My Favourite Local Writers 2012-2018

In the last of my retrospectives covering the years 2012 to 2018 I wanted to highlight those people perhaps closest to my creative heart, that being local playwrights and collaborators. The people who have created wonderful plays, musicals and cabaret acts that, at their very best, can compete with any new work anywhere else in the country.

There have been outstanding individual works - Stephen Lee's Madame Piaf immediately springs to mind - but this list is made up of those writers where I have seen more than one example of their creative output.

Thank you for the drama, the laughs, the entertainment, the discovery of new worlds and characters, of reflection and debate.

Tyler Jacob Jones & Robert Woods

A duo that is synonymous with award winning one act comedy musicals. Jones is the showman with dazzling lyrics and inventive books that skewer everything from reality television to the movie industry to our obsession with celebrities. Woods is the more stoic of the two when it comes to being onstage but his music is just as inspired. Together they are a perfect creative match. They also have a shared love of movies and movie making that is abundantly clear in how they approach their material. It's perhaps why their work resonates so deeply with me. Above all, they create smart, witty, laugh out loud funny musicals that are a joy to watch. They are also prolific as a Holiday Special and recent Retrospective amply demonstrates.

Highlights: Point & Shoot: A New Musical; Dr. Felicity Rickshaw's Celebrity Sex Party; Gravity the Musical

Tyler Jacob Jones is a fine dramatist in his own right with F**k Decaf and Becky Peterson Will Punch You In The Face notable examples. He also contributed to the excellent Skin Deep which lambasted the cosmetic industry with typical flair.

Jeffrey Jay Fowler & Chris Isaacs

Members of independent powerhouse The Last Great Hunt, Fowler and Isaacs combined their considerable writing talents to create two wonderful pieces of theatre featuring the same characters (that they also played) - FAG/STAG and Bali. There is a compelling honesty to their writing that comes from sharp observation and pointed social commentary. They can have an audience roaring with laughter in one moment then deathly silent the next. Consummate storytellers, they have an innate grasp of storytelling rhythms honed, I suspect, over many performances together.

Each has individually written notable plays with Isaacs' The Great Ridolphi an engrossing one man tour de force and Fowler impressing with perhaps his most mature work, The One.

Scott McArdle

McArdle was like a supernova at Murdoch University when I first came across him - from writing original works to acting, directing, lighting design, pretty much everything. Such indefatigable multi-tasking has continued since he graduated, adding publicist amongst other functions and being a popular fixture on the independent theatre scene. The scope and ambition of McArdle's writing has been a feature - contemplative dramas; a full superhero themed musical; bringing science fiction front and centre to the stage; and adapting Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as a passion project of considerable skill.

Highlights: Bye. Gone; Coincidences at the End of Time; Frankenstein; Between Solar Systems

Will O'Mahony

Perhaps the finest local exponent of dialogue writing I have witnessed over the last seven years. I adore his rapid paced rat-tat-tat exchanges between characters and the density of the information he has them impart. He builds in verbal motifs and repetition that has my Aaron Sorkin loving heart swooning. There is a somewhat off-kilter approach to his storytelling that I enjoy as it allows for such theatrical treats as a talking panda. But he doesn't shy away from emotionally wrenching drama as the final moments of The Mars Project and his contribution to the Loaded double bill attest.

Highlights: The Mars Project (WAAPA version); Tonsils + Tweezers; Coma Land

Hellie Turner 

Always in demand as a dramaturg and mentor, Turner seems to have specialised of late in bringing true life stories to the stage. Notably in uniquely Australian tales set during World War I and a searing reportage-based production tackling rape culture. There is often a lyrical quality to Turner's writing that suits the historical dramas even with their sense of doom and glimpses of impending horror. Project Xan, however, grabbed you by the throat and demanded you bear witness.

Highlights: The Dreaming Hill; The Lighthouse Girl; Project Xan

Tiffany Barton

The aspect I respect most about Barton's writing is the no holds barred, in your face approach. She illuminates extreme characters and behaviours with a forthrightness and honesty that you simply can't look away from. There is no guile or ego here. It may be blunt, it may shock, but it makes for riveting drama.

Highlights: Metalhead; Diva 

Noel O'Neill

To say O'Neill is prolific would be an understatement. He seems to have at least two to three of his plays being performed every year and is a fixture in the community theatre scene. His comedies are so popular he has even turned two of them into franchises. But it's his dramas that most impress.

Highlights: Under Any Old Gum Tree; Holly & Ivy; It's All Greek To Me

Izaak Lim & Nick Maclaine

Specialists in a certain type of cabaret show - take a musical theatre icon from the past and weave a tale about their life story while incorporating their most memorable songs. It's a winning formula that has seen entertaining explorations of Cole Porter and, I confess, someone I did not know much about beforehand, Dorothy Fields.

Highlights: You've Got That Thing!; Exactly Like You: The Magic of Dorothy Fields

Thomas Owen, Cal Silberstein & Jackson Griggs

Emerging from the UWA theatre scene this trio has been tackling that most difficult of beasts, the fully fledged musical with Owen and Silberstein on book and lyrics; Griggs composing the music. The first effort I saw was promising though perhaps trying a little too hard to impress while the followup was one of my favourites from 2016's Fringe World.

Highlights: How We Ruined MacArthur's Markers; Viva La Restoration

Gita Bezard

Another member of The Last Great Hunt, Bezard's writing has a lighter comic touch, oftentimes playing with farce and the exaggerations/preoccupations of youth. Even her most provocative play featured four female teenagers that are literally in a playpen.

Highlights: In A Bony Embrace; Girl Shut Your Mouth; The Talk

Top Ten Theatre Productions in 2015 - Plays

One of the most pleasing aspects of this year's list of top ten plays is that it features original writing by five local playwrights - Tiffany Barton (Metalhead), Scott McArdle (Between Solar Systems), Tyler Jacob Jones (F**k Decaf), Will O'Mahony (The Mars Project), and Gita Bezard (In A Bony Embrace) with another entry by Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer. That is an outstanding crop of talent that augurs well for the future of locally generated stories. And what a diverse mix of entries we have this year ranging from searing dramas to witty observational comedies to a genre rarely seen on stage, science fiction. It also includes a genuine out of the box surprise that demonstrates the power of theatre to heal and transform.

The Top Ten:

1. Venus in Fur (Black Swan State Theatre Company)
The year started with a bang as this two-hander introduced 2014 WAAPA graduate Felicity McKay to the world in a brilliant professional debut.

"Venus in Fur is a cleverly written play that allows two talented actors to inhabit multiple personas in a provocative, insightful and funny exploration of a subject matter many consider taboo. It is a great start to the theatre season and the upcoming Fringe Festival of which it’s a part."

2. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Acacia Prison & The Actors Workshop)
A stunning theatrical experience that saw prisoners tackle Shakespeare's beloved comedy under the tutelage of Nichola Renton. An event that will not be quickly forgotten by all involved.

"These men, almost all with no previous acting experience of any kind, flung themselves at this with energy, with style, with commitment, and with their own sense of humour and spirit. It was raw, it was powerful, and it was bloody well funny as all get out."

3. All My Sons (WAAPA)
The intimate Roundhouse Theatre provided the perfect venue for the powerful Arthur Miller play, grounded by Brittany Morel superbly playing a woman three times her age.

"This is a carefully and expertly constructed play that really packs a wallop. I admit I was quite moved by the breadth of the Greek-like tragedy that unfolds. It is very well acted with Morel’s performance in particular a highlight."

4. Metalhead (Creative Collaborations)
I caught this play on a night when the entire cast was "on" and what a treat it was to see them go hammer and tongs at each other in such a harrowing drama.

"... I liked that this was a full tilt performance in every aspect – writing, performance, and staging. This was in your face and unapologetically brutal in spots. There were moments when the audience sat in stunned collective silence as the tension built."

5. Macbeth (WAAPA)
A modern interpretation of the Shakespeare classic that was an excellent showcase of all the disciplines WAAPA trains their students in, not only performance but the many departments that make a production come to life.

"All these elements gave the production great atmosphere and allowed for seamless scene transitions - this fairly hummed along. Having said that there were times, especially involving the witches, where there was a languid, at times hypnotic pace within a scene that was mesmerising."

6. Those Who Fall In Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon The Ocean Floor (Fringe World)
Delightfully performed, written and staged this was an inventive rumination on how the passage of time affects and informs our memories.

"I can see why Anchors did so well at last year’s Blue Room awards and I am glad I had a chance to see it after missing out on its 2014 run. It has an evocative and poetic script by Finegan Kruckemeyer that was well directed by Adam Mitchell and superbly handled by its cast."

7. Between Solar Systems (Second Chance Theatre)
The professional debut production for writer-director-actor-lighting designer Scott McArdle whose team transformed the Blue Room studio space into the interior of a spaceship to outstanding effect.

"To tackle a woefully under-represented genre for your first professional outing and to pull it off with such style and clarity is nothing short of amazing. Yet it doesn't surprise me in the slightest."

8. F**k Decaf (The Cutting Room Floor)
A well acted two-hander featuring a witty and insightful script by Tyler Jacob Jones that was funny and hugely entertaining in the small Frisk Bar space.

"My inescapable conclusion at the end of the performance was that a smart, well written script in the hands of (two) talented actors is a recipe for an excellent evening of theatre."

9. The Mars Project (WAAPA)

A sprawling original work that had to accommodate some 18 of the graduating acting class, this showcased a love of language that was immensely satisfying and built to a devastating final scene.

"The play started a little slowly but developed into an intriguing concept that really kicked into something quite special when the turning point comes. This was delivered with clinical precision as Harris’ Wren pivots the stakes into the stratosphere with a simple question with awful ramifications."

10. In A Bony Embrace (Curtin's Performance Studies & Hayman Theatre Company)

The last play I saw in 2015 and an absolute treat. This was another ensemble piece that was off-beat and funny with a great student cast.

"This was a very well written, acted, directed and presented play with plenty of laughs befitting its sitcom DNA. I have seen plays before that didn’t seem to realise they were actually a sitcom and therefore failed but In A Bony Embrace knows exactly what it is and is expertly executed."

Female Performer of the Year - Felicity McKay

Having only graduated the previous November, McKay burst onto the scene in January with a sassy and bold performance that was utterly compelling as she slid in and out of various personas with consummate skill.

Male Performer of the Year - Clarence Ryan

One of the nicest guys you will ever meet, Ryan's performance in Metalhead was terrifying as he inhabited a character full of coiled anger and aggression. It was a brutally physical portrayal that was haunting.

Special Mentions:

Ben Mortley - While adeptly handling many diverse roles in 'Anchors' it was the heartfelt monologue explaining why his character was only now going on a first date that was a quiet highlight.

Gemma Cavoli - A nuanced performance that builds to another devastating conclusion in the hour long monologue of The List. 

Brittany Morel - The physical representation of a much older woman was excellent as is the change from deluded character to something far more potent. 

Zoe Street - A standout in the at times surreal Melancholy Play, the Curtin University student gave her character a fascinating world weariness that was poetic and languid. 

Elle Harris - As The Mars Project slowly unfolds, Harris becomes the presumptive lead who skillfully handles a complex arc that leads to an emotionally explosive climax.

There you have it. As always, thank you to all the performers, writers, directors, crew, front-of-house, technical and design staff for another excellent year of theatre. 

Diva - Creative Collaborations (28 October 2015)

Warning: contains strong language, drug and sexual references.

There’s no denying any of that.

There’s also no denying the fact that this is a searing psychological profile with no less than a full-throated performance by Tiffany Barton. She completely inhabits the character of June, a former New York opera singer now stricken at the thought of leaving her apartment. 

Barton is fearless in exploring all the complexities of this larger than life diva; from the grotesque to the outrageous; the flat out funny to the poignant; often with devastating self-reflection. It’s in your face, immediate and compelling. What a joy to witness an actress not only embrace but trumpet all the jagged little edges, contradictions, hopes and fears of a character so thoroughly. June is, in part, based on a real person so this bleeds with authenticity.

The show literally jumps out at you and at first I was taken aback. There’s a certain shock value as we initially meet June but various story strands slowly emerge in this meticulously crafted monologue. Two great love affairs come to the fore – one with June’s husband Manny; the other with the opera and performance itself. The discovery that one largely destroys the other adds to a sense of pathos. But make no mistake; there is a fierce determination here to enjoy all that life has to offer, with every lump and Tosca inspired orgasm!

Underpinning this is June’s relationship with her father who will abandon the young girl and be absent through key moments of her life. Then there’s the reason why June can’t leave her apartment that is potent in its understated recounting. It will resonate with any artist who aspires to greatness.

All these strands are woven together amidst moments of manic energy as June dresses up, sings along to her beloved opera, laments the effect of age on her looks, consumes pills hidden in a teapot, and happily submits to the attention of ‘Mr Buzzy’, a formidable looking vibrator. Tellingly though, it’s the quieter moments that pack the biggest wallop – Barton and director Helen Doig aren’t afraid to let us observe June who becomes increasingly bizarre in appearance. Those moments of stillness and sense of vulnerability are quite special.

There are two clever devices to allow the character to ‘perform’ and share her memories – one, improbably, is a stuffed cat called Eugene, smothered to death by a drunken June; the other, an ingenious puppet of Manny made of cardboard boxes and rollers. Again, having Barton ‘impersonate’ Manny, become the innocent child who misses her Daddy, or admonish her dead cat allows for changes in rhythm and pace that keep this unpredictable and enthralling.

The simple telephone injects a note of dread as a symbol of the outside world (and the past) that June seemingly craves to reconnect with but is paralysed at the very thought of. Indeed, audio cues are an important component from the strains of opera to amusingly salacious lyrics to prompts to snap June in and out of moments of self-reflection.

This is a well written, well directed and beautifully crafted piece of theatre with a memorable performance that sponsored a most interesting discussion afterwards in the lobby. Highly recommended.

Diva was written by and stars Tiffany Barton and is directed by Helen Doig with puppets, set and costumes created by Cherie Hewson and sound by Max Porotto. Perfectly suited to the intimate black box theatre upstairs at Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in Fremantle, it runs until 1 November as part of the Fremantle Festival.

Metalhead - Creative Collaborations (18 February 2015)

As Fringe World heads into its last week of predominantly comedies, cabaret and burlesque there is an explosive drama tucked away in the courtyard of the Guild Studio in East Perth that is a definite must see. This superbly acted play is confronting, at many points harrowing, and is guaranteed to leave an impression.

This is the second season of the Tiffany Barton penned Metalhead after its premiere in October 2014 at the Victoria Hall in Fremantle. It is a tale about how violence and bad deeds are perpetuated in a seemingly endless cycle through the generations; how even the most disadvantaged and damaged of us seek freedom from those binds that hold us fast.

The story centres on Jake (Clarence Ryan) and his step-sister Jackie (Chelsea Gibson) whose mother has disappeared after another violent outburst from Jake’s father. Jake follows in the footsteps of his father and is short-tempered, volatile, and always ready to use his fists to lethal effect. Like her step-brother, Jackie has taken up boxing as a way to cope with the harshness of living in an outback township where everybody is going nowhere fast. This includes the promiscuous Michaela (Caitlin Jane Hampson) and her ‘creepy’ brother Tyler (Declan Brown) both of whom live in a beat up caravan. Michaela is having sex with Jake much to Tyler’s disgust though his protective instincts may betray an entirely different agenda. Jake has an offsider Baloo (Toby Franks) who appears to amuse Jake with his antics but is largely subservient though fond of Jackie.

Into this world come two outsiders with a hint of the otherworldly or supernatural about them – Mercy (Tornina Torres) and Freeman (Ian Bolgia). They state they are there to help the inhabitants of Fury find ‘freedom’ but perhaps they are just as damaged and lost as the others. It’s a potent mix rife with the potential for violence and confrontation… and that’s exactly what we get in spades. That it is done so realistically makes this utterly compelling and at times hard to watch in the best possible way.

Here, the outdoor setting adds an enormous amount of texture as it enhances the visceral nature of the work. The performers are allowed to immerse themselves in the township of Fury – in its barren landscape and its utilitarian accommodation. An actual caravan is stage right with the raised back corner of the courtyard in effect a sandpit (the use of sand is a recurring motif) with a ladder propped up against the wall. There is a circular platform on a large truck tyre that, once overturned, will also represent a grave. Mood is further achieved by an effective lighting design in the outdoor space, evocative music and snippets of recorded song, and even the natural soundscape of the nearby train line and urban surrounds.

The acting by all seven performers is simply stellar. Under the direction of James Winter the brutality is devastatingly brought to life though I must stress there are moments of genuine humour to leaven the assault. Ryan is superb as Jake – all coiled anger and aggression both physically and verbally. It’s an exhausting role and his physicality is outstanding – the fight sequences are well choreographed but it’s the manhandling of Gibson and Hampson that was achingly authentic and had the audience wincing.

Gibson who was so good in WAYTCo’s Punk Rock last year further announces her presence as one to watch with the spunky Jackie. She handled the boxing training sequence very well and clearly had taken no small instruction to make that play credibly. Her equally impressive Punk Rock colleague Declan Brown gave Tyler his own repressed anger with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Hampson, the only member of the original cast, was a revelation as Michaela especially early with her comedy work and a misguided naivety that sees her character get into all sorts of trouble.

I very much liked Franks as the effusive Baloo imbuing the sidekick with a larger-than-life persona that becomes increasingly challenged by Jake’s disintegration into quite reprehensible acts of violence. Torres brought an almost noble quality to Mercy as the character strives to assist (particularly Jackie) while Bolgia was a strong physical presence playing the enigmatic Freeman.

Above all I liked that this was a full tilt performance in every aspect – writing, performance, and staging. This was in your face and unapologetically brutal in spots. There were moments when the audience sat in stunned collective silence as the tension built. Under the stars on a warm Perth night it was something quite special. The ending gave some characters release while others seemed to accept their fate. There were no easy answers here. But that adds to the authenticity – things were never likely to be neatly tied up in a bow as they never are in real life.

Metalhead is wonderful piece of theatre that showcases an exceptional cast. There are only four shows left, ending on Sunday. Go sit out under the stars and experience a little bit of magic.