WHEN: 11 - 16 March 2024
WHERE: The Butterfly Club (Upstairs)
WRITTEN BY: Gregory Vines
DIRECTED BY: Cassandra McGrath
PERFORMED BY: Elyse Batson, Alec Gilbert, Melanie Madrigali, John Voce, and MJ Wilson
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| Melanie Madrigali and Alec Gilbert - photo supplied |
Here's one for all the Yes Minister fans out there. We all remember that outrageous interview Prince Andrew gave in 2019 about his association with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. You know the one I mean. The one where he explained his miraculous ability to not sweat. Playwright Gregory Vines has decided to take a peek behind palace doors and imagine what the conversations would have sounded like in his play Car Crash now playing at The Butterfly Club.
In their defence, both advisors wanted to pull the plug but then in strides the Prince and all hope of an elegant way out fail in the face of royal obtuseness. Along the way there is a baffling (and not very well crafted) interruption by a professor (MJ Wilson) trying to lobby for a start-up enterprise. That part of the play doesn't really work. I think it was to demonstrate how the real business of the realm gets ignored whilst all the royal shenanigans dominate time and money but it isn't strongly on point and poorly acted so all it does is make the play longer than it needs to be. The show is only an hour long but it feels longer than that because of these scenes and the extraordinarily long blackouts.
Apart from this, the acting across the rest of the ensemble is right on point and Voce brings excellent energy to his cameos as the Prince. Gilbert is perfect as a Sir Humphrey type character. Madrigali's performance is equal to Gilbert's but I do think her character misses it's mark. This kind of writing needs to be played in a Laurel and Hardy style. You need the fool and the straight man (person). In this scenario the show would have had a lot more energy and laughs if Madrigali avoided dropping into fellow foolery with Gilbert. A lot of the humour in a Nigel Hawthorn type of character lies in the 'clear thinking' one being led down rabbit holes in a completely unexpected manner, not in joining in with the crazy.
This may not be all Madrigali's fault. The show is directed by Cassandra McGrath but I am not convinced she has a lot of experience in stage direction. As lively as Vines' script is, the actual staging of this show is boring. Actors sitting on stage and talking is the absolute death knell of live performance. There is nothing interesting for the audience to see when everyone is sitting and there is little opportunity for actors to communicate their relationship with each other when stuck in a chair. It is even worse when the chairs are on opposite sides of the stage and facing straight out to the audience. The Butterfly Club stages are small but that should incite challenge and innovation in directors, not encourage them to give up.
There is one other actor in the show who I haven't mentioned yet. Elyse Batson plays the quiet, obedient, and disregarded servant Maddison. Batson is a tall woman with a surprisingly imposing presence and a mobile face which speaks volumes even though she speaks very little. I think in the right role, Batson will dominate the stage.
Car Crash is not going to change the world, but it is funny in a retro English way. The characters are archetypes we are all familiar with even though the topic is starting to fade into deep past. Time before COVID seems so much further back than it really is... If sipping tea and dithering about royal foibles is your thing, Car Crash will be exactly your cup of tea.
3 Stars.
This reviewer has no idea how to review theatre, or how to pay respects to theatre artists. First of al, you need to do a bit of basic research before putting things in print. For a start, you have spelt Cassandra Magrath's name incorrectly in the heading. She is a well-known and respected Australian actor, and it is ignorant and lazy of you to not at least bother to do a basic google search to make sure your spelling is correct!. You later make a personal snd again, ignorant and lazy comment about Cassandra Magrath stating that "I am not convinced she has a lot of experience in stage direction". What an idiotic statement. Why aren't you "convinced"? Again, do a bit of research. Cassandra is a very experienced film and television actress, who undertook theatre training all through her adolescent years, has performed in professional plays - yes theatre - and has a masters degree in writing from the Victorian College of the Arts. She also undertakes ongoing professional theatre classes - okay, so she doesn't have the directing experience to work at the Royal Shakespeare Company, but The Butterfly Club? Come on! This is precisely the kind of venue where people should feel free to take risks without idiots like you writing idiotic statements about them and misspelling their name!! Then there's your ill-informed statement about MJ Wilson, the actor who played the professor. I agree that the way these scenes were introduced was badly executed by the playwright (who is also more than ready to have a play produced at The Butterly Club. However, your statement that these scenes were "poorly acted" is simply wrong. MJ Wilson's acting was by far thee most polished and fluid of all the performers, and this would have been apparent to anyone in the audience, so much so that I heard it commented on in the foyer by several patrons Of course we all see thinpgs differently and everyone ie entitled to an opinion, but if you're going to set yourself up as a reviewer, on whatever level, it helps to not put an actor's performance into levels - poor not so poor etc... - as if you are the oracle when you barely know how to write. As evidenced by the fact that you go on to write "apart from this the acting across the ensemble is right on point" and then go on to criticise various elements of the ensemble's acting. You state that ' Gilbert is perfect as a Sir Humphrey type character. Madrigali's performance is equal to Gilbert's but I do think her character misses its mark". How can Madrigali's performance be "right on point" if her character "misses the mark". How can her acting be "equal to Gilbert's" (as you state), when he is "perfect' yet she "misses the mark",, and therefore cannot be "perfect" (like Gilbert). You go on to state more verbal garbage with "Elyse Batson plays the quiet, obedient, and disregarded servant Maddison. Batson is a tall woman with a surprisingly imposing presence and a mobile face which speaks volumes even though she speaks very little. I think in the right role, Batson will dominate the stage" This is just a very passive aggressive way of saying that you did not think the actor dominated the stage in this role - she wasn't good enough here - but in the right role she would "dominate" the stage. Well, it is not a good thing for one actor to dominate any stage. Good acting comes as playing part of an ensemble, so this backhanded compliment does not work on any level. You re a baboon. You know and understand nothing about theatre, you do not know how to write, and you have appalling manners on top of it all - just STOP and do something else, please!
ReplyDeleteHello and thanks for engaging with my review. It is a bit sad you aren't confident enough in your opinion to put your name to it but I welcome all responses, no matter how violent. I guess I should start with apologising for using a capital G in Cassandra's name. I think that is how it was presented in the invitation I was given to review the show but more than a year and a half has passed since then so I admit I am not sure. I might be better able to respond if you had sent these comments closer to when the show was performed. It is unclear if you actually saw the show or just read the review and are reacting to my reviewing style specifically. It doesn't matter which is true. I am fascinated that you are incensed with my comment about Cassandra's directing experience, and yet all you offer in response is acting skill and experience. Acting and directing are vastly different disciplines and just because you may be a truly fabulous actor does not mean you are automatically even a passable director. I also point out that TV and stage are very different crafts so skills in one medium do not necessarily translate automatically into skills in the other. In reference to your comments about comparing acting, etc - the fact is I was personally invited to review this show by the team involved and received free entry to do so. I have to presume the team was aware of my reviewing style and were interested in my view of this production which I have very evidently given them. I would like to point out that the audiences at The Butterfly Club paid money for their tickets and whilst they take a natural risk given the arts profile of the venue, they still have the right to the best calibre show the artists can produce. I find your comments about elements of this work being suitable for The Butterfly Club but not The Royal Shakespeare insulting to the audience and also the people involved in the production. Anybody who is asking people to buy tickets to the show ought to be working at their creative peak and I believe this team was doing exactly that given the time and resources at their disposal. I applaud all of them for taking risks and putting a show on at all. Only fellow theatre makers know how hard even the smallest production is to get up on stage. Luckily most of those people know how to communicate a lot more respectfully than you have, too. You should know that I only review upon request, so (whilst I am on a sabatical at the moment) I will probably continue reviewing until people stop asking for me to come along and write my opinion for the theatre going public. A surprising number of people actually consider me one of the most thoughtful and knowledgeable reviewers in Melbourne. Probably my Masters degree (from VCA) and my decades of international experience as a theatre maker influence their opinions. Perhaps you could do a bit more research too? You don't even have to google me. Just read my bio at the top of this blog :)
DeleteOh shut up, I am not putting myself up as a theatre reviewer on the internet, and therefore am not obliged to share my identity when I share my opinion. Hence, the option of using an anonymous profile. I I don't owe you anything. It is a bit sad that you actually think of yourself as one of the most thoughtful and knowledgable reviewers and that you feel the need to point out that you have a Masters degree from the VCA - Wow!I have no idea what they taught you. Yes, everyone can make spelling and typo errors regardless of education - that is forgivable. But you have made so many inaccurate, contradictory conclusions in your review that the mind boggles as to how you made it through the VCA. I have looked at your blog and note that you don't list the decades of international experience you have. You are attempting to bully the wrong person. If you were so influential, I would know you!
DeleteOn the subject of googling you - You attempt to bully me (make me feel small) by telling me it's 'sad' that I choose to comment anonymously, but you don't actually give your own identity to the public and yet call yourself an influential theatre reviewer! What is your real name "samsara"? You don't come up anywhere in anything related to professional theatre.The link to your theatre page does not work rand your 'Samsara" page reveals nothing about your actual background or experience, let alone your real name! incredible!
DeleteAh, I thought you were someone generally interested in both the production and the people themselves, but it appears you are just a troll. I suspect you are connected with someone in the show but I also suspect you won't show them your comments because you know they will not be happy with how you have expressed yourself. You may want to look up the definition of the word bullying. I note you lauded the director's Masters from VCA, but when I say I have one too, they are suddenly questionable. Regardless, I don't feed trolls. Have a great life and may one of your shows never fall under the flawed gaze of my reveiwing eye ;)
DeleteBy the way, please feel free to google Samsara Dunston. My name is no secret and neither is my face as you can see. I have a Linked In profile if that is helpful :)
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