May 01

HEDDA GABLER – Playhouse – Til 18 May – 3.5K

Hedda_Gabler_Publicity_050By Peter Maddern

Hedda Gabler is a piece of work. A woman, named not as her husband’s wife but as her father’s daughter, exists in a world where her overarching desire for power over others pollutes the well of accepted behaviour expected by those around her. When Ibsen wrote the play, the character of Hedda was somewhat of a sensation given the straight laced preferences of the theatre of that time. Today, with Joanna Murray-Smith’s modern adaptation, she is probably a far more recognisable or familiar figure. But while strong, she is no pin-up girl for the feminist movement – there being no yang to her evil yin.

State Theatre’s modern adaptation via Murray-Smith is slick. Alison Bell successfully takes on one of the most demanding roles in theatre, seemingly preferring to paint her Hedda as a manipulating villain rather than say a victim of circumstance or an idealist fighting against society.

Hedda achieves her power and status not through beauty but a charisma that men find compelling, mostly to their detriment. Cameron Goodall, as her husband Jorgan, does nicely as the somewhat weak man who has fallen under her spell but who nonetheless also balances his career needs with respect for the struggles of a colleague rather better than his wife does. However, his seeming ambivalence to the potential joys of his honeymoon seems to not have made him rather more sceptical of his wife’s personality.

Terence Crawford as Judge Brack, their confidant and business manager, is the only one who seems to be able to match Hedda, with Crawford convincingly placing himself as Hedda’s equal in the game of free wills and manipulation.

Whether the modern adaptation works is questionable. While DJ Trip’s haunting electronic vibes instantly atune our minds to the present day, the combination of i-pods and mobile phones with hand written manuscripts seems somewhat awkward.  Perhaps pitching this in the 1980s would have been sufficient.

Kryztoff Rating   3.5K

Apr 29

SYDNEY Dance Company – 2 One Another – Preview

2 One Another Dancer Charmene Yap Credit Wendell Teodoro SDC_2oneAnother photo Ken Butti 02Internationally renowned Sydney Dance Company is set to return to Adelaide in May, presenting five performances of their critically acclaimed work, 2 One Another, at Her Majesty’s Theatre, 8 – 11 May.

 

Sydney Dance Company last appeared in Adelaide in 2009 with a successful season of 360º, the work of newly appointed Artistic Director, Rafael Bonachela.  Four years on, Bonachela is now recognised as a revolutionary force in Australian contemporary dance, currently combining his role at Sydney Dance Company and also as Sydney Opera House’s Spring Dance Festival Curator.

 

The exciting new offering 2 One Another is an exultant and sensual study of human interaction and relationships, exploring the couple (2), the individual (One), and the group (Another).

 

Beautiful, dynamic and highly physical, 2 One Another is performed by 16 of the best contemporary dancers in Australia, including 2012 Helpmann Award winner, Charmene Yap, Best Female Dancer in a Dance/Theatre Production.

 

2 One Another is the result of an exciting collaboration between Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director and choreographer Rafael Bonachela, set and costume designer Tony Assness, lighting designer Benjamin Cisterne, and composer/music director Nick Wales, featuring poetry by Samuel Webster.

 

The performance is set against a stunning digital backdrop of motion design and animation, and features an exceptional soundtrack – seamlessly embracing Baroque to electronica – shot through with poetry fragments created and utilised during the development of the work.

 

2 One Another premiered in Sydney in March 2012 and toured to Melbourne in November. The show has just received four Green Room Award nominations.

 

In addition to the five public performances, Sydney Dance Company will also present a school matinee performance, and Adelaide Festival Centre’s Green Room program for 16-30 year olds will present a Masterclass with Sydney Dance Company’s Dance Director Amy Hollingsworth. For more information visit www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/greenroom

“Sydney Dance Company at the peak of their power… A thrillingly fluent piece that maintains its vibrancy over its hour-long journey.” Sydney Morning Herald 

What:

2 One Another

When:

8 – 11 May

Venue:

Her Majesty’s Theatre

Hours:

Wed – Fri 7pm, Sat 2pm & 7pm

Cost:

Premium from $65, Adult from $55, Conc/Student from $50, Groups 6+ $50, Family (2+2) $152, GreenRoom $27.50, Season Subscription Adult from $50, Concession from $45

Bookings:

BASS 131 246 or online at www.bass.net.au

 

For further information visit: www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Get social with us on Twitter @AdelaideFesCent Facebook facebook.com/FestivalCentre

Apr 28

FRINGE 2013 – MKA’s Unsex Me – The Producers Bar – By Mark Wilson – 3.5k

By Fiona Gardner

Dressed in a long Scottish kilt, Mark Wilson presents the story of a fictional replication of a daughter who is a theatre legend. This award-winning prima ballerina actress then takes you through the trauma or wild fantasy of an abusive parent. The crossing-dressing performance reflects on the grandeur of Mark Wilson’s inflated sense of being an artist and although this piece has been rated PG, it is definitely looking towards the M if not MA classifications, taking into consideration the impact that live theatre can create.

As the piece is narrated throughout, the role-play is enhanced with a psychologically deepening of the questions relating to the development of homosexuality. This performance states that it will whisper a confession (which plays on the question of reality) that turns into an unbelievable revealing final scene. Wilson delves deeply into the love that he has for his father, exploring not only Freudian sexuality but also relationship development generally towards our parents as well as the development of a specific gender.

Each scene is performed with great conviction and a spontaneity that will have you wondering what hit you. But be warned Unsex Me is extremely confronting and conservative minded folk may well walk out wiping their brow. This questioning autobiography leaves you guessing at the end between the rights of different genders and sexual equality with the whole effect maximised by the disturbing fact that its contents are indeed true.

Kryztoff Rating   3.5K

Apr 28

SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL – Preview – Now On Til Next Saturday

080413113508_shortSHORTS LAUGHING AFTER DECADE OF SUCCESS

After ten years the Shorts Festival is laughing, with comedies representing six of the twenty finalists in this year’s Festival, and a short but proud history that has seen the Festival kick start the careers of many Australian filmmakers.

The Festival, the idea of acclaimed film producer David Lightfoot, has grown into a respected national short film festival with past winners including The Palace’s Anthony Maras, The Love Song for Iskra Prufrock’s Lucy Gaffy, Jacob’s Dena Curtis and Chicken of God’s Frank Woodley.

The 2013 Festival (April 27-May 4) will be a celebration of success with the top 20 finalist’s films screening alongside a further 40 judge’s picks from this year’s entries. The Festival received more than 200 entries this year.

To celebrate their tenth anniversary, the Festival program also includes past award winners, films that proved popular with audiences and selected films from the UK’s Rushes Soho Shorts, which has partnered with the Festival since 2003.

This year’s top 20 films include comedies, drama, thrillers, documentaries and animations. Three South Australian films made the cut – Michael Cusack’s Sleight of Hand, which won best animation at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival , Craig Behenna’s Suburban Samurai and James Finlay’s debut film, Boxer.

New South Wales filmmakers did well in this year’s Festival with half of the finalists coming out of the State along with 3 from Victoria, 2 from Queensland and 1 each from Western Australia and Tasmania.

SHORTS Film Festival Chair, Paul Jorgensen, said this year’s program is the result of some strong

debate amongst the judges. “The program reflects the strength and diversity of the Festival over the last 10 years and a few of the finalists could be contenders for the judges’ picks at our 20th festival in 2023.

“We’re looking forward to a great week of Australian film and the blend of the finalists’ films alongside some shorts classics will make for an exciting festival and a fitting way to celebrate our 10th anniversary. “The pop up nature of the Festival also continues this year with another new venue, Published Arthouse on Cannon Street in Adelaide’s west end.

“The social atmosphere for which the festival has become popular will continue with the opportunity for people to eat, drink and talk about the films with not only each other, but with many of filmmakers themselves.”

For filmmakers, the SHORTS Film Festival still boasts one of the largest prize pools in Australia worth over $50,000.The winner receives an all-expenses paid trip to prestigious international film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Sundance or Annecy.

The Black SHORTS Award will also make a return this year. Sponsored by Beach Energy, this award encourages more indigenous films to be made, with the winner receiving $10,000 toward future projects that will foster indigenous film-making.

The full Festival program along with booking information is available on the SHORTS Film Festival website. Prices range from $15 to $40.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.shortsfilmfestival.com

Apr 26

Colour Theory – By Claire Foord – Urban Cow Gallery from 1 May to 1 June – Preview

colourofrain_claireClaire Foord, an emerging Australian artist, celebrates in her work occurrences of transformation in a style which is unpredictable, liberated and exposed. Awards and grants have enabled Claire to exhibit her artwork abroad. For the past 12 months while based in Montreal, her work was selected for several international exhibitions including galleries in California, USA and Montreal, Canada, with invitations to exhibit in Germany and New York on the horizon. Her career has seen her as curator, exhibitor and instigator from group and solo shows to live art murals and community art involvement. Claire’s work is part of private collections in Australia, New York and Canada and is shown in visual arts collections at institutions in Montreal.

“I draw inspiration from my travels, be they locally, internationally or on a walk around the block. I often collect little items of inspiration while traveling or walking the street and many of these items can be found within my work both literally and metaphorically. I’m interested in change, growth and evolution. I am drawn to reflect in my works on occurrences of transformation…it intrigues me that something or someone may exist with a role to play or an intent and over time, over the course of events, through natural or manufactured means, it or they evolve and transform to serve as a new form, function or intent, even if defunct. Emotive and affecting my works evolve into a beautiful mess where residual lines and initial marks lay visible through the paintings surface. ” says Claire of her work.

Colour Theory, at Urban Cow Studio, an exhibition of colour experimentation sees Claire taking reference from the neurological condition synesthesia and chromotherapy or colour therapy in a visual art representation which explores these phenomena together with basic principles of colour theory; the colour wheel, colour harmony & the context of how colours are used. The exhibition is a response to the generic and things that would habitually be deemed as void of colour. The works titles reveal painted responses to “the colour of rain”, “the colour of swagger” and “the colour of quirky” to name a few. Opening night sees a colour therapist providing a colour reading for exhibition goers.

Urban Cow Studio Gallery

11 Frome Street, Adelaide SA 5000

 

contact | 8232 6126 | Urban Cow

 

Apr 25

2013 SA Screen Awards Announced

 

The Media Resource Centre, South Australia’s centre for screen culture development, is delighted to announce the winners of the 2013 South Australian Screen Awards (SASAs), which took place at a gala event at The Mercury Cinema on Wednesday night.  Documentaries films featured strongly this year with The SAFC Award for Best Short Film going to Ronnie Chin and Frazer Dempsey for Who Owns The Street and The Mercury Cinema Award for Best Feature to Sandra Cook for The Ride. Daniel Philips’ drama, The Martyr was the stand-out of the night scooping an extraordinary seven of the SASA’s eighteen awards. Neale Irwin picked up Best Comedy and Best Screenplay for his mockumentary, Agora.

 

“The quality and diversity of this year’s films made choices really difficult for this year’s judges,” said Media Resource Centre Director Gail Kovatseff. “It’s so exciting to see so many of the filmmakers the MRC has nurtured and supported now delivering world class films and telling local and international stories in ways that engage audiences worldwide.”

 

In Who Owns The Street, produced by Precede Pictures, Adelaide street artist Peter Drew set out on a mission to try and resolve the contradiction of being both rewarded and punished by different arms of the same government for his street art by confronting both the law makers and the law breakers.

 

The film was described by judge James Brown, Madman Entertainment, as “a mature and accessible work that investigates a complicate issue with humility and intelligence.”

 

The Ride, directed and produced by Sandra Cook, follows four Aussie blokes who trade their wheelchairs for quad bikes and ride 5000km across the desolate heart of Australia to visit the crash sites where they were injured as young men.

 

The Martyr, produced by Anomaly Media and part funded through a Pozible crowd funding campaign, explores the moral dilemmas of a rebel guerilla torturer, who must extract information from government soldiers by any means necessary but on this day the soldier is his friend. The film was awarded Best Drama; Best Direction and The MRC Independent Vision Award (Daniel Philips); Best Cinematography (David Gregan); Best Editing (Daniel Vink); Best Production Design (Annalisa Francesca) and Best Sound Design (Andrew Graue).

 

Agora, a Mockumentary/Comedy about a suburban garage sale directed by Neale Irwin, which picked up awards for Best Comedy and Best Screenplay, was made as part of the Media Resource Centre’s First Shot Initiative, assisting filmmakers who haven’t previously received any production funding.

 

Now in its 14th year as SA’s premiere screen awards, SASA continues to reward excellence and outstanding achievements from South Australian-based filmmakers.

 

Established in 1974 in South Australia, the Media Resource Centre is committed to assisting emerging filmmakers at every stage of their involvement in film, video and new media and to foster the creation of unique and engaging content

Full list of 2013 SASA winners below

 

SASA 2013 Award Winners

 

 

SAFC Award – Best Music Video: Desert (Messrs)
Co Producers/Directors Nima Nabili rad and Dan Principe

 

The Cutting Room Award – Best Animation:  Sleight of Hand
Producer Richard Chataway; Director/Writer/Animator: Michael Cusack

 

AIDC Award – Best Documentary: Meatwork
 Producer Daniel Joyce; Director Madeleine Parry

 

Diamonds Camera & Photographic Wholesalers Award – Best Comedy: Agora
 Producer Pia West; Writer/Director: Neale Irwin

 

Picture Hire Award – Best Drama: The Martyr
Producers Daniel Phillips and Daniel Vink; Director/Writer: Daniel Phillips

 

Mercury Cinema Award – Best Feature Film: The Ride
Producer/Director  Sandra Cook

 

Carclew Youth Arts – MRC Young Filmmaker Award: Sara West

 

Independent Arts Foundation – MRC Emerging Producer Award: Eleanor Jean Perry

 

Digital Negative – MRC Independent Vision Award: Daniel Phillips, The Martyr

 

Avis Australia Award – Best Production Design: Annalisa Francesca, The Martyr

 

Best FX Award – Best Sound Design: Andrew Graue, The Martyr

 

Music SA & Pulling Strings Award – Best Composition: Sean Timms, Sleight of Hand

 

Canon Australia &Pro AV Solutions Award – Best Cinematography: David Gregan,The Martyr

 

VideoBlocks.com Award – Best Editing: Daniel Vink, The Martyr


Adelaide Cosmetic Dentistry Award and Festival Centre – Best Performance: Darcy Crouch, River Water

 

AWG & Storynerds Award – Best Screenplay: Neale Irwin, Agora

 

Kojo Award – Best Direction: Daniel Phillips, The Martyr

 

SAFC Award – Best Short Film: Who Owns the Street,        
Producers/Writers/Directors  Ronnie Chin and Frazer Dempsey

 

Apr 25

Carclew Scholarships 2013 Announced

Article-Image-47418-NormalCarclew Youth Arts is once again offering four opportunities totalling $50,000 to help young South Australian artists excel in their chosen artform.

“Our annual scholarships can be truly life-changing for artists who have already demonstrated commitment and success early in their career,” said Chief Executive, Tricia Walton.

“The money allows them to experience things, meet people and go places they would not have been able to otherwise. Their eyes are often opened to a whole new array of possibilities,” she said.

The four scholarships – each worth $12,500 – can be used for any professional development activity either in Australia or abroad.

·         Colin Thiele Scholarship for Creative Writing

·         BHP Billiton Scholarship for Film and New Media

·         Dame Ruby Litchfield Scholarship for Performing Arts

·         Ruth Tuck Scholarship for Visual Arts

Jazz guitarist Quentin Angus received the 2013 Dame Ruby Litchfield Scholarship.

“It’s been a catalyst in providing me the opportunity to pursue my dreams,” he said.

“It’s helping me get on my feet here in New York and helped fund a mentorship with John Abercorombie and Gilad Hekselman, two world-renowned jazz guitarists who live here. It really did mean a lot.”

For Michael Richards, the BHP Billiton Scholarship for Film and New Media opened doors that would not have otherwise been available.

“It has allowed me to pave my own creative path. I was given a rare opportunity to undergo niche training in 3D and motion control camera systems and bring this back to be used in my own creative work.

“It’s helped propel me on a fast track.”

Nominated by Carclew, both Quentin and Michael went on to receive the Coffee Club Arts Award as part of the Channel 9 Young Achiever Awards.

The scholarships are open to early career artists (aged 26 and under) who have demonstrated excellence and dedication, and who are ready to pursue unique and coveted artistic development opportunities.

Applications close at 5pm, Monday 15 July 2013.

A free information session is being held on Tuesday 30 April, 5.30-6.30pm at Carclew Youth Arts, 11 Jeffcott Street, North Adelaide.

For more information, visit carclew.com.au.

Apr 25

Girl in the Goldfish Bowl – Bakehouse Theatre til 4th May – 3.5K

Romina Verdiglione as Sylvia, Scott Perry as Mr.Lawrence, Miranda Pike as Iris, Patrick Clements (background) asOwen

Romina Verdiglione as Sylvia, Scott Perry as Mr.Lawrence, Miranda Pike as Iris, Patrick Clements (background) asOwen

By Peter Maddern

A ten year old girl, Iris, (Miranda Pike) has had her gold fish washed away by parents struggling with the bills and their marriage. When a strange man, Mr Lawrence (Scott Perry) arrives to become another boarder in the home, Iris increasingly sees him as a saviour; her new goldfish and a solution to the problems getting worse domestically.

Set in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, under Peter Green’s experienced and submersing direction Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, takes us most successfully back to another era. While the set is a tribute to detail and the music nicely chosen from the period (it is not often one hears Herb Alpert nowadays), it all goes to show that so-called simpler times had the same dramas we all often live with today.

The play opens with Iris positing on the aphorism that one’s childhood ends when unhappiness first sets in. From there, Canadian playwright Morris Panych has his audience hoping that the joys of her child hood can indeed be sustained, that a happy ending for these sometimes sad individuals can be found. Depressingly, at times, however it seems she is only one of the characters who cares about that.

No review of Goldfish would be complete without featuring Pike’s superb display as Iris. While she opens with the head start of being rather closer to Iris’s age than most of her audience, maintaining a credible physical front as a girl has to be balanced with delivering the wit, naivety and yet wisdom of a mind dealing often mulling on adult issues. Hers is a wonderful performance.  

New to the stage but delivering with assurance is Scott Perry. The awkwardness of his Mr Lawrence character is confidently delivered and sustained, helped somewhat by his imposing physique and the Forest Gump like clobber. Patrick Clements as Owen, Iris’ forlorn father, is also excellent in conveying the pent up terror of a middle-aged man who has no career, dreams that can’t be fulfilled and what he does has is on the edge of deserting him when his wife, Sylvia (Romina Verdiglione), unsuccessfully attempts to leave the family home.

While all that may sound somewhat sombre fare, the truth is that there is great humour amongst Goldfish’s poignancy and the evolved yearnings to see a hitherto happy childhood extended keeps us with the program.

Apr 19

Shiver and Tetratologists Inc Exhibitions Reviewed

553245_10151513368218540_1578847567_nBy Peter Maddern

Shiver is the first solo exhibition of CCP graduate, Vera Ada, at the Light Gallery.

The exhibition of about 40 works has no particular theme but the things that seem to interest Vera are fairly clearly delineated. These include an attraction towards characters, who are often not only quirky but also struggling and stressed; their captures mostly being without them being aware of the camera’s presence.

She also revels in double exposures, notably Sylphid where a woman peering down at what maybe her mobile phone in a hallway is caught up in a swirling, combusting blaze of light.

IMG_0229Windows, particularly bus windows, are also well handled with Vera indulging optimally in the natural presence of poles and sills to construct the framework for the images, using these strained characters mentioned above to peer out or in (as the case maybe) to contrasting worlds, perhaps the forms of the worlds that are the subject of their contemplations.

Ada also enjoys forming street and domestic scenes where nature is contrasted against the human action. While without the overwhelming drama, these images have a sense of those done by Canadian Jeff Wall with Stray, Chores and Leftover the most interesting. Catch this emerging photographer til 3rd May.

Tetratologists Inc at Ladybeads on Unley Rd is somewhat of a world away from Shiver though that sensation may draw them together. Here prolific Kat Coppock has curated more than a dozen artists who have conjured all manner of scary monsters and imagery, from photos and drawing to objects and toys.

While the two dimensional works are not the highlight, children will love many of the figures that are at the same time cuddly but scary, fearsome yet floppy and deformed yet docile. Presenting them all in darkness, other than for the spot torch provided when you enter, adds nicely to the look and feel of it all. Highlights for me were Fletch Cuts’ Zombies of War, Nickas Serpantus’s Scary Hairy Faery (above) and Tiffany Hampton’s Pride and Vanity (below).

IMG_0228Zombies is a hand cut stencil of a soldier staring out at us emerging from a dark and occasionally blood splattered abyss. Scary Hairy features a locust / mouse cross, in a high rage straddling a stick locked away safely (thankfully) in a dusty, grey bird cage. While Pride and Vanity is a nice combination of a similarly disposed Tasmanian Devil type creature frothing at the mouth and ever so fearsome, yet it possesses qualities of a treasure you would like to take home with you, with bright rhinestones and glitter creating that confusion about its soul that the title of this work plays to so well.

Tetratologists Inc is on until 9th May.

Apr 16

2013 AUDI FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS – PREVIEW – 8-13 May

NOT A ‘SOUR KRAUT’ IN SIGHT…!

Presenting a wonderfully audacious collection of contemporary German cinema, the 12th annual Audi Festival of German Films celebrates the rich diversity of one of Europe’s most dynamic and creatively renowned cultures. 

Showcasing a diverse slate of film and documentaries from inspiring thrillers to wry comedies and critically lauded feature dramas, the Festival comes to Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, 8 – 13 May 2013.

Presented by the Goethe-Institut in association with German Films, screening partner Palace Cinemas, and the generous support of Audi, whose superb vehicles combine elegance with innovative technology, Festival Director, Dr. Arpad Sölter has crafted a colourful programme of dramas, comedies, documentaries and children’s film – presenting something for everyone.

Two Lives, from writer/director Georg Maas, who will be one of the Festival’s many international guests, will launch the event in Adelaide.  Starring the legendary Liv Ullmann, along with Ken Duken and Juliane Köhler,

Two Lives is a thrilling drama that seeks to discover the true identity of a woman whose mysterious past lies in the buried secrets of a wartime liaison between a Norwegian woman and a German soldier.

 

Special event screenings include Q & A screenings of New Found Land and Pathfinders with writer/director Georg Maas.

 

Additional Festival highlights include:

 

Bliss

From filmmaker Doris Dorrie (Cherry Blossoms) comes Bliss, an uncompromising study of the consuming love between Irina, an illegal Macedonian immigrant who sells her body on the streets of Berlin, and Kalle, a homeless man.

Breathing

Directed by actor Karl Markovics (The Counterfeiters) Austria’s entry in the Foreign Language Oscar category tells the story of Roman Kogler, a 19-year-old ward-of-the-state living in a detention centre following a serious crime.  As part of the centre’s day release program, Roman’s only hope for rehabilitation comes when he is offered the position of assistant undertaker at the local morgue.

Dreileben Trilogy

Directed by three of Germany’s leading filmmakers, Christian Petzold, Dominik Graf and Christoph Hochhäusler, this intriguing trilogy of films, each plays upon figures of three, to form a series of subtle repetitions and triangulations of characters and events.

The Wall

Set amidst the Austrian Alps, this Robinson-Crusoe like drama tells the story of a woman who becomes separated from the rest of humanity by an invisible, impenetrable wall.  A metaphor rich mediation on loneliness, fear and survival, based on the acclaimed 1963 novel by Marlen Haushofer.

The 2013 AUDI FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS screens exclusively at Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, 8-13 May 2013.

An e-version of the 2013 AUDI FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS program is available for viewing at www.issuu.com/goetheaustralia/docs/afgf2013_minimag