All posts tagged: Heath Ledger Theatre

Review: ‘I Am My Own Wife’

A lone figure enters. She makes her way to a gramophone placed off centre stage, and talks about her fascination with it, and the other items that belong to her extensive museum of furniture and everyday objects. For the next 90 minutes, this is the only person to grace the stage, playing over 30 different characters throughout the entire performance. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play, ‘I Am My Own Wife’, by Doug Wright, made its WA premiere over the weekend at The Heath Ledger Theatre Studio Underground. Set in Germany amidst the Nazi and Communist regimes, the story follows the life German antiquarian, Charlotte von Mahsldorf, played by Brendan Hanson. Charlotte, who is plagued by memories of her late father, manages to live her life fearlessly and unapologetically as a trans person in a time and place where it was not safe to do so. As she talks about her life to an enthusiastic array of different characters, a fascinating, intricate and emotive story emerges. Sourcing items …

Review: Angels in America, Part 1 Millennium Approaches

Angels in America, Part 1 Millennium Approaches, one of the most important and groundbreaking plays of the 20th century, made it’s WA premier over the weekend at the Heath Ledger Theatre in Perth. Set in 1985 New York City, the play explores the intertwining lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS amidst the AIDS crisis of the 80’s and 90’s. Prior Walter takes centre stage, diagnosed with AIDS and left by his lover Louis Ironson. Walter is then visited by an angel who brands him a prophet, tasked with saving humanity. Tony Kushner’s iconic play, Angels in America, has won many awards including the Tony Award for Best Play, twice, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was made into a mini series in 2003 starring an array of well known names such as Al Pacino and Meryl Streep and for which it won 11 Emmy awards, a record at the time. Most importantly though, the stories told in the play depict the very realities of people who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. It’s impossible, for those …