This was a superb concert, the audience particularly going into raptures over the Mozart clarinet concerto. A strong Nordic connection was emphasised by the ACO’s Assistant Leader Satu Vänskä leading the ensemble on this occasion, and also introducing the works. Swedish virtuoso clarinettist Martin Frost, guest star in this concert, has an impressive international profile,
Freely adapted from Nikolai Erdman’s 1928 play, THE SUICIDE, which was summarily banned by Stalin and subsequently languished in theatrical Siberia, Moira Buffini’s DYING FOR IT is the tale of a despondent citizen wallowing in the self pity of unemployment. So much for full employment under Communism.
It is great when theatre takes important stories out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Overshadowed by his contemporaries Einstein and Oppenheimer, physicist Leo Szilard’s (1898-1964) story is an engrossing one. A Hungarian – American physicist and inventor, Szilard conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1936, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein’s signature that resulted in the Manhatten Project
Sixty years on, the Sydney Theatre Company has put on a revival of ‘Godot’ as one of its showcase production of the year. Andrew Upton helms the production, taking over from Tamas Ascher who had to withdraw for health reasons. Three giants of the Australian theatre take the leading roles, Hugo Weaving and Richard Roxburgh as the two tramps and Philip Quast as the sado-masochistic Pozzo.
