What Did She Think?

WHAT: Disney On Ice - 100 Years of Wonder WHEN: 28 June - 2 July 2023 WHERE: Rod Laver Arena FEATURING: Marina Bolam, Sarah Dalton, Rachael Dobson, Leo Leilling, Kirstie Nelson, Isabella Newhuis, Adriene Ott, Will Ott, Ryan Santee, Benjamin Toedte, and Matthew Young Sarah Dalton - photo supplied Aaah, Disney . Disney is the TV and film diet we of the Western World grew up on for most of the 20th Century and continues through to today. Disney on Ice hit the world by storm when Feld Entertainment launched it in 1981 and it is a pleasant surprise to see the concept continuing, particularly in the 100th anniversary year for The Walt Disney Company. This 100 year retrospective hit Melbourne first in the Myer Christmas window displays in 2022 and the festival continues with Disney On Ice - 100 Years of Wonder at the Rod Laver Arena this year. 100 Years of Wonder is a medley of great moments from classic Disney movies. It would be easy to mourn the absence of your favourite movie. The cat

WHAT: Bleached WHEN: 22 June - 1 July 2023 WHERE: Bluestone Church Arts Space WRITTEN BY: Laura Collins DIRECTED BY: Ruby Rees PERFORMED BY: Lansy Feng, Madeleine Magee-Carr, Megan Mitchell, Anthony Pontonio, and Eva Rees SET BY: Moya Lucy LIGHTING BY: Oliver Ross SOUND BY: Ethan Hunter STAGE MANAGED BY: Zadie Kenney McCracken and Jarman Oakley Megan Mitchell and Anthony Pontonio - photo by Sarah Clarke Last night I saw Bleached at the Bluestone Church Arts Space , presented by WIT Inc . Back in March I reviewed Trash Pop Butterflies, Dance, Dance, Paradise! and to be honest I feel like just saying read that review and then I can just go off and have a cup of tea. I won't do that though because they are different plays presented by different companies and some aspects of Bleached deserve exceptional praise. As with Maki Morita's  Trash Pop Butterflies , Laura Collins' (writer) Bleached is a dystopian post-dramatic dramatisation of humanity's existential crisis in th

WHAT: Social Dance WHEN: 21 June - 1 July 2023 WHERE: Theatre Works (Explosive Factory) WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Laura McKenzie PERFORMED BY: Anna Burgess, Pascale Fester-Bell, Andrew Hwang, Heather Valentine, and Sam Zawadi AV & SOUND BY: Tim Palstra Sam Zawadi and Anna Burgess - photo by Farrow Photography Family dinners are always fraught and the one being held by the Spittles at the Explosives Factory over the next week or so is no exception. But  Social Dance this dinner party is an exception! The Spittles have invited 30 or so people to join them for an introduction to their new social etiquette instructional series in the hope of getting sign-ups for the whole package. The Spittles are a family who appear to have great wealth and the mother, Suzie ( Anna Burgess ) in particular, exudes an aura of social superiority along with her Toorak tones, power suit, and viciously high heels. Her long suffering husband, Grahame ( Sam Zawadi ), is ineffectual in calming her down as s

WHAT: Grand Theft Theatre WHEN: 17-24 June 2023 WHERE: St Ambrose Hall CREATED BY: Ponycam and David Williams PERFORMED BY: Claire Bird, Ava Campbell, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub, David Williams, and Hugo Williams Ava Campbell, Claire Bird, Dominic Weintraub, and William Strom - photo by Wild Hardt When someone asks you 'what is the best show you have ever seen' does a name instantly spring to mind or does your mind stutter and flutter as you try to sort through the jumble of memories and half formed recollections, struggling to land on a single event? Ponycam and David Williams put this question under the microscope in their show Grand Theft Theatre which is having a reprise season at St Ambrose Hall this month. Commissioned by Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2022, the premise of Grand Theft Theatre is simple. The ensemble literally got together, everyone shared the moments in theatre, dance, and some film which left them with the strongest images or touched them on th

WHAT: Broadway Diva WHEN: 13-17 June 2023 WHERE: The Butterfly Club (Upstairs) CREATED BY: Carly Fisher and Olivia Ruggiero DIRECTED BY: Carly Fisher PERFORMED BY: Mark Bradley and Olivia Ruggiero Mark Bradley and Olivia Ruggiero - photo supplied There is something so relaxing about dinner style cabaret which makes the soul sing along with music. This is what Broadway Diva , currently being performed at The Butterfly Club as part of an extended tour, gives us. We don't get the dinner, but what this show does give us is a Rat Pack quality hour of song any smoky 1950's restaurant would be proud of. Whilst we don't get the comfy booth and waiters on hand with endless champagne at the ready, Broadway Diva gives us a songstress extraordinaire ( Olivia Ruggiero ), a pianist ( Mark Bradley ) of the highest quality, AND a shiny white baby grand piano! I know! How did they get it up all those stairs??? I mention the piano because anybody who knows music knows these people mean bu

WHAT: Little Brother, Big Sister WHEN: 7-18 June 2023 WHERE: La Mama Courthouse WRITTEN BY: Michel Paul Tuomey DIRECTED BY: Cathy Hunt PERFORMED BY: Adam Cass and Myf Powell LIGHTING BY: Shane Grant SOUND BY: Jess Keefe Adam Cass and Myf Powell - photo by Darren Gill Awareness plays are always interesting in that they are generally about conveying information which makes them dramaturgically specific. Little Brother, Big Sister , currently playing at La Mama Courthouse , technically is an awareness play about schizophrenia . This play, however, breaks the mould because rather than being information laden and schizophrenia focussed, Little Brother, Big Sister is an autobiography of a man just trying to live his life. Little Brother, Big Sister is written by Michel Paul Tuomey ( Adam Cass ) and tells the story of his life so far. It tells us how the onset of schizophrenia changed his life. Possibly even more important, it explores his relationship with his sister, Karen ( Myf Powell ),

WHAT: The Culture WHERE: Theatre Works (Explosives Factory) WHEN: 7 - 17 June 2023 WRITTEN BY: Laura Jackson DIRECTED BY: Bethany Caputo PERFORMED BY: Mina Asfoor and Laura Jackson LIGHTING BY: Capri Harris SOUND BY: Charlotte Leamon STAGE MANAGED BY: Colleen Willis Mina Asfour and Laura Jackson - photo by Aden Meser Domestic violence has always been a serious problem and right now it is red hot across community support organisations in Melbourne. In Powersuit Production s' play The Culture , currently ending it's international tour at the Explosives Factory  in St Kilda the question is asked, 'How do intelligent and insightful people find themselves in these kinds of dangerous situations?' The Culture , written by Laura Jackson , is a study of a pair of lifelong friends who are torn asunder by domestic violence. They went to school together. They went to Prom together. They live together as housemates. They even podcast and livestream together. The pair have an ease a

WHAT: He WHEN: 2 - 17 June 2023 WHERE: Red Velvet Underground WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY: Rodrigo Calderon Rodrigo Calderon I found it! The gem every theatre critic dreams of. That little piece of magic hidden in the most unexpected place. This year it is the show He , written and performed by Rodrigo Calderon , and currently being presented at Red Velvet Underground in Brunswick. He is the story of a man, of men, of love, and of the sea. Crawling onto the beach a sad, tired, wet man sits and talks to Mother Ocean who has just birthed him. She has been with him through all of the saddest and most difficult moments throughout his life. This man does not want to be there with her, yet here he is. Here she is. Here they are, facing each other once more. A stalemate in the tug of war of a lifetime. This is not a calming relationship. This man has been fighting for life against her irresistible forces since he was a child - a child who nearly drowned before he could learn to swim. Mother O