THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE (PLAY)

 

Written by Martin McDonagh

Directed by Cate Clelland

Free Rain Theatre production

ACT HUB Theatre to 5 July

 

Reviewed by Len Power 25 June 2025

 

Probably more recently known for his screenplays of the films, “The Banshees of Inisheren”, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “In Bruges”, Martin McDonagh got his start with the play, “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” in 1996.

Set in Galway, Ireland, the play focuses on two women – plain, middle-aged Maureen and her ageing, manipulative mother, Mag. Living an isolated existence, Maureen finds a chance for someone to love her, but her mother does everything she can to sabotage the relationship.

This often funny play explores the dark side of human nature. Loneliness, family conflict and a sense of hopelessness lead to violence with devastating results.

McDonagh’s play gives the performers four colourful and richly detailed characters to play. The Irish accents used by all four actors are very convincing.

As the grasping, whining mother, Mag, Alice Ferguson plays her character’s fear of loneliness, her quiet and cunning malevolence as well as her calculated undermining of her daughter’s chance for happiness with a level of reality that is confronting as well as truthful.

Janie Lawson (Maureen) and Alice Ferguson (Mag)

Janie Lawson is superb as the daughter, Maureen. The tediousness of her day-to-day existence caring for an irritating, elderly mother is skilfully portrayed. While reaching out for a chance to love someone, her desperate longing is so well-played, the pain she feels is quite touching.

Pato Dooley is the man Maureen falls in love with. Played with a masculine warmth and confidence by Bruce Hardie, his performance is particularly notable in a scene where he reads out a letter he is sending to Maureen.

Bruce Hardie (Pato), Alice Ferguson (Mag) and Janie Lawson (Maureen)

As the brother of Pato, Robbie Haltiner gives a colourful and very real performance as Ray Dooley, a man who seems accepting of his limited world.

Cate Clelland directs the play with assurance, guiding her actors with skill on an atmospheric and detailed set designed by her and realized by Ron Abrahams.

There is violence in this story that is quite disturbing, but the performances of the actors make this a memorable experience from start to finish.

 

Photos by Olivia Wenholz

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

 

THE QUEEN'S NANNY (PLAY)

 

Written by Melanie Tait

Directed by Priscilla Jackman

Presented by Ensemble Theatre

The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre to 21 June

 

Reviewed by Len Power 19 June 2025

 

A thriving industry has grown up to feed the public’s fascination with the lives and activities of the Royal Family. The play tells the story of Marion Crawford, a young Scottish woman, who became nanny to the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in the 1930s.

She worked for the Royal Family until 1949, building an intimate and trusted relationship with the princesses and the Queen Mother. For her long and faithful service, she was given a grace and favour house in London.

Upon her departure from her job, she agreed to author The Little Princesses, a book which told the story of her time with the family. Although she had been given tentative approval by the Royal Family to publish her story, the family ostracised her after the book appeared under her own name. No member of the family ever spoke to her again.

Australian playwright, Melanie Tait, imagines the details of the relationship of Crawford with the Royal Family showing how they depended on her to raise the princesses well. The family’s later actions and lack of feeling for this woman who had devoted the best years of her life to them, gives the play a poignant edge. Much of the humour of the play is at the expense of the royal characters. It could be argued that Tait is a bit tough on them, but it is certainly entertaining and funny.

The play has been given an excellent production by the Ensemble Theatre. It has been directed with imagination and flair by Priscilla Jackman. Of the cast of three, Matthew Backer darts in an out of character playing 8 roles, including the young Princess Elizabeth, Bertie, the later King George VI, and Crawford’s husband, George Buthlay. Backer’s performance in all of these roles is outstanding.

Matthew Backer (various roles) and Briallen Clarke (Marion Crawford)

Briallen Clarke makes Marion Crawford instantly likeable with her direct and down-to-earth Scottishness. Her strong performance in this large role is at time humorous as well as touching and finally memorable.

Sharon Millerchip (Queen Mother)

Sharon Millerchip’s great sense of timing gives her character of the Queen Mother both a formidable, steely presence as well as some of the best funny moments of the play.

While Tait’s play succeeds in the telling of this woman’s story, the play ends with a discussion about Australia’s place in the Commonwealth. While it’s a point continually argued about, it feels awkwardly placed in this play.

Photos supplied by the production 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 (PLAY)

 

Written by Lucas Hnath

Directed by Joel Horwood

A Canberra REP production

Canberra REP Theatre, Acton to 28 June

 

Reviewed by Len Power 13 June 2025

 

When Nora famously slammed that door at the end of Henrik Ibsen’s acclaimed play, ‘A Doll’s House’, we were left wondering about Nora’s fate in such an inhibiting and disapproving society of the time.

The action in Lucas Hnath’s 2017 play, set 15 years later, gives us an opportunity to revisit Nora as she suddenly returns to the house of her husband, Torvald. Assuming she has been long divorced, she was shocked to find that her husband never filed the divorce papers officially, leaving her open to legal action for signing contracts, something a married woman was not allowed to do in that era. She has only returned to persuade her husband to file those papers.

This one act play in four parts focusses on each of the four characters in the play – Nora, her husband Torvald, the maid, Anne Marie, and Nora’s now grown-up daughter, Emmy.

The role of Nora, one that most actresses would aspire to play, is given a fine, multi-layered performance by Lainie Hart. Presenting as a strong, confidant woman determined to live her own way, her delivery of the dialogue and body language give hints that life has been a struggle. We know that attitudes will not change in her lifetime and Hart shows glimpses of the pain involved in her brave struggle. It’s a thoughtful and believable performance throughout.

Rhys Robinson gives a finely detailed performance of Torvald as an inhibited, emotionally damaged man who clearly has never moved on from his marriage to Nora or changed any of his attitudes that contributed to Nora’s leaving.

Emmy is played by Anna Lorenz as a young woman who seems to have her mother’s emotional strength but surprises both us and Nora with her determination to be married and live by the rules of society that Nora long ago rejected. Lorenz gives a strong performance in the role.

Elaine Noon is very effective as the long-serving maid of the household who finds herself torn between the demands of her job and her own feelings.

The suitably austere set was designed by Tom Berger and has a fine lighting design by Lachlan Houen. Helen Drum has provided attractive period costumes.

Director, Joel Horwood, has produced a tight show where the character work is highly detailed. Keeping the language contemporary added to the accessibility of this production which works on all levels.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

 

LOVE'S FOUR SEASONS (CONCERT)

The Song Company

Eamonn Dougan, guest director

Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest June 8

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

From indescribable bliss to unbearable torment, the romantic experience has created strong emotions that have long been explored in music and the arts. In the Song Company’s latest concert, the enduring power of love was traced against the four seasons of the year.

In a cleverly devised program, madrigals from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods were juxtaposed with works by five British composers of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.

The early composers – Claudio Monteverdi, Carlo Gesualdo and Barbara Strozzi – were distinct figures whose works reflected the evolution and diversity of the madrigal tradition.

The differing styles of the five contemporary composers – Howard Skempton, Healey Willan, Jonathan Dove, Kim Porter and Bernard Hughes – added a broader expression of love’s emotions against the changing seasons of the year.

For Spring, there were songs of longing and courtship. Summer was represented by songs of passion and fulfillment. The songs of Autumn focussed on doubt and separation and Winter’s loss and mourning brought the program to an end.

Internationally acclaimed guest conductor and baritone, Eamonn Dougan, is renowned for his work with The Sixteen, I Fagiolini and Britten Sinfonia Voices. He is music director of the Thomas Tallis Society and Chief Conductor for Jersey Chamber Orchestra.

 

From left: Amy Moore (soprano), Susannah Lawergren (soprano), Eleanor Adeney (soprano), Tom Herring (bass), Tim Reynolds (tenor) and Eamonn Dougan (baritone and guest director)

His rich baritone complemented the Song Company performers, Susannah Lawergren, soprano, Amy Moore, soprano, Eleanor Adeney, soprano, Tim Reynolds, tenor and Tom Herring, bass. Accompanying several of the songs was guest artist, Tommie Andersson, on the Theorbo.

 

The Song Company with Eamonn Dougan (2nd right) and Tommie Andersson (far right) on theorbo

The differing styles of the songs on the same themes provided a fascinating contrast between the early and contemporary composers. There was powerful as well as sensitive singing by the whole group as well as smaller group and solo songs that showcased the individual fine voices of this company.

The choice of songs and composers, as well as the theme of the program and the excellent performances by the singers, made this a memorable and enjoyable experience.

 

 Photos by Dalice Trost

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 9 June 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

  

PRESENT LAUGHTER (PLAY)

Written by Noël Coward

Directed by Karen Vickery

ACT Hub Theatre, Kingston to 14 June

 

Reviewed by Len Power 5 June 2025

 

‘Present Laughter’ by Noël Coward was first staged in 1942 in England. The title comes from a line – ‘present mirth hath present laughter’ - in a song from Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. The line is a warning and applies perfectly to the chaotic self-absorbed people and their interactions in Coward’s play.

Matinee idol of the theatre, Garry Essendine, is preparing for a touring commitment in Australia. Used to cleverly balancing numerous affairs and infatuations, he suddenly finds himself in mid-life crisis in a whirlpool of broken promises, demands and unrealistic expectations. Coward has acknowledged that his central character of Essendine is a self-caricature.

Karen Vickery’s production, on Michael Sparks’ nicely designed art deco setting, keeps the characters nicely in period, ensuring they display the colourfully English eccentricities, manners and morals of the time. She allows the play time to build steadily towards the frenetic climax and she has achieved finely detailed performances from her entire cast of ten.

Jarrad West (Garry Essendine)

As Garry Essendine, Jarrad West achieves a highly mannered portrait of an egocentric actor of the period. He’s selfish, paranoid and expects adulation from everybody as his divine right. West’s energetic, high-speed performance succeeds on all levels, giving us a memorable character to love and loathe at the same time.

His long-suffering staff are well-played by Jenna Roberts as the Scandinavian housekeeper, Miss Erikson, Tracy Noble as Monica, his secretary, and Leonidis Katsanis as Fred, his valet.

Essendine’s wife, Liz, is skilfully played by Crystal Mahon as a highly capable woman who can manage his tantrums and there are fine and very funny characterisations of his manager, played by Joe Dinn and his producer, Henrietta, by Amy Kowalczuk.

Amy Kowalczuk (Henrietta) and Michael Cooper (Roland Maule)

Michael Cooper is impressive as the obsessive, manic author, Roland Maule, and Karina Hudson deftly plays the scheming, seductive actress, Joanna.

Karina Hudson (Joanna)

Callum Doherty is very funny and nicely rather sad as David, a bright young thing pathetically obsessed with Essendine.

Changes have been made, making Essendine clearly bisexual and a couple of the other characters fitting in with that change. These changes all follow through logically and successfully, giving this production an extra dimension that works very well.

This is an opportunity to see one of Coward’s plays performed with style and assurance. It’s a long play but you certainly get your money’s worth!

 

Photos by Jane Duong

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

  

A UKRAINIAN MUSICAL JOURNEY (CONCERT)

Larissa Kovalchuk, soprano and bandura

Anna Dove, piano

Wesley Music Centre Forrest May 31

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

Ukrainian musicians, Larissa Kovalchuk, a virtuoso bandura player and soprano, and Anna Dove, pianist, presented a program of Ukrainian classical and traditional pieces as well as works by Puccini, Gershwin and others.

Kovalchuk studied voice, bandura and conducting at Ukraine’s leading Kyiv Conservatorium of Music. In 1993 she was awarded the national laureate in performing arts of Ukraine and soon became one of the nation’s leading performers with international concert performances in France, Germany, Latvia and Estonia.

Since moving to Australia, she has performed widely at festivals, recorded with SBS and the ABC, and has played in concerts with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. She is currently teaching voice and musicianship at the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in Wagga Wagga, NSW.

The informal tone of the concert was set immediately with Kovalchuk’s warm and charming style, humour and interaction with audience members. At one point in the concert, while about to play the bandura (Ukrainian harp) she asked audience members to decide if they wanted to hear a happy or sad piece of Ukrainian music. The vote was for happy and Kovalchuk obliged with a piece of great beauty.

Anna Dove (piano) and Larissa Kovalchuk (bandura)

As well as playing the bandura, Kovalchuk sang various Ukrainian prayers, folk songs and anthems, accompanied by pianist, Anna Dove. She has a beautiful voice of great clarity and power. Her performances of O Mio Babbino Caro from Puccini’s opera, Gianni Schicchi, and Summertime from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess were particularly sensitive.

Anna Dove played a number of solo piano works, both Ukrainian and works by other composers. Her playing of these works was excellent.

This was a delightful concert with many haunting, beautiful pieces of music. Unfortunately, there was no program, and it was not possible to catch the names of the Ukrainian pieces and composers as they were announced from the stage.

 

Photos by Dalice Trost

 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 1 June 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

 

THE LOVEBIRDS (PLAY)

Written by Basil Thomas

Directed by Jon Elphick

Tempo Theatre Inc.

Belconnen Community Theatre to June 7

 

Reviewed by Len Power 30 May 2025

 

When a newly married couple are given a budgie as a wedding present, what happens when the bird is found to be possessed by the spirit of the bride’s late first husband?

This delightfully silly comedy, first produced in the UK in 1957, is the work of prolific author, Basil Thomas. Tempo successfully staged another of his plays, Book Of The Month, in 2023.

The complex plot gives the cast of 11 (plus budgie) the opportunity to present a group of colourful characters struggling with ever wilder and funnier situations.

Eloise Willis (Julie Skidmore) and Bradley Jones (Bertie Skidmore)

Bradley Jones and Eloise Willis play Bertie and Julie Skidmore, the newly married couple. Both performers display good comic timing as well as clear characterizations of a couple in love. Their struggle to regain control over the havoc caused by the budgie is very amusing. George Bellibassakis gives voice to the budgie with great expression from offstage.

The rest of the large cast shine in their individual roles. There are two small roles that proved to be particularly memorable and a gift to the actors playing them. Kim Wilson is a hilarious French professor, Gaston Cheval, and Eilis French is a standout as the very funny Russian, Natasha. She was given a well-deserved round of applause after her brief appearance.

Director, Jon Elphick, ensures that the show is lively throughout. The staging of the chaos at the end of the show is particularly well done.

These types of comedy plays mostly disappeared from London stages and moved to television with the arrival of realistic dramas like Look Back In Anger in the 1950s. The nearly full opening night of The Lovebirds showed that there is an audience in Canberra for this type of play and Tempo Theatre is giving it to them.

 

Photo by Pete Butz

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 31 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

 

SEVEN NECESSARY SINS (CONCERT)

Sally Whitwell, composer and pianist

Rachel Mink, soprano

Art Song Canberra

Wesley Music Centre, Forrest May 25

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

A concert in two parts, the first part celebrated four female composers who made it in a man’s world and the second part was the premiere of a new work by Canberra composer and pianist, Sally Whitwell.

Whitwell is known particularly for her interpretations of the piano works of American minimalist Philip Glass. Her five solo albums on ABC Classic have garnered between them with ARIA nominations and three wins. She has been commissioned to compose for many vocal ensembles around Australia.

Whitwell, in her relaxed, engaging manner, gave us brief but interesting backgrounds to four female composers of the 19^th and 20^th centuries – Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Germaine Tailleferre and Cécile Chaminade.

Sally Whitwell

Expertly playing one work of each of these composers, it was an enjoyable set of contrasts from the vivid imagery of Beach to the romanticism of Schumann, the tonal colours of Tailleferre and the technical wizardry of Chaminade.

After interval, Rachel Mink joined Whitwell on stage for the new work, Seven Necessary Sins. Mink, who moved to Canberra from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore USA during COVID, is a freelance soprano and an ensemble member of Luminescence Chamber Singers. She is at home on the opera stage as well as performing as a soloist

Rachel Mink

Inspired by Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins, the work was based on Mona Eltahawy’s 2019 book, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls. According to Eltahawy, the seven necessary sins that women and girls are not supposed to commit but need to if they are to harness their power are anger, ambition, profanity, violence, attention-seeking, lust and power.

Whitwell’s new work focused on each of those sins with an additional introduction and epilogue, Defy, Disobey, Disrupt.

Sally Whitwell and Rachel Mink

Whitwell’s music for this work showed that she is an excellent composer. One song in particular, Ambition: Sky Map soared with superb lyrics, beautifully sung by Mink.

 While the music was excellent throughout and the songs were well sung by Mink, there was a sameness about the stream of consciousness lyrics that became progressively less interesting. While the audience could follow the lyrics in the program, the piano playing was often too strong, making the singer hard to hear.

The idea for this show was a good basis for a cabaret, but it would have been more effective if it had been presented in a more creative way. The readings introducing the songs seemed like sermons and the use of salty language to give the show an edge was tedious, not shocking.

Nevertheless, it was good to see Art Song Canberra present something new, adventurous and local.

 

Photos by Peter Hislop 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 26 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

  

THE MAIDS (PLAY)

Written by Jean Genet & Translated by Martin Crimp

Directed by Caroline Stacey

A Street Produced Professional Theatre Production

The Street Theatre to 8 June

 

Reviewed by Len Power 24 May 2025

 

Considered one of the great plays of the 20^th century, ‘The Maids’ has a daunting reputation. Loosely based on a double murder by two sisters in France, 1933 of their employer and her daughter, it was first performed in Paris in 1947. It has been revived many times and was filmed in 1974. It has even been adapted as an opera.

Two sisters, Solange and Claire, are maids to a wealthy, glamorous mistress in a big city apartment. While the mistress is absent, the sisters indulge in an obsessive game of roleplaying ‘servant and mistress’.

Their game is meant to end with the ‘killing’ of their mistress, but their devotion to detail in the game means that they always fail to reach that climax before the mistress returns. The fantasy of their game and the reality of their situation becomes blurred to an increasingly dangerous degree.

Jean Genet’s play explores and challenges the complexities of social roles, class and identity. It’s highly stylised, ritualistic and provocatively theatrical in its depiction of the maids’ rebellion against authority and their own self-disgust at their perceived position in society. The struggle between outcasts, the lower classes and their oppressors is a constant theme through Genet’s plays.

Christina Falsone (Solange) and Sophia Marzano (Claire)

Caroline Stacey’s production moves at a cracking pace, aided by strong performances by her cast of three. It helps that the sisters are played by actresses who are physically believable as sisters. Christina Falsone as Solange and Sophia Marzano as Claire play their roles with an intensity that never lets up, clearly showing every facet of their personalities and beliefs in their fiercely detailed performances.

Natasha Vickery (The Mistress)

As The Mistress, Natasha Vickery presents a highly believable portrait of an upper class woman who knows her position in society and wields her power accordingly. She has achieved an impressive subtlety in her performance of this woman that displays the entitlement and attitudes of her class.

The elegant production design by Kathleen Kershaw and the lighting design by Neil Simpson that continually highlights various aspects of the set and performers in the play are very impressive. Kimmo Vennonen has produced an excellent soundscape for the production.

The translation of the play by British playwright, Martin Crimp, has a refreshing directness that helped in understanding these characters. With the fine performances by the cast and strong direction by Caroline Stacey, this is a production of a famous play that satisfies on all levels.

 

Photos by Nathan Smith Photography

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

  

RIVERSONG (CONCERT)

The Resonants choir

Helen Swan, conductor

Gandel Atrium National Museum of Australia May 17

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

The fate of rivers and the fate of people are inseparable. In a tribute to the spirit and strength of our rivers, Canberra choir, The Resonants, performed a program of songs that captured the story of our rivers.

Organised by the Australian River Restoration Centre, a charity restoring rivers and empowering others to do the same, this was a fund-raising concert for the long-term future of our rivers.

The Resonants choir, an independent, non-profit ensemble of young professionals and university students, was formed in 1990 by music director, Helen Swan. They have been crowned ABC Choir of the Year, recorded four CDs, participated in multiple Australian National Eisteddfods and the Canberra International Music Festival. Conductor, Helen Swan, is a well-known Canberra choral conductor, musician, music educator and opera singer.

Resonants choir

Introduced by award-winning ABC journalist, Alex Sloan, the evening commenced with a Welcome to Country by Aunty Violet Sheridan, a Ngunnawal Elder. She gave a passionate, sincere and down-to-earth welcome that was especially meaningful for the occasion.

The first act of the concert, sub-titled The Spirit Of The River, commenced with the choir singing The Spheres by Norwegian composer, Ola Gjelio. This haunting work evoked a sense of timelessness. The cavernous Gandel Atrium, with its resonant acoustic, was the perfect place to hear it.

Helen Swan, conductor

Six other works were presented in the first act including a dramatic This Is Our Home by Paul Stanhope, The River by Coco Love Alcorn in a beautiful arrangement by Rachel Hore, and a memorable arrangement by Ruth Kilpatrick of Waltzing Matilda which took the familiar melody and added rich harmonies with an Aboriginal-inspired chant.

The second act of the concert, subtitled Renewal and Resilience, commenced with the premiere of The Whisper of the Dying Stream, a new work by Sydney-based composer, Sophie Van Dijk. It was conducted by Kylie Van Dijk. It was a sombre, melodious and appealing work that was given a fine performance by the choir.

Other works presented included Weathermakers, composed in 2016 by Kirsten Duncan, a member of The Resonants choir, Hope There Is, a sublime setting by Clare MacLean of Oodgeroo Nunuccal’s poem, Hope, a haunting arrangement by James Erb of the American folk song, Shenandoah, and Steve Zegree’s arrangement of Henry Mancini’s Moon River. The concert concluded with Andy Beck’s Riversong.

 

This impressively skilful choir sang mostly a capella and were accompanied on various songs by pianist, Emily Luong, Ben O’Loughlin, double bass and Tom Chalker, percussionist.

The video projections that accompanied each song were particularly well-chosen and the atrium was illuminated with changing light patterns that added to the atmosphere of this fine concert given in aid of a worthy cause.

 

Photos by Dalice Trost

 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 18 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

 

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS (PLAY)

 

Adapted by Verity Laughton from the book by Pip Williams

Directed by Jessica Arthur

The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre to May 24

 

Reviewed by Len Power 16 May 2025

 

Travelling through time, The Dictionary of Lost Words tells the story of the girl who stole the word ‘bondmaid’, which was found to be missing from the Oxford English Dictionary in 1901.

Young and motherless Esme Nicholls spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a converted garden shed in Oxford, where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the first Oxford English Dictionary.

Hiding under the sorting table, she catches a word, ‘bondmaid’, on a card as it falls. Finding other words that have been neglected by the men, Esme begins a collection of her own - the Dictionary of Lost Words.

Growing up, Esme realizes that the recording by men of words and meanings related to women’s experiences have been given little importance. Through the power of the words she has gathered, she effectively gives voice to the many silenced people she has come to know over the years – the actresses, suffragettes, market traders and workers.

South Australian novelist Pip Williams’ internationally best-selling book, in a stage adaptation by Verity Laughton, has been given a sumptuous co-production by the State Theatre Company South Australia and the Sydney Theatre Company.

Directed with great imagination by Jessica Arthur, it has a superbly designed split-level set by Jonathon Oxlade that incorporates clever projections with a fine lighting design by Trent Suidgeest. It really is a feast for the eyes.

 

Johnny Nasser (Harry Nicholls) and Shannen Alyce Quan (young Esme Nicholls) 

The cast of eight, some of whom play multiple roles, all give nicely etched characterizations. Shannen Alyce Quan plays the huge role of Esme Nicholls with great skill and charm, ageing from young girl to woman as the play progresses. Johnny Nasser gives a strong, appealing performance as her father. Both performers play their changes in age with notable subtlety, aided by the detailed costume designs of Alisa Paterson.

Kathryn Adams (Lizzie) and Shannen Alyce Quan (grownup Esme Nicholls)

Amongst the performers playing multiple roles, Angela Nica Sullen is a standout as actress and suffragist, Tilda, giving her a formidable strength as well as warmth. Kathryn Adams is a delight as Lizzie, the maid in the Nicholls’ household, and Ksenja Logos is memorable as Mabel, a market worker who teaches Esme about certain words not heard in polite society.

The play is a subtle lesson in the power of words and how they can silence certain sectors of society, particularly women, as they struggle to be heard in a man’s world. Its message is effectively and beautifully told in this very enjoyable production.

 

Photos by Prudence Upton

 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 17 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

IF WE GOT SOME MORE COCAINE I COULD SHOW YOU HOW I LOVE YOU (PLAY)

Written by John O’Donovan

Directed by Joel Horwood

Everyman Theatre production, ACTHub Theatre, Kingston to May 24

 

Reviewed by Len Power 14 May 2025

 

It’s Halloween and Mikey and Casey are stuck on a roof after robbing a petrol station in a small town in the west of Ireland.

Mikey is a tough young Irishman. Always ready for a fight, he’s also at war with himself. He might be gay, but he’s not comfortable with other gay men of his age nor with the quietly homophobic society around him.

Casey is a younger gay Englishman living in Ireland. He is still closeted but has strong feelings for Mikey. He’s gentler and more sensitive than Mikey but better able to express affection.

As they wait for the Guards to stop circling the house, they have the time to confront a few truths about themselves, each other and the society they are part of.

Joshua James (Casey) and Robert Kjellgren (Mikey)

Robert Kjellgren as Mikey gives a strong, energetic performance, prowling the roof like a caged animal.  As Casey, Joshua James brings an appealing warmth and sensitivity to the role. Both actors convincingly give their roles a sense that they probably don’t have much chance of happiness together or even much of a future.

Director, Joel Horwood, keeps the action moving well in the limited playing area of the roof and has obtained deeply observed characterizations from the cast.

Unfortunately, a lot of dialogue on opening night was not clear or audible enough. With accents to contend with and the rapidity of the dialogue, it was a strain at times to pick up what was being said.

These young men were interesting characters, and the play had a lot to say about a society that can change laws but not the minds of the people. Maybe it was because of the difficulty in following the dialogue, but the ending of the play was not as moving as might have been expected.

 

Photo by Ben Appleton – Photox Canberra

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 15 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

 

 

 

 

CENTENARY ORGAN RECITAL (CONCERT)

Samuel Giddy, organ

Canberra City Uniting Church May 10

Reviewed by Len Power

 

Exactly 100 years ago, on 10 May 1925, the opening recital took place of a new organ built for the new St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Goulburn NSW. The organ had been dedicated as a memorial to those who had fought and fell in the Great War.

It was donated to the Canberra City Uniting Church in 1987, where it was rebuilt and re-dedicated in 2012. It fits harmoniously into the modern architecture of the church and, with the sun shining in, it was the perfect setting for a recital celebrating the organ’s centenary. Samuel Giddy was the recitalist for the afternoon’s program.

Born in Yass NSW, Giddy began his organ studies at the ACT Organ School in 2011. Studying then at the Sydney Conservatorium, he graduated in 2019 with first-class honours and the Frank Hutchens Student of the Year Award.

Giddy has won many international prizes and, in 2023, he was appointed music minister of St. John’s Anglican Church, Darlinghurst NSW. He was also appointed Music Director at St. Mark’s Darling Point NSW in 2025.

Samuel Giddy, recitalist

The large program for the recital commenced with J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, which was fitting as it was also played at the 1925 recital in Goulburn. A haunting work, it seemed to achieve another dimension live and in the hands of Giddy, who gave it a superb performance.

The program worked chronologically from Bach in the early 18^th century through the baroque and classical era to the modern day, giving examples of the work of various composers such as John Stanley, Johann Gottfried Müthel, César Franck, Louis Vierne, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Flor Peeters.

The program was well-chosen with both grand works and quieter, reflective works. It was an instructive and entertaining journey, all played with skill and feeling.

Giddy introduced each of these works with interesting details about them and their composers. His down to earth, friendly style built an immediate rapport with the audience and his enthusiasm for this music and instrument was infectious.

Attending a live organ recital is the best way to appreciate the power of this instrument and the music written for it. This was an excellent and very enjoyable recital.

 

Photo by Len Power

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 11 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING (PLAY)

 

Written by Andrew Bovell

Directed by Chris Baldock

Mockingbird Theatre Company

Belconnen Arts Centre to 17 May

 

Reviewed by Len Power 8 May 2025

 

In Alice Springs 2039, a fish falls from the sky. What follows is a fascinating puzzle involving two families over four generations from 1959 in London to Australia eighty years later. This epic play explores family relationships across the generations. Pain, secrets, love, unanswered questions, destruction, longing and forgiveness come together to produce an extraordinary picture of hope and humanity.

Andrew Bovell’s play, first performed in 2008, is beautifully written and compelling in its construction. It has a lot to say about people and families and how unresolved issues can pass down the generations. The constant rain throughout the years and fish falling from the sky gives it a troubling feeling of impending apocalypse.

The audience is drawn deeply into the action as it unfolds. At first puzzling, the play stealthily takes its time to fully enlighten us. There is no interval in this almost two hour play, but the time goes very quickly as the pieces of the puzzle within are cleverly locked into place.

As the play jumps forward and back in time, the nine actors, Liz St Clair Long, Ruth Hudson, Bruce Hardie, Jess Beange, Jayde Dowhy, Leonidas Katsanis, Zac Bridgman, Dyllan Ormazabal and Chris Baldock play with confidence and skill, bringing these characters vividly to life and making them people we can understand and empathize with.

Director, Chris Baldock’s simple set design of suspended umbrellas, the constant sound of rain and the atmospheric lighting add considerably to the sense of time and place.

This is a fine, absorbing play from one of Australia’s great playwrights. Chris Baldock’s stylish direction in the round is masterly. His attention to detail, keeping the action clear and well-paced, as well as obtaining very real characterisations from his cast, make this another memorable and enjoyable production from the Mockingbird Theatre Company.

 

Photos by Chris Baldock

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

CIMF: LIVING POEMS OF THE SEA (CONCERT)

Sally Walker

Sally Walker, flautist

Lyle Chan, writer and composer

The National Film and Sound Archive May 3

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

Described as a meditation on the enthralling world of dolphins and whales in music, sound, words and images, the world premiere of this work with renowned Canberra flautist, Sally Walker, was a feast for the eyes and senses. It proved to be even more than that, with an impassioned and persuasive plea to end noise and other pollution in our oceans and our planet.

Using a variety of flutes as well as percussive instruments, Walker created a haunting soundscape that complemented the beautiful, often dreamlike video on a large screen behind her. Often playing to pre-recorded music and voice as well as speaking much of the commentary live, it was an impressively mounted presentation that was both entertaining and informative.

Those of us lucky enough to have had close encounters with dolphins could relate to Walker’s description of her first encounter with dolphins at an early age. Her quest to communicate with them through sound was fascinating and the images of her on the bow of a boat speeding through the waters of Pt. Stephens NSW while playing the flute to a school of jumping dolphins was memorable.

Her lifelong fascination with cetaceans (marine mammals like dolphins and whales) has led her to friendships with people like dolphin researcher, Dr Olivia De Bergerac and others. Many of these people talk passionately in the video. Historical and recent footage is presented as well as first-hand accounts of amazing human-cetacean interactions.

Our complex relationship with these creatures is shown to have been both good and bad. The importance of protection and preservation of these and other unique creatures in our world is clearly stated.

The 70 minute presentation was spell-binding. During the bows, Sally Walker invited many of the people involved in the production of the show to join her on stage. Not being aware that these people were in the audience, it was a delightful opportunity to see and applaud so many of them including composer and writer, Lyle Chan, scientist Dr. Olivia De Bergerac, videographer Murray Farrell and Uncle Ossie Cruse.

 

Photos by Peter Hislop

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 4 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

 

BLITHE SPIRIT (PLAY)

Written by Noel Coward

Directed by Lachlan Houen

Canberra REP production

Canberra REP Theatre, Acton to May 17

 

Reviewed by Len Power 2 May 2025

 

Directors who try to put their own stamp on a Noel Coward play need to tread warily. Canberra REP’s new production ‘draws on classic and contemporary styles’, according to the flyer provided instead of a program.

Coward wrote Blithe Spirit, his most popular play at the time, in 1941. Described by Coward himself as ‘an improbable farce’, a séance arranged by a writer for background material for a novel he is writing, results in the unexpected return of the ghost of a former wife. Her continuing presence causes major difficulties as the writer has since remarried.

This production starts with pounding disco-era music before being changed on a 1950s radiogram by the maid, Edith, to something more suitable to the 1950s, the era in which the play appears to be set. This period works fine for the play and the cast are dressed in the style of the day.

As Charles Condomine, the writer, Peter Holland gives a fine performance of style, wit and comic timing. Elaine Noone is a hilariously eccentric Madam Arcati, the medium and clairvoyant. Her costume by designer, Suzan Cooper, is a beauty.

Alex McPherson (Ruth), Peter Holland (Charles Condomine), Winsome Ogilvie (Elvira)

By playing it straight, the performances of Alex McPherson as the current wife, Ruth, and Winsome Ogilvie as the ghost of former wife, Elvira, lack the style and manner necessary for this farce to really work. This is particularly noticeable in the long argument scenes that should be very funny but just seem heavy and tedious.

Liv Boddington as the maid, Edith, gives a nice performance but some of the physical action given to her is distracting. Having her suddenly appear at the side of the stage on a modern exercise bike takes your attention away from an important discussion between Charles and Ruth about Charles’s former wife, Elvira.  There is also a suggestion that Edith has magical powers, too, which is another distraction in a production full of them.

For example, if Ruth is horrified by the sight of a vase of flowers apparently moving by itself, why didn’t she notice the magazine’s pages turning when Elvira was reading it a few moments before?

Elaine Noone has to struggle on and offstage with a bicycle unnecessarily, the radiogram plays only small amounts of the song, ‘Always’ and abruptly stops but no-one is seen turning it off. The grandfather clock in the hallway wobbles alarmingly when people walk past it and the set, designed by Andrew Kay and Michael Sparks, is a jarring mix of classic and contemporary styles.

In addition, the long dialogue scenes between characters in this production are too static. You are often looking at the backs of players’ heads for far too long.

If the use of contemporary music was an attempt to make this play more relevant to today, it became just another distraction. An opportunity to see a Noel Coward play is usually very welcome but this production is a disappointment.

 

Photo by Eve Murray

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 3 May 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.