Pinchgut : Rameau

Musically superb , here's my thoughts for Artshub about the triple bill

http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/lynne-lancaster/rameau-anacr%C3%A8on-and-pigmalion-253925

A triple bill of delicious intermezzi by Pinchgut.

Rameau: Anacrèon and Pigmalion. Photograph by Ilona Brooks, Pinchgut Opera.

For this year’s winter season Pinchgut have brought us a triple bill of three short opera (intermezzo), Rameau: Anacrèon and Pigmalion was full of superb exquisite playing by the Orchestra of the Antipodes on their period instruments. Energetically, enthusiastically directed by Erin Helyard, we are transported to the competitive opera world of Paris in the 1750s: viewing two actes-de-ballet by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau – Anacréon and Pigmalion – with the Italian Leonardo Vinci’s comic intermezzo Erighetta e Don Chilone by contrast in the middle.

Director Crystal Manich has concocted an overall conceit of having the three works staged as part of the preparations for a lavish costume party at a contemporary art gallery. With the gallery staff, donors and the like playing all the various characters. The ‘framing device’ is also used as a ‘mirror’ or reflection where at various points the characters view themselves – do they see us the audience observing?

The 21st century gallery itself is in grey, neutral colours with ladders, sliding plinths and a huge well stocked bar of drinks. The three works are all about love and desire, Rameau’s works being more serious, using the ancient myths and fables of the gods to explore philosophical ideas of the nature of love and reality for example. But Manich has also injected plenty of rude humour into the programme.

The first work is Anacréon, questioning whether love and drunkenness can be synchronized. Bearded Richard Anderson as a wealthy donor to the gallery becomes the drunken Anacréon who taunts his wife who then leaves him. He is in fine form and at one point is draped in a gallery dust sheet like a toga.  Lycoris (mezzo-soprano Allegra Giagu), his harassed wife, is decked with flowers as she looks forlornly out at the audience through an empty picture frame, alternately either ignored or drunkenly serenaded. Soprano Taryn Fiebig is the severe art academic and ex-wife of the donor, who becomes a fiery priestess of Bacchus, furious that Love should be praised in Bacchus’s temple.The choreography for her and her maenads is quite formal and stylized. Anacréon wakes up from his sozzled dreams in a storm and rescues an unhappy child who turns out to be Cupid (fabulous Lauren Zolezzi), and this begins a process of self-discovery in him that sets his world aright eventually.  Zolezzi’s supple, sparkling agile soprano soars as she is a mischievous Puck -like school-girl Cupid, her wings made of flowers in a huge floral bouquet. Her shimmering aria Avant ce jour, is a highlight. Anderson is contrite in his somewhat darker Sans Vénus et sans ses flammesi, before all ends charmingly in a joyous,celebratory ending where everything is put to rights and both love and wine are extolled.

Vinci’s Erighetta e Don Chilone  is presented as a play-within-a-play, Anderson and Fiebig ‘rehearsing’ with a script as assorted gallery staff observe. At times – as in all three works – they act as Japanese Koken unobtrusively scene shifting and helping with costumes. It is musically glorious and enthusiastically grabbed as a ‘comic’ showcase by Anderson and Fiebig. It has similarities in style to commedia del arte and Moliere’s oeuvre. The wit of the plot hinges on the contrast between the character’s interior monologues and their formal, polite exterior. As Don Chilone, Anderson is in fine voice and imposing in an ornate brocaded dressing gown. Fiebig has much fun stealing the show as the wily, scheming Erighetta. Her first aria is all lonely and sorrowful, lamenting her widowhood and uncertain status but then she has a wicked time dressing up in disguise as 'Doctor Feelgood’, prescribing marriage as the remedy for Don Chilone’s maladies.

After interval came the ravishingly exquisite Pigmalion by Rameau. The gallery preparations have madly increased and there is now a very long table laden with a feast and several candelabra. There is a mysterious mannequin hidden under drapes in the middle of the room. Pigmalion (Samuel Boden) looks like a fairy tale prince and has a limpid, languishing aria at the beginning bemoaning his love for the inanimate sculpture he has created .His voice is perhaps light but it is a performance of great virtuosity. Pigmalion gets into trouble with his would be girlfriend Cephise (Morgan Balfour) for ignoring her and she furiously stalks off. There is a magnificent ‘transformation scene’ coordinated by Cupid (Zolezzi again, but this time more restrained and refined and in a ‘trousers‘ role as a pageboy in a white suit) –  when Fiebig as The Statue becomes alive it is breathtakingly magical. There are perhaps allusions to Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier especially towards the end. Most of the remainder of the work is a hymn to the powers of love, with vibrant yet formal dancing as if from the French court at Versailles. There are perhaps allusions to Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier especially towards the end and the Gallery people change back at the conclusion to their 21st century selves (with a repeat of the ‘framing’ visual motif), and all ending happily. 

Opera, power and politics, (un)realities of plots and the development of  philosophical and musical ideas of Paris in the 18th century are brought into the 21st century in this charming programme.

 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Rameau: Anacrèon and Pigmalion

Pinchgut Opera's Anacréon & Pigmalion is at City Recital Hall until June 20

ARTIST INFORMATION
Taryn Fiebig: The Priestess of Bacchus (Anacréon), The Statue (Pigmalion), Erighetta (Erighetta e Don Chilone)
Richard Anderson: Anacréon (Anacréon), Don Chilone (Erighetta e Don Chilone)
Lauren Zolezzi: Cupid (L'Amour) (Anacréon), Cupid (L'Amour) (Pigmalion)
Samuel Boden: Pigmalion (Pigmalion), Agathocle (Anacréon)
Morgan Balfour: Céphise (Pigmalion)

Orchestra of the Antipodes
Erin Helyard Conductor
Crystal Manich Director
Alicia Clements Set Designer
Melanie Liertz Costume Designer

Matthew Marshall Lighting Designer

I Love You Now , Eternity Playhouse

A quite complex play here's what I said for Artshub
http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/lynne-lancaster/i-love-you-now-253919

The world premiere of this multi-layered work about love, lust and desire features two fine performances.

Photo credit: Robert Catto

The tango is a dance of sizzling passion and it links this play, opening it and being performed at various points throughout in assorted moods – fiery and passionate, exuberant and wistful.

I Love You Now is Jeanette Cronin’s third play; this is its world premiere. A multi-layered work about love, lust and desire, it examines intimacy in contemporary relationships. Cinematic in its approach and poetically structured, the piece jumps fluidly between its various characters, whose infidelities are played out in a series of short vignettes; the audience has to work out how they all fit together.

The set is an anonymous motel room, elegantly furnished (as designed by Isabel Hudon). The curtains are left drawn on the large windows so we can see the two musicians (Max Lambert and Roger Lock) who provide a sizzling yet thoughtful accompaniment. Martin Kinnane’s lighting is magnificent.

Kim Hardwick’s direction is excellent, the rhythm, timing and pacing sensational. According to Hardiwck’s program notes, each relationship ‘becomes a reflection of a reflection of a reflection’ – which at times makes this play a little confusing. Nonetheless, Cronin’s script has flair and elegance, as well as a great ear for dialogue, as she explores the escapades of the middle aged and middle class in their quest for sexual and romantic fulfilment.

Leo once loved June, but he’s now with Michelle. June is having an affair with Rob, Leo’s brother. Meanwhile, Leo is also having an affair with Melissa, the nanny. And June is also discreetly seeing Helmut, her personal trainer…

As the play unfolds we follow the various characters from when they first fall in love and tell each other everything, to when they fall out of love and fall silent.

Cronin herself plays all the female roles while Gleeson tackles the male characters. Both give accomplished, polished yet emotionally raw performances and display a terrific chemistry. At one point Cronin, who gives her all, is full of searing vulnerability, at another loud and foul mouthed. This is contrasted with the soft announcement of her impending demise in another scene. Bearded Gleeson, with a German accent for Helmut, is equally absorbed and absorbing in his roles.

I Love You Now asks the big questions. Does love run out? Is romance only limited by our imagination? How can you tell? How do you find the best words to break up a relationship? Its ending is poignant yet tense, and lyrically romantic.

3 ½ stars out of 5

I Love You Now
By Jeanette Cronin
Director: Kim Hardwick
Production Designer: Isabel Hudson
Sound Design & Composition: Max Lambert & Roger Lock
Lighting Designer: Martin Kinnane
Stage Manager: Kieren Smith
Choreographer: Pedro Florentino Alvarez
With Jeanette Cronin and Paul Gleeson

The Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst
Approximately 90 mins, no interval

9 June – 9 July 2017

The Ham Funeral , Griffin/Stables

A wonderful production most strange and exciting

Here's my thoughts for Artshub


http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/lynne-lancaster/the-ham-funeral-253774

LYNNE LANCASTER

Patrick White's play is glowingly brought to life in this Siren Theatre Co production for Griffin Independent.

This is a breathtaking production of a landmark play, riveting and humorous. Under Kate Gaul’s magnificent direction for Siren Theatre Company/Griffin Independent the strong cast give a terrific performance.

Written in 1948 by Australia’s only Nobel Laureate for Literature, Patrick White, and infamously rejected by the Adelaide Festival in 1962, the play was inspired by a painting called The Dead Landlord, which William Dobell painted shortly after helping his own landlady lift her husband's corpse onto the bed. The play is set in a dingy rooming house in post WWII London and is part lyric poem, part gothic drama; a strange, absurdist and disturbing analysis of the human condition.

This version had a very Australian (rather than London) atmosphere but it could be set in either city.

White's play follows the story of a young, would -be poet (the Young Man) and the increasingly perplexing relationship he shares with his landlady, Mrs. Lusty after her husband’s sudden death. We then see an unsettling, spirited pursuit of a young man by the grief-stricken widow after the relatives have departed the lavish wake (the titular Ham Funeral).

Written prior to the crucial works of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, close attention is paid by Gaul and the cast to the visionary text which is at times lyrical, featuring heightened poetic language, and at other times is bawdy and vulgar.

Jasmine Christie‘s set is minimalist, rather cold and clinical. The stage is black and reflective and there is a table in the middle of the stage. A couple of chairs are also provided. Various handy props (food, cutlery, garbage bins etc) are carried on and off. Hartley T A Kemp‘s lighting is intense and eerily atmospheric. 

Tall dark and handsome Sebastian Robinson is The Young Man (Mrs Lusty calls him Jack but that is not his real name). An unworldly poet manqué, he acts as narrator at times and we see how his life is completely changed and his innocence corrupted once he helps Mrs Lusty and becomes involved in planning his landlord’s funeral. He has a wonderful opening monologue introducing the play; assuring us it is as usual, ‘a piece about eels’. Thereafter we follow The Young Man on his moral and spiritual quest of self-discovery, initiated by his salacious landlady, Alma Lusty.

The opening scene introduces Mr and Mrs Will and Alma Lusty. When Alma invites their tenant for tea, Will (Johnny Nasser) is shown as a quiet and reserved, somewhat scruffy pipe smoker, whose only audible sound generally is his heavy breathing. He is casually dressed in shorts, a dingy top and slippers and mostly now communicates in groans and grunts.

Will Lusty has a short moment of dynamism when he upbraids Alma about her affairs, but then he suddenly collapses. Once she has enlisted The Young Man to help her with Will’s body, Alma then plans an imposing funeral at which the mourners will eat ham.

From there, Alma’s rollicking coarseness becomes even more obvious, highlighted in Act 2 when the Four Relatives come to attend the funeral.

Alma Lusty is a marvellous, show-stealing part and Eliza Logan is superb in the role – insatiable and sordid. She was captivating, catching the misery of her trapped, dreary, rather boring existence and we see how her barely hidden emotions range from loss, love, weariness, lust and despair. She also brings out the comedy in White’s script. In Act 1 she is tawdrily dressed in semi-negligee; in Act 2 she wears full mourning clothes in an incredible ensemble with gloves and a fabulous hat.

Guided by his beautiful ghostly alter ego (Jenny Wu, in a luminous performance) the Young Man becomes caught up in Mrs Lusty’s attempts to seduce him. The Young Man gives a very atmospheric description of the eerie house, with the poignant mention of the Lusty’s dead child, normally never talked about, and the previous accidents on the stairwell.

Fine ensemble work from the whole cast included the four, rather menacing relatives (Johnny Nasser, Andy Dexterity, Jane Phegan and Carmen Lysiak) who are presented in a perhaps cartoonish Absurdist or Expressionist style, with strange, over the top makeup yet dressed rather contemporarily.

In Act 1, two ladies (Jane Phegan and Andy Dexterity) are shown as strange, dumpster diving scavengers who unwittingly unearth a disturbing secret. Are they ostracised socialites? Part-time sex workers perhaps? Are they White’s way of representing the decay and decadence of society? As in Shakespeare they provide social comment and comic relief.

This is a fabulous production of this at times grotesque, mythological, symbolic, challenging and grippingly dynamic play.

4 ½ stars out of 5 

The Ham Funeral 
By Patrick White
Presented by Siren Theatre Co and Griffin Independent
Producer & Director: Kate Gaul
Assistant Directors: Sally Dulson, Phaedra Nicolaidis
Designer: Jasmine Christie
Lighting Designer: Hartley T A Kemp
Composer & Sound Designer: Nate Edmondson
Vocal Coach: Carmen Lysiak
Cast: Andy Dexterity, Eliza Logan, Carmen Lysiak, Johnny Nasser, Jane Phegan, Sebastian Robinson, Jenny Wu.

SBW Stables Theatre, Kings Cross
17 May – 10 June 2017

Twisted Element in Opus DUTI Studios Newtown

A most intriguing new work   http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/twisted-element-presents-opus-the-duti-studios-enmore/

TWISTED ELEMENT PRESENTS ‘OPUS’ @ THE DUTI STUDIOS ENMORE

JUNE 7, 2017 LYNNE LANCASTER

This was a strange, exciting, visually stunning work that can best be defined as a ‘dance theatre event’.

Twisted Element has finally returned (hooray) after several years hiatus and with a slightly changed name to bring us this ‘immersive and interactive contemporary dance theatre work’.

The ensemble work was strong and terrific, requiring precise control and there were some excellent solos and duets.

A lot depended on the special costumes the performers wore, as well as the lighting design which was very effective.

The electronic soundscape beeped, throbbed and hummed.

As we entered the space we were greeted by the sight of Charlotte Schinckel-Brown who was standing on a plinth. She was topless (but taped across revealing areas) and was wearing a long, specially formed skirt that was circular at the bottom. It was quite sculptural and the effect was beautiful and challenging. She used her arms in long stretched lines above her head or in angular poses. Eventually she descended and used the skirt in various formations.

There was a major extended solo for Sophie Carter in the first half of the work as she was the outsider, ‘cast’ away from the rest of the group.

For most of the show, the cast wore white costumes with short white skirts. For one section, however, they become mysterious, dangerous figures in black, and in the ‘Barbie doll’ section they wear pink outfits with silver wigs.

One of the main aspects of this work was the wonderful full face masks of energy lights the performers wore in various sections that gave a spectacular effect, sometimes as if they were futuristic aliens, at other times undersea creatures …or are they stars , atoms or microbes?!

Choreographically the work was fascinating and at times quite demanding. Dancers rolled, slithered, pulsated together in a huddled sculptural writhing mass …At another point they were like writhing, undulating sea creatures. Mostly the style could best be defined as ‘contemporary’ , and if you looked closely you could see snippets of influences of Butoh or even Martha Graham.

A couple of times the performers entered and moved down the rows of the audience.In one section most of the performers sat mysteriously veiled on a plinth – cocooned like as if a butterfly.

In another section, the dancers were robot like, and performed with very precise timing.

There was an interactive section as two of the ‘dolls’,  Naomi Hibberd and Jodie Toogood. had a very funny bump and meet duet, one of them ‘accidentally’ stealing the bag of the other, which then turned into them beckoning the audience forward and then sitting on the floor, while a couple of those closest to the performers were invited to help apply makeup.

The work contained multi layered references not only to ballet history and the work Coppelia but also sci fi and the way women are portrayed in society.

The work was brought to a spectacular end with a duet: two of the performers, Sophie Carter and Francesca Gozdek,  entered in full face masks, one leading the other on what at first seemed to be a leash but eventually turning into an umbilical cord and then becoming a long ‘braid’ of ‘hair’ that the dancers swirled and twirled in the exciting finale.

Running time an hour.

OPUS by Twisted Element was performed at DUTI Studios, 82-84 Enmore Rd Enmore on the  3rd  and 4th June 2017.

CREDITS-
OPUS was produced and choreographed by Angela Hamilton
Dance Collaborators:-
Charlotte Twitchwell Sophie Carter
Francesca Gozcheck
Charlotte Schinckel-Brown
Georgette Sofazis
Jodie Toogood
Sami Jane Smith
Naomi Hibberd

The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes at the Powerhouse

Much fun , one could really go back several times . http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/international-exhibition-sherlock-holmes-powerhouse-museum/    EXHIBITIONS

THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF SHERLOCK HOLMES @ THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM

JUNE 5, 2017 LYNNE LANCASTER

“Watson. Come at once if convenient. If inconvenient, come all the same.”

(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -The Creeping Man )

In this very  exciting exhibition history fans and Sherlockians are able to journey back to Sherlock Holmes’ Victorian London and help solve a fascinating murder mystery.

The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes opened on 3 June at the MAAS Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo and runs until 8 October 2017.

Museum visitors explore the science and mystery behind the world of Sherlock Holmes and the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, doctor-turned-author, and the man behind the legend.

Holmes was a chemistry and forensics expert ahead of his time, who used seemingly trivial observations of evidence that others missed, or interpreted incorrectly, to solve challenging mysteries.

The exhibition shows how his methods altered the way police work was conducted in the real world, leading the way to the modern forensics of today.

This exhibition features over 350 objects and some of it is interactive (or ‘immersive’ as the Museum refers to it).

Exhibition attendees assume Watson’s mantle and work side-by-side with Holmes, becoming his ears and eyes as he tackles a baffling new case. For example, carefully observing, we collect clues and we learn how to conduct footprint and blood splatter analysis, examine botanical samples (are any of them poisonous?) and try our hand at chromatography.

As we enter the exhibition we are handed a ‘notebook’, written exclusively for this exhibition by writer Daniel Stashower, Conan Doyle’s biographer, and in this large middle section of the exhibition the booklet gets stamped by various machines, to show you have seen that section, or cut to produce a code, or you produce a rubbing for example to help solve the crime.

Past the vehicle out the front driven by Robert Downey Jnr in the Homes movies, from the foggy single streetlamp entrance to the present day finale the sprawling extremely detailed exhibition is made up of three sections in five galleries :

When we enter, through panels with illustrations taking us back in time to 19th century London, the first section looks at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – On display are an original manuscript, letters, and illustrations through which guests will gain perspective on the experiences that influenced Conan Doyle in creating Sherlock Holmes.

There is a photo of Sir Arthur when he graduated from medical school in Edinburgh, and much mention of his various lecturers in particular Sir Joseph Bell and Sir Henry Littlejohn. There is a very rare and valuable copy of the 1887 Beeton’s Christmas Annual with the A Study In Scarlet story in it, and various editions of The Hound of the Baskervilles et al.

Mention is also made of the legendary Paget illustrations .There is also an Australian reference as mention is made of Fergus Hume’s The Mystery of a Hansom Cab ( which Sir Arthur was not at all impressed by).

There is also a fabulous extremely detailed reconstruction of the rooms at 221B and already our powers of observation are being questioned …

In the Science and History section you can try some experiments and discover the developments in science and technology in the 1890’s and how they have developed to become the forensic sciences of today.

We then become a detective – Watson or one of the Baker St irregulars perhaps – helping Holmes solve a new mystery. It is quite a ‘three pipe problem ‘and Holmes needs more data. Is Lestrade’s theory correct or does the evidence point another way?! What was ‘the worm’ the murder victim was muttering about when he died? (This is the large interactive section, where we learn about ballistics, blood splatters, poisonous plants, dragged footprints, send a telegraph by Morse code…).

Another famous Holmes case is alluded to as there are smashed busts of Napoleon that need to be reassembled if possible looking for further clues …

Once we have helped Holmes solve the mystery (did you figure it out?) the final section is the Culture of Sherlock – where you can browse through an enormous range of all things “Sherlockian,” from vintage Sherlock Holmes-themed card games, comics, magazines, radio scripts, movie and television show props and costumes…..

From William Gilette to Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett to Robert Downy Jnr and Benedick Cumberbatch , the movies and TV series are mentioned and there is a big section on both Sherlock and Elementary the current TV series. The global fascination with Holmes is examined and Sherlockian societies are mentioned (but alas no mention of the Sydney Passengers).

You can splurge delightfully at the shop ..
Come , Watson – the game is afoot!

The Sherlock Holmes exhibition runs at the Powerhouse until October 29, 2017.

 

Only Heaven Knows at the Hayes

This was brilliant ... here's my thoughts for Artshub http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/lynne-lancaster/only-heaven-knows-253853  Discover the hidden life of Sydney's Kings Cross in this powerful, compelling and at times quite dark musical.

This powerful, compelling and at times quite dark musical tells the hidden stories of gay men in Sydney in the 1940s and ’50s. Only Heaven Knows premiered in 1988, in the midst of the AIDS crisis, and Alex Harding’s script is crisp, at times deliciously wicked and witty, at others poignant and extremely moving. 

The musical follows Tim, a young man who aims to be a playwright and who discovers his sexuality and own community when he moves to the brash, bold lights of Kings Cross from Melbourne. The first half of the show is set in 1944. Tim and his friends suffer oppression – sometimes being beaten up and/or imprisoned for being gay – but there is a great sense of community and support in their lives. The second half is set in 1956 – the repressive Menzies era, when everything changed.

The central story of the show is the love between Tim (Ben Hall) and the warm hearted Cliff (Tim Draxl) an ex-soldier turned window dresser. In Act 2, 1956 Kings Cross is a hollow replica of its old self, although Arthur Stace’s ‘Eternity’ message is still around. Tim and Cliff are living together, but under the public façade of being cousins, to reduce the risk of scandal. Everywhere the atmosphere is furtive and everyone is nervous.

The fine direction by Shaun Rennie is loving yet quietly understated, and deftly balances the personal with the political. Brian Thompson’s elegant, minimalist set is deceptively simple and consists of four multi-level split platforms of what appears to be marble, and a gold/silver (depending on the lighting) curtain. Ellen Simpson’s choreography is splendid, perfectly showbiz and in the style of the era. Michael Tyack on piano, hidden behind the set, provides excellent musical accompaniment and the cast deliver the songs with gusto and panache. Trent Suidgeest’s lighting is fluid and atmospheric.

Tim is delightfully played by Ben Hall – young, fresh faced and in excellent voice. He perhaps a little nervously, weak and unsure, but soon grew into the role superbly. As the musical unfolds we follow Tim’s journey from an innocent, enthusiastic teenager through to a young man seizing the chance to create a life for himself.

As Cliff, the suave, chiselled Tim Draxl is terrific in a heartfelt , passionate performance that reveals genuine emotion and vulnerability. His performance of moving, eponymous number towards the end of the show brings the house down. Together, Hall and Draxl work to make Cliff and Tim's last scene together a heartbreaking one.  

Hayden Tee shines in her doubled roles. She gives a scene-stealing performance as the ghost of Lea Sonia, a female impersonator from the Tivoli circuit who was violently murdered in 1943, and who here acts as narrator, introducing us to the brash, colourful world of the Cross. She illustrates how much Sydney has changed over the years (some contemporary references have been added into the script) and appears in spectacular costumes – two of which are based on Sydney icons. Tee also plays Lana (real name Geoffrey, which he hates), the most colourful and audacious member of the gang, who has nothing but love and concern for his friends.

One of the highlights of the musical, which is extremely moving, is Lana’s monologue in Act 1, delivered to the ashes of ‘Georgette,’ a good friend who has recently passed away. Lana decides to scatter the ashes in a public toilet block in Hyde Park in memory of the many nights he and ‘Georgette’ spent there having sex with strangers. It is delivered tenderly and with great sadness and dignity.

Guinea, Tim’s landlady, a nightclub singer and single woman, is looked down upon because of her status. Blazey Best however gives a show-stopping, sultry, glamourous performance in the role. Her sizzling Blues number, ‘Ain’t It a Shame’ in Act 1, has the audience eating out of her hand.

We also meet Cliff's best friend Alan, brilliantly portrayed by the darkly handsome Matthew Backer, who gives a sensitive, finely nuanced performance of incredible range. Very charming and funny in Act 1, this changes in Act 2 as he desperately seeks to deal with significant shame and self-loathing. The play’s darkest, most shocking and disturbing scenes are in Act2 as Alan tries to deny his real self and rid himself of homosexual feelings. 

At the centre of Only Heaven Knows is a traditional gay romance which also now stands as a call for equality. Harding’s play, celebrating radical difference, also lets characters discuss casual sex in a playful, frank and authentic way which differentiates it from other gay dramas set in the same era.

This powerful, thought provoking and very moving production informs Sydney audiences of their history. It’s also a powerful statement about acceptance and marriage equality. 

4 stars out of 5

Only Heaven Knows
Music, Book, Lyrics: Alex Harding
Director: Shaun Rennie
Cast: Mathew Backer, Blazey Best, Tim Draxl, Ben Hall, Hayden Tee
Running time allow 2 hrs 45 mins (roughly) including one interval

Back again

hi devoted readers
sorry I have been away for a while .... madly busy but also sick ( and still  not quite well , still trying to recover).
A rave for the STC's excellent Cloud 9 and the gorgeous cat film Kedi ( purr purr) . The film A Quiet Passion about Emily Dickinson was very strong and most impressive ..
 

anyway , now for a lot of updating

Lynne