Perth International Arts Festival, February 25. “In the beginning was the Word,” begins the Gospel according to St John, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But whose god prevails, given that every major religion has its holy book and claims the primacy of its word over all others? Sidi Larbi…
Little Shop of Horrors
Luckiest Productions & Tinderbox Productions. Hayes Theatre Co, Sydney, February 23. RESISTANCE is useless Earthlings. Little Shop of Horrors is back and roaring for warm blood. Human blood. Your blood. I doubt it will be denied, at least in cult-musicals circles. The greatly cherished show has an almost mystical following and, with this production, should…
New work at Queensland Ballet
Dance Dialogues, Brisbane, February 20. Classical ballet is the oddest thing. It has a tiny core repertoire – fewer than 20 works; perhaps less than 15 if you’re being very strict – that define it to the world at large. These are the full-length story ballets that audiences will reliably attend year after year and…
Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company
Perth International Arts Festival, February 11. Mostly when we see Kathak dance it is in the exhilarating contemporary form created by Akram Khan. Khan, who is of Bangladeshi heritage but born in the UK, has made a singular body of work – often with other high-profile artists – from the fusion of the ancient classical…
Claire Cunningham’s Guide Gods
Victoria Hall, Fremantle, February 12 It would be so easy, one imagines, for Claire Cunningham’s Guide Gods to be bristling with anger and reproach as it considers how religion deals with disability. At best it is a fast path to heaven, no further heavy lifting required, at worst it’s a manifestation of the devil’s work,…
Ballet at the Quarry
Five by Night, West Australian Ballet, Perth, February 10 The Quarry Amphitheatre is one of the loveliest performing arts venues in the world. The former limestone quarry is situated in bushland with views of the city beyond and on a balmy night – and that’s pretty much expected in February – there is nothing finer…
Double Blind
Stephanie Lake Company, Carriageworks, January 19. Melbourne, February 15-20; Brisbane, February 22. Stephanie Lake has danced with most of Australia’s best contemporary dance-makers and now, only five years or so into her choreographic career, she’s making a very strong bid to join them at the top table. At its first performance, during the Sydney Festival, Double…
Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid
Sydney Festival, January 8. The Hans Christian Andersen tale on which Meow Meow has based her new show is typically gruesome: an innocent young creature gladly endures unspeakable agonies in order to be close to Prince Right, only to see him promptly marry someone else. In an interview in November 2011, with Steve Dow, she…
Sydney Theatre Awards 2015
AT the Sydney Theatre Awards no one need ever fear a journalist asking them “who are you wearing” or indeed have any need of a stylist. There is no red carpet at the Paddington RSL, there are no TV cameras. The proceedings could be described as low-key, or even a little bit daggy if you…
Michelle’s Story, a film by Meryl Tankard
In 2011 the Brisbane Festival program included the celebrated Belgian company Les Ballets C de la B with Out of Context – for Pina, a tribute to the towering choreographer who died in 2009. Australian dancer Michelle Ryan was invited by artistic director Alain Platel to appear as a guest artist and although she had…
deborah jones: FollowSpot 