Tag Archives: jetpack theatre collective

Review: Ghosts Of Glebe (Jetpack Theatre Collective)

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Venue: Streets of Glebe (Glebe NSW), Oct 31 – Nov 11, 2017
Curators: Emilia Higgs, Kirsty McGuire
Cast: Gabby Florek, Nicole Archer, Chloe Leathlan-Higson, Kipp Carina, Tim McNaught and Elliot Ulm

Theatre review
The entire experience is disguised as a “ghost tour”, and we quickly forget that our tickets had originally been acquired, for a theatre production. Ghosts Of Glebe works best when we submit to the fantasy, and actively participate in the creation of its narrative. The more we are able to behave and react like tourists, the greater its results.

We walk the streets of Glebe, rich with a history of murders, accidental deaths, and spooky stories. The spine tingles, in spite of our better judgement. Things get eerie, when our minds fail to decipher fiction from reality, but we relieve the tension when the inevitable sense of awkwardness starts to make us giggle.

It is a well-conceived production, although less eventful sections of the plot do feel lacking in imagination. There is wondrous use of space; Glebe at night is beautiful, and the theatricality that is wrapped around its topography, is highly enjoyable, if unconventionally brief.

Theatre is group activity, but in the West, we are used to it being the most passive of adventures. Ghosts Of Glebe offers an opportunity for our involvement to go slightly beyond the usual “sit back and wait”, and like in the rest of life, it is when we are willing to put in the effort, that the rewards become even more gratifying.

www.jetpacktheatre.com

Review: Rhinoceros (Jetpack Theatre Collective)

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jetpackVenue: Kings Cross Theatre (Kings Cross NSW), Jul 26 – 31, 2016
Playwright: Eugène Ionesco
Director: Jim Fishwick
Cast: Jade Alex, Madeleine Baghurst, Robert Boddington, Kate Coates, Rebecca Day, Jim Fishwick, Emilia Higgs, Johnathon Lo, Madeline Parker, Alexander Richmond, Julia Robertson, Cheng Tang, Luke Tisher
Image by Julia Robertson

Theatre review
The show begins with Frenchman Berenger having an impassioned existential discussion with his friend at an al fresco café, before being interrupted by a rhinoceros charging through the streets to everyone’s surprise. We try to return to a sense of normalcy from the strange phenomenon, but the rhinoceros rushes past again and patrons of the establishment begin arguing if it was the same beast that had appeared twice, or if they had in fact witnessed two entirely different breeds. Eugène Ionesco’s play has an absurd start, but transforms into something altogether more contemplative, interrogating issues of social conformity and ostracism, along with political ideas relating to justice and otherness. The writing can certainly be dense in parts, but it is to a greater extent, reflective and enlightening, with an amusingly eccentric plot that is quite fascinating.

Director Jim Fishwick brings an exciting visceral dimension to the intellectual work, with an avant-garde spirit that injects a sense of adventure and daring to the oft too polite Australian stage. A subversive attitude and its corresponding sense of humour make the production a memorable one, although Act III could benefit from a more textured approach to achieve greater nuance with Ionesco’s pointed assertions. Experimental and sensitive use of a chorus is a highlight, brilliantly executed by an ensemble of dedicated and enthusiastic players. Alexander Richmond as Berenger is, within the play’s bizarre context, strangely believable, and even though he lacks the bolder qualities of a leading man, the fluency of his enunciation and the solid integrity that he brings to dialogue, are key to preventing the show from disintegrating into mere farce. Julia Robertson impresses as Daisy, animated yet authentic, with a magnetic presence that secures our attention effortlessly.

No person is an island. We are herd animals that insist on acquiescence from fellow beings, only allowing minor deviations from socially constructed notions of what is acceptable. In Rhinoceros, people go with the tide, allowing dominant currents of their time to determine the way we live. Resistances such as Berenger’s can arise, but we question their efficacy. We wonder how it is that new movements in our evolution come to be, and consider the possibility that we may engineer those trajectories to suit our ideas of change for a better world. Berenger’s actions may prove futile, but if we acknowledge that the world is in need of a revolution, his solitary politic represents the only hope, and the threat of its defeat is a reminder of our moral volatility.

www.jetpacktheatre.com