Reviews

More Info re Previous Productions incl. Reviews

Farewell Lady Autumn by Melka Stansah

Season at La Mama, Carlton from 20 - 28 March 2024

Directed by Wolf Heidecker

THE AGE

Set in Beijing near the end of the Qing dynasty, Farewell Lady Autumn is inspired by the life of poet, feminist, and revolutionary Qiu Jin. She did not live to see the fall of the Imperial regime - Qiu was executed at 31 after being implicated in a failed assassination plot - but her ideas proved hugely influential. Farewell Lady Autumn is inspired by the life of poet, feminist, and revolutionary Qiu Jin. For Qiu (Isabelle Wang), gender revolution found an ally in the political revolutions that would soon sweep away the old order, and she felt personally the oppressive contradictions of that order for women

Qiu was subjected to foot binding as a girl and an unhappy arranged marriage followed, yet it was her privilege - her wealth and education - that allowed her to see how deep the vein of misogyny in Chinese culture ran and to take arms against it. Some of the male chauvinism presented in the play is so extreme it seems to repeat tragedy as farce. While teaching her maid Ping Ping (Fanny Hanusin) to read and write, for instance, Qiu combs Confucian analects and ancient texts and makes her read aloud: ''One hundred women are not worth one testicle."

Questioning such pearls of wisdom behind closed doors with her female friends, Qiu finds solidarity between women, in the form of sworn sisterhood with doctor and fellow poet Madam Wu (Lansy Feng), and also finds the courage to publish her opinions, essays and poems.

She dresses as a man, too, to gain admittance to meetings organized by a charismatic revolutionary (Jamie Vu), though the play mostly focuses on her relationship with female intimates, using one of Qiu's autumnal poems to suggest her fate.

Farewell Lady Autumn is a lively enough period drama with plenty of sly feminist humour, although sound, design and projections were defeated by a technical issue at the performance I attended. That's a pity - Wang playing the guzheng (Chinese zither) is a transporting moment, and the lack of sound otherwise does accentuate the dull conventionality of the play's structure and dialogue. Investing the text with more poetic logic, musical abstraction, and wordless emotion might have ameliorated the relentlessness of witnessing so many short chronologic scenes. Even so, the performances are nerveless, and Wang brings sharp intellect and charm to her portrayal of this important standard-bearer in the struggle for gender equality in China.

Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead

A review of "Farewell Lady Autumn" by Vixey Teh:

This show is a real treat!

I must tell you of this delightful hidden gem tucked away in the heart of the outskirts of our Melbourne city, just off Lygon street, Brunswick.

In this cosy and intimate community theatre (La Mama), we are magically transported back to ancient China 1903 to experience a harrowing journey of a noble woman Qiu Jin(Isabelle Wang) and her servant maid Ping Ping (Fanny Hanusin).

I give props to the props master stagehand Natulie Moffatt for sourcing the most adorable and authentic props. All of which was lit beautifully by Richard Lyford-Pike, the award-winning head tech sound and visual designer, who went on a journey to the East and serendipitously discovered a very rare shop that still makes authentic tiny shoes! (For the poor souls who still have never recovered from the foot binding.) Really, you have to see these tiny shoes! They have an energy which is both beautiful and terrifying.

This wonderful, well crafted story by playwright Melka Stansah is an absolute joy to experience live. You can feel, first hand, the warmth of the unlikely friendship that blossoms between these two women from different classes and the energy of the audience laughing, gasping, and cheering as we are taken on this journey with them. This is well supported by the loyal best friend played by Lansy Feng, and it is intriguing to see both the villian and the hero played by Jamie Vu. A brilliant casting decision made by the seasoned director and producer Wolf Heidecker, well known in the theatre community, for quite a few plays, including the Australian tours of “The Zipper”, and "Foxholes of the mind" both written by Bernard Clancy.

Although the themes of gender and politics are an important part of this story, they do not become preachy or overtake the heart and beauty of the story of friendship and survival of these brave women or other wonderful aspects of this show. Hearing a genuine performance of an authentic Guzheng by the concert musician Isabell Wang on its own is well worth the price of the ticket! If anything, Melka captures the excitement and buzz of a revolution on the horizon, the battle of the inkbrush, and the sword!

Despite it being such a small venue, it is well equipped with a quaint little snack and drink bar for before and after refreshments and with a wheelchair lift. If you require any disability assistance, just let the friendly staff know, and they can accommodate. This I discovered because I brought my parents, to view it as a gift for their 49th Anniversary, and they absolutely loved it! My dear father has a wounded knee, and my dear mother, who usually struggles to hear or follow things and nudges me with her elbow to constantly ask questions, did not nudge me once! She could easily hear the clear performances by these talented actors in this intimate theatre and follow the plot of this truly well written play.

It is no wonder that so many nights are already sold out! Do not miss your chance to catch it. Get a ticket now! Gift them to your cherished friends and family!

A little word to the wise, there is often a great chance to meet and mingle with the cast and crew after the play at the snack bar. Another little charming experience you can only get live!

FOXHOLES OF THE MIND

by Bernard Clancy

National Tour 2021 in May - week 1 in Adelaide, week 2 in Canberra:

The Courtyard Studio. Canberra Theatre Centre. May 12 – 14 2021

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins.

Playwright Bernard Clancy is a Vietnam veteran, whose struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and subsequent capitulation to its devastating effect prompted him to write Foxholes of the Mind. The play is a compelling account of the terrible torment suffered by returned soldiers from the horrors of war. Inspired by Clancy’s insightful and heartfelt account of the impact of this disease, the professional cast deliver a performance that is as sensitive as it is confronting and as thought provoking as it emotionally powerful. War’s consequence is not regaled in glory, but shrouded in physical, emotional and psychological pain. Clancy presents the true effects of war upon the returned servicemen and women. Frank (Peter Finlay) is persuaded to attend a therapy session, conducted by psychologist Mark (Victor Gralak.) The session is also attended by Mario, played by Adrian Mulraney who deftly takes on a jacket and a walking stick to present barrister, Harry, and Ginger Mick. Former nurse, Sheila (Maureen Hartley) joins the group and Mark is assisted by his colleague Nigel (David Lih) a Vietnamese born boat refugee and Afghanistan and Iraq veteran. Clancy cleverly includes the younger as well as older veterans to illustrate the cruel impact of PTSD on all service people. The irony is that many, including Clancy and his central protagonist Frank believe that they have overcome post-traumatic stress disorder, only to succumb to alcoholism, domestic violence and suicide. Clancy draws back the curtain on a disease that, like a cancer, spreads throughout the lives that come in contact with the veteran. Frank’s wife Trish (Joanne Davis), no longer able to cope with Frank’s erratic behaviour and violent outbursts is forced to leave her home and move with her disabled adult son into her daughter’s small apartment. The play moves between the home, the clinic and the occasional flashbacks to the horrific circumstances on the battlefield. Through it all, the complex struggles to survive the ordeal reveal a truth that director Wolf Heidecker neither glorifies nor embellishes. The drama’s authenticity is its most effective communication. Nowhere is this more poignantly revealed than in the final scene between Trish, Frank and Mark. Joanne Davis gives a most heart wrenching performance as she reveals Trish’s suffering and longing for the love of her childhood sweetheart, whom the army trained to kill, dehumanised and then neglected when their active service was done. It is a cruel indictment of an institution and a society that has lost the art of compassion. Bernard Clancy raises the art to its rightful place with Foxholes of the Mind For those who suffered the terrifying ordeal of war, Foxholes of the Mind offers catharsis and an avenue of hope. For those who have lived with the consequences of life and friendship with the returned veteran, Clancy’s revealing drama offers an education in empathy and understanding. Having been performed in Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra, the national tour moves to Hobart, Newcastle and Brisbane. or those who are able to see Foxholes of the Mind, I recom

THE MAN THEY CALL THE BANJO

by Felix Meagher and Dennis O'Keeffe

Produced by Bushwahzee Pty Ltd, directed by Wolf Heidecker

This dramatic narrative with music tells the story of the secret love affair between Banjo Paterson and Christina Macpherson as they wrote Waltzing Matilda. The musical is based on Dennis OʼKeeffeʼs ground breaking research, published in a book by Allen and Unwin :

Waltzing Matilda - The Secret History of Australia's Favourite Song

While the affair between Banjo and Christina remained secret for one hundred years, the relationship had a public outcome of national and international significance - the composition of Australia's favourite song, Waltzing Matilda. Banjo took the tune of Craigielee and fashioned it into a love chorus set against verses that tell an epic allegory about the shearers' strikes that were ravaging Western Queensland and much of the country in 1894.

see the Landline documentary at http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2013/s3827983.htm
see a you tube demo of some songs at http://youtu.be/WEhI0-gd8JU

A new musical which tells the story the secret love affair between Banjo Paterson and Christina Macpherson as they wrote

Waltzing Matilda, based on Warrnambool resident, Dennis O’Keeffe’s ground breaking research, published in a book

by Allen and Unwin, Waltzing Matilda -– The Secret Story of Australia’s Favourite Song.

see the ABC Landline program at http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2013/s3827983.htm

see a you tube demo of the show at

http://youtu.be/WEhI0-gd8JU

By Felix Meagher and Dennis O’Keeffe; Directed by Wolf Heidecker

Chris Saxton as Banjo Paterson, Fleur Murphy as Christina Macpherson, Colin Driscoll as The Swagman, Cora Browne as Sarah Riley, and Felix Meagher as the Squatter, Musicians –Ewen Baker & Lou Hesterman

The Man They Call The Banjo has been previously read in concert in woolsheds across SE Australia, and at the Port Fairy Folk Festival where it has received rave reviews and standing ovations.

Jamie McKew, Director of the Port Fairy Festival said, “Great show! Great reception! Songs very strong… Sparring ladies were sensational!”

Phillip Moore, Chairman, Cultural Committee, Celtic Club, “Amazing show! Historic night!”

Robyn Carnegie, Corporate Cordinator, Benalla “The show at the Celtic Club was brilliant. Great night all round!”

Eve Black, who attended the 2013 show in Cole’s Woolshed, “Don’t change a thing!”

Melbourne based producer/director, Wolf Heidecker, said, “The story is one of Australia’s great love stories, and it is set in a time and a place when Australia was as close as it has ever been to civil war. As such it encompasses the raw emotion, the drama and the historical significance to make it a tale and a musical of interest to all ages and all walks of life.”

Melbourne actor and musician Tom Carty captures the dilemmas of Banjo Paterson as the famous and ‘Hamlet like” writer is surrounded by beautiful and powerful women, and warring factions of a civil war.

Kirsty Gayther, plays the role of Christina Macpherson. Recently she played the title role in Xavier Brouwer's satirical musical 'Grey's Lobotomy'.

Colin Driscoll, renown bush poet, plays the role of the Swagman who appears as a ghost to the imagination and conscience of Banjo Paterson

Cora Browne, plays the role of the scorned woman. Sarah Riley. She let’s the world know of Banjo’s betrayal and makes him pay for his wrong-doings every step of the way.

Playwright and composer, Felix Meagher, steps in as The Squatter, Robert Macpherson, and through his dark suspicions of Banjo Paterson’s motives, reveals the possibility of an answer as to who murdered the swagman.

THE MAN THEY CALL THE BANJO by Felix Megher and Dennis O'Keeffe

Premiere Season at Mt. Rothwell Estate 17 April 2015

Roy Hay: Pure delight last night. Thanks to you and all involved.

Review on our website at www.sesasport.com

Unofficial anthem gets another outing

Roy Hay

Waltzing Matilda is still Australia’s unofficial national anthem in many people’s minds. The late Dennis O’Keeffe thought that at heart it was a love song and researched the background to its creation by A B ‘Banjo’ Paterson and Christina Macpherson. Now Felix Meagher and company has turned the story into a musical for a new generation. A mixture of song and history set in the Queensland outback it had its world premiere at Mount Rothwell in the You Yangs on Friday night as ‘The Man they called the Banjo’.

Crafting a dramatic story out of the sketchy evidence is a difficult task but the production almost makes a virtue out of it as the various phases of the creation the song are uncovered. The signature song emerges in stages as the relationships between Patterson and the two women with whom he was involved are played out against the background of the conflict between the squatters and shearers.

All the performers have strong voices and personalities and Cora Browne as the jilted Sarah Riley had the biggest impact on the audience with her tantrums as she realised her ‘catch’ was slipping away. Fleur Murphy carries off the difficult balance between muse and respectability as the inspiration for the townie writer of the lyrics and a contributor in her own right. Colin Driscoll’s Swagman makes a strong plea for a factual history of the rural conflict but in the end settles for immortality in song, while Meagher has just enough menace as the squatter brother of Christina and the possibility that he was the man who shot the swaggie.

Chris Saxton as Patterson has to present a young man struggling for recognition and escape from the drudgery of his urban employment not the literary icon of popular memory. He brings it off effectively. Direction by Wolf Heidecker is crisp and focused though there are things which no doubt will be tightened in future performances. Music by Ewen Baker and Lou Hesterman warmed up the audience and kept the show lively. Audience participation, particularly in a chorus of the song hit just the right note.

Purists might wish that there had been an opportunity to hear the whole of Dennis O’Keeffe’s moving rendition of the original Patterson/Macpherson version of Waltzing Matilda. You can find that on Youtube.]

Reviews: Geli - Hitler's Niece

Geli -Hitler's Niece by Enzo Condello

Review by Richard Wolstencroft:

A great new play has opened in Melbourne Australia that deals with the touchy issue of Adolf Hitler's relationship with his niece Geli. Anyone who has studied the National Socialist period knows the story uel1. ln the late zo's Hitler develops a love interest for his half niece, Geli Raubal. At first, it's all fun and games, but Hitler becomes jealous after Geli has an affair with his chauffeur Emil and becomes overly protective and manipulative. Eventually keeping her as a virtual prisoner in the Berghof, until she commits suicide at the young age of 23. Hitler goes in to a deep depression afterwards, and holidays by the Tegernsee and does not attend the funeral. A few days later, he visits her grave in grief - but then soon after loses his depression and refocuses his attention on Politics, Germany and begins in earnest his relationship with Eva Braun, yet, still keeping Geli's portrait in many of his private rooms. These are the historical facts.

In Enzo Condello's wonderfully new Shakespearian play Geli - Hitler's Niece, Geli is portrayed as an unsung heroine of modern history. Geli (played well by Kellev Kerr Young) is a girl who believes that love and love alone was and is strong enough to turn old Adolf from his more radical ideas to a more mild Populist Nationalist attitude of assimilation, and expulsion of radicals and known enemies and traitors, only, perspective. Geli envisages a more mild Hitler and sets about bringing it in to reality it seems at times with Hitler's own acquiescence. Geli is portrayed as a strong Catholic 'arc angel', with high moral values and she tries to get Hitler to see her perspective, constantly reminding him of his own Catholic background and heritage. And sometimes taking a whip to him to fun mock S&M shenanigans.

The play is set as a battle between good and evil forces - the prize of which is Hitler's sou1. The Dark Side is portrayed by no less than Heinrich Himmler {Jonathan Harris, no not Dr Smith - but a new one) in early days mode who sees Geli as a softening influence on the "Fuhrer to be" and he wants her gone. He indulges in his Machiavellian ways to try and oust Geli by creating a series of scandals with her flirting with good looking Nazi 'hanger-ons' - including going to the lengths of spiking her drinks at parties and such. This is all fascinatingly handled in the play.

Enzo Condello is the Brother of Mario Condello, one of the heavy hitters in The Carlton Crew, who got whacked during the Melbourne crime wars of late 9o's and early 2ooo. Enzo uses this and his own life experiences and at the request of his brother, before his passing, to write a play about Geli and Hitler- and this is the excellent result. Enzo Condello is a modern want to be bard, in the Shakespearean tradition, and his Geli has echoes of Othello with Himmler playing the Iago role. It's ambitious but all rather well done, in my view.

It's not without some small problems. It's perhaps 20 minutes too long at 110 minutes - without an intermission. The guy Harris playing Himmler looks more like Goebbels, a taller version and the guy playing Goebbels (Ben Byrne) looks more like a version of early days Goering. But that's not really that big a deal, and these are only minor issues, small potatoes.

The stand out performance of the play is that of Mattrhew Richard Walsh as Adolf Hitler. He gives a stunning performance as Hitler for the local indy stage. A tormented Hitler torn between love and rnoderation, and the rnore dark side vision of Himmler's Nazism to come. His great performance opens the question: if Geli had stayed by his side, would Hitler have been far less radical? An interesting idea. And only deported some Jews or assimilated many - as Geli had recommended and never resorted to the radical ideas of Himmler, and his darker entourage.

It's a timely idea and theme as Nationalism is rising on the world stage once again. Do we choose a Nationalism with Geli’s trimmings, more loving, less radical and fair and with strong Christian ethos backing it up? Or do ne descend in to a mutually destructive, full nightmare of nihilistic and evening Satanic darkness, that Himmler and his antics represent?

Geli - Hitler's Niece is a prescient and timely reflection on all this, and one's hat must be taken off to Condello, director Heidecker and lead Matthew Richard Walsh for putting this ail together, against the odds. Trade's Hall, the original venue baulked and kicked them out, as they don't like Free Speech and founded the topic unpleasant, etc., - but it's found a great home in Richmond at The Richmond Theatrette.

It's a must for local theatre goers and I hope it sees a return season interstate - or an overseas run. It has two more performances locally. Get along and catch one if you can.

Credits:

Produced by Globe Players

Written by Enzo Condello

Directed by Wolf Heidecker

Featuring Kelley Kerr Young, Matthew Richard Walsh, Caroline Ferguson, Simone Bergamin & Ben Byrne; Set & lmage-Design Sarah Yeung.

Venue: Richmond Theatrette, Upstairs, 415 Church St, Richmond

Dates: April 26 to 28 & May 1 to 5 (2018)

Review by Suzy Markovski:

“It is not so much the doer as the deed that dismays” Enzo Condello’s latest offering does not disappoint. In this play comes a masterful depiction of the story of Hitler’s half niece Geli Raubal. Most of us at some point would have heard mutterings about it but the intricacies of the story of their love affair are not general knowledge. The play is not a historical drama but is shaped around fact; the general rumoured story of the girl he was mad for. Enzo Codello is known for his modern hybrid of classical dramatic verse and contemporary poetry prose and this hybrid which is his own just works so explicitly. He uses it masterfully to tell the story of Hitler and his niece’s love affair. It is like many other love affairs, one that eventuates into jealousy and paranoia, deception and all the themes universal in the game of love. These are themes that Condello treats with such fervent devotion, they resonate so intricately that the audience is taken on the journey, a rollercoaster of highs and then mostly lows, and we sit in our chairs resonating with the pain and torment that those on the stage convey. They can find themselves wincing in their seats as the themes of heartbreak and longing strike a chord. Codello repeats themes of the seductress, the struggle of power in relationships between a man and woman, the ever present spell of a woman upon a man. His writings pack a punch in this production with the concurrent theme of love, desire and loss interspersed with commentary on themes of friendship and larger themes of politics, power, religion and philosophy. All of this presented in a kind of ‘dancing language’ We are left intrigued by the story of Geli , Hitler’s niece, and lover and astounded to have witnessed seeing this ‘human’ Hitler

Adolf Hitler or the actor who plays him undoubtedly shines. Matthew Richard Walsh is poignant and effortless. He makes ‘his Hitler’ inextricably human and flawed but still there is an underpinning notion of the evil and unforgiving monster that may be underneath. In this play we are sad for him which feels weird and unnerving because of what we know of him but in the story laid out in front of us it is because we sympathise with the deception placed upon him. The performance doesn’t wain and in between scenes his presence back on stage is anticipated as we get caught up in the sequences of the story being told and his journey in it

His niece and obsession Geli Raubal played by Kelley Kerr Young is a strong presence on the stage as well. The actor intricately displays Geli’s passion and strength. She does well as do all the others to convey for the most part unhappiness and despair.

The director Wolf Heidecker had done well with pace and transitions in that regard considering a third of the story many of its characters are in despair nevertheless we move through all of it, mostly with ease and good rhythm

The intermittent bits where Hitler’s commanders come in to discuss the situation are nicely woven in and seem like the right amount of interplay between the two worlds. Heinrich Himmler played by Jonathon Harris is a strong presence, playing treacherous with a cheeky sincerity that often humour was the reaction from the audience

A monologue given by Eva Braun, the woman who wants to be with Hitler played by Simone Bergamin conveys Condello’s poignant commentary, quite aptly on what it is to be a woman amongst men

A couple of scenes where mother and daughter or Hitler and Geli were in throws of emotion the performances seemed too frenzied and the words were a wash and not distinguishable, where there was a sense of the scene not being refined. Aside from that the whole ensemble overall gave a very noteworthy performance of Condello’s latest. They are an ensemble that has produced together a remarkable piece of theatre.

It looked just as it should. The production design and set was befitting. No over embellishment and set pieces that were perfectly descriptive, the desk, the chaise lounge, the books, down to the female figurine on the desk. Costume too, descriptively on point. The little details, exemplary. It does visually transport us to the time

Condello and Heidecker have come together to give us a production that conveys the brutal atmosphere of Germany in the 1930’s and leaves the audience wondering whether the course of history was indeed altered by this tragic love story

The Bard Bites Back musical Comedy by David James and Graha

The Bard Bites Back by David James and Graham Pitts

Directed by Wolf Heidecker

Musical Comedy with the Macduff Jazz Quartet, and Jeffrey Bryan Jones, Annie Stanford, Adrian Mulraney

See: http://bardbitesback.com/

PREMIERE - SEASON 2016 at Phee Broadway Theatre, Castlemaine Vic 3450, The Mills Street Theatre, Cheltenham - to be submitted to Showcase 2019

Thanks to our sponsors, Creative Victoria, RACV, Archisign, Diamond Valley Vietnam Veterans Association, Hornsby RSL Sub Branch.

Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays? Anybody but Shakespeare, it seems. In the last week we have been told that it was Christopher Marlowe who co-wrote the Henry VI play, according to the New Oxford Shakespeare. And that is just one theory. Alternative author claims range from Edward de Vere, to the Earl of Oxford, to William Stanley, to Sir Francis Bacon – even Queen Elizabeth 1!

As the controversy rages on, finally there will be a spirited defence of the great man. The Bard Bites Back, a play written by playwright, jazz musician and journalist David A James, is coming to Castlemaine’s Phee Broadway Theatre. The play features the Bard’s ghost - he is cranky and he wants to set the record straight.

“If Shakespeare was alive today he would be horrified but amused,” says James. “Horrified there are so many theories about who wrote his plays, but amused at the glorious folly of it all. He would have loved the comic drama of it all.”

The Bard Bites Back features an outstanding acting cast, with Andrew Gray as Shakespeare, and Annie Stanford and Adrian Mulraney in multiple roles, including performances of some Shakespearean text.

It showcases songs set to Shakespearean text performed by vocalist Lisa Jacques and accompanied by the Macduff Jazz Quartet.

David James worked on the play with the Australian playwright Graham Pitts. The producer and director is Wolf Heidecker. Heidecker describes the play as a cross genre piece that is “an original take on combining music and acting.” Gray, who plays Shakespeare, says he finds it fascinating to perform the greatest playwright the world has ever known. “In the play Shakespeare lives in four worlds: the world he created in his plays, the Elizabethan world where he enjoyed immense fame, his after-life and the glorious tradition that he created after he left us.

“It is quite a lineage. And then, of course, we have a lot of fun with alternative authorship theories. Above all, we show how the Bard would have us prize life itself, as he undoubtedly did.”

The Bard Bites Back premiered 2016, the year of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

Comment after the Opening Night that sums up what many audience members said:

Amazing and resourceful, determined and talented… The work entertains as well as surprises. Ariette Taylor (renowned Melbourne Director)

Boy Out Of The Country in Melbourne and on Tour

Boy Out Of The Country

by Felix Nobis

Produced by Larrikin Ensemble Theatre (Producer: Wolf Heidecker),

Tour-Production directed by Felix Nobis

http://www.boyoutofthecountry.com.

Regional Arts Victoria Tour - from 11 May 2016 - 18 June 2016 (on 2016 VCE-Playlist)

There’s more to land than real estate. There’s more to family than DNA.

A unique drama where an old Australia meets a new Australia: where a country cop comes to terms with catchment areas, where a fifth bedroom is more important than a backyard, and where new technologies have the potential of uncovering old family secrets.

A family property, worthless for generations is suddenly zoned as part of a regional housing estate to accommodate an ever-increasing urban sprawl. After a seven year absence Hunter returns to find his boyhood house boarded up and his mother in a retirement home and goes in search of answers. And he starts with his brother Gordon.

Written in Australian poetic vernacular by award winning poet and playwright Felix Nobis, Boy out of the Country tunes into the rhythms of the country to examine relationships and uncover the landscape. Boy out of the Country emerged out of the Melbourne Theatre Company Affiliate Writers Scheme and was awarded the R. E. Ross Trust Script Development Award.

See website: "http://www.boyoutofthecountry.com/

(Premiere season at Fortyfivedownstairs/Melbourne Nov/Dec 2013; touring 2016 with the support of Regional Arts Victoria)

Six Ways To Say Goodbye by Dina Ross

Originally called "Muffins at the Death Cafe"

SIX WAYS TO SAY GOODBYE by Dina Ross

A group of people of all ages and backgrounds coming together to talk about death,” “Why? Death is the ultimate taboo. But supposing each of those people had a hidden secret, a need to explore mortality for very personal reasons. That’s how the plot for ‘Muffins at the Death Café’ was born.”

The play is a world-first – no-one has written about Death Cafés before. Two years in development, ‘Muffins at the Death Café’ has its world premiere at the Mechanics Institute Brunswick’s Metanoia Theatre, on 21 October. Directed by Wolf Heidecker, director with Larrikin Ensemble Theatre, the bittersweet comedy brings together a talented cast: Lucinda Cowden, Otis Binnie, Victor Gralak, Marie-Therese Byrne, Sharon Karina and Morgan Phillips, reflecting Melbourne’s multi-cultural society.

Muffins at the Death Café by Dina Ross

Metanoia Theatre - Mechanics Institute Brunswick, 270 Sydney Road, Brunswick

Season 21 October - 01 November 2015

When award-winning playwright Dina Ross read an article about Death Cafés, the idea for a play came to her immediately. “I was intrigued Death Cafés were founded by Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who organized the first ‘Café Mortel’ in 2004. Since then they have proved extremely popular in the UK and USA, with the first Café held in Melbourne in 2013. Over coffee, tea, cake (and muffins!) people can come together to discuss death and mortality in a friendly, non-judgmental atmosphere.

Ross has crafted the play with each scene also reflecting a step in psychologist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’ seminal work, “The Five Stages of Grieving” – highlighting denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Despite the title and the subject, this isn’t a ponderous work. “The play is a black comedy, with moments of high drama”, says Ross. “Each of the six characters wants answers to fundamental questions we all ask ourselves – why are we here, can we make a difference, how do we connect with each other? And what they discover is that by talking openly and honestly about death, they learn so much more about life.”

Dina Ross’ plays include the critically-acclaimed TRIO (produced by Larrikin Ensemble Theatre), CHRYSALIS (Currency Press) and WAITING (Green Room Award nominee). She has been a writer in residence with Melbourne Theatre Company and with Red Stitch Actors Theatre. In 2015, she won the Odyssey House Short Story Competition and is the convener of the popular series of bi-monthly short story readings at Fortyfivedownstairs, SHORTS@45.

https://www.facebook.com/muffinsatthedeathcafe

Black Box 149 by R.Johns - first play by an Australian play

As participants in the Australian Government's arts & culture program Australia now Germany 2017 Playwright R. Johns and her artistic adviser Wolf Heidecker have been attending the final rehearsals and the Opening Night of R. John's play

Black Box 149

at the Staatstheater Nuernberg, Germany

(State Theatre Nuremberg - Artistic Director/Drama: Klaus Kusenberg)

The Staatstheater Nuernberg is producing the European Premiere of R.Johns' play Black Box 149 (German translation Dr.André Bastian) that opens on 18 March 2017; the first shows are already sold out, however, the play will stay in repertoire until the end of the theatre's season in July 2017.

Director: Christian Papke; Set Design: Lena Scheerer; Costume Design: Anne Cierpka; Dramaturgie: Friederike Engel; Actors: Heimo Essl (Pilot), Sohel Altan Gol (Man)

Black Box 149 explores the impact of covert and overt war on civilians.

Lies, fear and deception. A Western aircraft, its crew and passengers are stranded on a Kuwait runway as Saddam’s army invades. Silence follows. Who knew the truth then? Who knows the truth now? In this agonisingly political world of betrayals and secret intrigue, the power and control wielded by leaders is often experienced in terrifying ways. Written as an intense psychological and emotional journey, the play explores how the personal is impacted by the political. An Australian father is dispossessed of his child following events beyond his control; an experience echoed by an Iraqi father. The cross-cultural nature of the play takes the audience into a powerful dramatic world where the text is spoken in German and at times in Arabic. The ‘black box’ of the title is a metaphor juxtaposing a pilot’s mental landscape with real space and time, from which the actor cannot leave or escape.

R. Johns' works have been recognized globally with innumerable presentations/performance at the curated conferences of Women Playwrights International, Cape Town WPIC 2015 , Riksteatern Stockholm 2012, Mumbai WPIC 2009, and Athens 2000. She is an Australian WPIC delegate. Her work has been produced in Christ Church NZ. She directed a presentation of Norwegian playwright’s Lemne Teigen’s “The Archaelologists” at La Mama and was funded by the Norwegian embassy to do this. Her texts have been selected for VCE Drama and Theatre Studies.

Review from Nuernberger Zeitung, Herbert Heinzelmann (translation W.H.):

“Black Box 149” at the Blue Box

Blood and Tears of the Orient

Christian Papke directed the European Premiere of the Australian play “Black Box 149” at the Blue Box venue of the State Drama Theatre Nuremberg

Innocence lost. The simple (but naïve) division of the world in ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ doesn’t work anymore. Everyone is ensnared in everything. From time to time a media campaign makes an attempt to return to a world where there was a God and a Devil. When the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 he was compared with Satan himself and Adolf Hitler. In what respect or to what extent he may have been the victim of a scheme plotted by the West, and if Great Britain possibly, in quiet, may have used a regular civil aircraft to smuggle special forces in to Kuwait became a matter of discussions much much later. The (real) British Airways flight 149 definitely played a role in this.

The title “Black Box 149” is a reference to that circumstance. The Australian playwright (with English roots) Rosemary Johns used this title for her play that had its European Premiere at the Blue Box venue at the State Drama Theatre on Saturday. It is a play about the pilot of BA 149. He, his crew and his passengers have been taken hostage in an actual war situation. No support whatsoever from the British government. They didn’t want their involvement in warmongering been exposed. In a long monologue the pilot tells his story, describes the angst that still torments him decades later.

The production strikes head and guts

Strictly speaking - once again - “Black Box 149” is not a theatre play, but rather a radio play, epic, ‘post dramatic’. It isn’t a brilliant text, even. The initial conditions from which the pilot starts talking never becomes really clear. There are highly sentimental constructions in view of the pilot’s young daughter, his failed family situation, and a saved little dog. Nevertheless, Christian Papke’s production strikes the audience’s head and guts. Main reason is the intense way the actors take leadership of their respective roles, a solid achievement of both actors Heimo Essl and Sohel Altan Gol.

Set Designer Lena Scheerer filled the Blue Box with a luggage-carousel. The audience sits on or behind it - the arena for the actors. Two movable mesh screens and a few projections are sufficient to complete the creation of a tense atmosphere.

In Nuremberg Christian Papke’s main responsibility is managing the festival ‘Talking About Borders’. In this connection with very clever text-arrangements he already proved himself to be a master of minimalism. He always counts on his actors, discreetly but efficiently guides the dramaturgy of their gestures, eases up their facial expressions, finds positions and postures that don’t look deliberate. He neither exaggerates symbolism nor does he let a play become immersed in grey naturalism. That’s how he attracts his audience’s attention.

The fact that the audience’s attentions is maintained throughout the 90 minutes duration of ‘Black Box 149’ is down to the actors. What is Heimo Essl actually doing when portraying the pilot, when slipping into the fragments of the roles of other characters? He never goes overboard. He always maintains balance on the tightrope of emotions. He makes sure the extensive lines never crumble. He even achieves to trigger some laughter which, given the basically terrible situation we observe, doesn’t feel awkward at all.

Sohan Altan Gol, guest actor from Berlin, can take him on any time in the smaller parts where Arabic protagonists have their say. He masters the merciless tone of the interrogator as well as the resigned friendliness of a helpless resident living in this region of the world which has been thrown into a bloody chaos, not least by Western powers. His guitar play conveys a very fragile moment of peace. His Arabic spoken words at the end of the play are testaments of desperation.

“You stroll through parks; you drink your coffees and beers and congratulate yourselves on your cosmopolitanism. You are not aware that death is just a breath away”. A statement the interrogator once made. A statement targeted at us, the audience. Our neighbourhood has become a theatre of war, too. To gain just a little bit of understanding why our current situation is like that “Black Box 149” is a must-see production.

Herbert Heinzelmann

(Translator’s notes: Herbert Heinzelmann is a publicist, freelance journalist, former media-teacher and lecturer in media science at the Institute for Theatre and Media Science at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuernberg. For many years he was feature editor with Nuernberger Zeitung and still is a feature writer with the newspaper)

MEI LING IN MELBOURNE a cross-cultural comedy by Moni Lai S

A sequential play following "Our Man in Beijing"

MEI LING IN MELBOURNE by Moni Lai Storz

Premiere Season September 2019 at the Singing Wok, Elwood

Review of Mei Ling in Melbourne

By Lyn Hurst

Playwright Moni Lai Storz has created the multi-cultural play Mei Ling in Melbourne. The play tells the story of a young married couple, Chinese national, Mei Ling (played by Isabelle Wang) and Australian born John Williams (played by Karan Bhatia) who have moved to Melbourne.

John spent his childhood in Castlemaine living with his Indian father after his American mother abandoned them. His mother Tootsie (played by Marie-Therese Byrne) arrives unexpectedly and John refuses to believe she is in fact his mother. Mei Ling and Tootsie form an immediate bond much to the chagrin of John. Tootsie wants to get to know her son and to be forgiven for leaving him. He finally understands but it may be too late to mend their relationship.

Neighbour, Wally (played by Keam-Mar Lai) added a light comedic role to the ensemble. Composer and Musician Phil Trainer also played a troublesome busker.

Isabelle Wang was a stand out, as not only a convincing actor but also a talented singer.

Karan Bhatia seemed a bit nervous at the outset but warmed to his role though his anger seemed a bit superficial at times. Veteran Marie-Therese Byrne seemed to thoroughly enjoy her role and showed her singing prowess with a relaxed delivery.

Wolf Heidecker had his work cut out to direct a play with many scenes in a very small space with seating for only 24 people, but it worked. A simple static set was functional for the actors. Wolf was amply assisted by Lighting and Sound Designer, Richard Lyford-Pike.

This is a play about the interactions and bonds of family in all cultures. The ending could have been a bit stronger in telling the story of how each person was affected by the others.

Wolf Heidecker Arts Management

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