Debra Campbell

Debra Campbell is the founder of Beyond Dance - proudly supporting Beyond Blue (@dance2forblue), which has raised many thousands of dollars for mental health. Debra is passionate that the Arts in all its forms can truly help one enjoy important time for themselves. She has lived a life of dance, theatre and visual art and believes therefore there are no ‘bad’ shows, there is ‘good’ in every show – “they are all different and will give you different experiences and feelings, so it is always worth venturing out to see one”. Returning to writing from her former years, Debra looks forward to meeting new artists and highlighting their creativity for everyone to appreciate. https://fundraise.beyondblue.org.au/fundraise-for-beyond-blue/posts/beyond-dance https://fundraise.beyondblue.org.au/t/dancetwoforblue

Ladies In Black – SOLD OUT!

11 March 2025 Debra Campbell

Ladies In Black Rating

★★★★★

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You can only hope that you already have a ticket or that they add an extra show, because only a short way into their latest run, Beaumaris Theatre have already sold out on their production of ‘Ladies in Black’. A story of the women working in a Sydney department store in the 1950s, full of gorgeous costuming and highlighting that era’s seriousness together with frivolous fun!

I took my Mum along to this one, I thought it was her era, but she was quick to remind me she was not that ‘old’ and she would’ve only been 10 then LOL. She did however love the show and much of the script was very relatable as success in many women’s equality movements wasn’t strongly successful until much later.

In fact, even my own Mum sent me to ‘secretarial school’ in the 80s, something that Lisa (played by Rose Chambers) knows her father will insist on if she cannot get her mother to help convince her father she should be allowed to go onto university. The 50s beliefs for traditional families stayed locked on men being smart enough for further studying and careers, whilst women were to focus on getting married, having kids, cooking / cleaning and perhaps get a ‘girl’s job’ (like being a secretary or working in a store). This musical is about that life in the 50s for women.

Lisa’s character is centre of the story as she prepares to work at ‘Goodes’ for the holidays whilst she waits for her final schooling results to see what university courses she can apply for. She is smart and might even get a scholarship. Lisa wants to be a poet. “A poet?!?” is the normal response with a snicker from most when she mentions it.

However, things will change when Lisa meets the ‘crazy continental’ European supervisor in the designer-dress department, Magda (played by Bek Champman), a connoisseur of elegant fashions from around the globe. Magda takes an interest in Lisa and her vision to become more of herself. Both actresses are very entertaining to watch as Magda (pronouncing a great accent as she speaks), influences Lisa’s girlish look and ideas into the possibility of new beginnings.

Lisa’s co-workers ‘Fay’ (played by Amy Gridley) and ‘Patty’ (played by Jacqui Moore) have their own stories going on in the background and one particularly funny moment on the side with Patty’s on-stage hubby Frank (played by Dan Bellis who also happens to be Jacqui’s partner in real life – luckily I’d say given their positioning).

You will laugh along with the rest of the audience to ‘The Bastard Song’ whilst you might mentally try and guess the next rhyming word to ‘bastard’, describing Patty’s on-stage hubby. By the end of the show, will he continue to be a bastard?

The show is very well cast and is another directed by the lovely Debbie Keyt with her team Rhonda Vaughan (Musical Director) and Camilla Klesman (Choreographer). This is my third review for Beaumaris Theatre and I also see other shows there; they are all fabulous. The set on this one is also fabulous, fab fashion of gorgeous dresses sets the tone immediately we walk in. We don’t notice that the beach scene isn’t at the beach because Magda steals the limelight in her one-piece to sit on her deckchair, flattered by her husband Stefan (played by Daniel Ischia) and good friend Rudi (played by Justin Royce). She is definitely NOT ‘mutton dressed up as lamb’.

I loved the opening of ‘I Got It At Goodes’ with the department store girls harmonious in singing and dancing with their shopping bags, Miss Cartwright (played by Kirsty Hall) is thoroughly every bit the boss in-charge, the surprise fun of ‘I Just Kissed A Continental’ and ‘I Can’t Be That Man’ was a tug on tears in feeling for that hubby who couldn’t be who he wanted to be. ‘Tomorrow Becomes Today’ was a meaningful solo for Lisa and again as the well-applauded finale song, though I must be honest, I did want to hear ‘The Bastard Song’ just one more time hehe (just in case they want to encore it as a popularity vote at the last show).

Shout out to everyone ducking and weaving in the song of ‘Pandemonium’ – great stage awareness and you all realistically engulfed the pandemonium at sales time! (Both my girls work in retail, and this is exactly what they describe from the other side of the counter).

I probably don’t need to say much more… what can I say… Ladies in Black at Beaumaris Theatre is SOLD OUT!!

PS. JOIN THE WAITLIST https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1318481

Don’t miss the next show of Beaumaris Theatre and get in early!! They have ‘Knife Edge’ coming up in May, ‘The Witches’ in August and ‘Blackadder II’ in November.

Tickets via: https://www.beaumaristheatre.com.au/

Venue: Beaumaris Theatre, 82 Wells Rd, Beaumaris, Melbourne, Victoria. The theatre is a small one but they always use the space well and hence good seat viewing from everywhere. Extremely welcoming front of house team, free tea / coffee and reasonable pricing in the canteen for interval, plus it’s easy to park in the surrounding streets.

Congratulations to everyone on the amazing effort for ‘Ladies in Black’

CAST:
Lisa – Rose Chambers
Frank – Dan Bellis
Myra – Gabi Bergman
Magda – Bek Chapman
Fay – Amy Gridley
Miss Cartwright & Joy – Kirsty Hall
Mr. Miles & Stefan – Daniel Ischia
Patty – Jacqui Moore
Mrs Miles – Roisin O’Neill
Miss Jacobs & Mrs Crown – Katrina Pezzimenti
Rudi, Lloyd & Fred – Justin Royce
Barmaid – Fiona Williams
Customer – Cheryllyn de Vries

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.

Debra Campbell

AVENUE Q – hold on to your puppets!

10 March 2025 Debra Campbell

AVENUE Q Rating

★★★★★

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Avenue Q – Hmmm …?? Ummm…?? Grab your…. Ahhh…

Lots of prior guessing what this show would give to an 18+ adults-only with ‘puppets behaving badly’ …. I had never seen it before nor heard of it, yet in Broadway history it beat out Wicked, how was that possible? This is puppets looking similar to those you’d see on Sesame Street! Mind you, they definitely don’t have the same vocabulary.

Get ready to LAUGH!!! I’m not actually a huge fan of explicit content and sexual innuendos in shows, hence a lot of stand-up comedy nowdays doesn’t entice me, but this was a musical, so I couldn’t possibly not go. I got good seats and took my hubby (driving in he asked me what it was and when I said from the information I had it was like an adult version of Muppets, I think he stopped far longer at the red light than needed, hmmm….).

There’s no hiding explicit content and sexual innuendos in Avenue Q, they are in nearly every scene, but as its expressed from puppets I thought it was very FUNNY and even more CLEVER!

Something I’d never think we would hear about in a musical was open loud reference to ‘porn’. With a whole comical song on the topic, the audience were in stitches and the guys sitting in front of us were almost rolling out of their seats. You’ll have to go experience that part as I don’t want to conjure up anything not quite accurate here – I was also laughing so much at the huge porn-loving puppet I probably lacked concentration whilst watching. I don’t know how the actors on stage with him practiced at rehearsals, but I’ll bet it was nothing like anything they’d done before.

Talented and adaptable is an understatement of this cast. To be able to hold a puppet and portray a character isn’t something I imagine many performers could pull off with the kind of confidence and interaction they do, but especially to sing and move in conjunction with another actor holding the adjoining arm of the same puppet; their timing was spot on!

There are non-puppet characters too – a hoot is “Gary Coleman” in a parody of the real-life child star with the same name; he’s the ‘maintenance man’ of the apartments on Avenue Q where hopefuls, lovers and friends live their ordinary lives in New York city. Having grown up with that child star on my TV, his lines made perfect sense to me for a bit of a giggle.

‘Sucks To Be Me’ was my favourite scene, because everyone thinks that of themselves at some time in their lives, but let’s be honest, there’s always someone worse off than you are. The show has many messages of a similar tongue-in-cheek nature, however the underlying theme is a timeless story of not giving up hope (that’s like Sesame Street HAHA).

Funnily, you may want to close your eyes or look away occasionally or you might find yourself staring jaw-dropped at the stage figuring it all out. It’s a sexy romp of puppetry at times and just super cool fun at others, songs with catchy tunes and notes with punch – a sing out to Cassie Ogle playing vixen ‘Lucy’, what a voice!

If you are thinking that you don’t like the sound of possibly ‘sex obsessed’ puppets on stage, it’s really not too over the top (Avenue Q is from the 2000s and we didn’t do overly confronting back then). You could go with your mother-in-law, but a group of friends would absolutely have one hilarious night out to remember.

Another thing about ‘AG Theatre’ productions that stands out for me is the atmosphere they create in the foyer pre and post show. You can take photos on their backdrop board (with the puppets) and pin those all over your social media to puzzle your friends not lucky enough to go along.

Avenue Q is a must-see, and if you’re into going out in theme, wear your wigs and puppet ears (you won’t the only one). The show has just been extended to play at the National Theatre in St Kilda until 22 March 2025. Tickets via https://agtheatre.com.au/avenueq/

This was one comedy I loved, thank you for a very fun night.

Congratulations everyone!

CAST:
Princeton: Harley Dasey
Kate Monster: Zoe Crisp
Nicky & Trekkie: Andrew McDougall
Rod: Jonathon Shilling
Lucy & Mrs T: Cassie Ogle
Bad Idea Bear & Puppeteer: Perri Espinoza
Bad Idea Bear: Darcy Harriss
Brian: Matthew Tomlin
Xmas Eve: Chiew-Jin Khut
Gary Coleman: Stephanie Lacerna
Swings: Liimei Lim, Jake Lonergan

Production Team:
Executive Producer: Andrew Gyopar
Director: Pip Mushin
Music Director: Alexandra Byrne
Choreographer & Assistant Director: Adriana Pannuzzo
Production Design: Abbey Stanway
Costume Design: Karen Spencer
Puppet Design & Creation: Andrew McDougall
Graphic Design: Jett Archer

AVENUE Q
Music & Lyrics by Jeff Marx & Robert Lopez
Book by Jeff Whitty
Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia)

Photo credits: @agtheatreproductions

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.

Debra Campbell

MELANCHOLIA – Premiere connects Tap Dancing & Contemporary

16 February 2025 Debra Campbell

MELANCHOLIA Rating

★★★★★

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‘Melancholia is the premiere work of Melbourne’s own contemporary tap dance company, Studio Stocks. Founded by acclaimed tap dance artist Garry Stocks, Studio Stocks pushes the boundaries of percussive dance, weaving elements of contemporary movement with a fresh, genre-defying approach to tap. Audiences explore the depths of loss, pain and grief, while discovering moments of hope and healing through the power of rhythm.

Performed by an extraordinary cast of some of Australia’s most accomplished tap dance artists and rising talents, this evocative work promises to captivate, challenge and resonate with audiences on a profound level. Experience a performance that marks a new era in tap artistry and enjoy the emotional range that tap dance can embody from exuberant joy to deeply poignant reflection.’

That was the introductory write-up, so needless to say as a lover of all things ‘dance’, when I walked into one of my favourite theatres in Melbourne I was about to be in my element witnessing this ground-breaking creative at Chapel Off Chapel. I always enjoy the shows at this very professional boutique theatre and I’ve definitely seen some of the best shows I’ve ever seen here. They are often ‘different’, ‘out there’ and ‘exploratory’.

‘MELANCHOLIA’ – the meaning of the word surrounds depression and sadness, so I was very interested to see how the art form of tap dancing would be combined with contemporary dance to fuse the two; and how the cast would work together to bring about an actual embodiment of ‘joy’ from such a strong meaning in the title word. But this show does just that. You’ll leave happy, amazed and gobsmacked by what you’ve just seen.

Forget the toe tapping sounds done in concerts or musicals with a hat and cane. On stage, dressed in normal clothes (no fancy costumes) are some of the best tap dancers our country has; street style, their style. Blessing us with their ability to tap with the utmost clarity whilst also often moving their bodies in contemporary facilitation to music they also need to be in sync with; I found the concept alone mindboggling!

When I enter the theatre there are already six dancers on the stage; it is dark and they seem dark; gazing, sitting, lying, sliding, rolling. It was fun to watch them all and try and work out where their thoughts were and what their story was. Perhaps there was one and perhaps there wasn’t. Then another steps out of the wings in slow motion, and another – circling her feet in something like an imaginary puddle, seemingly not sure if she should step into it or not.

The show fires up and everyone’s on board, brilliant piece after brilliant piece, it is cleverly sectioned for the audience to enjoy and the artists to clearly demonstrate their skill sets both individually and in groups. Four girls. Four boys. Always great to see boys dancing!

It is a rare treat to see a company’s Director/Choreographer also on stage as part of the cast and my favourite was the duet by Garry Stocks and his wife Jade Wood. Garry in his tap shoes and Jade without on her contemporary side; an improbable mix, but they expressively tell a very genuine interpretation of togetherness with the choreography and execution of both styles being impeccable of course (both having performed extensively with the Australian Ballet).

The use of clever lighting in featured spotlights and strobe effects embellish the performance, but also very effective is the use of tiny spotlights hand-held and transferred by the dancers in action. I wonder who thought to incorporate this idea – genius. Loved the part when we were left with light on nothing but the shoes – they bring the absolute brightness here, and the ‘camp fire’ was the final magic touch duly deserving of the standing ovation.

Whilst I was expecting to be surprised with something new, I wasn’t expecting the feelings that I felt watching this show. More than once it sent a shiver, and tears were close on my cheek at the end. It’s not sad though, I think I just realized it was an absolute privilege to be there. I had just seen something totally different, totally out-there and totally exploring new ground.

In summary, the work is actually quite difficult to explain in words and when I asked my dancer daughter her opinion, she said exactly what I was thinking: “it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, it’s something you have to go see”. It truthfully is an evolution in dance.

Please, everyone who loves dance, do yourself a favour and check out the website for updates on Stocks Studios’ future productions and opportunities to be involved: https://www.garrystocks.com/studio-stocks

To understand just how good this new dance company is, you must go see them.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CAST:
GARRY STOCKS
PAIGE POTE
TIARNA LEIGH
JAYDEN WATSON
BILL SIMPSON
LUCAS THOMSON
CLAIRE STUBS
JADE WOOD

Photographer: Bill Simpson

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.

Debra Campbell

F5 – Presented by UNLID Dance Theatre

10 February 20255 February 2025 Debra Campbell

F5 Rating

★★★★★

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Certainly a different type of show when you walk into the alley laneway next to the Arnold Street Studio to see a performance by three ultra-talented dancers and one super talented choreographer behind the vision ‘F5’ by ‘UNLID’ last weekend. This Premiere follows the company’s inaugural tour to Singapore in 2024 with Part I which I had read about, so I’m excited to see how this performance unfolds.

USA born Jennifer Fleenor-O’Brien welcomes us all with her personable quality and genuine care of the arts. She says though she was ‘technically’ trained in the United States, she was ‘artistically’ trained in Europe (from her many years living and working there). Having now lived bayside in Melbourne Australia for many years with her family, Jennifer (holding a Master of Dance (Hons) from the University of Melbourne VCA Dance amongst many other accolades) is the founder of possibly the newest visionary contemporary dance company in Victoria. Working with her passion out of the company’s base in the Cheltenham studios, she offers dancers who have finished full-time training courses, or those wishing to further enhance their higher dance training, the opportunity to learn and grow in developing performances such as ‘F5’.

It’s a beautiful night, perfect weather, the dancers have a light breeze as the sun dims just enough to create the best light. An ounce of luck there!

We, the audience, are comfortable to stay outside as three all-in-black figures appear, one by one, to the sound of percussion rhythms backdropped by a paling fence and against the red brick wall, with its graffiti just adding to the realism of where we are. There is no ‘stage’ as such, this laneway and the rooms inside will be the ‘stages’ to which we witness this project.

The dancers’ spacing, timing and awareness of each other outside in this unusual environment is so good that at one point I only saw the front dancer with the other two completely disappearing from my view to go behind her in exact matches of lines and extensions. Great opening!

This is very different choreography to ‘…5,6,7,8’. Contemporary dance has no rules, no boundaries, no pre-expectations other than when you see ‘contemporary’ you expect to have some intricate thought process on what it’s about. And that can be different for everyone watching. Our interpretation may not even be similar to each other’s or that of the choreographer or dancers, but I think that’s what makes the world of contemporary dance so interesting, you never know what you’re going to get or how you’re going to feel.

F5 takes us on a day to day (hour by hour) journey in life (that’s my interpretation anyway), i.e. three dancers, three different perspectives on life. Are they lives that are mundane, fulfilling, hurting or joyous? Will they continue to dance alone, in synchronisation or come together in a different way? Are they experiencing or remembering or imagining?

Sometimes, in certain situations, we’d all like to crawl under our coffee table, slide forward and scrape ourselves blindly down the kitchen bench, open our wardrobe and change from our boring neutral daywear into a dress of colour, screaming in silence and expressing that we all cope in different ways; falling and surviving at the same time.

Are we being heard? Do we want to skip and run and stop suddenly to meet another person only to be enveloped into their world of darkness or happiness? Is it to be our world? What choices should we make?

I saw movements and uniformity in this show I hadn’t witnessed before in contemporary dance. An element of almost hip hop at times and some amazing partnering combinations, fluidity and cross referencing from where we started in the alley for the first scene, through to the everyday living spaces and finally into the open vastness of a blank canvas room, made for compelling engagement.

We didn’t sit down at all, the audience was standing and then following the dancers through the spaces, using the entire building. When it came time to take a bow (actually 3 or 4 bows), the audience was loud and proud of what they had just seen. Well done girls!

Speaking to some other attendees after the show:
“I didn’t mind standing up, it was excellent. It didn’t have any dull moments, it went fast!”
“My mum cried, it was so captivating.”
“I couldn’t believe they could dance on, under and around the table so well”
“Loved the dancing outside, extraordinary!”
“I thought I knew what was going to happen but I didn’t”
“They were dancing in the moment, I stared straight at them, but I couldn’t shift their gaze”

Speaking to a dancer:
“To be involved was to experience a different aspect of Jen and her work, I have taken her classes before. She has a lot of energy and we worked a lot on very precise movements. Most contemporary dance I’ve done is nothing like what we did tonight. I loved it.”

Speaking to Jennifer (choreographer) on her ideas for ‘F5’:

Conformity by society is what came to mind.

“Mapping the dancers’ own stories to memory, lineage and connecting the audience to take the journey with them that underpins their own personal story within.”

A thoroughly enjoyable show, and the drinks and supper snacks provided afterwards for all the audience to enjoy gave us the opportunity to find out who thought what; and how interpretations differed, but all were impressed.

Congratulations to Jennifer and her dance artists in ‘F5’, Mollie Harrison, Bridget Lyte and Bre Surridge.

I strongly recommend if you’re a lover of dance or any interpretive artforms, look out for their next creative work and opportunities to be involved. Website link: https://www.unlid-dance.com.au/

Dancers may join an Advanced Contemporary class at Space Fest on Monday March 10th from 11am – 12:30pm at The Space and to come along! Check our the Unlid Dance website for the most current information on classes and upcoming auditions.

Photographers: Lee Harrison, Chrissy Dore Photography, Gnashmas of Singapore

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.

Debra Campbell

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