Category: Theatre

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Stripped at LA MAMA

Laying a story bare…

By Adam Tonking

Stripped is the story of two sisters, Lillian and Sophie, estranged by the various circumstances of their vastly different lives, and brought back together through tragedy.

Lillian is a lawyer, married to Daniel, good friends with Louise and Jack: she is also dying. Sophie is a stripper, and there are more characters in this story; but what is important is that all of these are played by the one amazing actress.

Caroline Lee, creator of the original text, is the actress at the helm of all these characters in this overwhelming story about the repercussions of death on relationships. While the different characterisations took a while to sink in for the audience, Lee was in complete control the entire time.

She obviously understood each character down to the bone, and presented their individual identities clearly for the audience, managing the different ages, genders, and motivations with grace and apparent ease; in fact, one of the most provocative moments was told from the perspective of Lillian’s husband, Daniel. All this, while allowing the compelling story to unfold before us.

In spite of the subject matter, the script never became manipulative, melodramatic, or clichéd. Rather, it remained conversational and deeply personal throughout. I did feel at times that this conversational tone clashed with Lee’s often declamatory style of speech, and with Laurence Strangio’s restrained direction which occasionally seemed too stylised.

I suspect that these choices were made to clear any extraneous clutter for an audience required to keep up with the complexity of shifting narrative perspectives, however I felt that it created a barrier between the audience and the characters, forcing the audience to sympathise rather than empathise.

But that is ultimately a small detraction, in what is otherwise a masterful performance of a challenging and powerful piece.

Stripped is on at La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday Street, Carlton, from Wednesday 7th March till Sunday 18th March. Bookings at www.lamama.com.au or by calling 03 9347 6142.

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: AND THE BIRDS FELL FROM THE SKY

Experience theatre in a completely unexpected way

By Adam Tonking

Created by theatre director Silvia Mercuriali and filmmaker Simon Wilkinson, And The Birds Fell From The Sky is somewhere between amusement park ride, film, and nightmare.

In more traditional forms of theatre, the audience is invited to experience the story on their own terms. In And The Birds Fell From The Sky, you are pushed into the centre of the action, and given new eyes and ears – you’re forced to experience the story as if you are in it, not merely witnessing it. Your senses have been kidnapped, which seems appropriate as it appears that you have been kidnapped by a car full of clowns.

Am I being too vague, too abstract? I went into this performance with very little certainty about how it was all going to work, and the delicious fear of the unknown only builds in the foyer as you remember small pieces of information – there are only two people in each audience, you will be sitting in a wheelchair – while strange sounds shake the floor from the next room, and you read the warnings on the wall that say things like “People with claustrophobia may experience difficulties with the performance…”

Then you’re led into a small room and given video goggles and earphones, and told to follow any instructions very carefully…

Clearly, this is an experience like no other. The narrative comes at you like a dream – you’re in this car full of clowns, you have a task to perform – and hints at a subtext about the nature of experience, while the experience itself is given to you through all five of your senses.

It’s fascinating, overwhelming, and thrilling. The word “immersive” seems to have been designed for a show like this. Wilkinson and Mercuriali have created an astounding and innovative theatre experience.

And The Birds Fell From The Sky is on at the Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne; Wednesday 29th February till Sunday 18th March 2012.

The show runs every 15 minutes between Wed – Fri, 2.30pm – 4.30pm & 6pm – 9pm; Sat 1pm – 4pm & 5.30pm – 8.30pm; Sun, 1pm – 4pm & 5.30pm – 7.30pm. 20 minutes no interval. Book at www.artshouse.com.au or call (03) 9322 3713.

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: COGITO at La Mama

You think, therefore you’ll like…

By Anastasia Russell-Head

This play is intriguing. Two women, dressed almost identically, stand on a minimalist white stage and declare:

“My name is Katherine Lee.”

“My name is Katherine Lee.”

Which one is Katherine Lee? Are they both Katherine Lee? And what is that heart doing in a clear perspex box suspended above?

Originally written for the Singapore Arts Festival, the themes and scope of Huzir Sulaiman’s play Cogito are reminiscent of a short story.

There is an element of sci-fi in exploring the concept of artificial intelligence, but it is essentially a human story about loss, grief and reconcilliation.

Kristin Keam and Suzy Cato-Gashler were both strong as the two on-stage Katherines, with Cato-Gashler being particularly convincing in the role. Newcomer Frank Handrum was excellent as the dour, efficient lawyer, Lex.

It was unfortunate that the excellent cast and script were let down by the spacing of the production.

The audience were situated “in the round”, with the result that much of the play was spent looking at the back of the actors’ heads and trying to decipher what they were saying when it was directed at the other side of the room. I

n addition, the superb voice-over provided by Glenda Linscott was compromised by poor EQ-ing, and was often too boomy to be able to understand clearly.

Visually the production was quite successful, despite the spacing issues. The lighting was very effective, and the special effect moment towards the end (I won’t spoil the plot for you!) was quite stunning and unexpected.

Sit on the side next to the entrance door, prepare to be intrigued and slightly confused (in a good way), and enjoy the talents of some excellent seasoned actors in this little futuristic “short story” of a play.

 

Cogito by Huzir Sulaiman

La Mama Courthouse

February 9 – 19

Wed, Fri, Sun 8:30pm

Thur, Sat 6:30pm

Events, Opportunities, Performances, Review, Theatre

REVIEW: A Fistful of Scripts

An evocative and illuminating evening of new theatre

By Jennifer Coles

Firstly, I’d like to applaud Wise Works Media and Theatreworks for an evening like this. A Fistful of Scripts was a collection of new works presented as table reads for the benefit of their writers (cast included Leonie Leaver, Katharine Innes, Nadia Andary, Christopher Barry, Madeline Clare French, Stephanie Evison-Williams, Tom Kay, Callan Lewis, Alex McArthur, Adam Turnbull, Francesca Walters, Josie Parrelli and Kim Morrell). After each performance, the audience was invited to participate in a forum discussing the pros and cons of each script to provide the writers with invaluable information.

At the centre of Wafik ‘Fiko’ Doss’ The Heart of Rex was King Rasheed who failed to save his wife and children from murder. Believing his brother the culprit he banishes him, but is haunted by his wife’s ghost as his brother is haunted by family secrets. The piece had a beautiful grasp of Elizabethan language and some truly beautiful lines (delivered with gusto by the cast).

However Doss gets rather lost in his own words; lines were often elaborated, over-extended and repetitious. Influences from Greek theatre, Shakespeare and fairytales were abundant, but this clouded the piece – particularly the Greek chorus whose role needed to be more defined. The characters, although passionate and well-realised, lacked time to develop their motivations, leaving the ending predictable. What Doss has created is something just short of brilliance, but he needs to decide if this is a short play or a long one.

Dear and Departed (Sean McIntyre), a short monologue by a grandmother at her own funeral, contained moving images created by the woman’s memories: recollections of attempts to get her granddaughter to sleep resonated well with the audience. The piece needed to stay focused on the woman as it moved into vague territory before a significant plot revelation. This would have had more power if links beforehand been more structured.

Finally JILTED! (Parrelli and Morrell) tells the tale of unlucky-in-love Ebony who has just been stood up by her boyfriend. When she asks why her relationships fail, everyone has an opinion – particularly her loudmouth sister and brother-in-law. Dealing with modern themes, the ladies at Scorpio Productions have brought these situations to life with wonderful characters that read well together and really ‘bond’ as a dysfunctional family. JILTED! now needs to focus on defining Ebony’s character more in her search for self-improvement and answers.

Although the audience provided some insight into possible reworkings, occasionally suggestions offered were more for audience clarification than writers’ benefit. I hope the writers continue to develop these pieces and find the advice useful, for with a bit more polish, these scripts are all on the way to be insightful and moving works.

A Fistful of Scripts was produced at Theatre Works on Dec 6 2011.

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: HOUSEWARMING – A New Musical

Home is where the heart is

By Bradley Storer

Housewarming, a new musical composed and written by William Hannagan-McKinna and Belinda Jenkin, opens on its lead character Tommy (Daniel Benge) on the threshold of a new adventure: the perilous plunge into share-housing.

Like the similar work which precedes it on Theatreworks double-bill, Give My Regards to Broady, Housewarming deals with universal themes of growing up and the struggle to move beyond the past.

Accompanying Tommy on the journey to independence is a mismatched group of fellow post-adolescents.

There’s Mia (Rachel Rai), the sheltered mummy’s girl with borderline OCD; Kelly (Elle Richards), the spoiled and self-aggrandizing rich girl; Luke (Drew Collet), the hard-drinking uni dropout; the dreadlocked Jo (Dave Barclay) and his ethereal, reiki-toting ex-girlfriend Daisy (played by Jenkin herself).

While these outlines may seem almost stereotypical in their construction, one of the joys of the evening is watching these skilled actors fill out and develop their characters beyond generic characteristics.

As the plot proceeds, unexpected twists reveal hidden depths to each character and their relationships with their housemates delving into unforeseen territory.

The ensemble are all strong performers and singers, and each are given a moment to shine with excellently composed moments of self-revelation and remembrance – highlights are Kelly’s ensemble-supported diva number ‘I Insist’, Daisy’s delicately heart-breaking ‘I Grew My Hair So Long’ and Tommy’s explosive solo ‘I Am Bruised’.

In comparison to the wacky comic mania of Broady, Housewarming approaches the same topic with seriousness and compassion while still retaining a light-hearted touch.

Aided by a committed and talented ensemble, Housewarming is a fantastic evening at the theatre, ranging from heart-warming to wrenching to youthfully optimistic all in the same show.

Housewarming: A New Musical is in a double-billing this month with Give My Regards to Broady!

Dates: 28 Nov – Dec 10 at Theatre Works, St Kilda

Times: Nov 30 to Dec 3 at 8:45pm / Dec 5-10 at 7:00pm

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: VCA Contemporary Plays Season – ST KILDA TALES

Strong performances in a problematic production

By Kate Boston Smith

There was much excitement to be felt while waiting for the start of the VCA School of Performing Arts‘ production of Raimondo Cortese’s St Kilda Tales directed by Mary Sitarenos.  As we were ushered into the huge studio warehouse towards the back of the VCA campus, this atmosphere suggested we would be in for a real treat. 

Utilising the entire length of the expansive warehouse, the sparse stage was split in two halves front and back, divided only by black cyclone fencing. The full cast boisterously entered the space through the back door in the far distance from the audience.  The performance area, which at this stage was only lit by the cold fluorescent lights, was immediately filled with the noise, music and chatter of St Kilda streets which then did not stop for the next two hours.  

It was very difficult to tune into the dialogue as characters constantly spoke over both one another and the loud music.  I felt the first ten minutes of setup was lost in this wave of aural activity, and it therefore took longer than preferable for us to settle into the story and understand the relationships between the characters. 

The play is a dark swill of interweaving stories from St Kilda’s underbelly.  There was little or no light or warmth between characters, each of whom move through the space writhing for attention, love or release from their golem-like existence.

The young cast gave very strong performances.  The intensity of each ensemble character was matched with the relentless soundscape consisting of late 90’s pop and rave anthems, distorted guitars and finally the soul-crushing wails of two female characters for the final  thirty minutes of the play. 

Stage design, lighting, and one elaborate costume in particular, enhanced the gritty, deranged world that the characters inhabited.  Comic relief was provided through the gimmicky but great animal heads of the resident crazy lady “Special” as played brilliantly by Rose Marlfleet.

However, when the house lights were once again raised, (long after the ninety minutes as stipulated in the program) it is honestly hard to say whether I enjoyed it or just felt relief it was over.     

St Kilda Tales was presented by the VCA graduating class in Studio 45, 28 Dodds St, Southbank.

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Theatre

REVIEW: Tracy Harvey Smoking’ At The Paris Cat

A new musical in the works is turning up the heat…

By Kim Edwards

Tracy Harvey is a favourite and familiar lady of Australian comedy, but last night it was all about the music.

The intimate confines of the Paris Cat jazz club were bustling with local media and theatre folk as Harvey took to the stage to share some of her previous hilarious compositions and debut some of her latest music theatre songs.

The evening featured repertoire from her first show Call Girl the Musical that premiered in Melbourne in recent years, but also debuted new work from the upcoming and outrageously titled hospital musical Prick.

Harvey with her signature smile and ravishing dress was in exceptional company with Bryce Ives, Laura Burzacott, and the talented Jack Howard leading a superb jazz trio.

It’s a rare pleasure to see director Ives performing on stage himself, and his smooth showman charisma and Burzacott’s ever- stunning voice and understated wit formed a wonderful foil to Harvey’s irrepressible and frantic comic vivacity. Meanwhile, Jack Howard managed a little demure scene-stealing both on the trumpet and with his unexpected solo song ‘Like A Gondolier’.

Ives’ skill at creating atmosphere was in play as usual: the casual, relaxed vibe and unrehearsed patter were completely charming, and this rare sneak peak at a show in development was wonderfully beguiling.

The strength of the songs presented was in their casual Australian vernacular and broad vulgar humour, with plenty of topical and local jokes. Musically and lyrically, there is nothing particularly daring or sophisticated in any of the numbers, and every song seemed to include some extensive word or phrase repetition. However, these are of course works in progress, and the good-natured comedy and appealing energy always made each song highly enjoyable to hear and see performed.

Australia music theatre longs for original local works, and Harvey with her smokin’ hot companions and her flair for distinctly home-bred humour and fun song-writing deserves nothing but admiration and support.

It was exciting to be part of the inception of a new project, and it will be even more exciting to see it fire up into a fully fledged musical in the near future. So keep a look out for more about Harvey’s new show shortly – it’s not like you’re going to forget that title in a hurry.

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Neil Pigot in WHITELEY’S INCREDIBLE BLUE

A dreamscape of art and addiction

By Anastasia Russell-Head

The subtitle of this play is very apt: “an hallucination”… hallucinatory by name, hallucinatory by nature. Given its subject-matter – one of Australia’s most famous artists, infamous for his addictions – the poetic, dreamlike nature of this show is a tribute in form as much as it is in its substance.

Beginning at the end, as it were, in the motel room in Thirroul where he died, the dead Brett Whiteley muses over his life and art. Neil Pigot is superb as Whiteley, alternately celebrating and regretting, remembering and forgetting, drug-addled and lucid.

Barry Dickins, the playwright, describes his script as a “magical monologue”, where “the words are a poetic synthesis of his own experimental paranormal paragraphs, his own ‘unlanguage’; if you like”. Words are used for their pictorial and evocative sense, and mostly this is extremely effective at conjuring up the decadent, swirling exuberance of Whiteley’s visual world – without actually showing any of his artworks.

In fact, visually this production is very sparse, with a sparing use of projections creating surreal imagery like blue tendrils slowly covering Whiteley as he speaks about the effect of heroin, and the neon “no vacancy” sign of the budget motel flickering into life outside the window.

The least effective aspect of this show for me was the use of voice-over, narrating impossible stage directions. Supposedly an attempt to add to the hallucinatory nature of the piece, this really detracted from the strength and power of the lone actor and the poetry of the text. For me this filled in the gaps too much, rather than leaving it to the imagination.

With an excellent musical score played live by the Calvert George Fine trio, this production is at once mesmerising and incomprehensible – as every good hallucination should be.

The premiere of Whiteley’s Incredible Blue is playing for the Melbourne Festival until Sunday 23 October

Fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Times: Tuesday to Sun 8pm, Fri & Sat 8pm & 10pm

 Tickets: $40-$45

Bookings: 03 9662 9966

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: MTC’s Production of CLYBOURNE PARK

A funny, confronting and fascinating look at life over the fence…

By Diana Tarr

MTC’s latest production Clybourne Park, the Pulitzer prize-winning play by Bruce Norris, is a frank and honest depiction of the racial tension in northern American cities in the 1950’s and raises the question of what, if anything, has changed in our attitudes in the subsequent years.

In 1959, in the affluent Chicago suburb of Clybourne Park, a white couple is forced to consider the impact that selling their home to a black family will have on the neighbours they are leaving behind.  Fast-forward fifty years, and a young white couple tries to go forward with their plans to demolish the same, though now sadly decrepit, house and rebuild – with considerable resistance from their soon-to-be (black) neighbours.

The set, designed by Christina Smith, included just the right details to send me straight back to the homes and neighbourhoods of my childhood in suburban Detroit: the built-in bookcases, the string dangling from the basement light, even the sound of footsteps on the carpeted stairs.

Each of the superb cast (including Patrick Brammall, Bert LaBonte, Zahra Newman, Luke Ryan and Alison Whyte). portrayed at least two unique characters, though Greg Stone and Laura Gordon produced the most convincing and dramatic transformations in mannerisms, voice and characterisations for the second act. As grieving father Russ and then forthright tradie Dan, Stone gave the stand-out performance of the night, inspiring incredulous belly laughs and shocked silences from an audience that was eating out of his hands from his first bite of Neapolitan ice cream.

There is so much of the familiar in Clybourne Park, which is at times comforting but also self-convicting: not only in acknowledging the awkward relationships and social niceties, but particularly in recognising the people with good intentions who either don’t realise or don’t want to acknowledge how much they misunderstand about the experiences of others.

By the end of the first act, I was mentally kicking myself for even considering that perhaps a few of the arguments for keeping the neighbourhood unchanged might just have a certain logic to them. By the end of the second, I was cringing by how much I recognised myself in the comments and ideals of the yuppie wife, Lindsey (Gordon). But although Clybourne Park acknowledges these feelings of confusion and guilt, it does not seem to try to invoke them – just poke fun at them.

And oh my, what fun it was!

 

Clybourne Park: The Black and White Picket Fence

17 September – 26 October

The MTC Theatre, Sumner

140 Southbank Blvd, Southbank

Tickets: $30 (29 & under); $86-$97 (full)

Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: TENDERNESS – Two Plays

Teenage years need some tenderness

By Deborah Langley

Walking into the Footscray Community Arts Centre was a little like stepping back in time into a black box, a quiet gymnasium with just a hint of white smoke. Enough equipment to know we were back at school, but not enough to imagine these kids could be in any way privileged. 

Tenderness begins with Christos Tsiolkas’ play “Ugly” – a story of three young people who love each other through epic milestones with horrific consequences. With dynamic physical performances these three actors take us into their world: a world where the boys need to be men – bigger, stronger, tougher – and the girls are either pretty or invisible. 

Matt Hickey embodies male toughness, almost enough to be frightening. This hedonism oozed teenage frustration and complete loss. Supported by brilliant performances by both Stephanie Capiron and Rebecca Mezei (who justified the setting with effortless circus-style rope work), this play was beautifully indirect, weaving physicality and narrative through the labyrinth of the teenage mind. 

In a short silence of the brilliant soundscape laced through both plays, our young boy disappears and new performer Peta Sergeant steps onto stage, offering up a new story by way of a bowl of chalk dust.

“Slut” written by Patricia Cornelius tells the female story of playground games; laughing, fighting, teasing, ostracizing. With the addition of extra ropes, we are no longer inside the gymnasium but instead taken to the battlefield of growing up and finding yourself: who you are, who you want to be and how those choices can affect the rest of your life.

The energy shift from such a strong male sense is a little jarring, but it doesn’t take long for these three amazing performers to hit their stride and pull us into this new world – a world known by too many – of sexuality and the innocence of youth combining to a frightening outcome. 

Two modern morality plays, distinct from each other in their voice and form, Ugly and Slut are pulled together with some compelling theatrical techniques, that at times are excessive, but give space to raw and powerful performances.

Tenderness– Two Plays

Performing until Sun 11 Sep 2011

8pm Tue – Sat, 5pm Sun 

Post-Show Matinee Forums (approx. 45 mins)

12pm Thu 1 Sep, Fri 2 Sep, Wed 7 Sep and Thu 8 Sep 4pm Sat 10 Sep

Footscray Community Arts Centre

45 Moreland Street, Footscray

Tickets: $20, $10 conc, $5 secondary students