Friday Five: More Theatre

Lexi Sekuless as the prosecutor in Terror

1. Terror - Lexi Sekuless Productions, Mill Theatre on Dairy Road - This is a really interesting and interactive piece with audience voting on a jury decision. A pilot (played by Mark Lee, who can stand looking inscrutable for a long time) has shot down a plane full of hijacked passengers, on his own initiative and contrary to an official order. The lawyers arguing for the prosecution and defence (Lexi Sekuless and Tim Sekuless respectively) deliver convincing arguments and appeal to the audience directly. As the judge, Tracy Noble is inimitable in her summing up and control of the situation. Director Kim Beamish has a tight rein on the cast and the raw, industrial set, with expertly choregraphed moments representing the dramatic events and the claustrophobic atmosphere both of a targeted plane and a tense courtroom. 
2. Streetcar Named Desire - Free-Rain, ACT Hub - This is known as a vehicle for female actors to shine, and there is, indeed, great acting from the female leads, although the men have a little more issue being authentically oafish, and the ensemble is uneven, with some of the muttering being distracting rather than supportive of the main cast. Amy Kowalczuk as Blanche DuBois is one of the best Blanches I've ever seen. It's a vile role but she approaches it with depth and nuance. Fluttery hand gestures and quick movements highlight her stressed (bordering on neurotic) attitude. Her playful sister moment with Stella (Meaghan Stewart) is beautiful as a glimpse of what could have been. The switch to flirtation and girlishness powerfully shifts to predatory, and the moment when she realises she has lost everything and has no autonomy is frightening and heartbreaking. Alex Hoskison as Stanley Kowalski is powerful and wounded with an inner strength and plenty of charisma, but not brutish or disgusting enough. He doesn't play ignorant and always looks as though he has a plan, making him defensive rather than cruel. Meaghan Stewart as Stella is charming and convincingly caught between her man and her sister, wanting to do right by both and failing to please either. Her compassion and need shine through on stage with only occasional slips into the actor instead of the character, with accent and mannerisms. Lachlan Ruffy gives the character of Harold Mitchell more nuance than it often receives, wanting to be the gentleman and look after the vulnerable, but fiercely wounded when he thinks he has been duped. He is the real toxic male of this production. Sarah Hull's Eunice is a perfect antidote to the heightened situation of the downstairs flat - she is earthy and sensual, putting up with the situation and trying to find positives where she can, providing sympathy, understanding and compassion as a real good Southern neighbour should. The tight, cramped set implies the situation and environment well, although there are some issues with sightlines. The bathroom is such a large presence in the play that it could have been incorporated, and there is no obvious indication where Blanche is actually sleeping. Tennessee Williams has a very specific attitude to light expressing truth in his plays, which can be intrusive but works well here. Blanche says, 'I don't want realism. I want magic' and this is reflected in the chase light scene and the abrupt changes. As she is afraid of bright lights and prefers the softening glow, more shade and contrast could have been provided. Sound is very clear and obvious - perhaps too much so, as it comes in single chunks rather than spread throughout - but the nightmare tune ending in a gunshot is well played. 





3. American Idiot - Queanbeyan Players, The Q - It's a juke box musical with privileged young people trying desparately hard to be desparate and hard. Three wannabe incel lads (Johnny, Tunny and Will, played by John Whinfield, Darcy Kinsella and Zac Izzard) want to get out of town and have adventures, seeing women as handbrakes to their careering egos. As it is sung through, there are some strong songs (Holiday, Know Your Enemy, She's a Rebel, We Are the Waiting, and the titular track) but not a lot in between. The choreography seems very out of place and era (there is a lot of jumping, hand flicking and weird lurching, which is more reminiscent of Michael Jackson's Thriller than post-punk angst), whereas the inclusion of some older, steadying hands in the ensemble (I'm looking at you, David Cannell), may bring experience to the stage but their presence is questionable. A standout is Declan Pigram in the role of St Jimmy, a creepy, sunglasses-wearing dealer who is revealed to be a drug-addled manifestation of Johnny's subconscious (occasionally portrayed by Green Day's lead singer and guitarist, Billie Joe Armstrong). It doesn't really matter what the audience feel as this is paean to the fans and the friends; the cast all have a fantastic time (and I'm sure they all think they look cute in their costumes - they do), as is exemplified by them draping their arms around each other in the high-school-esque final number/ curtain call, Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). This is a passion project for director, Bradley McDowell, and I like the laughably faux-punk Green Day just fine, but this doesn't add anything to my appreciation of the band or their music.
4. Crime and Punishment - The Street, Street Two - In this claustrophobic production, Christopher Samuel Carroll plays the anti-hero of Dostoyevsky's novel with a range of emotion that compels the audience to side with him at times despite his heinous deed. His vocal and physical presentations cover a gamut of feelings and experiences that are quite exquisite. PJ Williams is remarkably phlegmatic as the inspector who goads his friend/ confidant/ suspect into a confession (come on - no one can accuse this of spoilers since the seminal work of psychological fiction was first published in 1866). Josephine Gazzard is perhaps the weak link as she plays all the female characters, some with a lack of focus and a listlessness that threatens to derail the play. The adaptation by Marilyn Campbell-Lowe and Curt Columbus condenses the towering novel into a mere 90 minutes, which could have been even more taut if Sonia, the street-walker character, had more impetus and energy. Designer Kathleen Kershaw has given us levels and surfaces to consider, with the idea of self-reflection never far from the surafce.
5. The Woman in Black - PW Productions, Woodward Productions & Neil Gooding Productions, Canberra Theatre Centre - The play relies upon actors who elicit empathy and technical elements that create suspense. Fortunately, this production has all that in spades. John Waters plays Arthur Kipps, the narrator of the story, complete with framing device, and proceeds to assume all the other parts with aplomb. Daniel Macpherson acts out the story that Waters narrates, as the young Arthur Kipps, and the unreliable narrator trope weaves in and out of the production with fascinating and thoroughly engaging stagecraft. The set is sparse (designer - Michael Holt), allowing the audience to picture the scenes as described in their imagination, the lighting is effective (Kevin Sleep) and the sound dramatic (Sebastian Frost). The rocking chair that rocks by itself; the door that opens with no-one there; the galloping horse and the sudden jump scares are all genuinely scary. Director, Robin Herford has given us a wonderfully atmospheric piece of theatre, which is worth going out in the cold to experience.

Friday Five: Best Theatre of 2020

What with one thing and another (I think we all know what I mean), I've not had the chance to see much live theatre this year. So most of my top theatre of the year was seen in the first three months of 2020. And it was in Canberra/ Queanbeyan because we can't travel. I'm not including the National Theatre Live films of productions in this list, although some of those were excellent and certainly helped to get me through a period when I couldn't go to the theatre.

Tom Healey in Red Stitch Theatre's American Song

5 Best Theatre Production I Saw in 2020 (in alphabetical order):

1. American Song - Red Stitch Actors' Theatre and Critical Stages Touring, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre: One man theatre performed by Joe Petruzzi, directed by Tom Healey, and written by Joanna Murray-Smith is a heart-felt and sensitive account of how to cope with unfathomable loss due to gun violence. It's not as preachy as it could easily be, and the dry-stone wall metaphor may be a little stretched, but it is so well-meant that I'll let it stand.
2. Brighton Beach Memoirs - Canberra Repertory Society, Theatre 3: If I'm honest I'm a bit bored with stories about men being men or becoming men. I know this is not the fault of the writer (write what you know. right?) but rather the publishing houses and production companies who choose these stories over anything else. But the second rule of reviewing is 'review what is there; not what you want to be there' (the first is 'don't give away the plot'), and in that vein, this is a pretty fine production. Director Karen Vickery has obviously worked on diction and projection - despite the assumed American accents, I can still understand 90% of what the cast are saying - and has also imported a realism of action that works well with the home-spun tale of how a kid became a writer. The semi-autobiographical character of Eugene Jerome is played with plenty of energy and promise by Jamie Boyd, who looks to have a bright future if theatre survives in this town, and, as his mother, Victoria Dixon is dignified and powerful with an exceptional touch of insecurity. The family dynamics with their alliances, splits, and hierarchical divisions (three adults, three children and one teenager are crammed into a Brooklyn apartment) are highlighted brilliantly by Chris Baldock's set, which paints its own claustrophobic pictures.
3. Family Values - Griffin Theatre Company, The Playhouse: Full of meaty goodness - political satire in its natural habitat with plenty of energy and dysfunctional dynamics. As he prepares for his 70th birthday, retired judge, Roger (Andrew McFarlane) holds forth smugly on a number of issues, including refugees, detention centres and boat people, in such a way that will obviously be challenged when his family arrive and question all of his assumptions. Great work by creative cast and crew brings this aphoristic text (David Williamson) to life.
4. Hell Ship - Chester Creative, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre: Another one-man show (more likely due to financial considerations rather than viral ones) as Michael Veitch interprets a personal story about the doctor on board the 'fever ship', Ticonderoga, which arrived in Melbourne in 1852, and on which 170 of the 800 passengers (mainly Scottish families who had embarked seeking a new life) died from typhus. The doctor, James William Henry Veitch was Veitch's great-great grandfather, and he portrays his initial warmth, humour and subsequent survivor's guilt with the help of a sheet and some creative lighting.
5. HMS Pinafore - Hayes Theatre Co, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre: This show is amazing! Kate Gaul has directed a masterpiece with respect and irreverence in equal measure. I suspected I would like it, but I was not expecting to love this as much as I do: I simply can't stop smiling. The star-crossed lovers; the mismatched marriages; the mistaken identities; the entirely relevant gender-reversals; the songs I didn't even know I knew; the hyper-realism of set and costume... Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen; it is absolutely beautiful and an utter delight. In case you can't tell, I f*•^ing loved it.

Andrew McFarlane as Roger and Belinda Giblin as Sue in Griffin Theatre's Family Values

I would also like to give a special mention to a couple of venues who have done everything they can to support live performance (theatre; music; comedy), namely The Basement in Belconnen, Smiths Alternative, and Canberra Repertory Society in the CBD. They have kept going as best they can providing entertainment to live audiences and encouraging the arts in the most fundamental and necessary manner. People want to perform and people want to see them do so - let's keep this alive.

Victoria Dixon as Kate and Jamie Boyd as Eugene in Canberra Rep's Brighton Beach Memoirs

Friday Five: Date Nights

Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! by Capital Brewing Co.

We're very busy. Other than working full-time jobs, he does brewing and I do theatre. We are on committees for these things. We also try to fit in exercise. It can be tough to find the time to spend together without just sitting on the sofa in a state of exhaustion. So we have instigated a night a week where we go out and do a thing together. It doesn't have to be a big thing - but it is our thing. We enjoy each other's company and need to make time for us, rather than letting all our other concerns take priority. We alternate between who gets to choose the activity/ venue; sometimes we are more creative than at others. You can probably guess who chooses which. We are having fun.

5 Recent 'Date Nights':

1. Capital Brewing launch of Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! - Capital is a great summer after-work spot, with lots of space to sit outside and relax. It's very casual and welcoming to all - cyclists; families; dogs; drinkers... it's very inclusive. Handily located near not a lot of anything else, it is a true destination venue. We went for launch of their latest beer: the Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! It's a kettle-soured collaboration with Ona coffee and, at less than 3% abv, it's a perfect drink for a summer afternoon, and you can still drive home. Or stay and have a session.
2. Vice at Palace Electric - We went to our favourite cinema to see this film written and directed by Adam McKay about the crucial years in the life of Dick Cheney. It that made me angry. The film is well-acted (Christian Bale is notable as the former U.S. vice president) and the direction excellent; the politics are despicable. It took all of my self restraint not to boo most of the characters. Now I just have to try and unclench my jaw. I disliked the very end (please stop insulting my intelligence; I can draw my own comparisons without them being spelled out to me) but the fly-fishing lures at the end credits were a nice touch.
3. The Brindabella half-price pizza - It's a golf-club watering-hole, with beautiful views over the greens (is that what they're called?). There are parrots in the trees, there is good beer on tap, the pizzas are half-price on Wednesdays, and it's within easy walking distance of our house (downhill on the way home). What more could you want?



Chilli Prawns Pizza at The Brindabella

4. Permanent O-course, Weston Park - So much more fun than I remember this being as a child. I may have finally overcome my pathological aversion to orange and white triangles. Him Outdoors and I took turns in navigating around a lovely park in the soft light of the evening with kangaroos for company, and finished it off with bubbles by the lake and fish and chips. 



Him Outdoors finds the prize!

5. Tim Minchin at The Canberra Theatre Centre - The gig was amazing. The man is phenomenal: talented; witty; angry; edgy; passionate; funny; charismatic; good-looking; intelligent; mischievous; sensitive... Shall I go on? (Him Outdoors says 'no'.)

Friday Five: Comedy Festival

About a month ago Canberra had a comedy festival. It's sort of a warm-up for the Melbourne Comedy Festival, which is bigger and has more acts. But I like this one as it is fairly low key and the laughs seem more heart felt.

5 Comedy Acts at the Festival:

1. Oedipus Schmoedipus - Canberra Theatre Centre
Although not strictly part of the Comedy Festival, I feel that Oedipus Schmoedipus belongs here. Written by post (Zoe Coombs Marr, Mish Grigor and Natalie Rose), the premise is to look at death on stage, and there has been an awful lot of it over the years. From the drama of the Greeks to the tragedies of the bard, people have been theatrically dispatched in a myriad of ways. Performers Mish Grigor and Shelly Lauman take us on a quick trip through death's door, and include 25 local volunteers (who have rehearsed for a few hours and are different for each performance) to portray the profound and sometimes ridiculous shufflings off this mortal coil. Most of these dramatic deaths have been written by men, but this female duo introduces the notion that men do not hold a monopoly on the moribund. 'The great whites' tell us that death is a lot of things (an island; nothing; an open door; an illusion; a lonely business; a friend; welcome), but who knew it was fun too?
2. Rich Hall - The Street Theatre
One of the funniest Americans around, he's as baffled by the antipodean tendency to go barefoot in public indoor spaces as I am. His drôle delivery lampoons everything and everyone, including himself. Witty without being acerbic, he seems to find the world a laughable place, which is comforting in the face in current global politics. He does riff on the US Healthcare system and gun laws, but he also talks about long-term relationships and new babies. With his hat and guitar he resembles the poetic side of Bob Dylan, but he doesn't take himself nearly as seriously. Rich Hall's improvised songs based on audience conversations are less about the great social inequalities and injustices of life and more about picking up girls or stepping on pieces of Lego.
3. Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet - The Street Theatre
Imagine a Shakespeare play (in this instance Romeo and Juliet) acted with sharp wit and deep understanding of the text. Then imagine one of the actors is inebriated. Yes, they will forget their lines; yes, they will skip ahead and back in the script leaving the other actors bewildered and desperately trying to catch up and/or fill in the blanks; yes, they will change the plot lines entirely with a complete disregard for the character arcs and structure; and yes they will milk certain parts and reduce others to mere footnotes. If they are as entertaining and inspired as this lot, however, the improvisation will be excellent. It's basically the difference between knowing they're shit, and knowing their shit. Clever and funny i'faith; verily 'twas most amusing. ,

4. Stephen K Amos, Bread and Circuses - Canberra Theatre Centre
Stephen K Amos is a wise and funny man. Whether he is launching into established routines or trying out new material to see how it is received, he is always alert to the nuances of the audience. Of course we all see the world as it filtered through our own perspective of privilege or diversity. While he is keenly aware of racist and homophobic bias, he occasionally strayed into stereotypical casual sexism territory, which was a little disappointing. He recovers well because he is confident and charming and knows how to command the stage, but he did appear a little tired, as if this isn't his best work and he knows it.
5. Ross Noble, El Hablador - Canberra Theatre Centre
What an incredible mind this man has: bewildering; bonkers and brilliant. I could listen to him all night, which is fortunate, because he artfully rambles his way through a couple of hours of stand-up. Tangents are Ross Noble's friend, but although he appears shambolic in his breakneck delivery and chaotic appearance, he is anything but. Every loose end becomes a loop as he returns to the subject with peripatetic aplomb. It's always hard to know whether the the ad-libs really are off-the-cuff, but they are certainly head and shoulders above most comedy. What the name of the tour and the Mexican Day of the Dead inspired inflatable set has to do with the material itself, I couldn't tell you, but I was laughing too much to care - and isn't that the point of comedy?

Friday Five: And Yet More Theatre Outings

And the latest offerings are (admittedly from a while back before I got engrossed with my own show):

Talk by Johnathan Biggins at The Playhouse

1. Noel Coward Double Bill (Weatherwise & Mild Oats) at Teatro Vivaldi - Director Tony Turner unearths two delightful short (one-act) plays by The Master. A simple drawing-room set serves to provide all the context required to enjoy these theatrical morsels between meals. They are perfectly suited to the dinner-theatre theme with humour arising from well-acted awkward situations. Whether unaccountably thrown together in a bachelor's apartment (awkward pauses are perfectly played by Henry Strand and Alessa Kron) or dealing with a hypnotised woman who believes she's a dog (a great comic turn by Elaine Noon), strict adherence to manners and deportment are not negotiable. They combine to form a veritable amuse bouche.
2. First Seen 2017: Hired Mother at The Street - The First Seen programme helps playwrights develop their work by presenting them in rehearsed readings to the public, who then engage in conversation which will hopefully lead to further progress and production. Cathy Petocz's imaginative play deals with mother/daughter interactions and how they affect (and are affected by) the greater cosmos. One of the characters is a piece of moon rock who witnesses the maternal breakup and attempts to put the relationship back together. However, as she falls for the daughter and wonders about the need for a powerful female figure in her life, she waxes and wanes in both provocation and potency. There's a lot to like here and I look forward to seeing it hit the stage.
3. Talk produced by the Sydney Theatre Company at The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre - Jonathan Biggins' writing epitomises social and political satire in action. Set in a fantastically realised radio station, a talk-back jock (played with toe-curling credibility by John Walters) ignites vigilante justice: 'Whether it's using an i-pad or a pitchfork; a mob is still a mob.' A traditional journalist quits in despair after trying to pass on tips of the trade and ethics to an intern more bent on reporting a sizzling soundbite than cold hard facts. Meanwhile the TV executives are playing a ratings game which tramples on truth and lives to achieve figures and awards. It's all rather depressing but brilliantly executed. 
4. Verdict produced by Tempo Theatre Inc at Belconnen Community Theatre - Tempo Theatre under the helm of Jon Elphick tackle their latest Agatha Christie with their trademark enthusiasm and solid production values. Professor Karl Hendryk (Paul Jackson) is a romantic in terms of education but less so in other areas, much to the chagrin of his long-suffering invalid wife (Nikki- Lynne Hunter whose wheelchair confinement doesn't hamper her expressive performance) and her cousin (Monique Dyson) who also yearns for him. As we actually see the murder committed on stage (by an infatuated student - Kirsten Doyle), this particular puzzle is not so much a whodunnit as a willtheygetawaywithit? It's a faithful rather than an inspiring production, but it poses some interesting questions such as whether principles more important than people, and the Queen of Crime's less-than-sparkling dialogue is once again carefully handled. 
5. The 39 Steps produced by Canberra Repertory at Theatre 3 - Despite inexplicably deciding that the great Scottish hero, Richard Hannay (Patrick Galen-Mules) should be Canadian (with all the jarring inconsistencies that creates), Jarrad West and cast and crew attempt to squeeze every ounce of humour from Patrick Barlow's adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's film of John Buchan's novel. Steph Roberts is spectacular in her several roles, bringing nice differentiation to each. There is no corresponding subtlety in the clowns (Helen McFarlane and Nelson Blattman) who are somewhat overblown and their broad-stroke performances tend to merge multiple characters into one. If you're after a fast-paced frolic; a ridiculous roller coaster ride; a preposterous performance, and some jolly good fun, however, you could do worse.

Raging Laughter with Julia Morris

Julia Morris - Lift and Separate
Canberra Theatre Centre

Julia Morris is a woman of a certain age - those are her words; not mine. Apparently this calls for age-appropriate clothing, botox and homicidal hormonal rages. She plays to (and with) her audience, which is largely female, and shares knowing laughs with them on a range of tailored topics.

Beginning with an exhortation to the audience not to use their phones, she helpfully poses in a variety of attitudes which she says we may recognise throughout the show. These involve delightfully undignified positions which she allows the audience to capture with their mobile cameras before turning off the devices - this fun but no-nonsense approach sets the tone for the evening.

Hindered and abetted by a slide show, she highlights images of her daily tribulations in retail outlets as she tries on ridiculous clothing and claims to be haunted by inverse body dysmorphia - she always thinks she looks gorgeous. Because of her willingness to mock herself and her self-deprecating charm, she quickly wins over her audience and they soon join in the laughter and the wry smiles.

We all know what it's like when a minor incident irritates us beyond all proportion and we get angry at the tiniest misdemeanour. But we probably can't articulate this feeling as amusingly as she does. While we may wince for the hospitality staff who bear the brunt of her outbursts over the time one can serve eggs or the rationing of towels in a hotel, we are more entertained than empathetic.

Julia explains her heavy workload may have added to her inner ball of fury. As she worried that her market value would wane with her advancing years, she seized every opportunity to increase her profile. This leads to highly intimate anecdotes of her time in African jungles filming I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, but it also frames a very real issue.

Women everywhere struggle with the personality changes and hormone imbalances that accompany ageing and menopause. Many of them suffer in silence, but not Julia; Julia turns it into comedy material. This is brave and brilliant. I loved it.