Monthly Archives: April 2014

Review: Cough (Unhappen)

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rsz_unhappenVenue: 107 Projects (Redfern NSW), Apr 10 – 20, 2014
Playwright: Emily Calder
Director: James Dalton
Actors: Melissa Brownlow, Vanessa Cole, Tim Reuben, Tom Christophersen
Image by Lucy Parakhina

Theatre review
Cough is a work about children and parenting. Through its story, we find a palpable and critical investigation into our middle classes. Emily Calder’s vibrant script examines our beliefs, values, and behaviour by placing us in a child care centre, where toddlers are the currency for adult social interaction. We are presented three characters, each a familiar type, with ordinary foibles, all trying hard to be the best parent they could imagine. Complications arise when they move focus away from their individual familial relationships, and become embroiled as a collective of anxious parents, every one “infecting” their counterparts with imagined and paranoiac fears, like a cough that seems to emerge from nowhere, only to overwhelm the masses.

James Dalton’s direction is thoughtful and inventive. The story and its moral are kept central to the production, but an extravagant theatricality is built upon the script’s theme of childhood imagination and fantasy. The stage (designed by Becky-Dee Trevenen) is raised high above the ground even though we are seated close, making us crane up our necks, to watch everything happen like small children caught in the middle of an adult argument. Dalton’s talent at creating atmosphere gives the play a sense of wonderment that evokes not just of innocence, but also the concurrent terror that underlies childhood experiences. Lighting designer Benjamin Brockman and sound designer Tom Hogan both show great sensitivity and ingenuity, achieving fabulous effects with minimal facilities.

Actor Vanessa Cole plays the highly unlikable Isabella but wins us over with a dynamic performance that is varied in style, and astutely measured. She develops her character fascinatingly, from a painful parochial stereotype to a heightened state of dramatic derangement. Assisted by a versatile and powerful voice, Cole provides the clearest guide for our navigation through the plot and its ideas. Tom Christophersen is a very tall man playing a three-year-old. His character Frank is created with a brand of outlandish mimicry that is highly entertaining, but also menacing in its surrealism. He is the boy we try hard to forget, but who leaves a lasting impression. Frank is untrustworthy yet seductive, and appropriately, Christophersen captivates us while keeping us quite nervous in his presence.

Growth happens quickly, especially when we are not paying attention. We scuffle with silliness, over details that are inconsequential and petty, to over protect our loved ones, and to feed our egos. In the meantime, life had already happened, and opportunities are missed. The here and now exists, but we sometimes come to it a little late.

www.unhappen.org

5 Questions with Adrian Li Donni

Posted in Suzy's 5 Questions by

adrianlidonniWhat is your favourite swear word?
It’s not one I use a lot, but the “C-word” really tickles me. Something about people’s reaction to it really makes me laugh. Don’t judge, Shakespeare used it.

What are you wearing?
I just got a spray tan in preparation for our first preview this weekend, so just ratty shorts, while I wait for it to settle.

What is love?
I don’t know how to answer that. Mucho complicated, as it is just a word. I’ll try and point to it though…

When I look at someone beyond his or her labels and ego, there is love; a deep knowing that I am Him and She is me. We were all created from a single moment in history. We are all made of star stuff. How awesome is that?

What was the last show you saw, and how many stars do you give it?
The Lion King at Capitol Theatre. Didn’t think much of it the first time I saw it, but this time I let go and really enjoyed it. 4 stars.

Is your new show going to be any good?
It’s going to be extremely good! The detail in the set design alone is worth the price of a ticket (has anyone mentioned that it’s covered in thousands of Swarovski jewels?). It’s a grand and stunning production with a stellar cast. Come check us out!

Adrian Li Donni is appearing in The King And I with Opera Australia.
Show details: QPAC Brisbane from 13 Apr 2014, Princess Theatre Melbourne from 10 Jun 2014, Sydney Opera House from 9 Sep 2014

Review: The Government Inspector (Belvoir St Theatre / Malthouse Theatre)

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rsz_12941006184_c9638e943c_bVenue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Mar 27 – May 18, 2014
Playwrights: Simon Stone, Emily Barclay (inspired by Nikolai Gogol)
Songs: Stefan Gregory
Director: Simon Stone
Actors: Fayssal Bazzi, Mitchell Butel, Gareth Davies, Robert Menzies, Zahra Newman, Eryn Jean Norvill, Greg Stone
Images by Lisa Tomasetti

Theatre review (originally published at auditoriummag.com)
First published in 1836, Nikolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector has long been considered a masterpiece in comedy, farce, and political criticism. This co-production by Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre and Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre takes inspiration from Gogol’s work, but strays as far as is imaginable with drastically transformed contexts and characters, while retaining certain thematic and structural features of the original.

Simon Stone writes and directs this new version, continuing his passion for adapting and modernising eminent classics of the stage. Fresh from last year’s successful, and bloody, re-telling of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, he once again presents an interpretation that is radical and completely surprising. This production is a “last minute” replacement for The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry and Ellen Barry, which had been removed from its programmed slot due to unforeseen copyright issues. It is unclear how much time was available for Stone and his team to rehearse and workshop their take on The Government Inspector, but the volume of ideas and creativity it contains, more than lives up to the famed hilarity of its inceptive roots.

Adding to the theme of mistaken identities, Stone’s show takes on a layer of complexity by embracing and incorporating the experience of losing one script and gaining another. The actors play out a farce that represents their predicament, and uses the opportunity to create a work about the artistic process. Their creation comes out of their anxiety, and a need to satisfy the paying audience, so what results is a piece of theatre that is thoroughly crowd pleasing, and relentless in its pursuit of laughter.

Stone’s courage and edginess as an artist translates curiously well in this madcap comedy format. Popular culture and theatre references are utilised to great effect, but it is Stone’s liberal amount of sarcasm and irony that gives the production an air of intelligence and pointed sophistication. It is a very fine line between silliness and stupidity, but we are never lured into any realm of coarseness or vulgarity. The show plays for laughs but it doggedly rejects cheap ones.

Performances are excellent. The cast of seven might not be uniform in ability and experience, but the ensemble they have created is impressively even. The chemistry between all is stunning, and a tremendous highlight. Eryn Jean Norvill delights with a subtle approach that demonstrates preparedness and confidence. The character she creates is a familiar one, but instead of placing too much emphasis on becoming convincing, Norvill brings with her a sense of knowing, always applying a level of commentary to her actor and character selves. Her attempted defiance against a moment of sexism in the “play within a play”, is poignant and pitch perfect. Zahra Newman is the only actor with two roles, including Dolores de la Cruz, a janitor who delivers some of the biggest laughs by lampooning the thespians. In one of the show’s few political moments, the actors discuss Newman’s ethnicity being an element that provides unfair advantage in the casting process, and it is a pleasure watching her turn an uncomfortable taboo subject into something quite memorable and meaningful.

Gareth Davies is a show-stealer for the duration in which he plays a version of the misidentified inspector. More than any other in the cast, Davies’ execution of the production’s improvisational tone is most credible and exciting. The frantic energy is particularly raw and unhinged when Davies takes focus of the plot. Greg Stone’s exuberant charisma and zeal for self-deprecation quickly endears him to the crowd. His thorough grasp of the material at hand is reflected in his outstanding comic timing. A simple throwaway line about obtaining a job in an office is transformed into a biting joke about the state of the arts in Australia.

Design aspects are fairly basic, but the introduction of a revolving stage that essentially removes the need for extra time to facilitate set changes, and speeds up entrances and exits, makes for a very fast paced, dynamic affair that keeps the audience attentive, and the atmosphere persistently buoyant. No time is wasted between scenes, and we are kept laughing from beginning to end.

There is an extended musical portion in the show that could have felt extraneous, but its insertion is handled with great wit, and we not only forgive its inclusion, we actually find ourselves at new dizzying heights of outrageous comedy. The Government Inspector by Simon Stone and co-writer Emily Barclay, is an exceptionally funny show, but it cannot be denied that the political resonances in Gogol’s writing have all but disappeared. Of course, theatre does not have to be political in order to be valid or indeed meritorious, but radical adaptations of classics will always be controversial, especially when a key feature that has made something legendary is left behind.

www.belvoir.com.au

www.malthousetheatre.com.au

Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector
Belvoir St Theatre 2014 The Government Inspector

5 Questions with Chris Miller

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chrismillerWhat is your favourite swear word?
Cunny funt.

What are you wearing?
Ripped Wranglers, dirty Cons, black Bonds, Commando.

What is love?
Knowing you are there for me and I for you, always. “Butterflies and zebras, and moon beams and fairy tales.”

What was the last show you saw, and how many stars do you give it?
Rom Com Con by Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide Fringe. 3.5, a bit didactic for my liking. An entertaining and charming comedy duet.

Is your new show going to be any good?
Well, All the pieces are there. We have a minstrel. Reservoir Dogs is a sensational film and Steven Hopley is a whizz kid Shakespearean savant, his adaption of Tarantino is entertaining, accurate to pentameter and true to the flick.

Beaut bunch of seasoned actors squeezing juicy juice on the boards. Our dogs know how to bark, Hopley’s training us to fetch and maul.

Violence, tension and cool unhinged characters. Reservoir Dogs at The Vanguard, Shakespeare style. Gold!

Did I mention the minstrel?

Chris Miller is appearing in William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs.
Show dates: 29 Apr – 2 May, 2014
Show venue: The Vanguard

Review: Manon (The Australian Ballet)

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ausballetVenue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Apr 3 – 23, 2014
Choreographer: Sir Kenneth MacMillan
Dancers: Madeleine Eastoe, Wim Vanlessen, Matthew Donnelly, Brett, Chynoweth, Dana Stephensen

Theatre review
With its extravagant production of Manon, The Australian Ballet once again brings ethereal beauty to life. Originally a novel from the 18th century, Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s work from 1974 is revived for contemporary audiences with generous measures of drama and humour that ensure broad appeal. The story interweaves romance with deception, murder and debauchery, resulting in a show that is full of entertainment, while providing extraordinary aesthetic pleasure.

Madeleine Eastoe is a delicate Manon. She anchors the show with a charming confidence, and her energetic execution of choreography delivers a characterisation that is endearing and precise. Eastoe’s captivating depiction of Manon’s journey is crystal clear, and her final moments are moving in their palpability.

Dana Stephensen is memorable as Lescaut’s mistress, with a striking vivacity that connects well with the audience. She plays up the comical elements of her role with subtlety, and attacks her dance with an alluring dynamism that is often breathtaking. Brett Chynoweth as Lescaut impresses and steals the show in Act 2 with sequences portraying his drunkenness. Chynoweth’s performance of the stunning choreography is highly amusing, but also technically powerful.

Manon‘s design elements are magnificent. Peter Farmer’s costume and set design are lavish and imaginative. It is an immense treat to have a fantasy world materialise before one’s eyes. Farmer’s six different sets are not just heavenly backdrops, and his costumes are not merely pretty adornment. We marvel at his genius, and lose ourselves in the sublime world he has created.

On display in Manon are artists of supreme talent and ability, almost not of this world. Their work lifts us out of our mundane realities, and takes us to a place far, far away.

www.australianballet.com.au

5 Questions with Felix Williamson

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rsz_felix-williamson-259541What is your favourite swear word?
Christ!

What are you wearing?
Shorts.

What is love?
Handing over the TV remote without a fight.

What was the last show you saw, and how many stars do you give it?
Waiting For Godot, 2 stars!

Is your new show going to be any good?
Not to put too fine a point on it but, Christ yes!

 

 

 

Felix Williamson is starring in Cruise Control, part of Ensemble Theatre’s 2014 season.
Show dates: 26 Apr – 14 Jun, 2014
Show venue: Ensemble Theatre

Review: The Gigli Concert (O’Punksky’s Theatre / Darlinghurst Theatre Company)

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opunkskysVenue: Eternity Playhouse (Darlinghurst NSW), Apr 4 – May 4, 2014
Playwright: Tom Murphy
Director: John O’Hare
Actors: Patrick Dickson, Kim Lewis, Maeliosa Stafford
Image by Wendy McDougall

Theatre review
O’Punksky’s Theatre’s current production of The Gigli Concert at the Eternity Playhouse is the company’s fourth staging of the Tom Murphy work. Over the course of 16 years, their relationship with the play has developed into something remarkably complex and outstanding in its sophistication. This is a story about the madness that we encounter in our lives, its varying manifestations, and the degrees at which it rears its head. It is also about opera.

Expression through music is used in the production in a fascinating and original way. Director John O’Hare plays with the relationship between music and personal spirituality, and works with it as an instrument of salvation for the play’s characters, and in his staging, a mechanism for storytelling. O’Hare explores bravely, the effects of and experiential reactions to operatic music, almost as an antithesis of the spoken word. Psychoanalysis is a central theme in The Gigli Concert, but it experiments with a departure from incessant talking, and creates a space of meaning with music that reaches beyond everyday language.

O’Hare’s creation is multi-layered, and thick with ideas and intelligence. The show runs the risk of being too intellectually dense in parts, but it is a show that is careful to hold its connection with its audience. It goes on various imaginative flights of fancies, but O’Hare always intends on bringing us along. Along with his actors, he has created a show that is keen to challenge and also to entertain.

Maeliosa Stafford brings with him extraordinary presence, and a brilliant sense of theatricality. We almost expect him to break into arias at each appearance, with a fascinating and dominant energy, keeping us on the edge of our seats for what he wishes to unleash in every scene. His characterisation is consistently strong but also unpredictable, resulting in a portrayal that is full of colour and charm.

JPW King is played by Patrick Dickson whose work is detailed and solid. There is a thoroughness that can only come from extensive study and deep understanding, and Dickson’s performance is infallible. When an actor is in complete control, we get swept away in his confidence, open to all that he wishes to share. There is also an air of whimsy to the leading man that keeps us endeared, and keeps the play effervescent in spite of its frequent darkness.

The Gigli Concert shows us two men and their individual madness. We see them dealing with issues from different perspectives, but the universality of their stories keeps us engaged, and we understand them through the knowledge of our selves, and through the prism of our own madnesses. We achieve a greater understanding of life, and of the nature of human navigation through this incredible and absurd landscape.

www.darlinghursttheatre.com

www.opunkskystheatre.com

Review: Wonderland (Lexx Productions)

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lexxproductions1Venue: Seymour Centre (Chippendale NSW), Apr 8 – 12, 2014
Playwright: Alexandra Howard
Directors: Alexandra Howard, Kate Clark
Actors: Alexandra Howard, Samuel Doyle

Theatre review
Art should be created by anyone who has the desire to do so. Some would argue that the artistic process can sometimes be found in a vacuum, but performance, by definition, requires an audience, and this in turn implies that communication occurs, and the presence of that audience is often taken into consideration by the artist.

Wonderland is written, directed and performed by Alexandra Howard. It is a personal work by a very ambitious young woman about love and romance. She digs very deep for her creation, and there is a strong sense of catharsis about her expression, but its intensely introspective approach makes connection difficult. Howard is earnest, but she is also highly idiosyncratic. Without a greater effort to understand how her work is read, she often leaves us high and dry, and frankly quite uninterested in the show’s two characters or what they have to say.

Max is played by Samuel Doyle who shows surprising conviction and confidence. He works intelligently with the strengths and weaknesses of the script, and finds moments of drama to give the production some much needed variation in tone. There is no doubt that his potential is clearly on display, and would benefit from stronger direction and a more interesting story.

Memories of young love usually fades with time and maturity. It is easy to forget the range of emotions that comes only with youth, but they are represented in Wonderland. Sophistication and humour, however, are not often found in the young, and in the theatre, they are indispensable.

www.lexxproductions.com

5 Questions with Monica Sayers

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rsz_1386076465What is your favourite swear word?
F#$%ING…. that’s fishing right? 😉

What are you wearing?
Yoga gear; lime green Lululemon singlet top and 3/4 length black leggings.

What is love?
Sing it, “baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more!” Ah, good old Haddaway said it best in 1993 with this dance track. I believe love is multi-faceted. It can take on different forms of love like friendship, family, or a committed relationship, but ultimately it involves listening from your heart and acting out of loving kindness to the other or even to yourself.

What was the last show you saw, and how many stars do you give it?
Just saw a comedy on Friday night last week, Heaven Help Us at the Bordello. It was fantastic! Clever witty writing with a solid cast. 4 out of 5 stars.

Is your new show going to be any good?
Is it? Well… you’ll just have to come check it out for yourself and see! You’ll never never know unless you do. Personally, I think it’s going to be FAB!

Monica Sayers is appearing in His Mother’s Voice, from Bakehouse Theatre Company.
Show dates: 30 Apr – 17 May, 2014
Show venue: ATYP

5 Questions with James Scott

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rsz_26522282_origWhat is your favourite swear word?
I’m rather partial to ‘bugger’. It’s plosive enough to vent, but doesn’t upset my mother too much.

What are you wearing?
Two dollar jeans from the Salvos. And socks.

What is love?
I think Love is about you, not about me. It is often confused with passion. Love can’t be neatly summarised in a short answer, so for a full definition I recommend you come and see Lies, Love and Hitler.

What was the last show you saw, and how many stars do you give it?
I am totally opposed to the notion of giving stars. It implies that I sit in judgement and that I think you should listen to my opinion. I don’t want that kind of responsibility.

Is your new show going to be any good?
Absolutely. Five stars. What are you waiting for?

James Scott is appearing in Lies, Love and Hitler, with Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art.
Show dates: 15 Apr – 3 May, 2014
Show venue: The Old Fitzroy Hotel