Tartuffe

Tartuffe
Malthouse Theatre
20 February 2008
Merlyn Theatre, CUB Malthouse

The creatives and cast of Malthouse Theatre’s Tartuffe seduce the audience so convincingly that imperfections with the production become irrelevant.

It’s an intimidating task to adapt a classic work. Louise Fox remains true to Molière’s structure and characters, whilst delightfully playing with the language. (How could anyone resist rhyming Tartuffe with poof?) Grange, the Financial Review, Byron Bay and Desperate Housewives didn’t make the 17th century French original, but they set up many a contemporary reference and joke in this version. If Molière had a Facebook profile, I’m sure he too would have referenced it.

In this version we find ourselves in a suburb like Toorak, complete with its own pool and ornate faux French iron fencing. As always Anna Tregloan’s design beautifully supports the script and the space with an intelligent balance the practical and the aesthetic.

Living here are an indulged family, frustrated by their patriarch’s (and his mother’s) admiration and support of the very religious Tartuffe. With a cast including Marcus Graham, Alison Whyte, Barry Otto and Malthouse favourites Francis Greenslade and Peter Houghton, it would be difficult to be disappointed in cast. On a technical level, the scenes between Alison and Marcus are superb. There buzz from making an audience laugh is naturally addictive for a performer, but some of the clownish aspects of some performances could be better balanced. The clowning can be huge in this farce, but there was a bit of “look at me” acting, which really shouldn’t happen in a cast this experienced.

The build to Tartuffe’s entrance is structured perfectly. Certainly there is a lot of exposition in the first scenes, but we are eager to see the god-like presence that has taken over the household. Marcus doesn’t disappoint. His god-like entrance is as divine as it can be and we very soon discover how this Tartuffe was able to so thoroughly deceive and seduce. Getting over the fact that he is pleasing on the eye, Marcus’ delivers a complex and rounded character. He successfully elicits a degree of empathy and support for the character we could so easily despise – which makes his Act Two downfall even stronger.

The pace picks up significantly in Act Two as it heads to the unavoidable deus ex machina (used almost in its literal sense). I do wonder if a contemporary “king” may have been more relevant than the choice of Christian king or even a less obvious Christian image. It certainly worked in the context of the script, but in the context of Melbourne in 2008, there was something lacking. The final ironic twist may also have been more poignant with a different image of religion, belief or intervening deity.

Finally Matthew Lutton’s direction must be acknowledged. (He was assisting director Michael Kantor until a few weeks ago, when his own ironic deus ex machina intervention arrived when Michael became ill.) There are some hints of inexperience, especially in communicating in a big space, but otherwise the direction is tight, balanced and admirable. Act 1 would benefit from work on establishing the status and relationships of the characters through direction and performance, rather than relying on dialogue and exposition. And sometimes a joke for the sake of a laugh distracts too much from the story and doesn’t serve the script and production as a whole.

At the end of the night, Tartuffe is thoroughly enjoyable. It’s not the strongest or most relevant piece of theatre I’ve seen at the Malthouse, but it’s one that sets the bar high for the rest of season.

This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Photo by Jeff Busby.

Rock ‘n’ Roll

Rock ‘n’ Roll

MTC

February 2008

The Playhouse, the Arts Centre

 

Tom Stoppard brilliantly uses the potent, resonating, loud, angry symbolism of rock and roll throughout Rock ‘n’ Roll. Stoppard continues to write superb scripts; so why is the MTC’s production about as rock ‘n’ roll as Nanna quietly humming “The Sound of Music” as she has a luke warm cup of tea and a Milk Arrowroot?

There’s a very interesting story hidden in the Stoppard script. It combines the historical with the political and the very personal; then wraps it all in an image understood by anyone born in the 20^th century. It follows the lives of an English and a Czechoslovakian academic who met at Cambridge in the 60s. The Czech returned to his home during the brief period of liberty in 1968. Their stories weave through to opening up of Eastern Europe in the late 80s.

I’m sure director Simon Phillips and his cast know the story, but it isn’t told clearly on the stage. The characters, the plot and the context are all confusing. I read the program after the show and learnt things I didn’t know about Czechoslovakia from 1968 to 1989 – facts and people that were vital to the story – shame I didn’t understand all of this after watching a three-hour long production. Programme notes are great – but they shouldn’t be necessary to understand a production.

The coherency also suffered from a lack of context. I think the picture of Gough was letting us know it was the 70s. I hope it wasn’t implying that the 1975 debacle in Australian politics was as oppressive as living behind the iron curtain at the same time. The whole production just felt so old school. Here we in Australian theatres, AGAIN pretending that we are in the UK.

I think Stoppard wrote these characters to be played with a generous dose of satire. Has anyone ever said, “The only thing that would make you happy is of the workers owned the means of production” in any context other than a first year politics tutorial? Phillips directed it far too seriously. There wasn’t room to enjoy the humour. A couple of jokes got laughs – but we were laughing at the joke, not the comedy inherent in the script or the characters.

Genevieve Picot and William Zappa stood out amongst the cast. They brought an authenticity and life to their characters and to the stage. The story, however, does revolve around Jan, played by Matthew Newton.  As an actor, you don’t have to like anything the script or the director tells you to do, but your job is to make the audience not only believe, but care about your character.  I didn’t give a toss about Jan and what happened to him. Newton’s performance was as beige as Jan’s high waisted cord trousers.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll set suitably looked like a rock gig with a wall of speakers and a moveable lighting rig. Scenes changes were music, lights and video footage establishing time and place.  A rock concert is bright, loud and imposing. So why weren’t these changes rock and roll? The sound wasn’t even half of 11 and it didn’t take long to suspect that the lights on the rig were just decoration. I can understand many of the decisions made in the direction, but this one just floored me.

In Act 2, Jan says to Nigel, “We mass produce banality in Czechoslovakia.” We seem to be doing it here in Melbourne as well. Am I wrong to expect to walk out of production by our flagship company feeling inspired?

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Malthouse Theatre

27 February 2008  

Tower Thearte, CUB Malthouse 

Director Oscar Redding aptly says, “If a play has continued to be extraordinary for four hundred years and you fuck it up you only have yourself to blame”.  So Oscar, I guess I’m blaming you.

Malthouse Theatre chose to include a film in their 2008 season. I was so looking forward to seeing this. Poor Theatre’s original production of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark was performed in 2004 in a shopfront to a maximum audience of 15. Looking at the actors, the design and the interpretation of Shakespeare’s work, I’m sure it would have been stunning and I wish I’d seen it.

This is the film version. It was shot in 38 hours, at night over nine days. The effort and dedication of everyone involved is clearly evident. It’s shot in some of Melbourne’s identifiable seedy spots, including Bourke Street Mall, the Degraves Street underpass (where the cast use to rehearse, because it was dry and free) and The Waiters Club.

This is a film, so it has to be viewed and reviewed as a film. I don’t want to use the word atrocious – as I really respect and admire what these folk did to make this film – but it is not a good film.

The whole thing is seen from the POV of whoever is holding a camera. Some googling revealed that it is Osic and he’s the wedding cameraman for Gertrude and Claudius wedding. I spent most of the film trying to figure out who he was. I thought it might be Hortatio and that Hamlet’s little hand puppet was a joke, rather than an indication of madness. Why all of these people continue to trust Osic with their secrets is never clear.

I know Hamlet – it’s one of the best damn stories ever written. If I didn’t know that story, I would have had no idea what was going on on that screen. Nothing was done to establish who the characters were and what their relationships were with each other. So much was hidden in darkness and shadow, that it wasn’t clear what was happening. I get that it’s meant to be hidden and dirty – but isn’t the whole point of film that we see what is going on? It looked like Hamlet pulled back the shower curtain to find Polonius having a drunken nap in the bath.  Ophelia’s death and even her burial were even more mysterious. Gertrude runs into the Waiters Club and says she has drowned. Who drowned? You have to show on the screen, telling doesn’t work. Seriously, please show this film to someone who doesn’t know Hamlet and ask them to summarise the story for you.

Then there was the actual filming. I can see that you were trying to emulate the Dogme 95 declaration. However the Dogme directors knew what rules they were breaking and some did it stunningly (I’m by no means a Lars Van Triers fan, but he could shoot a film). This had unfocussed and wobbly close ups and two shots with lots of language – but rarely did we see what was going on and the quality of the film was so distracting that it was even harder to concentrate on the slabs of language.

The nauseating shaky camera makes the screen almost unbearable to look at. The individual shot composition went from dodgy to bad to “have you ever actually sat in a cinema and watched a film?” I’d love to see the storyboard – if there was one. I really do not understand how a film can look so bad on a screen.

I don’t care about the lack of resources and the roughness. That had nothing to do with this film. It has some admirable ambitions, but was shot badly and failed to show an understanding of film, action and visual story telling. 

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com

Coles Girls

Coles Girls
Michael Lindner and David Gauci
24 January2008
Northcote Town Hall

Cole’s Girls is laugh ‘til it hurts stuff. Sometimes it hurts because it’s just so wrong, sometimes it hurts because it’s little bit close to home and sometimes it hurts because you haven’t had time to draw a breath between jokes. Satirical, crude and just damn hilarious; these cheap drag scrags are as special as the Boxing Day sales with an unlimited credit card.

Meet Leesa Allopecia and Lysa Nads. Leesa knows she’s large framed, but why should she care when she works with her best friend and has the achievable dream of stroking Johns Wood’s Logie. Lysa yearns for a pearl necklace that doesn’t wipe away and is worried about the possible consequences of waking up one morning in a sperm donor clinic. Their jobs aren’t glamorous, but they have each other and the ongoing inspiration of Lisa Mclune. Like Lisa their careers started with a supermarket. Lisa went on to Aussie TV fame after being the advertising face of Coles. Leesa and Lysa are still scanning at the checkout, but they have dreams and Aussie TV is always looking for new reality show contestants.

Nothing is sacred in this show. Good satire reflects a thorough knowledge of your targets. These girls know Cole Porter, musical theatre, supermarkets, outer suburbs, Centrelink, reality TV, lost Aussie soaps and everything that is, was and ever shall be the cult of being an Aussie starlet (and there are one or two gay references).

If you don’t remember Arcade or Chances, there’s a generous combination of wit, word play and innuendo to keep anyone smiling. Now add the music of Cole Porter, a pianist and a couple of dancers. Cole’s Girls may be the definitive Bogan musical. Naturally “Love For Sale” opens the show. Cole may be cringing from beyond with what they’ve done to the lyrics, but I’m sure he’s wishing he could have had this much fun.

Under the muff, hole and 69 jokes Michael Lindner and David Gauci have developed an original, local and relevant work. What takes Cole’s Girls beyond a series of drag sketches is the complex characters, drama and well structured and balanced story (Yes, I am actually sticking to my belief that these things matter. I just hope I’m not being too sophisticated for the readers…..)

It’s hard not to compare Cole’s Girls to Little Britain. It’s by no means derivative of the British sketch show, but if you love the Britain boys, you shouldn’t miss the Cole’s girls. I’m not sure why men dressing up as women can be so funny (as it can also be pretty offensive). Perhaps it’s because there is more distance between the actor and the character. Would Dame Edna be so fabulous if Barry was really Betty?

Drag aside; the humour works because the characters aren’t that far from reality. Take away the jokes and the extremity and what’s left is a world that is raw, honest and a bit sad. This is what makes great humour so good. David Brent, Basil Fawlty, Eddy and Patsy, Kath and Kim. If we didn’t know people just like them, they would never be so funny. If we didn’t see just a bit of ourselves in Leesa and Lysa, we may not laugh so hard.

This is Cole’s Girls second Melbourne season. It’s now much tighter and deserves to be seen widely. And the closing line is as brilliant as the film it references.

This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

SHOUT! – The Legend of the Wild One

SHOUT! – The Legend of the Wild One

11 January 2008

The State Theatre, The Arts Centre

If this is down and dirty, sweaty and sexy rock and roll, I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

SHOUT! – The Legend of the Wild One is nostalgic and fun. Seeing Mark Holden, Colleen Hewitt, Glenn Shorrock and John Paul Young is equally as nostalgic and fun. The design is sassy and satirical, the choreography authentic and addictive, and the ensemble cast are one of the best around. But it isn’t wild, it isn’t sexy and it really doesn’t show what was so unique and captivating about Johnny O’ Keefe. This production is more Rock and Roll Eisteddfod than genuine rock’n’ roll. 

The writing is where this production is falling down. It’s rose (pink really – lots of pink) coloured nostalgia, rather than story. The dialogue is mostly exposition, a bit of explanation and the rest is joke. There’s pouffe jokes, a salmon mornay joke, a Lorraine Crap joke and a charming splattering of 50s racism (which teeters somewhere between boring and offensive). It’s assumed that the audience knows everything about JOK already. 

 The disappointment, determination and degradation of JOK’s life is perfect material for a musical. His fight for fame in Australia, his continual battle with drugs and alcohol, the car crash, his overseas failure, his battle with mental illness, his failed marriage, his gradual comeback and final happiness. It’s all briefly touched on, but never used to create poignancy or real emotion.  His come back is shown as his parents watch it on TV. 

 We don’t see the darkness. We don’t see the deterioration, the addiction and the pain. A quick scene in a straight jacket doesn’t even begin to hint at what he went though. His wife mentioning to his parents that he’s taking drugs does nothing to show us his addiction. His bag of marijuana was used only as a joke. This man believed he was Jesus Christ – why on earth wasn’t this real and dramatic material used to its full potential? 

 I think the writers were trying to show us JOK through the eyes of his wife and parents. So we saw a loved person with minimal faults. This story is about nice little Johnny and his very nice parents. He was a bit naughty, but that’s about it. He sure as hell isn’t presented as wild and revolutionary. Faults and mistakes make drama. Namby pamby characters are not interesting. I wanted SHOUT! to show us what JOK went through and why he was, and still is, one of our greatest. 

 With a restructure, more of a focus on character, story and personal journey and a greater exploration of the dark side of JOK, this could be a bloody terrific show. The music, cast, look and feel are all there (the encore alone is worth going for), but it isn’t reaching the emotion level it should and it's making rock and roll seem just a bit blah. 


 This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Short and Sweet 07 Week 3 Wildcards

Short and Sweet 2007 Week 3 Wildcards
22 December 2007
The Arts Centre, Fairfax Theatre

Short and Sweet 2007 finished with an afternoon of Wildcards that surpassed Week Three’s Top 10.
 
Mr and Mrs Metcalf Enjoy the Music of Elton John
Frank Legget’s work moved perfectly from excellent character portraits to well written action and poignant conclusion. It could have been much blacker with a couple of different choices, but still worked well as a relatively straight drama.
 
Break Up
Too often directors make a choice that distracts from the story. Nicola Fearn’s choice to perform the script in the audience gave the performers, and the audience, a much broader scope to explore. Steve Wheat’s script about a break up sex contract would have been just as funny and original on the stage, but no where near as fun.
 
Fat
Sorry, but we’ve heard it before. This story is regularly told on the 6.30 current affairs shows and in grade seven essays. Yes, women have issues with their body image. Yes, it’s hard to be fat and, yes, thin people also have trouble buying clothes. Issues need stories to make good and engaging theatre. The costumes were fun, but I didn’t know what they were trying to mean. Finally Dew Chaiyanara’s work came alive and interesting in the last moments. This is where it should have started.
 
The Knitting Circle
Another piece based on a well explored issue. This time it’s abortion. However, Susan Pellegrino’s piece approached it with originality and Brenda Addie directed it with a theatricality that made it fascinating, beautiful and strong. The choir like presentation of the dialogue, the costumes and tight staging showed that issue based scripts can make excellent theatre.
 
In the Closet with Pamela Anderson
Natalie Faulkner’s piece had the most original concept of the season. It opens in the dark and stays that way, as we discover our characters are shut in a closet. Fairy lights and shadows let the characters communicate and let the audience listen.
 
Of Art and Artifice
Christian Price and Megan Price write witty work. But wit alone doesn’t sustain. This was about a meeting between Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and Florence. Google told me she eventually became Florence Stoker. I think I understood most of the jokes (You’re such a blood sucker Bram), but so much of the humour relied upon the audience’s knowledge of these characters are and their future life story. If they were called Fred, Barney and Wilma – it wouldn’t have worked. And, I have to wonder why any author would try and pit themselves against the wit of Wilde. It’s setting up a comparison that is never going to work in your favour.
 
668: The Neighbour of the Beast
I love the 668 joke. So does Andy Piper. So much that the whole work is just a variation on one joke. At times it’s very funny, but why give away the joke in the title and opening of the play? Once we know the punch line, re-telling and re-telling the joke just gets tedious.
 
Strangers
Andy Keegan’s took a confronting sexual encounter into the world of the ordinary. This is what made it so very interesting. It took us where we didn’t expect to go. To make the change and truth of the work more powerful, I would have liked to see the first half more confronting and more dangerous.
 
The Gravediggers
I don’t know what Angus Grant’s play was about. There was no action and two pretty standard characters who were gravediggers. There were some nicely written rants – but that’s all they were.
 
Tupperware
Wayne Tunks has written a delightfully satirical and nostalgic work that opens the snap tight Tupperware lid on its (still fresh) characters. Filled with the unexpected and the expected, Daniel Lammin’s direction sustained a perfect final play for the 2007 competition.

This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Short and Sweet 07 Week 3 Top 10

Short and Sweet 2007 Week 3 Top 10
19 December 2007
The Arts Centre, Fairfax Theatre

I wasn’t blown away by Short and Sweet’s Week Three Top 10. There was a lot of issue writing and point making this week and content seemed more important than story. Theatre can tell us about issues so powerfully, but when it becomes preachy it so often falls flat.

Brocade Sonata
The complex staging of Machination Theatre’s piece overwhelmed the writing and the story. What was the narrator’s story? She could have been reciting the alphabet. The direction was more interested in showing off the contorting and twisting bodies of its cast than telling a story. It was meant to be erotic and seductive. It came across as naughty (not even funny) innuendo. And “He is erect. She is moist.” Dull writing or was it describing that he was standing and she was a bit sweaty under the lights, because they certainly didn’t seem interested in each other.

Bomb Disposal
Kate Toon knows how to write a short play. She deftly combined past tense description with present action, balanced the authentic characters well, gave an original plot that surprised and maintained interest and actually gave her characters problems that resulted in definitive action. Supported by engaging performances and well paced direction, this was my favourite of the night.

Uncontrollable Performance Art Moments
Nothing like a few funny costumes and wacky dance moves to get an audience laughing. Simon Brook has written a cute story about the absurdity and passion of the performance artist. As everyone was caricatures, I would have liked to see them more absurd and outrageous.

The Gentleman Had an Axe
David Astle’s ambitious script about football, fatherhood and the white settlement of Melbourne suffered with its direction. The complex structure and multi-time plot became confusing and the decision to have black playing white and white playing black sometimes seemed contrived, rather than powerful. It’s of those pieces where the structure and writing were so good that they overtook the story telling. Show more, tell less and work on gaining audience empathy for the characters.

Word Space
I liked the kerning joke. I don’t know if it did anything for the characters or the story, but it was a nice joke for anyone who deals with printed text. Elizabeth Bennett really seemed to want to write about the “No War” protest painted on the Sydney Opera House. Shame, because somewhere in the story is a very funny character and situation that didn’t get the chance to be appear. A graffiti artist who corrects the grammar of other street artists. That’s a brilliant start to a piece. The two kids on the opera house wondering if they were going to get shot and debating the value of protest was a bit dull. Please write something else about the grammar corrector.

You Me and Desiree Potato
Lovely, gentle performances sustained Lachlan Philpott’s piece. The writing was poetic and would be beautiful to read, but it didn’t work as a play. This would be a stunning short story.

Blindingly Obvious Facts
It’s great to see a Ben Ellis piece again. The writing was complex, but clear, yet it suffered, like many others tonight, by having the content dominate the story. I liked hearing the different opinions as I am interested in the content. However I needed to see the play give the audience a reason to watch these people and listen. They were directed as disjointed voices and opinions, not as people who we were interested in and wanted to listen to. The final moment with the silent Rachel was nonetheless stunning.

Perfect
No it wasn’t. It was OK. It was nicely written and structured by Aaron Scully and well performed. The direction was based on one idea and a bit stilted. There wasn’t a moment when we didn’t know every single thing that was going to happen to these two people. Please do something nasty or funny or absurd or surprising to these soap worthy characters. Cute, romantic, happy ending stories are perfect dinner table conversations – this is theatre, you can do so much more.

Almost
I almost really loved Krista Dalby’s piece, until the conclusion. It deftly explored the different perspectives of the same relationship. The office romance story can so easily be boring, but this was told with a freshness that overcame any issues of predictability. We cared about these people and understood why they acted liked they did. Then their skyscraper building exploded (or perhaps a plane flew into it……) I’m guessing it was meant to be sobering and poignant. Sometimes the brilliant idea you have when you start writing becomes the thing that should get cut.

A Dish Best Served Cold
Frank Otis wrote some very, very, very angry hurt women. This play went in hard and tried to shock. It's an angry, rape revenge piece. The content was far more important than the characters who become stereotyped revenge filled anger demons. Each woman needed to be much broader to become real on that stage. Some of what they said was superb – but got lost in the anger. Maybe it would have worked as a series of monologues without the actual presence of the rapist. Then we could hear their stories, rather than waiting for them to sodomise him with the large stick.

iOTA and The Beauty Queens

iOTA and The Beauty Queens
15 December 2007
The Famous Spiegeltent

What do you do when you have a full Spiegeltent full of devoted fans, a show dependant upon the sound you’ve spent weeks perfecting on the computer and the gods of technology decide to curse you? You do the show anyway – of course.
 
iOTA and the Beauty Queens (Sharpy & Timmy) didn’t expect to be doing a semi-acoustic show with lots of bass and drum. They did describe the sound they created and it sounded like it would have been amazing. But I didn’t really care and neither did anyone else there.
 
I wanted to see iOTA perform. I’m still chastising myself for missing the Melbourne season of Hedwig and now know that I will need a trip to Sydney to see him as Frank.
 
iOTA is a rare genuine mix of rock, punk, gender bending and pure charisma. You don’t want to take your eyes off him. Combine that with a well trained, honeyesque voice that lovingly embraces the harshness of rock without losing any tone or control. It must be scary to be called enigmatic, but IOTA lives up to his reputation.
 
I don’t know his original music enough to comment on the effect of the technical problem, but I was mesmerised and would have bought a CD if they’d been selling them. I’ll go and find myself one this week.

This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com

Short and Sweet 07 Week 2 Wildcards

Short and Sweet 2007 Week 2 Wildcards
15 December 2007
The Arts Centre, Fairfax Theatre

Short and Sweet Week Two Wildcards exposed a lot of lovely writing, but not enough stories. And there was a general imbalance between direction and writing.

Keeping Annabelle

Rachel Welch’s script is a very satisfying dark grey. The plot twists and heads in unexpected directions and she never reveals all the information. Keeping Annabel and the reason for her kidnap a secret, ensures that the story is always about the people actually on the stage.

All The Way To The Top

There were some terrific comic performances in this offering from Pregnant Goldfish productions. It was tightly directed and a lot of fun, but there was no story. It was a great sketch though. Some work on the individual stories of the characters would take it a step further.

4 Seconds

Leon Foo’s protagonist is scared of clichés, but Foo has written a short play full of clichés. The lover’s story was told in a very interesting, original and potentially engaging fashion, but every moment of their courtship and relationship was as predictable as a Home and Away episode. Too much focus on agenda, rather than character and story.

The Anniversary

No where is safe. Two Brooklyn women have found themselves in Siberia. We assume because New York isn’t the safe place it used to be. Drew Larimore’s script combines good characters with mystery, tension and comedy. Nicely paced direction and performances.

Just Another Tuesday Night

Natalie Lopes’ script is one of the best written pieces I’ve seen this festival. It gently unfolds a complex and authentic story without ever letting any one character dominate or distract. Unfortunately the direction of this piece dominated. The choice to double cast may have been fun, but I never saw a reason for it. It didn’t add to the story. It did distract from the story. Uneven performances from the large cast added to the distraction. We were watching how it was told, not what was being told. The best direction goes unnoticed.

Sally’s Choice

Cerise de Gelder’s created authentic characters and gave them a funny, original story and a divine dilemma. This should have been a laugh ‘til it hurts farce. The ingredients were perfect. It became a bit of a girls “why doesn’t me love me” ho-hum whine. Then it got good again. A much faster pace, a couple more twists and getting rid of the relationship speeches would turn this into a total winner.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Who knew life as a suffix could be so complicated? Michael McManus loves his metaphors and his complex nouns. It all works pretty well on the stage. The direction needed to be tighter and a few bits can easily be cut, but the concept was original. Nice to see language literally playing on the stage.

…I AM…

Julianne Donavan’s performance was stunning. Without doubt the most engaging and emotionally real performance of the afternoon. Mary Ann Butler’s script would have been so much more powerful with more work on story. Give this woman something to motivate her thoughts and actions. Give her a problem that leads to this exploration of herself. I kept expecting her to reveal that she’d had sex with her son’s friend or something along those lines. The sentiment was superb and let’s see more writing for women who do have grey pubes.

Notes of State

I wonder how much of the staging and direction came from Felcity Decker’s script. This was another play where the direction was so distracting that the story became secondary. What was the point of the upstage action when the character was narrating it anyway? The drunk/sober personalities didn’t even resemble each other and there were no consequences for his actions. Give him a tragic or a funny consequence to motivate his change. I’m not sure how the standard getting a bit pissed at work drinks scenario led to his actions.

UnAustralian

Let’s hope that the sentiment of Darinka Kralj’s script becomes more and more historical everyday. Very funny and perfect snapshot of the unAustralian Howard years, complete with sorry jokes, clever country jokes and the inevitable map of tassie reference. My pick of the afternoon.

This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com

Short and Sweet 07 Week 2 Top 10

Short and Sweet 2007 Week 2 Top 10
12 December 2007
The Arts Centre, Fairfax Theatre

Short and Sweet’s Week Two Top 10 were a mixed bag. There were the expected mix of enjoyable, but tasteless jubes, overly sweet clinkers and rubber band textured snakes - but every now and then a delicious hand crafted dark chocolate appeared, filled with a bitter marzipan or creamy ganache.

The Replacement Son
The program blurb gave away the plot. Actually the title gave away the one sustaining joke. Steven Hounsome structures well and the joke was a good one, but he gave limited, almost stereotyped characters. There’s dumb Aussie sheila, dumb country farmer and angry young art student with red hair - with offstage good boy geek thrown in for balance. The characters need to be fleshed out and made real if we are to care about them and their fate. It was never clear why the parents rejected their son. And why do poor struggling artists write about poor struggling, talentless artists? Why not give Shaun an original and interesting reason to go to the big smoke.

The Critics
Another serve of bland “seen it all before” character. This time – it’s a critic. Do you really take what we say seriously? Ian Grody has actually written a bloody funny piece about actors and their egos, but hidden it behind a buffoonish critic. It plays with form and is full of in jokes. The staging needs some tightening and it would have been nice to see the direction explore the works inherent theatricality. But, of course, I’m one of that breed of semi-evil, talentless wanna bes - who “obviously don’t know one thing about who does what in the theatre.”

Lobster Tales
This was physical, fun, theatrical and took us into the expected and the totally unexpected. It’s about belief and faith and short memories and what blokes talk about when they’re alone. Michael A Strang knows his lobsters (and his blokes).

Gravity
It’s hard to cut your writing. But sometimes you have to lose good stuff to give a piece strength and impact. The metaphors in Mark Andrews piece got in the way of the story – like a cat (who got out of the fridge) and a dog (with bared teeth) running in front of the television. There were some powerful and incredibly moving images in this work, but one would have had more impact than the many. The direction and ultimate performance started too intensely, giving it no where to go emotionally and I did not believe that this person was suffering from post traumatic stress. Perhaps a little bit more research would have helped.

Cable Car of Death
This is the kind of fabulous original writing that appears in this festival. Nathan Curnow had me from the opening moment. Development at Crash Test Drama has obviously tightened and perfected the humour, the drama and the characters in this piece. Who would have thought some facts about Houdini’s death would lead to a work set high above the Alps? Each character has their own problems to face and resolve, there are great one liners hidden in the dialogue and no one is predictable.

49 Stories about Brian MacKenzie
I loved this play. It was sweet, emotionally real and poignant. The actor never said a word. We watched slides and listened to a perfect soundtrack. James Henderson’s music reminded me of Hal Hartley’s first films. Alix Stirling gently directed Gregory Hardigan’s unique script to its moving climax. Nicholas Bendall’s non-performance was the most generous and moving performance of the night.

Protest
And we’re back to our list of well known characters. This time it’s angry young woman at protest and young cop rethinking his career. Tom Taylor wrote a great ending, but his characters spent too much time mouthing statements rather than telling us about themselves. The dialogue never sounded authentic and I didn’t care what happened to either of them.

On the Cards
Scott McAteer always surprises with his plots. He never lets the audience get ahead of him. What do you do if your drunk psychic has predicted the love of your life will break your heart? Do you still meet them? Good characters, original plot and a damn good laugh. The direction could be a bit tighter and the author could research tarot and divination a bit more to create greater authenticity.

The Neils
Meet Neil, Neil, Neil, Neil, Neil and Patrick. Miles Blackford’s script is bizarre, surprising and one of the night’s favourites. Shiralee Hood’s direction used movement superbly and let the work build to its inevitable violence. The performers may need to step away from their characters for a bit though. It was coming across a bit too much like a competition to see who could be the funniest Neil.

The Lobotomist
If this doesn’t win the People’s Choice award, I’ll be surprised. When theatre in decay get it right – they get it right. Robert Reid writes damn fine satirical musical theatre. The music is spot on, the content perfect (lobotomy is usually treated far too seriously) and there’s a mad doctor to balance out the straight love interests. Robert Lloyd has found the character he has was meant to play and Ben MacKenzie lets him revel in the madness. Unfortunately Madeline Asbry gets lost amongst these two. Her character may need to be strengthened to perfect the work. Just remember that “a dream can only hurt you if you let it get away.”
 
This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Short and Sweet 07 Week 1 Wildcards

Short and Sweet 2007 Week 1 Wildcards 8 December 2007
The Arts Centre, Fairfax Theatre

The first of the Short and Sweet 07 Wildcard sessions offered a diverse group of plays in terms of content and quality. The focus was on works developing from different processes; including group devised, group written, the winner of the Short and Sweet schools’ program and a selection from the Monday night Crash Test season at Dantes.

Good
Patricia Corneulis’ play was all about being good, whether it was playing football or simply being a good fuck. The direction was uneven and stilted and the cross between narrative and action wasn’t clean or clear. I have no idea why characters were left on the stage “watching” action that didn’t relate to their story. By standing around like shag on a rock, they drew attention away from the action. Sylvie was the only character who really came to life and was interesting. I really think this would have worked better if it was a monologue by Doug. His story is great, but the telling may be better in a different form.

Sage and Maximillian
Brooke Fairly’s piece combined narrative and action very well. The complex plot was sometimes dense and difficult to follow, but the telling was poetic and Terri Brabon directed it with a gentle and beautiful theatricality. Nonetheless I was left wondering how she leant her curse was a gift.

The Empty Space
Chris Dickens directed his own work. The writing itself is poetic and beautiful, but the telling was confusing and the plot didn’t come together until the last moments. It may have benefited from the impartial eye of another director. Penelope Jade Philippiadis’ performance was one of the best of the afternoon.

The Jumping Play
Every time I see Angus Cerini on stage, he’s in underwear. This time he jumps. Even if it’s more a sketch that a play, it was still very funny, original and engaging. It played with form and performance and was of my favourites.

Pirated
Sweet’n’Sour Circus presented a sweet ‘n’ cute shadow puppet story, but I was waiting for something to happen. I kept thinking that the puppet story was an introduction to the real play – but it wasn’t. The final joke when the real pirates appear ended with them bowing, not carrying on with the story. Turns out this is the opening scene of a longer work. This explains a lot. I suspect the full work will be very good. But if it isn’t a stand alone short piece, why was it in this festival?

Intexicated
Good characters, good performances and lots and lots SMS jokes. Sometimes the jokes got in the way of the story, but it was still engaging and fun. Having three writers helped to create very different voices for the characters, which was tightly directed to create a smooth final piece.

The Salsa Slur
This was a group devised piece created to deal with the fact that there STILL aren’t enough good roles being written for women. This process also allowed authentic and real characters to be created by the actors (I am of the school that calls male and female performers actors. We don’t have directresses, playwrightesses, designeresses and journalistesses). My mini-rant aside, this process developed an engaging and funny work. I would have really liked to see some use of the Salsa though. As it stood, it could just have easily have been set in a pilates or a pottery class.

Double Dana
Christina Costigan’s script focussed too much on the writing. We were listening to the very clever writing, rather than being immersed into the lives of the characters. Serial monogamy is a common theme. Perhaps Dana needed to come across something unexpected?

iFAM
This was the winner of the Fast and Fresh program run in high schools. Melbourne Girls College deservedly won with this satirical and fun piece, which stood equally with all the other Wildcards. The imagery was sometimes obvious and the characters fell into stereotypes, but it presented a very clear voice and message about the teen view of technology and resources.

Death by 1000 cuts
In a program of this quality I don’t expect to use the word overacted. I don’t know if it was the direction or the excitement of the performance, but neither character seem authentic or believable. I didn’t believe for a minute that Josh wanted to kill himself and the change in Ang was too sudden and not consistent with her earlier character. Mika Tsio’s script is well written and well structured, but needs a bit of work on the characters and would have benefited from clearer and firmer direction.

This review appeared on AussieThearte.com.

Short and Sweet 07 Week 1 Top 10

Short and Sweet 2007 Week 1 Top 10
5 December 2007
The Arts Centre, Fairfax Theatre

‘Tis the season to watch many short plays. Short and Sweet 07 had 1141 script entries this year. 60 were chosen and the absolute best of this group will win a share of the $30 000 prize pool. Short and Sweet is addictive. One you’ve seen one night, you just can’t stop yourself coming back for more.

There are three weeks to the competition. Each week sees 10 of the Top 30 and 10 Wildcard performances. Scripts were entered from all over Australia and playwrights from 12 other countries also wanted to be involved in this fabulous program. The selected scripts are presented by some of Melbourne’s best independent directors and performers.

Week One’s Top 30 group willingly experimented with form and structure. Some succeeded in breaking new ground, while others could benefit from less focus on the brilliance of the writing and more on the telling of the story. Even in such a short format, a story needs a beginning, a middle and an end.

Sleeping Leeches
Liza Dezfouli explores love and dating when your nearly 40. Is it any different or do we start making choices that we would have rejected in our earlier years? There is some very beautiful, funny and emotionally honest writing in this work, but it needs something more to happen in the telling. A bit more action or a twist in the plot would help these excellent characters to tell a great story.

Spots
It’s an old story that can, and should, be told and retold. Why don’t we act when our friends are attacked and disappear? Sarah Giles directs Steven Hopley’s script with a highly effective theatricality. The characters are dressed in blueprints and pattens, but can’t see the obvious pattern appearing before them. The heightened performances support the comedy and keep us interested, even though we know what will happen.

Thrilling Hostage Melodrama at High Speeds With Pineapple
The title says it all. Reservoir Dogs with chicks. Adam Hadley’s script is a great contrast of characters and energy that is supported by good direction and good performances. It’s well paced, very funny and throws in a good mix of surprises.

The Gap
OK, I have to admit that I may really have been the most stupid person in the audience that night. I didn’t immediately realise that the people stuck in a glass round room, dressed in orange and called Nemo and Fishie were fish. I look so hard for the subtle, that I miss the bloody obvious! However, I thought it was a great piece of writing no matter what. Phoebe Harley directed her own script. At times it focused too much on the writing, but the repetition and the structure create good tension, good pace and lead to a suspenseful and perfect ending.

Hope Fades But The Duck Never Dies
Jane Miller’s script is emotionally real and engaging. She presents two very different perspectives of the same relationship and questions why we want to keep a relationship that we know is already destroyed. Her metaphors are sometimes a bit forced, but original and totally in accord with her style. This work may struggle against the funnier pieces and needs some more focussed direction, but I think it was the best written piece of the night.

Bury Your Goldfish
I knew that this one really had fish in it. Michelle Wallace has written a very original and engaging piece that compares a mother’s perspective of her teenage daughter to the perspective of the same daughter though the eyes of her goldfish. Using puppets and a delightful cardboard set, this work uses the visual as a vital part of the story telling. It should have worked better than it did. Form was distracting from story and the decision to have the mother reading from a lectern never made sense.

a ramble through the wooded glen
Neighbours meets Deliverance. Thomas Henning already knows that his piece will be remembered for a very, very long time by anyone who sees it. I’m still not 100% sure what it was about, but it was dark and absurd and combined violence with slapstick and was prepared to go places that many would dare not venture.

Michael Goes Home
Bridgette Burton has written a very clever and well structured piece. It tells its story well and reveals information gently and powerfully. It was directed in a way that focussed a bit too much on the form and structure, which lessened the impact of the characters and their story. A better balance is needed between the four characters to lift its emotional impact.

Love Story 2007
I’m afraid that too many people sniggered simply because a young man fancied an older woman. Why is this still the case? I’m pretty sure the giggles would never have surfaced if the gender of the characters was reversed. Anna Lall’s premise and plot are very good. Her dialogue needs some work and the characters need some fleshing out. As an audience we needed to see a genuine and sexual connection between these two to make us really want them to be together.

Carnal Pseudo-Skewered Pig
Jane E Thomson is one of the few writers who really let her characters change and created the action for changes and surprises. Director Yvonne Virsik keeps the action lively, funny and paces it perfectly to an excellent ending

This review appeared on AussieThearte.com.

The Choir of Hard Knocks

The Choir of Hard Knocks
1 December 2007
Vodaphone Arena

The Choir of Hard Knocks recently performed to 2700 people at the Sydney Opera House. Over 5000 Melbournians lined up to see them last weekend at the less posh, but just as welcoming Vodaphone Arena. Jonathon Welch ended the evening with the hope that the night left us all “with a bucket load of hope and inspiration”. There’s no denying that seeing this choir perform is one of the most inspiring and humbling ways to spend an evening, but should the concert be reviewed on its musical merits?
 
It definitely should. The choir was formed in 2006 by Rec Link and consists of 50 homeless and disadvantaged men and women. There are some rough voices in the choir, but they sound amazing.

Under the very firm guidance of Welch, this choir produces a sound that is so emotionally real that an occasional flat tone is irrelevant. Welch’s arrangements allow for every voice to join in and be heard. It’s not about proving who sounds the best; it’s about making a diverse group of voices sound spectacular.

The first standing ovation and wiping away of tears came when a group of young women sang “Beautiful”. How many young women today are able to have their beauty and worth affirmed by a cheering crowd? Holly told the audience that she couldn’t believe she was standing there with her family watching. She has been in recovery for four years and told us,”I’m clean and sober today”.

If you watched the ABC television series - Hank and Allan were both 118 days sober. Simon’s going to spend Christmas with his father and brothers and Belinda was eight weeks clean. Belinda isn’t in the choir right now due to her recovery, but she came and sang “The Special Two”. She said it was the first time she had sung without anything mind altering in her system. She sang like an angel – a confident, strong angel who I hope we will be listening to for many years to come.

We also met some new members. Teenage Nettie is a pianist and recovering from a severe eating disorder and compulsions that left her hands so cracked from constant washing that she couldn’t play. She said she had to find something to work towards to begin to take control. The huge audience were thrilled that she is playing again. Gina Marie is also a new choir member. Her presence is immediately noticeable as she almost shines. 12 months ago she began to go blind, then she discovered she had a brain tumour. She sings with a joy that affirms her hope that she has many tomorrows ahead of her.

The choir were joined by a notable series of special guests including Karen Knowles, Judith Durham and the phenomenal Tim McCallum (who sang the best “Love Changes Everything” with the choir that I’ve heard). It is a joy to see these singers, but this choir doesn’t need the crutch of celebrities. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t want to hear Judith Durham sing “Georgie Girl”, because I wanted to hear more and more of The Choir of Hard Knocks.

This review originally appeared on AussieTheatre.com.