Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. 8 Jun 2015
And thus is born a new Australian musical, a labor of love from the pen of talented medico cum composer and vocalist Lane Hinchcliffe.
At the conclusion of today’s world première performance, the near capacity Dunstan Playhouse audience rose to its feet and offered a heartfelt, appreciative and noisy standing ovation. To a person the (parochial?) audience sensed they had witnessed the beginning of something special.
The Front is a new addition to the canon of musicals about war and its lasting effects. It centers on the recent discovery of the remains of Australian soldiers (and other nationalities) at the site of the Battle of Fromelles in 1916 and their re-interment into official war graves. The story follows the pilgrimage of an old man, Arthur, played with consummate style and dignity by Paul Blackwell, as he journeys to the site of the battlefield to find the grave of Frank, a lost relative whom he never knew. It culminates with Arthur reading aloud at the gravesite from a letter written by an enemy soldier who was rescued by Frank as his last act of humanity. Along the way there are flashbacks to 1916 where we meet Frank and his fellow troopers, but because much of the play is set in the war, it is more appropriate to say there are flash-forwards to ‘now’ rather than flashbacks to ‘then’. In this lies a fundamental flaw in the show's structure. The final scene - Arthur reading at the grave site supported by his own sons - is so beautifully poignant and so succinct as an anti-war statement that it somehow needs to feature more prominently throughout the entire play and be carefully built up towards the tear jerking conclusion.
The show is performed as a concert and does away with elaborate settings: just a bare stage shared with an excellent musical ensemble and the cast sitting around on bentwood chairs in their excellent period costumes. All cast members carry scripts and occasionally refer to them, but the performance is not a moved reading. The show is largely sung-through (22 songs) with significantly less dialogue. Hinchcliffe gives us tantalising glimpses into the personalities of his characters but we want to know them better. Too often what they say is declamatory and fleeting, and this too is a flaw in the show, with many of the characters needing deeper development. A clear and spectacular exception is that of young Willy, the baby of the troop, beautifully played by Nicholas Winter. Hinchcliffe’s rendering of this character is superb, and Winter’s portrayal of Willy’s brutal and lonely death is chillingly remarkable.
Martin Crewes lead role performance of Frank is very satisfying. He carefully draws out Frank’s humanity, sense of duty, compassion and inevitable fear. His vocal performance of the closing number to Act 1, The Front – probably the finest musical number in the show – is a high point.
Michael Whalley is excellent as Keith (from Keith!) – the knock-around, fun loving, irreverent larrikin who is eventually totally destroyed when the war leaves him blinded. Josh Rowe’s fine baritone voice and imposing presence give him authority as Bluey, the sergeant. Matt Crook skillfully moves between the dual roles of an idealistic junior serving on the front, and the anti-war son of Arthur. Cameron MacDonald imbues the role of Bert, a digger of Germanic descent, with great humility. Catherine Campbell and Emily Morris give strong performances as Miriam and Gertie, two nurses who befriended and tender to Frank and his troopers. Rosanne Hosking plays Nellie, the grief stricken but dignified wife to Frank. Her performance of I’ve Seen It All Before is also a highlight.
Hinchcliffe’s music is very satisfying and neo-romantic. There are sweeping melodic lines that evoke adventure, grief, danger and compassion. Hinchcliffe, who also plays Ken, one of Arthur’s sons, is also a singer of considerable talent, and his rendition of Fromelles attests to that. He clearly knows how to write for voice: no clumsy intervals, phrases of comfortable duration to allow for physicality, and emotions set in appropriate registers. Matthew Carey’s musical direction is tight, although the woodwind at times compete a little too insistently with the singers. Director Andy Packer has produced a creditable concert version of a show that has the potential to really become something.
The Front deserves further development, and a future. It deserves your support. Google it.
P.S. Unusual fare for a Cabaret Festival, but who cares!
Kym Clayton
When: 8 Jun
Where: Dunstan Playhouse
Bookings: bass.net.au
