On The Face Of Things - Fringe World 2016 (30 January 2016)

Who is more exposed? The actor who stands onstage looking out at a sea of expectant faces all scrutinising and judging every word, every movement, and every expression? Or the playwright who reveals fragments of their true self in the dialogue, themes, and subtext they labour so assiduously to craft? How does the relationship between actor and writer affect the creative process and overall end result? What does this all have to do with coffee?  

These are only a few of the questions posed by an intriguing play presented by a 12 person ensemble cast from the Western Australian Youth Theatre Company. Unfortunately there was no program so I apologise for not knowing any of their names other than the two alumni from WAYTCo’s excellent Punk Rock (2014), Claire Thomas and Chelsea Gibson.

The production it must be said is somewhat discombobulating at first. A young actor walks on stage and announces himself to be 51 year old playwright Thomas Douglas Finn. He will be our Narrator having written this his first play. The cast are introduced by Mister Finn and instructed to make eye contact with the audience. Then comes the coffee. Well, it would if the characters, the primary ones distinguished only by a letter of the alphabet, could decide who is going to get the coffee, what coffee to get, and how to distribute the coffee without anyone knowing who ordered what. Coffee it seems is a big deal.

Writer and cast interact insomuch as the writer instructs the actors on what to say and how to say it. Occasionally actors will protest or seek to give input. An announcer calls out scene numbers. The writer narrates to the audience. It’s all very meta and self-aware and, at times, perhaps a little too clever for its own good. What we’re seeing though is the creative process through the eyes of the writer (much to the consternation and confusion of the actors). There’s even a Robert McKee reference thrown in. McKee, of course, is considered by some to be the doyen of screenwriting theory.

This brings me to the film Adaptation which contains a very funny scene featuring McKee as played by Brian Cox. In that film the great screenwriter Charlie Kaufman struggles to adapt a novel about tulips to the big screen. Instead his script morphs into a meditation on the creative process. He even invents a fictional twin brother. It struck me about halfway through that On The Face of Things, in conception, is its theatrical equivalent.

This is when our erstwhile writer Mister Finn turns out to be someone else entirely… who turns out to be someone else entirely. Yes, the writer has concealed themselves in their own construct afraid to reveal their true motivations, doubts, and fears. That biggest fear is that the play has no ending. Why? We surmise that it’s because during the writing of it the writer fell in love. The riffs on coffee I expect are extrapolations of real life conversations between the writer and their new love. 

There is a tender scene towards the end where two of the characters share an intimate moment with all the artifices and devices stripped away. Then it’s time to end the play with a reprise of the actors gazing out at the audience and told to gauge the reaction to what has just been rendered.

It’s a showy piece that calls for some over-exaggerated acting, magic realism, and some chorus work of deliberately stunted enthusiasm. The performers all do well with the actor playing A and Thomas given greatest prominence as are the trio who represent the writer. The entire cast work well as an ensemble. 

It’s in the quieter more honest moments, however, that the play excels when we come to realise this is about being true to who you really are. There is no need for all the masks (or, in this case, plastic cylindrical cones) and deception. Love can distract us from all the tasks and deadlines of our lives like finishing a play but it also has a way of revealing our essence, doubts and all. 

On the Face of Things is written by Thomas Douglas Finn or was it Susan Catchmore? No, actually it was Alicia Osyka; directed by Dominic Mercer, and starring the WAYTCo Ensemble. It is on at Parrot House in Maylands on 31 January, 12-14 February. 

The Dreaming Hill - Western Australian Youth Theatre Company & Southern Edge Arts (15 April 2015)

One hundred years ago our youth were asked to fight a terrible war far beyond our shores at immeasurable cost - soldiers as young as 14 died on the Gallipoli Peninsula and later on the fields of France and Belgium. In this centenary year, a year that will see many commemorations to honour the deeds of those men and women who served both at home and abroad, it is particularly fitting that the Western Australian Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) in partnership with Southern Edge Arts commissioned this original play. Written by Hellie Turner, The Dreaming Hill explores the day before that fateful landing on 25 April 1915.

The cast of predominantly teenagers from both companies - including a 14 and 15 year old – was a powerful reminder that in another age these were the very people who served our country as soldiers and nurses in the chaos of ‘the war to end all wars’. The tragedy of what followed was captured eloquently in a line delivered by a Greek fisherman to a young Australian serviceman – “only dead men see an end to war.” The fact that we still put young men and women in harm’s way to this very day illustrates the point. The clear message was to us as an audience, as a community and as a country to never forget the cost exacted to protect our freedoms. 

The play follows five Australian diggers and four nurses with their Matron as they spend a last day on the Greek island of Lemnos before the amphibious assault. They encounter various locals including the aforementioned fisherman, Spyros (Luke Binetti); a good-natured shyster, Ascesto (Lachlan McGregor), who promises girls, grog and garlic while protecting the honour of his beautiful sister Phoebe (Liannah Prior); with a haughty ‘witch’ (Zali Stipanicev) thrown in for good measure. There are portents of impending doom from the flock of crows that fly overhead to a speech by Spyros about chaos. For the lads though there is a mix of excitement, apprehension, and naivety which is beautifully counterpointed by the nurses who know (and have trained for) the deadly ramifications of what is about to come. The hospital ship that they will shortly return to is another potent symbol by its very presence offshore.

The script by Turner is lyrical and poetic with one of the soldiers, Leo (Campbell Greenock) himself a ‘philosopher-warrior’ quoting Shakespeare, reciting his own attempts at poetry, and having conversations with Spyros about Homer’s The Illiad. The beauty of the island and its people is nicely conveyed as is all the exuberance and impetuousness of youth. But the script never loses sight of what is to come with references to Death, Chaos and symbolism like The Ferryman intruding. In the most powerful sequence, the fragile romance and tenderness on display at the end of the party is torn apart by a flash forward to only a few hours hence with sickening detail. It is wonderful piece of theatre as we have come to identify and even care about these characters only to have their possible futures blown apart before our eyes. Equally impressive is the company intoning each of their character’s fate on the day and beyond in a chilling postscript.

The acting is very strong across the board – from the innocent flirtatiousness of the nurses played by Daisy Coyle, Mikayla Merks and Tahlia Norrish to the over-exaggerated accent of the New Zealand nurse (Michaela Barker) used for comic relief. Tess McKenna reins in their antics as the stern Matron and is decisive and calm as the glimpse of battle shows us the grim reality of war.

Greenock opens the play by walking onto the impressive outdoor set as a modern day teenager before stripping down and changing into his uniform. It was a potent message – what would it be like to step into their shoes given all we now know. He gave a well measured performance that grounded the more poetic elements within the context of the horror to come. He has a particularly fine moment with a rallying speech towards the end of the play exhorting the men to “go forth” as the time of battle draws ever nearer. The only slight drawback was the string of lights in front of him that had lowered for part of the party sequence that cast shadows over and partly obscured his face from my vantage point. 

Liam Longley’s and Thomas Blowffwitch’s characters both try their luck with romance, Longley to sweet effect; Blowffwitch’s to amusing reversal. Andrew Phillips was a stout physical presence as Frank which made sense on reading the program notes to see he has served with the Australian Army – his bearing and demeanour was perfect for the character. While not as accomplished, Austen Faulkner’s Harry was the decent kid from Fremantle out of his depth in both war and love but had some nice moments all the same.

 

The standouts for me were Binetti and McGregor, the former working well with Greenock as they discussed Aristotle and Homer and the nature of war and chaos. Binetti has that intangible quality that makes him eminently watchable even when prowling on the outskirts of the set. McGregor, on crutches no less after breaking his ankle a fortnight ago, was sly and mischievous, providing a lot of humour to lighten the stark knowledge of these people’s likely fate.

Director Renato Fabretti makes full use of the set as his actors clamber over sandbag emplacements and literally feel the soil under their feet. There was a tendency in the party sequence, however, as soldiers and nurses paired off, for the actors not in whatever featured duo was talking, to be impassively waiting for ‘their turn’. Live music is provided for atmosphere to one side of what really is a thrust arrangement with the audience enclosing two sides of the courtyard at the Museum. External street noise was minimal and not too invasive, even from the movie playing on the big screen in the cultural centre.

Overall this was a wonderfully acted, evocatively written, and well directed play that looked at a brief moment of joy and discovery before being wrenched into the horrible reality of war. That it was performed by actors the very age of the men and women being portrayed gives it special significance and it is a thoughtful and powerful addition to the ANZAC canon.

Directed by Renato Fabretti, Written by Hellie Turner and starring Michaela Barker, Luke Binetti, Thomas Blowffwitch, Daisy Coyle, Austen Faulkner, Campbell Greenock, Liam Longley, Lachlan McGregor, Tess McKenna, Mikayla Merks, Tahlia Norrish, Andrew Phillips, Liannah Prior, Sam Reeves and Zali Stipanicev, The Dreaming Hill runs until 18 April in the WA Museum courtyard before moving to the Albany Museum 23-26 April.  

Mine - Western Australian Youth Theatre Company (13 June 2012)

What an interestingly constructed and written play! A deliberately elliptical and obtuse first act with plenty of clues and double meanings but few if any answers as the audience is plunged into the same confusion and angst as the characters; followed by a complete change of tone in the second act that revels in being playful and comedic while slowly revealing the answers, indeed coming full circle to beautifully reprise the opening.

Special mention to Emily Cribb for delivering a brilliant, rapid-fire (almost) monologue at the opening of the second act that was cleverly written and playfully rendered.

I would love to read the text as there is a lot to chew on here. Well done one and all!