Review: Human Interest Story

Human Interest Story
Malthouse Theatre, Lucy Guerin and Perth International Arts Festival
24 July 2010
Merlyn Theatre, CUB Malthouse
www.malthouse.com.au

Lucy Guerin's choreography speaks louder and clearer than most words on our stages.  Human Interest Story explores the overlap of our domestic lives with the "news" and current events. Is it as hard to care as passionately about wars and stuff when Callum might beat Adam at Masterchef?

Be it the nightly news, daily papers or Facebook updates, we each have some connection and interest in the world beyond ourselves, and when Presidents Ahmadinejad and Obama are presented alongside the gossiping of Michael Jackson's former nanny, it's no wonder we feel unable to understand or react in the most positive manner.

Human Interest Story opens with the dancers watching a big screen TV with a monotone narration of the news. In the background, a barely lit, full-size tank sits like a tamed wild cat wondering if it can still attack.  In brightly coloured camouflage outfits, the dancers' words are their music in a world where slicing strassburg (fritz or devon for non-Victorians) at Coles is as important as getting a text about your euthanised dog,  giving your kids scrambled eggs, oil spills and Julia Gillard's view on climate change.

With a wow soundscape created by Jethro Woodward and lighting by Paul Jackson (whom I can never say enough good about), colours turn to grey and black as heartbeats, breath, scrunching newspaper and finally music accompany the dancers, whose intensity and emotion moves from the personal to a deeply personal reaction to a world they are part of and unable to control.

The physical language of dance is often foreign to people like me who love words, but dance like this reminds us of their limitations. Guerin and her dancers (Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe, Talitha Maslin, Harriet Ritchie, Stuart Shugg and Jessica Wong) create a balance where their skill creates the emotion and response, so rather than watching and wondering how bodies can do that, we feel deep in our guts; feel what we really think about the overwhelming nature of our multi-media contradictory society, even if we can't find adequate words to express it in a tweet. They bring the human response back to the stories.

As this review got unintentionally lost in a week of film festivals and musical openings, the short Melbourne season is over, but Human Interest Story will be at the Perth International Arts Festival next year.  It's great excuse to go to Perth.

This review appeared on AussieThearte.com.

Review: Let the Sunshine

Let the Sunshine
Melbourne Theatre Company
31 July 2010
Playhouse, the Arts Centre
to 4 September
www.mtc.com.au

Let the Sunshine opens with a scruffy, but still attractive, 50-something trying to put an IKEA-like book shelf together. The audience are instantly his. We all know how hard it is to put those shelves in place. When his still-looking-good-but-not-denying-her-age wife comes in and jokes about his Richard Dawkins book and that he buys books that he never reads...well let's just all go home and make sure we have a spot in our Billy bookcases for unread plays by Australian playwrights and famous atheists.

I watched Dawkins on QandA (that's the same as reading isn't it?) and I have a shelf full of plays in my IKEA bookcase (that I assembled all by myself!); I've even read some of them. Ones I read in the 80s, like Don's Party, The Club and The Removalists, still inspire me. David Williamson is one of the reasons I learnt to love theatre. With astute observation and wit, he gave Australian theatre a voice that... Yeah, yeah we all know that Williamson is a national treasure and that his plays are as popular today as they ever were and ensure good box office.

Why? I don't know.

Let the Sunshine (co-produced by the Melbourne and Queensland theatre companies) is the theatrical equivalent of the great Gillard/Abbot political debate on the telly.

Academy Award– nominated documentary maker Toby (Robert Coleby) and his successful lefty-book publisher wife Ros (Jackie Weaver) have moved to Noosa. They are 'friends' with fat (sorry John), racist, homophobic, obscenely wealthy property developer Ron (John Wood) and his wife Natasha (Andrea Moor), who ran a successful fashion boutique for three years until she got bored.  Toby and Ron don't get along! And if that isn't enough, their Sydney-living, 30-something offspring come to visit. Emma (Rachel Gordon) is nearly a partner in her law firm (daddy Ron is impressed) but she finds it difficult to be a woman in such a tough environment. Rick (Paul Ashcroft) is a musician but works in a bar because the world hasn't noticed his talent (Toby and Ros think he's a genius).  Emma and Rick don't get along either...or do they?

Astute play-goers will recognise the subtle satire about the left and right politics in Australia. They may even understand the joke about Ron and Natasha's John Olsen painting and the follow up Jeffrey Smart joke in Act 2 (when everyone goes back to pretentious old Sydney).  Olsen's paintings are wild and organic – like Noosa – and Smart's are all clean and ordered – like Sydney. But everyone who goes to the theatre knows that. These are people who read Crikey and New Matilda (just like Toby) and nudge each other with recognition when silly old Natasha tells Ros that the book club doesn't want to read Geraldine Brooks. I mean who would even go to a book club that doesn't love our Geraldine? And then there's the jibes about Maggie Thatcher editing The Australian and a good lefty can't get through the day without bagging Janet Albrechtsen.

Or there are plenty of jokes about "horrible right wing journalist thugs" and "nanny-state lefties" for people who have trouble putting part A into slot B and don't know the difference between a flat- and a  phillips- head screwdriver.

Tell your own story is wonderful advice to any writer – but David, please stop telling us your story. If you don't want to live with the disillusioned ex-hippies and soul-less developers on the Sunshine Coast and you hate Sydney so much, move back to Melbourne. We'll have a bowl of pasta at Ti Amo and head across to La Mama, then you can come over the river to see a Red Stitch show. Probably best that you avoid some of the inner-city suburbs because the developers are destroying them and you'll have to wear thermals if you want to go down the coast... Adelaide maybe? They love you there. Or Perth? It's warm and surely those miners are crying out for a bit of well-crafted wit.

But come on Anne-Marie – it's satire! That thing that makes fun of extremists and the middle class.  David is laughing at these people. Perhaps if you read more plays and less Geraldine Brooks, you'd understand.

David may be laughing at, but the audience are laughing with him. The jokes about a monkey in a turban (an Indian cricketer) and "at least it was a bloke" (Emma shagging no-hoper Rick is better than her nuding-up with a woman) get more laughs than the Al Gore joke. These throw away giggles could be removed from the script and make no impact on the story. So why are they there?

This is writing that supports and boosts the status quo. If old Ron is really a good guy at heart, surely there's nothing wrong with a harmless joke about hating Indians and him not wanting his daughter to go carpet munching?

This is the attitude that gives us an election campaign where the left and the right are fighting so hard for the bland middle ground that the debate between our 'leaders' was telecast at 6.30 because they knew it didn't stand a chance against the Masterchef final. And the theatre crowd prefer Masterchef because they laughed at the Tetsuya joke more than the sub-prime one.

And, it was directed by Michael Gow,  the man who wrote Away.

This review appeared on AussieTheartre.com.

Review: Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins
Disney and Cameron Mackintosh
29 July 2010
His Majesty’s Theatre

www.disney.com.au/marypoppins

The pure delight of Mary Poppins will ignite the love of theatre and story in any child and reminds us grown ups that we should never stop believing in our own dreams.  Or, as only the best people say: it’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – and deserves every standing ovation and sold out sign that it’s going to get.

Throw away your expectations from the 1964 Disney film (with Julie Andrews) or P L Travers’ books. With the rights to both, Cameron Mackintosh joined forces with Disney to create something so new that, once you’ve seen it, it’s hard to imagine it as anything else.

The original 2004 West End production won Olivier Awards and went to Broadway in 2006 to be nominated for Tony Awards. If the heart-felt standing ovation of last night’s opening is anything to go by, the Australian production won’t be closing for a very long time.

Every scene reveals more of Bob Crowley’s spectacular – and Tony winning – design as it captures the nostalgia of a black and white illustrated story, the whimsy of a pop up book, the wonder of a painting and the fantasy of a multi-million dollar movie. But for all the whizz-bang stage effects, the soul of Mary Poppins is the story.

Mary’s magic shows her charges an unforgettable world, but magic of Mary is balanced by the reality of a family who have forgotten how to love each other in a world where banks can kick people out of their homes.  

George and Winifred Banks’ two children have gone through six nannies in four weeks. Jane and Michael are determined and bratty, but only because they want a nanny who will love and play with them and even though George burns their job description for an ideal nanny, Mary Poppins still answers the call.

The cast of musical theatre veterans and our youngest soon-to-be super stars are so fresh that it’s almost impossible not to sing along.  

With perfect comic timing, Marina Prior brings heart to the downtrodden Winifred and Philip Quast lets George realise just what he nearly lost. Matt Lee may not be the best singer, but his Bert is loveable and I think he can dance. Judi Connelli was born to be an evil Nanny and Debra Byrne’s poignant Bird Woman is reminiscent of her Grizabella in the first Australian CATS.

Keeping up with these old-timers are ten performers sharing the pivotal roles of Jane and Michael. If the rest are as professional and ridiculously talented as Kurtis Papdinis and Haley Edwards, they too will be the stars of the show.

And everyone is supported by an ensemble who bring this irresistible world to life by creating the atmosphere, emotion and joy that flows from the stage to even the furthest god-seat. Watching the ensemble, audiences lucky enough to see an understudy perform will be in for a treat.

But as practically perfect as everyone is, Verity Hunt-Ballard’s Mary is the performance to remember. With a voice that will rightly be compared to Julie Andrews and a lightness of foot that equals Matt Lee, Hunt-Ballard makes Mary her own by adding mystery to her sternness and a hint of regret and sadness to her love. Even with the most brilliant of scripts, it’s the performer who makes an audience love a character and Hunt-Ballard ensures that everyone leaves the theatre wanting to dance and knowing that they will start looking for the best in all people.

Bring every child you know to Mary Poppins because they deserve to see something this gorgeous – and bring all the grown ups you know because they deserve to feel like a child again.

This review appears on AussieTheatre.com

Whoopi at the 2008 Tony Awards 

"Step in Time" by the Broadway cast



And if you love Philip Quast (George Banks) here's a bit of him in one of my favourite TV shows Ultraviolet.  (This is from ep 5, so there are some spoilers)

Review: Stop. Rewind

Stop. Rewind
Red Stitch Actors Theatre
23 July 2010
Red Stitch Theatre
to 21 August
redstitch.net

Melissa Bubnic joined Red Stitch as Writer in Residence at Red Stitch in 2009 and Stop. Rewind has spent 18 months in development with the company's Writers Program.

With a structure that lets the characters say what they wish they said, but rewind back to what they actually said, Stop. Rewind can't fail to strike a familiar chord. I'm glad that other people spend much of their time re-running their encounters with better dialogue.

Bubnic's characters work in the public service with its long-termers, team meetings, bad cakes and rooms filled with people playing on Facebook, emailing gossip or trying to get a promotion by doing extra work. When a colleague gets cancer, each is faced with the reality of their situation and contemplates the possibility of change.

And change is rare in an office staffed with uninspiring, unfulfilled, boring sods. And this is where I has trouble with Stop. Rewind. Stories about uninspiring, unfulfilled, boring sods are ... well ... We have real life to watch boring people. For all it's recognisable "we all get bored/depressed" discussions, it felt too much like a work about "them" rather than a reflection of "us".

However,  I almost disregarded my own feelings, because Bubnic brings her characters to a beautiful ending of hope and perfect oddness that made all previous quibbles seem irrelevant and the Red Stitch cast and creative team created a strangely enchanting world.

Peter Mumford has, again, devised the most astonishingly simple and effective design in the tiny Red Stitch space and the expectation that the post-its would come down added a subtle tension to the night.  Anne Browning's lively direction captures the quirks and humanity of these people and this company continue to let actors do what they do best. Olga Makeeva, Andrea Swift, James Taylor, Giordano Gangl and Ian Rooney all bring so much more than the script to the stage and Ella Caldwell and Tim Potter are going to be people we have to pay a lot of money to see in the future.

Stop. Rewind isn't the best thing I've seen at Red Stitch, but it's still far more engaging and interesting than some of the more expensive shows on in town. And you can still buy a half year subscription to all of Season 2, which starts with Stop. Rewind.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Review:Happily Ever After

Happily Ever After
La Mama
7 July 2010
La Mama Theatre
to 11 July
www.lamama.com.au

Jane Miller's beautiful and complex writing stood out at the Short and Sweet and Melborn short play festivals.  Happily Ever After is her first full-length work and is firmly placing her as one of Melbourne's must-see playwrights.

Lizzie and Ben are trying for a baby, Ben needs to convince Chloe to leave her house before his boss Dave gets the police,  Dave is trying to make Ben take charge of his life, and Chloe just wants to be left alone.

These characters have lost so much or have so much more to lose than they know and as their secrets are revealed or kept, each face a life of compromise while wishing that – just once – they were enough for their loved one.

In letting her breaking souls try for a miracle happy ending, Miller brings recognisable and complex emotions to the stage and shows them through a highly original story. In a mix of fractured fairy tale (the Prince dies alone because he won't take Cinderella at her word) and harsh reality, she balances the despair with hope and the bitter heartbreak with bitter-sweet comedy.

Director Beng Oh, who also stood out at Short and Sweet, deftly captures the frustration of relationships and the tone of the writing with composed pacing and by letting the cast embrace their character archetypes without losing their uniqueness.

Mike Frenchman (Dave) and H Clare Callow (Chloe) are the emotional counter balances to Paul David-Goddard (Ben) and Marnie Gibson (Lizzie). Frenchman's prick who thinks he's a mentor lets us laugh and Callow's distraught Chloe lets us wallow, as Ben and Lizzie try to find a way to be as happy as they pretend to be.  Lizzie could be easy to hate, but Gibson brings understanding to her actions and never lets us feel sorry for her and David-Goddard brings a complexity to Ben that lets us see the internal fight between letting himself feel and "manning up" to the world.  The last time I saw David-Goddard perform, he reduced me to tears (in An Air Balloon Across Antarctica); this is an actor who deserves a lot more attention.

Fortunately, Melbourne theatre goers are recognising the wonderfulness of Happily Ever After and a new show has been added on Sunday at 3pm because the remaining nights are selling out. This is theatre that wakes your heart up, so call La Mama and grab a ticket now.

This review appears on AussieTheatre.com.

Review: Dead Man's Cell Phone

Dead Man's Cell Phone
Melbourne Theatre Company
1 July 2010
Sumner Theatre
to 7 August 2010
www.mtc.com.au

If you were at a cafe and a mobile phone kept ringing, would you answer it? Would you answer it if the man who owned it had died at the table? And do you believe that audience members who don't turn off their phones should be publicly shamed and forced to buy everyone drinks at interval?

The MTC have a phone-turn-off title with Dead Man's Cell Phone and in it sweet and mousy Jean (Lisa McCune) answers a dead man's phone, falls in love with the dead guy, meets his family, resolves his familial relationships and contributes to his human organ trafficking business.

American playwright Sarah Ruhl's script is a gorgeous foray into magic realism that delights in taking its audience to unexpected places and filled with wordy delights about the comfort of small casseroles and heaven being like an embossed wedding invitation.

Director Peter Evans takes full advantage of the script's humour but loses the joy of the magic realism. The extreme characters are never real enough to be natural and the fantasy elements are too real to let the fantasy fly, which leaves it in a no-folks land that is little more than the text.

Sound and lighting designers Kelly Ryall and Paul Jackson create a dreamy, magical atmosphere (Ryall's soundscape is especially gorgeous) and McCune brings enough vulnerability and genuine likability to Jean to let us love her enough to travel to her heaven, but too much of the production feels awkward once it's out of the comfort of cafes, posh houses and jokes about people who wear black.

This review appears on AussieTheatre.com.