Signorinella: Little Miss (Italian Film Festival) Rating
★★★★★
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When they began migrating to Australia pre-World War II, Italian’s were given plots of land in the harsh outback to call their own. From there, they worked hard to ensure the land would thrive, build their businesses, and their families. Even while they were labelled as a threat by Australians in 1939, they didn’t let this stop them from building the best version of their lives.
“Signorella: Little Miss” explores how Italian women have contributed to the history of Australia, from fashion to politics, food to art, and almost everything in between. With feminism as the core theme, the interviewees are charming, lively women reminiscing on their stories in Australia, and showing a resilience that can only come from having to repeatedly explain to their friends and acquaintances that good food is so much more than just a Sunday roast of potatoes and carrots.
Through the documentary, we are treated to family pictures – some of which are brought to life, and animated to show smiling faces and happy interactions – showing the lives of the young Italians while they tell their stories. Some of these women were not allowed to leave Italy without first being married, and were married by proxy, with their husbands waiting patiently for them in Australia. We are treated to a beautiful story from one interviewee deciding to come to Australia after seeing a picture of her future husband, and creating a beautiful family together.
“… sometimes destiny takes you there whether we believe it or not.”
Some viewers will find it amusing that even then, through well-written letters and years-old photographs, men were catfishing women into marriage. So not many of these proxy weddings were meant to last.
We hear not only from Italian migrants, but also from politicians, activists, magazine editors, chefs, business owners, singers, and more. The women on the screen are inspiring, well spoken, and beautifully dressed. Some chose to speak in Italian, some in English, and some a little of both, but they all share the same passion for their heritage, and their homes.
The focus for the documentary is on how Italian women have been quiet, hard-working building blocks in Australia, but we can’t ignore the stories of how they have been girl-bossing since they found their way to Australia. From keeping their families afloat while the men were taken away to internment camps, to finding themselves smack in the middle of the “man’s world” and refusing to back down, these proud women are an inspiration to everyone.
Through the documentary we are told, and shown, the Italian outlook on life: Anything is possible. And these women prove that.
“Life is most beautiful when it is diverse.” Tina Arena.
Set in a mythical “once upon a time” sort of land, this is the story of a hulking green ogre who, after being mocked and feared his entire life by anything that crosses his path, retreats to an ugly green swamp to exist in happy isolation. Suddenly, a gang of homeless fairy-tale characters (Pinocchio, Cinderella, the Three Pigs, you name it) raid his sanctuary, saying they’ve been evicted by the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad. So Shrek strikes a deal: I’ll get your homes back, if you give me my home back! But when Shrek and Farquaad meet, the Lord strikes a deal of his own: He’ll give the fairy-tale characters their homes back, if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona. Shrek obliges, yet finds something appealing–something strange and different–about this pretty princess. He likes her a lot, but why does she always run off when the sun sets?
We arrive in the Alexander Theatre foyer to see a swamp hut setting the feel of Shrek’s humble abode, a queue in the merch line entices us to buy some support cookies in theme and a spotlighted ‘green’ carpet for pics with our program.
This show is no ordinary version; an ‘inclusical’ by the one and only Stars and The Moon theatre company for all abilities known as “STaM” in Melbourne – with care they pair up kind ‘castmates’ and those having a special need to give them more confidence to perform; though you envisage it might, it does not detract from the show’s appeal or amazingness having two people play the one character. In fact, it definitely adds to the fun!! The sets, costuming and lighting are also nothing short of professional and the packed audience agrees with constant cheering. If you’ve read enough, you actually only have a slim chance to currently secure tickets as most shows are sold out!
We sit down in our ‘green’ tonight to hear firstly a comical introduction over the mic saying no gingerbread men have been harmed in making the show haha and that everyone can get up and dance and wiggle in their seats. Then ‘The Magic Mirror’ above us featuring Paralympic gold medalist Dylan Alcott entertains us with his one-liners and opens the show in Clayton where we are about to see a journey of embracing who you are.
We know this is going to be a good night as ‘Big Bright Beautiful World’ hits us very big and very bright! I’m already a bit emotional at watching the castmates carefully coax some of the performers onto the stage and within seconds they are all quite at home, many excited doing their second or third show with STaM.
Shrek played by Cameron Miller and Zac Parkes is larger than life as always and they have him down true to the Shrek we all know from the movie, even his speaking voice is almost identical.
Princess Fiona played by Chelsea Dawson and Lottie Coombes is just gorgeous, they both smash every song with their vocal ability and certainly a duet to long remember.
Two of my faves were Asher Stanton and Jordan French playing ‘Pinocchio’ and Eitan Meyerowitz and Zac Chester playing Big Bad Wolf, but really, ALL of the fairytale characters are FANTASTIC to watch and they do lots of funny quirky things on the side.
My eldest daughter, an avid musical theatre lover and regular performer in shows herself, came with me to this show and she was saying all the way through ‘he’s good’ ‘she’s good’ ‘they’re good’ in every scene. She was super impressed by the ‘Dragon’ singers but particularly loves to watch the ensemble, so never think you aren’t noticed if that’s you, because you surely are. e.g. the dancing mice feet behind the curtain (how cuuute), the girls with the ‘Awww’ ‘Gasp’ ‘Laugh’ signs (instructions for us viewers), everyone under that enormous red creature (you made us love watching her every move), and the Humpties who picked up the bricks to carry them all off without dropping them – well done!!!
Shout out to Gabe Harari and Evan Lever for their kneeling, knee walking ‘Lord Farquaad’ – both were absolutely hilarious!! Equally hilarious were Guillaume Gentil & Daniel Geng as ‘Donkey’ – I don’t think I have laughed so much from one character in any show I’ve ever enjoyed.
Dance timing in straight lines you might not expect to be exact in a show with limited abilities for some of the performers, but they were fabulous and every smile at each other and movement showed how much they loved being up there together. So many beautiful costumes too brought the whole live energetic picture together. We were so close to the stage as well we could feel the excited enthusiasm and nothing could beat the flag waving by all – even all of us in the audience got that green flag stuck on our seat and flipped it around like crazy!
All in all, a swamp load of serious talent in this show – you all deserved that full standing ovation and I’m sure there were plenty of proud tears from family and friends too, CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!
Lauren McKenna – Director Michaela Raitman – Producer Campbell Borello – Production Manager SHREK – Cameron Miller & Zac Parkes PRINCESS FIONA – Chelsea Dawson & Lottie Coomes (Covers – Jessica Mond, Lizzie Locke) DONKEY – Guillaume Gentil & Daniel Geng LORD FARQUAAD – Gabe Harari & Evan Lever DRAGON – Dylan Don Paul (Dilonce) & Thanh-Tuok Autran
FAIRYTALE ENSEMBLE – Asher Stanton & Jordan French (Pinocchio), Ruth Ben-Danan & Alanna Baschera (Sugarplum Fairy/Gingy), Eitan Meyerowitz & Zac Chester (Big Bad Wolf), Teige Cordiner, Aidyn Patrzalek & Devin Goralsky (three Pigs), Mark J Rintoull, Zoe Better, Mia Decleva (The Bears), Ebony May & Katie McMillan (Fairy Godmother), Georgia Ellen & Danni Miller (Wicked Witch), Sarahbell Turvey & Tahli McLean (Duckling/Teen Fiona), Sayer Delves & Caomhe McCooey (White Rabbit/Baby Fiona), Alexander Gilbert & Jack Taylor (Peter Pan/Pied Piper), Jaimie Chapman & Tamara Stanton (Goldilocks), Jackson Harris & Mark Polonsky (Mad Hatter), Natasha Freiberg & Ellie Goldenberg (Humpty), Dani Filip & Shira Etzion (Hansel & Gretel), Jessica Mond & Jemima Scerri (Little Red)
GUARDS & DRAGON ENSEMBLE – Benji Kalkopf, Harry Stott, Brendan Saffer, Gilbert Esse, Tarus Fiu, Chris Patrzalek, Daniel Kraus, Sue Lesnjak, Lilly Lawrence, Lyndall Peachman, Jakob Demirel, Dan Don, Sienna Boorer, Savannah Mandile, Hayley Walsh, Raechelle Sibbing.
To find out more how you or someone you know with special needs and perhaps limited abilities can be involved with this very special theatre group see https://www.starsandthemoon.org/
Duration: Approx. 2 hours and 30 minutes including a 20 minute intermission. The show is easy access for all including assisted hearing, seeing-eye-dog friendly and wheelchairs of all sizes welcome. Wheelchairs on stage too with the performers loving every minute acting it up in this inclusical!
Venue: Alexander Theatre, Monash University Clayton Campus, 48 Exhibition Walk, Clayton. Free parking is available on site (more info). Please allow adequate time when planning your visit to find parking and the venue. Sometimes it is a 10minute walk from the car into the theatre.
‘THE MACHINE STOPS’ Stage Play adapted by Briony Dunn from the short story by E.M. FORSTER. Playing at TheatreWorks, St Kilda from 23rd – 30th August, 2025.
All fans of dystopian novels marvel at the predictions George Orwell made in his 1949 novel, ‘1984’ with many of the tech ideas proving to be true today.
E.M. Forster’s short sci fi story, ‘The Machine Stops’, from 1909, did the same thing way before Orwell did, and was then republished in 1928, translated into 10 languages and voted one of the best novellas up to 1965. During this time, the electric shaver, the television and landing on the moon all seemed sci fi to the masses.
In 2025, our modern-day debate heats up on whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) will destroy humanity and there are strong arguments on both sides, but there’s no denying AI systems that surpass human intelligence, or misalign with human values, could potentially lead to disaster.
Briony Dunn, Head of Writing/Directing and Stage Management at COLLARTS, has adapted Forster’s story for today’s stage, directed it, and co-designed the set for this Theatre Works production, along with Set Designers, Betty Auhi and Niklas Pajanti. Pajanti also designed the lighting, whick pulsates creatively, synchronising with the mood throughout the script, strikingly and is both ominous and futuristic.
The story is set in a world where humanity lives underground and relies on a giant machine to provide its needs. It predicts technologies similar to instant messaging and the internet. Forster pointed to the technology itself as the ultimate controlling force.
Both the set and the lighting are innovative and represent well the way the story would have played out in 1909 – or 1928 – and the way we may see an underground world today. The set imposes from the start, floor to ceiling metallic pillars – not quite to the floor – representing the control of the machine and symbolising its instant messaging, its regulatory power over its subjects, with its geometrical sequence on stage, columns lined in order, 4 x 4 presenting the boundaries humans live within, in a secular way. Only a single chair to the right breaks the sequence on stage.
We are introduced to a mother, Vashti, from the shadows backstage, moving slowly towards the light, which I felt could have been more powerful if done in much less time.
Mary Helen Sassman plays Vashti, Kuno’s mother, however they live on opposite sides of the world, both literally and emotionally.
Dunn’s play also realises this point drastically, focusing on the mother and the son, a juxtoposition without physical connection – at first.
Slick screen projections display grey communication between Vashti and Kuno, similar to our “Face-time”.
In Forster’s story, Vashti is content with her life, producing and endlessly discussing second-hand ‘ideas’ and using her work to avoid real in-person time with friends. Shades of social anxiety during Covid came to mind. Fascinatingly, this prediction from over a century ago has become true of some people today, who take clickbait and three-second sound bites from social media as their truth and real news.
In Briony Dunn’s stage play, Vashti is seen to contrast between happiness and habitual loyalty to the machine with a soul destroying, maniacal loneliness that Sassman portrays too well, almost as if she’s become part of the machine herself.
Kuno, played by Patrick Livesey, returns to his mother (and us) with the raw truth – quite refreshingly. Livesey’s performance had the energy of Richard Burton in Gielgud’s 1964 Hamlet, especially with his delivery of this soliloquy…
“We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralyzed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it.”
I look forward to seeing Livesey’s future performances.
A particularly clever scene when the machine finally stops and Vashti can no longer press buttons to satisfy her every need, shows Sassman’s Vashti spiraling desperately out of control.
Dunn’s ending is as Forster wrote and her adaptation is just as successful in providing a warning to humanity that its connection to the natural world is what truly matters.
Brisbane’s West End is pulsating as a capacity crowd converge upon Metro Arts Centre for Dance Nation, the latest offering from THAT Production Company. How apt, in an area known for its vibrant, multicultural and artistic atmosphere, we are treated to such multifaceted and exhilarating production, which deftly fuses theatre and dance into drama and comedy. Dance Nation follows a teenage dance troupe who aim for bright lights and competitive glory, while negotiating the complexities of young friendship, ambition and self-negation – equally embodying hilarity, hope and even some horror in the process.
The plot centres around a group of mostly female 13 years-old dancers, preparing for a big contest – plied with pressure on their path to success and recognition. However, the competition does not start under the bright lights of centre stage; The dancers must first endure their team’s own internal casting and rehearsal process and preparations – balancing personal ambition against loyalty and obligation to others as they vie for a principal part, bearing pangs of guilt and envy respectively from those chosen – and those not, as friendships hang in the balance.
Notable tension arises dancers Amina and Zuzu, who are both friends and competitors within their team, pitted against each other by Dance Teacher, and arguable tormenter, Pat. Dance Teacher Pat’s presence is un-nurturing, and we feel concern for these young girls (and Luke) for the tough, borderline-abusive discipline he imparts on them – and for his unsupervised access to this young, mostly female team – wondering what else he might be capable of or encourage.
Two of the other girls, Connie and Ashley, experience a more overt experience as targets from misplaced, inappropriate male gaze – from an adult stranger they encounter while awaiting their ride home from practice. While all of these young characters show general bravado, sass and the typical curiosity about sexuality that begins around their age, we watch uneasily how these 13-year-old girls are perceived, rather than protected. We observe Zuzu as her attention is not toward the safer, age-appropriate object of affection – Morgan Francis’s sweet, sincere Luke – toward a far older man who exerts coercive control and manipulation against a group of pre-teens – namely, Dance Teacher Pat, played with conviction by Cameron Hurry.
While touching on darker themes, Dance Nation succeeds by avoiding any gratuity or monotony – and each of the ensemble and supporting dancers bring a dynamic layer to the story. Along with the more dramatic themes, notably exemplified by Jeandra St James, bringing soulful grit and trepidation as Amina, Carla Haynes with calm charisma and dignity as Zuzu, and Thea Roveanu’s contradicting yet truthful blend of vulnerability and aggressive self-protection as Ashlee – there are many hilarious comedic moments, in addition to sincere, affirming and visually stunning ones – which create many of the show’s highlights. Johanna Lyon is a particular standout as Sophia, with superb timing and creative, uninhibited comedic delivery. Aurelie Roque makes her numerous smaller roles big, with instinctive dexterity and playfulness. Jessica Veurman gives a versatile, grounded performance as supportive, quietly assured Maeve, while Janaki Gerard shines with fluid and graceful dance and charming expression as Connie.
All of the performers bring polished energy to an engrossing, balanced script. It takes a lot of preparation to look so effortless, executing creative, complex choreography with seamless energy, in addition to fine delivery of dialogue. The hard work pays off beautifully in Dance Nation, undoubtedly enabled through the efforts of THAT Production Company’s talented Creative Team, led by Director Timothy Wynn. In summary, Dance Nation is a provocative and adrenaline-driven dramedy, where every distinct aspect blends into a textured and highly entertaining whole. The full gamut of human emotion is traversed with humour and unnerving honesty, further punctuated by captivating movement, lighting and sound. Highly recommended.
