Grief is the thing with feathers, Belvoir St Theatre and Andrew Henry Presents, Belvoir St Theatre, 26 July-24 Aug

 

This is virtuso theatre - Toby Schmitz making his comeback to Belvoir after quite a while away, in a piece he's co-adapter of (along with director/co-designer Simon Phillips and lighting/co-set-designer Nick Schlieper, both of whom are showing similar virtuoisity in their own ways), offering him the role both of a father dealing with his two sons in the wake of his wife's death, and the chaotic crow that comes into their lives and provokes them with its raw, basic needs and unpitying stare.

It's an irresistable role for an actor, and Schmitz devours it whole -morphing between the introspective, bookish father and the force-of-nature Crow. The two boys are also great roles for adult performers Phillip Lynch and Fraser Morrison, both bringing a childish innocence and glee into their performances as they rebel, explore the world around them and stretch against the limitations of their lives. 

Schlieper's lighting gets a chance to bring all the bells and whistles, from a spectacular arrival for the Crow to projections taking us into the worlds of the characters, sharply shifting from intimacy to broad open spaces. Cellist Freya Schack-Arnott gives it a driving energy underneath, pushing things along with oomph and power. 

For all this virtuosity, I did feel like the spectacle at times was slightly overwhelming the meaning -  I don't feel like I came out thinking about much that was said so much as the sounds and the visions - for an adaptation of a literary work I didn't come away with many words. But it's definately worthwhile seeing a powerhouse actor in a role he absolutely barnstorms with. 

Waltzing the Wilarra, The Q and Hit Productions, 15-16 Aug (and touring around NSW, Qld and NT til October)

 

David Milroy's 2011 musical in some ways definitely resembles last year's touring The Sunshine Club - set post-world war 2 and looking at the clubs that mixed white and indigenous audiences and participants in song, dance and comedy. But Milroy's aims are wider than mere nostalgia - there's a complicated love quadrangle at the centre and the second act picks up threads several decades later and looks at the issues that block reconciliation. There's a strong thread integrating the vaudville-based-radio comedy of Roy Rene in an indigenous context, using puns and innuendo to tell the wider historical context of the state of play of indigenous treatment in the period of the show. It's quite the rich show with a touring cast of 8 plus a band of two on piano and drums,  and is smoothly directed by Brittanie Shipway with charm and skill.

As the central trio, Shaka Cook, Lorinda May Merrypor and Clancy Enchelmaier show a strong push-and-pull between the three of mutual love and respect, along with the conflicts that arise over the course of the story. Juliette Coates as the one who picks at the edges of the trio plays an entitled child well, even in the later era where she's lost none of the blatant selfishness. As club-runner Mr Mac, Jalen Sutcliffe sings like a dream and, as the memories turn more bitter in the second act, provides honesty and resentment in equal measure. As mother/carer/conflicted by her role and her soul, Lisa Maza is a strong solid presence. Hannah Underwood does double duty as both half of the double-act in act one and as an inept well-meaning co-ordinator in act two, performing both roles solidly. And Leonard Mickelo as the lead part of the double act is at once charming and incisive, delivering his jokes with a tight barb while wooing us into the story. 

This is important work, and I'm glad I got to catch it, and that it's getting a chance to reach a wider audience on its extensive Australian tour.  

M’ap Boulé, The Q and Performing Lines, 8 August

 

M'ap Boulé is Haitian Creole for "I'm on fire", and performer/writer Nancy Denis is indeed a firey powerhouse of a performer - punchy, physical, moving with beauty and wit as she tells of her background as a child of Hatian imigrants, raised in Australia and confronting the society in front of her with no apologies and no quarter given. With the assistance of songs written by the late Carl St Jaques, rap performer Kween G Kibone and musicians Victoria Falconer and Jarrad Payne, she brings us into her story, along with a quick lesson on the history of Haiti, some light choreography, a few costume changes and even some non-threatening audience interaction. She's a charming presence and her show is a fine vehicle for her skills as a performer. 

There's some strong use of Maitê Inaê's set, an intimate circle full of candles and with a dominant rough-cloth-full moon circle at the back for projections, bring us into the space with Denis and her team - it's a show that cuts deeper than it might because of Denis's charm, meaning she can bring in quite confronting topics of race, culture and the effects it has on a young woman while keeping the connnection with the audience and bringing us along on her journey.   

Spider's Web, Canberra Repertory, 24 July-9 August

 

Agatha Christie has a simple appeal to readers and theatre audiences - pure plot and puzzles with a mystery to be solved by the finale. "Spider's Web" falls into the more obscure part of her theatrical repertoire - it doesn't have the hook that her top rank plays like "Witness for the Prosecution" or "And then There Were None" have, but there are its own compensations - it plays with the whodunnit form in interesting ways, not taking itself terribly seriously without ever activley spoofing the whole thing.

The formula is so well known at this point (last spoofed at Rep with the energetic "Bloody Murder" last year) that playing it somewhat straight can be challenging, but this production plays it pretty down the line. The tone is mostly reasonably light but the characters are taken seriously - we believe in them enough to be engaged in the story. For most of the length of the show, the question isn't "whodunnit", it's "will we be able to fool the police so the wrong person isn't arrested", and us being on the side of the wrongly-accused helps the tone be a mixture of tense and comic. Director Ylaria Rogers has pitched the show just right - it's just the right side of the gap between cozily familiar and cliche. 

Sian Harrington leads the cast as Clarissa, the genteel hostess of the evening - creative, compassionate, we always wonder just what she's thinking and are usually surprised by the answer. We're mostly carried along the plot by her and she's always a watchable enjoyable lead. Adele Lewin as the bluntly-spoken gardener Mildred Peake is a delight- forthright, opinionated and a strong presence. Therese Maguire at my performance played Pippa, the stepdaughter, as an enthusiastic teenager with just the right amount of hints at her troubled past. Terry Johnson, Anthony Mayne and John Winfield as three golf-club types dragged in to assist in the mayhem are a delightfully posh set of 1950s gentlemen, helpful and slightly dufferish. David Bennett has poise and sternness as Elgin, the Butler who may know a little more than he's telling, Robert Weardon as the sinister Oliver Costello gives us good reasons to dislike him early, Leo Amadeus is suitably bemused as the inquisitive Inspector Lord, and Sophia Bate looms impressively as Constable Jones.

Sarea Coate's set design has all the charm of a mid 50s country house complete with visible garden through the french windows, and Ange Fewtell dresses the cast well, between Clarissa's bright red cocktail dress, the men's formal suit and Mildred's casual garden wear. David Brown lights smoothly with a couple of mood moments for the more thrilling bits, and Neville Pye keeps the sounds right in period.

In short, this is a delightful distracting charmer - absolutely something to take with the Rep Bar's warm Glühwein as a winter comforter.  

Zach Ruane & Alexei Toliopoulos - Refused Classification, The Street Theatre, 24-25 July

 

A tribute to early 2000s film culture and Margaret Pomeranz in particular, this two-handed comedy documentary show combines history, improv, recreations, infodumps and the dramatic reading of an Office of Film and Literature Classification report in a show that is hilarious, informative, emotionally heartwarming and politically provocative. It's a look at Australian Film Censorship history, at the changing nature of how we consume media, and at once intricately researched and completely ridiculous. 

Alexei Toliopolous and Zach Ruane at various times play Margaret and David, both in slightly cheesy grey wigs, before switching to narrate and to play other roles in the narrative - in particular, the dark nemisis of the show, the Reverend Fred Nile. The start of the show contextualises the controversy over the film "Ken Park" that Margaret involved herself in, by using the Movie Show review before she started talking about the topic (2 Fast, 2 Furious) - with Ruane a delightfully snobbish Stratton, relishing the joy of saying the word "Tyrese", and Toliopolous giving all of Margaret's passion and enthusiasm, beffore we dive into the main meat of the show - looking at how two seemingly very mainstream cultural pillars became clear forces of radical action in defence of civil liberties. Both Ruane and Toliopolous bring a lot of themselves into the show, and they're both very engaging personalities - able to both go very broad but also to respect the heart of the show, and the political point it's making even as it makes us double over with laughter. There's a very Australian sense of daggy charm and anything-can-happen in a show which is several months into a tour post Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival - for a show that has a strong technical component with video and lighting, it still feels very loose and playful, with both performers conveying a passion for their subject. 

In short, for anyone who ever watched David and Margaret in any of their TV forms, anybody who likes cultural history played out with enthusiasm, and anyone who likes a bodgy wig.  

Julius Caesar, Chaika Theatre, ACT Hub, 23 July-2 August

 

Shakespeare's grand tragedy of assassination and what comes after is notable for the title character being killed at the top of Act 3 - it's more about the world created by the tyrant as it is about him as a central character. Caitlin Baker's production captures this in a modern production - the suited entourages finding quiet spaces to plot and plan, the cynical creation of a public consensus and the manipulation that switches that consensus in seconds - and the flailing hoplessness that comes afterwards. It captures complex realpolitik in real time, moment by moment, up close and very personal.

Central to the production is Lachlan Ruffy's performance as Brutus - brooding and thoughtful, tempted to action by strong rhetoric and appeals to his intellectual honour but unable to see how he's being manipulated. Yanina Clifton as Cassius is cold fire, sharp and precise in her attack, knowing just what argument to make up until the point when all her smarts fail her and she's left to an ignoble end. Colin Giles seizes his moment in the funeral centerpiece, passionate and powerful as Mark Antony, compelling the audience with his passion and soul. Michael Sparks has the capricious power of a true Caesar, imposing and confident up until the point where he falls to arguments to go to the forum and his ultimate fate. Karen Vickery as Casca is clear, determined and wily as she switches sides in an instant, confidently serving whoever suits her best. Amy Kowalczuck as both Brutus and Caesar's wives gives emotional support in attempts to steer both men away from their predetermined fate and gets an all-too-rare opportunity to unleash her powerful singing voice in the second act. Joshua James gets a double as both the servile Lucius and the arrogant Octavius, and there's strong support from Paris Scharkie as Decius and Sophia Mellink as Cimber. 

Baker's set design is a simple catwalk that uses both ends strongly, bringing different areas into focus under Lachlan Houen's sensative lighting. Paris Sharkie's composition gives the show a strong musical backbone, keeping the tension moving. 

In short this is a powerful production of a classic - leaving the audience shaken as the price of rebellion without thought to what comes after is laid bare - as those who have no thought beyond the initial threat find themselves steamrolled by the circumstances they have created. 

Big Name, No Blankets, ILBIJERRI Theatre company and Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Theatre, 10-12 July (and subsequently touring to Desert Festival Araluen and Papanuya)

 

(note - photo from the 2024 Sydney Festival season - some cast changes since this run)

A biomusical about the history of the Warumpi band from the point of view of one of its members, using the inside perspective of several key family members, "Big Name No Blankets" is part rock-tribute-concert, part narrative, combining warmth, politics and pure rock power. The simple set design (an area on the left of the stage representing the Papunya land that the Butcher brothers remain connected with) and a central rock band setup with grand lighting and a projection screen at the back to take us anywhere and everywhere, using the band cases as setpieces for various scenes for the character's travels gives us something simulatenously epic- filling the stage of the Canberra Theatre - and intimate for personal connection moments in the plot. Baykali Ganambarr as narrator Sammy Tjapanangka Butcher gives genial warmth to the story, telling of how the band came together and how personal drives ended it, leading through the triumphs and the personal tragedies with an ingratiating charm. 

As lead singer George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga, Taj Pilgrim has the moves, the attitude and the voice to be a compelling frontman - from his first song to the ending he's got every rock credential you need, bringing the audience to their feet in foot-stomping, communal joy as he slides across the stage in moves that are part Hutchence, part Jagger and part traditional aboriginal dance. It's a triumph of a performance and absolutely sells the Warumpi's material with power and conviction. The cast alternate between acting and band, and are a truly rocking ensemble, playing it loud and powerful. 

With the show co-directed and, at this performance, introduced by Sammy's daughter Anyupa Butcher, and with two of his sons in the backing band, plus Sammy in as story and cultural consultant, this does feel very much like a family affair, very personal and heartfelt. And the combo of family intimacy and the power of fine epic rock music really plays well together - feeling both home-made and polished and skilful. It's a great true story that will delight anybody interested in one of the foundational music acts in Australian history.