John Patrick Shanley is an Oscar/Tony/Pulitzer prize winning playwright and after viewing this production of The Dreamer Examines His Pillow I can easily see why.

His writing is beautifully introspective in a kind of external way. His characters - in this play at least - are seeking knowledge and understanding on a level they don't often understand, or can't easily access.

TheatreVirgin's blog | 1 comment | read more | 479 reads

Oh Queen Lear, how I wanted to love you. So very, very much.

I tried to love you; I read about you in the program notes, I saw your beautiful advertising plastered across every tram in Melbourne, I even told myself that "it's Shakespeare" and that I'd be a fool not to enjoy it.

TheatreVirgin's blog | 3 comments | read more | 790 reads

Review by Cú Chulainn

The Pajama Game 

Diamond Valley Singers and Eltham Orchestras

I have fond memories of The Pajama Game. Forty years ago (1972) I'd relocated from Melbourne to the coast for a sea-change, several months ahead of my young family. My days were busy, but night-times were empty, so when I was approached by the local theatre group to stage manage its production of The Pajama Game I jumped at the chance, especially in a non-performing role for a change.

2 comments | read more | 583 reads

The McNeil Project features two plays by Jim McNeil, a playwright with the kind of history worthy of its own play. McNeil wrote these plays in the early 70's during a 17 year stint at Parramatta Correctional Centre for armed robbery and shooting a police officer.

TheatreVirgin's blog | read more | 439 reads

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

This play features Rowena Hutson as a person living with Parkinson's Disease but the play is anything but sad as Hutson takes us on a journey to show just what the human imagination can achieve when isolated by will or in Shaky M's face, force.

TheatreVirgin's blog | read more | 519 reads