Review - Lost 5

Illumi-Nation Theatre - Presents

Lost: 5

By Daniel Keene

Director

Michelle McNamara

Performers

Fleur Murphy, Kiniesha Nottle, Marty Rhone, Pearce Hessling and Stephanie Pick

Lighting Designers

Jason Bovaird, and Maddy Seach

Composer/Sound Designer

Mbyro (Matt Brown)

22 November to 3 December 2017

More excellence from this years eclectic and cleverly situated Poppy Seed Festival.  This time the venue is south of the Yarra at St Martins Theatre.

The Irene Mitchell studio with its natural brick wall is the perfect venue to infer the atmosphere of a street for five probing monologues relating to homelessness by Daniel Keene.  Keene is a Melbourne playwright, deeply engaged with social issues and whose work was most prolifically staged in Melbourne in the mid 1990s. 

Lighting by Jason Bovaird and Maddy Seach creates and designates space through projections on the wall.  Cold alienating blue light creates contrast between the humanity of the characters and the brutal circumstances they find themselves.

As director of these monologues Michelle MacNamara keeps the audiences focus squarely on her very skilled actors as they highlight the poetic nature of Keene’s compassionate and acutely insightful writing.   Ms. Mac Namara splits the work The Rain in an effort to link the whole and casts several of the roles against the gender they were written for.  There is some disparity of styles, with a couple of works verging on magic realism, and the others more encased in naturalism.

In The Rain a pervading story of wartime experience, Fleur Murphy talks to the audience from various stages in her life.  She draws us into her bemusing inability to name what she experienced perhaps due to the dire profundity of it.

Two Shanks as brought to us by Stephanie Pick inspires compassion for a person outside the everyday - perhaps due to a deficiency in comprehending and accessing the social constructions she lives in. This lone individual is someone who takes her own council and does not strive to request assistance but creates her own rituals.

Kaddish is penned about an elderly man who lost his wife.  As played by Marty Rhone he expresses an overwhelming sense of anger from feeling cheated.  Traumatized by the loss of his wife to a desperate sense of victimization.

Kiniesha Nottle plays her character in Getting Shelter like a wild woman from the Medieval Era.  She brings to the work an edge of heightened realism this is a little at odds with the more grounded realism of the other characters.  However it could be argued it adds to the variety of the work as a whole.  Ms. Nottle certainly brings with her a sparkling joy of performing and is most entertaining and engaging.

Pearce Hessling most vulnerably conveys the wacky rhythms of someone who would be better served in an institution then on the streets in A Foundling.

Expect to be moved with the depth and complexity of the content about five individuals all of whom have suffered considerable trauma.  This is the type of work that elevates through its vital and elusive insights.

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers),

Review - Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit

Poppy Seed Festival Presents:

Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit

Playwright, director and lyricist – Jean Tong

Composer and sound designer – James Gales

Dramaturge – Kim Ho

Musical Director and composition support – Will Hannagan

Set and Costume designer – James Lew

Performers:  Sasha Chong, Nisha Joseph, Margot Tanjutco, Pallavi Waghmode and Louisa Wall

This great positive lively show played to an almost full house on Saturday.  It is truly worth catching as theatre with a message that doesn’t preach but wholeheartedly entertains. It is youthful, joyful and delivered with a lovely light touch and showcases some exciting emerging talent.   

Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit tells a coming of age story of first love between two rather naïve lesbians.  The setting, in the milieu of a loving family with conventional expectations of their daughter and her friend, shines light on the very real tensions experienced for those who are not able to partner as anticipated. 

This work is romantic, feminist, domestic and partially race blind - all at the same time.  In fact the cultural references and discussions are a very liberating aspect of the whole.  And how timely!

As chorus and ancillary characters Nisha Joseph, Pallavi Waghmode and Sasha Chong tell the story and move the proceedings along with loads of clever and smooth segues.  The whole moves with lovely coordinated precision.  When called on to people the stage Lisa Wall as Darcy and Margo Tanjutco as Juliette exude romance with a touch of irony.

The singing is lovely and the songs (lyrics Jean Tong/music James Gales) are great  - particularly the boppy finale of ‘F… You’ that send the audience from the Auditorium on a high.  I was singing as I navigated the stairs through the kooky bar/lounge spaces of the Butterfly Club to emerge in Carson Place.

Jean Tong as Playwright/Director and Lyricist is inspired has a splendid sense of humour.  The program suggests that she is an excellent collaborator as she has garnered some first-rate creatives and great support and assistance.

There some little things that I would love to see worked on; such as a back stage that is not a cluttered mess.  And so often of late I have wondered if performers warm up adequately to be able to pack a punch at the beginning of a show.  The initial stages of this performance were seemingly tentative.  At the same time I do admit this could be part of its charm, this kind of makes the whole thing accessible and the performers appear humble.   However I would favour a more concerted polished approach from go to woe. 

A short show is a good show - so is a proficiently timed show.

Great fun and well suited to the venue and totally worth catching and supporting.

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)

Reviews - Melbourne Writers Theatre

Melbourne Writers’ Theatre Presents

St Kilda Stories

Melbourne Writers’ Theatre is presenting three public performances: one in Studio 2 at The National Theatre in St Kilda and two at The Carlton Courthouse - Six Degrees in Melbourne from Tuesday the 3rd and The Melbourne Monologues from Tuesday the 17th of October.

I was lucky enough to catch the St Kilda Stories presented at The National Theatre and this bodes very well for the company’s next two offerings.

St Kilda Stories is a series of five monologues all by different writers and performers and a finale that brings all the actors together.   There is a satisfying variety in the material each of which is directed with finesse by Elizabeth Walley who works very differently with each story to bring out the essence of the writing and show performers at their best.

Twisted World written by Mazz Ryan and performed by Alec Gilbert is an extremely intimate and somewhat uncomfortable monologue of a gay man talking to the biological mother of his children.  It the writing rings of truth, as does the performance, and as such borders on the – too much information - embarrassing.  It feels very real.

Louise Baxter as the writer of Bathing Beauty has managed to hone her work to become the perfect vehicle for performer Isabella Gilbert who works physically and vocally with smooth and perfect timing to present a charming young specter from the Sea Baths on the St Kilda foreshore.  This is the funny/sad story of a synchronized swimmer who couldn’t swim

Charlotte Fox is sublime as the beautiful young army office in Waiting for Kouglhoupf.  This work, set around the time of WWII, is grounded in the nuance of the time.  Ms. Fox subtly and wholly convincingly tells us the story of her character’s burgeoning romance that revolves around the famous Monarch Cake Shop in Acland Street.  Writer Bruce Shearer has penned a delightful simple, very true to the era, story.

Seagulls Dream of Red-hot Chips on Oceans of Dreamy Ice Cream is an interesting monologue also written by Bruce Shearer and performed by Kyle Roberts.  Writing and performance contrasts greatly from his previously presented work.  Roberts almost morphs into one of the very loud and strident seagulls he is describing with a kind of reverence.

Clare Mendes’s work Big Dipper refers to the ride no longer at Luna Park.  Performed by Clare Larman it chronicles some of the fun youthful times of its protagonist history in relation to the history of ‘vanished’ St Kilda.  And who would have thought there were so many fires in a single suburb.  This work reveres landmarks both present and missing.

The torch song finale sung by Alec Gilbert with dancing support from the rest of the cast is a lovely way to tie the whole evening up.

The Melbourne Monologues

La Mama Courthouse

17 – 22 October

Melbourne Writers’ Theatre continues to impress with another engaging series of monologues The Melbourne Monologues. Like The St Kilda Stories it is also a series of six short stories that are directed with care and sensitivity by Elizabeth Walley.

Firstly through ‘To Understand’ we are taken into the confidence of a person who has been very affected by a death and the experience of watching blood seep out of a human body.    This initially ambiguous and yet fascinating work is written by Katie Lee and performed by a very convincing Ruth Katerelos.  I imagine, as this work grows through being performed, it will gain in nuance through the use of pauses and variations in tempo.  Never the less it is a thoroughly absorbing piece.

Carmen Saarelant has written a great little parody called ‘No Feet’ a funny and disturbing work that touches on subjects such as phantom limbs and gender reassignment as well as delusional thinking.  Alec Gilbert performs this piece with appropriate commitment and irony.

Most affecting and funny is Adele Shelly’s piece ‘Girl’s School Delights’ in which four teenage schoolgirls discuss each other’s talents and converse with a teacher who comes off very badly.   Cosmina Gilbert plays all four girls – A, B, C and D through whom many of the considerable irritations endured by today’s secondary school teachers are conveyed.  The writing is astute and sharp and Ms. Gilbert’s performance most impressive.

The very prolific Bruce Shearer has written a piece called ‘Garry’ in which Jack McGorlick expresses his contempt for Tuesday.  Though I am assuming the day of the week changes in accordance to the actual day of the week at the time of performance.  This work is unexpected and both ridiculous and funny, and at times, very telling.

‘The Bystander is the Gatekeeper’ by Anita Saunders, performed by a charming and personable Karissa Taylor, could do with a bit of dramaturgy.  It takes extra concentration to interpret and ultimately does not make complete sense.  This leaves me wondering if the writer, performer and director are all completely in sync or if the writing is not yet fully resolved.

Finally Celia Handscombe brings to life a marvelously moving piece of writing by the adroit Louise Baxter called ‘Fairy Dust’.  This is a rich and complex work of the lived experience of the type of grief that is caused by the injustice of a premature death.  It is very telling

A fresh and vital evening – well worth attending.

Suzanne Sandow

(Both reviews were written for Stage Whispers)M

Review - Alexithymia

Poppy Seed Festival Presents:

ALEXITHYMIA

Do you know how you really feel?

Citizen theatre &A_tistic

Writer and co-producer - Tom Middleditch

Director and co-producer - Jayde Kirchert

Visual designer and co-producer - Stu Brown

Dramaturge - James Matthews

Sound designer - Philip Dallas

Lighting Designer - Peter Amesbury

Performers - Nicola Bowman, Keagan Vaskess and Emma Hoy

Meat Market

8 – 19 November 2017

The opening of the third Poppy Seed Festival was dynamic and exhilarating.

This year the first production is Alexithymia.  This is a beautifully polished piece of Theatre that is presented in the round in the neat small Theatre/multi purpose space The Stables at the far west end of the Meat Market in North Melbourne.

The Wikipedia definition of Alexithymia is:  Alexithymia /ˌeɪlɛksəˈθaɪmiə/ is a personality construct characterized by the subclinical inability to identify and describe emotions in the self. The core characteristics of alexithymia are marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal relating.

On first consideration I thought mmm this is challenging and brave subject matter, however, through watching the production I got a sense of a condition we all experience in life - particularly during adolescence and other times of change that render us disorientated and confused.  However through this induced empathetic response I don’t want to belittle the difficulties experienced by individuals dealing with the anomalies, of not being able to read their own and other’s emotional states, in a normalized way - and respond accordingly.

There are three parts to this show, all, written by Tom Middleditch, Directed with flair by and Jayde Kirchert and performed with exemplary timing by Emma Hoy, Eagan Vaskess and Nicola Bowman.

 All three young actors serve the work most agreeably.  Firstly Ms. Bowman shares with the audience her mildly autistic perceptions about a job interview in Social_finction.exe.  This particular work is succinct, acute, pointed, very funny and relatable to, and the most successful of the three pieces of writing. 

Then the audience is treated to a sort of interactive game show, The Curious Case of You that has some marvelously surprising and funny moments but does start to feel slightly repetitive towards the conclusion. 

Nirvana Syndrome the third segment loses gravitas by the relentless interjection of superficial sound at every small scene change.  At its heart this is a sensitive piece of writing that shines a perceptive light on the confused emotional states experienced during relationship breakdowns.  As with The Curious Case of You the text could possibly do with a little more fine-tuning.

A lively light, well-realized, slick contemporary work that is certainly worth catching.   Don’t hesitate to support this festival and its many very talented Theatre makers.

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)