Review: Tina C: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Tina C: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word. Created by Christopher Green. Performed by Tina C with Auriel Andrew OAM and James Henry. Presented by Malthouse Theatre, Christopher Green, Julia Holt and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Beckett Theatre, March 21 – April 14.

The Tina C: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word is classy, character driven, comedy that is not quite stand up, not quite cabaret and not quite music theatre. But Les Girls eat your hearts out – Tina C is the most beautiful (Country and Western) Drag Queen – real eye candy. Dressed in skimpy shorts and blouse that are made of fabric with an indigenous artwork print she presents as a stunning Barbie Doll with beautiful legs that ‘go up to heaven’. 

 

During the shows eighty minutes she tells anecdotes, lectures, sings and generally gives us not particularly well informed, opinions and advice about white Australia’s relationship with its indigenous (pronounced indiginous) brothers and sisters. She parodies American evangelism, expounding pretty ‘dicky’ theories with lashings of ‘love and understanding’!

Tina C is smart and sassy, so bright in fact, she is able to make sense of the complex writing of British theatre maker Christopher Green. She is Christopher Green’s alter ego. 

  

As she presents her show with two indigenous artists James Henry (Jimmy Little’s grandson) and Auriel Andrew (pictured), her plea for respecting the Aboriginal races of this nation is, kind of weirdly, authenticated. 

 

Included is a most touching rendition of Bob Randell’s song Brown Skin Baby performed by Auriel Andrew. This is incongruous with the superficiality of the whole and a real pace changer, but a highlight.

Complex, sharp, clever, witty, and a little bit brittle and caustic, there is so much about this performance that is politically unsound and potentially offensive – but it is ultimately great fun and full of laughs.

Enjoy if you can get tickets!

Suzanne Sandow                                                                                              

(For Stage Whispers)

Review: Beyond the Neck: A Quartet on Loss and Violence

Beyond the Neck: A Quartet on Loss and Violence by Tom Holloway. Directed by Suzanne Chaundy. Designer – Dayna Morrissey, Lighting Designer – Richard Vabre, Sound Designer – Philip McLeod. Cast: Marcus McKenzie, Philippa Spicer, Emmaline Carroll and Roger Oakley. Red Stitch until 14 April.

  

There can be no doubt that significant courage is required to work with material as deeply disturbing as the Port Arthur Massacre. And yes perhaps “To acknowledge grief is to acknowledge love.” (Director’s program notes.)

Four actors as actors frame and, as assumed characters, re-enact in disjointed monologues form incidents, in individual lives, surrounding this profoundly traumatic event. A sense of dread and danger underlies the telling that is presented as a montage, not a narrative.

We know the basic outline of what happened at Port Arthur – it is assumed knowledge. Some would have followed it intensely and have considerable insights. Some would have been touched personally to varying degrees and some touched profoundly due to experiencing traumatic life changing events.  It is volatile material that each audience member will receive uniquely.

 

Roger Oakley, a consummate actor, shines as the Old Man. He portrays a strongly crafted archetypal character with crystal clear clarity. The Old Man, true to type, finds it extremely difficult to access his subterranean emotions. Oakley is well supported by, and supportive of, the younger cast members. Philippa Spicer presents a beautiful young wife and mother with unmitigated focus. Emmaline Carroll embraces the nuances of a petulant teenager to great effect. Marcus McKenzie valiantly bridges the difficult characters of a troubled child with an imaginary friend and the somewhat ambiguously penned character of a psychopath.

The set designed by Dayna Morrissey is stunning. With its transparent, scroll like, paintings of cliff reliefs in the foreground of a mural of the coast, and the stage areas all colours of the sea. The whole suggests dark power and timelessness. Richard Vabre’s lighting is finely tuned to enhance Ms Morrissey’s work as does the initial chilling soundscape created by Philip McLeod.

All aspects of this production meld seamlessly into a whole and towards a focused culmination that still needs some delicate fine-tuning to offer the inferred release through catharsis. As the climax is approached and themes of torture and cold blooded murder converge, the counterpoint of string music does not entirely compliment and support the rhythms and intentions of the actors. It seems to negate and distract from them, undermining their potential to affect as profoundly as they could.

This rich work has much to recommend it and on opening night was received with loud affirming enthusiasm.

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)

Review: Art - Mount Players - Macedon

Art by Yasmina Reza. Directed by Christina Finch. Cast: Marc – Andrew Blizzard, Serge – Adrian Munro and Yvan – Richard Barley. Presented by Mount Players.

Art is an intriguing play about the joys, frustrations and petty betrayals of friendship as experienced in this ever changing contemporary life, and dare I say, post-modern world. It could be likened to an extend episode of a French version of Seinfeld.
 

Through the perceptive, intelligent direction of Christina Finch, Yasmina Reza’s deftly-crafted award-winning play shines as a fascinating examination of checks and balances of friendship.

It is the story of three men who have maintained reliable, affirming and psychologically intimate relationships with each other, over a period of fifteen years. Then, ostensibly provoked by a seemingly out of character action – the purchase of an outrageously expensive painting by one of the trio – comfortable co-dependent relationships begin to flounder. We watch three men metaphorically stumble around, miscommunicating with wearisome disdain – where there was once the delight of reinforcing recognition.
 

This play has universal appeal in its exploration of the difficulties of maintaining positive connections and the disappointments of being taken for granted or misunderstood - as something we all experience. And curiously, the anxieties and discomfort suffered, are particularly vividly ‘thrown into relief’, by being embodied by males endowed with, perhaps unusually, heightened capacities for introspection.

Each of the characters is clearly drawn and convincingly interpreted by the actors. Ivan (Richard Barley) is a lively comic character with quick rhythms who is painfully keen to please. Andrew Blizzard’s Marc is a stolid presence with a hint of danger about him.  The extravagant yet ultimately reconciling Serge as played by Adrian Munro also serves the text well.

In support of her striking ‘less is more’ staging Ms. Finch has developed an arrangement of the traditional round ‘Three Blind Mice’ and composed some lively, aptly fusing incidental music for scene changes – delightful touches.

‘Are you who you think you are or are you who your friends think you are’?  A pertinent question posed by Faber for the publication of the script.
 

A thought provoking and memorable production.
 

Suzanne Sandow 

(For Stage Whispers)

Pictured: Adrian Munro as Serge (in white shirt), Andrew Blizzard as Marc (in red shirt) and Richard Barley as Yvan (in blue shirt).

Review: Tribes

Tribes by Nina Raine. Directed by Julian Meyrick. Set Design: Stephen Curtis. Costume Design: Louise McCarthy. Lighting Designer: Matt Scott. Composer/Sound Designer: Tim Dargaville. Cast: Alison Bell, Julia Grace, Brian Lipson, David Paterson, Sarah Peirse and Luke Watts. Melbourne Theatre Company. Sumner Theatre 4 February to 14 March. 

This production of Tribes is a fascinating and absorbing amalgam that examines the constricting heart of a dysfunctional family – EastEnders almost meets Eugene O'Neil. 
 

To begin with an apparently academic and artistic family gather for dinner in their dwelling – as designated by the use of the whole of the vast Sumner Theatre stage – suggesting minimalism and affirming the free thinking milieu of the residents. They seem to be able to talk about anything and do. 

What appears an enviable life-style, comes under considerable scrutiny when a stranger – a potential girlfriend for one of the two sons Billy, (Luke Watts) is introduced. 

Sylvia (Alison Bell) is a young lively and thoughtful woman rapidly losing her hearing – ‘acquiring deafness’. In befriending Billy, who has been profoundly deaf from birth she broadens his perspective by introducing him to deaf culture. This offers Billy an avenue for separation from his family to burgeoning independence.

In the ambivalent incongruity of this family’s brutal, emotionally manipulative life there are hints of affirming warm communality – particularly just before interval, when all are gathered around a baby grand piano, movingly played by Sylvia, a timeless image basked in warm beatific light.

The second half this complex work exposes subtext under subtext to a glimpse of what lurks beneath. The use of signing and surtitles provides insight into deaf language and accentuates cultural difference. The strength of sign language as the cornerstone of Deaf culture is illuminated.

Obviously a team effort, this production is generously managed by Director Julian Meyrick. Set, lights, sound design and costume come together in a rich tapestry of production elements that support, enhance and inform the whole. 

Meyrick has drawn strong performances from his cast, most particularly from Brian Lipsom and Alison Bell. Lipsom as Christopher the blustering yet assertive, calculating, manipulative and at times acerbic patriarch presents an energetic and focused performance. The charismatic Bell portrays Sylvia as a charmingly sincere independent young woman – who makes perfect sense.

The costuming by Louise McCarthy hints at quirkiness and is effective. Sylvia is dressed to glow with just the right clash of colouring between her dress and shoes.

Ms Raine's writing is uneven and at times the voice is naïve. The script mobilises ideological sympathies and antipathies in a way that seems didactic to the point of superciliousness.

Nevertheless, Tribes is shocking and strangely satisfying. It is deeply interesting to observe a group of sensitive creative characters maintaining a familial binding pattern, at all costs, despite the restrictions this imposes on each of them. It raises questions about why some families promote some individuals and hobble others.

One is left mulling over what, or which of the various difficulties experienced by the individuals and group are at the core of their dysfunction. 

Engaging, stimulating theatre!

Photo: Jeff Busby

Review: Emilie's Voltaire, A Love Story

Emilie's Voltaire, a Love Story by Arthur Giron. Directed, designed and performed by Kenneth MacLeod and Kate Stones. Directorial Consultant: Angela Chaplin. Presented by The Red Room Theatre.

Emilie's Voltaire, a Love Story is an extremely cerebral work about two of History's great intellects. It is a two-hander that covers the time that Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet were lovers, sparing partners and confidants, and is staged almost entirely in domestic environments. 

This tame, respectable and well-supported production is engaging and absorbing. It is presented by competent and talented actors with lovely clear voices and the capacity to make perfect sense of the demanding writing. However to make the transition from telling to showing an audience, requires more time, attention and directorial work. Some cutting of the text and an intense rehearsal period would lift it from being excellent amateur/fringe work to the elucidating, penetrating, passionate sensual journey as promised by the promotional material.

The set, though bright and effective, constitutes a mix of conventions. It is partly naturalistic – partly representational.  It would be wonderful for this small company to be able to source and afford a skilled set designer to make clear visual statements.

Kate Stones’ Emilie is engaging and charming. She could easily portray the required wildness, volatility and earthiness with more rehearsal and the support of more sensual and unconventional costuming.  As it is, she is dressed in a manner indicative of the period in costumes that are obviously beautifully and painstakingly constructed, but the fabrics used are too modern and restricting to comprehensively serve the actor or character – unlike the jacket and velvet hat worn by Voltaire.

Kenneth MacLeod looks like Voltaire and plays him as a witty, lustful and, at times, controlling cunning fop. However with this strong and convincing presence, it would be entrancing to see a little less measure – so highs, lows and vulnerabilities could be more pointedly conveyed and thence responded to with a greater sense of spontaneity by Stones' Emilie.
 
Missing is the sharp invective involved in the dynamic power play of an overwhelming passion that is both physical and psychological. Without this, the talk of feminism becomes lip service – leaving a very subtle but bitter hint of misogyny.

To express the transitioning emotional extremes in this wild Tango (or almost the sadomasochistic Apache) of a relationship, physical and vocal fluidity are required. This production, with its strong dedicated performers, needs enthusiastic physicalisation of body language, variation in vocal tempo, more refined and defined production values, and to be staged in an intimate venue with a competent stagehand "to really take off." 

The essence of really good theatre is there. What is required now, is more intensive work in rehearsal and more time with a demanding perceptive director to present a visceral expression of the electric passion sparked by the meeting of minds.

Boots & Roots Festival

As I write this, the third day of the inaugural Kyneton Boots & Roots Music Festival is dawning. Terry Moore, and a dedicated team of technicians and supporters who are the inspiration behind this event, has seeded a truly magical weekend. 

There has been a low-key and contained lead-up, with humble chalk promotion on footpaths. The short and succinct flyer - listing a program that is deceptively rich and varied - landed only recently on shop counters, so loads of people could be forgiven for missing out. They will hear about it.  

Even in the rain, drizzle and cold, people are out and about moving around town - frequenting the hotels and churches, as well as sitting in the newly-refurbished Mechanic's Institute avidly listening in to some fantastic musical offerings from an astounding variety of performers.

My highlights have been the welcoming sense of community in all the venues I attended and the amazing musician-ship of Jimmy O'Hare, the youthful focused integrity of He-Brides, along with venturing into the Newmarket Hotel to listen to Simon & Robfunkle. But what really 'blew me away' was watching and listening to Kutcha Edwards, Cyndi Boste, Adam Brentnall, Brett Kelly and Geoffrey Williams inspire, support, encourage and back, a group of amazing young people as they presented the work they created in a song-writing workshop. Very solid!

This festival is an event that is truly engaging, moving and enlivening audience and performers alike. If my limited foray around town to several gigs is any example, many of us will be talking about the essence and integrity of what we are experiencing for months to come. Surely word of mouth will tend the growth, in coming years, of this rich, promising, well-planted community event.

Kyneton Boots & Roots Music Festival, Friday 2 March to Sunday 4 March. 30 local artists. 13 venues. All free.