A Thousand Words

TICKETS: https://www.trybooking.com/CYOPP/ Disney’s Frozen first captured hearts in 2013, and since then, its frosty charm has swept through cinemas, stages, and living rooms worldwide. Adelaide welcomed the professional tour in 2022, and now, the story finds new life on the youth theatre circuit. Adelaide Theatre Academy (ATA) brings Frozen Jr. to the stage under the creative direction of Hannah Smith and choreography by Emma Dalton, delivering a whimsical, clever, and heartfelt production. This review focuses on the Summer Cast and is in no way a reflection of the Winter Cast’s efforts and talents. In place of elaborate set pieces, Smith challenges the audience to use their imagination with minimalist staging – prominently using ladders – which proves both effective and inventive. While perhaps nerve-wracking for the superstitious among us, this stripped-back approach allows the storytelling and performances to shine, and shine they do. The ensemble of townspeople, Oaken’s ...

8 out of 10 stars Tickets are still available:  https://marion.online.red61.com.au/event/318:776/318:1112/ St. Jude’s Players, Deadset Theatre Company and Galleon Theatre Company unite to present a One Act Play Festival in the Domain Theatre at the Marion Cultural Centre. Throughout the 3 very different plays, each approximately 40 minutes, the audience is thoroughly entertained. St Jude's Players presents "See If I Care" Opening the Festival is St Jude’s Players with “ See If I Care ”, written by Cherry Vooght and Directed by Norm Caddick. This play takes a gentle but sentimental glimpse into the lives of two elderly people. In the narrow confines of the lives they now find themselves living, they are bound together in a unique friendship that is sometimes callous and kind, proud and pitiful, bitter and understanding. They reveal an interdependence that is both comical and poignant. Set in a UK setting, Deborah Walsh and Rhonda Grill portray these elderly ladies very wel...

Photography: Daniel Salmond 9.5 out of 10 stars! - DON'T MISS IT! Tickets available here:  https://events.humanitix.com/bonnie-and-clyde MCMT’s production of Bonnie & Clyde is so close to perfect, Mary Poppins would be impressed! With music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black and book by Ivan Menchell, Bonnie & Clyde is a thrilling and sexy musical with a non-traditional score, combining blues, gospel and rockabilly music. Fearless, shameless and alluring, it is the electrifying story of love, adventure and crime that captured the attention of an entire country, and through the vision of Lucy Trewin, Serena Cann and Deborah Joy Proeve, Adelaide has another masterpiece in town! Director Lucy Trewin’s vision is evident in every aspect of the production. The relationships between characters—Bonnie & Emma, Clyde & Buck, Bonnie & Blanche, and more—are thoughtfully developed, lending authenticity and emotional resonance to the story. Trewin’s attention to deta...

8 stars out of 10 - shows this weekend, and next! Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/DAVIB Querencia: A place where one feels safe, at home, and draws strength—a place where you can be your most authentic self. – A beautiful word to describe the second home of every thespian. Everyone carries an invisible backpack. Filled with past experiences, emotions, dreams, pain, challenges and successes. Some days it feels too heavy to bear. On those days, who will you ask to help carry the load?”  Querencia Calling  explores the role of friendship in shaping not only who we are, but who we want to be. Relationships inevitably change over time, and this play introduces us to 5 friends whose connection spans from their university days to their current “mid-life” and examines the bonds that can remain strong even after life and distance get in the way.  Querencia Calling  marks Sharyn Henderson’s first venture into writing a full-length play. While the script is strong, there ar...

Photo Credit: Maggie Morris 7.5 out of 10 stars - If you're a fan of Greek mythology this is for you! If not, this is also for you... Tickets available at : https://www.trybooking.com/CXJIL This is a Greek tragedy. There is no happy ending. And the team at the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild have ensured this! In recent years, we have surrendered to the phenomenon that is SIX the Musical, retelling the story of Henry VIII’s six wives. Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad is of similar nature, retelling the story of the poem, “The Odyssey” from Odysseus’ wife, Penelope’s point of view, along with twelve of her maids, asking ‘What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?’ Director Kristin Telfer remarks that The Penelopiad has been one of her dream projects for a long time, and the final product witnessed today is testament to the care and respect she has for the author’s work. There are a handful of artistic choices throughout this production where t...

8.5 out of 10 stars -- Zest Theatre Group is a not-so-hidden gem that more patrons need to experience ~ 2 weekends only! Tickets available:  https://www.trybooking.com/DAOXO/ Everybody knows   Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . In recent years, Adelaide theatre groups have harnessed their imaginations and produced it for the stage and their local audiences. The latest to do so is Zest Theatre Group with mother-daughter director duo Natalie and Aria Stevenson. Together, they have created a truly magical experience for all ages to enjoy. Vocal Coach Susie Lush has brought out the vocal confidence in the cast: principals and ensemble inclusive, to give their optimal performance despite not having the elevated feel of a live band. Leila Britton’s choreography is on pointe, crisp and full of energy! This musical has many movement styles inspired by the various characters, and each one is simply brilliant to witness – from Russian ballet to the Queen of Pop, to Germa...

Photo credit: Matt Ralph 7.5 out of 10 stars: A solid fun-filled outing! TICKETS AVAILABLE:  https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1334918 Merrily We Roll Along begins in the present and moves backwards, tracing the lives of wealthy, jaded composer Franklin Shepard and his two estranged friends through each milestone of their personal and professional lives (good and bad). It is not surprising that The G&S Society of SA deliver a successful production full of talent and future stars. Matt Smith (Director), Matthew Rumley (MD), and Lucy Newman (Choreographer) have built a stellar version of Sondheim's semi-autobiography. Nicholas Munday plays the adulterous role of Franklin Shepard with the appropriate classiness expected and portrays the reverse-character development with a drive that ensures Shepard can do what we wants, when he wants. Munday’s relationships onstage with his co-stars are comical in the right moments, as well as sweet or dramatic in their appropriate places...

3.5 out of 5 stars Tickets available: https://www.trybooking.com/CZZEY The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following Lady Windermere's Fan , A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband . It is a farcical comedy based in the 1890’s depicting the tangled affairs of two young men about town who lead double lives to evade unwanted social obligations, satirizing the conventions and manners of Victorian society. Many a theatre company, varying between community through professional have attempted Wilde’s drawing-room plays, and the latest rendition is currently in season by The Strathalbyn Players. The Chapel Theatre in Strathalbyn is a cozy, intimate theatre with a true community vibe, complete with 8 stackable chairs surrounding rectangle tables, encouraging discussion among audience members prior to the show and during intervals. Having a closed curtain prior to the show, between each Act, and after the show prev...

4.5 stars out of 5 stars! THREE WEEKENDS - DON'T DELAY:  https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1333154 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS! Hills Musical Company’s production of Little Women is one that will be remembered for a long time. Little Women tells the story of the March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, who navigate childhood, love, and family in 19 th -century America. Book by Allan Knee, Music by Jason Howland & Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Co-Directors Vanessa Redmond and Tammy Shields, along with MD Dylan Rufus and Choreographer Ashleigh Rathjen have collectively envisioned and created an immensely tight production that while is a drama by nature, acknowledges the many comical moments with respect and dignity. Being a musical that didn’t needed major choreographed music numbers, the moments that were needed, particularly in the early moments were tight, crisp and highly energetic – contrasting to the elegant dance moves when the girls are off the ball. Similarly, Rufus’...

4.5 stars out of 5 stars TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE:  https://marion.online.red61.com.au/event/318:771/ Performances until Saturday 10th May What better way to experience community theatre on a crisp Friday evening than at the Domain Theatre, discovering Galleon Theatre Group’s latest production, Wrong Turn at Lungfish. A powerful cast of 4 have come together to present a 2-Act drama written by Garry Marshall & Lowell Ganz, taking the audience on an emotional roller coaster for a couple of hours. While this production can easily be described as a 2-hander with an additional 2 minor characters, each actor was equal in their character development and their knowledge and understanding of the text, story and their character arc. Wrong Turn at Lungfish is the story of Peter Ravenswaal, a blind, bitter and widowed college professor, and his encounter with Anita, a saucy, street wise young woman who volunteers to read to him in the hospital. He's a widower facing death alone, she's t...