I’m sure it’s both a mix of his talent, and that of his subject matter which quite often is subculture in Sydney.

William must be in his 60s now, and My Generation chronicles the life of his friends in the 1970s and 1980s Sydney art and gay scenes.

Yang’s preferred way of showcasing his work is by performance.  He basically guides the audience through a 90min slideshow, where he discusses the photos that are being displayed on large projection screens behind him.

The show ends with the poignant statement that William’s photos are like his children, and will be his legacy long after his death.

I hope to get the chance to see more of William Yang in the future!

It’s on until this coming Saturday at the Carriageworks, so get in while you still can!

Nick’s rating: **** (four out of five stars)

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In 1930s Germany, Hitler and the Third Reich started a crack down on gay people, and they were arrested and sent to concentration camps or worse.

The story starts off in Berlin, watching the relationship between Max, the protagonist, and his boyfriend, Rudy (aka the dancer).  Things start to go horribly wrong when someone they’ve just met is arrested in their apartment by the Nazis.

They learn of the crackdown, and flee Berlin, for a short time living in an unemployment camp before being arrested and put on a train to Dachau.

Max is told on the train that pink triangles (the symbol used on the clothing for gay prisoners) were treated worse than anyone in the prison, even the yellow stars (Jews).

Max is forced into a barbaric and painful act to prove he doesn’t know Rudy, and is actually straight.  He earns his yellow star, and forces all thoughts of Rudy out of his head.

He then falls in love with a fellow prisoner, very slowly until he eventually performs a final act of sacrifice to be at peace with himself.

During the last 10mins, I was fighting back a few tears.  The intimacy of the Downstairs Theatre at Belvoir helps make you feel more involved in what you are witnessing.

Nick’s rating: **** (four out of five)

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1. Mamma Mia

We luckily only had a night there, so we decided there was nothing else to do but to see a movie.  Mamma Mia was playing at this time, and Mikey wanted to see it.  I begrudgingly agreed, and went into it thinking “oh God, here come the two most boring hours of my life”, but came out singing ABBA songs with a giant smile on my face.

Mamma Mia of course was a musical before it became a Hollywood blockbuster.  Mikey had seen it several years ago in Melbourne, and of course was very keen on seeing it in Sydney, as was I.  We had the pleasure of seeing it last weekend at Star City’s Lyric Theatre.

Now, I’m a massive theatre fan and keep running out of people I can convince to go and see more and more plays with.  This was my first play of the year, and sadly there aren’t too many that I have coming up, so I made the most of it.

As usual for a Saturday, I was significantly hungover after having quite a massive night in Waterloo and then Manly.  My only memory of the trip home was the cab driver turning the wrong way into my one-way street thus getting done by the red light camera and screaming that I had to pay for it as he wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t hailed him down in Manly in the first place.  Anyway, hangover aside, I still managed to down a few drinks and go into the theatre feeling a teeny weeny bit tipsy (possibly still drunk from Friday night).

Umm, back to the point of this blog entry…  Mamma Mia was fantastic.  I don’t think I lost my smile the entire show, and of course had ABBA songs stuck in my head for days to come.

Mamma Mia is a real feelgood show, and it’s remaining days in Sydney are severely limited, so if you can get your hands on some tickets, check it out while you still can!

Nick’s rating: **** (four out of five)

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1. Bent