Tag Archives: Aleisa Jelbart

Theatre

OMAR AND DAWN @ THE KINGS X THEATRE

80 year-old Dawn, (Maggie Blinco), is a remarkable woman, the kind who should be awarded an OA for her services to the homeless and destitute.  She volunteers at St Vincents Hospital by day and shelters and fosters destitute teenagers by night. She gradually convinces the reluctant Omar, (Antony Makhlouf), a street boy alienated by his Lebanese family for being gay, to be placed with her and learn some practical, life-affirming skills from Dawn’s mechanic brother, Darren, (Lex Marinos), who works from a garage at their house.

Omar is hard work, but Maggie is persistent..and tough.  She temporarily holds back her house keys from Omar, who is fond of swearing and far from respectful, and imposes a curfew on him.  Darren is not happy with his sister’s domestic arrangements and, although there is love between them, he keeps suggesting she move into a retirement home.  Of course she refuses and we find out later that Darren has other motives. Continue reading OMAR AND DAWN @ THE KINGS X THEATRE →

Ballet

SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY JOINS THE MARDI GRAS PARADE

Sydney Dance Company is thrilled to be participating in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade for the first time on Saturday 2nd March.

Sydney Dance Company’s float, Turning 50, in honour of the Company’s 50th anniversary in 2019, features a high energy, tightly rehearsed dance routine with 80 members of Sydney Dance Company’s community, led by Dance Class Manager Ramon Doringo.

Ramon will lead the synchronised marching troupe from the back of a golden Sydney Dance Company Studio float, complete with ballet bar, mirrors and performing drag divas.

Participants will wear gold costumes designed by Aleisa Jelbart that reference our golden 50th anniversary and will be an explosion of gold glitter pom poms and retro styled dance wear as the troupe perform down Oxford Street to the disco beats of DJ Sveta. Continue reading SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY JOINS THE MARDI GRAS PARADE →

Children and Family, Sydney Fringe Festival: Past Years

URZA & THE SONG IN THE DARK: BEWILDERING BEAUTY, YOUNG OR OLD

Production Images: Robert Catto

URZA AND THE SONG IN THE DARK is exactly what I always expect from Matriark Theatre – Artfully analogue, handmade, bespoke excellence in design and execution.   It’s a wonderful production which is bursting with humanist joy, the visualization of the invisible and the evocation of sung landscapes of soul.  Designed for children, this detailed yet easily portable production, engages young and old with puppetry, shadow work and original music combined a story of myth,  meaning and much mirth.

The spirit of the hill, the song spirit, is broken and the stones of its shadows are all that is left.    The humans mine and crush the stones for their power to light the town, with no thought to their real meaning or purpose.  Urza is one of the best miners at Tickett’s factory and she has ambitions to be ‘Chief Digger’ until her world is shaken and she finds herself led by a spirit boy who has chosen her for an earth shattering task. She is lost in an underground place that is very, very mysterious,   Urza crawl and fly as she experiences many adventures on her way to loving the earth and all the song stones that make it special. Continue reading URZA & THE SONG IN THE DARK: BEWILDERING BEAUTY, YOUNG OR OLD →

Theatre

HALFWORLD

Emily McGowan, Josh Hampson and Thomas Albert in HALFWORLD
Emily McGowan, Josh Hampson and Thomas Albert in HALFWORLD

The Matriark Theatre Company travels well known terrain with its second work, a children’s play called HalfWorld, written by Robert den Englesman and directed by Scott Parker, which is still currently at a workshop stage.

Den Engelsman’s play fits into the quest/fantasy genre. Josh Hampson plays the protagonist Mr Boy who starts on a quest to find his lost twin brother. As per Joseph Campbell’s ‘Hero of a Thousand Faces’ template, our young hero has to enter into a special world, in the case of this play it is called the ‘HalfWorld’.

The centerpiece of this HalfWorld is a huge tent/fortress made of blankets, designed by Aleisa Jelbart, which magically envelopes both the players and the whole of the audience. The kids loved the excitement of it, being ‘wrapped’ in this outlandish cocoon.

In this HalfWorld Mr Boy encounters plenty of quirky allies and enemies. Amongst his allies is Oph, played by the playwright himself, the friendly presence of Admiral John, played by the director, and the Moon who watches over him, played by Emily McGowan. Mr Boy’s chief enemy is the irascible Cortman, dressed in one of the most colourful costumes that I have yet seen, who works for a detective agency and is out to grab him before he gets to find his twin.

My only reservation was this fun piece of theatre as it stands is that it needs a stronger third Act/ denouement. As the production currently stands, the time in the magical Special HalfWorld is where the play is the strongest, and the piece is in need of a stronger resolution. I am sure that the Company will work on this aspect as they prepare for the show’s first fully fledged production.

Matriark Theatre Company’s production of HalfWorld played at the 107 Projects Theatre, 107 Redfern Street, Redfern on August 16, 17 and 18.