Robinson Crusoe
Adapted by Gillian Rubinstein

Windmill Productions in association with
Kim Carpenter’s Theatre of Image
The Space
July, 2003

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

Windmill Productions have completed their first year of operation and there is much to celebrate. In the capable hands of Creative Producer Cate Fowler, Windmill is firmly in the first rank of companies which specialise in work for young audiences. Windmill, it would seem, has stepped straight into the first tier as a national and international …

Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany
and Contemporary America
by Stephen Sewell

State Theatre Company
in co-production with Playbox
Dunstan Playhouse
July, 2003

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

A new play by Stephen Sewell is always an event. And more often than not, his plays are heralded by marvellous titles. There is a cadence to them – The Blind Giant is Dancing, Dreams in an Empty City, The Father We Loved on a Beach by the Sea. These plays sound …

The Last Acre
by Sean Riley

Oddbodies Theatre Company
The Bakehouse
February, 2003

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

We know, and absolutely don’t want to know, how a single action, a single impulse can change everything. This is what we mean by a life-or-death moment, that split second, as we call it, when something irrevocable occurs and it can’t be changed back. This is the moment that can’t be believed even when it is re-lived repeatedly, the moment that is still …

21 February, 2003
Murray Bramwell

Ristorante Immortale
A Floz Production
Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre.
Ends 1 March. Tickets $28 -$ 42. $96 Family of 4.
BASS ph. 131 246.

The Ristorante Immortale is unlikely to get a listing in the Michelin Guide, or anywhere else for that matter. It has zany waiters, an accordion wielding cook, an endlessly hopeful owner and, it would seem, no customers at all. This restaurant is not so much immortal as in a state …

Salt
by Peta Murray
State Theatre Company
The Space
November, 2002.

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

The State Theatre slogan for 2003 promises to spice up our lives. In fact the culinary metaphor already applies. For their final production this year the company has chosen Salt, a work by Peta Murray about mothers, daughters, and food, food and more food.

This play has enjoyed seasons around the country, originating at Playbox in Melbourne, after which it has been served in WA, …

30 Sept, 2002
Murray Bramwell

Twinkle Twinkle Little Fish
Based on the Works of Eric Carle
Windmill Performing Arts
Her Majesty’s, Adelaide
Until 5 October. Tickets $20 Adult,
$12 Children/Concession $56 Family.

Windmill Director Cate Fowler describes Twinkle Twinkle Little Fish as a production which was determined to be born. Commissioned for the 1998 Out of the Box Festival in Brisbane, it nearly stayed in its box when ACT based Company Skylark crashed after an embezzlement scandal. Fowler found rescue …

The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Ruysch
by Hilary Bell
Vitalstatistix
Queen’s Theatre

Copenhagen
by Michael Frayn
Sydney Theatre Company
Dunstan Playhouse.
September, 2002

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

While these are two very different productions – they are a world apart in theatrical style – they share a common reflection about what happens when Science Goes Wrong. Or do I mean : too Far, or too Weird, or when it presses on even when it can’t see what is further up …

My Girragundji
by Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Prior
Bell Shakespeare Company
Space
July, 2002

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
Based on the book by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas
Windmill Performing Arts
Dunstan Playhouse

Windmill has opened its account with two excellent works. This new company dedicated to producing programs for families and children was a pet project for outgoing Arts Minister Diana Laidlaw and, boosted by a handsome operating grant, has now become one of the centrepieces in the …

July, 2002

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
Windmill Performing Arts Company
Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre
Until 20 July, 2002 Bookings BASS 131 246

Murray Bramwell

What happens when you can’t remember your memories ? That is the problem faced by Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper. Fortunately, she is about to be helped out by her new little chum from next door. He is also blessed with four names – in fact, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is the unfurling title of Mem …