Review - Vieux Carre

Itch Productions Presents

Vieux Carre

By Tennessee Williams

Director/Co-produer/Costume Design – Alice Bishop, Lighting Design – John Dutton, Set Design and Scenic Artist – Alexandra Hiller, Vocal Coaches – Les Cartwright and Jarrod Benson, Stage Manager – Harriet Gregory and Set Construction – Colin Orchard.

Cast:  Writer – Thomas Blackburne, Mrs. Wire – Kelly Nash, Nursie - Francesca Water, Jane Sparks – Samantha Murray, Nightingale – Stephen Whittaker, Pick up/T. Hamilton Biggs/Tourists/Hospital Orderly – Dallas Palmer, Mary Maude – Maureen Hartley, Miss Carrie – Brenda Palmer, Tye McCool – Des Fleming and Sky/patrolman Josh Blau.

For Midsummer Festival at 45 Downstairs

January 17 to February 3

Thomas Blackbourne - Photo: Justin Kane

They say the best thing a Director can do for her actors is create the appropriate atmosphere for a play’s characters to come to life in.  For invoking a magic little part of New Orleans in the 1930’s, at 45 Downstairs, full marks must go to Alice Bishop, as director of this rich and satisfying production of Vieux Carre by Tennessee Williams.   

As a fascinating piece of theatre history it is a two-act play of the type fast becoming ‘museum pieces’.  Themes are dramatic and almost melodramatic but never the less universal.  On a life-like stage we are treated to the kind of poetic naturalism that had its hay-day in the 1950s and 60s.   For decades this type of staging was the conservative norm that the reactionary Avant-garde theatre of the 70’s and 80’s pitted itself against.  (It is the style of production still manifest in many amateur theatres).  As accessible theatre/storytelling this genre of play and production makes easy and comfortable sense to a ‘lay audience’ particularly as stories generally flow sequentially.

That said - to set the scene and enhance atmosphere in this particular production fabulous blues guitar is beautifully rendered by Bob McGowan and cleverly and crisply piped into the auditorium. Impressive sound design throughout is by Nat Grant.

As the evening progresses, on an evocative set of a shabby rooming house in the old French Quarter of New Orleans, by Alexandra Hiller, we gradually become privy to aspects of the lives of controlling landlady Mrs. Wire (Kelly Nash), maid Nursie (Francesca Waters) and a number of disparate tenants and visitors.  All this is seen through the eyes of a young poet/writer - denoting the emerging voice of poet/playwright Tennessee Williams (Thomas Blackburne).

Blackburne delivers a neutral seemingly un-shock-able narrator, a young man of an empathetic condition, around who people unashamedly and expressively expose their needy and volatile lives.

Thomas Blackbourne and Stephen Whittaker - Photo:Justin Kane

All actors portray their complex, all too human characters, with skill and clarity.  Stephen Whittaker works with the significant challenge of the character Nightingale, an aging gay man suffering TB, walking the fine line of conveying predator and victim.  Maureen Hartley and Brenda Palmer as Miss Maude and Miss Carrie bring light-relief with their delightful and charming, kooky but compromised, spinsters.

In this type of classic work Act I is the exposition and Act II furthers the story and offers a sense of resolve.  The first half is palpably about loneliness highlighted by a poignant monologue, rendered skillfully by Nash as Mrs. Wire.  Act II, amongst other themes explores aspects of dying, acceptance and finally escape.

The second half dwells on the youngish, erstwhile, fashion designer Jane Sparks (Samantha Murray) ‘fallen on hard times’ and confronting her worst fears, and ousting her seedy lover Tye McCool, whom she seems to have ‘fallen in with’ accidentally like a martyr.  Murray shines as Sparks and Fleming’s McCool is a strong consistent, convincing presence throughout the whole.  It flows more evenly than the first, and has accumulated power to move the audience, from the understandings already gleaned.  

Thomas Blackbourne and Samantha Murray Photo: Justin Kane

This is a play and production that many will thoroughly enjoy. 

Highly recommended as a painstakingly well-produced intriguing piece of classic theatre history.

Suzanne Sandow

Review - Oh Suivant!

Oh Suivant!

Performed by: Dirk Van Boxelaere, Flen Ban Herwegen

Direction: Dirk Van Boxelaere, Flen Ban Herwegen, Leandre Ribera

Music: Alain Reubens

Set: Paul Van Herwegen

Costume: Monique Jacobs

Art Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio

15 – 27 January

Oh Suivant! is a delightfully enlivening and fun intimate circus experience, in a comfortable small theatre at the Arts Centre, where everyone gets a great view of what is happening.  The three children who accompanied me, a six, eight and eleven year old, were engrossed by this cheeky, funny, ‘five hander’.  Well it is a ‘two hander’ really - that makes very entertaining use of audience members!

There is never a dull moment and not one word is spoken.  Audience participation is superbly set up, as one would expect, by consummate street performers Fein Van Herwegen (pianist and assistant) and Dirk Van Boxelaere (D’Irque) juggler and acrobat.  Oh Suivant! is brought to us from Belgium by Explosive Media an insightful company who have been providing Melbourne with all sorts of fun community events for a couple of decades now.

Kids and adults alike are kept engaged anticipating and wondering what is going to come next as D’Irque, to Van Herwegen’s sensitively synchronized musical accompaniment, sets things up bit-by-bit with lovely little slights of hand and considerable audience assistance, to mini climaxes of acrobatic feats and unusual juggling knacks.  And the final, of numerous climaxes, is ‘so fun’ as it most satisfyingly, accomplishes an elusive feat alluded to throughout the whole show.

Every show will no doubt vary, depending on the audience members who volunteer or are coopted into cooperating.  Some will be more riotous and ridiculously funny than others.

My only quibble with the opening performance is with the lighting I feel it is a little dull and needs some tweaking.

This, not to long, not to short, charming, well rounded little show is highly recommended as a lovely, fun theatrical holiday outing for any family with kids of any age - from about four years up. 

And it is mercifully very reasonably priced!

Don’t miss it!

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)

Review - Acidtongue and Dollface

Acidtongue and Dollface

Written and Directed by Christopher Bryant

Cast: Kristina Benton – Susan’s Mother, James Cerche – James, Trelawney Edgar – Susan, Christian Hoegh – Susan’s Father

The Owl and the Pussycat

34 Swan Street Richmond

10 – 20 January 2013

The stakes were too high for this opening night.  The Owl and the Pussycat have been extremely courageous in their recent offerings and MKA has just treated Melbourne audiences to a sting of great productions.  So my expectations were high.   So - what follows is an attempt to understand why and what this production is lacking.

The promo blurb says one thing and the play says something else.  Ambiguity can be intriguing, but the ambiguity couched in this work is confusing.  The inference in the promo material that the work is a response to the restrictive privilege of growing up in suburbia is not adequately substantiated.

Acidtongue and Dollface commences with an interrogation and a counseling session played in conjunction.  This establishes a pervading dark tortured theme of self-loathing and punishment.   We are introduced to the fact there has been a murder and thence the story works backwards and forwards illustrating characters and situations but not a clear motive or motives.  Something is missing and it is one of those tricky situations where it is difficult to tell exactly what it is.

Susan (Trelawney Edgar) is a teenage girl, who’s Mother (Kristina Benton) and Father (Christian Hoegh) have separated.  She lives with her mother whom she is nasty towards and she has just started a new relationship with a lanky teenage boy named James.   The two teenagers go on a midnight rampage in the burbs and James kills Susan’s mother – but why?  It is just not clear.

What is vividly illustrated in this production is the delusive state of Susan’s mothers mind in respect to rekindling intimacy with her estranged husband and her self-loathing as she watches signs of aging take her body over.  Therefore her demise takes on the attributes of a sacrifice.  Unexpectedly this suggests the destruction of a middle-aged, self-loathing, delusional victim is as the theme of the work.  Which could be partly due to the strength of Christina Benton’s portrayal of her.

Christopher Bryant has written some strong and poignant scenes that are entertainingly portrayed.  Two of these are memorably, awkward minutes between Susan’s parents at the Supermarket and a fabulous scene of using electronic media to communicate - when a simple conversation would suffice.  But the work does not flow as a whole, lingers unnecessarily on some interactions.   It needs more/some substantial dramaturgical work, or the eye of a separate director to lift it out of blandness and confusion.  That is not to say it isn’t interesting and doesn’t have promise but it is not there yet.  It is way too introspective to be adequately dealing with the subject matter of murder, which suggests fear of the material.

Whether I was first night nerves, or not, Susan did not present as a normal teenager except in the video footage where Trelawney Edgar shone.  There was way too much tension in this young actor’s opening performance to be convincing.  She may be best suited to television acting and could focus her energies in that direction.  James Cerche was more believable as James - albeit a character lacking motives (as I am sure I have already said).  A more substantially filled-out, whole person, is the character of Susan’s father, who did come across as your average bloke with some light and shade.

Awkward costume changes detracted from the atmosphere, which, could be been better enhanced with more lights for the light design by Emily Keene.

Suburbia is ruled, over, by self-loathing matriarchs, that if killed, become the haunting undead that will never let go – so there is no hope!  And maybe everyone should lighten up and turn this work in to a comic horror play!

It is a really interesting production to think about, and I am glad I saw it, I think – but so difficult to write about!

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)

Review - Tina Del Twist - in Cabaret at The Royal George

The Royal George Christmas Cabaret

with 

Tina Del Twist 

Cliff Hanger and a Special Mystery Guest

Friday 22 December 2012

In Kyneton residents are privileged to have a hotel that schedules some excellent cabaret and comedy.   It is one of the many great things about living in a town that is its own unique, and growing, cultural oasis.

Tina, Drag Queen, Comedian and Singer croons to us as she compares a tremendous show full of surprises from comedians of contrasting talent.  As the evening progresses, Tina (a creation of home grown Wes Snelling) wows the audience with her mellow singing accompanied, in brilliant synchronization, by guitarist Twist - Stephen Weir.  Tina’s stage presence is unassuming, but kind of sexy at the same time.   Her calm ‘devil may care’ approach exudes comfort and relaxes the audience with one exception.

With live comedy I know to sit well back for fear of becoming part of the show.  To my horror my table is positioned closest to the stage - this reviewer was definitely set up!  But as it turns out I am in safe hands. I have so much outrageous fun calling out obscenities, as requested, whilst roaring with laughter and squirming with embarrassment, losing my table for Tina to put her drink on and fetching and carrying as required.

The surprise guest is Melbourne based Harley Breen, who, after courteously paying homage to his matronly host, launches into a rousing and dreadfully graphic, story of the birth of his first child.  This slice of life, at its most raw, packs the punch of strong material that is easy to connect to.  The audience is taken by this very capable masculine presence discussing once taboo material with sensitivity and insight.

Guest number two is Cliff Hanger a bigoted and sexist Vietnam Vet, who is dressed as Father Christmas to outraged his audience with character comedy at its best.  Presented by local Actor/Comedian Paul Lum, Cliff is a very richly realized character.   Through Cliff, with lashings of irony, Lum offers audiences a chance to reflect on some of the social difficulties experienced by the Returned Servicemen of this era.  And he is very funny.  As Cliff/Santa - Paul bravely deals with a very spirited local lovely, boldly riding his thighs, when expected to merely sit on his lap.

This was a real Christmas treat – laughing delightedly at engaging consummate performers in a great venue - just a short walk from home.  I wanted all my friends to be there to be having as much fun as I was.

Suzanne Sandow

(For Midland Express)

Images of Tina by James Penlidis