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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a moderately busy Sunday evening in Northbridge, my partner and I headed to the State Theatre Centre – this time to watch Duck Pond by Circa.
Circa are an acrobatic troupe that are based in Brisbane and are currently touring around the world with their various shows including Duck Pond.
Being an avid fan of all things acrobatic – I knew I would be in for a treat. And the Circa Ensemble of 11 fit looking troupe members way exceeded the realms of reality of what a normal person would physically be able to do – flipping, spinning, contorting and hurling themselves through the air – looking as nimble and light as a feather as they were airborne - which leads me to the theme for the evening – which was primarily about feathered creatures!
Duck Pond is Swan Lake cleverly reinvented by creator Yaron Lifschitz – a modern take on the ballet with a bit of Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling thrown in for good measure. But instead of the traditional version which is usually performed as a ballet – Duck Pond is acrobatic in nature and the story line has some surprising twists and turns along the way and some delightful break outs.
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a Thursday evening, my partner and I headed down to Freo.Social to watch The Jazz Room: Tribute to Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong by Fever.
As we entered the large cavernous room of Freo.Social which used to be the home of the Fly by Night Musicians Club for many decades and earlier was the Artillery Drill Hall in the 1890s, we were greeted by low dimmed lights and candles across the front of the whole stage to create a beautiful ambience. The audience enjoyed pre-show drinks and food from the bar as they chatted in small groups seated cabaret style.
Before long, it was time for the show to begin as members of the Jake Dennis band came on stage consisting of keyboardist Thierryno Gangou “Mr T”, double bassist Benjamin Anderson, saxophonist Tom Grebel and drummer Richard Pooley – then finally the lead singer Jake Dennis.
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- Written by: Greg Letts
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a cold and blustery Friday night my partner and I made our way through the uncharacteristically quiet Perth city streets to the State Theatre Centre of WA. Despite the inclement weather, we were not alone as parents, grandparents, family, friends and musical theatre lovers had made their way downstairs to the Studio Underground to watch the award winning musical Renascence, performed by WAAPA’s third year Music Theatre students.
I didn’t know anything about the play, but having been to a couple of other WAAPA productions at the State Theatre Centre, I knew I was in for a professional performance. And what a performance it was, with six of WAAPA’s finest owning the Studio Underground stage for the full two hour show.
Renascence, as it turns out, is a musical based on the early life and achievements of American Pulitzer Prize winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who was born in 1892 and died in 1950.
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
For some of us, making a cake is a seemingly simple event and we take it for granted. We go to our local supermarket, buy the ingredients, go home, mix the batter, put it in the oven, wait till it’s cooked and voila – we have a delicious cake to eat.
Not so for 9 year old Lamia (Baneen Ahmed Nayyef) – the main character in the movie The President’s Cake by Iranian film maker Hasan Hadi.
We follow the story of Lamia – who carries her beloved pet rooster Hindi everywhere she goes. She leads a life of poverty by the marshlands in Iraq with her grandmother Bibi (Waheeda Thabet) during the era of Saddam Hussein.
Unluckily, she is chosen amongst the students in her classroom to make a cake for Saddam Hussein’s birthday – an auspicious day – the ingredients for which her elderly and unwell grandmother can ill afford, but if she doesn’t deliver will have consequences.
Despite difficult circumstances, Lamia and her school mate Saeed (Sajad Mohamad Qasem) find simple games to play that find joy in the moment during their tumultuous journey to buy ingredients to make the President’s cake.
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a sunny Saturday morning, my partner and I wandered down Oxford St to watch Father Mother Sister Brother at Luna Leederville.
The trailer had caught my attention for its conversational dialogue style, and I had also spotted that Cate Blanchett and Charlotte Rampling were in the movie.
Father Mother Sister Brother consists of 3 triptychs exploring the relationships between members of different families.
The final story is about the connection between a brother and sister whose parents have passed.
The first 2 stories revolve around adult children with their own busy lives visiting their father and mother respectively – doing the dutiful thing with the relationships feeling courteous and civil yet somewhat also estranged and distanced causing discomfort for all.
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- Written by: Greg Letts
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a mild summer’s night, my partner and I headed into Perth to check out Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes at His Majesty’s Theatre, presented by Black Swan State Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre & Belvoir St Theatre. The stage set consisting of a large trash heap on the left side of the stage and otherwise empty space was a striking contrast to the opulence of the theatre itself. Having come to the show with a vague memory of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale and little else, I was intrigued about where Meow Meow would be taking us in the next hour and a half.
Once the last few latecomers had finally trickled in to the packed theatre and the show began, it was clear that we were not about to get a traditionally conservative take on The Red Shoes. With pianos gracefully gliding onto the set followed by Meow Meow being literally dragged on stage, we started with a mix of the graceful and the garish, and things only got weirder from then on, to the delight of the audience, who were obviously there to see the powerhouse Meow Meow do her thing.
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a balmy summer’s evening I headed to Windsor Theatre to watch Midwinter Break.
The trailer had caught my attention – about a middle aged couple who go on holiday to Amsterdam and their relationship challenges which could result in drastic life changes.
Based on the novel by Irish author Bernard MacLaverty and directed by Polly Findlay who has a theatre background, it tackles beautifully the inner workings of a long time relationship and its ensuing intimacy. Midwinter Break also examines the conflicts that come with knowing a loved one well, and the process of a reflecting on long term relationship to consider what the future might hold.