The Latest From Australia

News and rumours:

The top five grossing Australian films for 2001 were:

Moulin Rouge    $27.4 million  20th Century Fox

Lantana    $9.9 million  Palace Films

The Man Who Sued God  $8.1 million  Buena Vista International

Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles $7.8 million  UIP/Universal

The Bank    $2.5 million  Footprint

Rave reviews were also given to the ever-growing school of Australian acting talent including Cate Blanchett in Bandits and Lord of the Rings: Fellowshipof the Ring, along with Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce in Memento,

Nicole Kidman in The Others, Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, Hugh Jackman inKate & Leopold, Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale, Naomi Watts in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, Eric Bana in Ridley Scott's Black

Hawk Down, and Frances O'Connor in Steven Spielberg's AI.

Channel 7 Melbourne have a new show ready to go into production. Called Marshall Law, it will star Lisa McCune and possibly William McInnes. It is about a law firm and promises more work for Melbourne actors.

Film Victoria recently welcomed the Government’s announcement of a preferred tenderer for the $40 million Docklands film and television studios. It is to be Central City Studios.

Music Arts Dance Films' production One Night the Moon directed by Rachel Perkins and starring Paul Kelly, Kaarin Fairfax and Kelton Pell has won the "2002 Spirit of Moondance Award" for Best Feature Film at the Moondance International Film Festival.

Lantana has been nominated for thirteen Film Critic's Circle  of Australia Annual Awards (FCCA), almost double those of its closest competitor Moulin Rouge.

Theatre:

Bombshells: Melbourne Theatre Company at the Fairfax Studio.

Writer Joanna Murray-Smith. Director Simon Phillips

Caroline O’Connor stars in this one woman tour de force, written beautifully to stretch her extraordinary range of talents, by Joanna Murray-Smith.

O’Connor plays 6 very different women who explore their own lives with deep insights and delightful humour. Beginning with Meryl Davenport, a mother of three, whose day is an exhausting journey through babies and shopping and stress and the need for caffeine. We then meet Tiggy Entwhistle, a cactus enthusiast who gives a deeply personal lecture on her cacti while revealing the awful truth about her husband and their life together. Before interval the delightful Mary O’Donnell a schoolgirl performing at her school concert hysterically finds that her arch enemy in talent has pinched her idea for a number from Cats. She hastily changes her Cat costume into an African inspired number and improvises a sensational number to Isaac Hayes’ Shaft. I was in stitches when poor Mary ran out of funky moves and resorted to her native Irish Dancing.

After interval we are treated to Theresa McTerry, a bride who realises at the altar that she is only there so she can wear the dress. My favourite character was the next one, Winsome Webster, a widow who reads books to the blind and has her life changed while reading an erotic novel to a young blind man. This was a beautifully realised character with all the longing, sensuality, sadness and joy that could possibly be found in the suburban home.

Finally we meet Zoe Struthers, a cabaret star diva with LOTS of baggage. She struts about the stage in a dreadful amalgam of Garland, Streisand, Midler and some of those sad lounge artistes who ply their trade in Las Vegas.

The show is a vehicle for O’Connor’s astounding array of talents and as such is beautifully realised.

Verdict: One woman – six bombshells.

Sweet Bird of Youth: Melbourne Theatre Company at the Playhouse.

Writer: Tennessee Williams. Director: Kate Cherry.

An all star cast makes this an engaging and competent production of the Williams classic. Guy Pearce, tanned and fit struts the stage in a pair of white silk pyjama pants for the half an hour, and causes more than a flutter in hearts throughout the audience. His performance is measured and engaging, but for me it was Wendy Hughes that was the glue holding this piece together. A terrific performance as the Princess Kosmonopolis. She is sad and desperate and we see the down side of stardom only too clearly reflected. Among the other cast, all strong and competent actors, and in some cases worthy of much more than the small roles they are playing, John Stanton as Boss Finley and Belinda McCory as Miss Lucy stand tall. Beverley Dunn, Michael Robinson and Matthew Dyktinski all do excellent work. The play is a long one, but it is sumptuously dressed by Christina Smith with a set by Tony Tripp that captures the grandeur and extravagance of the best hotel in St.Cloud. The walls sweep like crashing waves across the stage but also soar on the wing as we discover the bird shapes silhouetted against the sky.

Verdict: Sweet.

Red Stitch Theatre Company. Inkerman St. St. Kilda.

It is always an exciting thing when a new theatre company starts its life. I was privileged to be at the birth of the company on the opening night of Extremities, the company’s first production. Unfortunately, the theatre was airless and hot on one of the few nights of summer that we have had this year. It was close to unbearable for the audience who fanned and shifted throughout the performance. The actors attacked this disturbing and challenging piece with vigour and energy and did a remarkable job of the terror. David Whitely, Lisa Reynolds, Kate Cole and Ella Caldwell were all right in there and have obviously worked hard to bring such awful reality to the stage. Ultimately though I didn’t like the play. Challenging and confronting as theatre should be, I don’t think this was a good choice as an opening production. It left me with a feeling of deep sadness and hopelessness. I will definitely return to the theatre as I believe that what the company is trying to do is important and needs support, but I trust they can find a way to send their audience away with a feeling of hope in the future.

Verdict: Bloody hot!!!!

 Moon Babies Written by Patrick Van deWerf Directed by Peta Hanrahan

This is an unabashed advertisement for anyone in Melbourne to come along to see this new play at La Mama from February 20th until March 3rd. It is a new play and is a beautifully written piece. The cast is Tom Davies as Grub, Cameron McKenzie as Tick and Don Bridges as The Man.

 ©2002 Don Bridges

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