7 June 2026
QPAC Playhouse
RNM and I saw Shake & Stir Theatre Co's production of
Shakespeare’s gripping tragedy Macbeth. Can you spot RNM in the reflection of this poster?
I can’t quote the opening line before
the play commenced, but it went along the lines of – it is not conflict that
starts a war, but silence. That set the scene for the next few hours.
Contrary to our initial expectation, Shakespeare’s play is
performed in its original text but set in a very contemporary context, where
the latest technological gadgetry, lighting and techno music are omnipresent. I
marvelled at the extraordinary effects emanating from the stage. I was so blown
away that I will mention each of the creatives:
Director: Nick Skubi, Associate Director: Francesca Savige,
Designer: Josh McIntosh, Lighting: Jason Glenwright, Sound: Guy Webster, Video
Designers: Nevin Howell & Jeremy Gordon, Fight Director: Nigel Poulton, and
Creative Producer: Ross Balbuziente.
Macbeth hailing the interval
Quoting the program notes, ‘this is Macbeth, as written by
Shakespeare, reimagined at scale for our age of clickbait and catastrophe: a
dark, seductive, ratings-driven descent where perception is everything, loyalty
is currency, and one couple’s hunger for the top spot threatens to bring their
whole empire crashing down.
Bringing to life today’s ruthless world of rolling news,
political theatre and weaponised ambition, the production charts the gripping
course of a rising war hero who becomes the media’s latest obsession and,
pushed by a partner as polished as she is dangerous, turns the 24-hour news
cycle into his personal battleground.'
The cast featured: Jeremiah Wray: Macbeth, Nelle Lee: Lady
Macbeth, Witch, Others, Jodie Le Vesconte: Duncan, Witch, Others, Will
Carseldine: Malcolm, Witch, Others, Pacharo Mzembe: Macduff, Rachel Nutchey:
Lady Macduff, Witch, Johnny Balbuziente: Banquo
I was disappointed either by the acoustics or by most of the
actors’ voice projection, with the exception of Jodie Le Vesconte, as I
understood only a margin of the spoken text. I decided to read the text again
and leave you with these lines, which I once knew by heart:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
I do recommend seeing this production.
14 March 2026
QPAC Playhouse
My darling daughter (DD) invited me to the performance of Yasmina Reza's play.
Starring Richard Roxburgh (Marc), Damon Herriman (Serge) and Toby Schmitz (Yvan), this sharp comedy, translated from French, depicts how easily a 20-year-old friendship can rupture when one of the friends spends a fortune buying a painting that the other considers to be a piece of, well...garbage. Set in Serge's Paris apartment, the three friends battle opinions, old wounds, and egos.
curtain call
Having just seen the Banksy exhibition, this play had a particular resonance. Banksy had a stall at an outdoor venue in New York, offering prints worth thousands of dollars for $60 each, without branding or advertising, to show how fickle the art world can be.
The enjoyable evening concluded for DD and me at Southbank.
21 December 2024
A Cracker Kransky Christmas
My daughter and I have
established a pre-Covid, pre-Christmas tradition of seeing the Kransky Sisters
perform at QPAC.
 |
| Mourne, Dawn and Eve |
Clad
identically, the delightfully twisted
sisters Mourne, Eve and Dawn Kransky hail from Esk, in Queensland. They eagerly
share their adventures and misadventures at home and during their travels. An unusual
array of musical instruments such as cheese grater, toilet brush, pot, shaker,
reed keyboard, musical saw, tuba and guitar accompany their songs.
 |
| Tuba, guitar and reed keyboard |
 |
| Looking for a male participant |
Their routine includes selecting a male audience member to participate on the stage. It is good fun, and we always leave the theatre smiling.
 |
| can't stop smiling |
A German Life - 2 June 2021
Yesterday I saw the
Australian Tour of A German Life at the Playhouse. Presented by John
Frost for The Gordon Frost Organisation and QPAC in Brisbane, the play is based on Brunhilde Pomsel’s interviews with a group of Austrian Filmmakers in 2016. British
playwright Christopher Hampton was fascinated by the testimony of the
103-year-old woman who claimed to be ‘apolitical’ while working as secretary to
Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels during the Third Reich. Brunhilde was
not only one of the last eyewitnesses to this era in 2013, but also
still mentally sharp, seemingly honest, likeable, and convincing. Proud of her
professional achievement of being a fast stenographer, she ignored the evidence
of the regime’s atrocities around her. Herein lies the message for a
contemporary society as quoted by Robyn Nevin in 2021: ‘to think about … the
dangers [posed by] propaganda, of the gradual manipulation of a country’s
people.’
Neil Armfield writes
in his Director’s Note that just before her death aged 106 in 2017, Brunhilde
said: ‘Hitler was elected democratically, and bit by bit he got his own way. Of
course, that could always repeat itself with Trump or Erdoğan… Considering the length of being a witness to the change of political tuning, Brunhilde’s words
represent a timely warning.
Robyn Nevin, who
needs no introduction, performed an amazing tour de force as Brunhilde
Pomsel. For more than ninety minutes without an interval, we relive Brunhilde’s
recollections of her life and the political agenda of her time. From her room
in an aged care facility, her story comes alive with credibility, humour, reflection, and wry wit: ‘I take my meals here rather than in the dining room
where all the old people are.’
Cellist Catherine
Finnis performs Alan John’s compositions before Robyn’s entrance and, with discordant cello sounds, accompanies the backdrop of footage from various
political events during the monologue.
Dale Ferguson
designed the authentic setting of Brunhilde’s room and her authentic outfit.
Nigel Levings lit the stage, and Jane Rosetto designed the sound.
A rapturous applause
ended the play. I left the theatre contemplating the protagonist and her
choices in life. What would you do if…? I also adulate about the courage
of all involved in bringing this amazing production to life in Australia, and
in particular the resplendent Robyn Nevin, the writer, and the director.
Before moving on to
Melbourne, the play runs at the Playhouse – QPAC until my birthday, 20 June
2021.
Antigone - Queensland Theatre - 30 October 2019
On Wednesday, we saw Antigone by Sophocles, adapted for the Queensland Theatre by Merlynn Tong. Directed by Travis Dowling,
the play stars Jessica Tovey as Antigone, Christen O'Leary as Creon, Shubshri
Kandiah as Ismene, Kevin Spink as Haemon, and Penny Everingham as Tiresias.
Amongst the professional performers, Christen O'Leary's portrayal was especially
compelling. The doomy mood is underscored by the gripping musical score,
focused spot lighting and contemporary monochrome costumes.
The play powerfully depicts the eternal and
ever-pertinent theme of an individual taking a stand to defend their convictions against an autocratic regime. The programme mentions Greta
Thunberg's activism. Indeed, her stance and the play's theme compel me to
question how far I would be prepared to stand up for what I believe is fair and
just. The survival and popularity of the play for almost two and a half
thousand years would suggest that this topic has not lost its relevance.
We left the theatre contemplating the fate
of the human race and our place amongst it in these morally and politically
challenging times. The play's last performance was on 16 November.
