Review - Domino

Domino

By Giuliano Ferla

Domino

By Giuliano Ferla

Presented by Attic Erratic

Director – Danny Delahunty

Set - Laura Harris

Performers

Alex Duncan – Prof

Joseph Green – Doc

Kane Felsinger – Skoll

Matt Hickey – Polly

Spencer Scholz - Gen

The Convent Abbotsford

18 to 29 June 2013

Well produced in a great found space at the lively hub of the Convent Abbotsford and playing to good size houses of interesting contemporary audiences Domino is a promising and challenging work that seems to just (frustratingly) miss the mark.

As a story it has the drive of an epic Myth or Fairy Tale.  However the work as a whole it is not clearly enough structured or delineated to make adequate sense for an audience who display their frustration by becoming restless in the last 20 to 15 minutes of the performance. 

At times the writing is startlingly satisfying then it falls.  This work requires more cohesion of concept through a deeper understanding by the Director and Actors of what the Writer is trying to say.  The Writer needs a more focused commitment to what he is trying to get at and some advice on editing.

When it works in the use of cut off words the text is exciting and inspiring however it is so uneven that as soon a one is swept away by how it operates bang – one is slapped back down to earth again with verbose banality.

A sort of fairy tale ambiguity is tendered by the set (Laura Harris). It could be and ‘men’s shed’ containing the shack from King Lear, a cubby house of a stable for a Nativity scene.  This liberally allows for a variety of interpretations. 

All five performers are strong and able, though there is some considerable vocal pushing - which infers a lack of confidence.   Although there are a number of startling moments of change and much rich characterization more directorial imput is required to refine and focus the work of the actors. 

The use of basic unpainted mod-rock masks smacks of the Drama classroom not a public performance.

Every aspect of this production is strong and and loaded with potential though it does not pull together into a coherent whole and ends up being less than the sum of its parts.  It is more like a work in progress than a fully realized production.  This suggests an inexperienced directorial eye (we all have to start somewhere).  To unlock this text productively it needs an experienced director/dramaturge to workshop with writer, director, dramaturge, and actors - to strip back the text and express the essence of the original idea with courage and aplomb.  

Well produced in a great found space at the lively hub of the Convent Abbotsford and playing to good size houses of interesting contemporary audiences Domino is a promising and challenging work that seems to just (frustratingly) miss the mark.

As a story it has the drive of an epic Myth or Fairy Tale.  However the work as a whole it is not clearly enough structured or delineated to make adequate sense for an audience who display their frustration by becoming restless in the last 20 to 15 minutes of the performance. 

At times the writing is startlingly satisfying then it falls.  This work requires more cohesion of concept through a deeper understanding by the Director and Actors of what the Writer is trying to say.  The Writer needs a more focused commitment to what he is trying to get at and some advice on editing.

When it works in the use of cut off words the text is exciting and inspiring however it is so uneven that as soon a one is swept away by how it operates bang – one is slapped back down to earth again with verbose banality.

A sort of fairy tale ambiguity is tendered by the set (Laura Harris). It could be and ‘men’s shed’ containing the shack from King Lear, a cubby house of a stable for a Nativity scene.  This liberally allows for a variety of interpretations. 

All five performers are strong and able, though there is some considerable vocal pushing - which infers a lack of confidence.   Although there are a number of startling moments of change and much rich characterization more directorial imput is required to refine and focus the work of the actors. 

The use of basic unpainted mod-rock masks smacks of the Drama classroom not a public performance.

Every aspect of this production is strong and and loaded with potential though it does not pull together into a coherent whole and ends up being less than the sum of its parts.  It is more like a work in progress than a fully realized production.  This suggests an inexperienced directorial eye (we all have to start somewhere).  To unlock this text productively it needs an experienced director/dramaturge to workshop with writer, director, dramaturge, and actors - to strip back the text and express the essence of the original idea with courage and aplomb.  

To present Domino convincingly the actors would need to undergo intense physical and vocal workshops to better equip them to credibly play humans in a post-apocalyptic age.

Challenging and valiant but naive work.

(For Stage Whispers – but unpublished)