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Category Archives: Street 2

The Fridge

11 Oct
fridge_covThe latest instalment from Made In Canberra, The Fridge is an amusing piece of work that manages to avoid the worst of predictability but doesn’t quite distinguish itself with dialogue that encourages the suspension of disbelief. With characters that all seem to say exactly what they mean all the time, there is not a lot of room for the cast to perform. The words take over, and even the best one liners fall flat.
The program and advertising makes reference to Monty Python repeatedly, and attempts to position the play as a continuation of this tradition. This may go some way to explaining the lack of subtext. Python was certainly capable of developing great characters with little or no subtext, but here it…
The rest of this post is published over on Australian Stage.
 
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Posted by on Friday, 11 October 2013 in Canberra Theatre, Made in Canberra, Street 2, The Street Theatre, Theatre

 

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Richard, Professor of Literature

04 Apr

richard professor of literatureThose who enjoy a good lecture will be decidedly disappointed by this seminar on classic Shakespearean plots. Those who detest a good lecture, however, should be tickled pink by the Professor’s quirky wit and humour, and his delightful playfulness with improvised puppets.

The Professor introduces himself as he enters the auditorium. One audient at a time. That is, until he realises just how many audients there are…

The rest of this post is published on Australian Stage.

 
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Posted by on Thursday, 4 April 2013 in Canberra Theatre, Comedy, Street 2, The Street Theatre, Theatre

 

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The Girls

30 Jul

We have a fascination with firsts. Having our first female prime minister has a sense of novelty about it, which would probably be equalled by a first Aboriginal prime minister. Both the reality and the possibility, however, are little more than symbols of a maturing atmosphere of equality; they offer nothing of real substance in themselves. The Girls, I think offers something of greater substance in its diverse vignettes around the theme of womanhood in a postmodern world.

The rest of this post is published on Australian Stage.

 
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Posted by on Friday, 30 July 2010 in Australian Stage, Made in Canberra, Street 2, The Street Theatre

 

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Winter’s Discontent

19 Jun

Every now and then a play comes along that leaves you feeling like you’ve just witnessed something important, but you’re not sure what. Winter’s Discontent is one of them. It is coherent, intelligent, demanding of its audience and at times funny, but I still feel like I missed something. Like there was something substantial, important, that the writer was trying to communicate, and I’m a bit of a goose for missing it…

The rest of this post is published on Australian Stage.

 
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Posted by on Saturday, 19 June 2010 in Australian Stage, Canberra Theatre, Street 2, The Street Theatre, Theatre

 

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Faces in the Street

10 Apr

Henry Lawson’s legacy is not an easy one to identify. It is wrapped up in the mystery of the Australian identity, which is now, as it was in Lawson’s day, straddled across the divides between urban and rural, between civilised and free, and of course between global and local. Max Cullen’s play, Faces in the Street, somehow manages to explore these weighty notions while remaining firmly grounded in the story of Lawson’s life…

The rest of this post is published on Australian Stage.

 
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Posted by on Saturday, 10 April 2010 in Australian Stage, Canberra Theatre, Street 2, The Street Theatre, Theatre

 

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The Role Model

31 Jul

I was interested to see The Role Model not only because it was written by a fellow Canberran, but also because of the praise it had received from the great Edward Albee. It is usually a mistake to assume that you will enjoy something as much as you expect to when it gets such accolades. Who can live up to such expectations? The Role Model certainly didn’t.

That’s not to say it’s not a worthy production; it is a great story, deftly performed by a cohesive and talented cast. It’s just that the script didn’t deserve the praise I heard. Much of the dialogue is awkward, and it doesn’t help that the lead actor, Raoul Craemer, attempts to portray an elite Australian athlete without attempting an Australian accent. Don’t get me wrong, there were some fine and genuinely funny moments, but this talented cast were let down by often unconvincing dialogue, and a director who allowed them to pronounce every ‘T’ in the script, which lent the already awkward dialogue a foreign and unfamiliar tone, which is not conducive to comedic impact.

Overall, an entertaining show, but this story had the potential to move me to both laughter and tears, and it didn’t do either.

 
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Posted by on Thursday, 31 July 2008 in Canberra Theatre, cultural cringe, Street 2, The Street Theatre, Theatre

 

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