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Life’s Journey with Rick Springfield

22/07/202522/07/2025 Martha Graham🆕

Late Late At Night: The Rick Springfield Story Rating

★★★★★

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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/.

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Agatha Crispie

20/07/2025 Debra Campbell🥈

Agatha Crispie Rating

★★★★★

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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

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Shakespeare In Hollywood

20/07/2025 Barry Hill OAM🥉

Shakespeare In Hollywood Rating

★★★★★

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“Playwright Ken Ludwig is to contemporary domestic stage comedy what Arthur Miller was to the dramatic theatre of his time.”— Contra Costa Times

The Adelaide Repertory Company brings Shakespeare to the masses with their latest production of Ken Ludwig’s Shakespeare in Hollywood.

Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and winner of The Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play of the Year (the MacArthur Award), Shakespeare in Hollywood combines one of the bard’s greatest works with Hollywood royalty of the 30s and 40s

Set in1934, Shakespeare’s most famous fairies, Oberon and Puck, have magically appeared on the set of the Warner Brothers movie of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Overcome by the glitz and glamour of show biz, the two are cast to play (who else?) themselves. With a little help from a magical flower, a blonde actress and a movie mogul, the results are hysterical.

Director Jude Hines is no stranger to comedy having directed the bitter sweet new version of Mother and Son last year and the highly successful Jersey Boys for Therry Theatre in 2024.

Hines has gathered a talented, highly enthusiastic cast of sixteen, many who play multiple roles. Her blocking is meticulous and the production is ‘slick’ with particularly well-rehearsed scene changes. Her knowledge of the 30s Hollywood period is detailed as is her knowledge of A Midsummer’s Night Dream; essential if they are to be seamlessly blended.

Her vision is enhanced by Gary Anderson’s set design dominated by a large tree that could have come straight out of Camelot or Brigadoon, Ian Barge’s lighting with its beautiful contrast of a brightly coloured fairydom complete with magical smoke, the more austere studio lighting and the striking downlights for the phone call scenes and Sandy Whitelaw’s evocative costumes. (special mention to Oberon’s crown by John Duval and Ushmo Prem and Bottom’s head by Aryahna Tyree).

Stephen Bill’s Oberon is everything we would want the king of the Fairies to be, mysterious and with immaculate diction. He is the lynch pin to the production and carries the mantle of leading actor with ease.

Emily Burns’ Puck is mischievous, bold, and a worthy accomplice to Oberon. I loved her repetitive exit line, straight from Shakespeare.

Ben Todd’s Jack Warner is suitably boisterous and demanding and a great foil to his assistant Daryl and Max Reinhardt. He commands the stage in all of his scenes.

Sam Wiseman’s Max Reinhardt reminds us of the conflict in Germany during the 30s and strikes more than a comparison to the current head of the USA. I loved his scenes with Will Hays.

Adam Schultz’s Will Hays is narrow minded, pedantic and the enemy of Hollywood film of the time. His scene when becoming the ass from Pyramus and Thisbe is hysterical.

Leah Lowe’s Olivia Darnell is a character we can all sympathise with, a young star who is uncertain of her talent. Her scenes when she falls in love with Oberon are moving.

Jasmine Duggan’s Lydia Lansing steals anything not nailed down with her over the top performance as the blond actor with more determination than talent. She is a pleasure to watch.

Penni Hamilton-Smith’s Louella Parsons is suitably loud and pushy all wrapped in gorgeous gowns.

Malcolm Watson nails every laugh as Joe E. Brown/Groucho Marx and Harry Warner. His version of Thisbe brought the house down.

The cast is completed by Kieran Drost as the bumbling Daryl, Matthew Thompson as Dick Powell, Tom Adams as Jimmy Cagney/Sam Warner, Nicholas Elborough as Tarzan/Albert Warner/ensemble and Mike Leach, Esther Burnett and Wendy Peecock making up the hard-working ensemble.

My only slight reservation with this fun-filled production is the length of some of the blackouts of which there are many. Devising some business to cover the changes would have kept the pace at a consistent level.

Shakespeare in Hollywood is a welcome escape from the woes of modern day and makes Shakespeare easy to understand for the novice. This is a large cast play and a credit to Jude Hines, her cast and crew and the Adelaide Repertory!

Photo Credit – Richard Parkhill

To book tickets to Shakespeare In Hollywood, please visit https://adelaiderep.com/season-2025/shakespeare-in-hollywood.

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1 in 7 and The Audition Helpers

20/07/202520/07/2025 Claire Mulcahy🥉

Two New Australian Plays (1 in 7 | The Audition Helpers) Rating

★★★★★

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1 in 7

Waiting rooms, particularly those of the medical variety, can be emotionally fraught places. People sit waiting for information, test results, that may possibly change their lives forever. Vivien Thomas in her first one-act play for Manly Theatre Group has chosen a hospital waiting room as the setting for an ensemble piece that focuses on a confronting statistic: one in seven Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetime.

While an ensemble piece, much of the focus is on the character Tina, who we soon learn can be abrupt at times. In the first few minutes of the play, Tina clashes with the clinic counsellor (played by Ella Green), finding the professional’s demeanour too cool for her liking. It is clear that Tina is very stressed; she has been called back to the clinic because of a shadow on her mammogram. She’s a busy mother, evidenced by the phone calls she receives in the waiting room from her children asking ‘where’s my wetsuit?’ and ‘what’s for lunch?’ Tina, like so many other women, doesn’t have time for cancer; too much depends on her being well.

Early on in 1 in 7, tears flow. Alongside Tina in the waiting room, is a woman distraught at the thought that her sister, who has left the room to receive her results, may have cancer. The other waiting women rally around her providing comfort in her moment of need. When her sister emerges, the news is good: she does not have cancer. After the pair leaves, the other women reflect on whether it is better to put on a brave face or to cry, letting out the distress one feels obliged to contain. It’s a question that runs through the play. How do we deal with our emotions when confronted with our mortality?

Thomas has created a group of characters that anyone might expect to meet in any waiting room in Australia. Tina, played by Trish Donoghue, is a gutsy, salt of the earth Australian mum who is prone to rants about the cost of living and climate change. Liz Jewell plays Joan who has just retired. She and her husband have booked a trip of a lifetime to Europe. Will cancer upend her neatly planned future? Particularly poignant is Karen Pattinson as Mrs Collins. Her bombastic behaviour in the waiting room is a cover for a woman who is deeply distressed. She demands her test results, saying she does not have time to wait. We are again reminded of the life pressures so many women juggle each day. As Tina says: Be kind. We don’t ever really know what another person is going through.

Manly Theatre Group’s Artistic Director Kathleen Walker, Vivien Thomas and the cast have done a great job in producing a performance that is highly topical and emotionally moving. Like a memento mori, the play is a reminder of how fragile and precious our lives are. We are reminded to support each other in our darkest moments, reaching out rather than retreating into the straitjacket of stoicism. The play is also a timely reminder of how stretched so many Australian women are by caring for others. Let’s remember to care for them too.

The Audition Helpers

Carlin Hurdis’ one-act play is a very tongue in cheek comedy that captures the back stage bitchiness of an amateur theatre group. Auditions are being held for a production of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Two unnamed ‘helpers’ stand in a room coordinating the audition process. The helpers soon reveal themselves to be jaded, ‘never-been’ actors; both are on the wrong side of fifty, now relegated to behind the scene roles. Their dialogue is peppered with catty attacks masking the insecurity that so much of the acting world breeds.

The Audition Helpers might be described as meta-theatre. Certainly theatrical allusions are in plentiful supply throughout the piece. The helpers name-drop like there is no tomorrow, passive aggressively competing with each other as to who knows who in the world of (amateur) theatre. Particularly amusing is one auditionee’s choice to perform a monologue from Edward Albee’s satire The Goat—cue off-colour jokes about goats.

The cast clearly relish their roles in a particularly self-reflexive way. Both Gregory J. Thorsby and Frank Byrne capture the desperation of two over the hill actors determined not to be discarded. Their behind the scenes machinations lead to a particularly amusing (and sneaky) denouement. Alisan Smotlak is suitably over the top as the director who is clueless about what her helpers are getting up to. Danny Nercessian plays camp and goth perfectly doubling up as two very different auditionees. John Corrigan and Elaine de Jagger show great comedy chops also.

Hopefully we will see more of Carlin Hurdis’ clever work in the near future!

To book tickets to Two New Australian Plays (1 in 7 | The Audition Helpers), please visit https://events.humanitix.com/manly-theatre-group-presents-1-in-7-and-the-audition-helpers.

Photographer: Neil Thompson Rees

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