Rebecca Rose⭐🦉 - Whats The Show

MARVELous The Show

04/04/202507/11/2024 Rebecca Rose⭐🦉

MARVELous Rating

★★★★★

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If you’re a Marvel fan, you’ll want to get to the National Theatre in St Kilda this week. MARVELous has hit Melbourne for one week only.

But you don’t just have to be a Marvel fan to enjoy the evening of dancing, singing, acrobatics, stunts, and a variety of hilarious parodies that draw reference to a range of pop culture songs and movies outside of the Marvel franchise.

The audience were a-buzz on opening night, and lapped up the high energy, risqué performances (there is nudity, so keep the kids at home!).

Deadpool and his interaction with the audience kept everyone engaged throughout the show. And each of the individual parody skits were captivating and entertaining to watch.

The show definitely entertained the audience; a wonderful way to escape the real world for a couple of hours and have a good laugh and enjoy the spectacle on stage. There is a great mix of both Marvel-specifc and -non-specific pop culture references along the way to cater for a wide range of tastes.

There is some serious talent in the cast, with amazing dancing, vocals, and acrobatics on show.

The show was let down at times with some very slow, silent set changes, which disrupted the flow of the show and could have easily been filled with something as simple as some music, or even just some more character interaction time with the audience, which was in itself a great feature of the show in general.

Several technical issues with sound, lighting, and wardrobe unfortunately drew the attention away from the performances at times too, and it seemed that seating location played a big part in the sound issues too, with those seated towards the back of the audience having the most issues with hearing the cast members at all in the first half. Along with the technical issues, a bit more tightening up of the show in terms of transitions between sets and even the movements of cast within scenes would push the show into presenting as a much more professional category of shows that it deserves to be seen as.

MARVELous the show, really is quite a unique, entertaining, high-energy, and very clever concept. Hopefully, the technical glitches were just some opening-night cobwebs (ah the joys of live theatre!) in what was otherwise an incredibly fun, and extremely funny and enjoyable night out.

Make sure to keep the kids at home for this one, as it’s adults only (well, 15 plus) with lots of partial nudity and plenty of risqué moments.

Get in quick to see MARVELous at the National Theatre in St Kilda 6th – 10th November 2024. Book your tickets now before this marvellous show ends @ https://marveloustheshow.com.au/

Photographer: Ben DIngley

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Your Name Means Dream

04/04/202503/11/2024 Rebecca Rose⭐🦉

Your Name Means Dream Rating

★★★★★

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Wow. I am going to put this front and centre: if you love seeing high-quality acting and theatre, go and see ‘Your Name Means Dream’ at Red Stitch Actors Theatre. What a phenomenal play and performances by two outstanding actors.

This brilliantly written play by the highly acclaimed Oscar nominee and Obie Award-winning playwright José Rivera (famous for ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’) has hit the shores of Australia for the first time at Red Stitch Theatre in Melbourne.

The cast of two give stellar performances, which should not be a surprise with their extensive backgrounds on both screen and stage. Caroline Lee takes on the role of ‘Aislin,’ a disgruntled widow in her mid-sixties who lives alone in her run-down apartment in New York in the not-so-distant future. Lucy Ansell plays the role of ‘Stacy,’ an advanced robot sent by Aislin’s son, Roberto, to be Aislin’s live-in caregiver and companion.

The play opens with the first meeting of the two characters. Aislin, having settled into a dreary and solitary life after the death of her husband and estrangement from her son, shows resistance to this new form of caregiver sent by her son, Roberto.

Stacy is programmed to assist Aislin in living as long and healthy a life as possible while learning from Aislin along the way. She also yearns to learn as much as she can about humanity from Aislin, wanting to get as close as she can to that point within the limits of being a robot.

You will walk away from this play contemplating themes including the future of technology with artificial intelligence and machine learning, family, relationships, what it means to be human, health, loneliness, quality of life, death, and grief. All of that in the space of a couple of hours. What a journey!

There is so much lovely comedy intertwined within the dialogue of this play. Caroline and Lucy really carried these comedic moments, having the audience switch from laughter to tears and back again in the blink of an eye.

It was an absolute joy to watch these two actors work together. Caroline and Lucy both portrayed their characters with so much depth, nuance, and humanity—yes, even the robot! The accents were flawless, and subtle characterisations were well-engrained into each character. Lucy’s quick switches between Stacy the robot and Roberto were mesmerising to watch.

The staging was perfect for what this play needed. A nice, simple set was more than enough to still have the audience buy into the world of Aislin and Stacy, with the entire play taking place in the living room of Aislin’s very drab and dilapidated apartment. This really is a play not to be missed.

Your Name Means Dream is on at the Red Stitch Actors Theatre from October 26 to November 24. Tickets may be purchased @ https://www.redstitch.net/your-name-means-dream-2024

Photographer: James Reiser

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Kid Sister Film Review

04/04/202502/10/2024 Rebecca Rose⭐🦉

Kid Sister Rating

★★★★★

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Kid Sister: What a masterfully funny and refreshing television series.

Created and written by Simone Nathan, who also brilliantly portrayed the lead role of ‘Lulu’ in the series; ‘Kid Sister’ is the kind of comedy I love to watch.

Lulu is a young woman living with her family, who are all strongly connected to a small Jewish community in New Zealand. We soon discover the dilemma she faces between tradition and modern life issues and the drama and comedy of navigating relationships along the way.

There were such strong performances across the entire cast, with each actor portraying their characters honestly but with so much comedic heart.

The comedy was tied in with a strong focus on Jewish traditions. For people like myself who have extensive Jewish ancestry but who are not actually Jewish ourselves, this really kept me captivated not only by the human stories but also by all of the Jewish traditions highlighted. Let’s just say I learned a lot!

The overall storyline was somewhat predictable, but Nathan really made the show her own by leaning into the strong focus on the Jewish traditions and family values. That, alongside the tremendously witty humour and extremely strong writing created a unique and enjoyable series.

Having Lulu’s inner thoughts pop in at times as a voiceover truly lent to strengthening the show’s comedic aspect.

Like all good binge-worthy shows, I was left hanging on for each new episode. It really is the kind of show that makes you want to keep watching and learn more about each of the characters and their lives outside of the main storyline.

‘Kid Sister’ really is a brilliant television series. Look no further if you are looking for a comedy that will entertain and keep you engaged. I would watch more of this in a heartbeat.

‘Kid Sister’ is screening in the 2024 Jewish International Film Festival across Australia between October and December. To find out when and where it will be screening in your state, go to: https://www.jiff.com.au/resources/jiff-2024-web-program.pdf

To book tickets to this or other films, click https://www.jiff.com.au/

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Veronica’s Room

04/04/202508/09/2024 Rebecca Rose⭐🦉

Veronica’s Room Rating

★★★★★

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Who is Veronica? Who is Susan? Is it 1973? Or is it 1935?

These and so many other questions are explored and eventually answered in the expertly written psychological thriller by American novelist Ira Levin (many of whom will be familiar with his works as the author of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, ‘Deathtrap’, and ‘The Stepford Wives’).

Eltham Little Theatre has expertly brought this intricate play to life. Director Drew Mason has done a brilliant job at the helm, both in casting and in staging this intense story.

Veronica’s Room grabs you from the start, with so many twists and turns that will truly make you question everything that has happened. You’ll be on the edge of your seat from the opening scene right up until the very last moment of the play.

The cast of four actors navigated their challenging characters exceptionally, with powerful performances delivered across the board. Susie Sparkes plays ‘the Woman’, George Benca plays ‘The Man’, Briana Collier plays ‘The Girl’ and Joshua Massarotti plays ‘The Young Man’.

The moments of humour written into the script were integrated beautifully by all four actors, giving the audience little reprieves from the otherwise heavy nature of the play. And the character nuances were so lovely to watch, as we, the audience, were drawn into the various complexities of all the characters and their roles within the story.

The entire play is set inside Veronica’s bedroom. The stage was expertly set, with the most intricate details and beautiful furniture and props utilised. It really brought the play to life, almost acting as a character in its own right.

Veronica’s Room is a play that needs to be seen, as any further details on the story-line would just ruin it for those who are not familiar with the play. This is not a plot you want to give spoilers for; it’s just far too good!

So, whether you know the play well and would like to see a great staging of it, or you are not familiar with it and would like your curiosity piqued; you’ll just have to head out to Eltham Little Theatre and see the show for yourself!

The theatre itself is a lovely space, and patrons have the option of booking classic theatre-style rowed seating towards the front, or cabaret-styled tabled seating at the rear, where you can bring your own snacks and drinks.

From ticketing to the bar/snack station, everyone at the theatre was extremely friendly and welcoming, making for a thoroughly enjoyable night of community theatre.

For tickets, book @ https://www.elthamlittletheatre.org.au/what-s-on

Veronica’s Room is running at Eltham Little Theatre from 6th – 21st of September. Make sure not to miss this brilliant play.

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