Category: Theatre

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Q44 Theatre Presents FOOL FOR LOVE

Outstanding new production of a classic

By Myron My

The tale of two lovers in a tumultuous relationship has been told time and time again, to the point it can be difficult to tell such a story in a way that will draw your audience in and leave them wanting more. It can also be daunting to do well when using Sam Shepard’s well-known play, Fool For Love. However, in Red Theatricals‘ new production, they manage to do all this and a whole lot more.

Fool For LovePresented by Q44 Theatre Company, it’s an exhilarating ride watching this dark tale unfold and this is mostly due to the performances of its two leads, Mark Davis and Rebecca Fortuna who are, quite frankly, phenomenal. They have truly captured their characters and the chemistry is electric in their scenes together.

Davis’ transformation into Eddie the cowboy stunt man is one of the best male performances I have seen so far this year: with the assured way he walks, the charming and sexy way he looks, to the masculine way he slings a lasso and cleans his gun, Davis make this character highly complex and intriguing. Through the course of the play’s evening, we come to understand that Eddie is always going to get what he wants no matter what, even when he’s not sure what that is; he is simultaneously our hero and our antagonist.

Similarly, Fortuna’s depiction of the strong yet fragile May is genuine and honest. Purely from the look in her eyes, you can sense her character is stuck in a situation she does not know how to get out of, and that it will eventually end up killing her, either metaphorically or literally. Fortuna allows her whole body and performance to be painfully taken over by May as events culminate on this tragic evening.

They are ably supported by Sam Allen as the ghost-like Old Man, who sits side of stage in his rocking chair, drinking his alcohol. Even though he’s not in the action, we can sense his presence and the hold he has over these two lovers. William Prescott rounds out the cast as Martin, the man that May feels like she needs to be with but may not be who she wants to be with. Prescott plays Martin well as the polar opposite of Eddie, and you could even go so far as to say he is an Edgar to Eddie’s Heathcliff.

While I question one or two directing decisions, Gabriella Rose-Carter effectively creates much action on stage while keeping in the claustrophobic confines of a small, seedy hotel room. Rose-Carter has managed to bring out raw and passionate performances from all the actors in this production, which is rare to see these days.

32 years after it was written, Fool For Love still packs a punch, with its themes of love, family and patriarchal society still relevant today. Red Theatricals not only do justice to the play but also manage to put its own unique touches to it. This powerful production is already a firm highlight of 2015 and should not be missed.

Venue: Q44 Theatre, 550 Swan St, Richmond.
Season: Until 28 June | Wed- Sat 7:30pm, Sun 6:30pm
Tickets: $35 Full | $27 Conc
Bookings: Q44 Theatre

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Annie Ferguson’s LITTLE DAUGHTERS

Stories of silence, speaking out and survival

By Myron My

There’s a strong sense of unease as I take my seat for Little Daughters. Having to walk through the seven motionless actors on the stage to get to my seat is quite eerie and almost intimidating. They are all dressed in black and with the stage bare and cloaked in black too, there is a dark mood that covers the room. The six men on stage stare intently at the sole woman: their eyes pierce through her skin as if they were daggers.

Little Daughters

It is never explicitly stated what happens to this woman (Annie Lumsden) but we get enough information to know that she is the victim of a sexual assault. The six men portray a doctor, boyfriend, friends and possible assailant. The one thing they all have in common though is their demand at controlling and handling the situation. While the men discuss the woman’s assault among them, they consistently talk at her when addressing the issue. The idea that she perhaps needs to forget about it and move on is thrown around, and there is an echo of doubt and frustration coming from them all, in particular the over-the-top portrayal of her doctor (Martin Can De Wouw), who is comically frightening in his assessment and treatment of Lumsden’s character.

Director Zachary Ruane delivers some great moments in his direction of Little Daughters: in particular, when having the men not only exit the stage at one point, but exit the room all together. Initially it’s down to Lumsden and Raymond Martini on stage. Again, while nothing is confirmed, you get the strong impression that his character is her assailant. It’s an ambiguously confronting moment that Ruane handles with great skill.

Ultimately it is once Martini leaves the room that Lumsden’s character can finally open up and speak freely about her experience and emotions. Sadly though, she can only feel like being honest when she is alone, when she is no longer being talked at or patronised or threatened by the men in her life. It’s a strange monologue but it shows the thought process and ideas that formulate in the mind of a survivor of sexual violence.

The reason it all feels so real and exposed is because playwright Annie Ferguson has based Little Daughters – her first full-length play – on her own personal experience with sexual violence. It’s an extremely brave piece that has been in formation for a number of years, that now generates the right amount of tension and exposition to slowly envelop us. Even though Lumsden’s character’s story is based on Ferguson’s experience, it could be anyone’s story, and we are all inside that story and we all need to start listening to survivors of sexual violence to bring that story to an end.

Venue: La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday Street, Carlton
Season: Until 21 June | Wed 6:30pm, Thurs-Sat 7:30pm, Sun 4pm
Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc
Bookings: La Mama Theatre

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Red Stitch Presents LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

Fine performances in difficult play

By Myron My

In June 1967, The Beatles appeared on Our World, the world’s first live television satellite link-up that was watched by roughly 400 million people across the world. While this major event was happening, playwright Mike Bartlett has envisioned a much smaller life-changing moment also occurring. In Love, Love, Love, presented by Red Stitch and directed by Denny Lawrence, two free-spirited nineteen year-olds meet for the first time in a small London flat. Sparks are immediate, and we visit their relationship again in 1990, and then in 2011.

Directed by Denny Lawrence , CAST : ELLA CALDWELL, PAUL ASHCROFT : JORDAN FRASER TRUMBLE , RORY KELLY & JEM NICHOLAS
Directed by Denny Lawrence ,
CAST : ELLA CALDWELL, PAUL ASHCROFT : JORDAN FRASER TRUMBLE , RORY KELLY & JEM NICHOLAS

The chance encounter between Kenneth and Sandra (Paul Ashcroft and Ella Caldwell) in the first act is full of excitement and energy and there is a genuine spark between the two actors. With the addition of Jordan Fraser-Trumble as Kenneth’s more conservative older brother, the script develops at a solid pace. However, the following two acts struggled to retain my interest as much as the first. There was nothing engaging or new about what I was watching and it culminated in a pseudo-ending with white middle-class people complaining about how hard life is. It reached the point where the characters themselves become far less likeable, especially Sandra who ends up resembling a B-grade character from Absolutely Fabulous.

For their part though, Caldwell and Ashcroft put in solid performances and watching them interact on stage together was a highlight of the whole production. It’s a shame these impressive actors weren’t given something more substantial into which they could sink their teeth. Rory Kelly and Jem Nicholas do well with their roles as Kenneth and Sandra’s children, Jamie and Rosie, despite how terribly they are written. I was also quite impressed with Fraser-Trumble, and would have liked to see him and his character return later in the story.

I am still amazed at the visual transformations of the stage space in Red Stitch shows. I can’t recall a season where it has been anything but inspiring, and the same can be said about Love, Love, Love. The costumes by Sophie Woodward and set design by Jacob Battista are appealing and well-presented, although the second act takes place in 1990 but still had a strong 80s feel to it visually.

The direction started off strong and felt very alive and in the moment but by the time we got to the final act, it seemed to become unimaginative and almost lazy. The actors appeared to be stuck trying to keep the momentum gathering, while the storyline became mundane and predictable. A potential plot with Jamie was incredulously ignored and I was baffled as to why we ended up dealing with the chosen issues.

Despite the positive start to Love, Love Love, from the second act onwards the hard work begins to slowly unravel. Even with the great performances by the two leads, it is one of the less memorable works put to stage by Red Stitch.

Venue: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, 2 Chapel St, St. Kilda.
Season: Until 4 July | Wed- Sat 8:00pm, Sat 3:00pm, Sun 6:30pm
Tickets: $37 Full | $20-27 Conc
Bookings: Red Stitch Actors Theatre

Image by Jodie Hutchinson

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Moreland Theatre Company Presents THE BACCHAE

Classic Greek tragedy dramatically reimagined

By Michael Olsen

Moreland Theatre Company’s The Bacchae by Euripides concerns the arrival in the city of Thebes of the god Dionysus (in human form), and the inevitable clash that arises between this god of merriment and chaos and the patrician leader of the city, Pentheus. While Dionysus represents the emotional wellspring of life and offers an escape from life’s hardships through drunken revelry on Mt Citharon (which lies outside the city), Pentheus stands for order and control, and this dichotomy is enhanced by having Dionysus in this instance played by a woman (Kate Barford in a challenging role which she pulled off magnificently.)

The Bacchae

Director Sam Browne has taken an updated text of the play (translated by Ian Johnston and adapted by John Kelly and Matt O’Reilly) and has clearly presented the gripping conflict not only between Dionysus and Pentheus, but also the contradictions within Dionysus herself (god of merriment vs avenging god). Whilst the formality of the play distances us somewhat from the characters, the conclusion is devastating and an uneasy catharsis is reached. The heart of the production which Browne handles so well is to present the fatal imbalance that can occur when the masculine and feminine sides of our personality are in conflict, and the horrors that a vengeful god can unleash.

Karl Sarsfield stood out as the commanding and unbending Pentheus, while Angelique Malcolm as his mother, Agave, transfixed with the play’s climactic moment when she slowly realises what she’s done in a moment of utter madness. Special mention should be made of Victoria Haslam‘s costume design for the Bacchae, which helped to energise and bring vivid colour to the production.

After more than 2000 years The Bacchae speaks to us of the results of disobedience, unbending rationality, and the terrors of unbridled passion. Is Dionysus right to take the revenge she takes? Who knows. Euripides seems to be saying for better or worse: “That’s life.”

The Bacchae runs till the 13th of June at 8pm at the Metanoia Theatre at The Mechanics Institute
270 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Tickets: Book online or cash at the door. For more details go to www.moreland.org.au

Image by Teresa Noble

Events, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: MTC Presents NORTH BY NORTHWEST

MTC’s masterly salute to the master of suspense

By Rachel Holkner

How will they do the scene on Mount Rushmore? This has to be the question at the front of the mind of any audience member familiar with Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film North By Northwest. In this world premiere production by the Melbourne Theatre Company the film is adapted for the stage by Carolyn Burns in ingenious and highly entertaining ways.

North by Northwest

The story follow the trials of Roger Thornhill, a New York advertising man mistaken for a spy. Following leads and leading chases across several states on trains and planes, through hotels and auction house, Thornhill gradually uncovers a larger plot with higher stakes than a simple case of mistaken identity. High-paced action scenes are interspersed with romantic interludes, all peppered with witty dialogue. One of North By Northwest‘s main attractions: it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

More of a straight reenactment rather than a reimagining, director Simon Phillips‘ stage adaption sometimes holds a bit too tightly to the film. A few (very few) moments do not translate well, and might be a bit odd to anyone not familiar with Hitchcock’s work. Several characters are straight impersonations of the film’s actors, and this was to the play’s detriment. Occasionally it felt as though the actors did not have full ownership of their parts.

The cast of twelve do a spectacular job in taking on the work of a cast of thousands. With the aid of amazing costuming, wigs and headgear by costume designer Esther Marie Hayes it was easy to forget that the woman dining in the train had minutes ago been in a stand-up argument as Thornhill’s mother. Matt Day is excellent as Roger Thornhill, as was Amber McMahon as Eve Kendall, the femme fatale. Many other familiar names bring their strength to the production including Nicholas Bell, Tony Llewellyn-Jones, Deidre Rubenstein and Matt Hetherington. The entire cast deserves high praise for their faultless and energetic work.

However, the show-stealing performance, that which received the most spontaneous applause, laughs and gasps from the audience was the staging. An incredibly creative use of a massive rear-projection screen used with live-action miniatures brings the language of film right onto the stage. Complete with an opening credit sequence nod to the kinetic typography of Saul Bass (titles designer of many of Hitchcock’s films), no opportunity was lost to draw the audience into the play and into the manipulative world of 1950s America.

The audience shared in the glee of the cast as they interacted at frequent intervals with items key to the setting, whether writing notes, pouring drinks or driving tiny cars, these actions were projected to provide close-ups, midshots and moving backgrounds key to keeping the production as close to Hitchcock’s vision as possible. The iconic cropduster scene is gobsmackingly good, keeping us simultaneously on the edge of our seats and in fits of laughter.

I cannot know how much someone not familiar with the film would enjoy this production, however lines which I was merely nodding to as I recognised them, were getting genuine laughs from the audience which would indicate that there is enough clarity and freshness here for all. MTC’s North By Northwest is an amazing achievement. Hilarious, tense and dramatic at all the right moments. You won’t regret seeing this one, it’s sensational.

And as for Mount Rushmore? Well I can’t tell you. You simply wouldn’t believe me.

Venue: Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
Season: Until 20 June 2015
Tickets: $51-$124
Bookings: http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: The Owl and the Cat Presents RIOT!

Enthralling and confronting

By Christine Young

Riot! by Thomas Ian Doyle is a brave and bold new play offering a fly-on-the-wall’s peek into 32-year old Jim’s disillusioned existence. Jim (Johnathan Peck) is having an existential crisis whose cause is unknown until near the end of the play. It won’t be revealed in this review but this bombshell is a sudden awakening to Jim’s state of despair. Even so, the revelation doesn’t absolve Jim of responsibility for his trail of chaos.

RIOT!

Peck portrays the disaffected Jim capably with close attention to the character’s physical and mental ups and downs. At the start, Johnathan seemed to have some opening night jitters but soon relaxed and grew more at ease as the play went on. In a small space, such as The Owl and Cat Theatre, the audience can see and hear every detail. This is a challenge to which the cast rises overall. For me, Gareth Trew as Gavin gave the best performance of the night. Riot! is typically naturalistic theatre and Trew understands the nuances of performing in a play depicting gritty realism.

The intimate theatre seats 32 people and the performance takes place on a stage that is around the size of a two-bedroom flat’s loungeroom. Action alternates between Jim’s flat; a café; his ex-partner’s house; and his manager’s office at Burger Palace. Scene and set changes are simple and effective. The play is so captivating that the transition between these locations is not too noticeable. It’s also because the theatre company and director Gabrielle Savrone make good use of the available space with only minor prop changes between scenes.

The other main effect of being in this small space is that the audience is directly sticky-beaking into Jim’s private life. And the sex scenes occur right at the front of the stage. This reviewer was seated in the last row so there was enough distance not to be completely taken aback. If you’re particularly uncomfortable with nudity and sex scenes, this is not the play for you. The sex isn’t out of place or frequent but you need to know what you’re in for. Likewise, you may not like this play if you’re homophobic but maybe that’s all the more reason to see it.

Venue: The Owl and Cat Theatre, 34 Swan St, Richmond
Date: Until 14 June, 2015
Time: Mon-Sat, 7pm and Sat 2pm
Tickets: $25/$20/$15
Booking: www.owlandcat.com.au/

WARNING: Contains adult content, nudity, sex scenes and drug references.

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: La Mama Presents HOME INVASION

Dark stories unfold

By Myron My

Home Invasion is a play that looks at obsession and disconnection. It’s about people dealing with destructive behaviours in their lives: a housewife who is haunted by JonBenét Ramsey, a schoolgirl with violent tendencies; and a mechanic who feels guilty for the death of a young woman.

Home Invasion

The cast of six – Kristina Benton, Nathan Burmeister, Trelawney Edgar, Ashleigh Goodison, Wayne Tunks and Grace Travaglia – worked well in exploring their characters and allowing them to go down the dark path. There were some well-crafted moments among them, with especially strong scenes between Benton and Goodison and Edgar and Burmeister.

Unfortunately, the direction by playwright Christopher Bryant was sorely disappointing. There was too much sitting or standing and not enough doing in this 90-minute show. The long scenes had no differentiation between them and the acting seemed stifled because of this. Bryant however is a capable writer and it was interesting to see how the separate threads from each story slowly began to weave in together, although I felt the musical interludes with the cast singing could have been cut.

The stage set up was also lacking in Home Invasion. With no “backstage” area, when the actors were not in the scene that was being played out, they sat on stools directly behind the performance space. The proximity of how close they were proved to be very distracting with every drink they took from their water bottle, every itch that was scratched or any readjustment that was made being done in plain sight of the audience.

The extremely minimal set design did not help with either, and seemed to actually be hindering the show from building the environment these people lived in. Apart from the wall painted pink, there was nothing visually stimulating about the show. The venue may be small but I’ve seen many productions performed in this theatre where some simple set pieces and discreet visual touches helped immensely to bring their worlds to life for the audience.

Whilst the writing and the acting in Home Invasion are admirable, I ultimately felt the remaining elements of the show still need to be further developed to allow the audience to build a stronger connection with the characters and the chilling world they are creating for us.

Venue:  La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday Street, Carlton

Season: Until 7 June | Wed 6:30pm, Thurs-Sat 7:30pm,

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Conc

Bookings: La Mama Theatre

Performances, Review, Theatre

REVIEW: Emilie Collyer’s DREAM HOME

Renovation nightmare comes true…

By Christine Young

What ‘sort of people’ are you? This is a question that dogs the central characters of Dream Home, a play about a suburban couple whose renovations become a manifestation of their fears and desires.

Dream Home

The play opens with protagonists Wendy and Brian front-of-stage explaining why they are ‘going up’: adding an upstairs retreat to their house, that is. Wendy is especially worried about what the neighbours think so they have been invited round for a BBQ. Have they become the kind of people who want a room with a view? And what’s that stench seeping through the crack in the wall?

So from the outset, Dream Home breaks down the imaginary fourth wall between players and audience. The characters represent the audience and connect with them while they struggle to bond with each other. They address the audience directly or with humourous asides throughout.

Playwright Emilie Collyer explores the Australian dream-nightmare with compassion and humour. The ordinariness ‘living the dream’ is set against the nightmarish bubbling of subconscious yearnings represented by the mysterious house extension.

At this intersection of reality and fantasy, the audience is challenged to suspend disbelief at the peculiar smells, sights and apparitions projected onto the wall.

There is a Shakespearean quality to the fantasy world reminiscent of Hamlet and Macbeth. The characters are haunted by the past, experiencing an internal struggle between who they are, who they want to be and how they want to live.

The performance is a culmination of an intelligent, carefully structured script brought to life by skilful direction from Luke Kerridge. Kerridge has a firm grasp on the scenes’ pace and transitions; and he understands who the characters are, where they have been and where they are going.

And the seven actors display a profound understanding of the characters they are playing. In particular, Emily Tomlins (Wendy) gives an intuitive performance imbued with empathy and wit. And Olivia Monticciolo stands out as Elise, a 20-something comedian who gate-crashes the BBQ and the play.

The current season of Dream Home presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy is almost over so there’s not much time to catch this remarkable play which was shortlisted for two playwrights’ awards.

Venue: Northcote Town Hall, West Wing Studio 1, 189 High St, Northcote
Dates: Until June 3, 2015
Tickets: Adult $29, Concession $25 (Student, Health Care Card, Equity Members), Group 4 or more $25
Booking: www.northcotetownhall.com.au

Warning: Contains Strong Language, Partial Nudity, Simulated Sex, Not suitable for Children

Events, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Sol III Presents THE EXONERATED

Powerful stories from escapees of the death penalty

By Myron My

The death penalty has, and probably always will be, a contentious issue. There will be one side that states you have to pay for your crimes, while the other would say no-one has a right to take anyone’s lives. While no side can be universally claimed as “correct”, the Sol III Company‘s production of The Exonerated will have even the most staunch believer in the death penalty questioning their stance.

The Exonerated

Writers Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen spent the year 2000 interviewing a number of people who had all been wrongfully convicted of murder and placed on death row. After spending years and sometimes decades in prison, these people were later exonerated with Blank and Jensen using six of these people’s stories in this production.

The six actors portraying the exonerated prisoners could not have been better cast. Even with the added pressure of playing real-life people as authentically as possible, each one is able to draw us into their world and have us really feeling what it must have been like for these former convicts. Vuyo Loko and Jordan Armstrong in particular shine in their roles, showing their characters as equally strong and fragile under their circumstances.

Director Andrei Schiller-Chan excels in The Exonerated where, despite having to contend with up to ten people on stage at any time, he has contrived that you are never left overwhelmed with the stories. Schiller-Chan uses the limited space to the fullest in developing how the actors move and interact on stage. In a way, this supports the type of claustrophobic environment that we could only begin to imagine that these narrators experienced from their time in prison.

The death penalty is not the lightest of themes to handle, with productions all too often heading straight for the emotional jugular. In The Exonerated, Blank and Jensen allow those who have experienced the threat of execution to speak for themselves, which in turn allows for the stories we hear to be told honestly, with sensitivity and at a pace where the audience have the opportunity to not only digest all that is happening on the stage, but also to reflect and consider. This is what powerful and moving theatre should be.

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran

Season: Until 7 June | Wed-Sat 8:00pm, Sat 2:00pm, Sun 5:00pm

Tickets: $37.50 Full | $32.50 Conc

Bookings: Chapel Off Chapel or 8290 7000

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Bitten By Productions Presents THE LAST SUPPER

Compelling tale of a crime lord and his cohorts

By Myron My

Being a leader is not the easiest thing. Especially when you are a leader of a mob group or crime syndicate and have to determine who is genuinely looking out for your safety and to constantly second-guess in whom you can put your trust. In Bitten By Productions’ The Last Supper, crime lord Dorian is facing these problems. What follows is an evening of truths being spoken, lies and deception being revealed, and an examination of the extremes to which people will go to be a leader and claim power.

The Last Supper

Dorian (Gregory Caine) has invited his most inner circle to a meeting: his “trusted” associates and partners. Those invited include his brother Brody (Karl Sarsfield), Madam President, Claudia (Ashley Tardy), the Head of Intelligence, Novak (Kashmir Sinnamon) and the Chief of Police, Vaughan (Christopher Grant). Once Dorian is finished with his interrogations, this may indeed be the last supper for some of them, as failure to perform their jobs results in death.

Gabriel Bergmoser‘s script has some great moments of tension, especially between Brody and Dorian, and the build-up to the conclusion is quite compelling. Bergmoser’s language is highly descriptive and the scene where Dorian retells the story of the pool of glass is so vivid and feels so real that the visuals created in my mind were highly intense. However, this narrative flashback feature is also the difficulty I had with the structure of The Last Supper: the many conversations about past events referencing at least half a dozen non-present characters. At some points, it felt like we were spending too much time focusing on the past than on the present, and not working with these interesting characters actually on stage.

With The Last Supper being seen as a conclusion to a loose trilogy by Bitten By Productions, I wonder – despite being told it is not necessary – if having seen Below Babylon and Beyond Babylon would have made this narrative easier to follow.

Sarsfield brings lots of emotion and honesty with the nervous Brody, who is eager to break free from the life of crime and be a good husband and father. As the story progresses, this desperation to lead a normal life is handled capably by Sarsfield. Similarly, Sinnamon and Grant do well with their supporting roles, each bringing their respective characters to life quite convincingly.

Despite some extremely powerful monologues, I felt some of Caine’s emotional responses as Dorian did not always feel authentic and his motivations and actions were not always clear or seemed to contradict themselves. Tardy does a great job as Claudia, but unfortunately fails to bring credibility to the character. I feel this is more a casting issue though, as she appeared to be too young for the role.

Less than a year ago, I watched Bergmoser’s Reunion and I saw potential in his writing. The Last Supper is clearly far more ambitious than this previous play, but fortunately there has also been a strong improvement in his skill as a writer. Even with the somewhat confusing and discursive narrative structure, the suspense, and the pay-off for the audience at the end, is worth it.

Venue: My Handlebar, 581 Sydney Rd, Brunswick.

Season: Until 16 May | Wed-Sat 7:30pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $18 Conc

Bookings: www.gabrielbergmoser.com