All stories by Alison Croggon on BroadwayStars

Thursday, May 31, 2018

The House of Bernarda Alba review – an ingenious and powerful feminist parable by Alison Croggon

Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre MelbournePatricia Cornelius’s Australian adaptation of Lorca’s classic puts the wounds that men inflict on women centre stage• Sign up to receive the top st…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18PM
Tuesday, January 16, 2018

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time review – spectacle devoid of emotional verity by Alison Croggon

This stylised adaptation of Mark Haddon’s bestseller is effectively an animated book rather than a translation into theatreArts Centre MelbourneThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:29PM
Monday, May 25, 2015

Ancient tale of darkness given new resonance by Alison Croggon

REINVENTION is what keeps myths alive. On the other hand, the reason we keep picking them up and remaking them is that they keep being true.

SOURCE: www.theaustralian.com.au at 05:58PM
Saturday, June 21, 2014

Tumblr by Alison Croggon

Since the beginning of 2014 I've been logging my disparate online essays and reviews in one place, so they're easier to track. You can find the Miscellany tumblr here.

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 07:07PM
Thursday, May 8, 2014

Night on Bald Mountain review scathing satire and sensual tragedy by Alison Croggon

Malthouse theatre, MelbourneA complex and rarely-staged Patrick White play is directed like a musical score, and the cast is extraordinaryUntil now, Patrick Whites fourth play Night on Bald …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:34PM
Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The Government Inspector review – a scrupulously polished backstage farce by Alison Croggon

Melbourne’s Malthouse theatre launches its 2014 season with a deliciously funny Simon Stone comedy that illuminates the absurdity and vanity of human behaviourAlison Croggon

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:43PM
Thursday, February 13, 2014

Cock, Melbourne Theatre Company – review by Alison Croggon

This contemporary twist on the conventional love triangle has formidable performances but gets bogged down by poor directionAlison Croggon

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48PM
Thursday, January 30, 2014

Private Lives, Melbourne Theatre Company – review by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Theatre Company's strong production of Noël Coward’s 1930s romantic comedy is all fun and games – with the darkest of subtextsAlison Croggon

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:49PM
Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Book of Everything — review by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Theatre Company, Southbank TheatreA play about domestic violence in post-Nazi Netherlands may seem like grim fare for children but it proves ultimately upliftingThe Book of Everyth…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:20PM
Sunday, November 24, 2013

Arden v Arden, the Hayloft Project – review by Alison Croggon

Northcote Town HallWatching Arden v Arden, the Hayloft Project's adaptation of the anonymous sixteenth century play Arden of Faversham, it occurred to me that sometimes obscure plays are obs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:29PM
Sunday, November 10, 2013

Summertime in the Garden of Eden, Sisters Grimm – review by Alison Croggon

Theatre Works, MelbourneBeneath the frothy fun and glorious wit, Sisters Grimm's production skewers prejudices around race and sexualityIt is melodrama on amyl nitrate; the recipe a dose of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06PM
Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Hard Rubbish – review by Alison Croggon

Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, until October 6Men of Steel's playful yet poignant production about old furniture is a metaphor for modern life and a lot of funBack in 2002, Spike Jonze made a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:44AM
Thursday, September 19, 2013

Melbourne Fringe festival: 10 things to see by Alison Croggon

The next big things in comedy, theatre, dance, art, film and music feature in a packed programmeEvery September the Melbourne Fringe festival lurches over the horizon. Last year, 3400 indepe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42AM
Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Cherry Orchard – review by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Theatre CompanySimon Stone's faithful reimagining of Chekov's work lays bare the play's emotional machinery in an elegant productionI can only hope that this lucid, pitch-perfect p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:02PM
Friday, August 9, 2013

When Simon Stone speaks, Australian theatre listens by Alison Croggon

The enfant terrible with a populist touch talks cinema, Eurocentrism and his burning desire to explore who we areIt's impossible to ignore Simon Stone. At 28, he is one of Australia's most e…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:02AM
Monday, July 8, 2013

Second thoughts: return visits to favourite productions by Alison Croggon

Alison Croggon: Do repeat viewings lead to a richer theatre experience – or is the first thrill of a brilliant production impossible to recreate?Alison Croggon

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:37PM
Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Crucible – review by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Theatre CompanyWatching – or, more precisely, listening to – Melbourne Theatre Company's production of The Crucible, it's striking how pertinent Arthur Miller's parable of soci…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:38PM
Monday, May 27, 2013

King Kong stomps on to stage in Melbourne by Alison Croggon

Alison Croggon: He stands six metres tall, weighs more than a tonne and relies on a vast team of puppeteers – King Kong's latest starring role is centre stage in a new Melbourne musicalAli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:32AM
Thursday, December 13, 2012

Archive by Alison Croggon

Theatre Notes will remain here as an archive. The blog is fully searchable using the search box to the right, and there are browsable lists of all reviews since 2004 and of notable interview…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 09:04PM
Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Last Post by Alison Croggon

Dear Readers As some of you will already know, I've decided to close down Theatre Notes. It's a decision that's been staring me in the face for a while now, and it's fair to say that I've b…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 08:27PM
Sunday, November 25, 2012

Review: Pompeii, LA by Alison Croggon

Warning: here be spoilers From medium to medium, the real is volatilized, becoming an allegory of death. But it is also, in a sense, reinforced through its own destruction. It becomes reali…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 12:05AM
Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Review: Wild Surmise, I am the Wind by Alison Croggon

Last week I saw two adventures in theatrical poetry. Malthouse Theatre literally brought poetry into the theatre with Jane Montgomery Griffiths's and Marion Potts' theatricalisation of Dorot…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 11:21PM
Tuesday, October 30, 2012

So, that was a blast by Alison Croggon

Despite Melbourne's uncertain spring, Ms TN had a most excellent adventure at the 2012 Melbourne Festival, Brett Sheehy's last before he takes up the reins as AD of the Melbourne Theatre Com…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 07:40PM
Saturday, October 27, 2012

Melbourne Festival: Dance Territories by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Festival Diary #10 After three weeks of full-on performance, Dance Teritories was a refreshing return to the basics: a stage, a performer, an audience. Dance Territories presented…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 07:34PM
Thursday, October 25, 2012

Melbourne Festival: Before Your Very Eyes, The House of Dreaming by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Festival Diary #9 We're heading towards the end of the festival, which closes on Saturday, and Ms TN is feeling, truth be told, rather ragged. On the one hand, devoting myself to …

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 10:52PM
Monday, October 22, 2012

Melbourne Festival: An Enemy of the People by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Festival Diary #8 I woke the morning after seeing the Schaubühne Berlin's production of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People seething with a burning, undirected anger. I don't k…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 11:05PM
Sunday, October 21, 2012

Melbourne Festival: The Minotaur Trilogy by Alison Croggon

Festival Diary #7 Chamber Made Opera's innovative series of Living Room Operas - small-scale opera performances commissioned as site-specific works and performed in private houses - has pro…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 11:21PM
Saturday, October 20, 2012

Melbourne Festival: An Act of Now, Weather, DESH by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Festival Diary #6 Even off the plan, the strongest aspect of the 2012 Melbourne Festival was always the dance. It's a feeling borne out in the performances I've seen: William Fors…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 11:22PM
Thursday, October 18, 2012

Melbourne Festival: Holding Note by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Festival Diary #5 Holding note: Sometimes I find that all that emerges from my fingertips is a sludge of meh. This can particularly happen when I've been knocked out by a work: al…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 07:33PM
Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Melbourne Festival: Orlando by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Festival Diary #4 Some notes on Orlando White. No colour, every colour; plenty and absence at once. The empty page awaiting inscription, the page which may be shredded or burned…

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 07:10PM
Saturday, October 13, 2012

Melbourne Festival: After Life by Alison Croggon

Melbourne Festival Diary #3 It may have only opened on Thursday, but the Melbourne Festival is now well into its stride. Aside from the Forsythe Dance Company, my highlight so far has been …

SOURCE: Theatre Notes at 09:55PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards