Review: The Golden Dragon

The Golden Dragon
Melbourne Theatre
22 June
MTC Theatre, Lawler Studio
to 7 July
www.mtc.com.au

Another reason to love theatre in Melbourne: just when you think you've seen your favourite production of the year, a week later there's one that's even better. With The Golden Dragon, the MTC's Lawler Studio Season continues to have the bold and exciting voice that is so often missing from main-stage productions.

The story is based around a Thai Chinese Vietnamese restaurant called The Golden Dragon and the people who live in the flats above. Far from the sitcom is sounds like, it tells its story in seemingly unrelated snippets and hints. German writer Roland Schimmelpfennic (translated by David Tushingham) embraces a Brechtian distance that combines third-person narratives and speaks its pauses and directions. This is magnified as the cast play multiple characters who are further alienated from expectations as men play women, Caucasians play Asians, old play young and Ash Flanders plays a sexually abused cricket.

This style of writing leaves the cast with no option but to find the human essence of the character, the stuff that should never be defined by age, gender, or ethnicity.

And what an ensemble. At first Rodney Afif, Ash Flanders (Sisters Grimm, Negative Energy Inc, I Love You Bro), Jan Friedl, Dana Miltins (The Rabble) and Roger Oakley (Beyond The Neck) seem so out of place as five Asians in a tiny restaurant,  but this lasts for a few moments and it isn't long until Afif's Woman in the Dress, Miltins's Asian Man with a Toothache, Friedel's Grandaughter, Oakley's Stewardess and Flanders's Cricket are as natural and affecting as anyone cast to type.

Director Daniel Clarke (The Event, My Name is Rachel Corrie) lets the distance intrigue his audience by focussing on details, like a broken stiletto, and lets his performers hint about so much more than they show and revel in the visceral, like the taste of blood and Thai coconut soup or a wooden skewer in a tooth (in scenes that put Marathon Man to shame; best to look away of you have tooth issues). This detail is also supported by Andrew Bailey's design that treats with coloured bowls and a carpet of light. So fascinating are these details that when the climax and the secret is revealed, it's a shock to realise how close we've come to this world and to discover how much we care about these people.

The Golden Dragon almost demands a second viewing, even if just to watch the cast without worrying about the story or to dissect the writing to see where it hides its secrets and how it builds its love. This is theatre that makes you work, but it's worth it; it isn't one to miss.

This review was on AussieTheatre.com

I really like Chris Boyd's review.

And Heather's.

June review previews

Review: From the ground up

From The Ground Up
Circus Oz
21 June 2012
Circus Oz 
Big Top, Birrarung
 Marr
to 15 July
then touring
circusoz.com

How awesome are Circus Oz?

It's 34 years later and they've lost none of the drive, guts and beliefs that formed this company, and they continue to prove that you don't have to stop having fun as you grow up. In fact, some of the founders are still working alongside brand new members who weren't around in the late 70s.

A Circus Oz show begins in the welcome tent where there's circus food (there is nothing better than a bag of doughnuts), drinks and souvenirs offered by some of the loveliest and enthusiastic people you'll ever meet behind a counter. And it's heated. In the main tent the performers are there to help you settle in and remind you that an audience is as much a part of a show as anyone on stage.

This year's construction theme hints to their new home being built in Collingwood and is tied together with a search for the definitive Australian song. The choices include one about a queen and jelly beans and one about an Australia that's not fair and demonstrates the meaning of girt.

The show has a wholeness that balances the beautiful with the chaotic, the skill with the politics and brings art, fun, inclusion and message into every moment.  Each performer develops character that is never lost in the tricks and each scene is shaped to start simply and surprise with a wow moment. With an energy that never flags, the performers are some of the best around, they ensure that everyone shines and share their enthusiasm of having the best jobs in world.

It's had to pick highlights among such consistency, but audience favourites included a beautiful straps routine that shared the stage with the human counterweight, the group single trapeze and teeterboard, a four-person club juggle and Fantaysia Fitnesss "totes-co"roller aerobics.

This company also celebrates everyone who makes the show a success, from an opening night that gets management, FOH, stage management, designers and trainers onto the stage to a program that includes the photos and bios and everyone who works as hard as the performers to make a great show.  And it's a program worth buying. Wonderful photos, positive messages, info you want to read, terrific copy (that's been proofed), a page about the circus acts, a fold out cover and the coolest pop-out collector cards ever. It's a program you want to keep and has been created with as much love and care as the show.

It's impossible to leave a Circus Oz show without feeling better than when you went in. This mob are still as original, exciting and diverse as they've ever been and what started as group of performers who wanted to create something they loved (and knew that a circus is no place for animals) is now a company that tours the world, develops artists, works with communities and keeps reminding us that we can change the world if we work together to create something we love and enjoy.

If you've seen Circus Oz, you probably have your tickets. If you haven't, what are you waiting for? Grab kids, grandparents, neighbours and strangers because this is a national company who embrace us all and should be celebrated in a public holiday where we all have to learn to juggle or hoola hoop.

Photos by Rob Blackburn.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com

Some chats with Circus Oz performers.
Jeremy Davies
Luke Taylor
Ania Reynolds
Dale Woodbridge
Bec Matthews
Stevie Mills

More about The Golden Dragon

As The Golden Dragon reviews are full of arty guff like "Brechtian distance" and "non-committal to the point of inscrutability"*, they may make this show seem a bit difficult, so forget us-who-like-big-words and read what Heather Flanders said on Facebook:

OK!! Tonight I saw "The Golden Dragon". Ash is one of the cast therefore I went even though I was not sure I would like/enjoy the experience. Everything I read told me it would be challenging!!! I HAVE to say I was mesmorised, challenged and sometimes out of my depth BUT then it all came together for me. AMAZING!!! I forgot Ash was up there and just went on the journey. Great cast, AMAZING writing, great production and the director must be SSSOOO talented. CONGRATS to all. Especially as this production stretched me personally. WELL DONE ALL!!!!

Yes, she's Ash's mum.


And here's an interview from The Age.

* Chris Boyd's terrific review

Photo by Melissa Cowan

Review: The Scottish one

Macbeth
Bell Shakespeare
8 June 2012
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
to 23 June
bellshakespeare.com.au

I have a confession to make: I've never read the Scottish play and, somehow, I've never seen a production. Shame on me, but it left me in an unusual position of being able to see if the Bell Shakespeare production really tells the story. All I knew was it's the one about the power mad couple and witches, and, being a Shakespeare tragedy, most people die.

It's unusual to see a professional telling of Shakespeare that doesn't assume a basic knowledge of the text and focuses its telling on interpretation and originality.

The most comprehensive interpretation of the text is Anna Cordingly's design that feels like a slab of cold rough Scottish highlands, where cardigans are a must, with a mirror ceiling that brings the magic and threat into the world the Macbeths think they can control. And Kate Mulvany's lady Macbeth is the most complex and fascinating person in it.

Peter Evans direction brings some original moments (I'm not THAT unfamiliar with it), but it's almost monotone, even Dan Speilman's Macbeth. Our beloved Bard wrote the best stories ever, but if he were writing today, it'd be suggested that he get more of the action onstage and maybe spend a bit less time in the character's heads. Shakespeare tellings that sing are directed like a piece of music is conducted. The dense and difficult text is beautiful to read, but it can't be relied on to tell the story on a stage. Shakespeare is about tone and rhythm and dissonance; it's like opera without the music.

It's clear that the terrific cast have worked on the nitty gritty of their characters (and probably improvised Macbeth and Banquo at the pub toasting Fleance's birth at the pub), but this production loses the vastness of the overall picture and the telling of the story is flat.

Come interval, I had to read the synopsis and ask who was the dude in the blue jumper with the beard. It was Malcolm, and I thought Fleance was a witch.

Review: The motherfucker with the hat

The motherfucker with the hat
Red Stitch Actors Theatre
10 June
Red Stitch
to 7 July
redstitch.net

The motherfucker with the hat opened on Broadway last year and scored a pile of Tony Award nominations. And, as always, Red Stitch continue to let us experience such exciting new writing.

Welcome to a residential hotel in Times Square, New York, where no one cares that they can walk to Broadway to see a play.  Here Jackie (Demitrios Sirilas) is out of jail, is in AA, has a new job and is waiting on the bed for his long-term love Veronica (Michelle Vergara Moore). Then he sees a hat that isn't his. So begins a frantic tale about addiction, loyalty and morality with Jackie and Veronica; Jackie's yoga-going, health-drink peddling AA sponsor Ralph (Adam McConvell); Ralph's attention-lacking wife Victoria (Christina O'Neill, Avenue Q, Tell Me On A Sunday) and Jackie's cousin Julio (Mark Casamento), who's impressive in the kitchen, happy to hide a gun and always prepared to go Van Damme for his blood.

Irish-American-Egyptian New Yorker Steven Adly Giurgis is a NY theatre favourite and has written for TV shows like NYPD Blue and The Sopranos.  Starting with dialogue that oozes so much authenticity that it's easy to miss its rhythm and craft, his writing tears away his characters' barriers to exposes the rawness that they try so hard to hide. And he knows that the only way to get through life is to laugh at it.

Director Peter Bell loves the script and lets his cast bring everything and more to their performances. Each show a personal connection to their character and Casamento especially finds the heart of Cousin Julio. However, the desire for authenticity sometimes distracts from the story and trips the rhythm of the writing.  Authenticity isn't found in an accent, it's in the attitude and the connection to character. Inconsistencies in accent and style create barriers that leave another story about "them" because it loses the connection to "us".

And, of course, it's about us. Theatre is created to make us look at ourselves. From the opening projections, there's no doubt where we are and it's a script that reaches the heart of its characters. When story comes from such heart, we care – and when we care, we accept everything else.  The motherfucker with the hat has everything to be a total mofo, if it would trust the characters and not care about being so real.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com

Review: Tuesday

Tuesday
MKA
9 June
MKA Pop Up Theatre, North Melbourne
to 23 June
mka.org.au

I saw a lot of theatre last week, but there was only one show that left me excited about theatre. And there's still time to see it!

What haven't I said about MKA? They consistently show new writing that makes me fall in love with plays all over again and they make it with creators I've rarely heard of, but will make sure that I see again.

Tuesday is an experience. This season's pop-up space is in North Melbourne. There was the Salvo's office in Windsor and the old Steiner School in Abbotsfod, and now it's an old North Melbourne warehouse; if you get lost, look for the people with LED lights. I hope they never find a permanent home because it's so much more fun creating theatre in places where theatre was never meant to be.

Their Winter 2012 season opens with four people telling us about their trip to the supermarket on Tuesday special price day. Never say that you need an complex premise to write an incredible story. There's a man (Zak Zavod) who sees a patch of blue on his ceiling and buys a tracksuit at the supermarket because he's never done so before, a woman (Jenny Seedsman) who buys peaches in jars for her husband who doesn't like peaches and knows how she'd act if she were anyone else, the supermarket manager (James Deeth) who redesigns an employee of the month certificate and tells us that his wife feels like a complete stranger when he's inside her, and a schoolgirl (Brigid Gallacher, The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of  Romeo and Juliet) who waves at security cameras to get any attention and makes us wish we were brave enough to shake the Coke bottles on the shelf.

Louris Van De Geer's script was developed by MKA through MKA@MTC and through Theatre Works. This kind of development support by funded companies is what's going to help create more incredible scripts by emerging writers.

And Tuesday is an incredible script. With images like swinging signs in an aisle, missing spice packets and a pyramid of tuna tins with an inflatable fish, she creates a vivid world that's beautiful in its suburban dullness. Its four monologues build the story without directly interacting. All they do is tell us about their trip to the shops, but its painful joy comes from a subtext that tells us so much about these compulsive and broken people. This builds an almost unbearable tension because we know something has to happen, but we have no idea what or when or who. When it does, it forces a re-read of the whole night and a search to remember the clues.

But great scripts need equally great creatives. There's a design (Eugyeene Teh) that makes old warehouse offices feel like they were built for this play; lighting (Rob Sowinski) that builds as much tension as the script; direction (Brienna Macnish) that captures the tone and pace of the script perfectly, possibly better than the writer could imagine; and a cast who make it feel like it was written just for them.

I think this is the most exciting piece of theatre I've seen this year. This company create with the kind of passion that doesn't listen to naysayers and cynics.  They believe that theatre is art and that art should wake up our brains and our hearts.  Or it could just be because I really like going to the supermarket.

Photo by Sarah Walker

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com

Review: Lucy and The Lost Boy

Lucy and The Lost Boy
NICA
13 June
NICA National Circus Centre
to 23 June
nica.com.au



From The Age. Director Sally Richardson talking about Lucy and the Lost Boy

The National Institute if Circus Arts (NICA) has been training and developing circus artists for over ten years and is the only place in Australia to get a Bachelor of Circus Arts. If you've seen any large or tiny circus show in recent years, the chances are you've seen a NICA graduate – and that you've been mighty impressed. Lucy and The Lost Boy is the showcase performance for this year's final year students.

Lucy's parents want her to hit the books and be serious about earning money, but she's glimpsed the life of the Lost Boy and wants to follow her dream of being an artist.  Director Sally Richardson (Steamworks Arts Productions, from Perth) worked with the students and drew ideas from well-known local street artists, such as Vexta, Urbn Cake Lady, Ha-Ha and Anthony Lister, to create a work that incorporates their diverse talents and celebrates the freedom of urban art and street culture.

The NICA performance space is wonderfully huge which allows for a surround of music, walls of projected art, a multi-level scaffold, enough floor space for full-cast routines and lots of sky for flying.  With many mesmerising moments, the highlights are the original ariels including innovative uses of nets, chains and a wall of rubber tubing, and a final old-school single trapeze that leaves you wanting to take off .

As ever, this year's graduates are awesome and the show is created to show off just how wonderful they are. This makes for a longish night and at times it is more showcase than story, but it's all beautiful and created an infectious passion that makes up for any narrative hicoughs.

PS. A question. Even if you are involved in the creation of the show and love every person on the stage, is it really OK to spend the performance discussing what we can all see and filming sections on your phones?

Chat: Jeremy Davies from Circus Oz

From The Ground Up

Circus Oz

21 June – 28 July

review

Jeremy Davies is a circus, puppetry, physical theatre performer and director who has worked for companies such as Circus Monoxide, Circa (Rock and Roll Circus), Windmill Performing Arts, The Australian Choreographic Centre, QPAC, and Company Skylark.

He is a founding member of Out Of The Blue Studios, KRONIK and Blue Circus Studios and helped to create successful independent theatre productions KRONIK, Extreme Circus, Kronik Attack, Out Of The Blue, Warehouse Circus and Fallen and he’s performed in every Australian state and worked in France, Canada, China and America.

What do you do in From The Ground Up?

I bring the magic and the good looks.

What was the first circus trick you learnt?

When I was 10 years old I held my breath until I turned purple. Everyone thought I was so cool.

What circus skill do you wish you had?

Tiger trainer! I love those big cats; so cute.

What are you always up for?

Comedy! Anything that can make me laugh. Love a giggle.

When did you join Circus Oz?

The first time was 2006. This time since 2009.

What do you love about Circus Oz?

I love touring. I never get sick of rolling out of town.

Do you remember your first trip to the circus?

I saw a traditional circus in the early 80s. The clowns scared me and I cried when the bears came out dancing.

What’s your favourite post-show snack?

Without a doubt‚ a banana.

Who do you love seeing in the audience?

I love it when the audience starts throwing their underwear. That’s how I get all my new undies.

What’s your advice for people who want to run away to the circus?

Think for yourself! Question authority and express your dissent.

Where and what did you study?

Australian History at Lynham High School Canberra (Year 9).

What was your first circus performance?

A 3 club juggling solo for an Irish folk Band (The Tinkers), February 1990.

How many suitcases do you tour with?

One medium size suitcase with four wheels. Travel light  .

When you’re touring, what can’t you leave home without?

I can’t function without my espresso machine.

Where’s your favourite place to tour to?

Fayetteville, Arkansas. Love that Southern hospitality.

Popcorn: sweet or savoury?

SAVOURY!! Salt, salt, salt, butter, salt and more butter.

If you couldn’t be in the circus, what would you do?

Be professionally good-looking.

Are you scared of clowns?

Only Ronald. All my friends are clowns!!

If you could teach Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott a circus trick, what would it be?

I would teach them a disappearing trick.

This was on AussieTheatre.com

Chat: Bec Matthews from Circus Oz

From The Ground Up

Circus Oz

21 June – 28 July

review

Musician, teacher and mentor Bec Matthews completed a Bachelor of Music at VCA in 1999, and has since trained with the world-renowned Synergy Percussion Ensemble and Amsterdam Percussion Trio; recorded and performed with bands, orchestras and music theatre companies in Melbourne; and performed at festivals including The Melbourne International Arts Festival, Femes Funk Festival New Caledonia, The Falls Festival, Inverlock Jazz Fest, High Vibes, St Kilda Fest, The Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Castlemaine State Festival and the Copenhagen World Out Games.

She’s taught at The Women’s Circus and composed for their shows and in 2007, became percussionist, performer, composer and co-musical director for Yana Alana and Tha Paranas’s, who won a Melbourne Fringe Cabaret Award and a pile of Green Room Awards, including best musical direction and best original songs.

What do you do in From The Ground Up?

Play the drums and dangle from the ceiling.

What was the first circus trick you learnt?

I’m a musician but the first circus skill I learnt was to juggle three balls.

What circus skill do you wish you had? 

All of them!

What are you always up for?

A chat.

When did you join Circus Oz?

2010.

What do you love about Circus Oz?

Travelling to different parts of Australia and the world.

Do you remember your first trip to the circus?

Yes, my friend’s family took me to The Moscow Circus.

What’s your favourite post-show snack?

Sometimes it’s chips, sometimes it’s a carrot.

Who do you love seeing in the audience?

Smiling faces.

What’s your advice for people who want to run away to the circus?

Follow your dreams.

Where and what did you study?

Bachelor of Music at the Victorian College of the Arts.

What was your first circus performance?

With The Women’s Circus in 2005.

How many suitcases do you tour with?

One.

When you’re touring, what can’t you leave home without?

A good book.

Where’s your favourite place to tour to?

Somewhere I haven’t been before.

Popcorn: sweet or savoury?

Savoury, for sure.

If you couldn’t be in the circus, what would you do?

Make furniture.

Are you scared of clowns?

No.

If you could teach Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott a circus trick, what would it be?

A backflip…oh, they already know how to do that.

This was on AussieTheatre.com

Chat: Dale Woodbridge from Circus Oz

From The Ground Up

Circus Oz

21 June – 28 July

review

Formed in Melbourne in 1978, Circus Oz has toured the world as a rock’n’roll, animal-free circus with shows filled with breathtaking agility, death-defying stunts, awe-inspiring acrobatics and irreverent comedy that’s always accompanied by a spectacular live band.

Dale Woodbridge is graduating this year from Brisbane’s Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts, where he majored in dance. Prior to his tertiary studies, Dale was a state gymnanst as well as a participant in Circus West, a youth circus-in-education programme in Dubbo, NSW and has continued to maintain his acrobatic skills since that time.

What do you do in From The Ground Up?

I’m an acrobat.

What was the first circus trick you learnt?

A thigh stand.

What circus skill do you wish you had? 

Bungee straps.

What are you always up for?

Dress ups!

When did you join Circus Oz?

2012.

What do you love about Circus Oz?

The people (soooooo funny).

Do you remember your first trip to the circus?

Yeah. I snuck around to the animal cages.

What’s your favourite post-show snack?

Chips and gravy.

Who do you love seeing in the audience?

My sisters.

What’s your advice for people who want to run away to the circus?

Bring optimism and leave your fear of heights at home.

Where and what did you study?

Dance at The Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts.

What was your first circus performance?

Storm Warning with Circus West (Dubbo).

How many suitcases do you tour with?

One.

When you’re touring, what can’t you leave home without?

Music.

Where’s your favourite place to tour to?

Middle Earth.

Popcorn: sweet or savoury?

Savoury.

If you couldn’t be in the circus, what would you do?

I’d be a dancer.

Are you scared of clowns?

Only the happy ones.

If you could teach Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott a circus trick, what would it be?

Knife-throwing.

This was on AussieTheatre.com

Chat: Stevee Mills from Circus Oz

From The Ground Up

Circus Oz

21 June – 28 July

review

Formed in Melbourne in 1978, Circus Oz has toured the world as a rock’n’roll, animal-free circus with shows filled with breathtaking agility, death-defying stunts, awe-inspiring acrobatics and irreverent comedy that’s always accompanied by a spectacular live band.

Stevee spent her childhood bouncing on trampolines, hanging from monkey bars and cartwheeling instead of walking. Not long after joining her local gymnastics club she was competing in Nationals and was dividing her time between the gym and drama classes.

After retiring from competitive gymnastics, her love of animals resulted in a career as an animal handler and she managed a dog kennel, a cat resort, and worked in Thailand at an animal rescue centre caring for Malaysian Sun Bears.

The decision to return to physical performance led her to the National Institute of Circus Arts, where she specialised in Aerial Cradle, Tight Wire and Teeterboard. Since graduating in 2010, she has performed at festivals around the country, including Woodford Folk Festival, Tasmanian Circus Festival and Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Stevee lives in Melbourne with her room-mate Kostya, a 60kg Mastiff and she still prefers cartwheeling to walking. 

What do you do in From The Ground Up?

Tightwire, toss the girl, flying trapeze, tumbling and the cow bell.

What circus skill do you wish you had?

Wheel of death.

What are you always up for?

A sleep in.

When did you join Circus Oz?

2011.

What do you love about Circus Oz?

Cake! We get lots of cake!

Do you remember your first trip to the circus?

Yes, a lion peed on the audience.

What’s your favourite post-show snack?

Whiskey.

Who do you love seeing in the audience?

My friends and family.

What’s your advice for people who want to run away to the circus?

Don’t trust the jugglers.

Where and what did you study?

I studied at the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) and received a Bachelor of Arts.

What was your first circus performance?

An ensemble show at NICA.

How many suitcases do you tour with?

Just one, but it’s very big.

When you’re touring, what can’t you leave home without?

A photo of my dog.

Where’s your favourite place to tour to?

Narnia.

Popcorn: sweet or savoury?

Sweet.

If you couldn’t be in the circus, what would you do?

Work with animals.

Are you scared of clowns?

Not anymore!

If you could teach Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott a circus trick, what would it be?

Counter-balancing.

This was on AussieTheatre.com

Chat: Luke Taylor from Circus Oz

From The Ground Up

Circus Oz

21 June – 28 July

review

Formed in Melbourne in 1978, Circus Oz has toured the world as a rock’n’roll, animal-free circus with shows filled with breathtaking agility, death-defying stunts, awe-inspiring acrobatics and irreverent comedy that’s always accompanied by a spectacular live band.

Luke Taylor is an acrobat, juggler and clown who joined the Flying Fruit Fly Circus when he was 12 and hasn’t left the circus since.

He toured internationally with the Fruit Flies, including a season on Broadway in The Gift, drove in a bus across the Nullarbor Plain with WA’s Lunar Circus and came to Melbourne as one of the first students at the National Institute of Circus Arts. He co-founded his own show called Caravan, which has appeared at many festivals, and appeared Circus Oz, Circa, Circus Risque and Throw Down.

What do you do in From The Ground Up?

A few tricks.

What was the first circus trick you learnt?

To balance a broom on my head.

What circus skill do you wish you had?

The ability to read minds.

What are you always up for?

A walk in the Blue Mountains.

When did you join Circus Oz?

2008.

What do you love about Circus Oz?

The freedom of expression.

Do you remember your first trip to the circus?

Yes. I was about 10 and I went and saw The Flying Fruit Fly Circus with my mum.

What’s your favourite post-show snack?

A banana.

Who do you love seeing in the audience?

Mum and Dad.

What’s your advice for people who want to run away to the circus?

Train hard, love pain.

What was your first circus performance?

At 12 I joined the Flying Fruit Fly Circus and did my first performance in Noriel Park in Albury.

How many suitcases do you tour with?

One.

When you’re touring, what can’t you leave home without?

My computer.

Where’s your favourite place to tour to?

Anywhere I haven’t been to yet.

Popcorn: sweet or savoury?

Savoury.

If you couldn’t be in the circus, what would you do?

Being a park ranger would be fun.

Are you scared of clowns?

No.

If you could teach Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott a circus trick, what would it be?

Julia basing Tony in standing on shoulders.

This was on AussieTheatre.com

Chat: Ania Reynolds from Circus Oz

From The Ground Up
Circus Oz
21 June – 28 July

review

Formed in Melbourne in 1978, Circus Oz has toured the world as a rock’n’roll, animal-free circus with shows filled with breathtaking agility, death-defying stunts, awe-inspiring acrobatics and irreverent comedy that’s always accompanied by a spectacular live band.

From The Ground Up 2012 is musician Ania Reynolds first show with Circus Oz. She plays keyboards, baritone saxophone, clarinet, drums, Brazilian percussion, French Horn. She’s worked with companies like Polyglot Puppet Theatre, Westside Circus, the Women’s Circus and Melbourne Workers’ Theatre and with performers like The Town Bikes and Heath McIvor. She won a Green Room Award for Best Musical Direction in Cabaret for Yana Alana And Tha Paranas In Concert and when she’s not jumping around on the Circus Oz stage, she performs with Afrobeat group Papa Chango, brass marching band The Red Brigade, and surf/garage/rock band Johnnie and the Johnnie Johnnies.

What do you do in From The Ground Up?
I play in the band.

What was the first circus trick you learnt?
How to headbang from my belly to avoid damaging my neck muscles.

What circus skill do you wish you had?
Playing trumpet upside-down on a trapeze without feeling like my eyes are going to pop out.

What are you always up for?
Jamming!

When did you join Circus Oz?
2012

What do you love about Circus Oz?
The people, fun, humour and philosophy.

Do you remember your first trip to the circus?
Yes, it was the Moscow Circus at the Entertainment Centre, 1987, Melbourne.

What’s your favourite post-show snack?
Red wine.

Who do you love seeing in the audience?
Everyone, from little kids to old folk. Quentin Bryce’s impeccably manicured hair (in Sydney 2012) was also a highlight.

What’s your advice for people who want to run away to the circus?
Do it! Don’t be afraid of makin’ it up as you go along. Play some sort of music too.

Where and what did you study?
NMIT – Advanced Diploma of Music Performance – Jazz/Contemporary/Popular.

What was your first circus performance?
With the Westside Circus band in Urban Heroes, Melbourne Fringe 2000.

How many suitcases do you tour with?
One – and it has 20% extra secret space.

When you’re touring, what can’t you leave home without?
My 20% extra space suitcase. My pandeiro. And red high-heeled Doc Marten boots.

Where’s your favourite place to tour to?
Madrid, Spain and deep south USA. And anywhere I haven’t been to before.

Popcorn: sweet or savoury?
Savoury (with chilli and salt)

If you couldn’t be in the circus, what would you do?
Surround myself with vintage keyboards and never leave the house. Or go to Brazil.

Are you scared of clowns?
No.

If you could teach Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott a circus trick, what would it be?
How to stick their head in the mouth of a lion. I wouldn’t be too worried about the outcome.

This was on AussieTheatre.com

Get MKA out of the country

There's still time to see MKA's Tuesday before it finishes on Saturday.

The formal review is finally here (been sick as), but if you like the kind of stuff that I like, you will LOVE this show. I saw a lot of theatre last week and this is the only show that made me excited about theatre. If you think I'm full of shit, I dare you to go and see it anyway (and why are you reading this?).

Meanwhile, make room in your diary for sex.violence.blood. gore  that opens on 27 June and is directed by Stephen Nicolazzo (Home Economics, Two by Two, Negative Energy Inc). This isn't a new local work, but was first performed in Singapore in a basement, in secret and the company didn't advertise.

They're also just back from Berlin, where they performed readings of Declan Greene's Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography (my fav new script last year) and Tobias Manderson-Galvin's The Economist (which was a close second).

And they are taking The Economist to Edinburgh in August.

This is where they need some help.  Remember that this company are not funded, so it's not your tax dollars sending them on trips. But they can lessen your tax burden because donations are tax deductible.

All the information about their Pozible "Send MKA to Edinburgh" is HERE.


Photo by Sarah Walker

Review: Robots Vs Art

Robots Vs. Art
La Mama
3 June 2012
La Mama Courthouse
to 10 June
lamama.com.au

There's a very funny and unexpectedly touching short play hiding in Robots Vs. Art.

Welcome to the future. Robots got super smart and killed off most of the naughty humans who were destroying the world; the rest now work in underground mines and get beaten with chains. One robot (Simon Maiden) is researching "art" and wrote a play, so it's lucky that there's a once-playwright/director (Daniel Frederiksen) is in the mines who wants to convince the bots about the importance of art and feeling.

I honestly thought this was a first-time script, until realising that I had seen (and loved) Travis Cotton's writing, like The Rites of Evil. The first half has clunky exposition, slabs of telling the play-going audience that plays and art are good things, OMG-you've-already-told-us repetition, less-funny-the-second/third-time jokes and direction that seems intent on prolonging every scene with enough dead stage time to let me read my program and decide what to make for dinner. And we know more about the robot than the hero's character at this stage.

Or: The script would benefit from a good edit.

Cotton also directs. When going all meta with characters explaining the nature and structure of plays, declaring that art is good, talking about reviews that "seem unkind", stressing the importance of empathy and using lines like "The script is devoid of anything resembling art", the direction and tone have to be so ironic that we laugh with you and are not tempted to use it against you.

Then, perhaps an hour in, Robots Vs. Art finds its tone, settles on a pace, gives its characters some life, becomes laugh-out-loud funny and brings its audience into a shared experience.  It's great stuff and Paul Goddard and Natasha Jacobs are the best robots since (insert your favourite robot). There are hints of this in the early part, but it may help if Clawbot (my new favourite robot) pulverises a good chunk of the beginning.

The lost reviews: Seven Stories, The Heretic and Everynight Everynight

Some reviews fell into a black hole a few weeks ago. (Dull tale: sick ...)

But here are some quickies and links to some far-superior discussions.

Seven Stories
Written and performed by Vyom Sharma
11 May
Chapel off Chapel
sevenstorieslive.com

Seven Stories leaves you believing in the magic of story.

Vyom Sharma is a magician. I don't know how he does is it and I've watched Breaking the Magicians Code on the telly. His sleight of hand and misdirection create genuine gasps of amazement, but he real magic is in his story telling.

Rejecting the sparklie jackets and ridiculous assistants of old school tricksters, Vyom's revelation is an intimate night of tales from his life and tellings of some that he never forgot. Each is connected to an impressive trick, but director Celeste Cody (Attic Erratic) ensures that the magic is enhanced by the way it's told and musican (Stephanie Spiers) develops the atmosphere and acts as a savvy help when needed.

Celeste has also directed Vyom in a  A Modern Deception (I finally go to see the trick I missed) and together they are re-creating stage magic and letting us see why it deception is so popular.

There were only four performances of Seven Stories at Chapel off Chapel, but it'll be back. It's a show that's still developing (I'd like to see Stephanie have a more active role) and it might pop up in the Fringe.


The Heretic
MTC
17 May
Sumner Theatre
mtc.com.au
to 17 June

MTC gives us another play about a middle aged academic who has problems with her gen Y offspring. This one has bonus with jokes about climate change politics because we don't want subscribers to think that all artists are lefty hippies.

Surely Mel Gibson is enough to prove the diversity.

The best thing about it was the wonderful Noni Hazlehurst. Watching Noni on stage is worth a dreary script. She's knows that the truth of a believable performance is all about those 'no-line' parts of the scene that show you react to those around you. Think about life. Do we judge people by what they say or by how they react to what we say?

Having a BA and having worked in the arts faculty of a couple of our big unis, I got the act 1 academic references and even had a giggle at the in-joke reality about how unis are changing.  If you love a staff-room-ready anecdote about Earth Science being the new Media Studies, which was the new Psychology, which was the new Sociology, you'll understand where the writer comes from. But jokes for those in the know do little for the story or make us care for the people in it.

Act 2 has a lot more action, but couldn't decide if it was a tense thriller or a luxury living room comedy. And there was a riveting scene of watching people look at computers.

For a much better read, here are Alison's and Richard's discussions.

Everynight Everynight
Frank Theatre Company
9 May
Gasworks

In 1978 Ray Mooney wrote about his experiences of the institutionalised violence Pentridge Prison. It's not one to see if you live in Pentridge today – the prison is now a posh housing estate – as you'll never sleep peacefully again.

With a terrific cast, and as a piece of our theatre and our social history, Everynight, Everynight was fascinating – and has more "cunts" than the comedy festival – but as a piece of contemporary storytelling, I felt distanced and kept tripping up on the script's inconsistencies and searching for something to help me understand the bigger picture.

But Mooney wasn't writing a piece of arty contemporary theatre; he was doing what he could to share the hell that he lived though.

Best discussion I read about it was Cameron's

Review: Ruby Moon

Ruby Moon
Steam Productions
31 May 2012
The Owl and the Pussycat
to 17 June
steamproductions.com.au

Ruby Moon put on her favourite red dress and went to visit her grandma at the end of her cul de sac. She never made it and hasn't been seen since. Her parents are still in the same house and spend every day lost in the unbearable grief of trying to find their little girl.

Sydney-formed Steam Productions chose Matt Cameron's 2003 play for their first Melbourne show.
Cameron's script starts with a fairy tale and enjoys the macabre horror of these traditional stories. It's been on state company stages and schools programs and,  like Poor Boy, which opened the MTC's Sumner Theatre, it's a story that keeps its audience uneasy by never really answering its own questions and its final act reveal leaves us re-interpreting everything that's gone before and wanting a rewind button to see it all again.

The Owl and the Pussycat in Richmond have a tiny theatre space in what was once the front room of a single front cottage. It's an ideal choice of venue for this story as it brings its audience almost into the living room with them, allowing for no hiding beyond or behind the fourth wall.

Director Rachel Baring (Short and Sweet) is back in Melbourne after completing a graduate year studying Directing at NIDA. She places the story firmly into the broken minds and hearts of the parents and only hints at the super natural and fairy tale elements. This lets it feel more like a mystery that could find an answer in the packages of broken dolls and strangely unhelpful neighbours, and creates the freedom to indulge in the dark comedy. But it also leaves a slightly uneven tone, especially as she ultimately ensures that it's a work about grief.

Sarah Ogden (Moth) and Scott Gooding (Eric, Faust) are the parents and everyone on their street who were there the day Ruby disappeared. Their honest and heartfelt performances start with guilt and they let their characters fight the hurt that they know has probably already drowned them. Both bring the internal to the surface, but maybe in such a small venue, leaving more of it hidden will create an even greater intimacy with the audience. In such a close and closed room, hints of "acting" create safety barriers, and one of this show's many strengths is its uncomfortable atmosphere .

I also wonder if there's meant to be hope for the parents. As their grief is so unfair that there may never be a moment of comfort or rest again, more of a hint of the life that created Ruby could give the audience a touch of hope and comfort that can draw them deeper into the story and intensify the ongoing dread.

As is Annie, Ruby Moon is about a little girl in a red dress, but it's the dark and sobering antithesis to the life-is-fair musical. (Or maybe it's the real story of Annie's lost parents.) Without safety nets, its raw pain draws us into unimaginable grief as its mystery leaves us re-thinking what we believed and our hearts hope for the impossible.

Just book, because there's no room for extra seats. It's engagement isn't easy, but there's beauty in the pain and it'll remind you why watching passive theatre can be so dull.

Photo by Sarah Walker

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com

And here are some writing tips from Matt Cameron, from Snodger Media's What I Wrote series, seen on the ABC and available on DVD.

Supporting marriage equality

Today, the Australian Senate Committee into the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010 was scheduled to report its findings.

The committee reported on 31 May that the report will now be tabled on 25 June. To keep an eye on its progress, head here.

On Friday in Melbourne and Saturday in Sydney, a spectacular who’s who of Australian entertainment industry are presenting a reading of the play to show their support of this Bill and to fight to end marriage discrimination in Australia.

Producer Kate Whitbread said, “We felt compelled to bring 8 to the Australian stage after experiencing the LA reading. It is remarkable how universal the issue is and how we all need to stand together for what is right. We are thrilled by the overwhelming support and generosity of the community in getting this play to the stage. It is going to be a spectacular and important night and definitely one not to be missed”

Head to AussieTheatre.com to read more about it or get yourself a saucily priced $69 ticket to show your support for australianmarriageequality.com.

And, perhaps, we should be ensuring that every member of the Senate Committee comes along.

Friday 8 June at 7.30pm
Her Majesty’s Theatre
Book at ticketek.com.au


Photo by Serge Thomann


AND at 3pm TODAY


Sue Pennicuik MLC, Greens, will introduce the Marriage Equality Bill into the Victorian state parliament

“It is preferable that marriage equality be achieved at the federal level by amending the Marriage Act 1961, to remove the discriminatory amendments of 2004, and with growing support in the Australian community, this may well be achieved.

However, if this is not achieved, there is always the option of introducing laws in the states of Australia to allow specifically for same-sex marriage”, Ms Pennicuik said.

Review: Annie

Annie
John Frost, Power Arts, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Two Left Feet
1 June 2012
Regent Theatre
to 12 August
anniethemusical.com.au

Annie was the first big show I saw. It was the original Australian production (yes, the summer of 78/79) at the Festival Centre in Adelaide and it was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen. It was better than The Aristocats film and even better than Disney on Ice!  And it had kids in it. It was aspirational and my cousins and I sang every bit we could remember from it. (Thanks Gran for taking us.) I so wanted to be an orphan, but I really wanted to be Annie*. It's Annie's fault that I'm here today.

Annie was THE show of 1978 in Australia. The songs were played on the radio, there were stories in every newspaper about the casting and finding the dogs at the pound. We knew the names of the local Annies and orphans. It was bigger than The Voice.

Being a teenager, I didn't see the film (naff), missed the 2000 revival (naff!) and so nearly didn't see the 2012 production because I was scared that my inner-10-year-old would have her memories of such a perfect experience shattered.

Annie is naff. Its a schmaltzy, feel-good story about an perky orphan showing a billionaire the importance of being perky and convincing the new US-depression-time President that the sun will come out tomorrow.  It's more twee than Lolcats,  has the worst wig in the history of all theatre (even in the 70s the curly red perm looked ridiculous) and if it were written today, there'd be an extra scene to help the Act 2 resolution where she runs away, is attacked on the streets and saved by Sandy the dog.

So the only way to tell this story and make it more than laughable ironic nostalgia is to make it as perfect as possible and to tell the story with love. And this is what director Karen Johnson Mortimer has done.

It starts with an exquisite design (Kenneth Foy) that incorporates projections of 1930s New York to bring us into its world. We begin in the grey and white film world of orphanage poverty and colour is added until we're dancing in the lavish world of hope, love and wealth.

The first cast on stage are the seven little Australian orphans and Annie (Hattie Hook, we adored you) singing "Maybe" and "Hard Knock Life". This is make or break it time and this young cast make it. Bring in the Nancye Hayes as nasty Miss Hanniagn (who was the original Lily and company director of the 2000 revival) and there's no doubt that this is an Annie as good as any of us remember.

The cast can't be faulted.  Julie Goodwin (not the Masterchef winner) as Grace, Todd McKenney as Rooster, Chloe Dallimore as Lily, Anthony Warlow returning from 2000 as Daddy Warbucks and one of the best ensembles I've seen tell this story like it's their own. It's not just talent and experience (although if you can't dance like Todd, you don't deserve to be on a musical theatre stage); it's being totally with your character (no matter how small) for every moment you're on the stage. We're not in the audience to see performers show off; we're there to see a story and have to believe in the characters on the stage.

If you've never seen Annie, you may not like it as a grown up. I sat next to a confused 20-something couple on a date: the only way this is a date show is if your hoping to get knocked up that night. But there were lots of children. Children who didn't utter a word during the show (anyone been to a movie where kids shut up?), children who sat there as entranced as I've ever seen anyone in a theatre. A little girl near me was crying in Act 2 when it seems like Annie may have to go away with her fake parents.

This is going to be as defining theatre/story moment for many of these children, so please don't hesitate to introduce any pre-teens you know to theatre with Annie. As a commercial show it is expensive (and even I was nearly tempted by an Annie key ring at the merchandise stand), which leaves so many people unable to see it. I'm not going to debate the cost of putting on these shows, but producers, you're very smart people, so there must be a way to open up seats to kids and families who would otherwise never have a chance to see Annie. Daddy Warbucks would find a way.

We've seen some seriously dull musical revivals in recent years. These shows have ruined memories of great shows and made first timers wonder what the fuss was about. Revivals have to be as great as this Annie. They have to be better than what came before. Cutting cost corners on development and rehearsal or talent and spectacle only leads to empty seats and reviewers writing things that make you upset.

Annie is as perfect as a production of Annie can be. Filled with heart and talent, it reminded me why I fell in love with musical theatre all those years ago.

I never got to be THAT Annie, despite my Grandpa never calling me anything else, but I showed off on many stages in my teens, have adopted pets from the street and had red curly hair for many years. But I haven't sat on a billionaire's lap and called him Daddy...yet.

* until I wanted to be Sandy (from Grease, not the dog), then Janet from Rocky Horror.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com