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Booze & The Bard: Macbeth! The Scotch Play

1 February 2025 Manuela Kacomanolis

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.

Manuela Kacomanolis

I Watched Someone Die On TikTok

25 January 2025 Manuela Kacomanolis

I Watched Someone Die on TikTok Rating

★★★★★

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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.

Manuela Kacomanolis

Othello: Presented by The Actors Hub

30 November 2024 Manuela Kacomanolis

Othello Rating

★★★★★

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Taking on any play by William Shakespeare is no easy feat, especially in theatre, where actors are required to memorise heavy and complicated dialogue. Amanda Crewes, through the talented cast at The Actors Hub, has done a tremendous job bringing Othello to life.

Although the play is set in what appears to be the present time, this is evident from the clothing worn by the cast, Amanda has remained true to Shakespear’s words.

For those who are not big fans or accustomed to Shakespearean talk, you should not be put off. Extra concentration may be needed (as in any Shakespeare story) to follow every interaction between the characters. However, you should still be able to understand the essence of the play and the storyline.

The protagonist and title character Othello, who, despite his ethnicity, has risen through the ranks of a white society to become a General in Venice and marry a white woman, the noble Desdemona. Roderigo, a wealthy man, longs for Desdemona. He is heartbroken upon learning the news of Desdemona’s marriage to Othello.

Trouble ensues when Lago, who serves under Othello, is overlooked for the position of lieutenant in favour of a less experienced soldier, Michael Cassio. Filled with bitterness and resentment, Lago devises a web of lies in his plot to bring down Othello as revenge for this perceived injustice. On his path to destroy Othello, he manipulates those around him, cunningly convincing Othello of Desmonda being unfaithful, which leads to devasting consequences.

Amanda cleverly uses a giant chess board as the central focus of the stage, with the characters performing in and around the board. Every move Lago makes on the chess board is matched with a move he makes in destroying Othello.

The play is long, which makes me applaud the amazing cast, which never misses a beat. Leo Rimmer, Bernard Bolum, Kayla Merritt, Jayk Thomas, and Jet Fairlie are exceptional in portraying their characters.

Even if you are not a Shakespeare fan, the play is worth viewing to see these rising young actors.

To book tickets to Othello, please visit https://actorshubperth.com.au/productions/

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.

Manuela Kacomanolis

Crimson Gully

21 November 2024 Manuela Kacomanolis

Crimson Gully Rating

★★★★★

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Powerful and engrossing, Crimson Gully is a brilliantly written play by Sreekanth Gopalakrishnan.

Set in the 1990s, the story centres on a brothel within the fictitious town of Chandapur in India.

Crimson Gully, which translates to Red Light Street, shines a light on the prostitution industry, forcing the audience to look beyond the societal labels associated with the women in the brothel and see them as individuals with complex lives, aspirations and personal battles.

The play opens with the young and popular worker, Muskaan, performing a traditional South Asian dance known as Mujra to the clients.

Having born and grown up in the brothel, Muskaan accepted her fate and circumstances long ago but she does not see herself as a victim but rather a person who unlike the other girls, has chosen to remain in the brothel. However, deep inside she longs for another life but does not believe she is worthy of it.

Then there is Champa, who did all the things that society expected of her as a woman. She met a man, got married and had a child but lost it all when her husband died and she was left cleaning up the destruction and financial mess he left behind. Without any education or qualifications, she finds herself in the brothel, the only way she knows how to make a living.

The young and innocent Mansi, from a seemingly good family, shows the viewers how girls like her end up in the brothel through no choice of her own. Much like Champa’s situation, it also proves that marriage is not always the answer to a attaining a better life.

Jamuna, the eldest, having spent most of her life in the brothel, now just serves as the caretaker and cook.

Taai is the madam of the brothel. Initially, viewers may think of her as a villain but as the story evolves it’s clear that she is as much of a victim as the rest of the women, trapped in her circumstances and in many ways acts as their protector.

It is the few people at the top driven by greed and power, in this instance all men, that keep the women trapped in their unfortunate circumstances and other men in line. The simmering tensions build up to a dramatic climax that does not disappoint.

Gopalakrishnan, who also designed and directed Crimson Gully, does not shy away from bringing to the forefront weighty topics such as political corruption, human trafficking, misogyny, and poverty and how they are all interconnected.

Inspired by the DW documentary India’s Prostitution Village, Gopalakrishnan provides a realistic account of the industry. It is a story which could take place in any culture and in any country but the elements of greed and corruption remain the same. Crimson Gully provides an insight into how corruption from the top can trickle down and poison society as a whole.

The Great Indian Theatre Company brings the story to life, with all cast members delivering solid and powerful performances. Crimson Gully is not to be missed.

Photographer: Albert Antony Roy

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.

Manuela Kacomanolis

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