Flying in my gondola

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...

The Athenaeum Theatre was buzzing with women’s voices on the night I attended Motherhood: The Musical . Mothers with daughters, granddaughters with their nans, sisters, aunties… every female combination one can imagine was in attendance on this evening (I was there with my seven year old daughter). ‘I’m Having a Baby’, a saccharine-sweet song about… well, having a baby, opened the show; with it I let out a little sigh, accompanied by a quick scan of my surroundings, and a plan to escape the theatre, out of fear that the rest of the show was going to be this ‘sappy.’ A grand total of 15 seconds later I realised that I was so, so wrong, and that this song was only an illustration of the state of mind of Amy (Rebecca Moore), a first time 20-something mummy to be. My ‘I can relate to that’ radar switched on immediately, I found my focus drawn only to the stage, and all plans of escape evaporated away into thin air. Motherhood: The Musical is the creative fruit of Sue Fabisch, a...

Return to Nim’s Island Review by: Gordana Andjelic-Davila Return to Nim’s Island  is a sequel to the 2008 film  Nim’s Island . In the original, Nim (Abigail Beslin), is a girl living on an isolated island with her scientist father (Gerard Butler), and eventually communicates with an agoraphobic author (Jodie Foster) who travels halfway around the globe to help Nim as her island is “invaded” while her father is away, and a fabulous adventure unfolds. Five years forward, and a teenage Nim still communicates with animals, makes mealworm sandwiches and assists her father in the quest to preserve their island from the outside world. Appropriately, in this film Nim is played by Aussie’s own Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late environmentalist and world-famous “Crocodile Hunter,” Steve Irwin.   Nim’s scientist father (Matthew Lillard), once again leaves his daughter with her animal friends and travels to Queensland to meet with Government authorities to persuade them t...

Josh Groban Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Tuesday, 23 April 2013 09:12 American award winning singer-songwriter  Josh Groban , a renowned name among the classical and popular music world, wowed audiences at the beautiful Palais Theatre in St. Kilda this past Saturday evening. The venue was packed to the rafters with a mainly female audience, and to say that the air was abuzz with anticipation for  Groban’s  performance is an understatement. Declarations of elation and expectation of specific songs could be heard all around. Once  Groban made his appearance on stage the superfan-like screaming commenced and “I love you Josh!” rung throughout the Palais in all ranges and colours of voices. Surprisingly,  Groban  began to sing the very instant he grasped the microphone in his hand, and did not address his audience until the second song was sung. Though this and his rather casual attire choice threw me a bit, I noticed that no o...

After what seems like YEARS since my last proper review, I have finally started reviewing again. Here is my write up on Australia Stage . The Four Accordionists of the Apocalypse | La Mama Written by  Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Friday, 28 September 2012 21:46 The Bible mentions the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the New Testament, where it is revealed to apostle John that the ultimate victory of good over evil and the end of the present age is destined to take place. The literal translation from Greek of the word apocalypse refers to a revelation of something hidden - occulted from human knowledge in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception. How accordionists became part of the apocalypse may ravage one's mind if too much thought is applied to the idea. Alas, accordionists are indeed the key element to this year's Melbourne Fringe's  The Four Accordionists of the Apocalypse , who by the end of the performance seem as though they were always intende...