Reviews and Such

  DEIRDRE:  “Though you venture to strange and distant shores, may you always remember us, and never be too long away.” Pictured. from left to right: Mary (Breanna Kelly), Deidre (Emily O'Mahoney), and Niamh (Tash Lyall) in Never Closer .  Credit: PHOTOX (Ben Appleton) In a choice someone should be given an award for, Canberra has been gifted a premiere of Grace Chapple's Never Closer in the wonderfully intimate, yet deceptively spacious, Courtyard Studio of the Canberra Theatre Centre. A play that seeks to discuss issues of the Irish Troubles through the lens of the social occurrences between friends and acquaintances in Northern Ireland, it calls for lesser luxuries typically afforded by a theatre, to its benefit; this is recognised well by the folks at Off the Ledge Theatre, who have staged a magnificent production of a engagingly intriguing piece. Director Lachlan Houen has produced an intelligently considered and fascinatingly thought-provoking staging of this play...

Delia:  “One reads between the lines, darling... You can tell a great deal from people's bedrooms.” Pictured: The cast of Bedroom Farce Credit: Tiana Johhanes Design, Helen Drum. When my mother asked "would you like to see Bedroom Farce at REP tonight?" out of the blue, I thought about the prospect of starting the year off the right way with a return to the wonderfully welcome arms of the REP Theatre and a production of a warm comedy to bring it all together. So, of course, along I went (shrugging off the uneasy feeling brought about by my mother suggesting us doing anything social together) expecting a grand time. And, sure enough, the cast and crew delivered a night of well-measured, sublime comedy. Director Aarne Neeme, assisted by Assistant Director Ariana Barzinpour, has staged a quaint production of Alan Ayckbourn's subtle comedy. The majority of the play's humour is found in the discussions that take place within; these dialogues are paced briskly by Neeme...