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Aaron's Point Of Review, Crete Street, Beenleigh, Queensland, Beenleigh (2026)

09/02/2019

Theatrical Review: The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Beenleigh Theatre Group Inc
Directed by Roslyn Johnson

The Crucible. A title that carries prestige. A story that, like most Shakespeare, speaks volumes to this day. A tale of hysteria, propaganda and defending your name. It’s a bold choice to go with this piece, and that’s exactly what Beenleigh Theatre Group Inc. has done in their first season of 2019.

This is a dream project for Director Roslyn Johnston, it shows. Her enthusiasm for the work has translated to a force of nature. Her perfection to the piece shines brightly throughout. This has indeed motivated both her cast and crew to do the same.

The set design was perfect, shorting the stage to make the actors huddle together added to the tension, and the lightening, projections and music also added another level of intensity. A huge thumbs up!

The acting was phenomenal. William Boyd as John Proctor took himself and us on a emotional journey that had you invested from the moment he entered till his final harrowing moments. Louella Baldwin as Abigail Williams played the role in a subtle but brilliant manner. She had the gift of telling her characters story by her actions, more so than her words.

Candice Smee was a marvel to watch, the manner in which she played the conflicted, role of Elizabeth Proctor with such strength was a true highlight for me. Bradley Chapman’s John Hale was a wise performance, his conflict really engaged the audience every time he was on.

Richard Murphy played a brilliant version of Giles Corey. Bringing much needed laughs, then heartbreak. Richard was the perfect choice for the role. John Stibbard as Danforth was a defiant man of the law, playing the role in such a way that the audience couldn’t believe some of the things he said. Whenever you do that, you’ve done your role well. While Jan Nary’s Rebecca Nurse was a touching role portrayed wonderfully.

Every single cast member brought strength to this piece. No matter how long they were onstage, they brought nuisances that helped make them all noticeable. Congratulations to Mel Bobbermien, Dominic Bradley, Leo Bradley, Nicole Duncan, Ken Dutt, Adunni Ekundayo, Maddi Formosa, Simone Healey, Lily and Poppy Mimica, Jason Nash, Levi Rayner, Meg Snieder, Michael Ware and Sarah Wrigley.

When a weighted classic is done well, it lifts the story and commands a new meaning to the play. This production has done just that. I strongly recommend seeing this one. It was better than the professional production I saw years ago. So do yourself a favour, see it. If you love theatre, it’s a must. As I can say it’s been one of the purest and most enjoyable productions I’ve seen in quite some time.

16/11/2018

PLAY REVIEW: Oklahoma!
By: Beenleigh Theatre Group Inc.
Directed By: Mardi Schon

Often, a theatre will put on an array of shows to celebrate all facets of life. But as time moves forward, theatres celebrate their own big milestones. This is what Beenleigh Theatre Group is doing for its 40th Anniversary, by returning to its first production they did, Oklahoma.

A very fitting production. It is full of positive energy, fantastic acting and voices. The cast are inviting to the story, and just make you feel good. A huge tick! Well done all. The direction was a wonderful gel of different aspects of theatre, which is pulled of brilliantly in the dream sequence. The band played beautifully and the set was clever.

If you haven’t got tickets to see it, do. We all should take the time to celebrate artistic milestones, and Beenleigh Theatre Group has been a force of nature for a long time. I was proud to see this magnificent production, you should too. Congratulations Beenleigh Theatre Group.

Oklahoma opens tonight, get your tickets at http://beenleightheatregroup.com

22/10/2018

Movie Review: Bad Times at the El Royale
From Twentieth Century Fox
Written and Directed by Drew Goddard

Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption - before everything goes to hell…

This movie was a surprise. The suspense, the music, the acting we’re executed perfectly. The script was inviting, the dialogue drew the audience in…and the action kept them hooked. Not to mention leaving stuff out that makes the audience question. Which is an excellent form of storytelling! Big tick!

I can’t say to much without giving too much away, but the movie is a big thumbs up. I felt like I was watching a mid-to-late nineties Quentin Tarantino movie. I strongly recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good suspense with plenty of twist and turns and creepy characters. Looking at you, Thor.

You can see this movie at your local cinema, or in a few months, hire/buy it. It’s worth the money.

17/06/2018

It seems that society is littered with self-entitled hypocrites. From absurd Presidents to unfaithful family-first Deputy Prime Ministers. This is what Joanna Murray-Smith and newly formed theatre institution, Ad Astra, focus on in the farcical black comedy, “The Female of the Species”.

We enter the lush writing quarters of Margot Mason (Fiona Kennedy), a narcissistic feminist writer who is trying to keep in the spotlight by writing her next controversial book about how women should be stronger then men. Problem is, she’s written so many books over the years that her stance has changed. Enter Molly Rivers (Mikayla Hosking), a deranged former student of Margot, who is set to get revenge for her mother’s su***de. After Margot is held hostage and handcuffed to her desk, her daughter, Tess Thornton (Jacqueline Kerr) bumbles in, exhausted from the daily grind of three young children. Which leads to more absurdity when her husband, Bryan Thornton (Ryan Thomas), the taxi driver that brought Tess to the address, Frank (Tanaka Utete) and Margot’s publicist (Richard John Murphy) all get tangled up in the over-the-top charade of a hostage situation. In which everyone has an opinion (especially Margot) on how her inconsistent advice has affected society.

For a brand-new company, Ad Astra made a wise choice picking this play that heavily discusses feminism and accountability for their first ever production. I will admit, I walked into this with fresh eyes and was pleasantly surprised. It was fresh and slick. Director Roslyn Johnson did magnificent job in directing, the biggest tick was she kept the actors moving, leaving many great expressions and positions for the audience to laugh at. The set was vibrant and full of little nuggets for the keen-eyed audience member. Music choice was also perfect, this can be a section that is overlooked, but the choice of “Paperback Writer” and “I Am Women” were perfect openers to both acts.

Joanna’s success comes from how she writes believable characters. Which helps when you have six professionals clearly fleshing out the roles. A huge tick came from their work as an ensemble. You could tell they enjoyed playing such different and, at times, absurd characters. Their comedic timing, diction and projection worked seamlessly.

I recommend this production to people who love black comedies. It’s definitely now a favourite of mine.

“The Female of The Species” by Ad Astra will continue performances from Wednesday 20th till Saturday 23rd. Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/events/1972576149459435/?active_tab=discussion

24/04/2018

Movie Review: LAST FLAG FLYING
Directed by Richard Linklater
Written by Richard Linklater & Darryl Ponicsan

It is late 2003, America is still coming to grips with the horrific incidents that happened nearly two years ago. But things are different for Larry "Doc" Shepherd (Steve Carell). Only losing his wife months earlier, he is on a mission is to find his fellow Vietnam veterans Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) to accompany him to Arlington Cemetery after the recent death of his son in the Iraq War. But when Doc decides to bury his son at home, against government protocol, the men find themselves on a reflective adventure.

This movie was a powerful journey. The biggest up was the acting of the three talented leads. It was odd to see Carrell play a grief-stricken man which had no humour (unlike Little Miss Sunshine), but he hits it out of the park, his withdrawn and emotional performance leaves you feeling so much for him. Then to have Cranston being the comedic bum who hardly has his life together, while Fishburne plays the stubborn priest who is trying to make sense of it all. All three of these men were able to take the audience through some serious topics of the time.

The writing and directing helped make the movie believable. You invest in the story because it’s human. You feel their pain and you thrive on their memories of the good ol’ days.

This is a movie for anyone who wants a down-to-earth drama. I hardly cry at a movie, but with this film I wept. I could see this movie being a powerful play. An absolute gem. Big thumbs up!

The movie officially opens tomorrow at select theatres. Be sure to look it up online for your closet cinema. You don’t want to miss it.

17/04/2018

Summer of The Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler
Presented by Beenleigh Theatre Group Co.
Directed by Timothy Wynn

When you talk of iconic Australian plays, this piece will be raised. Some would also state that this play was the turning point for Australian Theatre. Set in the 1950’s (which was the period in which it was written in), this play tackles many hard-hitting topics of the time and really captures Australian culture perfectly.

With such an iconic piece, it’s always interesting to see what the company, the director and cast bring to it. But it represented perfectly in this adaption!

The biggest tick goes to the directing choice. Timothy’s approach to the play is mature. It really feels like a tribute to old school theatre. With the video that introduces each act and a timer of how long the interval goes for…those touches bring back nostalgia of the good old days, which is what this play is all about. His direction is the same, everything is clear and deliberate.

The cast portrayed the characters well. Barney and Roo were great counterparts. Barney (Ian Johnson) with his bombastic persona and Roo (Andrew Alley) who was a conflicted time-bomb just looking to explode. Olive (Julia Lefik) drove this play forward with some strong character work (Especially at the end). Pearl (Clare Wigley) was a down to earth performance, her character could easily be tacky, but Clare made her human, which was clear during the part about Barney and her daughter. Bubba (Katya Bryant) was a nice subtle performance of a character who really wants to break away from how people see her. Johnnie (Jarryd Pianca) was a great representation of young Australian males. His performance was down to earth and likeable, which makes Roo’s jealousy clearer to the audience. Finally, we had Emma (Jan Nary) who stole the show for me and the audience. This was made clear when she stated she’d had enough and was going to bed. The audience let out a sigh of sympathy for her. That’s how you know you got them invested. Well done to all.

There were some first night jitters, but they were quickly ironed out. All of these elements helped make the ending such a punch in the face. Some of the audience around me were in disbelief. Some saying ‘What’ over and over again. Another nod to the entire team.

All in all, if you love old school storytelling than you will enjoy this production. I give it a thumbs up!

Tickets are still on sale for it, go to http://www.beenleightheatregroup.com and tell me what you think!

17/04/2018

Welcome to a dream project of mine...Aaron's Point Of Review!

What's it all about? This is a page in which I will give a review of something in the entertainment realm. From movies, books, video games, music and even local theatrical shows.

What makes it different from others? Easy...me. My biggest attribute in life is finding positives and putting them to people's attentions. I strongly believe that you can find something interesting in anything. That being said, I will still be realistic with them.

Why do this? Another easy one. People have tastes, I hope to expand people's appetite. I want people to be able to find what speaks to them.

I don't believe in star ratings or out of ten. Just a simple thumb up or thumb down. Also adding what they get right and who would benefit most in what I have reviewed.

What if I don't agree? Tell me, art is subjective and everyone has a different opinion. I prefer a conversation and respect varying views. It's better to disagree on something than just dismiss it.

Let's get this project on the road!

Aaron's Point Of Review

09/02/2019

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