INTERVIEW: Joe Lui | SELKIE
Renegade Productions is back in action at The Blue Room with its latest production SELKIE. Written by mythology enthusiast Finn O’Branagáin and directed by Renegade’s main man Joe Lui, SELKIE is a contemporary look at the Gaelic mythical creature, a seal in water that sheds its skin to become human on land. We speak with Joe Lui about delving into new creative and directorial territory. “It’s my first time working with dancers. I’ve got Laura Boynes choreographing and two dancers, Kynan Hughes and Yilin Kong, who I’ve worked with in the past in various roles, but I’ve never put dancers … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Joe Lui | SELKIE
REVIEW: Picnic at Hanging Rock | BSSTC
Valentine’s Day 1900 wasn’t a good day for a picnic at Hanging Rock. What should have been a nice outing for a bunch of giddy, buttoned-up, kid-gloved schoolgirls turned into a nightmare that lives on in our collective psyche. It’s pure fiction, but that doesn’t matter, we believe it anyway. Joan Lindsay’s story struck a chord that keeps reverberating with audiences forty years on, and though it’s a fascinating mystery, it remains difficult to dramatise. Lindsay spends a long time describing landscapes and gardens, and her account of events remains rather dry and detached, leaving us to read between the … Continue reading REVIEW: Picnic at Hanging Rock | BSSTC
INTERVIEW: Brad Cohen | The Riders
Perth opera lovers will have noticed a change in WA Opera’s 2016 season under the artistic direction of Brad Cohen. He’s listened to the feedback of patrons, stakeholders and general public who appeared to have finally had their fill of the ususal hits from Verdi/Mozart/Puccini, and he has made a clear shift in content this year. Cohen speaks to us about the sea change, and how WAO’s next production of The Riders, by composer Iain Grandage and librettist Allison Croggon, based on the novel by Tim Winton, fits into his plans. I spoke with Cohen just a couple of days after music rehearsals … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Brad Cohen | The Riders
INTERVIEW: Will O’Mahony | The Mars Project
Will O’Mahony knows when he’s onto a good thing. Last year, he wrote and directed a play commissioned by WAAPA for its third year acting students called The Mars Project, and rather than shelving it and letting it live on in the memories of those lucky enough to be in or see the original production, he’s doing the play again for The Blue Room under his production company, The Skeletal System. This is a good move in terms of O’Mahony’s progress as a playwright, as he can further massage the material and test its viability in a slightly different format, but … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Will O’Mahony | The Mars Project
REVIEW: EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT | LOTTERYWEST FESTIVAL FILMS
Writer/director Ciro Guerra has made a number of impressive achievements in his career thus far, with all three of his feature films being Colombia’s entries in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards in the year of their release. His latest, Embrace of the Serpent, was the first Colombian film to ever be nominated, and it’s enjoyed pretty much universal acclaim from critics. Embrace of the Serpent is made up of two entwining tales, with one story taking place in 1909, the other in 1940. It was based loosely on the field journals of two scientists – … Continue reading REVIEW: EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT | LOTTERYWEST FESTIVAL FILMS
REVIEW: RAMS | LOTTERYWEST FESTIVAL FILMS
Iceland: where the jumpers are woolly, the men are woolly, and even the landscapes are woolly – with sheep. At least, that’s how it is in Rams (Hrútar), an Icelandic drama written and directed by Grímur Hákonarson. Two sheep farmers (Sigurður Sigurjónsson as Gummi and Theodór Júlíusson as Kiddi) live on neighbouring blocks of land with mere metres between their homes, but haven’t spoken to each other for forty years – and they’re brothers. The tension between the two is palpable, particularly when they’re both at a sheep competition and – you guessed it – only one brother can … Continue reading REVIEW: RAMS | LOTTERYWEST FESTIVAL FILMS
REVIEW: The Wild Duck | PIAF 2016
Containment. Confinement. Inescapable circumstances. Voyeurism. As soon as the lights go up on Simon Stone and Belvoir Sydney’s The Wild Duck, we know immediately what we’re in for, because we see it right before our eyes in the form of a rectangular glass set. There’s a live duck flapping on cue trapped inside, an ever-present symbol of the transgressions that plague the play’s constituents. This Ibsen revamp is quick and sharp, shooting directly to each plot point as if they’re all acutely aware of some looming deadline. Scenes proceed in rapid-fire succession, each a tiny cliffhanger in a series of … Continue reading REVIEW: The Wild Duck | PIAF 2016
REVIEW: THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON | LOTTERYWEST FESTIVAL FILMS
I was a big fan of the Scottish television series Hamish Macbeth as a kid. Robert Carlyle played the title character and I thought he was ace. I enjoyed him very much as Begbie in Trainspotting, and later in The Full Monty. Since the heady days of the mid to late 90s we haven’t seen Carlyle much – so it was a pleasant surprise to see him on the bill of Lotterywest Festival Films. The black comedy The Legend of Barney Thomson gives us a peek into the life of an unpopular Glaswegian barber named Barney Thomson (Carlyle), who ekes … Continue reading REVIEW: THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON | LOTTERYWEST FESTIVAL FILMS
REVIEW: Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid | PIAF 2016
Perth’s love affair with Meow Meow began when she blew into town for the first ‘official’ Fringe World in 2012, gracing the Spiegeltent with her unpredictable whims, her buxom assets and luxurious vocals. She’s been back to Perth once or twice since then, but has mostly been jetsetting around the globe, playing with the most famous orchestras in the most hallowed halls. And now she returns to our glitzy capital city as a veritable cat empress with her latest tour de feline force, Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid. A PIAF co-commission with Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Festival, Meow Meow’s take on the Hans Christian Andersen … Continue reading REVIEW: Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid | PIAF 2016
REVIEW: No Guts, No Heart, No Glory | Common Wealth | PIAF 2016
Queen Street Gym is playing host to a different kind of crowd this week, as PIAF and UK theatre-makers Common Wealth take over their ring and punching bags with the in-your-face boxing performance No Guts, No Heart, No Glory. Five young Muslim women have decided for various reasons to take up boxing, and the show explores the conflicts and glories that arise from this unorthodox choice. Written by London-based writer Aisha Zia, developed with five 16–23 year-old Muslim women and the former UK national champion Ambreen Sadiq, No Guts, No Heart, No Glory is a powerful look at the point where culture, religion, society and … Continue reading REVIEW: No Guts, No Heart, No Glory | Common Wealth | PIAF 2016
Perth Arts Live 