Christmas has arrived a month early at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre, with Jack Thorne’s version of the Dickensian classic A Christmas Carol delighting the head, heart, and senses. Winner of five Tony awards (for solid reason), and powered by a brilliant star cast with David Wenham at the helm, this production is elaborate, creatively loaded, andContinue reading “A Christmas Carol”
Author Archives: Jaya Berged
K-Box
After living 30 years of her life the only way she can remember how (the way her adoptive parents taught her, who brought her from Korea to Australia), 34 year old Lucy finds herself experiencing an unravelling. Having left her partner and her job, she has returned home to her parents’ and found her roomContinue reading “K-Box”
Katyń
It is a rare experience to leave a theatre feeling deeply impressed with high octane performances and creative skill while simultaneously feeling absolutely at sea about the content of the show you just watched. Katyń at La Mama Courthouse delivered this experiential paradox with Jim Daly and Carolyn Bock showcasing immense theatrical talent in theirContinue reading “Katyń”
Macbeth
The Australian Shakespeare Company’s productions at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens are always an enjoyable experience, having a very high baseline with picturesque surroundings, evening melting into night, quality texts and highly skilled performers and creatives. One of this season’s offerings is Macbeth, a dark and violent tragedy filled with prophesy, bloodshed, and ruthless ambition, perfectlyContinue reading “Macbeth”
Marvellous
Hester Joyce and Meredith Rogers play two nonagenarian women and their 60+ daughters in Marvellous, a show about the everyday lives, memories, and evolving experiences of elderly and aging women. This is a subject matter that is not often in the limelight in mainstream media depictions, and is sensitively explored and presented in this play.Continue reading “Marvellous”
Jofus and the Whale
Live shows have returned to La Mama, with Jofus and the Whale by Lily Fish (Fish and Twiner’s Bait Shop theatre company) opening at La Mama Courthouse on February 9 as part of Love Fest 2021. Inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, this show is an energetic, engaging and endearing comedy about a person andContinue reading “Jofus and the Whale”
Come From Away
Gander: a remote town with a once-important international airport on the island of Newfoundland in Canada, on the easternmost edge of the North American continent. Population: approximately 9000… except during the week following September 11, 2001, when the town unexpectedly found itself playing host to nearly 7000 additional people, visitors from across the globe whoseContinue reading “Come From Away”
The Love of the Nightingale
After almost a whole year of being cut off from live theatre, it felt surreal to return to Theatre Works for my first show of 2021, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Love of the Nightingale directed by Simran Giria. The return to three-dimensional entertainment after prolonged reliance on screens felt even more dramatic with Theatre Works’ covid-safeContinue reading “The Love of the Nightingale”
[Take Over!] Queen Esme of Collingwood
One character: the titular Esme (played by Kate Hood), a wheelchair user who lives alone on the 17th floor of a housing commission estate where the lift doesn’t always work. Two goals: an exploration of what living with disability can look like, and how accessibility can be embedded into theatrical performance. Three monologues: the first,Continue reading “[Take Over!] Queen Esme of Collingwood”
[Take Over!] We’ve Been Here Before
Govind Pillai and Raina Peterson (Karma Dance) have been working on a new show, We’ve Been Here Before, a work that explores themes of isolation and pandemic life, approaching them through metaphors and traditional-contemporary expressions of Indian classical dance. A preview into the development of this work was live streamed as part of Take Over!Continue reading “[Take Over!] We’ve Been Here Before”
Jaya Berged 