Thoughtful quality outshone showbiz pizzazz in this year’s top concerts, exhibitions and plays, says CityNews arts editor HELEN MUSA.

MUSICALS

Ordinary Days. Q The Locals, at The Q, Queanbeyan, September.

Played against crates depicting the New York skyline with just four characters on stage and Matt Webster on grand piano, the clever lyrics, catchy tunes and daily-life stories of Ordinary Days interwoven to reveal complex individual characters. Joel Horwood, Vanessa Valois, Grant Pegg and Kelly Roberts, steered by director Chris Zuber, tackled their journey of discovery with pathos and passion.

VISUAL ARTS

Shipwreck, by Caroline Huf, part of Abode, at Tuggeranong Arts Centre in April-May and CCAS, Manuka in June.

Caroline Huf’s disturbing digital video, Shipwreck, was a telling commentary on immigration policies worldwide. It explored, through beautifully-staged imagery and wry commentary, the acute plight of a woman cast adrift off the rocky shoreline of King Island amidst jungles of bull kelp as she seeks a place of safety.

MUSIC

Canberra Bach Ensemble. Three Choral Cantatas at St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka, May.

The Canberra Bach Ensemble, under its founder Andrew Koll, presented a thrilling concert featuring the three Bach Cantatas that the full ensemble would take to the Leipzig Bach Festival in Germany during June, a visit which brought lustre to the reputation of Canberra as a city of music. 

THEATRE

Seagull, Chaika Theatre, at ACT Hub, April.

Partly staged outdoors by a real-life lake and directed by Caitlin Baker, Seagull pitched Joel Horwood as tormented writer Konstantin against Natasha Vickery as the vulnerable actress Nina in a doomed match played out against the vanities of artists and locals in provincial Russia. Close up and personal, Karen Vickery’s new version of Chekhov’s play hit its mark. 

DANCE

Jungle Book Reimagined, Akram Khan Company at Canberra Theatre, February.

English choreographer Akram Khan took Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book into the 21st century to address the climate crisis. Here Mowgli was a little girl adopted by a wolf pack, represented along with other animals by dancers, animations and a soundtrack of voices. The hybrid choreography mixing Western contemporary dance with Indian Kathak movements created moments of terror.