Hello, Gaz Rhumbo! | Lightning Bolt Creative & Willem Whitfield
theatre, review Nadia Jade theatre, review Nadia Jade

Hello, Gaz Rhumbo! | Lightning Bolt Creative & Willem Whitfield

A fascinating play, with a whole lot going on. Hello, Gaz Rhumbo is a bizarre and fun-filled trip into the life, and untimely death, of our title character. The entire affair is reminiscent of a slightly perturbed gameshow, wherein the contestant gets a short recap and then has to fumble his way through a series of zany questions he is woefully unprepared for.

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Hello, Gaz Rhumbo! | Lightning Bolt Creative & Willem Whitfield
theatre Lauren Hale theatre Lauren Hale

Hello, Gaz Rhumbo! | Lightning Bolt Creative & Willem Whitfield

The show advertises itself as an absurdist comedy. The absurd element is spot on, with clever writing and joke props. A fully grown man in a diaper wails like a baby. A woman uploads information directly to her head and seems to orgasm. Frequently, the characters spoke in a voice from beyond their own experience, laying down exposition that felt simultaneously jarring and hilarious.

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Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skin Deep Collective
theatre, review Jaydem Martin theatre, review Jaydem Martin

Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skin Deep Collective

It’s hard to believe that it took only ten days for ‘Tales from the Colony’ to be created and then performed on stage. For a work that was complexed, multifaceted and spoke on deep themes and issues, it was suspiring to hear how quick it took for it all to come together, but that’s also a testament to the rawness that was on full display. And when the ending came, the audience on their feet standing, clapping and cheering on in praise: the emotional toll on six incredible performers was evident, and with that the realisation of what we had experienced was more than a show, but a journey of exposing truths, finding identity and baring trauma.

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Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skindeep Collective
theatre, poetry, review Writeousness theatre, poetry, review Writeousness

Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skindeep Collective

Escalating emotions aside, one of the many highlights of the night was sharing the same space with such a rich mix of people of colour from so many different ethnic backgrounds. This truly felt like being back home again. Besides the delivery of the original material, what impressed was the message of hope and reconciliation this conveyed. The youth of the performers belied the intensity and ferocity with which they boldly embraced their storytelling by speaking out about taboo subjects.

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Apocalipstick | Polytoxic
circus, cabaret, burlesque, review Dr Fed circus, cabaret, burlesque, review Dr Fed

Apocalipstick | Polytoxic

Apocalipstick used drag and gender-fuckery to engage the audience through laughter, the absurd, and the excess. There is nothing better to make someone think about serious issues than to make them laugh! Laughter sits with you in a light vein and it makes you come back to the funny sketch again and again looking for one more laugh. Drag invites laughter by highlighting the contradictions of gender through the excess: hoping for a fuck, office tape and markers become the perfect beauty tools for a face-lift and make-up, and thin-glass toxic masculinity is the weapon of the man looking for acceptance in the wolf pack.

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yana marumba (Walk Good) | Quandamooka Festival & Wynnum Fringe
festival, review Jaydem Martin festival, review Jaydem Martin

yana marumba (Walk Good) | Quandamooka Festival & Wynnum Fringe

There was a moment during the smoking ceremony when I shut my eyes and felt a strong sense of peace. I touched the ground with my hands and gave thanks in my heart to the Quandamooka people for inviting me onto their land and allowing me to stand alongside them. I also thought about the men and women that came before me and the hardships that they had to endure for my freedom, through their work as activists to make sure that First Nations people could have equal opportunity.

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An Afternoon with Colin Peterson | Colin Peterson & Ron Kelly
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An Afternoon with Colin Peterson | Colin Peterson & Ron Kelly

Caught up in the stories of his many brushes with frame, our time with Colin flew by all too quickly. The audience was enraptured throughout, thanks to both Ron’s expert guidance and Colin’s many annecdotes of his life in the spotlight. Despite not knowing much about Colin’s career myself, the combination of guided story-telling and Colin’s honest reflections, with photos and videos from Colin’s career made for an engaging hour on a hot and muggy Sunday afternoon.

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Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
cabaret, music, review Kristy Stanfield cabaret, music, review Kristy Stanfield

Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm

Wow wow wow. I feel like my eardrums have just been given a delightful, melodic pounding. Songs My Aunties Taught Me is part opera, part beatboxing, part comedy, and one hundred percent remarkable. This first collaboration between songstress Heru Pinkasova and the beatboxing, drumming Dr Rhythm is a melodious fusion of two very different art forms, which tells the stories of influential women in Heru’s life; both her mother and aunties, and the great women of colour who sang before her.

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Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
cabaret, music, review Jaydem Martin cabaret, music, review Jaydem Martin

Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm

The interactions between Aunty Heru and Jonny Drama brings out a humorous side to the show and the chemistry between them is endearing as it feels like they have both known each other for a long time and that they have toured lengthy with this show despite it being their first. As talented as Heru is with her voice, Jonny’s beatboxing skills are similarly impressive.

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Absolute Objectivity | Backbone
musical, review Virag Dombay musical, review Virag Dombay

Absolute Objectivity | Backbone

A pop culture fairytale for the internet age, Sampson Smith’s new musical comedy Absolute Objectivity has finally downloaded its way into Backbone Youth Arts. Takes us on a journey to the world elections in the year 2054 where - since the mysterious disappearance of left-wing messiah Turny Banders - the CEO of the world’s largest, and only, corporation ‘Dooglecorp’ has run unopposed as World President for two decades. This journey is filled with rap battles, emotional ballads, sexy times and the most glamorous of costumes.

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Absolute Objectivity  |  Backbone
musical, review Lauren Hale musical, review Lauren Hale

Absolute Objectivity | Backbone

Backbone was transformed into a glowing corporate dystopia that conjured up visions of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Apple store. The cast of six emerged clad in matching glittery silver suits and launched into it with the aptly titled, punchy ‘Opening Number’. They brought energy, mostly synchronised dancing and set the tone for one and a half hours of playful absurdity and witty banter.

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We The Aliens | Ela Bartilomo and Cecilia Martin
circus, review Nadia Jade circus, review Nadia Jade

We The Aliens | Ela Bartilomo and Cecilia Martin

They’ve moved us into the round, which for the most part works, although pieces down the far end of the room require you to crane your head. They are using segues that don’t entirely make sense on the surface. Which is good. I get tired of having everything spelled out for me, and when something is ambiguous and creative and exploring edgy themes I want the opportunity to let my imagination run wild. I want to see if I can figure it out. It’s what make art fun and interesting.

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We The Aliens | Ela Bartilomo and Cecilia Martin
circus, review Dr Fed circus, review Dr Fed

We The Aliens | Ela Bartilomo and Cecilia Martin

As I was watching We the Aliens, I kept on think about who are the aliens and how do we relate to them. Etymologically, alien means foreign, strange. It is the ‘Other’ to which we cannot relate. And yet, we do have a relation with the alien, albeit in negative terms. The alien is that which we negate from ourselves, that we make foreign to us, and that we perceived as strange and threatening. The body of acrobats and contortionists is a good representation of this concept and also an entry point to reflect on it.

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