Review: The Visitors (Sydney Theatre Company)

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The Visitors is at the Opera House Drama Theatre from Sep 11 to Oct 14;
Riverside Theatres from Oct 19 to 21; and Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from Oct 25 to 28.

Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Sep 11 – Oct 14, 2023
Playwright: Jane Harrison
Director: Wesley Enoch
Cast: Joseph Wunujaka Althouse, Luke Carroll, Elaine Crombie, Kyle Morrison, Guy Simon, Beau Dean Riley Smith, Dalara Williams
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
Foreign boats have been making increasingly frequent trips to these shores, and our inhabitants are beginning to worry about their intentions. Seven clans have sent representatives to a meeting, to decide on a course of action; they must consider whether to be hospitable, or to demand the intruders’ departure. Jane Harrison’s extraordinary The Visitors can be thought of as a seminal work, undeniably important in its reflections about our final fateful days before colonialism.

Instead of abject despondency, which is an entirely appropriate attitude for this subject, Harrison’s play is dignifying, replete with intelligent humour, and often charmingly wistful in its depictions of an Aboriginal past. It takes us on a meditation of our history and its consequences, reaching a powerful conclusion that affirms and honours Indigenous sovereignty. There are endless themes we can explore in our art, but this issue of land ownership and of First Nations independence, must surely be paramount, in any of our discourse upon these terrains.

Wesley Enoch’s salient direction of the piece, makes the action feel as though it all happened just yesterday. The point being made is unambiguous and robust, and the show is emphatically inclusive of every viewer, in these pertinent investigations about the people we are. An outstanding cast of zealous actors demonstrate unequivocally the resilience and the indomitability of the communities that they represent so gloriously. Their chemistry is immaculate, in a show that speaks with a beautifully harmonious sense of solidarity. Especially noteworthy is Luke Carroll, who as Gordon, brings the production to a riveting emotional peak, so that we leave with absolute certainty about how we are to proceed, with out private and political lives.

Production design by Elizabeth Gadsby provides a juxtaposition of native and alien, in a way that inspires greater complexity to how we may choose to conceive of this iteration of the colonial experience. The unmistakably Western mode of dress is challenging, but valuable as a reminder of the hegemony under which we are conducting these discussions. The set pays tribute to the sacred quality of our landscape, persistent and eternal. Lights by Karen Norris take us somewhere ethereal, satisfying in the lyricism it evokes, to have us longing for a place that is magical in its simultaneity of being both distant and immediately accessible. Brendon Boney’s sounds and music are restrained to start, effective at facilitating our imagination of a precursive, more natural existence, but gains in intensity for the final minutes, to ensure our exhaustive investment into The Visitors‘ core intentions.

We may not be able to revert to a moment of origination, to undo every injustice, but we can always choose to forge better paths ahead. Our trajectory if left unchecked, will continue with its project of dispossession and division, exacerbating the many regretful situations we currently find ourselves. Humanity is capable of both benevolence and malevolence, and either way we choose to make our decisions, we must know that harm unto others, will always have unwitting reverberations that return to those determined to be callous and mercenary.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au | www.moogahlin.org

Review: Blaque Showgirls (Griffin Theatre Company)

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Venue: SBW Stables Theatre (Darlinghurst NSW), Sep 4 – Oct 21, 2023
Playwright: Nakkiah Lui
Directors: Shari Sebbens, Ursula Yovich
Cast: Mathew Cooper, Jonathan Jeffrey, Matty Mills, Angeline Penrith, Stephanie Somerville
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
Chandon has been the star of the legendary Blaque Showgirls cabaret show for more than a few years, but her position is in threat of being usurped by the young and ambitious Ginny. Based on the 1995 cult classic Showgirls by Paul Verhoeven, Nakkiah Lui’s highly satirical Blaque Showgirls extends the tradition of stories dealing with the menacing ingenue, for a renewed look at dog-eat-dog capitalism through a feminist lens, examining the entrenched racism fundamental to the enduring dominion of a system derived from our colonial history.

The issues are serious, but the show presents them in deceptively silly ways, for a work of theatre that talks about our darkest matters without relying on painful enactments of trauma. Lui’s work is irrepressibly effervescent, but with sarcasm dripping from every line, it aims to create laughter as it fervently exposes the injustices suffered by those Indigenous to this land. Co-directed by Shari Sebbens and Ursula Yovich, we are treated to a modern farce, chaotic and messy in the best possible ways. Taking inspiration from the campy absurdity of Verhoeven’s film, the style of comedy in Blaque Showgirls is commensurately heightened, with a fierce denial of naturalism that almost seems to make a statement, about wishing to reject the venerated but bland aesthetics characteristic of whiteness.

Production design by Cris Baldwin is all tinsel, glitter and fake fur, playing with notions of taste to deliver a set and costumes that tantalise, and that challenge the meanings and representations of class, within an art form that is essentially Western by tradition. Verity Hampson’s lights are as playful as they are colourful, and along with rapturous sounds and music by Jessica Dunn, the overall vibrancy of this staging proves a joy.

Actor Stephanie Somerville brings an inconceivable authenticity to the scandalous role of Ginny, empathetic one moment, and dangerous another, we are left truly outraged by her antics. As Chandon, the arresting Jonathan Jeffrey brings not only excellent timing, but also marvellous indignation to his spirited portrayal of a discarded diva. Angeline Penrith is extremely compelling as Molly, in a ruthlessly biting performance that really gets to the heart of the entire exercise. Matty Mills as Kyle MacLachlan, and Mathew Cooper as True Love Interest, are both passionate and funny, in a show that takes its politics as seriously as it does its humour.

The people who do bad things in the play never recognise, much less admit to, the racism they enact and perpetuate. They might be able to acknowledge the failings of systems, but will not disengage from them, and will certainly not take blame for benefiting from them. They feign powerlessness, and argue that their absence during the origination of these problems, means they are not to take responsibility. They will not say that they want structural injustices to be preserved, but get hysterical at every little effort to change things. Even when the villains of the piece are unveiled at the end, they do not relent or concede. They relish in playing by the rules, even though the rules are demonstrably harmful. No wonder any attempt at amelioration is characterised as radical.

www.griffintheatre.com.au

Review: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Hayes Theatre)

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Venue: Hayes Theatre Co (Potts Point NSW), Sep 8 – Oct 8, 2023
Music and Lyrics: William Finn
Book: Rachel Sheinkin
Director: Dash Kruck
Cast: Axel Duffy, James Haxby, Adeline Hunter, Jessica Kok, Nathaniel Laga’aia, Rebecca Ordíz, Matthew Predny, Daniel Raso, Katrina Retallick
Images by 

Theatre review
Six adorable children reveal their truest selves, as we observe their bids for the top spot, at their local spelling competition. Each faces their own set of challenges, not only in terms of the alphabetical contest, but also with their personal and family lives. Thankfully however, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee never gets too serious. The musical is a joyful comedic work through and through, venturing into the quirkiest of spaces, to deliver an experience as zany as it is wholesome.

Directed by Dash Kruck, humour in the production is intricately and powerfully rendered for an uproarious experience that is sure to satisfy audiences of all stripes. Additionally enjoyable is an unmistakable sweetness to the storytelling that is never cloying, but always effortlessly touching. Kruck has created an endlessly amusing world, in which every moment is saturated with wonderment and delight. Choreography by Vi Lam adds further vitality to the show, facilitating visual dynamism through freedom of movement, yet always retaining integrity of its characters.

An appropriately colourful set design by Monique Langford depicts the tournament with accuracy, albeit with somewhat predictable and simplistic elements. Adrienne Andrews’ costumes divulge so much of who these people are, in succinct and eye-catching ways. Lights by Lucia Haddad are attentive to the plot’s many subtle shifts in tone, and are notable for offering energy and vibrancy that maintain for the presentation, a sense of consistent buoyancy.

Nine impeccable performers form the most delightful of ensembles, full of witty inventiveness to elicit our unbridled investment into every personality, every anecdote and every joke. The entire cast is unequivocally talented, but it is the generosity of spirit that is so evident in the production that makes the audience connect with such enthusiasm. The quality of singing too is top-notch, and together with a vivacious band under Abi McCunn as musical director, each whimsical song represents great entertainment, on this occasion of sheer theatrical bliss.

Only one child gets to win the battle, but every contestant leaves the contest enriched in immeasurable ways. When rising to real challenges, we know that victory is never certain. Having the courage, drive and inspiration to face daunting situations however, will always mean growth, which should be considered at least as gratifying as public recognition. As the kids of Spelling Bee are knocked out one by one, we find ourselves empathising completely with that feeling of devastation, but we have no fear for their recovery, as the formation of resilience had already begun, long before that fleeting moment of disappointment.

www.hayestheatre.com.au | www.srproductions.net

Review: Summer Of Harold (Ensemble Theatre)

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Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), Sep 8 – Oct 14, 2023
Playwright: Hilary Bell
Director: Francesca Savige
Cast: Berynn Schwerdt, Hannah Waterman
Images by Jaimi Joy

Theatre review

Hilary Bell’s trio of short plays may not be terribly fashionable, with their shared fixation on the 80’s, and a seeming disregard for anything topical that may feel directly relevant, to the myriad trending social concerns competing for bandwidth. It does however pay attention to an older cohort of our population, the ones we have come to nickname “the boomers” who seem to have it all. Yet in Summer of Harold, Enfant Terrible and Lookout, we find these Australian lives to be much more than the privilege with which they are resentfully associated.

These characters are full of vulnerability, some of them consumed with sadness, others with regret or nostalgia. Bell’s depictions of humanity are certainly truthful, often with a gentle humour that makes her storytelling charming and resonant. Francesca Savige’s tender direction of the pieces is rich with emotion and consistently funny. These explorations are of a particular ordinariness but imbued with an unmistakeable generosity, so that we can perceive the sacred within the mundane, and that something universal can be discovered from these private moments. These stories are small, but Savige ensures that access to their spiritual core is always unrestricted.

It is an attractive stage design by Jeremy Allen that greets us, although not quite versatile enough to accommodate the three completely different settings required of the production. Matt Cox’s lights deliver an elegant sentimentality crucial to our appreciation of these intimate contemplations. Sound design by Mary Rapp guides us effortlessly from one segment to another, leaving a particularly strong impression with the intensity she renders for the final story.

Actor Berynn Schwerdt demonstrates exceptional acuity in his interpretations of Gareth and Jonathan. Highly convincing in completely divergent roles, able to make them equally compelling, with flawless impulses, and an admirable creativity that allows him to introduce surprising nuance at every turn. Playing Janet and Rae is Hannah Waterman, whose rawness as a performer invites us to connect with the internal dimensions of the women being portrayed, both of whom seem so cordially familiar.

Some of these characters we meet, have pasts they need to leave behind, while some others are quite content staying put. Time can be thought of as linear, especially useful when indulging in flights of fancy pertaining to matters of progression. History does show undeniable propensity in how we are able to make things better. Time can also be thought of as circular or oscillatory, so that we may feel no inadequacy in this state of being, that one is always enough wherever one might be. Fortunately both are concurrently, and eternally, real.

www.ensemble.com.au

Review: The Importance Of Being Earnest (Sydney Theatre Company)

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Venue: Roslyn Packer Theatre (Sydney NSW), Sep 5 – Oct 14, 2023
Playwright: Oscar Wilde
Director: Sarah Giles
Cast: Gareth Davies, Melissa Kahraman, Lucia Mastrantone, Brandon McClelland, Sean O’Shea, Emma O’Sullivan, Bruce Spence, Helen Thomson, Megan Wilding, Charles Wu
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
Gwendolen and Cecily have waited all their lives to marry a man, any man, named Earnest. That peculiar requirement for a beau is taken very seriously by both young women in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, not only for the absurd comedy that ensues, but also for the ways in which heteronormativity is exposed for the preposterous standards it imposes on a person’s worth, and the irrational priorities it proliferates for how people are supposed to conduct their affairs. It attacks the very notion of marriage as the foundation of family and of society, from a queer perspective, at a time when queer voices could only be heard when disguised as harmless fun.

Indeed, the politics of Wilde are surreptitiously concealed in his work, not quite able to chastise or subvert in overt ways, the values of a culture that cause immeasurable harm to those it marginalizes, but certainly successful at ridiculing beneficiaries of inequitable power structures, who insist on presenting benign or even benevolent fronts. Director Sarah Giles takes inspiration from the furtive implications of Wilde’s writing, and gives meaningful amplification to the subtext that underscores Earnest, thereby imbuing the production with unexpected substantiveness. It seems Earnest always did contain consequential depth, but it takes someone of Giles’ calibre to help us perceive it.

Set design by Charles Davis incorporates the “downstairs” of Victorian stately homes, boldly revealing that which is traditionally and routinely suppressed. There is a grandeur to the imagery Davis has created that is quite breathtaking, with a memorable transition from town house to country estate, that proves absolutely spellbinding. Costumes by Renée Mulder too are unforgettable, extreme in their indulgence with visual flamboyance to deliver simultaneously, the theatrical joys of humour and of glamour, giving further expression to the fundamental queer sensibility that informs Earnest. Lights by Alexander Berlage and sounds by Stefan Gregory are more restrained, but no less measured, in a production that scores top marks with its design elements.

Actor Megan Wilding is a sensation as Gwendolen, infinitely creative and unequivocally hilarious with all the meticulous considerations she brings to the stage. Every inflection of voice and every perfectly timed gesture, not only induce fits of laughter, they serve to illustrate marvellously the personality being portrayed, and to ensure our engagement with the overall narrative. Lady Bracknell is played by Helen Thomson whose awe-inspiring sense of grandiosity is both comical and convincing, in order that we may stay firmly within the story, whilst we relish in her effortless manipulations of allure, sass and wit. The eponymous Earnest is appropriately sincere and passionate, as performed by an eminently compelling Brandon McClelland, who is as adept at making the role believable, as he is at giving us a funny character. There is however a glaring discrepancy in levels of hilarity being rendered, between members of this ten-player cast; all are undoubtedly accomplished, but some are clearly disproportionately persuasive, in a presentation that seems to turn into a competition for amusement.

Camp, as a style and as a political symbol, takes centre stage in this version of Earnest. It is not merely a device that emerges in opportune moments. It is pivotal to how we experience the show, and how we make sense of the same machinations undergirding the personalities on stage, that also rule our real lives. The illogicality of Wilde’s characters is heightened, and camp is thereby used to force an unmasking of the many things representing esteem and privilege, that are truly hollow. We are made to perceive concurrently that which is bad, along with how it is perversely favoured, in so much of how we live. In campness we can pretend to adhere and obey, as though we are laughing with, but in fact some of us in the gutter, are laughing at.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au

Review: The Chairs (Old Fitz Theatre)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Sep 5 – Oct 15, 2023
Playwright: Eugène Ionesco
Director: Gale Edwards
Cast: Paul Capsis, iOTA
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review
Stuck in a room for a lifetime, after an environmental disaster many decades ago rendered them helpless, an old couple can only while the days away by talking to each other, in highly imaginative ways. Their isolation leads them to play out a scenario involving guests arriving to keep them company, determined to listen to their many thoughts on what might have been. Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs is characteristically absurd, in thoughtful and profound ways commensurate with the playwright’s reputation.

What the play says, is as much about what the viewer wishes to decipher, as it is about the author’s intentions. Under the direction of a sensitive and astute Gale Edwards, the possibilities for resonance are many. It is a production that reaches for the sublime, wishing to communicate something transcendent with all of its abstractions, yet capable of feeling simultaneously concrete through the sense of reality being offered. Something truthful is being manifested, and we perceive it as such, even though there is a definite freedom in how our personal interpretations are encouraged.

Set design by Brian Thomson evokes a fantastical space, somewhere ephemeral perhaps or timeless, allowing us to have a taste both of 1952 when The Chairs was first staged, and the distant future in which the story happens. Costumes are wonderfully theatrical, with excellent consideration for colours and textures by Angela Doherty providing a certain tactility to how we access the characters. Lights by Benjamin Brockman and sounds by Zac Saric create useful demarcations in the text, so that our intellect can feel elastic and activated, lively in our introspections, from being provoked by what we see and hear.

The exquisite iOTA takes on one of the geriatric roles, delivering nuanced intensity as we are held captive to all the passion and the melancholy being rendered in the most mesmeric ways. The performer’s undeniable presence brings to the piece a soulful quality that invites us to regard the work with sentimentality, and therefore elicits our emotional investment in a story that could easily have been left entirely a cerebral experience. Also glorious is Paul Capsis whose natural whimsy imbues the surreality of The Chair with a poetic beauty, turning our inevitable disintegration into a strange decadence, almost romantic in a depiction of longing, whatever the pining may be for. Chemistry and timing between the two are flawless, reflecting a level of artistry that can only come from exceptional talent and finely honed skill.

Things may be futile, but humans will continue being humans. Our lives mean little in the absence of hope, so we can only carry on doing what we know, even if much of it can seem delusory. It is true however, that humans can make choices that we believe to be constructive or destructive, and the tragedy is that we are capable of doing bad, not only unintentionally, but often completely consciously. The old couple in The Chairs live in a France that has become submerged in water. That is not the entirety of the play, but a detail that screams loud. Yet, turning a blind eye feels utterly easy.

www.redlineproductions.com.au

Review: Wicked (Sydney Lyric Theatre)

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Venue: Sydney Lyric Theatre (Sydney NSW), from Aug 25, 2023
Book: Winnie Holzman
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz
Director: Joe Mantello
Cast: Sheridan Adams, Shewit Belay, Zoe Coppinger, Liam Head, Courtney Monsma, Todd McKenney, Adam Murphy, Robyn Nevin, Kurtis Papadinis
Images by Jeff Busby

Theatre review

A wave of fascism is sweeping across the Land of Oz, turning friends and family against each other, as entities are identified at random to be villains, so that a select few can hold power in a climate of fear and hatred. It may seem that the central ideas of Wicked retain their pertinence, as the masterpiece turns twenty years old. We see how easy it is for people to loathe one another, that ostracism is almost natural in how humans construct societies. There is something very depraved about our tendency to create scapegoats, as though our desperate need to feel like we are good, is contingent on fabricating subjects that can be identified as bad.

With inevitable evolutions in taste for styles of music and humour, the show probably does not feel as fresh as it did those two decades ago, but Wicked is still compelling and deeply enjoyable, with its somewhat modern narrative involving two women leads, neither of whom are insulted or vilified. It may no longer be a new work, but there is still something surprising about seeing two women on a stage together, not pitted against each other, in a culture that is only slowly learning that there is space for different kinds of women, and that we can all be winners in self-determined lives shaped to our own liking.

Performer Sheridan Adams effortlessly makes Elphaba an endearing character, in a glorious performance that has us completely riveted. The luminous and gritty spirit she brings, along with her flawless singing, ensures that this production of Wicked is one not to be missed. Playing Glinda is Courtney Monsma, who amazes with the depth of emotion she is able to introduce when it truly matters, so that we leave the show with much more than a memory of glittering smoke and mirrors. Also noteworthy is the enchanting Shewit Belay as Nessarose, very touching in her depictions of the outsider. Veterans Robyn Nevin and Todd McKenney as Madame Morrible and The Wizard respectively, demonstrate their competency as they offer additional moments of lustre, on an opulent stage never short of talent and splendour.

Wicked is essentially a story about girls against the patriarchy, one that helps us imagine the ways we can subvert power structures, so that none are left behind. It draws attention to the faceless powers that be, pulling strings behind the scenes, to privilege some and disadvantage many. Well-behaved women rarely make history, as Laurel Thatcher Ulrich first penned several decades ago. As new generations of girls learn to defy, to disobey and to reject the old rules of their fathers, we can look forward to new ways of doing things, that will no longer be about exclusion, but be about honouring every soul with the appropriate grace that has been missing from too many of our lives.

www.wickedthemusical.com.au

Review: The Dismissal (Seymour Centre)

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Venue: Seymour Centre (Chippendale NSW), Aug 31 – Oct 21, 2023
Book: Blake Erickson, Jay James-Moody
Music and Lyrics: Laura Murphy
Director: Jay James-Moody
Cast: Octavia Barron Martin, Georgie Bolton, Peter Carroll, Andrew Cutcliffe, Lincoln Elliott, Joe Kosky, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Shannen Alyce Quan, Quinton Rofail Rich, Monique Sallé, Brittanie Shipway, Anusha Thomas
Images by David Hooley

Theatre review
When the Whitlam government was deposed in 1975, it became clear that the Governor-General possessed much more power, than being the mere figurehead most had thought. In The Dismissal, we are reminded not only of the insidious implications of our constitutional monarchy, but also of the class segregations that exist in how the Australian government runs this country. With a provocative book by Blake Erickson and Jay-James Moody, along with cleverly concocted songs by Laura Murphy, this work of musical theatre is however not a resolutely dark piece of political commentary, but one brilliant with ironic humour.

At almost three hours, The Dismissal can feel too detailed, although its thorough explorations of nepotism and malfeasance in our high offices, are unequivocally valuable. Half a century on, many of us will benefit from a refresher of that most significant of cultural milestones, if only to cause momentary disruption to our characteristic apathy and ignorance on matters of a bureaucratic nature. This is important stuff, and under the direction of creator and aforementioned co-writer Moody, the show is effective at turning amusing all the events leading up to the unceremonious ousting, of a democratically elected leader.

The Dismissal is remarkably witty, and much of it is wonderfully entertaining. Strong performances by the likes of Justin Smith and Andrew Cutcliffe who play Prime Ministers Whitlam and Fraser respectively, sustain our emotional investment in the story. Both performers are highly convincing as the historical figures, with a precision to their delivery that help us identify nuances to make the narrative speak with resonance. In the role of Governor-General John Kerr is the unforgettable Octavia Barron Martin who impresses with an uncanny ability to convey both vulnerability and cunning, for an impactful portrayal of corruption in our system. The satirical icon Norman Gunston is played by Matthew Whittet with marvellous physicality and timing, operating as narrator to provide a sense of elevation to the style of how the story is told.

Choreography by Amy Campbell can appear awkward when trying to convey naturalistic dimensions of the musical, but when depicting the many comical scenarios in The Dismissal, she accomplishes them with great aplomb. The stage is uncomfortably bare, with an overwhelming amount of plain surfaces that look persistently lifeless. Designers Charles Davis and Emma White achieve higher standards with costumes, especially in an instance of heightened theatricality, although a general overreliance on realism does make visual aspects of the production unremarkable. Lights by James Wallis help to improve a sense of dimension, allowing us to perceive spaces in ways that exceed the ordinary.

There may be much that can be enhanced cosmetically about the show, but there is no denying the strength of its core material. It may seem the converse is true about our governments. Politics have become so much about the surface, that we are never sure if any integrity resides therein. What we can rely on, are our observations of real world consequences. We never really know what happens in those hidden realms of influence and control, but we can see the effects on our lives. To regard our rulers with scepticism is healthy, and to doggedly hold them accountable, is indicative of a virtuous citizenry to which we should all aspire.

www.seymourcentre.com | www.thedismissal.com

Review: The Marvellous Elephant Man (The Sydney Spiegeltent)

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Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Sep 1 – Oct 1, 2023
Music, book and lyrics: Marc Lucchesi, Jayan Nandagopan, Sarah Nandagopan
Directors: Guy Masterson, Chris HF Mitchell
Cast: Lachlan Bartlett, Kanen Breen, Ben Clark, Annelishe Hall, Sam Harmon, Gavin James, Marc Lucchesi, Eleanor MacIntyre, Jayan Nandagopan, Rebecca Rolle
Images by Paul Scott

Theatre review
There indeed lived a Joseph Merrick in 19th century England, so badly deformed he was called the Elephant Man. The Marvellous Elephant Man by Marc Lucchesi, Jayan Nandagopan and Sarah Nandagopan, re-imagines Merrick’s life as a musical comedy, in a style reminiscent of the period, that we may categorise today as being in the vaudeville or burlesque genres. Currently performing inside a spiegeltent in Sydney, it offers atmosphere that simply cannot be any more appropriate. The songs are pleasantly melodious, but its book and lyrics are perhaps too conventional, with nothing surprising in its telling of an old story.

The jokes are not quite bawdy enough, with inconsistent direction by Guy Masterson and Chris HF Mitchell, delivering humour that vacillates excessively in tone. Furthermore the show never succeeds at making any of its personalities endearing, so it can feel a struggle to engage. Lighting design by Matthew Marshal is dynamic, as are costumes by Roberto Surace, although both can benefit from being more imaginative and indulgent, in conception as well as implementation.

It is an energetic cast that presents the show, insufficiently charismatic but committed and lively nonetheless. Leading man Ben Clark impresses with some very powerful high notes, while Annelise Hall attempts to bring integrity to Nurse Hope, an absurd and regressive fabrication, at a time when we have learnt to be intolerant of seeing ornamental women characters on our stages.

There is a vibrant spirit at the core of The Marvellous Elephant Man, one that is eccentric and wild, but what has resulted is something suppressed by notions of orthodoxy and commerciality. Much as Merrick may have wished for a life of normalcy, the truth is that his legacy is one of uniqueness and frankly, grotesqueness. As the saying goes, “let your freak flag fly,” and if one should choose to pursue the arts, then surely any tendency for conformity is best relinquished.

www.marvellouselephantman.com

Review: Rhomboid (KXT on Broadway)

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Venue: KXT on Broadway (Ultimo NSW), Aug 25 – Sep 9, 2023
Playwright: Eric Jiang
Director: Sammy Jing
Cast: Richard Wu, Luke Visentin, Joseph Raboy
Images by Phil Erbacher

Theatre review

Xavier is young and queer, so it comes as no surprise, that he should choose to reject traditional definitions of love and relationships, even if he does feel very attracted to Sebastian. In Eric Jiang’s Rhomboid, we see the couple trying to come to terms with the nature of their connection, in ways that defy the strict parameters that usually dictate how we perceive matters of the heart. What the two feel for each other is real, in a world that often places false or arbitrary expectations, on how we regard romantic unions.

The unique whimsy of Jiang’s writing is thoroughly enchanting, with an inherently arresting theatricality that director Sammy Jing explores with admirable exuberance, for a show intent on saying something valuable, whilst finding ways to present itself in fresh and artistic ways. Rhomboid is wonderfully quirky with its humour, if slightly slow in pacing. There is a pureness in thought and purpose that really shines, for a work memorable for both its style and meaning.

Set design by Paris Bell is simple but attractive, although its construction could benefit from greater finesse. Lily Mateljan’s costumes are very much of the times, pleasingly colourful in their depictions of the contemporary queer man. Lights by Catherine Mai are experimental and considered, beautiful in the ways they gently coax our minds into surprisingly generous spaces. Christine Pan’s sound and music are thoroughly rendered, to ensure that the experience is a rich one.

Actor Richard Wu is extremely charming as Xavier, and marvellously compelling as he makes the case for new ways to understand love in the modern age. Luke Visentin is both funny and earnest as Sebastian, with an easy presence that allows the character to always be convincing. Playing the dual roles of Felix and Lachy, is Joseph Raboy who brings an excellent camp sensibility to the show, effervescent but measuredly so.

It is strange when queer people make straight choices, when we contort our beings to fit moulds that were always made to exclude. Rhomboid represents a joyful resistance of definitions and prescriptions, the ones that have failed us time and time again. Queer people understand freedom in a deep way. We understand that the possession and control of others, is the very antithesis of love. Watching Xavier and Sebastian making their own rules, one is reminded of the liberation that will always be worth fighting for.

www.kingsxtheatre.com | www.liminalproductions.au