What Did She Think?

What: Othello When: 25 - 26 October 2019 Where: The MC Showroom Written by: William Shakespeare Directed by: Lenora Locatelli Performed by: Paul Barry, Claire Duncan, Cadi MacInnes, Roisin O'Neill, Gabrielle Rando, Madeline Rintoul, Nic Stephens, Ismail Taylor-Kamara, and Jett Thomas Sound by: Sheridan Killingback Stage managed by: Mitch McDonough Ismail Taylor-Kamara and Nic Stephens Beating the Christmas rush, Dionysus Theatre kicks off the summer Shakespeare mania with the dark tale of envy, Othello . This production had a short season in their home on the Peninsula last weekend, and this weekend they have brought their work to The MC Showroom for the rest of us to engage with. Othello is a late-mid career play by Shakespeare, coming a little after Hamlet and a little before Macbeth . As with so much of Shakespeare's work, he is merely remediating somebody else's story - Un Capitano Moro by Cinthio). For me this is also probably one of his most cohe

What: Rebel: A New Musical When: 18 - 20 October 2019 Where: The MC Showroom Book, music and lyrics by: Drew Downing Directed by: Clary Riven Musical direction by: Tyson Legg Performed by: Frank Kerr, Tyson Legg, Peter Nguyen, Aaron Syrjanen and Conrad Tracey Design by: Betty Auhl Stage managed by: Janel Gibson Frank Kerr Are you a fan of country music? If so, you better mosey on down to The MC Showroom to experience Melbourne's newest musical, Rebel: A New Musical this weekend before it closes! Beginning it's life as a cabaret show in 2014, Downing recently had a burst of inspiration which has allowed him to expand the story and music into a full two act show. I don't know if purists would call this a real musical because there is no dancing and has a character cast of 1, but it certainly is of the ilk of historical figure musicals which frequent venues such as The Palms at Crown and The Athenaeum. The story revolves around the life and loves of David ( K

What: Savannah Bay When: 17 - 27 October 2019 Where: La Mama Courthouse Written by: Maguerite Duras Directed by: Laurence Strangio Performed by: Brenda Palmer and Annie Thorold Lighting by: Clare Springett Stage managed by: Julian Adams Brenda Palmer and Annie Thorold - photo by Jack Dixon Gunn In a lovely programming curation, La Mama is presenting Duras ' Savannah Bay alongside The Disappearing Trilogy for the rest of October. Both plays look at the disappearing actress and in the case of this play, the disappearance comes through time and dementia. The play gets it's name from a mythical bay in Siam where the lead character ( Palmer ) supposedly made a film (of the same name) with Henry Fonda . The play is about love and death and connections lost. It is told through the portal of a woman at the end of her life, a point where you can choose to forget but you can't choose what you remember. Duras was obsessed with broken love and death and spurred by Ed

What: The Disappearing Trilogy When: 16 - 27 October 2019 Where: La Mama Courthouse Written and performed by: Suzie Hardgrave Set and Lighting by: Bronwyn Pringle Sound by: Chris Wenn Stage Management by: Teri Steer Suzie Hardgrave - image by Darren Gill La Mama is often the place to see practice-led doctoral projects from universities across Melbourne and the latest is a work by Suzie Hardgrave , The Disappearing Trilogy . Investigating the disappearance of the female actor into her roles and out of herself, this dramatic triptych runs until 27 October. Hardgrave has engaged in an international career as a performer and researcher and is currently completing her doctoral studies at Monash University . Her studies appear to be examining the identity of 'actress' and '...why and how expectations of performance affect the female in Western culture' - if I read the program notes correctly. The Disappearing Trilogy is a 3-part sequence. The first is spoken n

What: Riot When: 8 - 12 October 2019 Where: The MC Showroom Written and directed by: Thomas Ian Doyle Performed by: Benjamin Brooker, Marisa Matear, Emma Louise Pursey, Gabrielle Reiher, and Mazz Ryan Sound by: Benjamin Brooker Emma Louise Pursey and Mazz Ryan The Owl and Cat has been closed for a while now, but the creative relationship between Thomas Ian Doyle and Gabrielle Reiher continues in their latest project Riot . After a premier season at their old venue in 2017 and a workshop process in Alaska, Riot is back on the Melbourne stage at The MC Showroom albeit for a very short season. I didn't see the original production so I don't know how the play has evolved, but generally speaking it follows the love catastrophes of a 20 something Millennial and has a parrallel commentary of free for all capitalism. Reiher directed the premier, but this time she is acting in it and Doyle has directed the play himself. There has been some gender/sex movement in this pr

What: Do Not Collect $200 When: 9 - 19 October 2019 Where: MUST Space Created and directed by: Harley Hefford Head writer: Aleks Corke Featuring: Zoe Condliffe, Callum Foulkes, Rohini Jaswal, Celina Mack, Lachlan McCormack, Meghan Mitra, and Arianna Walley Assistant director: Kate Speakman Set by: Ashleigh Baxter Costumes by: Kirky Kirkman Lighting by: Justin Heaton Sound by: Caitlin Duff AV by: Eamonn Johnson Stage managed by: Shannon Brown Natasha Nosiara and Luna Erica The world of live art has been a bit quiet in Melbourne lately, but MUST has gone all in with their extravaganza event, Do Not Collect $200 . The family favourite game Monopoly has been upsized to a full participation experience and we are the living tokens having experiences, earning money and clout, and living life inside an all capitalist system. Created originally in 2017 by Magical Mystery Co ., Hefford was invited by MUST Artistic Director Yvonne Virsik to recreate the event at Monash Univ

What: Rhythm Empire When: 5 October 2019 Where: Irving Hall Australian Tap Dance Festival Featuring Omar Edwards 2019 has seen the 8th Australian Tap Dance Festival come to Melbourne. A line up of top class Australian tap dancers and international guest artist Omar Edwards came together at the Ministry of Dance to deliver a week of master classes and workshops for all ages and competencies of tap dance. The Festival ended with a gala evening, Rhythm Empire , which celebrated everyone's work over the course of the festival. You may recall in 2017 I reviewed the 6th Festival's gala night, Rhythm Kaleidoscope . The overall shape of Rhythm Empire is the same although there were distinct differences in style of direction for the dance form. Many of the same faculty were leading workshops and had their moment to shine at the gala concert as well as letting the students celebrate their work and skills through group choreography. One of the big things I noticed this year

What: Jofus and The Plank When: 24- 29 September 2019 Where: The Burrow Created and performed by: Lily Fish Directed by: Lily Fish and Kimberley Twiner Lily Fish Straight out of all the great schools of clowning steps Jofus, a clown character created and performed by Lily Fish . The odd little love child of Harlequin and the Umbilical Brothers, and following in the tradition of Mr Bean, Jofus takes us on an adventurous new tale about The Big Bad Wolf with The Plank as the only ally. The tale of Jofus and The Plank begins with the expectation of a visit from Uncle Kevin. A very excited Jofus makes a batch of short bread cookies. Uncle Kevin rings to tell Jofus he will be late, but the smell of the cookies permeates the air and comes to the nostrils of a very hungry Big Bad Wolf. Thus begins an adventure tale told through mime, sound, half muttered words, and The Plank. When The Big Bad Wolf enters the kitchen Jofus jumps out of the (unusually high) kitchen window and plum