Amanda Harrison

Amanda has been an avid theatre and film buff for many years. She has dabbled in acting and directing, in both film and theatre. She also has experience writing plays, and is director of the newly formed Mayhem Theatre Company. She's excited to see what amazing things other creative people are doing and provide detailed reviews to help the audience understand the essence of each show. She is an advocate for inclusivity, and also works as a photographer with her husband sometimes. Lunatic Digital Creations Mayhem Theatre

Howlin’ for Baskervilles – Hound of the Baskervilles UpStage Theatre

30 March 2025 Amanda Harrison

Sherlock Holmes: Hound of the Baskervilles Rating

★★★★★

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The Hound of The Baskervilles is a classic Sherlock Holmes caper set at Baskerville Hall after the death of its previous owner. Unexpectedly, we follow Watson for most of the journey to collect evidence and interview suspects, working his way through the victim’s neighbours and lovers, all whilst a demon dog stalks its prey: them. Upstage Theatre’s rendition of this tale finds us in a Box Set of the sitting room in Baskerville Hall as we flit between conversations, dinner parties and occasional ventures out to the Moore.

The costuming was a real standout for this play, as every character had a uniquely curated wardrobe and style that was still accurate to the location and time of the play. It felt that much attention to detail and time was put into the design and curation, which elevated the atmosphere and created distinct differences between the characters.

There were nice moments where creative lighting assisted in the change of atmosphere, such as a flickering ‘fire’ effect over the fireplace to indicate a change of season. The use of prop candles was also well considered, with blocking helping to cover them when appropriate.

The Blocking and movement of this play was masterfully done, feeling natural and motivated at all times. At no point did characters behave in an unnatural way to meet a mark, begin needlessly pacing or start grandstanding when inappropriate; the best part of the blocking is that it didn’t feel like ‘blocking’. This is thanks to the wonderful, thoughtful direction of June Tretheway and David Bell.

High Commendations should be given to the standout of the show, Shaun King, in the role of Watson. King delivered an energetic and likeable performance with fantastic characterisation. Grant Caldwell, in the role of Henry Lewis, played well off of King to give us an engaging journey throughout the play. Virginia Gray was fantastic in the role of Mrs Franklind, providing comedic relief and a captivating spirit to the stage. As Beryl Stapleton, Emily Egan gave an endearing and earnest performance, along with Jessica Fletcher.

I would have liked to see some additional development of the sound design to further assist in building the atmosphere. The sound used was agreeable, but further consideration of this element of the production could have lifted it even more. The other aspect I would like to see evaluated would be the pacing. However, this should improve the further this production gets into its run, as opening night nerves could have been impacting this.

Overall, the Hound of the Baskerville is an enjoyable play, and the cast and crew should be commended for their efforts.

To book tickets to Sherlock Holmes: Hound of the Baskervilles, please visit https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1335625.

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Amanda Harrison

Popcorn Popped Off!

16 March 2025 Amanda Harrison

Popcorn Rating

★★★★★

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Popcorn is a satirical black comedy by Ben Elton that proudly makes social commentary while generating many laughs. Directed by Aaron Evans, this production elevated the cynical lens through which we view Hollywood, with inclusions that maximised the laugh factor.

Set in the 90s, we follow the Mall murderers Wayne and Scout as they commit a home invasion of a famous director whose movies mirror their crimes. Tensions escalate and the debate is had, who is responsible for inciting violence, is it the movies that aggrandise it in the first place? With a 90s video rental store inspired set, and soundtrack to match we are easily transported back in time.

Masterful direction meant that the sexual content and violence was handled in a mature and modest way that did not compromise the meaning of the play, or cause extra discomfort for the audience. However, this was in no way an easy ride with tough questions being asked and moments of shock surprising all.

Brittany Bell played the leading role of Scout, the ditzy fun-loving killer girlfriend of the crime couple. Her performance shone through, bringing moments of vulnerability and heartbreak when Wayne (Her Boyfriend) manipulated and controlled her. She also displayed fantastic range, showing us her viciousness when taking control of the situation, and also often providing comedic relief. Bell’s performance was the stand out of the production and she should be highly commended.

Jack Barret brought much energy to the stage in the role of Wayne, commanding the room with intensity. Jack’s take on the character was more aloof and angry than menacing but had great commitment to the role. Michael Civitano played Bruce Delamitri, a Quentin Tarantino like director. Michael brought large amounts of enthusiasm to the stage, often conveying the incredible frustration felt by being the ‘man in the spotlight’. Jason Nash and Robin Vary played well off the cast and had fantastic characterisation in their supporting roles.

Vicki Dwyer breezed through her role as Farrah, the drug-addled soon ex-wife of Bruce. She was excellent, and had great energy which was all channeled into upholding the drunken and selfish personality of her character. The cast generally had a very energetic performance, and great characterisation.

The use of lighting was fantastic, allowing us to flow in and out of news reports, tv segments and drug fueled raves in the mansion with creative use of spots, RGB and blackout. The costume design should be commended for really individualizing each character with a unique style while remaining period accurate.

Overall the performance was well polished and the enthusiasm from the cast was palpable. In the future it would be lovely to see a push for character depth over archetypes in the staging of more black comedies at Ipswich Little Theatre, and the continuity of focus on comedy as this was done well. The entire cast and crew should be commended on a successful show.

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Amanda Harrison

Australian Open

9 January 20259 January 2025 Amanda Harrison

Angus Cameron’s Australian Open Rating

★★★★★

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The Australian Open is a modern Comedy written by Angus Cameron and directed by Hayden Burke. It explores the dysfunctional and interconnected relationship between a queer couple (Felix and Lucas), and Felix’s family. It incorporates mild social commentary with quick witted humour, creating a character driven story that hits highs and lows in high frequency.

Act One was a riotous time that culminates in the drama of ‘Family Christmas Lunch’. The pacing was excellent, building consistently to this titular moment. The versatility of Sandro Colarelli and Lisa Hickey’s performances must be commended, as they play the bigoted parents who evolve throughout the play. They show much range during their performance, with complete commitment to beats of physical comedy as well as dramatic intensity.

Act two does a tremendous job at showing the effects of the events from earlier in the play, and how each character responds to them. Whilst we get so much diversity and growth from everyone’s characters, they are very human remaining still flawed at the core. The story ends with intrigue and moments of reconciliation which leave the audience feeling uplifted. The comedic timing and tone were excellent throughout.

What this play did exceptionally well was the balance of tension and comedy. There were many moments of drama that built tension, that the audience was left to sit with for a satisfying length before comedic relief burst through. This is a standout take-away, giving the audience a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, but all wrapped up and delivered as entertainment. This is due to the collaboration between talented actors, a fantastic script and great direction. The set was fairly minimalistic due to the intimate setting but was used most effectively, transitions were covered well never leaving the audience waiting for long. The set design was inventive, using a tennis net as a billboard with lights. I also appreciated the further ceiling lights made to look like tennis balls.

Australian Open is a wonderful character driven comedy that explores queer relationships, self discovery and the merits of eskies. I was overjoyed to see fun and positive representation of many things including BDSM elements and open relationships. The only thing I would’ve liked to see would have been a romantic and uplifting kiss between Felix and Lucas at the resolution of their story, to really drive home the rewarding pay off for those invested in their journey. The Cast and Crew should be commended for a hilarious and sometimes too accurate play. Audiences will have a delightful and engaging time, and shouldn’t miss Angus Cameron’s Australian Open.

Australian Open runs for two more weekends only. To book tickets to Angus Cameron’s Australian Open, please visit https://piptheatre.org/australian-open/

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Amanda Harrison

Scandalous Cabaret

20 November 2024 Amanda Harrison

Scandalous Cabaret Rating

★★★★★

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Scandalous Cabaret is a fusion of Circus, Comedy and Cabaret all rolled into one travelling act in a tent. With a larger cast of twelve performers they advertise their show as a ‘hybrid’ adults only Circus, that delivers a sensually themed collection of acts.

The performance contained many old favourites from the Circus arts however with modern twists. We see the Unicycle, but also a miniature version, a three-wheeled version and a two-story off-centred version. Juggling is another classic, but performed with bounce, movement and up to 7 balls at once.

The absolute standout of the act was the talented Trapeze artist who also performed an aerial act with chains and neck spinning. She was mesmerising, with incredible strength and fluidity of movement. A great commendation is needed for the choreographer of the acts, as every performance had amazing flow of movement and contained many transitions.

The choreography knew when to contrast stillness and movement, and constantly used symmetry between the aerial artists. This was evident across the board, including a contortion routine that contained so much elasticity and smoothness of movement. Another standout was a fire performance containing skin transfers and fire eating. This act had great transitions and practical use of fire palms, bubbles and wands with excellent variation between these things.

The individual circus acts were to an incredibly high standard, where it seems that achieving a continuum would be within their grasp. The dance choreography had a very classic jazz style and made little interludes between acts, which was not unwelcome. There was mention of tracking ‘gossip’ surrounding relationships as a story-line for the performance, but this was quickly forgotten.

It would be nice to see this story-line develop more or play a more active role in the way things are staged. We did get a nice classic jazz number that was sung quite well, it would be nice to see more showcasing of vocal talents in their line-up in the future. The song choices and comedy included in the show feel a little crude and immature, not giving a high-class cabaret feel to the show. It would be good to see the staging and theming evolve to better showcase the fantastic talent contained within their cast.

Overall, Scandalous was not very much so, but a great showcase of fluid choreography and talent. It still proved an entertaining time with nice reinventions of older circus acts, and a large cast of professionals.

Scandalous Cabaret runs 15th November – 14th December.

To book tickets, please visit https://scandalous.com.au/

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Author: Amanda Harrison

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