If you’ve caught Act/React’s past hits – Speed: The Movie, The Play and Titanic: The Movie, The Play – you’ll know what you’re getting yourself in for with this skewed and silly take on the ultimate festive film.

If you haven’t, the premise is simple: a team of actors condense a classic film, give it the full community theatre treatment and play all characters except one.

This stand-up crew of improvisers pluck audience members to play key roles, guiding them through the one-hour production with written cues, hilarious verbal and physical prompts and, when all else fails, jumping in to save the day.

I won’t give away which character is crowd-sourced in Die Hard but suffice to say audience selection is crucial to the show’s effervescence and delivery.

In the performance I attended, the fill-in thespian seemed uneasy and vaguely uncomfortable, despite ongoing support and encouragement from the audience.

I can’t help but feel someone with a little less reserve could have upped the enjoyment and energy levels of the piece.

As it was, the cast worked incredibly hard to keep the play ticking along at tempo with applaudable improvisational skills, a wickedly funny script and clever use of props, costumes and wigs.

Die Hard is deliciously low-budget but big on ingenuity and special mention must be made to ‘The Entire Special Effects Team’ as well as the re-enactment of Hans Gruber and his band of thieves storming Nakatomi Plaza.

Welcome to the party, pal!

Twelve hours later and I am still perplexed by the hypnotic shenanigans that we witnessed during last night’s performance.

Entering the venue feeling sceptical would be a wild understatement, but we were well and truly prepared to be awed and floored if these tricks of the mind wound up being true!

In spite of the intimate audience, our fast-talking, slick-looking, well-versed hypnotist for the evening, Isaac Lomman, was just as enthusiastic and engaging as if he were presenting to hundreds!

After some introductory audience participation antics (I won’t give anything too much away), more than a handful of brave souls volunteered to join Isaac on stage to put their mental state to the test.

Once in trance mode, us significantly less-daring viewers were treated to all sorts of humorous delights (again, no spoilers) as the participants were snapped in and out of their hypnotised sleep states, having no such awareness of what they’d done, why they did it, or even in one instance… who they were.

With much ‘surely not!,’ ‘wow!,’ and ‘what the ….’ internal dialogue on our side, we left Isaac’s presence no doubt a little less sceptical and I hate to say it…quite possibly converts.

Would most definitely consider coming back next time to see some more!

And with that, I’ll leave you with one hint word… kangaroos!

I didn’t know what to expect walking into a show about Hypnosis but I laughed so hard I cried, genuinely.

The volunteering process was thoughtful and no-one was forced to get up if they didn’t want to which made everything feel warm and welcoming.

The act was kept fresh and funny at every turn and honestly, I fell apart laughing at the end.

I would have gone again the next night if I could have.

I went to Anya Anastasia’s performance of “Cabaret Star for Hire” last night at Brisbane Powerhouse Wonderland Festival and it was so good – if you want a funny 1-hour show – she is on this Friday and Saturday night.

She captivated the audience singing (in cabaret and opera style) about how she should sell herself for a potential future job interview.

It is very funny as she also acts throughout the show with the audience.

She is talented playing the keyboard and ukulele.

I will look out for her in future now I have seen this show.

The show was mad (in a very, very good way).

Some of the shoes worn I would love to steal and the costumes were dazzling even if they didn’t stay on very long.

This hard-working troupe of performers were excellent in their routines, very polished and professional and hopefully will go on to bigger and better venues and success.

It was extremely entertaining and had the audience singing along with the great selection of songs.

Beautiful people with beautiful bodies who absolutely relished being on stage and giving it their all.

I could have watched another hour of this burlesque magic.

5 golden stars.

Isaac Lomman filled the stage with a group of willing volunteers from the audience and with his mesmerising voice and a click of his fingers he tried to take them into a state of deep hypnosis.

To do this takes time and surprisingly not everyone is able to fall under his spell so at this point I found the performance got a little repetitive and my concentration wandered slightly.

Isaac then explained the different levels of hypnosis and took all the audience through a couple of exercises to show us how it worked and the power that your mind holds.

Once he swapped out a couple of the participants who weren’t responding to the hypnosis and was happy with his team of volunteers the show began.

Each participant was queued to a word or music to perform in a certain way which proved the makings of a very funny show.

This, of course, would differ and be unique to each show as it is the participant’s mind and how they interpret the instruction as to what will happen.

We had a funny bunch who acted out being very attracted to each other, Irish dancing and James Bond, to thinking that everyone was naked etc.

It was an hour of silly fun and who doesn’t love that?

an you be hypnotized? Go find out.

As soon as I saw Vollie LaVont was hosting this night I knew it was going to be a great show.

The highlights were definitely Ruby Shoes, Kryptonite and Maple Rose.

Ruby was outrageously funny with her crazy outfits and antics really exciting the audience.

Kryptonite was funny and witty and some of the biggest costumes and highest heels of the night.

Maple Rose really showed the true old-school burlesque style with feathers and great songs along with her high energy and cheekiness really gave the crowd something to cheer at.

Overall a great night and would recommend for anyone to see if you’re up for a bit of light entertainment.

Well, this show certainly made for a different kind of Thursday night!

A very intimate little cabaret act with nowhere for anyone to hide.

The things that came out of her handbag would have left Mary Poppins confused and blushing.

Some good vocal work and the kebab deserved everything it got for being such a ridiculous joke.

The Powerhouse was a great venue as we were able to catch the CityCat from Hawthorne and avoid rush hour traffic to get to the 6pm show.

Visy Theatre was the perfect place to hold this session, as seating is all around the stage making it easy to get up close to all the action.

I was impressed by ISAAC LOMMAN’s confidence and command of the stage.

He is certainly a master of his genre and created a hilarious show through the showcasing of hypnotic games and audience participation.

In fact, selected volunteers became the stars of the show.

I had a good belly laugh and was entertained by people acting out various scenarios – but I won’t give away any spoilers!

My 11-year-old son came with me and it was nice to attend an event that was family-friendly and contained no vulgarity.

He also enjoyed himself and was in awe of Isaac’s ability to control his subjects’ minds.

My only negative was that the show was not well attended (half-full) as I think more people would have given a greater atmosphere.

So do yourself a favour and hop on down to Hypnosis [Live] and be part of the action!

I had no idea what to expect from a play written by Jesse Eisenberg but I found The Revisionist to be a surprisingly funny and touching exploration of what it means to be a family.

Most of the show is played as a classic odd-couple two-hander, centring around young American writer David on a visit to his elderly second cousin, Maria, at her home in Poland, as he seeks a change of scenery to revise his uninspired second novel.

David is incredibly Eisenberg-esque, which Michael Mandalios has captured to perfection.

He is very much your entitled, self-serving and neurotic millennial, with few redeeming qualities.

I found David hard to suffer at times, but Mandalios brings just enough humility to the character that I found myself warming to him by the end.

David’s unlikability is certainly intentional and helps us to quickly warm to the complex and fascinating Maria, superbly portrayed by Kate Wilson.

It’s immediately clear to the audience that this widow and Holocaust survivor with a dark secret, is far more interesting than David yet he is dismissive of her for much of the play, focusing on, and constantly talking about, himself.

I must also mention there are a few appearances by alcoholic taxi driver, Zenon, who has become a somewhat surrogate son to Maria.

Zenon is played by a very funny Amer Thabet and his scenes were a highlight, despite the fact he speaks only in Polish (save a select few English curse words).

The Revisionist explores its themes with subtlety and complexity and there are some genuinely touching moments between David and Maria.

Impressively though, this is achieved without sentimentality or emotional manipulation.

Overall, it’s an expert piece of theatre, well worth the $35 ticket price.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Refraction come out with next!

Opera and Circus are strange bedfellows indeed.

The concept of combining the two in this classic opera, performed by Queensland Opera and Circa, is an interesting idea – and it kind of worked.

Directed by Yaron Lifschitz and with Owen Willetts and Natalie Christie Peluso in the lead roles, the promise was of something breathtaking, to transport us to the dark depths of death where Orpheus pines for his dead wife Eurydice and yearns for her return to his life.

Willetts as Orpheus was outstanding, inhabiting grief and sharing it with his astonishing countertenor voice.

His expression through both voice and body is amazing. He left his co-star for dead in more ways than one.

Peluso needed a microphone – her voice faded into the background by comparison to Willetts.

She also struggled at times with pitch.

At the risk of offending, it felt like she was late to rehearsal or was a last-minute use of an understudy.

The circus was sloppy in places and while it certainly added to the performance and made it something fresh and different, the same could have been achieved with dance, excepting the aerial work, of course.

A number of the performers were exceptional, and the opera chorus was a real pleasure.

I liked the show, I didn’t love it and so I felt disappointed.

Maybe I am a stuffy old queen who is a traditionalist when it comes to the art of opera – part of the audience felt it was worth a standing ovation, others remained in their seat.

I know this was one performance and friends who were in the audience utterly enjoyed it for what it was.

My opera virgin date was enchanted and also utterly enjoyed the show.

Perhaps it’s just me but I wanted better.

Beautifully done show.

The voices were absolutely stunning.

The minimalistic stage and costumes allow you to focus on the emotions in the movements and the voices on stage.

The piece is modern, but still draws you into the ultimate love story.

Very moving!