illawarra performing arts centre

Dear Diary

9 May 2024 Paige Jenkins

Dear Diary Rating

★★★★★

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‘Dear Diary’, written by Kay Proudlove and directed by Leland Kean, opened last night at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre. The one-woman show, starring Proudlove, is a balanced mix of nostalgia, self-deprecation, and musical comedy.

The show’s premise arose from a fateful day in Kay’s life when she was summoned to her parent’s house to clean out her childhood bedroom. The layout of the stage represented said bedroom, which felt both homey and oddly clinical, as she slowly removed the sense of comfort that comes from a safe space like a bedroom as the story progressed. Certain moments were punctuated with clothes being removed from the racks and piled up downstage, symbolising moving on and growing up.

The casual tone and delivery of the interwoven collection of stories made the performance feel like old friends catching up over coffee or a bottle of Moscato. The fourth wall was delicately danced around, with Proudlove referring to her writing process for the show and providing sidenotes and commentary on her memories and diary entries.

Kay’s generational humour and songs crafted from extracts of her teenage self’s diary had the audience in stitches. The stories of her high school crushes on both celebrities and boys she went to school with were hilarious and authentically awkward.

The selective use of a screen to show images and blow-up pages from her diary assisted in comedic timing and context and authenticating the words being read from the diary. It was wonderful to see her growth as a musician and a songwriter, as she has moved past her one verse and one chorus songs with a catalogue of beautiful, powerful, and reflective songs, as well as the majority of songs in ‘Dear Diary’ that are upbeat and lyrically diarised.

Growing up as a theatre kid and having big dreams like fame and going on a world tour are formative in the way young artists identify and shape their perspective on themselves and their environment. Her moment of realisation of her replaceability within her musical space struck a chord with me, who also put together performances and had big dreams of fame as a pre-teen. A sad part of growing up is looking back at all the plans your younger self had made, often with absolutely no understanding of the world and the inner workings of adulthood. Kay captured this beautifully with such raw emotion and simplicity.

If you grew up in the Illawarra and are looking for a healthy dose of nostalgia, this is the show for you. Grab yourself a ticket on the Merrigong Theatre Company website. ‘Dear Diary’ runs until Saturday, 11 May, at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre before continuing her national tour in Tasmania.

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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Wild Dogs Under My Skirt

12 April 2024 Paige Jenkins

Tusiata Avia’s Wild Dogs Under My Skirt has made its way across the ditch from New Zealand to the Illawarra. Adapted from Avia’s poetry collection of the same name, it invites the audience to take a peek into the life of Samoan women.

The five characters, played by the outstanding ensemble of Anapela Polata’ivao, Ilaisaane Green, Stacey Leilua, Joanna Mika-Toloa and Petmal Petelo, were raw and beautiful, exuding class and intensity.

As a poet myself, I was floored by the storytelling and the mix between the character’s native tongues and English. Seeing poetry come to life in such a creative and immersive way is incredibly special. These women have allowed the audience a glimpse into their culture, sharing their beautiful voices in both spoken word and song. Their harmonies were heavenly and incredibly moving, much like an Opera Aria that an audience understands purely by the crescendo of the orchestra and the emotion on the performer’s face. It was unnecessary to be fluent in their dialects, as their portrayal of emotions and accompanying moves were vivid and told a story in themselves.

Leki Jackson-Burke should be acknowledged and commended for his beautiful contribution to the performance. Watching someone make an impact with very few scene opportunities is always a treat. He may not have been a character or part of the story, but his musical contributions added an insurmountable degree of feeling. The drum beats and use of beautiful instruments maintained or raised the intensity of a scene, drawing the audience in and forcing them to listen.

Whilst Wild Dogs Under My Skirt can be classified as a comedy, much darker themes lie between the poetry. Split-second changes between young girls giggling and laughing about the story of the Virgin Mary to discussing horrific acts of sexual violence were staggering. The flow of the stories and the chosen sequence proved very powerful and took the audience on an emotional journey. The portrayal of the rollercoaster, which is life for Samoan and Pasifika women, was both lovely and uncomfortable. Years of dark colonial history, the sexualisation of Pasifika women, and the dastardly patriarchy in all its glory are all laid out on the stage.

This show was absolutely remarkable, and it’s not difficult to see why it has won its awards. It is such a privilege to have a production that has been performed in New York and provides a window into different countries and cultures right here in our backyard.

Wild Dogs Under My Skirt is performing at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, from 10-13 April and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, from 18-20 April.

Make sure to grab a ticket for yourself; you don’t want to miss this!!

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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RBG: Of Many, One

6 April 2024 Paige Jenkins

‘RBG; Of Many, One’, a play by Suzie Miller, has made its way to Wollongong. Originally a Sydney Theatre Company production, ‘RBG’ saw a sold-out opening night at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre. This incredible one-woman show stars the phenomenal Heather Mitchell, who has reprised her role and is a brilliant display of talent.

Ms Mitchell embodied the United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg through the decades, leading a decades-long tale of life, love, loss and societal change. Mitchell not only became Justice Ginsberg but constantly shifted between young and old, as well as each president and critical character that propelled Ruth to greatness. With her exactness of accent, speech patterns, and a variety of accents from across the States, Heather Mitchell captivated the audience from the moment the lights came on stage.

It’s easy to be sceptical when coming into a one-person show, particularly one with no intermission to break up the performance; however, Heather Mitchell’s immersive experience made it difficult to look away from it. She was funny and charming, making the storytelling completely disarming and inviting. It felt as though you were sitting in a room with Justice Ginsberg as if she were an old friend or a friend of your grandparents, recounting her glory days and telling us to continue the fight she dedicated her life to. Jokes and pointed comments about future hypotheses had the audience laughing with the beauty of hindsight.

The simplicity of the set and costuming forced the acting to maintain the show’s focal point. A single armchair repurposed over and over, a side table or a satchel bag are very simple props that, when paired with certain lighting or sound effects, transport the audience to each high and low of RBG’s life.

A seamless use of production elements invited the audience into Ruth’s recount of her most influential and moulding moments. Beautiful arias from her favourite operas, sound effects of the all-important telephone call, and real-life audio taken from critical events like Presidential debates and basketball games all assisted in the impressive immersive experience.

A screen above the stage helped keep track of the year or case being discussed. Small asides and lapses into memories weaved their way through the primary time or story being discussed. It felt like a stream-of-consciousness style of discussion rather than an hour and 40-minute monologue being spoken at you.

The play began in 1993 and ended with Ruth’s death in 2020, but recounted moments from her childhood and teenage years, as well as her time at Cornell University, Harvard Law, and Columbia Law School.

Playwright Suzie Miller, director Priscilla Jackman, and the entire creative team are to be commended for their dedication to history and ability to produce a version of the so-called “Notorious RBG” that felt simultaneously undiscovered and new while being the real recount of one of the most highly regarded influential legal figures of our time.

‘RBG; Of Many, One’ runs until the 6th of April with Merrigong Theatre Company at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre. Tickets can be purchased via the Merrigong Theatre Company website.

The show is recommended for ages 15+ as it does contain some adult themes, herbal cigarettes and a complete theatrical blackout.

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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Something That Happened – A Night of Fun and Laughter

21 September 2023 Paige Jenkins

The opening night of ‘Something That Happened’ by The Strangeways Ensemble was one filled with fun and laughter from audience members, young and old alike.

The Strangeways Ensemble, made up of professional neurodiverse actors, put on an inspiring and entertaining performance filled with pop culture and classic references that fit wonderfully within the play’s plot and the base reference to John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.

It was an immersive experience as the audience was able to feel as though they were a fly on the wall during the company’s rehearsals, as well as being part of the conversation about what it means to be neurodivergent with goals and dreams.

The use of narration, both anecdotal and prose extracts from Of Mice and Men by Ethan Arnold, was incredibly powerful. A single spotlight and a microphone on a stage can be very daunting, but he pulled it off with ease. The use of a soundscape, when paired with the monologued moments, pulled the audience in and left me absolutely enthralled. I was astounded when I realised that many sounds were being created in the moment and looped in with the pre-recorded sounds.

It was a lot of fun being in the audience, and there was a clear sense of fun amongst the actors on stage. It was wonderfully unpolished, which is incredibly refreshing. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to sit in an audience and watch something without picking all the minute errors apart from a clearly polished and intensely scheduled performance. There was no need to nitpick because there was no expectation of perfection.

I was very taken with Jordan Bowater’s view on neurodivergent actors; “We shouldn’t have to be defined by what’s wrong with us, we should just be able to be actors.” I do, however, disagree with his view, as I don’t believe that being neurodivergent or having a disability should be categorised as ‘wrong’. The Strangeways Ensemble were wonderfully entertaining and creative with their performance.

‘Something That Happened’ runs until Saturday 23^rd September at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC). It is absolutely worth it, and I recommend it to everyone. Families, friends, take your grandparents, bring your kids, you will have a blast and an eye-opening experience all rolled into one.

Head to the website to grab tickets: https://merrigong.com.au/shows/something-that-happened/

This review also appears on It’s On The House.

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