Playing Beatie Bow review – oldest of stage tricks bring new Wharf Theatre to vital life

Wharf 1 Theatre, Sydney
This adaptation of the classic Ruth Park novel feels like a promise that this is still a space for magic

The oldest of theatre magics are bringing the brand-new Wharf Theatre to vital life in Playing Beatie Bow, the first play in Sydney Theatre Company’s home building since it shut down in 2018 for renovations.

The play – Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of the classic Ruth Park novel – uses timeless tricks that even now feel like enchantments. A large swathe of canvas is unrolled and shook; it becomes the glittering waves of Sydney Harbour. A bell hangs from the ceiling and seems to ring entirely of its own accord. And the most powerful of all: a nearly empty stage, with just a lamppost and a few props, conjures The Rocks of 1873 – and 2021 – right before our eyes.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NKAa5V
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