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Review: In Waiting (Blood Moon Theatre)

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Venue: Blood Moon Theatre (Potts Point NSW), Oct 11 – 19, 2017
Playwright: Liviu Monsted
Director: Liviu Monsted
Cast: Courtney Adams, Alison Benstead, Alana Birtles, Roslyn Hicks, Nathaniel Hole, Dale Wesely Johnson Green, Steve Maresca, Dean Nash, Katie Regan

Theatre review
In a purgatorial room, the dead wait for their turn to meet Ignus, a psychoanalyst in the esoteric dimension, who provides assistance to move these wandering spirits on to their eternity. It is an appealing allegory that we find in Liviu Monsted’s In Waiting, using the device of psychotherapy to illustrate the need for a certain enlightenment, intellectual and emotional , before life can take on a meaningful course. Monsted sets up an intriguing context, with charming interaction between his ghosts, but substantial portions of the 150-minute production involve two-hander sessions in Ignus’ consultation office, during which the writing often becomes convoluted and self-indulgent.

The work is certainly contemplative, but its dialogue frequently lapses into a dense and obtuse language, that is probably more suited to the form of a short novel than it does the stage. Acting style is uniformly animated, and although rarely authentic, the performers demonstrate a generosity in their prioritising of the text, which helps us decipher the proceedings. Actor Alison Benstead cuts a striking figure as the mysterious Ignus, impressive with the quantity of words she commits so effortlessly to memory. Also showing good commitment is Katie Regan as Estelle, the young woman who has to confront hard memories before she can be released from a state of stagnation.

The waiting room is a necessary space, but some of us can stay too long, in a condition of regret and fear. The future is always in conversation with the past. It might be useful to think that we can close the door on anterior events, but there is nothing we do today, that is not a result of experiences from all the yesterdays. To forget, is only to have it relegated to the subconscious. The characters who do well in In Waiting, are those able to find something that looks like acceptance. Time may not be linear, but no matter how we conceive of its passage, torment is not being able to move with it.

www.bloodmoontheatre.com | www.monsansproductions.com

In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre
In Waiting 2018 Blood Moon Theatre

5 Questions with Alison Benstead and Katie Regan

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Alison Benstead

Katie Regan: How did you find rehearsing by yourself for so long?
Alison Benstead: It was definitely challenging, as Ignus’ purpose in the play is to help others. I was quite literally ‘waiting’ to meet everyone, so in that way, I think I was absolutely feeling the way Ignus would have.

What do you think Ignus did when she was living?
I have a theory. When I took on the character, there wasn’t a great deal of backstory that had already been decided, except that she died in the 1950s of some kind of internal haemorrhaging. I have been playing with the idea that she was a housewife, perhaps in a somewhat controlling marriage, and didn’t have a great deal of control over what her purpose was. I believe that she was a loving wife and wanted more than anything to be a mother, and that the haemorrhaging was caused by a miscarriage. There’s a lot of empathy and compassion in her, and I really get to play with the notion that she swings between being motherly towards the others, and seeing them all as a puzzle to solve.

How has your interpretation of the character changed over time?
It has changed a lot. I think I began rehearsals seeing her as this really magical archetype, and as we’ve developed her through rehearsal, I see far more human qualities. No character in this play is perfect; they’re all flawed in their own ways and that really is a gift for an actor to be able to explore.

All the characters experience time in the waiting room. How long do you think you would wait there until you searched for answers?
Not very long. I’m not a very patient person at the best of times, and my imagination would run wild with ideas and theories. The answers wouldn’t be as fun in the end.

Regret is heavily featured in the play. If Ignus had her time over again, how do you think she would have lived?
If she had her time over again, I think she would have lived a more empowered life. I see her being an Erin Brockovich kind of figure: fighting for what she believes in, and doing it with a big heart and a lot of grace.

Katie Regan

Alison Benstead: After reading the text, what was your first impression of Estelle, and what challenges did you anticipate when taking on this role?
Katie Regan: I found Estelle to be incredibly close to some of the people in my life. I think lots of people know an Estelle – she’s your friend, neighbour, co-worker. Outwardly she is relatively put together and follows the vein of most 20-somethings looking for fulfilment but, on the inside, she is entirely a drift with little to no real connection to the ‘real’ world. I knew it would be challenging to portray a character with very real and defined depression whilst also straddling the fine line of optimism she hides away inside herself.

How do you think you would personally react, waking up in the waiting room as Estelle did?
If I were to wake up in the waiting room like Estelle, I would immediately start looking for answers or an exit. I think my fight or flight would kick in very soon and, the first door I saw, I’d look for someone to talk to.

If Estelle had have carried on living, how do you think she would have lived her life?
I like to think that she became a visual artist or musician, channelling her experiences into something tangibly good for the world.

Why is this story important and relevant for audiences today, and what do you want your audiences to take away from this play?
I believe that this story is about the importance of choices: people can choose to be good or bad or apathetic but in actuality it’s the people we meet who change us. Because of the people Estelle meets in the waiting room, she is given another choice/chance at life. I want audiences to take away a sense of hope for the future and the choices that shape us.

In Waiting heavily features two strong female characters. Explain how their relationship and bond is instrumental to the story, and what they represent for each other.
Estelle and Ignus’ relationship represents the story coming full-circle, but it also shows the closing of a large chapter in both of their lives, or afterlives as it were. They are quite similar in that they both search for answers and are forces to be reckoned with. In terms of what they represent to each other, I think that they are both the final solution to each of their dilemmas. Nothing can move forward until they do together.

Alison Benstead and Katie Regan can be seen in In Waiting by Liviu Monsted.
Dates: 11 – 19 Oct, 2018
Venue: Blood Moon Theatre

5 Questions with Chris Miller and Jacqui Robson

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Chris Miller

Jacqui Robson: What are five words you’d use to describe Lennie Lawson and five words to describe Hugh Lusk?
Chris Miller: Lennie Lawson – Charming, boyish, manipulative, adaptive, psychotic. Hugh Lusk – Determined, confident, altruistic, ambitious, stubborn.

Where on the spectrum of human behaviour would these two men overlap?
More than likely, narcissism. Lawson is pathological and most definitely at the disordered end of the spectrum, lacks empathy and is a slave to his delusions. Lusk is empathetic, yet has a swagger of arrogance to him. Where they overlap is they both suffer from ‘magical thinking’: Lawson in the way he justifies his abhorrent acts of cruelty and Lusk in the way he clutches at straws to build a defence for Louisa Collins when the odds are stacked against him. Where they differ is Lusk has empathy and control whilst Lawson definitely does not.

What has been the hardest thing about playing Lennie?
I’ve done a hell of a lot of research on personality disorders and the Dark Triad (psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism). It’s really heavy stuff. I’ve been exploring which spectrums I sit on, and ramping them up and walking around in public to get a feel for it… and it’s crook. I’m a naturally empathetic kid, so switching into psycho mode and exploring egocentric, sadistic magical thinking is not without its detriment. I’ve had to counterbalance with meditation and positive affirmations, which has actually been awesome as well. So it’s double edged. That, and I have to be consciously aware of not creeping out the cast and crew because I’m in so deep. Either way… it’s real juicy.

What’s it like being in these two productions at the same time?
Awesome! I freakin’ love it. Two totally different characters, pushed to the max, and a sensational team of directors, cast and crew. Jacqui (and the rest of the cast) are so talented, giving and supportive. Also, it’s a different experience playing real people of history. The back story is done for me; it almost feels like I’m allowing them in to possess me and, of course, I get to decorate the cake with Miller-isms. The main thing is just vehemently telling the truth.

Would Hugh Lusk take on Lennie Lawson as a client?
Hmmm, as ambitious as Lusk is, and although he fights for the underdog, Lawson is an abhorrent violent criminal with zero chance of redemption. The evidence is so stacked against him and cut and dry. So, my answer is no. It would be morally incongruent for Lusk to take the case.

Jacqui Robson

Chris Miller: What draws you to playing characters such as Jean Turnbull, June Dally Watkins and Louisa Collins?
Jacqui Robson: Each of these real-life women were caught up in extreme circumstances and I am grateful for the chance to explore their behaviours, and creatively make choices based on what I can only guess at why they did what they did. They are all complex and, in these stories, they experience terrible tragedies in different ways. I get to play with their strengths and vulnerabilities, but hopefully also honour their experiences.

Tell us about your process to delve deeper to find the truth and embody these characters.
I started with imagining how I would behave in their circumstances, and then try to understand why they acted the way they did. Then I looked into the research. For the Lennie Lawson story, there were helpful articles about the Lennie Lawson attack on SCEGGS that gave me some clues into Headmistress Jean Turnbull’s character and choices. There’s also plenty of content on June Dally Watkins around to give a guideline into her personality. How they behaved with Lennie Lawson is how I imagine I would have in those circumstances. (I might not have been as hardcore heroic as Jean Turnbull, though I’d like to think so.)

Louisa Collins is more difficult. She’s enigmatic. Playwright Gina Schien loaned me her copy of The Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington. It’s a brilliant collection of primary research with many contradictions in observations about how Louisa behaved, so I’ve found it challenging to make any decisions about her. She constantly surprises me. I’m making the best choices I can, so I just hope that I represent her as truthfully and compassionately as possible.

What’s the difference that you find in playing imaginary characters compared to actual women of history?
Playing real women of history brings with it a great amount of responsibility to represent them and their actions truthfully and accurately. History is decided by others so maybe it’s impossible to ever really do this, but I still try. Fictional characters are a lot more freeing and I care a lot less about what others’ think of my interpretation. If people don’t like my choices, I can’t do much about it and can’t worry about it.

Why act?
I bloody wish I knew. It’s like being on drugs. The creative highs are amazing. The lows – the poverty, rejection, artistic failure, bad reviews, objectification, inability to plan life – all suck immensely. Honestly, if I could get my creative kicks some other way, I bloody would.

What is your dream role and why?
I just like to be doing something, chasing something, acting in pursuit of that something. Give me a role in which I have a job to do. Preferably in a great ensemble piece with amazing dialogue. My favourite plays and shows are the ones where there are at least five people talking. I love to contribute to a symphony of fantastic dialogue in an electric scene where everyone is fighting for something (e.g. an episode of The West Wing, or Tracy Lette’s August: Osage County). My creative north star is probably Allison Janney playing CJ Cregg in The West Wing.

Chris Miller and Jacqui Robson are appearing in Deadhouse: Tales Of Sydney Morgue.
Dates: 24 April – 19 May, 2018
Venue: The Rocks Discovery Museum

Review: The Gloveman (Blood Moon Theatre)

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Venue: Blood Moon Theatre (Potts Point NSW), Oct 4 – 14, 2017
Playwright: C.J. Naylor
Director: Michael Block
Cast: Chris Argirousis, Brinley Meyer, Chris Miller, Matt Blake, Janine Penfold, Ben Dewstow
Image by Hayden Brotchie

Theatre review
Edith has an unfulfilling life, working in a small town pub in Leeds, England. Restricted by a minor disability, she had all but resigned herself to a life of discontentment, until a pivotal encounter with Hugh, a shady figure in the local football circuit. C.J. Naylor’s story involves corruption and ambition, but for all its enthusiasm, The Gloveman serves up little drama. The stakes never seem to feel high enough, and the various divergent narratives contributed by each of its characters, add up to a plot that is consequently haphazard. Naylor’s approach to dialogue however, is often delightful, with colourful and lively exchanges that some will find amusing.

It is an energetic show, featuring an exaggerated tone to acting styles that can be charming at times, and comical at others. The decision to use Australian accents instead of a very specific Northern England one is understandable, but the effect is disorienting. The role of Edith is played by Brinley Meyer, whose warm and confident presence keeps us endeared. Personalities in The Gloveman are portrayed with little complexity, but director Michael Block provides a sense of familiarity akin to everyday television presentations that helps us relate. Supporting actor Janine Penfold is particularly memorable, for her interpretation of journalist Gabe as a woman of substance and grit.

When Edith goes missing, presumed abducted by baddies, the menfolk she takes care of at home, preoccupy themselves with arguments about who amongst them is the best goalkeeper in town. It is not uncommon that the woman imagines herself indispensable, persisting with her servitude convinced that the greater good justifies her personal suffering. Meanwhile, all the glory and dirty money that circulates within her community, bypasses Edith, as her elbow grease continues to be called upon to support their sporting economy.

www.bloodmoontheatre.com