Tag Archives: sydney

Review: Bitch Boxer (Someone Like U Productions)

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bitchboxerVenue: District 01 (Surry Hills NSW), Jul 21 – 26, 2015
Playwright: Charlotte Josephine
Director: David Mealor
Cast: Jordan Cowan

Theatre review
Much of the success of Charlotte Josephine’s script is due to our inherent sexism. It is because of the way we conceive of girls and women’s lives that the play takes the form that it has, and for the same reasons, that it is received so powerfully. It makes use of our prejudices to create dramatic tension, and one would garner a guess that if its monologue personality is transposed to male, its overall effect would be quite drastically altered. Hence, we are reminded that genders are not thought of as the same, but in spite of perceived differences, it is the notion of equity that feminism wishes to achieve. The work is not a subversive one, in fact it contains elements that are much closer to the work of Walt Disney than to Germaine Greer’s. The Bitch Boxer in question is Chloe, a young athlete who has obstacles to overcome that are not particularly unique, and whose passion lies in a traditionally male arena. It feels like a princess story, and her efforts at beating the boys at their own game, figuratively, locks Chloe’s narrative firmly into a patriarchal structure that it cannot, or possibly will not, escape.

Execution of the production is brilliantly spearheaded by its star, Jordan Cowan, whose level of conviction on stage matches her role’s fierce ambition in the boxing ring. Her performance is vibrant, exciting and captivating, with a relentless and fearless enthusiasm for involving the audience by addressing us directly at every available opportunity. Her warm and welcoming presence is perfectly suited to the show’s most intimate setting, which director David Mealor is astute in establishing, so that Cowan’s best qualities are the event’s overwhelming strong suit. On the other hand, although Cowan’s ability to portray her character’s mellower sides, such as her sensitivity, tenderness and sorrow, is clearly accomplished, we only witness those moments in quick flashes. The direction of the piece is intent on maintaining a fast pace and keeping things high energy, which makes for a very dynamic encounter (aided by Will Spartalis’ remarkable work on sound and music), but it does not depict sufficient emotional depth for us to identify with Chloe’s experiences at a more contemplative and meaningful dimension.

The artistic community often talks about sport and art as a dichotomous pairing, and artists lament the ubiquity of the other in general Australian discourse. It is truly unfortunate that art is rarely held in the same regard as its incongruous opposition. The social and personal benefits that could be derived from a more prevalent culture of art in our societies is unquestionable, yet we refuse to allow it to flourish. Additionally, the gender imbalance in the sporting world is a blindingly obvious problem that persists and seems never to be resolved. In the theatrical arts however, we can boast of participation from women of all tribes and backgrounds, and the need to make heroes of these talents is an urgent one that cannot be understated.

www.facebook.com/someonelikeUproductions

Review: Listen! I’m Telling You Stories‏ (PACT Centre For Emerging Artists)

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pact4Venue: PACT Theatre (Erskineville NSW), July 20 – 25, 2015
Director: Katrina Douglas
Cast: Courtney Ammenhauser, Alicia Dulnuan Demou, Amber Jacobs, Carissa Licciardello, Jessica McKerlie, Tasha O’Brien, Mitchell Whitehead, Steve Wilson Alexander, Dubs Yunupingu
Image by Katy Green Loughrey

Theatre review
Presented by a group of young artists studying the theatrical arts through the exploration of spacial awareness, physical training and team rapport, Listen! I’m Telling You Stories‏ is an earnest demonstration of their journey as apprentices of performance. Each creates a short vignette offering varying degrees of insight into their life and mind, but it is not the content of what they have to say that is actually fascinating. The show is a cohesive and sensitive amalgamation of nine lives brought together temporally, and we witness their creative energies in motion, all focused on generating something purposeful, at least from their own perspective. What results is a succinct work, under an hour, that is more about practice than communication. Their approach is a sincere one, and although engaging for its duration, no great resonance is sustained beyond the curtain call.

There is a beautiful uniformity in the ensemble’s voice and attitude for the piece. Our attention goes to a singular entity of the whole, even though disparate elements are always present in the work’s intelligent plurality. Direction by Katrina Douglas brings out the strengths of her performers and successfully balances the individual with the group, so that the piece always feels even. The work of designers, Amber Silk (lighting) and Peter Kennard (sound) are prominent features that give the production polish and depth, in the absence of a compelling script. Our eyes and ears are ingeniously and constantly surprised in the show, and the sense of wonder provided by the team is a notable achievement, but there is nothing that seems to be able to connect on a more meaningful, or perhaps emotional, level.

On many levels, Listen! I’m Telling You Stories‏ appears to be experimental, with inventive modes of expression a distinguishing feature. At the same time, there is a safeness to the production’s artistic choices that keeps it from being more exuberant or idiosyncratically memorable. Artists in training need to understand rules and gain skills that will help them attain their visions for the stage, but often it is in the calculated abandonment of those standards that something spectacular can materialise.

www.pact.net.au

Review: Heathers (Snowqueen Productions / Working Management)

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hayesVenue: Hayes Theatre Co (Potts Point NSW), July 16 – Aug 9, 2015
Book, Music and Lyrics: Laurence O’Keefe, Kevin Murphy (based on the screenplay by Daniel Waters)
Director: Trevor Ashley
Choreographer: Cameron Mitchell
Cast: Jaz Flowers, Lucy Maunder, Stephen Madsen, Erin Clare, Libby Asciak, Vincent Hooper, Jakob Ambrose, Lauren McKenna, Mitchell Hicks, Michelle Barr, Rebecca Hetherington, Stephen McDowell
Image by Kurt Sneddon

Theatre review
The film Heathers is a cult favourite from 1988 that surprised viewers, with its dark approach to the teen movie genre that had been in vogue at the time. What appeared on the surface to look like standard fare about high school hierarchies and puppy love turned out to be fascinatingly morbid. Its exploration of teenage angst in a plot that discussed suicide and murder preempted today’s attention of school shootings and other massacres of the kind. Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s musical version is a much more frivolous interpretation of events in the movie, although it is noteworthy that stories and characters are largely kept intact. Most of the songs are well-written, but they range from comical to sentimental, with very few occasions for the macabre that the original film was successful at generating.

Accordingly, Trevor Ashley’s direction of the work is hugely comedic, with meticulous focus on amplifying every funny moment. His style is deafeningly camp, which is not unsuitable for the production, but that distinctively loud tone of presentation tends to play on a single level with little variation, and allows for scarce instances of complexity. The first act in particular, is relentlessly raucous. We cannot help being engaged, but the story feels empty. The writing does not seem to provide sufficient space for tension to build, and the central character Veronica is not given a realistic chance at making a strong enough connection with her audience for the narrative to work as well as it does in the film. Additionally, the leads do not have the same superstar charisma of Winona Ryder and Christian Slater to keep us spellbound, but Jaz Flowers and Stephen Madsens’ accomplished singing does a good job of moving the show along.

Act Two is a marked improvement, with more compelling plot twists and greater disparity between scenes. Supporting performers impress in their solos, including Lauren McKenna as Ms. Fleming, the flamboyant high school teacher whose intentions to help the students are more self-serving than altruistic. McKenna is inventive, confident and very effervescent in her cheeky depiction of the faux hippy woman. Vincent Hooper plays the Sweeneys (senior and junior) with outstanding energy and enthusiasm. The performer embraces the bawdy style of humour and creates hilarious exaggerations of the American jock, which delivers some of the biggest laughs of the night.

Heathers the musical is amusing at every point, with many entertaining sequences of choreography and effective comedy. It does however, miss the opportunity for creating greater tension and poignancy with its resonant subject matter. The teenagers in Heathers grow up too fast. Their loss of innocence requires deeper exploration, but as in real life, we brush aside their concerns too easily.

www.hayestheatre.com.au

Review: Detroit (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)

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darlo2Venue: Eternity Playhouse (Darlinghurst NSW), Jul 17 – Aug 16, 2015
Playwright: Lisa D’Amour
Director: Ross McGregor
Cast: Lisa Chappell, Ronald Falk, Claire Lovering, James O’Connell, Ed Wightman
Image by Gez Xavier Mansfield

Theatre review
When people hit “rock bottom”, they are forced to evaluate values, and in the case of Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit, an opportunity to build a new life presents itself at the most troubling of times. Sharon and Kenny are ex-junkies trying to get their act together, but no easy solution exists, and all we see is their struggle to make every day count. The story is one of resilience, about the human ability to make the best out of nothing, and ironically, also about our tendencies at making the worst out of what we do have. The script is a surprising and quirky one, with an unusual sense of humour that begins unassumingly but gains momentum with every scene, leading to an explosive conclusion that ties up the many loose ends that it scatters along the way.

The production begins almost too enthusiastically, with actors keen to entertain while establishing a context that should probably look and feel more pedestrian at that early stage. Performances by the very striking women of the cast are consistently animated, which works well when subtexts are being communicated, but at other times can come across overly farcical. Dark social comedies require a delicate balance, but early comic moments tend to obscure the atmosphere of depression that the play wishes to convey. As the plot progresses into a wild and surreal space, the extravagant performances become congruous, and very engaging indeed. Ed Wightman’s tender portrayal of Ben provides the authentic centre of the production. His plight is readily identifiable, and the actor wins our empathy with a subtle vulnerability that he makes perceivable in between charming interpretations of comic sequences. Addict in recovery, Sharon is played by the exuberant Claire Lovering who is delightfully funny in every scene, but the ambiguity of her character prevents us from achieving an understanding of her circumstances with sufficient depth.

The show is amusing, and unpredictable, with scenes flowing into each other with little indication of what is about to occur next. There is a polish to the production that makes viewing pleasurable, but for all its dramatic events, it does not seem to be able to provoke much thought about its grave themes of poverty and social decay. Detroit, the city, has been going through ruinous transformations, of which great lessons are certainly attainable, and staging a work with the same name only raises expectations for considerable profundity. There is much to be explored in this play named Detroit, but on this occasion, some of it remains uncovered.

www.darlinghursttheatre.com

Review: The Cherry Orchard (The Depot Theatre)

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depotVenue: The Depot Theatre (Marrickville NSW), Jul 15 – Aug 1, 2015
Playwright: Anton Chekhov
Director: Julie Baz
Cast: Jane Angharad, Anne Brito, Myles Burgin, Leo Domigan, David Jeffrey, Justine Kacir, Theo Kokkinidis, Dave Kirkham, Emily McGowan, Roger Smith, James Smithers, Cherrie Whalen-David
Image by Katy Green Loughrey

Theatre review
Interest in Anton Chekhov’s plays have not waned over the last century. In Australia, not a year goes by without several productions materialising from his famous scripts, and at every outing, we seem unable to keep from arguing endlessly about them. Chekhov is classic, but he is also divisive. Theatre lovers tend to have strong personal conceptions about the meanings derived from his oeuvre, and when it comes to how his writing should be presented, opinions can get quite strong. Art is many things, and when we try to put restrictions on what it encompasses, we need to be vigilant about what is excluded. So perhaps, art is everything. Replication and imitation are thought of as transgressive in the creation of art, yet originality is hardly ever seen. In the theatre especially, we are constantly making references and quotations, almost to the point where we have given up on the importance of making something new.

Julie Baz’s rendering of The Cherry Orchard is interested in the ideas of the script. It is clear that although those ideas have already been shared many times, this production considers them to still be relevant and significant. There is a considerable chasm however, between Moscow in 1904 and Sydney today, and finding parallels between contexts is a challenge, and slightly tenuous, when the show is presented with a sense of reverence, which seems to aim for an experience that is about recreating and re-enacting, rather than reinventing. The result often looks like an historical artefact, with meanings that are not immediately resonant.

Live performances are most successful when there is an energetic exchange between the action on stage and the illusory passivity of its audience. A show takes into account how it is being perceived, and leaving that to chance is an unwise gamble. Much of this production seems to take place in a bubble. The cast is not uniformly strong, and we often feel kept at arm’s length, either by a lack of confidence or a mistaken notion that performance is a one-way street. Moments of frisson occur when the actors allow themselves a more spontaneous and creative space of expression. David Jeffrey as Lopakhin rejects preconceived notions of “what Chekhov must have been” and plays his role from a more honest point of departure. With the simple intention of portraying a colourful character, and an astute awareness about his part’s contribution to the narrative’s effectiveness, Jeffrey is able to form a strong presence on stage and fosters a connection with the viewer. Also fascinating is Roger Smith, who plays the 87 year-old Firs with charming idiosyncrasy and warmth. His looks to be a vaudeville inspired style of presentation, but it works well for a role that situates slightly outside of the main storyline, and the actor takes every one of his opportunities to entertain.

There is value in creating faithful interpretations of classics, but trying to get things right from a vast distance of time and space is hard, and then making it meaningful to an audience for which it was not intended, is also problematic. The Cherry Orchard is about the changing of times, but the production seems trapped in a past that we have only read about or imagined. It manages to locate moments of truth when Chekhov’s writing turns to diatribe, but it is not consistently genuine. The Buddhists and the New Ageists often prescribe placing focus on the here and now, and that belief is perfectly suited to the theatre. Magic does happen on stage, but we have to be there to set it off.

www.thedepottheatre.com

Review: Edmond (Two Peas)

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twopeas1Venue: Old 505 Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Jul 15 – 26, 2015
Playwright: David Mamet
Director: Glen Hamilton
Cast: Tara Clark, Cheyne Fynn, Naomi Livingstone, Oleg Pupovac

Theatre review
David Mamet’s Edmond is a despicable human being. All the worst qualities a person can have are found in one awful character, who happens to hate everything and everyone, including or maybe, especially, himself. It is a simple premise for a play but a confronting one. Mamet’s conceit is extreme, almost cartoonish in its approach, which is necessary for preventing the play from ever becoming realistic and hence, plainly unbelievable. There is a tendency for the work to portray Edmond as being an everyday person, and for us to be able to identify with characteristics that he displays, but it is arguable whether the context is too alienating for audiences to be able to connect in a meaningful way.

Direction of the production is slightly surreal, and also slightly quirky. It understands the fantastical quality of the text, but does not explore its concepts with enough theatricality to prevent the play from being weighed down by a conventional realism that struggles to provide drama and excitement that could elevate a script that is persistently bleak. The repetitiveness of the plot induces a numbness in our response, which the direction allows to take effect instead of finding ways to shock us with every subsequent scene as the writing intends. In the title role is Oleg Pupovac who shows good conviction and focus, but the decision to play Edmond as an essentially unassuming guy is questionable. One is reminded of Mary Harron’s 2000 film American Psycho, and the effectiveness of its flamboyant style in establishing a quality of enthrallment within the outlandish and disturbing environment being portrayed. Although uncomfortably mild, Pupovac’s interpretation does create an interesting juxtaposition between normalcy and atrocity that is quite remarkable. The rest of the cast is required to play a large assortment of undesirables, which paves the way for a very playful stage, and correspondingly, it is when performances are daring and wild that we become engaged. Naomi Livingstone’s versatility and vibrancy help her breathe life into her characters, and her animated expressiveness strikes a resonant balance with Mamet’s writing to deliver several memorable moments.

Edmond builds to a conclusion that attempts to make sense of its own overwhelming violence and insanity, but the production seems to deflate before that crucial point, and what should have been a significant revelation is lost in an air of ambiguity. Without a pointedly communicated moral, we are left to consult our own values to achieve an understanding of the preposterous situations that had been witnessed, which means that new perspectives are probably not gained by many. Audiences are willing to participate in stories that involve challenging content and ideas, but we expect a greater than usual pay off in their aftermath. There are lots of horrible people in Edmond, and it is undeniable that the same horrible behaviour exists in real life, but encountering them voluntarily at the theatre needs to be more purposeful than catching a glimpse of silver lining.

www.thetwopeas.com

Review: Of Mice And Men (Sport For Jove Theatre)

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sportforjove2Venue: Seymour Centre (Chippendale NSW), Jul 9 – Aug 1, 2015
Playwright: John Steinbeck
Director: Iain Sinclair
Cast: Andre de Vanny, Andrew Henry, Anna Houston, Anthony Gooley, Charles Allen, Christopher Stollery, John McNeill, Laurence Coy, Terry Serio, Tom Stokes
Image by Marnya Rothe

Theatre review
Lennie’s intellectual disability in Of Mice And Men reveals the forgotten innocence inherent in all of humanity. His experience of the world is one that everyone can identify with, but the virtuous purity that he exemplifies is utterly absent from our daily adult lives. Unlike Lennie, we have grown too complicated and are often dishonest in the way we treat one another and ourselves. Few of us can remain idealists, and even though John Steinbeck’s play inspires the longing for a simpler and truer existence, the inevitability of its demise is also exposed. We question the corruptness that we allow in, and meditate upon the dynamics in our communities that instigate these unfortunate states of affairs. Most people are good, but when we come together, bad situations easily arise. Of Mice And Men looks at a group of men, bound by poverty and by dreams, and their journey towards a calamitous fate.

This production, directed by Iain Sinclair, is a near flawless rendering of Steinbeck’s 78 year-old text. Beautifully realised by a brilliant design team (Michael Hankin is production designer, with Nate Edmondson on sound, and lights by Sian James-Holland ), the show feels rich with authenticity and provides our senses with a satisfying approximation of how Northern America must have been at the Great Depression. Sinclair’s consummate control of atmospherics delivers a transportative pleasure that pulls us into the emotions and actions of characters that are a world away from our current realities. Each personality is conveyed with compelling idiosyncrasy, and chemistry between every actor in every scene is calibrated just right, so that stories and events are convincing and splendidly detailed.

The cast is uniformly strong, with a sense of egalitarianism in the ensemble that supports the play’s themes of camaraderie and community. Andrew Henry is sensitive, tender, and unquestionably touching as Lennie. His work is performative but also heartfelt, so that the audience’s engagement with his creation is much more than skin deep. Instead of applying a basic treatment to a simple character, Henry’s approach is meticulously inventive and the results are as entertaining as they are moving. The other leading man of the piece is Anthony Gooley, who fills the stage with charisma and a magnetic energy that is impressively dramatic. In the role of George, his empathy for Lennie is depicted powerfully, which is key to the plot’s effectiveness, but the final scene requires greater pathos from the actor for a more explosive conclusion. Charles Allen and Laurence Coy play smaller roles but are individually captivating. They generate theatrical magic with deeply nuanced interpretations of identity and sentimentality, both enthralling in their moments of eminence.

Classics resonate through the years because they encapsulate something true and universal that time is unable to diminish. Of Mice And Men represents our belief in justice, and the right of all persons to seek improvements for their circumstances. It appeals to our need to define right and wrong, and that desire to understand the differences between. Most of all, it serves as a reminder that we should strive to be better people, and to avoid the complacent and inferior, even if it requires going against every tide.

www.sportforjove.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

Review: Love And Information (Sydney Theatre Company / Malthouse Theatre)

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Venue: Wharf 1 Sydney Theatre Company (Walsh Bay NSW), Jul 9 – Aug 15, 2015
Playwright: Caryl Churchill
Director: Kip Williams
Cast: Marco Chiappi, Glenn Hazeldine, Anita Hegh, Zahra Newman, Anthony Taufa, Ursula Yovich, Alison Whyte, Harry Greenwood
Images by Pia Johnson

Theatre review
Caryl Churchill’s Love And Information is a 90 minute play, composed entirely of very short sequences that look to be extracts from a wide range of stories running the gamut of genres in conventional theatre. Each independent bite-sized piece, not matter how small, provides enough for us to make sense of events taking place in the moment, but the scenes do no immediately relate to one another. Except, it is human nature to make meaning regardless of what is being scrutinised, and we form voluntary interpretations about the things we see. In the case of Churchill’s very fascinating work, we are seduced into intellectual overdrive, almost like reading a mystery, piecing together clues that may or may not be, to find a consolidation of significance. A great work of art is one that helps its viewer see a true picture of themselves, and their place within a social universe. The moral of Churchill’s stories is a fluid one, and we take from them what is intimate to us as individuals, and as such, it can be seen that the writer has used abstraction to successfully facilitate a kind of self-awareness in the viewer’s sense of being and identity.

The work makes a statement about contemporary times, and our environment of obsessive information technology. If modernity is sick, attention deficit disorder would be one of its chief ailments. We are incessantly seeking out information from all sources, like an addict with no ability of discernment. We find out small bits about everything, with no regard for relevance, and certainly no capacity for any depth. As our social and physical spaces become increasingly congested, our attention is compelled to be dispersed into a multitude of directions, all of the time, and this might be a case of “resistance is futile”, as we cannot be sure if we have any choice in the matter, or if indeed, we are able to withdraw into any alternatives. The play talks about choices, especially the lack thereof, and toys with the concept of hiding as a solution, but it is clear that we are what we are.

Director Kip Williams gives us all that we wish from a stage production, in spite of a missing story. The production is emotionally appealing, as it carefully emulates the sentimental journey of a narrative-driven plot, with all its intrigue, comedy, surprises and poignancies. Williams makes us respond accordingly even though there are no characters to follow. The thoroughly experimental nature of the work is no impediment at all to a satisfying experience for any audience with even just a minutiae of sophistication. Additionally, the work’s cerebral aspects might be unusually dynamic, but they are accessible to most. The production is an engaging one that inspires questions at every step of the way, and we read it at any level of competency that suits us personally.

Lighting designer Paul Jackson gives each distinct chapter and verse, a personality and beauty that captivate us, while assisting our subconscious to understand all that is being conveyed. Our visual attention is masterfully controlled so that we are kept firmly within the unusual plot trajectories that unfurl. Music and sound by The Sweats are a key feature that binds each aspect of the production to present a surprisingly coherent whole. The soundscape dictates the pace of the piece from beginning to end, and tells us quite directly how to respond at all times in our participation just outside the stage’s fourth wall. The technical proficiencies of Love And Information is extraordinary. There is nothing else that calls for as many scene and character changes, with what must be over one or two hundred entrances and exits, all flawlessly executed with an unbelievable fluency and grace. Stage Manager Lisa Osborn’s abilities are truly remarkable.

Also proficient is the diverse cast of eight, every one unique in appearance and style, yet tightly unified in the vision they aim to concoct and the energy they bring to the stage. The accuracy required of them both in terms of the technical and the artistic are simply unbelievable and they deliver with astounding dexterity. Predictably, the funnier actors leave a greater impression, and while Glenn Hazeldine’s comedy is only allowed flashes of brilliance in a play with lightning speed transitions, the actor never misses with any of his punchlines no matter how subtle. Anita Hegh too, is memorable for creating laughter at will, and her effortless charm is one that grabs hold of our attention and convinces us of everything being communicated. The play has philosophy seeping through every pore, and Ursula Yovich gives them a sublime gravity, whether the topic be death or infidelity.

A distillation of the theatregoing experience would probably reveal two fundamental elements; entertainment and meaning. When art is challenging, it helps us discover new things and prevents our existences from turning empty, but entertainment is always the easier ticket to purchase. While not mutually exclusive, they rarely meet as equals. In Love And Information, the two come as an explosive package. Philosophically and intellectually enthralling, it is similarly exciting and joyful from a perspective of pure amusement. There are better sources of fun and frivolity of course, but here is a rare and monumental leap in the evolution of the theatrical arts. If this is experimental, the real event that it paves way for, will be nothing less than revolutionary.

www.sydneytheatre.com.au | www.malthousetheatre.com.au

Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company
Love And Information 2015 Sydney Theatre Company

Review: Grace (Pulse Group Theatre)

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GRACE 1Venue: Pulse Group Theatre (Redfern NSW), July 7 – 26, 2015
Playwright: Craig Wright
Director: Billy Milionis
Cast: Joseph Addabbo, Dudley Hogarth, Jeremy Shadlow, Nikki Waterhouse

Theatre review
Fanatically religious people are probably the most grating of all. Their narrow-mindedness and refusal to engage in intelligent conversation are frustrating, and their need to convert others’ beliefs to match their own is most infuriating, and sometimes dangerous. At the centre of Craig Wright’s Grace is Steve, an evangelical Christian man who relies on a blind faith that reveals itself to be nothing more than stupidity. Wright’s story is surprisingly textured, but much of the dialogue comes across cheesey and tends also, to be quite long-winded. His characters are initially interesting, but they prove to be too simple and obvious, and his humour lacks an acerbic bite that the themes require.

The production is not a sufficiently dynamic or imaginative one, but it is clear to see that focus is placed squarely on the craft of acting, and the cast is accomplished on many fronts. Dudley Hogarth appears in only two scenes but is memorable for the intense sentimentality that he moves us with. The performances are intent on finding authenticity, but guided by a need to establish a thorough naturalism, scenes can be uncommunicative even though an atmosphere of honesty is always present. Actors often look like they are performing at each other, and without a more presentational style, the audience is not consistently engaged. There is a lot of effort put into exploring emotions of characters, which often translates with too much self-indulgence. The cast seems to feel their stories powerfully, but they need to include us in those narratives, and not keep those ideas and poignancies to themselves. We might not be written into the text, but the audience is present, and we must be integrated further into the theatrical experience.

Like the “Christian Freaks” of the play, the production is lost in a single-mindedness that prevents us from getting closer. Like the zealots too, there is a passion on this stage that impresses. One of the messages in Grace is about diversity and plurality, and the importance of a generous spirit in our social lives. Congregating at the theatre remains an important element of any civilisation. For an hour or two, we are joined to find a moment of unity and peace, and hopefully leave with greater optimism about the world we temporarily occupy, but it is those on stage who have the greater responsibility of turning the mundane into magic, all in extraordinary style and exceptional grace.

www.facebook.com/PulseGroupTheatreCo