Edmund. The Beginning. - Theatre Review

What: Edmund. The Beginning

When: 10 – 22 November

Where: Arts House, Rehearsal Room

Written and Performed by: Brian Lipsom

Directed by: Peter Evans and Susie Dee

Costumes by: Brian Lipsom and Mel Page

Stage Management by: Hayley Fox

No-one can deny for a single moment that Brian Lipsom is not one of the most accomplished actors in Australia at the moment, and in his show Edmund. The Beginning we discover that he is a phenomenal wordsmith (or witsmith), with formidable performance making skills as well.  Edmund. The Beginning is being performed at Arts House in the Rehearsal Room.  Be warned, the show has a strict lockout. No latecomers!

Edmund. The Beginning is one of the densest works I have come across and yet it does not collapse under its own weight which is a phenomenal achievement.  This piece of theatre is not for the lay audient.  To have any means of entering it you really need to have a background in English literature and English theatre history. Without these, the layers and nuances and depths and complexities of Lipsom’s witticisms will be impenetrable. I feel I have a good foundation in these areas but I would not for a single moment assume I grasped anywhere near everything included and referenced.

In many ways, this is Lipsom’s intentions.  When Lipsom finally begins speaking (which is not the beginning of the performance and does not contain the beginnings of the witticisms which have already commenced through his costume and entrance and demeanour) we think he is himself, but it is revealed that he has taken on the persona of Daniel Brand.  Who Daniel Brand is, and how he fits into the construct of this work is revealed over time – yet never completely.

Brand/Lipsom talks about Thomas Hardy’s last novel Jude the Obscure and in reference to the book, anoints himself ‘Daniel the Obscurer’.  He explains the pun on the word obscurer and its multiple levels of meaning and as the performance unfolds it becomes clear that Lipsom’s intention is to be clearly unclear for all definitions throughout.

It is also revealed (ambiguously) that the structure is essentially a great witticism as well.  Towards the end Lipsom talks about the show being an horary, but throughout – in his costume, in the episodes and how they are put together – he is evidently playing with the word orary (and possibly oratory). He also plays with the idea of the word mobile and oh so many others, it is hard to keep up.

The content of the work is superbly suited for Lipsom, with his classical English theatrical training shown at its best both in terms of content and also his personal performance strengths.  I love hearing classical English actors orate.  Nobody trains the actors voice the way the English do and it is always a pleasure to hear a master of his craft in this field perform.

Unfortunately, the utter anglo-centricity of Edmund. The Beginning is the very thing that makes it impenetrable and ultimately meaningless for me.  It has no meaning or context within Australian society today.

Woven into the threads of the work is Lipsom’s own story of being a young boy swept away by Pinter, and his removal to Australia later in life.  He draws linkages between Shakespeare’s younger brother Edmund, Pinter’s son Daniel, and Sylvia Plath’s daughter Frieda (also an ex-pat now living in Australia) and himself. 

I didn’t understand the corollaries, nor the purpose for them.  If I had to guess I would say it is depression, or ‘gloom’ to which Lipsom refers at the end. Certainly I always find Thomas Hardy’s writing impenetrable because of its gloominess. Pinter became estranged from his son and Plath committed suicide so there is a definite linkage of gloom there.  Also, Plath’s legacy of confessional poetry influences the work heavily – another link.

My problem is it was just too hard.  I could congratulate myself and say I am better than everyone else because I ‘got’ much of it, but the truth is I don’t understand art that is not accessible or doesn’t appear to want to affect people.  I like the idea that this piece is for the highly skilled and specialised because sometimes we all need brain food, but I also need to be left questioning or examining something to really appreciate what I have seen.

Lipsom states in the work that in ‘his’ opinion art should be unexpected and inevitable.  For me the inevitability is missing – unless his whole point is that we all die... which is not unexpected.  I guess after sitting through it and working my brain at maximum, I just felt like I was left without anything in return.

Apart from very elaborate costuming and some somewhat ungainly props, Lipsom avoided technical theatrical elements. If it wasn’t for the costumery I would have called this Poor Theatre. The natural light entering the room (and a bit of overhead lighting as the sun went down) were all that was necessary, and his mobile phone created the sound source for playback moments (one of his non-verbal witticisms at work).

My favourite moment was when the sun was just dipping below the horizon and we sat in darkness and quiet in the room with Lipsom speaking in a gentle, hypnotic tone.  There was a grace and restfulness about this moment which was absolutely essential in the maelstrom of the detailed and complex performance.

Every actor in Melbourne should see Edmund. The Beginning and every English literature scholar as well.  It is a brilliant piece of theatre. I would not recommend it for the general public though. Not because they are too dumb to get it. More because it is a highly specialised piece and it could be detrimental to the lay person’s relationship with live theatre if they get lost right from the beginning (a very real possibility) – something none of us want to occur.

4 Stars

The Insomnia Project - Theatre Review

What: The Insomnia Project

When: July 29 – August 9

Where: La Mama Courthouse

Written, composed and directed by: Natasha Moszenin

Performed by: Anne Gasko, Jai Luke, Claire Nicholls, Fiona Scarlett, and Andi Snelling

Lighting by: Kate Kelly

Stage management by: Sarah Walker

Normally, whenever I see that a show has been written and directed by the same person I can’t help a little groan from escaping because in my experience it is almost impossible for a writer to step outside the work far enough to make the show a full experience for the audience.  The Insomnia Project, currently showing at La Mama Courthouse, is the exception the to rule.  Moszenin not only wrote and directed it, but she is also the composer and it is her understanding of musical composition which brings the sophistication and detail into her directing that is often lacking.

The Insomnia Project is a study of sleeplessness – the phenomenon, the experiences, the distress and frustration, and the treatments.  Anyone who has ever experienced insomnia will find themselves inside this difficult condition almost immediately.  The true genius of the show is its ability to viscerally replicate the sensations in the audience – which is also what makes the show something of a living nightmare and a belly laugh for those who have been there themselves.

Natasha is one of our most skilled and accomplished composers with an extraordinary amount of experience in theatrical arenas as well as scoring films and musical composition.  She is classically trained, but has a rich history in contemporary music and theatrical composition. 

The Insomnia Project loosely follows four people surviving an endless night of insomnia.  The funniest story line is played by Nicholls, who is spending the night at her parent’s house.  She can’t sleep, but also can’t do anything because everyone else in the house is asleep so she can’t make noise.

Snelling demonstrates an amazing understanding of her physical body in space as she replicates a zombie, and those scarey late night shadows, clinging to floors and walls in her torturous everlasting night. Scarlett has an amazing vocal texture, and her classically trained voice haunts the early hours of the morning with its hypnotic texture. 

The show is a series of songs, but I wouldn’t call it a musical.  It is more music theatre than musical theatre. 

Moszenin has a love of jazz, and that freestyle form litters the construction of the show in an intriguing and unpredictable manner.  Kelly manages to mimic this in her lighting design, teasing us with suggestions that things will happen but then revealing the truth cleverly.

The Insomnia Project is musically intriguing, and whilst the cast do suffer from some pitchiness which, I suspect, prevented Moszenin from giving the vocals the creativity that was possible, the big reveal of the night was Moszenin’s talent for directing. What she demonstrated was not just a flair for dramatic construction, but also an understanding of the body in the space, and sound in the space.

When you watch The Insomnia Project you are seeing a complete and unrelenting study which engages all of the senses.  It has humour, pathos, despair, and frustration – everything you want in a good night of theatre. 

Apart from engaging this range of emotions, Moszenin engages all of our senses.  To do this she uses light, movement, zones, music, sounds, text…probably the only sense not engages is smell.

On a more serious note, this show is not just a study for the sake of it.  There is commentary as the various characters search for escape. 

Some try alcohol, some try repetitive tasks, some try forcing themselves to sleep.  Eventually the topic of medically assisted sleep is touched on.

Moszenin goes through four popular products used to assist sleep including side effects and cautions.  Whilst this could get mired in tedium and repetition, Moszenin uses musical techniques of repetition, progression and call and response to lift it out of the banal and make the messages clear and also just a little bit of fun without being inappropriate or trivialising the issues.

The Insomnia Project is a truly unique work and one of the really outstanding shows this year.  Moszenin is a theatrical genius and I suspect we shall she her working on main stages in the very near future.

4.5 Stars

Longevity - Theatre Review

What: Longevity
Where: The Owl and Cat Theatre
When: 30 August - 2 September
Written and Directed by: Thomas Ian Doyle
Performed by: Brayden Lewtas, Fiona Scarlett, and Bee Townsend

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OWL AND CAT THEATRE

Thomas Ian Doyle is not only the writer of the brand new play Longevity, but he is also the Artistic Director of the Owl and Cat Theatre. Some may assume this gives his work privileged access, but the continued quality and originality of Doyle's writing speaks for itself in taking pride of place in this venue which only produces world premiers. His new play, currently being performed, is another outstanding example of his ability to focus in on the integral interactions of human beings with a laser beam of honesty and curiousity, with lots of intriguing twists and turns.

I haven't seen a lot of Doyle's work, but what he has a reputation for taking risks, breaking moulds, and having the audience step out of the box. His 2014 show Plastic Tree was performed over 12 days, and last year the show Bordello was a masterful success, putting the audience in the role of voyeur as they journeyed around the venue at will, discovering the fraught world of love, sex, and commerce.

Longevity is surprisingly conventional in its structure and presentation, but it packs a wallop you won't see coming. It is, essentially, a play about love - chasing love, falling in love, and living in love. This may sound banal, but there is nothing banal in what Doyle has created. Three people tied up in tangles, all talking about being honest with each other, and none of them managing to do so.

The most insightful moment in the play is when Juliet (Scarlett) tells Jess (Lewtas) 'Love isn't a photo in your pocket'. What she is talking about is love being a changing, morphing experience. It can't be held in one place, or one shape, or one moment, that sexuality and relationships are fluid and morphous. If only she would listen to her own words...

The actors are wonderful, which is demonstrated by Doyle's sparse staging. There is no set and only minimal props. There are no chairs for them to sit on, or tables for them to place things on or lean against. It is just the actors standing with each other, reacting to each other, and telling this story about fascinating relationships. 

This leanness of direction is the perfect compliment to Doyle's leanness of writing. There is no excess fat in this script. It is fragmentary and yet full at the same time. The only bit of augmentation is an ongoing video tape of a foetus evolving from mitosis through the development of the head, the heart, and the limbs. This biological process mirrors the development of the relationships of the story and is a simple, yet most effective compliment to what is happening in the world on the stage.

Doyle is truly a masterful and inventive theatre maker who knows his craft and is developing a unique and impressive portfolio. Cancel everything you have on tonight and go and see Longevity before it closes.

4.5 Stars

Bordello - Theatre Review

What: Bordello

When: Oct 13 – 17

Where: The Owl and Cat Theatre

Created by: Gabrielle Savrone and Thomas Ian Doyle

Bordello is dark and dirty and sexy and funny.  This style of performance making is a new direction for Theatre owners Savronne and Doyle, and I have to say that it is a stunningly clever interpretation of the building and its possibilities.

The Owl and Cat is a repurposed shop front terrace style building, the kind found all over the older suburbs of Melbourne.  In its usual configuration the ground floor is the theatre and the bar, level two is the green room, dressing room and office, and to be honest, I didn’t even realise there was a third floor garret.

For the next few days, though, The Owl and Cat is a smoky bordello oozing sex and seething with intrigue, unrequited love, and sex triangles…or maybe they are sex hectagons? Played with a nuanced melodrama, and performed as structured improvisation over the course of an hour, the audience is permitted to roam at will around the venue to create their own experience of the story.

Unfortunately there is no program, so I can’t tell you who the actors are, but the characters they portray are clearly defined and progress through the evening with clearly defined objectives. The performances are not all at the same level, but this degree of unstructured performance would challenge even the best in the craft.

The energy of the show is driven by the three ‘working’ girls; Trisha, Frankie, and Cherry.  Trisha is a whirlwind of energy (and a swindler), Frankie is a tortured soul looking for love, and Cherry is very funny and witty but also very damaged and afraid of love. They are managed by the imperious madam Yvonne, who is in the middle of a divorce from David who has been seeing Frankie. Harry is madly in love with Cherry, and Matthew just wants his money’s worth.

This is not a ‘build your own adventure’ event.  It is more like ‘choose your own order of scenes’ experience.  You can wander anywhere, anytime across all three levels and see what is going on and watch the story unfold.  You can choose to follow a particular character, or (as I did) flit from room to room and scene to scene to construct a mosaic of images and extracts which form the full picture.  Either way, you will get the complete story. 

This is the genius of the construction of Bordello.  The actors are carefully clear in constantly telling us who they are talking about and who has just walked in the room which is important because they move and we move, so it is easy to get confused.

The temptation is to follow the action and the loudest voices but I found myself enjoying the moments when actors were alone.  The audience are handed masques to wear throughout the performance, and this is a parallel to the idea that we all wear masks in public. 

When the actors were alone though, I felt as though they were removing their masks and I could get a glimpse at the real depths of pain and despair and loss and confusion they were experiencing. This was a moment of intimacy between me and them which I would never be able to experience in a normal theatrical setting.

As I walked through the performance, I found myself imagining I was a camera and I was constructing my own movie from an existing set of elements: The divorce papers being signed; the illicit kiss between Trisha and Frankie; Matthew taking a shower (yes there is nudity); Harry nervously pacing as he prepares to propose…  The material is all there for the taking, all we have to do is gather it all in our own unique ways.

Savronne and Doyle have created an extremely clever and funny and sexy piece of immersive theatre which is incredibly well suited to this transitional season of hot weather and the old, worn ambience of the venue.  We sweat under the masks just as you would in a South American whore house.

One word of warning – wear safe, comfortable shoes.  There are three levels and it is all stairs. You will go up and down the staircases a number of times, so ditch the heels and go for trainers instead.  Also, if you have contact lenses wear them instead of your glasses because the masques can be tricky otherwise.

Bordello will be one of the most intriguing nights of theatre you experience this year with an innovation and energy that is unique and exciting. Hurry up and book though. It is only on until Saturday and the house is strictly limited to 20 people per show.

4 Stars

The Last Brunch - Theatre Review

What: The Last Brunch
Where: The Studio - Gasworks Arts Park
When: 31 August - 3 September
Written and Directed by: Ben Dowthwaite
Performed by: Mathew Arter, Elizabeth Brennan, Jay haggett, Aidan Niarros, Ben Paine, Patrick Shields, and Jeff Wortman.
Set by; Robert Nightingale
Costumes by: Caillan Souter

MATHEW ARTER, PARTICK SHIELDS, AIDON NIARROS

Stage 6 are a new Victorian theatre company established by Dowthwaite and Arter from a working relationship begun during their studies at Deakin University. The Last Brunch is their second venture, (following Deux Ex Machina which is being restage as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival this year), and continues Dowthwaite's curiosity about the mythos and ritual surrounding religion. The show is currently on at Gasworks in their Studio space.

Dowthwaite has directed this play as well has having written it. I usually rail at this combination because I feel playwrights have difficulty seeing their work with an outside eye. In this case, I think it is a really good idea. Dowthwaite does not have the craft of writing developed enough to be able to hand over his ideas to another person yet. 

The ideas in The Last Brunch are intriguing and strong, but it is the direction and collaboration with the actors which give the story it's life and nuance. There aren't really any rules on how many times 'The Chosen One' can be said before the audience are turned into homicidal maniacs, but if we consider our reactions nowadays to 'stop the boats' you may get a sense of where that line might be, and I think a world record is broken with the use of 'um' and 'er'...

The play deals with important concepts, questioning religion and cults. It asks whether there is a difference, if and why one might be better than the other, how seemingly normal people can become involved, and how contradictions between tenet and reality can be explained. There is much visual humour, with aesthetic nods to da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' as well as a not so subtle stabs at sects such as Scientology. Questions are asked about sanity, madness, gullibility, coercion and corruption: Heavy concepts, yet delivered (for the most part) in a lighthearted and funny evening of jabs, jibes, and jests.

The real heart of The Last Brunch lies in the wonderful ensemble work of the actors. Everyone holds their own in this group of seven, with each character (named after peripheral characters in the Christ story) well developed by the performers. This group of seven, in a smallish acting space, manage to achieve a synergy where every member of the troupe have created characters of great detail and individuality, and none of them drop out for even a single moment.

I am reluctant to pick anyone out because they are all so good but Haggett (Judas) is a craic from start to finish, Arter (Andrew) keeps the energy high and has comic timing to die for, and Brennan (Mary) is mesmerising. It is her amazing gift which allows the one truly horrific moment of story telling to blaze and makes what is generally a light hearted romp tear deep into the soul with a reality almost too painful to experience. This is also the moment Dowthwaite's directing shines as he takes this revelation as far as it can be sustained before it rips the show apart, then brings us all back to calmer waters. Who would have thought a Hamletesque ending would be considered calmer waters?

Niarros as doubting Thomas is beautifully crafted and Shields (James) is a star in the making. He needs to develop vocally, but here is an actor to watch as he develops his craft. Paine (Peter) does a fine job of  controlling the action. Wortman (Simon) probably had the hardest job of all and did a mighty job with a character who probably shouldn't even be in the play. There is little context, need, or script for this character and making him stand out visually as Souter has done just makes this so much more obvious. 

The Last Brunch is a fun night of theatre. It lacks the depth of writing to take it where it needs to go, but the actors are fun to watch and the directing is really strong.

3 Stars

Dawn - Theatre Review

What: Dawn
When: 23-26 August
Where: The Owl and Cat Theatre
Written by: Samantha Cooper
Directed by: Jaime Dorner
Performed by; Lucy Orr, Roxana Paun Trifan, and Damian Vuleta.

Dawn is a thrilling new play by American playwright Samantha Cooper and is showing this week only at The Owl and Cat Theatre. It is an uncompromising play about incest and pulls no punches on any of the people involved. This play has a couple of really surprising twists which you don't see coming, but which tell us so much more about the family than we'd ever have thought to question or perhaps even want to consider.

Director Jaime Dorner is from New Zealand and true to the body of his work it is presented in a very visual aesthetic with clean lines - almost like a photographic stills gallery.  The techniqus is very powerful for this play because it is like flicking through a family photo album. The play itself only runs over an hour but covers two days in the life of these people so perhaps it is more true to say it is like time lapse photography. This has an interesting effect of depersonalising the characters although what is happening is intensely intimate, confusing, and painful. The technique makes it easier for the audience to endure, but I do find myself wondering if it also lets us off the hook in that we don't have to feel with the same intensity as the characters.

I usually don't like to talk about production values when a show doesn't have design support, but I am going to make an exception here. Perhaps one of the reasons I did not feel as connected and effected as I might have liked is because of the lighting. While highly atmospheric, the single lightbulb over the bed meant a lot of monologues which where addressed to the audience where in silhouette so we weren't able to see the faces or feel the pain of the actors speaking in the moment. One of the general rules of the theatre lighting is that we need to see the actors faces and this show is a good example of why this is important.

The performances were uneven, but the script is so good it wasn't such a problem. Trifan really stood out for me as the mother and I really missed not being able to connect with her in her monologues. Orr as the daughter was adequate although I got confused about the age of the character. She was doing homework and needing help but at one point I thought they said something about her being 18 which really dilutes the whole story. The question then becomes why would she stay and is it really as horrifying at that age when one would assume she has some agency.

Vuleta as the father is badly miscast. It is not that his acting is at fault, it is more that he is just not right for the role. He is more psychopath rather than brutal control freak. The direction also doesn't help. In an early scene with Jo (Trifan), a scene meant to demonstrate his control and unpredictability, Dorner has directed it as sweet and loving game of chasey around the bed which dominates the playing space. This makes it really hard for Trifan to get her character to where she needs to be to make sense of her relationship with the daughter.

Dawn is an exciting, tense, surprising, and well written play and is a good example of the direction The Owl and Cat are heading. Having recently declared their intention to only produce world premier plays, they are situated somewhere between La Mama and Red Stitch and will appeal to both audiences. I can see them becoming a Melbourne institution.

3.5 Stars

The Whistleblower - Theatre Review

What: The Whistleblower
Where: Metanoia Theatre
When: 10 - 21 August
Written by: Andrew R. Kelly
Directed by: Robin Thomas
Performed by: Blake Barnard, Mitchel Edwards, Scott Leek, Raymond Martini, Paul Fergus Morris, Nick Rijs, Mish Wittrup, and Eliza Woods.
Sound by: Tom Backhaus

The Whistleblower is a new play written by Swan Hill playwright Andrew R. Kelly and has been produced by Bakers Dozen Theatre Company. It is being performed at Metanoia and it is exciting to see their studio space activated in this manner. Presented in the round with an astroturf floor my heart skipped a beat in anticipation of a lively and intriguing night of theatre.

What ensued, however, was a night of anger and frustration and a desperate wish to be able to walk out with dignity. I probably should have walked out anyway. This is not a comment on the company or the production. It was the play itself which offended me from the very first scene and never recovered from that position.

The Whistleblower is ostensibly about a disenfranchised middle aged man who is searching for his identity. The program notes call it 'a man on a journey of self-discovery'. To be honest, I don't care if Clive (played by Rijs) ever finds himself. He's better off not knowing.

The play opens with Clive abusing his wife - 'Iris the Virus' as his friend Merv (played by Morris) calls her - and blaming her for everything wrong in his life. The point at which I got really angry was 'the next morning' when Iris (played by Wittrup) actually apologised for upsetting him and takes all the blame!

It does not improve from there. Merv calls his wife 'the handbrake', and the only other woman in the play, Susie (played by Wood) is a domestic violence surviver who is now in a relationship with a psychopath. Whilst most of the vitriol is towards women, the play does manage to offend the LGBTI community and the disabled as well.

The premise is that the regional football umpire's association is a place for the poor disaffected white male priveleged middleclass man to go and be a man and reclaim himself. Clive wails the eternal lament that men have to live and work with women, and in doing that they lose their manhood. I have heard this refrain before, bemoaned by the Melbourne events social group The Gentlemen's Club who used it as an excuse to socialise and network to the exclusion of women. Boo hoo.

The play does have some interesting mechanisms. I really liked the actual game play scenes where the umpires are working on the field. Clever writing and clever direction. There is also the iconic Statler and Waldorf pair in the shape of Butch (Edwards) and Nugget (Barnard). Ostensibly the play is also about corruption and Clive is set up to be the moral champion - after spending most of the play being a complete tosser - who has the 'balls' to stand up to Sarj (Leek) and save the day. I admit by that time I wasn't buying what Kelly was selling.

I like Bakers Dozen as a company and I loved what they did with Comedy of Errors. One of the comments I made in my review back then was that I was deeply impressed with their level of understanding of their characters. I cannot say the same for this production. I am not convinced many of them truly dug into the text for meaning, although it was so repugnant I don't blame them for resisting.

Wittrup as Iris was probably the standout although her character is kind of pointless. This makes her performance even more remarkable I think. Leek was good as Sarj, Morris was surprisingly likeable as 'Merv the Perv', and Martini carried his role of clown well as Feliciano, the blind umpire.

The Whistleblower is a hard play to watch because noone is liked and noone is likeable. Even if you like AFL, the umpires are derided and called maggots more times than I can remember. I know it is a bit of a national sport to deride umpires, but I just couldn't find the good nature in any of it. It's just mean.

Sarj constantly asks 'Are you marking what I'm kicking' and I have to say no. He also says 'Umpires don't make mistakes, Clive. They make decisions.' Don't make this mistake. Save your money for Bakers Dozen's next production, The Removalists.

1 star.

Changes - Music Review

What: Changes - A Tribute to the music of David Bowie
Where: Gasworks Arts Park
When: 27 July - 6 August
Direction by: Kendall-Jane Rundle
Musical Direction by: Jeff Wortman
Costumes by: Jessica Allie
Lighting Design: Bryn Cullen and Rob Sowinski
Performed by: Jacqui Essing, Charlotte Fox, Candice, Lillian, Isabelle Mulrooney,Kendall-Jane Rundle, Benjamin Samuel, Melanie Stevens, and Robot Child.
Stage Managed by: Michael Wilson

                                         PHOTO COURTESY OF ENCORE PR

Changes is a fun night chock full of all the greatest music created over the decades by David Bowie. From Space Oddity, through the Ziggy Stardust years, and onto the 80's pop era, this is a night which will leaving you reeling as you remember the truly phenomenal talent and contribution Bowie made to world of music.

The first act is more of a Greatest Hits collection (my favourites were 'Fashion' and 'Young American), the second act seemed to focus on the musically great numbers including 'Fame' and 'Life on Mars'. Robot Child really broke out of there constraints in the second act and took over the room. 

Robot Child is the band Waleed Aly plays in, for those who are interested. Jeff Wortman is the lead singer and his vocals were superb. The band are a truly magnificent ensemble. The clapping routine in 'Love is Lost' was mesmerising and anyone who has ever tried it will know how hard it is to sustain!

LSS did the sound and I was really impressed with what they achieved from an RCF/EV sound sytem.  The mix was a bit choppy at first, but by the middle of the first act it settled down and was not inferior to what you might hear in Hamer Hall. Part of the problems with the sound in the first act was more about the performers and microphone technique anyway, which the engineer can't do anything about.

Changes is not just a concert. It has a performative side to the tribute. You may recognise Rundle's name from my review last month of Psychosis 4.48. In that review, I commented that I felt the work was imprecise. Changes does not have this problem. Every move and moment is deliberate, considered and very well executed. 

Conceptually, Rundle and Wortman have created a performance surrounding the music which references the style and/or content of Bowie's video clips. The six chorus take on the rythmic movements of characters in clips or form photo shoot tableaus. Jacqui Essing really shines, and one of my favourite moments is 'Dancing in the Street' where she takes on the persona of Mick Jagger.

Wortman told me before the show that getting the rights was a fascinating negotiation. One of the important caveats was they were not allowed to 'impersonate' Bowie. It's a tricky problem but one which Rundle and Wortman have solved beautifully. Essentially they have separated (for the most part) the singing and the body of Bowie, treading a fine line between giving the audience what they have come for and respecting the wishes of the intellectual property owners. In fact, there is something quite illuminating revealed by separating the image of Bowie from the music. 

Visually, the focus is on bleach-blonde 80s Bowie, and Allie has done an amazing job of creating a collection of those wonderful Don Johnson style jackets in all the tones and hues of the 80s including fusschia, ming blue, aqua, royal blue, etc. Rundle is the iconic Bowie in red jacket, and white dress shirt, although where Bowie was always pristine in the 80s, Rundle is tousled and deconstructed.

The most annoying part of the evening was in act one Rundle had a lot of trouble with her 'madonna' mic. Focussing on her acting, and not having choreographed with the microphone in mind, it kept being knocked and falling which interfered with the vocals and therefore the performance. Given the nature of the show, the singing is more important so a bit of choreographical nuance would make a world of difference. Having said that, Rundle has a good singing voice and with some breath training she will develop a mighty set of pipes!

The first act is too long and too visually repetitive, but the songs are good. Don't give up at interval though, because act two will blow you away! A big shout out to the lighting designers as well. Magnificent work.

4Stars

A Very Modern Marriage - Theatre Review

What: A Very Modern Marriage
Where: The Owl and Cat Theatre
When: 26-29 July
Written by: Arthur M Jolly
Directed by: Gabrielle Savrone
Performed by: Tom Carty, Jayden Popik, and Ali Viterbi.

The latest offering at The Owl and Cat is an American comedy A Very Modern Marriage written by Los Angeles writer, Jolly. It has the flavour of sitcoms whilst dealing with the big issues of trust, marriage, and sexual orientation.

Jolly is a prolific writer, working across screen and stage and his writing in this play does show the screen influences very strongly. Generally speaking Jolly writes comedy and heightened realism and this play tends to fall into the later category although it is billed as a comedy. To me it felt more like a funny drama than a true comedy although the play is full of zingers and has many recognisable TV sitcom techniques and structures.

My hesitation to call it a true comedy is partly because much of the subject matter is very serious - broken relationships, economic inequality, deception, etc. It may also be a result of  Savrone's direction. Whilst Jolly writes heightened realism, this play has been directed as pure realism. This decision has tended to interfere with the comic timing and the farcical structures imbedded. The realism doesn't allow the jokes to be set up, it smooths out the clever step-by-step heightening built into the script, and doesn't allow the actors/characters to step out of their roles to acknowledge the audience as the pun structure invites them to do - especially the character of Christopher (Popik) who is the cliche quick quipping gay friend and sneaky husband stealer.

This is a play built on cliches. The humour lies there and so the play is funny regardless. It also holds some real shock and awe moments. One moment in particular, between Viterbi and Popik is absolutely breathtaking, shocking, and unexpected. (You may recognise Viterbi's name. She wrote Deadheads produced by The Owl and Cat earlier in the year.) In fact, Viterbi and Popik worked well together across the whole play.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this production was the design and use of space. The set had an awe inspiring level of detail without being overwhelming and Savrone has the actors using the space - all of it - inventively. The acting was precise and overall, I had a sense of complete confidence from the moment I walked in I was going to enjoy a good piece of theatre which showed respect to the play and the audience.

The ending of A Very Modern Marriage is somewhat trite, and it doesn't help that Carty's energy seemed to seep out of him at that point. Nevertheless it is a fun ride and there are moments in the show which are so perfectly crafted they will stick with me for a long time.

I laughed, I gasped, and I chuckled my way through A Very Modern Marriage. If you like what Red Stitch does you will really enjoy this show. Hurry though, it is only on this week.

4 stars.

Flash - Theatre Review

What: Flash
Where: Owl & Cat Theatre
When: 5-15 July
Written by: Francis Grin
Directed by: Carl Whiteside
Performed by: Casey Bohan, Ruby Duncan, Brett Fairbairn, Will Sutherland, and Dominic Weintraub.
Set by: Sonja Mounsey

                                              PHOTO COURTESY OF OWL & CAT THEATRE

Flash is an intriguing new British play being presented at the Owl & Cat Theatre this month. Written by Francis Grin, Flash is a story about psychopathy, peer pressure, and abuse, and is a great tale for these cold winter nights. It's not a ghost story but it could very well leave you with nightmares.

Grin begins the story at the end, and as the clock winds back the events of the preceding evening are unfolded. Interspersed are time jumping vignettes of the protagonist (Christian) at home with his father. This idea of moving backwards through the story creates a much more chilling effect than a normal forward revealing approach would have done. If you have ever read a newspaper article about a horrific event and wondered how it happened you will, for once, have your curiosity satisfied but I don't think you will feel any better for knowing.

Weintraub plays the central character of Christian - a highly energetic and fun loving kind of guy - and Sutherland is his sidekick Oliver. They are just full of energy and the risk taking of youth, right? That is certainly what everyone chooses to believe. Who cares about the burnt cockroaches and the unpopular girl? It's all just youthful exuberance and they won't cause any serious harm... They're good kids.

Weintraub does most of the work in this production and it is his energy which carries the play. It is not that the acting from the others is bad, it is more that they are very passive and so rather than giving Weintraub challenges to respond to and react against, they tend to wait for him to effect them all the time. This works for Sutherland who has created a character of surly meanness but Duncan misses a lot of opportunities to push back and create tension.

I feel Bohan and Fairbairn have misinterpreted their characters and are trying to be too nice. Fairbairn has a wonderful brooding presence but the script refers to him as an alcoholic and there is nothing of that in his portrayal which, again, leaves Weintraub nothing to play against. This releases the tension of the show right when it should be getting tighter and tighter.

To be honest I wasn't entirely sure whether Fairbairn was just playing one character or a couple of them, and I don't know if that is a directorial or a script problem. It is a problem though. Whiteside has done a good job of working with the actors generally. They are very clear about where they are and why they are there which gives an exciting precision to their movements.

 The difficulty is this production is just too nice. All of the characters are likeable and everybody is so controlled and ordinary the audience has to really work hard to get to the point and access the horror. Of course, playing the opposite is a good technique but this is a suspense thriller and it needs to have ugly moments, it needs to be explosive, it needs to frighten. A sickness in the belly grows as the story is revealed and this could be multiplied in impact with a bit more grit.

Mounsey's set is clever and I like the use of the space in the lengthwise configuration although it did become a bit like watching a tennis match. There is too much furniture. The stage is being used for breadth and this means there is little depth to play with so less furniture would give the actors room to build tension rather than trying to make their way around things. A closer look at what the central concern of the play is would have helped Whiteside and Mounsey make stronger choices which would prevent the audience from having any chance of disengaging.

I really like the ideas in this play and how the story is told. Weintraub and Sutherland are fantastic, and Flash evokes just enough coldness to help create a chilling night of theatre.

3.5 Stars

4:48 Psychosis - Theatre Review

What: 4:48 Psychosis
Where: Metanoia Theatre
When: 29 June - 2 July
Written by: Sarah Kane
Direction by: Kendall-Jane Rundle
Peformed by: Alisha Eddy, Kendall-Jane Rundle, Jessica Stevens, and Jeff Wortman
Costumes by: Jessica Allie
Lighting by: Shane Grant

PHOTO COURTESY OF ENCORE PR

4:48 Psychosis is the latest play being presented at Metanoia and is produced by Bare Naked Theatre. It is the last of six published plays by British Playwright Sarah Kane and has been staged all over the world.

Kane suffered from serious clinical depression throughout her life, and 4:48 Psychosis looks at depression, but more specifically it investigates psychotic symptomology. Because of this and because she killed herself shortly after writing it, people often make the assumption this play is about her. We do not know this, but it is true that she is on record as saying 'Do what you want with it, but know that writing it killed me'.

Kane as a writer was strongly influenced by Expressionism and Jacobean Theatre. Her writing life began in poetry but she moved into writing drama because '...theatre has no memory, which makes it the most existential of the arts...'. Kane gives no indication of staging or character or how many actors could or should be used, but instead has written a dramatic poem. The Jacobean influence lies in it's episodic structure. The expressionism lies in the removal of character and experiential affects of the writing. Her poetry shines through in the onomatopoeia, alliteration, repetition, and word placement on the page amongst other devices.

The world Kane has created is a world of the mind, not an outward place or location. The stage at Metanoia has been left bare to reflect a cavernous non-world which is clever and effective. It is minimalist in design which is, again, a really appropriate choice and Grant's lighting design works well to deconstruct normality of both the world and the stage. I particularly like the use of dangling lightbulbs which, as well as breaking up the space, come to represent the firing of neurons and the concept of ideas and thought. In the first countdown scene he cleverly uses them to escalate the desperate groping of the mind as the bodies in the space chase order. For those who have read the script you will also enjoy the spatial corollary which has been echoed here as well.

In my opinion the biggest problem with the production is Rundle has not made a choice whether to be a performer in the play or the director. Obviously Bare Naked Theatre is a vehicle for her to highlight her talents, but this production desperately needs an outside directorial eye both to unify the artistic direction of the play, but also to hone in the performances themselves. The pace is slow and everything just feels imprecise and unfinished.

I have listened to Rundle's interview on SYN and it seems to me she has missed an important piece of understanding about Kane as a playwright and indeed, this play in particular, which is why the production falls a bit flat generally.

In the interview Rundle talks about this production being 'truthful' and 'intimate' and 'human', and 'true to interpretation'. She goes on to say that she is resisting being dramatic and creating abstract interpretations of this modernist play.

Here is the problem - Kane is an Expressionist and has used post-dramatic techniques in her writing. This is not a modernist work and is a rebellion against realism and naturalism. It is meant to be experiential and devoid of identifiable character. It is part of a collection of works from the 1990's dubbed "in-yer-face" theatre. Rundle is trying to make us 'care' about a character in both the direction and her performance but you can't create a fully formed character with a linear trajectory because there is none, so the real impact of the work and any understanding of the experience of psychosis is completely lost.

Having said that, there are one or two moments which expose intriguing insights including the countdown scene I mentioned earlier, and the visibility scene as Rundle storms up the stairs. These moments work precisely because they break the realism form,

I do recommend seeing this because the truth of this play is most accurately exposed by it being mounted many times with a range of interpretations. This production has a place within that panorama.

2.5 stars.