Unflinching insight into psychotic illness a remarkable immersive theatre event
Each space is engagingly designed, and there's a haunting quality to the voice acting and the polyphonic script, some of which sounds as if taken verbatim from people with schizophrenia.
Hallucinatory audiovisual tricks keep you on edge, painfully vigilant, and one section involves a responsive AI program, as a grandiose delusion tightens its grip.
Exploring psychosis through mixed reality tech is a fabulous idea, and The Door in Question really does feel at the forefront of a brave new kind of artmaking. But it's the human element that makes it work – the profound authenticity of lived experience, and the unflinching insight into the danger and distress, as well as the wildcard beauty – and, yes, the love – amid the deranged tangle of psychotic illness.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead
MUSIC
ACO Unleashed, ★★★★
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Hamer Hall, June 22
Undaunted by the withdrawal of injured Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja from its current tour, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) took the opportunity to draw soloists from its own ranks in a program confirming all its appealing strengths.
In the absence of artistic director Richard Tognetti, longstanding violinists Helena Rathbone and Satu Vanska shared direction of the orchestra. They were joined by the ACO's newest member, Anna da Silva Chen, in a buoyant account of Bach's Concerto for Three Violins. Clearly delighting in their collaboration, they wove the music's contrapuntal strands into a richly detailed tapestry, abetted by the ACO's customary rhythmic drive.
Vanska brought an edgy bravura to Bernard Rofe's arrangement of Ravel's Tzigane to which the presence of the celesta in the accompanying forces contributed an additional exotic touch.
Exemplary ensemble and beauty of tone graced Tognetti's arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 'Serioso'. Nuanced variations of texture reinforced both the original's urgency and intimacy.
Schubert's Quartet Movement in C minor, D. 703 shimmered like a jewel, full of light and shade, where dramatic and lyrical elements were held in admirable balance.
Giving the Melbourne premiere of Jaakko Kuusisto's Cello Concerto, principal cellist Timo-Veikko Valve gave a passionate tribute to the late composer, a longtime family friend and fellow Finn. Kuusisto, who died of brain cancer in 2022, aged 48, conceived this well-crafted work with Valve's considerable technical and expressive prowess in mind.
Like Sibelius, Kuusisto often sets his emotional lyricism in sparse surroundings. Here, some percussion freshened the orchestral palette, further enticing the listener's close attention. Empathetically supported by his fellow players, Valve's advocacy of this score may well make it a 21st-century classic.
A welcome, if unforeseen, element of its fiftieth anniversary season, this program celebrated the abundant talent of a great chamber orchestra.
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The Age
23-06-2025
- The Age
Unflinching insight into psychotic illness a remarkable immersive theatre event
In fact, it almost portrays mental illness as a kind of escape room… one with no escape, and a profusion of clues everywhere you look. Each space is engagingly designed, and there's a haunting quality to the voice acting and the polyphonic script, some of which sounds as if taken verbatim from people with schizophrenia. Hallucinatory audiovisual tricks keep you on edge, painfully vigilant, and one section involves a responsive AI program, as a grandiose delusion tightens its grip. Exploring psychosis through mixed reality tech is a fabulous idea, and The Door in Question really does feel at the forefront of a brave new kind of artmaking. But it's the human element that makes it work – the profound authenticity of lived experience, and the unflinching insight into the danger and distress, as well as the wildcard beauty – and, yes, the love – amid the deranged tangle of psychotic illness. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead MUSIC ACO Unleashed, ★★★★ Australian Chamber Orchestra, Hamer Hall, June 22 Undaunted by the withdrawal of injured Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja from its current tour, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) took the opportunity to draw soloists from its own ranks in a program confirming all its appealing strengths. In the absence of artistic director Richard Tognetti, longstanding violinists Helena Rathbone and Satu Vanska shared direction of the orchestra. They were joined by the ACO's newest member, Anna da Silva Chen, in a buoyant account of Bach's Concerto for Three Violins. Clearly delighting in their collaboration, they wove the music's contrapuntal strands into a richly detailed tapestry, abetted by the ACO's customary rhythmic drive. Vanska brought an edgy bravura to Bernard Rofe's arrangement of Ravel's Tzigane to which the presence of the celesta in the accompanying forces contributed an additional exotic touch. Exemplary ensemble and beauty of tone graced Tognetti's arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 'Serioso'. Nuanced variations of texture reinforced both the original's urgency and intimacy. Schubert's Quartet Movement in C minor, D. 703 shimmered like a jewel, full of light and shade, where dramatic and lyrical elements were held in admirable balance. Giving the Melbourne premiere of Jaakko Kuusisto's Cello Concerto, principal cellist Timo-Veikko Valve gave a passionate tribute to the late composer, a longtime family friend and fellow Finn. Kuusisto, who died of brain cancer in 2022, aged 48, conceived this well-crafted work with Valve's considerable technical and expressive prowess in mind. Like Sibelius, Kuusisto often sets his emotional lyricism in sparse surroundings. Here, some percussion freshened the orchestral palette, further enticing the listener's close attention. Empathetically supported by his fellow players, Valve's advocacy of this score may well make it a 21st-century classic. A welcome, if unforeseen, element of its fiftieth anniversary season, this program celebrated the abundant talent of a great chamber orchestra.
Sydney Morning Herald
23-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Unflinching insight into psychotic illness a remarkable immersive theatre event
In fact, it almost portrays mental illness as a kind of escape room… one with no escape, and a profusion of clues everywhere you look. Each space is engagingly designed, and there's a haunting quality to the voice acting and the polyphonic script, some of which sounds as if taken verbatim from people with schizophrenia. Hallucinatory audiovisual tricks keep you on edge, painfully vigilant, and one section involves a responsive AI program, as a grandiose delusion tightens its grip. Exploring psychosis through mixed reality tech is a fabulous idea, and The Door in Question really does feel at the forefront of a brave new kind of artmaking. But it's the human element that makes it work – the profound authenticity of lived experience, and the unflinching insight into the danger and distress, as well as the wildcard beauty – and, yes, the love – amid the deranged tangle of psychotic illness. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead MUSIC ACO Unleashed, ★★★★ Australian Chamber Orchestra, Hamer Hall, June 22 Undaunted by the withdrawal of injured Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja from its current tour, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) took the opportunity to draw soloists from its own ranks in a program confirming all its appealing strengths. In the absence of artistic director Richard Tognetti, longstanding violinists Helena Rathbone and Satu Vanska shared direction of the orchestra. They were joined by the ACO's newest member, Anna da Silva Chen, in a buoyant account of Bach's Concerto for Three Violins. Clearly delighting in their collaboration, they wove the music's contrapuntal strands into a richly detailed tapestry, abetted by the ACO's customary rhythmic drive. Vanska brought an edgy bravura to Bernard Rofe's arrangement of Ravel's Tzigane to which the presence of the celesta in the accompanying forces contributed an additional exotic touch. Exemplary ensemble and beauty of tone graced Tognetti's arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 'Serioso'. Nuanced variations of texture reinforced both the original's urgency and intimacy. Schubert's Quartet Movement in C minor, D. 703 shimmered like a jewel, full of light and shade, where dramatic and lyrical elements were held in admirable balance. Giving the Melbourne premiere of Jaakko Kuusisto's Cello Concerto, principal cellist Timo-Veikko Valve gave a passionate tribute to the late composer, a longtime family friend and fellow Finn. Kuusisto, who died of brain cancer in 2022, aged 48, conceived this well-crafted work with Valve's considerable technical and expressive prowess in mind. Like Sibelius, Kuusisto often sets his emotional lyricism in sparse surroundings. Here, some percussion freshened the orchestral palette, further enticing the listener's close attention. Empathetically supported by his fellow players, Valve's advocacy of this score may well make it a 21st-century classic. A welcome, if unforeseen, element of its fiftieth anniversary season, this program celebrated the abundant talent of a great chamber orchestra.
Sydney Morning Herald
18-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
If you're only going to see one musical this season, let it be Beetlejuice
Everyone from a Pollyanna-ish girl scout (Rebecca Ordiz) to a dead beauty queen (Angelique Cassimatis) – not to mention Beetlejuice's own chain-smoking mother (Noni McCallum) – gets in on the action as the door to a bureaucratic underworld opens, and Lydia must find a way to cope with her loss before all hell breaks loose. Everything about Beetlejuice is super-slick and timed to perfection. The musical is so jam-packed with visual gags and satirical lyrics and outre musical hijinks you'd probably need to see the show twice to catch them all. Perfect is in his element as an equally appealing and offensive agent of chaos, poking fun at every musical theatre rule with scruffy charisma, riding a hometown vibe with some of the ad-libbed jokes. Opposite him, Karis Oka is ideally cast as Lydia, playing the show's beating black heart with a winsome but slightly vicious undertone that might just bring about a goth revival and certainly won't disappoint fans of Winona Ryder in the original movie. McCann and Johnson leap into parody as a couple diminished by suburban life – channelling shades of Brad and Janet from Rocky Horror, only, well, dead. And camp comedy is embraced with wild abandon by the supporting cast. Loading Dinner party guests are possessed into performing Harry Belafonte songs; Claire's ditzy Delia butts heads with the goth heroine in a duet that pits mindless positivity against nihilistic angst; and an entire chorus of Beetlejuices conquers the stage with gruesome … glamour is not the word. Pigs' genitals might have been removed from the show, but Beetlejuice still revels in rebelling against the appropriate and its highly orchestrated chaos does, in the end, achieve comic catharsis. We are all strange and unusual, after all, and never more so than when we refuse to admit how fleeting life is, or to embrace life knowing we're all going to die. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead MUSIC Theremin and Beyond ★★★★ Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Recital Centre, May 17 German theremin virtuoso Carolina Eyck is a musical conjurer. Making mysterious hand gestures between the two antennas of her electronic instrument, she seemingly creates music out of thin air. Named after its Russian inventor, the theremin led the way in electronica. Because of its eerie sounds, the theremin has been a godsend for movie and television composers. Surely, Midsomer's reputation as the most murderous place in England could not have been cemented without its spooky theremin theme, nor would Hitchcock's Spellbound be so compelling without composer Miklos Rozsa's appropriation of the instrument. In this eclectic program, the Australian Chamber Orchestra celebrated the theremin's place in popular culture, creating a party atmosphere with The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations, Morricone's music for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and an arrangement of the Star Trek theme. Classical repertory was not neglected with empathetic accounts of Bach's so-called Air on a G String, extracts from Saint-Saens' The Carnival of the Animals including its celebrated swan, and at the other end of the spectrum, a clever take on Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee. Glinka's The Lark also appeared – the song with which Theremin introduced his invention to Lenin. Holly Harrison's Hovercraft, commissioned by the ACO for Eyck, brilliantly opened up the expressive capabilities of the theremin as did Eyck's own composition Strange Birds. Reduced to some 10 players, the ACO strings led by Richard Tognetti provided diverse connective tissue with works by Brett Dean, Erwin Schulhoff and Shostakovich's Japanese friend Yasushi Akutagawa. Enlivened by the colourful addition of pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska and percussionist Brian Nixon for much of the program, rhythmic interest also came with Offenbach's famous Can-can and Jorg Widmann's 180 Beats per Minute.
