murraybramwell.com

March 01, 1997

Divided Purpose

Filed under: Archive,International,Theatre

Cyrano
Adapted by Anthony Burgess

Theatre at Large
Space

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

The story of Cyrano has been a stage favourite since Edmond Rostand’s syrupy romance hit the Paris boards almost exactly a century ago. Since then it has become a regularly revived cinema property- who could forget Gerard Depardieu as the schnozz ?- and an English rep staple as well. Ralph Richardson’s biographer describes how Rafe and Olivier vied for the part. The choice was between Cyrano and …

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February 01, 1997

Travelling Light

Filed under: Archive,Australian Texts,Interstate,Theatre

Corrugation Road
Jimmy Chi, Kuckles and Pigram Brothers

Black Swan Company
Playhouse

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

For Black Swan it is another Bran Nue Dae. After the boisterous success of Jimmy Chi’s discursive account of growing up in Broome, the company is now freewheeling down Corrugation Road. As the title suggests, it is a rougher ride this time as Chi -with a lot of help from musical friends, Kuckles and the Pigram Brothers- recounts his painful encounter with schizophrenia, agoraphobia, …

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Preview – The Sounds of Womadelaide

Filed under: Archive,Womadelaide

Murray Bramwell

The last day of February is the first day of Womadelaide 1997. What began as a part of Rob Brookman’s 1992 Adelaide Festival now continues as a biennial major event. Not only does it have a strong local following but this year’s organisers predict that of the expected 65,000 attendances nearly 8,000 will come from interstate and overseas.

There is good reason for this buoyancy because the Adelaide version of Peter Gabriel’s original Womad concept continues to be …

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First Person Singular

Filed under: Archive,Music

1997

Laurie Anderson

Her Majesty’s

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

Laurie Anderson is describable in so many ways – performance artist, poet, singer, narrator, virtual diva, legend in her own website- that it is easy to overlook just how accomplished she actually is in all these arts, ancient and postmodern, and sciences, big and minimal.

Her current show, The Speed of Darkness, on loan from the Festival of Sydney, features many new, as yet unrecorded, angles of vision from the …

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Truebadour

Filed under: Archive,Music

1997

Andy Irvine

Governor Hindmarsh

Reviewed by Murray Bramwell

Dressed in a Redbacks t-shirt and looking a little weary from day one of the Fourth Test, Andy Irvine fronts an enthusiastic crowd for his Saturday night set at the Governor Hindmarsh. No stranger to Australia, or the music scene here, he is on the summer festival circuit and winds up with the Canberra gathering at Easter.

Irvine remains one of Irish music’s true believers. Youthful devotee of Woody Guthrie, pupil …

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