Callum McLean

Originally published in RIP IT UP Nick Enright’s 1995 play Blackrock is revived in this year’s Fringe by ACJ Productions. The play, exploring the attitudes towards a young girl’s rape and murder in a small town, is meaty stuff for the young cast and crew. This is a nicely-timed production with a black heart.  Dana Cropley’s direction works…

Originally published in RIP IT UP In this bunker, there is no war – instead, there is something more otherworldly going on. The vicious and desperate king and queen of Macbeth are brought down from the glen and plonked unceremoniously into a WW1 bunker. Ghosts of the dead mingle with witches who speak of the future, whilst all around them, the…

Originally published in RIP IT UP Get ready for Pulpshow – a show that reveals the blood in the dirt of the Australian outback. “Modern-day Cyd Charisse” Leah Shelton takes you on a terrifying crash course of the Ozploitation films of the 70s, through a part-burlesque part-performance art piece that is incredibly energetic and exciting.  This is a show…

Originally published in Buzzcuts Playing to a crowd of thirteen, Larry Dean starts his show as nonchalantly as possible. No one announces him, no one says a word. If you didn’t know who he was you might think a stranger had wandered in and just started talking into the mic. That’s because Dean isn’t playing…

Originally published in Buzzcuts Beyond three women and World War 1, going in to The Home Front there is no way you can know what is about to take place. That’s because—in perhaps the most original idea I’ve seen at this year’s Fringe—the entire thing is improvised. The director calls for your attention; she asks you to…

Originally published in Buzzcuts Hands down—the funniest thing you will see at this year’s Fringe. Staged in Tuxedo Cat’s Mayall Room (upstairs in a renovated office building—there has been charm bestowed here upon an otherwise utilitarian space), The Sound of Nazis mixes the musical with history to great effect. No stone is left unturned, and every aspect…

Originally published in Buzzcuts The death of Scott Johnson on Manly’s North Head is the centrepiece and emotional touchstone of Fairly Lucid Productions’ show The Reckoning. Originally put down as a suicide, the truth of this has only recently been questioned, and now it is not thought to be a gay hate crime. The various viewpoints…