Dr. Felicity Rickshaw's Celebrity Sex Party - Fringe World 2016 (8 February 2016)

Who among us hasn’t fantasised about doing unspeakable things to their celebrity of choice? Sexual things. With Brad or Angelina or Colin or Madonna. Sure, most people don’t go on to write an award winning blog about their imaginary carnal exploits. More’s the pity if Dr. Felicity Rickshaw’s tales are to be taken as the high water mark of celebrity erotica. These blisteringly funny and raunchy episodes will make you blush while educating you on some of the more, shall we say, creative ways to achieve a mindgasm.

Of course, there are reasons why someone might choose to explore such explicit fantasies and share them with the world and this is where Holland St Productions add depth to the hilarity. Dr. Rickshaw is the alter ego of one Amy (played by Amy Russotti) who has family and work entanglements to deal with while living alone with her cat Mister Snuggles. The most amusing of these real world scenarios is with geeky office colleague Ben (Tyler Jacob Jones) while her older sister Karen (Claire Taylor) chides Amy for several reasons, most notably about their mother (Erin Hutchinson).

It’s the fantasy sequences, however, when the naïve and dowdy Amy transforms into the rapacious Doctor Rickshaw, that dazzle. Her internal moanologue includes a threesome of performers (Jones, Taylor, and Hutchinson) who sing, dance and cavort while the bearded Russian Victor (Robert Woods) provides musical backing on keyboards.

One signature aspect of any Holland St Productions show is how film literate the driving creative forces, Tyler Jacob Jones and Robert Woods are. It’s tantalising then that a musical comedy is packed with allusions to well-known recent and not-so-recent movies with ‘cameo appearances’ by many a celebrity, most notably Keanu Reeves (Jones), Madonna (Taylor) and a pitch perfect Meryl Streep (Hutchinson). Don't worry, pop stars aren't left out. You have to see what happens to the band members of One Direction to believe it – my lips are sealed on that front… or back as the case may be.  

It’s not subtle and things can get more than a little blue but there’s the trademark wit and mischief throughout in spades. The songs add another element of mayhem as the good doctor’s fantasies are quite literally fleshed out. At times silly and over-the-top there is one gem in the vein of Absolute Perfection (from Point & Shoot) being Colin Fucking Firth.

The performances are all excellent from the stoic Woods with thick Russian accent to the antics of Jones, Taylor and Hutchinson but it’s Russotti who is the star here dropping in and out of the titular character with relish. Her lower lip trembles as Rickshaw mentally salivates over the steamy concoctions she conjures. It’s a tour de force comedy performance that never lets up even in the face of Monster Cocks. Yes, it’s that kind of show.  

This is sure to be another hit for Holland St Productions and they do have form with two of their previous shows including Point & Shoot being award winners at Fringe. Opening night was sold out so I wouldn’t delay in securing a ticket. This is raunchy, laugh out loud funny, and performed with verve and chutzpah. There’s also a touch of pathos to ground the shenanigans but ultimately you’ll know in your heart that love truly is the driving force in the universe.  

Book and Lyrics by Tyler Jacob Jones who also directs, with original Music by Robert Woods, Dr. Felicity Rickshaw’s Celebrity Sex Party is on at The Stables until 14 February. It stars Jones, Woods, Claire Taylor, Erin Hutchinson and Amy Russotti. I don't know if I'd take my mum but I'd definitely take the celebrity of my dreams. 

The Crossing - Fringe World 2016 (23 January 2016)

Tales of corporate greed and malfeasance have always been a staple of storytelling in one form or another as people react to the inequities of capitalism and big business. But those stories appear to have taken on a greater malevolence since the Global Financial Crisis as countless lives have been ruined as a direct result of institutional incompetence. One of the biggest targets, of course, is the banking industry and it’s here that The Crossing sets its tale.

Stella (Taryn Ryan) is ‘corporate fixer’. She cleans up any mess the staff makes and ensures that damage control is effectively and rapidly put in place. But there’s been a leak to the media – a very damaging leak - that threatens the bank and highly placed executives. She is tasked to find out who the source is and to shut down the story… at any cost.

In this she is assisted by her colleague and mentor (Erin Hutchinson) and the barman counsel of Nick Maclaine who is attracted to the young and ambitious banking employee. As she interviews staff (a variety of roles played by Maclaine) Stella discovers an unsavoury truth that threatens her own future and spirals the situation out of control.

Billed as a ‘noir cabaret’ The Crossing also incorporates songs and a distinctive score composed by Elliott Hughes and played to great effect by Jackson Vickery on the Vibraphone. Great effort has been made to create atmosphere through the score, sound effects, and the lighting design. It is certainly a stylish looking and sounding production in the PICA performing arts space. I particularly liked the ever changing messages on the light box as if they were chapter headings of a noir novel.

The quality of the performances is also very good. Maclaine is a likeable presence as the barman dispensing whisky infused wisdom while struggling to keep his business afloat. He also gives his various employee characters enough distinctive characteristics to delineate them clearly. Hutchinson gets to vamp it up a little as a boozy lounge singer; a stern senior executive; but most critically as the mentor who is a key player in Stella’s descent into the corporate rabbit hole of deceit and greed.

Then there’s Ryan who graduated from WAAPA last November. She certainly looks the part of a go-getting executive, all sleek and driven, with hair tightly pulled back, heels and corporate attire. She exudes confidence and competence particularly in a long ‘interrogation’ sequence which is complicated by largely being sung-talk.

So all the elements are in place but the show didn’t work for me for several reasons more to do with the writing and conception.

The leak itself felt like a complete McGuffin. I didn’t know what it was, why it was so devastating that it prompted death threats, and basically what the stakes really were. That meant I didn’t understand what would drive Stella to committing actions that end up being quite excessive in the context of the corporate world. There needed to be something more than maybe she didn’t end up with a bigger office. She needed to be in direct personal danger but that was never explored. This felt like a cross between Michael Clayton and Up In The Air but the stakes of the former weren’t there nor the emotional heft of the latter.

Also, the key relationship was never established. A lot of time was spent between Stella and the Barman and that was perfectly fine as a subplot but the heartbeat of the piece is between Stella and her mentor. I never saw that bond in action to therefore understand subsequent developments which form the emotional pulse of the story.

    

Finally, I was confused by the overall tone. There were moments of comedy and shtick that felt jarring within the drama and noir of the world created. I didn’t understand what the boozy lounge singer represented other than Hutchinson gets to sing the more melodic songs which she does well. The senior executive with over exaggerated shoulder pads and demeanour felt like straight parody. Even the musical component didn’t quite gel with the tension of the interrogation scene undercut by song. There seemed so many disparate parts – comedy, drama, noir, parody, musical, cabaret – that I was never quite sure what ultimately this was.

Stylish to look at with an intriguing score and good performances this didn’t quite click for me with abrupt tonal changes that undercut the drama and noir sensibility.

Written by Finn O’Branagain, Directed by Kathryn Osborne, with music composed by Elliott Hughes, Musical Direction by Johannes Lubbers and performed by Jackson Vickery, The Crossing is a The Last Great Hunt production and stars Erin Hutchinson, Nick Maclaine, and Taryn Ryan and is on at PICA until 30 January.

Point and Shoot: Farewell Show - Holland St Productions (11 April 2015)

I first saw Point and Shoot at Fringe World 2014 where it won two major awards including $10,000 to assist touring the production interstate and overseas. It was subsequently performed in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney towards the end of that year garnering more awards and praise with an encore season at Perth’s Fringe this year. As the team prepare to take the show to the Brighton Fringe Festival in the UK they announced 4 final shows in WA – two in Perth and another two in Busselton to raise money to assist with costs or, as one declared at the end of Saturday’s performance, so they can afford to eat while on tour!

It would be fair to say that after witnessing the show for a second time that it is my favourite piece of original content generated out of Perth (in all formats) for quite some time. I revisited the brief review I wrote back in February 2014 and this still holds true:

“This is a hilarious and pointed satire of Hollywood and the filmmaking business with a clever plot ("twist") and biting lyrics. The four actors play multiple roles and instruments and all are in fine voice. The transitions are seamless and this rockets along at a frenetic pace.”

What struck me on Saturday night though is that after touring the show and making tweaks here and there it is such a tightly constructed and slickly performed production. The writing (Book and Lyrics by Tyler Jacob Jones) is clever and witty which has fast become the Jones trademark as witnessed by his subsequent play F**k Decaf and work on Skin Deep which debuted at Fringe this year. It is also a wonderful synthesis of a love and understanding of both movies and musical theatre. A passion shared by Robert Woods who wrote the music and crafted the filmed excerpts for the fictional 1961 sitcom Selma Saves The Day and its bombastic, over-the-top 2042 feature incarnation.

This is the mischievous conceit of the whole undertaking – inverting the current Hollywood paradigm to posit a world in 2042 where the Independents rule the roost in the name of ART and the blockbuster of yesteryear is in disgrace after every single property was plundered for entertainment. All except the obscure, one season show where Selma, her meatloaf, and trusty pet canine literally save the day. In steps the granddaughter of its original creator who comes to Hollywood with dreams of bringing Selma to the big screen. What follows is so furiously entertaining and funny with twists galore that you are swept up in the sheer audacity and inventiveness of it all. The script none-too-subtly lampoons the state of cliché ridden filmmaking but also betrays an intimate understanding of genre and how to subvert it.

This in itself is impressive but the kicker is in the execution. Four actors playing over fifty characters with rapid fire character transitions AND playing multiple instruments during the course of the story with musical motifs cleverly used throughout. It’s a dizzying display of talent, chemistry between the performers, and tight direction and choreography. All four – Jones, Woods, Tamara Woolrych and Erin Hutchinson inhabit different personas so distinctly with such diversity across their multiple roles that it truly showcases triple threat ability – singing, acting, and musicianship. This isn’t used as a gimmick but rather as a meticulously crafted and wildly inventive presentation of the story.

Jones is ever the showman as the screenwriter who dreams of bringing the movies of his childhood back to the big screen. Woods has a manic intensity as the hobo who portends cinematic doom. Woolrych is both ditzy newcomer and knowing femme fatale while Hutchinson is the desperately lovelorn secretary who will sacrifice everything for her unrequited love. But they are so many more iterations including their parts in the filmed footage. It’s simply a dazzling fusion of writing, performance, direction and music.

An added bonus was that as part of their fundraising drive an original cast recording was available for sale on CD. The standout song for me – Absolute Perfection – so beautifully sung by Woolrych will no doubt be stuck in my head for days to come. It was also no surprise to see so many local filmmakers in the audience with even a brief discussion afterwards about how you would go about adapting Point and Shoot for the screen. For art, of course!

All that’s left to say is that I wish the four performers and their support team all the best for their UK performances. I have no doubt the show will be a hit and deservedly so.  

The Dummies Guide To Opera - Charlie & Friends (2 February 2015)

Take four very talented singers, one fashion-challenged accompanist, at least one dummy in the audience (raises hand… though in my defence Amadeus is one of my favourite movies and has excerpts from at least three Mozart operas so that has to count for something, right?) and a killer concept and you have a funny, entertaining and yes, damn it, educational show that is perfect for Fringe. 

I mean, I even learnt a new word tonight – Fach – which, contrary to my initial belief that I was being sworn at, is a form of categorising different voice types. Those crazy German opera buffs!

The show races through the entire chronology of opera in a sleek one hour that covers: different periods such as baroque, classical and romantic; giving hilariously twisted synopses of famous operas; explaining the different types of singers and their dominant personality traits; to most amusingly rating the major composers in opera’s long history. There was a wonderfully arcane formula to calculate each composer’s score to pronounce an eventual winner. My dear Wolfgang did not fare well in this exercise. It was, however, a great device to impart all kinds of weird and wonderful information about this roster of greats (okay, I knew of most of them but a couple were a little hazy).   

Then there was the singing; in different styles, from different periods, with many of the pieces instantly recognisable though some were a little more obscure for this dummy. And what wonderful voices they were, provided by Grace Edwards, Erin Jay Hutchinson, Warren Bracken and Charlie D. Barkle. The byplay between all four plus accompanist Timothy How was excellent with a lovely sense of chemistry as they played up to all the dramatic rivalries and stereotypes with glee. It was clear that while they were taking good-natured jabs at all the preconceptions opera can engender, there was a total love, respect, and joy here. I was also left in no doubt as to their knowledge both historical and technical which was impressive. The use of clever humour throughout plus a touch of class made this most entertaining.

Edwards in particular shines with a real twinkle in the eye and sense of flair while Hutchinson relishes the more ‘bitchy’ role with Barkle betraying his burlesque background with a touch of adroit physical comedy leaving Bracken to nicely ground it all with a warmer persona. They do work very well together, vocally and with good comic timing. Timothy How adds some sight gags as he reacts to proceedings before he himself briefly takes centre stage to amusing effect. 

I really enjoyed this – it’s funny, the concept is clever, the singing is first rate (though occasionally there was some speaker static on a stormy Perth night) and the joy on display beneath the bluster is infectious. There is only one show left – Tuesday night at 7.15pm in Teatro 1 in the Perth Cultural Centre – and I would recommend this as a great festival show.

And if you think Game of Thrones is full on, wait until you check out the murder, mayhem and flat out infatuation going on in all these librettos – those dwarves, Gods and love-struck humans sure know how to have a tragically good time!