Author Archive: Guest Reviewer
Chekhov Goes Feral at The Belvoir – The Cherry Orchard
(Reviewed by our learned NSW correspondent, Margo Jakobsen) The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, Belvoir Theatre, June 2021 – directed / adapted by Eamon Flack The burning question is about the adaptation of The Cherry Orchard. The Larrikin tradition was evoked. Examples: the Zumba style dance, the MC calling the partygoers a bunch of c..ts, the f…k you conga line. Missing the subtle humour of the original, the 2 ladies next to me left at interval. [I’d probably have joined them – Ed.] The audience, a full house, was split between those of penshionable age and secondary students. In their…
Continue Reading →Hamilton – The Musical
(Directed by Amy Campbell, Lyric Theatre, Sydney, 2021) (Reviewed by Margo Jakobsen) Masked-up and entering the Sydney Lyric Theatre in an orderly fashion, I was eager to see if the musical justified the buzz. Some already knew, a couple of fans wearing period costumes of their own. Others were clearly familiar with the moments. For example, a cry went up at the ‘immigrants get the job done’ line and Brent Hill’s crassly, juvenile King George, made a popular and delicious contrast with the rawest emotions of Chloe Zuel as Hamilton’s wife, Eliza. The play ended with her enigmatic gasp. Amazing…
Continue Reading →We Will Survive
(Why The Varnished Culture is leaving Facebook) Google has a link to a post on leaving Facebook, that suggests as reasons to leave, “its echo chamber effects, avoiding time wasting and procrastination, and the negative psychological effects of perpetual social comparison.” That is more a salutary warning to addicts rather than a shot at the product. From its o so humble beginnings, Facebook has become a monster, the Standard Oil of our age, a virtual monopoly allowing global networking of personal, commercial, and political content, along with news, a salad of actual old-time reportage and a trove of ‘fake news,’…
Continue Reading →2020: Like a Sad Film
The World of Film was visited by the Masque of the Black, rather than Red, Death, this year. No, not Plague, but Time. While you listen to some appropriate Funerary Music, here’s a selected roll-call of stars now under management of One Sole Agent: Wilford Brimley – the gruff and grizzled descendant of Walter Brennan appeared in key supporting roles in Brubaker, The China Syndrome, The Thing, Tender Mercies, The Natural and The Firm but for our money, he was at his best in a small key role in Absence of Malice (1981). Sean Connery Brian Dennehy – Brian was…
Continue Reading →James Thurber’s Rules for a Happy Marriage
Hogarth, William; The Dance (The Happy Marriage ?VI: The Country Dance); Tate; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-dance-the-happy-marriage-vi-the-country-dance-199329
James Thurber, born 8 December 1894, wrote “My Own Ten Rules for a Happy Marriage” (1953) which we will summaize here: RULE ONE: Neither party to a sacred union should run down, disparage or badmouth the other’s former girls or beaux, as the case may be. The tendency to attack their character, looks, intelligence, capability and achievements is a common case of domestic discontent. RULE TWO: A man should make an honest effort to get the names of his wife’s friends right. This is not easy. RULE THREE: A husband should not insult his wife publicly, at parties. He should…
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