Green Day’s American Idiot – A Punk Rock Opera

Green Day's American Idiot

Green Day’s American Idiot Rating

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5

It’s been twenty years this September 2024 since Green Day’s American Idiot album, dubbed a “punk rock opera” by their own band members was released. The title song written by Billie Joe Armstrong, captures the protest against conformity. The essence of this theme explodes onto stage with the title song, fuelled by PACA Production’s energetic ensemble in a blast of dance, music and singing. It was overwhelming in an all encompassing way with the cast dressed in black, their dancing sharp, displaying an even sharper rebellious attitude onstage. We were swept into the narrative of angst and individuality!

American Idiot the musical incorporates all the songs from the album plus a few from their next album which weaves a story of three friends Johnny, Will and Tunny. Wanting to break the monotony of suburbia, Johnny and Tunny leave their town searching for adventures, whilst Will receives some news which forces him into the decision to stay.

Johnny begins his trip full of dreams. He was portrayed by Isaac Koorey, who played his character with a vulnerable innocence that reached out to the audience. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with Whatsername, portrayed by Izzy Tilden. Izzy stepped into Whatsername with ease and her character’s strength and confidence radiated onstage. Of course, the path of True Love in a story is never easy, and we find out their fate at the end, during a song aptly titled “Whatsername”.

Johnny encounters Theo, a dealer of the white stuff in small packets, who distributes the packets to the hungry crowd by initially tossing them around like confetti. River Winn played Theo (and Johnny’s dark shadow) and had effortless magnetism, portraying Theo with wicked relish.

Tunny, played by Nathanial Lawson follows his dreams and finds his way into the U.S. Army, only to find his dreams of serving his country derailed by an incident. Tunny falls deep into disillusionment and the audience falls with him, thanks to Nathanial’s portrayal. One scene a duet with Extraordinary Girl, played by Jane Fleming, was heartfelt, and Jane’s vocals were heavenly!

 

The third friend whose life we follow in the story was Will, played by Cameron Mayhew. Cameron painted an ‘on the couch’ picture, with Will being enslaved to alcohol and drug addiction. His journey was quieter than the other two, but Cameron’s portrayal allowed us to see Will for most of the performance on the couch, having lost his girlfriend Heather (Rachel Bendeich) and family, and unable to do anything about it. It was a very clever decision to have Will on the stage most times, even during the intermission where we could bear witness to Will’s drinking, smoking and TV watching… all the whilst intermittently seeing his self loathing. It was a powerful statement.

The quieter acoustic solo songs sung by Isaac as Johnny, as he played the guitar were beautiful. One standout scene featuring Johnny, Tunny and Will impressed me. The three characters played the song ‘September Ends’ and the audience also appreciated the trio’s acoustic version, accompanied by them strumming the guitar.

Being a musical and having the band onstage added to the energy of this live performance. The dancing by every cast member was dynamic and creative. Co-choreographers Janina Hamerlok and Daniella Giles have created seamless and fun storytelling with this production’s dance choreography. I liked the scenes when the whole 18 person ensemble was onstage dancing together. On a larger stage, this perhaps may not have stood out as well as it did on the smaller one at The Zenith Theatre. The dances were performed tightly in sync.

Another standout of this production was the set by Rodrigo Medina Noel, William Pulley and Victor Mrowka, which had beams crisscrossing across the back which at times cast beautiful patterns on the floor. Posters covered the back wall, and multiple televisions were positioned amongst the beams. The visuals playing on the televisions at the beginning were eye catching and original. A shout out to the head of tech, sound designer and audio engineer Peter Miller for this and the sound throughout the American Idiot musical.

The lighting design by Victor Mrowka and Blake Williams continuously stood out to create mood and focus. Erica Williams, the costume manager coordinated multiple costume changes which kept the characters fresh and realistic.

Under the direction and musical direction of Rodrigo Medina Noel and William Pulley, Green Day’s American Idiot production was sensational! They have taken the characters and woven them into a dynamic production to tell a story of human dreams, traps and self reflection.
American Idiot received a standing ovation on their opening night! With songs such as Boulevard of Broken Dreams, 21 Guns, Wake Me Up When and Good Riddance, you’ll be leaving the theatre with a smile, singing at least one of Green Day songs all the way home!

Green Day’s American Idiot is playing at Zenith Theatre & Convention Centre
Cnr Railway & McIntosh Streets, Chatswood NSW 2067

27 September 2024 – 12 October 2024.
2 hours with 20 minute interval.
Tickets: $52 – $62.

https://www.zeniththeatre.com.au/Whats-on/Events/Paca-American-Idiot

Photographer: Grant Leslie

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.

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Karate Man – A Brilliantly Clever Interactive Live Action Comedy

Karate Man

Karate Man Rating

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5

If you have ever played a video game, you’d feel the excitement of pressing a combination of different buttons on the controller and moving your character around the screen – to fight villains, explore different rooms and make decisions. The game always has a goal, often several, with riddles and various quests to complete before the goals are met, before you finally win the game. Perhaps it has taken hours to play. Imagine this. You know what I mean. Now think about the characters jumping out of the screen and are standing right now in front of you, swaying from one foot to the other, patiently waiting for you to give them a command on your controller. Your game has come to life – and you get to make decisions about what happens next. This is what happens in this comedic show Karate Man.

Co-creators and directors Bruno Dubosarsky and Daniel Scarratt have produced a truely unique and hilarious interactive play…and play we did! All audience members participated and became immersed into the story, by taking turns with the controller and pushing buttons, directing Karate Man to do what they wanted in response to the story’s many challenges.

The buttons were typical gaming commands such as kick, throw, punch, jump, grab as well as move left / right/ down and up, all of which Karate Man had to do immediately on command as soon as the it was read out by the game’s narrator. The sound effects added to the authenticity of a video game, complete with repeating sounds when the characters were waiting to be directed what to do.

 

This video game character was portrayed perfectly by Bruno Dubosarsky and done with such robotic fluidity that it was believable, his movements imitating the basic gaming commands of the 1980’s video games. As you can imagine, the fight between Karate Man, moving in a step by step controlled fashion (eg “right, right, jump, right, kick. Left, left, down, punch”) and his arch enemy Ross Roundkick, played with cheeky wickedness by Daniel Scarratt in the year 198X was hilarious and one of the highlights of the show for me. I was laughing so much as poor Karate Man was directed to move in ridiculous excess due to the audience still getting used to using the controls at the beginning of the show – it would have been exhausting for Bruno. At one stage, Karate Man was directed by the controller “left, left, left, left, left” right off the stage – the audience was crippled with laughter! I had never been to a Choose Your Own Adventure show like this before, and I loved it.

The story of Karate Man takes us into the lives of Karate Man and his wife Kara. Her name being half of his name seemed to be on purpose, and added to the cheesy charm of the show. Kara was played by Stephanie Ryan and her mannerisms of a video game character were spot on. Karate Man had to complete some challenges in this game and the audience was given three choices which led to different scenes and more goals to achieve. As the audience were making the decisions about where Karate Man was going to go next in our rendition of the play, I could see how the show would completely change on different nights. It would be interesting to return to experience another scenario and set of goals.

 

The supporting cast, Tim Dunk as the Time Fish, Juliet Rae Timmerman as Alex Coober and Maddie Atkins lent keen exaggeration into their video game characters and were very entertaining. All of the actors at different times were so funny, and I believe that some lines may have been impromptu.

The script was clever and contained some references to pop culture embedded. Prop designer Stephanie Ryan kept the stage simple. A few painted large posters were used, as well as a few other props, and was all this show needed as it was more reliant on the physical comedy and the script.

Shown as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival 2024, Karate Man was spectacularly funny and one of the most original interactive shows to hit the stage! Instead of playing video games at home, head out to the PACT Centre for Emerging Artists in Erskineville to have your own personalised adventure with Karate Man.

Show run: 17-21 September 2024
Tickets: $30 – $38
www.sydneyfringe.com/events/karate-man-a-live-action-video-game

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.

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Leather Lungs: Shut Up and Sing – Big Boots, Big Hair, Bigger Heart

Leather Lungs: Shut Up and Sing

Leather Lungs: Shut Up and Sing Rating

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2

It’s September in Sydney – time for the largest arts festival in NSW The Sydney Fringe Festival, to come alive. Over 400 events are being hosted across multi venues. I visited the Village Green Festival Garden at Darling Quarter on a cold evening to watch the cabaret Leather Lungs: Shut Up and Sing. The outside was chilly, but fortunately inside the tent it was warmer and was about to become even more so with the arrival of Leather Lungs.

Bursting onto the stage with bright blue hair, long eyelashes, wearing a sequin dress and a bright pink taffeta coat, Leather Lungs exuded energy and radiance. Their introduction and comedic story telling immediately had the audience cheering. We discovered that although this opening night act was the first time they had performed at The Fringe Festival in Sydney, this New Zealand entertainer has had a full career performing their self written cabaret all over the world. Leather Lungs has sung with Adele and performed for the Beckhams, and has won the Best Cabaret Weekly Awards in 2020 and 2021.

Shut Up and Sing, Leather Lung’s solo show, blends storytelling and song together into a mesmerising walk through some experiences in their life. They begin with an original song which appears to be a dedication to their Nanna Gail and the very sound advice that she had given to them when she was alive. They share this memory as they reminiscence, conveyed in a sweet and gentle song about insecurity and being kind to yourself. Within the small tent, we could almost feel Nana Gail there with us.

Leather Lungs followed with a song that they and Nana Gail had sung when they were out exploring the woods – a cheeky rendition of Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Although this traditional nursery song doesn’t sound like the typical cabaret song, coupled with Leather Lung’s active physicality accompaniment around the stage and a hilarious repetitive impersonation of some farm animal noises, they had us in stitches laughing! This was also one song where we were encouraged to join in singing with them, which delighted the audience. 

Leather Lungs: Shut Up and Sing

Leather Lungs continued to capture the audience with their humour, wit and spectacular four octave vocal range! They had the skill of storytelling, highlighting some important serious themes, ranging from being in an unhealthy relationship and sharing some health issues, to balancing it with tales of growth, self acceptance and love. It was a beautiful mix in the show and Leather Lungs left us with the very real message to not be a bystander, and not to be complacent when faced with difficulties life will inevitably throw at us. Don’t depend on others rescuing you – a reminder as they purposely cut short the song “I Need a Hero”. We can rescue ourselves.

Leather Lungs reminds us via their song lyrics – “Life is no cabaret, but I’m inviting you anyway.. just Sing”.

Go see this show – it was and it wasn’t what I was expecting from a cabaret. Yes it was energetic. Yes there were songs, glitter, fabulously outrageous costumes, fishnet stockings, big boots and an even bigger voice. What I didn’t expect was the cohesive flow of life’s lessons told with tender charm – bravo Leather Lungs!

Leather Lungs: Shut Up and Sing, is playing inside the South Tent at the Village Green Festival Garden.
Dates: 17 – 22 September 2024
Tickets: $23
Duration: 55 minutes
Producer: Ben Anderson
www.sydneyfringe.com/events/leather-lungs-shut-up-sing

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.

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Guards At The Taj: Beauty But at What Cost?

Guards At The Taj

Guards At The Taj Rating

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2

This is a tale of deep friendship, loyalty and duty – and beauty. In 1648, two Imperial Guards stand tall, dressed proudly in blue and silver uniforms with their backs to the ornate gate of Taj Mahal. It has been 16 years in construction, made by slaves and craftsmen. It is the morning before the first viewing of the Taj Mahal, which was rumoured to be the most beautiful building in the world. The Emperor Shah Jahan wishes for the Taj Mahal to remain the most beautiful of all and thereby issues a decree to ensure that this beauty is never replicated, forcing these guards to carry out an impossibly gruesome task.

Babur and Hunayun are bound by many rules – they aren’t allowed to turn around and look at the Taj Mahal, they must keep their sword raised and are forbidden to speak. To break these rules, as we discover from their conversation, could lead to harsh punishments, from being locked up for three days to death by elephant trampling.

However, even the threat of such consequences does not stop the impulsive chatter of Babur, played by Akkshey Caplash with such childlike enthusiasm that I immediately warmed to him. The other guard Humayun, played by Idam Sondhi, is the opposite of Babur. He is earnest and takes his job seriously, and we soon discover that he is the son of a senior military man. Humayun craves the approval of his father, has loyalty to his emperor, and believes in working hard to achieve rewards. It is perhaps, this tunnel view which will cast a shadow over both their futures.

Akkshey and Idam portray a strong friendship between the two characters. There are many moments of levity as well as philosophical conversation that takes place, showing a depth to their relationship. Akkshey’s Babur is a dreamer, creating and sharing ideas for his original inventions. Throughout the play, Idam’s Humayun loosens up and also shares his own creative invention. The two men are caged by their lower station and the rules of the more privileged, and their dreams and inventions signify their longing for being free. There was a theme of birds scattered throughout the play, and I found the links of freedom to these birds woven into the story cleverly significant.

 

Writer Rajiv Joseph, who was the 2016 winner of the Obie award for Best New American Play and also won the Lucille Lortel award for Best Play, has written an engaging script. Although there was no interval, there were two distinct parts, the turning point being the grim act the guards were forced to do by decree of the Emperor Shah Jahan. James Browne, the set and costume designer, created a daunting dungeon complete with underground water drainage.

Much like Babur and Humayun’s vast imaginings, I thought that there was intentional purpose to allow the audience to build their own images in their heads of some key scenes, guided by the set and stage lighting by lighting designer Kate Baldwin and composer and sound designer Me-Lee Hay.

This shone through in two particular scenes for me, with the first light morning unveiling of the Taj Mahal – where we didn’t see an image or a physical set of the beautiful building, but rather experienced it through the clever use of light and the actor’s reactions. The other stand out lighting and sound scene had explosions of red splashed on stage, and a rhythmical harsh slice sound amongst a frantic soundscape which signified one of the key horrifying moments in the play. This scene was gripping, and there was no need to show the actual visuals of what was happening, as we could see it in our mind. I noticed one audience member had their hands up to their mouth, clearly involved in the play.

Guards at the Taj, skilfully directed by Bali Padda again, two years after his directorial debut of the same play, is on tour throughout Australia throughout September and October 2024. This review was from the performance at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta on the 12th September 2024.

Guards at the Taj is a confronting and beautifully scripted and acted play which will make you want to delve a little deeper into finding out whether or not this was based on a true story. Go see it, wherever it is playing around Australia!

Running time: 90 minutes, no interval.
Tickets from $59
www.riversideparramatta.com.au/whats-on/guards-at-the-taj

Photography by Noni Carroll Photography

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.

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