A Christmas Carol at the Comedy Theatre; Franz Ferdinand Live at the Gardens; Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines at Theatre Works; Mirra – Norwegian Tradition Reimagined at the Melbourne Recital Centre;

This is kind of Ebenezer as Santa Claus gone wrong. It’s as if the big man with the sack had been suddenly laid off as a young Mr. Claus in the gig economy, only moonlighting as a loan shark for so long that the mask became his face.

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This is fascinating to watch and makes Scrooge’s unexpected transformation seem oddly plausible; because its myopically misplaced nobility is transferred from the world of shopping to the world of emotional connection.

As always, Matthew Warchus’ production is a ringing, hymn-singing delight. I’ve seen it four times now and will count myself lucky if it continues to be a feature of my Christmases past, present and future.

With uplifting music and dance, elegant costumes and design, audience participation, lively performances and fast-paced narrative, it’s the perfect Christmas gift for theater lovers of all ages.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead

MUSIC
Franz Ferdinand ★★★★
Livestream from the Gardens at the Royal Botanic Gardens on 28 November

It’s a Friday night on the brink of summer in Melbourne; Naturally, daily clothing consists of raincoats and ponchos. The drizzle turns into a steady downpour throughout the night, but Scottish band Franz Ferdinand feels right at home – “it’s like playing in a park in Glasgow,” says frontman Alex Kapranos.

A little rain won’t stop the band or the crowd from partying like it’s 2004.

Franz Ferdinand were the poster boys for the 2000s era of angular guitar, skinny jeans and an insatiable thirst for the dance floor, affectionately (or derisively, depending on who said it) “indie misery.” Kapranos, one of the two remaining original members, may be in his 50s now, but that means he’s always grown beyond his years into his rich, sonorous baritone.

The group released its sixth album Fear of Manthis year. A mixed bag: some songs like hammy HookedIt’s better forgotten. Others include flashes of inspiration, new and old. Black EyelashesKapranos pays homage to his Greek heritage by playing the bouzouki, which is also featured in the live set. At some point in the evening, all five musicians play the drums together.

Unsurprisingly, the first hits get the loudest cheers: No you girls And Do you want Irresistible and hook-laden as always.

There’s a bit of self-indulgence, with the instantly recognizable introduction of the band’s best-known track. Take Me Out It lasts well over a minute – but all is forgiven once it enters the iconic tempo change and builds into what remains one of indie grime’s finest moments.

The show then continues, but it is very difficult to listen to such a song live, dance cleanly in the pouring rain and feel the years slipping away.
Reviewed by: Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen

THEATRE
Nihilistic Optimism About Trampoline ★★
Theater Studies, until December 6

Kasey Barratt Nihilistic Optimism About Trampoline The Gothic takes a seminal moment in literary history – the writing of Mary Shelley Frankenstein – and re-imagines today’s events in a stormy trampoline park.

The show combines unconventional elements like a trampoline, TikTok-length choreography, a live rock band, and an original game combined with quotes from Shelley’s novel and letters, and I was amazed by the courage, ambition, and willingness to experiment that this young troupe brought to the lab.

Is it a good thing? Not exactly. Unlike Mary Shelley’s classic, it is a strange and amorphous creation that often feels like less than the sum of its parts.

Famously, Mary began writing Frankenstein He was 18 years old as part of a ghost story contest that Lord Byron started at Lake Geneva in the summer of 1816. (This event also gave birth to John Polidori’s vampire fiction, the first vampire fiction in English. Vampire.)

Barratt transforms the existing figures – Mary (Gabrielle Ward), her fiancee Percy Shelley (Bek Schilling), her half-sister Claire Clairmont (Sophie Graham Jones), Lord Byron (Eleanor Golding) and Byron’s doctor John Polidori (Zoe Wakelin) – into bored employees at Trampoline World.

A skimpy teen movie vibe spoils the gothic atmosphere, and Barratt’s script spends too much time establishing the joyless routines and post-industrial ennui of teenage drudges at an amusement park. Most of the water cooler conversations, petty power plays, and sneaky work escapades aren’t particularly funny or dramatically engaging, but the occasional flashes of camp lighten the gloom.

Things change when Victor Frankenstein’s creature (Jett Chudleigh) appears. The encounters between the young author and his work, which use physical theater and dance in addition to the dialogues in the novel, have an eerie brilliance.

Yet somehow it is an act of rising to prominence again in the face of historical erasure (Percy Shelley was originally credited as the author of this book). Frankenstein) it doesn’t all go together.

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The climax is shadowy and poorly realized, and I would have loved to have seen the monster make a lethal attack on the male characters (mostly performed in drag) and feminist rage unleashed with maximum force through text and stage action.

Part of the problem stems from the inexperienced cast. Elements of the performance, from choreography to microphone technique, may require greater precision and confidence. The script also needs to refine its themes and scrap the ineffective dialogue.

These artists may have a long way to go, but they have a long time to get there. And the range of talent on display – from trampoline athletics to three musicians providing live accompaniment – ​​bodes well for developing a unique theatrical style.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead

MUSIC
Mirra – Norwegian Tradition Reimagined ★★★★
Primrose Potter Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, 27 November

Growing up in the Hardanger fjord region of western Norway, Benedicte Maurseth developed twin passions that continue to propel her creative vision and career. One is the traditional nine-string Hardanger fiddle; the other is the natural beauty of the vast Hardanger mountain plateau.

These two passions are directly intertwined in Maurseth’s latest album. MirraInspired by the habitat, behavior and migration patterns of wild reindeer.

At the Recital Center on Thursday, Maurseth led a magnificent quartet through a program that, like the album, followed a seasonal cycle. We started in the depths of winter, where reindeer run in circles to stay warm or lie completely motionless in the snow when the wind blows on them. Mats Eilertsen’s arching bass harmonics and Håkon Mørch Stene’s rolling percussion brought to mind the former, while Morten Qvenild’s bright electronics and Maurseth’s elegant violin phrasing effortlessly evoked the latter.

Spring brought new life (Calf Rising) with a charming violin and piano duet, Summer Pastures He coaxed the music into more rhythmic territory with electric bass, insistent vibraphone, and a trance-like, minimalist drum beat. reindeer call It featured the sampled voice of a reindeer herder placed within a thicket of abstract, improvised textures that gradually faded into a shadowy sound. Hunting Walk.

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As have other native wild animals in the Hardanger region, reindeer have at various times thrust themselves into the spotlight (through field recordings of their communicative growls). Hello It featured the Eurasian plover’s caw as a recurring motif; supported by Maurseth’s violin as he glided weightlessly over invisible thermals.

Often, one composition would flow into the next without hesitation, increasing the feeling of our immersion in this mysterious and awe-inspiring landscape. At times, electronic elements dominated and drowned out the violin’s sound, drowning out the resonant glow of its sympathetic strings. But mostly it was an utterly fascinating evocation of the natural world in all its wild beauty, majesty and fragility.
Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas

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