Tag Archives: old fitzroy theatre

5 Questions with Sheridan Harbridge and Ryan Johnson

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Sheridan Harbridge

Sheridan Harbridge

Ryan Johnson: Is 80 Minutes No Interval exactly what it claims to be?
Sheridan Harbridge: It is exactly that. 80 minutes of punchy fun dark love with no breaks for a wee. Compact theatre for the average functioning bladder.

Your character has a real issue with theatre. Do you empathise?
My character Clare has a real problem with artsy fartsy theatre. She sits in the audience and feels ignored by the plays she sees. I don’t have that problem, I go dreamy for a beautiful classic where the director gets out of the way and honours the playwright’s intention, but I do also like risk and experimentation in my theatre. Unlike Clare, I am empathetic with the nature of risk and that more often than not, it doesn’t work, and you’re left with 35 actors running around on stage for 7 hours in diamante G-strings, holding dildos stuck on the end of some glittered sceptres singing Kylie Minogue hits in Latin. But when the risk pays off, the “Locomotion” in Latin is a real winner.

Do you think theatre needs to be more accessible?
I love the theatre scene in Australia. For the small arts community we have, we have a range of companies ticking the boxes for whatever may be your flavour. The problem is always the struggle for money, and how quickly these companies and artists burn out trying to consistently produce quality accessible and experimental theatre. Then they have to take less risks to stay safe and afloat and we all begin to complain again.

What makes our play different?
It’s a beautiful dark dark comedy with so much heart, and so so much absurdity. And plenty of fake blood, S&M whippings and nudity from an actor so handsome even Nanna will like it.

Most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in the theatre?
I saw a girl spill a tin of pencils on the floor and stand on them for half an hour trying to stay upright while monologuing. She fell so many times, the pencils were splitting in pieces and cutting the hell out of her legs. Exceptional.

Ryan Johnson

Ryan Johnson

Sheridan Harbridge: Is 80 Minutes No Interval exactly what it claims to be?
Ryan Johnson: Yes, depending on how many laughs we get and also how fast we act. It is absolutely endeavouring to be 80 minutes and it definitely has no interval.

Your character Louis is desperate to make a great work of art, to leave a legacy behind. What will people say about the legacy of Ryan Johnson?
I don’t think I’ll be remembered as a great actor or father or husband. It won’t be as ‘that scallywag who always seemed to have time for a chat with everyone.’ No – I’ll be remembered as the guy from the Cadbury Favourites commercial.

What do you think about 8-hour plays with 2 intervals and a dinner break?
I would rather eat hair. No one needs that in their life. Maybe the tech operators on the show who get paid by the hour but for anyone else, I’d say “don’t buy a ticket, you’re just enabling them”. If you want to be confused for 8 hours while watching A-list Australian actors talk funny in silly costumes, just watch one of the Hobbit movies.

What’s your favourite moment in the show?
The bits where you and Robin do anything. I think you are both comically brilliant and I feel very fortunate I get to share a space with you both!

What’s the most ridiculous thing you have ever seen in the theatre?
90’s Australian Basketball megastar Andrew Gaze in Jack And The Beanstalk at the Gold Coast Art Centre. The production was brilliant but he just didn’t capture the giant’s vulnerability. I wanted to know what was behind his ‘hunger’ for Jack but I couldn’t help but feel like Andrew was just ‘playing evil’.

Sheridan Harbridge and Ryan Johnson can be seen in 80 Minutes No Interval by Travis Cotton.
Dates: 8 March – 9 April, 2016
Venue: Old Fitz Theatre

Review: 80 Minutes No Interval (Thread Entertainment)

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redlineVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Mar 8 – Apr 9, 2016
Playwright: Travis Cotton
Director: Travis Cotton
Cast: Jacob Allan, Robin Goldsworthy, Sheridan Harbridge, Ryan Johnson, Julia Rorke
Image by Rupert Reid

Theatre review
Travis Cotton’s play is as much an analysis on the creative process as it is about entertainment. 80 Minutes No Interval interrogates its own writer’s abilities, ambitions and approach to art and life, but its self-indulgence is very consciously altered to accommodate Cotton’s awareness of a paying crowd’s expectations of enjoyment and fulfilment. A brilliant wit provides coherence between the simultaneous, and usually divergent, needs of being innovative and crowd-pleasing, with an unabashed lust for laughter that determines its every stage moment.

When the show is not delivering unadulterated and outrageous hilarity, it is at least piercingly amusing. Constantly alternating between juvenile and sophisticated tones of humour, it tickles our funny bone relentlessly, and aggressively, insisting on our immersion into its worlds of humour. Robin Goldsworthy and Sheridan Harbridge play a range of supporting characters, and are linchpins to the effectiveness of this fun factory. Both gloriously adventurous and bold, the actors are faultless in their precise comedy, no matter how broad or how subtle they choose to attack the material. Their work here is unmissable. Leading man Ryan Johnson has the hard task of playing straight man in the midst of a lot of hysteria, and although not quite as funny, he certainly holds his own with graceful charm and an ever-present all-knowing glint in his eyes. The role of Louis is perhaps too unsentimental a creation for the play to establish poignancy, but Johnson is nonetheless able to introduce a valuable humanity that elevates it from mere farce.

The production is designed with ingenuity and admirable exactitude. Sound and music by Hamish Michael and Hue Blanes are crucial to how the audience’s emotions respond at every plot juncture, and Ross Graham’s dynamic lights create unexpected variety and dimension to what is essentially a small and blank black space. Beautifully executed by stage manager Liam Murray, the show’s technical accuracy contributes significantly to the way we are kept persuaded and engrossed.

80 Minutes No Interval is a study of negotiations between art and entertainment in theatre. The joy it provides is undeniable, and it makes statements about art that are acute and intelligent. Using autobiography as a point of departure, but disallowing the ego from getting in the way of a good time, Travis Cotton finds himself in a space that is both critical of the art world, and also deeply self-deprecating. It is hard to imagine better ways of spending eighty minutes than with this gleeful concoction of silly and smart, whether just for laughs or food for thought.

www.oldfitztheatre.com

Review: The Ultimate Lesbian Double Feature (Old Fitzroy Theatre)

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ultimatelesbianVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Feb 23 – Mar 4, 2016
Playwright: Zoe Brinnand
Director: Lucy Hotchin
Cast: Kristen Adriaan, Kristina Benton, Joseph Lai, Tamara Natt, Shamita Sivabalan, Lana Woolf
Image by Sarah Walker

Theatre review
Zoe Brinnand’s half-hour plays Love In The Time Of Sexting and The Party traverse past and present in their examination of feminine desire and lesbian politics, to reflect a modern sensibility about queer identities in contemporary Australia. What the playwright presents is sassy, bold and funny, but most memorable for its celebratory spirit and a knowing rejection of tragedy and victimhood that tend to figure prominently in literary works about gay life.

Attempts at plot coherence are somewhat perfunctory, but Lucy Hotchin does a marvellous job of engineering amusing and lively episodes, while challenging conventional representations of gender and sexuality. The women in the work are neither consistently feminine nor masculine, and that fluidity extends to the way their libidos find expression. They are not one thing, and refuse to be restrained. Indeed, it is the freedom manifest in all their thoughts and actions that keeps us seduced and fascinated. Strong performances by Kristina Benton and Francis Lai bring excellent vibrancy to the production, both introducing a quality of passionate abandon that connects well with their audience.

The Ultimate Lesbian Double Feature may be radical but it is not pedantic with its world view. It is an inspiring work that can liberate, but one must remain open to the daring propositions it expounds especially when they seem much too boundless in relation to our prohibitive real lives. Theatre must spark our imagination, and provide a vision of what things might be. Utopia will always be found in the stories that we tell, but it is when they feel close to home that they are at their most powerful.

www.oldfitztheatre.com

Review: Alpha (Old Fitzroy Theatre)

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oldfitzVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Feb 9 – 20, 2016
Created and performed by: Tamara Natt, Sebastian Robinson
Director: Sebastian Robinson

Theatre review
Tamara Natt and Sebastian Robinson meet in Alpha, a juncture at which poetry and physical theatre are combined to explore two queer identities and their place in the world. Along with the electric guitar and vocal accompaniment of Milla O’Sullivan, rhymes and rhythm are the key currency of the piece. Natt and Robinson’s bodies and voices fill the stage to connect with dormant sensibilities of the audience, making us look and hear with parts of our selves seldom employed, to discover the alternatives of our parochial existence, and to look beyond the fences we erect.

Natt and Robinson alternate between vulnerable and defensive in what they choose to present. We are drawn in and pushed away, as the piece fluctuates between impenetrability and its desire to excite. Gender and sexuality are often brought into discussion, with the subversion of female/male and gay/straight binaries taking centre stage. It offers new things as well as concepts that might be described as derivative, but it comes as no surprise that tried and tested elements should feel more effective. Like any work that rejects narrative, Alpha can be challenging to the more logical inclinations of our minds, but both performers are charismatic and spirited, with a tenacious grit that keeps us seduced.

We are not used to shows of this type, because we only allow poetry to be a cursory presence in our lives. We can make sense of it, but we prefer meanings pre-packaged and ready-made for our cultural consumption. We want to remain idle in audienceship, and leave creativity to the artists, but this distinction can be disrupted when artists find courage to prioritise their authenticity over the need to accommodate conventions. In Alpha, investment of the self is required for any significant interpretation to occur, and it is the installation of a universal I as first person that gives it purpose.

www.oldfitztheatre.com

Review: The Whale (Red Line Productions)

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redlineVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Feb 12 – Mar 4, 2016
Playwright: Samuel D. Hunter
Director: Shane Anthony
Cast: Keith Agius, Chloe Bayliss, Alex Beauman, Meredith Penman, Hannah Waterman

Theatre review
There is no question more fundamental than to consider why it is that we choose to live. In Samuel D. Hunter’s The Whale, a kind of suicidal impulse is explored, but the dramatic gesture is not a sudden one. Alan and Charlie let themselves waste away by withdrawing from the very living of life, allowing their bodies to approach certain and hastened death. The writing is powerful, poignant and sensitive, with a clever plot structure to fascinate and to provide plentiful food for thought.

Direction of the work by Shane Anthony is replete with tenderness and compassion, eager for us to find points of identification with its quirky characters. The show needs a more pronounced sense of humour for its overall emotional arc to make a greater impact, but its effect is nonetheless strong. Anthony’s use of space is dynamic and thoughtful, beautifully aided by Charlie Davis’ very accomplished and evocative set design.

Performances are well-rehearsed, with excellent chemistry to be found, but character interpretations can at times tend to be too straightforward. Keith Agius brings a valuable vibrancy to Charlie’s sad story, and although his portrayal of the role’s profound sorrow is not always convincing, we achieve a thorough understanding of his mind and spirit, and it is the actor’s work that provides his audience with many of the show’s reflective and meaningful moments. Also moving is Hannah Waterman as Mary, whose life struggles are immediately evident in spite of her brief stage time. Waterman’s approach brings a surprising complexity that makes her part the most authentic and empathetic of the group.

In The Whale, Charlie is crippled by regret and heartache. We watch him go through immense suffering, and although we appreciate the difficulties he faces, the play allows us to see the possibilities of a better life that is only a hair away. It is a lesson that we can all learn; about choice, strength and hope. Charlie might be an abomination to many, especially to himself, but to those of us who know his parable, he will serve as a reminder on our darker days, for a long time to come.

www.oldfitztheatre.com

Review: Tender Napalm (Brevity Theatre)

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brevityVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Jan 19 – 30, 2016
Playwright: Phillip Ridley
Director: Alexander Butt
Cast: Jordan Cowan, Tim Franklin
Image by Andre Vasquez

Theatre review
People who work in theatre know how to tell stories. Whether simple truths or tall tales, their creativity determines how a narrative takes shape. In Phillip Ridley’s Tender Napalm, a pair of lovers recite passages of extravagant fantasy, making sense of their relationship by constructing worlds far from reality, but ones that reveal the struggles they experience. Ridley provides his characters with outlandish words, but little happens in terms of plot. We catch meaningful glimpses of the relationship’s tensions, and fleeting poignancies that allow us to make sense, but the writing is fanciful and deliberately embellished, feeling as though it is more suited for the page than it does on the stage.

The work is demanding of its audience’s imagination. Both actors are presented in the plainest way possible, on a bare stage with ample room to conjure up the wild scenarios of the text. Katelyn Shaw’s sound design and Ben Brockman’s lights help significantly in manipulating ambience and energy, but the effectiveness of the show relies squarely on performances by the young duo of Jordan Cowan and Tim Franklin, both of whom tackle the script with gusto and impressive determination. Cowan has a vibrant theatricality that holds our attention effortlessly, with an endearing warmth in the personalities she inhabits. Equally charming but with a more laid-back approach is Franklin, whose natural sense of humour is omnipresent and delightful.

The performers give their all for a dynamic and engaging performance, but there is a surprising and strange emptiness to be discovered after the curtain call. No matter how accomplished, any hit show will have its detractors, and no matter how obtuse, a presentation can still find an appreciative audience. What makes a theatrical piece connect with its audience can be analysed and deconstructed into a multitude of things, but there is nothing that can guarantee all to be satisfied. It is not the responsibility of artists to please everyone, in fact it is harmful to conceive of one’s career thus. There are many other greater values that can guide one’s art, and as long as those are vested and present, the creation is valid.

www.oldfitztheatre.com | www.brevitytheatre.com.au

Review: Masterclass 2 – Flames Of The Forge (Red Line Productions)

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redlineVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Jan 12 – 30, 2016
Playwrights: Gareth Davies, Charlie Garber
Directors: Gareth Davies, Charlie Garber
Cast: Gareth Davies, Charlie Garber

Theatre review
In order for artists to embark upon a creative endeavour, they have to locate a certain level of self-belief. This may or may not be justified, or even essentially real, but a kind of confidence needs to be present for potent expression to occur, and actors especially, must be able to cultivate a layer of thick skin in order that they may present their work to the public with any conviction at all. Some have to try harder than others to attain that quality of egotism, but in Masterclass 2, Gareth Davies and Charlie Garber put on unhinged arrogance to provide comical insight into the theatrical process, and behind that false bravado, allow themselves to manufacture an hour of amusing and intelligent reflections on their art form.

The piece has a playful and silly façade, but there is something covertly sophisticated about their approach. Surprising nuance and obtuse concepts betray their unassuming style of delivery. There is a genuine spirit of adventure in Masterclass 2 that makes it more meaningful and elevated than what it claims to be; there is a lot of self-deprecation in how the characters articulate themselves, but seeing through that sense of modesty will reveal thoughtful and intriguing ideas.

The live experience that Davies and Garber provide is full of chemistry and dramatic tautness. Along with Ross Graham’s lights, the show is compelling and always humorous, with captivating sequences that keep our senses bemused and our minds invigorated. It may be difficult to find personal affiliations with their subject matter, but strong performances ensure that we remain interested, at least for the duration.

Davies and Garber half-pretend to be geniuses in their field, and with that calculated and transparent mockery, their true talents are able to shine through. To get to the truth of experience, theatre uses falsities and deception so that we may come to a genuine understanding of our lives and our worlds. The comedy of Masterclass 2 points to something bigger and better than the things it chooses to talk about. Looking beyond its obfuscations is where the real rewards lie.

www.oldfitztheatre.com

5 Questions with Jordan Cowan and Tim Franklin

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Jordan Cowan

Jordan Cowan

Tim Franklin: What about Tender Napalm drew you in?
Jordan Cowan:The way in which Phillip uses language is so powerful and beautiful. There is something about the way he uses heightened language in such a domestic way that took me by surprise. It’s really fucking honest and intimate and doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff and I really dig that.

How do you find the Sydney theatre scene compared to your home town Radelaide?
I love the Sydney theatre scene, it is a lot more diverse and there seems to be a lot more companies just doing what they do best and finding an audience for that. I love Adelaide don’t get me wrong but there simply isn’t as many people so it’s hard for indie companies to get off the ground.

How are you feeling about performing in such an intimate space like the Old Fitz?
I love the Fitz, there is something so magical about the space it is simple and honest and won’t hold anything but the truth and I love that. It’s the perfect space for the show and I’m excited to just be able to talk to people and tell this beautiful story. That’s what theatre is all about right?

What is your favourite line in the play?
Ahhh there are so many but I think, “My cry of grief was so loud it created a black hole in the universe” is pretty beautiful.

What was it like working with the amazing Tim Franklin?
I would like to say how much of a loser he is BUT he is one of the most generous actors I have ever worked with and I couldn’t imagine doing the show with anyone else. He is as honest as they get. Oh, and a total goob.

Tim Franklin

Tim Franklin

Jordan Cowan: What do you love most about Tender Napalm?
Tim Franklin: At the moment I’m having a serious love affair with the poetic nature of Phillip Ridley’s writing. The play has such a dark subtext but the chinks of light that break through are blindingly beautiful.

What has been the most challenging part of the rehearsal process?
I hate to say it but it’s the answer to the age old, “how did you learn all those lines?” I usually say something like “its how you do anything, you do it again and again until you get it” but fuck me there are a lot of lines! My brain is leaking.

What do you think the audiences will love about the show?
I think the audiences will love the fantastical imaginary world that we will create in this extremely intimate space. Hopefully they will like the way we say the words and how our face moves too.

What is your favourite line in the play?
That’s a hostile question. I can’t choose, I wont choose, I refuse to choose. So I’m going to pick three.

“Oh her eyes! Its like gazing into a universe, I see stars and dinosaurs and whales and skeletons and spaceships.” Yummy

“I remember… at one point, as we were struggling with him on the bed, dad’s eyes sort of locked with mine and it was like… like gazing into a million years of stuff.” Ahhhh that one makes my heart hurt.

And last but not least

“your cunt…. Its such a precocious thing”

….yep

Three words that best describe the show?
Fantastical. Poetic. Tragic.

Jordan Cowan and Tim Franklin can be seen in Tender Napalm by Phillip Ridley.
Dates: 19 – 30 January, 2016
Venue: Old Fitz Theatre

Review: Dropped (The Goods Theatre Company)

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redlineVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Dec 8 – 20, 2015
Playwright: Katy Warner
Director: Anthony Skuse
Cast: Deborah Galanos, Olivia Rose
Image by Christine Chahoud

Theatre review
Two soldiers are in a war zone, boots on the ground as it were. They are buddies, joined at the hip, supporting each other through the calamity in which they find themselves. Life could hardly be more vulnerable or dangerous, but they are upbeat, perhaps a result of the training they had received, or the innate strength that they had brought to their vocation. They also seem to be losing their minds a little. In their struggle for survival, the women let themselves drift in and out of fantasy, and we never know for sure which of their dialogue is fact, or fiction; it is all too distant from our comfy vantage point.

Katy Warner’s script is ambitious and difficult. Dropped is at times abstract, often turning surreal, and even though it offers effective points of reference for a sense of coherence, the play can be disorienting. It contains sentimental elements to help with an emotional connection, but Anthony Skuse’s direction seems to steer the show for a cerebral experience, attempting to engage our logic instead. The production is a polished one, with Verity Hampson’s lights especially memorable, but it is also alienating. It talks about hope and death, themes that are unquestionably universal, but its profundity escapes us.

Accomplished performances by Deborah Galanos and Olivia Rose keep the energy up, and their palpable commitment to the challenging parts is admirable. Galanos’ sincerity and Rose’s vivacity are appropriately showcased, making their respective characters affable, in spite of the unimaginably horrific circumstance they portray.

It is a new realisation that we no longer live in peaceful times. Stories about war and disaster must now come to the fore, and our consciousness must be reminded of the horrors that many are facing. It is unacceptable to hide behind delusions while our worlds are experiencing carnage. If we send people off to fight, the least we could do is to observe the bloodshed. The damage is real. As long as we fail to find solutions, we must all suffer the consequences.

www.thegoodstheatrecompany.com.au

Review: Swansong (Red Line Productions)

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redlineproductionsVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Dec 1 – 5, 2015
Playwright: Connor McDermottroe
Director: Greg Carroll
Cast: Andre de Vanny

Theatre review
Occi is a young man in Ireland, suffering from mental illness and an uncontrollable tendency for violence. He does have moments of tranquillity though, and in between those two extremes, we discover qualities of a complex character that simultaneously repulses and attracts us. It is a tale about isolation, and therefore a statement about community. The monsters that live amongst us are cultivated by the forces surrounding them, and our complicity in the development of people like Occi must be examined. Connor McDermottroe’s Swansong may not contain people or places that we can easily relate to, but it is ultimately an exploration into human nature that we can all understand.

The play is structured with ample amounts of intrigue and tension built into an absorbing plot line that incorporates a satisfying string of revelations and surprises. It offers little insight or new perspectives into its concerns, but the writing provides extraordinary scope for a dynamic staging that can range from very quiet to very wild, within the sometimes restrictive monologue format. Director Greg Carroll and actor Andre de Vanny’s seamless collaboration focuses entirely on the performance of the piece. The production comes without a set design or props, and there is no sound design. Relying only on a simple costume and occasional lighting changes, Swansong is a mighty tour de force featuring an indisputable talent and his boundless energy and commitment. What de Vanny brings to the stage is faultlessly executed. Voice, face and body are operated at capacity, with a sense of euphoria that can only come with total abandonment. Nothing is kept in reserve, and the audience can only respond with an earnestness parallel to the show’s thorough and powerful vulnerability.

Occi’s life is full of struggles, but Swansong is not interested in our sympathies. We are free to look and judge him how we will, as we are want to do in our every day, but our eyes are opened to the experiences of an unusual existence, one that has tasted extremities that thankfully elude many of us. At the theatre, we seek our reflections, but what can be equally rewarding, is to catch a glimpse of some strange life that will never touch us otherwise. Our individual worlds can often be too small, and art is the antidote.

www.oldfitztheatre.com