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March 11, 1994

A Kyogen Falstaff: The Braggart Samurai

Theatre
A Kyogen Falstaff: The Braggart Samurai

Adaptation: Yasunari Takahashi
Director: Mansaku Nomura
Suke-emon Horato (Falstaff): Mansaku Nomura
Tara Kaja (Bardolph): Takeshi Nomura
Jiro Kaja (Pistol): Haruo Tsukizaki
Yakbei (Ford): Mannosuke Nomura
Omatsu (Mistress Ford): Yukio Ishida
Otake (Mistress Page): Shichisaku Ogawa
Koken (Stage Assistant): Ryosaku Nomura
Fue (flute): Takayuki Isso
Taiko (drum): Hitoshi Sakuraoi.

The Playhouse

Sir John Falstaff is Shakespeare’s big comic success. Hot with appetite, ripe with laughter, he is ego made flesh- and a force of …

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March 01, 1994

Like Cherries for Peaches

Tomoe Shizune and Hakutobo
Union Hall

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

It is generally agreed that the first butoh performance was Forbidden Colours, based on the works of Mishima and presented by Tatsumi Hijikata at a Japanese dance festival in 1959. From there this eclectic dance drama form has been interpreted by a variety of companies and soloists. Some, such as Kazua Ohno, Sankai Juku and Byakko Sha have been visiting Australian festivals since the mid 1980s.

Hakutobo -which means the …

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January 01, 1994

Visiting Vincent

1994

Van Gogh:

His Sources, Genius and Influence

National Gallery of Victoria

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

It is not only in Aprill with his shoures soote. Even on the twelfth day of Christmas are folk likely to climb on night buses and goon on pilgrimages. But sacred journeys have always been a bit of a punt. Will the weather hold and the travel be safe ? Will the pitch be in good order after the Madonna concert ? Will the …

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December 29, 1993

New Voices for Fiji

Murray Bramwell interviews Sudesh Mishra about his play Ferringhi performed recently in Suva.

In late December the newly revived University of South Pacific Drama Society presented Ferringhi, a play by Sudesh Mishra. Coming originally from Persian and found in the Urdu and Hindi languages as well as Malay, Ferringhi means foreigner or outsider.

“It is usually a perjorative, which is why I use it,” notes Mishra, “but my character Ferringhi is an outsider-insider. He has local experience as well as …

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December 01, 1993

Unredeemed

Fallen Angels
by Noel Coward
Hayley Mills and Juliet Mills

Festival Theatre

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

When it was suggested to him that his new play Fallen Angels was indecent Noel Coward replied- “The realisation that I am hopelessly depraved, vicious and decadent has for two days ruined my beaker of opium.” I have to say that the recent revival of this trifle from 1925 has ruined mine also.

Possibly someone browsing through the play fastened on the idea that …

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June 01, 1993

Marvellous

The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow
Heaven

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

A Rose is a ruse is a total freakout -as the packed and ogling house in Newmarket Heaven discovered when the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow made its only- shall we say- appearance in Adelaide. Out of Seattle, the Weimar of the New World, and late of the Lollapalooza road show in the US, Mr Rose and his associates do their very best to keep their audiences entirely captivated. We are …

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May 01, 1993

Uncle Tom’s Cabaret

Ain’t Misbehavin’
The Fats Waller Musical Show
Festival Theatre

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

While it is one of the great twentienth century art forms and an instance of American culture at its most inventive and vigorous, the blues sometimes gets the blues itself. With a shift to an African aesthetic many Black Americans no longer warm to the music of oppression, some would say defeat. And the shift in sexual politics in the past twenty years has left the blues …

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Uncle Tom’s Cabaret

Ain’t Misbehavin’
The Fats Waller Musical Show
Festival Theatre

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

While it is one of the great twentienth century art forms and an instance of American culture at its most inventive and vigorous, the blues sometimes gets the blues itself. With a shift to an African aesthetic many Black Americans no longer warm to the music of oppression, some would say defeat. And the shift in sexual politics in the past twenty years has left the blues …

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April 01, 1993

Summer Pudding

Summer Festival
Adelaide Festival Centre Trust

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

The Summer Season, our solace in the off-year between festivals continues to give comfort. In fact, combined with Womadelaide, we can hardly complain about the available fare in these early months when holidays are over, daylight saving fades and the tomato plants have died off. It began with Julian Clary, who has in short time won hearts and minds as the love-child of Kenneth Williams. And continued with John Waters.…

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Come Out is Icumen In

Come Out, the national biennial youth fest is about to sprout again. For the fortnight of 2-15 May the festival will overtake Adelaide with a variety of activities in all art forms. As always, the statistics are impressive- 1,690 performer, three hundred performances by fifty-six companies. But Come Out extends far beyond this as school and community programs plug in to activities that take place throughout South Australia. In its scope and vision Come Out is remarkable, unique in Australia …

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