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Bleak Expectations: Presented by Limelight Theatre

19 September 202416 September 2024 Breanna Redhead

Bleak Expectations Rating

★★★★★

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Adapted from a series of BBC radio plays, ‘Bleak Expectations’ puts a fun twist on Charles Dickens’s classic tale. It is well-staged and performed by the team at Limelight Theatre.

Narrated by a grown-up Pip Bin, we look back on his coming of age as a young man in a life full of twists, turns, and slapstick English humour.

Gordon Park guides our story as the older Pip, with a commanding stage presence that fills the stage. Jack Riches, who brings a refreshing, happy-go-lucky nature to the central role, portrays his younger counterpart with naivety.

Natalie Wiles and Mary Del Casale round out the trio of Bin children as Pip’s sisters, the strong-willed, ambitious Pippa and spritely Poppy. Del Casale particularly shines as the cheeky youngest sister and later brings humour to the pining Ripley.

Peter Giles and Shayla Brown complete the family as mum and dad, with Brown to be commended for embracing her character’s rather bizarre arc with full force.

Tomas Kinshela is a stand-out as best friend Harry Biscuit, who brings a certain candidness to the character that is a pleasure to watch. Some of his finer moments play out when he is not the focus of a scene, with excellent nuisances and mannerisms if you’re lucky to catch them.

Also a highlight is Jason Pearce, who is comedic gold in his smorgasbord of roles—the Act 2 courtroom scene is a particularly memorable moment.

And what is a show without its villain – Mr Benevolent – which Gareth Bishop brings great life to. Across the board, the cast is to be commended for the high energy on-stage from start to finish.

The set for this production is rather impressive. The design team—led by Roger Oakes—created a single multi-level piece that largely serves as the family home and is used well throughout, with simple added dressings to help establish different locations.

Bold and colourful costumes from Julie Clark also help to transport us back to the 1800s.

All in all, this comedy is exactly that—a laugh-a-minute show that serves as a great escape from reality for an evening. Director Barry Lefort has put together a solid production lifted by a cast that looks like they are having an absolute ball on stage.

For Bookings, phone TAZ Tix at 9255 3336 or book online @ https://www.taztix.com.au/limelight/

Venue: Limelight Theatre
Civic Drive, Wanneroo

Performance Dates: September 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22*, 26, 27, 28

Times: Evenings at 7.30pm, *Matinees at 2pm

Tickets: $27 Adult, $22 Concession (seniors/students),
$20 Member, Groups 20+ $22 each
processing fees apply

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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Into The Woods: Presented by UON Musos

13 September 2024 Mars Turner

Into The Woods Rating

★★★★★

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UoN’s Musos took on the production of Sondheim and Lapine’s “Into the Woods”, a well-known challenge within the industry. Refusing to bow to opening night nerves, the cast was admirable, and put on a cracker took on the pressure of opening night nerves, and put on a cracker of performance for their first night show!

Singing, dancing, and acting their way through the performance, the cast transported us into their world of magic and fairytales, with each and every performer putting their all into the show.

The show featured jaw-dropping performances from some show-stopping singers, with their voices and belief in their characters bringing me to tears at all the best moments. Opening night comes with the inevitable occasional issue with timing and cues, but we watched the characters believably progress and grow into themselves. The characters, like the magical beanstalk itself, grew in confidence and timing as the performance went on, and the show will no doubt climb higher in quality and grow stronger with every show.

Aside from the acting, the set design and stage use were phenomenal. The cast had very limited space to perform such an intense play with complex staging, and they managed it extraordinarily well. The props deserved recognition of their own and were incredibly well-suited to the vibe and experience of the show.

Opening night technical issues aside (those flimsy radio mics strike again!!), massive kudos to the tech crew, especially the conductor—he was on his feet but never missed a beat.

I would have loved to see a few more original takes on the characters and scenes, but overall, I recommend this as an enjoyable play, a good evening’s entertainment, and an enjoyable rendition of the popular 1986 play.

With only two sessions left, please show your support for upcoming local talent and book your tickets quickly here at https://www.newcastle.edu.au/events/community-and-alumni/the-conservatorium/into-the-woods-presented-by-uon-musos

Showtimes:

Friday, 13th of September: 6:30-9:30pm
Saturday, 14th of September: 1-4pm, 6:30-9:30pm

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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Guards At The Taj: Beauty But at What Cost?

13 September 2024 Linda Lokhee

Guards At The Taj Rating

★★★★★

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This is a tale of deep friendship, loyalty and duty – and beauty. In 1648, two Imperial Guards stand tall, dressed proudly in blue and silver uniforms with their backs to the ornate gate of Taj Mahal. It has been 16 years in construction, made by slaves and craftsmen. It is the morning before the first viewing of the Taj Mahal, which was rumoured to be the most beautiful building in the world. The Emperor Shah Jahan wishes for the Taj Mahal to remain the most beautiful of all and thereby issues a decree to ensure that this beauty is never replicated, forcing these guards to carry out an impossibly gruesome task.

Babur and Hunayun are bound by many rules – they aren’t allowed to turn around and look at the Taj Mahal, they must keep their sword raised and are forbidden to speak. To break these rules, as we discover from their conversation, could lead to harsh punishments, from being locked up for three days to death by elephant trampling.

However, even the threat of such consequences does not stop the impulsive chatter of Babur, played by Akkshey Caplash with such childlike enthusiasm that I immediately warmed to him. The other guard Humayun, played by Idam Sondhi, is the opposite of Babur. He is earnest and takes his job seriously, and we soon discover that he is the son of a senior military man. Humayun craves the approval of his father, has loyalty to his emperor, and believes in working hard to achieve rewards. It is perhaps, this tunnel view which will cast a shadow over both their futures.

Akkshey and Idam portray a strong friendship between the two characters. There are many moments of levity as well as philosophical conversation that takes place, showing a depth to their relationship. Akkshey’s Babur is a dreamer, creating and sharing ideas for his original inventions. Throughout the play, Idam’s Humayun loosens up and also shares his own creative invention. The two men are caged by their lower station and the rules of the more privileged, and their dreams and inventions signify their longing for being free. There was a theme of birds scattered throughout the play, and I found the links of freedom to these birds woven into the story cleverly significant.

Writer Rajiv Joseph, who was the 2016 winner of the Obie award for Best New American Play and also won the Lucille Lortel award for Best Play, has written an engaging script. Although there was no interval, there were two distinct parts, the turning point being the grim act the guards were forced to do by decree of the Emperor Shah Jahan. James Browne, the set and costume designer, created a daunting dungeon complete with underground water drainage.

Much like Babur and Humayun’s vast imaginings, I thought that there was intentional purpose to allow the audience to build their own images in their heads of some key scenes, guided by the set and stage lighting by lighting designer Kate Baldwin and composer and sound designer Me-Lee Hay.

This shone through in two particular scenes for me, with the first light morning unveiling of the Taj Mahal – where we didn’t see an image or a physical set of the beautiful building, but rather experienced it through the clever use of light and the actor’s reactions. The other stand out lighting and sound scene had explosions of red splashed on stage, and a rhythmical harsh slice sound amongst a frantic soundscape which signified one of the key horrifying moments in the play. This scene was gripping, and there was no need to show the actual visuals of what was happening, as we could see it in our mind. I noticed one audience member had their hands up to their mouth, clearly involved in the play.

Guards at the Taj, skilfully directed by Bali Padda again, two years after his directorial debut of the same play, is on tour throughout Australia throughout September and October 2024. This review was from the performance at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta on the 12th September 2024.

Guards at the Taj is a confronting and beautifully scripted and acted play which will make you want to delve a little deeper into finding out whether or not this was based on a true story. Go see it, wherever it is playing around Australia!

Running time: 90 minutes, no interval.
Tickets from $59
www.riversideparramatta.com.au/whats-on/guards-at-the-taj

Photography by Noni Carroll Photography

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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The Ransom Letter: A Play Reading Dressed to Impress

13 September 202413 September 2024 Emelia May

The Ransom Letter Rating

★★★★★

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With actors and attendees alike dressed in their best 1920s glad rags, Marty MonStar’s “The Ransom Letter” transformed an intimate North Melbourne venue into a night of mystery, intrigue, and roaring fun.

“The Ransom Letter” follows private detective Joan Archer as she navigates crime, corruption, and depravity in 1920s Melbourne, all with her trusty gold revolver in hand. When Joan is caught in the midst of a political scandal, she must outsmart powerful players to win the game of survival. But Joan isn’t a successful private detective for nothing – she’s always one step ahead.

I felt very much like a film noir star myself as I slipped in from the rain and shook out my umbrella in the red neon lights of Club Voltaire. With the smoke machine on full blast, lights low, and Bessie Smith crooning over the speakers, the space had been transformed into a Jazz Age speakeasy. On stage, a single pendant bulb illuminated a candlestick telephone, a pack of cigarettes, and two chairs – Joan’s domain.

Play readings are often a fairly static affair, which I have no complaints about, but I’ll admit it was still pretty refreshing to see “The Ransom Letter” take it a step further, immersing the crowd with music, a set, and costumes. It gave us in the audience a little taste of the finished production and that extra touch is something I wouldn’t mind seeing more often!

Katrina Mathers played Joan with grace and humour, dishing out zingers and serving up whiskey (neat, of course). The play reading was narrated by David Macrae who, alongside Hélène Tardif, Ian Rooney, and Jonathan Griffiths, effortlessly juggled multiple roles, bouncing from stuttering suits to swanky flappers with ease. Their performances added a vibrant energy to the play, giving it charm and keeping the audience – and themselves, judging by a few off-script giggles – thoroughly entertained.

The baddie of the play, Prime Minister Howie, seems cheekily modelled after Australia’s former PM Billy Hughes, who was the founder of a couple of pretty notorious political parties. With this in mind, it’s easy to imagine what his character might be like. Ian Rooney brought Howie to life with a big personality, plenty of sleaze, and colourful language to match. Watching Joan and Howie’s frequent standoffs was a particular highlight for me – just picture two bulls butting heads, and you’ve got it.

As “The Ransom Letter” moves towards production, it’s clearly chock-full of potential. I’d love to see the main plot take centre stage from the get-go, giving that noir-esque suspense more room to build gradually. Joan’s persona shines naturally through her actions, and allowing the story to reveal the depth of her character lurking beneath her snazzy facade would add even more nuance to her role. The combo of film noir tropes and quintessential Australian humour made for an unexpected niche, but one that worked brilliantly; I hope they continue to lean into it.

“The Ransom Letter” was saucy, irreverent, and a little cheesy in all the ways the best film noirs are. I look forward to seeing it transform into a fully-fledged, glitz-and-glamour production. When the time comes, you’ll definitely find me returning in my best flapper dress and pearls.

Photography by H Long Nguyen Tran and Nelly Huang

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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