‘I Am My Own Wife’ allows us to meet a transgender pioneer
I Am My Own Wife | Studio Underground, State Theatre | Until 29 October | ★ ★ ★ ½ Shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall, playwright Doug Wright met Charlotte von Mahsldorf. Living in East Germany the eccentric woman was the curator of a Museum of Everyday Objects. Born Lothar Berfelde, she had surprisingly […]
I Am My Own Wife: A trans pioneer’s tale of wartime survival
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf’s life may sound like a work of fiction, but her mark on this earth was very real. The focus of Doug Wright’s Pulitzer and Tony Award winning play I Am My Own Wife, von Mahlsdorf was a trans woman, Nazi survivor, antiquarian, entertainer, LGBTI+ pioneer… and murderer. Director Joe Lui caught up […]
Switzerland explores the intriguing character of Patricia Highsmith
Switzerland | State Theatre | Until September 3rd | ★ ★ ★ ★ There’s been a lot of interest in the work of author Patricia Highsmith in recent years. Her most well-know character Tom Ripley has featured in several movie adaptations, Cate Blanchett delivered an acclaimed performance in Carol, which is based on Highsmith’s novel The Price […]
Switzerland: Jenny Davis on the extraordinary life of Patricia Highsmith
Black Swan State Theatre Company’s latest production peeks through a window into the life of revered author Patricia Highsmith. The notoriously cynical and isolated writer is perhaps best known for her works that were later translated into successful films such as Strangers On A Train, The Talented Mr Ripley and The Price of Salt which hit […]
Enter the world between life and death in Coma Land
Black Swan State Theatre Company’s upcoming production will take audiences on a journey into Coma Land, a world between life and death. Created by Perth playwright Will O’Mahony (Tonsils + Tweezers, The Mars Project, Great White), Coma Land follows the story of child genius and piano prodigy Boon trapped in this bizarre new world trying to wake […]
Review | BSSTC ponder life, death and the stepladder in Endgame
Endgame | State Theatre Centre Until June 11th | ★ ★ ★ ★ Anyone familiar with the Theatre of the Absurd knows exactly what to expect from the genre’s foremost creator Samuel Beckett. To tell my companion that the performance would indeed be ‘absurd’ was obviously insufficient as he asked if we had watched a feature-length advertisement for stepladders […]
Learn the story of The Giants at Black Swan’s The Lighthouse Girl
Black Swan State Theatre Company bring the story that inspired Perth International Arts Festival’s stunning roaming Giants to the stage this month with The Lighthouse Girl. Hellie Turner’s touching play tells the story of Fay, who lives an isolated life with her lighthouse keeper father on Breaksea Island in southern Western Australia. As the First […]
Once In Royal David’s City: Michael Gow gets personal and political
Black Swan State Theatre Company are about to begin their 2017 season with a work from one of Australia’s most brilliant and recognisable playwrights. You may know Michael Gow from studying his celebrated work Away during your time at high school, but the award winning artist is much more than an entry in the curriculum. […]
Review: Molière’s Tartuffe is unholy, depraved and totally hilarious
Tartuffe | Heath Ledger Theatre | Until Nov 5 | ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 When I was in high school, I remember visiting a rival drama department to watch another class perform. The troupe had re-imagined Shakespeare as a contemporary piece, which featured an inexplicable rap battle / break dancing competition during the climax of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Whenever […]
Emily Weir makes her professional debut in Tartuffe
Actress Emily Weir (left in the photo) has just graduated from Queensland’s University of Technology and she jumped straight into her first professional role in Black Swan State Theatre’s production of Moliere’s classic Tartuffe – The Hypocrite. This new acclaimed adaptation from Justin Fleming takes the iconic French play and re-positions it for modern day […]
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