Tag Archives: horror

Review: Let The Right One In (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)

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Venue: Eternity Playhouse (Darlinghurst NSW), Oct 7 – Nov 20, 2022
Playwright: Jack Thorne (based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist)
Director: Alexander Berlage
Cast: Stephen Anderton, Callan Colley, Will McDonald, Eddie Orton, Josh Price, Monica Sayers, Sebrina Thornton-Walker, Matthew Whittet
Images by Robert Catto

Theatre review
Things are going terribly for 12-year-old Oskar. His mother is a raging alcoholic, and the bullying at school is interminable. Meeting Eli late one night, may seem to indicate a change for the better, but falling in love with a vampire comes with major drawbacks. Jack Thorne’s adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel and film Let the Right One In, attempts to transpose an unorthodox story of young love to the stage, complete with all the hallmark features of a genre piece.

Under the directorship of Alexander Berlage, Let the Right One In becomes an unexpected concoction of romantic-comedy with horror elements. There are moments of gore to be sure, but a quirky sense of humour dominates the staging. It is a compelling experience, enjoyable especially for its unusual tackling of the supernatural, although the confluence of humour with revulsion, seems a tricky one to resolve.

Trent Suidgeest’s sensual lighting design is highly attractive, but can sometimes seem at odds with the comedy being performed. There are competing tones being presented, each one detracting from the other. Daniel Herten’s sound and music too, work consistently to build tension for something resolutely scary, seemingly unaware of the show’s strong tendencies toward the funny. Isabel Hudson’s set design is appropriately cold and stark, depicting somewhere appearing a cross between hospitals and abattoirs, with shiny surfaces that keeps the chill in our spines. Hudson’s costumes are evocative of Sweden, from whence the tale originates, but the main characters never really look persuasively like children.

Actor Will McDonald is very endearing as Oskar, perfectly conveying the innocence of his character, whilst offering a rich interpretation, of someone going through something impossibly intense. The challenging task of portraying Eli, who is both a small child, and a phantasm over a century old, is taken on by Sebrina Thornton-Walker, who brings a satisfying sense of macabre physicality to the role. Supporting players, Stephen Anderton, Callan Colley, Eddie Orton, Josh Price and Monica Sayers, are spirited in their embrace of the show’s absurdist dimensions, each one leaving a strong impression with the idiosyncrasies they are able to find, for the various personalities that we meet.

It is a strange phenomenon, that people should pay good money to make themselves feel scared. It is perhaps an opportunity for us to release, that which has to be psychologically suppressed, in order that we may face daily life with an attitude of normalcy. The possibilities of afterlife are hard to discount, for the unknown has the ability to take on infinite configurations, and the terror of death makes our imagination of that aftermath go to the darkest. Hence it is easy to believe the worst, but only in chosen occasions can we indulge in those frightful meditations.

www.darlinghursttheatre.com

Review: Cleansed (Old Fitz Theatre)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Jun 9 – 25, 2022
Playwright: Sarah Kane
Director: Dino Dimitriades
Cast: Danny Ball, Stephen Madsen, Tommy Misa, Jack Richardson, Charles Purcell, Fetu Taku, Mây Trần
Images by Robert Catto

Theatre review

It is uncertain where the action takes place, but in Sarah Kane’s Cleansed, we see a man named Tinker torturing several individuals, in a manner that implies somewhere utterly and devastatingly fascistic. Tinker is presented as all powerful, able to commit the most heinous of acts without being reprehended, or perhaps his horrific atrocities are indeed sanctioned, by an authority that remains unidentified. Tinker’s victims display no violent and criminal tendencies, only forms of sexual and gender expression that deviate from what some of us might call, the heteronormative.

It is a ghastly thing to witness, this incessant agony being inflicted on characters, in a theatrical presentation obsessed with pain. In truth, moments between the brutality, are filled with depictions of a loving nature, but the suffering is never distant enough, for anything sweet or nice, to sufficiently emerge. We know with hindsight, that Cleansed offers a window into the psyche of a tormented soul. Originally created less than a year before playwright Kane’s suicide, it gives us access to a darkness rarely seen, in any of our communal settings.

Direction by Dino Dimitriadis explores that space of terror, without mitigation. The intensity with which Kane’s writing is transposed on this occasion, is uncompromising, and quite shocking in its effect. The concept of body horror, figures prominently in the staging, to communicate with veracity, not only the level of anguish experienced by those devoid of hope, but also to depict the psychological consequences of homophobia and transphobia, in some of our everyday existences.

Dimitriadis appropriately manufactures for us, a sense of escalating dread and revulsion, refusing to give in to any need for reprieve. There is no room for politeness, when matters are truly urgent. The audience is left to its own devices, to access mental fortitude wherever it can, in order to get to the end of Cleansed, should they choose to stay. Exiting prematurely, in this case, is also an understandable and valid cause of action.

Sound design by Benjamin Pierpoint is relied upon to strike fear into our hearts, and its efficacy cannot be understated. If your worst nightmare can be represented in an audio recording, Pierpoint has accomplished it here. Jeremy Allen’s set design is black, hard and stony, to convey the cruelty that our species is capable of inflicting on one another. Lights by Benjamin Brockman and Morgan Moroney are similarly icy, offering only the most explicit perspective of the inhumanity being exposed. Costumes by Connor Milton are aesthetically understated, but the way injury and decapitation is represented, is cleverly achieved, and suitably gruesome.

Actor Danny Ball is marvellous as Tinker, deadpan but terrifying, full of ambiguity in his portrayal of pure evil. The quietness of Ball’s performance disallows us to undermine the severity of his character’s barbaric deeds; it is the absence of dramatics in Tinker’s cruelty that makes us see it exactly for what it is. Mây Trần as Grace, delivers some of the most affecting emotional authenticity one could hope to see in the flesh. To be able to muster such a visceral and accurate presence for a character at the very depths of despair, is evidence of an artist of the highest calibre at work. The unforgettable Stephen Madsen shakes us to the core, with spine-chilling screams and a ravaged physicality that tragically deteriorates over time. It is a splendid cast of seven incendiary types, determined to say something devastating, in an extremely powerful way.

Cleansed may not be about a universal experience, but the harrowing nature of its story is contingent on our ability to all feel the same pain. Tinker knows how to inflict pain, because he too knows what it is to suffer. There is a dissonance that always exist perhaps, in our ability to do unto others what we wish not to have done to ourselves. It may seem that a constant in being human, involves a need to perceive difference. To be able to think of some as more deserving than others, allows for power to manifest. To be able to think of some as inferior, allows for abuse to take place. Tinker is no different from the rest; understanding how he gets to exercise such power, is the key to dismantling so many of our ills.

www.redlineproductions.com.au

Review: Videotape (Montague Basement)

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Venue: Kings Cross Theatre (Kings Cross NSW), Jan 29 – Feb 13, 2021
Playwright: Saro Lusty-Cavallari
Director: Saro Lusty-Cavallari
Cast: Laura Djanegara, Jake Fryer-Hornsby, Lucinda Howes
Images by Zaina Ahmed

Theatre review
Juliette and David are a young couple, isolated in their Sydney apartment, in the middle of this pandemic. They live together because there is an unmitigated conventionality to their relationship, although we are never sure if there is any love between the two. Saro Lusty-Cavallari’s Videotape borrows its premise from David Lynch’s 1997 film Lost Highway, where a mysterious videotape is delivered, containing frightening visions that threaten to discombobulate a household. The pleasure in Lusty-Cavallari’s creation, lies in the unexpected amalgamation of comedy, drama and horror; although not perfectly harmonised, the mishmash of intonations does deliver something with an enjoyable quirky charm.

In Lynch’s deeply misogynistic original, the femme fatale comes in two guises, both of whom are helpless yet maligned. In Videotape, we wonder if Juliette stays with David because of the virus, or if she is a sucker for punishment. The work’s occasionally obtuse intimations provide a sense of texture to an otherwise uncomplicated plot, and although ambiguous in its intentions, allows the audience plentiful room for wide ranging interpretations.

Production design by Grace Deacon is noteworthy for its ability to convey wealth and polish, in a succinct manner. Lights by Sophie Pekbilimli too, help to tell the story in an economical way. Jake Fryer-Hornsby and Lucinda Howes are engrossing as lead performers, both evocative with what they bring to the stage. Laura Djanegara is effective in her smaller roles, offering a valuable hint of the surreal to the show.

We are stuck being humans, and in many ways, trapped in the past. The VHS tapes function as a device of excavation, opening wormholes that make us reach back, whilst materially positioned in the present. Videotape is both a new story, and an old one, not only with its intertextual obsessions, but also in its examinations of how history repeats. The cassette tape stands as an allegory, in our understanding of humanity, and in our experience of it. Rewinding it, fast forwarding, recording over, pause, play or stop, it is its finiteness that is truly chilling.

www.montaguebasement.com

Videotape (2021, Montague Basement)
Videotape (2021, Montague Basement)
Videotape (2021, Montague Basement)
Videotape (2021, Montague Basement)
Videotape (2021, Montague Basement)
Videotape (2021, Montague Basement)
Videotape (2021, Montague Basement)

Review: AutoCannibal (Oozing Future)

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Venue: Carriageworks (Eveleigh NSW), Jan 13 – 17, 2021
Director: Masha Terentieva
Cast/Creator: Mitch Jones
Images by Yaya Stempler

Theatre review
The show is named AutoCannibal because in the dystopic future of Mitch Jones’ creation, he is seen gradually eating himself to death, literally. Starting with expendable parts of the anatomy, like hair and nails, we watch his desperation gradually escalate, and wonder if the moment of inevitability will take place right before our eyes. A one-man show in the physical theatre tradition, reminiscent of the work of artists like Buster Keaton and Marcel Marceau, Jones pushes the envelope towards something very dark, although not altogether unfunny.

There are many horror dimensions to AutoCannibal, involving self-mutilation of course, but also isolation, madness and other hard to name fears resulting from the end of the civilisation. A short video at the beginning hints at the usual suspects, namely climate, capitalism and politics, that lead us to this point of abject destruction, but in 2021, there really is very little need for explanations about the sad state of affairs in which our protagonist finds himself. We may be conditioned to interpret dystopic visions as futuristic cautionary tales, but at this present time, it takes little stretch of the imagination, to read the presentation as an allegory for so much that is happening today.

Design aspects of the show are highly accomplished. Sound by Bonnie Knight is dynamic and compelling, a crucial element in lieu of dialogue, that guides us through varying states of distress and humour. Paul Lin’s lights are moody but magical, effective in establishing something very close to a living nightmare before our eyes. Michael Baxter’s set design too is noteworthy, able to provide more than functionality, for a stage that looks genuinely terrifying.

Under Masha Terentieva’s direction, Jones performs a wordless theatre that is just scary enough, often pushing us to psychological limits, without taking the action to a point of alienation. There is ample opportunity for showing off Jones’ athletic and comedic talents, but AutoCannibal is not always sufficiently engaging for the intellect. When the audience witnesses a human pushed to the extremes in art and entertainment, we cannot help but wonder about the point of it all, and there is little that could provide satisfying complexity to how we can contextualise these horrors.

We live in a world of scandalous abundance, yet so many are hungry. It boggles the mind that people everywhere are left to die of starvation, while most of us fill our days with hoarding and accumulating the thing commonly known as wealth. Conditioned to think of people as either worthy or unworthy, we are completely at ease with the idea that some are simply lesser, and that their suffering is justified. We are taught to fear, taught to submit, taught to accept that some babies will grow into rich people, and others will languish in poverty, as though this is all natural and the irreversible course of the world. To watch the character in AutoCannibal eat himself to death, is to have our morals called into serious question.

www.oozingfuture.com

AutoCannibal (2021, Oozing Future)
AutoCannibal (2021, Oozing Future)
AutoCannibal (2021, Oozing Future)
AutoCannibal (2021, Oozing Future)
AutoCannibal (2021, Oozing Future)
AutoCannibal (2021, Oozing Future)

Review: Wake In Fright (Sydney Opera House)

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Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Feb 11 – 15, 2020
Playwright: Declan Greene with Zahra Newman (adapted from the novel by Kenneth Cook)
Director: Declan Greene
Cast: Zahra Newman
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
Included in the price of entry, are a pair of earplugs. There are some loud noises in the production that delicate members of the audience might want to shield themselves from, but symbolically, they are a sarcastic dig at our Australian propensity to shut out any discussion about race that goes too close to the bone. Kenneth Cook’s 1961 novel Wake In Fright is re-framed by director Declan Greene and performer Zahra Newman, so that the classic gothic horror becomes an apparatus that exposes the anxiety of the white man on this colonised land. School teacher John is trapped in a country town, where he encounters a string of dubious characters determined to inflict degradation, using alcohol and other vices, so that he turns into one of them, over the course of a weekend.

More than a tall poppy story, this reiteration of Wake In Fright is about Western masculinity’s relentless need for destruction. The Indigenous have long disappeared from fictitious Bundanyabba, but the carnage continues, now with European settlers exerting their irrepressible barbarism onto themselves. Having once been a scary movie, this bleak tale is again given the genre treatment, with outstanding work by Verity Hampson on light and projections, alongside James Paul’s thrilling sound design and Melbourne duo friendships’ intuitive music, providing eerie and meaningful discombobulation to our experience of the show. Although not frightening in a sensorial manner that films are notoriously capable of, director Greene certainly conveys powerfully, the fearsome quality of this dark tale. Aussie larrikins gone wild are not to be toyed with.

The exceptional Newman is breathtaking in her one-woman show, unforgettable for delivering extraordinary complexity with what could have been a simple story. She has us on the edge of our seats for the show’s entirety, keeping our minds active with the many dimensions and depths that she alchemizes on stage. It is noteworthy that this version of Wake In Fright works particularly well with a woman of colour at its helm. Newman’s gender and skin are constant cues that prevent us from forgetting about the masculinity and whiteness that are central to the catastrophe unfolding.

The earbuds remain a personal choice. Many will choose to ignore the obvious, because much of the power of the status quo relies on its ability to keep us feeling debilitated. It also succeeds at misleading many into insisting that the problems with society are about deficient individuals, and not the overarching systems that govern us. It is no coincidence that the horrors that overwhelm John are imposed by people who fit a particular description. We need to learn to see patterns, and form understandings that will help us in more substantive ways, than to replace bad eggs in structures that will never accommodate good ones. The outback town in Wake In Fright is sick, but we fear the overhaul that is required, and choose instead to let it languish in perpetual revulsion.

www.malthousetheatre.com.au

Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre
Wake In Fright 2020 Malthouse Theatre

Review: Haunted (Spark Youth Theatre)

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Venue: Petersham Town Hall (Petersham NSW), Oct 29 – Nov 8, 2019
Concept: Felicity Nicol
Directors: Felicity Nicol, Scott Parker
Cast: Alan Fang, Andrea Mudbidri, Bedelia Lowrencev, Caitlyn Wright, Ellie Oppen-Riley, Emily Pincock, Fanar Moonee, Jeno Kim, Jeremy Lowrencev, Mason Phoumirath, Niamh Kinsella, Pedro Luis Barrientos Rios, Rebekah Parsons, Tirian Tanious
Images by Patrick Boland

Theatre review
It is night time, and a group of young adults are exploring a disused hall, spinning tales involving missing persons from a 1940’s debutante ball. The audience too are on foot, lingering and observing, and soon we find ourselves standing in as ghosts, when the adventurers begin seeing things. Felicity Nicol’s Haunted makes extensive use of an old town hall, one that is similar to the hundreds that exist all over Australia, with performers dispersed throughout the venue, and us behaving like voyeuristic apparitions, tracking their activities over ninety spooky minutes.

Directed by Nicol along with Scott Parker, the work is fresh and playful, impressive in its exhaustive and imaginative use of space. There is pleasure not only in investigating the many curious satellite occurrences, but also in the very experience of exploring a forgotten building. Sensational work on sound by Nate Edmondson heightens all our senses, to have us feeling as though immersed within a world of horror cinema. Lights by Benjamin Brockman are extravagant at pivotal moments, to help convey varying states of surrealism, for a story about young people discovering their local history.

A cast of fourteen performers demonstrate excellent commitment and verve, relying on intuition and physicality, rather than dialogue, to deliver a thrilling, inventive and often beautiful work of modern theatre. Mason Phoumirath and Niamh Kinsella are memorable in their featured roles, proving themselves to be compelling actors, with limitless potential.

The present collides with the past in every moment, but we are rarely encouraged to look back, whilst we wrestle with busy existences dominated by demands of the rat race. Mistakes may not have to be made again, if only we understand their previous incarnations, and evolution would only be in positive directions, if only we remember all former failures. Individuals are only young once, and as a community we too should always strive to mature with each passing day. Lessons learned must not be forgotten, or we will forever be in positions of regret.

www.sparkyouththeatre.com

Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre
Haunted 2019 Spark Youth Theatre

Review: Alice In Slasherland (Last One Standing Theatre Company)

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Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Apr 18 – May 11, 2019
Playwright: Qui Nguyen
Director: Rachel Kerry
Cast: Justin Amankwah, Jack Angwin, Josh McElroy, Bardiya McKinnon, Mia Morrissey, Laura Murphy, Stella Ye
Images by Robert Catto

Theatre review
Lewis is a regular American teenager, who finds his town suddenly overwhelmed by Lucifer and other spirits of the underworld. With people being slaughtered everywhere, Lewis and his friends have to fight their way to survival. Qui Nguyen’s Alice In Slasherland bears all the hallmarks of a B-grade horror flick; an outlandish storyline, predictable characters and lots of blood and gore, along with a very healthy dose of kitsch and bad taste humour that makes the show more than a little tongue-in-cheek in its references to genre.

The production is messy, but also intentionally trashy. Like every low-budget movie ever made, we can identify all the flaws in this staging of Alice In Slasherland, but its imperfections do not preclude us from enjoying the silly fun that it so passionately delivers. Director Rachel Kerry’s vision for the staging is wonderfully vivid, but her ideas are almost never executed to perfection. The cast is remarkable for being able to embrace the clumsiness of their show, to convey a sense of humour that quite miraculously, works with, or perhaps against, the many technical improficiencies. Alice In Slasherland‘s horror aspects do almost nothing for us, but its comedy is certainly a joy.

Actor Bardiya McKinnonis is a spirited Lewis, appropriately over-the-top with the terror that he depicts. The eponymous Alice is played by Stella Ye, who meets the physical demands of the supernatural being, with a persuasive and dynamic athleticism. Lucifer is a vampy creature, as interpreted by Laura Murphy, whose capacity for camp seems to know no bounds. Her musical theatre abilities prove refreshing in a show that cares little about polish. Justin Amankwah is puppeteer for Edgar the bear, barely two feet tall, but huge in personality, thanks to Amankwah’s beautiful animation and extraordinary voice work.

Depending on one’s own tastes, there is a kind of self-deprecating humour to Alice In Slasherland that can be highly amusing. We vacillate between laughing at it, and laughing with it, trusting that none is expected to take any of this seriously. Over the coming weeks, the production will no doubt lose some of its raw edge, but as long as we can all be encouraged to remain playful for the duration, it would mean a job well done.

www.lastonestandingtheatreco.com | www.redlineproductions.com.au

Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company
Alice In Slasherland 2019 Last One Standing Theatre Company

Review: Horror (Sydney Opera House)

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Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Aug 29 – Sep 2, 2018
Artistic Director: Jakop Ahlbom
Cast: Andrea Buegger, Sofieke De Kater, Yannick Greweldinger, Silke Hundertmark, Gwen Langenberg, Reinier Schimmel, Luc Van Esch, Thomas Van Ouwerkerk
Images by Prudence Upton

Theatre review
The action takes place in a haunted house. No words are spoken, but we know exactly what happens in each moment, mainly because we have seen everything before at the cinema. The horror film genre relies on special effects and creative editing, both technical features unavailable to the live format. In Jakop Ahlbom’s Horror, however, capacities of the stage are pushed to their limit, to achieve something that is best described as a tribute to the great classics of fear and revulsion. The show aims to frighten, and like the vast majority of scary pictures, it is only occasionally successful in that regard, although there is no denying the production’s very persistent entertainment value.

Cleverly designed on all fronts, from set and lights, to hair and makeup, and of course the obligatory cacophony of jolting sounds, Horror is an innovative tapestry of creative imagination. A skilful cast portrays a range of supernatural beings, performing unearthly acts that have us amused and fascinated. It is a well-oiled operation, every moment executed with impressive precision. Some of its gimmicks can feel underwhelming, but the show is ultimately a satisfying one, memorable more for its hits than for its misses.

We are afraid of ghosts, because we understand the mistreatment that people suffer when alive. These beings return from the dead, with nothing to lose, and their vengeance is both justifiable and boundless. To see them, is to think of ourselves at our angriest, except completely unrestrained. Our biggest fear perhaps, is when people believe that they can act without consequence. Ghosts, and so many of our intangible creations, teach us to be good whilst being keenly aware of our capacity to be bad, and telling ghost stories is as though to put a curse on the evil, when they are hiding in plain sight.

www.horrortheshow.com | www.sydneyoperahouse.com

Horror 2018 Sydney Opera House
Horror 2018 Sydney Opera House
Horror 2018 Sydney Opera House
Horror 2018 Sydney Opera House
Horror 2018 Sydney Opera House
Horror 2018 Sydney Opera House

Review: Business Unfinished (Bondi Feast)

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Venue: Bondi Pavilion Theatre (Bondi NSW), Jul 27 – 29, 2017
Creator: Tom Christophersen
Director: James Dalton
Cast: Tom Christophersen, Tim Kemp
Image by Philip Erbacher

Theatre review
Tom Christophersen has a fascination for the paranormal, and in Business Unfinished, we gather around him as though around a campfire, listening to ghost stories that he has amassed. A collector of metaphysical tales, the idiosyncratic obsession that Christophersen presents, is something we relate to, for what he does in the show, is to question a reality of which everyone is implicated.

Believable or not, depending on each of our own constitutions, episodes in Business Unfinished are an inviting exploration into the nature of time and space, as well as an examination of the human tendency to create relationships with the supernatural, religious or otherwise. It then extends into the idea of sanity, and that sense of coherence necessary for the world to exist as an understandable, rational whole. An acceptance of incoherence would suggest that phenomena is beyond all human control, and therefore devastating.

Christophersen’s work on soundtrack is outstanding; blending firsthand accounts with an imaginative selection of music and a broad assortment of effects and clips, what we hear is deeply evocative, and a thorough expression of the creator’s unbridled fascination for the subject. Sound design however, is underwhelming, with two basic speakers behind the stage unable to manufacture appropriate sensations that would trigger our more visceral responses. Christophersen performs a substantial portion of the show as a lip-sync act, mouthing to recordings of various personalities, with astonishing accuracy. Stage manager Patrick Howard’s precision in dispensing cues is noteworthy in this regard.

Lighting design by Alexander Berlage is charming and playful, offering a good level of visual excitement to the piece. The space is problematic, being right next door to a rowdy watering hole, and the production insufficiently compensates for noise, leaving atmosphere severely compromised, in a work that is all about things creepy and ominous. Nonetheless, it is unequivocal that what its innovative director James Dalton delivers, is a rich and artful theatre, one that is as interested in its subject matter as it is in the characteristics of theatre itself.

Live performances comprise both the concrete and the esoteric. We go to them in search of magic, trusting that although the flesh and matter we encounter are essentially ordinary, something beyond the mundane will be experienced. If ghosts can be created on stage, we can make them appear in other places, voluntarily or involuntarily. As with gods, we can only prove their non-existence, but their presence is resolutely persistent, and ultimately ineludible.

www.bondifeast.com.au

Review: Ghost Stories (Sydney Opera House)

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ghoststories1Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Jul 8 – Aug 15, 2015
Playwright: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman
Director: Peter J. Snee
Cast: Tim Franklin, John Gregg, Lynden Jones, Aleks Mikić, Ben Wood

Theatre review
Horror movies have existed since the dawn of film technology in the 1890’s. It is a genre of storytelling that has always existed, and as such, should be thought of as integral to the way we communicate as a species, yet live theatre does not seem to have embraced that particular mode of presentation. Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s Ghost Stories adopts for an assembled crowd, the tradition of telling scary tales of the paranormal, with the intention of fascinating our senses and entertaining us. The work aims simply to frighten and thrill, so the script is tailored precisely for that purpose. It does not add much else to the experience, but its unpretentious simplicity helps it achieve an unusual show format that is refreshing and often very scary indeed.

Peter J. Snee’s direction cleverly manipulates all audio and visual cues in the venue to create the familiar sensations one derives from the horror genre. Unlike film though, we seem to require less extreme stimuli to respond with fear in live theatre. Thankfully, Snee does not push our limits too much, and the experience he provides never becomes unbearable. His design team (comprising Phil Shearer on production design, Christopher Page on lights, and Lana Kristensen on sound) does an excellent job of fulfilling its brief of creating a relentless air of skin-crawling foreboding that keeps tensions high, and when appropriate, shock us with powerful effects that literally make us jump.

There is a glaring lack of gender and ethnic diversity in the piece, but its all male cast is an accomplished one, with Lynden Jones’ performance as Professor Goodman providing the show with an inviting and dynamic energy. The actor is charmingly compelling, with an ability to turn the outlandish contexts believable, and a warmth that engages us for the entire duration, even when the plot starts to lose its resonance in its final moments.

Ghost Stories is a rare form of entertainment in the live arena, but it certainly does what it says on the bottle. The scares diminish with time, perhaps because of our acclimation to the production’s provocations, but on the occasions that it is effective, few things are quite as electrifying. There are many ways to have frivolous fun at the theatre, but choosing a night of horror over yet another musical is more than a novel option.

www.sydneyoperahouse.com