Review - Bock Kills her Father

La Mama

Presents

Bock Kills Her Father

By Adam Cass

Directed by Penny Harphem

Bock - Emma Annand

Taylor - Marissa O’Reily

D’Agostino - Emina Ashman

Chambers – Roby Hughes

Sarah – Annie Lumsden

Sound design and composition by Raya Slavin

Set and costume by Owen Philips

Lighting design by Jason Crick

Dramaturgy by Seanna Van Helton

La Mama Theatre – A part of Melbourne Fringe

September 16 - 27 2015

The title Bock Kills her Father with its suggestion of parricide immediately had me thinking of The Cenci by Percy Shelly a disturbing work about incest and murder that was lauded and directed by Antonin Artaud.  I wondered if this aspect of Theatre History inspired writer Adam Cass or perhaps it is the more current sensational stories of the sexual abuse of students by teachers that has informed his intense and weighty piece.

This polished production, in many ways reminiscent of the Neon production of Patricia Cornelious’s play Slut, is disquieting.  It is set on a murky yet translucent blue colored performance space (Owen Philips) that is nicely lit by Jason Crick.   And it is underscored with tortured sound, (Raya Slavin), that is grating and appropriately irritating and a far cry from the jaunty promising melodic music that opens the work.   This harsh sound could well be referencing Artaud and his ‘Theatre of Cruelty’.  For me it is the strongest component in the production.

As an ambitious undertaking Cass has produced a perplexing piece of writing that may well be difficult to wrangle.  It is a text that quite subtly reveals its truths bit by bit.  It is part naturalistic and part a kind of crazy subtext.  Initially individual rhythms and personalities impress but as the evening progresses, and possibly through a lack of playing clear intentions by the actors, characterization seems less clear.   However having said that this could be intended in the writing as all young protagonists seem to be ‘tarred by the same brush’ and, it would seem, are perpetually disenfranchised by their immediate community.  

There are a number of scenes that don’t feel real.  However the opening night performance inferred, that, if the actors garner speed, confidence and a more complete sense of their characters, particularly what drives and motivates their vindictive craziness, the whole should galvanize and make stronger sense of what the writer is trying to say.   

Owen Philips set is strong in its minimalism but his costuming is neither here nor there and seems to have a conservative edge.  It is too clean and pristine and middle class all round and makes little reference to the set.  It also adds to the sense of naturalism and therefore only partially serves the text.

As for what it is being suggested about the damaging and dividing of young woman by a (possibly) predatory male - this is not fully integrated in the whole and perhaps requires some stronger social references to give the whole more relevance and clout. 

This challenging and bemusing work although not fully satisfying, and way too nice, is thought provoking and has a great deal to offer.

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)

Review - Bounty

MKA:  Bounty

Written by Eric Gardiner

Directed by Tom Gutteridge

Designed by Steve Hendy

Costume by Erin Duyndam

Sound Design by Eric Gardiner

Sound Production by Jordan Dempster

Cast: Connor Gallacher, Matilda Reed, Zia Zantis-Vinycomb and Artemis Ioannides.

Fringe Festival - Northcote Town Hall - 16 - 26 September 2015

It is always a refreshing adventure to catch an MKA offering.  Bounty is as described in the Darebin Fringe Festival booklet ‘(an) absurd collision between modern Queensland and ancient Rome’, absurd being the operative word here.

This wild, somewhat messy work, a little on the thin side as far as content, is slickly directed by Tom Gutteridge and performed with energy and aplomb by Conor Gallacher, Matilda Reed, Zia Zantis-Vinycomb and Artemis Ioannides.

Gallacher as Campbell Newman, and other inferred archetypal leaders, amply serves the role of manipulative patriarch and egocentric leader.  Reed a beautiful lithe young actor manages to fit the bill as Newman’s determined, supportive and often very serious wife Lisa Campbell.  Zantis-Vinycomb works well as with the rest of the ensemble to emulate there role of one of Newman’s daughters but it is Ioannides who excels as daughter Sarah Newman who she plays with strong focused centred energy and commitment. 

Initially set around the family dining table this work speaks of the power and control of the family patriarch as well as the community leader/slimy politician and is ridiculously timely in the current political climate.

It is a hilarious romp written and directed from a male perspective and contains a truly messy physical bitch fight, (the second I had seen in this weeks theatre).  Costumes (Erin Duyndam) come off and go back on and things get chaotic.

Worryingly no matter how good the sound producer Jordan Dempster is the speakers in Studio 1 at Northcote Town Hall have seen/heard better days and really need to be replaced to honor best Theatre practice.

An adventurous and energetic show – fun to catch.

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)

Review - Kids Killing Kids

To Many Weapons

KIDS KILLING KIDS

a play about plays and the Piony people

Presented by MKA and Q Theatre Company

in Association with Melbourne Fringe Festival and Crack Theatre Festival

Directed by Bridget Balodis

Designed by Melanie Koomen

Photography by Sarah Walker

Devised, written and performed by

David Finnigan

Georgie McAuley

Jordan Prosser

Sam Burns-Warr

Fringe Hub – the Warehouse 9pm – till 3 October

Newcastle – 5 October

Penrith – Q Theatre – 17, 18, 19 October 2013

Kids Killing Kids is one out of the bag and not to be missed due to questions of ethics and Theatre Making it broaches, particularly in regard to unwitting appropriation.  This work sits right on a cultural pulse, albeit, seemingly, inadvertently.  Hey sometimes, creative choices have a strange way of emerging from the ether, don’t they?

Four young vibrant, energetic Theatre Makers divulge an engrossing and thought provoking tag team presentation about their experiences conceptualizing and then assisting in the crafting of a piece of Theatre, Battalia Royale with the Sipat Lawin Ensemble in Manila.  This work is predominately about the unexpected outcomes.

The live sight specific piece created was modeled on a Japanese film Battle Royale (2000) that cries comparison with Hunger Games in that it is about the enforced annihilation of a group of young people by each other. 

Naïve, yet well intentioned, there can be no doubt that all four Theatre Makers experienced the foray into an exotic county to craft theatre as a ‘baptism by fire’.  They didn’t know that they were working with a powder keg until the production got underway and attracted huge audiences and became ‘a social media phenomena’.   

Some things seem to go unexplained or unaddressed in this Fringe show.   For example why the writers did not make it to Manila to catch initial performances but only managed to witness the last night with its numerous actor casualties.  Nevertheless heaps of raw and smarting truth is addressed. 

Fascinatingly it would seem that Battalia Royale twisted performance back towards ritual enactment, engaged wholeheartedly with the audience, and in turn, rendered the performers vulnerable to the passion their enactment provoked, from their audiences.  The playing of a violent game melds into an overpowering release and scoops up fervor in its wake.

This doco/drama presentation reminds us that Theatre is rooted in ritual and the incredible power the medium of Theatre can actually hold - but seldom elicits - certainly in the West.

Four and a half stars.  And where did the other half a star go? Well I think I am just being picky because not on concept, content, courage or direction - but on vocal presentation. 

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)