Dunstan Playhouse. 31 Dec 2013
This is how it should be done. No corners are cut in this touring production of the darling little mouse dancer's story.
Angelina Ballerina is one of the superstars of little girl world with scores of books and a rather good British television series featuring the voice of Judi Dench as Angelina's mum. But Angelina is a mouse and the temptation in delivering her live to the stage would be, and has been, to mouse her up with a big animal character head. In this show, written and directed by Miranda Larson, Angelina's mousiness extends only to tail and a dainty mouse headpiece. Thus, she truly comes alive on stage and I didn't hear a single child ask where the big mouse head was.
Larson has treated children with respect in this show. It opens with the sound of an orchestra tuning up and then there is a proper overture. The curtain rises on Angelina and her classmates at the Camembert Academy in Chipping Cheddar, England. That there are hip-hopping boys in the class lends boy cred - evidenced by the number of boys at the opening performance - and there's a bit of classic old boys-versus-girls shtick as the show rolls along.
This is a proper musical. It has wonderful, classy music composed by Barrie Bignold. It has terrific, lively and highly varied choreography devised by Matthew Cole and interesting, vibrant costumes from Isla Shaw who also designed the very versatile sets. The six performers have song and dance skills of West End standard and their rodent personalities shine through.
The Katharine Holabird narrative tells of the Camembert Academy winning a chance to appear in its pupils' favourite television program, Dancing With Mice. To this end, the mouse dancers must create their own dance production. Angelina is appointed Dance Captain and not only has she to try to devise a dance but also to manage her fellow students, all of whom have their own ideas about what should be featured in the show. This gives scope for lots of fun and games and some audience participation. The children would probably have liked a bit more of the latter.
A special highlight is the cameo appearance of a troupe of little local ballet students from Rebecca Mason's Dance Studio. They are little darlings, one of them quite tiny, two of them boys. It's another nice element in a well-devised, well-produced and well-performed touring holiday show. In its genre, it's up there in the five star department.
Samela Harris
When: Closed
Where: Dunstan Playhouse
Bookings: Closed
Her Majesty’s Theatre. 27 Dec 2013
After the success of The Illusionists in Australia last year a new world premiere with all new magicians, manipulators and illusionists opened in Adelaide on the 27th of December.
Once again showcasing the abilities of a team of 7 performers the slightly smaller scale show used Her Majesty’s Theatre stage rather than the larger Festival Theatre. That being said it was no shorter on production values than the first instalment. Master magician, Luis De Matos of Portugal compared the evening, introducing each of the acts and demonstrating some very clever tricks of his own. The rest of the team was a sort-of ‘mixed bag’ – some outstanding and others perhaps a little less impressive.
The success of the show lies in the selection of artists from a broad range of disciplines; from sleight of hand manipulators to risk taking weapons handlers, there is bound to be something for everyone in the production. For me the best of the performers was South Korean manipulator, Yu Ho-Jin winner of multiple international illusion competitions his sleight of hand technique was so astonishing and well-rehearsed that the entire audience was spellbound.
The Unusualist, Raymond Crowe of Australia was also a highlight with his quirky sense of humour and hilarious pseudo-ventriloquism act. Adam Trent as The Futurist completed my top 3 with his blend of magic and intermediality. Fusing technology with his performance he was able to give the audience a glimpse at what illusion might look like in the future – and his timing was impeccable!
Rounding out the performers were The Warrior, Aaron Crow, who was a talented weapons artist that slightly overworked his stunts for my liking, padding them out with excessive amounts of fluff that detracted from his evident skills – particularly with a bow and arrow; The Deceptionist, James More, a contraptions artist who also overworked his routines with large dance numbers designed to distract us, but who did perform a very convincing ‘compacting man’ routine that was impressively executed; and Dr Scott Lewis as The Hypnotist, whose act failed to convince me that hypnotism even exists despite the audience volunteer's family and friends enjoying the onstage antics of their loved ones.
Overall the second instalment of The Illusionists was an improvement on the first, proving that the sequel isn’t always worse than the original. The addition of 3D video and live streaming projection was innovative and effective, but might have been better enjoyed if there were glasses available for more than half the audience. All gripes aside it is a very enjoyable night out, well worth a look, and would be a great show for the kids.
Paul Rodda
When: Closed
Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Little Red Productions. Bakehouse Theatre. 18 Dec 2013.
Little Red Productions has arrived on the scene in a starburst of youthful promise.
Tackling the sturm und drang of Ken Kesey and Dale Wasseman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is nothing less than an ensemble of eager teens with their drama teacher. But theirs is no mere school production; this is a very earnest and focused group. Passionate, even.
Hibbert has done some bold adaptation of the play, punctuating it with musical routines which tick the boxes of youthful appeal. Indeed, the play's opening musical scene is so confrontingly loud that one fears one is going half mad, which certainly sets the mood for a play set in an asylum.
The Bakehouse stage is framed in white sheets and the set consists of a medicine cabinet and a few white milk cartons. The costumes are white and white rules the night - very effectively indeed, climaxing in the patients' rebellion when medical records fly through the air achieving quite a spectacular white. It's one of those ace theatrical moments one knows one won't forget.
The characters are introduced mincing on one by one for the ward medication ritual and thus, each actor can convey the idiosyncrasies of diverse mental conditions - Olivia Cirocco as the quasi-catatonic Chief clutching her mop, Sean Conneely all twitch and stutter as the nervous Bibbit, David Sandison, negativity in a dressing gown, Claire Robertson mugging madly as the infantile Martini and Bridie Rawson, a quivering nervous wreck as Cheswick. Rawson's portrayal is particularly compelling.
McMurphy arrives in the group fresh from court where, to escape prison, he has feigned insanity. This is the character famously played by Jack Nicholson in the film - a hard act to follow but young Aled McEwen gives it a fearless manic edge. If this character is catalyst to anarchical chaos, it is Nurse Ratched who is core and cohesion to the play. Nicole Laughton captures her beautifully as an ice queen, contained and controlling. She's an actress to watch.
The Little Red ensemble is slightly uneven in skills but the performances grow on one and by curtain time, a dark play has shown that there is light on the horizon so far as the next generation of Adelaide actors is concerned.
Samela Harris
When: Closed
Where: Bakehouse Theatre
Bookings: Closed