I Do, I Do, I Do

I Do, I Do, I Do

I Do, I Do, I Do Rating

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3

From the moment the curtain lifted at the Arts Theatre, the audience was in for a delightful ride. Therry Theatre’s production of I Do, I Do, I Do, directed by Sue Wylie, comes alive with great pace, sharp comic timing and infectious energy. The stage bursts open with wit, warmth and wonderfully controlled chaos, delivering a highly polished, laugh-a-minute theatrical performance that left the audience beaming from start to finish.

Based on Robin Hawdon’s delightfully tangled comedy of romance, mismatched expectations and wedding-day panic, this production leans fully into the farce while maintaining a grounded charm that makes every moment resonate. The result? A show that sparkles with energy, personality and honest heart.

At the centre of this whirlwind is seasoned performer Helen Geoffreys as Ann, the elegant mother-figure and linchpin of chaos and control. Her portrayal is beautifully layered—poised, witty, patient and exasperated—she holds the stage with effortless command. She deftly balances Ann’s dignified exterior with the growing mayhem of her family’s matrimonial misadventures, bringing genuine warmth to the humour to the character.

 

 

That said, this is far from a one-woman triumph. Paul Pacillo as Jamie, Laura Lines as Holly (stepping in two weeks before opening night – quite the achievement), Jess Corrie as the very conflicted Diana, Stephen Bills as Geoff and Tom Tassone as Tom were all uniformly strong, with each performer demonstrating a wonderfully consistent ‘posh’ high society accent, crisp delivery and fabulous comedic rhythm. The chemistry is seamless; the actors bounce off each other with precision, enhancing every misunderstanding. Nothing feels rushed, nothing drags, and each joke lands exactly where it should.

The production’s pacing is exceptional—bright, buoyant and confidently sustained. Physical comedy is used cleverly and sparingly, ensuring that character and intention always lead the humour. The comedic timing was on point making the laughed out loud moments genuine, whether through a misunderstanding, a revealing glance or the inevitable romantic entanglement. Complementing the action happening within, the living-room setting was both elegant and functional with the furnishings and space feeling warm and ‘lived-in’.

Above all, this production is simply fun capturing the spirit of Hawdon’s premise of “one bride, three grooms, and a tangled web of misunderstandings”. The experience felt celebratory and full of heart making Therry Theatre’s production of I Do I Do I Do a sparkling success—smartly directed, beautifully performed and overflowing with charm and comedic excellence. For anyone looking for a fun, laugh-out-loud, heart-warming theatre performance, this one comes highly recommended. A joyous, laugh-out-loud triumph.

To book tickets to I Do, I Do, I Do, please visit https://therry.org.au/.

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Radium Girls

Radium Girls

Radium Girls Rating

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5

There’s something different about a theatre performance based on real stories. Radium Girls tells the story of the young girls and women who were unknowingly poisoning themselves at work every day. Being taken advantage of by the men of the company and the physicians they thought they could trust, we follow the story of Grace and her friends Irene and Kathryn as they fight for their voices to be heard and their dues paid. Do not worry if you don’t know much of the story; the script and cast will provide you with context and hold your hand through this fight for justice.

As we follow Grace’s story, we meet a smattering of interesting characters who brighten the stage. The cast list is smaller than the character list, so you can expect to see some faces on more than one character, but with speedy costume changes – paired with some impressively quick accent changes – you’re never confused as to who is who. If you find yourself needing a guide, the well-formatted program the company has on offer provides a helpful cast list.

And a rather professional cast, I feel is important to note. With opening night jitters of missed lighting cues, the cast didn’t allow it to deter them, delivering their lines as though nothing were amiss. Missed cues aside, the lighting was strong, showing an array of colours to aptly represent the mood for each scene. Showing off the simple yet powerful stage which, at first glance, shows little more than some stunningly coloured green windows and a giant analogue clock face. This versatile stage will transform from the US Radium Company’s factory, to Grace’s family dining room, to a courthouse, and more without missing a beat, and never leaving room for confusion.

 

 

It’s easy to find yourself immersed within the story, but every now and then a monologue will take you by surprise, leaving you wide-eyed. With moments carefully chosen to address the audience, don’t be surprised if you leave and find yourself unable to stop thinking of particularly emotional moments. Even with these crafted moments to make the audience think, the show itself is not hard to follow, and easy to feel a connection with every cast member on the stage (no matter which character they are portraying).

The only thing I wish had been utilised more was the glowing radium. I spotted some glowing aprons, but seeing some glowing shoe soles, watches on characters, or paintbrushes would’ve been a treat. Otherwise, everything else was perfectly orchestrated for every character’s individual personality, from their accents and body language to their tailored costumes. The stage was used to its potential, with little to no dead space in any scene, the costumes matched the era, the cast supported each other with excellent chemistry, it was engaging, and the sound effects didn’t overshadow the cast.

A thought-provoking show, the story of the radium girls will remain an important retelling, and Galleon Theatre Group has provided us with a wonderful rendition.

To book tickets to Radium Girls, please visit https://www.galleon.org.au/html/radiumGirls.html.

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When We Dead Awaken

When We Dead Awaken

When We Dead Awaken Rating

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4

When We Dead Awaken, by Henrik Ibsen, follows the story of Professor Arnold Rubek, his wife, Maia, and his original muse, Irene, as they tackle their relationships, nostalgia, and acceptance of life and death. Ibsen was known to work with self-analytical themes, and When We Dead Awaken is the perfect example; written to make you consider life from the perspective of others, be honest with yourself (and your potentially declining artistic inspiration), morality, and mortality.

True to the time this piece was written, the play has three acts and two intermissions, with the beginning of each act providing a new location, soundscape, and sometimes lighting, for the story.

We join the gravelly-voiced Rubek and his wife as they return to their home country, a lovely soundtrack of birdsong offsetting Frau Rubek’s obvious frustration as she attempts to gain her husband’s attention. We learn the pair are staying at a Norwegian Spa and Mountain Resort, and Professor Rubek is enquiring after a woman in white being followed by a woman in black, whom he saw walking in the middle of the night.

This woman in white, we learn from the well-spoken Hotel Manager, is another guest from the hotel, but the woman is an enigma to the hotel manager. While the Professor is attempting to speak to the woman in white, his wife is enthralled by the life and stories of the loud, and sometimes not too subtly lewd, bear hunter. When the Professor finally has a chance to speak with the woman, it is revealed that the woman was the Professor’s first muse, the artwork of whom made him famous: Irene.

 

 

Irene has a voice of honey, but is not afraid to hold back and raise her voice to scold the Professor when it is needed. During her scenes we are witness to a woman with severe trauma and hysteria (which these days we would recognise as mental illness) doing her best to navigate her way through a life of pain, regret, and lost love, while battling her inner demons.

As the history between the Professor and Irene unfolds, there is a juxtaposition between them reminiscing on the past, and Maia being stubbornly set on future adventures with the bear hunter. The audience is gently rocked between past and present as our eyes ping pong between the characters on stage, glowing under the sunshine-like lights.

The only concern I found was that some of the more intense background sounds in Acts One and Three overwhelmed the voices of those speaking, but I am also aware this was probably done on purpose, because those sounds most certainly achieved their desired effects, and matching sound speaker volume with a human voice is a very fine line.

Each cast member melts into the persona of their character and bounces off their character’s partner with ease, the emotions weaving off the stage being almost palpable. Boasting minimal sets, props, and lighting changes to keep the focus on the characters, the story unfolds gracefully and ends in a way which will keep you thinking about the characters on your drive home.

The director made a creative choice to focus on the relationships between the characters, and some of the characters’ story arcs in Act three have been intentionally left out for the audience’s interpretation. If you are familiar with the play, be sure to come prepared to experience a fresh perspective on the story; if you are unfamiliar, allow the characters to carry you through a past-and-present experience of human nature.

To book tickets to When We Dead Awaken, please visit https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1385262.

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Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch Rating

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6

The always reliable St Jude’s Players latest production is a journey from suburban Australia in 2007 to Hungary in World War Two with Lally Katz’s Neighbourhood Watch resulting in an excellent version of the play anchored by a marvellous performance by veteran actor Julie Quick as Ana.

Beginning the day after the election of the Rudd Labor Government in 2007 the play is centred in the neighbourhood of Mary Street in suburban Australia, where housemates Catherine (Ellie Schaefer) an out-of-work actor and Ken (Dylan Megaw) a diabetic want-to-be film maker are discussing the election. Across the road, an aging and often cantankerous Ana (Julie Quick) a Hungarian Australian refugee delivers a bag of leaves to her neighbour Katrina (Taya Rose) that have fallen from Katrina’s tree into Ana’s yard. Ana asks Katrina if she will pick her up from a specialist appointment the next day, but Katrina responds that she is too busy. Jovanka (Gail Morrison) an aging Serbian woman tries unsuccessfully to visit Ana.
As the plot progresses Ana and Catherine develop a friendship and as they talk Ana tells Catherine of her life story and the play travels to war time Hungary. As Ana’s journey unfurls, Catherine’s own story develops, affected by her own unhappy memories and life lessons are learned.

The multi award winning and one of Australia’s most performed playwrights, Lally Katz, based the character of Ana on stories that her real life aging Hungarian refugee neighbour told her. In Neighbourhood Watch, Katz honours her neighbour’s desires that her stories should not be forgotten. The plot explores the themes of isolation, friendship, war and the consequences of war, grief and the seeking of refuge. Katz weaves these themes cleverly throughout her play.

 

 

Director Lesley Reed, with many years of experience in professional and community based acting and recently directing productions for Galleon Theatre, Adelaide Repertory Theatre and the Stirling Players, has the formidable task of managing nine actors into around twenty five characters throughout the play and taking them from the Australian street to doctor’s rooms, chemist shop and cinema to war-torn Hungarian streets, tram, river crossing and dark fabric factory. This assignment she does seamlessly.

To help Lesley, set designer and construction coordinator Don Oakley, has provided innovative solutions to the staging given the limitations of stage size and budget, even if some solutions require a little creativity by the audience. Sarah Bradley’s original music is brilliant and adds another level to the production.

The whole cast, Julie Quick, Ellie Schaefer, Dylan Megaw, Nathan Brown, Taya Rose, Gail Morrison, Matthew Chant, Christopher Cordeaux and Megan Robson perform excellently, smoothly transitioning through their multiple characters. The experience of performing in over one hundred productions oozes from Julie Quick’s superb performance in particular. Her outstanding acting skills ameliorates the production.

St Jude’s Players’ production of Neighbourhood Watch is an ambitious project by this well-established theatre group, and they deliver an impressive result highlighted by superb acting worthy of the audience visiting Mary Street and beyond.

Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Rating; 7 out of 10

Neighbourhood watch runs to 19 July 2025; remaining session dates and times are as follows:

Thursday August 14, Friday August 15, 7.30 pm.

Matinees Saturday August 16, 2pm.

Venue: St Jude’s Hall, 444 Brighton Rd, Brighton, South Australia.

Tickets (from July 17): https://www.trybooking.com/DCCMU
Or call 0436 262 628/email bookings@stjudesplayers.asn.au

To book tickets to Neighbourhood Watch , please visit https://stjudesplayers.asn.au/https-stjudesplayers-asn-au-wp-content-uploads-2024-11wp-content-uploads-2024-11-neighbourhood-watch_poster_final-jpg/.

Photographer: Les Zetlein

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