Bang bang! Shoot it down...

Assassins
Now Showing at the Space Theatre

So, somebody finally realised the dream of the many people who have shot American presidents. They finally got their moment in the spotlight. But, the lights of this stage perhaps don't quite do justice to their hopes of fame. With the exception of Cam Goodall's narrative banjo-playing character (who I seriously doubt existed at any stage in the actual sequence of events), I'd say that the various assassins would be rather disappointed in the portrayal of their actions by the various members of this musical cast.

Tune was a bit of a hit and miss concept for the majority of the songs, and it would've been nice to be able to hear/understand the words, but mostly we got the general idea... We know that one of them wanted to be ambassador to France, and that the girl with the orange hair, no shoes and the plumber's crack hanging out (we remember her from her dismal performance in 'Lion Pig Lion') was supposedly dating Charlie Manson or something along those lines.. And the lady with the bag shot her dog.

Conclusion, everybody has a gun, and you should read the synopsis before you go! The humour wasn't quite up to par with some of the Company's other productions, but we did like the banjo!

Rating: 6/10

Strange, annoying, mimicking Australian native fauna can be funny too!

Lyrebird
Tales of Sir Robert Helpmann
Written and acted by Tyler Coppin

“You can create an illusion of almost anything with people who don’t know you.”

How true, sir, how true. Coppin’s illusion of Sir Robert Helpmann can only serve to illustrate this point. Having never seen the actor/playwright as his ‘normal self’, I can only say that I literally did not associate the man who appeared at the start of question time with the one who had minutes before enthralled his audience at the Space Theatre.

“Two words; ‘Max Factor’”. Under that much foundation and with the drawn on features and greatly changed voice and accent, he was quite unrecognisable as himself, but easily identifiable as Helpmann. Not for one moment did his cover slip as he pranced and flounced about stage in nothing but a leotard at certain points (didn’t really want to see that display of lycra…), in the most convincing caricature I’ve ever seen.

Hilarious, witty, and absolutely spot on with the South Australian descriptions and humour, the perfect blend of irony, self mockery and occasional bawdiness, which is quite a feat for a man born and brought up in Placer County, California.

Just to exemplify, here’s his description of a road trip North along Prince’s Highway:

“First you have Robe, the princess of the South. Then there’s Millicent, her ugly sister. After that, Kingston, the retarded cousin nobody likes to talk about!”

Chapeau en bas, monsieur! GREAT show :)

9/10 (I was going to take off a point for the lycra, but I put it back on for the accent transitions).

French Comedy goes Adelaide-style

Pigs, Lions, and what the...???

There are few things worse than a play you can't understand. One of them is a play you dont want to understand. Lion Pig Lion, currently showing at the Dunstan Playhouse, is one of those plays.

The basic plot is centred around a big overseas corporate scandal in some third world country, and a crooked investigator who gets sucked into the whirlpool of repeating threats and finger pointing that the rest of the company employees take part in.

Bribery, fraud and betrayal are all words you’ll hear bandied around like no tomorrow, and despite strong performances from most of the main characters, the lack of interest in the story line seriously lets this production down.

The audience finds itself so utterly bewildered by every character second guessing the other and playing ‘Whodunnit’ that the resolution of the play after three long hours is a relief. A note to Denniss: if you cut out every time a character said ‘f**k’, running time would almost certainly be down to two hours or less, just short enough to maybe hold at least a little audience engagement.

The best thing was, in fact, the incredible python costume worn by one of the characters for the final showdown at the company party in the last few minutes of the play. We love the turban and the tail.

All in all, the ending couldn’t save the rest of the script, which bore striking resemblance to a Canberra road map. Better luck next time.


Rating: 4/10.

Review: Our Little Secret

Allayne Webster, Our Little Secret.
Omnibus Books, 2007.

Finally someone has written what people need to hear! And not a moment too soon: as it stands one in every three women in Australia have been victims of sexual harassment. Think about it- your aunts, grandmas, sisters, friends, colleagues, the people standing in line with you at the supermarket... one in every three.

Our Little Secret is Allayne's first book, and was selected from thousands by Australian publisher Omnibus, printed recently this year. It was launched on the 3rd of August, to an excellent turnout at the SA Writers Centre, with MP Nick Xenophon giving a speech, hailing the book as a catalyst for social change. "Now is the time for abuse to come out of the shadows" he said, and this book certainly does shed light on something most of us would rather not see.

Set in a small country town where appearance is everything and nothing is ever secret, the story is told from the perspective of 14 year old Edwina. Her naïvety in the first few chapters of the novel is perhaps a little too exaggerated, but the authenticity and almost harsh directness with which the story continues after the first time Edwina is assaulted more than compensates for this.

Teenagers, young adults, parents; everybody should read this. For those who can relate to the story line, the strong protagonist and positive ending is ultimately a very good experience, and perhaps a good counselling tool for those who aren't ready to talk. For those who have a friend or relative who has been in a situation like Edwina's, the novel offers valuable advice and insight on helping others cope.

Rating: 9/10

The Secret Life of Retired Tubes

So what really happens to dead old tube carriages when they can no longer be used for transport?
Well normally they're taken to bits, sorted into piles and the pieces are generally disposed of in landfill, but now there's a new lease on life for disused tube carriages.

Starting in London about a year ago, six old Jubilee line carriages were cleaned up and adapted into workspace and studios for young artists, designers and start-up creative businesses. Four carriages and two shipping containers now sit, completely converted and reconstructed as functional studios and workspaces, above an equally miraculous restored warehouse.

The outsides of the carriages are an ever changing and dynamic canvas for the graffiti art created by kids jumping the viaduct at night, and inside architects, interior designers, filmakers, artists and scriptwriters among other creative types create their pieces. The warehouse is currently one of the most sought after venues for fashion, film and art events in London, and the whole project has had fantastic success so far.

"There has been such an overwhelmingly positive response from people like Hugo Boss and MTV who are hiring the warehouse space below for big events, and in the trains above." says Daniel Bridge, Planner at Uran Design company EDAW.

The Director of Village Underground, Auro Foxcroft was the one with the ideas (Village Underground is a non-profit organisation providing affordable studio spaces for creatives struggling to find workspace). "I'm a furniture designer and wanted my own studio, but because of the limited choice and high cost of work spaces around London, it was impossible. I decided I needed to find or create a space for myself and for like-minded people to work."

He explains that the old carriages are the perfect workspaces, with plenty of windows and light, and once the seats are out, plenty of room too. Frequent and lengthy delays were a problem due to lack of funding, but a wide range of charities, organisations and individuals pitched in, and funds from hiring of the warehouse helped. The success of the London project has inspired Foxcroft to start thinking about maybe even expanding the project to create an international Village Underground in other cities, so lets all keep our fingers crossed Australian train carriages can hope for a retirement future sometime soon!

40 Hour Famine

This weekend, the 17th til the 19th of August, the World Vision 40 Hour Famine is on.
I started mine a bit early (busy weekend), and finished today, and if I can go forty hours without food, I'm sure ANYBODY can!!

This year the funds raised are destined for Laos, a country next to Vietnam where:
Over half the population live below the poverty line.
1/3 of the population live on less than $2 a day.
50% of the population do not have access to clean water.
40% of children under five are malnourished.

You can make a difference though, so if you're doing the famine, well done and good luck! If not, sponsor a friend who is; every dollar counts.