treading the boards

theatre, dance, performance

All Of Us

Following another review in The Saturday Paper, I looked up online a play that is part of the UK’s National Theatre At Home subscription streaming service. The play I was interested in is All Of Us, which tells the story of Jess, a woman who is a therapist, has a doctorate in psychology and has …

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Shakespeare Unbound

It’s one thing to have a clever idea, such as telling the story of William Shakespeare’s life and work through the eyes and voice of one of his fellow actors, a colleague who outlived the Bard and was among those responsible for ensuring that his plays survived in written form. And it’s another thing to …

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Smash, Bread & Circus, 1984

I came across this clipping of a review from 1984, and it brought back a few memories. After stints with the (then) NSW Theatre of the Deaf in 1982 and the Marionette Theatre of Australia in 1983, I was Sydney-based and an experienced theatre-in-education performer when TIE was at its height as a crucible of …

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Speaker Training Workshop

Why Speaker Training? Web Directions is known for being committed to helping web professionals acquire and hone skills, ideas and attitudes that can help them in their working lives. This is most obvious in the major events we organise: conferences and workshops in Australia that bring acknowledged experts from around the world here to share …

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Merrigong Season 2016

I used to think Merrigong Theatre Co was forced to be what it is – an entrepreneurial regional theatre company that brings in touring shows and allocates some space for a local show – by circumstance alone, but I reckon now Simon Hinton is a bit of a genius in how he puts programs together. …

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vince jones

It must feel pretty good to stand on a stage under a spotlight in front of an audience and open a show by saying, “I’m a jazz singer”. Vince Jones says it as a simple statement of fact, and goes on to explain just what that means. “A soul singer uses a diatonic scale and …

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the giacomo variations

I went to see the Sydney Festival production of The Giacomo Variations at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday night. It was as challenging, engaging and inspired a piece of theatre as I have seen in many a day. To my mind, it is ideal festival fare, stretching the boundaries of how theatre and music …

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lipsynch

Hazel and I went to Sydney to see Lipsynch, the latest theatrical work by Robert Lepage‘s company Ex Machina to come to Australia. Canadian Lepage has acquired a reputation as a global theatre practitioner, one who succeeds in creating theatre that is meaningful, modern and international. His projects bring together actors, writers, designers and technicians …

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thieves like us

I went to see an interesting piece of theatre last night, a new Australian work by Marcel Dorney. Thieves Like Us was originally commissioned by La Boite Theatre in Brisbane, which is where the playwright’s friendship with director Jamie Dawson grew. Brisbane is also the setting for the play, which naturally affords some comic moments. …

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ying tong

I went to a performance of Ying Tong – A Walk with the Goons in Wollongong last night. It’s a terrific piece with a great cast, led by Geoff Kelso (an actor who has long specialised in playing “exceedingly silly”) as the late, lamented Spike Milligan, a true master of comedy. Spike is in an …

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