2026: Off The Cuff - Shortis & Simpson

 

 

 Off The Cuff – Shortis & Simpson at Smith’s Alternative, Canberra, June 21 2026

Reviewed by Frank McKone

John Shortis and Moya Simpson, since their first appearance in the one-time School of Arts Cafe in Queanbeyan as the Shortis & Curlies in June 1996, have created themselves into an original work of art in their own right.  They write and sing songs with a built-in sense of humour – often satirical of social and political norms, yet always under-pinned by warmth of humanity.

The full house today, perhaps entirely of mature members of our community, was a measure of the warmth of feeling in response to Moya and John beyond mere enjoyment of their show – with our appreciation of their particular place in our lives.

My reviews over all these 30 years are available at www.frankmckone2.blogspot.com, and here at the Critics’ Circle blogspot since 2010.  Though Off The Cuff will not be their final show, with at least more political satire planned for later this year and a 100th Year celebration of the opening of Old Parliament House in 2027, the show today is a kind of wander through their personal stories from Moya’s teenage years in London and John’s professional beginnings, writing children’s songs for the ABC.

Each song has a story behind it.  Waterloo Sunset is a reminder of the days when Moya had to catch the train from Waterloo Station to Yorkshire for teacher training – almost sentimental.  But then John cannot stop himself writing a Theme Song for today’s show, even though the wandering has no theme.

Moya responds with a combination of Whiter Shade of Pale and Streets of London, taking her to Piano Man – that is John himself.

It is the interplay between the two of them, not just as a team of two performers but as a married couple, full of banter and laughter, which we all feel part of.

The range of songs - from I’m Not Afraid / I’m A Green Pea to parodies of politicians – like President Trump who, in his first time in office, according his tweet, met the Prince of Whales (who is now, of course, King Charles III, at least in England, or King Charles I of Australia) – is constantly surprising.  I count 17 songs in Act One and 13 in Act Two.

Perhaps the one we laughed about most was the famous quote from the newly arising Tony Abbott, which they had used for the title of their song and a whole show in 2013 – The Suppository of Wisdom.

On the other hand, Moya presented songs of many other singers who had been important to her, such as oldies like As Time Goes By, Blue Moon and Autumn Leaves.  Without being sentimental, love is the force in all John and Moya’s work.

©Frank McKone, Canberra

2026: The Good Boy Game by Patrick Vermillion

 

 

The Good Boy Game by Patrick Vermillion USA).  Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre – Drama, Q the locals. June 18-20  2026

Reviewed by Frank McKone
June 20

Creatives & Production Team
Writer: Patrick Vermillion    Director: Caitlin Baker

Cast & Characters
Alastair McKenzie as James; Giuliana Baggoley as Mary-Beth
Bruce Hardie as Sam; Elaine Noon as Judith

Running time: 100 minutes without interval

Audience advice:
Contains coarse language, references to sex, misogyny, violence, murder and other mature themes.
Also contains simulated physical and gun violence, explores mature/taboo themes and contains loud noises and flashing lights.

Recommended for ages 16+ 



The Good Boy Game is Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus Complex theory made explicit.  

In Sophocles’ original play, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother without knowing they were his parents.  In Vermillion’s play, taking Freud’s misinterpretation of the ancient Greek myth literally, 16-year-old James knowingly kills his father, and “marries” his mother (though not finally including incestuous sexual intercourse).

Set in modern America, the actors need to express highly complex emotional details, rapidly changing as the characters each rationalise their attitudes.  The intention behind every character’s words creates a change in direction in the other’s response.  All done at rapid pace in quite short scenes on each of the three settings, with the quick changes headlined on the upstage projection screen – the family dining room, the attic and the counsellor’s rooms.

This set design is simple, but very effective in keeping the drama moving.

All four actors, in action and in argument, drew our attention tightly to follow a highly complex examination of this young man’s avowed intention to kill as many people as he could, because of his hatred – of society, where he saw himself as being on the outer.

“How do good boys become dangerous men?”, is the central question, and asks, can an approach using reward points offered for good behaviour, with losses for bad, and ‘priced’ – just as we do with money – change the boys’ behaviour for the better?

The play’s answer is ‘No’, despite Giuliana Baggoley’s remarkable efforts as James’ mother.  Her role in the story is crucial to our understanding of toxic masculinity, online radicalization, and the manosphere, in light of the far too common ‘mass shootings’ in America; and Giuliana as an actor is crucial to the success of the drama.

Elaine Noon as the psychological counsellor Judith, who offers the points system, was precise in her professionalism in that role – absolutely believable to us.

Bruce Hardie as husband and father Sam, clear in his mind as a ‘progressive’ but conflicted in practice, and finally attacking his son, played the role very well to the point where his issues and responses could not fail to bring our own experiences to mind.

And then the awfulness of Alastair McKenzie’s James, especially in the final scene with his mother, was terrifying to watch.

But this is the point of presenting this drama – that we have to accept the truth of the motivations for killing, so basic to so many men.

Freud’s invention of the idea that ‘hysterical’ women who claimed to have been sexually attacked by their fathers had really brought that upon themselves – the Oedipus Complex – was a convenient lie which Vermillion exposes in Mary-Beth’s relationship with her son James.

It’s an important play – even though the conclusion is not promising.  I can only hope that this production of The Good Boy Game can have an extended run and travel further afield as it deserves.

 

 

©Frank McKone, Canberra

2026: Travelling North by David Williamson

 

 

Travelling North by David Williamson.  Canberra REP at Canberra REP Theatre, June 11 – 27 2026

Reviewed by Frank McKone
June 13

Creatives
Directed by Cate Clelland
Set Design: Cate Clelland
Costume Design: Clare Middleton, Darcy Abrahams, Cate Clelland
Lighting Design: Craig Muller; Sound Design: Nev Pye
Properties: Brenton Warren

Cast
Frances – Danielle Spiller; Frank – Pat Gallagher
Sophie – Margeaux Arundel-Williams; Helen – Matilda Millar-Carton
Joan – Stephanie van Lieshout; Freddy Wicks – Steven Kennedy
Saul Morgenstein – Adrian Breen
Wedding Celebrant – Kumar Kartikey Gupta
Gallery Attendant – Grace Cassidy

Though, from my past experience in companies similar to REP, I fully appreciate the effort that has gone into this presentation of Travelling North, with its thirty-three very short scenes.

Because Cate Clelland has chosen to darken the stage and move often large pieces of furniture on and off between almost all scenes, nearly half of our time in the audience is taken up in scene changes.  

Though this may seem a cheap joke, half-way through Act I the word “pedestrian” came to mind – referring to all the walking on and off; and meaning the effect as a theatrical experience, as opposed to, say, “engaging”.

I therefore cannot recommend REP’s production of Travelling North.

On the other hand, I did review the touring production done by Christine Harris and HIT Productions, presented in Canberra at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre in 2008.

I wrote then that Bruce Myles’ “direction suits this small-scale venue, bringing out qualities of character and personal relationships more successfully than I remember from early productions on larger stages where Williamson's one-liners were funny but less engaging.”

How did he do it?   Canberra REP’s stage is not exactly large, and could have used a design like this:

An AI search is informative: 
For the 2008 national touring production of David Williamson’s Travelling North—produced by HIT Productions and directed by Bruce Myles—the creative team faced a unique challenge. The play’s "filmic" structure demands rapid movement across dozens of short scenes. Furthermore, as a 14-week national tour, the set had to be physically adaptable enough to pack down and fit into 33 different metropolitan, regional, and remote venues across Australia.

To solve this, set designer Shaun Gurton and lighting designer Glenn Hughes devised a highly functional, smart, and minimalist staging environment, The Set Design Minimalist Framework: 

Shaun Gurton opted for an elegant, understated, and functional design. Rather than trying to construct multiple realistic rooms, the stage relied on clean lines and abstract spacing.

Portable Architecture: Because it was built for rigorous regional touring, the physical structures were lightweight and easily transportable. The design used simple multi-purpose spatial markers (like steps, platforms, or sparse furniture) that could easily adjust to fit varying stage sizes across Australia.

Thematic Focus: By stripping away heavy clutter, the design purposefully shifted the entire audience focus onto the spiky dialogue and personal interactions [and] avoided heavy, traditional physical set tracking or long curtain pauses. Scenes dissolved into one another with actors carrying small props or altering their positioning smoothly.(My emphasis).

The action of the play is mostly limited to three locations [with] Frank and Frances' holiday getaway positioned at stage right.

The result for HIT in 2008 was, in my review: “The audience's sustained applause on opening night expressed our appreciation not only for the skills of the director and actors but, I think, for a production which brought the best out of Williamson.  Very satisfying.”

I honestly could not write the same conclusion about the performance I saw on Saturday.

©Frank McKone, Canberra

2026: The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan

 

 

The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan.  Chaika Theatre at ACT Hub, Kingston, Canberra

June 12 - 27 2026
Reviewed by Frank McKone
June 12

Creatives

Creatives
Director: Tony Knight
Asst Director & Costume: Ylaria Rogers
Design: Michael Sparks
Artworks: Leigh Penton & Kerry Wode/Lillian Vickery & John Vickery
Light & Stage Management: Disa Swifte
Sound: Neville Pye; Composition: Paris Scharkie
Properties & Medical Consultant: Yanina Clifton
Intimacy Consultant: Jill Young

Cast
Hester – Jenna Roberts; Mrs Elton – Kate Blackhurst; Miller - Karen Vickery
Philip – Jack Shanahan; Ann – Meaghan Stewart
Sir William Collyer – Michael Sparks; Freddie Page – Sol Mason
Jackie Jackson – Blue Hyslop



Terence Rattigan’s 1950s’ play is about what it means to love someone, what it means to be loved by someone, and what it means when love fades, and life seems to no longer have any purpose.

These are the experiences of the central character: a woman, Hester, a demanding role played  with sensitivity and fine detail by Jenna Roberts, through all the vicissitudes from self-loathing to hope.

As the two men in her life, the staid successful Judge Sir William Collyer and the one-time military test pilot, adventurous Freddie Page – Michael Sparks and Sol Mason respectively – match Roberts’ acting skill, providing strength and balance in the drama’s through-line to Hester’s achievement of true independence.

And, all the other characters in her milieu – other tenants in the block of flats where Hester lives, the unit cleaning-woman, a down-graded medic, and Freddie’s air force friend – establish their status and position as they relate to her, influencing how she progresses from near suicide to taking up her artistic work in a positive frame of mind.

This Chaika production of The Deep Blue Sea is very successful first because of the quality of the directing.  Tony Knight has clearly understood the need for the style appropriate for the period and situation that Rattigan has written into the script – almost as if it were a Noel Coward witty comedy as the play begins, which then mutates into serious reality.

In addition, playing at The ACT Hub, with the audience grouped at each end, and the sitting room setting across the space between them, allows us to feel as if we are almost in the room with the characters – reminding me of that other famous intimate theatre, Ensemble Theatre in Sydney.

The careful mimimal use of external sound – the quiet piano – and lighting underdone – but just right – reinforced the sense of quality theatre on the principle of less is more.

Finally, the choice of a play about love and marriage difficulties from a time before today’s social media disaster is an important contribution to recognising the value of real-time person to person life – in a time now when youth suicide is on the increase.

A production not to be missed.

At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deep_Blue_Sea_(play), for further thinking about the significance of Rattigan’s theme, his personal history suggests he intended the implications of Hester’s story should apply to any love experience, not only male-female.  The important issue, it seems to me, is that we all should do our bit to support others through their natural emotional turmoils when their hopes are unfulfilled.  That’s another kind of love.


©Frank McKone, Canberra