Theatre - Whats The Show

Plied and Prejudice

17/10/202526/07/2025 Carmen Jenner🌟🎭

Plied and Prejudice Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

The court was certainly aflutter during Plied and Prejudice, a racy adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice.

Featuring five unhinged actors playing 20 characters, this action-packed romp enthrals from start to finish. The night unravels from the moment the characters strut out onto the catwalk stage, running between the audience, perfect for posturing with outrageous innuendo.

Bridget Jones’s Diary fans will relish the parallels to Pride and Prejudice (minus the knickers, huge or otherwise), and Bridgerton, Little Britain, and Rick Astley aficionados will be in for a debauched treat. It’s probably just as well Jane Austen is no longer around to witness this tequila-soaked production.

Written by Matthew Semple with original direction by Dash Kruck, the swoons are aplenty thanks to director Ian Good and producer Alex Woodward from Woodward Productions. The lusty performance is hardly surprising given Mr Darcy’s soaked white shirt and the amount skulled by Elizabeth Bennett whenever there was a mention of tea, or the bell rang.

Certain cast members will be indisposed each night to keep it fresh, as if it could get any livelier. The production stars Ayesha Gibson (Elizabeth Bennet and others), Patrick Gandin (Darcy and others), Rp van der Westhuizen (Collins, Bingley, Wickham and others), Jess Lally (Catherine de Bourgh and others), Lucy Goodrick (Jane Bennet and others) Hanna Harvey (Swing) and Oliver Clare (Swing).

Set and costume designer Penny Challen portrayed Regency-ridiculousness with tongue-in-cheek aplomb. The actors’ performance, with all the grace of a frenetic ballet dancer, can be attributed to the movement direction of Dan Venz. A word of warning, this is not for the conservative or under-18-year-olds, you will be outraged while secretly longing to be invited to the after-party. Pray to Great Britain that you aren’t chosen to become part of the performance.

After sell-out shows in Brisbane and London, the Perth season has already been extended to 28th September 2025. No doubt, the extra tickets will sell quickly to the uninitiated, intrigued by the scandalous reports, and repeat theatre-goers craving more unruly decorum.

So, dust off your fascinators and get dressed (or undressed) for the booziest ball of the century at Pemberley. Mr Darcy’s shirt isn’t the only thing that will be drenched by the end.

Plied and Prejudice runs from 18th July to 28th September at Downstairs at The Maj. If you’re lucky to be invited as Lady Catherine De Bourgh’s honoured guest, tickets are $100 for a plush throne and prosecco. Front-row aristocrat tickets are $70, middle-class cabaret-style seating is $60 and the paupers on high stools will be flogged $30.

To book tickets to Plied and Prejudice, please visit http://artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au/venues/his-majestys-theatre/whats-on/plied-and-prejudice/.

Photographer: Caitlin Irving

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

An Epic Masterpiece Of Creative Collaboration

26/07/2025 Chantal Harrison Writer🥈🔥🎭😂

Fewer Emergencies Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

Upon entry to the theatre, the background music is teetering that edge of ambient and unsettling. There’s a child rocking on a horse downstage right. They are framed by large, open vertical blinds. Warm lights with an amber filter touch key points of the stage, which has the old school brown shag carpet. There’s late 80s school desk chairs to the right and left of an armchair in the middle, with a lit lamp and a red book. These nostalgic items, and the child’s rocking only pausing for the Welcome To Country recording, create atmospheric tension.

The cleaning crew enters the space in their blue jumpsuits. They get to work vacuuming, sweeping and dusting. Their movements are coordinated and choreographed. There’s a poetry to it.

One of the cleaners begins to touch the items in the middle. The actor, played by Monica Sayers, wraps a scarf around her neck and the ensemble cleaning crew, with Olivia Hall-Smith and Bayley Prendergast notice and respond.

The scarf wearer tells the story of a woman who is trapped in an unhappy marriage, taking and rejecting story prompts from the other two. At times forgetting (wilfully and not-so) the detail. An unhappy and unreliable narrator is created, not just by the storyteller, but by the contributions of the other two, as they explore the elements that are supposed to make couples happy in society, and the unlikely elements that make things worse instead of better.

We shift to a classroom setup and the fourth member (Clay Crighton) enters the space wearing a beige jumpsuit similar to the others, but for the colour. Bayley becomes the narrator of this story, with a harrowing classroom scene. Clay retreats to the side of the stage. Where they lean upon the wall in a quiet, but visceral changing state of agony and pain. Their fingers pulse as the anguish and torment is embodied. This is achieved with very little other movement, even of their facial features. Somehow they are able to portray magnitudes in the slightest ways. It’s powerful and heart-wrenching to observe.

As the intense story unfolds, Clay starts to contribute to the narrative despite the warnings of “Don’t help me!” from the central narrator. This account challenges the participating story-weavers to accept an “unsympathetic character”. It’s a tale of a monster who has what they deem to be society’s ideals; money, property, family; and nothing to cause them to commit the heinous acts we witness. The fourth narrator (Clay) then transforms this piece in a unique way, and it shifts into something unexpected.

The concluding story may be a culmination of the previous two, it is clearly connected to the first narrative, and makes sense of some of the discrepancies. The use of shadow has been a compelling device throughout the piece, and is taken to a peak in this final act. The ensemble work brings the play to a cataclysmic crescendo before the abrupt blacking out. Then they shift to curtain call, which is noticeably agonising for the incredibly talented Clay to adjust into. The rawness is still there as they try and return to reality.

This is an epic masterpiece of creative collaboration and exceptional talent. It’s clearly the result of challenging and complex ensemble work which has paid off spectacularly.

I admit I don’t have the technical language to give credence to the importance of the lighting and sound effects, which are vital elements to the hard-hitting impact of this piece of work. Izzy Morrisey has created a lighting design where every change is crucial, every State is meaningful, and the team executed this beautifully.

Director, Harry Reid, is an ungoverned genius. There are so many elements of Fewer Emergencies that I have not managed to put to words and, in a way, I’m grateful for that as it is something that truly needs to be witnessed. It’s a remarkable piece of theatre and I am going to be contemplating it for a long time to come.

To book tickets to Fewer Emergencies, please visit https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/fewer-emergencies.

Photographer: Robert Miniter

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Life’s Journey with Rick Springfield

22/07/202522/07/2025 Martha Graham🌱

Late Late At Night: The Rick Springfield Story Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

The Late Late at Night: The Rick Springfield Story promises a show with heart and nostalgia as the audience is taken down memory lane with the Australian-American icon: and it delivered.

Jackson Carroll’s flawless depiction as Richard Springthorpe, otherwise known as Rick Springfield, was a perfect balance of learning about the struggling musician’s life and performance of his classic hits. Although Springfield navigates heavy topics, including mental health issues and personal losses, Carroll showcased these struggles in a sensitive and somewhat endearing manner. The show acts as a reminder that the glorified icon who graced our radios with the rock and pop anthems Jessie’s Girl and State of the Heart is also a man trying to find his way.

The excitement of the audience was tangible as soon as the music commenced. Carroll immediately hooked in the audience with his emotive voice, alternating between the piano and guitars, helping viewers construct Springfield’s elusive world. The minimalist stage set-up, decorated with key pieces possessing significant meaning to Springfield, emphasised his isolated journey of discovering who he is; and what truly brought him joy. The use of lighting and audio recordings to construct the world of Springfield effectively reflected his declining mental health, as well as core events that led him down the path of self-destruction and self discovery.

The enthusiasm and energy Carroll maintained throughout the one-man show is highly commended, which was met with a standing ovation. The skill in carrying a show from beginning to end, jumping between monologues, different characters and the music of Springfield is remarkable. As he acted and sang, jumping between timelines and showcasing the origin of Springfield’s beloved songs, Carroll made it look effortless. One of the highlights of his distinguished performance was the seamless shift between all stages of Springfield’s life. We watched Rick Springfield address the audience like old friends before diving into his experiences as a boy, to a teen trying to make his dream a reality, a man that falls a part when fame does not give him everything he thought it would; to an icon that realises the true meaning of happiness.

Fans of Rick Springfield, old and new, will not be disappointed when they embark on this journey to learn about the man behind the music. The Late Late at Night: The Rick Springfield Story offers fans a chance to learn his story, but will also find themselves reflecting on the true meaning of happiness as they watch Springfield muster his courage to right his wrongs and find his purpose. Witnessing the story of the icon battle and overcome his lifelong struggles offers a gentle reminder that even those we idolise are indeed human, and just like them, we too can overcome our darkest days.

To book tickets to Late Late At Night: The Rick Springfield Story, please visit https://kierancarroll.com/rick-springfields-late-late-at-night/.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Agatha Crispie

20/07/2025 Debra Campbell🥇🦉🎭🎶

Agatha Crispie Rating

★★★★★

Click if you liked this article

A hilarious spoof of Agatha Christie’s classic whodunits, written by Cenarth Fox and directed by David Dodd.

In the south-west of England soon after World War 1, the unknown writer, Agatha Crispie, pens mystery stories. In vain she longs for their publication. Agatha’s family despise her writing and ridicule her plots. Agatha gets a lucky break. A body is found in the library. The police arrive as does a grey-haired, cardigan-wearing spinster with a knack for solving crimes. Suddenly the pressure is too much. Agatha disappears. Then a dapper foreigner appears. He too has a knack for solving mysteries. Then a Scotland Yard detective makes a surprise entrance. There is a dead body, a suspect or three, amateur sleuths, red herrings and dithering cops. It’s just like the life and characters of another scribbler, the slightly better-known Agatha Christie. There are surprises, mystery, drama, humour and that infernal, eternal mousetrap!

Ticket Link: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1369425

Once, I had read the promo I could not possibly miss this one. I grew up with my Mum reading an Agatha Christie mystery every chance she got and our holiday house literally had an entire bookshelf dedicated to the famous writer – who is noted on the program tonight as only outsold by Shakespeare and the Bible! Whether or not that is true to date, I’m thinking to myself no wonder my Mum loved her mysteries. I have read over the years those same books and have eagerly seen all the related movies and series’, so I’m fairly familiar going into this play with knowledge of the murderous titles and there are many cleverly interwoven references to the books in this play, including that body in the library.

‘Agatha’ played by Catherine Christensen is wonderful. Yearning to become a published writer in this story, she must convince her husband ‘Archibald’ played strongly and funnily by Neil Barnett, to let her continue to work on her writing or she must find a way to be rid of him and his family so that she can write her mysteries in peace and without the constant put down of Neil’s mother, ‘Lavinia’ played sternly well by Kerry Hollier.

Equal in putting down Agatha is the daughter of Archibald and step-daughter of Agatha, ‘Elvira’ played by Bel Shields – she is so entertaining! Absolutely loved watching her either as the main stage character when she had the floor or on the side; her mannerisms, voice, and everything else about her was a spot on stuck up Daddy’s girl wanting only the best for herself in society. Will she get it? Her ‘divorce’ scene was impeccably delivered.

I highly praise Rob Coulson as ‘Dithering’. It was easy to see he’s been doing this acting thing for quite a while as soon as he entered the room and delved fully into his character; he was very enjoyable to watch and reminded me of my Pop.

The set is fantastic. You feel like you stepped into the pages where Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple might lay down their reasoning on the suspect murderer, but here we will see the excellent dramatization skills of Gilbert Gauci playing ‘Hercule Grey-Cells’ and Mandy Vicsai as ‘Mary Mead’. I found it hard to believe that Mandy is a newbie to the world of acting, she was perfect in her role, as was Gilbert with his magnifying glass out sleuthing to themed music whilst everyone else was out of the murder scene room.

Outstanding casting on all characters, but my favourite was undeniably ‘Pimms’ played by Annie Laurenson. Annie’s comical timing is excellent and she seemed to feed even more into her character off the audience reactions; her performance throughout the show just got better and better right to the end punchline (which is a hoot!).

If you love Agatha Christie, you MUST SEE this show.

Congratulations to the cast and the hard working production team because yes, it is definitely as you promote: a fast-paced mystery-comedy filled with witty dialogue and outrageous characters, a clever parody of Agatha Christie’s famous detectives— perfect for fans of classic whodunits, and certainly an experience of intrigue, humour, and theatrical fun!

Venue: Clayton Community Centre Theatrette 9-15 Cooke Street, Clayton Vic. This is a very comfortable small theatre so don’t worry where you sit, you can see great from all the seats and it has wheelchair access. There is heaps of parking and the welcoming Encore volunteers served us free tea, coffee, biscuits and a glass of sherry at interval.

Playing: 18 – 27 July 2025 with some sold out shows already!

You can find out more about the lovely ENCORE THEATRE group via:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/encoretheatrecompanyclayton
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/encoretheatre_inc/
Website: https://encoretheatre.com.au/

To book tickets to Agatha Crispie, please visit https://encoretheatre.com.au/season-1/.

Photographer: Dave Swann

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Subscribe to What's The Show

Connect Online