Anna Goldsworthy. Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Space Theatre. 7 Jun 2015
Festival Artistic Director Barrie Humphries trumpets that as far as cabaret is concerned “there are no rules”, and Piano Lessons attests to that. Whatever cabaret is, Piano Lessons is not that. It is cerebral high art; it is sophisticated comedy; it is beautiful music making; it is deeply affecting and immensely satisfying. It is a play about the special relationship between a gifted piano student and her inspiring teacher, and it is underscored with superb piano artistry.
Piano Lessons is the stage adaptation of Anna Goldsworthy’s successful memoir of the same name published in 2009, in which she recounts her musical ‘growing up’ and metamorphosis into an internationally acclaimed concert pianist under the expert tutelage and critical eye of renowned Russian-born teacher Eleonora Sivan who resides in Adelaide.
For more than two hours Goldsworthy holds us spellbound in her hands as she traces her musical journey from the age of nine through to early adulthood. We witness her fumbling efforts as a child who can play the notes but lacks the soul and understanding to bring the music to life. How hard it must have been for Goldsworthy to wind the years back and actually play badly! Always looking over her shoulder or lurking in the shadows is Sivan, who was perceptively played by professional actor Helen Howard.
The written memoir struck a chord with many, but the stage version has brought the writing to life in quite unexpected ways. Not only is the music mentioned in the book brought to life, we are given a glimpse into the psyche of the composer and into the world of the teacher whose job it is to assist the student to make the music their own and to live it, rather than just play it.
Goldsworthy interpolates finely balanced wit and humor into her role as she plays herself. We see her as concert pianist and as a competent actress. We see her as an awkward girl, and as a confident artist who has ‘arrived’. Goldsworthy’s rapport with Howard is tangible – they are student and teacher. The staging and the lighting were well designed, and Michael Futcher’s dramaturgy and direction allowed Goldsworthy and Howard to make excellent use of the performance space and to convincingly portray both time and locations. Howard’s voice-overs of Goldsworthy’s family members also injected a bit of spice, it tarted the performance up somewhat and kept the audience grounded.
Goldsworthy played just enough ‘near-complete’ extracts from the music of Mozart, Bach, Liszt and Chopin to keep the audience spell-bound and believing they were in the concert hall and not at a cabaret.
Great stuff!
Kym Clayton
When: 6 to 8 Jun
Where: Space Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
