Let’s begin at the ending, shall we…?
Far, far away in a magical land called Mountlawleycampus
there was a good witch who was no doubt popular (Jane Watt) and a green-faced,
masculine witch with a black witch’s hat and caked on face paint (Joel Horwood)
who was clearly evil (the grin gave it away!).
Yet despite their differences and Elphaba-Joel making Glinda-Jane crack
up during their number, they came through three years of trials and
tribulations stronger and yes, changed for good.
When the massed company of WAAPA’s graduating acting class
joined Horwood and Watt in singing Wicked’s For Good in Choice Cut’s finale it
was funny but also strangely moving as the sentiment of the lyrics was
appropriate and heartfelt. It capped off a couple of hours of entertainment
from the third year students whose thoughts will now wander towards showcase tours and
life beyond WAAPA.
What an eclectic mix this show presented from three years of
productions and study! There were the obligatory scenes from a selection of
Shakespeare’s greatest works - Macbeth, As You Like It, and Othello; the last
played out with murderous intensity only inches from me in the wonderfully
compact Roundhouse Theatre. Interspersed throughout were monologues and
self-devised pieces including Harriet Davies lamenting her ISS or Irritable
Singing Syndrome which saw her amusingly burst into song at any moment.
In fact there was far more singing than I expected with
several strong voices on display such as Henry Hammersla (I Believe) and Alex
Malone (Maybe This Time). Indeed the first half ended in raucous fashion as
‘The Girls’ of the class presented their Protest Song that challenged, far more
indelicately than I will describe it, certain, ahem, expectations of female
grooming. It had the small but appreciative audience chuckling their way to the
bake sale in the foyer. An aside: damn nice homemade cookies and cake!
There was a lot of accent work on display and clearly this
is a focus over the journey. It featured as the group revisited productions
such as The Golden Age, Speaking in Tongues/No Worries and Chekhov in Yalta
where, damn it, Felicity McKay will create Magic If! There were two specific
Accent and Dialect Monologues as well, by Julio Cesar and Kirsty Marillier.
Physicality was highlighted with a mix of fight sequences
and the inhabiting of everything from animals to the poor, twisted creatures
of The Golden Age to Toddlers. The last I had seen conducted as an exercise by
Angela Punch-McGregor during Open Day so I was delighted to watch Adam Sollis
and Jane Watt channel their inner child with such abandon.
The humour here was more of the sly variety, for example Joel
Horwood and Jonny Hawkins having fun in an excerpt from Waiting for Godot where
the worst possible insult, far above moron or sewer rat, was musical theatre
student! The transitions worked better in the second half but there were times
the audience was unsure when to clap so some ‘acts’ didn’t get their just
applause as they bled into the next. This certainly wasn’t the case after
Hawkin’s Tribute to Stritch, a statuesque performance in stockings, heels, wig
and a dress.
All the third year shows were reprised with the sequence
from Festen giving me the same uncomfortable feeling as when I first saw it, a
testament to that production’s power and to the skill of this class. Realism
revisited some brave moments with Liam Maguire, Harriet Davies and Alexis Lane
featuring while Great Expectations had a quick whip around by the chorus. I was
intrigued by the glimpses of shows I hadn’t seen, namely The Resistible Rise of
Arturo Ui and Hour of the Wolf (second year production).
It was an engaging tour of three years of hard work and
talent with the dramatic highlight being the work of Holly Dryoff, Aleks Mikic,
Emma Diaz and Henry Hammersla in the Othello scene which had great intensity
particularly from Diaz and Mikic. The Protest Song was an unexpected treat and
the understated humour throughout worked well. Not everyone had a featured
moment but all worked well in the various ensembles including Steph Tsindos and
Alexander Frank. I’ve only just realised one person was missing, Harry
Richardson whose Herbert I quite enjoyed in Great Expectations.
Well done one and all and thank you for a great year. Thank
you also to the second year students who were on front of house and bake sale
duty. It was great to chat with some of you and I look forward to seeing Blood Wedding and hearing what your third year shows will be.
Now, as mentioned, the audience wasn’t that large for a
Saturday matinee on the first hot day of the impending summer. But there is one
more show left, Sunday at 5pm and the money collected from ticket sales, the raffle
and bake sale help get these talented actors over east for their showcase tour.
It’s going to be stormy and awful outside so go and see some theatrical magic
instead!
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