Lynne's Theatre Notes

For Dance Informa https://dancemagazine.com.au/2019/08/artists-by-any-other-name-brings-elements-of-to-sydney/ Artists By Any Other Name brings ‘Elements Of’ to Sydney ARTISTS BY ANY OTHER NAME'S 'ELEMENTS OF'.         COMMENTS The Concourse, Chatswood, Sydney. 20 July 2019. The production of  Elements Of  sounded most exciting on paper but was perhaps disappointing in the final product presented. Artists By Any Other Name, based in New York, brought us its production entitled  Elements Of , which supposedly is “an immersive exploration of the latent emotions in the seemingly mundane.’ The quartet of musicians was on stage the whole time, moving at various points to different positions. There was a plain white cyc back cloth (with dramatic lighting at times and also some colour washes). Much was made of the four mirrors that were also used and moved around – reflections of our inner selves? Reflections like the mirr...

https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/australian-brandenburg-orchestra-handels-anthems-and-fireworks-city-recital-hall/ AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA : HANDEL’S ANTHEMS AND FIREWORKS JULY 29, 2019   LYNNE LANCASTER LEAVE A COMMENT Conductor Paul Dyer and Baroque oboe soloist Emma Black with the orchestra As part of their 30th birthday season the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Choir presented HANDEL’S ANTHEMS AND FIREWORKS . The first half began with the four coronation anthems Handel wrote for George II and Queen Caroline in 1727 and which have been performed at every coronation since. The Brandenburg Orchestra and Choir gave a stylish, vivacious performance of great aplomb. The most famous anthem, Zadok the Priest, opened with pulsating, throbbing strings and then the thundering choir exuberantly burst in delivering a vibrant, very energetic and thrilling rendition. My Heart is Inditing , the next anthem we heard , with delicate strings, featured a wonderful...

WILLOUGHBY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA : ENIGMA @ THE CONCOURSE JULY 30, 2019   LYNNE LANCASTER LEAVE A COMMENT Guest trumpet player Rainer Saville The latest wonderful concert by Willoughby Symphony was entitled ENIGMA .Under the inspired graceful and enthusiastic conducting of  Dr Nicholas Milton  the Orchestra had a huge rich sound and was in top form. First up we heard Gershwin’s  An American in Paris,  jauntY, frantic and bustling. (Readers might be familiar with the 1951 movie). There were perhaps overtones of jazz and also Ravel, It was bright, bouncy and tumbling but also featured quieter, more lyrical moments. A smoky trumpet and strident tuba as well as whirling, scurrying rhythms contrasted with shimmering delicate strings and woodwind all leading to the stirring, crashing conclusion. And look and listen out for the taxi horns! Then came an astonishing virtuoso performance of Henri Tomasi’s  Trumpet Concerto,  with guest star  Ra...

https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/oscar-and-lucinda-carriageworks/ OSCAR AND LUCINDA @ CARRIAGEWORKS AUGUST 2, 2019   LYNNE LANCASTER LEAVE A COMMENT Production photography by Zan Wimberley OSCAR AND LUCINDA , the latest production by Sydney Chamber Opera is co- produced and commissioned by Opera Queensland and Victorian Opera. Based on the book by  Peter Carey  with music by  Elliott Gyger  and libretto by  Pierce Wilcox  it is a strong , striking production with wonderful performances. The book subverts and questions Australian colonialism and society using misfits Oscar and Lucinda as a prism for analysis. We follow the two main characters growing up – while Lucinda’s in Australia, on purloined land, Oscar’s is in England where a dominating, complicated relationship with his father and a troubled calling to be a minister mean Oscar becomes a restless, rather tormented adult. They first meet at the end of Act 1 in a terrific climax. W...

https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/bonnie-curtis-wonderland/ BONNIE CURTIS’ ‘WONDERLAND’ AUGUST 4, 2019   LYNNE LANCASTER LEAVE A COMMENT Photography by Adriana Mendivil “A dream caused by the surrender of a butterfly into the fog….” Bonnie Curtis’ latest production WONDERLAND is strange, dark and challenging. It is divided into four segments, taking us on a journey in an alternative world. The entrance foyer is partially blocked off and we enter a large space with various hanging lanterns and a tall, semi transparent vertical box with pulsating lights. Various branches in luminous UV colours  for example orange, mango and yellow are also part of the scenery. When the show begins, after we have been handed our cards, Woody, our tour guide, explained that the cards had different designs depending on what rooms we saw and the sequence they were viewed in. For two of the sections the whole audience was included , for the other two we were directed to...

https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/mamma-mia-parammatta-riverside-theatres/ MAMMA MIA! @ RIVERSIDE THEATRES PARRAMATTA AUGUST 6, 2019   LYNNE LANCASTER LEAVE A COMMENT Packemin’s latest production MAMMA MIA! sure did pack them in – the audience at the performance I attended was almost full to capacity . One of the world’s favourite feel-good musicals takes us to a stunning little Greek island , telling the story of a young woman’s ( Sophie ), search for her birth father. On the eve of her wedding, Sophie’s wish to discover the identity of her father means three men from her mother Donna’s past ( Sam , Harry and Bill) return to the island they last visited 20 years ago ,with the narrative told via appropriate ABBA songs . Slickly co-directed by  Jessica Fallico  and  Jordan Vassallo , with sensational leads and a huge ensemble supporting cast, the musical begins on a sunny jetty where Sophie (Bell) tentatively posts three wedding invitations to the ...

https://dancemagazine.com.au/2019/08/artists-by-any-other-name-brings-elements-of-to-sydney/ The Concourse, Chatswood, Sydney. 20 July 2019. The production of  Elements Of  sounded most exciting on paper but was perhaps disappointing in the final product presented. Artists By Any Other Name, based in New York, brought us its production entitled  Elements Of , which supposedly is “an immersive exploration of the latent emotions in the seemingly mundane.’ The quartet of musicians was on stage the whole time, moving at various points to different positions. There was a plain white cyc back cloth (with dramatic lighting at times and also some colour washes). Much was made of the four mirrors that were also used and moved around – reflections of our inner selves? Reflections like the mirror in a dance studio? The audience as observer? Musically, it was terrific (although the acoustics perhaps needed adjustment – the huge standing mikes helped but only to a certai...

TABLE SEYMOUR CENTRE       JULY 2019 “I hate this table” is the first line uttered in Tanya Ronder’s TABLE. But it is a terrific production , excellently acted and directed. Tany Ronder’s Table is fluid and shifting but tells the story of s ix generations, twenty-three characters and one particular piece of furniture. The space under the table is as important as the rest. We see how The Table was created by master craftsman David Best in 1898 as a wedding present for his new wife. We are then taken through to 2013 and various family confrontations jumping from then to 2013 in assorted vignettes. The time and locale shifts are fluid yet at times perhaps sharply abrupt and possibly a little confusing , but we get the broad sweep of the family saga .The eponymous Table is central to family rituals and unspoken secrets and bears various scars of anger and nature . We see how it has survived two World Wars ,   borne the weight of a ...