The song Rocket Man made famous by Elton John is based on a Ray Bradbury short story called The Rocket Man. While the song deals with the idea that traveling into space and back is similar to being a traveling salesman, Bradbury’s story deals with the complexity of forming a relationship with a person who […]
Category Archives: Articles
July
09
Rocket Man – Paul Gilchrist, Subtlenuance and the enormity of our stories. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
June
28
Shopping and Fucking – Mark Ravenhill is facelifted by Alan Chambers. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping and Fucking has often been criticized for its lack of subtlety, which is odd, given the title alone should inform you subtlety is not an aim of the writer. It was written in 1996 and considering its subject matter, I’d place it more at a cross section between Mike Leighs film Naked […]
June
25
No Exit – Celine Oudin and John Paul Sartre and the problem of the gaze. (theatre review)
posted by lisathatcher
“To forget about the others? How utterly absurd! I feel you there, down to my marrow. Your silence clamors in my ears. You can nail up your mouth, cut your tongue out – but you can’t prevent your being there. Can you stop your thoughts? I hear them ticking away like a clock, tick-tock, tick-tock, […]
June
23
Helter Skelter – Jonathan Wald and the tragedies of Neil LaBute. (Theatre review)
posted by lisathatcher
The first thing to note about Helter Skelter is that normally the play is shown with another one of LaBute’s plays – which may or may not be a good thing. Helter Skelter is currently having its Australian premiere at the Old 505 theatre, shown without The Furies or Land of the Dead. Having never […]
June
22
Body Language – Luke Holmes and the problems of connection. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
All writers (and almost all creatives) need their influence. Satre’s criticism (and Lacan’s) of the ’empty gestures’ associated with appropriating a kind of persona in order to achieve is warranted, but one of the pains of creation turns out to be, the need for this appropriating on the journey to finding the elusive voice. What […]
June
09
Enron – Louise Fischer and the tragedy of the smartest guys in the room. (Theatre review)
posted by lisathatcher
Louise Fischer has taken a rather interesting gamble in bringing the 2009 Lucy Prebble play Enron to Australian shores. Or rather, given our passion for British humour is as much a part of our genetic makeup as our suspicion for American humor is, she made what we might call a calculated risk – something the […]
June
01
The Removalists – Leland Kean asks us to examine how much has changed. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
The Removalists is currently showing at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre (surely one of the loveliest places to see a play in the world). Grab tickets here. In some ways I think the 1970’s is a forgotten decade – perhaps more pop culture parlance than in artistic studies. Sandwiched between the popular 1960’s and the 1980’s […]
May
15
Richard the 3rd (or almost) – Timothy Daly brought to life by Markus Weber and the King Street Theatre. (theatre review)
posted by lisathatcher
In the play commonly titled No Exit, but more accurately titled In Camera, John Paul Sartre deals with the concept of sins, our relationship to them, hell, eternity and his all time favorite subject, authenticity. Because his character Garcin utters the phrase “hell is other people” , the primary themes of the play have been […]
May
14
A Butcher of Distinction – James Dalton directs Rob Hayes’ question of violence ‘out there’ or ‘in here’. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
From the opening sentence in A Butcher of Distinction, instantly recognizable is the costumes worn by Liam Nunan and Heath Ivey-Law in their roles as Hugo and Hartley. The boys wear all white-preppy-private-school-sports-day type clothing that instantly evoke Peter and Paul of Funny Games who themselves carried the specter of Alex of A Clockwork Orange […]
May
13
My top twenty-one film choices for the Sydney Film Festival. (SFF review)
posted by lisathatcher
It’s almost Sydney Film Festival time again and already the films are selling out. Check out the festival program here, if you are lucky enough to be in this lovely town this time of year. I am hoping to get along to as much as I can attend. It’s always a huge fortnight, and given […]
Lisa Thatcher 