| Reviews: 2008
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Swan Lake Queensland Ballet (Playhouse, QPAC) Swan Lake is such an ethereal classic that it is difficult to imagine it as grounded in an explicit historical setting; yet this is what the Queensland Ballet has achieved in this fresh and richly textured production. Choreographer and artistic director Francois Klaus sets the ballet around the last Russian Tsar Nicholas and his future bride Alexandra in the tumultuous period leading up to the Russian Revolution of the Bolsheviks in 1917. The story is woven around the character of Mathilde Kschessinska, a star of the Maryinsky Theatre where she danced under the direction of Petipa. Nicholas, danced strongly by Alex Wagner, falls in love with Kschessinska at a small reception following the graduating performance of her class at the Imperial Ballet School. An original twist to the traditional themes of the ballet arises when Alexandra, as rival for Nicholas' affections, dances the role of the Black Swan Odile. Clare Phipps gives an impressive performance in the role of Alexandra/Odile. The Swan Queen, Odette, is danced beautifully by Clare Morehen. Whereas the traditional "Swan Lake" has the evil magician Rothbart responsible for duping Siegfried into swearing his fidelity to Rothbart's daughter, Odile, in this production the manipulative villain is none other than Rasputin whose machinations form a backdrop to the downfall of the imperial dynasty. The corps de ballet dance wonderfully through the different moods of the ballet, providing a rich context for the tragic love story which is unfolding. Significantly also, the Zen Zen Zo physical theatre artists capture a sense of the hardships and conflicts befalling Russian workers and peasants during that period and give an insight into the sparks which burst into revolutionary flame. The Queensland Orchestra with Warwick Adeney played the familiar strains of Tschaikovsky's music with feeling and passion. The production shows fidelity to the great traditions of ballet, yet somehow leads us beyond the magic of the swans into the social and political upheaval of the people at large. In so doing it renders irrelevant the false dichotomy between the personal and the political and places truth and beauty at the centre of human affairs; which is as it should be. Choreography by Francois Klaus. Music by: Piotr Ilyich Tschaikovsky Performed by the Queensland Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Mogrelia 6th to 20th December 2008 Duration: 2 hours with one interval (20 minutes) —
Matt Foley (Performance seen: 12th December 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine String Sensations: 33rd National Youth Concerto Competition Queensland Youth Symphony (Old Museum Concert Hall) For the concerto lover it's a rare treat to have the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius violin concertos on the same program, plus Dvorák's cello concerto, and this is what QYO offered in its annual finals concert for the national youth competion. In a magnificent afternoon of music, three extraordinarily talented musicians — all of them still legally children — played these complex and difficult works to an audience that was clearly impressed. Emily Sun, 17, from Sydney was first-up, gracing the stage with an almost regal presence, playing the beautiful Sibelius work with a high level of technical control. Following her was Russian-born Dasha Moloksher, also 17, who played the Tchaikovsky with the soul and warmth of her and the composer's homeland. Finally, 15-year-old Christopher Mui put in a confident and seemingly flawless rendition of the Dvorák masterpiece. The young soloists impressively handled the cadenzas and other difficult passages which have challenged many an older player. The Queensland Youth Symphony under its remarkable founder and director John Curro provided a rich and full-bodied accompaniment to the soloists. Playing in their assortment of brightly coloured tops, the orchestra relished the grand explosive moments featured in each of these concertos, but also played with subdued consistency in the more gentle supportive passages. The balance wasn't always right — for example, in parts of the Sibelius the higher strings seemed overwhelmed by brass and lower strings. However the grand theme in the Tchaikovsky first movement and the conclusion of the Dvorák were magnificent in the strength and unity displayed. Each of the three slow movements was a model of discipline and good timing. There was consistently lovely woodwind work and beautiful interplays of voices, including a touching passage from the orchestra's leader, Louise Cottone. A nice coda to the concert was Colin Brumby's "Festival Overture on Australian Themes", ably conducted by Sergei V. Korschmin. The concert was, of course, a competition, and in what was conceded was a difficult decision the four judges awarded the prize to Emily Sun. It's worth noting that one of her predecessors in winning this prize is the Australian Chamber Orchestra's Richard Tognetti, perhaps Australia's best-known violinist. Each of these prodigies has the talent to be as famous as Tognetti, and we wish them every good fortune. —
John Henningham (Performance seen: 26th October 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Turandot Opera Queensland (Lyric Theatre) There seems a link between authoritarian regimes and spectacular, showy displays. The extraordinary visual experience in this opera about a cruel ancient Chinese dictatorship evokes the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. The Peking of Turandot is a world of cruelty and violence, ineffectually ruled by a god-emperor whose vengeful daughter's mission is slaying hapless admirers who fail her IQ test. It succeeds as a grand piece of theatre. The lighting by John Drummond Montgomery is as impressive as anything you will see on stage, and combined with the late Kristian Fredrikson's design makes for an unbelievably rich variety of visual effects, with floating moons, giant Buddha heads, dragons, tongues of blood and ephemeral wraiths. Director Graeme Murphy (former artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company) has staged an epic production, and one must admire the work of Kim Walker and Christopher Dawes in so successfully restaging Murphy's original creation for Opera Queensland. The production demands much of its singers. Kenneth Collins as emperor hovers six or seven meters above the populace for all his pronouncements (wearing an Asterix-like hat). Turandot herself is elevated to three meters as she glides among the peasantry. The toughest task is given to the charming trio of philosopher-bureacrats Ping Pang and Pong (Lucas de Jong, Virgilio Marino and Vernard Hull), who survive the challenge of keeping their vocal lines while being carried about in hammocks and then dragged around on stage. The international character of opera and Brisbane's good fortune in having a share of it are evident: the superb cast of principals is drawn from the United States, the Ukraine, Russia and Korea as well as Australia. Cynthia Makris (seen here two years ago in Nabucco) as the psychologically damaged Turandot sings with great power and control. Her voice in her great "In questa reggia" aria seemed somewhat metallic, but it softens with her character in Act 3, where the love duet is truly marvellous. I loved the beautiful soaring tenor of Marian Talaba as Calaf, the suitor to Turandot who puts his life on the line in taking up the challenge to answer her three riddles. His "Nessun dorma" is fabulous. Korean-born Hye Seoung Kwon is the discovery of the night. As the slave girl Liů she sings a touchingly beautiful Act 1 aria "Signore ascolta", and sings and acts with lyric intensity in her self-sacrificing Act 3 scene. Gennadi Dubinsky as her blind master gives a strong bass counterpoint in their scenes together, while Queensland-born baritone Peter Axford is a forceful Mandarin. Turandot is an opera offering much chorus work and this is a big chorus — more than 60 adult singers plus another 20 children. They certainly have an impressive combined output and have been vocally well marshalled by Richard Lewis, assisted by Jillianne Stoll, in handling the difficult multi-strand score. The dozen dancers add a further exotic element to the production. We get a strong sound too from OQ's augmented orchestra under Peter Robinson, which powerfully handles the somewhat more modernistic music of Puccini's last (and incomplete) work. At times the orchestra wins out in the battle with soloists, but overall the balance is fine in what must be a most difficult challenge. To add to the mix there's beefcake on display with the executioner's muscular and scantily-dressed guards, and cheesecake in the form of erotic female temptresses among the dancers. Turandot is one of a clutch of early 20th century operas (like Strauss's Salome) featuring blood-thirsty anti-heroines — perhaps a reaction to the previous century's taste for romantic but doomed heroines. (One would hate to think it a pre-emptive strike against the emerging women's rights movement!) The downside of Turandot is that one can have little empathy for the major principals and this production is of the form where one is amazed rather than moved. The hero's attraction to the villainess seems most unlikely, and if ever a sequel were to be written I hope it would include a good dose of pre-marriage counselling for Turandot. Mind you, Calaf doesn't treat Liů with what we might call a duty of care, so perhaps Turandot and Calaf deserve each other. —
John Henningham (Performance seen: 18th October, 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Twelfth Night Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble (Roma St Parkland Amphitheatre) What’s the best way to spend a spring evening in Brisbane? Outdoors, for a start. Laughing outdoors is even better. Laughing outdoors with a great band and some of the best entertainment ever written is a bit too much to ask, right? Well, luckily you don’t even need to ask, Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble’s Twelfth Night at the Roma Street Parklands Ampitheatre is already answering. It serenades its audience with warmth and good spirit, not to mention plenty of slapsticky nonsense. If you still need convincing, there’s a couple of rowdy swordfights thrown in (with good thick swords that make lots of noise), some mischief-makers silhouetted behind screens, and even the chance to hear where the phrase “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them” comes from. For the uninitiated, its meaning is saucier than you’d think. They’re a talented bunch, the QSE cast, also turning their hands to acoustic guitar, bass, violin, drums, clarinet and keyboards. These are heard well before the performance itself begins, immediately setting a laid back and earthy tone for the evening. The mellow strumming guitar mingles agreeably with the dusky backdrop of the parklands and Wickham Terrace beyond. It is only a minor quibble that the song just preceding the first speech perhaps ends up being a little too long. Music is mentioned repeatedly in Shakespeare’s text, most famously in the opening “If music be the food of love, play on” speech of Duke Orsino’s. And play on the QSE does, the loping bass woven into scene changes, the pure folky voices harmonising in the background, the plucked guitar gentle and wise, the violin cheekily sweet as the hapless Malvolio is marched into his cage. When he then begins whimpering, the band really swings, pointing up that this is all in good fun, that he’s not a bad fellow, but has made himself an easy target for such pranks. Elsewhere, a set piece with barbershop vocals draws a grateful ovation from the amused audience. It’s all terrific fun. As much as anything, it’s the music that keeps the production bouncing along, reinforcing the appropriately brisk pace set by director Rob Pensalfini. Apart from certain periods during the first half when the right hand side of the stage is favoured too much, the action roams freely across the entire space. One of Shakespeare’s comedies, Twelfth Night offers up a great ensemble of characters, most of them servants. The action begins after a shipwreck on the coast of Illyria, with some of its survivors walking right into the romantic complications and misunderstandings that are native to its shores. Happy to simply let the characters loose to toy with one another (with the serious ones like Malvolio receiving most of such attention), the storyline is in itself not really the focus. The warm and inventive peformances lie at the heart of this show. Rob Pensalfini (yes, he of the director’s chair, and guitar as well) is boisterously good as Sir Toby Belch, while Stephen Mackie makes a campy Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Together, these drinking buddies are a great double-act, the burly old rogue and the nerdy boffin with delusions of masculine grandeur. Joining forces with them to lay a trap for Gavin Edwards’ haughty Malvolio is Andrea Carne’s twinkle-eyed maid Maria. A little man with pride and contempt befitting the lord he would wish to be, Malvolio is persuaded to believe that the lady he serves, Olivia, is in love with him. What follows is hilarious. Softly filtering through the Brisbane night air, Jason Glenwright’s lighting here does what it needs to and lets the action and accompanying music carry the audience along. Similarly, the costumes and set are sincere in their simplicity, splashes of colour lending just enough elegance to support the big characters. This is not a modernised Shakespeare, nor does it have a slavish traditional feel. No specific period is suggested as such, but instead the timeless archetypes of servants and masters are celebrated in a production where the setting is enjoyment itself. The main message of this production, then? If anything, it is that love and grief and conceit (to name but a few) make people do ridiculous things. And that these ridiculous things are funny. Touching as well, and all the more funny for being so. Particularly hilarious are the ridiculous results when mischief is added in. As much as anyone, the audience is part of the mischief in this production, and very much guilty by association. “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you,” vows a seething Malvolio as he exits just before the end of the play. In this fine production, the whole pack do very well indeed, and revenge is not nearly as sweet or as much fun as what provokes it. —
Nick Howard (Performance seen: 3rd October 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Starlight Theatre Co-op (Centre Stage Theatre, Spring Hill) In their first year of production, Starlight Theatre hits all the right buttons with this production. While one cannot help but make comparisons with the famous 1975 Milos Forman movie, Terry Annesley has done a fine job in conveying the central themes that made this story so memorable. The adaptation for the stage from Ken Kesey's 1962 novel tells the story of Randle McMurphy (Bradley McCaw), who, with a statutory rape charge against his name, convinces guards at the local prison that he needs psychiatric care and is sent to a mental asylum. Once inside, McMurphy fits in seamlessly with the other patients with his animated, off-kilter personality, forming deep friendships with characters including Billy Bibbit (Tom Yaxley), Ruckley (Lindsay Fletcher), Martini (Quentin Ellison), Scanlon (James Trigg), Chief Bromden (Tim Hope-Hodgetts), Dale (Craig Wood), and Cheswick (Gary McEwan), but soon finds that the submissive condition of everyone inside is the direct result of the tyrannical and sadistic Nurse Ratched. What follows is a lesson in human dynamics, both revolutionary and reactionary, and a commentary in human sanity. While the production values are obviously at the lower end, the production makes up for this with some excellent displays of acting. Bradley McCaw as McMurphy has to be especially commended not only for providing a wonderfully physical rendition but for keeping a flawless American accent throughout. Not to be unfair to everyone else, McCaw is the light that constantly shines, eclipsing all who come before him on stage. Throughout the night it is astonishing to watch his character move from the lively, carefree young man into a hard-nosed revolutionary. Craig Wood as Dale Harding should also be celebrated, providing an ethereal and delicate performance to offset the showmanship of McCaw. Imogen Rogers as Nurse Ratched is just as cold-hearted and indifferent as Louise Fletcher in the big screen adaptation, showing that tyranny can reside in the hearts of good-looking, seemingly respectable nurses everywhere. What is off-putting and unnecessary is the mixing of American and Australian accents. Although set in the United States but there needs to be a uniform decision on whether everyone or no one needs to use an American accent. For those who do use or attempt the American twang, only McCaw performs it uniformly well, while others (James McMenamin, Gary McEwan) merely disoriented the audience with a poor mix of Southern, Mid-West and East Coast inflections. What this production of Cuckoo's Nest does is bring the audience back to the fundamentals of theatre. That's not to say that the production values are poor but simply that director Terry Annesley has used the space well while taking a minimalist approach. There is little to no music, costumes are simple and the stage is small but this simply means that the audience isn't distracted from the human drama taking place. And there is no shortage of drama. When the metaphorical curtain goes down the audience is left with some of life's most potent lessons. Cuckoo's Nest today is just as effective and forceful as it was back in the 1960s and '70s, showing the hope and brutality of humanity and questioning the very structures that rule our lives. —
James Conlan (Performance seen: 26th September 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine With Attitude 2008 Queensland Ballet (QPAC Playhouse) The Queensland's Ballet production of "With Attitude 2008" contains bold explorations of the ancient Greek legend of Orpheus and a dazzling contemporary work "Timeless Dances" based around the sun goddess waking different forms of life frozen in the earth. The first piece is based on the tragic love story of Orpheus, unable to deal with the grief of the death of his wife Eurydice on their wedding night. He is led to the Underworld by a weeping angel who is moved by his sadness and his music. The choreography by Queenslander, Natalie Weir, is rich in ideas and breathtakingly beautiful. She is truly one of the world's great choreographers, having trained at the Ann Roberts School of Dance in Townsville and been a founding member of Expressions Dance Company in Brisbane. Orpheus is danced strongly by Nathan Sciculuna. He is transported on a large lyre by the Weeping Angel danced with grace by Claire Morehen. Natalie Weir's magical choreography gives one a sense not only of a journey into death but somehow a journey towards rebirth. Classical simplicity is reflected in Noelene Hill's evocative set and costume design. Orpheus is a musician who uses the power of his music (courtesy of Igor Stravinsky) to persuade the King of the Dead, Hades that Eurydice's life be restored. Hades' one condition is that Orpheus walk in front of his wife and not look back on his journey to the living world. Sadly, Orpheus fails to do this and Eurydice is doomed to a second death. Similar profound themes of death and rebirth are explored in the second work "Timeless Dances" choreographed by Queensland Ballet's artistic director Francois Klaus. The music is composed and performed by celebrated didgeridoo player William Barton. He is assisted in performance by a string quartet led ably by the Queensland Orchestra's Warwick Adeney. Barton's music is inspirational. The audience heaped applause on him at the conclusion. Recently returned from performing in the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing, Barton brings together the virtuosity of the didgeridoo and the richness of Australian culture. The cycles of sun and moon provide a backdrop for the Queensland Ballet dancers to weave their spell, drawing on both indigenous and western traditions. It is very heartening to see the fresh, creative approach to dance being adopted by this company. They show profound respect for tradition and discipline but are not afraid to be bold and innovative. Through the beauty of their art they take us, as the weeping angel took Orpheus, on a journey into another world of meaning just beyond our imagination. Orpheus Music by Igor Stravinsky Choreographed by Natalie Weir Timeless Dances Featuring William Barton (didgeridoo) Music by William Barton Choreographed by Francois Klaus Playing 19-26 September 2008 —
Matt Foley (Performance seen: 20th September 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Romeo and Juliet Nash Theatre "You kiss by the book," murmurs Juliet teasingly after Romeo’s second effort on the night of their first meeting at her father’s masquerade party. And the same goes for Jeff Zayer’s production at the Nash Theatre in New Farm, its fidelity to Shakespeare’s original piece admirable even as it becomes a little too drawn-out. However, despite the demanding three-hour length, the production manages to succeed due to its simplicity and energetic cast. The plot of Romeo and Juliet is well known: Romeo and Juliet meet, instantly fall in love, marry in secret because their two families are implacable foes, Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin in a duel and then goes into hiding, Juliet takes a poison that makes her temporarily appear dead in order to avoid a wedding with her parents’ choice of suitor, news of this ruse fails to reach Romeo, Juliet awakes to find Romeo has killed himself next to her, she then kills herself, the discovery of this jolts the two families out of their feud. I’m sure there’s meant to be a cheerful joint picnic in there somewhere towards the end… The diminutive stage of the Nash serves the piece best during the smaller scenes; the feel becomes more cluttered during the larger group scenes. Wisely, Harry Millner’s set keeps most of the space free, its pillars flanked by two rectangular canvasses with two human figures drawn on each. Just before the opening speech, these canvasses are lit and flicker convulsively. Here, then, is the pulse of the world of the play — people alike in every way, yet gazing across at each other as Montagues and Capulets. It’s a nice touch. For much of the rest of the piece, the lighting merely serviceably illuminates the action in a broad, bright wash. One exception is during the scene just before the Capulets’ masquerade party, in which Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio are bathed in a moody turquoise, the space suddenly taking on a foreboding atmosphere. Also lending the space a different feel is the occasional use of music, particularly the dissonant, percussive throb that accompanies the final tomb scene. As with the relative constancy of the lighting, there is minimal use of music here. Greater use of it could well lend the production more grandeur and variation. Reinforcing the purist feel of the production is the ‘Robin Hood-ish’ garb associated with original Shakespeare; the colour-coding of each character is another simple, effective touch. The title parts are arguably not that meaty, and can rely quite heavily on the charisma that the performers themselves bring. Although there is a lovely poetry to many of their lines, they are essentially two typical love-struck teenagers. Trent Spears’ Romeo is appropriately fickle and nervy, but not empathic enough to overcome the idealised nature of the part; Tegan Devine’s Juliet is sweet and graceful, though a little tentative in her verse-speaking. The same goes for many of her fellow cast members. Their enthusiasm is excellent, but they do at times veer between laboured delivery and naturalistic throwing away of their lines. Generally, the production flows along quite well, although the pace would benefit from less pausing and even snappier scene transitions. Condensing the play by stripping it back to its central storyline would also help; there is too much filler here, too much reverence to minor supporting characters. Tightening it all up would also allow even more of the comedy early in the piece to come through. Perhaps the most contemporary thing about Romeo and Juliet is the juiciness of the supporting roles in contrast with the lead romantic ones; this is still true of much modern entertainment. Chris Vaag adopts a leering, viper-like swagger befitting the villainous Tybalt; he brings real presence to the part, face flushed with barely-suppressed young man’s rage, body straining for the chance to release it. Adrian Want’s Mercutio is suitably prancing and confident as he roams across the stage. As the play continues, his enthusiastic variations in tone, volume and use of mimicry perhaps become a little too showy. Teenage protagonists aside, Paul Sherman’s fleet-footed Friar Lawrence is very good indeed; this stalwart of Brisbane theatre is an old pro and it shows. His rhythm and timing are spot on. He lets the character inhabit him rather than the other way around. In many ways, Friar Lawrence is the heart of the play, trying for a way out for the two forbidden lovers, but ultimately being thwarted by circumstance. Here he is deftly played, with a palpable relish in the role and the language. Varying the onstage tableaux and keeping the production reasonably dynamic, Jeff Zayer lets his cast inhabit the space in its entirety. Of particular note is the swashbuckling and intense sword duel between Mercutio and Tybalt; Romeo facing out to the audience during the famous balcony scene is another simple yet effective touch. As really only one storyline exists in Romeo and Juliet, some judicious trimming of some of the filler in this production would be to its benefit, and be in keeping with the simplicity it is aiming for. Overall, though, and given how many radical and conceited modernised versions of Shakespeare have been offered over the years, this production is refreshing in its enthusiasm and faithfulness. —
Nick Howard (Performance seen: 29th August 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine International Gala 2008 Queensland Ballet (QPAC Playhouse) Queenslands Ballet’s International Gala is an annual event not to be missed. It brings together dancers from throughout the world to perform with the QB . This years’ Gala is a dazzling series of pieces evoking beauty and delight. The evening begins with a nostalgic look back over the 10 years of Francois Klaus's time as artistic director. The audience has the odd experience of seeing Carmen and the Little Mermaid on stage at the same time as the characters from a Midsummer Night's Dream. A solo performance by the Dutch freelance artist Ilja Louwen of “Isabel in a Slip” to the music of J.S. Bach is truly stunning. This Dutch artist danced as principal with Les Ballets De Monte Carlo before moving to Ballet Victor Ullate in Madrid. The evening includes a wide range of pas de deux from Giselle, Hamlet, Nutcracker, Autumn and Bellulus. For the first time Brisbane welcomed two international guest dancers, Christian Tatchev and Zenia Tutcheva, both from the South Australian Ballet. Their dances from Hamlet and from the Nutcracker are performed with elegance and precision. An evening of short pieces does not allow for the drama and plot developments of a full-length ballet but an occasional event such as this is a wonderful showcase of virtuosity. The absence of sets highlights the elemental power of the dance. Form and movement speak the international language of dance in a primal way. This international gala is a fitting celebration of Klaus's successful artistic stewardship over these last 10 years. It would be even better if governments could find the funding to enable the Queensland Ballet to have a live orchestra instead of having to rely upon recorded music. Notwithstanding this difficulty the dancers of the Queensland Ballet perform brilliantly. Unfortunately, principal dancer Rachael Walsh was unable to dance due to injury. Her adoring public wish her a speedy recovery. Playing: 8–10 August 2008 Duration: 2 hours including one interval of 20 minutes —
Matt Foley (Performance seen: 9th August 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Three Sisters Brisbane Festival/Chekhov International Theatre Festival (QPAC Playhouse) In a Brisbane Festival full of innovation and surprises, the staging of Chekhov's masterpiece in its original Russian proved to be a unique and valuable experience. (Fortunately sub-titles are provided to enable local audiences to fully appreciate the text — the titles are screened on monitors to each side of the stage, avoiding the upward gazing of opera audiences seeking meaning from surtitles.) The joy of the production from Brisbane's perspective is to see a top Russian ensemble acting a brilliant play in the language of its author, bringing something of the Russian soul to the other side of the earth. The language sounds deliciously rich and meaningful (irreverently recalling the Jamie Lee Curtis character Wanda in A Fish Called Wanda, so aroused by John Cleese's fluency in russkiy yazyk). But regardless of the language concerned, it is indeed a fascinating experience to experience a foreign-language play in its original voice, and I hope we will have more such opportunities in Brisbane. Directed by Declan Donnellan for the Chekhov International Theatre Festival, the production is powerful and convincing. Donnellan has eschewed Chekhov's rather static settings to give us a production with much more action and movement. The luncheon table of Act I is centre stage rather than upstage behind pillars, and characters dance and run around it. Intimate exchanges are spotlighted while other characters are in shadows. There's the usual quirky collection of characters who people Chekhov plays, with wistful and wandering philosophising. They speculate about the distant future, wondering whether people would fundamentally be any different 200 years hence — in our century. (Answer: no.) Irina Grineva shines as Masha, lovelessly married and increasingly drawn to the melancholy middle-aged colonel Vershinin (Alexander Feklistov). Evgenia Dmitrieva as Olga, the anchor of the family, and Nelli Uvarova as youngest sister Irina yearning for Moskvábeautifully depict characters who are at once different and similar. Igor Yasulovich as the old army doctor, Chebutikin, is superb, engaging us with his laconic utterances and observations. As the young aristocratic officer Tuzenbach, Artem Semakin projects optimism and naiveté. The romance between Vershinin and Masha is touchingly and organically depicted, through to its highly-charged and physical farewell scene. Also effective are Alexey Dadonov as the sisters' cuckolded brother, Andrey, and Ekaterina Sibiryakova as as wife Natasha, who eerily morphs into the sister-in-law from hell. Alexander Lenkov and Galina Moracheva give touchingly real characterisations of the deaf council watchman and the elderly nurse. Nick Ormerod's design evokes the 19th century provincial mansion of the sisters as they yearn for a more fulfilling life in the big city. No doubt many contemporary Muscovites would happily exchange their lot for life in the provinces, but the grass on the other hills is always greener, as Chekhov knew so well. Incidentally, it's interesting to discover that the common naming of this play as "The Three Sisters" is contrary to the Russian title, Tri sestri, which lacks the definite article. This production corrects the error. Concordant with his capturing of universal themes, Chekhov was writing about any three sisters, whose story is repeated over and over in culture after culture and until the end of time. —
John Henningham (Performance seen: 30th July 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine The Magic Flute Opera Queensland (Conservatorium Theatre) Step right up! The circus is in town. But it's not your conventional razzamataz big top entertainment. This time it's a new take on Mozart's immortal opera, The Magic Flute. Director Christine Douglas has reasoned that long before being canonised, the The Magic Flute was a species of low-life entertainment for the Viennese masses, its producers thumbing their noses at the conventional Italianate operas staged in mainstream theatres. Spoken and sung in the local language rather than Italian, it was more akin to musical comedy than to high-brow opera. Douglas has set out to recapture the carnival atmosphere of the original concept (see Milos Forman's film version of Amadeus) by adopting a circus setting for The Magic Flute in this premiere production. Bird-catcher Papageno has become a clown (catching feathers instead of birds), villain Monostatos is a strongman, high priest Sarastro is ringmaster, the Queen of the Night a knife-thrower — you get the idea. It makes for colourful settings and costumes, splendidly designed by Simone Romaniuk, and many fascinating characters and characterisations. There are also some clever devices, such as a magic flute that floats in the air and plays itself. Yet for me, it doesn't quite gel as a theatrical performance. A circus theme should have provided a lot more fun and excitement — perhaps some gymnastics, lion-taming and fire-eating, or even just some juggling or a bit more old-style slapstick — maybe some well thrown custard pies. There are some laughs, but not enough, and the production as a whole lacks zest. And despite or perhaps because of the big-top framing, much of the magic and mystery we associate with this opera has been diminished. It's difficult to retain thematic coherence in the face of the text: one wonders, for example, why a bunch of circus toughs would be so focused on the search for meaning and the brotherhood of man. And while the liberal translation of Viennese entrepreneur Emanuel Schikaneder's rather ordinary original script is certainly plain and easily comprehended, it's too often simply banal, reminiscent of Broadway's lesser moments: for example "If you need a helping hand/I will help you understand". Despite such reservations about the production, the excellent singing and the well-textured music from Richard Lewis's Queensland Orchestra are very cheering. Ensemble sections are of a high standard, while the principals are balanced, vocally complementing each other very well. Some gems of moments include the first duet between Papageno and Pamina, as well as Tamino's interactions with the trio of maidens who lead him up the garden path. As Tamino, tenor Christopher Saunders has a consistently pleasing and sonorous voice, while Sarah Crane is a very fetching Pamina and is vocally excellent. Jason Barry-Smith, although a rather doleful Papageno, sings beautifully, and the role of his playmate Papagena is cheekily and charmingly captured by Sara Carvalho. As Queen of the Night Judit Lorincz is dazzling, drawing appreciative applause. Although on opening night a little shaky at the start of her second big number — perhaps not surprisingly given the difficulty of standing on bleachers in stilettos — she quickly warmed to the challenge and finished with a fine flourish. Russian Gennadi Dubinsky as Sarastro plumbs the depths with a resonant and powerful bass, ably complemented by Andrew Collis as the speaker, while Virgilio Marino sings and acts the padded "strongman" Monostasos with style. As the Queen's assistants, Gaynor Morgan, Jessica O'Donoghue and Sarah Sweeting are a chirpy and sexy trio, while chorus members are splendid collectively and in smaller character parts. Bernard Wheaton and Joshua Rowe sing their Germanic hymn with heavenly harmony. Playing in Brisbane from 12th July to 2nd August, 2008, followed by a regional tour. Tour dates — August 2008 Thursday 7th: Gold Coast Arts Centre Saturday 9th: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba Tuesday 12th: The Brolga Theatre, Maryborough Thursday 14th: Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton Saturday 16th: Mackay Entertainment Centre Tuesday 19th: Burdekin Theatre, Ayr Thursday 21st: Townsville Civic Theatre Saturday 23rd: Cairns Civic Theatre —
John Henningham (Performance seen: 12th July 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Giselle Australian Ballet (Lyric Theatre) Imagine a world where love triumphs over death — that is the Australian Ballet's Giselle. This exquisite ballet soars to the heights of human beauty and aspiration. It tells the story of the peasant girl Giselle (Rachel Rawlins) and her love for Count Albrecht (Robert Curran) despite his betrayal of her. Rachel Rawlins dances the title role of Giselle superbly. In Act I she is a faint-hearted, innocent peasant cruelly lead astray by Count Albrecht disguising himself as one of the common people. Giselle loves to dance, despite her weak heart. Giselle beseeches her mother (danced brilliantly by Janette Mulligan) to be allowed to dance. Janette Mulligan brings the singular authority and grace of her experience to the mother's role. Giselle stands out in a cream outfit among the fawns and browns of the other peasants. Notwithstanding the warnings of the forester, Hilarion (Tristan Message) Giselle falls for the charm of Albrecht. The famous peasant Pas De Deux is performed ably by Leanne Sthamenov and Daniel Gaudiello. When count Albrecht's betrayal is revealed Giselle is struck mad. This is a moment in ballet never to be forgotten. Your reviewer well remembers shedding a tear 35 years ago in the old Her Majesty's Theatre here in Brisbane when the great Gailene Stock danced the mad scene for the then Australian Ballet's production of Giselle. Rachel Rawlins does it differently. Instead of the "coming-apart, centre-cannot-hold" of Gailene Stock, Rachel Rawlins reveals a different, equally powerful side of madness — the profound and instant change to the face arising out of a train smash in the mind. After initially falling with grief she rises with loosened hair and savagely damaged psyche to take the audience through pathways of the soul known only to the rejected and betrayed. Her mad scene is utterly, nobly, magnificent. What is it about dance that cuts to the truth of human nature beyond the superficial labelling of psychiatry? While science labels, art expresses. Rachel Rawlins takes us to places within ourselves seldom visited. After interval the audience enters into the strange, pure, white, powerful world of those women who have died before marriage with a broken heart — the Wilis. It is a frightening world — hence the phrase "gives us the willies". This world was introduced to Giselle's author courtesy of Heinrick Heine, a German poet who had written a book about Germanic traditions and sagas published in France under the name "De l'Allemagne" in 1835. In that book Heine speaks of those ghosts of previously mortal maidens who died from broken hearts before their wedding day. They rise from their graves at midnight to gather along the highways with where they lure men and literally dance them to death. In the second act, who should be in the forest after midnight but the cad, bounder and blackguard Albrecht (Robert Curran)? Giselle has recently joined the ranks of the Wilis. Albrecht is subject to the less than tender mercy of the Queen of the Willis, Myrtha, danced with great authority by Olivia Bell. The corps de ballet rise to new heights in their manifestation as Wilis. Somehow they dance with both beauty and military precision, as if moved by forces higher than mere base minds can comprehend. There is a logic and justice to their punishment of Albrecht; however Giselle disturbs the iron logic of their wrath by intervening to protect Albrecht whom she still loves despite his having caused the loss of her heart, her mind and her life. If Romeo and Juliet is the story of love's defiance of death, then Giselle is the story of love's triumph over death. In spite of her history, in spite of the peer pressure, Giselle dances to save her beloved. The contest between death and love continues until first light when the Wilis (folklore cousins to the vampires) must retreat into the dark. Giselle nurtures Albrecht until this moment, sustaining his life in spite of it all. The Queensland Orchestra under conductor Nicolette Fraillon lifts us through this mysterious journey. They are true to their task. Artistic director David McAllister has acted wisely and respectfully in continuing the production as conceived by his predecessor Maina Gielgud. This season of Giselle was fittingly dedicated to acclaimed Russian ballerina Irina Baronova who died in early July in Byron Bay. In 1938 Baronova toured Australia with the Ballet Russes. The Australian Ballet's Giselle manifests the redemptive power of truth, love and beauty. Playing: 8 - 12 July 2008 Duration: 2 hours 5 minutes including one interval of 20 minutes —
Matt Foley (Performance seen: 8th July 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine A Midsummer Night's Dream Harvest Rain Theatre Company (Sydney Street Theatre, New Farm) While being constantly reinvented for the stage, it is refreshing to see a conventional adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. That's not to say this new production by Sarah McCoy is unadventurous or tiresome — it's the absolute opposite. In fact, I dare anyone not to give this production a standing ovation when they're not slapping their knee in laughter at the 'mechanicals' or being entranced by the woodland fairies. Dream, rather than a play, feels more like a set of interwoven masquerades, shifting location from Athens to Fairyland, yet doesn't take away from its overall effectiveness in demonstrating high-energy comedy at its finest. McCoy's literal interpretation of the text has her painting Oberon's forest in typical Victorian design, with a slight sense of neuroticism. The link between the enchanted forest and the classical world of Athens is the young maiden Hermia (Melanie Zanetti) who refuses to accept her father's choice of suitor, Demetrius (Nick Skubij), and instead runs away with her lover, Lysander (Sam Clark). Egeus (Paul Adams), Hermia's father, enlists the aid of Theseus (Vanja Matula), the Duke of Athens, to enforce his wishes upon his daughter. Under Athenian law, Hermia must accept her father's decision or perish, yet Theseus grants her the choice of life-long chastity. Hermia and Lysander thus escape into the forest by night. Hermia informs her friend, Helena (Imogen Hopper) of her plans, not knowing that Helena has just been rejected by Demetrius. Helena doggedly follows Demetrius as he plans to meet up with Hermia in the woods. Meanwhile, Oberon (Vanja Matula), king of the fairies, and his wife Titania (Julie-Anna Edwards) arrive at the forest outside Athens. Titania intends to stay in Athens to attend the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta (Julie-Anna Edwards), yet Oberon, who has become estranged from his wife, recruits the mischievous Puck (Ross Balbuziente) to help punish her. Elsewhere in the forest a band of labourers (or 'mechanicals') are practising to perform a version of 'Pyramus and Thisbe' for Theseus' wedding. Now, if that seems like an eyeful of affiliations and intentions, it surely is, but it sets the platform for the hilarity that will ensue in later acts. The play itself is one that grows on the audience from beginning to end. While the first moments between Hippolyta and Theseus are of bare design and performance, the following scenes in the forest and Athens provide a visual feast and tour-de-force performances from the 20-strong cast. The slapstick romps involving the bewildered lovers with their misplaced passions are comedy at its finest but they're almost upstaged by the 'mechanicals' led by Mathew Filkins as Nick Bottom, whose enthusiasm and comedic timing has to be seen to be believed. Yet, the act to be treasured comes when the 'mechanicals' recite their version of 'Pyramus and Thisbe', where Francis Flute played by Dash Kruck performs a rendition of a woman so hilarious it had the sold-out crowd in tears. Credit must also be given to the strong supporting cast who made this version of Dream a delight, with their flawless projection and spot-on characterisation. Ross Balbuziente revels in the physicality of Puck while Vanja Matula projects a sense of other-worldly charm with his dual performance as Theseus and Oberon. Imogen Hopper as Helena is the standout female performer, switching from love-crazed to melancholy in an instant, while Melanie Zanetti as Hermia is nothing short of a bundle of energy. Sam Clark as Lysander and Nick Skubij as Demetrius display obvious chemistry with each of their partners and seem to take pleasure in the farcical nature of the goings-on in the forest. The stage design by Josh McIntosh seems too simple in the early scenes in Athens with Theseus and Hippolyta. Early judgements like this are short-lived though when we are pulled into the world of the forest where fairy lights, natural textures and soft lighting create the dream-like visage that overpowers the central characters. The exotic environment imparts a sense of wonder contrasting with the real world of Athens. The music by composer Kylie Morris is also off-putting at first listen with bursts of sporadic synthesised tunes breaking up the earlier scenes. Once we reach Fairyland though, sounds of mischievous voices, crickets and birds lead us into a fantastical and eerie world. There the use of angelic harmonies and soft music are employed to shift from one scene to the other with good effect. Choreography by Callum Mansfield should be given special mention with so many actors on such a small stage. The physicality of the production gives off a feeling of legitimacy with each actor throwing each other around at great peril in some instances. Contrasting with that is the sense of marvel one feels when the three dancing fairies periodically take flight in unison around the forest. For all the reinventions of such a classic Shakespearean text, the classic adaptation still holds strong in today's world. McCoy's willingness to add a sense of neurosis to the production not only differentiates it from other adaptations but makes it stronger. The enthusiasm displayed by all on stage cannot be ignored when viewing A Midsummer Night's Dream and its certainly not going to make you drift off into your own reverie. —
James Conlan (Performance seen: 4th July 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine The Barber of Seville Opera Queensland (Lyric Theatre) This latest production of the Barber is a gloriously fun-filled and richly musical entertainment — probably the best Barber Brisbane has seen. Even before the overture the production is entrancing, with the curtain open to display Leon Krasenstein's luscious art deco set inspired by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. Brian Castles-Onion's Queensland Orchestra launches us into a well-paced overture with a confident sound including rich depth from the lower strings, while on stage, non-singing extras Imogen Rogers, Paul Geoghegan, Dan Crestani, Clinton Stewart and Michael Parlato do their thing as dotty health spa residents — drunk countess, injured matadors, senile general — all in best Fawlty Towers style. Latin-blooded José Carbó impresses with his vigorous performance in the title role, while Russian soprano Elivira Fatykhova as Rosina is simply dazzling. Both handle the intricate highly embellished vocal challenges of Rossini's music with confident singing, together with top comic acting as a bonus. Carbó clowns about and is rarely still, while Fatykhova's funny faces (particularly in reaction to the unwanted attentions of Bartolo) are hilarious. Fatykhova thrills the audience with her vocal gymnastics — sung classy sung high and sung strong. Carbó excels from his first appearance, in all of opera's best-known aria, "Largo al factotum", drawing thunderous applause. It is one of the sad developments of modern professional opera companies that appreciative audiences are never awarded encores. Still, with so many great performances a show with encores would have gone until dawn. Excellent also is John Bolton Wood as Rosina's guardian Dr Bartolo (director of a 1930s Spanish health spa in this John Milson production), whose challenging "A un dottor della mia sorte" patter song is extremely well performed, involving more rapid-pace syllables than anyone would normally utter in a lifetime. But for me the most outstanding performance in a top night is Andrew Collis as the unkempt and malodorous Don Basilio, the scheming priest and music teacher. His rendition of the La calummnia aria must be one of the best ever heard. Adrian Dwyer as the love-sick Count Almaviva has a light and pleasing tenor voice (not always displaying perfect intonation) and a fine comedic sense — his characterisation of count, disguised lover, drunken soldier and parson are diverse and effective. Mention must be made of Adele Johnston, who sings a powerful Act 2 aria and plays her matronly role of Berta with distinction, David Hibbard who has a commanding vocal and physical presence as the officer, and Shaun Brown as Dr Bartolo's servant. (Errol O'Neill and Guy Booth add nicely to the character roles.) Richard Lewis's men's chorus (no women choristers in this show) sing and act well as militia and constabulary, while there is also beautiful and powerful harmonic singing from the principals in their ensemble pieces. There are many other elements to add to the fun — such as Leon Krasenstein's colorful costumes, and the lighting design of Donn Byrnes together with extraordinary gushing fountain effects during the Act 2 storm scene. The music is charming — mostly Rossini at his best, together with some naughty interpolations — touches of Verdi, Mozart, Edith Piaf and even "I did it my way"! —
John Henningham (Performance seen: 22nd May 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Jane Eyre Harvest Rain Theatre Company (Sydney Street Theatre, New Farm) I have to admit it, and it's a big crime. I was a Charlotte Bronte virgin. Upon going to see Polly Teale's stage adaptation of this Bronte classic, I had never picked up a single novel penned by the 19th century English writer. This play was my introduction to the author and I think it is safe to say I will be hitting the library tomorrow, if only to see if Charlotte has done as good a job with her story as Polly Teale. (Mind you, as my very wise editor said, there's a good case for seeing a play with an entirely fresh perspective, as I would not be spending the night judging the production against a remembered version of the novel.) Orphaned Jane (Tanya Dougherty) is a timid girl with a hidden passionate inner self — Bertha (Kathryn Marquet) — whose presence acts at times as a friend to Jane and at others as a menace. At the tender age of 10, Jane lives with her cruel, unloving and oppressing auntie who happily carts her away to Lowood Institution, a harsh and unfeeling school where her only dear friend dies of tuberculosis. As an adult she becomes the English teacher of a delightfully peppy French girl (Elizabeth Gibney) at Thornward, a house in the countryside, where she meets the man who is destined to change her life forever — the master of the house, Mr Rochester (Edward Foy). Foy's performance is enthralling and commanding. He exudes a confidence and extremely strong presence which roots him firmly to the stage. The sexual tension between Mr Rochester and Jane is thick and palpable. It rolls across the audience in a thick mist — an anticipated and longed for tension reminiscent of Darcy and Elizabeth. With speeches, spiels and tenderness that'll make your heart skip a beat, their chemistry underlines the fact that this was the 19th century equivalent of our romantic comedies and chickflicks. The onstage dynamic between Jane and her alter ego Bertha is brilliant; opposite in all aspects of their characters, they yet combine with a fluid and transcendent unity. Dougherty embodies Jane as a strong yet unstable, vulnerable young woman whereas Marquet's alter ego is rampant, emotional and fantastically physical and unhinged. Joanna Butler's choreography and direction are precise and dramatic, timed to perfection and working well with the script. The lighting is subtle yet effective in setting a number of scenes, and the soundtrack appropriate and mood changing. Josh McIntosh's set is sparse but extremely successful.The Van Gogh-esque galvanized copper shrunken room on the left-hand wall of the stage acts as a wonderful visual tool in giving us an open window into Jane's psyche. A constant caged animal through vexation, anger and pain, a light is always shone on this inner sanctuary. Or is it a dark and macabre prison? This production amazes in its variety. It's witty, it's dry, it's high brow, it'll have you laughing out loud and gasping in disbelief. With exuberant and fresh performances spun into an old worldly air of rich, classical and gifted portrayals from the entire cast this play is a success. Dynamic direction ensures this show is a wonderfully entertaining way to spend an evening. Playing: 9th to 31st May —
Grace Naug (Performance seen: 9th May, 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Romeo and Juliet Grin and Tonic (Roma St Parkland Amphitheatre) What better place to put on a performance of the world's greatest love story than in an open amphitheatre, under the stars in one of the most beautiful parks in Brisbane? The location just brims with romantic potential and surrounded by expectant picnickers with blankets and pillows I settled myself in on the steps for some Shakespeare 'al fresco'. With such a well-known classic it's all about the interpretation. And Director Nikki-J Witt has chosen an eclectic view. The costumes are diverse and pinches of modernity bring the performance back to its audience — like the Nurse busting Romeo and Juliet in their timeless balcony scene while taking out the wheelie bin and having a ciggie, or the infectious energetic comradery of the Montague boys sculling beers and talking dirty. There is a beautiful onstage chemistry between the young Romeo (Marcus Whittington) and his fresh-faced Juliet (Nadine Kelly) who with a peppy, youthful schoolgirl slant twinkles in these sassy moments but also brings home the more serious scenes. Their attraction is believable, as is their naive love, and the direction of their scenes is touching and innovative, especially their stolen evening together, where the nude young couple draped in sheets intimately steal the stage. The lovers draw empathy, laughs and knowing smiles from the enthusiastic audience. Veteran Paul Sherman gives both a mature and commanding performance as the friar, providing a sincere portrayal. His evident experience carries some scenes where less experienced players drop the ball. For pure entertainment you can't look much further than the hilarious Cienda McNamara as Juliet's Nurse. She's jovial, animated and a real delight to watch. Generally the play does well in giving us a taste of Shakespeare with a modern spin, accessing the age-old text and bringing it into a modern sphere. The challenge was to make Shakespeare relevant and enjoyable to a contemporary audience, and judging from the constant outbursts of laughter and the vigorous rounds of applause I'd say they'd achieved it. At times some of the cast lack the energy or enthusiasm to carry the 'minor' scenes and some of the director's edgier directorial decisions (for example the slow motion fighting scenes) work only to irritate. Overall it's an enjoyable production but be warned — extra blankets are a must! —
Grace Naug Playing: 29th April to 4th May (Performance seen: 29th April 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine Keating! The Musical Company B (QPAC Playhouse) This is terrific fun. It rattles along with the driving beat of a rock band through the roller-coaster ride that was Paul Keating's rise and fall in the power stakes of Australia . Mike McLeish plays Keating superbly â€" the lean, elegant, brooding presence that was synonymous with the Placido Domingo of Australian Politics. The secret deal with former Prime Minister Bob Hawke at Kirribilli House forms a background for Keating's assault on the top job. Bob Hawke is played artfully by Terry Scerio who later undergoes a remarkable translation into the chilling figure of John Howard. The music has at times an edge of reggae - e.g. "Mabo", an occasional country and western twang and maybe even an element of hip-hop ("Who the man? You the man!"). The unpredictability of political life is echoed in the musical variety For political junkies like your reviewer who lived through this period the story bristles with the big issues of the day. Keating is idealised while Hawke, Hewson, Downer and Howard are lampooned; but whoever said musicals were meant to be fair? For students of parliamentary mortal combat, there is no better moment than Keating's famous riposte to then Opposition Leader John Hewson's question as to why Keating would not call an early election :"I want to do you slowly". This eviscerating answer is given with full Keating-esque gusto. It is hard for many to remember 1993 when Hewson lost the unlosable election, but Brendan Coustley's performance of Hewson in parliamentary battle with Keating makes for an unusual pas de deux. Coustley shows his versatility a little later when, dressed in fishnet stockings and tights, he gives us a racy Alexander Downer to remember. The Adelaide Hills will never be the same. Sometimes it takes the simplicity of song to grasp the true dynamic of the political process. Casey Bennetto shines as a wordsmith and composer. His love duet between Gareth Evans and Cheryl Kernot is a wicked treat. This production is an irreverent, irrepressible romp through the political landscape. It captures the spirit of its subject matter. The music may be a long way from Mahler, but this is truly the musical we had to have. Music and Lyrics by Casey Bennetto. Directed by: Neil Armfield Playing: 23 April to 10 May 2008 Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes â€" one interval 25 minutes —
Matt Foley (Performance seen: 24th April 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine A Midsummer Night's Dream Queensland Ballet The Queensland Ballet's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a delight to the imagination and the senses. The lead role of Hippolyta/Titania is danced magnificently by Rachael Walsh. She leads us on a merry dance indeed through the world of dreams and fairies. She provides the ethereal thread through the complex conflict between the Queen of the Amazons and Theseus, Duke of Athens. Her versatility and grace continue to astound audiences under her spell. There are few roles in dance or theatre more deliciously mischievous than that of Puck who dispenses nectar from a flower given magical power by the bolt of Cupid to induce love. Yu Hui makes the role his own, receiving warm applause from the audience. He darts about creating all manner of unlikely love matches to provoke and amuse. What great fun! Perhaps the high point of his frolics comes after he has played a trick on poor old Bottom the Weaver (Gareth Belling) causing him to sprout a donkey's head. Meanwhile Titania (Rachael Walsh) and her fairies have settled to sleep and Oberon, King of the Fairies (danced ably by Nathan Scicluna) puts flower nectar on her eyes. The beautiful Titania awakes and, seeing the donkey, immediately falls in love with him. Bottom can not believe his luck. At this point all men in the audience could envision a world where beautiful women would look past the superficial ugliness of men and fall in love with their inner beauty! Sadly, at this point the curtain came down on Act One and the dream was temporarily interrupted. The mayhem continues in Act 2 when the rascally Puck applies the nectar to create further love and jealousy, much to the annoyance of Oberon who finally intervenes and ordered Puck to put things right with the lovers. Bottom the Weaver (Gareth Belling) and the other Mechanicals provide excellent comic relief. They dance artfully and resist the temptation to ham it up. Their light touch works. Their "play within the play" complements the action of the central plot. One modest criticism is that the ending is perhaps a little drawn out. It is not necessary to milk applause from an opening night audience so ready to thunder their approval. It is wonderful to have the Queensland Orchestra playing under Concertmaster Warwick Adeney. The strings are particularly moving. The rich strains of Felix Mendelssohn's score float dancers and audience alike through transports of delight. So often in the past budgetary constraints have forced the Queensland Ballet to rely on recorded music. One can only hope this is a sign of a more generous dispensation. The costumes designed by Noelene Hill are stunning. They combined with carefully crafted sets and lighting to fashion a world fit for love's confusions and dreams. As our cinema screens continue to be choked with action scenes of graphic gore it is gratifying that there still sparkles a dancing world of truth and beauty which, as Keats said, is all we know on earth and all we need to know. Choreography by Francois Klaus Music by Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Ives and John Metcalf Concertmaster Warwick Adeney and the Queensland Orchestra 1-15 March 2008, Playhouse, QPAC Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes with one interval (20 minutes) —
Matt Foley (Performance seen: 1st March 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine The Female of the Species Queensland Theatre Company (Cremorne Theatre) By Joanna Murray-Smith Professional production In a very clever piece of programming, Michael Gow has chosen to start QTC's 2008 season with a farce, in its own way as good as Kath and Kim. Or you might like to call it a satire as unsubtly clever as The Simpsons. There are soft targets in every group of our culture, and when there's already a genuine living target in the form of a feisty and world-famous Australian feminist, confronted by and tied up in her own home by an angry young student, we can only be surprised that a play like The Female of the Species hasn't come along before. Germaine Greer really is a legend in her own lifetime, and she's so much of a fearless public figure that, for many of today's younger women as well as men of her own age, she's become an icon of the worst aspects of feminism. I have to admit to a personal bias here, as Germaine and I were close friends as undergraduates, and so I've known her since we were both seventeen and, having lived through those desperate early pre-feminist days with her, I will always support her, no matter how cranky she has become. So I was prepared to be very angry about this play. And there was plenty for someone like me to be angry about in the beginning. Margot Mason, the GG figure in this play, is a foul-mouthed, arrogant, self-obsessed academic who, at this stage of her life, is living off her reputation while suffering from writer's block. She's set up by playwright Joanna Murray-Smith as an Aunt Sally, worthy of all the scorn we can pour on her. And when she is confronted by one of her recent students, whose face she can't even remember and whose work she has disparaged, and who blames her for destroying women's lives because of the positional shifts she has made over forty years of writing, it seems the set-up is complete. It's such an obvious set-up, too, the generational argument between the first-wave feminists who did all the hard work (special pleading here from me, of course!) and their daughters and granddaughters who either (a) take it all for granted or (b) turn their backs on it or (c) blame the first-wavers for any unfortunate consequences that have arisen in forty years, that I was again prepared to be angry. Cheap shots at the pioneers! It's as bad as reviling the suffragettes. Why should Margot be blamed because Molly's mother gave up her baby for adoption, following Margot's advice in the 1990s, or because she later threw herself under a train clutching a copy of Margot's The Cerebral Vagina? Is this Margot's fault, and does she deserve to be murdered because of it? Are all philosophical thinkers to be blamed if their readers follow them unthinkingly? We're now about 15 minutes into the play, and thankfully the angry young gun-toting student Molly (played with irritating perspicuity by Francesca Savige) now becomes a soft target herself, and we lose our sympathy for her as she becomes a figure of mockery. Enter then, in succession, Margot's own domesticated daughter Tess (Georgina Symes in a classic mother-daughter love-hate role play), who has walked out on her husband and kids, and come to her mother's for a Bex and a nice lie down, or something like that. She immediately bonds with the young terrorist, until the next character appears, Andrew Buchanan in masterly form as her pompous soft-centred SNAG of a husband, so concerned that she has left the kids unattended, but so solicitous about her, that he forgets to be angry, and keeps popping out his New Age platitudinous malapropisms to the extent that the audience is now falling out of their chairs with laughter, and the young terrorist shifts loyalties and casts a lusty eye on him. Who's next, who's next? In comes a tall super-sexy black taxi-driver (Kenneth Ransom, please don't leave us and go to Perth) wanting to make a phone call to get his taxi unbogged from the muddy drive, only to be confronted by some gun-wielding cast member or other â€" the gun has changed hands many times by this stage. He manages to grab the gun himself, terrorises everyone except Margot's housewife daughter Tess, who decides she likes the strong masterly type, and demands a bit of rough trade with him. Next on the scene is Margot's publisher Theo Hanover, from whom she has been trying to hide the fact of her writer's block, and there were sighs and palpitations all round as Brisbane's favourite son, Anthony Phelan, made a welcome return from Sydney to play this bluff and almost believable character â€" and I'm not going to tell you what truths are revealed, but you won't be surprised. And so it gets sillier and sillier (and funnier, I have to say), until Margot is vindicated when she reveals herself to be the most level-headed of all of them, everyone changes partners, and all's for the best in this best of all possible worlds, as Pangloss tried to pretend in Voltaire's classic farce Candide, and we all went home satisfied. Sure, it was loud and brassy and very very silly. Sure, some of the actors overdid the voice projection and underestimated the acoustics of the Cremorne Theatre. Sure, it was full of platitudes and phoney intellectualism. But it was good for a laugh, and a joy to see Burns, Buchanan, Ransom and Phelan in particular having fun just hamming it up, and what more can I say than it was a Nice Night's Entertainment — in capital letters of course. Playing until 15 March 2008: Tuesday 6.30pm, Wednesday-Saturday 7.30pm, matinees Wednesday 1pm, Saturday 2pm Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes, no interval —
Alison Cotes (Performance seen: 14th February 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine A Mouthful of Pins Visy Theatre By Leah Mercer Professional Production Having seen two productions directed by Margi Brown Ash in the past, I was positively bursting with excitement about A Mouthful of Pins, expecting the possibility of being as profoundly moved by it as I was by the others. Walking into the hazy theatre (smoke machine), I took in a sparsely dressed set (a stumpy bed with a tangle of white linen bordered by some iron fencing hung with white masks); a piano (ooh, live music!); screens (who doesn't love a bit of multimedia?); and a big construct upstage left, which turned out to be a big Victorian dress that could be climbed in and out of (a lovely piece of design work). The stage was set for something interesting. And it was interesting. Except that, I am sorry to say, I got completely lost. Granted, this was a preview performance and, having been stuck in traffic on the way to the show, I was relegated to a seat on the side of the stage (in terms of being able to fully appreciate the projections, this was saddening). But the play just never started making sense to me. I certainly had not expected this production to be linear or realistic, but neither had I expected to feel puzzled throughout. There is always that initial stage of a performance where you have to concentrate hard to work out how things relate, what's happening and who's who. During this performance, I felt as if I never really got past this state, never emerged to a place where I had a grip on the characters and the action and could begin to absorb the play at a different level. Rather, I began to feel panicked that I was missing something that everyone else was getting. This is not to say that the production is amateurish or unworthy of attention. The performances are strong. Aole T. Miller as a motherly Southern Belle figure is delightful and gives an assured and textured performance. Leah Mercer, as the central character, gives a balanced performance and sings beautifully, and Scotia Monkivitch's characterâ€"by turns paranoid, comical and cattyâ€"is a galvanising presence. I enjoyed the live music also, which complements and enriches, but never upstages the actionâ€"a violin is the perfect accompaniment to the theme of melancholia. I don't think the play's focus on melancholia, depression and isolation is necessarily its downfall, though at times the angst comes off as laboured and trite. The best moments in the script are moments of lightness, irony, cynicism ("finding the mantra" for instance) but often the text is dense, hard to absorb, cryptic, and ultimately, for me, alienating. I felt as an audience member that, had I been able to cling to less slippery characters and to a more concrete understanding of events preceding the melancholic cycle, I wouldn't have felt as cut adrift by this production as I did. In short, I needed this play to be kinder to me. Go and see it, by all means; don't let me stop you. The team at work here is professional and strong. There is much potential for a fantastic showâ€"the exploration that it sets out upon (through territories of suffering, psychoanalysis, medicine, history, yin and yang) is exciting and enticing. I hope that it gains the strength that I had wished it would wield. Playing until 16 February 2008: Fri 15, 8pm; Sat 16, 2pm and 8pm —
Casey Hutton (Performance seen: 13th February 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine AALST National Theatre of Scotland/Tramway, Glasgow (Brisbane Powerhouse) By Duncan McLean Professional production Usually when we go to see a play, we come out with some kind of resolution in our own minds. Whether the writing and production are good or bad, we have formed an opinion about the message of the play, made up our minds about the characters and their motivation and, in serious plays, made an ethical judgment about the worthiness or otherwise of their behaviour. Not so with Aalst, a play about a married couple who murdered their two children, one an infant girl of three months and the other a seven-year-old boy. It's based on a real-life incident that took place nine years ago in the small Belgium town of Aalst, where the parents are currently serving time for the crime, which they freely admitted committing. The trial of these two people has been dramatised in a gut-wrenching one-hour interrogation, and the version we are seeing has been transferred to Scotland with Scottish actors. This has a distancing effect from the actual trial but, at the same time, a grim truth for an Anglo-Saxon audience , especially those who are familiar with Scottish crime series on television and the dreadful bleakness of its big cities and the hopelessness of people who live on the edge. The pair, Cathy and Michael, who call each other Coo and Moo, sit on straight chairs side by side but not too close, leaving it open as to whether they are in the same room/court/cell or separate from each other, because although they can hear each other, they rarely interact. They are being interrogated by an emotionless male voice from the back of the theatre, and even now I'm not sure whether Gary Lewis, who takes this role, is in real-time or a recording. Just whom this voice is supposed to be is also open to interpretation — is it the voice of the judge, the prosecuting barrister, a social worker or, on a more symbolic level, the voice of God on the Day of Judgment? This voice fires questions at the couple, about their early lives and the exact details of the crime, and they answer in flat working-class Scottish accents that chill you to the bone with their lack of emotion. We learn that both had abusive childhoods — of course; that Cathy was sexually abused by her father from the age of 11 and that Michael was put in a boys' home when very young and has been a petty criminal all his life; that he has constantly abused Cathy both sexually and physically by raping her anally, beating her up, and burning her with cigarettes; but that they love each other with a rare devotion. They also admit every detail of the way they murdered the children — of taking both children to a city hotel where, on the first night, they wake up the baby and smother her with a pillow. Two days later, with the dead baby's body still in the room, Cathy tries to smother little Matthew, who struggles and pleads with her not to kill him because he doesn't want to die. So they hold him down and Michael stabs him in the back with a pair of scissors. So far, so horrific, especially as the parents vacillate between admitting that their crime was unforgivable, that they did it in cold blood but wish they could turn the clock back. It doesn't matter that I've given away the plot, because the plot is not important. What matters, and what makes this play a really important piece of theatre, is the way we as audience react to the couple. Are they born monsters and heartless killers? Is there perhaps such a thing as a criminal gene, and should people like this be allowed to reproduce, or even live? All our politically-correct reactions are thrown out the window, and words like death penalty and eugenics spring unbidden to our minds. But when we hear about their hopeless lives, their dreadful childhoods, their pathetic inability to accept responsibility and their belief that society owes them a living, we wonder whether it is the system that is indeed at fault? It's the old Nurture/Nature debate at its grimmest, and when Michael, finally losing his temper, suggests to the Inquisitor that perhaps it would be better if he were to kill himself (which he tried to do after the murders but failed through lack of courage), there's a part of us that wants to stand up and cheer Yes! But what hope did they ever have, and what is the solution to what the middle class like to call "people like this"? There's no suggestion offered in the play, no guidelines, and not even any hint of what their eventual fate is to be. We are left bemused and helpless, shaking our heads in despair, and thanking whatever gods there be that we don't have to make such decisions. And then, in the last five minutes, just when it's becoming absolutely unbearable, there's another twist in the motivation of the couple, and I for one was left gob-smacked — and I'm not going to tell you what happens, because it's this last suggestion that raises the play out of being simply very fine drama into greatness. Everybody I spoke to after the performance was equally shattered, and one twenty-something literally couldn't stand up because she was shaking so much. It's a perfect production of a perfect play, but it's not a play for everyone. If you're very fragile emotionally for any reason, you definitely shouldn't go, and even I, cynical hard-bitten critic as I am, was on the point of walking out two or three times, and slept very badly that night. But for everybody else, this is a scarifying but must-see masterpiece. Playing until Sunday 3 February 2008 â€" Tuesday, Wednesday at 6.30pm, Thursday â€" Saturday 7.30pm, Sunday 5pm Duration : 65 minutes —
Alison Cotes (Performance seen: 29th January 2008) www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine |