Mary Jane – A Quietly Devastating Portrait Of Love And Resilience

Mary Jane

Mary Jane Rating

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Written by Amy Herzog | Directed by Rachel Chant | Presented by Mid Todo Productions at the Old Fitz Theatre

In Mary Jane, director Rachel Chant and playwright Amy Herzog deliver a moving, understated, and profoundly compassionate story. Set in New York, the play follows the life of Mary Jane, a single mother caring for her chronically ill son, Alex. With remarkable grace, humour, and resilience, she faces a cascade of challenges – yet never loses her grip on hope.

Eloise Snape brings quiet power and emotional authenticity to the role of Mary Jane. Her performance is restrained yet deeply affecting, anchoring the production with a sense of dignity and realness that never veers into sentimentality. Through her, the audience is drawn into a series of poignant, often heartbreaking moments.

Alex, born extremely premature, requires round-the-clock care. Mary Jane’s world is shaped by hospital visits, shifting diagnoses, and a rotating cast of support figures. Much of the play’s strength comes from the ensemble cast – Sophie Bloom (Hensser), Janine Watson, Di Adams, and Isabel Burton – who deftly inhabit multiple roles, from friends and neighbours to nurses and chaplains. Their seamless transformations mirror the changing stages of Mary Jane’s life and underscore the idea that help often arrives in different forms.

The fluidity of the staging – shifting from Mary Jane’s modest apartment to hospital waiting rooms and children’s wards – is handled with quiet elegance, thanks to production designer Soham Apte and stage manager Estelle Gomersall. Lighting design by Izzy Morrissey and Luna Ng, along with Alyx Dennison’s subtle musical cues, help shift tone and place without disrupting the flow.

The American accents, coached by Linda Nicholls-Gidley, were well executed across the cast – an impressive feat for an all-Australian ensemble. Director Rachel Chant handles the material with a light yet sure hand, allowing the play’s emotional weight to emerge organically, without melodrama.

Originally described by The New York Times as “the most profound and harrowing of Ms Herzog’s many fine plays,” Mary Jane is slow-burning and gentle, but never dull. It holds the audience with quiet force, unfolding with empathy and depth. It’s no surprise the work was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Play.

Presented by Mid Todo Productions and executive producer Chad Traupmann, this production of Mary Jane offers a rich, affecting night at the theatre. On now until 15 June at the Old Fitz Theatre, it’s the kind of intimate, beautifully crafted play that lingers long after the final scene. And yes – the pub upstairs does excellent food and drinks, making it a perfect evening out.

To book tickets to Mary Jane, please visit https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/book-now.

Photography: Phil Erbacher

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The Anarchy 1138-53

The Anarchy 1138-53 Rating

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3

The Anarchy 1138-53, presented in KXT on Broadway, is like walking into a narrated RPG walkthrough that spans levels of anarchy, death and destruction!

The stage is a mirrored walkway where the mirror is at once a reflection in water as you travel through the oceans on an imaginary boat before becoming the beach where you are shipwrecked, as enemies swoop in, dragons fly and various characters aim to destroy you.

The imaginary RPG campaign you find yourself in is set in Britain, or another dystopia where anarchy prevails and suffering is a plenty – this is the ‘Crossworlds Universe’, narrated by two hyper-verbal guides whose stamina is as relentless as their script.

While in regular theatre productions the actors play out the scenes, in this play it is mostly just narrated, with moments of re-enactment and audience interaction being a much needed respite from the tyranny of the spoken words that flow out of both actors at astronomical speed.

As the story progresses you from the ‘tutorial’ and through the myriad of ‘levels’, it becomes one level too many, and this 135 minute no interval play, begins to resemble a notoriously long boss fight—technically impressive but emotionally numbing.

Though the dark, punk world the play creates is intriguing and the production is inventive and daring, the overall experience is somewhat languished and the script feels a little too self indulgent.

Sometimes some levels are best left sans walkthrough, for the gamer to navigate, even if that means dying and respawning a few times.

To book tickets to The Anarchy 1138-53, please visit https://events.humanitix.com/the-anarchy-1138-53.

Photographer: Skye Gellman

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Chicago: Tall & Short Theatre Co

Chicago

Chicago Rating

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3

This production of Chicago by Tall and Short Theatre Co delivers the show’s signature sharp cynicism with an especially bold edge, amplified by a small, versatile cast playing multiple roles as well as minimal costumes and set. These choices not only showcases the actors’ range but also deepens the show’s inherent themes of duplicity and moral ambiguity, underscoring the story’s cynical view of fame, justice, and human nature.

Michael Astill’s portrayal of Billy Flynn is a highlight, delightfully sleazy and utterly captivating. His numbers sparkle, particularly the brilliantly coordinated and high-energy “We Both Reached for the Gun” with Katie Wallis as Roxie. Astill’s commanding presence during the trial scene truly owns the stage, driving the drama with a magnetic intensity that resonated strongly with the audience.

Katie Vials shines with her singing, especially in “Roxie” and “Funny Honey,” bringing depth and nuance to her roles. Amelia Smith’s quiet tragedy as Hunyak adds a poignant contrast, while Willow Twine’s bold and wild energy as Velma injects thrilling dynamism into the dance sequences.

Elizabeth Ellis gives a memorable performance as Matron Mama Morton, skillfully capturing the character’s dual nature. On one hand, Morton is as calculating and transactional as Billy Flynn. But Ellis also brings genuine warmth to her interactions with Velma and, most touchingly, with Hunyak—moments that suggest real affection and loyalty beneath the surface. It’s the duet Class with Velma that truly reveals the character’s vulnerability.

Nathaniel Lawson brings a gentle sincerity to the role of Amos Hart, providing a much-needed emotional anchor amidst the show’s swirling satire. Apparently playing against type, Lawson’s portrayal is refreshingly understated, allowing Amos’s quiet dignity and hurt to shine through. His rendition of Mister Cellophane is performed with real heart — not played for laughs, but as a sincere, aching moment of loneliness and invisibility.

The choreography is exceptional — not only skillful and vibrant but notably inclusive, featuring Liam Liff performing in a wheelchair, marking a powerful and inspiring first for this production. The ensemble’s tight coordination and spirited movement bring the show’s biting satire to life.

Overall, Tall and Short Theatre Co’s Chicago is a compelling, razor-sharp musical experience that balances cynicism and spectacle, buoyed by standout performances and inventive staging.

To book tickets to Chicago, please visit https://www.tstheatreco.com/productions/.

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German Film Festival: Mother’s Baby

Mother's Baby

Mother’s Baby Rating

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Mothers are supposed to feel an instant, unbreakable bond with their newborn child; or at least, that’s what we’re led to believe. Austrian director, Johanna Moder’s new film, Mother’s Baby, bleakly reminds us that this isn’t always the case.

Forty year old music conductor Julia (Marie Leuenberger) and her loving husband, Georg (Hans Löw), desperately want a baby. When nature doesn’t deliver, they seek the help of Dr Vilfort (Claes Bang), a renowned fertility specialist. In Vilfort’s pristine private clinic, Moder introduces early on an axolotl, a strange looking amphibian that catches Julia’s interest but comes to haunt her (and viewers) later in the film.

With Dr Vilfort’s treatment proving successful, Julia and Georg wait expectantly for the birth of their longed for child. Yet the birth is a difficult one. The baby is whisked away by a medical team as soon as it is born. Moder captures Julia and Georg’s muted shock as they are kept in limbo waiting to meet their baby. When Julia finally gets to hold her baby, she seems underwhelmed, even detached from the child. Julia’s struggle to breastfeed only heightens her disappointment. An overly zealous midwife played by Julia Franz Richter doesn’t help as she pushes Julia to bottle feed instead.

Once home, Julia, long used to being in control in her professional life, continues to struggle to bond with her baby. Usually surrounded by music, the weirdly silent baby she has birthed, starts to unnerve her. Is there something wrong with the child or is Julia paranoid? Hans’ instant bond with their son, who Julia persists in referring to as ‘it’, adds to Julia’s distress.

In one particularly tense moment, Hans returns home from work to be greeted by the sight of Julia engrossed in her music, oblivious to her unfed baby. Julia’s sudden identity shift from world class conductor to stay at home mother has hit her hard. Hans fails to understand, reminding Julia as they argue that ‘It’s what we agreed!’. Is Julia’s lack of maternal connection with her baby a tell-tale sign of postpartum depression or is there something more sinister at play?

Increasingly frustrated by Julia’s unexpected reaction to new motherhood even the normally placid Georg starts to doubt his wife’s mental stability. Returning to Dr Vilfort, Julia insists there is something wrong with her baby, demanding answers from the preternaturally cool physician. In what smacks of medical misogyny, Vilfort condescendingly suggests Julia is the problem. We cringe as Georg joins cravenly with the doctor in agreeing that Julia needs help.

Moder’s psychologically chilling story of new motherhood achieves its aim of unnerving its viewers so that they feel vicariously the altered reality of the postpartum phase. Billed as a dark comedy, the film is inconsistent in creating humour; nonetheless, Moder is successful in capturing the absurdity of motherhood in a world which continues to unfairly insist on idealising maternity.

To book tickets to Mother’s Baby, or any other film in the German Film Festival, please visit https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/.

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