Just as we said in the Sydney Fringe article earlier in the week, with Spring arriving so has festival season: this time the Melbourne Fringe Festival!
There are four shows which have a French flavour showing at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival. It’s on from 13 to 30 September. From historic drama to comedy to operettas there is something for all tastes.
CHOPIN’S LAST TOUR
Chopin’s Last Tour is set in Scotland, 1848, the year before his death. It is not the happiest time in his life as he knows he is dying, his relationship with George Sand has ended dramatically, his father has died 4 years earlier and he doesn’t enjoy his present company or circumstances.
This Melbourne Fringe Festival show is an attempt to humanise the genius, to give the audience an insight into the type of person he was. Chopin’s Last Tour explains his upbringing, his family, the importance of Poland, his friendships and his lovers, his battle with illness, his conflicts and his trials. An insight into the type of life he led.
At the age of 21, he left Poland to further his career. He was never to return. He settled in Paris and soon had a reputation as a composer and teacher.
Chopin was a very likeable, polite man with a quirky sense of humour. He was introverted and shy. Even today he remains a romantic figure and this play explores the relationships with women in his life. It is an emotional piece. It gives insight into his feelings.
This play features live piano.
Dates: 19-23 September
Times: 4:30pm and 7pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Venue: Alex Theatre St Kilda Lounge
Tickets: $25
HOW I MET MY DEAD HUSBAND
At a funeral, 1950 Taipei, Taiwan, Cheun-Jiau is giving an eulogy to her dead husband, Yueh. She is cursed and she has been hiding this secret for a very long time…
How did the husband die? Do you believe that things are written in the stars from the day you were born?
“They say that after you die, you will have your memory removed from this life. And you will be reborn in a different body as a baby and start a new life.”
When reincarnation is not a choice but fate, do you still know what love is?
When a hard-headed woman is chasing her love, even Buddha can’t stop her. But is it love?
This cabaret tells an engaging story, woven with songs in Mandarin, English and French, spanning jazz, pop, music theatre, leading to a climax of a heartfelt original song.
The moment he held her hand, their destiny was changed…
But…what is love?
Dates: 20-22 & 25-27 September
Time: 6:45pm
Duration: 50 minutes
Venue: Angela Robarts Bird Gallery, Gasworks
Tickets: $28
OFFER:
Use promo code WHATISLOVE for $23 tickets. The code only works if you purchase with Gasworks Arts Park website, not on the Melbourne Fringe website.
ECHOES OF VILLERS-BRETTONEUX
Come with us 100 years in the past to the muddy and nightmarish trenches of France. The story of the Australian involvement at the decisive WWI battle of Villers-Bretonneux, in 1918. A journey of sacrifice, mate-ship and a will to survive that guided the ANZACs through the horrors of the Western Front, while questioning the price of victory.
“Echoes of Villers-Bretonneux” is writer-performer Shane Palmer’s first foray into solo-performance, and looks to examine how these men managed to survive in the worst environment on earth for a cause that offered them very little reward.
The production hopes to shine a light on a much-untold part of WWI and explore the real meaning behind ‘Lest We Forget’.
Dates: 23, 25-30 September
Times: 5pm and 6pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Venue: The Courthouse Hotel
Tickets from $10 to $15.
THE OFFENBACH RETOLD TRIPTYCH
Three Absurd French Operettas.
A blind magician breaks into an agoraphobes’ house and marries a cat. Wait, that got muddled. Three worlds collide when Offenbach’s operas are presented with brand new stories in an adaptation of these classic tales.
From incompetent criminals to vacuous vloggers, the Offenbach Retold Triptych takes a satirical look at modern society through the combination of clever (and not so clever) comedy and French singing. Get ready for an evening of enlightening unenlightened fun.
Note: These French operas have been altered, so the dialogue is in English and while the songs are still in the original French, the surtitles have been altered to match the new storyline.
Dates: 25-29 September
Times: 8:30pm
Duration: 90 minutes
Venue: The MC Showroom
Prices: $18 to $25
GIVEAWAY: BK Opera have been kind enough to offer Matilda Marseillaise readers 5 double passes. To enter, simply subscribe to receive emails when new posts are published and comment below “Offenbach” and your favourite French opera and why. Winners will be determined and contacted on Tuesday 18 September.
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Which Melbourne Fringe Festival shows are you going to see?
