Venue: Theatre Royal (Sydney NSW), 26 Feb – 24 Mar, 2024
Playwright: Stefano Massini (adapted by Ben Power)
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Aaron Krohn, Howard W. Overshown, Adrian Schiller
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
It was 1844 when Henry Lehman first arrived in Alabama from Rimpar in Germany. His American Dream began with the provision of fabrics and suits, but with his two brothers joining ranks in the following decade, their family business quickly ceases being about the supply of goods, to become something much more ephemeral, obscure and spurious.

Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy chronicles the rise and fall of a notorious financial institution, telling the story of Lehman Brothers as an organisation exemplifying modern capitalism. Voracious with its profit motive, but ethically anaemic and bereft of social responsibility, the Lehman legacy is one of rapacious greed, bolstered by a system that believes in individual success over all else. Although concerned with the trials and tribulations of a single entity, The Lehman Trilogy is revelatory of the way our values have evolved universally. We see ambition become greed, and greed becoming the key destructive force that has made life unbearable for the vast majority of the planet’s inhabitants.

These profound resonances are conveyed through Sam Mendes’ splendid direction of a theatrical experience unforgettable for its expansive vision and fast-paced kineticism, generated from a piece of writing that could easily be considered dry and inert. Set design by Es Devlin features a glass encasement on a revolve, evoking handsome but generic corporate spaces. In tandem with sensational video work by Luke Halls magnificently projected on a curved cyclorama, the production proves an unexpected visual treat, as the narrative escalates from Antebellum greyness, to the manic high-definition technophilia so characteristic of contemporary existence.

Costumes by Katrina Lindsay are appropriately nostalgic, and remarkable for the range of movement they allow, in view of the rigidity of 19th century styles. Jon Clark’s lights provide clear demarcations to help us shift sensibilities across interminable scene changes. Sound design by Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey envelopes us in the increasing vigour of the storytelling, with the inclusion of live piano accompaniment by Cat Beveridge representing the immaculate attention to detail, delivered for all elements of the staging.

An extraordinary cast of three takes us through the 164-year saga, each actor deeply compelling, and as a team, simply flawless. Adrian Schiller’s uncanny ability to communicate nuance, is a marvel to witness, and a real gift for a show that can sometimes move too fast. Aaron Krohn brings exceptional agility, physically and otherwise, to the widely varying roles that he so perfectly embodies. Howard W. Overshown’s effortless gravitas reminds us of the nature of power, in a narrative that is almost always about exploitation and abuse.

Lehman Brothers no longer exists as a functioning enterprise, but its demise does not mean an end to the predatory and mercenary qualities of how we have come to arrange our collective lives. In fact, the intensified concentration of money and power, as we so clearly observe in 2024, only points to an exacerbation of those depravities. As a work of art, we may be moved to regard The Lehman Trilogy as a cautionary tale, but it seems the machine has grown so ubiquitous and all-encompassing, that any effort to rage against it, can only ever feel futile.

www.thelehmantrilogy.com

Venue: Theatre Royal (Sydney NSW), from May 2023
Book: Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, Kees Prins
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Cast: Cayden Dosoruth, Blake Erickson, Jayme-Lee Hanekon, Ilbinabo Jack, Amara Kavaliku, Abu Kebe, Rishab Kern, Nadia Komazec, Jenni Little, David Mairs, Ruva Ngwenya, Emily Nkomo, Camile Nko’o, Tim Omaji, John O’Hara, Matthew Prime, Tendai Rinomhota, Rebecca Selley, Tigist Strode, Augie Tchantcho, Mat Verevis
Images by Daniel Boud

Theatre review
Rock star Tina Turner’s triumph over hardship, during her earlier years, is a story that has defined her entire public persona. Indeed, many have identified that legendary emergence from tragedy, to be a real  source of inspiration, and it is that period of her life we revisit in the 2018 musical Tina.

Comprised of songs from Turner’s multi-decade career, the show is never short of nostalgia, many of which are likely to deliver moments of sheer transcendence. The plot however, does not prove to be quite as gripping, with a book that although preserves a sense of integrity for Turner’s narrative, can feel somewhat theatrically lacklustre.

Fortunately, the production breaks into song often enough, and with Ruva Ngwenya in the lead role, providing near flawless performances of musical numbers, the experience is made worthwhile. Ike Turner is played by Tim Omaji who brings extraordinary charisma to a perhaps undeserving character, but nonetheless delivers confidently to leave us impressed and entertained.

Tina might be strangely unmoving as a dramatic production, but there is no denying the power of Turner’s legacy, along with the collective memory and immeasurable goodwill that surrounds her. All we want is to see her in all her glory, and in these effervescent re-enactments of moments from a brilliant woman’s life, we are able to witness up close and personal, the best of a star truly loved.

www.tinathemusical.com.au