It's been a weird year. For those of you who have been reading along, it's probably been a bit of a tenuous year, waiting for me to actually seem like I like coming to the theatre - looking back on the year, I've found myself sitting through more things that I kinda wish I didn't than I'd normally like to admit. Hopefully next year either I won't be sitting through things or I'll actually be enjoying them more, so we have that to look forward to. Also, there were a couple of genuine bright sparks in the year that made it worth sitting through.
Locally, we may as well start with the one I'm prejudiced about, because I was involved in the production behind the scenes - "Arms and the Man" was one of those experiences where I kinda fell head-over-heels for the production (of a play that I must admit I was kinda working on in a "I should do something during the year, and I suppose this is a decent something" rather than particular fondness for Shaw's play - I'll admit on reading it, I'd found it a little stodgy). For that one, I found it stood up to repeated viewings throughout rehearsals and the run, with a firm sense of how the play could work - both by taking the war aspects of the story seriously, and by letting the characters be flawed, sometimes silly, sometimes a little full of themselves, and genuinely real. In particular, the navigation of the complicated sexual dynamic between Isha Menon's Louka and Riley Bell's Sergius was allowed to be both serious in its implications and hilarious in its outcomes, in ways that danced on the knife's edge of carelessness without ever falling off it.
In shows I'm less prejudiced about because I wasn't involved in them, we have Jordan Best's one-two punch for the year - with a thoughtful, mournful production of "Dr Frankenstein" for Rep featuring a double act of two of Canberra's best actors as creator and monster, followed by "Switzerland" for canberra theatre featuring a different pair of two of Canbera's best actors as (SPOILER WARNING) a different pair of creator and monster... Both felt distinctive and creative (Frankenstein went for a reasonable amount of Grand Guignol in the set, the makeup and the music; Switzerland felt more crisp, pristine and psychologically intense), both gave their casts great places to manouvre in roles that are among the best I've ever seen them in, and both knew just how to nail an ending. Incidentally, "Dr Frankenstein" wins the "Most looked at" award of the season's reviews - with a whopping over 500 views - even some desperate Streisand Effect controversy chasing couldn't get any other post this year even vaguely in breathing distance.
Interstate the musical I loved the most all year was "Cry Baby" at the Hayes, which channeled the spirit of John Waters in a hysterically nonsensical assault on conformity, rebellion and all the best qualities of 50's teenagehood. Non-musical plays this year interstate seemed to best come from Griffin - a reckless, wild production of "Kill Climate Deniers" was relentlessly thought provoking, the emotional journey of "The Almighty Sometimes" challenged the heart and "The Feather in the Web" was a suitably hilarious dismantling of every romantic comedy convention you've ever complained about.
Also a quick thank you to Chalk and Cheese, who seem to have semi-retired - I found whoever they were to be pretty insightful most of the time and expressed thoughts on shows I didn't see that made it interesting to see what might have happened in them. I hope that despite whatever controversies may have happened during the year, more people are encouraged to share their thoughts publicly and in different ways about Canberra Theatre - nobody likes the same things, and the more voices that are out there (including voices that wildly disagree with me), the happier I'll be. Yes, even if they hate the things I'm involved in.
Looking forward to a large chunk of what's on offer for next year, and hoping that there'll be more opportunities for me to put my excited rave voice on and less opportunities for me to embarass myself and others on social media. Thank you to everyone who's been reading the reviews, everybody who's popped up on Canberra stages to keep the beast going, and everybody who cares about theatre enough to keep it
Tuesday, 18 December 2018
and a-ONE, and a-TWO, and a MANohMAN! Dr Radi O'Repenstein's Lovely Happy Panto, Canberra Rep, Theatre 3
... I was asked to do this one.
Rep's christmas Panto is a tradition that, like most traditions, seems to have been there forever - certainly I've been seeing them pretty regularly since joining Rep back in 2005. They're a weirdly distinct form of entertainment - not really a panto (there's very little crossdressing or time for "it's behind you"), instead there's a vaguely linking narrative that ties together elements of the season's shows under something that, if you squint a bit, vaguely looks like a plot, told using rhyming couplets that vary from delightfully piquant to utterly groanworthy.
This year's seems a bit more elaborate than previous - there's a pretty decent set, there are costumes, and even the odd musical number - but the plot feels just as loose as ever, the puns elicit the right amount of groans, and this one dashes through the season without too much desperate plot contortions. The magnificent cast of 7 all deliver well - Andrew Kay (again fulfilling the job of writer/narrator/general plot-dogsbody), Sue Gore-Phillips as an imperious Dr Repenstein, Ewan as the subservient Ewgor, Antonia Kitzl and Michael Hemming (apologies, actually Michael Cooper) as a pair of bodysnatchers-cum-scientists, Jemima Phillips bringing back Wanda June for a chance to see her in a better play than her first appearance, and Peter McDonald making with the Boom-Boom on drum kit.
It's fast, it's silly, it's probably pretty indulgent, but dammit, Christmas isn't Christmas without the Rep Christmas Panto, and long may it continue to sail.
Rep's christmas Panto is a tradition that, like most traditions, seems to have been there forever - certainly I've been seeing them pretty regularly since joining Rep back in 2005. They're a weirdly distinct form of entertainment - not really a panto (there's very little crossdressing or time for "it's behind you"), instead there's a vaguely linking narrative that ties together elements of the season's shows under something that, if you squint a bit, vaguely looks like a plot, told using rhyming couplets that vary from delightfully piquant to utterly groanworthy.
This year's seems a bit more elaborate than previous - there's a pretty decent set, there are costumes, and even the odd musical number - but the plot feels just as loose as ever, the puns elicit the right amount of groans, and this one dashes through the season without too much desperate plot contortions. The magnificent cast of 7 all deliver well - Andrew Kay (again fulfilling the job of writer/narrator/general plot-dogsbody), Sue Gore-Phillips as an imperious Dr Repenstein, Ewan as the subservient Ewgor, Antonia Kitzl and Michael Hemming (apologies, actually Michael Cooper) as a pair of bodysnatchers-cum-scientists, Jemima Phillips bringing back Wanda June for a chance to see her in a better play than her first appearance, and Peter McDonald making with the Boom-Boom on drum kit.
It's fast, it's silly, it's probably pretty indulgent, but dammit, Christmas isn't Christmas without the Rep Christmas Panto, and long may it continue to sail.
Sunday, 9 December 2018
Coda For Shirley, The Acting Company and Shadowhouse Pits, Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre
So, that may be the shortest retirement since Nellie Melba, John Farnham or Cher.
Yes, I'm back after recent rounds of feeling sorry for myself. And this ... okay, to be completely fair to the show, I've mentioned previously that poetic drama is not entirely my bag. (my review of "Under Milk Wood" a few years ago basically spends a bunch of time admitting I know other people like this but it isn't my thing, but it's well presented for something that isn't my thing). ANd Geoff Page's play is most definitely poetic - looking at four members of an extended family as they look on the legacies of past loves and family dramas. It's the third play of a trilogy and there is a certain sense in this one that a lot of the significant action took place back in the first two plays (although I haven't seen them, it's clear there's signifcant backstory in them) - as the title suggests, this is a bit of an afterword rather than a fully formed plot on its own. Geoff Page definitely has a nice turn of phrase, though for my mind it tends to work better in monologue than in dialogue, and the text is delivered well by the cast but ... this falls into the "nice" and "well crafted" for me rather than the dynamic-gets-my-heart-racing that I really crave.
Micki Beckett is at the centre in both the staging and in the text of the show, and her Shirley is something to be treasured. Rueful, funny, romantic and forgiving, she's the best mum and grandma anybody could ever want - gently human. The middle-aged duo of daughters, Nikki-Lyn Hunter and Elaine Noon both have the thinner material - the poetry doesn't necessarily individuallise the sisters particularly as both seem to talk pretty similarly, and the revelation they come to doesn't, in this standalone presentation, feel particularly cathartic (again, this may be the problem with seeing this without knowing the other two plays) - but both actresses do reasonably with the material they have, as they drift further into the vino. Alex McPherson establishes a chummy warmth with the audience as the youngest castmember, Jen, whose relation to the rest becomes apparent during the course of the story, and gives her material an easygoing charm.
Kate Blackhurst's production brings a lot out from the actresses but can't spice up the essentially static nature of Page's scrip. Ronan Moss' set design features some distinctly retro-looking furniture but gives the spaces a separate identity in keeping with the character's mode.
I do feel like i'm slightly damning this with faint praise, but ... again, maybe I'm not the perfect audience for this, with my slight resistance towards poetic drama and unfamiliarity with the previous two plays. But this is a chance to see Micki Beckett on stage, which I haven't had for a year, so I can't regret the afternoon spent on that basis.
Yes, I'm back after recent rounds of feeling sorry for myself. And this ... okay, to be completely fair to the show, I've mentioned previously that poetic drama is not entirely my bag. (my review of "Under Milk Wood" a few years ago basically spends a bunch of time admitting I know other people like this but it isn't my thing, but it's well presented for something that isn't my thing). ANd Geoff Page's play is most definitely poetic - looking at four members of an extended family as they look on the legacies of past loves and family dramas. It's the third play of a trilogy and there is a certain sense in this one that a lot of the significant action took place back in the first two plays (although I haven't seen them, it's clear there's signifcant backstory in them) - as the title suggests, this is a bit of an afterword rather than a fully formed plot on its own. Geoff Page definitely has a nice turn of phrase, though for my mind it tends to work better in monologue than in dialogue, and the text is delivered well by the cast but ... this falls into the "nice" and "well crafted" for me rather than the dynamic-gets-my-heart-racing that I really crave.
Micki Beckett is at the centre in both the staging and in the text of the show, and her Shirley is something to be treasured. Rueful, funny, romantic and forgiving, she's the best mum and grandma anybody could ever want - gently human. The middle-aged duo of daughters, Nikki-Lyn Hunter and Elaine Noon both have the thinner material - the poetry doesn't necessarily individuallise the sisters particularly as both seem to talk pretty similarly, and the revelation they come to doesn't, in this standalone presentation, feel particularly cathartic (again, this may be the problem with seeing this without knowing the other two plays) - but both actresses do reasonably with the material they have, as they drift further into the vino. Alex McPherson establishes a chummy warmth with the audience as the youngest castmember, Jen, whose relation to the rest becomes apparent during the course of the story, and gives her material an easygoing charm.
Kate Blackhurst's production brings a lot out from the actresses but can't spice up the essentially static nature of Page's scrip. Ronan Moss' set design features some distinctly retro-looking furniture but gives the spaces a separate identity in keeping with the character's mode.
I do feel like i'm slightly damning this with faint praise, but ... again, maybe I'm not the perfect audience for this, with my slight resistance towards poetic drama and unfamiliarity with the previous two plays. But this is a chance to see Micki Beckett on stage, which I haven't had for a year, so I can't regret the afternoon spent on that basis.
Friday, 30 November 2018
Notice
Due to hurt feelings from my last review, I feel very uncomfortable reviewing any further work or engaging in any way with its director. I've tried to keep this blog relatively collegial, where I don't interfere with the right of artists to do their work the way they want and in return, they don't interfere with my right to respond in the way I choose. That polite exchange has been broken. And I don't know that it can be healed particularly easily. I am aware that in one private conversation a year and a half ago I was intemperate. I wasn't aware that was going to be held against me forever. But apparently it is.
So, we're on a hiatus.
So, we're on a hiatus.
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
One Man Two Guvnors, Canberra Rep, Theatre 3
Carlo Goldoni's commedia-inspired "Servant of Two Masters" is one of those classics that can always stand a revival as long as you've got the right leading man playing the titular servant. In an Australian context the translation written for the Old Tote in the 70s, originally entitled "How could you believe me when I said I'd be your valet when you know I've been a liar all my life" and starring Drew Forsythe has stuck around a reasonably long time (returned to its standard, non-marquee-busting title, it got a Nimrod revival in the 80s and was picked up by Bell Shakespeare in the 2000s to be a vehicle for their talented clown Darren Gilshenan). The Richard Bean adaptation premiered at the National Theatre in 2011 emerged to prominence on the back of a James Corden performance that launched him into the heights of talk-showdom, and a carefree updating from the renaissance to early-60s Brighton, an England just on the verge of swinging that still had plenty of time for Carry-On style jokes.
This production has the right leading man. Arran McKenna has played the role before (in a much-remembered-by-this-reviewer ANU drama lab production in 2007 where I particularly remember his comic byplay with Erin Pugh, one of the best physical comediennes of her generation), and he knows exactly how the role works - ingratiating himself with the audience quickly and committing himself whole heatedly both to the comic shenanigans and the very real physical hungers that underlie all the comedy. It also has the wonderful Steph Roberts, doing her best Barbara Windsor as the lusty, independent, thoroughly no-bullshit Dolly, and Patrick Galen-Mules upperclass-twitting to perfection as one of the titular Guvnors, Stanley.
Elsewhere, the spread is a little more uneven. There's exposition that feels raced through, there's curtain lines that fall flat, there's running gags that stagger and there's sight gags that fail to pay off. The physical production is big and impressive (and I don't object in principle to people trying big-scale stuff on Canberra stages) but here it often seems like it's trying to compete with the actors rather than compliment their work - the play lives and breathes when the cast is forming a connection to the audience and some of the grandiose nature of the production acts, for me, as a block rather than an assist to having that connection.
I laughed a reasonable amount at this, and for those three key performances this is certainly worth watching. But there's a lot here that could have been improved with a bit more control and focus on the bigger picture.
This production has the right leading man. Arran McKenna has played the role before (in a much-remembered-by-this-reviewer ANU drama lab production in 2007 where I particularly remember his comic byplay with Erin Pugh, one of the best physical comediennes of her generation), and he knows exactly how the role works - ingratiating himself with the audience quickly and committing himself whole heatedly both to the comic shenanigans and the very real physical hungers that underlie all the comedy. It also has the wonderful Steph Roberts, doing her best Barbara Windsor as the lusty, independent, thoroughly no-bullshit Dolly, and Patrick Galen-Mules upperclass-twitting to perfection as one of the titular Guvnors, Stanley.
Elsewhere, the spread is a little more uneven. There's exposition that feels raced through, there's curtain lines that fall flat, there's running gags that stagger and there's sight gags that fail to pay off. The physical production is big and impressive (and I don't object in principle to people trying big-scale stuff on Canberra stages) but here it often seems like it's trying to compete with the actors rather than compliment their work - the play lives and breathes when the cast is forming a connection to the audience and some of the grandiose nature of the production acts, for me, as a block rather than an assist to having that connection.
I laughed a reasonable amount at this, and for those three key performances this is certainly worth watching. But there's a lot here that could have been improved with a bit more control and focus on the bigger picture.
Saturday, 24 November 2018
12 Angry Men, Everyman, Queanbeyan Bicentennial Hall.
Reginald Rose's play is more than sixty years old, and while it's still a taut effective drama, it's not, for me, an unimpeachable classic. There are rather a lot of contrivances in getting the events in the jury room to play out, as the jurors, provoked by one man who holds out for "Not Guilty", re-examine both the evidence at the trial and their own prejudices, as people reveal at various points they "just happened to see" some extra fact that opens up the case for further discussion, dropped in ways that don't always feel organic to the conversation as much as they seem like something that can push the play closer to its resolution (and of course, all plays are ultimately contrivances to present events to develop towards an interesting resolution, but in this one the gears are a little too obviously apparent). It feels its age slightly when it gets into issues of race (the out-and-out racist is deliberately kept vague as to what race he's racist against, in a way that definitely feels contrived) and in some unexamined sexism near the end of the play as the one female offstage character referred, a witness to the crime, has her evidence questioned using some fairly iffy dimestore psychology. And it does have a few moments when it confuses drama with "Everybody yells at each other a lot" in ways that feel a bit like pointless machismo.
Having said that, it's a well known play and one where the title will sell tickets (while one of the alternate-gendered variants on the title "Twelve Angry Women" or "Twelve Angry Jurors" might not), so I understand the marketing decision to do it (and, well, other people probably don't have my nitpicks so they may actually like it anyway). And Everyman's production is mostly a pretty effective one - performed in the round, from my seat (midway down the table) everything was audible and clear (I understand reports have varied between performances). In a cast of 12 (well, 13 including baliff), I'm not going to list everyone, but I will pick out a couple. Certainly it's good to have Isaac Reily back onstage after way too long a gap as the inciting juror number 8 - in a performance that's precise, sturdy and solid as he picks away at each of his fellow jurors towards finding some level of certainty. As his chief antagonist, Rob DeFries combines surface charm with under-the-surface-bitterness as it becomes increasingly obvious what hidden agendas are driving him. Elsewhere around the table there's a mix of familiar and unfamiliar performers, with most serving their characters reasonably (although I tend to think most of the characters are written pretty thinly with maybe only one or two personality traits, and not everyone really managed to conceal that to bring us something that felt a bit more rounded). The points where the tension boils over and fights get louder tended to feel a bit messy - movement and focus became unclear and it all became a bit of undifferentiated yelling.
All in all, despite the in-the-round approach this did feel a little bit distanced - both by the decision to keep it based in the US in the 50s, by my own issues with the script, and by a performance style that keeps this very "classic movie" - this isn't a production that surprises anywhere except in the curtain call music (I did love the curtain call music). Everybody's doing what they're doing pretty well, it's just ... I didn't often have that sense of discovery or being taken away in the moment. And that's kinda why I go to the theatre.
Having said that, it's a well known play and one where the title will sell tickets (while one of the alternate-gendered variants on the title "Twelve Angry Women" or "Twelve Angry Jurors" might not), so I understand the marketing decision to do it (and, well, other people probably don't have my nitpicks so they may actually like it anyway). And Everyman's production is mostly a pretty effective one - performed in the round, from my seat (midway down the table) everything was audible and clear (I understand reports have varied between performances). In a cast of 12 (well, 13 including baliff), I'm not going to list everyone, but I will pick out a couple. Certainly it's good to have Isaac Reily back onstage after way too long a gap as the inciting juror number 8 - in a performance that's precise, sturdy and solid as he picks away at each of his fellow jurors towards finding some level of certainty. As his chief antagonist, Rob DeFries combines surface charm with under-the-surface-bitterness as it becomes increasingly obvious what hidden agendas are driving him. Elsewhere around the table there's a mix of familiar and unfamiliar performers, with most serving their characters reasonably (although I tend to think most of the characters are written pretty thinly with maybe only one or two personality traits, and not everyone really managed to conceal that to bring us something that felt a bit more rounded). The points where the tension boils over and fights get louder tended to feel a bit messy - movement and focus became unclear and it all became a bit of undifferentiated yelling.
All in all, despite the in-the-round approach this did feel a little bit distanced - both by the decision to keep it based in the US in the 50s, by my own issues with the script, and by a performance style that keeps this very "classic movie" - this isn't a production that surprises anywhere except in the curtain call music (I did love the curtain call music). Everybody's doing what they're doing pretty well, it's just ... I didn't often have that sense of discovery or being taken away in the moment. And that's kinda why I go to the theatre.
Thursday, 8 November 2018
Godspell, Queanbeyan Players, The Q
"Godspell" is a very early-seventies kinda musical - a look at Jesus with mostly the parables through a mix of improv-style comedy and a folky-style of music with lyrics drawn from traditional hymns, finishing with Christ's passion and execution. There are obvious parallels with that other big Jesus musical that seems to hit the stage fairly regularly, but this also has significant differences - there's far more emphasis on spiritual teaching, the score is far more shared around the ensemble, and there's less howling for power-notes all the time. It's a very sincere show that allows a lot of opportunities for a production to choose its own way into it (the parables and songs allow for a range of different presentation - in a weird way, this is a very Brechtian kinda religions show). Best remembered, perhaps, is the original Toronto production that launched the careers of comedians like Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas (four would go on to create the legendary Canadian sketch comedy series "SCTV" - Radner would go on to be one of the original stars of "Saturday Night Live", taking with her both the show's musical director (Paul Shaeffer) and its saxaphone player (Howard Shore)).
Queanbeyan Players takes this and runs with it, experimenting with the show in a lot of different ways. Not all the experiments pay off completely, but more do than don't. A game-for-anything cast of ten with a carefully deployed backup choir that only emerges in a couple of big moments give the parables a warm sense of humour and gentleness. Alexander Gorring and Anthony Swadling are the only ones directly playing familiar biblical figures (Gorring as Jesus, Swadling playing a role that morphs from John the Baptist to Judas over the course of the evening), and both have great moments (in particular the double-edged "All for the Best", shared between the two), but so does everybody else (Emily Ridge giving a heartfelt and beautifully sung version of the show's biggest hit, "Day by Day", Kirsten Haussmann a sultry and hilarious "Turn Back Oh Man", Lauren Granger is heartbreaking in my personal favourite song of the score "By My Side", Aaron Sims gives a bouncy "We Beseech Thee", Joe Moores a powerful "All Good Gifts", Sarah Hull a slammingly good "Bless the Lord", Michael Jordan a rocking "Light of the World" and Alyce King a sweet "Learn your lessons well". The company combines beautifully on the touching moments just before the finale with "On the Willows", and the finale version of "Beautiful City" (added for the movie and then incorporated formally for 2011 revisions) is a gorgeous way to wrap the show up.
There are a couple of hiccups - the opening moment in the foyer is one of those things where if it could have been blended through to get the audience into the theatre it woulda completely paid off (and in actual perforamnce and presentation, it's impressive, but the fact it's followed by a few minutes of practically getting the audience into the theatre means it feels separated from the show in a way that it probably shouldn't be) - and Alexander Gorring's Jesus was showing a couple of moments of vocal strain. But I felt the warmth and the tightness of a company of actors engaged with pure storytelling in an emotionally direct way, the foremost quality that defines a good Godspell. It's a very sincere and heartfelt show, and if you're looking for glossy polished surfaces, this is not the show for you. It's a show that reaches across the footlights and holds you in its heart with strength and compassion. And this production meets that challenge head on.
Queanbeyan Players takes this and runs with it, experimenting with the show in a lot of different ways. Not all the experiments pay off completely, but more do than don't. A game-for-anything cast of ten with a carefully deployed backup choir that only emerges in a couple of big moments give the parables a warm sense of humour and gentleness. Alexander Gorring and Anthony Swadling are the only ones directly playing familiar biblical figures (Gorring as Jesus, Swadling playing a role that morphs from John the Baptist to Judas over the course of the evening), and both have great moments (in particular the double-edged "All for the Best", shared between the two), but so does everybody else (Emily Ridge giving a heartfelt and beautifully sung version of the show's biggest hit, "Day by Day", Kirsten Haussmann a sultry and hilarious "Turn Back Oh Man", Lauren Granger is heartbreaking in my personal favourite song of the score "By My Side", Aaron Sims gives a bouncy "We Beseech Thee", Joe Moores a powerful "All Good Gifts", Sarah Hull a slammingly good "Bless the Lord", Michael Jordan a rocking "Light of the World" and Alyce King a sweet "Learn your lessons well". The company combines beautifully on the touching moments just before the finale with "On the Willows", and the finale version of "Beautiful City" (added for the movie and then incorporated formally for 2011 revisions) is a gorgeous way to wrap the show up.
There are a couple of hiccups - the opening moment in the foyer is one of those things where if it could have been blended through to get the audience into the theatre it woulda completely paid off (and in actual perforamnce and presentation, it's impressive, but the fact it's followed by a few minutes of practically getting the audience into the theatre means it feels separated from the show in a way that it probably shouldn't be) - and Alexander Gorring's Jesus was showing a couple of moments of vocal strain. But I felt the warmth and the tightness of a company of actors engaged with pure storytelling in an emotionally direct way, the foremost quality that defines a good Godspell. It's a very sincere and heartfelt show, and if you're looking for glossy polished surfaces, this is not the show for you. It's a show that reaches across the footlights and holds you in its heart with strength and compassion. And this production meets that challenge head on.
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