Review: Round Heads And Peak Heads (Actors College Of Theatre & Television)

Posted in Theatre by

acttVenue: Bondi Pavilion (Bondi NSW), Nov 5 – 9, 2015
Playwright: Bertolt Brecht
Director: Lex Marinos
Cast: Simon Benjamin, Campbell Briggs, Alex Brown, Cait Burley, Sarah Anne Carter, Abbie Coco, Keegan Fisher, Joseph Hallows, Reilly Anne Keir, Richard Littlehales, Angelika Nieweglowski, Jake Scherini, Amy Shapiro, Romney Stanton

Theatre review
Bertolt Brecht premiered Round Heads And Peak Heads in 1936, when Hitler was leading Germany. The play talks about racial persecution, without specifically naming the Jews, and how ethnic minorities are used as a scapegoat of sorts for people in positions of power. It explores the dynamics between greed and justice in a way that is not far different from discourse today, although its cautious language (as a result of censorship) is certainly much more indirect than we are used to.

The production, directed by Lex Marinos, is an energetic one, with variations in texture that occupy our senses, but a more explicit adaptation to current political climes and social concerns would make it more engaging. Performances are uneven in the 14-strong cast, with some talents outweighing others. Cait Burley is a striking Isabella De Guzman, with intense and raw emotion accompanying a studied physicality that displays a daring adventurous spirit. Romney Stanton and Campbell Briggs have interesting roles that they sink their teeth into, both providing colourful portrayals energised by impassioned creativity. Also noteworthy are Angelika Nieweglowski and Alex Brown, who exhibit interesting presences and excellent commitment to their charmingly idiosyncratic roles.

Life is often not fair. Ability does not guarantee success, and hard work does not always see commensurate returns. We exist in predetermined structures that will identify and subjugate the weak, but fortunately in this lucky country, some semblance of democracy exists, and individuals are able to attain their heart’s desires against all odds. What the secret ingredients are, is anyone’s guess, but it is the very definition of success that needs to be evaluated and re-evaluated every step of the way.

www.actt.edu.au

Review: Good Works (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)

Posted in Theatre by

darlotheatreVenue: Eternity Playhouse (Darlinghurst NSW), Oct 31 – Nov 29, 2015
Playwright: Nick Enright
Director: Iain Sinclair
Cast: Taylor Ferguson, Lucy Goleby, Anthony Gooley, Stephen Multari, Jamie Oxenbould, Toni Scanlan
Image by Helen White

Theatre review
In Nick Enright’s Good Works, we are often confused about time and characters. It is a deliberate ploy to have us focus on what people are doing to each other, regardless of when things had taken place or who those people might be. It probes us to consider if contexts matter when we are unkind. It talks about how we treat children, and how behaviour is perpetuated beyond the illusion of growing up. The play’s plot structure is perhaps its most interesting feature. The story and its themes are not unusual or spectacular, but through its highly inventive way of communication, we are required to relate to its ideas on a level of intimacy. If we do not have certainty about characters, we can only understand events by applying them conceptually, to our selves.

Director Iain Sinclair’s construction of space through Hugh O’Connor’s complex multi-tiered platforms is theatrical magic. The constant profusion of movement, visual depth and dimension is an aesthetic joy, and also an effective mechanism for providing demarcation for minute scene transitions. Sinclair’s knack for creating dramatic tension and his ability to extract meaning from them, ensures that the play unfolds with a gravity necessary for its poignant messages to hit home.

It is a strong cast that presents this challenging work. Each player is required to embody a range of ages and personalities, and although not every scene is equally powerful, there is no questioning the authenticity and thoughtfulness of their approach to individual parts. Lucy Goleby leaves an impression with studied stillness on a stage buzzing with energetic activity. Her eyes are, on more than one occasion, our sole focus as they convey quiet but intense emotion. Taylor Ferguson brings remarkable exuberance and strength to a character who faces multiple setbacks. The resilience and fallibility of humanity that she demonstrates is touching, and beautiful.

There is not much point to life if we do not try to do good, but Good Works shows us the conflict and complications that occur in communities when flawed individuals try to do their best within their inevitable limitations. We examine how it is that we can come to conclude which decisions are best, without resorting to convenient solutions that religions are keen to provide, and we question if there is possibility for behaviour to be anything else than emulation. Whether Enright’s play is pessimistic or otherwise, would depend heavily on one’s own outlook on life.

www.darlinghursttheatre.com

Review: Duck Hunting (Contemporarian Theatre Company)

Posted in Theatre by

contemporarianVenue: King Street Theatre (Newtown NSW), Nov 4 – 29, 2015
Playwright: Aleksandr Vampilov
Directors: Shai Alexander and Toby B. Styling
Cast: Michelle De Rosa, Nicholas Drummond, Paul Gerrard, Louise Harding, Christian Heath, Jessica Saras, Carlos Sivalingham, Anthony Sottile, Joshua Wiseman
Image by Toby B. Styling

Theatre review
Craig’s only passion is duck hunting, but he spends every second of his life avoiding it, preoccupied with all the petty mundanity of a bourgeois existence. He seems full of hatred for his job, his new home, the women around him, and most of all, himself. We see him snorting cocaine and downing copious amounts of alcohol, fantasising about better times, to which he never commits. The eccentric 1976 script by Aleksandr Vampilov is about a small man’s state of crisis. There is hardly anything likeable about Craig, but we do recognise the issues that he grapples with. The play is transposed to a modern day Australian context fairly effectively, but the sheer length of the work at three-and-a-half hours is a challenge. A heavy edit would most certainly make things more dynamic.

Shai Alexander and Toby B. Styling’s highly stylised direction delivers a lot of hits, but also more than a few misses. Their experimental anti-naturalistic mode of presentation is refreshing, with an ability to add surprising dimensions to the text, but the staging needs greater finesse to ensure that its surreality does not fall into pointless gesturing and mere pretence. The tone of performance required for the piece is specific and highly unconventional, using an idiosyncratic physical language that the cast is not always sufficiently au fait with. Michelle De Rosa and Paul Gerrard stand out for their confident embrace of the production’s offbeat nature to create characters that seem strange on the surface, while providing firm logic to their respective narratives. Craig is played by Christian Heath who brings energy and presence, along with an unshakeable conviction to hold our attention. In spite of his character’s faults, the actor’s own vulnerability and his determination to portray fragility in the protagonist’s story, help us gain an unusual, albeit objectionable, perspective of the world.

Duck Hunting is an ordinary tale that the everyman can understand. More interesting is the way it attempts to explore the potentials of the theatrical medium, and how the stage conveys meaning. It is not always successful with its endeavours, but its sense of adventure and pursuit of originality should not be disregarded. We never discover if Craig has any talent at all, but we know that he does not make it to the hunting ponds. For the artist, talent will always be subjective, but as long as self-belief and commitment exist, art will be created, and that alone, is achievement.

www.contemporarian.com.au

Review: Cats (The Really Useful Group / Capitol Theatre)

Posted in Theatre by

catsVenue: Capitol Theatre (Sydney NSW), from Oct 30 – Nov 29, 2015
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics: T.S. Eliot, Trevor Nunn, Richard Stilgoe
Book: T.S. Eliot
Director: Trevor Nunn
Resident Director: Stephen Morgante
Cast: Daniel Assetta, Amy Berrisford, Madeline Cain, Jade Hui-Wen Coutts, Christopher Favaloro, Keanu Gonzalez, Delta Goodrem, Dominique Hamilton, Ross Hannaford, Ashleigh Hauschild, Sam Hooper, Thomas Johannson, Emily Keane, Sarah Kate Landy, Bree Langridge, Tobias Madden, Matt McFarlane, Holly Meegan, Samantha Morley, Brent Osborne, Josh Piterman, Taylor Scanlan, Stephanie Silcock, Jason Wasley, Patrick Whitbread

Theatre review
Cats first appeared in London in 1981, and remains one of the world’s longest running musicals. This Australian tour is based on last year’s West End revival by its original team, with minor updates that preserve its familiar charm, while taking the show into the twenty-first century. Cats has a distinct quietness that sets it apart from the bold and brash shows of today, where humour tends to be obvious and songs are unsubtle. We are transported back to the theatrical age of Bob Fosse and Alvin Ailey, rediscovering that lost sophistication in sound and movement.

The emphasis on dance is its most glorious feature, and this energetic Australian cast executes all the show’s feline frolic with impressive athleticism, discipline, accuracy and flair. Christopher Favaloro’s turn as Mr. Mistoffelees is delightfully memorable, exceeding expectations by delivering technical excellence along with a superbly effervescent characterisation of the magical cat.

It is an exceptionally well rehearsed cast, and although vocal abilities can vary quite starkly depending on the level of dance required in roles, each performer is accomplished in their own right. Matt McFarlane as Munkustrap, the narrator and second-in-command of the Jellicle tribe, is the strongest all-rounder of the production, with a voice and physicality that has the necessary power to direct our attention at will, and a sex appeal that seems to transcend boundaries of species. The mainstream hit song “Memory” is a significant motif in the show, sung by Delta Goodrem, whose indisputable commitment to her role of Grizabella, complete with suitably raspy tones, almost delivers the goods. Goodrem’s portrayal of age and faded glory is not quite up to scratch, and her trouble with the lower registers of her song are clearly audible in spite of the pronounced reverb effect appearing quite abruptly. Nonetheless, her louder belting sections are crowd pleasing, and help make the production an unforgettable musical theatre debut for the pop star.

Frivolity will always be big business in entertainment. Masses go to musicals to forget their troubles, and for a short time, be transported and filled with wonderment. Cats is entirely fantasy, but its approach is dignified and at times, aloof. Some people will prefer dogs, but art must never aim to please everyone.

www.catsthemusical.com

Review: A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes (Red Line Productions)

Posted in Theatre by

redlineVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Oct 27 – Nov 14, 2015
Playwright: Joshua Rollins
Director: Andrew Henry
Cast: Martin Crewes, Kai Paynter, Gabrielle Rogers, Jeremy Waters, Kate Williams, Ezekiel Simat
Image by Vanessa Wright

Theatre review
Life is not a bed of roses. It is a hard fact to come to terms with, but we live with evil around us, and people make decisions everyday that cause harm to others. In Joshua Rollins’ A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes, we see law enforcers at work, and as they confront the darkest sides of human nature, what they reveal are some of the worst that we are capable of. The filmic script jumps between short scenes to concoct a sense of intrigue and to manufacture a plot that can be placed squarely in the suspense genre. Characters are not created with great complexity, but their narratives are strong. There are sequences that aim to shock, and even though they border on the exploitative, their effects are unquestionably powerful.

Director Andrew Henry focuses on bringing intensity to individual performances, but chemistry between actors is lacking. Leading man is the magnetic Jeremy Waters who puts on a very high energy show, but counterparts do not often meet on his level. The staging and interpretation of scenes are straightforward, with little theatricality involved. The choice for a naturalistic approach is logical, but it seems to prevent the exploration of its quite brutal themes to extend beyond the surface. The production’s literal spacial configurations also create issues with scene transitions requiring an excessive number of blackouts that inevitably cause dramatic tension to dissipate repeatedly. Sound and lights help with a sense of continuity, but the piece struggles to find a coherent and sophisticated theatrical realisation of the episodic writing.

A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes is deeply pessimistic, but its ugliness is recognisable. It exposes the duplicity that we all share, of the possibilities for good and bad that reside in all our decisions. We may not wish to acknowledge personal intentions as ever being purposely harmful, but there is no doubt that people around us act with less than honourable motives, and one can never be too careful about becoming entangled. Innocence is a beautiful thing, especially when out of reach.

www.oldfitztheatre.com

Review: Hamlet (Bell Shakespeare)

Posted in Theatre by

Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Oct 27 – Dec 6, 2015
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Damien Ryan
Cast: Philip Dodd, Ivan Donato, Robin Goldsworthy, Josh McConville, Julia Ohannessian, Sean O’Shea, Matilda Ridgway, Catherine Terracini, Michael Wahr, Doris Younane
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
Director Damien Ryan’s rendition of Hamlet takes place in mid-20th century Denmark, with surveillance technology, airport last call announcements, and broadcasts of royal weddings. The prince is deeply upset by the death of his father, and by his mother’s very quick remarriage, but within this modern context, his very well known nervous breakdown seems to also involve the pressures of nobility as we understand them today. Our memory of Diana, Princess of Wales persevere, and the way she had been spoken off as having gone out of control, serves as a parallel to this Hamlet.

Ryan’s ideas are refreshing and plentiful. They can be meaningful, or merely ornamental, but his work is invariably engaging. In our age of collective attention deficit disorder, the production’s ability to retain our interest for over 3 hours is remarkable. Every scene is energetic, whether poignant, comedic, or transitory, Ryan finds a way to deliver entertainment and a quality of intrigue regardless of the text’s intentions. This is excellent directing, that has given rise to a show that can captivate even the most cursory of Shakespeare’s fans. Visual design contributes significantly to its pleasures. Alicia Clements’ versatile set produces dimensions on the stage with minimal fuss, and lighting designer Matt Cox’s nightmarish atmosphere administers a mesmerising effect that takes charge of our gaze.

In its efforts at bringing a newness to Hamlet, it might be argued that some dramatic tensions are unfortunately lost from the plot. The significant subdual of King Claudius’ villainy, along with the decision to play Queen Gertrude as an innocent, might be politically correct moves, but they take away from the power struggles that provide a certain spiciness to the admittedly clichéd foundations, especially in its first half. Nevertheless, the sophisticated and measured performances of the entire cast are enjoyable, and thankfully, easy to follow.

Josh McConville’s interpretation of the title role is a dynamically ranging one that exhibits a daring freedom eager to explore and experiment. McConville is powerful with all that he presents, playing comedy and tragedy equally well, but the distinction between both can appear too drastic. We understand the subject of madness involved, but it is debatable whether consistency of character can be improved in his expression of Hamlet’s state of mind. Ophelia is played by Matilda Ridgway, who shakes off the personality’s obligatory tweeness over the course of the play and puts on an impressive display of sorrow and rage in her concluding moments, for some of the most passionate and compelling scenes of the production. Philip Dodd is memorable and disarmingly funny in his parts as Polonius and Gravedigger. The actor’s confident and nuanced comic timing is a necessary element that helps with the show’s buoyancy, effectively preventing any monotony from setting in.

Revenge speaks to our base desires. A hallmark of advanced societies is the rejection of capital punishment, yet stories about vengeance resonate with no trouble at all. In Hamlet, revenge is a cancer that destroys from within. Its effects are contrary to the emotions that guide it. When enacted, the only ones who win are those from the outside, uninvolved in the eye for eye narrative. It is a profound lesson, one that is deeply, and appropriately for this text, Christian. To forgive and forget is an ideal that is unthinkable for many, but probably the only alternative to our prince’s tragic demise.

www.bellshakespeare.com.au

Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare
Hamlet 2015 Bell Shakespeare

5 Questions with Georgia Woodward and Bob Deacon

Posted in Suzy's 5 Questions by
Georgia Woodward

Georgia Woodward

Bob Deacon: Would you rather have two mouths or four hands and why?
Georgia Woodward: Definitely four hands. There are many occasions in my life where I wish I was able to carry more.

Rove McManus is just about to interview you on Rove Live. He would tell the audience as your introduction “My next guest…”
If fresh off the plane from the US where she was working on the New NBC TV Show “The Waiting Room” with co-star, Amy Poehler.

What’s the best piece of acting or life advice you have received? (please use rhyming couplets where possible)
To define what success means to you. That’s how you will get through. Being true to you.
Don’t change to fit the game. Then if you don’t get the part, you have only yourself to blame.
Kidding.
Accept that the industry is tough and won’t stroke your hair and tell you your good enough.
Accept that you are an actor, with no money, but you are surrounded by art (I want more money) and that’s good enough.

If your co-star, your director and yourself were starving escaped convicts in the Tasmanian wilderness, who would you eat first and why?
I would like them both to eat me first. One, because I would not survive in those conditions and two, they’re better people.

What will the audience enjoy most about this show?
I think the audience will love watching these characters sit in their living room and solve all world problems. Spoiler alert! Alex and I do get pretty down and dirty. We may sing and plan for our future.

Bob Deacon

Bob Deacon

Georgia Woodward: What’s the rehearsal process for Last Drinks been like so far?
Bob Deacon: We have been holding our rehearsals in a pub which is very inspiring for a play set in a pub. We sometimes drink beer in the pub after rehearsals, usually a local draft beer. Sometimes we eat some pub grub. Our director Luke has been strong in resisting urges to turn the play into a pub rock musical. The other actors are Chris whose hobbies include entertaining/creeping us out with his The Joker monologues, and Steve who unfortunately had his script stolen after the first rehearsal.

Who is your character in the show and what qualities do you like about him?
As an acrostic poem… sure!
Daniel runs his suburban family pub ‘The Avalon’
Ask him how it’s going?
No good, he’d probably say
It’s only customers are his two larrikin mates
Everything he does is for those mates and his old man
Last drinks may be called soon

Brave New Word is a theatre company dedicated to new writing, how are you finding working with them?
The team is super! They are very supportive of emerging artists and committed to putting on truthful and thought-provoking local productions. I feel very lucky to be working with them and expect to see big things from them in the future. Before I started working with Brave New Word I used to sit in my room for hours listening to ABBA songs, but since then I haven’t listened to one ABBA song. That’s because working with them is as good as an ABBA song. It’s as good as “Dancing Queen” (please watch Muriel’s Wedding if you missed this reference).

What do you eat for breakfast?
I am ridiculously rigid in my eating habits. Breakfast is two pieces of toast heavily spread with Australia’s favourite yeast extract. If I have no bread in the house, I duck up to the local convenience store and scoff into a blueberry muffin. Breakfast during special occasions like Christmas and birthdays is always enough chocolate to make me feel ill and regret my actions.

Why should we come and see the show?
Audience member 1: “Remember that time we went and watched a double bill of new Australian plays, and one was about a pub that was actually set in a pub, in a pub? Like, literally, the theatre was in a pub?”

Audience member 2: “Yeah that was mad! I loved it! The acting, the story, the whole production… all of it was fantastic!”

Audience member 1: “And remember I found $50 in that bush on the way home?”

Audience member 2: “Yeah, good times!”

Georgia Woodward and Bob Deacon will be appearing in Last Drinks & Two Mouths Four Hands, with Brave New Word Theatre Company.
Dates: 17 – 26 November, 2015
Venue: Exchange Hotel Balmain

Review: Project #Oüahn (Baühs)

Posted in Theatre by

bauhsVenue: 46 Foveaux Street (Surry Hills NSW), Oct 21 – 26, 2015
Playwrights: Gabriella Imrich, Christina Marks, Eliza Scott
Director: Christina Marks
Cast: Gabriella Imrich, Eliza Scott
Image by Diana Popovska

Theatre review
On stage are two young women, best described as anxious and frustrated. They speak in symbols, and their art is abstract. What they do is rarely explicitly named, perhaps to avoid things becoming undermined by convenient labels that can never completely address their thoughts. Instead, what we have is a series of physical and verbal enunciations that provide unmistakeable visceral sensations and clear indications about the way we experience our bodies, the construction of identities, and the political forces that dominate and disenfranchise. Project #Oüahn is a subversive work about subversion. The work aims to challenge, and because of our inevitable participation in prevalent ideologies, we do find ourselves in uncomfortable spaces in its 60-minute duration. It is hard to tell if the piece communicates universally, but its intention is not to create an “us and them” dynamic with its microcosm. There are moments of division, but its interest is ultimately about self-determination and self-empowerment. Its message is one of independence, but also of love, even if much of its language is militant and tough.

We do not find a conventional narrative structure, but the two actors Gabriella Imrich and Eliza Scott begin by setting up a visual reference to the madonna-whore complex. Their surfaces appear to be different as day and night, but as they wage war and undertake torment on each other, we soon discover that they are two of the same. It is a representation of the internal dialogues that we have and the socially complicit nature of how we monitor and police our own thoughts and behaviour. There is a precision to the performers’ motivations, that makes sense of the work’s abstractions in spite of their deliberate ambiguity. Chemistry between Imrich and Scott is flawless, and the production forges ahead with a confidence that is assertive and powerfully convincing. Christina Marks’ direction balances mystery and revelation, for a show that intrigues at every point, but is satisfying throughout. Sound design by Enola Gay is to be noted for adding a sophisticated yet dramatic dimension to proceedings.

The final section of the production is as memorable as any theatrical moment can hope to be. A mesmerising sequence that expresses divine beauty and tranquil strength, embodying an affirmation of life, lived with wisdom and courage. The art that we make is never worth more than when it is progressive. Project #Oüahn is a selfless exploration into the meaning of freedom that will touch anyone whom it is able to connect with, but freedom, like all that is worthwhile, will only discharge its magical prowess for those who know to receive it.

www.bauhsbauhsbauhs.com

Review: Nine (Sydney University Musical Theatre Ensemble)

Posted in Theatre by

museVenue: Seymour Centre (Chippendale NSW), Oct 21 – 24, 2015
Book: Arthur Kopit (based on the Italian by Mario Fratti, after Federico Fellini’s 8½)
Music & Lyrics: Maury Yeston
Director: Jonathan Rush
Cast: Mikhaila Chaplin, Anna Colless, Hannah Cox, Genevieve de Souza, Rielly Dickson, Doug Emery, Jacinta Gregory, Bridget Haberecht, Bronwyn Hicks, Jane Hughes, Gabi Kelland, Lisa-Marie Long, Jos Markerink, Rose McClelland, Olga Solar, Nicole Toum, Stephanie Troost, Sam Wood

Theatre review
Based on Federico Fellini’s 1963 semi-autobiographical film 8½, this is a musical about a man’s passion for life, work and women. The central character in Nine is Guido Contini, the superstar director under pressure to create a new work. He escapes, procrastinates and reminisces, but we do not see the film being made. His artistic process is not a straightforward one, and we learn that genius manifests itself in unexpected ways.

The songs in Nine are melodic and extravagant, powerfully orchestrated by ten musicians under the supervision of Alexander Norden, who breathes life into Maury Yeston’s 42-year-old compositions. The show is directed with flair and energy by Jonathan Rush, and choreographed intelligently by Natasha Heyward. It is a production that successfully expresses the exuberance of Fellini’s Italy, with all elements finding cohesion in the decadence and wildness of that romanticised world.

There are accomplished performances in the show, most notably Hannah Cox’s turn as Liliane La Fleur, completely stealing the show in her sensational Folies Bergère number, with perfectly pitched humour, rambunctious sex appeal, and a stunning sense of joy. There are major problems with sound in the production, but stronger singers, including Anna Colless and Bronwyn Hicks do manage to overcome them with sheer vocal power. Less fortunate are the show’s leads Doug Emery and Bridget Haberecht, the Continis who find themselves consistently drowned out by musical accompaniment. Nevertheless, their committed and eloquent performances leave a strong impression, and help to deliver a fascinating narrative that is ultimately very satisfying.

This might be a minimal staging, but its imperfections are few. Nine stands the test of time, and this small revival demonstrates the potentialities and pleasures it contains. Inspiration is invaluable, and artists especially must be able to identify them. Fellini’s magnificence is emulated in Yeston’s musical, and this production is clearly touched by the muses, but we do not have to wait for the calling of divinity to be spurred on to create something special; as we see in Guido’s story, greatness is to be found in la dolce vita.

www.museatusyd.com

Review: Dead Centre | Sea Wall (Red Stitch Actors Theatre)

Posted in Theatre by

redstitchVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Oct 20 – Nov 14, 2015
Playwrights: Tom Holloway, Simon Stephens
Director: Julian Meyrick
Cast: Rosie Lockhart, Ben Prendergast
Image by Jodie Hutchinson

Theatre review
The more we hurt, the more difficult it is to find expression for our internal struggles. We compartmentalise pain, and with time, become more adept at denying their existence, but their effects do not fade. Tom Holloway’s Dead Centre and Simon Stephens’ Sea Wall are two half hour monologues that deal with sorrow and depression. We encounter the protagonists in traumatic states, and see them fumbling through life trying to find a way out of their anguish. Holloway’s piece is vividly descriptive, with evocative fragments that softly, but actively, fire up our imagination. Stephens’ work is equally poetic, but takes a completely different tone. Focussing on the grieving process, he uses the difficulties in articulating painful experiences as a basis for the text, and creates a quiet work that escalates suddenly at the end to deliver a powerful revelation.

The two pieces are presented one after another, but visual elements suggest an entwinement between both stories. Design of the production is understated, but elegant and sensual. Matthew Adey’s lights and Katie Cavanagh’s video projections, along with Ian Moorhead’s sound design, establish an understated but concentrated atmosphere in which the actors offer their very delicate tales. Direction by Julian Meyrick gives a beautiful cohesiveness to the two halves, with a sensitive approach that highlights the similarities between each character’s experiences. We witness the fragility in our humanity, and realise the importance of accepting and understanding the weaker moments of our personal lives.

Rosie Lockhart plays Helen in Dead Centre, fleeing England for Uluru, in search of an answer to her indescribable troubles. The actor’s engaging presence grips us from the start, but it is her ability to communicate a wealth of emotion with a seemingly minimal mode of performance that truly impresses. Helen never tells us what her problems are, but Lockhart leaves us in no doubt about the depth of her torment. Also remarkable are the flashes of humour that emerge, brief but effective, and key to installing a solid connection between actor and audience. Alex in Sea Wall is played by Ben Prendergast, whose portrayal of loss and bewilderment resonates with an intimate familiarity. The evasiveness and fear of sentimentality that he exhibits is a perceptive interpretation of how we deal (or do not deal) with immense emotions, but concluding moments see outbursts of intensity that appear too suddenly, and we question the accuracy of those dramatics.

Catharsis frequently occurs through the artistic process, but not usually at the same degree for all involved. Artists can indulge boundlessly in their excavations of private feelings, but the inspiration brought to their audience must not be ignored. In Dead Centre | Sea Wall, emotions run high, but they tend to stay safely on stage. The poignancies that it imparts are muted, but they are also real. We do not get embroiled too closely with Helen or Alex, but we study them intently and learn about the nature of suffering. The stories are theirs, but the way they help us explain and comprehend life, becomes universal.

www.redstitch.net