One of William
Shakesbear’s most famous plays is, of course, the great comedy McDuff, also
known by superstitious actors as The Polish Play; going on stage with scuffed
footwear being terribly poor form likely to bring bad luck. It’s the hilarious
story of a general manager who rises to become CEO of the Scottish Bank… or
something like that. I can’t seem to find that page in my notes. Anyway, for
the purposes of this review the details don’t really matter. This production
sees the combined forces of the Darling Scarp Players Association and The
Farnsworth Amateur Women’s Bowls, Bingo and Abseiling Club on full display at
the recently renovated Marloo Theatre in Donnybrook, now featuring running
water and heating!
The title role is
played in convincing style by Sally Ketteringham with able support by Gail
Storm and Greg Boyd. The set is a work in progress - think Olympic stadium in a
third world country a month before the Opening Ceremony - though the costuming was
quite accomplished given the amount of curtains, drapes and bed linen used. The
director has clearly encouraged the use of improvisation and the entire cast
respond magnificently to the challenge. The play also features the best use of
fishing rods since last years’ spectacular Fly Fishing The Musical at the
neighbouring Garlic Theatre Club. There was quite the controversy, however,
when a female reviewer stormed on stage at the end of the play and insisted on
giving a full blown critique right there and then. Allegations have also been
made that the raffle at intermission was rigged. All in all though, a
satisfying afternoon’s entertainment…
Ricahrd Hyde, Film
Critic
Okay, there may have been one or two inaccuracies in the
above review…
In every instance all amateur or community theatre
productions do their utmost to put on the best show possible. They may not
always have the resources or sheer talent available but they substitute this with
passion, ingenuity and a genuine sense of camaraderie. This play throws that
all out the window with one simple premise:
What if the worst amateur theatre company ever tried to put
on a production of Macbeth?
The result is a funny and charming show as every conceivable
mishap befalls the production – missing actors, disabled actors, actors who
forget their lines, actors with inflated egos, actors with laryngitis, a set
that falls apart with a decent shove, props that don’t appear, props that
mysteriously appear, sound cues missed, overly loud sound design, you name it.
It’s very much a farce that delivers consistent laughs throughout; the charm
coming from a throwback sensibility to English comedy of the sixties
and seventies. In other words it’s all good fun with some iconic Shakespearean
moments sabotaged in glorious fashion, especially “Out, damned spot!” (a moment
that plays with the agony of ‘corpsing’) and “Double, double, toil and trouble”
turned into a dance routine!
Siobhan Vincent is very good as Thelma who plays Macbeth in
most earnest fashion as everything collapses around her until finally she has
had enough before rallying to return for a glorious death scene. Rodney Palmer
is also a standout as the stand-in for the missing actress slated to play Lady
Macbeth, drag and all. The three witches - Alyssa Burton, Rachel Vonk and
Taneal Thompson - cackle away merrily whilst bickering amongst themselves, with
Thompson starting off in crutches and eventually becoming wheelchair-bound
after a series of unfortunate off-stage ‘accidents’. She also plays McDuff
while Burton doubles as Duncan. Fi Livings is Minnie Small who plays Banquo
with a particularly amusing set piece involving a shopping trolley as she
haunts Macbeth. Richard Coleman is the play within a play’s producer who is
pressed into service on stage as circumstances deteriorate. Ray Egan gives an Are You Being Served? style spin to the
big city adjudicator George Peach with his surname a running gag as mangled (or
is that sliced?) by Neroli Burton’s Chairwoman of the Guild who tries valiantly
to keep things on track. The fourth wall is constantly broken which is all part
of the gag – we recognise elements of inadvertent disaster from shows we’ve
seen in the past, just not all at once.
It’s an oddly constructed play with Marjorie De Caux
starting proceedings as a pianist ‘playing’ various tunes for quite some time (with
the stage curtain closed behind her) before the play begins proper. The
traditional community theatre raffle is incorporated into the start of Act Two
and it ends with the extended critique by Egan’s Peach before the actors take
their bows. I enjoyed it though and laughed throughout. While it takes pot shots
at bad theatre it does so almost lovingly in its over-exaggeration which makes it quite endearing.
For the record, Sallie Ketteringham actually did the
costuming (with De Caux) and handles the show’s publicity; Gail Palmer is the
Director; and George Boyd is one of the stage managers. The show is on at the Marloo Theatre in Greenmount until Saturday 19th July.
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