tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44913301449828259002024-03-14T07:18:29.380+11:00Theatre FirstKeith Gow reviews Theatre, Film & TelevisionKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.comBlogger412125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-45995650193149187982024-03-09T17:21:00.000+11:002024-03-09T17:21:03.271+11:00REVIEW: Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton, adapted by Johnna Wright & Patty Jamieson“gaslight
(chiefly transitive)
To manipulate someone such that they doubt their own memory, perceptions of
reality, or sanity, typically for malevolent reasons. From the stage play Gas
Light by Patrick Hamilton” – definition and etymology of the word
“gaslight” from Wiktionary*
It’s one thing
to write a play like Gas Light (first performed on Broadway with Vincent
Price in the role of Mr Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-65400468550154239532024-03-09T15:13:00.001+11:002024-03-09T15:13:24.537+11:00REVIEW: WICKED by Stephen Schwartz & Winnie HolzmanThe musical
Wicked, loosely based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, probably needs no
introduction. It’s the fourth longest-running show on Broadway ever, behind The
Phantom of the Opera, the 1996 production of Chicago (which is
visiting Melbourne again soon) and The Lion King. And it’s about to be
turned into a two-part film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, directed
by Jon M. Chu, who Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-13416458253134977212024-03-05T14:44:00.007+11:002024-03-05T14:45:04.146+11:00REVIEW: Milked by Simon LongmanMy review of Milked - currently playing at Fortyfive Downstairs - has been published at Australian Arts Review. Read it here!- Keith Gow, Theatre FirstPhoto: Ben FonKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-60191158004701316582024-03-03T12:32:00.000+11:002024-03-03T12:32:36.071+11:00REVIEW: Yentl - Kadimah Yiddish Theatre/Malthouse Theatre…the
Hebrew Bible, when read in its original language, offers a highly elastic view
of gender. And I do mean highly elastic: In Genesis 3:12, Eve is referred to as
“he.” In Genesis 9:21, after the flood, Noah repairs to “her” tent. Genesis
24:16 refers to Rebecca as a “young man.” And Genesis 1:27 refers to Adam as
“them.”
In his
op-ed in The New York Times in 2016 “Is God Transgender?”, Rabbi Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-20337022501549391062024-02-29T21:46:00.000+11:002024-02-29T21:46:03.930+11:00REVIEW: The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba ClarkeThis is how
it happened.
The stage
version of Maxine Beneba Clarke’s biographical book, The Hate Race,
begins, as most theatre shows in Australia do, with an Acknowledgement of
Country. But it’s not the disembodied voice of Malthouse staff. It’s not a
pre-record by a member of the ensemble. Zahra Newman, who will soon share some
of Maxine’s life with us, is on stage, naming the lands of the Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-39845230137132742922024-02-26T12:36:00.000+11:002024-02-26T12:46:10.418+11:00REVIEW: 7 Captiva Road by Andrea CiannaveiGrandma is
dying and the extended family are being drawn to the house where she’s seeing
out her final days, tended to by her granddaughter, fussed over by her
daughters and kept at arms-length by the emotionally-immature men of the clan.
Andrea
Ciannavei’s play, 7 Captiva Road, is a kitchen-sink drama,
where not much happens, but everything feels like the end-of-the-world. Nobody
is talking Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-81654719720094584932024-02-18T12:51:00.001+11:002024-02-18T12:51:28.002+11:00REVIEW: The Whisper by Brodie MurrayLate 1940s,
the outskirts of Bordertown. Riley and his brother, Jack, are under the care of
their Nan. Their parents have long-ago left to find work. Riley thinks they
will be back one day, but Jack resents the fact they have been left behind and
doesn’t expect to ever see them again.
Teenagers about
to become men, their family is at the whims of the local authorities; Blak children
under Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-83411571542903561852024-02-11T17:34:00.003+11:002024-02-11T17:34:42.982+11:00REVIEW: Altar by Em TambreeMy review of Altar - which had a brief season at Midsumma - has been published at Australian Arts Review. Read it here!- Keith Gow, Theatre First Photos: Margot StewartKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-76457491257927832862024-01-23T19:37:00.005+11:002024-01-23T19:37:43.223+11:00REVIEW: The Inheritance by Matthew LopezMy review of The Inheritance at Fortyfive Downstairs has been published at Australian Arts Review. Read it here!- Keith Gow, Theatre FirstPhotos by Cameron Grant Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-29639496567866673892023-12-16T13:45:00.007+11:002023-12-16T13:46:56.555+11:00My Favourite Theatre of 2023Some years,
you don’t really know what your theatre-going year has been like. Sometimes,
you’re seeing good things and bad things and when you get to the end of the
year, the top ten might come easily – because they are outstanding or because
there wasn’t that much competition.
This year,
I knew things were strong. This year, the major companies were doing great
things. And the independent sceneKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-87529351470300677622023-11-29T21:15:00.002+11:002023-11-29T21:15:49.973+11:00REVIEW: A Daylight Connection Double-Bill – Malthouse TheatreThree
people walk into a therapist’s office. They are seated. They are asked to take
a deep breath. They are told this is the start of a journey. They are given
affirmations to repeat and exercises to do. The therapist is here to guide
them through.But they
are already suspicious of the lighting and the design and the artefacts of
other cultures in the room. They bristle at the stolen wisdom on Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-37436335478392592462023-11-25T16:39:00.000+11:002023-11-25T16:39:32.709+11:00REVIEW: Vampire Lesbians of Sodom by Charles Busch – Little Ones TheatreIn long ago
Sodom, two muscular guards fight and flirt, while keeping an eye out for
something the Succubus can feast upon – a vestal virgin. Soon they find one, who begs for her life and tries to sacrifice her virginity to
save herself from being food. But the Succubus must feed and so she does.
Hollywood,
1920. The Succubus now lives as La Condesa, Madga Legerdemain, who is a silent
movie starKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-24762914868658702552023-11-06T17:06:00.002+11:002023-11-06T17:06:57.244+11:00REVIEW: The Visitors by Jane Harrison“A play
is a blueprint of an event: a way of creating and rewriting history through the
medium of literature. Since history is a recorded or remembered event, theatre,
for me, is the perfect place to ‘make’ history – this is, because so much of
African-American history has been unrecorded, disremembered, washed out, one of
my tasks as a playwright is to… locate the ancestral burial ground, dig Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-48467377934043074852023-11-06T13:46:00.004+11:002023-11-06T13:46:56.575+11:00REVIEW: Orlando by Rachel Lewindon & Willow Sizer (based on the novel by Virigina Woolf)It’s 2023. It’s
time for an electro-folk musical based on Orlando by Virginia Woolf."He - for there could be no doubt of his sex, though the fashion of the time did something to disguise it -"
The first
line of the novel makes it clear that the character of Orlando is “he” at the
start of the story and this new theatrical adaptation spends a little bit of
time tangling with that word choice. TheKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-90811434988587327862023-10-29T17:43:00.003+11:002023-10-29T17:43:38.521+11:00REVIEW: In the Club by Patricia CorneliusAnnie is a
fan of football. A fan of the boys from her team. She knows the line up, the
injuries, every level of play. As a kid she felt like a bird in flight, agile,
swift. She loved games. She loved her body and what it was capable of. At sixteen,
that was taken away.
Olivia has
had two boyfriends and never had a male friend. She’s never been in love. She
used to think she’d travel and have Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-13336614630938699372023-10-22T20:07:00.001+11:002023-10-22T20:07:07.866+11:00REVIEW: Hour of the Wolf, created by Keziah Warner and Matt LuttonThe town of
Hope Hill is haunted by the story and the history of the Wolf – a woman who
will appear in the middle of the night and take things from you. But as with
any local legend, everyone has their own take on truth, lies and how to combat
the coming of the wolf.
Hour of
the Wolf is
Malthouse Theatre’s next foray into immersive theatre after Because the
Night in 2021. That was also set in a Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-56665528186311922372023-10-19T20:29:00.001+11:002023-10-19T20:29:35.128+11:00REVIEW: FLAKE by Dan Lee (Co-Created by Chi Nguyen)Bob and Murph
are getting old. Bob is trying to face that fact head-on but Murph won’t play
that game. He still feels young and vital and, if he admits that he’s getting
on, he might find that it’s true.
Bob has
escaped to Hanoi – to get away from Melbourne, to spare his son from dealing
with a dying father and for the cheap mangoes.
Murph has
followed his old friend because he loves travellingKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-76055122520219178482023-10-14T15:58:00.001+11:002023-10-16T17:19:28.446+11:00REVIEW: For Love Nor Money by Angus Cameron – Melbourne FringeMel and Ryan
meet after her going-away party. She’s leaving Melbourne, headed for Los
Angeles with her poet boyfriend, Liam. She’s a director and it’s the next step
in her career. It’s the only thing that makes sense to her.Mel and
Ryan are keeping something from Liam and, at first glance, it seems like they
are having an affair. But it’s not that straightforward. Sex, power and betrayal
never Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-22709130730580860782023-10-14T09:29:00.003+11:002023-10-14T16:16:41.008+11:00REVIEW: Burnout Paradise by Pony Cam – Melbourne FringeSurvival.
Admin.
Performance.
Leisure.
Survival.
Admin.
Performance.
Leisure.
Survival.
Admin. Performance. Leisure.
SurvivalAdminPerformanceLeisure.
Pony Cam,
one of the most inventive and busy theatre collectives in Melbourne, are
running. Four of them on treadmills and one marking time and keeping score.
They have a to-do list. They have life admin to tick off as well. They want to
eatKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-65876290203925048872023-10-13T16:54:00.001+11:002023-10-13T16:54:10.299+11:00REVIEW: Insomniac Mixtape by Telia Nevile – Melbourne Fringe
For anyone
who has ever had trouble sleeping, but especially for those who regularly lie
awake at night, willing themselves to go to sleep – Telia Nevile has written a
collection of songs to celebrate this terrible torment.
The start of
the show will be familiar to anyone who has used a sleep app – a soft-spoken
voice gently reminding you that you should have stopped looking at screens an
hourKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-90178679539006463172023-10-11T23:02:00.000+11:002023-10-11T23:02:19.252+11:00REVIEW: I Am Seaweed by Cheryl Ho – Melbourne FringeSheryl with
an “S” is seaweed, which starts with a “sea”. Sometimes she feels like the
stuff that can strangle boat propellers and sometimes she can rid the earth of
carbon dioxide.
Even in her
Slay Everyday Era – even her t-shirt says “SEE” – there are moments in
her day when she wants to rip all her skin off and beat her head against the
wall.
She’s an
actor and a voice over artist and a Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-74255918144865773202023-10-07T15:31:00.002+11:002023-10-07T15:31:37.043+11:00REVIEW: Werkin’ 5 to 9 by HollyPop and Brenda Bressed - Melbourne FringeBackstage.
Saturday night. Their regular weekly gig. Holly and Brenda are doing well –
bringing joy everywhere they sing and dance – but the cost of living is getting
them down. What is a Drag Queen to do? How can they balance their creativity
with the need to make a living? Or can they turn their dreams of making drag
into a career into reality?This cabaret-cum-jukebox
musical takes us from callKeith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-22233022347569790782023-10-07T15:16:00.003+11:002023-10-07T17:37:02.656+11:00REVIEW: night sweat by Michelle McCowage - Melbourne FringeTheatre is
a dream space.
We settle
into chairs, sometimes cushioned, sometimes uncomfortable, and are lulled into
another world. We are grounded and open to new experiences. We have no control
over what comes next, but as with lucid dreaming, we can choose to go with the show or not.
The best
theatre can be chaotic and drag us through or it can be gentle, hold our hands
and whisper into our Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-62537812779469016062023-08-20T16:29:00.000+10:002023-08-20T16:29:39.221+10:00REVIEW: Monument by Emily Sheehan“My family
has drama but your family has melodrama!”
“What’s the
difference?”
“Money.”
Edith
Aldridge is about to be sworn in as the youngest female leader of her country.
In the Presidential suite of a hotel, her make-up artist, Rosie, has arrived at
5:30am to get her ready for the biggest day of her life. Rosie has
ninety-minutes to work her magic and we’re with them through the highs of
Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491330144982825900.post-7912915644879316292023-08-13T17:20:00.002+10:002023-08-15T17:42:22.037+10:00REVIEW: kerosene/SIRENS by Benjamin NicholMillie grew
up in Lilydale, raised by her grandfather, who is probably gay but also really
old, and not equipped to help her through the trials of teenage-girl life.
Eden has
grown up in a beach-side town. He is gay and his parents are very supportive
but his life is an endless series of part-time jobs and hook-ups with men in
town on holiday.
Millie
would do anything for her best friend Annie.Keith Gowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05886217413331590438noreply@blogger.com0