Month: November 2013

Events, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Cameron Lukey’s PLAYING ROCK HUDSON

The life and death of a silver screen star

By Myron My

It always seems to shock us when celebrities die. They exude a sense of invincibility that we are not as lucky to own. So when beloved movie legend Rock Hudson died in 1985 from an AIDS-related illness, the grief was on a grand scale. Such was the effect of his death that the US government doubled its funding towards AIDS research.

In his debut play, Playing Rock Hudson, Cameron Lukey looks at how Hudson’s diagnosis affected his relationships with close friends, such as Elizabeth Taylor (Odette Galbally), and also his secret romances and loves. On a deeper level, it also looks at the stigma attached to what was then referred to as ‘gay cancer’ and how Hudson’s diagnosis played a pivotal role in future research into and attitudes towards the illness.

Playing Rock Hudson_ Photo Pia Johnson

Some of the casting selections are questionable but Bartholomew Walsh as Rock Hudson is truly the perfect choice. He has the smouldering looks and physique of Hudson, and his performance of the character’s inner turmoil and showy bravado is well balanced. There is an old brat-pack Hollywood appeal to Walsh that Lukey was very fortunate to find.

With the cast playing a variety of characters there is every possibility that the story may get lost in the confusion of who is who when, but it works well here for the most part. In particular, Andrew Carolane and Sam Lavery made notable and then lasting impressions with their ability to play the nuances of their different characters convincingly. It is however problematic to have Walsh portray any other character but Hudson. He is our leading man and as such, needs to hold onto that power. Making him switch characters lessened his credibility.

Much of Playing Rock Hudson is told after Hudson’s death and based around a court room with Hudson’s ex-lover, Marc Christian (Shane Savage) seeking compensation for Hudson’s non-disclosure of his illness. I enjoyed Lukey’s direction and there are a number of well-timed and balanced monologues and confessionals by the various people involved in Hudson’s life. The story is elegantly paced and the intrigue and the tension remain constant throughout.

Playing Rock Hudson is a poignant love story of life and death and with the rate of HIV diagnosis’ gradually increasing, it is very much a story that still needs to be told.

Venue: Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank

Season: Until 4 December | Tues-Wed, Sat 8:00pm, Thurs-Fri 7:00pm, Sat 3pm*, Sun 5:30pm

*The November 30 performance will be a benefit show, with half the ticket price going to the Victorian AIDS Council.

Tickets: $35 Full | $30 Conc

Bookings: 9685-5111 or http://www.malthousetheatre.com.au

Events, Performances, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Tamara Saulwick’s PUBLIC

Daring theatre – in a food court

By Myron My

We all do it. We do it all the time no matter where we are. We watch – ever so subtly, so as to not to be spotted. But what happens when the art of people-watching is brought to the surface? What happens when a seemingly private moment is made public?

Public

As part of the Big West Festival, Tamara Saulwick has created a unique and insightful theatrical experience. Appropriately called Public, the show takes places in the food court of Highpoint Shopping Centre. Provided with a pair of headphones, the twenty “audience members” disperse amongst the patrons of the food court and watch for the performance to begin.

There are snippets of conversation being played out, and it sounds as if the voices are coming from all around you. And then, out of nowhere, I spot a man (Tom Davies) who doesn’t quite appear to belong. His movements are far slower and his gestures more grand than anyone else and I wonder why I hadn’t seen him earlier. Davies is joined by three others performers (Rachel Dyson-McGregor, Nicola Gunn, Diana Nguyen) and we begin to watch and listen as their conversations go from private to public. The performers’ conversations are played out into our headphones, so even though we are not sitting next to them, we can hear every word they are saying.

There are a variety of performances and audiences occurring with Public. We are watching the actors, as are the non-audience members. We are also watching the non-audience members’ reactions to the actors and you can see them subtly trying to glance in their direction and then whisper to their friend about the “strange person” nearby. I also began to feel myself being watched by the non-audience members once they realized that we, the people with the headphones, were somehow involved with what was happening.

It was interesting to unwittingly be “on show”, and without having the ability to communicate or share my experience with anyone whilst Public was occurring, I went through a range of emotions including sadness and a feeling of emptiness that slowly enveloped me. This does not mean I did not enjoy the show, but very much the opposite for allowing me to experience such thoughts and feelings without telling me what I should be feeling.

Despite not being the easiest location to get to, Saulwick’s Public is definitely worth a trip out to Highpoint. This sort of innovative theatre does not happen often, and this is an intriguing and involving experience.

Venue: Riverbank Food Court, Highpoint Shopping Centre, Maribyrnong

Season: Until 1 December | Fri, 5:30pm and 7:30pm, Sat-Sun 2:00pm and 4:00pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc

Dance, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Chunky Move Presents AORTA

In the heat of a heartbeat

By Myron My

I’m always looking forward to award-winning choreographer Stephanie Lake’s next work. Having seen A Conversation Piece at Dance Massive in which she performed, and then her creation A Small Prometheus during Melbourne Festival this year, where both works pushed the limits of what dance can be in unexpected directions, I was expecting something big with the world premiere of Lake’s new piece: Aorta.

Chunky Move AORTA photo Jeff Busby

Instead, Lake has stripped Aorta back to basics. She uses three dancers (James Batchelor, James Pham and Josh Mu) to share her thoughts on how our interiors perform on the surface. Lake explores the notion of how blood moves and circulates throughout our systems and opens out into themes of mortality, growth and decay.

As with any work commissioned by Chunky Move, the performers themselves are of a high caliber. Batchelor, Pham, and in particular Mu remain highly committed and execute some intricate and impressive moves. They work extremely well together when remaining dynamically in sync with each other, but then also excel when performing solo parts. Pham’s segment towards the finale was a firm highlight of Aorta.

Keeping in line with this minimalist approach, the costuming by Shio Otani has the dancers wearing costume pieces constructed of thick rope, providing the imagery of veins running through the body. The sound composition and lighting by Robin Fox is also effective, with the sounds heard being reminiscent of hearts beating, blood pumping and life itself.

Despite all these elements coming together so well, I did leave feeling comparatively unfulfilled with Aorta. Perhaps it was because of my previous encounters of Lake’s work where so many aspects of the production are used to capacity to create strong emotional environments and moods. It’s still an interesting and unique piece but not something that I will remember as strongly as her others.

Venue: Chunky Move Studios, 111 Sturt St, Southbank

Season: Until 30 November | 7:30pm, Sat 2:00pm

Tickets: $30 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings: http://www.chunkymove.com.au

Events, Performances, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Neil LaBute’s In A Forest Dark And Deep

The breadcrumbs stop here…

By Myron My

Winterfall Theatre’s production of Neil LaBute’s In A Forest, Dark and Deep is an analysis of human behavior and the ugly side of the human psyche, and an exploration of why we might do the things we do…

In a Forest Dark and Deep

Here, a brother innocently goes to help his sister pack up her cabin in the woods that she has been renting out to a student. The evening results in a night of lies, deceit and revelations for both of them.

I’ve now seen two of LaBute’s play this year (Fat Pig at Chapel off Chapel) and I have to admit, I am not a fan. It’s as if he is trying too hard to make his point whereupon he sacrifices authentic character development and creates moments where the story just seems to go in every direction and then can’t get back on track.  The prime example is the insinuation that Betty and Bobby’s relationship is not exactly “healthy” and as quickly as this is exposed, it is dropped and forgotten about.

I was especially disappointed with the final few moments of In A Forest, Dark and Deep. It’s a basic rule of modern story-telling: the audience is always going to be two steps ahead of the plot so you need to reveal it as fast as possible or turn the tables. When we have already realised what’s happened, having to then watch a scene play out where we are spoon-fed the truth is frustrating.

Michele Williams and Christopher Connelly are competent and accomplished actors but can’t seem to find the right balance to make these people believable. William’s Betty lacks the sexual confidence needed to be able to do the things she has apparently done and the final reveal just doesn’t seem plausible. She is portrayed as weak and vulnerable throughout when really she must be manipulative and narcissistic.  In contrast, Connelly as the misogynistic and straight-as-a-door-nail Bobby is too obvious in all his emotions and ends up being one-dimensional.

This production of In A Forest, Dark and Deep does have its moments but the things that are wrong with the performance and the script outweigh these. It’s not the worst way to spend an evening, but it definitely is not the best.

Venue: The Theatre Husk, 161A Heidelberg Road, Northcote

Season: Until 23 November | Wed – Sat 8:0pm, Sat 4:00pm

Tickets: $30 Full | $26 Conc

Bookings: http://www.winterfalltheatre.com

Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Malvern Theatre’s THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

Mi è piaciuto molto!

By Bradley Storer

The overture of Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza starts and instantly we are swept away into the wondrous world conjured up by Adam Guettel’s magnificent score (aided massively by David Dare’s fantastic set). As the sun rises on Florence, an American woman and her daughter wander onstage, eyes filled with wonder at the beauty that surrounds them as the inhabitants begin their early morning rituals, sparking one of the most beautiful openings in musical theatre.

Light in the Piazza

The smaller dimensions of Malvern Theatre suit this piece perfectly, allowing the audience to approach the performance on intimate terms that draw us deep into this exploration of the human heart. Under the musical direction of Shirley White, Guettel’s score is performed immaculately and given full justice, and in particular the ensemble numbers (especially in the second act) are outstanding.

As a whole the cast don’t seem to have the operatic vocal size that the music calls for, but their acting under the direction of Alan Burrows is of such a high quality that this actually doesn’t detract from the show as a whole. Gabrielle O’Brien turns in a delicate and heart-breaking performance as Margaret Johnson, a mother on vacation in Florence with her daughter, and her ‘The Beauty Is’ perfectly fuses together speech and singing into a seamless dramatic whole. Alexandra Clover as Margaret’s daughter Clara tackles this incredibly difficult role with a portrayal that deftly balances the childishness and pure innocence of the character, and her struggle to reconcile the desires of her heart and the limitations of her mind.  Daniel Mottau gives the best performance, both vocally and dramatically, as Clara’s Italian suitor Fabrizio, finding innocence that perfectly matches that of Clara along with an aching passion and youthful exuberance in a dark-hued tenor.

The members of Fabrizio’s family, his father (David McClean), sleazy brother Giuseppe (Ian Frost), and his sad-eyed sister in law Franca (Leonie Thomson) are all played wonderfully, with special mention to Sherryn Kew as Fabrizio’s mother who manages to communicate all of the character’s open-heartedness without ever speaking in English!

The quality of production and performance in this show are astonishing, and the intellectual and emotional depth summoned would be hard to beat, even by a professional production! A stunning and beautiful performance of one the great new works in musical theatre.

Venue: Malvern Theatre, 29A Burke Rd, Malvern East VIC

Dates: 1 – 16th November

Time: 8:15pm Tue – Sat, Matinees Sat 2nd Nov/Sunday 10th Nov 2pm, Gala Night Sat 9th Nov 8pm.

Price: $20/Groups (10+) $18/Gala Night $5 extra

Tickets: 1300 131 552 or at the door

Events, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: A Murder is Announced at THE COMEDY THEATRE

Prepare to be intrigued…

By Kim Edwards

The queen of crime is being celebrated anew – Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced opened in Melbourne this week, and proved to be a deadly and delicious production of this mystery classic.

A Murder is Announced

Leslie Darbon‘s 1977 stage adaptation of one of Christie’s best-crafted novels is excellent, as the charming rambling wander through English village life is sewn up into a taut and witty drawing-room drama. The script establishes memorable and appealing characters with brisk confidence, rolls out the action with energy, and moves swiftly through important exposition, all without losing the actual language and style of the original novel.

It is Darren Yap‘s vibrant intelligent direction here that also freshens up the tale for a modern audience. I admired the delicate balance created between the self-aware humour that poked affectionate fun at the murder mystery genre and the foibles of the characters, and the real suspense and intrigue that held the opening night audience enthralled. I call it The Mousetrap effect – hearing an entire theatre of patrons draw a breath in horrified and delighted unison when a particular dark secret or shocking revelation is revealed…

Overall. the casting is delightful: Judi Farr (with clear homage to the glorious Joan Hickson) plays Miss Marple with wry humour and real charm. Robert Grubb has some trouble reigning in the wonderful gusto he feels portraying the bluff and dramatic Inspector Craddock, but the slight histrionics play off well against the elegant, fluid and nuanced performance of Debra Lawrance as Letitia Blacklock. Libby Munro gives a spirited and beautifully stylish depiction of Julia, Deidre Rubenstein offers superb comic timing as the bumbling Dora, and both Carmen Duncan and James Beck perform with aplomb in the rather thankless roles of Mrs Swettenham and Edmund.

Both Nathaniel Middleton and Libby Munro struggled to keep caricature at bay and their accents intact on opening night, but will no doubt smooth into their roles, while Victoria Haralabidou was a spectacular scene-stealer in the difficult role of refugee housekeeper Mitzi. Agatha Christie’s cheerful racism is always hard to overcome, but neat scripting and Haralabidou’s hilarious and enchanting dedication to her character gave Mitzi an ascerbic wit and vivaciousness that let us laugh with her at the constrained British behaviours and appreciate her more naturalistic emotion and energy.

Starting from $95.00, tickets are pricy for this old favourite, but classic murder mystery is always beguiling and as a Christie devotee, I enjoyed this production as thoroughly as the initiates behind me who were ecstatic the plot twists took them completely by surprise!

A Murder is Announced is playing at the Comedy Theatre until December 4. Tickets are available through Ticketek and online here.