MTC Presents:
The Last Man Standing
By Steve Vizard
Music by Paul Grabowsky
Cast: Clarry Flint – Peter Carroll, Ensemble – Nick Eynaud, Captain Skurry – Esther Hannaford, Doctor Morgan Cockburn - Simon Maiden, Colonel Raymond Hope – William McInnes, The Man – Jensen Overend, Ensemble – Monica Swayne, Elliot Fontana/Cam – Toby Truslove, The Minister for Defence – Nicki Wendt, Rachel Wiley – Alison Whyte, Violin – Ed Antonov
Director Roger Hodgman
Musical Director – Andrew Patterson
Set and Costume Designer – Richard Roberts
Lighting Designer - Matt Scott
Choreographer – Dana Jolly
Sumner Theatre - 6 November - 12 December 2015
Sumner Theatre - 6 November - 12 December 2015
The
Last Man Standing is a rich opportunity to laugh,
and laugh a lot, at the satirizing of one of our most treasured ‘holy
cows’. It is a motely, mottled mix of
thoughts and ideas surrounding Anzac Day and our ever-burgeoning reverence, for
it.
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| Photo - Jeff Busby |
Writer Steve Vizard has gathered Anzac Day
motifs and created a pretty wacky scenario pertaining to the creation of a
unique Ausi variety concert (V. C.). It
would seem this be being done to further galvanize the community through
celebrating the disastrous and devastating contribution of our forces at Anzac
Cove. And yep there are puns aplenty.
Musically it has many of the best the
hallmarks of Paul Grabowsky’s significant talent; subtle, mellow, moving and
with songs that fit actors like gloves and support their particular skills and
personal tones. Some of the music is
prerecorded but most is played live by violinist Ed Antonov and Andrew
Patterson, who is the Musical Director, on the piano.
At its heart The Last Man Standing reminds us we have fallen under a spell of
politically driven hype and glorification of war. Somehow we have been able to ignore or cover
over the toxic personal and social costs endured over the last century. And the homage we are now paying to Anzac day
is further venerating human sacrifice and in doing so masking the personal and
cultural damage experienced.
However – vitally - this timely reminder is
encased in a light and engaging narrative that sweeps joyfully along.
Vizard, ultimately, encourages us to look
at soldiers as real and flawed people who have been put in impossible
situations, from which they have emerged deeply scared.
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| Photo - Jeff Busby |
The
Last Man Standing is beautifully cast with actors
we have come to admire and love; lead by Peter Carroll who is an extraordinary
tour de force. He is the ‘last man’
Clarry Flint a survivor of Gallipoli.
Carroll is one of those inspired actors who can fill a parody with
complex believable characteristics and reach out from behind the proscenium to
make an intimate connection with his audience.
William McInnes as Colonel Raymond Hope the Bull of Kabul embodies our
stuffy masculine, military past all respectability and suppression.
Nicki Wendt portrays a Minister for Defence,
(and a number of other difficult portfolios), with very convincing aplomb. Alison Whyte as Rachael Wiley the producer’s
producer. Toby Truslove shines as the master of ceremonies at the concluding spoof
of a variety show.
Lighting by Matt Scott is mixed – sometimes
shadowy, sometimes sharp and at times very consciously adding to emotional
atmosphere and then at other times not particularly noticeable. This seems to match the jumbled atmosphere of
the whole that is inspired by the narrative and reinforced by the flowing
Direction of Roger Hodgman and the efficient use of the revolving stage.
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| Photo - Jeff Busby |
This first production of The Last Man Standing is a big, broad
and confident, and as expected, a delightfully funny work about who we are as
Australian’s in relation to conservative popular culture and our reverence for
Anzac Day. Satisfyingly it also has the
capacity to move and engage on a more intimate and personalized level.
Suzanne Sandow
(For Stage Whispers)
