Monthly Archives: November 2022

Review: A Christmas Carol (Ensemble Theatre)

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Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), Nov 25 – Dec 29, 2022
Playwright: Hilary Bell (based on the story by Charles Dickens)
Director: Damien Ryan
Cast: Valerie Bader, John Bell, Jay James-Moody, Emily McKnight, Anthony Taufa, Daryl Wallis
Images by Jaimi Joy

Theatre review

The timeless tale of Scrooge’s awakening, was first published 178 years ago. With billionaires making news every day in 2022,  Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol resonates anew, although it is only wishful thinking that our overlords should find their souls overnight. Nonetheless, the story remains heart warming, and with Hilary Bell’s stage adaptation taking the form of a pantomime, featuring delightful music by Phillip Johnston, we are re-acquainted with the classic at year’s end, to be reminded of what is truly important.

Charming direction by Damien Ryan delivers nostalgia and sentimentality in spades, although humour in the production could benefit from being less restrained. It is a beautifully designed show, with Alisa Paterson’s set and Genevieve Graham’s costumes leaving a strong impression. Lights by Mat Cox too are sumptuous, and indispensable in delivering for the story, its crucial supernatural elements.

John Bell is believable as the misanthropic Scrooge, suitably mean and cruel, playing one of the best known characters of the festive season. Anthony Taufa brings wonderful exuberance to a great number of roles, full of charisma and playfulness, encouraging us to respond with appropriate cheer. Daryl Wallis provides live accompaniment on piano and percussion, adding blitheness with his sensitive musical direction.

It is right that we should expect more of the rich, but it is also necessary for governments to insist on redistribution of wealth, when disparities are so severe. Dickens did his best to appeal to the human conscience, but it is clear that not many at the top of town are ever going to be sufficiently conscientious. We simply cannot sit and wait for the rich to do the right thing.

www.ensemble.com.au

Review: Artslab: Here We Are Again! (Shopfront Arts Co-op)

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Venue: 107 (Redfern NSW), Nov 23 – 27, 2022
Images by Clare Hawley

Dalo Chips and Imli Chutney
Playwright/Director: Varuna Naicker
Cast: Karina Bracken, Madhullika Singh, Veena Sudarshan

Unkissed
Playwright/Director/Cast: Sarah Carroll

Theatre review

Piyal is in love with a married man, and trying to get her Fiji Indian family to understand her situation is challenging. Even though they live in Australia, where individuals enjoy greater rights and freedoms, Piyal’s respect for her own traditions means that she is unable to disregard what her family thinks. Dalo Chips and Imli Chutney by Varuna Naicker explores the tensions between cultures, from the perspective of those who live in the middle of conflicting values.

Naicker’s writing is well observed, insightful not only with the themes concerned, but also the emotions that emerge from having to navigate those quandaries. Three generations of women in the household are performed by Karina Bracken, Madhullika Singh and Veena Sudarshan, who bring integrity, along with intensity, to the story. A greater appreciation for the humour that inevitably arises from dilemmas of this nature, would make for a more engaging experience, but the message being conveyed remains important.

Unkissed is a one-woman show created by Sarah Carroll, based on the simple notion that the 24-year-old artist has yet to experience her first kiss. It begins as a parody of a PowerPoint presentation, demonstrating the extent to which Carroll researches on the subject, and subsequently escalates into something altogether more surreal and extravagant. The artist’s presence is strong, with an effortless capacity to hold our attention. The writing is cleverly structured, but not always substantial. There is a bravery in her performance style that could be applied to the text, for a more incisive look into the minds of the post-millennial generation.

Lighting design by Justin Phan for both shows, are ambitious and stirring, effective at providing enhancement to atmosphere, as required by the respective plot trajectories. Sound by Prema Yin for Dalo Chips and Imli Chutney is quietly sentimental, adding a sensual richness to the story.

Carroll and Naicker are both young women, going through all the normal things young women do, with the additional pursuit of making art. Art presents a unique opportunity for our young to find their place in the world. It takes a person out of themselves, making them find ways to care for others, in a mode of social communication that always holds one responsible, for what one releases unto the world. Artists are a species that interrogate deeper, and more persistently. It is a responsibility that must never be taken lightly.

www.shopfront.org.au

Review: Nice Work If You Can Get It (Hayes Theatre)

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Venue: Hayes Theatre Co (Potts Point NSW), 18 Nov – 20 Dec, 2022
Book: Joe DiPietro
Music and Lyrics: George and Ira Gershwin
Director: Cameron Mitchell
Cast: Octavia Barron Martin, Lisa Callingham, Grace Driscoll, Nat Foti, Anthony Garcia, Catty Hamilton, Joel Houwen, James MacAlpine, Rob Mallett, Jayme Jo Massoud, Adorah Oloapu, Ashleigh Rubenach, Andy Seymour, Rose Shannon-Duhigg, Andrew Waldin, Jasper Wind
Images by Grant Leslie

Theatre review

It is the Prohibition era, and Billie the bootlegger is secretly storing 400 crates of gin, in a Long Island beach house, owned by Jimmy’s mother. In the meantime, Jimmy is about to get married for the fourth time, but the playboy’s new fascination with Billie means that his best laid plans are going awry. Joe DiPietro’s book for the musical Nice Work If You Can Get It is a tribute to romantic comedies of the Hollywood Golden Age. Thoroughly frivolous and undoubtedly fun, the story is constructed around the songs of George and Ira Gershwin, which are easily, and understandably, the highlight of the show.

Direction by Cameron Mitchell imbues an admirable sense of abandon to the broad comedy of Nice Work If You Can Get It. For 2-and-a-half hours, we are treated to something frothy and gleeful, that never wishes to take it itself seriously. The laughs are constant, often uproarious, proving that an average script can be transposed effectively to the stage, when executed with considerable flair. Mitchell’s work as choreography too is impressive, in a style that harks back to the good old days, delivering nostalgia as well as dynamism, for a staging determined to entertain.

Set design by Simon Greer provides versatile solutions, with great fluidity, to addresses the many location changes, although the space often feels constrictive of the show’s ambitious dance sequences. Christine Mutton’s costumes are delightfully conceived and meticulously fitted, to give much needed elevation to the imagery being created. Wigs on its leading ladies however, require greater attention. Illumination by James Wallis is thankfully utilitarian, providing just enough lighting trickery so that our attention never deviates from the performers.

Playing Jimmy is the dashing Rob Mallet, whose physical discipline brings exquisite polish to the production. The accuracy in his emulation of a vocal style faithful to the period too, keeps us firmly in the fantasy. Ashleigh Rubenach sings all her songs perfectly, but feels somewhat miscast as the tomboyish Billie. Grace Driscoll is very charming as Eileen, able to be both campy and endearing, in her wonderfully kooky sendup of a Martha Graham type.

It is a big cast of 16, comprising some very funny thespians, along with highly accomplished dancers, all doing remarkably to generate theatrical magic. The Gershwin sound however, remains a pinnacle on any stage. It is an eternal joy to hear their greatest hits, no matter the excuse or occasion.

www.hayestheatre.com.au

Review: The Dazzle (Meraki Arts Bar)

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Venue: Meraki Arts Bar (Darlinghurst NSW), Nov 17 – Dec 3, 2022
Playwright: Richard Greenberg
Director: Jane Angharad
Cast: Steve Corner, Alec Ebert, Meg Hyeronimus
Images by Clare Hawley

Theatre review

The Collyer brothers of New York City gained infamy a century ago, for their obsessive hoarding and other generally bizarre ways. Richard Greenberg’s The Dazzle explores their life together in a Harlem brownstone home, for a portrait of two grown men, trapped in a peculiar world, only partly of their own doing. The intriguing characters are depicted by Greenberg beyond the narrow confines of their public personae; Homer and Langley are given depth, dimension and indeed humanity, along with marvellous wit, in a play that absolutely endears and captivates.

Jane Angharad’s direction of the piece ensures that the strange relationships and personalities of The Dazzle, resonate with authenticity. She keeps us fascinated and increasingly invested, by finding ways to make elements of the narrative feel recognisable and intimate, even though most are unlikely to have experienced anything like it.

Costumes by Aloma Barnes render for the production an accurate sense of time and place, whilst adding some commendable visual flair, but set design for the Collyer home requires greater dilapidation, to better convey the severity of their situation. Catherine Mai’s lights and Johnny Yang’s sounds, work intricately with oscillations between comedy and drama in the sumptuous text, to build emotional intensity, for a journey that takes us somewhere unexpectedly rich with emotion.

Actor Steve Corner is brilliant in the role of Homer, with an immense range that incisively conveys the complexities involved, in this tale of extreme eccentricity. The textured flamboyance he brings to the show, is simply wonderful. Langley is played by Alec Ebert, who brings an unneeded restraint to the stage, but whose tender approach prevents us from perceiving the brothers as mere caricature. Meg Hyeronimus is convincing as Milly, the only person to have entered the Collyer’s private sanctuary in The Dazzle. Hyeronimus revels in the radical transformation that occurs for her part, able to represent both incarnations of Milly with equal conviction.

We are fascinated by stories like the Collyers’ or the Beales’ (of the legendary Grey Gardens documentary film) not because the people concerned might feel alien, but because we sense the closeness in proximity between their outrageous existences and our normal lives. It is a thin line that separates, and a precarious psychological boundary, that keeps us from falling off the deep end. There may be truth in declaring that normal is only ever a matter of subjectivity,  but misery is a state of being that refuses to be denied.

www.meraki.sydney

Review: The Tempest (Sydney Theatre Company)

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Venue: Roslyn Packer Theatre (Sydney NSW), Nov 15 – Dec 17, 2022
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Kip Williams
Cast: Peter Carroll, Jason Chong, Chantelle Jamieson, Mandy McElhinney, Shiv Palekar, Richard Roxburgh, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Guy Simon, Aaron Tsindos, Megan Wilding, Susie Youssef
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review

Prospero’s story of exile, in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, can easily serve as parable, for the history of white immigration to these lands we now call Australia. There is a stark and perverse contrast however, between Propsero’s determination to seek revenge, and white Australia’s general deference to those who had discarded them. What we do find analogous, is the cruel treatment of antecedent inhabitants. Caliban was born on the island, long before Prospero’s recent arrival, yet is being enslaved by the latter, who seems only able to think of himself as superior and entitled.

In Kip Williams’ abridged and delicately modernised version, we feel the air inside the auditorium seizing up, whenever Caliban takes centre stage to present his view of the world, and indeed to plead for justice. Performed by Birripi/Worimi actor Guy Simon, Caliban becomes the only character we can truly care about. Simon raises the stakes so high, with a portrayal unforgettable for its blistering intensity and scathing honesty, that we leave The Tempest with an entirely reinvented understanding of this otherwise archaic text.

Richard Roxburgh plays Prospero with an elegant strength, understated but replete with impressive gravity. The dainty but powerful spirit, Ariel is beautifully depicted by Peter Carroll, who brings grace and humour, along with unflappable conviction, to deliver a crucial element of ethereality to the show.

Set design by Jacob Nash is deceptively simple, with a generously sized boulder anchored in the middle of a revolve. The gradual revelations of special effects over the course of the production, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the relationship between audience and imagery. Likewise, with Nick Schlieper’s magical lights, we are expertly coaxed into believing that storms are raging and fairies are taking flight, when in fact it is all just smoke and mirrors. Elizabeth Gadsby’s costumes offer a rustic interpretation that appeals to those with a taste, for something more realistic and unassuming. Sound and music by Stefan Gregory construct a fantasy realm, into which we can luxuriate in Shakespeare’s brand of supernatural drama.

It is liberating to see Prospero in a new light, not only as victim, but also aggressor, after knowing The Tempest for a lifetime. The truth that hides in plain sight, implies a nefarious collusion that must be present, in order that lies may take hold. Regarding the rightful custodians of these lands, and those far and wide, entire canons are awaiting re-examination, should our claims of wishing to be democratic and just, are of any veracity.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au

Review: Tongue Tied (Kings Cross Theatre)

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Venue: Kings Cross Theatre (Kings Cross NSW), Nov 11 – 26, 2022
Playwright: Clare Hennessy
Director: Sarah Hadley
Cast: Di Adams, Clementine Anderson, Kieran Clancy-Lowe, Michael C Howlett, Madelaine Osbourne, Eloise Snape
Images by Clare Hawley

Theatre review

Rising star journalist Mia is investigating a case of sexual assault, at a Sydney beverage company. The bigwig accused of the crime refuses to speak, and has sent publicist Parker to ameliorate. Clare Hennessy’s Tongue Tied is concerned with the ethics around reportage, especially as they pertain to the privacy rights of victims. We also examine the nature of sex crimes from the perspective of the survivor, and the complications that are no doubt involved, in how one chooses to move forward from a devastating incident.

There is charming dialogue to be found in Hennessy’s writing, but the intentional ambiguities built into the narrative of Tongue Tied tends to form a detraction, from the dramatic tensions that should ensue. Although there is an abundance of care for its flawed characters that prevents them from turning caricature, it is likely that audiences would find none of them particularly appealing. In a play with nobody to root for, we are left cold. Direction by Sarah Hadley bears a tepidity that makes things feel overly distanced, for a discussion that should clearly feel much more passionate.

Actor Eloise Snape is accomplished in her portrayal of Mia, with a knack for naturalist performance that helps a great deal, to make things believable. Kieran Clancy-Lowe is less convincing as Millennial corporate animal Parker, oddly innocent in his portrayal of wilful ignorance of rape culture, in this post-MeToo era.

Production design by Cris Baldwin is rendered in the most literal manner, featuring an oversized television screen that stays on stage for the entirety, after being used only for several commencing seconds of the show. Lights by Aron Murray and sound by Johnny Yang, offer effective assistance to scene transitions, that provide a sense of tautness to the production’s overall pace. At just over an hour, Tongue Tied does not overstay its welcome, and when it concludes, little is left to linger.

www.kingsxtheatre.com

Review: The Jungle And The Sea (Belvoir St Theatre)

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Venue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Nov 12 – Dec 18, 2022
Playwrights: S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack
Directors: S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack
Cast: Anandavalli, Prakash Belawadi, Emma Harvie, Nadie Kammallaweera, Jacob Rajan, Kalieaswari Srinivasan, Rajan Velu, Biman Wimalaratne
Images by Sriram Jeyaraman

Theatre review

The Jungle and The Sea tells the story of one Sri Lankan family, during the twenty-five years of civil war that left a nation devastated. Written and directed by the formidable pairing of S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack, the play is astonishing with the depth of emotion it elicits. A profoundly moving work, incorporating influences from the ancient texts of The Mahābhāratha and Antigone, our humanity is engaged at the most fundamental levels, through a tale of survival and of human ruin. Discussions on war require of us to cut through all that is superfluous; The Jungle and The Sea certainly gets to the core of what matters, giving Australian audiences a much needed reprieve from lives adorned with hollow distraction and incessant superficiality.

Performed in the English language, along with what could be considered an Australian sensibility, the production is a seamless meld of cultures that makes palpably authentic, what some might classify a foreign story. Style, form and tone are all inextricably Sri Lankan and Australian, consistent and simultaneous. Its theatrical language is both traditional and new, allowing access to the past, whilst creating meaning for the present. It values what a marginalised culture brings to the table, imbues it with agency and lets it occupy centre stage, in ways that we may all be captivated by this acutely consequential tale.

Set design by Dale Ferguson conflates the brutality of war with the tenderness of nature, for a performance space that is unobtrusive, yet intensely evocative. Ferguson’s costumes instil dignity for the show’s characters, who suffer the ravages of war but are nonetheless indomitable. Veronique Bennett’s lights are sensitive to the minute fluctuations in mood and timbre of the piece, always precise in helping our sight connect with sentiments that are varied and nuanced. Music by Arjunan Puveendran and sound by Steve Francis, are marvellously rendered to guide us on this odyssey of sorrow and salvation, with live musicians Indu Balachandran and Puveendran offering some of the most exquisite accompaniment one could hope to encounter.

A sensational cast of eight, each with remarkable skill and insight, takes us on a journey of unparalleled poignancy and grace. Kalieaswari Srinivasan shines as the spirited and defiant Abi, memorable for delivering irresistible drama, and for making the Antigone-inspired character an utterly endearing young woman. Prakash Belawadi demonstrates extraordinary versatility in various roles, impressive not only with the flawless timing he executes quite effortlessly, but also with the stirring humanity he introduces to all his parts. An extended scene between Belawadi and Emma Harvie as father and daughter Siva and Lakshmi, is unforgettable for its intricate weaving of comedy and trepidation, incredible for the heartiness of laughter they generate in the midst of great tragedy. Additionally, Harvie’s disarming naturalism brings to the show a resonance that only increases its believability.

Anandavalli who serves as performer, choreographer and cultural advisor, opens the show with a mesmerising dance, and as matriarch Gowrie brings an understated but powerful dimension to the truth-telling that is underway. Nadie Kammallaweera too is a strikingly elegant presence, able to convey rich layers of intention, that lay behind a thoughtful restraint. Jacob Rajan, Rajan Velu and Biman Wimalaratne are all accomplished actors tackling a range of support characters, in a show that speaks from a place of immense sincerity.

The Jungle and The Sea is heart breaking, but it is not merely catharsis that can be derived from what it expresses. After months of attack on Ukraine by Russia commencing in February this year of 2022, a missile struck Poland at the village of Przewodów, on the day the play opened in Sydney. It is clear that humans repeat mistakes, no matter how grave the consequences. Trauma makes us resort to denial, for it is natural that we shift attention away from pain, but stories are all we have, to remind us of the bad things we keep doing. War seems always to be bolstered by lies. Reaching for the truth, is perhaps the only tool for most of us, to help turn things for the good.

www.belvoir.com.au

Review: RBG: Of Many, One (Sydney Theatre Company)

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Venue: Wharf 1 Sydney Theatre Company (Walsh Bay NSW), Oct 29 – Dec 23, 2022
Playwright: Suzie Miller
Director: Priscilla Jackman
Cast: Heather Mitchell
Images by Prudence Upton

Theatre review

Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Unites States, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was not the first woman appointed to that position, but is certainly the most famous feminist icon to have emerged from that Court. In Suzie Miller’s RBG: Of Many, One we get acquainted with Ginsburg’s significant legacy as a trailblazer, and witness the ways in which she had left an indelible mark, on the most patriarchal of boys’ clubs. Ginsburg’s personal life was an immaculate one, devoid of scandal or controversy, but playwright Miller is nonetheless able to excavate at the most important of her professional achievements, to compose a work that informs and inspires.

A worthy tribute to an intelligent and courageous woman, RBG: Of Many, One is directed by Priscilla Jackman, who manufactures an unmistakeably reverential aura for the staging. Having passed away just two years ago, Ginsburg’s story, although not a mournful one, does reverberate with a sense of melancholy. Furthermore, recent events pertaining to the Dobbs decision that overturns Roe v Wade, thereby upending 50 years of abortion rights, feels a direct consequence of Ginsburg’s death. The work is still a celebration of a great life, but the darkness of current realities, makes the experience a truly sombre one.

Production design by David Fleischer implements an understated elegance that corresponds with the heroin’s image in our collective memory, but several instances requiring stagehands to manually deliver props, can appear somewhat awkward. Alexander Berlage’s lights provide much-needed visual dynamism for the one-woman show, sensitively rendered to help us navigate the many shifts in time and place, whilst delivering beautiful imagery through the duration. Music by Paul Charlier is memorable for its vigour, although not always at appropriate levels.

Actor Heather Mitchell brings an exceptional charisma that is somehow commensurate, with our unreasonable expectations of meeting the legend in the flesh. Technical brilliance is demonstrated especially through Mitchell’s distinct portrayals of Ginsburg at different ages, as she performs the role from childhood to her twilight years. At 90 minutes, RBG: Of Many, One is unquestionably demanding, and although not quite flawless, it is a performance that proves to be highly satisfying.

It is wonderful to be able to honour Ginsburg for her many great achievements, and with that commemoration be reminded that so much remains to be accomplished. Dissent is necessary not only in our courts. Injustice rears its ugly head, much more readily outside of rarefied spaces. The example set by The Notorious R.B.G. should not only be one of career progression, but one that epitomises a spirit of defiance and daring. Her narrative is one of selflessness, characterised by a zeal to work on behalf of those who have less power, so that communities become more fair and equitable. We will not all rise to high positions, but to make it known when things go wrong, is a responsibility many of us can bear.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au