Satire is incredibly dependent on nuances in timing and expression, and unfortunately, Queanbeyan Players' production of Iolanthe falls all too often on the melodramatic side of the divide.
Brecht: Bilbao and Beyond is a fitting tribute to a playwright whose influence over modern theatre is greater than we tend to recognise.
I Love You, Bro is a solo comedy drama love story for the chat room age that goes beyond the screen and into the shadows that live within us.
The Dark Side of Midnight is a very engaging play. The way its domestic conflict is surrounded and punctuated by political turmoil is truly inspired, as is the way it doesn't use politics as a substitute for plot and character.
I suspect this may be the first time I've seen a New Zealand play on an Australian stage. It's a novel irony to hear actors we know to be Australian making disparaging remarks about Australia in a New Zealand accent! In all, Roger Hall's play was a joy to see.
This play brings a vibrancy to themes that can be cold and stark, drawing humour and humanity into some otherwise dark places.
The tragedy, I think, for MP, is that politicians really, genuinely, aren't very interesting. In most cases they're human beings who have had to curtail part of their humanity to make themselves palatable to their party first and then to their constituency.