Hybrid hijinks

Broadway Bingo (Outside the Jukebox)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Underground Theatre

April 19 – 21

If you familiar with Sondheim, Lloyd Webber, and Rodgers and Hammerstein, “Broadway Bingo” is the show for you! The unpredictability of the musical experience, however, means that not all of these musical theatre heavyweights will necessarily appear in every show… which is actually much of the reimagined Broadway concert’s appeal.

The unique and clever concert-game hybrid, which is the first 2024 mainstage show for Matilda Award nominee Outside The Jukebox, operates on many levels. Pulling out bingo cage balls to determine the songs creates a different show for every performance as, with bingo cards on their phones, audience members are at-the-ready to mark off different song mentions, quirky on-stage observations and alike. Added to this, performer power cards can also be played on each other to modify the songs, direct the performer, or even operate them like a puppet.

The show, which was created by its four performers (Hannah Grondin, Creative Producer and Designer Hayden Rogers, Musical Director Marcia Penman and Technical Producer Oliver Samson) is, consequentially, a little bit loose, which makes for lots of fun, especially in its performer ad-libs and audience interactions. It’s best summed up as Broadway meets bingo with a bit of theatre sports thrown in, as Penman’s ‘You’ll be Back’ is ‘enhanced’ not only by her regal costume-box additions, but more so by Rogers’ puppet-like operation of her limbs. Indeed, Rogers provides many such comic moments as he leads a ‘The Song of Rebellion’ workout from “Matilda” as a pirate-hatted Miss Trunchbul and showcases some iconic interpretive dance moves while otherwise poignantly delivering the slow-build emotion of ‘She Used to Be Mine’ from “Waitress”.

For all of its fun, there is an underlining respect from the Broadway musical genre and songs themselves, reflective of the fact that all four members of Outside the Jukebox hold a Bachelor of Musical Theatre degree from the Queensland Conservatorium. Samson’s arrangement of a Sondheim ‘Heartache Medley, is both wonderful in and of itself, but also in its duet between Samson and Rogers. This reflects the truth that beneath all the colour of its concept, the biggest highlights of “Broadway Bingo” come from the vocals. In opening night show solos, Grondin gives us both a considered, moving ‘Bring Him Home’ and a bold and attituded ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’. Samson, meanwhile, delivers a heartfelt early ‘Waving through a Window’ (complete with appropriate Evan Hansen prop), hitting all the right notes in all the right places, and later passionately rips into the essential desperation of ‘Heaven on their Minds’ with such impressive vocal gusto as to elicit mid-song responses from the packed opening night audience.

Within its unpredictability, the program is arranged to ensure a mix of solos, duets and group numbers, such as in a stunning “Rent” opener and iconic “Wicked” closer in four-part harmony and with some audience assistance. For all of its familiar Broadway bangers, the program also features some more obscure numbers from works such as “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” and “Little Women”, which slow the show’s otherwise energetic pace.

Things work best when the gloriously chaotic momentum of its hijinks is allowed to build, especially given how the intimacy of Brisbane Powerhouse’s Underground Theatre affords an infectious party atmosphere. Still, there is much frivolity on offer with “Broadway Bingo”, even for those who may be hearing of “Jesus Christ Superstar” for the very first time, and it is easy to appreciate how the inaugural season (because hopefully it will continue as a new Brisbane theatre tradition) is virtually sold out.

Dreams in doubt

Big Yikes! (Playlab)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Underground Theatre

March 13 – 23

Nervous Lorrie. Sorry… Loxie (Juliette Milne). because that is a cooler rebrand, might be the protagonist of Madeleine Border’s “Big Yikes!” yet as the show opens to her being instructed of the expectations of the coffee-foam-love-heart, fast-paced hospitality world and number one rule of customer service by stressed supervisor Stef (Tenielle Plunkett), she barely speaks a word. It’s an overwhelming time for already-anxious Loxie as she sets about both embarking on life in the labour force and as a share house inhabitant, only able to afford $5 wine.

The play takes place in the condensed, and uncertain time frame of between finishing school and release of university offers, yet lot happens in Loxie’s transition to world of work and independent living, not to mention her emerging character development. This means that her eventual self-assuredness almost sneaks up on us given her mid-show awkwardness, which is at its highest in attempt to ask a fellow café co-worker on a date. As Loxie bumbles along without read of cues as to Charlie’s (Billy Fogarty) disinterest, their conversation is soundtracked by collective audience reactions, in illustration of our investment in Loxie’s story, as much as our cringe at her cluelessness.

Border’s script is full of humorous observations, particularly about cafe patron archetypes, practical skills from high school and how to avoid paying HECS. And when an event night opportunity in attempt to have the café go viral before an end-of-the-month relaunch and possible threat of franchise, sees a rotation of slam poetry performances, the result is some ‘it’s funny because it’s true’, hilarity. It’s quite light-hearted and thus unlike many other Playlab works, and it would be perfect for an in-schools touring season, with some trimming.

For all the vitality of its soundscape and creativeness of its staging, what elevates “Big Yikes!” is its performances. The four-hander features all actors apart from Milne, transitioning in and out of a variety of roles, of not just named characters, but the easy cliches of café customers. Christopher Paton, in particular, is absolutely brilliant. He is an engaging performer in every character role, but especially as Loxie’s outspoken best friend. As rom-com expert Darcy, he not only has some of the script’s best lines, but he delivers them with expert intonation and timing, which works well against Loxie’s natural nervousness and social anxiety, well-realised in Milne’s on-edge physicality of tension-filled shoulders and serious demeaner.

Some later scenes drag a little, without much real revelation about Loxie’s character, however, given her character’s uncertainty about her passion and wait on outcome of her eclectic range of university preferences, this is perhaps appropriate. Even in response to sage advice about the process an importance of ongoing learning, Loxie would rather retreat into the headphone world of true crime podcasts, than face having to decide her future. Through this, and the performers’ (especially Plunkett’s) lean-in to the quirk of the script’s characters, there is already lot to offer younger audience members… and then there is reassurance that to not know what you are doing with your life is totally ok, because there is a certain freedom that comes from thinking of things differently. And the deliberateness of Border’s script, in, for example, its lack of definitive pronoun usage, and messaging around living your truth, ensures that just-turned-18 Loxie’s determination to decide her own future is endearing, for how do you know what you like, let alone your calling anyway, especially when you are only just entering your adulting era.  

Photos c/o – Stephen Henry

Hunting for humanity

The Hunt (Milliom Productions)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Underground Theatre

October 20 – 21

William Pyke’s “The Hunt” is not a particularly pleasant show; it’s characters are mostly unlikeable from the get-go as its group of friends arrive to a cabin in a mysterious forest for a weekend hunt, and relationship dynamics are mostly revealed. Tension is clearly in the air from the beginning through live music foreboding combined with contrasting lighting, but without any empathetic investment in the characters from a humanity perspective, shock value possibilities are not fully exploited. Indeed, when Act Three of the 80 minute (no interval) work opens to a brutal image, it comes with confusion not so much narratively, but as to what commentary its symbolism is trying to make.

The play, which is appearing at Brisbane Powerhouse in its Australian debut, comes with off-West End experience and is certainly a bold choice for Pyke’s new company, founded with Mark Foy, Milliom Productions. While there are some noteworthy on-stage performances such as from Jack Braddy in terms of his comic timing in delivery of script’s only real levity, this is a tense show intent on provocation rather than entertainment, making for an uncomfortable audience experience, especially in its venture into a primal questioning of the boundaries of reality. Static blocking also means that line of sight issues stop some audience members from viewing pivotal moments as the group of chraractes boozes and bellows about in move towards its nightmarish twist on a seemingly innocent pastime, while loud music masks over some character dialogue.

“The Hunt” is likely unlike anything even seen on stage previously and Milliom Productions should be commended for making choice of such a nuanced and chilling text for its first work, as seeing new and different plays on our stages is always welcome, even if their tense and unnerving terror is not necessarily for mainstream theatre goers.

Ride-or-die doubling

Stunt Double (The Farm)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Powerhouse Theatre

September 6 – 9

While it begins with just a centre-stage tripod floor lamp and tape deck play of Aussie rock classics of the AC/DC and Skyhooks sort, it is mere moments after the show’s start before the detailed ‘It’s Time’ 1974 setting of “Stunt Double” is revealed. The genre-bending dance theatre work from The Farm’s collective of dance and theatre artists, in partnership with Screen Queensland, is set in a fictitious desert town. We’re on the set of the action-packed ‘70s blockbuster, “Don’t Wake the Dark” where, as we soon see first-hand, stunt doubles put their bodies on the line to allow actors to reap their glories.

The golden era of Aussie actions flicks is evoked immediately thanks to Tyler Hill’s set and costume design, along with analogue sounds of the time. And then, with assistance from select members of the audience in roles as extras et al, we are taken from in-front-of-the-camera to behind-the-scenes aspects of film-making, including the work of stunt doubles. Cue flips, fights, jumps and more, all with perfectly-timed sound effects, as we watch them do their thing in real, repeated time in the barroom brawl scene that pretentious director Gus (Grayson Millwood), and his associate Magda (Ngoc Phan) are trying to film.

The high octane energy on show from the outset enhances appreciation of each physical performer’s strength, skill and stamina as take one becomes two, three, through to seven, often necessitated by injections from egomaniacal, chauvinistic male lead, fading action hero Patrick Paterson (Gavin Webber) in reaction to being effectively upstaged by his similarly safari-suited stunt double (David Carberry). There is humour too, in lean into the tropes and clichés of B-grade cinema and from the rapid in-and-out quiet-on-set appearances of prop and clapper-loader audience ‘volunteers’. Over time, this is balanced with some moments of both beauty and pathos, with Luke Smiles sound design and composition, and Chloe Ogilvie’s lighting design journeying the audience through the story’s unfolding moods.

Kate Harman, who is a standout in terms of physicality, plays star-in-the-making Maureen O’Sullivan, a stage actress in her first film role, mesmerically dueting with Essie Horne as her doppelgänger double. Draped in matching flowing red dresses, they hold our attention as they move about apart and together, almost as if conjoined, in clear metaphor of their reliant but also unequally-balanced ride-or-die relationship in terms of power dynamic. It is a wonderful moment of respite within the adrenalined aesthetic that occupies so much of the show.

“Stunt Double” is a conceptually innovative show in its incorporation of the process of film making into the work, as much as its use of bodies and space in new and creative ways. Indeed, the Gold Coast contemporary dance-theatre company continues to blur the boundaries of dance as an art form, increasing its audience accessibility. The dance is brash and bold, in signature The Farm style and the show is full of memorable moments, such as an adrenaline-fuelled The Angels car chase scene, unlike anything before seen on stage, deserving of its mid-show applause. The highly physical action-packed blockbuster is one of blood and sweat, but also, through its blend of dance and theatre, consideration of the cost of celebrity, meaning that a lot is packed within its 80-minute running time and lots left to awe about after experience of its uniquely raucous entertainment.

Transformative telling

Unconditional (Playlab Theatre)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Underground Theatre

August 30 – September 9

“Unconditional” is an intimate two hander written by and starring Seán Dowling and Cameron Hurry, well suited to the Brisbane Powerhouse’s Underground Theatre space. The story is of a queer relationship between a man (Hurry) who identifies as gay and a person whose identity evolves during their marriage (Dowling). It is not the show’s content that is perhaps polarising, however, but its structure, which sees the couple at its centre barely interacting with each other. Rather, they in effect deliver alternative subjective and then duelling monologues to the audience as if in response to an unseen counsellor’s questions around the reassessment and realignment of their relationship.

The pair only occupies the same physical space for the initial and then final minutes of the show’s 90-minute (no interval) duration, with Bill Haycock’s simple stage design being enhanced by subtle sound and lighting design (by David Walter and Brady Watkins respectively) that guides along the shift between performers as their truths around the transformation of their relationship are alternated. From the outset, there is also a clear craftedness to characterisation as Hurry sits upright on the edge of his seat in anxiety as to how the division created by keeping such a secret could change the previously clear direction of their relationship. In contrast, Dowling is more fluid in movement and easy lean back during responses, slowing unravelling costume components towards a core phase of comfort.

Both actors give empathetic performances, which allows the audience to feel each of the characters’ frustrations and appreciate their vulnerabilities. Faced with the reality that his spouse is a woman, gold-star-gay Hurry’s character is an oblivious husband, uncomfortably relying on cliches in attempted justification of his reaction to revelation of his partner’s internal identity and offering solutions as part of a conviction, perhaps to himself, that this is just a phase to be worked through. Through body language, non-verbals and vocal cadence, we not only know, but understand his ‘simple creature’ concerns at the circumstances of his partner’s transition and his yearn for return to their previous life where they can just ‘go to brunch like a normal couple’. He also brings about much of show’s early humour in recall comic anecdote of the environment of a western-suburbia gender reveal party.

Dowling, meanwhile, speaks forthrightly about the experiences of gender dysphoria and of transition, with words about how it feels and the realities of the regime and effects of hormone therapy that provide genuine insight into the difficulties of transitioning later in life. Themes are emotionally journeyed through a ‘lay it all out’, deliberately passive aggressive ‘I’m not angry’ monologue about the parameters of life as an abstract concept excluded from civil rights et al, to a touching account of the lived experience of a trans woman.

Though the play touches on events like the marriage equality plebiscite, it is, ultimately, a human as opposed to political work, thanks to the maturity of its script’s deep considerations. Language is well used to weave an intimate journey, poetic at times, but also incredibly honest, not only in Dowling’s character’s self-discovery, perhaps due to it having been written by each playwright for one character. And along with its changing perspectives, the script is full of great lines that illicit immediate audience response, such as about the declarative truth of unisex clothing.

“Unconditional” explores themes and subjects that may be difficult, however, under Brian Lucas’ direction, the play is an intimate insight into the complexity of love with contemplation of big questions like what is love, how can it transform and is it really ever unconditional? Yet, it is a balanced work of equal parts intellectual and emotional provocation. Though some sections are jarring in their journey through emotional stages of the stories, the seemingly simple but multi-layered narrative is ultimately told with respect. Indeed, the provision of a wellbeing practitioner in the foyer after the play for those in need of support is reflective of care that permeates the piece’s dealing with such sensitive subject matter.

Sweet, sweet sisterhood

Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves (The Little Red Company)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Powerhouse Theatre

July 26 – 29

The “Sister Act” soundtracks are full of iconic hits and from the moment that the return season of The Little Red Company’s Matilda-Award nominated “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” opens with an acapella ‘Amazing Grace’, audience members are reminded not only of its music, but the redemptive spirit of the unexpected blockbuster franchise’s themes. It is an ‘Oh Happy Day!’ as the vibrant and soulful celebration of individuality, sisterhood and the unifying power of music shines bright in sweet, sweet songs like ‘Dancing in the Street’ and ‘Deeper Love’.

As the gospel according to Sister Mary Clarence (aka nightclub lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier who, when put into protective custody inside a rundown San Francisco convent, takes its choir of nuns from meek singers to a powerful chorus), continues heaven-sent hits keeps coming from within the range of genres represented across the popular music franchise, including spirituals, gospel, soul, hymns and even some rap.

Under Naomi Price’s considered direction, the show is full of clap and sing-along big Whoopi energy, but also light and shade, in part due to the authentic weaving into the performers’ personal sisterhood stories as part of its powerful exploration of the work’s core themes, such as their speak of the music and dance teachers who inspired them to (Wake Up And) ‘Pay Attention’.

Audience connection is fostered through intimate moments, effectively created within the large Brisbane Powerhouse space, thanks to the show’s curation by creators Price and Adam Brunes, and creative realisation. Geoff McGahan’s Sound Design and Jason Glenwright’s Lighting Design work to both entice and comfort audiences into the stories that weave together the movies’ music. And for all the bombast of big, belting numbers it is actually the gentle share of India Arie’s plaintiff ballad, ‘I Am Light’, that serves as a serene standout moment, as light beams down upon each performer as they sing together with accompaniment from JaZZella on guitar. (Also in support throughout the show as the other apostles of music are Mik Easterman on drums, Michael Manikus on piano and OJ Newcomb on bass, who all combine as a tight unit.).

Performers Prinnie Stevens, Danielle Remulta, Irena Lysiuk and Alisha Todd are vocal powerhouses, particularly in melody together and Alex Van den Broek’s vocal arrangements are well-crafted to makes period music appear more modern and highlight performer voices both individually and in delightful four part harmonies. A fold in of ‘We Are Family’ to show’s titular number, serves as testament of this. And while ensemble numbers are the most rewarding, there are also impressive individual moments. Joining the cast of the 2023 season, for example, Remulta is impressive in her initiation, delivering an upbeat and infectiously soulful ‘Rescue Me’.

While the divine divas are look every bit the part thanks to their black and white couture gowns (designer Gail Sorronda), the performers are not afraid to add their own touches to take us back into the iconic movies. The pure sunshiney Lysiuk does a great impression of Maggie Smith’s Mother Superior and with appropriate deep shoulder action, ‘My Guy’ makes for an early light-hearted highlight. Indeed, the films’ device of adding religious affects to 1960s hits is acknowledged throughout with hits like ‘Heatwave’ and ‘I Will Follow Him’.

The Little Red Company is known for its unique musical-driven theatrical experiences. “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” continues this already-established expectation of original, feel-good theatre, elevating it in build upon the company’s catalogue of critically acclaimed works with inclusion of a 30-strong community choir. The resulting share of the music and more of “Sister Act” live on stage is uplifting, empowering, and lots of fun. Get yourself to the church of the Powerhouse Theatre quickly though as the nunsence is playing for five shows only. Of course there is also the upcoming ‘There’s Something About Music” aka the ultimate romcom movie mixtape, playing in return season as part of this year’s Brisbane Festival.

Photos c/o – Steph Do Rozario