As an elevator pitch, Ro Bright’s The Hall is tantalising: a story about one woman’s frontotemporal dementia diagnosis and the family that must care for her, accompanied by a live choir.

It also features a stellar cast of actors and musicians. But a good choir is the sum of its parts. And while all the elements of this intergenerational chamber drama are there, the harmony is off.

Emmanuelle Mattana and Nastasha Herbert in The Hall. Photo © James Reiser

Producers Bullet Hearts Club have carved out their own little corner of the Melbourne independent scene with back-to-back productions that spotlight trans and gender diverse stories. While stylistically their shows run the gamut from cabaret to monodramas, hyperpop restagings of Aussie classics to theological epics. They are each connected by a love of theatrical spectacle often rooted in spirituality.

This is a team that leans into moments of emotional drama with near-musical style exaggerations – whether choreographed club scenes, hymn-like orchestrations or, as with The Hall, a choral ensemble. While The Hall showcases all these interests, it lacks the focus that made them sing in the past.

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