In John Howard's Farewell Party Quantock, in his inimitable way, takes his audience on a friendly and rambling journey through his memories of the Howard years.
Dolly Diamond returns to Midsumma with her trademark bitchiness, acid one-liners, talent at reworking the lyrics of songs to hilarious effect and her 13 piece big band.
One of Shakespeare's History plays, and the fourth longest in the entire canon, Richard III is a tricky piece and has the potential to just become a mass of talking heads coupled with bloody chaos.
Entirely sung through, this is a musical with a proper and original score that still feels remarkably fresh and sits in staggering contrast to the slot machine pay outs of a Jukebox musical.
Just like the source material, this is a morality tale, a fantasy to reflect dysfunction, rectify disappointment and repair disillusion but legacy and intergenerational grief are tenacious task masters.
LaPaglia is simply outstanding as a salesman bartering down his own price. Believable, present, committed – every indignity is expertly handled, never demonstrated but achingly and authentically realised.
It’s hard to follow the exact story, but that doesn’t really matter, as Crystal is more about enjoying familiar circus acts recontextualized within a bevy of ice dancers and stunt skaters.
Just like the source material, this is a morality tale, a fantasy to reflect dysfunction, rectify disappointment and repair disillusion but legacy and intergenerational grief are tenacious task masters.