Flying in my gondola

On a remote desert army base in southern Israel, very important strategic military maneuvers are being mapped out in a smoke-filled hot office, and the big wigs are getting irritated due to the lack of refreshments. A male superior officer directs his discontent to a female officer - Rama (Shani Klein) - who promptly rushes off to hunt down the culprit who’s failed at the mundane task of making and delivering of beverages. Rama’s frustration is palpable.  Adding to her stress, just as Rama is about to serve the refreshments to the officers, a flurry of young women donning uniforms waltz into the office/kitchen, coming back from weekend leave, spewing dialogue of extreme discontent with the military forces. Among them are Daffi (Nelly Tagar), a young woman who clearly has no desire of returning to her duties, and Zohar (Dana Ivgy) her comrade in arms, equally unenthused.  After Rama hurls a rapid and heated verbal reprimand their way, the two soldiers enter the meeti...

Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Tuesday, 15 April 2014 08:29 Flying Fruit Fly Circus , Australia’s National Youth Circus, known for its training excellence and its award-winning performing arts company, was established back in 1979, and based in the twin border towns of Albury-Wodonga, on the Murray River. Since then the company has been training and touring young circus artists up to the age of 19, with many graduating artists going on to such companies like  Circus Oz, Cirque du Soleil, Circa  among many others around the world. The  Flying Fruit Fly Circus ’ latest  Circus Under My Bed , part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, is a a fabulously choreographed, directed and executed little show for all ages. Circus Under My Bed  is a story about a young girl, Celeste , who is in the process of moving houses with her family. This has brought  Celeste’s  mood down, but through the help of an imaginary circus ring ...

Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Thursday, 10 April 2014 09:15 Ever hear of ‘The Axis of Evil?’ The term was initially coined by former U.S. president George W. Bush in a State of the Union Address back in 2002, when he identified Iran, Iraq and North Korea as governments assisting terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. What about ‘The Axis of Awesome?’ Contrary to what might come to mind,  The Axis of Awesome  does not describe countries which inspire an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or induces awe, instead it is the name three very talented musicians/comedians have gone by for nearly eight years. Rocking their unique brand of musical comedy and gaining fans from around the globe, including some A-list fans like Ashton Kutcher and Journey,  The Axis of Awesome  are back for their sixth Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) season, to elate audiences with their brilliant quirkiness. The Awesome  tr...

Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Friday, 11 April 2014 20:48 Singer composer,  Colin Hay  is touring the globe again. Once lead singer of Grammy Award winner Australian band, Men at Work, responsible for such hits as,  Who Can it Be Now ,  Overkill  and the unofficial Australian anthem, renown worldwide  Down Under . Hay  is in town performing at the Arts Centre as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MCIF). At first this may seem unusual, as he is not know for comedy, but,  Colin Hay  is no run-of-of-the-mill kind of artist; he is an accomplished guitarist, and a master story weaver.  Hay  must have been born under a lucky star which has enabled him with the gift of elaborate and extremely witty story telling.  Concert goers are well aware of the gaps and/or breathers which singers fill with some light chit chat and background information of the origins of a particular...

Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Thursday, 03 April 2014 21:42 Puppetry of the Penis , or The Art of Genital Origami! as it is also referred to, was conceived by Simon Morley and David “Friendly” Friend and first performed at the 1998 Melbourne International Comedy Festival – it was declared ‘the best comedy show of the festival’ by The Age at the time. How apropos that I see the show for the first time, right here in Melbourne part of this year’s MICF. At the infancy of their penis bending careers, Morley and Friend were initially booked for a five-week run at London's Whitehall Theatre, and eventually closed after an astonishing five-month run, due to the overwhelming response by audiences, including some A-listers like Hugh Grant, Bono and the Beckhams. The puppeteers are now many – much like The Blue Man Group – touring throughout the UK, Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific, elating its audiences. I caught  Puppetry of the Penis  at t...

Alaska String Band Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Saturday, 15 March 2014 07:37 Photo – Rebecca Friedlander  The Brunswick Music Festival, launched by the Brunswick City Council back in 1989, has featured live performances of folk, roots, and blues music, successfully drawing in new and repeat audiences young and old, year after year. The Festival has showcased Australian artists like The Audreys, Mick Thomas and Fiona Boyes, among many, many more. International artists have also been guests of the Festival, among them Andy Irvine, Vin Garbutt, Chris Smither, and the  Alaska String Band , hailing all the way from, as the name implies... Alaska. I had the privilege and pleasure of attending the  Alaska String Band’s  concert at the Mechanic’s Institute last night, and like the rest of the attendees I was completely floored by their performance. Winners of the Fame Awards – Bluegrass Band of the Year, the  Alaska String Band’s  m...

This review was published on ArtsHub.com.au . By Gordana Andjelic-Davila | Monday August 12 2013 Two men stumble into an apartment, seemingly inebriated. One is quite brash and opinionated, the other somewhat whiny and unable to manage his booze-induced condition. A dialogue, evolving between the two men, gives hints as to their identity and the era they live in; they are none other than Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and they are living in the Roaring Twenties, alternatively known as the Jazz Age. Amadeo Astorino’s  Jazz Angel  is a theatrical vignette focusing on the fascinating yet torrid relationship between Hemingway and Fitzgerald during their expat stint in France. The American literary icons are depicted as self-indulgent and somewhat confused by the direction of their careers. Even before the shoe dropped as to the identity of the two characters on stage, it was apparent that the brawny one was Ernest Hemingway, embodied by Lliam Amor, who w...

Rumour Has It: Sixty Minutes Inside Adele Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Monday, 08 July 2013 17:24 Photo – Dylan Evans Rumour Has It: Sixty Minutes Inside Adele , performed by  Naomi Price , is an hour-long cabaret show packed with fabulous singing and peppery humorous banter, during which the audience is taken down Adele’s memory lane, highlighting key times of her life which proved to be a source of inspiration to many of her chart topping songs. Naomi Price  walked out with determination, planted her fierce presence on the dark stage and proceeded to belt out Adele’s repertoire of songs. Though she donned a red wig and black dress, somewhat resembling Adele, she did not do a straight-on imitation of the British singer but instead she lauded her with her interpretation, which is ironic, because apparently  Rumour Has It: Sixty Minutes Inside Adele  was initially a total piss-take, and its working title was  ‘Cheer the Fuck Up,...

Room on the Broom Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Friday, 05 July 2013 14:00 Left – Josie Cerise and Crystal Hegedis. Cover – Crystal Hegedis, Stephen Anderson, Josie Cerise and Damien Warren-Smith. Photos – Prudence Upton British writer, playwright and performer,  Julia Donaldson is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, including  The Gruffalo  and  Room on the Broom , which have both been adapted for theatre. Room on the Broom , a story about a flighty witch, her sassy cat and the characters who hitch a ride with them, is currently at the beautiful National Theatre in St Kilda, where it has been playing to a packed house since opening day. The stage, though scantly decorated was brought to life by the performers, who more than made up for its spartan look, displaying their multi-skilled talents through clever and lively pantomime. Stephen Anderson, Josie Cerise, Crystal Hegedis  and  Damien Warren-Smith ...

flowerchildren | Magnormos Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Wednesday, 19 June 2013 11:43 Photos – Steven Potashnyk The 1960s spawned many-a-memorable musical group which influenced a generation, among them  The Mamas and the Papas , who wrote and performed such iconic songs like:  I Saw Her Again, Monday Monday  and of course the infamous  California Dreamin . Australia’s own,  Magnormos , has created the fabulous new musical  flowerchildren , a story about the incredible rise and consequent spiraling descent and break up, of the American four member group formed by,  Cass Elliot ( Casey Donovan ),  John Phillips  ( Matt Hetherington ), Denny Doherty  ( Dan Humphries ) and  Michelle Phillips ( Laura Fitzpatrick ). The show charts the journey of  The Mamas and the Papas , through a chronological narrative weaved in between extended monologues, with the actors regularly addressing th...

GORDANA ANDJELIC-DAVILA WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH, 2009 At Natacha’s Melbourne show at the Arts Centre, the audience was treated to this ‘East meets West’ medley, of mesmerizing sounds of love declarations and lament. Among the songs were some old favourites like:  Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets  from the film of the same name which when performed brought the house to its feet, and people began to dance in the isles to it. Natacha Atlas was born in Brussels, Belgium to a father of Moroccan, Egyptian, and Palestinian ancestry and a British mother.  Atlas speaks Arabic, French, English, and Spanish, and she has uses them all to sing her songs. She was raised in Brussels, and in Northampton, England. During her performance at the Arts Centre in Melbourne, on the 10th of March, she mentioned that growing up she listened to music in her household, which was both Western and Eastern, and that she was most influenced by the Rahbani Brothers who combined both styles of ...