry Javaad Alipoor and Luke Emery We don't get a lot of home grown modern multimedia theatre in Australia so we need organisations such as Arts House to import it sometimes and show us what is possible. One such example is The Believers Are But Brothers which forms part of the Melbourne Knowledge Week program. The question of how terrorist group ISIS was able to radicalize the male population of so many Western nations has perplexed us for a decade and Alipoor , as a British Muslim youth himself, decided to try and delve into the on-line world of post-truth reality to help us understand what has been going on better. Originally his idea was to understand what was going on with the ISIS br

What: Return To Escape From Woomera When: 21 - 25 May 2019 Where: The Stables, Meat Market Created and presented by: Appelspiel Set and Lighting by: Emma Lockhart-Wilson Simon Vaughan and Nathan Harrison It is Melbourne Knowledge Week all over town this week and, as usual, Arts House are bringing two fascinating, challenging, and conversation challenging events which push the boundaries of what is art and why we make it. The first of these events, Return To Escape From Woomera , opened last night in The Stables as the Meat Market. Return To Escape From Woomera was commissioned and presented by Performance Space last year in Sydney. The creative team behind it, Applespiel , created this event as a step along the way towards a project with much greater scope - an idea which combines esports with a stadium experience. As the team were working through ideas it was Jeff Khan who suggested they look back at what activist gaming has been created in the past and this led them

What: It's Not Me, It's Definitely You: Songs of Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen When: 20 - 25 May 2019 Where: Upstairs, The Butterfly Club Performed by: Lisa Woodbrook and Josh (piano) Lisa Woodbrook and Josh Lisa Woodbrook is probably a name and a face you have heard before as the Channel 10 'Eye In The Sky' traffic reporter but her real skill is as a performer. With an impressive voice and more stage presence than anyone has the right to possess, Woodbrook is indulging us this week with her 2018 show It's Not Me, It's Definitely You: Songs of Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen at The Butterfly Club. When she is not being a TV presenter, Woodbrook is gigging around town with her own jazz trio. Knowing this, it is no surprise she is attracted to the music of these two great English vocalists. Luckily for us, Woodbrook has the voice to match her ambitions and is accompanied superbly by Josh on the piano. Pairing Allen and Winehouse is kind of obvious. Altho

What: Six Moments In Kingston When: 18 - 26 May 2019 Where: Kingston Town Hall Created by: Tal Fitzpatrick, Kingston Koorie Mob, Laresa Kosloff, Shane McGrath, Spiros Panigirakis, and Steven Rhall Performed by: Filipino Community Choir, Shane McGrath, Steven Rhall, et al. Filipino Community Choir Every suburb in every city across the world is a secret little hotbed of history and fascinating stories and Six Moments in Kingston is a sneak peak of just what kind of exciting and surprisingly important historical moments have taken place in Kingston . Purporting to cover a period from 1976 - 1981 this bus tour and public art event covers a period much greater than that with roots all the way back to WWI at least, and with strong links into what the future could hold. Curated by David Cross and Cameron Bishop , Six Moments in Kingston includes a joyful, painful and mysterious collection of people and moments brought to life in a variety of mediums by local artists. There are v

What: Pinocchio When: 5 - 26 May 2019 Where: La Mama Courthouse Written by: Carlo Collodi Directed by: Christian Bagin Performed by: Jasper Foley Design by: Eloise Kent Masks by: Newmi Newman Lighting by: Adelaide Harney Sound by: Felix Watson Jasper Foley Pinocchio is a classic morality tale and fun adventure story written by Collodi in 1880 and it is one which has stood the test of time. Exciting imagination and bringing a whole new life to this favourite Rosa Campagnaro , Bagin , and Foley bring it back to life with an authentic, energetic and exciting remediation into the finest example of Commedia dell'Arte and it is at La Mama Courthouse this week. Pinocchio is the story of a piece of wood originally intended to be a chair leg which, it is discovered, can speak. The lonely old wood carver, Geppetto, decides to carve him into a marionette and treats him like his son, including sending him off to school. Along the way Pinocchio gets distracted and goes on a

What: Arete - Epsilon When: 17 - 18 May 2019 Where: Cube 37 Playwrights: Matt Allen, Hayley Lawson-Smith, Lenora Locatelli, Harry Patermoster, Jonathan Simpson, Emma Sproule, Mitchell Sholer, Helmut von Push and Emma Workman Directors: Lenora Locatelli, Gabrielle Rando, Naomi Woodward, Jonathan Simpson, Emma Sproule, Mitchell Sholer, Jet Thomas Performers: Paul Barry, Anthony Bradshaw, Sophie Daddo-Langlois, The eMs, Max Gettler, Olivia Gyulavary, Annie Laurenson, Jane Leckie, Rosa Leonardi, Lenora Locatelli, Cadi MacInnes, Leikny Middleton, Josiah Moah, The Pythia, Gillian Scott, Jonathan Simpson, Mitchell Sholer, Fabrizio Spada, and Helmut von Push Set design by: Sally Curry Lighting by: Brad De La Rue Stage managed by: Steven Goranitis Olivia Gyulavary and Paul Barry If you think theatre is an inner city indulgence you are wrong. It is the life blood of community and it is as vibrant - if not more so - the further you go from the centre point and is the life blood from

What: Plenty Serious TALK TALK When: 9 - 11 May 2019 Where: Main Hall, Arts House Created  and performed by: Vicki van Hout Film performers: Cloé Fournier and Glen Thomas Lighting by: Karen Norris Sound by: Phil Downing Vicki van Hout - photo by Bryony Jackson Another great Yirramboi Festival event, van Hout's plenty serious TALK TALK is being presented at Arts House alongside Daddy . It is an incredibly clever pairing as both are dealing with the question of how a modern Aboriginal of mixed heritage combines their artistic training in Anglo style contemporary dance with the heritage elements of their indigenous ancestors. Van Hout's conversation asks the huge questions of what is cultural appropriation, where is the line? Van Hout is a contemporary dancer trained in the Martha Graham traditions but, as she points out, Martha Graham is not her heritage so why is it okay if she uses it? On the other hand, why doesn't her Indigenous ancestry allow her to take h

What: Daddy When: 8 - 12 May 2019 Where: Main Hall, Arts House Created and performed by: Joel Bray Directed by: Stephen Nicolazzo Composed by: Naretha Williams Design by: James Lew Lighting and AV by: Katie Sfetkidis Joel Bray - photo by Bryony Jackson Sadly the Yirramboi Festival is drawing to a close but there is still a chance to see great shows this weekend.  You may all remember my glowing review of Bray ’s show Biladurang earlier this year. Well, he is back with a new show Daddy and this one packs a punch! The themes of the two shows echo each other; disconnection from father, gay culture, pain, and colonisation. The difference is scope and scale.  Biladurang rang with the intimacy of hotel rooms whereas Daddy echoes with the grandeur of the history of the world – black, white, and candy floss pink. Bray sugar-coats the pain of colonisation (literally with icing sugar) but as we, the audience, get to lick away the drug of fantasy sweetness we begin to expose

What: The Honouring When: 7 - 11 May 2019 Where: La Mama Courthouse Created and performed by: Jack Sheppard Puppetry by: Tim Denton and Greg Fryer Design by: Tim Denton Lighting by: Rachel Rui Qian Lee Sound by: James Henry Stage managed by: Stephen Hawker Jack Sheppard Personally I feel we have way too many festivals in Melbourne but right now we are in the middle of one of our most important - Yirramboi . The word yirramboi means tomorrow in the local languages of the Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung peoples and is a selection of works which are future focussed with regard to the cultural and societal lives for our First Nations peoples. The Honouring , being presented at La Mama Courthouse speaks to this with a powerful physical theatre piece about suicide and Sorry Business. Jack  Sheppard is an emerging dancer and actor who has experienced a lot of loss in his short life through death - some suicide and some a less self-actualised form. This is not unusual for our Ab

What: Barnum The Circus Musical When: 1 May - 2 June 2019 Where: Comedy Theatre Book by: Mark Bramble Music by: Cy Coleman Lyrics by: Michael Stewart Directed by: Tyran Parke Musical direction by: Stephen Gray Circus direction by: Zebastian Hunter Performed by: Rachael Beck, John Barrett,  Embla Bishop, Kirby Burgess, John Clark, Greg Clarkson, Dean Cooper, Robbie Curtis, Akina Edmonds, Sarah Gray, Stephen Gray, Matthew Hamilton, Suzie Mathers, Stephen McDowell, Vanessa McGregor, Todd McKenney, William Meager, Karlee Misipeka, Gary Norman, Joshua Reckless, Roger Schmidli, Matthew Tubman, Ian Wilmot, and Tim Wilson Choreography: Kelly Aykers Design by: Dann Barber Lighting by: Rachel Burke Sound by: Michael Waters Photo by Jeff Busby Circus and musical theatre - the twin arts of stage spectacle - have come together in Barnum The Circus Musical playing at the Comedy Theatre this month. Storeyboard Entertainment has partnered with the National Institute of Circus Arts a