The Island of Misfit Players have approached Saint Joan with a level of respect and earnestness that felt refreshing to me; with no urge to modernise or reimagine the script, what they have achieved is an excellent, straightforward adaptation of the play while still maintaining a very personal stamp on their interpretation.

The cast, without a doubt, was first-rate. The performances themselves were a true showcase of their craft. There was something magical about everyone singing together, blending their voices so beautifully, that gave me goosebumps. I walked out the theatre door with the musical tunes still stuck in my head, and the audience clapping along even after the curtain fell. If you haven’t experienced this famous production yet, I invite you to experience it. Have an adventurous evening deep into the woods—just don’t wander too far off!

I couldn’t confidently tell you what BIOS - INFERA was strictly ‘about’, aside from the description given by the artists themselves, but I can tell you what it made me feel. The work is patient and meditative, never feeling like it has to speed up to match pace with modern attention spans. I was reminded of my experiences growing up backing onto bushland, walking barefoot surrounded by birdsong and the breathing of trees. I haven’t felt quite so small in a long time, and BIOS - INFERA gave me the same feeling of cosmic insignificance in the best way.

As an exploration of ‘why do we gravitate towards certain people,’ FUSE presents audiences with several chapters or movements that illustrate moments of connection, provoking reflection about the nature of family, friendship, and partnership. While the five performers each have their moment at centre stage, I found the interactions between the cast to be most compelling, which is unsurprising for a show that explores how ‘we are emotionally wired to connect.’

Ian Stenlake is a great choice for the role of our unsuspecting hero, Richard Hannay. Lisa McCune is a talented actor: charming as the foreign spy, highly amusing as the farmer’s wife, and fabulous as Hannay’s love interest. Casting The Umbilical Brothers is a great idea; the duo is an experienced comedy partnership, which means that Collins and Dundas are very capable of improvising and working hard to see if they can each ‘corpse’ their fellow artists.

Taliani expertly leads the audience on a journey through krump, bounce, and other hip-hop or street styles; vogue femme and hands performance; and the intersection of these styles with his contemporary dance background as well as his First Nations cultural practises. I use expertly here in the senses that he is (1) a phenomenal technician of all these styles, (2) an exceedingly evocative storyteller, and (3) the master of the world this work takes place in

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a one hour long, free opera sung in English, but after seeing The Telephone, I can say it was a delight. Cleverly presented and beautiful. The Telephone entertained and amazed the audience in a packed-out venue, ultimately providing an accessible entry point to opera for a modern audience.

Great art happens when the artist is willing and able to externalise the most true and human parts of themselves on stage for an audience. Chatter is absurd, funny, confronting, and feels deeply real and undeniably honest. It is a compelling rollercoaster of an hour that loops through the silly and sad with a deft artistic hand and slick sound and lighting design. I only wish that I had been able to review this show at the start of its season, so I could have told everyone I know that they simply had to see it.

White Noise is a piece of performance art that communicates aspects of lived experience as a mother with disability, and encourages us all to ‘consider our place in the conversation.’ Dance and circus are at the centre of a show that is an all-encompassing artistic event that incorporates voice, animation, art, microphone manipulation, and an excellent soundscape. 

The Natural Horse is a deeply strange play, in more ways than one. A dark comedy about an ex-Soviet family and their struggles with the American dream, it's a work with a lot of lofty concepts and low-brow comedy, much of which is achieved with a scrappy heart that I appreciated.