Artwork on display daily from 7am until the 12th September
99 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda.
by Kerrie Pacholli
What a delight it is for me to electronically immortalise a piece of the exuberant creative cosmic mix at Little Haha’s Art Series; Pop Up Show last Thursday night.
What was once Fitzroy Street St Kilda’s Post Office, later to evolve into the mysteries Cushion nightspot, watering hole to 19 & 20 something year olds for 10 or so years; has now morphed into a warm, welcoming, ageless and genderless artistic hot spot in the heart of St Kilda.
Great space, great bar and GREAT COFFEE. Well done Mr Barrista and all the participants invited by host and owner Anthony….
Curated by locally based street artist the Iconic Mikey XX1, this inspiring Pop Up Show introduced me to a group of talented artists and all round nice people in Fred Leone, Silly Sully, Anomie and Lucks.
Daniel Schepisi & Katharine Innes in Fifty Words by Michael Weller
Performance Dates – Fifty Words
Wednesday 24 July (Preview): 8PM
Thursday 25 July (Media &VIP)
Friday 26 July (Opening): 8PM
Saturday 27 July: 8PM
Sunday 28th of July: 5PM
Thursday 1st of August: 8PM
Friday 2nd of August: 8PM
Saturday 3rd of August (CLOSING NIGHT) 8PM
THE TELEGRAPH
“Psychologically compelling.”
TIME OUT ****
Fifty Words, by playwright Michael Weller, produced by Lab Theatre is opening this week at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda.
This is a powerful play of love, anger and betrayal with two of the most promising Australian actors in Katharine Innes and Daniel Schepisi.
Directed by Peter Kalos, the story is about Adam and Jan who are finally alone together for the first time in almost 10 years. Without the buffer of their nine-year-old son (who is away at his first-ever sleepover) Adam’s attempt to seduce his wife before he leaves on business the next day begins a suspenseful nightlong roller-coaster ride of revelation, rancour, passion and humour that explores a modern-day marriage on the verge of either a breakup or deepening love…
This smoothly scripted multi-layered play reveals how closely love and hate can be linked in marriage; with each problem experienced as parents, another subsequent layer revealed shows yet another problem in their relationship. The play is an incisive close-up of the emotional battleground of contemporary relationships and the lengths to which a couple will go to save it.
“The play is a bruising back and forth of power games, recriminations, seemingly innocent putdowns and ugly confessions, but it’s the evidence of inextinguishable love and desire that makes this 21st century George and Martha fascinating.” – David Rooney, Variety
The ghost of Dick Gross (played by Dick Gross, Mayor, City of Port Phillip) shares the stage with actor Alec Gilbert who actually plays Dick Gross. Both Dick Grosses engage in a robust conversation about his life in public office, his fears of past failures, frustrations, love of family and his hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future.
Beachside Stories is described as a series of duologues by Clare Mendes, Producer and Company Manager of Melbourne Writers Theatre; commissioned by Gasworks to create, write and produce this highly entertaining window into the lives, loves, successes and vulnerabilities of five extra ordinary local community Stars.
Coralie Ling & Emma Cox
Rev. Coralie Ling joins the stage with her much younger resonation in Emma Cox. We learn about Coralie’s relentless and successful battles with the establishment regarding her ambitions in becoming the first women to be ordained as a minister in the Methodist Church in 1969.
Giovanni Piccolo & Peter Logan
We find out about the struggles that community activist Peter Logan has endured since 1996 with regards to Save Albert Park group along with proven deceptions by the Grand Prix and government officials.
Karissa Taylor & Melisand Box
15-year-old Albert Park College student Melisand Box (right) totally embraces the opportunity to show us just how talented, ambitious and naturally confident she is in her role as a conniving savant surgeon who operates on American actress, and her personal idol, Ann Hathaway played by Karissa Taylor.
Sarah Hamilton & Tony Adams
Last but definitely not least was the touching story of Tony Manago played by Sarah Hamilton & Tony Adams. Known as the ‘ The Singing Butcher’ of South Melbourne Market. Tony’s life took an amazing turn at age 38 when he was approached by an Italian maestro whilst, singing at the market, to eventually become a professional Opera singer touring Rome and Sicily.
The grand finale sees the real Tony Manago singing an Italian Opera, Pavarotti style.
Elizabeth Walley, Resident Director at Melbourne Writers Theatre directed this collaboration which features plays written by five MWT writers who first interviewed and then wrote scripts for the Local Stars: Bruce Shearer for ‘Only Ghosts Can Second-Guess’ (Uncovering Dick Gross); Clare Mendes ‘Rhapsody in Purple’ (Pondering Coralie Ling); Alison Knight ‘Logan’s Run’ (Reliving Peter Logan); Brooke Fairley ‘The True Imaginings of Melisand Box’ (Exploring Melisand Box); and Adele Shelley ‘The Singing Butcher’ (Celebrating Tony Manago).
Beachside Stories is a heartwarming and entertaining showcase about real community activists; their loves, ambitions, desires, insecurities and courage.
It was late the night before when my editor, Kerrie Pacholli asked if I could take two tickets and write a short review for Aliya Kanani show at Coopers Inn which is part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2019. As I am never one to turn down tickets to a free show, I happily said yes. Without any knowledge of who i may be seeing, or what may be involved, i approached the show with no small amount of trepidation, worried that the title ‘So where are you from, from?’ may leave me in a lurch about some deep political ‘comedy’.
Aliya Kanani performing at Coopers Inn as part of MICF 2019
Arriving at the Coopers Inn didn’t inspire an overt amount of hope, as after work city people crowded the blue stone sports bar which had on its main screen the American baseball, which, if nothing else, let everyone know they were in for something a bit different.
Aliya, however, was exuberant and… well… funny. A fresh view on the world through – what she termed – a feminine, slightly narcissistic, chronic liar’s interpretation which left scope for a large amount of audience interaction. Those from the passenger seating that volunteered.
The show covers everything from high school to travels in Indonesia, touching on the importance of spirituality for some local tribal members, yet doesn’t avert from some important message of the interconnectedness of people, no matter their race or creed. Aliya stated after the show that she was “concerned with the value of the question of where we are from, instead of asking ‘who’ we are?”
This coupled with the message in the show of rising above challenges, through the use of comedy, and a spare dose of secondary trauma.
Yet don’t despair if you think this sounds like too much material from foreign escapades, exotic places, and the one time Brazilian Aliya, she quite seamlessly approaches the local climate and context of Melbourne itself, and the value of learning Australian as a second language (in her case, seventh).
An important part of the show and something not to overlook is the improvisation of audience participation, an excellent display of Aliya’s capacity to think quickly on her feet, proving her capacity to talk herself out of any situation… leaving us smiling as she does so.
Opening night Thursday 5th September at 6pm 
What a delight it is for me to electronically immortalise a piece of the exuberant creative cosmic mix at Little Haha’s Art Series; Pop Up Show last Thursday night.
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