Selected Reviews
Kenny
[Australia, 2021]
"…what a delightful, life-affirming show it is. … Kenny runs 80 minutes without interval, and a very joyous, entertaining, uplifting – and at times touching – 80 minutes they are too." ★ ★ ★ ★
- Jo Litson (Limelight Magazine)
"This production brings the Ensemble and its company out of the dark days of the past few months with a bright and entertaining ‘bang’. Steve Rodgers, Mark Kilmurry, the designers, Ben Wood himself – and the team that are keeping the cast and audience safe – thoroughly deserve the standing ovation it received on opening night."
- Carol Wimmer (Stage Whispers)
"So this production of Kenny is both highly entertaining… but even more engaging because of our personal interaction with Kenny’s very-Aussie character full of positive humour and because we become committed to humanitarian ideals… When I say “not to be missed”, I really mean it."
- Frank McKone (Canberra Critics Circle)
"In my view, this production works like a treat."
- David Kary (Sydney Arts Guide)
"…Kenny the stage show feels not so much like theatre or stand-up, as group therapy. It’s not just the restorative joy of a good belly laugh. Ben Wood’s Kenny is a timely love letter to all those people out there cleaning up and getting their hands dirty on behalf of others." ★ ★ ★ ★
- Harriet Cunningham (Sydney Morning Herald)
"…a gloriously funny and endearing success. … The design team has created a simple and effective set that seems ideal for the widespread touring the show deserves. … Kenny, as hopeless on the guitar as he is at so many things other than portable toilets and loving his family, is given a cute song at the end that might be straight out of Play School except that it is all about poo." ★ ★ ★ ★
- John McCallum (The Australian)
Best Trick Ever
[Australia, 2021]
"The show was charming, baffling, entertaining, mind-bending, heart-warming, and incredibly clever. …really set up a bubbling and exciting atmosphere for a show. And this one delivers. … This show is wonderful and an incredibly enjoyable evening. Date night, family night, solo night, weeknight, girls’ night, it doesn’t matter what the night is, you should start it at this show."
• Jerome Studdy (Theatre Travels)
"…by the end of the show you are just enjoying the night for what it is – magic. … This isn’t a glossy, over produced show. It is personable, entertaining and fun." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Lynden Jones (Theatre Now)
"There is also a considered use of music which gives each turn an individuality of tension and surprise in a subtle specificity of that particular art. ...the use of video is gratefully limited to the finer sleights of hand." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Judith Greenaway (Arts Hub)
"…Best Trick Ever is a wondrous night of entertainment for all ages. … The particular style of the design provides Best Trick Ever with a cosy welcoming atmosphere, instead of a large setting that purely relies on all the magic being shown via screens. Galea does however provide us with a roaming cameraman for the close-up card magic, just so we do not miss out on any of the slight of hand tricks that occur… Best Trick Ever proved to be a delightful night of illusions and magical mastery for magic lovers young, old and young at heart." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Justin Clarke (Theatre People)
The Wharf Revue:
Good Night
And Good Luck
[Australia, 2020-2021]
"As we’ve come to expect from The Wharf Revue, the production values are first rate. Brilliant writing supported by clever direction, excellent costumes and props, exceptional video content, lighting and sound... are reasons why The Wharf Revue has flourished for more than 20 years. Hopefully, under its new arrangement, we can now look forward to many more annual visits from The Wharf Revue."
• Bill Stephens (Australian Arts Review)
"…throughout the whole show, the technical quality, originality of content, as well as satirical precision in the actors’ performances in the video designs and presentations, though a continuation of this developing heritage from previous years, was a leap forward this year… I just wish The Wharf Revue could go on forever."
• Frank McKone (Canberra Critics Circle)
"…that indefatigable and hilariously sharp-witted Wharf Revue team just keep getting better and better. … As a mirror held up to this extraordinary year, the Wharf Revue's Goodnight And Good Luck arouses side splitting laughter and cathartic tears and the hope of a brighter future. Don't miss it." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Peter Wilkins (The Canberra Times)
"Well, it might have been a year we want to forget, but The Wharf Revue was back in town to cheer us up with one of their best ever shows. …every item was finely polished and presented with great skill and professionalism. There are times where the words and lyrics were coming at you at high speed but you could hear every word clearly. …a seamless, fast-moving show that never faltered."
• Len Power (Canberra Critics Circle)
"…the Revue’s musical adaptations too have only increased in sophistication over the years, their four-part harmonies increasingly outstanding, and this year’s Revue rested squarely on musical parodies of impeccable production and stunning cleverness. The satisfactory balance between voices, the great balance of stage lighting and background graphics, the cast’s beautiful echoes of its characters’ real-life mannerisms, and the fact that every word — muttered, shouted, or sung — came across with perfect clarity made this production, ingenious in its planning, flawless in its execution."
• John P. Harvey (Stage Whispers)
"Scott provides most of the live music with additional accompaniment from Biggins, either on piano or guitar plus additional prerecorded music used to fill out sound. As always, the text of the performance, either spoken or sung, is incredibly clever and the cast all ensure that the words are heard clearly…"
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
Wicked Sisters
[Australia, 2020]
"In Nadia Tass' new Griffin Theatre Company production… we see what's happening on Alec's computer via video screens built into Tobhiyah Stone Feller's set. These videos, created by sound designer Nate Edmondson, show tiny digital creatures zipping around a beehive-like environment. Were it a computer game, the point would be to kill them. Instead Alec has it set up so they exterminate each other. … It's these touches that make the play so taut." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"As the double-crossings and deceits emerge, Hobbes’ “critters” wage their own ceaseless war above, projected in an eerie display on the glass walls… The effect is degrading, savage and cold." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Kate Prendergast (Limelight Magazine)
"A modern, subtle and knotted production… …how timeless a play written with prescience, wit and tangled narrative can be in skilled creative hands." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Judith Greenaway (Reviews By Judith)
"…we watch his active algorithm on the screens surrounding the set design of Alec's study/studio destroy many 'lives' / screen blips in his visually multiplying algorithmic community!"
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
"Alec Hobbes, social Darwinist and artificial intelligence researcher, is dead. But his reach lives on though the artificial intelligence algorithm he designed, one which rumbles on in the background in a flurry of blips and fluorescently lit 'critters' which act out the infinite possibilities of the universe… Every now and then, due to a mislaid hand or a tap of the keys, the 'experiment' goes haywire, blasting alarm signals which summon Meridee from another room, or out of a reverie. It's all done with panache by sound designer Nate Edmondson, such that the sound gaps give distinct structure to the plot otherwise based mostly in dialogue." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Divya Venkataraman (Time Out Sydney)
"Alec’s troubling computer experiment is impressively brought to life in a large Nate Edmondson-designed video installation whose crawling “critters” often draw the eye from this worthy revival." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"Wicked Sisters is an excellent piece of theatrical entertainment. … A huge overhead visual surround with sound effects representing Alec’s research into artificial lifeforms evolved from random computer programs in the process of inventing strategies to survive or else dying out, could have been distracting, but was not. … Congratulations to Nadia Tass for her strong directorial vision…brought so compellingly to the stage." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Catherine Skipper (South Sydney Herald)
Our Blood Runs
In The Street
[Australia, 2020]
"This powerful work of theatre reminds us that the past is never over. … Blending the direct address, journalistic techniques we’ve come to expect from the verbatim genre with a movement score of commensurate expressive weight, this performance is as moving as it is informative. … Thoughtful set design (Veronique Benett), music (Damien Lane), sound design (Nate Edmondson) and lighting (Richard Whitehouse) cement word and action into an affecting experience, one that lingers with you long after its 70 minutes are over." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"A powerful production… an evocative and blunt statement of queer anguish. ... Damien Lane’s compositions wind around the ensemble and propel them forward..." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Cassie Tongue (Time Out)
"The work is immensely powerful… Sound by Nate Edmondson during movement sequences was a fantastic addition to the show. Our Blood Runs In The Street is such an important work, and really must be seen by everyone in Sydney, which I know I've said before but seriously, go and see it. It really does hit you hard, but is so pleasing, with flawless work from the entire ensemble and creative team. … Work as important as this really can't be missed, and it's just so fantastic that you'll have to witness it for yourself."
• Adam Stepfner (Theatre Travels)
"Auditory capacities are attended by composer Damien Lane and sound designer Nate Edmondson, who move us seamless from scene to scene, as they maintain an uncompromising gravity for these harrowing tales."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"…the stories are layered over contemporary dance that ranges from subtle movement punctuating speech to expressions of the unifying force of music and dance to more powerful expressions of stylized violence and rage."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"The spoken word is variously enhanced by or juxtaposed with solo or group movement sequences. The effect is remarkable as unbearable descriptions are accompanied by physical beauty and music at one moment, or telegraphed by choreographed bodies when words fail. … Set designer Veronique Benett, sound designer Nate Edmondson, composer Damien Lane, and lighting designer Richard Whitehouse are vital elements in the success of the piece. And it’s a tribute to the creativity and ability of the actors that the 70 minutes are utterly riveting theatre. …one has to wish it gets seen by a wider audience than Mardi Gras – high school performances should be mandatory." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"Anthony’s attention to detail across the production and the consistently strong performances elevate this production from a sentimental piece of documentary to an artistically affective experience."
• Night Writes
"...Our Blood Runs In The Street is a lest we forget recognition of past injustice- a litany of the lost, a list that is throat catching and heartbreakingly long reminds us of this shocking legacy presented in finely drilled alliance of speech, dance, music and lighting – a coalition of arts that goes straight to the heart."
• Richard Cotter (Sydney Arts Guide)
"...Red Line Productions’ season opener is a visceral and heartbreaking achievement not just for queer theatre, but theatre overall. …eye-catching movement of Andrew Fraser, the ensemble, and the pulsating Nate Edmondson sound design / Damien Lane composition. …the cast’s interaction with Edmondson’s and Lane’s sound, Veronique Benett’s deceptive set, and Richard Whitehouse’s lighting gives this work the justice it deserves. …a technical design that never stops being brilliant, and putting together a production that successfully makes a passionate (and incredibly well-researched) plea for attention... this production is second to none. … Without reservation, it is the best queer-focused production playing during the 2020 Mardi Gras season." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Manan Luthra (State Of The Art)
"…backed by long low notes of music from Nate Edmondson and composer Damien Lane…"
• Martin Portus (Stage Whispers)
Pomona
[Australia, 2020]
"…Pomona becomes a thriller that keeps you bolted to the edge of your seat. … Actors delve headfirst into the darkest material, Veronique Bennett’s lighting creates the perfect sense of unease, and Nate Edmondson’s sound design both ramps up the tension and amplifies the play’s sense of mourning; for all that these characters have lost and all they were never allowed in the first place." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Ben Neutze (Time Out)
"Music by Nate Edmondson, commanding and tenacious, keeps tensions unrelenting for this foreboding representation of our dangerous lives. The production is an engaging one, with powerful concepts and a cleverly fractured plot, conspiring to hold our attention."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Staged in close-up traverse and directed by Anthony Skuse, this Secret House production does a good job establishing a threatening mood (thanks in no small measure to Nate Edmondson’s constant soundtrack) and sustaining it for 110 minutes or thereabouts." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"Direction from Anthony Skuse capitalises on the unstable narrative with an amped-up dis-ease and tension. … Lighting design by Veronique Benett and sound design from Nate Edmondson evoke sci-fi elements with multi-colour beams and an atmospheric score incorporating drones and electronic beeping."
• Night Writes
"...this production by Secret House is a compelling thriller that keeps you hooked until the very last moment. ...a tense and captivating play, shrouded in an atmosphere of all kinds of darkness. … Skuse has successfully conveyed the essence of this play making technically and artistically interesting choices… Nate Edmondson and Veronique Benett’s work on sound and lighting design, respectively, further complements the sinister setting of this play and works well in extending the tension and aura of suspense."
• Jessie Trompp
"…Pomona certainly keeps the creep. Not just the lightly hazed acting area or the dull reflections in the morgue-black tiles or the screech of a single string… …the immersion is in a complex, immediate, theatrical experience. … There’s a stringed screech on the audio plot which gives way to hollow echoes and distant rumbles under. Brilliantly operated for levels so that a water bottle cap unscrewed in the audience feels like part of the plan, perhaps it is below the sea or sewer pipes or traffic in tunnels. However, the wail of classic instrument eventually rises to consciousness as full and rich music. Heavens, I love Nate Edmondson’s work. …Pomona is a gripping, engrossing night in an intimate performance space with lingering questions that will have you texting your friend on a different train all the way home." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Judith Greenaway (Reviews By Judith)
"Underpinned by a characteristically subtle yet all-pervasive soundtrack from Nate Edmondson, Pomona reveals itself in multiple ways. … The excellent Secret House introduces us to a hitherto unknown Brit talent in a short, sharp season: Pomona is not to be missed." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"Engaging as well are the lighting and sound design of Pomona, expertly crafted by Veronique Bennett and Nate Edmondson. Bennett’s lights cut through the darkness and create harrowing images of partial truths, while Edmondson’s soundtrack subtly builds a creeping sense of dread."
• Rosie Niven (Theatre Travels)
"As always with Secret House productions, much attention is given to production quality, and Pomona is no exception. With exceptional lighting design from Veronique Benett, cinematic sounds from Nate Edmondson understated yet thrilling set design by Anthony Skuse and James Smithers all tied together nicely by SM Clare Sheridan, Pomona successfully reaches and traverses its ambitions and intentions and provides for an exciting night of theatre."
• Lisa Thatcher
"It is a genre defying, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi vision of our now and our future. Director Anthony Skuse’s production taps into all this. And he is mostly ably assisted by a haunting lighting design (Veronique Benett) and sinister soundscape (Nate Edmondson)." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Kate Stratford (Theatre Now)
"…gripping, thought-provoking and unexpectedly funny. …a classy creative team (including sound by Nate Edmondson and lighting by Veronique Benett) skilfully draw out the threads of the puzzle. The slick, thrilling pace, cutting from scene to scene, both acknowledges the work’s cinematic references and builds on them, using theatre’s own superpowers of immediacy and imagination." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Harriet Cunningham (Sydney Morning Herald)
"No doubt this contemporary work is framed by a script of excellence. Yet within this, what the cast and crew of Secret House carry to the bAKEHOUSE stage is a truly outstanding moment in theatre." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Rebecca Varidel (Sydney Scoop)
"Pomona is captivating and intriguing, if not somewhat unsettling as an expression of a world no one really wants to live in but in reality could easily happen if people don't stand up and prevent it. Artfully presented with more twists and turns than an Escher staircase in a grown up form of the circle of life."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"All this time there is an effects track, pinpoint lighting and enough smoke and mist to cover the scenes as they descend into utter darkness. There’s no doubting that this is a brilliant production by Anthony Skuse, with set design by Skuse and James Smithers, excellent lighting design by Veronique Benett and superb sound design by Nate Edmondson. …this play is undeniably gripping."
• Frank Hatherley (Stage Whispers)
POOF! Secrets
Of A Magician
[Australia, 2020]
"…a heady mix of comedy and music…an eye-popping cabaret of wizardry. … This show has some high production values. … Poof! was an energetic and entertaining show… This was a night that ultimately offered up a nice mix of tricks and treats for us all." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Natalie Salvo (The AU Review)
"Extremely funny, extremely charming, extremely clever. …will have you laughing – possibly laughing-crying – and singing too. Singing the c-word no less. In the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre! … It’s a terrific show." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
- Caroline Foreman (Theatre Now)
"…a cabaret night of past experiences, original tunes, superb magic and personal revelations. …a top notch night of variety entertainment rather than a evening of pure magic. …the audience experiences laughter, opinions, heart felt warmth with some superb magic."
- Jade Kops (Broadway World)
Paddington
Gets In A Jam
[United States &
Canada, 2019-2020]
"Critic’s Pick. For those under 8, the action is hilarious, and members of that demographic at the performance I attended were squealing, giggling and bouncing in their seats." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Laurel Graeber (The New York Times)
"…a funny, exquisitely beautiful production aimed at young children and featuring the impossibly adorable Paddington Bear. … The show is indeed very funny and the kids in the audience laughed often (I myself may have chuckled several times)… Overall, the show was sweet but not overly cutesy, and it’s perfect for young kids… And I can guarantee my kids and I left the theater with a smile…"
• Maytal Wichman (The Mama Maven)
"…Paddington Gets In A Jam is sure to delight any child-at-heart." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Lexi Orphanos (Theatre Is Easy)
"However many ways there are to say "wildly adorable" is exactly how many reasons you have to see this show. …the creative genius of theater professionals who know best just how to capture these little ones' attention. And that is exactly what is proven as the show begins and a hush settles over the audience. … And what an impression this show has already made! This production brings together a cast and creative team that know exactly what they're doing to make this show as delightful and fun as possible for children of all ages, without losing its great professional quality. …this show has that something special that captures our attention so easily. … Sound Designer and Composer Nate Edmondson does excellent work behind the scenes. The hottest family show in town!"
• Kristen Morale (Broadway World)
"…engaging storytelling that effortlessly captivates the wildest imaginations. … A really special part of this show is that the team of impressive creatives manage to make the performance a lot of fun to watch regardless of how old or young at heart you are." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Dellah’s Jubilation
"…a delightful show that’s aimed at ages three to eight, but is utterly irresistible to the child in all of us. …hilarious slapstick scenes that are perfectly executed by the cast and keep the audiences of all ages gleefully giggling."
• Deb Miller (DC Metro Theatre Arts)
"…a heartwarming, family-friendly show full of laughs, love, and marmalade. … Paddington Gets In A Jam is truly a sweet show that kids of all ages will love." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Celebrity Parents Magazine
"…I can say with certainty that it’s fun for the entire family, no matter the age. The laughs and giggles filling the theater made for a feel-good experience from start to finish."
• Eliana Arian (The Knockturnal)
"…sweet and well meaning, funny, but never scary. … The kids were having way too much fun… Makes kids laugh out loud." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• A Child Grows In Brooklyn
"Witness the most adorable show of the new year!"
• Union Square Partnership
Coram Boy
[Australia, 2019]
"In England and America, Coram Boy has been played on vast stages with large casts, lush costumes, a chorus and an orchestra. It’s an epic tale, set in eighteenth-century England, with Dickensian themes and characters – a perfect vehicle for a main stage extravaganza! Yet its Sydney premiere, on the small transept stage of the Kings Cross theatre, loses none of the dark drama or redeeming love of this beautiful adaptation. In fact, the proximity of the performers spreads like a cloak that wraps around the audience, gathering them into this poignant tale of greed, betrayal, love and music… It is a ‘spell-binding, heart-breakingly beautiful tale’ told by a company that has the courage to do big things in small but clever ways. Doing so takes guts, time, innovative ideas and a production team that knows how to realise them. Directors John Harrison and Michael Dean, producer Suzanne Miller, composer Nate Edmondson and lighting designer Benjamin Brockman are such a team. …almost gothic themes are lightened by hope and redemption - and the music of Handel, that inspires the two young musicians about whom the plot revolves. ... Encompassed by Edmondson’s sound design, this action creates an atmosphere that is eerily isolated at times, frighteningly congested at others. …it is the ‘whole’ that impresses most about this production."
• Carol Wimmer (Stage Whispers)
"The size of the story and loftiness of the themes might seem to best fit a traditional stage, audience banks in stalls and a dress-circle, but the intimacy of KXT creates a new magic. The simple, close stage images sing. A child throws apples to his new friends on an estate. Birds held by long sticks float through a dim yellow sky in London. A boy struggles to breathe, rising and falling against waves outside of the docks. The directors conjure these unforgettable and personable images that burn into our skulls, and provide us with visual footholds as the plot races. There is real meat in the unfolding of an epic in close-quarters, and it's one that does credit to the live performance." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Sean Maroney (The Music)
"The epic features unfeeling landowners, ruthless criminals, desperate mothers, music prodigies and George Frideric Handel, all woven into a very big play with narratives that all concern themselves with the welfare of children. Wonderfully imaginative and often very touching, Coram Boy is written almost like a screenplay, with short scenes taking place in a myriad different places. Directors Michael Dean and John Harrison orchestrate the action marvellously, adventurous in their efforts to help us suspend disbelief inside a small black auditorium, allowing us to see in our mind’s eye, old streets, stately homes and the deep blue ocean. Lighting design by Benjamin Brockman is instrumental in manufacturing these impossible visions, extravagant and evocative with everything he presents. Similarly rhapsodic is Nate Edmondson’s sound design, an unbelievably rich aspect of the show, thoroughly assembled to cover all bases for a luscious rendering of this period drama. … The greatest inspiration one would take from Coram Boy relates to the immense ambition on display. A grander project could not be envisioned for a smaller space, yet all three hours of the experience is entrancing, satisfying and fruitful. …it is clear that on this occasion, necessity has become the mother of invention. Endless shows have been put on costing more, but have delivered far less. … When a lot is done with very little, is when we know that something truly great has been achieved."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Helen Edmundson’s script structures the action through short, staccato scenes around which directors John Harrison and Michael Dean construct movement sequences to convey bustling city streets, racing carriages, and more joyful scenes of dancing. … The melodrama is understandable in an epic inter-generational tale written for children adapted with a clear admiration of the larger than life quality of the narrative …in combination with Nate Edmondson’s grand composition and sound design. In a production that features George Frideric Handel as a character, classical strings and symphonies …are used extensively to generate sentimentality in Alexander’s sensational quest for his son late in the second half… This is an ambitious production taken on by bAKEHOUSE with gusto and a clear enthusiasm for the size of the undertaking. …there are moments of beauty and prized theatre magic."
• Night Writes
"Nate Edmondson’s sound design swings ambitiously from the tension of clattering contemporary beats to a gaudy choral arrangement of Handel’s Messiah, and is coupled with live harpsichord, violin, and vocal melodies performed by the actors. While the contribution of live music is a pleasant addition to a story around which the love of music ribbons, it is certainly a risk …which ultimately pays off when the bright voice of musical prodigy Aaron (Petronella van Tienen) flutters across the stage. …Coram Boy remains a captivating, emotionally complex piece, beautifully designed to sling its audience into the throes of the love, loss, and reclamation that glimmer through relentless grime and greed."
• Lady Lemoncholy
"Sound designer/composer Nate Edmondson’s synthetic-orchestral score imparts a filmic gallop... …you can’t help but root for something resulting from such a giant collective effort." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"Epic in scope, staging and soaring humanity, Coram Boy is a must see. ...audiences are taken back in time to a spectacle of charging carriages, duels on the high seas, and eerie bush burials. Such is the pure, crystalline theatrical magic of bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company’s production… Production values match the high pitch of the performances, with a brilliant lighting design by Benjamin Brockman, and composition and sound design by Nate Edmondson."
• Richard Cotter (Australian Stage)
"...a time-bending foray into the realms of choral music, family relationships, and racial oppression, prides itself on its self-labeled ‘epic’ nature. A smorgasbord of sweet sounds and larger-than-life sights, it is easy to get lost in the world created before you. … If two words were to describe this production, they would be size and synchronisation. … Coram Boy features numerous dance sequences, transitionary movements, and moments of collective action… It is nothing short of sublime. …bAKEHOUSE’s Coram Boy is a success." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Manan Luthra (State Of The Art)
"…the production is a riveting experience that is focused despite its ambitious canvas. … The narrative moves along at a swift pace, and scene transitions are artfully choreographed. … Helping to give the piece fluidity, despite the frequent scene changes, is Nate Edmondson’s excellent cinematic soundscape. Handel’s Messiah oratorio appears alongside original instrumental music, and each piece has been carefully matched to a sequence, be it to underscore a scene or accompany a transition. Even a couple of contemporary tracks have made their way into the mix. Edmondson’s sound design is a vital aspect of this production. … In one standout sequence, performers are used to suggest Meshak’s efforts underwater to rescue two drowning children. Paired with Benjamin Brockman’s evocative lighting, it makes for a beautiful, transfixing moment in the piece, and Edmondson’s music is again another crucial contributor. … Staging Coram Boy in the 80-seat Kings Cross Theatre is an ambitious undertaking, but bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company’s efforts here have shown that an epic tale doesn’t necessarily require an epic space. Owing to the hard work of Harrison and Dean and their creative team, this is a heartrending and wholly absorbing production…" ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Tim Garratt (Theatre People)
"Coram Boy is a well-crafted, brave, bold and entertaining production. Its direction, acting, lighting and staging are all at an exceptional level. … In previous English and American productions of Coram Boy there was a full choir even orchestra on stage – in the Bakehouse production the performers sing… The singing was pleasing, including Petronella Van Tienen as Edward Ashbrook. Children in the Hospital can perform in the choir, and in Handel’s work, and Petronella acquits the eight year old role in buoyant acting and polished singing. … The show has many deserving features, none the least of which were composition and sound design by Nate Edmondson… and the collective complex efforts of 31 on the published team. The production is not only brave – it is audacious and successful. It deserves to be seen and supported – it is finally satisfying, for all kinds of reasons."
• Geoffrey Sykes (Sydney Arts Guide)
"An action-packed musical historical tragical thriller spanning three generations? With a cast of 15? In an 80-seat micro-theatre up six flights of stairs? Seriously? When it comes to attempting the impossible, bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company has form, so it is no surprise that they have, once again, achieved what really shouldn’t be possible: a coherent, gripping show far bigger than the physical space it inhabits. … Coram Boy is a Dickensian swoop across 19th-century England that…achieves an emotional punch located on just the right side of authenticity. Nate Edmondson’s superb underscore helps here, resisting the lure of costume drama picturesque with shafts of attitude. As for the ending, it does not disappoint… As the cast breaks into a stirring chorus, it almost feels like Christmas." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Harriet Cunningham (Sydney Morning Herald)
"The presentation of this work just felt so right thanks to a vision that was incredibly clear and flawlessly executed through the work of the cast and creative team. … Original composition by Nate Edmondson was impressive, and created a great sensory experience as an audience member. With various classical style pieces paired together with choir harmonies the sound design has a massive pay-off, and its contribution to the piece is completely necessary. Coram Boy is phenomenal. It's more than just a show, it's a theatrical experience, and it cannot be missed."
• Adam Stepfner (Theatre Travels)
"…the most stunning elements of the work come from the inventive stage direction, the sound design and composition (Nate Edmondson)… The entire cast weave across the stage with an incredibly choreographed frenzy and horse rides are executed with clarity and humour. … Nate Edmondson's music, interwoven with moments of Handel…is wonderfully varied allowing the cheerful moments of the cathedral choir with recorded voices bolstering the live singing, and darker, ominous tones along with aural expressions of things like the perpetual motion of the emerging industrial revolution. Coram Boy is an amazing feat of theatre…"
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"Coram Boy is a must-see... A visual spectacle, and emotional journey, a performance triumph. …a patchwork of music, tableaus, scenes, and time. …a highly ambitious work that embraces storytelling in all its glory. When you have a stage, a cast, a play, and the undivided attention of an audience… it truly is a gift. This production is not wasteful of that gift. … It’s important in such a small space that movement is melded by a hand of precision, which was my main worry about the show, yet the cast and creatives were able to deal with that requirement strongly. … If you’ve been yearning for a show that embraces the possibility of a play...look no further than this…" ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Felicity Anderson (Theatre Now)
"What an achievement this bAKEHOUSE Theatre and KXT production is. …gripping and totally believable. There’s barely a prop in sight but there is an awesome combination of sound, lighting and choreography that turns the tiny KXT stage into the drawing rooms, the cathedrals, the slums and woods of 18th Century England. Oh, and if that isn’t enough, Handel and his Messiah are integral to the story."
• Carrie Kablean (Megaphone Oz)
"bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company has done it again, delivering a stellar production that kept the audience captivated from the get-go. … It is set in a backdrop of extreme wealth and poverty, the rich and powerful, and the soaring sounds of Handel's Messiah. … The production delivers in graphic details stories of infanticide, child abuse and slavery, and is genuinely confronting. … The narrative moved along at a swift pace, and the scene transitions artfully choreographed. … The production achieved an emotional punch with authenticity. Each frequent scene change, cinematic soundscape and lighting was mastered. … The production was heartrending… From acting, lighting, sound, to staging, it was all exceptional level, making this well-crafted, brave, bold, and entertaining play one you do not want to miss out on."
• Gypsy Rose (Weekend Notes)
"Handel himself is also featured, as choirs at the cathedral and the Coram Foundling Hospital rehearse his music. … The direction makes ingenious use of choreography, inventive physicality and simple stage effects to create bustling streets, graves, statues and a garden at the orphanage among many other settings. …the terrific ensemble brings each character to vivid life, helped by the costume design (Suzanne Miller and Sonia McAlpine with Cleary O’Brien-Boots), the dramatic lighting by Benjamin Brockman, and the sound design by Nate Edmondson, which combines original music with music by Handel." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jo Litson (Limelight Magazine)
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H.M.S. Pinafore
[Australia, 2019 & 2020]
"The show opens with a deliriously rackety overture reminiscent of earnest amateur efforts the world over. … It’s a crafty way to draw in the audience because actually, the show is bursting with talent and expertise and basically it’s all joy and effervescence for the rest of the voyage. … It’s a glorious production made memorable by Nate Edmondson’s sound design of creaking timbers and whooshing waves… Just the ticket for a summer or Christmas outing: all aboard for the cruise of the season. Recommended without reservation." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"In a bright, high camp, adeptly performed presentation of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic, Gaul has accentuated the timeless music and text, while emphasising the incongruity of arbitrary class, gender and status-based hurdles in a contemporary context. None of the humour is sacrificed, nor the music subordinated, but rather coloured with funny local references in tightly harmonised numbers that can soar. … Unusually for productions staged at the Hayes, the music and vocals in H.M.S. Pinafore are un-amplified. Piano player and music director, Zara Stanton, leads a small group of players, who meld seamlessly into onstage activities and provide ample backing to the talented vocalists. Moments of harmonisation across the two-hours are consistently highlights. …H.M.S. Pinafore is a sharp and vibrant reinvention of a work from the canon that is both entertaining and consequential in a contemporary world. Recommended." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Tim Garratt (Theatre People)
"Purely radiant in its entirety… The music direction (Zara Stanton) is imaginatively innovative: in particular, the splendid overture that immediately immerses us in this nautical world as the multi-talented ensemble play a string of seafaring ditties, adeptly supported by the exquisite sound design (Nate Edmondson). … The theme of acceptance runs deep throughout as each element attempts (and succeeds beautifully) to subvert every aspect of perceived normalcy so we recognise that we need to open our minds and our hearts in order to embrace our truest selves and find a harmonious state in which every one of us deserves to live."
• Jessie Trompp (A Millennial With An Opinion)
"Nate Edmondson’s sound design delivers some of the biggest and most unexpected laughs of the production."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Unusually for this venue of late, all of the music and singing is un-amplified, which lends the event a pleasing sense of immediacy and intimacy." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"…H.M.S. Pinafore is dazzling and oozing with personality, a smaller cast allowing for a delicious assortment of captivating talents. Cast and music director Zara Stanton alike picking up different instruments throughout the wonderfully un-supplemented soundscape of the show. It truly feels like a party, with so much attention to detail. … Nate Edmondson’s sound and Fausto Brusamolino’s lighting add to the unapologetically camp production, tight and bright. It’s as if the well-known and well-loved tunes and tongue twisters of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic were taken and thrown onto a Mardi Gras float."
• Felicity Anderson (Flick Flick City)
"This production - a killer vision from director Kate Gaul - is an exuberantly gender-bending, stripped-down but highly musical reimagining of this classic tale. … The accompaniment is provided by two creative multi-instrumentalists, with incidental touches (acoustic guitar, harmonica) supplied by various members of the well-voiced cast." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Bill Wyman (City Hub)
"Gaul is faithful to the text, the music is gorgeously sung and the production unerringly shines a light on G&S’s evergreen targets of unearned influence, the class structure and unthinking. … Music director Zara Stanton creates wonders with an upright piano, a few strings, some touches of brass and the occasional tambourine and mouth organ, all played onstage by the cast."
• Deborah Jones (The Australian)
"…in a real treat, the music and singing is un-amplified. …the lighting by Fausto Brusamolino and sound by Nate Edmondson complement the exuberantly camp production." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jo Litson (Limelight Magazine)
"The music is un-amplified and the songs feel, deceptively, casual. We ease our way into them. … Cast members play additional instruments, and there’s a sense of community onstage that feels believable and right for a production playing with queer signifiers. Nate Edmondson’s sound design is supportive and sharp (keep an ear out for a little RuPaul amongst the soothing hint of waves – because why not?)… Why stage H.M.S. Pinafore at the end of 2019? Because it can be a celebration of living outside your expected social role. It can be a queer party. It can be funny and sweet, and clever." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Cassie Tongue (Time Out)
"Supported by Zara Stanton's musical direction from the stage, presented at times with the assistance of various members of the ensemble on instruments that range from violin, cello, trumpet and trombone, the un-amplified cast give beautiful renditions of Gilbert and Sullivan's songs. … An easy bit of summer fun entertainment."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"Oh give three cheers and one cheer more for the cast and crew of this H.M.S. Pinafore. This wonderful, exuberant gender-bending production, directed by Kate Gaul, is not a ‘traditional’ version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta but joyously updated with a twist. … The magnificent cast of 11 performers and a fluid onstage band (including trombone, clarinet, guitar, cello, violins and harmonica) led by pianist and singer Zara Stanton perform with gusto and panache. … At times the show is witty and hilarious, at others extremely moving. … Sound design by Nate Edmondson encompasses the sound of lapping waves. … Overall it’s a joyous, witty romp." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Lynne Lancaster (Arts Hub)
"Fun. Cute. Cheeky. Camp. Nostalgic. Worth a visit."
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
"It is the Hayes at its creative best – bringing together musicians and opera singers who exude talent as musicians swap between the piano to the clarinet and piano accordion, and the ensemble switches from singing and dancing to playing the cello, violin and guitar. …H.M.S. Pinafore starts the overture and the ensemble singing, playing instruments and setting the standard of the show to come. To set the scene, the action begins with a large sheet featuring a model sailing ship atop the waves featuring the sounds of the ocean that fills the room. Next, a ship is crashing on the waves."
• Nora Charles (Hunter And Bligh)
"As camp as a row of tent pegs, awash with sequins and glitter make-up, this gender-bending, hyper-theatrical, kinky re-imagining of one Gilbert and Sullivan’s best loved operettas, surprises and delights from the clever overture until the final notes of the riotous finale."
• Bill Stephens (City News)
"With wit, style and thrill, this Hayes Theatre production is relentlessly entertaining. ‘Love can level ranks’ - and this revel ranks high."
• John Lombard (The Rock City Jester)
"Oh joy! Oh Rapture. What a glorious romp. What a magical invention. Siren Theatre Company’s psychedelic production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s satirical comic opera, H.M.S Pinafore billows with colour, rollicks with action and buffets its way through the gales of laughter. … Siren Theatre Company’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s highly popular comic opera is proof enough that you can teach an old dog new tricks."
• Peter Wilkins (Canberra Critics Circle)
"Thank you, Kate Gaul, Zara Stanton, Ash Bee, Melanie Liertz, Fausto Brusamolino, Nate Edmondson and all the cast and crew of Hayes Theatre Co. for bringing me back to my senses. We all need a good dose of Gilbert & Sullivan every now and then – and this is a good one indeed."
• Frank McKone (Canberra Critics Circle)
"What is especially notable with this production is the respect for the music. It’s beautifully and clearly sung by the cast, all of whom can handle the operatic demands of the score. The cast also play the musical instruments on stage as part of the action. The musical arrangements for the smaller number of instruments give the show a pleasant and unique sound. The playing of the overture by the cast was a delight, setting the tone for the rest of the show. … This is a show that everyone will enjoy. On the surface it’s just crazy, silly fun expertly done but the quality of the music and singing shows why this show is still being performed over a century later."
• Len Power (Canberra Critics Circle)
"...musically the evening is a treat, capably accompanied by music director Antonio Fernandez on piano, complemented by various cast members. ... The small ensemble delivers intimate and delightful takes on familiar harmonies. …in Kate Gaul’s delicious production, love has the power to level barriers well beyond mere social rank. It’s a marvellous, uplifting interpretation."
• Neil Litchfield (Stage Whispers)
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Haunted
[Australia, 2019]
"Making imaginative use of the heritage-listed Petersham Town Hall, Haunted asks the audience to follow our instincts and indulge our curiosity as we explore the labyrinthine architecture of the building in order to discover and construct this story. As an audience on foot, lingering in the eerie vastness of this historical hall, our senses are heightened as our spines are chilled and our hairs are stood on end by the anticipation created by things that go bump in the night. … The sound design by Nate Edmondson is nothing short of amazing as it works surreptitiously in the background to keep us on the edge. We explore the building, fearful and terrified, as the chilling, frightening noise surrounds us on our journey. Ben Brockman’s lighting design ominously complements the aural aesthetic and works to solidify our jaunts between the natural and the supernatural. … I felt like I was a character in a horror movie as I tip-toed throughout the halls and peered cautiously around every corner, just in case something jumped out and scared me – as inevitably ended up happening! I love going to see a piece of theatre that is different; something that surprises me, is unpredictable and takes a unique (even if risky) approach. I strongly believe that theatre (even art as whole) is supposed to be bold, provocative and disturbs the air in some way. For me, Haunted is a piece that travels down this particular road. It is bold and unpredictable from the creative concept right through to its execution."
• Jessie Trompp (A Millennial With An Opinion)
"…the work is fresh and playful, impressive in its exhaustive and imaginative use of space. There is pleasure not only in investigating the many curious satellite occurrences, but also in the very experience of exploring a forgotten building. Sensational work on sound by Nate Edmondson heightens all our senses, to have us feeling as though immersed within a world of horror cinema."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
Baby Doll
[Australia, 2019]
"It is a first-class production of Baby Doll. Under the direction of Shaun Rennie, the fine cast is supported by a magnificent creative team. … Full marks to lighting designer Verity Hampson, set and costume designer Anna Tregloan and composer and sound designer Nate Edmondson. Baby Doll is a theatrical experience to thoroughly enjoy. The audience is fully immersed and involved for the full 90 minutes. A must see!"
• Paul Kiely (The Blurb)
"Directed by Shaun Rennie, the scintillating production grips us, not only with the exciting paradigm shifts deliberately introduced to the old story, but also with its exhaustive efforts at imbuing every theatrical moment with a rich sensuality, able to have us captivated on levels beyond character and narrative. … Sound and music by Nate Edmondson moves effortlessly from episodes of rhapsodic extravagance, to sequences filled with hushed precarity. We always know what the people on stage are thinking and feeling, even if their words are designed to disguise the truth."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Nate Edmondson's sound design draws on Deep South gospel and foreboding heavy tones to heighten the mystery of this comedy thriller. This primal bold background is contrasted with Aunt Rose's carefree mindless singing of a folk song as she potters around the home apparently deaf to most of the abuse Archie Lee hurls at her. … With Baby Doll, Shaun Rennie has created another well-crafted captivating piece of intimate theatre as the audience, seated in Ensemble’s steep raked theatre, get a 'fly on the wall' experience of the tale of revenge, deceit, betrayal, lust and sexual frustration all presented with Tennessee Williams' trademark Deep South dialogue. Well worth catching."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"Sometimes, just as you think you've failed to light a fire, it suddenly flares up. This production is like that. It flickers and hisses and fizzes for a while, and then the key kindling, desire and arousal, catch alight, and the play begins to burn. … Constrained by space …Rennie has cleverly solved staging conundrums by choreographing some scenes with voice-overs... Nate Edmondson's score, meanwhile, is brilliantly evocative." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"The production has a heartbeat pulse and motif recurring, but used in moderation and there are a few still, silent, almost mimetic scenes…" ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Judith Greenaway (Reviews By Judith)
"This production is an uncommonly stylish and stylised one for the Ensemble Theatre, under the confident hand of director Shaun Rennie. Utilising an atypical degree of scenic lighting effects, theatrical haze and immersive soundscapes, this is a richly realised production which largely compensates for some of the lulls in the drama, despite the short runtime. Dramatic tension, sexual tension, the tension born from impending discoveries or even violence are clearly at the heart of this text. Baby Doll is an effective, if imperfect, re-adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ lesser-renowned material, via an intermediate film version. It is an atmospheric one-act play with some excellent actors and stylish direction, concerning some inherently uncomfortable subject matter. This show…is well worth a watch."
• Jack Teiwes (Australian Stage)
"The ever-reliable Verity Hampson (lighting) and Nate Edmondson (composition and sound design) contribute to the sultry mood." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Veronia Hannon (Theatre Now)
"The lighting (Verity Hampson) and Sound (Nate Edmondson) evoke the heat and atmosphere of the Deep South. Baby Doll starts somewhat languidly but builds into a steamy little inferno of seduction, betrayal and revenge. …there is a hint that this Baby Doll isn’t finished yet – and that’s worth seeing. As is this production."
• Carrie Kablean (Megaphone Oz)
"…Williams’ usually brooding subtext is played strongly out front on the small Ensemble stage. … Via film to stage, we now happily have another Williams play, not a masterpiece, but certainly a new fantastical set of his seething and entwined characters. They’re worth meeting."
• Martin Portus (Stage Whispers)
"Director Shaun Rennie has brought vigour and passion to the stage. The contagious energy fills the room. … Verity Hampson has done great lighting and likewise, Nate Edmondson’s music and sound design is powerful and haunting. His voice-overs work well. Baby Doll is a rich and enjoyable play. Definitely worth seeing."
• Bronwyn Fullerton (Sydney Arts Guide)
"My, oh, my, I do declare that this play was hotter’n blue blazes. … Well done to the amazing cast and production team for putting together such a mesmerising piece of theatre." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Matt Lighton (State Of The Art)
"…I saw the Ensemble Theatre production of Baby Doll as an interesting exercise, performed and designed very well…"
• Frank McKone (Canberra Critics Circle)
Fully Committed
[Australia, 2019]
"Champion, with long roots in dance and physical theatre, has choreographed a frenetic pattern of ringing handsets for Treffone to answer." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Cassie Tongue (Time Out)
"In the basement of one of Sydney’s most exclusive restaurants is an office more closely resembling a call centre, lined with at least a score of telephones that never seem to stop ringing. … With a far more elaborate set than previous stagings … the choice here to festoon the performance space with innumerable functioning prop telephones that ring and light up on cue may perhaps not be strictly realistic, but the effect certainly ups the ante."
• Jack Teiwes (Australian Stage)
"…Fully Committed is felicitous comedy, fiery characters, and formidable craft in 90 minutes. … Everything from Anna Tregloan’s set, to Verity Hampson’s lighting, and Nate Edmondson’s sound design have allowed a quick-footed performance the similarly impressive playground it needed to flourish." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Felicity Anderson (Theatre Now)
"…there are stairs leading to a huge bank of phones and a special red one for the temperamental chef, as well as an intercom. Casually dressed, Sam dashes madly between each phone as well as personal calls coming through on her mobile. … Recommended." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Lynne Lancaster (Arts Hub)
"Whilst other productions represent the calls as coming into a single phone, set and costume designer Anna Tregloan reinforces the madness of the incoming calls with benches filled with phones surrounding the staircase up to the restaurant floor above… Red lights illuminate on the affected phones with lights remaining blinking when Sam has put them on hold, helping to highlight the chaos."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"…sound design by Nate Edmondson is superb and beautifully timed to create a tight, frantic conversation that runs the full length of the show. Packed from top to bottom with laughs, Fully Committed is an exceptional piece of theatre that you must see before the season closes. Highly recommended." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Annabelle Drumm (State Of The Art)
"...the Broadway production saw Sam manning a single switchboard running hot. In Champion’s production a large number of phones line the stage area and we see Sam jump from one phone to the next. Champion’s decision to have multiple phones on stage works well and cleverly magnifies the level of chaos. The phones run hot including Sam’s own mobile phone packed away somewhere in her bag."
• David Kary (Sydney Arts Guide)
Table
[Australia, 2019]
"When thinking about how to begin this review …does he go left-of-centre by talking about the impressive lighting design and composition before anything else? … Musical director, composer and sound designer Nate Edmondson has compiled a wonderful list of songs, hymns and audio elements that richly complement the on stage action. The inclusion of such elements, which are sung by the cast, played artificially, or otherwise incorporated naturally, are a fun addition to the show that the audience easily takes to. … Ultimately, Table is on the whole a great show." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Manan Luthra (State Of The Art)
"With plenty of singing interspersed with family business, they all have their moments… This production at the Seymour Centre is excellent… they pull off some marvellous moments of pure theatre."
• Frank Hatherley (Stage Whispers)
"The production is exceedingly elegant… Nate Edmondson contributes two hours of music and sound, intricately magnifying every sensory peak and trough, highly effective in helping us find focus for all of Table‘s deliberately abrupt plot shifts. …makes for a staging that sings with authenticity from beginning to end."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Nate Edmondson’s sound design and composition are beautiful in their own right… The audience is…always won back by the acting and design elements working together. … Table is a magical text, and there are real moments of greatness in this production. … Its themes, and their exploration, have edge, and make it a night at the theatre that you’ll need to talk and talk about." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Sean Maroney (The Music)
"‘I hate this table,’ is the first line uttered in Tanya Ronder’s Table. It is repeated again at the end of the play, but by then the beautiful crafting of the writing and the exquisitely precise staging of this production defies anyone to mimic the line. On the contrary, audiences are most likely to enthuse ‘I love this Table!’ … Director Kim Hardwick’s simply elegant production not only boasts very high performance proficiency in the playing but also superbly realised technical expertise. …Nate Edmondson’s music composition and sound design, especially the mixing Swahili song with the Christian chant of Kyrie Eleison, is simultaneously poignant, powerful and playful. Tempestuous and boisterous, a seat at this Table is an invitation to a feast."
• Richard Cotter (Sydney Arts Guide)
"The audio is remarkable for this production. From a hummed 'He Who Would Valiant Be' to the choices of mood underscore, the music holds the production in its gentle hands. The seduction, for example, is light and bold. The recurrence of a wood-block feel in the score is conceptually beyond wonderful and the drum heartbeat combined with ecclesiastical choral out of interval an exciting entr’acte. The singing done by the cast, in English and Swahili, is delightful to listen to also. … This a production which begins in the head before slowly taking pride of place in a hopeful heart." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Judith Greenaway (Reviews By Judith)
"…the play remained polished and solid from the beginning to the very end. Table is an imaginative, deeply felt production filled with old hymns, intense confrontations, quirky humour, and sudden surprises. … It was truly a must-watch. A spectacular theatre production."
• Gypsy Rose (Weekend Notes)
"…Table moves with easy fluency. Passages of high drama and gentle comedy seamlessly dovetail. The live singing and pre-recorded music composed by Nate Edmondson, likewise." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"With a clarity and detail that feels like a true story… A precocious child in pink tutu and headphones sings Cantonese songs… With such sparse visual clues Nate Edmondson's sound design and musical composition helps set the scenes whilst also creating a family theme of sorts. A traditional English folk tune transports the story to Litchfield whilst a percussive military rolls sends Finley Best (Mathew Lee) off to the First World War. Tribal beats signal Sarah's position as a Novice sent to the Tanganyika mission and Cantonese pop songs welcome in Anthony Best (Mathew Lee) and Ben Hillier's child born with the help of a Chinese surrogate. Table is a beautifully woven story with a strong cast capturing the highs and lows of the family."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"With a sparsely set stage, sound takes a prominent role particularly in the use of reverberation and echos. Musical director, composer, and sound designer Nate Edmondson weaves music into moments of collective joy in Sarah’s (Duckworth) mission and Su-Lin’s playing which severely alter the impact of silence and shouting in moments of disagreement or trauma. This sound design is potently affective in reflecting the shared emotions of the characters on stage."
• Night Writes
"There is nothing about this production that isn’t scrupulously planned and meticulously rehearsed. … Ronder has added English hymns and African songs to the play, eerily punctuating some scenes, raising the pace of others. Moments of suspense punctuate the tension that builds steadily… Designers Isabel Hudson (set and costume), Martin Kinnane (lighting), and Nate Edmondson (music and sound) have made the maximum of minimalism, providing a background on which the cast can take five generations of the Best family cunningly through over a hundred years of historical events and social change."
• Carol Wimmer
"Mystical lighting effects from Martin Kinnane and a haunting, wistful composition from Nate Edmondson created the appropriate mood. The simulation of a lion encounter was quite breathtaking. … Table is an experience well worth enjoying."
• Paul Kiely (Absolute Theatre)
"I was riveted throughout by the faultless performances, the clarity in the direction and the economy in its design. … I advise to trust in the writing and the nuances in the acting and the clear presentation by Hardwick and her production creatives. … What can be reviewed here is the exquisite soundscape by Nate Edmondson credited as sound designer, composer and musical director. … As stated rarely do I sit in the front and moreover infrequently do I return to see a play in the same season. I will make an exception this time as this wonderful theatre piece deserves a second viewing as it is so rich in its story-telling. Not to be missed under any circumstances." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Mark Nagle (Theatre Now)
"The tone is very much ethereal, emotionally driven and tragic. … In Table, I felt the input of raw emotions and hard work. This show is memorable for its unique perspective, dazzling performances and generosity with feeling and ardour."
• Brianna McCarthy (The Buzz From Sydney)
"…it is a terrific production… Musically, Nate Edmondson’s sound design, including the Christian chant of Kyrie Eleison blended with Swahili song, is boisterous, vigorous and passionate. … A vibrant, at times very intense and turbulent play that celebrates life and love."
• Lynne Lancaster (Lynne’s Theatre Notes)
"The musical design of the show was also a key point of joy for me. Nate Edmondson curated songs and composed some moving pieces of score that breathed a some mighty colour into the centuries spanning narrative. Score and soundtracks are not common in the Sydney theatre scene today, so Edmondson’s work here brings forth. While at times the variety of instrumentation used was eclectic (shifting from woodwind pieces to orchestras to piano segments and roaring choirs), Table has crafted an audio experience that is among the strongest I’ve seen in recent times."
• James Ong (Theatre Travels)
"There is a robust composition and sound design from Nate Edmondson that places with aural mood and detail the history of the table and its locations."
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
Possum Magic
[Australia, 2019]
"The gentleness of Grandma Poss and her journey around Australia with her invisible grandchild, Hush, is ‘magically’ recreated in this imaginative adaptation. …Sandra Eldridge brings together a cast of creative theatre makers to breathe life into the characters, and the illusion that weaves through the story. … Backed by the creative sounds of composer Nate Edmondson… It may sound trite to say ‘Monkey Baa has done it again’, but it’s true. …they have taken characters from the page and made them live graphically for young audiences in eclectically theatrical productions that are creative and carefully polished."
• Carol Wimmer (Stage Whispers)
"The clever artistic team, including production design (Emma Vine), composer and sound designer (Nate Edmondson), and magic and illusion designer (Adam Mada), successfully translated the whimsical world of the story to the stage and captivated the young audience. It’s sure to be another dazzling success for Sandra Eldridge and Eva di Cesare."
• Catherine Skipper (South Sydney Herald)
"The highlight of the production is Nate Edmondson’s sound design that clearly evokes the book: the distinctive sounds of birds and wildlife immediately transported us to that imaginative Australian bush place where all of our favourite characters reside. … This production of Possum Magic elegantly adapted by Eva Di Cesare and Sandra Eldridge certainly contains enough magic to enable the production to have a long, long life."
• Fiona Hallenan-Barker (Theatre Now)
"We're instantly transported to a magical forest with gnarled tree trunks and a giant moon listening to the buzzing sounds of wildlife. … Joined by an extraordinary creative team, Monkey Baa brings to life the characters, journey and love that has made Possum Magic the most-loved and best-selling Australian picture book of all time. I found it fabulous to see a production that gets children engaged at a young age in theatre and develop an appreciation of the production and artists. The production was seamless from the acting, puppetry and illusion of travel and music and entertaining actors Alex Packard and Michael Yore."
• Weekend Notes
"Bake Monkey Baa Theatre Company’s international reputation, sprinkle it with some marvellous acting, mix through music, dance, screen animations, add half a lamington and you have 'people food' for the soul. Junior or senior. …the newer elements thrill too. The glorious audio track which gives the animals a motif. Pluck and percussion for the emu and the strings that keep Hush invisible. … This production is an experience to treasure and take with you to bedtime. Young or old, Possum Magic brings the paper and ink to life in a glorious way that children obviously adore and carers remember with genuine love and affection." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Judith Greenaway (Arts Hub)
"…this attractive production garnishes the story with low-key stage magic, elements of puppetry and projected animation." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"The show captured the story wonderfully, starting with a bang in the scene where Hush is made invisible, turning her brown possum costume into a glistening invisible cloak. Lights, music and the large projection at the centre of the stage were cleverly used to make this moment memorable."
• Teri Mortimer (Artsplorers)
Dead Cat Bounce
[Australia, 2019]
"…the work of the crew is worth commending. … Sound designer Nate Edmondson has an unusually pumping soundtrack for a play like this, making transition points ironically welcome with an absolutely banging library (which, if I could get a copy of, would be much appreciated)."
• Manan Luthra (Scenestr)
"All credit, too, to the design team, set (Genevieve Blanchett), lighting (Alexander Berlage) and sound (Nate Edmondson), for providing a stage that is white, usually bright and walled in."
• Carrie Kablean (Megaphone Oz)
"…the engineered snap from scene changes is meticulously clever. … Audio is equally subtle with effects such as bushscape, operated to be effectively under, and smooth jazz belying the turmoil inside and exemplifying the search for peace." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Judith Greenaway (Arts Hub)
"…this work is presented with artful simplicity in the intimate space of SBW Stables Theatre."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"It is a well-structured play; well-acted and well-directed (Mitchell Butel) and well-designed for Griffin’s challenging space."
• Kate Stratford (Theatre Now)
"The production is fortunately, a fairly polished one, with Alexander Berlage’s lights and Nate Edmondson’s music providing a great deal of elevation…"
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"…some deft touches from the design team…"
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"Nate Edmondson’s score is appropriately woven in and out of the production and makes particular impact during scene transitions." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Tim Garratt (Theatre People)
"Mitchell Butel’s production serves the play well… Nate Edmondson’s moody, dark soundscape hovers over the play, ‘commentating’ on the action."
• David Kary (Sydney Arts Guide)
"There is an effective set by Genevieve Blanchett, an open stage with brightly illuminated edges; a rich and subtle lighting design by Alexander Berlage; and a very good score and sound design by Nate Edmondson that guides us through the story."
• John McCallum (The Australian)
The Moors
[Australia, 2019]
"A final deserving hat tip now to Nate Edmondson, the award-winning composer and sound designer behind this intriguing production, who jangled audience nerves at all the right moments and swelled the self-reflexive melodrama with apropos musical pomp. He also aided Daly in her terrific genre-bending final ballad. For the audience on opening night: a highlight." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Kate Prendergast (Audrey Journal)
"It is a deliciously detailed production which, despite being non-sequitur free, is alarmingly disorienting and it’s ferociously feminist and with some remarkably troubling hits over the head with a Bronte. … It beings with a ‘nunnunnunnah’. And from there on Nate Edmondson’s audio design leaves no clichéd audio cue unreferenced. It takes the horrible from horror with a score which interlaces plunks and a distant pipe strike and swirls of strings and a contrapuntal discordancy in places. It never overwhelms and even has a bell motif that rings distant from a hillock through the fog! Nothing about this production goes too far… or not far enough."
• Judith Greenaway (Sydney Arts Guide)
"Kate Gaul's production and design astutely uses a slow-motion revolve to let us scrutinise moments of intra-scene stasis from different angles. ...with Nate Edmondson's music she has maximised the inherent Gothic melodrama…" ★ ★ ★ ☆
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"The cast and crew, under the masterful direction of Kate Gaul are very good. … The musical theme by Nate Edmondson was especially apt and haunting. Strong and loud, I was reminded of eerie feelings from old Vincent Price horror movies. The Moors is an entirely enthralling theatrical experience which I can thoroughly recommend."
• Paul Kiely (Absolute Theatre)
"Directed by Kate Gaul, it is a fabulously moody atmosphere that supports the play’s dark humour. … Composer Nate Edmondson surpasses all expectations with the astonishing detail in the sounds that he provides. We are spooked and tickled at the same time, thoroughly entertained by the purposefully arty approach to his portion of the storytelling."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"…highlighted by a climactic, high-energy song and dance that absolutely brings the house down, revelling in its own weirdness and audacity to become the show’s highlight. For anyone remotely intrigued by Brontë-ish period pieces and dark, subversive comedy (or if you caught The Favourite in theatres and loved it), The Moors is a must-see."
• Fred Pryce (Theatre Travels)
"The director has also made fine choices in having Nate Edmondson compose the soundtrack/soundscape: from the opening morning birdsong through lushly-orchestrated Korngold-esque fragments, the music-sound is virtually another character. … That there were going to be tears before bedtime is never in any doubt: how they happen is by turns comical and tragic. If the Brontës had lived longer than their painfully short lives, they might have come up with some of these ideas to amuse each other. Recommended." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"Part parody and part black comedy, The Moors is a tightly crafted 80-minute piece that has laugh-out loud moments. … A doom-ridden score opens the proceedings, which take place on a circular stage with plenty of black, grey and silver to put us (briefly) in a sombre mood (courtesy of sound designer Nate Edmondson and lighting designer Fausto Brusamolino) and there are plenty of musical clichés throughout to up the quirky ante. … Without tight direction and great performances, The Moors could easily be lame. This production at the Reginald Theatre is anything but. Under Kate Gaul’s direction everything works a treat and the cast is uniformly excellent… Horror has never been so horribly funny."
• Carrie Kablean (Megaphone Oz)
"Kate Gaul has designed and directed this fascinating, macabre, quirky little show. It’s moody and grotesquely compelling, with a clever revolve utilised fabulously by all. … It’s a slick production… Composer Nate Edmondson puts his signature grandiose style to the sound, with epic orchestral compositions thwarting us throughout."
• Alana Kaye (Theatre Now)
"Gaul has added two rows of bleacher seats on either side of the stage to heighten the intimacy between the audience and the world of the play, while Nate Edmondson’s sound and Fausto Brusamolino’s lighting underpin the action with an unsettling, haunting quality." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jo Litson (Limelight Magazine)
"The Moors is a thrilling production, brought to vibrant and exciting life by Kate Gaul and her energetic, intelligent group of creatives. … One gets a sense of potent collaboration inside the production… There are so many wonderful productions on the independent theatre scene in Sydney, so much vitality, so much to feed the mind, that for a production to stand out it must conform to something extra special. The Moors achieves this in so many ways. Turn your television off, pay your $50 and let it touch your life."
• Lisa Thatcher (Lisa Thatcher)
"Not often do Sydney audiences have the opportunity to see theatre that takes you by surprise with its colourful well poised theatrics, but also offers moments that are quietly moving, somber, unexpectedly feeling. … Director Kate Gaul has created an all surrounding and brilliant theatrical experience of The Moors – and like the play itself, we are caught off guard from the moment we enter the Reginald with a staging that is simple yet totally alive and ever moving. Highly recommended."
• Sylvia Keays (The Buzz From Sydney)
"A curtain, held high above the stage, symbolises the grey desolation of the moors, shimmering and reflecting Fausto Brusamolino’s lighting, the gloomy mood emphasised by the eerie suggestions of Nate Edmondson’s score."
• Carol Wimmer
Love
[Australia, 2018]
"Director Rachel Chant's simple but tight production puts the women's visceral relationship front and centre. … Nate Edmondson's sound design injects moments of portentous yet lyrical beauty. And concluding with an arrangement of REM's hauntingly dark 'The One I Love' strikes a perfect note." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Joyce Morgan (Sydney Morning Herald)
"This production strikes and grasps at the audience, gouging presumption to open the heart. … The suddenness of the emotional energy change between each is exquisitely wrought by the director and the tech of this production is subtle and setting for each new context. … The lighting and audio often tell their own story without speech. Just as often, the dialogue is rapid fire yet when the music makes its way gently through the dialogue it is unobtrusively emotional. Especially as the metallic treble whine of ringing metal gives way to the greater recognisability of strings. And there’s a superb sequence during a speech about love that is as ethereal, undefinable and big as the word itself. … Make no mistake, this production will bite you, hard, then gnaw at your world view. Love is a breath-held journey into other lives and an arse kick to dispassion and rationality." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Judith Greenaway (Arts Hub)
"Love is a striking work, both entertaining and compelling. Worth a look."
• Geraldine Worthington (Molong Online)
"Under the careful eye of director Rachel Chant, the poetic moments of Cornelius’ script soar: her lyrical, colloquial monologues are the hero of the production, bathed in glory by lighting designer Sian James-Holland and composer and sound designer Nate Edmondson. … This isn’t an easy production, but it’s an admirable one." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Cassie Tongue (Time Out Sydney)
"Magnificent direction by Rachel Chant turns this desolate tale into incredibly compelling theatre; even if the personalities feel far removed from our middle class realities, Chant’s exhilarating rigour from beginning to end, insists on our engagement. Design elements are cleverly imagined, by the wonderfully concordant trio of Ella Butler (set), Nate Edmondson (sound) and Sian James-Holland (lights), for a production rich and sophisticated in its impact."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s production lets the play speak for itself… An electronic score/sound design (Nate Edmondson) smoothly marks scene transitions." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Debbie Zhou (Audrey Journal)
"Director Rachel Chant has come up with a forceful production which immerses us in the lives of these three battlers. … Nate Edmondson continues to impress (he gets a lot of work) with another edgy, atmospheric soundscape. … There were no false notes, the scenes felt authentic and were well played. Recommended…"
• David Kary (Sydney Arts Guide)
"Do not hesitate to take yourself to the Eternity Playhouse to catch this fine production. …Love is depicted in all its complexity. It’s all rounded out by sound designer Nate Edmondson’s composed and found aural fragments. … The result is 75 minutes of astonishing theatre. Recommended without reservation." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"Love is confronting, unforgiving and very powerful. … It’s a voice that’s rightfully cherished and it’s wonderful to hear it here, staged with such compassion in a fine production. It’s not a fun night at the theatre but a powerful one that’ll make you think twice about the way we treat each other."
• Peter Gotting (Stage Whispers)
Evie May -
A Tivoli Story
[Australia, 2018]
"…Evie May is a meticulously constructed production. …creative aspects carry subtle intricacy and theatricality. From the 60s swatch of green eyeshadow to the exciting animation early in the show, the design and tech gently travel the character and the narrative. With text responsive lighting, look for the black and white of early television, and a splendidly designed audio mix, the production has the seamless finesse which allows uninhibited absorption in the music… This is an entertaining, crafted, timely and relevant work." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Judith Greenaway (Arts Hub)
"There are a lot of clichés you could toss at Evie May – A Tivoli Story, but this show rises above them to deliver an entertaining and moving show that embraces its inherent melodrama and theatricality, and is all the better for it. … With simple production values and an abundance of talent under the reliable direction of Kate Champion, Evie May – A Tivoli Story is a promising debut of a new Australian musical."
• Jack Teiwes (Australian Stage)
"This show is a must see: float back in time and let the songs wash over you until the present day melts away. The writers note that the musical is about a time when ‘there were greater opportunities for us to come together, connect, and share a communal experience.’ This production offers just such an opportunity."
• Oliver Wakelin (Australian Arts Review)
"Evie May is a strong work, beautifully imagined and executed with admirable integrity."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"This is a remarkable addition to Australian musical theatre and as one audient remarked after the opening night: ‘You should run to see it.’ Recommended without reservation." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"…this show nails it. Some of the music and writing is superb - and it’s given the best start possible with a brilliant production. … It now feels that the Hayes (and some other companies) are producing Australian musicals that can be compared to what you’d see off-Broadway or in other countries. Creative, varied and with loads of talent - that’s worth applauding."
• Peter Gotting (Stage Whispers)
"Evie May is a wonderful new work that deserves a life that lasts beyond its Hayes Theatre Co. premiere. … Adding to what has arguably been the strongest season to date at the Hayes, Evie May speaks to the stunning calibre of talent on our stages and the fascinating home-grown stories they should be playing an integral role in sharing." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Tim Garratt (Theatre People)
"…Stephen Kreamer’s musical direction is lovely. The concealed band can be easily heard throughout. … It’s a lovely little show and a nice Australian addition to the theatre scene right now."
• Alana Kaye (Theatre Now)
"There was a time when the Hayes Theatre Company productions over-amplified the sound for this tiny space. In more recent times this has been corrected and with this production is perfected by sound designer Nate Edmondson. A new Australian musical is to be celebrated and this most welcome production comes highly recommended."
• Ben Apfelbaum (Sydney Arts Guide)
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The Harp In
The South
(Part One & Two)
[Australia, 2018]
"…it is lovingly and evocatively brought to life at the STC in Kate Mulvany’s most impressive, sensitive and intelligent dramatic adaptation. … These battlers choose to focus on finding joy when and where they are able — a New Year’s bonfire, a school trip to the seaside and the iconic Luna Park fairground. These moments and many more are all brought to life by a distinguished design team, David Fleischer, Nick Schlieper, Renee Mulder, Nate Edmondson and music by The Sweats. These design magicians evoke the times seamlessly in a production that is world-class. ... Absolutely not to be missed!"
• Geraldine Worthington (Molong Online)
"At its best it's like wading against the great wash of humanity in peak hour at Central Station: an endless press of faces registering worry, sorrow, panic, anger and, yes, even joy. … And the sheer scale of the enterprise is eye-watering: 700 pages of fiction adapted into 78 scenes for 18 actors across six hours – a huge undertaking for Mulvany, director Kip Williams (Sydney Theatre Company), the principals, ensemble, crew…" ★ ★ ★ ★
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"…with spells of eye-popping (and complexly choreographed) theatrical magic. … The first act, a distillation of Missus, is a triumph of design and theatricality, evoking the wide open spaces and the buzz of small-town life. …when newlyweds Hugh and Margaret move to Sydney to chase vague dreams of something better, their arrival in the big smoke is spectacularly staged like the entry to Valhalla. … This production is notably musical, too. It’s injected with instantly hummable Irish ditties, carefully sourced by Mulvany, as part of composer The Sweats’ never imposing score. Nate Edmondson’s sound design is well-judged." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Whittaker (Daily Review)
"Director Kip Williams’ vision is exquisite, for a production extraordinary in what it achieves… The Harp In The South is tremendously soulful, and it speaks to all who have an intimate connection with Surry Hills and its surrounds. Flawlessly designed, the show looks and sounds magnificent. … Music by The Sweats and sound design by Nate Edmondson, combine new with old, real with abstract, seamlessly cajoling us from one dimension to another, making us laugh and cry at will. The songs we choose to sing, are the truest indication of who we are, and the many melodic renditions of The Harp In The South are like spiritual disclosures, engineered to touch us in the heart and in the mind."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"This is all beautifully done, the creative team making every effort to contrast the open spaces of the country with the concrete and mildew of inner Sydney. Beautiful tableaux interspersed with song and moments of heightened theatricality are hilarious and supremely affecting, with action occurring on a revolve and set pieces whisked on and off at lightning speed. … These plays will make your blood sing – they are utterly sublime." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Justine Nguyen (Limelight Magazine)
"Part One begins with a broadly sentimental depiction of country town life, which director Kip Williams and his design team…realise in a series of energetic, fluidly orchestrated sketches. … Nick Schlieper’s lighting design is symphonic in its detail and scope. Music (The Sweats) and sound (Nate Edmondson) likewise. … This is theatre for which terms such as ‘big-hearted’ and ‘sweeping’ were invented." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"…The Harp In The South trilogy directed by Kip Williams is a unequivocal success. This incredible production, presented in two parts over 6 hours of stage time … captures the heart of the Aussie battler and Irish immigrant story in an incredibly beautiful but also incredibly real expression of a society that has since been cleared out of the now trendy Surry Hills. … Given the work is grounded in the Irish immigrant heritage of both Margaret and Hugh's parents, Mulvany keeps a common thread of The Last Rose Of Summer, an Irish ballad sung by the performers running through the story. It carries a mournful undertone whilst also being a reminder of Ireland as it reappears throughout the story. With additional music by The Sweats and Nate Edmondson's sound design, moments of joy, happiness, sorrow and pain are coloured by the soundscape. The songs on the radio help illustrate the changes in eras from the big band jazz to a fabulous female trio presented by Lucia Mastrantone, Helen Thomson and Emma Harvie at the end of Dolour's radio contest win. Music also helps express the multiculturalism of the Hills, from Lick Jimmy's traditional Chinese song of Shanghai and Florrie's Italian love song. … This production is gritty, raw and incredibly honest but also amazingly beautiful in its expression of hope beneath the grime and pain. … The Harp In The South is a captivating theatrical experience. … If you've read any of the books, go see this. If you haven't read any of the books go see this. If you know Sydney well, go see this. If you don't know Sydney well, go see this."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"Especially impressive is the composition of the atmospheric score of this production by The Sweats, the sound design by Nate Edmondson and the Musical Direction by Luke Byrne. … The Harp In The South is an especially good production. The scale of this Australian story on stage with these 18 actors is what a national theatre ought to be about. … I have seen this production twice. I recommend it thoroughly."
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
"Kate Mulvany’s masterful adaptation of Ruth Park’s The Harp In The South trilogy… is an empathetic landmark event in the Australian theatrical canon. …an astonishing achievement that will doubtless leave an indelible mark on the Australian theatre landscape." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Laura Hartnell (Australian Book Review)
"It’s a warm, rollicking feast of theatre… The suffusion of song throughout the text is smart, singalongs being central to working-class Irish culture: Mulvany and musical director Luke Byrne unearthed gems… I saw The Harp In The South just one week into its run, and the sophistication and polish of the work was remarkable. It’s a great piece of theatre, with continuing relevance today… In an ideal world, everyone would be able to see this epic." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Fiona McGregor (The Monthly)
"…there’s warmth and humour galore interwoven into the script along with a number of Irish songs tastefully punctuating the narrative. … The opening words of Siúil A Rún, which is used to great dramatic effect in Part One, spell it out: ‘I wish I were on yonder hill, ’tis there I’d sit an cry my fill’. …make no mistake, this is a very important addition to the Australian theatrical canon and one definitely worth seeing." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Billy Cantrell (Irish Echo)
"Part One is an exquisite play brought to life in a faultless production. … When we return for A Poor Man’s Orange in Part Two, we find Surry Hills in a state of flux. … Houses in Plymouth street are being knocked down and we can hear this destruction… The beautiful songs of the earlier acts, sung by the cast, still filter through, but now this music is recorded and played to the characters and the audience. We are distanced from it, and it’s less comforting. … This production stands proudly and deservedly alongside its forbears."
• Keith Gow (Witness Performance)
"This epic adaptation of Ruth Park’s famous trilogy of novels about love and life in the slums of Surry Hills is a triumph. … The show moves like a musical and, indeed, is rich with Irish songs, hymns and evocative sound (thanks to the composition, design and music direction by The Sweats, Nate Edmondson and Luke Byrne). Music sings of cultural identity and community, and mostly it’s Irish strugglers, overflowing with pathos and defiant cheek, who are at the tender heart of this Australian saga. ...by the end, the audience are on their feet – and rightly so."
• Martin Portus (Stage Whispers)
"Brilliant, memorable, epic, intimate, hilarious, tragic, unsentimental, humane, loving, vicious, tender, sickening, romantic, inspiring, redemptive... In essence it’s the theatre event of the year and will remain in hearts and minds for decades to come. … Complementing the stage are Renée Mulder’s costumes: delivering time, place, social standing and character with thrilling intelligence. The same can be said for the music, by The Sweats, and sound design by Nate Edmondson. From Irish shanties and folk tunes through fragments of period songs and street sounds – including the wrecking ball as old Surry Hills is destroyed – the aural component of the plays is as ravishing as the rest. And all of it is brought together in his most ambitious and best work to date by director Kip Williams. The star system is a reductive pain in the arse. I’m giving The Harp In The South all five; it deserves more." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"The set is stripped bare, becoming cavernous and crushing: a demolition soundscape of ripping and collapsing punctuates sad scenes."
• Eve Vincent (Meanjin Quarterly)
"This is one of the big shows of the year for the Sydney Theatre Company, and… Kip Williams has come up with a very fine production which richly deserved the standing ovation it received on opening night. … The soundscape created by Nate Edmondson with some music composed by The Sweats always worked in with the action well. Some harp music was appropriately woven into the soundscape. … This was an engrossing, richly theatrical production which one was swept along by. Highly recommended…"
• David Kary (Sydney Arts Guide)
"…an epic stage production at Sydney Theatre Company. A cast of 18 actors is accompanied by an original musical score and more than 200 costumes across a two-part, six-hour play. … Original music with an Irish lilt is the thread that links past and present. …The Harp in the South: Parts One and Two deserves to be revived after this premiere season."
• Steve Dow (The Saturday Paper)
"Sydney Theatre Company’s production…is one of those rare theatrical experiences that remain forever indelibly printed upon the mind as a masterpiece of the Australian stage. …The Harp In The South is a classic production of a classic Australian work. It is a production that will stay with you in heart and mind. What is so remarkable is the production’s ability to capture the very essence of the period… We can feel the ground, breathe the air and live in the very hearts and minds of the characters that people this intensely visceral world. Cast and creatives conjure an epic tapestry of experience that propels us into the minutiae of Park’s evocative world. … You will be amply rewarded by your visit to a production that I predict will sweep the Helpmann Awards. Whatever your decision, hurry to secure your seats. I offer another prediction – this brilliant production will sell out within a very short time, once the reviews and word of mouth hits the streets."
• Peter Wilkins (Canberra Critics Circle)
"And Surry Hills itself changes as the sound of buildings being demolished echoes through the second play."
• Alanna Maclean (Canberra Critics Circle)
"Mulvany has stitched the plays through with traditional Irish song, all minor keys and balladry, passed down from generation to generation. It’s a moving soundtrack to family – and community – history that traverses the open expanse of the first act of Part One, into the terrace-house structures of Plymouth Street in the second, and keeps us grounded even in Part Two... Composition by The Sweats, sound design by Nate Edmondson, and Nick Schlieper’s baldly emotional lighting keep us swept up in the story. To make an epic work of theatre is a near-impossible task; to demand perfection within it seems unfair and almost beside the point. … A standing ovation grew like a wave; the actors came back again and again for more curtain calls… It was almost like no one wanted to leave the theatre. The audience didn’t want to say goodbye." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Cassie Tongue (Time Out Sydney)
"The production – as we have come to expect of STC, from the direction by Kip Williams; the stage, costumes, lighting and sound designs; and of course with such a wonderful 20-member cast playing at least 50 characters over three generations – is highly engaging throughout."
• Frank McKone (Canberra Critics Circle)
"Every so often something is truly worthy. And at almost six hours – it’s a big call – The Harp In The South is worthy of being the epic that playwright Kate Mulvany has brought to the stage. …I challenge you to find a more enjoyable entertainment that gives you access to a heart and soul snapshot of Sydney, back in the day."
• Nora Charles (Hunter And Bligh)
"The STC production is a long way from dun-coloured journalism, with the first play bright with ensemble activity and music — so much so that you almost expect it to become full-blown musical theatre. With clever staging and a large and disciplined cast, the production brings to life the novel’s soap-opera narrative of hard times…"
• Susan Lever (Inside Story)
"Every now and then there are very special pieces of epic theatre that sweep audiences up in their story over several hours… The Harp In The South, performed over two parts, has a similar power – and is surely destined to become a classic of Australian theatre. … Nick Schlieper’s lighting is incredibly evocative and the music (The Sweats) and sound design (Nate Edmondson), which moves from Irish songs to a harsher score in Part Two, works a treat. … All in all, this is superlative theatre. … You can see both parts in one day (a richly rewarding experience) or at separate performances. Either way, don’t miss it." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• The Daily Telegraph
"It takes time to create a theatrical experience as rich as this. And also love. … Renee Mulder’s costumes, Nick Schlieper’s lighting, the Sweats’ composition and Nate Edmondson’s sound design all contribute to a shifting sense of scale, as the action zooms in on lovers and family members and out to the people in the streets around them."
• The Australian
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Torch Song
Trilogy
[Australia, 2018]
"A wonderful, funny, poignant, moving and thought-provoking production of this ground-breaking play, which is still extremely relevant today." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Lynne Lancaster (Arts Hub)
"Finger clicks to Sydney’s newest jazz club, the Eternity Playhouse, which is gently swaying to some very smooth sounds. The American songbook – Gershwin, Porter, Holliday and the like – is in the capable hands of top-rate crooners channelling love and loss in the smoky, dimly lit confines. … It makes Torch Song Trilogy, at least this commendable production, some sort of minor miracle. Go for the songs. Stay for every wonderful moment in between." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Whittaker (Daily Review)
"Colyer uses music, and some appropriately glamorous musical theatre imagery, to drive and reflect upon the action, with Phil Scott musically directing from a grand piano at the back of the stage, confidently tackling everything from Gershwin to a jazzy take on one of Pink’s ballads. … In the hands of a less astute director or cast, Torch Song Trilogy could easily feel like a museum piece. But when the performances are this fine, it’s impossible not to be transported to Arnold’s world and experience the heartbreak, joy and defiant richness of his life." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Ben Neutze (Time Out Sydney)
"This is a stunning production where writing, direction, design and acting come exquisitely together. … The three plays are funny, witty, warm … yet heart-breakingly realistic. This revival by Stephen Colyer of his 2013 production finds the all of this and more. … The skilful alliance between sound designer and musical director achieved by Nate Edmondson and Phil Scott is testament to their innovation and vast theatrical experience. … Stephen Colyer’s production of this iconic trilogy gives it the elegance, lustre and sophistication that 'the chutzpah of Fierstein’s creative spirit' deserves."
• Carol Wimmer (Stage Whispers)
"This production by Darlinghurst Theatre Company is a reprisal of director Stephen Colyer’s much lauded 2013 production and is every bit as good. … You must see this production."
• Rita Bratovich (Alt Media)
"If you've never seen Torch Song Trilogy you'll not see it more lovingly made than with this production."
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
"Torch Song Trilogy is a beautiful, thought provoking and unfortunately still relevant work… Touching stories presented in three distinct styles all set to beautiful renditions of famous torch songs with additional incidental music that ranges in style all presented live. Do not miss this wonderful production."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"The play is so well written, and produced with such sincerity, that Torch Song Trilogy engrosses you into the world of living an ‘out’ life in the 20th century, and leaves you questioning, has anything really changed? Torch Song Trilogy is an experience like no other with a high quality production value that will leave you feeling Arnold’s pain long after it has ended." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Cassie Cheeseman (On The House)
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Julius Caesar
[Australia, 2018]
"Verity Hampson’s simple lighting, subdued but for the assassination’s strobing effects, is contrasted with Nate Edmondson’s dramatic music. ...overall it intrigues and enhances the play’s dark psychology. … This production of Julius Caesar does a lot with very little…" ★ ★ ★
• Patricia Maunder (Limelight Magazine)
"The virtue of this pared back, ‘poor theatre’ production of Julius Caesar is its simplicity – and therefore its clarity. … The citizens of Rome, swayed this way and that by the forces at play, are represented (after scene one) by most evocative bursts of music and sound from sound designer Nate Edmondson. … What we do get with this production is the play stripped to its essentials so that it can be clearly seen… it will undoubtedly provoke discussion of the characters’ motives and why the play matters now."
• Michael Brindley (Stage Whispers)
"Director James Evans has created a vision of the Roman Republic as some sort of … steampunk world, with … a cinematic soundtrack…"
• Cameron Woodhead (The Age)
"Ribaldry, humour, serious focus... clever theatricality… are all entwined to bring us Shakespeare’s blockbuster chronicle of demise by power in their newest outing, Julius Caesar. … This is true Shakespearean theatre. Alive and relevant to its age, speaking directly to the humours and irritations of his audience… This play has layers and layers of ironic truth and builds to a bloody and compelling crescendo before interval… Nate Edmondson’s composition is the extra player in this version, enveloping scenes as music does on film, amping up the obvious drama whilst giving other plot information, making theatre resemble cinema for the Netflix generation. This version is edgy, industrially distressed, and a metaphor for the state of the world today. … We see non-textual drama tell us about mood, emotion, fate, and bestial betrayal. The whole presentation has a feel of dark portent and inevitable undoing, and of ritualism, deep in theatre’s classical roots."
• Sarah Wallace (The Plus Ones)
"…her ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen…’ oration swells and ebbs with symphonic grandeur. … The production’s strongest suit is Nate Edmondson’s score, which layers in some missing drama and tension."
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"The bleakness of Anna Tregloan’s scaffold set design and urban grunge costumes were emphasised by Nate Edmondson’s industrial sound design. … There was no chorus role – by necessity in a small production – so the fickle mob reactions to the political intrigues were expressed through the soundscape."
• Rosalind Appleby (Noted)
"Bell Shakespeare’s Associate Director James Evans’s production is a fierce one. …the drama just builds from there with Edmondson’s score thundering away in the background. Nate Edmondson’s very dramatic soundscape is one of the main features of the production. … Recommended."
• David Kary (Sydney Arts Guide)
"Nate Edmondson’s music and sound design added nicely to the atmosphere of the set and lighting design. The dystopian world created by James Evans’ production is stark and uncompromising. It’s a fine production that works well even if it is discomforting."
• Len Power (Canberra Critics Circle)
"Sara Zwangobani provided the high point with her performance of Mark Antony’s famous funeral oration, which was punctuated with thundering crescendo’s from Nate Edmondson’s cinematic score."
• Bill Stephens (Australian Arts Review)
"An appropriately modern tone is injected by director James Evans, who assembles for the production, a satisfyingly cinematic look and feel. Music by Nate Edmondson is particularly noteworthy. Luscious, bold and flamboyantly epic, sound proves itself this staging’s most reliable element, whenever we begin searching for explanations to the goings on."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Nate Edmondson’s sound design is very dramatic, with composition that is bold and almost imposing at times. A rare opportunity to catch one of Shakespeare’s less often performed works, with this thoughtful, strongly acted incarnation from Bell Shakespeare."
• Kimberley Shaw (Stage Whispers)
"But those rankled by contemporary contrasts to classic prose may screw their faces up at the thunderous musical accompaniment to the show, a score that sizzles and crashes to a crescendo as Sara Zwangobani’s Mark Antony takes to the pulpit do deliver her speech at Caesar’s funeral. The music adds to the drama and power of what is a crucial turning point in the play — but would also not be out of place in a Michael Bay blockbuster. I liked it."
• Cameron Myles (WA Today)
"…Nate Edmondson’s sound design and music…feels like the result of an … alliance between Hans Zimmer and Philip Glass." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• William Yeoman (The West Australian)
"The sound design was interesting, using discordant music at times to heighten the drama… Instead of vocal shouts of the crowd during the long speeches, these unidentifiable noises filled the pauses and created a clever impression of the sometimes inhuman nature of a large and unpredictable horde."
• Satima Flavell (Perth Shakespeare Club)
"In the absence of crowds in the Forum or legions upon the battlefield of Philippi, Evans judiciously edits text, doubles up roles and stylises action sequences. Nate Edmondson’s composition and sound design represent the crowd’s responses."
• Peter Wilkins (The Canberra Times)
"Sara Zwangobani epitomised the power of persuasion in her nuanced and effective delivery of Mark Antony’s rousing ‘Friends Romans and Countrymen’ oration. I doubt I have experienced it presented so powerfully either on stage or on screen. It worked brilliantly with Nate Edmondson’s music score and Anna Tregloan’s masterful set design while supported with some eerie ensemble movement work. This scene alone made the production worth a visit."
• Joe Woodward (City News)
"The most exciting part of the show is Nate Edmondson’s music. It’s mesmeric, dynamic and just downright epic."
• Alana Kaye (Theatre Now)
"Superbly staged…"
• Geraldine Worthington (Molong Online)
The Rolling Stone
[Australia, 2018]
"This is one of the most powerful and disturbing pieces to have appeared on Sydney stages this year. … Cook’s direction is never heavy-handed; it ensures our attention is fixed on the characters and the interactions between them in navigating their courses. Nate Edmondson’s compositions support the performances, drifting in and out of the background and subtly but effectively enhancing integral moments." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Tim Garratt (Theatre People)
"The design elements bring the story together seamlessly. Isabel Hudson (set), Sian James-Holland (lighting) and Nate Edmondson (sound) have fused together all elements to provide a space in which the pain, love and atrocity play out. …there is an objective approach which compels us to consider just how high the stakes are. Cook has a firm hand on the play and a clear vision, moments of humour are beautifully placed to that the story is never maudlin. Transitions keep us on the hook. … Both the writer and production have welded the unwieldy into a memorable night of theatre."
• Kate Stratford (Theatre Now)
"With a gentle hazed space the lighting design, by Sian James-Holland, creates a crisp feel to the heat of the drama on the stage in its many changes of location, supported by an often near subliminal sound composition and design, by Nate Edmondson (and Ryan Devlin). … The Rolling Stone is a powerful play, and in this production from Outhouse Artistic Director, Jeremy Waters, continues that company's spot-on curatorial eye to the important international plays and writers that we in Sydney, would otherwise not encounter. … The Rolling Stone is as much a 'must see' as The Flick was, a few weeks ago. Do not miss."
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
"…it’s a neatly constructed work and incredibly lean and precise in its storytelling. Adam Cook has directed a production that matches the script’s melodrama at every step… Isabel Hudson’s stripped-back set and Nate Edmondson’s sound design gently support the action..." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Ben Neutze (Time Out Sydney)
"Adam Cook has, as usual, found the depth and poignant intensity of the characters Urch has created and brought them into stark, moving authenticity in this compelling production…"
• Carol Wimmer (Stage Whispers)
"…the play best manages its nuance and most compelling treatises as it steers towards a very moving, unexpected finale." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Glen Falkenstein (Arts Hub)
"...Adam Cook’s spare but visually attractive production is very gripping. …the emotional terrain of the piece is very well covered and the play’s climaxes capably scaled. … Recommended without hesitation." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"This production is infused with music, Let It Shine hymns to cleanse the palate before the horror of hate speech escapes some lips. ... A lesser director might have thrown a musical underscore at the emotion but here there is simply, elegantly, a cicada hit of the outside world. Just one of the stunning elements of Nate Edmondson’s audio design. Completely eschewing any cultural appropriation, the audio, music and soundscapes both, simply sneak in under events to highlight emotion or response. ‘Do you love me?’ comes with a slight sound effect to render the answer ambiguous. A boat on a lake barely surrounded by noise, an ‘I’m outside’ hit of cicada and masterfully, a sudden cessation, a pulse and a fade in the music score at important moments. Not to mention the evocation of cello and strings into the second act after interval. … It is blindingly good … impassioned and compassionate, intelligent and emotional."
• Judith Greenaway (Sydney Arts Guide)
"...this astounding production just has to be experienced. It is profound, hard-hitting and devastating. Outhouse Theatre has a production to be extremely proud of and one I imagine will feature in theatre award ceremonies to come. … Sound plays a huge part in this production, with gospel church songs of praise overlaying the desperation of Dembe and Sam's situation."
• Emma Caldwell (Weekend Notes)
"There are noteworthy technical elements in the production… Ryan Devlin and Nate Edmondson keep music and sound design understated, but there is no denying the efficacy, and elegance, of what they accomplish."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"This production of The Rolling Stone is one of the most powerful and beautiful performances of the 2018 Sydney season."
• Lisa Thatcher
"…as the production ... moves into the tenser second act, the drama becomes gripping. … The devastating ending is beautifully handled by Cook whose eloquent, understated staging leaves us heart in mouth." ★ ★ ★ ★
• The Daily Telegraph
Blackie Blackie
Brown
[Australia, 2018 & 2019]
"Filmic influences, particularly in relation to the cartoonish violence being portrayed, are cleverly incorporated in this live meets video amalgamation... Also marvellous is the work on sound by Nate Edmondson and Steve Toulmin, who keep adrenaline pumping for the duration of the piece, having us under control with an exquisite blend of sounds that seems to have direct authority over our viscera. Technical aspects… are complex and precise, and there is no denying the scale of ambition necessary for this show to come together…"
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"I’m not usually one to go for an exaggerated, Tarantino-esque entertainment experience – but after seeing award-winning playwright Nakkiah Lui’s latest play, maybe I just needed it served up with some relatable political discourse. …we are given generous servings of Lui’s no-holds-barred commentary on a wide range of issues affecting Indigenous peoples …delivered in a larger than life show that melds live action, cartoonish animation, video projections and clever prop work." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Emily Nicol (The Guardian)
"Enter Blackie Blackie Brown, which even warns us of its intent at the outset, with huge projections shouting that this is not a story about 'reconciliation' or 'forgiveness', each point reinforced by frightening blasts of sound." ★ ★ ★ ★
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"The combination of cartoon graphic animations and characters pre-recorded on video interacting with live actors could be jarring and chaotic, but it works seamlessly." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Kath Kenny (Daily Review)
"Everything is tightly wound and every reference is on point. He also keeps the tricky technical elements in check – including superb and integral animations by Oh Yeah Wow, and a superhero-worthy soundtrack…" ★ ★ ★ ★
• Ben Neutze (Time Out Sydney)
"The show's design ... is equally eye-popping, offering an inspired solution for transporting this story from the stage to the (comic book) page. With its use of dynamic projections with a pop art aesthetic, this is as visually thrilling as any new production of chamber-scale I've seen in recent years, and a truly impressive example of what exciting possibilities exist when stagecraft is trusted with as much narrative responsibility as the actors…" ★ ★ ★ ★
• Maxim Boon (The Music)
"The interweaving of projections and live action is complex and highly choreographed (and this is also mined for meta-humour) and while it was all pretty tight on opening night – there’s punchy rawness and energy to the staging… Text and images projected on the slanted floor of the stage – from sci-fi style mission objectives to television news reports – were an effective part of the eclectic wash of media… ...through this Lui also dissects the tropes of theatre, film and popular culture, wielding them virtuosically in an irreverent, multilayered collage that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Angus McPherson (Limelight Magazine)
"The work crosses a number of genres and therefore the animation draws on traditional comic strip captioning, anime imagery, classic arcade and computer game references, corny B-grade cinematic strategies, science fiction film scene setting and traditional Aboriginal artwork whilst also incorporating a number of television news headline snippets… The mood is heightened further by … cinematic compositions and sound design that utilises attention grabbing chords, seat rumbling bass, arcade game themes and classic cartoon sound effects."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"The play’s fantastic mix of lighting, animation and choreography make this show worth seeing alone. It’s not often that a superhero story can be successfully be told on a stage, but Blackie Blackie Brown does it very well. Animation by production team Oh Yeah Wow is used for the 'big budget' fight sequences we’re familiar with seeing in superhero films, adding an extra layer of both realism and surrealism to the work. Huge compliments to them for bringing the splattering blood and explosions to life in a way that theatre has rarely seen before."
• Davey Thompson (Yirramboi)
"The action is played through videogame-style cut-scenes and epic comic book blood sprays in the fight scenes. … sound design shifts between badass girl rap such as Azealia Banks and Okenyo, and superhero themes, which are perfect for the very female superhero feel of the show."
• Carissa Lee (Witness Performance)
"The superbly vivid content that features sharp lighting effects, spirits and spatters of blood makes for visually gripping theatre. This is aided by Oh Yeah Wow’s ingenious animation and Emily Johnson’s concept design that together beef up the lean cast of two. Director Declan Greene (of Sisters Grimm and current Resident Artist at Malthouse) uses their projections – with animated characters interacting with live performers – in a novel blend of theatre and film."
• Lois Maskiell (Theatre Press)
"There’s no point to reading this review of Nakkiah Lui’ Blackie Blackie Brown. Just go. … The marvel of this Malthouse production is that no one element outshines the rest: each work in powerful, chemical tandem with the rest. … And the result is the kind of thing — to circle back — this reviewer doesn’t just encourage you to see, but implores you to experience." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Viv Mah (Theatre People)
"Following Blackie Blackie Brown along her quest for vengeance, this new Australian work is loud, provocative, bloody, and a lot of fun. … There is so much going on with this production. …add on top of that elaborate and hilarious projections ...and the show very quickly becomes something so much bigger than a play. … Even with the outrageous plot and overwhelming design, this is a production that speaks directly to its audience and contemporary context without sugar-coating or tempering. It’s an outspoken piece of contemporary activist theatre on Sydney’s largest stage and I hope, in years to come, it will not stand alone."
• Night Writes
"This play is a sleek, colourful, fast-paced adventure that brings the house down with its acerbic sense of humour. Utilising incredible projected animations…" ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Andrea Simpson (Arts Hub)
"The icing on the cake is the lighting and sound design and animation. This is a great team collaboration. Strap in, you’re in for a bumpy but brilliant ride."
• Steve Dow (The Monthly)
"Indigenous Australia’s fight for justice and equality is given superhero treatment in Blackie Blackie Brown. We may well be looking at the stage equivalent of the movies Deadpool or Kick-Ass. Exaggerated theatrics are liberally supplemented by evocative graphics, animation, mock television news reports, and mood lighting. … The buzz is real for Blackie Blackie Brown with good reason. It’s a night of theatre you are unlikely to forget in a hurry."
• Alex First (The Blurb Magazine)
"…Declan Greene has created a brilliantly entertaining work with delightful visuals and technical feats. While modern theatre can sometimes be lessened by videos and other whiz bangery, here it works wonders. The animation is key to bringing this comic-book idea so deftly to stage. … But above all this is entertainment. And never before have I seen such great animation (integrated with skilled acting) on stage."
• Peter Gotting (Stage Whispers)
"This is quite an extraordinarily bold and provocative new show that, like most good political satire, is a heady mix of both silly and serious. … Given the presumably prerecorded nature of this large amount of supporting content, its illusion of interaction with the live cast must have been a nightmare for technical rehearsal, yet the result is extremely impressive and virtually without any hitch. Accompanied by compositions and sound design … providing everything from atmospherics and a speaking computer (a vocal cameo by Peter Carroll) … the show is a feast of soundscapes and almost overwhelming graphical diversity."
• Jack Teiwes (Australian Stage)
"Blackie Blackie Brown is fierce and funny …a 90 minute show with 70-minutes of weapons-grade material." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"Much of the play’s charm comes from its tone, where essential topics are clearly articulated via the cinematic nature of the production which also proceeds at a rapid pace. This is a quality production that looks good, moves fast and, as you would expect from the STC, there is immense talent on display. This talent is especially located in the wings, where an impressive production team … all of whom are truly the superheroes of this show. Cinematically staged, this show is certainly worth a look."
• Geraldine Worthington (Molong Online)
"The music and sound design … takes us into the action movie and then sometimes pulls us back again. The effect is very unsettling and enables the creators to raise some difficult questions."
• John McCallum (The Australian)
"Technically, the production is probably the most ambitious the Beckett Theatre has ever seen… loud and colourful and heaps of fun." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Tim Byrne (Time Out Melbourne)
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Good Cook.
Friendly. Clean.
[Australia, 2018]
"The play is directed with a brisk superficiality, promulgating a brusque tempo by Marion Potts … enveloped dramatically with composition and a sound design by Nate Edmondson. … Go, see."
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
"…Good Cook. Friendly. Clean. is a very well executed and timely commentary on the short-comings of the current housing market."
• Joy Minter (The Buzz From Sydney)
"The design of the show is a tribute to Liertz, Berlage and Edmondson, as well as Potts, who no doubt commands a tight and focused production. All these elements blend well together to deliver a show that is both entertaining and disturbing."
• Felicity Nicol (Theatre Now)
"Sound designer-composer Nate Edmondson punctuates her journey with anachronistically peppy bursts of electronica as Paterniti and Bazzi represent the unacceptable face of the capitalist rental market. … Directed by Marion Potts, in a welcome return to a Sydney stage, Good Cook. Friendly. Clean. is a remarkable production. … I had a lump in my throat, it scared me, and I loved it. Recommended."
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"Robinson’s terse dialogue is well-served by taut direction (Marion Potts), a snappy production (an in-progress renovation designed by Melanie Liertz; jarring blasts of techno from Nate Edmondson)…" ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"The piece clocks in at approximately 75 minutes, and Potts ensures the pace moves quickly and orchestrates the change of tone from frivolous to sombre at the appropriate moment in the script, making sure there are glimpses of Sandra’s escalating angst prior to that time. Scene changes are well choreographed moments and nicely underscored by Nate Edmondson. Good Cook. Friendly. Clean. is highly engaging while disturbing, principally because it rings so true to life with the precariousness of home." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Tim Garratt (Theatre People)
"Marion Potts directs this strong story with pace and fluency but at the same time augments the pared-back dialogue to reveal a carefully constructed world hampered by grief. This is a most understated drama which explores in a very novel way the omnipresent topic of land and home in 2018, and probably the decades to come. Worth a look."
• Geraldine Worthington (Molong Online)
"This play is a masterclass in how to pace a drama. Outhouse Theatre’s adaptation of Annie Baker’s The Flick is one of the must-see plays of the year. … A superbly crafted piece of theatre that will get under your skin, The Flick is one to catch." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Glen Falkenstein (Arts Hub)
"With outstanding performances and superb sound composition by Nate Edmondson, The Flick connects itself strongly to a world that is both passing and not moving fast enough. Outhouse Theatre Co. can always be relied upon for beautiful, thought provoking theatre, but they have surely outdone themselves with The Flick."
• Lisa Thatcher
"Nate Edmondson captures the soundtrack of the film genres of this flickerhouse, and designs a 'tinny' stereo, that is so inferior in quality that it evokes, captures, a remembered time of the valiant suburban theatres' determination to attempt respectful quality of 'showing' - ahh, the memory of the cinema venue in Kogarah! … I recommend this play and production."
• Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary)
"Nate Edmondson’s sound composition and design evokes reels and sprockets and epic soundtracks. Epic in the magic it conjures from the mundane, The Flick shows that the problems of three little people DO amount to a lot more than a hill of beans in this crazy world."
• Richard Cotter (Australian Stage)
"The Flick is as beautifully made as it is performed. … You can almost smell the popcorn. Martin Kinnane’s lighting and Nate Edmondson’s soundscape (which uses the clatter of a projector gate to amplify the intensity of the drama as it unfolds) is exemplary." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Jason Blake (Audrey Journal)
"Both theatre and cinema black out simultaneously. Loud music heralds the credits of a movie. Lights come up on the empty cinema, littered with spilt popcorn. … The repetitive scenes are transitioned by brief black outs, flickering light from the projection box and aisle lights, the clicking of the projector itself and theme music as credits role. … ‘Connecting with the fullness of each other’s humanity takes time … it takes investment, patience and detailed care’ – all of which Baldwin and his team have given to this long, very intense but compelling production."
• Carol Wimmer (Stage Whispers)
"Music paying tribute to genres of film, are meticulously crafted by Nate Edmondson, who also creates a variety of unmistakably unique sounds, in the form of whirrs and purrs to be heard emanating through the walls whenever we congregate for a movie. … Led by stage manager Steph Kelly, technical aspects are remarkably well managed for this production of The Flick. … The Flick is completely satisfying…"
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"This is dangerous theatre. You feel it testing your responses, stamina, patience and involvement. … This is work that seeps into your bones and haunts you thereafter, twisting from a mania for cinema to unrequited love; from subtle racism to glacially slow-moving workplace politics of envy, gratitude and resentment. A major work, it is intimate, tender, devastating, funny, infuriating and oh-so finely observed, and, once again, the commendably consistent Outhouse Theatre has done Baker proud. …I've just seen a truly significant piece of theatre." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)
"The production elements are excellent, the acting terrific, there’s lots for the movie buff, so much to appreciate. … The audio rips through genres as we hear snippets from Barrabbasy Ben Hur-ish epic through French New Wave to Irish inspired Titantic-ness. And the many speakers around the set add to the ambiance."
• Judith Greenaway (Sydney Arts Guide)
"The music from a film soundtrack swells as the beam of light from a projector shines directly at us. Then the house lights come up on a small, run-down cinema, the seats of which are like a mirror image of the theatre where we sit, with the cinema screen as the fourth wall at the front of the stage. … Not a lot seems to happen on the surface of Annie Baker’s ineffably tender play The Flick but by the end of it you are so completely caught up in the small human dramas that gradually unfold that you are profoundly moved. … Craig Baldwin directs a pretty flawless production for Outhouse Theatre Co. and the Seymour Centre. … Mesmerising theatre." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jo Litson (The Daily Telegraph)
"The staging of The Flick is a masterpiece. The Seymour stage has been transformed into a cinema, and above the seating is the projection booth, from which we are given the impression of movies being projected between scenes. … This play has two weeks to run and deserves sell-out crowds."
• Jenny Bromberger
The Flick
[Australia, 2018]
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Diplomacy
[Australia, 2018 & 2019]
"Lights by Matt Cox and sound by Nate Edmondson, are elegant, both suitably restrained and minimal in approach."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Nate Edmondson delivers a typically creative and enhancing sound design…"
• Diana Simmonds (Stage Noise)
"With lighting by Matt Cox, sound by Nate Edmondson and costumes by Genevieve Graham, Bell’s assured production unfolds seamlessly on an evocative set by Michael Scott-Mitchell." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Jo Litson (Limelight Magazine)
"Nate Edmondson‘s sound did well to contribute to what rising tension existed in the production."
• Lynden Jones (Theatre Now)
"In this astonishingly powerful production of the play, more or less a two-hander, we witness army general and military governor of Paris, Dietrich von Choltitz (John Bell), in his suite in the Hotel Meurice, Paris, 1944. … This perfectly formed play and its players is the stuff that theatres are built for. The risk, the tension, the danger and doubt and the unravelling of our conscience. … A defining moment in the theatre." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
• Margaret Helman (Sydney Scoop)
"Lighting by Matt Cox and sound by Nate Edmondson create great atmosphere. It’s not often that such a stimulating and well-crafted play comes along."
• Bronwyn Fullerton (Sydney Arts Guide)
"…this lightly fictionalised portrayal of extraordinary true events from the Second World War makes for a totally engrossing night of theatre… For anyone who considers 'talky' plays tedious, this terrific and intimate production should serve as the perfect antidote. Its brilliant performances and captivating subject matter are sure to thrill all but the shortest of attention spans. Highly recommended."
• Jack Teiwes (Australian Stage)
"Poised at a pivotal few hours in history and with virtually no action, Diplomacy is a story reliant on atmosphere. Nate Edmondson’s ominous rumblings help establish the mood…" ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Kate Prendergast (State Of The Art)
"The plot, the script, the acting and the production is as tight as you’ll ever see. … The all-round success of this production would not be possible without the professionalism of the creatives. Detailed costuming (Genevieve Graham), effective lighting (Matt Cox) and brilliant sound effects (Nate Edmondson) all contributed to setting a tense mood in the theatre. Diplomacy is a remarkable story and a remarkable play."
• Paul Kiely (The Blurb)
"This production is also directed by Bell, with an interesting and thought-provoking monochrome set from Michael Scott-Mitchell and appropriate soundscapes from Nate Edmondson." ★ ★ ★
• Alana Kaye (Theatre Now)
"This is a play, and a production, to take you out of your body into the realm of what-if. … Forced upon one by the explosive shelling or discretely paralleled with the obfuscation of our chosen moments of contemplative absence. The audio, too, evokes and shocks at a perfectly operated level. (Set design: Michael Scott-Mitchell; Lighting: Matt Cox; Composer and Sound Design: Nate Edmondson; Costume Design: Genevieve Graham)." ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Judith Greenaway (Reviews By Judith)
"The work, directed by Bell, with set design by Michael Scott-Mitchell, costume design by Genevieve Graham, lighting design by Matt Cox, and sound design by Nate Edmondson, is a wonderfully crafted compact story. … Don't miss the opportunity to experience this fine performance by greats of Australian theatre."
• Jade Kops (Broadway World)
"…back at the Ensemble for a return season of this polished jewel of a production. … Highly recommended."
• Carrie Kablean (Megaphone Oz)
"The turbulence of occupied Paris was confected superbly by sound designer Nate Edmondson, particularly in the blasts of the last scene, where von Choltitz considers the challenges that lie ahead." ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Sylvie Woods (Arts Hub)
"There are no bells and whistles, only theatre with clarity. … For anyone interested in Bell, short and incisive theatre, or the possibilities of war and WWII, this is an alluring flame on the Sydney theatre landscape." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Sean Maroney (The Music)
Three Sisters
[Australia, 2017]
"Chekhov’s text is full of references to the Russian classics, like Pushkin, Lemontov and Gogol, which would have been familiar to his audiences but are less so to a contemporary Australian audience. Upton instead draws on a more familiar cultural heritage, sprinkling the dialogue with nods to Shakespeare, with the music of Bob Dylan standing in for folk-song references. … This reimagining of Chekhov’s Three Sisters brings the Russian playwright’s masterpiece into a uniquely Australian idiom, offering plenty of laughs with characters and attitudes that are often strikingly and disturbingly familiar – but in the end it’s a brutal, scouring piece of theatre." ★ ★ ★ ★
• Angus McPherson (Limelight Magazine)
"Kip Williams, the millennial artistic director of Sydney Theatre Company, has directed a Three Sisters for the current zeitgeist. It’s a play that evokes the anxiety of having too many tabs open in your browser, knowing you’ll never read all the content that’s available to you. It’s unfocused and restless; characters talk around and beyond each other, avoiding eye contact and genuine engagement. There is constant noise – from dueling conversations, from boom boxes and a piano – an unplugged version of our constant information overload." ★ ★ ★
• Cassie Tongue (Time Out Sydney)
"As is characteristic of director Kip Williams’ style, the show is presented with remarkable polish and an impressive elegance. … Music by The Sweats and sound by Nate Edmondson help us locate the contemporary relevance in Chekhov’s story, whilst retaining its intrinsic sense of Russian austerity."
• Suzy Wrong (Suzy Goes See)
"Few productions are blessed with both wonderful material and a team as extraordinarily talented as the one working on Sydney Theatre Company’s Three Sisters. …a design team featuring some of our most thoughtful and experienced theatre-makers." ★ ★ ★
• Ben Neutze (Daily Review)
"The lighting by Nick Schlieper and the composition by The Sweats and Nate Edmondson contribute to a growing feeling of alienation as these characters’ dreams begin to slip away."
• John McCallum (The Australian)