Speaking in Tongues, Free Rain Theatre, ACT Hub, 25 Oct-4 Nov

 

It's a familiar setup. Two pairs of people meet in a bar and go back to a sordid hotel. The dance of seduction between both of them, the feelings of desperation and inhibition playing against one another, the words so familiar that they overlap. The push and pull secret desires, of confessing more than you should to someone you barely know, of struggling for a connection you know is going to be fleeting - it's a compelling dance between this quartet of characters. And then later that night, re-united with their partners, the scene is just as familiar - the secret you're holding from your spouse, the feeling something has broken, the longing to confess and be forgiven. Beyond that, there's further connections, spiraling out of the home into two mysterious disappearances, emotional chaos and emptiness. 

Andrew Bovell's play "Speaking in Tongues" is a challenging work for actors - a piece for a quartet with an opening twenty minutes consisting largely of overlapping dialogue where two characters are saying exactly the same phrase at the same time, followed by extensive scenes of duologues and interweaving monologues. There's a challenge in the opening twenty minutes to keep the dialogue synchronous yet create individual characters, and then in the later scenes to maintain a connection even when you're the silent one on stage.

 All four cast members pass this test with aplomb and stop the show from feeling like just a technical exercise, into something vibrant and emotionally true. It's a show that resets in Act Two, introducing a whole new quartet of characters- except we've already been told enough striking details about them in Act One that as soon as they're introduced we know exactly who they are and what their role in the wider picture is - and as we delve further into them, the theme of connections sought and lost gets darker, with darker implications about some of the hidden fears that lie between men and women. There's so many strong images created both verbally and onstage (whether it be Steph Robert's obviously tipsy, sardonic Sonja contrasted with Jess Waterhouse's tense Jane in the opening scene, the contrast between Arran McKenna's avuncular Leon and Robibe Haltner's damaged Pete in their meeting at a bar, the effect of a rearranged hairdo and some striking lipstick on Roberts in her change to the stonewalling Sarah in act two, Jess Waterhouse's isolated, desperate Valerie, McKenna's in-over-his-head Nick or Robbie Haltner's pair of lost men in act two, Neil and John).  

Cate Clelland's production is simple - a spare staging with a group of cubes rearranged to create hotel rooms, bars, homes, a therapist's office, a police station, and an isolated backroad - but relishes in the intimacy and direct connection between actor and audience that this allows. Craig Mueller's lighting washes the stage in various noir-ish colours, and Justin Mullins' sound design uses a core song in various cover versions to drive the hypnotic, inquisitive but bewildered nature of the quest for connection that drives everyone. 

This is a powerful, compelling jigsaw puzzle of a play, where in this production the pieces are painted boldly and strongly enough to pull them together with ease. It's gripping, funny, truthful and painful, and altogether powerful, pure theatre. 

Blaque Showgirls, Griffin Theatre Company, Stables Theatre, 4 Sept-21 October

The road to the stage is never quite a straight line for any new play. In this case, after a delay of about a year because both director and writer were pregnant, "Blaque Showgirls" finally arrives at Griffin, a wildly inventive spoof of Paul Verhoven's 1996 movie (which I've never seen, but I'm gay and grew up in the 90s so I feel like I know most of the key details anyway), throwing in additional questions about racial identity and the honest creation of art. In Sharri Sebbens and Ursula Yovich's production, it's a flashy, silly, and somewhat scathing take on the popular myths we have about fame and success with a strong identity all its own. 

Leading the cast as our dimwit heroine is Stephanie Somerville as our dimwit heroine, Ginny, convinced of her talent even if absolutely nobody else is, bringing vast amounts of idiotic delusion to the role. As best friend Molly, Angline Penrith sells the absurd things that happen to her with a gentle self-effacing charm, and when she gets the bits of the script that are Obviously The Authors Message, she sells that too with integrity and power. Jonathan Jeffrey as the imperious lead dancer Chandon gives great bitch and moves like a godess too. Matty Mills as Kyle is pure sleaze in all the right ways. Filling in for an injured Matthew Cooper as True Love interest is an endearingly sweet and committed Ian Michael and giving charm and honesty even as his dialogue gets increasingly ridiculous.

Cris Baldwin on Set and Costumes gives maximum tacky glam. Verity Hampson lights the tiny Griffin space with skill and acute accuracy. 

This is a delightful way to spend an evening, clever, insightful and thoroughly satiric. You'll leave the venue grinning. 

The Visitors, Sydney Theatre Company, Mooghalin Performing Arts Inc and Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera house, 11 Sept-14 October 2023 and subsequent tour including Canberra Theatre centre 8-11 Nov

 

It's January 1788, and six leaders of the Eora nation gather. There's a fleet of ships off the shore, and the leaders are discussing how they should meet them. When a young man from the Botany Bay mob arrives, the issue becomes more urgent, and decisions are made - then negotiated. 225 years later, in an auditorium a short walk away from where those ships landed, it's impossible not to take these discussions and think of the 225 years of history that followed - on the day of this performance, also the day a referendum asked to recognise the descendants of these characters and give them a constitutional voice to government.

Jane Harrison's script has a classic structure - in some ways, it resembles "Twelve Angry Men" as the characters reach initial decisions then are swayed by debate, with Dalara Williams' Wallace taking the place of Juror number 8 as the dissenter and the one persuading the rest of the group to take another point of view. Wesley Enoch stages the drama on a visually striking rocky outcrop (set and costume by Elizabeth Gadsby), with the characters constantly in motion. There's a great sense of light and shade, from the joking of Elaine Crombie's Jaky to the overwhelmed Joseph Wunijjaka's young Lawrence, Guy Simon's procedure-obsessed Gary, Beau Dean Riley Smith's practical Albert and Kyle Morrison's nervous but wise Albert. 

Inevitably, the practicalities of live theatre means that there was a late cast substitution, with Aaron Pedersen standing in for an unavailable Luke Carroll as Gordon. This is a challenging role, as Gordon is the angriest of the six leaders, and Pedersen (understandably, on short notice, without a full rehearsal period) doesn't really give it a lot of notes beyond rage. I hope by the time the tour has reached Canberra, if Pedersen is still with the tour, he's found his way deeper into the role and can give it all that the role needs - as it stands, it's a slightly weak note in an otherwise strong production. 

This is a powerful, relevant work that lays a different perspective on one of Australia's foundational myths, and is well worth catching. 

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Belvoir Street Theatre, State Theatre company of South Australia and Melbourne theatre company, Belvoir Street Theatre, 14 Sept-15 Oct (subsequently Melbourne Theatre company 19 Oct-2 Dec

 

Belvoir's production of this show introduces Zahra Newman as Billie Holiday with care - coming onstage in full light, the lights descend when she sings the first notes of "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", and she sings in silhouette. Vocally, the resemblance is uncanny, so when the lights come up, she IS Billie Holiday. And for the next hour and a half, she remains the living embodiment of Billie Holiday in one of her final performances, in a Philidelphia club 

The show features her singing 14 classic songs with a three-piece band and talking to the audience between songs, inevitably talking about her career, blighted by a traumatic upbringing, racist incidents while touring, and a fall into drug addiction and alcoholism. It's a gripping performance, something that could easily become awkward or banal like any other biomusical, but in Newman's hands it's thrilling, lively, emotionally intense and a powerful production. 

The role is a tour-de-force, but a highly challenging one. First, recapture one of the great voices of the 20th century. Then have the acting chops to tell her story, with only the occasional interruption or redirection from Kym Pulling's bandleader, in a style that suggests the emotional turmoil yet comes across with crystal-clear clarity. Newman is a thrilling presence on the high-wire, handling Lainie Robertson's challenging script with skill and power - seemingly loose and chaotic, but at the same time clear as a bell and insightful and making every emotion register. 

Kym Pulling's band is tight and sounds great throughout, and the combination of Alisa Peterson's beautiful set and Govin Ruben's lighting gives the event a great sense of period style - immersing us in the sense of time-traveling back to the late 50s in an intimate club environment (even down the lampshades hovering over the auditorium). It's a beautiful production that deserves to be widely seen. 

Is God Is, Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company, Wharf 1 Theatre, 15 Sept-21 October

 

"Is God Is" is a modern revenge tale, as two twin sisters, both scarred by the past, are reunited with their mother and sent off by her on a revenge mission against the man who hurt all of them. But revenge, as always, has a way of rebounding against those who practice it....

This is a show where I like the idea of more than the execution. I usually enjoy reading the dense plots of Jacobean playwrights and their revenge tragedies, full of grim doings and unspeakable actions. But somehow this never quite connected to me - despite the strength of the two sisters, played wonderfully by Henrietta Enyonam Amevor and Clare Chihambakwe, who are at the centre of the narrative. It may be the early scene with the mother, which looks beautiful and has a fine religious image, but keeps that image too long and ends up feeling like very static exposition. Perhaps it's that the violence in the play isn't staged with precision so it ends up feeling too safe and comfortable (it's a challenge to stage violence that is safe for the performers but looks risky to the actors, but it's a challenge that has to be met if you're going to sell stage violence effectively).

Whatever it is, it's a production that ultimately doesn't connect across the footlights to me, and as such it's a missed opportunity. Somehow the team of Zindzi Okenyo and Shari Sebbens, so good when staging "Seven Ways of Killing Kylie Jenner" a year ago, haven't nailed this one as well - whether it's limitations in staging a production at the Sydney Theatre company compared to the Darlinghurst Theatre Company or challenges in staging something far more in-your-face in its presentation, this didn't quite come off as the great revenge tale it was seeking to be.  

Is there something wrong with that lady, Ensemble Theatre, 18 September-14 October 2023

 

After 40 years of professional writing, Debra Oswald certainly has a few things to say to an audience, and she clearly enjoys saying them directly to them for the first time rather than mitigated through characters and fictional plotlines. From teen angst stories that formed the basis for her early play "Dags" to the challenge of writing for policemen who didn't swear ("Police Rescue") and rock band members who didn't do drugs or have sex ("Sweet and Sour"), to success and becoming one of Australia's most reviled character murderers on "Offspring", to those long patches of waiting when nobody seems to be interested in your writing and where the work is met too regularly with rejection, she certainly has a fair bit of story to tell, and in this production (directed by Lee Lewis with minimum fussing about), she takes an opportunity to share it, openly and lovingly. 

This is a rare chance to spend time with a major Australian writer, one who's always written with heart and honesty, whether in her plays for young audiences ("Dags", "Stories in the Dark"), for adults ("Gary's House", "Mr Bailey's Minder") and she treats her own stories with similar power. She's honest about herself, her joys and her disappointments, and treats the audience as a trusted friend. It's a warm, friendly show that is a pleasure to watch.  

The Dismissal - An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy, Squabbalogic, York Theatre, Seymour Cetnre, 31 Aug-28 October 2023

 "The Dismissal: The Musical" has been a fair while in development - getting a workshop in 2019, and a further development in 2021 prior to a planned premiere run as part of the Sydney Theatre company's 2021 season with an accompanying planned run at Canberra theatre centre - both were subsequently pulled due to continued COVID restrictions. I'm listed as a Grassroots Producer in the program due to dropping Squabbalogic a donation at the end of the 2022 financial year, but rest assured, I'm not expecting any return on this investment. 

Catching it late in its run, I must admit I found that, despite several years of development, it's still a show that suffers from some occasionally messy storytelling - despite the success of "Hamilton" internationally and "Keating" locally, political history doesn't always suit the stage without careful reshaping and editing, and some of the material appears not fully rethought for best dramatic effect - in particular, the material relating to the Khemlani loans affair drags alarmingly, and the script keeps on pushing the central trio of Whitlam, Fraser and Kerr offstage for long patches (in fact, Fraser doesn't really enter the narrative until late in act one). The use of Norman Gunston as narrator and odd-role player it should be a constant delight but apart from the opening number of act two, we never really get a chance for Matthew Whittet's Gunston to go hogwild and dominate the stage the way he should. And there's a lack of care in selecting between what's dramatically important narrative (much of the internal ructions in the labor party remain very much untold) and what's petty gossip (the snideness of a lot of the writing about Lady Anne Kerr has a distinctly bitchy tone). In general the show feels a little too long - the political stalemate that led to the dismissal starts at the beginning of act two, meaning we're waiting while very little is actually happening for most of an act. Laura Murphy's score has some great moments in it (in particular the Liberal Party anthem "Private Schoolboys" and the metaphoric montage "Rain down under") but it never quite lets Gough get a full grand moment - he's more seen in quips and quotes than fully musicalised. 

It's still an impressive physical production, from the pre-show of 1970's TV commercials mixed with more modern house-of-reps activity to the well-drilled cast, from Justin Smith's stenorian Whitlam, Andrew Cutcliffe's smooth Fraser, Octavia Barron Martin's overwhelmed Kerr, Peter Carroll's panto-villain Barwick, Monique Salle's triple of Khemlani, Snedden and QEII, There's some fine moments of physical production too, but it never quite conquers the over-written material and gives it simplicity and clarity. It's a pity a show this anticipated doesn't quite fly like it should. 

Rosievile, Canberra Youth Theatre, Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre, 29 Sept-8 Oct

Mary Rachel Brown is tied to Canberra theatrical legend, with her play "A Streetcar named Datsun 120Y" being one of the triumphs of the late 90s/early 200s run of Elbow Theatre, one of the great independent theatre companies that never quite became a permanent fixture in Canberra's theatre scene but never the less maintains a place in theatregoers memories and their hearts. Returning 20 years later to Canberra, she presents a play that has considerable charm though clearly still needs a little more development.

The problems with "Rosieville" sit strangely at the centre and at the top of the play - the ostensible narrative is from the perspective of Rose, a pre-teen young woman whose family is going through disruptions and who is surrounded by neighbours and other characters with their own dramas, who starts interacting with a pigeon who declares itself her spirit animal. At least in this production, the pidgeon is presented with goofy music and some messy physical comedy, meaning it's difficult to retain interest in this element of the plot - it feels like it's talking down to the audience in ways the rest of the show doesn't. 

Fortunately, the narratives surrounding it, from Rose's mother's attempts to reach out to her daughter, to her neighbour's attempt to get her brother interested in a revival of the Birdman rally, to the challenges involved in raising racing pigeons, to one particularly dodgy haircut, are far more engaging. It's a pity there's a bit of a hole in the centre of this production because it's clear Brown is a strong writer with a great ear for dialogue, but one who hasn't quite got their ideas in a final useable form yet for this play. 

This show has an unusual mix for CYT, with two adult performers interacting with five youth performers in parental and mentor roles - both Amy Crawford and Richard Manning mix well with the young performers. There are some strong moments of staging here, particularly the climactic Birdman rally, and some powerful moments of the heart. But it comes in a very uneven package that could have used some further polish or a refocus.