Dramafest - Session 1 (22 September 2014)

The weeklong Dramafest opened at Playlovers in Floreat on Monday night with a welcoming introduction by an erudite man with a beard who was eventually revealed to be Paul Treasure, President of the Independent Theatre Association. The adjudicator for the one act drama festival is none other than reigning Performing Arts WA (PAWA) Best Actor, Adam T Perkins who is also a director and producer of theatre. Festival Director Emma Davis was in attendance to greet the small but enthusiastic audience.

There were three one act productions on the night with the performer for the 10 minute spotlight unfortunately unable to participate due to illness. At the end of the evening Perkins gave his feedback which was instructive as he was coming at it very much from an acting/directing perspective. For me, however, the first session highlighted how important good writing is, without which you’re behind the proverbial from the get go.

The night began with what proved to be quite an inspired choice – a wildcard entry from the barely concluded Youthfest. Simply titled The Audition from SPY (which I assume is Stirling Players Youth) this was a cleverly written script that was enthusiastically and well performed. There were numerous theatre in-jokes and there is a certain joy to watching a young teenage actor deadpan a Beckett or Sam Shepard reference. The names of the performers weren’t listed but they played: the impatient and harried stage manager conducting the auditions; the nervous female auditionee; the ebullient actress well under the imaginary show’s minimum age of 15; an enthusiastic mime; and the pompous actor who thought nothing of improving Medea by adding a little Bottom from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Finally, there was the underappreciated assistant who had a vent about her lot in theatre life. It was a clever script that was lapped up by both the young actors and the audience.

The next production was a locally written piece called Flight of Fancy by Garrick Theatre. The premise of which was that a husband and wife both end up booking competing holidays because he thinks she is unhappy and she thinks he’s having an affair (after overhearing him talking to the female travel consultant on the phone). A promising enough set-up but this needed to be fast-paced and witty. Unfortunately the writing just wasn’t there and it ended up being more awkward and stilted as the actors battled valiantly but didn’t have the ammunition that a cracking script could have given this. Flight of Fancy was written and directed by Luke Heath and starred Luke Miller, Shelly Miller, Claudia Lloyd and Charles Pratt.

By comparison, the final piece, At Home With The Herringbones by Stirling Theatre did have a strong script and an excellent cast that gave it real justice. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of wordplay so being playful with language is right in my wheelhouse – dangling modifiers, incorrect word usage, ending sentences with prepositions, all that sort of wonderful Grammar Nazi stuff that can make people’s head explode. What made this even more satisfying is that the pompous Lord Herringbone’s pedantic correction of language and grammar was an important character trait not merely the writer showing off. The story slowly revealed itself to be somewhat of a mystery with a cheeky bent and a few late twists along the way. There were some nice sight gags as well. Economically staged and slickly performed this was well received by the audience. Written and Directed by Bob Charteris, the play starred Fran Gordon, Paul Anderson, Peter Flanigan, Alexandra D’Ulisse, and Georgi Ivers.

Dramafest continues 7.30pm Wednesday 24 September at Hackett Hall in Floreat.

So Much To Tell You - Garrick Theatre (4 May 2014)

How does one communicate without a voice? How does someone remain who they once were without a face? What are the masks all of us wear? What impact do the failings of the parent wreak upon the child? Who among us are capable of compassion and forgiveness?

This play has a lot of things on its mind. While aimed predominantly at a teenage audience the themes resonant far beyond that demographic. It is also a showcase for a large cast of excellent young actresses (14-19) more than ably supported by older actors in critical adult roles. The scope of its ambition is impressive.

The main storyline revolves around Marina (Elizabeth Offer), the mysterious newcomer who will share a dormitory with seven other classmates. She does not talk after a horrific incident that has seen her face scarred in an acid attack and her father sent to prison. Marina’s arrival precipitates a mix of reactions from within the group. Foremost among them is Sophie (Darcie Azzam) who is sarcastic and cruel; Cathy (Abigail Morritt) who will lend support and a kind ear; and Kate (Katie Toner), the rebel of the group, who will accuse Marina of being the thief plaguing the dorm. The other girls are the ditsy Ann (Shannon Berry), Lisa (Emily Theseira) who aspires to be school captain; Tracey (Brittany Isaia) who reveals her own fears and angst despite having ‘perfect parents’; the bubbly Rikki (Nahdarin Yahya); and the kind hearted Emma (Bre Edelman).

Their teacher, Mrs Lindell (Mary Murphy) has asked them all to keep a journal which only Marina studiously does. It is here that we discover the otherwise mute Marina’s thoughts and concerns, mainly wanting to meet her father who she oddly does not condemn.

The play is elaborately constructed and quite busy. In many ways it has been written more as a screenplay than a play with ‘cutaways’ to brief scenes such as Marina’s father (Rhett Clarke) in his jail cell; her mother (Kate Offer) haranguing her in calls and letters; and a ‘flashback’ story strand at a ski resort before Marina’s incident. The latter is capably handled by Georgie Kinnane, Gen Verity, Clare Smale, and Nicola Kinnane as Marina’s friends but really only serves to give context to the predicament Marina finds herself in. It perhaps needed its own punctuation point to add true depth and insight. 

The major device, however, is Elizabeth Offer reading Marina’s journal entries to telling effect. Indeed, all throughout the play written communication is a key component – through journal entries, poems, and letters. It highlights the power of the written word for those who don’t have ‘a voice’. The class scenes are therefore important as lessons are imparted by the sympathetic Mrs Lindell and Mary Murphy has great rapport with the young cast in these moments.

There are the usual shenanigans in any dorm room as anything from petty issues such as borrowing a hair-dryer to under-age drinking test the group dynamics. The prefect Jodi (Kiah Van Vlijmen), and school staff Miss Curzon (Sereena Coleman) and Mrs Graham (Kelly Van Geest) try forlornly to keep a lid on the antics.

Revelations come to the fore as the girls talk amongst themselves, most notably when discussing their parents. Theseira has a key scene in the second act where she reveals that her character’s family situation isn’t as rosy as what the others thought. It’s a theme that runs throughout the play – how the young teenagers deal with and react to their parents’ foibles.

It’s here where the play shines with the talented cast able to play off each other in the longer scenes. The cutaways tend to slow things down and while the staging is ingenious with panels that open out from the side walls to create other locations, it becomes problematic with the number of changes required. An eclectic mix of music is used during these transitions, again in a movie like manner. The songs are chosen for the relevance of the lyrics but we go from a liberal use of The Beatles to all sorts of bands from different decades and musical styles. That, at times, felt a little too offbeat. The end of the first act was also an interesting choice with a highly stylised scene that was unlike anything else in the play. Lasers, dry ice, rock music and theatricality, while creating a compelling moment, seemed tonally out of kilter.

The climax for Marina is powerful and on point emotionally but I was caught a little off guard when the play ends suddenly. Overall though, this is a thought provoking and wonderful showcase for a crop of younger actors who were universally very good. The standouts for me were Katie Toner who is excellent as the loud, rebellious, narky Kate; Elizabeth Offer as Marina who has to be both a cowed mute and a sympathetic narrator of sorts through her journal entries; Darcie Azzam is suitably feisty as the ‘bitchy’ Sophie; Emily Theseira is convincing in a pivotal role; and Mary Murphy was very good as the sympathetic teacher. A special mention here to Rhett Clarke who conveyed a lot of emotion in a small amount of ‘screen time’.

Directed by Gail Lusted, So Much To Tell You runs until 17 May at the lovely Garrick Theatre in Guildford. 

Pyramus and Thisbe - The Mechanicals (5 April 2014)

What a joy to discover that a travelling troupe of actors had descended on the Marloo Theatre in Greenmount to perform the tragedy Pyramus and Thisbe. And what a performance it was! I laughed, I cried, I oohed and aahed, I marvelled at the talent on display. Nick Bottom gives a compelling performance as Pyramus, a simple weaver who longs to be with Francis Flute’s comely Thisbe. Bottom commands the stage with a startlingly naturalistic performance – from whispered exhortations to his beloved to saliva driven tears of grief - he is truly magnificent. It’s difficult to believe Flute is in fact a man such is the skill with which he inhabits the passionate Thisbe.

Between them is a Wall stoutly played by Tom Snout whose ‘chink’ proves more than a mouthful as the lovers communicate with cum hither intensity. What would a doomed romance be without moonlight, capably supplied by Robin Starveling? Starveling adroitly wields a candle whilst walking an uncredited toy dog. The villain of the piece is the oddly named Snug who plays a Lion armed with a fearsome roar. The troupe is rounded out by Peter Quince who delivers a prologue designed to comfort the audience such is the emotional intensity of piece.

The lovers agree to meet after some expertly executed wall talk but Thisbe is beset by the Lion and flees leaving a bloodied scarf at the scene. Pyramus arrives to discover said garment and, fearing the worse, takes his own life such is his devastation. In a heartbreaking moment, Thisbe returns to find Pyramus dead. She (eventually) prises the sword from her lover’s cold, lifeless hands and turns it on herself, the lovers reunited in morbid death.

I was on the edge of my seat. The deaths were vivid, the tragedy shocking. The physicality of the action was so authentic the audience winced at every blow, every thud, every sword thrust. The urgent messaging between Bottom and Flute through Wall’s chink was truly holesome glory. The only downside for me was the heckling of this magnificent group of actors by a bunch of royal prats on the fringe of the stage who clearly did not appreciate the skill and subtlety on display. In a word this was outstanding. No wonder Shakespeare ripped it off for his Romeo and Juliet.

Strangely though, there was also a prequel of sorts about how the troupe came to perform this short masterpiece. Something called A Midsummer Night’s Dream or some such nonsense…

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Garrick Theatre (5 April 2014)

Ah, Shakespeare - generally acknowledged as the greatest writer in the history of Western Civilisation. Intimidating! Yes, I studied him at high school – Henry IV, Part 1 and Hamlet to be precise – but, and here’s the heresy, I generally find his plays a chore. Mine modern ears doth struggle to tune in to the language and odd rhythms and when it’s delivered at breakneck speed as it is so often these days, it leaves me cold.

What a delight then to have that fog lifted with Garrick Theatre’s production of this classic Shakespeare comedy. Talking to the director Peter Clark afterwards, the cast spent the first three weeks of rehearsal concentrating solely on understanding the language. This pays off in spades as I found it much easier to comprehend (and appreciate) the delivery than another version I saw a while ago.

Sure, it still took me a little while to get my ear in (not aided by the distraction of some idiot in the audience using a mobile phone during the early going) but from the moment Helena (Gemma Sharpe) makes her entrance everything snaps into place. Whereas before I was totally lost, this version all made sense. That clarity is great credit to the director and cast who obviously worked hard to make this a priority.

The play is a set of three interweaving stories. Four young Athenian lovers, Lysander (Samuel Tye), Demetrius (Finn Alexander), Hermia (Clare Thomson) and Helena (Gemma Sharpe) journey to a wood near Athens to resolve their romantic entanglements; a troupe of six actors – The Mechanicals – prepare to perform Pyramus and Thisbe at the wedding of the Duke of Athens, Theseus (Jesse Wood) and his bride to be, Hippolyta (Jayden Payne). The actors are Peter Quince (Adrian Wood), Snug (Ben Anderson), Nick Bottom (Rodney van Groningen), Francis Flute (Alan Markham), Tom Snout (David Seman) and Robin Starveling (Melissa Scott).

In the woods, the lovers and actors fall prey to the machinations between the King of the Fairies, Oberon (John Taylor) and his Queen, Titania (Jacqui Warner). Oberon is ably assisted in this by Puck (Krysia Wychecki) who causes all kinds of mischief while Titania has a retinue of fairies (Jayden Payne, Melissa Clements, Dailin Manning and Natasha Smith). The cast is rounded out by Michael Hart as Hermia’s father, Egeus and Natasha Smith also plays Philostrate, the Master of the Revels.

It is a simple set with a lighted tree the centrepiece. Camouflage netting is used across the stage to indicate the woods which also allows for interesting lighting effects as the fairies frolic behind it for example. The costuming is a mix of modern style suits for the men, bold patterns for the women and Wychecki’s Puck is a startling punk like figure.

A feature of the play is the physical nature of the performances. These are real slaps and blows being exchanged and the cast seem to revel in the high energy levels. The exchanges between Taylor and Wychecki, in particular, are almost brutal at times as Oberon battles with his unruly emissary.

Above all, this is downright funny in parts. The play within a play is hilarious and van Groningen has a ball as Bottom, ass and all. There’s a lot of physical comedy here and the Mechanicals play off each other nicely with pratfalls galore.

The cast are uniformly good with the work of a vibrant Wychecki and van Groningen the highlight. Tye is a boisterous Lysander and Sharpe very strong as the spurned then desired Helena. The fairies are all suitably playful and Payne reveals a lovely singing voice. Taylor has a commanding presence and Thomson is put through the ringer as Hermia’s fortunes wax and wane. As mentioned, all the Mechanicals play up to the over-the-top nature of Bottom’s antics and their own amusing parts in the sham play.

This is one of three plays being performed as part of the Shakespeare Anniversary Festival, the others being Othello and Macbeth. Three clubs have joined forces to celebrate the 450th anniversary of The Bard’s birth in this way – Garrick Theatre, Kalamunda Dramatic Society and the Darlington Theatre Players. If A Midsummer Night’s Dream is anything to go by, Shakespeare lovers are in for a real treat during the month of April.

***All three plays are being performed at the Marloo Theatre in Greenmount***