James’s Big, Beautiful, Beastly Geelong Triumph

Disney’s Beauty And The Beast directed by James Lee for Geelong Lyric Theatre Society, GAC’s Play House Theatre May 22, 2026.

This mythical French fairy-tale has been revived and rewritten hundreds of times over centuries as a drama, romantic comedy, pantomime and musical.
Given this heritage, it was more than a little odd that Geelong’s Lyric Theatre Society chose to stage the 1994 live-on-stage version of Disney’s 1991 animated cartoon film that included such challenges as outlandish transformations of people into inanimate objects.
But the company did so in the knowledge that they could call on the abilities of director James Lee, who had been the creative force behind Lyric’s highly successful 2025 musical Mamma Mia.
And there was never any doubt among the show’s opening-night audience that James had repeated that triumph, but this time with an extra Geelong-made flourish.
For not only was this show beautifully and brilliantly staged – it flowed as evenly and easily as the film version, was uniformly immaculate in its music, song and choreography; was delightfully acted with added moments of wit and visual humour –  but every element had been crafted in Geelong.
For James Lee, with his assistant Molly England, had assembled a creative team of locals that handled every segment of the show with first-rate Geelong flair, from Brad Treloar’s impeccable four-keyboard-driven 21-piece orchestra, to Callie Fry and Lainie Brookman’s wonderfully outlandish costume design and creations, Aash Hames’s unbelievably structured wigs and hair designs to Will Johnston and Mienna Brookman’s energetic and humorous choreography to Tania Grant’s inspired vocal coaching.
And yes, you read that right, Callie and Lainie designed and created this show’s costumes.  So the large cast’s wacky dresses and outfits were not hired or borrowed from another company or assembled from former shows, they were designed specifically for this one, as evidenced by their drawings in the production’s comprehensive programme.
And this was a  considerable task, because the show’s 44-member cast had numerous costume changes, with outfits as wacky as dancing cutlery and crockery to talking teacups and, of course, a believable Beast.
So the show looked spectacular and sounded great, with excellent lighting from Ian Scott and Ben Anderson’s sound design.
Then there was the show’s on-stage performers, who had clearly been selected with the same criteria for showcasing locally-grown excellence.
In the lead role of Belle, Ella Walsh was exceptional; she depicted her Beauty as young, strong and independent with delightfully light dance movements and a clear, true singing and speaking voice. Brendan Rossbotham made a perfect bumbling father-figure to her, while Andrew Lorenzo, as her main suitor, revived his wonderful caricature of a conceited predator overly confident of his own good looks. This time he was reluctantly assisted by an embarrassed, awkward valet neatly portrayed by Robert Muirhead.
Meanwhile Andrew Smith made his Beast almost believable with a mix of raging unpleasantries and stubborn bad manners.
All these male leads displayed excellent singing voices with fine acting skills as their characters evolved. 
In this regard, Nathan Fox stole scenes throughout with his portrayal as a courtier slowly transforming into a candelabra, while Liana Whatman played his companion maid/feather duster as a delightfully sexy siren.
Noah Vernon covered his  own transformation from butler to grandfather clock with a growing sense of gloom while Abi Richardson made an excellent pot of tea, with a revolving group of young actors playing her son transmortified into a teacup.
I believe that Madeleine Swan  played this part Chip on opening night, with Scarlett Anderson, Novalie Morris and Charli Penton not just waiting in the wings – they played other parts in the chorus while Rosie Tuck floored everyone as an athletic Incredible Rug. 
All of these characters, along with Kaitlyn Eastwood’s delightfully operatic dressing table, acted out their own little plots to support the lead players – and each sang superbly as well as adding flashes of humour with sly glances and gestures.
They then seamlessly joined the chorus in a series of delightfully choreographed song-and-dance production numbers, several of which were literal show-stoppers from the long, loud applause they drew.
In that regard, this production parodied scenes, poses and dances from other hit musicals, including Les Mis,  Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Phantom Of The Opera and a wonderfully energetic Cabaret parody led by Nathan’s Lumiere that included an energy-fuelled Can Can dance.
Credit here the show’s singing and dancing chorus led by co-choreographer Mienna Brookman with Phoebe Grant and  Alexis Daley as fawning townswomen; a menacing Peyton Greiner and including chorus members Stefani Aleksic, Ryan Baker, Stephanie Beall, Heidi Bush, Alexander Cross, Anna Faye, Violet Feduniw, Audrey Foley, Abbey Geddes, James Hudson, Olivia Jobe, Caelan Jones, Jack Knott, Molly Martin, Tadhg Martin, Alice McKellar, Luke McKinnon, Anastasia McLindon, Jack McPhail, Thomas Membrey, Declan Parisi, Dylan Shalless, Lochie Slater, Rosie Tuck, Campbell Van Elst and Jasmin Wilson.
David Mackay’s opening narration neatly laid out the show’s scenario.
You’ll understand from all of the above that this was a big, extravagant version of the Disney cartoon tale, with much credit due to the support teams led by stage manager Derek Ingles and coordinators Deborah and Laura Iversen with all overseen by a James Lee’s  masterly direction.
Of course, at base this show was was an unbelievable flight of medieval Gallic fantasy embellished by Disney’s sanitised morality. But for all that, it stood as a brilliant piece of theatre, and a superb showcase for Geelong’s wonderfully talented creatives, both on-stage and off.
I recommend that you go see the Beauty And The Beast. You will, like me, be mightily impressed.
– Colin Mockett 

Dale Springs Seasonal Surprises

Seasons And Beyond, Geelong Symphony Orchestra led by Dale Barltrop, Costa Hall May 9, 2026.
After more than ten years, Geelong’s Symphony Orchestra still manages to spring delightful surprises.
Such was the case with this Saturday afternoon concert.
For the occasion, the GSO gave most of its members the day off, using only its string sections.
So, pre-concert, there were only a couple of dozen chairs and music stands arranged on the Costa Hall’s large stage – plus an ornate harpsichord.
And when the musicians walked in to tune-up, its conductor, musical director and principal violinist, Dale Barltrop, was among them, quietly taking the first violinist chair. 
The orchestra’s concertmaster, Shane Lestideau, whose place he was in, was beside him. For today she was literally playing second fiddle.
Maestro Barltrop is clearly no prima donna. His neat slim-fitting dark patterned shirt was the only thing that distinguished him from his uniformly black-cad players. That, and his energy, skill and enormous musical presence.
For, as we audience prepared for the usual tune-up, Dale, after gesturing his orchestra to acknowledge the welcoming applause with practiced smiling bows, sat down, flashed a smile around the ensemble, lifted his bow and started the opening notes of Grieg’s Holberg Suite.
He had clearly tuned and warmed up his orchestra backstage, for then followed a perfect rendition of the popular piece, highlighting all of its warmth and charm.
The suite’s five sections were each delivered with clean precision and musical verve – from scratch!
The first Prelude wasbrisk and jaunty, the second Sarabande smoothly lyrical, the third Gavotte sweetly toned, the fourth, Air with all its haunting elements and the final Rigaudon was a delightfull folksy dance piece.
Throughout, Dale played his lead violin seated, controlling and conducting the orchestra using glances, nods and eye movements to express his directions.
And such was the respect – and talent- of the GSO members that they responded with perfect understanding.
But after that formidable opening piece – there was even better to come.
For the concert’s second piece, J. S. Bach’s Concerto No. 2 in E major, Dale stood in the traditional conductor’s spot – there was no rostrum – while Shane resumed her place as concertmaster.
Then, after a short introduction, Dale led the orchestra through the technically challenging work while facing the audience and conducting by using gestures and bow movements but with his back to the players.
And again, it was brilliant, with each of Bach’s familiar mathematic patterns and musical colours delivered with precision and flair.
Quite clearly Dale trusted this orchestra, and the GSO responded in kind.
The work’s three pieces, Allegro, Adagio and Allegro Assai, dismissed in Dale’s introduction as ‘fast, slow then fast again’ were delivered sparkling, joyfully fresh and brought the concert’s first half to a close bringing loud applause.
But that was just the ‘And Beyond’ section, for after the interval came the concert’s signature work, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, delivered in full, and in order.
What’s more, each season was introduced by Geelong narrator, Daniel Fullerton, using Vivaldi’s own descriptive verses.
He explained how the best-known and popular Spring drew musical images of birdsong, a thunderstorm and even a shepherd and his dog, all of which was apparent when delivered by the orchestra.
Then as the seasons changed, the scenario unfolded, as birds, flock, shepherd and dog responded to the warm Summer calm interrupted by a storm.
Then to the  Autumn harvests and the melancholy of fallen leaves and lastly the chills and stillness of winter. 
Each was vividly portrayed in the now-familiar format of Dale facing the audience while conducting using glances, smiles and body gestures.
The result was long, warm appreciative applause and a partial standing ovation.
In his introduction speech, Dale had said that he had played at the Costa Hall on many occasions with the Melbourne Symphony, and had long wanted to play with, end our City’s own orchestra.
He added that the experience had been highly positive, great fun and he looked forward to the next time he would be playing with the GSO.
So do we, Maestro Barltrop. May it come soon.
And… The next Geelong Symphony Orchestra Costa Hall concert appears equally out-of the ordinary and enticing.
Titled titled Beethoven Revealed, it’s in October,  with an all-Beethoven programme featuring Egmont Op.84, Triple Concerto, Op 56; and Symphony No 4, Op.601.
On the rostrum will be GSO favourite conductor Richard Davis with the work’s three soloists from Trio Anima Mundi. Another not-to-be missed event.
– Colin Mockett

Quirky Country Global Celebration

Longing a celebration of 100 years of the Winchelsea Globe Theatre.

May 2, 2026 in the Globe Theatre, Winchelsea

Winchelsea has a love of soprano singing that goes back further than its Globe Theatre’s 100 years. It began with local girl Marjorie Lawrence who rose to international fame yet still maintained a pride in her Winch heritage. The Globe theatre was built by her father in 1926, as a cinema for the locals as well as a concert venue for whenever his daughter was back in town.
Surprisingly, given its 1920s build, The Globe’s architecture isn’t at all art deco. It’s late Victorian/Federation style, with pressed metal  ceilings and plain trimmings. And it knows where its heritage lies, because 100 years on, it still features a Marjorie Lawrence display in its foyer with portraits of the lady either side of its high stage.
That preamble was necessary to explain why this Longing concert had the unusual line-up of two sopranos and a pianist.
The Longing title was explained in the programme as ‘the thread that binds memory to hope’ – which, it claimed, would link all the included songs.
Some of those links were a little tenuous, but the result was an unusual, quirky concert packed with good singing and lashings of country charm. 

 The two sopranos, Zinaida Campion and Helen Ling were both brought up in Winchelsea and they each shared memories of their schooling and Globe performances as they introduced each couple of songs.
In effect, there were four performers on stage, two home-town girls sharing their local reminiscences with shy country candour,  who then morphed into slick, polished opera singers to deliver their chosen songs with metropolitan style and verve.  Because, like their forerunner Marjorie, both went away to have their voices classically trained. 
But then,  there was the performer’s costumes.
For the first half, Zinaida wore an elegant full-length blue dress accessorised with a selection of scarves, while Helen wore a sequinned and bejewelled long black dress with a dazzling, matching stand-up tiara.
For the second half, they changed into what could have been Colonial-era ball gowns; Helen’s was crimson with again a matching glittering tiara while Zinaida’s striking dress was black and white and both wore elegant long gloves.
They were accompanied by David Stewart on a small electronic piano, assisted by one of his students, Patty George, as page turner.
The Longing began with a perennial opera favourite, Delibes’ Flower Duet from Lakme, with Helen singing the English mistress part, Zinaida her Indian servant. The two singers voices, though similar, complimented each other perfectly, with Zinaida’s youthful range and confidence blending well with Helen’s maturity of tone. 
The second song was a solo from  Zinaida, sweetly singing Maria’s title song from The Sound Of Music  before the singers combined again for Mozart’s duetting Sull’aria  from his Marriage of Figaro. The two Winch women combining and conspiring with vocal charm.
Then followed a Helen solo;  Francesco Cilea’s Io son l’umileb ancelle from Adriana Lecouvruer delivered with modest warmth.
Next came Zinaida, on her knees to sing Verdi’s Ave Maria from Othello with appropriate pathos;  Helen brought her dreamy voice to Faure’s Apres un Reve before the pair duetted again to sing the Evening Prayer from Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, finishing the concert’s first half with gentle grace. 
Following a 20-minute interval, the second act opened with the now glamorously-dressed duo combining to sing Offenbach’s Barcarolle from his Tales Of Hoffman with fashionable elan, which was followed by Helen’s moving rendition of Summertime from Porgy & Bess and then Zinaida delivered a spirited version of Aaron Copeland’s Laurie’s Song  from The Tender Land.
Next, Helen sang Kurt Weill’s unconventional Lonely House from Street Scene, immediatelybalanced by Zinaida’s cool version of O mio bambino;
Helen delivered a traditional Judy Garland treatment of Somewhere Over The Rainbow  before the two singers again combined to end the concert with the highly popular Time To Say Goodbye. 
But that wasn’t really the end. Because, following many bows, speeches of thanks and credits, the artists invited the entire audience backstage to enjoy a country supper prepared by Winchelsea’s Country Women’s Association – along with to the chance to be photographed with the singers in their glamorous Colonial-ball gowns.
It was somehow appropriate for such a quirky concert and absolutely perfect for  the Globe’s centenary celebration. 

This Longing  concert was the first part of a new annual Winchelsea Music Season directed by Zinaida Campion and funded by Rural Arts Victoria and the Surf Coast Shire Council.
It bodes well for the town’s musical future – and set in place another era of music at The Globe. 
– Colin Mockett

The Power Of Welsh Emotions

The Australian Welsh Male Choir conducted by Tom Buchanan, in concert at All Saints’ Church, Noble St, Newtown. Sunday April 19, 2026.
It’s an acknowledged fact that the rich tones and raw power of a Welsh Male Voice Choir can bring tears to the eyes – as was three times demonstrated at this concert.
Neatly, at its beginning, middle and end. 
In between was a cleverly presented demonstration of the width and variety of this Melbourne-based group’s repertoire, plus some advanced practice of new material to be included in a forthcoming June tour.
As a measure of The Australian Welsh Male Choir’s standing,  that tour will include a scheduled mass-choir gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Bearing all that in mind, it’s fair to say that this was no ordinary Sunday afternoon church concert.
It was special from the very first song, which was Shelter, written by Eric Bogle, who is, incidentally, a Scotsman.
Eric wrote Shelter in 1977 about his adopted homeland, Australia. 
Its lyrics were particularly appropriate, given the current ‘Australian Values’ debate thrown up by the current Federal opposition leader. The choir’s spirited delivery was heightened by their MD, conductor and announcer Tom Buchanan’s subtle musical emphasis.
Because, on the line ‘…to the homeless and the hungry, may we always open doors, may the restless and the weary find safe harbour on our shores…’  Simon Stone’s piano accompaniment paused and the choir’s unaccompanied harmonies added so much power to the words it induced the first tear-jerking moment. Amid the concert’s opening song!
Following that emotional beginning, and its warm, lengthy applause, came Rhys Jones’s patriotic O Gymru, (Oh Wales!) then Elaine Hagenberg’s O Love, the first of three numbers being learned for the forthcoming June tour.  The others were a lost Welsh-language hymn Bydd Myrrh O Ryfeddodau sung in tongue-twisting Welsh and then Emrys Jones’s Morte Criste sung in English complete with its jokey silent-movie accompany insert relished by pianist Simon Stone.
But then the choir quietly filed out to be replaced by the slight figure of guest guitarist Oscar Wang, a year six student at Geelong’s Christian College.
The contrast between 37 neatly suited standing men and one small seated student couldn’t have been starker – but both made outstandingly beautiful music.
Oscar began by playing the John Williams treatment of Stanley Myers’  Cavatina – the highly popular theme from The Deer Hunter film, which he followed with an immaculate rendition of Roland Dyens’ Tango en Skai before closing his bracket with the complex, elaborate Spanish piece Recuerdos de la Alhambra.
Then Tom and the Choir returned with a bracket to demonstrate their versatility. This began with a lazily swinging jazz version of Gershwin’s They Can’t Take That Away From Me, contrasted by Coldplay’s more contemporary contemplative song of grief Fix You.
Then came a surprise, in Bring Him Home, the big showstopping solo from the musical Les Miserables. And, yes, the Choir completed that difficult finishing falsetto note to absolute perfection – and giving the concert its second tearing-up moment.
The men then adroitly regained their previous momentum with swinging versions of jazz standards Mack The Knife and Come Fly With Me. 
This was followed by guitar virtuoso Oscar’s return with two intricate, delicate pieces in Augustin Mangore’s Vals No 4, which he said was his favourite piece despite its complexity, then Francisco Tarrega’s Capricho Arabe.
These drew tumultuous warm applause from the packed church’s audience and set up the choir for its all-Welsh closing bracket. 
This began with the rousing Yea O Hyd which translates as ‘We’re Still Here!’ and is aimed squarely at the English monarchy and government, followed by Eric Jones’s Y Tangnefeddwyr – the calm of peacemakers of WWII.
Then followed the beautiful love song to Myfanwy, the stirring hymn Gwahoddiad and final song Gwinllan A Roddwyd I’m Gofal, an emotional patriotic number from a quotation that translates as ‘ …my country of Wales is a vineyard given into my keeping, to be handed down to my children and my children’s children as an inheritance for all time – and look, the pigs are rushing in to despoil it!’
But this provocative song didn’t invoke the choir’s final teary moment.
That came curing the Choir’s heartfelt delivery of their encore piece I Still Call Australia Home.
It meant that with hankies and tissues hastily tucked away the audience gave The Australian Welsh Male Choir its unusual and highly suitable accolade. 
While all remained seated, the audience continued clapping and applauding long and loud, through several bows, modest gestures of thanks, with the volume actually increasing as the choir slowly, reluctantly filed out, smiling and waving – and kept up that intensity until the last member had disappeared.
This meant that when we got to exit the venue, the choir was already outside and thanking us for our reception.
It made a fitting end to a delightful concert which ably demonstrated the emotional power invoked by combined Welsh male voices.
It also showed that this wonderful force is still potent and effective even when recreated by Australian blokes a very, very long way from the valleys.

• Colin Mockett

Sometimes Hollywood Comes True!

Bonnie & Clyde – The Musical directed by Bethany Griffiths for Theatre Of The Damned.  Belmont High Performing Arts Theatre, April 11 2026.

There’s a recurring Hollywood theme – now a clichéd tradition – that has a musical’s performer plucked from the chorus to become a sensational overnight star. 
In a neat twist, this stage production of a Hollywood film, had two real examples – both its lead performers. 
Nikita Ginoski, who played Bonnie, and Colby McCallum, as Clyde, were each in their first lead roles after years of being among the ensembles of local junior shows.
Both are young, highly talented, and clearly have learned their stagecraft well.
And they weren’t alone in this production. For this Bonnie & Clyde was director Bethany Griffiths first time alone in the director’s chair  after several shows as assistant to others – and her musical director, Sarah Barlow, though highly experienced in Ballarat, was in the position for the first time in Geelong.
Plus, this was choreographer Monique Powe’s first musical among a string of corporate credits.
But if you thought all that was leading to excuses for an underdone production – you would be completely wrong.
For in the hands of the above, plus producers Tony and Elise Dahl and quietly effective stage manager Shani Clarke, this Bonny & Clyde  came across as a high-energy, pro-standard polished musical with high production values and a string of top performances.
But before getting to them, it should be noted that this musical version of Bonny & Clyde was a treatment quite different to the film, in that was loud and raw in its depression era-style music, smooth in its action and accurate in its 1930s era costume and backgrounding – but very much soft-pedalled the violence.
This meant the show’s guns were quite obviously toys and the pair’s violent ending, when they were massacred in a hail of gunfire – quite literally overkill by the police at the time – was downplayed to the extent that it was merely mimed inside a vintage Chevrolet that had shared the stage throughout.
And the Chevvy wasn’t the only dominant stage factor, for most of Sarah’s nine-member band was on-stage, too, studiously ignoring the performers while backing them with syncopated precision.
If the reduced stage area and restricted access was a problem for the cast – they made light of it. The opening night audience was taken with that car – and the many fine performances on show.
This was led by Nikita and Colby’s excellent depictions; she, as Bonnie, shallow, beautiful and self-obsessed while he, Clyde, was good looking, troubled and misguided. Both were determined to reach the American dream of becoming rich and famous. She as a poetic Hollywood star; he as a resurrection of legendary outlaw Billy the Kid. 
They portrayed this with first-rate acting performances, then added excellent singing and movement skills too.
They were backed by three high-standard supports in Josh McInnes and Aashley Hames as Clyde’s brother and sister-in-law with Jake Birley as a naive deputy sheriff secretly enraptured by Bonnie.
 All portrayed their characters with studied insight – and fine singing voices – as the show’s almost Shakespearean standard tragedy unfolded.
(Aashley also doubled up as the show’s authentic wigs and make-up maestro, now a ToTD tradition.)
Another surprise first-timer in this show was Adam Pomeroy as the happy-clapping preacher – his first singing role – while Kim Edwards, Caitlyn Sutterby and Connor Ashland played the lead couple’s concerned parents.  Claire Geddes with Mirabelle Witcombe   portrayed the young Bonnie and Clyde while Matthew Tripodi was an overwhelmed sheriff and Leah Bensted, Abby Livesay and Emmy Ford filled every other character in an ensemble that, given the new ToTD reputation, may well become pathways to future lead performances.
And this Bonnie & Clyde wasn’t just a murder saga committed by a tragic couple. It’s songs and dialogue touched on heavier subjects like the social discrepancies in depression-era America, the inequalities of its justice system, the hypocrisy of its religious leaders – and the unreal expectations built by Hollywood films.
But that last subject has now been neatly contradicted, if not disproved, by this Geelong version of  Bonnie & Clyde, which has illustrated that sometimes those Hollywood plotlines of chorus performers moving into in star roles, and excelling, really does happen.
Bravo ToTD’s newest leaders. We look forward to seeing much more of you in the future.
– Colin Mockett
* ToTD’s Bonnie & Clyde continues in Belmont High’s PAC until April 18.  Tickets $38.50 from trybooking.com

Classic foot-stomping collaboration

Haas in concert, Geelong West Town Hall, March 29, 2026. 

This largely unheralded concert in a dated, underused venue has to be the surprise hit of Geelong’s autumn schedule.
The second event in Evergreen Ensemble’s 2026 Geelonging For Music series put sisters Natalie and Brittany Haas in front of the retro-red plush curtains at Geelong West’s Town Hall to present a delightful concert of what the siblings describe as their ‘chambergrass’ music.
This was an infectious blend of old-timey Americana bluegrass tunes, mixed with Celtic jigs and reels and somehow encompassing classical music themes – and all delivered with professional ease and polish.
In combination with the sisters’ unflashy low-key approach, the overall impression was fresh – and spellbinding. 
As a bonus, each grab of tunes (for this was a purely instrumental concert, with no songs) was introduced with gently-humorous informative background insights by the sisters who had written most of the music themselves.
They revealed that they had enjoyed a musical childhood in their Northern California home, playing classical and traditional music together.
When adult, Brittany became a well-known fiddler—a member of several top groups – while Natalie became a sought-after cellist, playing with orchestras and groups and in a duo with Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser.
Then, in 2023, the sisters began blending their styles, writing – and then touring together.
In Geelong, their concert began with a Caledonian folk emphasis with Brittany’s violin voicing a melodic air while Natalie’s cello provided a Celtic drone before harmonising then mirroring the fiddle’s leads.
Then followed a co-written piece illustrating their mixture of genres. Swan Carnival borrowed a theme from Swan Lake then gave it an infectious old-timey bluegrass treatment.
More change followed with two ultra-cool original jigs titled Ice Box and Fridge Magnet – both using the fiddle soaring over a choppy cello-driven bassline.
The piece titled Turn Down The Bed, which followed, displayed the sibling’s intuitive understanding while next came a century-old tune based on a traditional Scottish strathspey dance.
A  trip to Finland brought an unexpected variation of one of Sibelius’s most popular pieces before the duo moved much more down to earth – literally – with Brittany’s original work Groundhog Hotel, describing her overgrown Memphis garden.
This led to the next two pieces Nature Corridor and Excessive Vegetation after she had drawn warnings from her local council.
Then, as a neat surprise the duo finished their first half with a couple of finely executed Swedish waltzes.
Following a short interval when American cookies and brownies were sold and well received, the sisters opened where they had left off with a Swedish polka, before giving their refined cello/fiddle treatment to a bluegrass mandolin favourite The Great Wave.
This they followed with three tunes they had written on a National Park retreat titled Cedar Pass, Peanut Peak and the ultra-infectious Prairie Chicken.
All were delivered with super musicianship by the sisters – and received with joyful whoops and loud applause from a their ninety-strong Geelong audience.
But then the concert took a more reflective turn when Brittany dialled down the emotions with the inclusion of her sorrowful Celtic-flavoured Box of Darkness, bracketed with a piece called Glacier Erratic, – which was, of course, delivered at a far-from-glacial frantic pace. 
The style of this concert was that we were never more than a tune away from a foot-tapping hoe-down happy jig.
The concert’s final two tunes were both complimentary and illustrative of the sibling’s deep understanding of each other’s music.
The Strange Road To The Unknown coupled with The Cowboy Druid  made an excellent ending to a memorable concert.
It drew long and loud applause with a (typically Geelong) slightly hesitant partial standing ovation. But that was enough to draw a lively foot-stomping encore of old-timey bluegrass numbers that had the room jumping.
Bravo, Haas sisters. Please be assured that you’ll be welcomed back in Geelong any old time.
– Colin Mockett

Torquay’s Gift Kept On Giving

The Gift, Directed by Natasha Boyd for Torquay Theatre Troupe, Shoestring Playhouse, March 19, 2026

This Gift, as presented by Torquay’s theatre players, displayed our region’s non-professional performance at its best.
Joanna Murray-Smith’s keenly-observed play on modern Australian social values presented a mammoth challenge for its acting and production teams – which Torquay’s current Troupe handled with ease and a good deal of flair.
The Gift also served as a reminder of just how fast our society is changing, as its opening scene was essentially a rapid-fire bitch session on what really annoys modern Australians.
The play was written in 2010, premiered by Melbourne Theatre Company in 2011, and that opening list of aggravations has escalated mightily in the years since. Then it was mainly poor service or inaction that was annoying the two on-stage couples – grievances that today would be counted as commonplace. But that’s beside the point.

That opening tirade of niggling whinges served to bond two very very different couples who had just met at a plush Asian resort hotel.
The older couple, Ed and Sadie, played by Todd J Curtis and Katie Hall, were rich and hoping to revive their flagging long-term relationship with a luxury break. He’s a loud, dominating and opinionated self-made industrialist while she has become resigned to living with his belligerence, her patience bolstered by their wealth.
The younger couple, Chloe and Martin, as portrayed by Tessa Kirk and Lachlan Burke,  were in many ways their polar opposites. She’s a journalist while he’s a concept artist and they won their luxury short-stay holiday in a raffle.
These four were on stage throughout, with that bantering and bonding whinge leading to a drink-fuelled game where all four agreed to tell  only the truth.
This, playwright Murray-Smith turned into a sharp, witty and comprehensive observation of Australian society’s inner , frequently unspoken values, including age and class distinctions and the divides surrounding wealth and art.
But then, at the end of act one, the four are involved in a near-death experience which turned the whole dynamic on its head.
The second act took place a year later in another luxurious setting, Ed and Sadie’s Sydney harbourside apartment, where Chloe and Martin have been invited for drinks.
Both couple’s circumstances had radically changed in the interim, with Ed and Sadie more reflective, sensitive – and together – following Ed’s brush with death;  while Martin and Chloe had tasted success on an international scale.
The purpose of their meeting was for the younger couple to name what gift they would accept from their rich friends after Martin had been instrumental in saving Ed’s life.
But their choice of a gift brought consternation to their rich mates – and an unexpected twist to the play’s portrait of modern Australian conventions.
I won’t reveal it here, preferring to say that this Gift gave us four excellent acting performances. First from Katie – who would occasionally break the theatre’s fourth wall to address the audience directly with her thoughts; from Todd, who maintained  Ed’s believable status through arrogance then grateful remorse to anger. But then, these performances were well matched by Lachlan’s Martin,  who moved from shy artist to quiet hero then ultra-honest moralist while Tessa, as Chloe his wife, supported, defended and strengthened that resolve throughout.
Those performances made This Gift was a weighty, wordy, heft of a play, lightened by playwright Joanna’s insightful humour and tightened by director Natasha’s carefully diligent eye for perfection. 
The actors were word-perfect and disciplined in their movements throughout; the sets, from Jules Hart, were true in their subdued luxury, with Dyung Ngo’s silent waiter a perfect part.
Monica Spencer’s costumes were correct enough to go unnoticed and the same went for Alan Hossack’s audio-visual effects. All added to the play’s professional gloss.
I recommend that you go see this Gift. It’s a rare treat.

– Colin Mockett

& Juliet Was Wonderful in Geelong!

& Juliet directed by Matthew Henderson for CentreStage Geelong, The Play House at Geelong Arts Centre, March 14, 2026

This cheerfully irreverent musical take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet hit all the right notes.  
It’s base was a big, bright, clever update on what is probably the world’s best-known romantic tragedy.
But this version came out as a happy feel-good family musical that was also laugh-out-loud funny.
If that wasn’t enough, the show’s soundtrack was built on a catalogue of top 21st Century hits written by Max Martin – and this Geelong version was very, very good.
It was immaculately staged by director Matthew Henderson on an impressive, solidly constructed set.
His excellent cast displayed first-rate acting, singing and dancing skills and they were backed by a top-class band. 
The dancing, especially, was outstanding, with choreographer Natalya Munro creating what were essentially energy-filled movement parodies drawing as many laughs as the show’s vocal humour.
At the show’s core was a seven-strong team of actors who could all sing and dance well – and just as importantly – they all understood the mechanics of delivering humour, too.
They were led by Jesse Simpson and Amy Whitfield who played William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway respectively. Respectively, but not respectfully, especially Amy, who gave the Bard’s wife a sassy, 21st century confident attitude; enough to challenge her husband’s ending to his newly completed and about-to-open new play – Romeo & Juliet.
It’ was Anne’s opinion that Juliet deserved better than to suicide with her dead husband’s dagger.  So she argued – in song- that he should rewrite the ending to allow Juliet to carry on, pick up her life and start again.
As Shakespeare, a miffed Jesse challenged his wife to do better – which she does. This opens up the production to portray new concepts for Juliet’s after-life – but with the two authors meddling in each other’s stories.
And that brought in Georgia Barrios as Juliet, who had to play her character as a dutiful submissive 14th century widow, when written by Shakespeare, or a sassy self-assured single, when Hathaway wielded the quill.  Georgia manages this with remarkable ease – and a deal of energy – in a performance of consummate skill.
In the Hathaway version she left Verona for Paris after Romeo’s funeral, accompanied by her former nanny Angelique, played with panache by Jamie Long and her best friend May, sensitively portrayed by Storm Randall; while Amy’s Anne tagged along as April, a new second-best-friend character she has written in to help keep an eye on her upgraded plot.
This quartet’s trip to France is treated as pure pantomime with Jesse’s Bard reappearing as their coach driver making good use of the set’s revolving stage and and choreographer Natalya’s disciplined movements. In Paris, they meet Kieren Humphreys and Nelfio Di Marco playing Lance and Francois, a rich father/son aristocratic duo, both seeking partners. This resulted in pseudo-Shakespearian comedy when Nelfio rekindles a former romance with Jamie and Kieran discovers his true self helped by Storm – but complicated by Georgia’s Amy-inspired advances.
You’ll understand that though this is a modern production, first performed in 2019, its plot wranglings and relationships have remained very Shakespearian in their complexities.
They’re aided by Rachel Collins and Simon Abohaidar as Juliet’s parents and a high-energy, ultra agile, athletic and disciplined support ensemble led by dance captains Ebony Murca and Jeremy Logan with Bec Del Bianco, Cassiana Marcu, Caitlin Garner, Chloes Martin & Quinney, Ebony Muraca, Eliot Cudmore, Kasey Naylon, Laura McKenzie, Martin Nguyen, Ryan Milich, Shaughn Pegoraro, and Wills Roffey & Meath.  
Anyways,  just when things were becoming romantically tangled in Paris, Romeo reappeared, played by Daniel Harris as a delightful meld of Danny from Grease and Happy Days’ Fonzie.  It seems in writer Will’s version, he wasn’t really dead after all, and wanted to finish the play by reuniting with his submissive wife.
But the new, assertive Juliet, as fortified by Ms Hathaway, wasn’t having any of it – and that set the scene for a suitably spectacular, high-intensity series of final musical climaxes including fireworks, lighting effects and musical crescendos.
And honestly, all of the above doesn’t capture the full scope and quality of this & Juliet. It didn’t include the show’s exemplary band led by MD Brittney Ling; the brilliant audio-visual set enhancements from David Horne, its pro-standard lighting from Daniel Jow and Marcello Lo Ricco’s crisply effective sound.
Then there were the delightfully eccentric costumes from Emma Glover-Smith’s team with wigs from Nicole Plowman. 
All this and the show’s professional-standard vocals coaxed by Sally-Anne Cowdell and enhanced by booth singers Ash May, Claudia Soppit, Dylan Shalless, Jack McPhail, Katija Bihar, Michele Marcu and Rachel O’Dwyer.
Every one named above – plus producers David and Brett Greenwood – can feel mightily proud to have brought to the stage such a delightful show.
Because Geelong’s & Juliet was pure theatrical pleasure. It had everything from  catchy songs to clever choreography; superior singing from a brilliant team of actors and dancers – and laughter. Lots and lots of unexpected laughter.
In all, Geelong’s & Juliet was a rare delight – the sort of show you left wanting to return again to see the moments you may have missed while laughing.
It thoroughly deserved its standing ovation – and will, I’m sure, earn more in a season that must surely sell out.
– Colin Mockett

Gallic Indifference To French Flair

French Flair presented by Geelong Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Davis, Costa Hall, February 21, 2026.

Perhaps it was the weather on an unrelenting hot day with the distant threat of thunder. Maybe it was the traffic on the way into the Costa – the now familiar Geelong Waterfront summer system of closed streets and traffic lights annoying those driving a seemingly endless procession of big black utes.
It could have been the lack of nearby parking caused by Geelong’s newest hotel or work on its conference centre.
Whatever it was, there was certainly a different audience vibe around this concert.
It wasn’t angry, just quietly, mildly peeved. We weren’t disgruntled. But then, we weren’t exactly gruntled, either.
And our mood wasn’t helped by the opening recorded message which, after welcoming us to country, told us to switch off our phones and warned that recording of any kind was not allowed, before finishing with a cheery ‘Have a good show!’
If the Costa’s organisers can’t tell the difference between a classical concert and a show, then where did it leave us as an audience?
It wasn’t as though we were insignificant – nor was the orchestra, as conductor Richard Davis noted in his opening address.
He said this was the biggest Geelong Symphony Orchestra to date, with 80 musicians on stage, and the tickets had sold well enough to open the venue’s balcony.
But then he added that  he had rearranged the concert programme, swapping the opening music, Ravel’s Bolero with the closing piece, Bizet’s Carmen.
This was met not with applause, but with what could be described as a surprised silence. It was a silence that said,  ‘Oh, this is not going to begin with the Bolero build-up and climax with Geelong’s unofficial anthem, as advertised in the programme…’
But then the concert was underway, and it was a fine opening, with the five-part prelude to Bizet’s Carmen Suite No 1 delivered with ultra precision. 
Because this expanded GSO, led by concertmaster Susan Pierotti and conducted by Richard Davis, presented as a very good orchestra indeed.
Its sound was full, its notation precise, its  definition distinct and timing exact.
So of course, it delivered the work’s  sixth movement, March of the Toreadors in the same flawless fashion.
And it drew polite applause.
If conductor Davis was fazed by this muted reaction, he didn’t allow it to show. Then the crowded stage was reset to move the venue’s Grand Piano central for the concert’s guest solo, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1 in Eminor, Op 11 played by the brilliant Konstantin Chambray.
The presence of Chopin in a French Flair concert was explained as ‘although born in Poland, Chopin did spend most of his life in Paris’. 
The concert’s programme also added that Chopin wrote it at age 20 before leaving for Paris,  and the work is often regarded as his youthful farewell to his homeland…
In practice, this was an astonishingly difficult 20-minute piece with piano and orchestra conversing, supporting and interacting throughout its many and varied musical phases.
It called for intense concentration from soloist Konstantin Chambray as he delivered the major work faultlessly and without sheet music. Not only faultless, but sensitive to every one of the composer’s musical nuances.
It was met by warm, polite applause.
This time conductor Davis tried encouraging the applause, but despite this, the work completed the concert’s first half without extra bows or an encore.
The Costa hall’s acoustics allow snatches of interval conversations to be quite easily overheard, especially in the stalls, and without any effort on my part, they revealed elements of disappointment in the concert’s programming from several unseen audience members. Their conversations weren’t about moving the Toreador March – though that was mentioned – it was more that their overall expectations had been of more Parisian gaiety and/or romance.
But then the second act began, with Debussy’s La Mer, which had nothing to do with the Beyond The Sea  popular song.
Debussy’s  work captures in music the different moods of the sea, from gentle calm lapping to fierce storms and every element in between.
In three complex parts, the work musically described the wind, weather and waves in all their might and splendour – and they were greeted by warm polite applause.
Then came the afternoon’s final piece, Ravel’s compelling, compulsive Bolero, which takes a simple snare-drum rhythm and replicates it, grows it and enhances it as it is taken up by the orchestra’s different instruments.
It’s an exhilarating, spellbinding work that, according to social media, is credited to accompanying more seductions than any other musical work.
But not this time. The GSO’s big, sterling, rousing version brought the now-familiar warm applause. No encore, no ovation.
But warm and quite lengthy applause.
I have remarked on many previous occasions about Geelong audience’s love affair with its GSO and, in particular, conductor Richard Davis.
I do hope that this French Flair fling doesn’t mark the end of that wonderful relationship. Instead, I’ll put it down to something in the air, or perhaps the traffic conditions.
We shall see when the Geelong Symphony returns to the venue 3pm Saturday May 9 for Seasons & Beyond – a concert of Greig, Bach, Vivaldi – and  a great deal of promise. As always, tickets are at the Arts Centre.
– Colin Mockett

Kristian’s Classic Morning Starter

Kristian’s Rhapsody presented as Morning Melodies by Bellarine Classics. Barwon Heads Arts Hub, Feb 6, 2026.

This hour-long 11.00am concert was the first in a series of much promise.
It featured a world-class Australian performer – Kristian Chong – presenting  his own choice of classical music played on a beautiful new blondwood Yamaha Grand piano in the township’s spanking new arts venue.
Let’s start there. It’s in the Clifford Parade Community Hub, it’s light. airy, painted all-white and seats around 100 people in concert mode.
This concert drew 80, all settled comfortably to be welcomed by Morning Melodies coordinator Mark Kruger, who co-founded the show’s umbrella organisation Bellarine Classics with  his wife Sally Wilson.
After a short welcoming speech, Mark introduced pianist Kristian, who explained his choice of music.  Neither speaker used a microphone, nor was one needed. The venue is acoustically excellent.
Kristian, polite, smiling and friendly, wearing a casual suit and tie, introduced his first three pieces, which were each brief and musically correlated. These began with a short piece from Bach – indeed the concert began and ended with works by Johan Sebastian who is clearly a Chong favourite.
The first piece, Andante from Violin Sonata No 3 BWV1003 made a perfect opener; light, melodic and delivered with a rare delicacy on the Yamaha, which has a distinctive clean resonance.
This was also evident in Kristian’s second piece, Brahms Ballade Op 10 No 1 – more robust than the Bach intro but just as respectfully delivered – then completing that neat opening trio was Rachmaninov’s Prelude Op 23 which further lifted both pace and melodic content.
The audience response was loud and appreciative.
Then Kristian changed the concert’s published order to play another piece by Rachmaninov to highlight the composer’s different moods. This was the calm, measured and occasionally sombre Prelude Op.32. No 10. 
Then followed a surprise piece that had been specially written for Kristian when he was a child; after he had broken his right arm and was frustrated that he couldn’t practice his piano.
So his music teacher asked a friend, composer  Miriam Hyde, to write a short piece for the pianist’s left hand that would still sound like a full musical work.
This work, Kristian said, he had learned as he played it so often. But after his arm healed the music was relegated it to the bottom of a drawer. 
Decades later, he recently unearthed it – and decided to include it in this concert as an unexpected novelty.
So next he played Miriam Child’s Rhapsody for Left Hand which was clever, melodic, sinister –  and did sound like both hands were involved.
It was greeted with warm audience appreciation (involving just about every possible hand in the room).
Then came a work of depth and reflection, Schubert’s Sonata D960 1st movement, which was written when the composer was facing his own death. Kristian’s sensitive interpretation moved to another level – and so did the audience’s applause.
The concert’s final piece, Bach’s powerful Toccata from Toccata Adagio and Fugue was written for a church organ at full throat and Kristian replicated this by playing it with his right foot firmly planted on the loud pedal and passion in his fingers.
It brought a suitably rousing audience response and carried this concert of harmonic contrasts to a highly appropriate end.
Next in Barwon Heads’ Morning Melodies series, Virtuosi At Home sees  ACO violinist Maja Savnik joined by Bellarine Classic’s Mark Kruger on piano and Sally Wilson singing soprano. It’s Thursday March 5, details are at www.bellarineclassics.com
– Colin Mockett

Lizzie’s Rocky Murder Musical

Lizzie – the Musical directed by Cody Riker for Theatre of the Damned, in Belmont High’s PAC Thursday January 15, 2026

This Lizzie was the 15th production staged by Theatre of the Damned since its 2017 inception. Most of these shows were new to Geelong, and this was no exception. But this one, Lizzie – the musical wasn’t just new to our theatre scene, it was the Australian amateur premiere.
And the American company behind the show actually contacted TotD to suggest it. “We were the only company they contacted,” said Damned co-founder Tony Dahl. “Because of our record of staging new and different shows”.
 This Lizzie wasn’t just different, it introduced a number of exceptional young talents including some exciting future stage prospects.
But first to set the scene. Lizzie, the musical was based on an American true story, legend and children’s rhyme from the 1890s.
Then, Lizzie Borden was a 32-year-old unmarried woman living with her Massachusetts family who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe.
She was tried, found not guilty by a jury and the case closed with no other suspects.
Such was the notoriety of Lizzie Borden’s trial that it inspired the children’s skipping rhyme ‘Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one!’
It also gave rise to numerous theories behind the (still unsolved) murders.
The show’s writers, Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Stevens Hewitt,  chose one of them and expanded it into this stage  musical which is threaded through with strands of feminism, girl-power and the dark humour of that skipping rhyme. 
So their script begins with suggestions of repression and familial abuse, moves to include same-sex love and winds up challenging the honesty of US courtrooms – all of this occurring inside the rigid social rules of the times.
Then they set this plot to a score of heavy hard-rock music and pulled it together as a grungy, gritty all-female musical.
In the hands of TotD director Cody Riker and his assistant Bethany Griffiths, the show began in brooding style, deliberatly paced with the cast dressed in Victorian neck-to-toe modesty until the act ended with the (unseen) murders.
Then, the second act had a shift of gear, taking on an almost glam-Gothic feel with all the on-stage players in punk style period underwear.
 And that Goth-glammed on-stage talent was outstanding in every department. They were led by Lily Petterwood’s performance as Lizzie.
Lily was ultra-professional as she smoothly moved from holding back her suppressed anger to hatching secret schemes – then experiencing the relief of a tender illicit love.  And then, in the second act, she became a clear-eyed defiant – if contradictory – innocent witness. And all of this was achieved while moving and singing beautifully.
But this Lizzie was far from a one-woman show. For Aashlea Hames made Lizzie’s sister, Emma, sympathetic and believable with her complimentary acting skills. She backed her sister throughout, overriding her own doubts – and again, performed every grungy, gritty musical note to perfection.  Then, checking the after-show programme, Aashley also handled the show’s wigs and make-up, which were, like Elise Dahl and Maxine Urquhart’s costumes, faultless. 
But back to the on-stage team, where Liana Whatman impeccably portrayed Alice Russell, Lizzie’s friend, secret lover and key witness at her trial.
Her part called for mature acting ability which Liana not only possessed, she radiated credibility. I don’t think I have witnessed a better, more tender or sensitive female romantic encounter than that depicted by Lily and Liana in this musical.
And that wasn’t all, for this Lizzie had a four-strong lead cast, including Hannah Scott as the family’s maid Molly/Bridget, who was at first a rival conspirator, then both a suspect and a witness with her own suspicions – with every nuanced change portrayed and sung flawlessly by Hannah.
From this, you’ll understand that Lizzy – the Musical is a bit more than a darkly layered, complex tale with elements of secrecy and lies, death and deceptions. It’s threaded with a grungy musical score and peculiar grim humour – and staged with mastery. 
There’s dance and movement, too, choreographed by Ashlee Burn with a six-girl ensemble comprising Addison Kemp, Alana Mauff, Abbey Livesay, Monique Powe and Rosie Tuck busy keeping the action briskly moving.
They provided neatly worked scene-change moves, an occasional Greek Chorus and even portrayed a stern all-male jury – all the  while bolstering the lead performer’s dance moves and providing backing vocals. 
The show’s six-piece band under the baton of first-time MD Ryan Baker gave confident, reliable support throughout. It was something of an unusual grunge band as it included Ilana Idrus’s cello, but like most of this show’s innovative touches, it came off and worked well.
In this regard, a lasting memory from this Lizzie would be the slim, diminutive Lily Petterwood singing and dancing whilst wielding a full-sized, real, steel-bladed lumberjack axe.  
But on reflection, this Lizzie was full of memorable moments making it a must-see for its limited six-performance season. Lizzy runs in Belmont only until January 24.
Another innovation brought in by Theatre of the Damned is its affordable all-one price $38.50 musical theatre tickets.
I suggest that you get one for this Lizzy while you can. There’s a discount for pairs, and I’ll guarantee that you’ll leave with memories of excellent performances in a highly innovative, enjoyable show.
– Colin Mockett

Concert of Joyful Heroic Surprise

Music Of Myths, Legends and Heroes – Geelong Summer Music Camp’s end-of-camp Concert.  Costa Hall, January 16, 2026

This was the culminating concert of the 44th Geelong Summer Music Camp held the previous week at Christian College.
In many regards it built on the camp’s past achievements as well as pointing to a bright future.
The early camps were smaller, with fewer participants and a far simpler final concert, mostly held in the host school’s venue.
They had some quirky touches, too, with the groups, bands and orchestras named after the streets surrounding long-time host Geelong Grammar School. But not any more, and a sign of the change was obvious from the numbers.
This camp must rank among the biggest yet, with 240 students receiving four days of intense musical tutoring from some 30 staff.
Change that to highly experienced staff, for those 43 years – and the lessons learned from them – have grown and improved the camp’s management.
It’s now a smoothy-operating support/management system that was evident at this concert.
Forming those 240 students into eight workable musical groups according to their age and expertise is an expert job.
Then, after working on their musical skills and teaching new pieces, just moving those groups on and off stage inside a disciplined concert set-up would challenge many.
Yet here it was achieved with simple, calm well-ordered efficiency.
And bringing every player together alongside their tutors and conductors for a grand finale number – that’s some 270 people playing and singing on a stage the size of a tennis court – was achieved with almost magical ease.
And the concert itself was of a slick, high-quality  standard with every song and tune adhering to the concert’s ‘Music Of Myths, Legends and Heroes’ theme.
Such was the standard they achieved that at times, we audience needed reminding that the majority of on-stage musicians were school students.
That was when the preppies appeared with naive charm, raw talent and so much potential.
 And the older students showed that certainly could study.
They proudly displayed their newly-absorbed musical skills by delivering a high-quality concert which had been learned and staged in just four days.  (Which also includied time for board games, dance, theatre sports and extra-curricular tutoring in jazz, folk and rock music and ukulele playing.)
Such are the joys of being young with energy and learning capacity to spare.
It was significant that the camp’s musical director, Fiona Gardner congratulated her young players from the MC’s rostrum, saying that her staff had not experienced one single social-behaviour issue during either the camp or concert. 
With no teen angst or pre-teen tantrums, clearly the discipline required to create and present music together in groups is excellent society training.
Also, it was obvious from the camp images shown on the above-stage screen during stage resets that the youngsters were having a great time whilst learning. Their smiles were wide and widespread in a happy, party atmosphere.
Those images not only created an interesting backdrop, they combined with the youngster’s energy to generate a vibrant joyful atmosphere that washed our city’s premier performance venue in waves.
All that before the concert itself.
The concert began in traditional bright, brassy swinging style with the sax-driven  Balyang Stage Band, under the direction of David Gardner, presenting glossy professional-standard versions of The Seer then Herbie Hancock’s complex Chameleon.
They were followed by the Bellarine Concert Band for younger players conducted by Jen Clutterbuck  who presented four excellent, charming pieces in The Knight Errant, Spirit of the Stallion, selections from The Dark Knight and Brian West’s Silent Movie.
Then came the Otway String Orchestra for senior players.
This was a large, highly skilled ensemble which conductor Ali Worrall renamed on stage as The Otway String Legends because of their abilities in performing the challenging Dragon’s Flight, magical Excalibur and the quirky Herr Manning – Swedish Folk Ballad. By their applause, the audience agreed with Ali’s legendary assessment.
But then an even bigger group of senior players, The Surf Coast Wind Symphony took the stage with their conductor Jemima Burn and again presenting four very different tunes, each challenging in its own way.
These were Carol Brittyen-Chalmers Symphonic Dance No.1, the Australian folk classic Streets of Forbes, partly sung by the orchestra; a calmly reflective Wishing Well then excerpts from The Lord Of The Rings.
The camp’s choral group, Djilang Singers was larger than previous years and under the direction of conductor Tanya Grant and accompanist Stefanie Gumienik sprang a few surprises. They opened with a different version of Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne, moved to Lament of the Highborne – from World Of Warcraft, Wait For Me from Hadestown then finished with a rousing version of Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For A Hero.
They also includeda delightful piece of solo interpretive dance by one of the singers, which was called ‘Chorusography’ by conductor Tania.
The final three orchestras were all conducted by camp president Martin De Marte. 
They were The Swan Bay String Orchestra, which brought seriously-good versions of Saint-Saens’ Dance Bacchanal from Samson & Delilah then the finale from Gustav Holst’s St Paul’s Suite.
The GSMC’s Symphony Orchestrator continued the classical heroic theme slant with  excerpts from Greig’s Peer Gynt Suite;  Morning Mood, Asa’s Death and In The Hall Of The Mountain King before having a little audience fun with Mambo from West Side Story.
Then came that all-on-stage climactic finale with a specially-commissioned Kym Dillon arrangement of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida which brought a fittingly triumphant end to what is now indisputably Geelong’s premier celebration of youthful musical excellence.
– Colin Mockett