Blithe Spirit, Canberra Rep, 1-17 May

 "Blithe Spirit" is what is known as a warhorse - a comedy that has a broad popular appeal that attracts an audience and can reliably be seen as an appealing night out. I've reviewed it twice in the last decade-and-a-bit - once at Rep in 2014 and once by the Sydney Theatre Company in 2022. Coward's comedy about love-after-death-turning-into-the-same-petty-squabbles-after-death, with its rich range of characters and a plot that twists and turns thoroughly delightfully, holds up as a good night's entertainment.

In Lachlan Houen's production, it's also served by a strong cast of imposing personalities and some directorial ideas that make sure a 1940s comedy feels entirely at home here-and-now - from building focus on the maid Edith (playd by Liv Boddington with an enthusiastic glee and energy), to introducing more contemporary music into the mix. Two of the cast are back from Rep's 2014 go, but Elaine Noon has upgraded from the small role of Mrs Bradman to the substantial one of the medium-with-the-most, Madame Arcarti - she takes full advantage of Suzan Cooper's spectacularly eccentric costume to wheel around the stage delivering stenorian chants, gesticulate mysteriously, and otherwise natter endearingly as a thouroughly delightful eccentric. Peter Holland has returned to the central male role of Charles, but it feels like he's given the role a bit more manic energy and genuine emotional warmth between him and his ghostly ex-wife Elvira in between the more bitter banter. Winsome Ogilvie as Elvira has a sly glamour and charm with a wicked edge underneath that makes sure we're always guessing what her true motives are. Alex McPherson as second-wife-Ruth embodies the rising frustration as her husband's focus is split between her and a rival she can't see or hear. John Stead gives Dr Bradman a nice level of compassion and warmth, and Antonia Kitzel's Mrs Bradman enjoys her gossipy socialising while dropping huge chunks of exposition.  

Andrew Kay and Michael Sparks' set is highlghted by an art deco curve in the centre and creates a good set of spaces for the actors to play in, and Leanne Galloway's lighting moves from charming post-dinner conversation to spooky seance iwth aplomb and Marlene Claudine Radice's sound design makes sure all the spooky noises are suitably spooky. 

In short this is a war horse that engages in battle and rides well - showing off a few new tricks into the bargain. Funny, stylish and enjoyable. 

Sweet Charity, Free Rain, The Q, 29 Apr-18 May

 Free Rain's latest production is a retro delight, taking a 1966 musical that I'd previously been convinced was locked into it's old era (see my review of the 2015 Hayes Theatre company tour here) in a production that's stylish, clever and both a tribute to Bob Fosse's original choreography and prodeuction concept and a bright vehicle for new-to-Canberra-Stages Amy Orman. The show was originally a vehicle for Fosse's muse and wife, Gwen Verdon, and Orman is stage centre for 90% of the action, and absolutely owns the stage with confidence, charm and adorability - you take her to your heart in the first five minutes and never lose interest in her for the next two and a half hours of stage time.

The show itself is still the 1960's adaptation of Fellini's film "Nights of Cabiria" using the American phenomenon of taxi-dancers as a substitute for Fellini's prostitute, with a plot that is more a series of incidents in Charity's life rather than a developing narrative - but here, it's staged abstractly on Chris Zuber's set of abstract wire frames and see-through backdrops (with the orchestra visible behind), allowing the set to be cleared easily so the dance scenes can take over the stage whenvver required. A large chorus serves as both background, stage crew and occasionally furniture, as well as assembling for group numbers like "Big Spender", "Rich Man's Frug", "Rhythm of Life" and "I'm a Brass Band", but our focus is always on Charity's gentle, emotive reactions to the events that happen to her. The secret weapon of the show is Dorothy Field's sharp, slangy lyrics - sitting perfectly on the music while giving insight into character, always funny, fresh and surprising. 

Teaming with Orman is a talented supporting cast - Vanessa Valois as the cynical, sharp and yet gently loving Nickie, Kristy Griffin as the equally sharp Helene, Alissa Pearson as the Fandango Ballroom's gruff-but-with-a-soft-side chief Herman, Joshua Kirk as the neurotic-but-loveable-up-until-the-last-scene-Oscar, Eamon McCaughan as the haughty-but-goofy lounge lizard celebrity Vittorio Vidal and Kate Lis as the fantastically groovy Daddy Brubeck.

Joel Horwood keeps the show flowing, incorporating scene shifts around Charity, never letting the tone dip into depressing and even wrangling with the show's notoriously tricky ending tone with speed and vigour to wrap things up on a not-too-down note. Callum Tolhurst-Close brings together cast and orchestra to create great versions of iconic songs, and choreographer James Tolhurst-Close captures the Fosse essence in his chorus with tight, spectacular performances of dances both across the cast ("Rich Man's Frug") and tight trios ("There's Gotta Be Something Better than This"). Fiona Leach's  costumes are a rich mix of outfits from the elite black-and-white of the club Pompeii crowd to the sprawling colours of the Rhythm of Life church. 

This is a fun, fresh vehicle that serves an iconic score and a well known show with charm, wit, spectacle and generous dollops of emotion. It's a great, sophisticated, clever night out. 

Are You Lonesome Tonight, The Q and Opera Queensland, The B, 15 Apr (and subsequent performances in Griffith, Gouburn, Bathurst, Cessnock, Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Casino, Tamworth, Roma, Winton, Longreach, Balcardine, Blackall, Gympie, Gold Coast til May 31st)

 Opera Queensland's touring show is a melding of Opera and Country music, treating both with respect while delivering a potted history lesson and samplings of several of the hits. A talented trio of performers, both on voice and playing guitar, Cello and violin, accompanied by Trevor Jones (fresh from his accompanist/major-general duties on "Pirates of Penzance") present exeprts from "Corronation of Poppea", "Marriage of Figaro", "La Boheme", "Carmen", "La Traviata" and "The Rabbits", alternating with Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, Troy Casser-Daley and Slim Dusty, exploring the commanalities and differences of the two forms. 

In some ways this is an "opera for beginners" walk through, a way of presenting work to an audience that may not be familiar with the forms in a comfortable environment - but there's some strong staging in here, from Penny Challen's design and Wesley Bluff's subtle lighting scheme, to director Laura Hansford's variation of presentation from plain concert delivery to creative stage pictures in the "Figaro", "Boheme" and the closing delivery of the title song. All three performers are in fine voice for both - Gabriella Diaz on her cello and in her mixed-opera-country outfits, Jonathan Hickey on Violin and Marcus Corowa on guitar. It's a charming, fun evening, even if it never goes as deep into either genre as aficionados may want, it's a gentle skim across the highlights of the artforms, and a fine, charming evening. 

The Moors, Lexi Sekuless Productions, Mill Theatre at Dairy Road, 26 Mar-12 Apr

 Evoking the 19th century gothic novels of the Bronte sisters (and elements of the lives of them as well), with the dour and moody Yorkshire moors reflecting the inner passions of two sisters, their maid, the recently arrived governess (despite there not being any child to tutor), a mastiff and a moorhen, "The Moors" is a delightfully odd play full of grim corners, surprise twists, rage, literary conciets and lust and plays wonderfully in the intimate Mill Theatre, on Aloma Barnes' set which serves both for indoor scenes and outdoors with a painting scheme that lets the characters blend into nature while their outfits stand out boldly. 

Joel Horwood's production perfectly captures the mood, with each performance attuned to build the atmosphere and tension, as we start to learn who's the predator and who the prey. Andrea Close anchors the play as the foreboding, grim Agatha, grandly imposing in her wide-framed dress. Rachael Hudley as the wannabe-writer, Hudley, is suitably scatterbrained, self-absorbed and easily over-ridden by Agatha. Sarah Nathan-Truesdale as the newly arrived Governess is a bold-but-bewhildered entryway into the narrative, easily steered by the various influences upon her. Steph Roberts as Margery, the maid, does powerful looming and incipient portents of doom to perfection, building a sense of delight in her slow-bulilding vengeance. Chris Zuber and Petronella van Tienen as the Mastiff and the Moorhen provide a somewhat poetic accompaniment to the human plot,  with a sweet romance that turns sour as their natures betray them.

Damien Ashcroft's sound and Stefan Wronski's lighting add to the mood, the tension and the delight of the piece. All in all it's a strangely delightful evening, a play that simultaneously takes the feelings seriously and makes the results of those feelings hilarious in a way that lands between spoof-and-seriousness that means you both enjoy the delights of the Bronte's gothic moods and appreciate the light mocking that it gets. 

The House of Bernarda Alba, Chaika Theatre, ACT Hub, 19-29 Mar

Photo from Jane Duong Photography

Frederico Garcia Lorca's 1936 Spanish tragedy of five sisters trapped together under a domineering mother where their own desires tear them apart is a masterpiece of tension and dramatic release - set during a long hot summer, the emotions are palpable and the tensions can be cut like a knife. As oldest sister (and inheritor of the family fortune) Angustius prepares for her wedding day, the other sisters develop their own plans, building to a crashing climax. Karen Vickery's production embodies this tension, makes it palpable in the glances, in the tones of voice and in the movements of the actresses. 

Leading the cast is the dominating Zsuzsi Soboslay, imperious and upright as Bernarda - a stiff reed in the changing winds. Sophie Bernassi as Angustius sells the frustration, the release and the crashing loss as she tries to mould herself to her mother's expectations and comes against her sisters' own needs. Karina Hudson as Adela, rhapsodic in her lusts, is so wonderfully selfish and possessed by her ambitions that you can see the disaster ahead without being able to stop it. Yanina Clifton as Martirio has a great, scheming undercurrent of rage and demand for her own satisfaction, hoarding her hidden knowledge of what's going on to release it at a time when it'll cause the most damage. Amy Kowalckzuk is beautifully able to sublimate her own desires with emphatic embroidery, sudden glances or an inappropriate snort as Magdalena. Christina Falsone as the housekeeper Poncia watches and attempts to advise, knowing she can't stop the disaster that is coming down the line towards all of them. And Alice Ferguson's Maria Josefa falls into revelries of her own desire for freedom, now long gone with her youth. 

Vickery's production uses the in-the-round stage as an arena for us to examine these women's struggles, on Marc Hetu's simple red-brick stage. Fiona Leach's costumes capture the mood and the heat as the women move from confining mourning wear to lounging slips and sleepwear. It's a true steam-train of a prodction, relentlessly moving to its inevitable conclusion, a sultry, tense evening of tragedy and power. This is a classic given form and power in a strong, intimate production driven by its actresses. It should be seen and savoured. 

The Pirates of Penzance or The Slave of Duty, Hayes Theatre Co in association with the Art House Wyong, Hayes Theatre, 14 Feb-16 Mar (and subsequent tours to Wollongong and Canberra)

 

photography John McCrae

For a show that's 145 years old, "Pirates of Penzance" certainly has held pretty solidly in the repertoire. Of course since Gilbert and Sullivan's work went out of copyright it's had a few strategic revisions (the 1980 Public Theatre adaptation starring Linda Rondstadt and Kevin Kline was the model for a lot of changes, some of which got ported across into the popular Essgee version with John English and Simon Gallagher, though the Australian Opera's last go-around also imported a lot of design elements from "Pirates of the Caribbean"). For this version, the second Gilbert and Sullivan done by the Hayes (following the HMS Pinafore which toured to Queanbeyan in 2020), it's cut down to a cast of five, letting everybody double all over the place as well as playing instruments throughout to bump up the sound. To allow for this, director Richard Caroll has indulged in the post-copyright tradition of fiddling with the lyrics and the script, doing some slight streamlining of some elements of the plot while also throwing in some bonus extraneous gags. 

For the most part the storytelling is left pretty much intact, as are most of the songs (with one interpolation from "Patience"). A simple small stage area with some wandering allowed into some of the audience gives our cast plenty of room to manouvre, with Jay Laga'aia a boisterous Pirate King, a suitably humble Chief of Police and a titteringly charming daughter of Major General Stanley; Brittanie Shipway enjoying both the innocent virgin soprano Mabel and the somewhat more bitter (particularly in a Brecht-Weill-inspired "When Frederic Was a Little Lad") contralto Ruth, in fine voice in both of them. Maxwell Simon is our slightly-dimwitted hero Frederic, who beams innocent charm throughout, and Billie Palin fills in as everything else like a troubadour. And Musical Director Trevor Jones also covers as Major General Stanley taking his patter song at a rate of knots and filing in mutliple other roles with gentle skill . The cast members are rarely off-stage for long before charging back on in a different persona (or occasionally switching mid-scene without exiting) and it's a very lively production.

There are a couple of points where the rewrites do bow a little more to modern sensabilities than they really need to (the ending, in particular, is a little shaky, dragging out the ending to give justice to one of G&S's much abused contralto roles), and it's all very rompy - I do feel fortunate that Queanbeyan Players is bringing in a full-orchestra version of the show in a few months so I can get a proper Pirates alongside this somewhat sillier version - but Pirates in any version is always going to be a light piece of nonsense, and this keeps the spirits up nicely. 

Song of First Desire, Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir Street Theatre, 13 Feb-23 Mar

Photo: Brett Boardman
 

Andrew Bovell's latest play was written on commission for the Spanish theatre collective Numero Uno, after two of his previous works had been hits in Madrid - "When the Rain Stops Falling" and "Things I know to be true". Two years after its premiere there, he gets his Australian debut at Belvoir, in a beautifully simple production. 

Some of Bovell's usual techniques are here again - the strategic bending of time and character (as all four actors play double roles across two different time schemes) and the unburdening of personal traumas - in this case, connected to the wider national trauma of Spain's emergence from forty years of fascist rule, and the damages it left behind on two families across years. The quartet of actors is gathered from two men from the original Madrid production and two New Zealand actresses who have both worked in Australia before - the set a mound of earth with a little bit of a garden on the edges, suggestive of buried secrets and the wastage they leave behind. There's strength in all four performers - Sarah Pierce as the damaged elderly Carmelia and the more immediately active Margerita - Kerry Fox as both the bitter sister and the wife of a senior facist leader - Borje Maeste as a migrant carer and as a young man about to be sent overseas - and Jorge Muriel as two men ultimately driven by lusts they barely understand. 

Morgan Maroney's lighting design is precision-close, creating corridors and shadows that suggest the locked-down world that these characters exist in, bringing to mind the ghosts of the past that underlie the play.  Mel Page's muddy, adapatable design is probably pure hell for the crew (the footprints having to be raked back out again after every performance) but it's a powerfully real location. It's a raw, emotional piece, delving deep into unpleasant truths in a way that feels uncomfortably familiar as we see history seeming to arc back towards this kind of darkness again. It's a play that's far more topical than anybody in the play wants it to be, and it's absolutely worth experiencing.