If Game of Thrones has taught us anything it’s that weddings
are to be avoided at all cost. Red ones, Purple ones and now, courtesy of WAAPA and Federico
Garcia Lorca, Blood ones. Yes, this is not a happy tale. Things start calmly
enough as the audience is greeted by a band playing appropriately
Spanish music with Hayden Emery doing some tasty classical guitar work. The
Roundhouse set is particularly impressive with full length arches made of
entwined rope and what will be a series of different drapes hanging from the
rafters. There is an upper level walkway that will see extensive use even by a
surprise ‘character’ in the second half.
The production begins with the band retreating to upstage
left and the second year acting students in 1930s period attire attacking the
stage with gusto in dance and song. It’s an attention grabbing opening. From
there the tale of generational family conflict and bloodshed unfolds as a
Mother (Stephanie Panozzo) bemoans the use of guns and knives as her son,
credited only as the Bridegroom (Andrew Creer), goes off to work on the family
vineyard. It seems he is betrothed to a woman – The Bride (Shalom Brune-Franklin)
- who once had a relationship with Leonardo (Ben Kindon) who is from a family
that murdered the Mother’s husband and other family members. Leonardo’s Wife
(Rebecca Gulia) is none too happy when Leonardo wants them to travel to the wedding
leaving their baby with the Mother-in-Law (Jess Paterson). The Father of the
Bride (Bevan Pfeiffer), however, is eager to finalise the union as the
Bridegroom’s family has extensive lands and wealth compared to his. Things go
terribly awry when Leonardo runs off with The Bride on the wedding night and they
flee into the woods. It does not end well as the Mother’s wrath and anguish
towers above this tragic tale of impulsive love, revenge and generational
violence.
In many ways this reminded me of the Sicilian sequences in
The Godfather. That sense of passion, the pre-eminence of family, and the
animosity between clans that lingers for generations. The production is full
of song and dance and even gets quite surreal at points in the second half as
the Moon (Lincoln Vickery) decides the fate of those in the woods with his
light illuminating (or not) the transgressors. There’s also a creepy Beggar
Woman (Hoa Xuande) in this sequence who adds a supernatural tinge to
proceedings.
The show ends quite abruptly after The Bride presents
herself to the Mother and beseeches the grieving woman to cut her throat and
end the cycle of violence. But what use is this sacrifice to a woman who has
lost all the men in her life so cruelly? This is punctuated with a thud as the
deceased are summarily disposed.
I really enjoyed this though it took me a little while to
get my bearings. The first scene after the dance introduction was tentative and
awkward but from that point Panozzo (who sports a convincing Spanish accent)
gives an increasingly strong performance culminating in a powerhouse final
sequence where her anguished song is quite devastating. It’s interesting that
all of the main characters seem set in their ways throughout – the Mother
foreshadows the outcome in the very first scene – but maybe that is the true
tragedy – none of these people can change their essential nature.
Brune-Franklin is terrific as the haughty Bride and her plea to the Mother at
the end is heartbreaking. Creer is a strapping Bridegroom whose character is
beholden to his mother but adds some lighter touches during the wedding
celebration as brief as it is. Kindon is fiery and passionate as Leonardo which
is a tricky role as he is less than kind to his wife and his impulsive nature
is the catalyst for the tragedy. Gulia (with a beautiful singing voice) has a
lovely moment with Paterson as they serenade the baby to sleep though she is
largely left to play ‘the other woman’ as her husband follows his rash
desires. A standout in a supporting role
was Harriet Gordon-Anderson as the Bride’s servant. She is all fussy efficiency
and practicality with yet again another strong singing voice.
There is plenty of work for the rest of the cast with a
ribbon sequence between Brittany Morel, Claudia Ware and Elle Harris that is quite
effective and Seamus Quinn, Dacre Montgomery-Harvey and Rian Howlett playing
woodcutters in the second half. The cast is rounded out by Luke Fewster and
Megan Wilding.
This is a wonderful mix of drama, dance, song and music but
there were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. The band, who added so
much mood and atmosphere particularly with a mournful saxophone (Michael
Bednall), were a little loud in the latter sequences of the first half which
tended to drown out pivotal dialogue which was already tricky to follow with
the Spanish accents. When the woodcutters are chopping into the table a sound
effect was used. This play is so visceral and passionate I wanted to hear the
axes crunch on the table; I wanted to feel the reverberations. Not so good for
the table perhaps but the sound effect was a little chintzy especially when it
curiously wasn’t used for one of the woodcutters (nice save, checking the axe
blade). Yes, later there was a cool lighting effect when the trees are cut down
but it was a small moment that felt off-kilter. Likewise, I wanted to really experience the final THUDS.
A couple of other minor things – most of the action is set
quite far back and perhaps could have been brought forward to take advantage of
the Roundhouse configuration. There are also times when central characters are saying
dialogue to back of stage when they could have circled around to deliver lines.
Other than that this is a really strong piece and has whetted my interest in
seeing what this class does next year.
Directed by Ross McGregor, Written by Federico Garcia Lorca, starring WAAPA’s second year acting students and featuring a band of Michael Bednall (soprano saxophone), Hayden Emery (classical guitar), Jameson Feakes (guitar), Lila Raubenheimer (celeste), Dario Jiritano (double bass) and Tom Robertson (cajon), Blood Wedding is on at The Roundhouse Theatre until 16 October.
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