BACK ON THE ROAD

In today's exciting news, the fabulous Shakespeare's Mothers are coming out for a new outing after a couple of years on the shelf. Straylight Australia (still a long way from home) will present a moved reading of the play as part of the LightNight Festival in Liverpool (UK).

The reading will feature original cast members Alex Jonas and Kath Perry, as well as local actors Sheila Jones and Angela Walsh.

Kath and Alex as Gertrude and Hamlet

The reading is at 7pm on Friday 15th May at the Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool. Admission is free.

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Kath

Shakespeare's Queens

We are very excited about our new show, opening next week at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. It is 'Shakespeare's Queens: She-wolves and Serpents' and we are back at the fabulous Bakehouse Theatre for a three week run starting on Feb 27th (preview).



Before that, we have a Gala Sydney Preview on Tuesday 21st Feb at the Fig Tree Theatre, Gate 4 UNSW, High Street, Kensington, NSW. We are also returning to Bundeena RSL for a one night stand on Wednesday 22nd Feb.

Check out the Shakespeare's Queens website for all the info.

This doesn't mean Shakespeare's Mothers are being abandoned, just that we now have two fabulous, tour-ready shows to offer, instead of just one!

See you in Adelaide!

Cheers,
Kath

Thanks to everyone involved in our Adelaide Fringe gig and the Sydney and Bundeena previews.

We had a fabulous time and were very excited by the show's success and the lovely reaction we got to it from audience and reviewers alike.

Now the Adelaide Fringe is over and we're actively looking for the next opportunity for the show. UK and Australian tours are on the agenda as is the possibility of travelling the show to other Festivals and other countries.

Watch this space for updates!

Meanwhile, we have a fabulous 'trailer' for the show, shot in Sydney during rehearsals, and available on YouTube . Check it out for a flavour of what the show is all about.

Wow! Now we are starting on our final week. Time has really been flying by and we've been having so much fun.

Tickets are selling fast for the last 6 performances and last Friday and Saturday's shows were almost sold out.

We've also had another fabulous review - this time in Glam Adelaide. It's so lovely, I'm going to post the whole thing so you can see for yourself. If you've been thinking of coming to see the show, do buy your tickets soon so you don't miss out.

Cheers,
Kath

Shakespeare’s Mothers: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know – Adelaide Fringe 2011

Posted by Barry Lenny on Mar 7th, 2011 and filed under Adelaide Festival & Fringe, Breaking News, Performing Arts Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Presented by Straylight Australia
Reviewed Saturday 5^th March 2011

Venue: Bakehouse Theatre, Angas Street, Adelaide
Season: 7:30pm to Saturday 12^th March 2011
Duration: 60mins
Tickets: adults $20/conc $17
Bookings: Fringe TIX outlets or http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au

Shakespeare’s mothers are not exactly a lot of warm, fuzzy, nurturing women. Many tend to be more like homicidal maniacs and some are insane. As the performance begins the Bard is on television, being interviewed about the influence that the mothers in his plays might be having as adverse role models for young women today. He opens his counterargument by insisting that they are not all bad, then thinks for a moment and begins to bring his mothers to centre stage to justify themselves and their actions.

The play is directed by Greg de Polnay and Roz Riley from a script by Kath Perry. Alexander Jonas takes the role of Shakespeare and all of the male characters whilst the female roles are shared between Cat Martin and Kath Perry.

There are, of course, some that are expected, the big names such as Lady MacBeth, Lady Capulet, Cleopatra, Goneril and Regan, but there are several from the less often performed plays as well. The three performers use only a few simple costumes, a scarf, coat or crown, to delineate between characters, the rest is done with their terrific characterisations. They continually switch characters, creating a wide range of completely different men and women in a superbly crafted piece of theatre

This is an exceptionally fine production that gives a unique insight into Shakespeare’s handling of women in his plays, putting them into context within the times, dealing with the requirements of his actors, as well as the importance of their characters and actions within the plays.

In the end, the jury is still out on these mothers and you, as the audience, are part of it. Draw your own conclusions about the actions these fascinating women. Get a ticket while you still can.

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor, Glam Adelaide.

Just kicked off our second week at the fabulous Bakehouse Theatre. Adelaide is a great fringe city and the Fringe organisers are really working flat out to make everyone's experience as exciting and satisfying as they can.

We've promoted the show on the Festival Fishbowl, on Tonight with Tony and at the Caravan in Rundle Mall and got posters and fliers out all over town.

Good reviews are continuing to come in, too, which is very encouraging. There's six now in the full set and more to come:

'professional and slick'. Delivers clarity and style.' The Advertiser

'tight, taut and fast' Australian Theatre

'clever and funny' Adelaide Theatre Guide

'inventive, witty and well researched' Crikey Curtain Call

'a fantastic journey through the strong women of Shakespeare, and well worth a look!' yaniblog

'Crazymammas' Rip it Up

Hope to see you at the show!
Cheers,
Kath

We are having a ball in Adelaide and the show is going down very well with the Fringe crowd.
Here's a few reviews to give you an idea of what the critics think:

'tight, taut and fast' Australian Theatre

'clever and funny' Adelaide Theatre Guide

'inventive, witty and well researched' Crikey Curtaincall

'a fantastic journey through the strong women of Shakespeare, and well worth a look!' yaniblog

Thanks to all the people who've been in to see the show so far and we're looking forward to seeing everyone else, soon.

Cheers,
Kath

Arrived in Adelaide

Well, here we are in Adelaide!
All very exciting. We had a great tech day on Saturday and are all ready to preview tonight before our big Opening Night tomorrow.

The two Sydney previews (at Bundeena and Killara) went off really well and our first review, from Killara, is in:

'...tight, taut and fast with attention to detail that left the audience in safe, secure hands.' www.aussietheatre.com

Watch out for news as we enjoy Adelaide and do come and see the show if you are here. We are playing at The Bakehouse Theatre until 12 March. See you there!

Cheers,
Kath