Once Upon A Time - Fireflies Entertainment (24 October 2014)

When you wish upon a star…

That’s exactly what audience members were asked to do before this charming cabaret show about chasing your dreams within the most unusual of circumstances.  All those dreams and wishes were pegged to a couple of fish lines across the black box performance space upstairs at the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.

Performer Emma Davis then proceeded to tell us about her dreams which were brought into sharp relief on watching Disney’s The Little Mermaid when she was a toddler. As for the unusual circumstances, well, Emma is the 11th child of 12 with three brothers and eight sisters! A recurring theme became the quest to gain the attention of mum and dad and all the obstacles growing up in such a large family. This was given greater resonance by the presence of Mum in the audience along with three of Emma’s sisters.

The show is a combination of audience participation (yes, I’m proud to announce my on stage singing debut, a rousing rendition of Puff the Magic Dragon with my fellow audience members), Disney songs with modified lyrics to suit, and engaging tales of family activities such as Christmas Day, picnics, and regular visits to the movies.

These stories were amusing logistical nightmares that come with invading a park or cinema in such numbers. But it’s the impact of the movies that shaped Emma’s ambition to become a performer, a Disney princess, and eventually to visit that ultimate dream factory. There are disappointments along the way leading to a lovely conclusion that again had more weight with Emma’s husband present doing the tech work. Indeed, Emma ‘directing’ Ben from the stage when sound cues were slightly wrong added to the charm and good-natured vibe throughout.

The other movies cited were Aladdin and Pocahontas. Now, I’m not a Disney aficionado – my formative movies growing up were Star Wars and Alien – but Emma’s passion and knowledge was clearly on display. I had no doubt she cried four steps into a Disney World every single time. And that’s the secret here – the authenticity of Emma’s story and the elements that influenced her as a person and performer. In many ways this reminded me of Allan Girod’s Absolutely… with songs. Both have a fundamental honesty, warts and all, that is engaging. I asked Emma’s mum afterwards how accurate it all was and she smiled and said they certainly knew how to clear a camping park!

To my shame I didn’t recognise the songs (did I mention Leia and Ellen Ripley were my movie princesses?) but Emma has a lovely singing voice that was featured to best effect in a homage to Disney then an ode to being a mermaid. Normally I am very reticent about being an active participant at the theatre but there was such an enthusiasm and delight here that it was hard not to get caught up in it all. Kudos to the gentleman plucked from the row behind me who, in a funny sequence, ‘played’ Emma’s youngest sister, Amy who I’m sure watched on bemused!

Emma returned to do an impromptu encore to warm applause and as we walked downstairs I was only left to wonder what all those other star shaped dreams left hanging on stage might have been…

Once Upon A Time stars Emma Davis and has one more performance upstairs at Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in Fremantle, 6pm, Saturday 1 November.  

Welcome to Slaughter - The Blue Room Theatre (22 October 2014)

Slaughter: the brutal or violent killing of a person.

A suitable word one would think for a production with overt horror references.

It’s a simple premise really. Two women drive along a dark road, stop, and something ‘horrific’ happens. I’m not sure what to make of that event but we’ll return to that later.

The play stars Jo Morris as Fawn (yes, a skittish, young deer in case we weren’t sure), Michelle Robin Anderson as the Rubik’s Cube-wielding Olive who is immune to spontaneous “I spy” road games, and Emily Rose Brennan as Perdita, the ‘thing’ they bring with them on the drive. They are all very good.

The set is excellent – a recreation of bush land; a car in two-pieces that is used to good effect; projection of a full moon and landscape; all creepily lit.

Add the provocative title and the promise of frights and everything is primed for a scary good time at the theatre.

Except that’s not what I witnessed.

Sure, I accept that trying to unnerve an audience saturated with all the tricks the movie world deploys in the name of horror is an unforgiving task. I also am led to believe many people have found it scary but for me this was far more a psychological piece with nary a shock in sight.

However, I didn’t know to what end and that prompted a lengthy discussion at the bar afterwards. 

Fawn and Olive appear to be running from something but the start is quite languid and I never had a sense from what. I liked how their ‘passenger’ was slowly revealed and there was some very nice work with performance and lighting in teasing out the ‘creature’ that proceeds to whisper in each woman’s ear. Suggestions, accusations, demands for action.

It seems this relationship of nine years is on rocky ground. They stop and again everything is setup for true horror – two women stuck in the middle of nowhere at night with something stalking them. Then Olive discovers, “you have brought us here before” and everything unravels. The creature is despatched by Fawn in violent fashion and they are free to continue their journey though not together as their relationship is ‘terminated’ as well.

The problem is I didn’t understand what the ‘creature’ was – their subconscious; their darkest desires? One person suggested that Olive and Fawn were different aspects of the one person. The “you’ve brought us here before” suggested that maybe it was a vengeful spirit of someone they had killed previously. Or was it all simply a metaphor for their relationship? Another discussion explored whether it was a commentary on mental illness.

To me it was far too vague and maybe this is the drawback of the devised method. They’re running from something, going somewhere with something along for the ride and when they stop something happens. These beats had to be better defined for mine. Especially if you’re claiming to navigate in genre waters as well established as horror.

I liked the acting, I liked the set and technical prowess but I didn’t know what it meant or was trying to tell me. So I was underwhelmed by the overall result. I wanted to see what the next twenty minute sequence would have been to illuminate theme and give clarity to the story.

In execution it reminded me of two plays - Delusions of Doubt and Les: Miserable - that were performed under the banner of Never Mind the Monsters at 2012’s Fringe. In those productions, however, the ‘monster’ was a clear representation of depression and there was none of the ambiguity here. It helped that the monster ‘plagued’ only one character – the time-sharing in this production muddies the water with expediency paramount rather than plausibility. It partly favours the dual aspects of one character interpretation. 

Slaughter: the brutal or violent killing of a relationship by metaphorical intervention?

Directed by Michelle Robin Anderson and Joe Lui, Devised by the actors and Jeffrey Jay Fowler, and starring Michelle Robin Anderson, Jo Morris, and Emily Rose Brennan, Welcome to Slaughter is on at The Blue Room until 25 October. 

Punk Rock - WA Youth Theatre Company (16 October 2014)

If you’re going to run into walls best do it full tilt.

That’s exactly what director Renato Fabretti and his talented cast of young actors have done in every sense with this uncompromising play. I had not seen the WAAPA version earlier in the year and, having never read the play, did not know what was in store.

What unfolded at the Subiaco Arts Centre studio was a slow burn production that was shocking, uncomfortable and powerful. It elicited several visceral responses from the audience as it built to a brutal climax and then lingered in the aftermath to let us all breathe again. That the cast was predominantly made up of young teenagers was remarkable.

The story itself starts innocently enough – students in an English school common room discussing their mock exams, the teachers, and each other with the usual group dynamics and hierarchies firmly in place. There is the inquisitive William (Luke Binetti) who is keen on the smart new girl Lily (Chelsea Gibson) who will turn down his request for a date because she’s secretly seeing the suave Nicholas (Sven Ironside) who is mates with bully Bennett (Declan Brown). Bennett takes particular delight in picking on quiet intellectual Chadwick (William Everett-Knight) while the meek Tanya (Claire Thomas) occasionally cops his ire as well. Bennett’s girlfriend Cissy (Naomi Denny) is powerless to control him as indeed is everyone else who appear paralysed in the face of his escalating antics. Until one of them makes a stand and matters spiral out of control in horrific fashion.

The decision to not have an intermission is a critical one. As the tension builds I quickly come to realise that what at first seems like typical teenage antics is going to mutate into something far more primal and disturbing. The seating configuration means the audience is right on top of these characters and the confined space adds to the pressure cooker atmosphere. A break would have leached out that gnawing sense of impending dread. Instead there is no respite as the stakes are ratcheted up and we’re right there with the characters. It’s exhilarating and draining in the best possible way.

The external expectations of parents, test scores and their own personal ambitions be it Oxford or Cambridge pile on the pressure for these teenagers but it’s their isolation from the school body that is telling. In this hermetically sealed world of the common room their worst instincts can run amok as secrets are revealed, lies exposed, true character traits hinted at, and monstrous acts born of dispassion are allowed to flourish.

In this Declan Brown gives a wonderful performance as the utterly loathsome bully Bennett. He is a physical presence that intimidates all of the others but it’s his use of pointed sarcasm and humour that hits home early before he goes too far with his humiliation of Chadwick. He has a beat with Thomas’ Tanya that was utterly unexpected and had me gasping. It’s such a brave moment from both performers and was a clear signpost of how far this production might dare to take the escalating psychological and physical violence. At one point when Bennett was in full flight and none of the characters would even look at him let alone challenge his behaviour I wanted to get out of my seat and clock him one. Kudos, Mister Brown.

The main target of Bennett’s rage is given a moment of quiet dignity and respect as Everett-Knight delivers a fascinating monologue about the true nature of mankind immediately after Chadwick is debased in sickening fashion. It’s a highlight as he neither flees nor resorts to any forlorn attempt at retaliation other than to express his contempt for Bennett as representative of our inevitable worst aspects as a species.

Gibson is intriguing as the smart and engaging Lily. She is playful and clever in the opening scenes but slowly teases out a darker undertone as Lily’s sexual relationship with Nicholas is revealed and she appears quite callous at times to the feelings of others, notably William. Ironside is all charm as Nicholas and works well with Gibson in their more intimate moments. Denny adds sass and attitude as Cissy though that front is easily pricked by her boyfriend’s bluster. Thomas' Tanya is maybe the one true innocent even though the character's delusions about being in love with one of the teachers and wanting to have his babies hints that all of these characters are fundamentally flawed. Together they are a fuse away from exploding.

Then there is seventeen year old Binetti who gives a spellbinding performance as William. Initially he appears to be the good-natured nerd, full of questions and hopelessly out of his depth in attempting to woo Lily. We gradually see that he has his own delusions and secrets that are carefully revealed until he appears before us an entirely different prospect. For that transformation and its consequences to be handled so convincingly is a testament to Binetti’s skill.

Not only were the performances impressive I loved the sense of play throughout this. The stage ends up a complete mess as the actors use every inch of it – drawing on the walls, clambering up, under and over the tables and chairs, throwing all manner of stuff at each other, and totally inhabiting the space. They eat, drink, cavort and react spontaneously which is such a delight to see. Well done to Fabretti and his crew for letting them loose on the set. In what could have been a dialogue heavy, sit and deliver play this instead always had someone in motion or doing something interesting even if they weren’t featured in the scene. I should also state that Simon Stephens’ writing was excellent with clever dialogue and a dark sense of humour.

The penultimate scene is performed in near darkness illuminated only with a torchlight that enhances the chilling climax that was difficult yet enthralling to watch. The final scene is one that was debated after the show as structurally it felt overlong and redundant but serves the purpose of letting the audience down after the harrowing scene before it and attempts to cast some light on the reasons for what we have just witnessed. David J Rose adds support here and the cast is rounded out by a cameo from Tahlia Norrish as Lucy who also provides a live score.

WAYTCo are to be applauded for tackling such a powerful piece and doing so in a full-throated manner. Directed by Renato Fabretti and Written by Simon Stephens, Punk Rock stars Luke Binetti, Declan Brown, Naomi Denny, William Everett-Knight, Chelsea Gibson, Sven Ironside, David J Rose, Claire Thomas and Tahlia Norrish, names we can expect to hear more of in the future.   

Ninety - Garrick Theatre (15 October 2014)

Time is certainly on the mind of all involved with this production of Joanna Murray-Smith’s examination of a once vibrant relationship now defunct. How the passage of time changes who we are and how we relate to others, particularly our significant other. But also in the major device in the construction of this two-hander – Isabel (Katrina Murphy) has requested exactly ninety minutes of her about-to-be-remarried ex-husband’s time.

William (Gino Cataldo) is less than enthused on his arrival at her artist’s residence but after the initial sparring they soon reminisce about the high and low points of their time together. The production plays out in real time for that hour and a half with flashbacks to how they first met; their honeymoon in Europe; the birth of their daughter; and the tragedy that ultimately dooms the marriage.

In many ways this play reminds me of Scott McArdle’s Coincidences at the End of Time where two former lovers meet and relive their relationship as the world crumbles around them. In that play though, time is about to end forever so there is urgency to the remembrances with considerable weight to the revelations that are ultimately teased out. Here the faux ‘ticking clock’ of the ninety minutes feels like a gimmick that has more to do with the running time then any mechanism to generate urgency and stakes as time ticks down. More importantly, I didn’t understand what Isabel’s goal was to ask for such a specific block of time – it seemed like a lot of extraneous hard work to set up such an artificial device with no actual purpose. They spar, they remember, they part.

The writing was particularly stylised and oftentimes I did not believe that two people – people who had, it turned out, experienced so much together – would talk to each other like that (“You promised me ninety!”). Then again, Isabel is an art restorer and William is a newly minted Golden Globe winning actor so there was a sense of artifice to the many art and theatrical references with the occasional curious, dated pop culture references thrown in (Bozz Scaggs anyone?). Of course, William is significantly older than Isabel having been her teacher so there is naturally a disparity in the comparative frames of reference.

The use of the ‘restored painting metaphor’ was heavy-handed as well – as layers are peeled away we ‘see’ who the subjects of a painting really are. Finally there are times the characters appear to be addressing the audience more than they are each other – this was odd as it robbed us of intimacy and insight as if they were simply regurgitating memories instead of experiencing them.

My biggest problem with the play though is that it was performed at the same pace and measured tone during its length. Murphy was a warm and engaging presence but was so throughout – it is suggested that Isabel is the far more sexually adventurous of the two but I never saw that edge of ‘danger’ nor any passion or ‘spark’ between them. William is an award winning actor but Cataldo never gives him that sense of theatricality – there were moments that could have been played ‘big’ and even the stylised dialogue could have really been emphasised as a ‘performance’. This meant that when his final monologue comes – a time when all artifice should be absent and we see true grief and rawness – it doesn’t have the same impact.

There needed to be more gear changes along the journey to earn the emotional climaxes for both characters. It would have also helped with characterisation - William largely comes off as a prick. When he tells Isabel in the early going why he doesn’t love her anymore he doesn’t just run over her with the bus he reverses the damn thing and steamrolls the poor girl’s prone body a few times in a verbal outburst that was quite shocking. Now, if he was being an ‘Actor’ I might have forgiven the excess but here it made it almost impossible for me to identify with the character.

The one sequence that did work well is when Isabel, the young female student, rings her teacher William and propositions him for sex. He is the reluctant one and amusingly, Isabel tells him that he should be ‘stalking’ her. When he does turn up at her flat she initially denies all knowledge of the call. This sense of play needed to be used more to break up the ‘sameness’ of the production. The actors had a beautifully designed set to perform in as the artist’s loft was lovingly rendered and the lighting cues certainly helped with the flashback sequences.

For me the writing was problematic but this is the sort of play that needed to be far more adventurous within the conceit that was set up to really work.

Directed by Brendan Ellis, Written by Joanna Murray-Smith and starring Katrina Murphy and Gino Cataldo, Ninety’s final performance is tonight at the Garrick Theatre.

Children of Eden - WAAPA (13 October 2014)

There is no better feeling than being totally surprised by a theatre production. I had no idea what to expect with Children of Eden. It was the WAAPA second year musical theatre students’ first standalone musical after their public debut earlier in the year (the play Beach) and sterling support of the third years in West Side Story. I am not a religious person so the prospect of an overt retelling of sections of the Bible left me somewhat cold. The Enright Studio is also my least favourite venue at the Mount Lawley campus tending, on occasion, to be a little cramped seating wise.

I’m happy to report that any reservations I had disappeared almost immediately in what turned out to be a spectacular production. The second years were uniformly excellent; it is a beautiful score with wonderful songs; and the venue was comfortably configured and used to maximum effect. I walked away with a real sense of the ‘wow’ factor hence my delighted surprise.

The story is familiar even to someone as unschooled in the Bible as me – the First Act is Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden who are subsequently cast into the Wasteland when they defy ‘Father’ and eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The Second Act is Noah and the great flood. What I didn’t expect is how much good-natured humour there is throughout. The themes of free will versus (parental) control, unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness and ultimately letting go so that your children, however you want to define that term, can exercise their own choices are universal and there is nothing preachy at all here. It is a joyous recounting of iconic tales that have survived for two millennia.

I particularly liked the parallels as first Adam then Noah assumes the de facto ‘Father’ mantle of their respective families and the hard earned lessons that lead to forgiveness and love. Another key aspect is that a completely different cast of performers is featured in each Act which gives everyone a chance to shine. And shine they do…

Father is played by Matthew Hyde, a towering figure in a sharp white suit who is genial and kind to his children Adam (Daniel Ridolfi) and Eve (Baylie Hemming) as they discover the joys of the Garden. That benevolence turns to consternation then wrath as they defy him. Hyde plays both sides of that coin well and is aided in his rage by great lighting and sound effects as he curses Cain and later in the Second Act brings the thunder and rain.

Hemming is the impulsive ‘spark of creativity’ as she quizzes Father relentlessly and is first to fall to the seductive charms of the Snake and partake of the forbidden fruit. She does well with the difficult The Spark of Creation but it’s in the final number of the First Act, Children of Eden that Hemming excels.

Ridolfi is a warm Adam with a lovely singing voice who calmly and implacably believes Father will return to take them away from the Wasteland. A World Without You where he proclaims his love for Eve even if it means joining her in exile is a highlight.

We soon meet a playful young Abel (Harrison Prouse) and a sullen young Cain (Joe Meldrum) subsequently played as teenagers by Morgan Palmer and Chris Wilcox respectively. Wilcox, in particular, gives a physical and forceful performance as he challenges Adam and ultimately Father. He exploded into action in the second half of the First Act and added a rock flavour in his singing and posture. The death of Abel at his hands is well handled and the darkest point of the tale.

The other significant presence is the Snake, a sensational six-headed ssynthesissss of sensuousnesssssss and sssssslinkinessssss as sssimulated by Tayla Jarrett, Taryn Ryan, Kate Thomas, Rosabelle Elliott, Jess Phillippi and Megan Kozak. Their tempting of Eve is downright playful and sexy.

After the interval Megan Kozak warms up the audience as she’s featured in the boisterous Generations. Then it’s time for Noah (Jacob Dibb) to assume the father mantle as he guides his wife Mamma (Heather Manley) and sons Japeth (Joel Granger), Ham (Callum Sandercock) and Shem (Alex Thompson) through the perils of arranged marriage and, of course, the building of the ark. Japeth incurs the wrath of the family when he chooses to wed Yonah (Matilda Moran) who is marked as the line of Cain and therefore seen to be utterly unsuitable.

Granger and Moran’s duet In Whatever Time We Have echoes A World Without You and is another highlight. Moran also features with Stranger to the Rain and was most impressive in the acting stakes as Yonah becomes the unlikely catalyst for compassion and healing as the situation becomes desperate on the ark. In fact this whole sequence is nicely acted with Dibb’s work pivotal and Rosabelle Elliott and Jess Phillippi rounding out the main cast as Aphra and Aysha respectively.

Then there’s Heather Manley who blew the doors off the joint with a blistering rendition of the gospel flavoured Ain’t It Good. Even the ensemble seemed impressed as they were all smiles responding to the vocal fireworks. It ends with the entire cast singing In The Beginning which was a fitting and emotional finale to a great show that had so many other highlights even in small moments like Sandercock’s vocal work as Adam and Eve enter the Wasteland.

I must mention the atypical setup that had three rows of seating along both of the long walls of the Enright Studio facing each other. This meant the performers were in very close proximity as they used the entire length of the narrower stage space. At times they were even behind those rows singing in what I overheard one audience member describe as “surround sound” – a nice effect. Finally, the band of Derek Bond (piano), Alex Barker (bass) and Ellenor Pereira (drums) who were tucked away in a corner was excellent and I really enjoyed the beautiful piano driven score.

Directed by Adam Mitchell with a Book by John Caird, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Musical Direction by Derek Bond and featuring the second year musical theatre students and the three piece band of Bond, Barker and Pereira, Children of Eden is a wonderful piece of musical theatre that is uplifting and beautifully delivered. A must see with only 5 more performances until 18 October 2014.

Exactly Like You: The Magic of Dorothy Fields - His Majesty's Theatre (11 October 2014)

You know you’ve done pretty well when your opening act is Barack Obama. Yes, Exactly Like You starts with a recorded excerpt from the President’s first Inauguration speech where he borrowed lyrics from Dorothy Fields’ song Pick Yourself Up. It’s a somewhat obscure reference unless you are familiar with Fields impressive body of work – over 400 songs stretching from the 1920’s all the way to the early 70’s. If you’re not then writers Izaak Lim and Nick Maclaine take you on a guided tour of the lyricist’s career in a slick and entertaining cabaret show featuring Ali Bodycoat as Fields.

Having recently seen Lim and Maclaine’s tribute to Cole Porter (You’ve Got That Thing!) in Melbourne they use a similar format that works well – three performers and an accompanist on piano using songs between key narrative scenes to tell the span of a life story from one character’s perspective. While Porter was the referred to yet absent hero in that show, here Fields is front and centre with Bodycoat giving a wonderful performance both vocally and in the acting stakes. She is joined by Ian Cross as the much older and brash composer Jerome Kern; and Lim himself playing three roles – initially Fields’ early composer and lover Jimmy McHugh, her brother Herb Fields, and finally the composer Cy Coleman who lures Fields out of retirement for a late career resurgence that includes the collaboration on the musical Sweet Charity.

Collaboration is the key word here as Fields worked with a variety of famous people including Irving Berlin on Annie Get Your Gun which perhaps explains why she is not as well-known as her track record deserves. Indeed, much is made of Fields blazing a path in a traditionally male dominated realm but except for Kern’s initial protestations and early condescension little is seen of this. A point reinforced by the closing monologue where Fields acknowledges how grateful she was to have such gifted male colleagues, mainly the ones who are featured here. But this is predominantly a celebration of her songs so the negative aspects are nodded at but not explored in any great depth.

Bodycoat is such a strong presence that wisely the opening interlude with McHugh is brief as Fields flounders on learning she is merely a ‘fling’ for the also married composer. It’s a fleeting moment of weakness that throws the character but ultimately leads to more productive collaborations.  It’s when she butts up and holds her own against other dominant personalities – Cross giving Kern a lovably gruff father-figure aspect, and Lim as the irrepressibly charming Cy Coleman - that Bodycoat excels playing a strong, feisty woman who very much knows her abilities. Her posture throughout was very erect, her costuming very formal, and there was a stillness that radiated calm confidence. No flamboyance here even during one of Fields’ signature numbers, Big Spender, the writing of which was amusingly reconstructed with Lim on piano.

Other highlights included the transition from a moment of triumph – Kern and Fields winning the Oscar for Best Song (The Way You Look Tonight) - to the announcement of Kern’s death which was beautifully handled; the resurrection of Kern as a ‘phantom’ in the second act to urge Dorothy to ‘pick herself up’ after his death; and the fine comedy work between Bodycoat and Lim as Cy Coleman ‘propositions’ the older woman to write with him. The piano playing by Musical Director Lochlan Brown was excellent and the singing and sound balance throughout was equally impressive.

The standout though is Bodycoat who shines playing a woman who could craft a lyric from plain speak yet had that touch of New Jersey vulgarity. Even when put on the spot as we observe her sat melancholic while Cross’ rendition of Lovely To Look At plays over the speakers, she is fascinating in what was a brave directorial move by Michael Loney. Such deliberate stillness and inactivity for what must have been the better part of 3 minutes on stage takes guts by both director and performer.

I walked away from the sold out final night the same as I did from You’ve Got That Thing! – thoroughly entertained and knowing a lot more about a key figure in 20th century musical history. That is no small achievement and a seam that Lim and Maclaine will hopefully continue to mine with equally enjoyable results.

Directed by Michael Loney with a Book by Izaak Lim and Nick Maclaine, Lyrics by Dorothy Fields, Musical Direction by Lochlan Brown and featuring Ali Bodycoat, Ian Cross and Izaak Lim, the show was performed Downstairs at His Maj as part of Cabaret Soiree. 

Blood Wedding - WAAPA (11 October 2014)

If Game of Thrones has taught us anything it’s that weddings are to be avoided at all cost. Red ones, Purple ones and now, courtesy of WAAPA and Federico Garcia Lorca, Blood ones. Yes, this is not a happy tale. Things start calmly enough as the audience is greeted by a band playing appropriately Spanish music with Hayden Emery doing some tasty classical guitar work. The Roundhouse set is particularly impressive with full length arches made of entwined rope and what will be a series of different drapes hanging from the rafters. There is an upper level walkway that will see extensive use even by a surprise ‘character’ in the second half.

The production begins with the band retreating to upstage left and the second year acting students in 1930s period attire attacking the stage with gusto in dance and song. It’s an attention grabbing opening. From there the tale of generational family conflict and bloodshed unfolds as a Mother (Stephanie Panozzo) bemoans the use of guns and knives as her son, credited only as the Bridegroom (Andrew Creer), goes off to work on the family vineyard. It seems he is betrothed to a woman – The Bride (Shalom Brune-Franklin) - who once had a relationship with Leonardo (Ben Kindon) who is from a family that murdered the Mother’s husband and other family members. Leonardo’s Wife (Rebecca Gulia) is none too happy when Leonardo wants them to travel to the wedding leaving their baby with the Mother-in-Law (Jess Paterson). The Father of the Bride (Bevan Pfeiffer), however, is eager to finalise the union as the Bridegroom’s family has extensive lands and wealth compared to his. Things go terribly awry when Leonardo runs off with The Bride on the wedding night and they flee into the woods. It does not end well as the Mother’s wrath and anguish towers above this tragic tale of impulsive love, revenge and generational violence.

In many ways this reminded me of the Sicilian sequences in The Godfather. That sense of passion, the pre-eminence of family, and the animosity between clans that lingers for generations. The production is full of song and dance and even gets quite surreal at points in the second half as the Moon (Lincoln Vickery) decides the fate of those in the woods with his light illuminating (or not) the transgressors. There’s also a creepy Beggar Woman (Hoa Xuande) in this sequence who adds a supernatural tinge to proceedings.

The show ends quite abruptly after The Bride presents herself to the Mother and beseeches the grieving woman to cut her throat and end the cycle of violence. But what use is this sacrifice to a woman who has lost all the men in her life so cruelly? This is punctuated with a thud as the deceased are summarily disposed.

I really enjoyed this though it took me a little while to get my bearings. The first scene after the dance introduction was tentative and awkward but from that point Panozzo (who sports a convincing Spanish accent) gives an increasingly strong performance culminating in a powerhouse final sequence where her anguished song is quite devastating. It’s interesting that all of the main characters seem set in their ways throughout – the Mother foreshadows the outcome in the very first scene – but maybe that is the true tragedy – none of these people can change their essential nature. 

Brune-Franklin is terrific as the haughty Bride and her plea to the Mother at the end is heartbreaking. Creer is a strapping Bridegroom whose character is beholden to his mother but adds some lighter touches during the wedding celebration as brief as it is. Kindon is fiery and passionate as Leonardo which is a tricky role as he is less than kind to his wife and his impulsive nature is the catalyst for the tragedy. Gulia (with a beautiful singing voice) has a lovely moment with Paterson as they serenade the baby to sleep though she is largely left to play ‘the other woman’ as her husband follows his rash desires. A standout in a supporting role was Harriet Gordon-Anderson as the Bride’s servant. She is all fussy efficiency and practicality with yet again another strong singing voice.

There is plenty of work for the rest of the cast with a ribbon sequence between Brittany Morel, Claudia Ware and Elle Harris that is quite effective and Seamus Quinn, Dacre Montgomery-Harvey and Rian Howlett playing woodcutters in the second half. The cast is rounded out by Luke Fewster and Megan Wilding.

This is a wonderful mix of drama, dance, song and music but there were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. The band, who added so much mood and atmosphere particularly with a mournful saxophone (Michael Bednall), were a little loud in the latter sequences of the first half which tended to drown out pivotal dialogue which was already tricky to follow with the Spanish accents. When the woodcutters are chopping into the table a sound effect was used. This play is so visceral and passionate I wanted to hear the axes crunch on the table; I wanted to feel the reverberations. Not so good for the table perhaps but the sound effect was a little chintzy especially when it curiously wasn’t used for one of the woodcutters (nice save, checking the axe blade). Yes, later there was a cool lighting effect when the trees are cut down but it was a small moment that felt off-kilter. Likewise, I wanted to really experience the final THUDS. 

A couple of other minor things – most of the action is set quite far back and perhaps could have been brought forward to take advantage of the Roundhouse configuration. There are also times when central characters are saying dialogue to back of stage when they could have circled around to deliver lines. Other than that this is a really strong piece and has whetted my interest in seeing what this class does next year.

Directed by Ross McGregor, Written by Federico Garcia Lorca, starring WAAPA’s second year acting students and featuring a band of Michael Bednall (soprano saxophone), Hayden Emery (classical guitar), Jameson Feakes (guitar), Lila Raubenheimer (celeste), Dario Jiritano (double bass) and Tom Robertson (cajon), Blood Wedding is on at The Roundhouse Theatre until 16 October.