Comedy Carousel

Comedy Carousel

Comedy Carousel Rating

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Three one-act plays, one charming theatre and oodles of talent. The Garrick Theatre’s latest stage production, the Comedy Carousel delivers ridiculous hilarity and maybe a murder or two.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a stage production? ‘All I Really Need to Know I Learned by Being in a Bad Murder Mystery’ offers plenty of insight into the pandemonium when dealing with a bunch of actors rehearsing for a murder mystery play. Throw in a script written by Agatha Christie knock-off Magetha Misty, a loopy director and an indecipherable accent coach, and you (and the cast) are left wondering whodunit and what was done to whom.

The actual director, Ali Louise, did a fantastic job of herding the high-energy cast by encouraging them to be as wacky as the show within the show. Among the tantrums, over-the-top death scenes and butchering of Shakespearian references, this tight-knit troupe delivers cohesive chaos with many laugh-out-loud moments. Narrated by Erin Shay Horrigan with Julia Webster playing the director role and Cambren Price playing the frustrated stage manager, the actors include Rebekah Hannah, Samantha Cashford, Paris Romano Jenner, Aaron Wilkes, Kirsty Plews, Quentin Mitchell, Jason Robert Lester and Steve Moloney, who perform as only thespians can in theatre blacks adorned with madcap props.

The second one-act play, Therapy Go Round, centres around a traumatic break-up that sends Brooke spiralling and into therapy. When she arrives at Dr Marita Welsh’s clinic and is greeted by assistant Janine, Brooke soon wonders who is shrinking who. If only her eccentric therapist had paid attention to the details and Janine wasn’t so absent-minded?

 

Written by playwright Sean Guy and directed by Carly Ranger, Therapy Go Round is performed by an all-female cast of Lis Hoffmann (Dr Marita Welsh), Kylie Calwell (Janine) and Casey Smith as Brooke. The simple set of ‘All I Really Need to Know I Learned by Being in a Bad Murder Mystery’ was miraculously transformed in moments into a clinic with soft pink lighting, a desk and two chairs – had there been a couch, no doubt Brooke would have needed a good lie-down and cry after her session.

Soon enough, a couch appears on stage for the final one-act play titled The Heist, brilliantly performed in New York accents by Colleen Johnson (Muriel), Karin Staflund (Camila), Marsha Holt (Ingrid) and Julie Holmshaw (Delia). Set in an apartment in NYC’s gritty Bronx, as the four ladies settle into their game of Bridge, there’s a sudden knock on the door. Gangster Lenny (played by Andreas Petalas) barges in full of misguided attitude but soon loses control of the situation as the ladies mess with his head as only a bunch of New Yorker broads can.

Directed by Lynne Devenish and written by actor and playwright Shirley Toohey (with script assistant Christine Offringa), strong characterisation creates an evocative sense of place and poignant storytelling to the background soundtrack of the borough’s sirens as Guildford’s trains and planes thunder by.

The ticket price of $15 is incredible value for three one-act plays and the calibre of talent from the cast and crew, including stage managers Sarah Durack and Jason Blaine, Don Allen (Lighting Designer) and sound designer Geoff Holt. Established in 1932 and situated in the heart of historic Guildford, the Garrick Theatre is one of the longest-running community theatres in Perth and always welcomes new members for ongoing discounts, events, news and auditions.

Performance dates: February 6th, 7th , 8th , 9th*, 13th, 14th & 15th February

All evening shows begin at 7.30pm, * denotes the matinee show at 2pm

To book tickets to Comedy Carousel, please visit TAZ Entertainment & TAZ Tix.

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.

Murder on the Magic School Bus

Murder on the Magic School Bus (Fringe World)

Murder on the Magic School Bus (Fringe World) Rating

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2

In a fun re-imaging of a nostalgic children’s favourite – Murder on the Magic School Bus is precisely what it makes out to be, promising just under an hour of laughs, twists and schoolyard drama.

In what could best be summarised as ‘The Breakfast Club’ meets a murder mystery, the show follows a class excursion to a crime scene-turned-disaster with the group left to resolve the death of one of their own.

Kate O’Sullivan is at the helm as the iconic Miss Frizzle, confidently leading pupils through a masterclass in criminology with great gusto.

The student pool is rounded out by the distinct archetypes of a typical school environment – a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal – if you will.

Clare Boon earns a lot of laughs as ‘miss popular’ Lexi, bouncing well off Jasmine Ward’s brooding Ash. The pair share great chemistry with a fun, albeit unexplored, enemies to lovers type side plot.

Dominic Depiazzi shines as brainiac Jamie – commanding the stage with his strong presence. While Genevieve Wilson and Sarah-Beth Aldridge nicely round out the group as the sporty Sam and quiet Charlie respectively.

 

Callum Fairweather provides a good neutral ground among the smorgasbord of personalities, offering frank narration as victim Xavier.

While good use of the stage was made, with some particularly enjoyable ‘appearing’ props, blocking sometimes felt repetitive and lineal. The pacing could also be improved (though this could have been opening night jitters), with actors often interjecting one another in a bid to keep up with the quick-fire dialogue.

Props, however, must go to the cast for seamlessly adapting to the night’s chosen killer, in what appears to be open-ended every night, offering the right dose of audience interaction whilst still leaving enough to the imagination to bring keen audience members back for more.

Overall, this production is a fun concept, with sturdy foundations that I’d love to see further fleshed out, but nevertheless makes for an enjoyable night out to see some promising local talent take the stage.

To book tickets to Murder on the Magic School Bus (Fringe World), please visit https://fringeworld.com.au/whats_on/murder-on-the-magic-school-bus-fw2025

This year’s Fringeworld Festival Perth runs from 17 January to 16 February. For more information, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au.

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.

Booze & The Bard: Macbeth! The Scotch Play

Booze & the Bard: Macbeth! The Scotch Play

Booze & the Bard: Macbeth! The Scotch Play Rating

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With the show’s title named Booze & The Bard: Macbeth, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be your typical Macbeth play. As part of Perth’s annual Fringe Festival, five young actors bring a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s infamous Macbeth to the stage.

Held at Four5Nine Bar at the Rosemount Hotel, a cosy little venue, the audience and the actors had no idea how the play would pan out. The concept reminded me a little bit of those “choose your own adventure books” where the reader’s choices determine the main character’s actions.

The play started off smoothly; all the standard lines are acted out with an injection of modern language sprinkled throughout (I loved this because, as someone who myself am not a big follower of Shakespeare’s plays, it made the play easier to follow and understand). When the play continued too smoothly, that’s when the actors shook things up a bit. There were drinking games (audience members could also participate if they wished), but either way, the actors are drinking throughout the play.

The major shakeup of the show was the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel had a variety of rules that the chosen actor had to follow when the tab landed on any of these rules, and this could happen at any moment throughout the entire show. The narrator would usually bring the spinning wheel to an audience member to spin.

 

For example, when it landed on ‘accent’ the chosen actor had to say his lines in an Irish accent for remainder of the play. I especially though it was funny when it landed on ‘western’ and the actor playing Macbeth, Ethan Milne, had to act out the rest of the play as though he was in a western movie, topping it off by wearing a poncho.

There were moments when the actors would be calling out ‘noooo’ when the spinning wheel was pulled out. I could feel their pain. It would not be easy to recite a Shakespeare play and then force put a spin on it at the last minute.

It’s ironic that Macbeth is actually a tragedy, but this show was far from tragic. The Booze & the Bard’s Macbeth, the Scotch Play was a fun, chaotic, silly, comedic retelling of a Shakespeare classic with many twists.

You certainly do not have to be a Shakespeare fan or understand Shakespeare to enjoy this show. It’s clear the actors were all having a lot of fun, and this naturally pulled the audience in.

If you are looking for a light-hearted show with plenty of laughs and, of course, drinking, then this is the show for you.

To book tickets to Booze & the Bard: Macbeth! The Scotch Play, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au/whats_on/booze-the-bard-macbeth-the-scotch-play-fw2025

This year’s Fringeworld Festival Perth runs from 17 January to 16 February. For more information, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au.

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.

I Watched Someone Die On TikTok

I Watched Someone Die on Tik Tok

I Watched Someone Die on TikTok Rating

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1

With the show’s title, ‘I Watched Someone Die on TikTok,’ I had no idea what to expect from this show. All I knew was that it would be a one-person show. Sometimes these can be the best sorts of shows without any preconceived ideas.

As part of the Perth Fringe Festival, WAAPA alumnus Charlotte Otton delivers a quirky, commentary-style and partial biographical performance involving her relationship with the internet and social media.

Although the performance is delivered in a humorous manner, it touches on serious topical issues such as social media addiction, minors on social media, cyber-bullying and the multitude of disturbing content found on the internet.

Charlotte takes the audience on a journey from the early stages of the internet in the early 90s to the colossal digital platform it now is.

She makes a point of how the internet is filled with so much dark content and how easily accessible this content is to any person of any age. This content she refers to includes people dying in hospitals, beheadings and people being beaten to death. In the early internet days, it may have been a bit tricky, but certainly not impossible, to access such content, but nowadays, videos, regardless of whether they are age-appropriate or not, so easily pop up in social media feeds.

The strong grip social media has on people’s lives is real, and Charlotte brings this to focus. In one segment, the absurdity of some of the TikTok challenges is brought to life as she playfully takes up the challenge that the audience selects for her.

Any person who is guilty of doom-scrolling will relate to Charlotte’s commentary.

I found this show immensely entertaining and Charlotte to be an outstanding solo performer. I never knew which way the show would go or what Charlotte would do next. Mirroring much of how Tik Tok operates, she performs multiple segments in the show at a fast pace—keeping the attention of the audience glued to the stage.

To book tickets to I Watched Someone Die on TikTok, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au/whats_on/i-watched-someone-die-on-tiktok-fw2025

This year’s Fringeworld Festival Perth runs from 17 January to 16 February. For more information, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au.

Photographer: Sophie Minissale

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.