The Garage International @ NACC

Presented by the Divine Elements Belly Dance Company, A Belly Dance Collective was aimed at showcasing the depth and breadth of this centuries-old dance form. Originating in the Middle East, it has diversified in modern times to encompass African, Indian, Spanish and American influences.

Seven local artists performed a total of 12 routines in a mix of solo and en troupe, each grounded in different style. In a dramatic opening, the show began with a cabaret dance featuring the spectacular golden capes known as Wings of Isis. The routines that followed encompassed classical Egyptian, American Tribal Style (ATS), Baladi and Fusion.

Audience favourites included a high-energy Saiidi set by Sarafina, an impressive display of strength and balance by Soraya in the Sword dance and a Tribal piece featuring the Zills, or Finger Cymbals. The show was rounded out by two captivating performances; an intense and mesmerising Dark Fusion routine by Rania and a brilliant solo Veil dance by Melanie Skeklios.

In the roomy surrounds of the North Adelaide Community Centre, cabaret seating would have provided a clearer view for all, though this was only really a problem during routines featuring floor work.

From start to finish the audience were treated to an entertaining and educational mix of colour, sound and style. An art form that requires a spectrum of emotion and technique, the skill and experience in this company was hard to miss. The choreography was polished and costuming a visual feast. Moments of improvisation were smooth and synchronised. The audience was left in no doubt as to why the art of Belly dance continues to dazzle and delight.

Nicole Russo

Afternoon AbsurdiTEA with Camilla Cha

Space Theatre, September 26

In the family-friendly timeslot of 2pm, Afternoon absurdiTEA provides an education in the long and sordid history of the humble tea leaf.  Based on exerts from key artist Anne Norman’s book Curiosi-tea, the performance mixed readings and poetry with a soundtrack of traditional Chinese, Tibetan, Indian and Japanese music, representing the cultural origins of this enduring beverage.

The one-off OzAsia Festival piece sees Norman, musician/poet/author and self-professed tea enthusiast, take on the persona of Camilla Cha with hit and miss results.  Firmly hitting the mark however were her supporting musicians in Tenzin Choegyal (voice and Tibetan instruments), Wang Zheng Ting & the Australian Chinese Ensemble, and Jay Dabgar (Tabla) & Josh Bennett (sitar, didgeridoo and guitar).  This stellar musical cast provided beautiful individual and ensemble performances in between Norman’s narratives.

While conceptually promising, Norman failed in her execution and it was painfully clear that she is weak point in the show.  Though providing a wealth of interesting information on the topic, her delivery was dry and amateurish.  The musical interludes proved to be the saving grace of the production and were almost reason enough to sit through the rest.

In particular, Choegyal’s haunting vocals and the entertaining duo of Bennet and Dabgar stole the show.  Norman’s own performances on shakuhachi (Japanese flute) were commendable and this, along with the quality of her supporting guests, gave some credibility to what otherwise seemed to be an elaborate plug for her debut literary work.

Nicole Russo

28 Sept 2010

Matt Byrne Media

Touring the Arts / Shedley / Chaffey theatres - until July 31

Matt Byrne Media's Adelaide premiere of all shook opened at the Arts Theatre to an almost full house. However, design issues appear to have translated into technical problems which the cast may struggle to overcome throughout the run. The colourful cast worked hard to deliver the Elvis inspired musical, but sound levels, lighting and choreography standards have impacted on the production quality.

Byrne has placed a large band onstage, including a full brass section, and consequently has the microphones turned to feedback levels which still aren't enough to carry the lyrics to the back of the arts theatre. The loud band coupled with it's location presents a problem for some of the leads too, who often struggled to maintain key, likely due to not being able to hear themselves. Choreography was perfectly matched to period, but looked under rehearsed, several of the chorus members were still quite obviously looking to each other for the next movement in a routine, this will improve with more runs - but didn't look ready for opening night. 

Costumes were great and the cast always looked good, but full set scene changes, of which there were a few, took too long, and more stage isolation was required to help scene transitions.

Standout performers were Rebecca Plummer as Lorraine and Gareth Wilkes as Dennis who both gave great characterisations and sang beautifully. 
Maggie Wood was delightful as Sylvia and Dominic Hodges did very well as Dean. Matt Byrne's characterization of Sheriff Earl was also great comic relief. The show was full of old classic songs which everyone is sure to love including Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, Teddy Bear and of course All Shook Up. Despite it's lengthy duration, just short of 3 hours with interval, I think audiences will still really enjoy the fun of this show, and hopefully some of the issues will improve over the run.

Paul Rodda

ActNow Theatre for Social Change – Ayers House Museum

Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s version of Henrik Ibsens, An Enemy of the People was charmingly set in the Ayers house museum, amongst memorabilia, paintings, artifacts and architecture of a time gone by, and excepting for a few choice garments not particularly representative of the plays era, was a convincing backdrop to the piece by ActNow Theatre for social change, directed by Edwin Kemp Atrill.

ActNow have bravely challenged their audience with a complex political play, at what could only be considered a significant moment in Australian history - amidst debates, policy announcements and rhetoric of a Federal Election, with Australia’s first female prime minister at the helm of the ALP.  The subject matter of the play; one man’s stand against the health and wellbeing of a population which is being impacted upon by the very thing which affords them their jobs, their town and their very existence, is remarkably similar to the headlining policy of our two major parties, being the environmental impact of acting on carbon emissions and the introduction of an ETS.

The young cast has triumphed however, and delivers an outstanding performance full of light and shade, which accurately and skillfully delivers it objective with vision and clarity. The relatively small audience comprised predominantly of theatre writers and critics didn’t seem to deter this excellent young cast at all, and performing only a few feet away from their “audience in the round”, they gave an emotional quality which was very believable.

Guy O’Grady in the lead role of Dr Stockman was by far the standout of the performers. His character was solicitous and considered. O’Grady’s Stockman was the hero of the play, whose moralistic integrity would not be diminished in his pursuit of the truth and common good. Playing opposite O’Grady as both brother and political opposition was Kurt Murray. Murray gave us a strong believable Mayor, and his characterisation was especially fine during heated argument scenes. Sarah Dunn and Catherine Story made up the rest of the Stockman family as wife and daughter respectively and both gave fine performances.

The balance of the players including Alexander Ramsay, Nicholas Cutts, Felix Alpers-Kneebone, Ailsa Dunlop and Loki Reef Macnicol, all support the ensemble beautifully and give O’Grady the bag for his almighty punch. This play is a must see, and despite the few fashion faux pas, and the inevitable blocking that occurs with the theatre in the round concept, it was a moving and exciting production and definitely worth a look!

Paul Rodda

17 August 2010

Bangarra Dance Theatre

Dunstan Playhouse

Established in 1989, Bangarra Dance Theatre is a company that “embraces, celebrates and respects Australia’s indigenous peoples and their culture”
Their latest production Of Earth and Sky is another great testament to that vision.

From the moment the performers took to the stage it was obvious the audience was in for a treat. The production was broken up into 2 halves, the first called Riley and embracing the idea of objects digitally juxtaposed against the blue Sky and the second, called Artefact, based on objects from the Earth.

At the core of the creation of Riley was visual art, and each of the dances was designed around the image of an object. The objects were a Boomerang, Locust, Bible, Angel, Broken Wing and Feather. Each of the objects was very different but the interpretation was always clear.

Boomerang had light twirling whipping movements from the dancers, beautifully reminiscent of a boomerang in-flight.
Locust showed a plague of dancers scampering across the stage in an insect like fashion. Eventually in a climactic scene of weaving and darting appearing to be burned and destroyed by flickering orange and yellow lighting.

Broken Wing showed the distressful sight of a bird crippled by injury, rolling around in pain unable to flee or escape, beautifully yet sorrowfully depicted, the bird eventually accepting its fate.

In Feather the dancers moved with undulating unity. Each represented one feather, and together packed tightly they moved like the wing of a bird.
Bible performed once by women and once by men, had by far the most culturally interesting commentary. It appeared to be a reflection on the way Indigenous Australians have been historically treated by Christians and White Australians. The dancers were physically branded with crosses on their backs in black paint. The girl’s choreography demonstrated a rejection of the suppression of Christianity and their attempts to cleanse themselves. The men were acting more like a tribal pack of hunters. Stabbing and striking with large arm movements, representing an exaggerated religious presence.

In the second act, Artefact was performed. It was quite different in style and had much more flow than Riley. A beautiful large prop of tree bark was the central focus of the piece and gave the dancers something to move over, under and around. Music composed by David Page incorporated sounds from nature. It was a bold fusion of traditional and contemporary styles and perfectly suited the work.

The production company has created a great show here, and the audience loved it. Choreographers Daniel Riley McKinley and Frances Rings have a lot to be proud of with this new work Earth and Sky.

Paul Rodda

12 Sept 2010

Space Theatre, Flying Penguin Productions, 21 to 30 Oct

Written by David Harrower and produced by Flying Penguin productions in association with the Adelaide Festival Centre’s InSPACE program, Blackbird is the revisited tale of an illicit relationship between Ray and Una. Set 16 years after the event, in a staff room at Ray’s place of employment, Una comes to confront him. Now an adult she has some unanswered questions, and despite the fact he has now changed his name to Peter, and moved on with his life, she has tracked him down via a photo she saw in a magazine.

Una believes that her life has been ruined by the molestation and sexual harassment that she has experienced at the hand of Ray, yet admits that she did in fact love him – and that everything she now believes is more likely a product of what she was ‘told’ happened by her family, friends and social workers. Ray has been imprisoned, served his time, and labeled a pedophile, but managed to escape his past life, change his name and move away. He now keeps his identity and his past a secret from his colleagues and his partner, and attempts to forget what went before.

So what defines a relationship? Who defines a relationship? The incredible writing by David Harrower reveals that in the minds of the two characters, what they had was real love. Love between a 12 year old and a 40 year old. Illegal, Illicit, socially inappropriate, yet love all the same.

As the story unfolds the characters emotional states grow and change, morphing from rejection and denial, to insincerity, dishonesty, hate and lust. This requires great skill from the actors, and both Terence Crawford and Ksenja Logos deliver in spades. 

The production takes more than a few minutes to warm up too, but once you begin to understand the characters insecurities, you see the real people develop behind the text and inside the very real issues they are each dealing with.

The set is functional, and serves two main purposes. The location helps to create context and a few references are made to it early on, but this piece could have played out anywhere. The space is a simple staff room/cafeteria that blends out towards the audience into a junkyard with mounds of garbage bags and rubbish edging it. Sound was used effectively as a supportive element to create and heighten emotional tension.

A lot of the scripting is in past tense, but a particularly effective part of the text is when the characters reminisce through monologue with continuity of time and space about their first sexual experience away together. The actors step out of the “staff room” and into the “junkyard” where they seem to metaphorically offload some rubbish of their own, before coming back together in the space. This worked effectively until later in the show when the two spaces were incorporated in time, destroying the beautiful segregation it had earlier created.

Ksenja Logos and Terence Crawford were both outstanding in their portrayals of the difficult roles. Working together perfectly, the 90 minute production just flew by.  A lot of thinking was done by all on exit from the auditorium, and I suspect a lot more in the weeks to come. A challenging, interesting, brilliant piece of theatre – this is not one to be missed.

Paul Rodda

22 Oct 2010

The Garden of Unearthly Delights

Circus Trick Tease is an acrobatic smorgasbord of strength, balance and skill as three performers incorporate an elaborate array of circus tricks into a neat little story of three-way love.

Strong Man Shannon McGorgan demonstrates his strength by lifting 4 audience members at once, but the really impressive tricks are always saved till last. With his girl side-kick and love interest, Malia Walsh, ever needy of her strong man’s love, and muted import Fahad Ahadi (handstand extraordinaire), always handy to prove that three is a crowd, this innovative circus performance proves that the theatrics of the circus are not dead!

This production has toured many of Australia’s largest festivals and continues to wow audiences at the 2010 Adelaide Fringe. The performers do not fail to impress, incorporating tricks such as balancing in headstand on top of each other. Walsh is positively effervescent when she smiles, but beware when it does not go her way, as the wailing cries of a scorned woman will have you fleeing from your seats!

Paul Rodda

A Few Small Things You Should Know About the Future

Ambassadors Hotel - Balcony Restaurant

Solar powered iPods, internet face transplants, recycled toilet paper and pooper scoopers - just a few of the topics likely to be covered in the 2010 fringe offering from Claire Hooper. Lots of this set made a lot of sense, but didn't get so many laughs. Her play by play storytelling of the recent events in her life was interesting, sometimes exciting, but unfortunately didn't have the audience rolling in the aisles, clutching at their sides.

Hooper’s laid back style was enjoyable to watch at times, and the well-loved comic kept the audience interested in her random, rampant narrative, later revving up the crowd with a rap inspired song, which she sung, and danced, at great pains to her own dignity. For Hooper fans, this production might feel a little short of her full capabilities, but overall it was an enjoyable evening of anecdotes and tales.

Paul Rodda

Steady Lads / Christine Dunstan Productions

Set in Gerry’s Gym, this is the sometimes heartwarming, sometimes saddening but always poignant tale of five ex-military men and their weekly workout session. Starring Ronald Falk as Keith, Ron Haddrick as Jimmy, Edwin Hodgeman as Les, Russell Newman as Patrick and Shane Porteous as Rod, the five reminisce and cajole each other over an effortful work out consisting of lunges, marching, squats, coffee and Salada biscuits - usually retiring to the biscuits and coffee long before any workout has truly been undertaken!

Each have their own troubles and fixed beliefs. Some have lost love, others merely worry for the future. But what they have in common is age, and each other. When Stanley (or Stan Lee as he is mistaken), a Malaysian Australian played by Jon Lam, joins the codgers in their gym routine one day, some true colours start to come through. The racist wartime views of the past live on in some of the codgers, and change does not come readily.

The set is clever, and functional, with lighting used well to move the piece around the stage. Sometimes the pace suffers a little, but each of the consumate performers delivers an outstanding and thoughtful performance, with special credit to Hodgeman for his hilarious physical comedy and great timing.

Through the codgers stories, some sad - but most hilarious, the audience may discover something about themselves, something about acceptance of others and being true to who you are. There are many revelations for our characters in this play, including the "coming out" of one, as a cross-dresser! But the overall message is clear. As spoken by Porteous, "...we are simply codgers, coinciding at the ends of our lives..." despite their varying opinions on money, politics, religion and race, "It's about being ourselves."

Paul Rodda

Eventful Divas. Star Theatres.

Cole’s Girls is the brainchild of performers David Gauci and Michael Lindner. It is a dragtastic bastardisation of the music and lyrics of Cole Porter, with hilarious consequences!

Think Magda Szubanski’s character Lyn Postlethwaite from Fast Forward singing the hits of Cole Porter and your pretty much on the money here. Lysa Nads (Lindner) and Leesa Alopecia are checkout chicks who have definitely checked out! The former is in love with herself and everything sex, the latter is emotionally overwhelmed by her weight issues and love for Lisa McCune and John Woods, but together they give each other purpose and meaning. When a chance opportunity arrives to audition as hosts of the newest up-and-coming game show, McCuneatunity, the girls jump at the chance.

With support from Josh Penley, Amy Hutchison and Sarah Laing, Gauci and Lindner couldn’t go wrong. This is their third tour of the production and the laughs were a plenty. Performed in the intimate cathedral venue of Star Theatres, this show is a night of hilarity, for the whole family – except perhaps those under 12 years. A fantastic performance by all not to be missed.

Paul Rodda