MIDSUMMA 2013
Hair
StageArt
9 February 2013
It may be impossible to not get caught up in the cast's infectious enthusiasm for Hair. From the lollies and condoms that come with the program to the hippyesque love that greets everyone at the door, it's a love fest of joy. But neither direction nor design give a contemporary view of this very political piece of theatre or place it firmly in the context of protesting the war in Vietnam in the 60s and 70s. Given it's created and performed by people the same age as those facing the draft in Hair, that it's about a war that had an incredible impact on Australian culture, and it's presented in a city that helped to stop the draft in Australia with the Monatorium protests, there's so much material that could shape a piece that speaks to and about 2013. For all its love, Hair fails to celebrate or share an understanding of those who rejected the idea of killing for their country or tell the story from the point of view of that generation's grandchildren.
