A sometimes unnerving gothic performance in a gallery of paintings

MUSIC

SCHUBERT SONGS

Australian Haydn Ensemble

State Library of NSW, May 2

★★★1/2

Reviewed by PETER MCCALLUM

Literary scholar David Punter encapsulates the gothic as “the literature of terror”, though “terror” is a bit extreme for Schubert, who was rightly treasured for his gentle lyrical genius.

When he wanted to write something frightening, Schubert usually resorted to instrumental tremolos of the type that subsequently became the clichés of silent-film accompanists and horror-film composers. Yet, like many of the writers and painters of his time, he flirted with morose images of death, crumbling ruins and supernatural grotesquery.

David Greco sang Schubert’s more Gothic songs.Credit: Oliver Miller

Amid the respectable nineteenth century portraits in the Picture Gallery of the State Library of NSW, baritone David Greco sang a selection of Schubert’s more gothic songs with imaginative variety of vocal sound, grace of phrasing and confident spontaneity in his rhetorical delivery, not to mention the occasional unnerving spectral stare.

He began Die Götter Griechenlands with an expansive open sound of longing regret, injected drama into Der Jüngling und der Tod and captured nuanced lilt in An den Mond. For the weary tread of Gute Nacht, from Winterreise, he stood immobile as though arrested by a distant thought while shading each line and verse with strongly varied tone.

Frühlingstraum, also from Winterreise, prompted telling contrast between the skipping sunny descriptions of flowers and meadows and the darker inner thoughts, with comely vocal grace in the former and sharp-edged fierceness and strength in the latter.

The bleakness of Der Leiermann was captured with stark questioning strangeness. Der Tod und das Mädchen explored similar contrast to Frühlingstraum while in Ständchen he sang with light brightness and musical shaping.

For this program, Schubert’s piano accompaniments to these songs had been arranged by Vi King Lim for string quartet, played by four instrumentalists from the Australian Haydn Ensemble, who also played Mendelssohn’s Four Pieces for String Quartet, Opus 81 between the vocal numbers.

In the first, Tema con Variazioni, the players established flowing continuity, while the third, Capriccio, had moments of engaged momentum, though the performances by the quartet were not without intonation challenges.

Greco drove the cumulative drama of the final song, Erlkönig, with carefully honed vocal edge, achieving impactful dramatic force and, in fleeting moments, shuddering terror.

MUSIC

TCHAIKOVSKY’S SIXTH SYMPHONY

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Opera House Concert Hall, May 3

★★★1/2

Reviewed by PETER MCCALLUM

Making his debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, American conductor Roderick Cox emphasised spaciousness in Debussy’s delicate but groundbreaking masterpiece Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, nurturing in-the-moment sensibility and a sense of timelessness which abandons thoughts of past and future.

This was courageous and apt. The balance was transparent, the textures were glistening and clear and, as flautist Emma Sholl unfolded the languorous opening flute line with silvery warmth (notwithstanding she was playing a golden flute!) any sense that the music was being pushed forward was abandoned in favour of radiant sensuousness.

Then came a work which was receiving a most welcome Sydney Symphony Orchestra premiere 80 years after being written, Samuel Barber’s Concerto for cello and orchestra, Opus 22, played with lean virtuosic and precision by Chinese-Australian cellist Li-Wei Qin.

The work abounds in closely worked rhythmic detail in the outer movements, while the central movement yearns towards lyricism, notably with a memorable duet between solo cello and oboe (Shefali Pryor).

The first movement was enlivened by short motives in the spiky neo-classical style of Stravinsky, leavened occasionally by expressive melody, which this most Romantic of twentieth-century composers seemed, in 1946, strangely reluctant to indulge. The last movement sprang with jazz-inspired rhythms, constantly changing gear, although it gave the impression the music was aspiring to a point of arrival it never quite reached, notwithstanding Qin’s Herculean efforts.

Cox led the short Adagio opening of Tchaikovsky’s fateful Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Opus 74 (Pathétique) with dark restraint, while the Allegro gathered agitated momentum, with energised string playing under concertmaster Andrew Haveron.

When the music paused for the lushly expressive second theme, Cox adopted the spacious unhurried approach he had shown in Debussy’s work, although with such an arching, achingly Romantic melody, the effect, evoking inner yearning and loss, was very different.

The overly slow tempo here seemed to me a miscalculation, indulging the theme too much on its first appearance so that its subsequent appearance lacked climactic impact.

The second movement, built on the charm of the slight irregularity of its 5/4 metre, flowed with gracious lilt, and the rambunctious third movement built to a moment of unstoppable enthusiasm at the close (this drew spontaneous applause, despite cellist Catherine Hewgill’s warning in her pre-performance talk to wait for the tragic last movement).

In the finale Cox’s unhurried approach created a judicious mixture of intensity and reflective sentiment with a searing string sound undergirded by stark low horn notes. The symphony closed with funereal solemnity of the trombones and a fading heartbeat from lower strings.

COMEDY
Rhys Nicholson: Huge Party Big Congratulations

The Joan, May 3

Reviewed by DANIEL HERBORN
★★★★1/2

Now married to their partner, Kyran, and into their mid-30s, Rhys Nicholson finds that everyone has one question for them – are they going to have children? Nicholson explains that the new parents in their life are particularly insistent, melodramatically likening them to the Greek sirens of mythology luring sailors onto the rocks.

Rhys Nicholson’s Huge Big Party Congratulations lives up to its name. Credit: Jim Lee

An encore performance as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival’s expanded Penrith program, Huge Party Big Congratulations again finds Nicholson in swashbuckling form. There’s never long between big laughs, and the polished narrative moves along at a clip, flashing back to their childhood in Newcastle, where their parents fought hard to keep the lights on and careening ahead into imagined futures with and without kids.

Nicholson is particularly hilarious when they’re exasperated. There is something about this most put together of characters – with their immaculately teased shock of red hair and an arsenal of withering bon mots – being pushed to breaking point that makes comic sparks fly. This story provides plenty of moments of out-of-control hilarity, from an early morning medical episode to a vexing Christmas holiday with the extended family.

Pondering whether to have children prompts them to contemplate the fits they gave their parents, like an episode in their teenage years, when they had a racket selling copies of pornographic movies at school. They also reflect that they’re perhaps not the most grounded person; they haven’t had any plastic surgery yet, for instance, but they plan to embrace it zealously while acting scandalised at the suggestion they’ve had any work done.

While there’s nothing remotely mawkish about this tale, an affectionate portrait of the people in their life – Kyran, their mother, and even the family’s rambunctious kids – emerges through warts-and-all depictions. It all builds to a cathartic crescendo, stylishly wrapping up a sizzling hour.

MUSIC
GRACIE ABRAMS
Qudos Bank Arena, May 2. Also May 3 and 4.
Reviewed by LILY JENNINGS (age 16)
★★★1/2

Gracie Abrams sits at a keyboard in a replica of her childhood bedroom that’s placed in the centre of Qudos Bank Arena. As more than 20,000 people look on, she tells us it’s where she first wrote and uploaded songs to the internet before fame came calling. The crowd of mostly teenage girls, many sporting Abrams’ signature hair bows and dressed in colours associated with the artist, are absolutely enthralled.

Gracie Abrams is a master of connecting with her audience.Credit: Abby Waisler

The domestic set-up, which creates an atmosphere of intimacy, is the perfect encapsulation of why these loyal fans are so enamoured with the 25-year-old Los Angeles singer-songwriter who has streaming numbers in the billions.

Abrams is a master of connecting with her audience, whether that’s via her confessional, diaristic style of pop, best exemplified on songs like Cool and I Miss You, I’m Sorry, or by engaging in sisterly banter with them. Playing a cover of Torn by Australian artist Natalie Imbruglia, which she calls “the best song ever”, only ingratiates her with the crowd even further.

The rabidness of Abrams’ fans cannot be overstated. This night’s performance, the first of three sold-out Sydney shows, has at least one audience member in attendance who camped out for more than 80 hours just so they could get close to the stage. They, along with almost everyone else at the show, know every word to every song, including hits like I Love You, I’m Sorry, That’s So True and Close to You.

Even the quieter songs, like Gave You I Gave You I, played on a piano under a spotlight, invoke sing-alongs and engage the audience just as much as the more upbeat tracks.

Throughout the show, Abrams’ musical talent is undeniable, from playing multiple instruments to her powerful, note-perfect voice. The one clear deficit is the artist’s catalogue of songs. While everything played on this night is met with mania, not every track is worthy of the one-eyed adoration, even if there are more hits than misses.

Throughout the show, Gracie Abrams’ musical talent is undeniable.Credit: Abby Waisler

Based on her popularity alone, Abrams has the potential to be the next Taylor Swift (the pair have previously collaborated on the album cut Us, and Abrams has also supported Swift on tour). Only time will tell if her songwriting can become more consistent and achieve the same kind of heights; for now, at least, the fans are seemingly locked in for the long haul.

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DANCE
Manon
Sydney Opera House, April 30
Until May 17
Reviewed by KATIE LAWRENCE
★★★★★

When Manon debuted in 1974, it scandalised the ballet world, ripping it from its prissy roots and plunging it into the realm of sex and survival. With its morally slippery heroine, pioneering choreography and appetite for debauchery, Manon remains – half a century later – anything but conventional. Thankfully.

The Australian ballet’s 2025 staging honours this rebel legacy, leaving its heart and guts on the stage, with raw and burning performances from the entire company.

Benedicte Bemet as Manon and Joseph Caley as Des Grieux.Credit: Nick Moir

Brett Chynoweth is chilling as Manon’s scheming brother, Lescaut, who (spoiler) pimps his baby sister to the highest bidder. The tone of casual brutality is set when Lescaut randomly slaps his mistress (the charismatic Jill Ogai). It’s electrifying to see Adam Bull return to the stage as the leering, predatory Monsieur GM.

Enter des Grieux (Joseph Caley): powder blue coat, a clean side part, head buried in book. The town harlots try to distract him; he has zero interest – then he sees Manon (Benedicte Bemet). Their collision is classic romcom: he drops his book, she drops her plans for the nunnery. The ballet’s first iconic pas de deux unfolds – delicate and charged.

Joseph Caley as Des Grieux. Credit: Nick Moir

By the boudoir scene, that tenderness turns carnal: crumpled bedsheets, a single candle burning. It’s all full-bodied sweeping heat. Des Grieux is no longer the shy student; he commands Manon with one hand on her waist, then the back of her neck.

Visually, the production is a triumph. Peter Farmer’s sets and costumes contrast opulence and destitution: the muted greens and yellows of peasants, the decadent gold and purple of wealth, and the pastel gauze of the courtesans in between. Which ballet dares end with the principal ballerina in filthy rags, a shaven head, flung through the air, gasping for breath? This one.

Debate has always swirled around the character of Manon herself. Yet the complexity of des Grieux is often overlooked. In a world with a bleak portrayal of masculinity and transactional relationships, he’s the only man in the whole sleazy town who can’t be bought. Manon isn’t just the story of a woman trading her body for survival, but a man who rejects everything he’s told to desire. He doesn’t want cheap power, wealth or easy sex; he wants her.

Visually sumptuous, emotionally harrowing, savage and psychologically dark, Manon is ballet at its boldest – dripping with sex, power and violence. It’s the most gripping classical dance you will see in 2025.

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THEATRE
IRL
KXT on Broadway, April 30
Until May 10
Reviewed by JOHN SHAND
★★★

At a time when the madness and lies of electioneering bedevils us, IRL could almost seem sane. It’s not. I doubt that even a Trumpet of Patriots policy meeting could be crazier. If you can imagine As You Like It crossed with texting argot, computer games, Marvel comics, psychotropic hallucinations and angst-ridden teenage love, it may be you’re the playwright, Lewis Treston – or you might just be dreaming you are.

Alexei (Andrew Fraser) has been using Tumblr to chat up Thaddeus (Leon Walshe) for long enough to become curious to meet him in real life (hence the title). He tries to tell his bestie, Taylor (Bridget Haberecht), of his scheme, but she’s a little detached, having been scooped up by a talent scout and into the arms of Hollywood, where she plays a vengeful comic-book TV character called Phoenix.

Leon Walshe, Andrew Fraser, Bridget Haberecht in IRL.Credit: Justin Cueno

Did I mention that Alexei is wearing a self-made princess costume all the while? No? It’s easy to overlook such details in a play like this. Anyway, Alexei arranges to meet Thaddeus at a Supanova event, and that’s when things really start to go wrong, with jumbled identities topping the list.

Had a lesser actor played Alexei, the play could easily seem like the first fumbling efforts of an overheated teen imagination. (Treston is double that age.) With Fraser in the role, it just about works. Amid the relentless zaniness, Treston has built in flashes of genuine humanity, and Fraser makes Alexei not only funny, but likable and touchingly vulnerable.

Similarly, Walshe has the brainy Thaddeus seething with such shyness and self-consciousness that for the first few seconds you think the actor might be super-nervous. While their date is a first for both of them, Thaddeus hasn’t even come out yet, and Walshe plays the ingenue with wide-eyed wonder and anxiety.

Haberecht struggles to make Taylor work – as even a young Meryl Streep may have done. She comes into her own more as the ruthless Phoenix, who helpfully points out the evils of screen-dominated lives, and even more so as Madam Malheur, a fake French dressmaker who spurs Alexei into chasing his dream of love. Dominic Lui, meanwhile, is highly amusing in several lesser roles, including a talking fish.

Director Eugene Lynch had to solve dozens of staging problems bequeathed by Treston, compounded by this theatre’s small stage, with the audience on two sides. Yet somehow, all the manic and hallucinogenic stage directions explode into life, notably in an elaborate joke of a fight sequence, choreographed by Cassidy McDermott-Smith. Lily Mateljian must have thought it was Christmas, designing costumes for a show obsessed with cosplay.

By the end, Taylor declares she doesn’t want to live in a fantasy any more. Had it been longer than 100 minutes, I might have felt the same. As it is, the play remains entertaining, while giving one’s silliness tolerance a stern test.

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Dane Simpson: Didgeri-Dad
Factory Theatre, April 30. Until May 2
Reviewed by DANIEL HERBORN
★★★1/2

Back in the day, Dane Simpson’s grandmother had a job ironing clothes and would work alongside a roaring fire she used to warm her iron. One time, a customer laid down her payment and moments later, a gust of wind blew her cash into the fire. She didn’t spend a minute worrying about the lost money; in her view, the loss was worth it for the story.

This spirit of rolling with the punches and finding ways to laugh runs through Simpson’s new hour. Last year, the Wagga Wagga-based comic had a son, Ari, and the experience prompted him to take stock of his family life and which qualities of theirs he wants to pass on to his offspring.

Undeterred by a small crowd on a rain-sodden night, Simpson delivers an unflashy but warmly funny and often lovely reflection. Key characters include his father, Bow, who often pops up in Simpson’s comedy and was his teammate on The Amazing Race Australia Celebrity Edition. There’s a palpable affection for his old man’s laconic, piss-taking approach to life, and the apple clearly hasn’t fallen far from the tree.

Peppering his tale with family photos, Simpson shares how he hopes Ari will have some of his mother’s resourcefulness, and his wife’s combination of straight-talking and kindliness. He wants his youngster to one day learn from his older brother, who experienced drug and alcohol addiction and now works to help others living with addiction.

There’s an undercurrent of vulnerability here, as Simpson, now 40, wonders if he’s too old to be a dad, or too goofy to take on the responsibility of raising a child. But the lasting impression is of a feel-good storytelling pro in his element. He’s even looking forward to adding a new string to his comic bow – the dad joke.

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