Space Theatre. State Theatre Company of SA and Hothouse Theatre. 12 May 2015
Like Fin Kruckenmeyer, Vivienne Walshe has emerged as a poet among contemporary Australian playwrights.
This is Where We Live is an uncompromisingly literary work, a play of well-penned thoughts and vivid turns of phrase. It rings with short, sharp sentences, poetic riffs, delicious reiterations, rhymes, onomatopoeia...
It really does not need the dramatic set of urban derelictions, the fancy-pants lighting, or the atmospheric music, albeit they are all very well rendered by State Theatre and Hothouse Theatre creative team.
It just needs actors.
Its plot describes teen love. Chloe and Chris are outsiders. They share unhappy home lives and discomfort in the school environment. She has a gammy leg and a dysfunctional family. He is a sensitive boy who suffers from being the headmaster's son. Despite, or maybe because of, their differences, they establish a bond which is as ill-fated as Romeo and Juliet. But this play's influence is said to be the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. Chloe, from the wrong side of the tracks, is she of the underworld, luring her Orpheus to her side.
Hence, with these broad cultural references, this play fits into an educational repertoire and is headed for a regional tour.
The many young in the opening night audience responded to the production with obvious excitement. They might not have recognised the Joycean tenor of some of the script, but they were loving it. Perhaps, also, they were still close to the raw and tender emotions of teens. Beautiful Chloe, despite her handicap and a miserable past, holds all the sexual and emotional power over Chris. Chris is the innocent, a tender, vulnerable boy very easily hurt by female caprice. This imbalance is as old and as common as time itself.
As Chloe, Matilda Bailey has a torrent of uninterrupted dialogue with which to set the scene. They're not the easiest lines in the world to deliver and director Jon Halpin might have steered her to some different emphases in some of the complex descriptives. She is a very strong and engaging young actor, but hers is the hardest task with all those wondrous words emerging from a brittle character. James Smith, on the other hand, has the gift of fluidity and the more erudite character to evoke. It's a lovely performance. Together, they produce some deeply touching moments and some interestingly at-odds ones.
We've all seen this storyline in myriad forms through the years. It's classic. But the Walshe way with words and the commentary on Australian small town values place This is Where We Live in a class of its own.
Samela Harris
When: 12 to 16 May
Where: Space Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
Touring until June 3
Arts Theatre. Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company. 7 May 2015
You can't beg, borrow or steal tickets for the Met's production of Cats. It booked out way ahead. People just love Cats.
It is true that it has some nice music and it always was an unusual idea. But it is an oddly insubstantial entity and it really has no point. Furthermore, it effectively obscures its cast in makeup and headpieces. Yet the public can't get enough of it. It has always mystified me.
From a production perspective, it is a costly and complicated venture to mount. It requires a huge and very, very fit and talented cast, demanding costumes, six tons of facepaint and a good orchestra.
Lucky for all those faithful pre-bookers, The Met has the experience and resources to bring it together. There have been better productions of Cats but this one is not bad at all. Its strength is in its dancers. It is wonderful to see so many lithe and skilled hoofers.
Oddly, on opening night Ben Saunders' 18-strong orchestra seemed a little uncertain as the overture got going and the first choral numbers seemed too heavily dominated by sopranos. Then it all fell into place. For the rest of the show, the orchestra was a powerful and streamlined force for good. One could feel the musical love coming up from the pit.
The cast is a bit uneven, but director Leonie Osborne knows how to feature the strong players so they draw the eye. The T.S. Elliot characters of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, on which the show is based, rise each to have their moment, not in the sun since the Jellicle cats meet only on this one night of the year, but beneath the full moon which dangles rather awkwardly over the set.
Among the joy of good dancers, Victoria The White Cat stands out - not only because she is bright white but because Ali Walsh is a long-limbed dancer who is a beauty to behold. Victoria is the special dancing cat of Cats and the Met is lucky to have found such a well-trained and outstanding dancer to embody her.
When it comes to cattiness, Daniel Fleming is unmatched on stage. He is Rum Tum Tugger and not only is his singing and dancing terrific but also he maintains a disdainful aloofness with touches of sly interest which are classic of the confident cat. He is almost too pleased with himself to respond to Bombalurina's affection, albeit he succumbs to a good ear rub.
Selina Britz is another terrific dancer and she does Bombalurina proud.
Grizabella is the famous faded glamour cat who sings Memory. She is meant to be a bit scruffy but director Osborne has allowed her to be more weird than scruffy. If ever there was a wig which belonged in a haunted house, this massive shock of tangle is it. Poor old thing. With a grotesquely lined face and blood red lipstick, Jenny Scarce-Tolley produces a raw rendition of the great song and the house is moved.
Skimbleshanks, the railway cat is outstandingly played by Daniel Salmond, Rumpus well done from Aled Proeve, Bustopher Jones also from Neville Langman, Rumpleteaser and Mr Mistoffelees lovely from Roberta Potamianos, and Josh Barkley is dignified and impressive as Old Deuteronomy. Exceptional with a voice of utter sweetness is Eve McMilan as Jellylorum, a loving comfort to that palsied old prune, Gus the Theatre Cat, pitifully embodied by Barry Hill.
There are others with merit, too many to mention, in this large cast.
It's just a bumper song and dance show with its stirring and toe-tapping Lloyd Webber musical formula and choreographer Carmel Vistoli has done credit to every exhausting bar of it. The stage is a mass of paws, tails, and stubby little ears. The whiskers, not so much so. That cat makeup cries out for more prominent whiskers.
Samela Harris
When: 7 to 16 May
Where: Arts Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Little Theatre. 7 May 2015
You could be forgiven for thinking - upon entering the familiar stalls of the Little Theatre - that you are taking a seat in an Italian garden. Under Mediterranean lighting, the unfriendly bricks are disguised with something like a veneer of Mt Gambier Limestone blocks and the balcony is lined with a pleasingly proportioned balustrade. The balustrade motif is also manifested as a realistic shadow along the two stairs. The coup de grâce (or in this case, the coup de grass) is that the entire floor space is covered by artificial turf gratefully gifted by Termi Turf (set design: uncredited).
But director Megan Dansie has eschewed Sicily's Messina in Shakespeare's script to instead set the action at Lenato's mansion called "Messina" somewhere in England just after WWII, so the place is crawling with servicemen and aristocratic officers. Of course, General Patton and later Field Marshal Montgomery took Messina off the Krauts in 1943 - that might have done the trick. The conceit didn't really further the action, but it certainly provided a great excuse to have lots of handsome men preen about in authentically tailored military uniforms complete with insignia ranks and the right haircuts. Bravo! (costume design: B G Henry-Edwards).
The student-rich audience, of course, knew the plot. Claudio falls for Hero. At their wedding, Claudio accuses Hero of infidelity. Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice exchange rapid-fire quips and puns, and the conspiracy to have them match up reaches its conclusion around the time Don John's mischief is exposed and the Claudio/Hero thing is on again. Touted as a comedy, Dansie also digs deep to comment on contemporary themes including sexism, honour killings, and dating.
The director's second job after getting the gig is to cast wisely, and Dansie has supported herself well, and especially so for such a large cast. The older cohort of familiars comprising Tony Busch and Gary George had the right combination of officer class and sensitivity.
Lindsay Dunn, as head of the thematically correct Home Guard, was very funny mixing his metaphors and murdering the King's English. Brad Martin as the villain Don John (interestingly, the bad guys were in RAF greys, and the good guys from the army) played a part of few words with a devilishly sly mode of expression.
Love leads Alex Antoniou and Olivia Lilburn as Claudio and Hero looked a perfect match - youthful and vibrant. Adam Tuominen was a dashing Benedick - debonair, confident, yet suddenly vulnerable at a moment. Most of those moments were created by Beatrice. Bronwyn Palmer in this role brought a huge dose of natural ease, including a song and accompanying herself on the ukulele. This aplomb is no doubt earned through her voice training at the Elder Conservatorium and performing in her one-woman show at this year's Fringe with the unselfconscious title of My Breasts and Me. All other parts were played well and even better.
The double wedding dance ending the show was a merry mix of Medieval and modern movements that was both cute and naff. The Time Warp and Thriller came to mind (choreography: Lauren Scarfe).
The other production values that I haven't mentioned were also of a very high standard. Costumier Henry-Edwards had excellent frocks and 40s hair for the ladies, and Hero's brief scene in a wedding dress would have made any parent proud and groom blush. Richard Parkhill's lighting often had that ephemeral quality of light filtering through autumn leaves while Mark Reynolds's soundscape invoked even suspense. Dansie had the troupe move on and off stage with drill hall precision. Yet, for all this goodness, there is that last few percent of giving that gets ungiven. The key relationships of Beatrice and Benedick, and Hero and Claudio, didn't quite have that crackle that makes you barrack for them, that makes you indignant on seeing an injustice, and compels your heart to cheer when love is in the air. For me, it was just nearly there.
Megan Dansie has built a well-deserved and recognised reputation with Shakespeare and other productions in recent years and this is yet another success. A strong cast and compelling production values in an accessible Shakespeare is once again on offer.
David Grybowski
When: 2 to 16 May
Where: Little Theatre
Bookings: trybooking.com
G&S Fest. Gilbert and Sullivan Society of SA. Arts Theatre. 2 Apr 2015
Princess Ida came to life on stage in 1884, satirising the great fuss of the time, the Women’s Rights Movement.
How should one react when a Princess locks herself away to run a University for Women, in which students forebear contact with men for all time, sparking war between her petulant, sarcastic father King Gama and father of the boy Hilarion she was betrothed to at birth, King Hildebrand?
Princess Ida disappeared from stages for 38 years, before being revived.
Gilbert’s problematic libretto (largely taken from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem of the same name) offers dialogue in blank verse alongside lyrics in iambic pentameter, yielding patchy, yet at times richly rewarding, character moments which coalesce perfectly with Sullivan’s vibrant, wide ranging musical score.
In short, a bit hit and miss.
Musical Director Peter Deane and Director/Designer David Lampard’s semi-staged production is very smooth moving, decorative and effective. It shows off the best side of Princess Ida; the musical score. This allows forgiving, thoughtful consideration of the libretto’s weaknesses without detracting from fun found in exploring the ‘man versus woman’ core to the work, of which there’s abundance - and ensemble to do justice to the challenge.
If Richard Trevaskis’s King Gama offers the most perfect comically, snide unpleasant character realisation of musical score and libretto in battle with Peter Hopkins’ King Hildebrand, Joanna McWaters perfectly realises Lampard and Deane’s take on Princess Ida as a highly intelligent bare foot, t-shirt and jean-clad warrior princess.
McWaters offers fierce charismatic presence and voice, matching up nicely against James Nicholson’s Hilarion. Nicholson plays the role with the assured air of a well to do, lightly smug toff of honest heart, with romance soaked voice to express it. His boon companions, Florian (Nicolas Perrotta) and amiable Cyril (Beau Sandford), pair perfectly with him.
Amongst Princess Ida’s University world of potential St Trinian style rebel girls, it’s lecturers Lady Psyche (Victoria Coxhill), Lady Blanche (Meran Bow) and her student daughter Melissa (Vanessa Lee Shirley) who provide not only sharp lyrical lines and witty comic stage business but the catalyst, along with the invading men Hilarion, Cyril and Florian, that determines Princess Ida’s fate.
David O’Brien
When: 23 Apr to 2 May 2015
Where: Arts Theatre
Bookings: gandssa.com.au
State Theatre Company. The Dunstan Playhouse. 28 April 2015
Australian Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is regarded as a turning point in Australian drama for its realistic depiction of ordinary Australian battlers. Lawler was riding the crest of a wave initially generated by Eugene O'Neill and perfected by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Glass Menagerie (1944) and Streetcar Named Desire (1947) all preceded the Doll (1955). Each of these plays takes place in a household where a change disrupts the family situation. The authors accomplish their narrative without flashback or narration, and condense their play's critical conflict into a singularity which explodes like a dying star… and things can never be the same.
This is the seventeenth year that besties Roo and Barney travel south from the cane fields for the lay-off. They descend on the Melbourne abode of Olive, Roo's girl, and her mum, Emma, for five months of laughs. This year is different. Barney's squeeze, Nancy, has left the scene after seventeen years, and Olive has invited her barmaid pal, Pearl, to fill the gap. There's also heaps of new baggage brought from the cane fields, and it's all got to get sorted before final applause.
I didn't care for this production. Set designer Pip Runciman's interpretation of a 1950s Melbourne worker's cottage resembled a funeral parlour, and its expansiveness dissipated the energy. The enormous cornices belonged in Toorak. Lizzy Falkland's overly severe, negative and dour Pearl, with the set and from the get-go, too strongly foreshadowed the lifting of the veil on the lay-off set-up, and badly diminished the play's journey. Elena Carapetis's Olive had hard work against these features in trying to establish the excitement and anticipation of the boys coming back. The only stuff on the set was what was absolutely required, and this was insufficient to manifest the nearly two decades of accretion that ought to be so violently disassembled in the second half.
Chris Pitman's Roo was reduced to a Neanderthal brute - too lost in self-pity and one-dimensional. Tim Overton's Johnny Dowd - the young ganger and threat to Roo ruling the roost - performed in a straitjacket labeled threatening - and his offer of reconciliation looked disingenuous. Even the affable Barney, in the hands of Rory Walker, seemed an insidious schemer instead of a comic waster. Annabel Matheson did Bubba (the young neighbour) well, and Jacqy Phillips as the irascible Emma stole her every scene. The scuffle choreographed by Duncan Maxwell was not good.
Clearly there was a design intention in these performance and production elements under the direction of Geordie Brookman. But the result was mannered and turgid. The subversion of naturalism, lines being delivered out front, the overwrought performances and sad and heavy characterisations failed to convey the arc from hopefulness to loss. They were doomed from the start.
David Grybowski
When: 24 April to 16 May
Where: Dunstan Playhouse
Bookings: bass.net.au
Photography by Shane Reid
