A steady Rain is the latest play at the Old Fitzroy Hotel, and if you read these posts you will already know that I am a big fan of Red Line, the company that bring these plays to the pub.

This play is a very tense, high action play and certainly kept my heart racing. I have read some other reviews which raise criticisms of the writing, but I was completely captivated. Both characters were flawed but endearing, and the plot was utterly believable. The acting was masterful, and both performers, Justin Stewart Cotta and Nick Barkla were able to produce a marvellous range of emotions and depict a great deal of drama though movement. This production looks great and I left the play feeling that I had a very significant theatre experience. It makes a great night out.

In my opinion, a really amazing theatrical experience is one part script, one part direction and three parts acting. Really good actors can make an ordinary script seem insightful, and mediocre acting can reduce an excellent play to tedium. If you have a marriage of the best of these three ingredients, the result is the magical theatrical experience we all seek.

Aliens is a beautiful play, well awarded by the American author Annie Baker. So well written is it that I would chase any of her plays from now on. It is set in the U.S and there are so many place names/American events  mentioned throughout the play that it has to be performed with American accents. These accents were natural and flawless. The story centres on two troubled friends, both middle aged, who are coming to grips with life’s expectations and disappointments. The characters are nuanced and complex, and I was completely drawn into their world.

The set is excellent- the yard at the back of a cafe theoretically reserved for staff on breaks- including a dump bin for cafe rubbish. The two friends, K.J. and Jasper have commandeered this area to hang out. Little details such as tiny weeds growing between the cracks on the ground, and a painted wall featuring a tired ‘Coke’ advertisement enhance the theme. The direction is flawless in pace and movement so that the audience has time to linger on the dialogue.

The acting from the cast members is exceptional- Ben Wood, Jeremy Waters and the young James Bell. I have already mentioned Jeremy as a ‘must see’ actor who is always in great productions, and this play reinforced my view.He is always charismatic, even when he is down and out. The characters have been so carefully and tenderly brought to life by this trio, that being in the audience is a priceless experience. It is like eating at a three Michelin star restaurant, and only being expected to pay cafe prices. This play is a must see.

We all know that our health is the product of our genes and our environment- the food we eat, the toxins we smoke or ingest, the exercise we do, the stress we are under. There now a practical way to accurately check for some important gene polymorphisms, which is our genetic endowment AND know how to modify the effect of this using natural remedies to up regulate or down regulate the effected genes.An earlier test, the ’23 and me’ gives the recipient a bewildering amount of data and is very difficult to interpret practically.The new test will also show some well researched solutions, and this can have a profound effect on the underlying cause of disease and symptoms. The MTHFR test is well known by now, but this is just one of the genes assessed with the fitgenes technology, and whilst it is important it is only one character in the play! I was very impressed with the quality and level of research when I did my certification

Fitgenes requires only a mouth swab and can be ordered by any practitioner who has been appropriately trained( certified). It really is at the cutting edge of medicine!

The current play at the Old Fitz is ‘Blonde Poison’ which tells the true story of a Jewish woman convicted of Nazi collaboration during WW2. It is a one woman show, featuring Belinda Giblin, famous for television and film work. Belinda is an acting force to be reckoned with in this performance. Firstly she looks superb..the part must surely have been written with her in mind. Her accent is flawless and natural, and her capacity to shift from narcissist to war victim with a word or expression is breathtaking. This character becomes utterly convincing . Even as a Jewish woman I could understand how she travelled that path and could ( almost) feel sympathetic. I feel that this is the best female performance of the year.

The late show, ‘Flame Peas’ is a marvelous pairing with ‘Blonde Poison,’ a short musical piece which is endearing, very funny and showcasing some terrific musicality. For younger audience members I recommend that you read the words to ‘Flame Trees’ by Cold Chisel since this will heighten the humour!

The entertainment quality of these two plays represents tremendous value and with a bite to eat between shows is a really great night out.

Sport for Jove is one of the most successful independent theatre companies in Sydney right now. This production only reaffirms its important place in the theatre scene. The current production ‘Of Mice And Men’ at the Seymour Centre is based on the beautiful book by John Steinbeck, and is a stunning production.

The ensemble cast, led by the charismatic Anthony Gooley and Andrew Henry as Lenny, is ideally cast, and every detail in this production is appealing. The characters are revealed through engaging dialogue and the action is utterly convincing.

Good acting is central to any production and the cast are all excellent. The crucial role of the cognitively impaired Lenny is portrayed to perfection by Andrew Henry. I have seen him perform in several plays in the last twelve months and he is a rare actor who can completely change his persona, his facial expressions and even his vocal tone to suit the role. The virtuosity of this performance demands attendance- book immediately because the season is short and bookings have been heavy for the rest of the dates.

Many patients come to see me with undiagnosed gut issues.

The cardinal gut symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation and bloating. Reflux/dyspepsia and excessive wind are also common problems.

Most of my patients have already attended other doctors, and serious conditions such as coeliac disease, ulcerative collitis, Crohn’s disease and even bowel cancer have been excluded, so I will not discuss the integrative management of these conditions in this blog.

My work is therefore largely functional gut disorders- which simply means that a gastroscopy/colonoscopy does not show anything abnormal. These patients are often told that there is ‘nothing wrong’ with them in spite of debilitating symptoms. There are actually three main categories of problems which my patients have- parasitic infection, dysbiosis, and digestive problems. These issues can co-exist.

Parasites are usually protozoal and cause the spectrum of gut symptoms. Parasitic infection was dismissed as a cause of gut symptoms until quite recently, and it is vital that the G.P. order a stool test which specifies  PCR analysis, rather than a simple culture of the stool, or the pick up rate is very low. If a parasite is detected, I always eradicate it before focusing on other gut pathology, since it is not possible to correct dysbiosis or repair permeability whilst the parasite is inhabiting he gut wall. Parasites are not easy to eradicate, and the antibiotics used conventionally have a very poor clearance rate and are the most devastating to the healthy gut flora. Integrative doctors utilise antibiotics that are well known and utilised overseas but do not have a big enough market here for drug companies to brand and market them. When the parasite has been cleared, 70% of patients find that their symptoms are significantly improved.

In the absence of a parasite most patients have digestive problems or dysbiosis. Digestive problems can be generalised or specific and can often be elicited from history Alternatively, formal testing with a range of breath tests can quantify enzyme deficiencies. The cornerstone of treatment is  dietary manipulation with enzyme supplementation as appropriate.

Dysbiosis is a surprising common condition which simply means an imbalance in the bacterial constituency of the gut. Due to the work of a microbiologist in Melbourne,Henry Butt, who has been studying the gut for decades and always has ten PhD students working for him, we know a great deal about the range and numbers of bacteria which should inhabit the bowel. Too many or little of any of these will create various gut symptoms. The diagnosis of ‘irritable Bowel’ has often be given erroneously to people who have dybiosis. I send stool samples to Melbourne for analysis and then a precise programme of prebiotics, probiotics and antibiotics can be prescribed to establish a new balance . The results from this are excellent, and whilst the success can be quantified with repeat analysis, it is often not required because the symptomatic relief speaks for itself.

Gut permeability or ‘Leaky Gut’ is another diagnosis only recently accepted by mainstream medicine. Leaky gut usually occurs because of injury to the gut wall- but sometimes my patients have suffered from symptoms for a long time and the original insult has been forgotten. There are very effective regimens to reduce this problem. Not only do these patients have significantly reduced symptoms, but they also reduce the risk of future illness, such as autoimmune disease, due to exposure to toxic substances from the gut.

I am very grateful to have so many tools to help patients with gut symptoms, many of whom have been dismissed by local G.Ps. The results are extremely satisfying.

The latest play at The Old Fitz is another excellent play which is performed flawlessly. Three men interact in a room…is the end of the world near?We are not sure what is happening in the outside world for most of the play but the final, surprising last scene brings it all together brilliantly. The play focuses on the vulnerabilities of younger men, but does so in an engaging and highly entertaining way. The characters are all flawed but likeable because the actors are so charismatic. Ben O’toole, Sean Hawkins ( a recent best actor award winner in ‘Howie the Rookie’) and Jamie Timony are all wonderful; surprisingly no-one is upstaged. The female character , played by Cheree Cassidy is quite mysterious and up to the measure of the other cast members. The set is very imaginative as I have come to expect from Red Line Productions. See this play…you will leave feeling invigorated!

For a really memorable night of theatre, stay at the Old Fitz and see the late show- it starts at 9:00pm, so a snack at the bistro will take care of the intermission. The late show is a beautiful play called The Ishmael Club and focuses on a friendship between two well known Australian artists, Norman Lindsay and Will Dyson.It is actually very informative from an art history perspective as a bonus! The stand out performances are from Richard Hilliar as Dyson and Amy Scott-Smith as his wife Ruby, who has a particularly rich vocal tone which adds grandeur to all her roles.

The two plays were not conceived as a double bill, but make a very well balanced night out at the theatre.

Marina Abramovic is the most successful and famous performance artist in the world. We are lucky to have a show of hers in Sydney right now, called ‘In Residence’ and it is a MUST SEE event. Housed at pier2/3 at Walsh Bay, it is open from 12:00 noon daily for one more week. I saw it yesterday and have told most of my patients today to rush over there!

This performance art utilises the ‘audience’ is its performers. It is an artistic version of meditation and mindfulness which is created by a series of exercises. All participants relinquish watches whilst they are in the art space so there is no way of measuring time. It is silent but there is plenty of wonderful communication between the volunteers and audience members and audience members themselves.

This amazing event is free….even more amazing. But it really is priceless!

Misterman is currently playing with a short season at the Old Fitzroy Theatre at Woolloomooloo. It is a new play by the highly regarded Irish playwright Enda Walsh, and is directed by Kate Gaul who is equally highly regarded as an Australian director. Her direction of this really beautiful play is flawless. The set is fascinating and she brings the story smoothly into focus as if manipulating a camera lens.Thomas Campbell in the main role is truly brilliant, dazzling the audience with his range and depth. He is mesmerising. When you leave the theatre you would not be surprised to find yourself off broadway, having just been entertained by a famous actor. There is no time to delay. Book tickets now!

Sport for Jove is a marvellous theatre company which has been producing the full repertoire of Shakespeare for a few years now. They are having a short season at the Seymour of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ which should be mandatory for anyone who has not seen Shakespeare and thinks it would be unintelligible or boring. The English is spoken with so much clarity that it seems just like modern English and enables the clever funny and poignant story to unfold seamlessly.

The setting is twentieth century, which works perfectly and the set itself is charming and effective. I had seen all the actors in different productions ( not just Sport for Jove theatre) and was aware of the level of acting talent in the cast and I was not disappointed. Shakespeare is true ensemble work, and only when every cast member is flawless does the play flow like liquid- which it certainly did. I have to make mention of Lizzie Schebesta, in the main role of Portia who was exquisite. Seeing her performance at the Seymour is worth the price of the ticket and I am sure that she will be inevitably busy with much larger and more costly productions…don’t miss this one!