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

Review - Snow White: The Untold Story

Snow White:  The Untold Story

Presented by Heidelberg Theatre Company’s HTC Youth

Directed by Christian Dell’Olio, Stage Manager – Eden Elliot

Cast:  Queen – Elizabeth Dingle, Snow White – Natassja Lindrea, Magic Mirror – Ian Robertson, Hunter – Ben Richardson, Trekky – Ella DiMarco, Smelly – Jess Cook, Bossy – Silvi Vann-Wall, Dummy – Taylah-Jayd Sofele and Prince Charming – Zac Smith.

To an entranced, captive audience nine youthful engaging and lively actors ‘strut their stuff’ in a mildly spoofed up version of that old favorite fairy tale Snow White.

The production is opened strongly with the Queen, played boldly by Elizabeth Dingle, in conference with the Magic Mirror, a fabulously costumed and glitzy character well interpreted by Ian Robertson.

Natassja Lindrea, as a strikingly attractive and particularly vain Snow White, is well pared with Zac Smith’s handsome Prince Charming an equally self-satisfied individual.  Amusingly he is on the look out for his second wife, since divorcing the apparently mouse and pumpkin obsessed Cinderella.

There is a moral somewhere in this story, if a little muted.  It is most clearly expressed through the Huntsman’s character.  As a loyal servant he is unaffected by fleeting youthful beauty.  He is steadfast in his deep love for his mistress the aging Queen regardless of her mean, jealous and murderous tendencies.

There are even some strange little moments of gay frippery when the Prince and the Huntsman dress in drag to scatter clothes everywhere as segue into the next scene of chaos at the Dwarf’s house.  It leaves in its wake a poignant reminder of the rich history of how camped up and over the top Christmas Pantos can be.

The four Dwarves are unexpected in number as well as in names and natures.  As Dummy, Taylah-Jayd Sofele fulfills her role with appropriate vagueness, but is a little to hidden below a largish hat.  Bossy played by Silvi Van–Wall with strong focus is alive, alert and always ready to move the action forward.  Trekky played by Ella DiMarco is a clear and sustained ‘out there’ character.   And Jess Cook’s Smelly is so convincing one can almost smell her.

It is great to have a Christmas treat, in the tradition of the Pantos of yesteryear, to take the kids to. I was able to indulge a 10 and an 8 year old.  Due to a hefty drive we arrived in the nick of time to discover that HTC is very punctual in its show times.  With the house being almost completely full the children sat in front of the stage on the floor.  As I kept my eye on them - they seemed to be fully engaged for the whole 80 minutes despite the acting and set changes dragging a little from time to time.  

Suzanne Sandow

(For Stage Whispers)