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| Joan by The Rabble |
I saw theatre in Melbourne, Sydney, Seattle and San
Francisco this year. There was a superb line-up of work at the Malthouse
Theatre and Theatre Works this year, as well as some tough comedy at the
Melbourne Comedy Festival.
Here’s my list of highlights, not ranked except the first.
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| Michael Luwoye as Hamilton in Hamilton |
1. HAMILTON by Lin-Manuel Miranda (San Francisco, North
American Tour)
I didn’t write a review of this show after I saw it in San
Francisco in August because I wasn’t sure what else needed to be said about this
astonishing musical about Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers.
I knew the songs backward; I had even seen a bootleg video recording. Nothing
could have prepared me for what I witnessed in that theatre. The direction is
superb; the choreography enhances the lyrics and the story in surprising and
moving ways.
The first North American tour cast was refreshingly
different than the original cast, whose voices I knew so well from the cast
recording. I am so used to seeing replica productions where the actors are cast
so close to the original actors that it can only invite comparisons. I didn’t
once think of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s performance as Hamilton as I watched Michael
Luwoye’s complicated, layered take on the character. I will never forget his
flood of tears during “It’s Quiet Uptown”.
THE REST OF THE TOP
TEN (alphabetical order)
ATLANTIS by Lally Katz (Belvoir)
A follow up to Stories
I Want to Tell You in Person, Katz is played to superb effect by Amber
McMahon. Rosemary Myer’s production was a wild ride through Vegas, New York,
Miami and Katz’s mind. Hilarious and heartbreaking.
AWAKENING by Daniel Lammin (45 Downstairs)
Taking the classic Spring Awakening and giving more agency
to the female characters and putting a modern context on the second half,
Lammin’s writing and directing blew me away.
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| Caravan |
CARAVAN by Angus Cerini, Patricia Cornelius, Wayne Mcauley & Melissa Reeves (Melbourne Festival/Malthouse)
Susie Dee and Nicci Wilkes inhabit their caravan-residing
mother/daughter duo in this biting satire that exposed a Melbourne Festival
audience to characters we so frequently see on our stages.
CHIMERICA by Lucy Kirkwood (Sydney Theatre Company)
A big, bold production of Kirkwood’s exploration of history
and personal responsibility and how a picture may contain a thousand words, but
none of them may be right.
THE ENCOUNTER by Complicite (Malthouse)
An immersive audio experience that, like Chimerica,
questioned a foreigner’s responsibility when entering other countries to report
on the world.
GLITTERY CLITTERY by the Fringe Wives Club (Melbourne Comedy
Festival)
Songs, game shows, audience participation and a strong
feminist message. I could have seen this show again and again.
JOAN by The Rabble (Theatre Works)
Another remarkable work by The Rabble, contemplating the
real and fictional history of Joan of Arc. The visual moments of this
production are seared on my mind but the glorious text late in the piece as
Joan finds her voice was equally stunning.
NANETTE by Hannah Gadsby (Melbourne Comedy Festival)
A farewell to her stand-up career, I saw this relatively early
in the year and then Gadsby performed it across the globe and across the
country dozens more times. Jokes without punchlines. Punch lines without jokes.
Devastating. A virtuosic performance.
WILD BORE by Adrienne Truscott, Zoe Coombs Marr, Ursula
Martinez (Malthouse)
A show criticising criticism. A takedown of lazy critics and
a challenge to even the best ones. Made me think harder about every work I
reviewed after I saw this one.
THE NEXT TEN
AMERICAN SONG by Joanna Murray Smith (Red Stitch)
A play about gun violence in America that hit me so hard, I
sobbed through the second half of this incredible production.
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| Angels in America |
ANGELS IN AMERICA by Tony Kushner (45 Downstairs)
Gary Abraham’s superb production of Kushner’s classic was deceptively
minimalist, but this show is so much about the words and the performances, you
don’t need to overdo it with stage magic. But the magic was there anyway.
AWAY by Michael Gow (Malthouse)
The classic Australian play is burned into my mind from high
school and from revisiting it on the page every few years. Matthew Lutton’s production
opened it up in ways that were refreshing and new and heartbreaking. And I am
so jealous of the school kids who were studying it this year and saw this show.
BOOK OF EXODUS, PART I by Fraught Outfit (Theatre Works)
Another incredible work from Adena Jacobs collaborating with
children.
MERCILESS GODS by Dan Giovanni (Griffin Theatre)
Little Ones’ stage adaptation of Christopher Tsiolkas’ short
stories is the mostly explicitly gay show and conversely their least camp/queer
work. Still remarkable in it simplicity and the strength of performances.
MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO by Richard Gadd (Melbourne Comedy
Festival)
This was a tough comedy show about sexuality and depression.
Unforgettable.
NICHE by Elbow Room (Northcote Town Hall)
Selling pop stardom along with feminism and the complications
when you are desperate for her brand to go viral. I need this show back and for
it to travel. Emily Tomlins and Erynn-Jean Norvill were, as always, incredible.
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| Niche |
THE REAL AND IMAGINED HISTORY OF THE ELEPHANT MAN by Tom Wright (Malthouse)
This was a tough show to watch, though a Wright/Lutton
collaboration is always elegant in its way. John Merrick’s life is both known
and unknown and this show tries to reconcile both sides.
A STRATEGIC PLAN by Ross Mueller (Griffin Theatre)
Art and commerce; it’s a tough balance to maintain. This is
a show about music venues closing down but it’s also about trying to make art
without compromise.
SPENCER by Katy Warner (Lab Kelpie, Chapel Off Chapel)
An hilarious family comedy about having high expectations
and never really meeting them. Great script, perfect cast.
OTHER MEMORABLE SHOWS
THE BASEMENT TAPES by Chapel Perilous (Melbourne Fringe
Festival)
CUCKOO by Jane Miller (15 Minutes from Anywhere)
DESERT, 6:29PM by Morgan Rose (Red Stitch)
FULLY SIK by Tessa Waters (Melbourne Comedy Festival)
FUN HOME by Lisa Kron & Jeanine Tesori (North American
Tour, Seattle)
MURIEL’S WEDDING: THE MUSICAL by PJ Hogan, Kate Miller-Heidke
& Keir Nuttall (Sydney Theatre Company)
THE NOSE by The Bloomshed (Melbourne Fringe Festival)
THE ONE by Jeffrey Jay Fowler (Melbourne Fringe Festival)
TOO READY MIRROR by Jamaica Zuanetti (Melbourne Fringe
Festival)
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| Desert, 6:29pm |
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