LIA LOVES... THEATRE. DANCE. CULTURE. EVENTS.

All Change [Phrase/British/Spoken] – Used for telling people on a train or a bus that they must leave it because it is not going any further. This is quite the metaphor for this play in so many ways. The fact that the train symbolises the end of the road for both our main characters, Ivor and his daughter Lily. That trains occupied a huge part of Ivor’s life, the notion of one’s train of thought and how dementia breaks this and the fact that no one actually likes change. Smokescreen Productions starts the conversation with their affecting and sentimental work, All Change. Produced with support of new Adelaide company, STARC Productions, All Change first began as a project based on a family experience of writer and actor, Tim Marriott. It had a limited but very well received run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 and this reception encouraged the team to reinvigorate and adapt to this year’s Fringe. Director Nicholas Collett was very lucky indeed to have the talented Stefanie Rossi and Tim Marriott as his […]

Blackrock and Nick Enright have been customary with drama school auditions around the country since the mid 90s, and with good reason. Inspired by the true events of a young girls murder on Newcastle’s Stockton Beach in 1989, Enright was asked to write an education piece that examines the world of adolescence, mateship, violence, and relationships. He was then commissioned by Sydney Theatre Company to expand the play into a full length work, and Blackrock was debuted in 1995 to critical acclaim. The town of Blackrock is shook when the body of a teenage girl is found the morning after a party, raped and murdered. The play does not depict the murder itself. Instead, the focus is on a teenager, Jared Kirby, torn between the choking culture of mateship and misogyny and the effect of Tracy’s death on her friends, the parents of those involved and the town. Although the play is now over 30 years old, Enright’s depiction of Australian youth culture is still front and centre today. The objectification of young women, binge […]

Cabaret is not like anything else. Packed in like sardines, up close and personal, audience interaction. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But if you want to experience cabaret, there is no better introduction than Michael Griffiths. A seasoned performer, musical theatre trained, Helpmann Award winner, Michael brings his vivacious personality and captivating voice to Le Cascadeur at The Garden of Unearthly Delights with his show, Michael Griffiths: By Request. He delighted us with Sweet Dreams, In Vogue, Adolescent and Lucky. Blew us away with his Cole Porter tribute show and now brings all his favourites back for a rollicking rendition, this time with a band (the very talented Felicity on bass and Josh on drums). A casual but exuberant atmosphere, we are taken back to the 70’s and ABBA with Knowing Me, Knowing You, and here Michael explains his love affair with music began. He talks about his very first concert experience with his dad, seeing A-ha, which was the segue to Take on Me. Other favourites from Peter Allen, Barry Manilow, Queen (so […]

On a balmy Saturday night, we packed ourselves into Le Cascadeur at the Garden of Unearthly Delights to see cabaret darling Amelia Ryan’s new show, Simply the Breast. Accompanied by Michael Griffiths, she takes you on a journey – an emotional, captivating, hilarious and honest one at that- through her life and the ‘breast’ of her previous shows, Storm in a D Cup, Lady Liberty and The Breast is Yet to Come. To set the scene, she waltzed onstage with a breast pump (my poor husband was mortified when tasked with holding it for her), and immediately broke the fourth wall with candid satire and jest. Taking us from her unique childhood in small town Bombo, to her stripper university days, meeting the love of her life and bringing her son into the world, Amelia lays all her cards on the table and leaves no stone unturned. And what a show this makes. I cry laughed (yes, there was bladder leakage) and got teary, I gasped at her honesty, I was gobsmacked at her life […]

The buzz and excitement of opening night at the Adelaide Fringe was palpable tonight. The Garden of Unearthly Delights was its usual vibrant, eclectic self, host to some of the best Fringe acts the world has to offer. With a full house at the Corona, Circus Oz’s Neon delivered on all the promised trashy, glitzy, gaudy and tragic celebration of the 80’s. Starting with John Farnham’s You’re the Voice blaring out of the sound system (which inspired an audience sing a long while taking our seats), followed by some Spandau Ballet Gold , we were taken on a glorious ride through a decade of music, bad dancing and some incredible feats of fancy. From the opening number, we knew we were in for a treat of serious proportions.These guys and gals have talent. And of course they do. Circus Oz have been creating extraordinary shows for 40 years – touring successfully nationally and internationally. Circus Oz celebrate breathtaking stunts, Aussie humour, and an all human ensemble. I especially adore their motto of promoting the best […]