A Doll's House Part 2, Canberra Rep, 12-28 Jun

 

Taking the question of what happens 15 years after Nora walked out the door in the original, and looking at what the costs of personal liberation might be, "Doll's House Part 2" brings us a tightly contained drama of lost connections, possibilities and emotional truth. Lucas Hnath's script brings the language up to the moment (with some significant swearing) but keeps the dilemmas timeless. Joel Horwood's produciton uses the width and height of Rep's stage for a grandly imposing room, minimally furnished but with stark lights and angles introducing shadows and isolated spaces for the four characters to meet, argue and sometimes find a moment of connection. It's an impressive production visually as well as dramatically, on Tom Berger's grand set under Lachlan Houen's equally spectacular lighting, but the emotional side isn't lost in this stark, simple space. It's a show that doesn't require an in-depth knoweldge of Ibsen, though there are some links back to the original, and indeed connections to a couple of other Ibsen works which pay back the informed, but the central situation and stakes are set up easily for those coming in just for this story. 

Lainie Hart owns the stage as Nora - bringing the excitement of her adventures in the world outside and her slow-dawning realisation of what her choices have cost those left behind, and her realisation of how some of the history she left behind may be about to recur. It's intelligent, emotional, compassionate yet powerful. Joining her are Elaine Noon as the compassionate-but-concerned Anne-Marie, Anna Lorenz as the determined-to-be-distant Emmy and Rhys Robinson as the somewhat-shattered-but-still-in-motion Torvald - all strong characters determined to not be steamrollered by Nora again. 

This is an immaculate production - impeccably accurate, with a strong, simple design sense and powerful performances. 

The Queen's Nanny, Ensemble Theatre, The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, 19-21 June (and subsequently Wyong, Cessnock, Springwood, Port Mcquarie, Gouburn, Griffith, Wagga Wagga and Dubbo)

 

(photo from 2024 season, not the 2025 tour)

A fast moving true story, covering almost 60 years over 90 minutes of stage time, staged with a cast of 3 using two large chairs, a couple of model houses, a carpet bag and a train, "The Queen's Nanny" looks at the career and after-effects of Marion Kirk Crawford, who was the titular nanny to Queen Elisabeth the 2nd from 1931 until 1947 - how during her time she became somewhat more of a mother to Lillibet than her actual mother, and how afterwards she was virtually excommunicated by the royals after a puff-piece interview became a bestselling book. In Priscilla Jackman's production it's a tight, compelling story of a woman fighting to own her own story against forces bigger than her, and an emotional tale of duty and inheritances. Melanie Tait mentions in her writers note she comes from a republican angle (which is apparent in the last five mintues of the material) but she's still interested in the humanity that lives inside an institution and how it treats those involved in it. 

The three cast members (two new to this tour) are all solid. Matthew Backer is the one who's come back for the tour, and he's got the tour-de-force role of narrator and odd-role-man, engaging the audience as easily as any long-term Play School presenter should do and switching between hard-bitten journalists, the child and subsequent woman Lillibet, the stuttering awkward Bertie and the aloof footman Ainslie. Briallen Clarke as Marion is engaging with all the firm compasison of a true scotswoman, letting us see the years working their way on her. And Sharon Millerchip delights in the role of Queen Mother Elizabeth, from flighty party girl to stalwart of the blitz to warrior for her own position in the family. 

Michael Hankin's set design is stunning in its simplicity, using simple rearrangemetns of elements for most of the scenes. Genevive Graham's costumes have style and power, locking in who is who easily for the audience to take in. Morgan Maroney's lighting design does a lot of the work of set in the colours of the backcloth, and James Peter Brown's sound design takes us from salon to wartime easily. 

This is a subject and production that should feel like cosy, polite theatre, but instead it's alive and thought provoking, letting us inside the corridors of power and never taking the gentle comfortable path with it. It's the kind of thing that should tour well and capture eyeballs in all kinds of locations.

Eureka Day, Outhouse Theatre Company, Seymour Centre, Reginald Theatre, 29 May-21 Jun

 

"Eureka Day" is a comedy set in a private, somewhat liberal Californian school during the 2018-19 school year - when the school is disrupted by a case of the mumps which precipitates a debate about immunization that nobody is ready for and which rips the school apart. It's a wild look at modern liberalism in crisis - the language that emphasises mutual respect and the way that mutual respect is abused by people who cannot brook any compromises at all - and how civil debate breaks down into emotional pleading and gratuitous insult. 

Jonathan Spector's script is sharp and fast and twisted, starting out as a light parody of committeespeak and the way sensitivity feels gratuitously squeezed like cheese sauce on top of discussions, before exploding into rage, hidden agendas and power plays as intense as any more obviously political drama. The highlight is, perhaps, a zoom-meeting sequence that dissolves as the comments section pops up with each comment taking everyone further into an unresolvable argument, though in some ways this does constitute the greatest challenge in Craig Baldwin's production - the comments upstage a lot of what the actors on stage are doing during this sequence and it's difficult for them to regain focus during this sequence. It's something that is intrinsic to the script and I'm not sure if it is actually something where you can stop the onstage actors from being upstaged in this sequence - here, certainly, the battle is lost. 

Elsewhere, the cast are strong - Jamie Oxenbould as the school's principal, Don, proves to have a bit more political ability hiding under his sweet surface, Branden Christine as new arrival Carina is a great entry-point character with a steely strength emerging, Christian Charisiou as the somewhat smug Eli gets a few surprising comeupances, Deborah An as May goes throguh some emotional turmoil and as the utterly sure-of-herself Suzanne, Katrina Retallick utterly epitomises a certain type of person with a smiling assassin approach. 

This is a clever look at modern cultural norms and the ways they can break up the most determinedly-touchy-feely communities - while it isn't quite the villain-free-zone it pretends to be, it's still a good reflection on how we live now. 

The Spare Room, Belvoir St Theatre, 7 June-13 Jul

 Mortality comes to us all, but the way we choose to face it can vary and the way it affects those around us is also tricky territory to navigate. But in the hands of Helen Garner, Judy Davis, Eamon Flack, Elizabeth Alexander and the rest of the Belvoir team, it becomes an illuminating, often hilarious, frustrating, emotional and powerful night in the theatre. The setup is simple - a woman invites a friend into her home to stay for three weeks while the friend gets treatment for cancer, but it quickly becomes apparent the treatment is alternative at best and fraudulent at worst, and the clear acceptance of this stuff by the friend drives the host into distraction. 

Eamon Flack adapts Helen Garner's book with a clear centering of the narrator, Helen, played to perfection by Judy Davis - we get instant access to her emotions, her frustrations, her attempts to restrain herself from interfering in a friend's personal choices and the moments when the dam breaks and she lets loose with rage, managing to work through much of this while doing the challenging work of replacing fitted sheets repeatedly. Elizabeth Alexander as Nicola, the friend, has the right level of sunny innocence to her - you know exactly why Helen has remained her friend and why she tries so hard to hold back from hurting her friend as long as she does, but you also see the pain and frustration at her condition that drives the desperation to find other options - she's not just a suffering object in the corner or a fool who's easy to dismiss, she's a real and rounded character. 

The remaining supporting cast play multiple roles, of healers, friends, community members, allies and a few surprise elements - Emma Diaz, Alan Dukes, and Hannah Waterman all do a fine job of establishing rounded figures in a couple of lines and a moment of response to the main two in a set of fine cameos. 

Mel Page's set and costumes mix the domestic and the professional, using all the spaces available on the stage to tell a story that traipses all over Melbourne. The presence of cellist Anthea Cottee providing live soundtrack gives the show a soulful vibe and adds to the intensity in some of the more emotive moments.  

As someone who's got a friend currently undergoing cancer treatment, I found this enlightening, emotional but not overly indulgently so, and thoughtful about the bigger questions of facing the end. And between Davis and Alexander there's expert actresses embodying the story. 

Present Laughter, ACT Hub, 4-14 June

 Noel Coward's 1942 comedy is a self-portrait, or at least a portrait of the self that Coward wanted to present to the public - a celebrity at the centre of his universe, looked after by his colleagues and staff but somehow caught in hetrosexual romantic entanglements and crises of his own ego. Recent revivals have allowed elements of Coward's own homosexuality to enter the picture (both this version and the Old Vic production filmed for NT Live with Andrew Scott) in different cross-gender castings in key roles, but the story largely remains the same - of an egomaniac under siege. It's a show that needs a gentleman of a certain age to play the Coward-substitute, meaning that of the big 4 Coward Plays ("Hay Fever", "Private Lives", "Blithe Spirit" and this), it's the least revived - quality leading men are a rare supply.

Fortunately, the ACT Hub has Jarrad West, in fine form as Garry Essendine, the centre of this play's universe. Petulant, self-important, hectoring, lustful and frequently getting as good as he gives, West gets to use several of his considerable talents in giving us a rounded picture of a celebrity at home - from the sarcastic bon-mots cast at his colleagues to the sufferings when people intrude on him and make him the target of their own agendas. It's a consummate star performance and completely owns the stage. 

Fortunately, he's supported by a cast just as strong - Callum Doherty has never been as beautiful as he is as the flirtatiously dopey David Skillington, calculating yet vulnerable. Jenna Roberts steals scenes openly as the grim Swedish housekeeper Miss Erikson, mordantly enjoying herself with her tales of suburban spiritualism and cadging a few cigarettes into the bargain. Leonidas Katsanis as the valet Fred brings a practical, direct manner to the character, rising above the madness. Tracy Noble as secretary Monica gives us the effort to wrangle her erring employer towards some level of engagement with things he needs to actually be doing, along with a genuine affection towards him. Crystal Mahon as Garry's not-quite-ex-wife Liz gives charm and slightly scolding affection in a way that indicates why they're not quite-exes-yet. Michael Cooper as the bumptious Roland Maule is a strong, startling presence as the self-confident steamroller of a fan who starts by insulting before switching to equally threatening worship. Amy Kowalczuk has grand efficiency as gender-swapped Henrietta. Joe Dinn is all emotional crisis as Morris, and Karina Hudson is effortlessly seductive as Joanna. 

Karen Vickery directs with a slightly loose hand (in particular the melencholic tag of the play feels like it goes on a little too long) but when the play is at full farcial energy, it is delightfully over the top and fun. Fiona Leach nad Jennie Norberry's costumes are beautifully chosen, and Karen Vickery and Michael Spark's set gives glamour and luxury to the ACT Hub space. 

This is a delight, with a strong company giving support to a definitive, undiluted Jarrad West Stunner of a performance. It's stylish, charming and utter fun. Catch it quick.