Ghost Quartet: A Haunting Musical Kaleidoscope

Ghost Quartet

Ghost Quartet Rating

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When I first sat down in the Hayes Theatre, watching the performers playfully improvise to keep us entertained while a technical problem delayed the start, I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

The stage was covered with Persian rugs and dressed in various antique furniture, cameras, and lamps. I knew there would be music. I knew there would be a blackout sequence (I read the program warnings), and I knew there would be no interval. But even when it was all over, and the audience leapt out of their seats for a standing ovation, I still wasn’t quite sure what I’d just experienced.

The best way to describe Ghost Quartet might be as a haunting, quirky, and inventive musical dreamscape. Directed by Brandon Pape, Antipodes Theatre’s production of Dave Malloy’s Ghost Quartet is like a fusion of The Twilight Zone and One Thousand and One Nights.

I must admit, I found the plot a little hard to follow initially, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment. It involved sisters, an astronomer, the stories we tell each other, and the ghost of Thelonious Monk. Ultimately, I decided to simply let go and immerse myself in the musical kaleidoscope. By the end of the production, the themes of ghosts, memory, and the passing down of stories across generations were conveyed in a surprising, effective, and powerful way.

The lighting design by Sidney Younger was beautiful and haunting, while the sound design by Evan Drill was outstanding. Antipodes’ actual ‘Ghost Quartet,’ led by musical director David Butler, constantly surprised me with their range, talent, and humour. They were all unique individuals and yet perfectly harmonious, interacting well with the audience in a way that kept the whole theatre engaged.

Hany Lee, Willow Sizer, David Butler, and Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward are all incredibly talented actor-musicians, each covering various musical styles and instruments while delivering strong individual and collective performances. There is one fifteen-minute sequence where you’ll find yourself wondering, long after the show, how they could keep changing styles and instruments so flawlessly.

Skipping an interval was a wise choice, as pausing the rollercoaster of this production would disrupt the show’s momentum and wake us all up from a musical trance. Like waking from a dream, returning to the same place is impossible once the spell is broken. It didn’t seem to be a problem. Despite the delayed start and extra pre-show drinks, I didn’t notice anyone leaving to miss any part of the show. This is a show I would wholeheartedly recommend experiencing—perhaps more than once.

Ghost Quartet by the Antipodes Theatre Co. is playing at the Hayes Theatre in Potts Point, Sydney, until the 1st of February 2025. To book tickets to Ghost Quartet, please visit https://hayestheatre.com.au/event/ghost-quartet/

Photographer: Angel Legas / 3 Fates Media

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 Nile: An Agatha Christie Whodunnit

Murder On The Nile

Murder on the Nile Rating

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2

Agatha Christie’s mysteries are a staple of the page, stage, and screen, but once we know ‘whodunnit,’ why do we watch them again? The great attraction of a mystery is, after-all, the mystery.

Murder on the Nile is Agatha Christie’s stage adaptation of her own novel, Death on the Nile, and many people would have experienced the story in the past, likely through one of the thirteen billion BBC adaptations. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying it again.

When a beautiful and wealthy heiress and her new Husband join a luxurious paddle steamer on the River Nile, they run into past acquaintances seemingly by coincidence. Joined by an eccentric old crone, an emotionally volatile doctor, and a communist aristocrat, rising tensions on the claustrophobic steamer in the Egyptian heat eventually leads to murder. With no one able to leave, the murderer must still be on board. Can they find the killer before they kill again?

The current production at the Genesian Theatre attempts to be a fresh take on this old classic, keeping the story engaging even if you know the outcome. Staying true to the original setting and plot, solid direction by Theo Hatzistergos along with an energetic cast really balances the mystery, drama, danger, and humour in equal measure.

Embedding comedic relief within the most dramatic moments, rather than drawing attention to themselves, was the right choice. It kept the play from becoming too serious while maintaining suspense. I particularly enjoyed Miss Ffoliot-ffoukes’ self-centred reaction to the news of a murder in the room adjacent to hers; ‘but they could have murdered me!’ The role was played wonderfully by Sandra Bass.

The rest of the cast was also superb and everyone seemed well-suited to their character. David Stewart-Hunter as Canon Pennefather commanded the stage with a perfect mixture of scoundrel, advisor, and detective. There were a few moments where the cast seemed to forget a line, but their ability to improvise and roll along until they got back on track was respectable and never caused me to fall out of the story. I doubt most people in the audience even noticed.

The set was a simple but grand depiction of the steamboat’s public parlour, with the ever-present statue of Anubis, God of the Underworld, watching over the cast whilst foreshadowing murder. The audience had a good chuckle as a pot-plant was pulled along in the background to signify the paddle steamer was on its way down the Nile, which I asume was intentionally fun.

The feeling of ‘cabin fever’ intended by Mr Hatzistergos by limiting the set to the public parlour worked well, and also saved the story from losing momentum during a potentially lengthy scene change. The sound design added atmosphere, from the crowds of Cairo to the engine of a steamer on the water. Gunshots and light effects literally made the audience jump out of their seats in fright. Much to their delight. The costumes too, were suitable for the 1950s time period and social standing of the characters.

The audience around me were totally hooked. Those who didn’t know the story were constantly whispering to each other about who they thought was going to be murdered, and then who did the inevitable murdering. You can’t help but appreciate encouraging this kind of engagement. Those who already knew the story enjoyed the strong performances and cheeky humour, along with Agatha Christie’s wonderful dialogue, making this journey down the Nile just as much fun as the destination.

Even if you know whodunnit, you’ll still enjoy this classic tale of jealousy, conspiracy, and murder. Murder on the Nile is currently playing at the Genesian Theatre in Sydney until the 21st of September.

Season: 10th August – 21st Sept 2024
Preview night 9th August
Friday and Saturday nights at 7.30pm
Sunday matinée at 4.30pm

Running Time: 2hrs 15mins including 20min interval

https://www.genesiantheatre.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.

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Hay Fever: 100 Years Of Fun

Hay Fever

Hay Fever Rating

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It’s been 100 years since Noel Coward wrote his absurd comedy Hay Fever, and it’s played in theatres worldwide. Told in three acts, it follows a weekend in the Bliss family home, each of which has invited a guest over for the weekend without informing the others. When the guests arrive, the eccentric family’s theatrics and bickering cause plenty of absurdity and laughs.

Jason Darlington makes his directorial debut at the Genesian Theatre on Kent Street in Sydney, keeping the play set in the 1920s as originally written. Even in a modernised contemporary setting, this story would still make a testament to the timelessness of Coward’s writing, but it was fitting to go back to the decadence, style, and vocalisation of the 1920s when it was originally written.

The set design and associated props were spot-on and drew me into the Bliss household. The little details, such as the bookcase, staircase, picture frames, and period-correct china and tea set, really help draw the audience into the world. The 1920s costumes provide a strong sense of time and place, and my favourites were Sorel’s evening dress and Myra’s Flapper outfits.

The play has a large cast, including four members of the Bliss family, their housekeeper, and four guests. The performances from the cast were thoroughly enjoyable, as were the haughty and snobbish upper-class British accents. Maintaining the humour and timing of the dialogue is challenging, especially on opening nights, but the ensemble accomplished an excellent job.

Each character gets plenty of stage time, with the second act broken down into several sequences where a successive pair of actors dominate the stage. The jokes, the timing, and the energy all work well, with Zoe Wilson as Sorel Bliss and Elizabeth MacGregor as the matriarch Judith Bliss being especially noteworthy. Judith is a retired actress, and her subsequent theatrics were a lot of fun.

The story itself is quite soft and situational, and it’s not trying to be anything more than an absurd little romp. Much of it seems outlandish, like how quickly the characters seem to fall in love with each other, but given the theatrical and creative background of the Bliss family, it suits the characters and makes enough sense to be fun. The audience enjoyed many laughs, especially towards the end of the second act.

Despite some opening night quirks, Hay Fever is an energetic, fun, and worthwhile experience at the Genesian Theatre. Its lively performances make it a production worth your time.

Hay Fever runs from 22nd June to 27th July, with sessions running on Friday and Saturday nights at 7.30 pm and a Sunday matinee at 4.30 pm.

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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Sydney Film Festival – Aquarius

Sydney Film Festival - Aquarius

Sydney Film Festival – Aquarius Rating

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1

If you live in Australia, then it’s likely you’ve heard of Nimbin, famous for peace, love, and hippies. But it wasn’t always that way. In 1973, a group of university students from Sydney were looking for a place to celebrate new ideas and counterculture outside the conservative restrictions and government violence of the city.

To do this, they imagined a 10-day festival of art and music and alternate living in a rural setting. The location they finally picked was a small country town in Northern NSW called Nimbin. The rest, as they say, is history.

Aquarius is a new documentary exploring the 1973 Aquarius festival, which not only transformed a small country town into a hippie heartland but also triggered a social movement that changed a generation and is still alive today. Director Wendy Champagne wisely approaches the documentary with a soft hand, relying mostly on archival footage and contemporary interviews with those involved. This helps draw the audience into the experience while not over-explaining or over-dramatizing the event.

Luckily for Champagne and editor Karin Steininger, the festival was well-documented by several film-making collectives and amateur documentarians, leaving a vast library of video, film, and even television material to use. It’s a shame that much of the video footage was either damaged in storage or shot with damaged cameras–I could see the trails of burned-in video sensors damaged by inexperienced film-makers shooting bright lights like the sun–but the film-makers wisely chose to use the footage unaltered and not try to fix it somehow.

Authenticity counts, and the footage is important to tell the story. The editing was well-paced, and the images were always appropriate for the narrative or mood. Original design sketches made by University of Sydney students at the time who helped organise the festival are brought to life through fun, clever animations.

The documentary’s core drawback is establishing its purpose. Why should people care? The film does explore the festival’s impact on subsequent environmental and social movements, but ultimately, it just feels like nostalgia bait for those who were there. It doesn’t really have anything to say to a younger audience apart from repeating how fun it was and that it was historically important. But those claims are never really that convincing.

My screening was mostly occupied by people over 60, many of whom were there. Will a broader audience be interested in some hippy festival that happened back in 1973? I hope so. Aquarius is still a well-made documentary and a satisfying look at a special time in Australian history. It’s well worth your time.

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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