A humdinger of bitingly funny political satire
A story of love and loss told with vibrant emotion by Renato Musolino.
Australian audiences are invited to watch a free online stream of the acclaimed South Australian stage production The Gods of Strangers by playwright Elena Carapetis streaming now until Monday 29 June.
Alone on stage, actor Renato Musolino (taking on the roles of over 20 characters from Orwell’s Animal Farm) uses only his face and voice to signal changes of character while the spotlight remains tightly trained on his visage.
This play is nothing short of a triumph, full of people who’ve been left off the stage for too long, and a piece of this country’s history largely ignored.
She’s best known for roles in Carla Cametti PD, A Fistful of Flies and Packed to the Rafters—now Dina Panozzo is getting in touch with her roots in the State Theatre Company’s production of Elena Carapetis’ The Gods of Strangers.
From an all-female version of an Australian classic to the return of a record-breaking hit comedy and a festival highlight starring one of Australia’s brightest musical theatre personalities, State Theatre Company’s 2019 season places audiences in the thrilling predicament of the present.
Sometimes its hard to separate the genius in an evening of work that has two actors supported by a director (David Mealor) not afraid to facilitate empathy from an audience, a designer (Kathryn Sproul) who is not afraid to allow the actors to be the focus supported by minimal, subtle and supportive surroundings and costumes.
Woven through bleak humour, brash Aussie accents and instinctive cock-fights, this destructive play reveals a cynical portrait of the city where dreams are broken.
With themes covering our need for love, connectivity and community; plays consisting of classics, new Australian works and works daring to push the envelope; and a line up of local, interstate and even international talent, next year’s season promises to be quite exciting with a little something for everyone.
It’s like the Umbilical Brothers met Monty Python on Hindley Street at 2am and decided to do Shakespeare: hilarious, crude, slapstick and very funny.
At the end of the performance, Musolino was given a greatly deserved standing ovation, and three curtain calls. That alone tells you that this should be on your Festival list.
This is the last production from State Theatre for this year and they could not ask for a bigger finish. Better still is the fact that it is involving so many South Australians.
Martin Crimp's version moves the action from the Court of Louis XIV to a London hotel room, where Célimène becomes Jennifer, a 22 year old Hollywood actress, notable more for her lack of clothing in her films than her acting skills