Tag: Lord of the Thrones

KISS OF THE VAMPIRE SQUID REVIEW AVAILABLE ON SCENESTR

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

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The Anywhere Theatre Festival is currently running throughout my hometown of Brisbane. Act/React Theatre were doing their new show Kiss of the Vampire Squid as part of it at the Queensland Maritime Museum onboard HMAS Diamantina. HMAS Diamantina was the last World War II era ship to leave RAN service in 1980. The quarterdeck where the show was performed is where high ranking Japanese officers took part in surrender ceremonies of islands in the Pacific. This was such a unique setting for a venue from a group of performers I respect so much that I was really hoping I would get a chance to see the show.

I was even luckier than that, I got a chance to review it for Scenestr magazine attending the night of the final performance. I have seen shows from Act/React before including Love/Hate Actually and earlier this year one of the Convince Me comedy debates. I have also attended two shows by ImproMafia who share a lot of their same talent. In fact Kiss of the Vampire Squid was more similar to the comedy improv performances of Lord of the Thrones and Animated! from ImproMafia than say the thoughtfully prepared brilliance of Love/Hate Actually.

However you define it though, the show was excellent and Karen and I really enjoyed ourselves. You can read more of my thoughts here  http://scenestr.com.au/arts/kiss-of-the-vampire-squid-brisbane-review-anywhere-theatre-festival-20180521

I don’t want to belabour the point, some performances are better than others when it comes to improv but I really do marvel at what these people do and how well they consistently pull it off. To have them part of the Brisbane cultural scene means a lot and they travel too so keep your eye out for them appearing in your neck of the woods.

Produced by Eyeball Media Enterprises Scenestr is an online national magazine with local offices around Australia. Celebrating 25 years in 2018 of publishing history they’ve excelled at moving into the digital realm but they remain at heart from the streets. They still publish magazines in print for Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane every month. If you’re into music they’re a great read but they do cover all of the arts including festivals, stand-up comics, fashion, theatre and film. I feel very fortunate to get to write for them.

-Lloyd Marken

‘ANIMATED!’ BY IMPROMAFIA REVIEW AVAILABLE ON SCENESTR

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

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Impromafia have to be one of the hottest tickets in town when they come up with a new show. An Improv Comedy Sketch Troupe they’re now firmly established in my hometown and still touring around the country and competing in International Comedy Sketch competitions. I was lucky enough to review their latest show Animated! at the Brisbane Comedy Festival for Scenestr Magazine. I had previously seen them last year at the Metro Arts Theatre with their Game of Thrones parody Lord of the Thrones. Some members have also formed Act/React Theatre Group whom I saw perform Love/Hate Actually at the Wonderland Festival in December. In fact some of the performers were different this time but just as good. You can read my review here http://scenestr.com.au/comedy/animated-an-improvised-musical-fairytale-review-brisbane-comedy-festival-2018-20180316 I believe Metro Arts is a better venue for sketch comedy than the Brisbane City Hall and a Saturday night a better time but these guy and gals never fail to put on a first rate show that makes you laugh. All the more impressive for the fact that they come up with the entire thing on the night and no performance is ever the same. I look forward to their next show.

Produced by Eyeball Media Enterprises Scenestr. is an online national magazine with local offices around Australia. Celebrating 25 years in 2018 of publishing history they’ve excelled at moving into the digital realm but they remain at heart from the streets. They still publish magazines in print for Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane every month. If you’re into music they’re a great read but they do cover all of the arts including festivals, stand-up comics, fashion, theatre and film. I feel very fortunate to get to write for them.

-Lloyd Marken

LOVE/HATE ACTUALLY REVIEW AVAILABLE ON SCENESTR

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

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My attendance at Wonderland Festival continued last Thursday evening where I was fortunate enough to attend Love/Hate Actually put on by the Act/React theatre group. The show starred two friends arguing the merits of the classic Richard Curtis film Love Actually which has become a perennial Christmas tradition. Something I couldn’t see in 2003 but completely makes sense in hindsight. It’s a film that is relatively light, moves fast, has a lot going on and a stellar cast. As long time readers may know, I’m a huge fan of Richard Curtis, the first post made on this blog was about his film About Time. So it was impressive to find that a critical dissection of the film had a wealth of good points to be made. You can read my review here http://scenestr.com.au/arts/love-hate-actually-brisbane-review-wonderland-festival-20171201

The two stars Amy and Natalie are also fixtures in the group ImproMafia whom do Improvised Comedy Sketches. I was fortunate enough to review a show of theirs’ earlier in the year lampooning Games of Thrones, called Lord of the Thrones at Metro Arts. I attended Love/Hate Actually with an old friend and afterwards we went out for chips and a drink post-show. As I relayed this information to her and how great ImproMafia was I came to notice that the group seated at a table behind her were ImproMafia. As we got up to leave the two stars of Love/Hate Actually arrived to celebrate with their friends a successful opening night.

Lord of the Thrones featured the danger and joy of live improvised performing. Love/Hate Actually was a more meticulously constructed performance that still feed off the energy of the crowd. I found it funny and whip-smart and enjoyed every second. Not for the first time did it occur to me what incredibly talented people work in the arts around my city and maybe not always with it being their primary job. I am so grateful for such people.

Produced by Eyeball Media Enterprises Scenestr. is an online national magazine with local offices around Australia. With over twenty years of publishing history they’ve excelled at moving into the digital realm but they remain at heart from the streets. They still publish magazines in print for Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane every month. If you’re into music they’re a great read but they do cover all of the arts including festivals, stand-up comics, fashion, theatre and film. I feel very fortunate to get to write for them.

-Lloyd Marken

25 POSTS WITH SCENESTR

Posted on by Lloyd Marken
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After seeing Raw starting a tradition of Grilled Burgers while on assignment. Copyright Lloyd Marken

 

I’ve been published 25 times with Scenestr Magazine since they accepted my review of Hidden Figures and put it up on their website on the 23rd of February, 2017.  Of the twenty five, 6 have been interviews which have all been featured in their print magazines around the country, 11 have been either preview or film festival screenings of movies and 8 have been productions seen in theatres.

Some friends were kind enough to send some copies of the Sydney print edition which was where my first interview was published. Also Karen at BIFF 2017 with a Brisbane copy we found. Copyright Lloyd Marken.

When the first one was published I was over the moon, I wondered if could I do it again, when they sent me to see the Queensland Ballet performance Raw I was tickled pink to see my ticket envelope marked Reviewer. I wanted to get that review just right.

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Tickets for Queensland Ballet’s Raw. Copyright Lloyd Marken

I wondered if I could get five reviews published? What if I could do an interview? What if I got published with another magazine? What if I could get published in the print copy as well as online? I’ve found answers to these questions and found new questions to ask. Where this journey ends others ask me sometimes in very rude ways but I give them no answers. I have plans but what comes of them is not nearly as important as remembering how lucky I am to have had even this. They have a blog now at Scenestr listing everything  I’ve had published http://scenestr.com.au/blog/Lloyd-Marken I’ll continue to publish here for my fellow bloggers to get updates on what’s happening with my work for other magazines. Hopefully this will continue but this all started here with the blog and with you. So I thank you.

-Lloyd Marken

Some of the places we’ve been and things we’ve seen. Copyright Lloyd Marken.

‘UNCLE VANYA’ BY THE CURATORS AND ‘LORD OF THE THRONES’ BY IMPROMAFIA REVIEWS AVAILABLE ON SCENESTR

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

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Last Thursday evening I attended the opening night of the Brisbane International Film Festival, Friday night I went to an old Western suburb and took in the first professional theatre production of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya in Brisbane in 86 years and Saturday night I was in the city again back at Metro Arts Theatre to see an improvised comedy show parodying the No.1 show in the world. A weekend like that is few and far between and often I let other things take some of the joy out of things I should be grateful for. Not last weekend, last weekend was magical and I feel so very lucky and blessed these days that I’m looking for the anvil above my head.

I volunteered at BIFF once upon a time, which I hope to write about soon,  but I never went to an opening night. With the two theatre shows I attended I was on assignment with Scenestr magazine and you can read my reviews here http://scenestr.com.au/arts/uncle-vanya-magda-community-artz-review-20170823 and here http://scenestr.com.au/arts/impromafia-s-lord-of-the-thrones-metro-arts-review-20170823

Keen readers may note I previously interviewed the director of Uncle Vanya, Michael Beh earlier and he spoke with such passion about theatre and Chekhov that it was great to get a chance to go along and see the show which featured some first rate acting. Impromafia’s production of Lord of the Thrones was scheduled a while back and something that I’ve been looking forward to. The venue was Metro Arts theatre which I saw as a good sign after catching England there earlier in the year. It was a privilege to attend both and to write reviews on them.

Produced by Eyeball Media Enterprises Scenestr. is an online national magazine with local offices around Australia. With over twenty years of publishing history they’ve excelled at moving into the digital realm but they remain at heart from the streets. They also publish magazines in print for Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane every month which as a GenXer I have been thrilled to have interviews published in. The magazine is focussed mostly on music gigs, festivals, stand-up comics, fashion and interviews with local and international bands. If you’re into music they’re a great read but they do cover all of the arts.

-Lloyd Marken

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