Dave Drayton, Journalist

Lewis’s symphony of Davidson’s short stories is dark, somehow nearly staccato throughout with its blow after blow, but incredibly beautiful.

“Usually in design you do look at film – it’s a good benchmark for period and stuff – but this one came quite organically in a way. My sister was wearing the fashions of the ‘80s as a teenager so I’ve got lots of memories of her clothing…”

"The physical aspect of this orchestra performing the score live adds another layer to the whole thing and people will experience it in a different way.”

Much of the comedy comes from cliché and by definition the universal teenage experience is at its core the same, but while far from original it is irresistibly honest.

We know how this story ends, like so many others, but Neil Armfield’s directorial vision ensures we get there with a new understanding of its lasting impact and importance.

“Hot Dub Time Machine is the world’s first time-travelling dance party, and it’s a dance party with a bit of a twist; we travel backwards in time to 1954 and then party our way back to 2012

Scott Wright guides Dave Drayton through uncanny valley as they discuss Murder.

“It’s exciting to see a tale like this on a Broadway theatre, or in a main stage State company, that’s quite thrilling because certainly this kind of play doesn’t usually get put in front of a mainstream audience."

"I would rather talk about what people are into and what people actually like, you know, the guilty pleasures that we love – that’s exciting to me – and it ties into my love of camp and of kitsch and the audacity of praising something that seems glib or supercilious."

Kate Champion’s choreography is brilliant, particularly evocative in the drawn out sex scenes featuring our pro/antagonist and a life-sized puppet.

“In a polyphonic sense, lots of perspectives are possible, and that’s what I want to offer.”

Here's what Dave Drayton dug this year.