All posts filed under: arts

The Carnival of Lost Souls

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Join The Carnival of Lost Souls this November for the world premiere of their dark and magical 19th-century circus show, featuring some of Australia’s best physical entertainers, musicians, and singers. The Carnival of Lost Souls will take you on a mystical and atmospheric journey into the dark heart of a vintage Circus world. The magical world comes alive with Victorian Gothic and Steampunk inspired costuming and stage design, plus moody and evocative lighting where the line between life and death is truly blurred. The event is held at The Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood, a fully licensed Bar. Open to attendees of any age, but recommended for age 15+. You will be able to get to the venue by bus 200, 201, 203, 205 or 207 to the corner of Wellington Street and Johnston Street. Ideally, you can also take tram 86 to stop 19 or take the train to Victoria Park Station. A breathtaking classic Circus show filled with world-class acrobats, jugglers, magicians, aerial and carnival performers – if you like the immersive dark romanticism of the Victorian era, and the …

Scotch & Soda Giveaway

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Scotch & Soda, takes it names from the ‘perfect mix of two great things’ and is described as ‘circus meets jazz in a quirky mix that will get you all stirred up.’ A theatrical mix of groovy barroom and junkyard jazz beats, and world class circus served up in the vibe of a rowdy whisky joint, set in a parallel universe – set somewhere between depression-era travelling circuses and Europe’s 19th Century carnival past. All of this takes place in the perfectly suited Wonderland Spiegeltent at Docklands. Sound like your cup of tea? We have a double pass to giveaway to check it out for yourself, at the Thursday October 13 show at 8pm. See our Facebook page for details. Where: Wonderland Spiegeltent 101 Waterfront Way, Docklands. When: Wed Oct 12 – Sun October 23, 2016. 5pm and 8pm shows available. More Info: Check out their website  

Fringe Review: ApocOlympics

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Set in a post-apocalyptic world, where basic human needs like clean water, non-radioactive cruise ship holidays and steel may or may not still be available, and the simple act of going to work to build a sporting stadium comes with the risk of being carried off by mutant crows, ApocOlympics is smart humour for witty, intelligent people, brought to you by the fabulous comedy partnership of Dan Pavavitch and Justin Porter. The concept of an Olympics that far into the future having been re-adapted for the conditions of the modern environment, and the mutations of man is made even more absurd as the actual events over time have themselves evolved to the point of non-recognition and even fight-to-the-death level, making for some dark, but fantastic jokes. This show is a groovy, multi-layered-style sketch which coils tighter and tighter around a core central storyline, eventually funnelling out into that point where everything becomes linked for a clear, clean close off where things basically pick up where they began – for the most part. Dan and Justin …

Fringe Review: It’s my funeral & I’ll throw glitter if I want to

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As an independent woman, taking charge of one of the most significant, and well let’s face it, last, major events of one’s life is a pretty huge, albeit important task. So, ‘after a (tiny) mental breakdown, Isobel Marmion decided to throw her own funeral (fancy dress and lots of glitter) rather than wait for her untimely and obviously impending death from one of the many illnesses she’s currently suffering from…’ which she goes on to list at the start of her aptly-named show. Pre-show we are warned to brace ourselves for what is described as an ‘intimate look at mental illness and the fear of dying alone, but in an uplifting, funny way’ – this was delivered loosely wrapped around what comes across as an intimate 50 minute long confessional. From this description, and as the show unfolded in front of us, it became clear that it was less about the funeral, and more so about Isobel’s very real struggle with mental illness – balancing bipolar disorder in a society which demands high function, something …

Fringe Review: CULL

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This show is self-described as a ‘trashy, David Lynchian, wet nightmare sketch show about deleting your Facebook friends and the absurdity of social media’ and yep, that just about fits the bill perfectly. Cull is dark, dark humour. The kind that comes fresh from a deep well of millennial cynicism, finally jaded enough to burst the social media bubble of perfection. Duo Honor Wolff and Patrick Durnam Silva have a pretty cool groove going on, even if at times it’s a little rough around the edges, it’s funny. We laughed the whole time. This show in short, is dark, but fun. Honor and Patrick have almost too much intensity between them, but it’s necessary to lift the audience out of the dark content, back into their very fabulous balance with high-energy cray. The best part of Cull is the enjoyment taken from poking delicious fun at the ‘Cute Cats of Instagram’, the ‘Fitspo’ tools who do anything but inspire the average punter, ‘awareness challenges’ and a physically awkward look at the people who are socially …

In Cabaret

Review: Performance Management – in Cabaret

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A Saturday night at the Wonderland Spiegeltent in Docklands is always a good idea. The smell of the popcorn, great company, a couple of wines and a good show. Can’t go wrong. Last Saturday we went to see the ‘one night only’ Performance Management – In Cabaret. Presented by Shhhhh Produtions, Performance Management, described as “Horrible Bosses meets The Office” stars Scott Hollingsworth as a fabulous Ringmaster slash Manager, and pokes fun at the everyday challenges of a normal employer / employee relationship, comparing every office to, well, a circus. This show is not just funny, it’s fun. Performance Management capitalizes on on every possible ‘bad employee’ stereotype from the casual racist (I’m not racist but..), to the smoke-break bludger, the sick day champion and the person who told more than a few white lies on their resume. They’re all in there. The best part about this show as with most cabarets was the songs. Particularly if you can sing along. Not just to the songs adapted from Les Miserables, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid …

Melbourne Design Market

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Join 50 designers and thousands of design-lovers at the June Market in 2016. The Melbourne Design Market is the occasion to launch new products, to meet the designers who created these products and to come together in one place buy and sell, share and learn, build relationships and careers, all within an informal, fun, market setting. Taking place in the atmospheric carpark of Melbourne’s Federation Square, the market will be filled with hundreds of great designs from furniture, fashion, jewellery and homewares, together with fine coffee, food, music and a capacity crowd of design devotees. When: 10am – 5pm, Sunday June 19 Where: Federation Square Visit the Melbourne Design Market website. 

Review: Flesh Eating Tiger

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Whilst pitched as a comedy slash drama, Amy Tofte’s Flesh Eating Tiger is a play not for the faint-hearted. A cautious word to the wise, it is not a ‘fun’ performance, it has heavy content, it’s real, rough, raw…. black, beautiful. It’s a love story, but not in a traditional sense. You will laugh, you will probably cry and without a doubt you will at times feel uncomfortable. Going in with a pre-description of ‘man addicted to alcohol, woman addicted to man, it’s not possible to not feel anything at the end of this 70-minute piece in the super-intimate Owl & Cat Theatre. Flesh Eating Tiger is a unique concept, blurring the lines between reality and storytelling, it’s actually a performance within a monologue within a play. The beautiful cast of two unnamed characters portrayed by Amy Gubana and Marcus Molyneux take us through the rocky ups and downs of what starts as a forbidden crush and move very quickly through the fiery, tumultuous relationship of a married woman and an ex-alcoholic struggling with sobriety.  …

CounterMove

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Sydney Dance Company’s CounterMove is an exhilarating double bill that will intrigue, move and entertain you. Featuring a laugh-out–loud funny piece, Cacti, by Swedish Choreographer Alexander Ekman and Rafael Bonachela’s deeply moving world premiere, Lux Tenebris.  Receiving rapturous reviews from around the world, Cacti is a brilliantly conceived, laugh-out-loud funny piece that dares to poke fun at contemporary dance. While Rafael Bonachela’s world premiere, Lux Tenebris explores light and darkness with fiercely physical movement and deep, electronic beats by composer Nick Wales (long-term collaborator of Sarah Blasko). Don’t miss CounterMove in it’s limited Melbourne season. We Know Melbourne exclusive: Quote SDCHOTEL online to receive $10 off tickets throughout the season. When: 25 May – 4 June Where: Southbank Theatre, Melbourne. Visit the CounterMove website.