The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt. With Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch. Adelaide Festival Theatre. 26 May 2017
Adelaide’s reputation for missing out on the large east coast touring productions is quickly becoming a distant memory, and praise-be, for this Australian touring production of Matilda The Musical is a wonder to behold.
So prepare yourselves for another glowing review. One to follow an ever growing archive of positivity and praise which flows from critics all over Australia and the world; not to mention 5 Tony Awards and 13 Helpmanns, to boot. There is, quite simply, nothing to criticise about this spectacular story book adaptation – even from some of the worst seats in the house.
The musical is based on the novel by Roald Dahl, its book is by Dennis Kelly, the music and lyrics by Tim Minchin – and his satirical stylings infuse every aspect of the fantastic score. The show is fun, sad, uplifting, hilarious, clever and, well, brilliant.
Matilda is the miracle child of the Wormwoods, a down and out family who’d prefer she was a boy who paid more attention to the T.V. and displayed a lot less intellectual prowess. Worse, they wish she never existed. The child prodigy already reads and speaks at an advanced adult level, but her family problems are just the beginning. Attending school for the first time brings yet more trouble for poor Matilda, but also hope in the form of a kind and dedicated teacher, Miss Honey, who recognises and encourages her genius. The friendship they forge gives them strength to face their bullies and allows Matilda to discover just how truly special she is.
Matilda, played by Izellah Connelly in this performance, blows us away with a strong and pitch perfect vocal performance. The cast of children is immensely talented - you have to keep reminding yourself that you are watching a group of primary schoolers. It's almost impossible to believe that they could be so accomplished and professional at such a young age. Bravo!
The children are joined on stage by an equally talented set of adult performers, who bring some of Roald Dahl's most iconic characters to life. Miss Honey is as gentle and kind as we imagined reading the book as a child. Lucy Maunder perfectly captures her tenderness and vulnerability, and her presence warms the stage. Leah Lim, as Mrs Phelps, is authentically animated and, with Maunder, provides the perfect foil for the hyperbole of Matilda's idiotic and cruel family.
Marika Aubrey is completely believable as Mrs Wormwood, Matilda's horribly mean and neglectful mother. Her performance of Loud with Travis Khan as Rudolpho is suitably low brow and very entertaining. Daniel Frederiksen plays the feckless Mr Wormwood with vigour, and successfully executes on his character's emotional about-turn at the show's conclusion, showing genuine affection for his daughter at the last minute.
Without a doubt though, James Millar steals the show with his formidable portrayal of the dreaded Miss Trunchbull. Every child's worst nightmare, Trunchbull towers over student and teachers alike with hammer-throwing physic and a mono-brow you can spy from the back rows. Millar stalks the stage with palpable disdain and perfect comedic timing, being hilariously dreadful in all the right ways. One can imagine his characterisation would have made Dahl smile.
Matilda The Musical is a modern musical by which to measure all others. Rob Howell’s stunning set is now one of the most instantly recognisable. Its ingenious construction coupled with spectacular lighting design by Hugh Vanstone and innovative, high intensity, choreography by Peter Darling is unforgettable. Of particular note are numbers like When I Grow Up, which takes place on huge swings that propel out into the auditorium, and School Song, which finds agile performers scaling a wall of alphabet blocks as the letters are presented cleverly throughout the song.
This show is a veritable feast for the senses, and certainly not to be missed; one for the child in all of us.
Paul Rodda
When: 21 May to 16 Jul
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
DreamBIG Children’s Festival. Presented by Drop Bear Theatre, The Seam & Edwina Cordingley. 24 May 2017
Theatre for babies may seem like an indulgent concept to some. There is an understandable tendency to think they are too young for comprehension, and far too young for remembering. For those with a love of music and the stage however, the opportunity to share this with their little one is a very special experience.
Babies are a unique type of audience. They exist in the moment, entirely enthralled if it is interesting and off to discover something else if it is not. Their enjoyment is both audible and adorable - just try and wipe the smile off your face as a baby claps and laughs in appreciation.
So one envies the three players in Rain, as they shall elicit countless such moments during the their run in the DreamBig Childrens Festival. Billed as a "mesmerising and immersive sensory experience", this show is all that and more.
Rain starts with a transition into the piece. Babe-in-arms, we enter a small, black-clad space where long strips of white fabric hang from netting strung above our heads. A soundtrack of wet weather plays as we walk around and amongst the "rain", letting the soft material brush over face and body. With muted light, soft white noise and calming guidance, we are slowly acclimatised to the presence of the show, which is welcoming and relaxed after the stressful rush to get ready and to the theatre in time.
Presently, we are led into the performance space and seated on a soft lamb’s wool rug that edges the white stage. Sarah Lockwood, Carolyn Ramsey and cellist Edwina Cordingley take their positions and it begins. Babies and adults alike are delighted by a mix of cello, voice, percussion, textiles, water, touch, and mist. The trio successfully deliver on a multi-sensory experience.
The audience is intimate at just 10 babies per performance, which sounds small but is actually perfect. After the main event, babies are encouraged to explore the beautifully crafted installation space, allowing them to extend their experience beyond the allotted 40 minutes.
This is an exquisitely simple piece that has been developed with a strong understanding of, and affection for, its target audience. This mummy loved it to the moon and back.
Nicole Russo
When: 24 to 27 May 2017
Where: Rehearsal Room 1, Adelaide Festival Centre
Bookings: Sold out
Emma Knight Productions. Secret Location. Media Preview 23 May 2017.
A stunning secret location forms part of the latest Emma Knights Productions’ show, Chicago. Audience members only find out where they are going once they buy a ticket, and as such there is little one can say about it here without spoiling the surprise. Needless to say it adds a speakeasy vibe with a hint of grand cabaret and is, in itself, a work of art.
Knights' and her production team have assembled an all-star Adelaide cast of professional, semi-professional and amateur actors for this pro-am production, following through on the company’s promise to “create jobs and opportunities for artists in South Australia” - each performer is contracted to be part of the show.
As such, Knights' Chicago has very few weak links, and the individual performances are what most impress.
The ‘media preview’ night also happens to be the final dress rehearsal for the cast, and one of the first for tech teams and performers, only just coming together to run lights, costume, and sound. Whilst sound is not credited in the production notes it is fluently handled by Tim Freedman of Allpro Audio. The secret venue is cavernous, and reverb and echo are professionally abated.
Producer/musical director, Emma Knights, director, Adrian Barnes, and choreographer, Kerreane Sarti have strived to create an immersive performance experience that transports the audience into the prohibition speakeasy era. The overall vision falls just short of sweeping us away however, and an underdeveloped lighting plot (no lighting design credited in the program) is one massive contributor to the shortfall. That being said the direction is tight and purposeful, the choreography is sexy and spectacular, and the performances – both onstage and in the orchestra - are top rate.
Stefanie Rossi leads the charge as Velma Kelly with a stunning all round performance that stands out even amongst a cast of uber-talented performers. Rossi has a beautiful singing voice and a commanding presence. Jeff Lang is the consummate professional in his cocky interpretation of Billy Flynn, demonstrating the focus and skill of a performer with many years’ experience. Fiona Aitken’s smoky voice oozes over Roxi Hart’s more intimate numbers, though the bigger notes prove too much. The Aitken/Rossi duets are uneven despite their attempts to meet in the middle. Mark DeLaine is divine as Amos Hart and puts up a captivating performance which beautifully juxtaposes his towering scale with a shy vulnerability that just works. Melanie Smith is authoritative as Mama Morton and belts out the ballads with ease; her duet with Rossi in Class is a production highlight.
The ensemble of sexy ladies and classy gents take Chicago to new levels with their skimpier-than-usual outfits, raunchy routines, and hands-on audience interaction. The ultra-close up performance can be both blessing and hindrance however, and the confident stand out from the unsure. When the nerves give way these performers will be unstoppable.
This is a lovely piece of theatre which is a credit to the Emma Knights Productions’ company. See it if you can – before the cops move ‘em out of town.
Paul Rodda
When: 24 to 28 May
Where: Secret Location
Bookings: dramatix.com.au
Red Phoenix Theatre. Holden Street Theatres. 18 May 2017
This is what theatre is all about.
What a gripping and rewarding night. What wonderful performances. How fast time can fly.
Playwright Hannie Rayson has dipped into the well of political ambition, scandal and dissent which surrounds us and splashed it all over the stage in a wild, gladiatorial drama lit by moments of humour.
“Eggs" Benedict is a ruthlessly ambitious conservative Minister for Home Security, voraciously assembling the numbers to get himself elected party leader and Prime Minister of Australia. His brother Tom is a leading human rights advocate and lawyer for refugees. They are opposite political polarities but they also are family who spend Christmas and other holidays together, who share powerful childhood memories, and who have argued politics since they were lads. Hence, Rayson has made this a play about blood: shared blood, bad blood and shed blood.
From its dark and murderous opening moment, Red Phoenix Theatre’s South Australian premiere production has the audience in its thrall.
Brant Eustice’s intensity of emotional desperation is utterly credible, as is the ensuing two hours of his performance as James “Eggs” Benedict.
The play’s opening is a swift and breathtaking flash forward.
Then characters are presented and the theme is set. Players stand formally downstage, extrapolating upon their contrasting politics, from the devious strategies of Eggs to the brave refugee advocacy of his brother. Eggs' wife, Fiona provides taut role-play in good cause while Tom’s wife, Angela, reads a roll call of the multicultural names which make up a modern Australian school playground.
Their differences play out at family gatherings, compounded by the scars of family tragedies such as the death by drug overdose of one of Eggs' sons. Both brothers have living sons whose troubles work their way to the surface as the play progresses. One is in the Navy which is complicit in refugee drownings at sea. His long-haired outsider cousin is living above his means in an insecure job economy.
A second narrative and human thread evolves with the introduction of the lone Iraqi survivor of a mass refugee drowning. He is championed by Tom and welcomed by his family but reviled by Eggs who promotes adamant anti-illegal-refugee policies.
The brothers lead double lives: one the intimacy of their blood ties and the other their often bitter opposition in the political arena. Both are successful in their spheres. Rayson writes their predicament as a stunning ambivalence; how different siblings can be and yet remain deeply bonded. Their wives amplify these distinctions.
This array of characters feels familiar. They are superbly wrought, even the Minister’s controlling secretary, Jamie Savage, who is played by Alicia Jaye with icy vamp-like ruthlessness in devilish parody of Peta Credlin.
Media events are mounted here and there via a platform and a large rectangular frame mid-stage. Otherwise the set is dominated by a large picnic table and Weber kettle BBQ for family and a bar for the politician’s office. A waitress holding a tray of drinks stands around like a piece of furniture. The cast remains onstage throughout the play with a rack of clothes on hand for costume changes. It is not a beautiful set but it is effective and well lit.
The impact of this splendid play is delivered not only through what is clearly the highly perspicacious direction of Robert Kimber but through some of the best acting this city has seen in a long time.
Having genuine brothers in the principal roles is gift enough but having the well-honed and lifelong skills of the Eustice brothers is supreme. Their interactions, their sense of fun, their sense of grievance, and their overriding bond shines as a remarkable beacon of authenticity. If there is a competition, as of course there always must be, it is Brant as the pathologically narcissistic Trumpesque politician who nips it with his extraordinary depths of nasty nuance. He devours the stage in this mighty performance of loathsomeness. Brother Michael, on the other hand, wins hearts and minds as the conscience of the country, a good man and true, a loser.
The supporting actors rise to the standard of this production. Fahad Farooque is a splendid and convincing presence as the refugee, Hazem, while Joshua Coldwell as Eggs' son delivers with impressive profundity the moral dilemma of the young man caught between lies and truth. Joshua Mensch as Tom’s boy truly saddens as victim and scapegoat. Lyn Wilson and Tracey Walker give wise, mature and compelling performances as the two wives while Cheryl Douglas smiles in beguiling passivity as the waitress and throws in the odd link as a media or factotum.
Two Brothers is a play for our times.
It exposes the raw underbelly of the world of current politics, a reality which seems out of control. The game of values which is playing out in this new era of potent conservative adamance is not for sissies. Rayson’s play is billed as a “thrilling tale of power and evil” and in the skilled hands of Red Phoenix Theatre it surely is.
For heaven’s sake, don’t miss it.
Samela Harris
When: 18 to 27 May
Where: Holden Street Theatres – The Studio
Bookings: holdenstreettheatres.com or 8255 8888
By George Orwell. New adaptation created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan. Ambassador Theatre Group, GWB Entertainment & State Theatre Company South Australia present the Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse & Almeida Theatre production. 16 May 2017
The much anticipated stage adaptation of cult science fiction novel 1984, which – along with Animal Farm – brought George Orwell worldwide fame, finally opens at Her Majesty’s theatre. The auditorium is packed to overflowing, and there’s an air of excitement.
The book has found new meaning of late with the ascension of Donald Trump to the United States Presidency and all of his posturing about fake news and attempts to shut down institutions that independently manage the national interest, to better serve his own. But it is nothing on the levels reached in Orwell’s 1984.
The device for the translation of Orwell’s novel to the stage is very clever. Adaptors Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan have read beyond the novel and taken deeper meaning from the contents found in Orwell’s appendix, where he outlines the principles of Newspeak. Working under the assumption that this information could only have been completed in or around the year 2050 when Newspeak was predicted for completion, they have subsequently cast the vantage point of Winston and his experiences into the past.
As such, Icke and Macmillan’s protagonist experiences, and enacts, Smith’s story from 100 years hence. The performance opens with a group of would-be ‘tourists’ exploring the history of Orwell’s central character, Winston Smith, through the writings apparently discovered in his diary.
The transformation from present day – which is later revealed to be a future present day somewhere around the year 2084 – to 1984 is confusing and feels a little clunky. It is only after the penultimate revelation of the story’s place in time that we finally understand the external workings of the writing, and its genius is revealed. Purists, however, may wonder how it is possible that the diary escaped the memory hole to survive in the future.
The performers all rise to their roles, and the overall effect created by lighting, sound and pace successfully generates a sensory overload that is unnerving. One feels, however, that this adaptation fails to give its key characters the depth of connection necessary to fully play out the interdependency and simultaneous isolation they suffer.
Tom Conroy is Winston and instantly feels too young for the part. Orwell describes Winston as 39 years of age, and Julia as 10 to 15 years his junior, yet the two appear to be of similar age. Early constructions of Oceania don’t sufficiently generate the details of the society that controls its citizen’s every move, thought and action, leaving Conroy at an immediate disadvantage.
Despite this inconsistency, Conroy delivers a suitably troubled Winston. Later in the piece, live camera projection is used to expose Conroy’s tortured face, blood splattered and desperate. We are treated to a vivid performance of a man torn down by the cruel and unyielding force of the Ministry of Truth.
Ursula Mills gives a solid performance as Julia, Winston’s lover and confidant. Mills looks the part both in age and figure, and her perfectly executed, ‘wooden’ portrayal is a textbook rendering in the beginning. However, it does not evolve sufficiently as the play progresses.
The intensity of the relationship between Julia and Winston is sadly glossed over in the adaptation, with neither she, nor the relationship between them, properly explored. This weakens the importance of Winston’s eventual betrayal at the climax of the piece, which is critical to understanding the depths of his defeat; in destroying the couple’s ability to love one another, the Party proves it can truly control all thought, and strip anyone of their humanity.
Terrance Crawford is wonderfully menacing as O’Brien. Crawford is in strong voice and has wonderful stature and presence, but weakens his authority with loose and fluid body language during the interrogation. Again the adaptation overlooks establishing O’Brien as an approachable, congenial, gentleman to whom Winston is constantly drawn. This omission sells short the intensity and respect in their relationship, and lessens the impact of both the betrayal and subsequent torture at O’Brien’s hand.
Renato Musolino takes on the character of Martin, a servant to O’Brien and supposed member of the Brotherhood. His presence throughout the show is ominous and his constant, unbroken eye contact on Winston is both unnerving and equally telling. Whilst the role doesn’t afford much scope for play, Musolino delivers a wonderfully simple, controlled, performance.
As Winston’s neighbour, Parsons, Paul Blackwell is in perfect form. Blackwell imbues Parsons with a kind of harmless naivety. Completely taken in by the party and its motives, Parsons is almost comical and Blackwell nails it. Fiona Press plays his wife, Mrs Parsons and multitude other characters, all which add their own flavour to the complex storyline. Their daughter, played on opening night by Trinity O’Shea, serves as a stark reminder of the control elicited by the Party over young and influential minds.
Guy O’Grady has a short lived part in Newspeak expert, Syme, who is categorically vaporized for knowing, and likely saying, too much. O’Grady plays him in just the kind of annoying way one might expect a character expert of any type to act – dribbling on at great pace about his speciality – and is marvellously effective.
Yalin Ozucelik is perhaps the most impressive visual transformation as Thought Policeman cum antique-shop-owner, Charrington. He delivers on Orwell’s objective of shocking us with the discovery of his betrayal, even though very little is spoken. Ozucelik effectively constructs the aged shop owner to a point of believability, making his reveal striking for the audience.
The design by Chloe Lamford with lighting by Natasha Chivers, sound by Tom Gibbons, and video by Tom Reid is crucial to the success of this production. Sound and lighting in particular are used to great effect to make the audience feel the discomfort and uncertainty that Winston suffers. Opening night sound is uncomfortably loud, and one has to physically block their ears to lessen the deafening volume. Whilst the audio and visual discomfort is necessary in translating the feeling out into the audience, it does seem overdone.
The occasional use of voice amplification, interspersed with unamplified voice and then incredibly loud and jarring sound effects gives an uneven quality to the production which is more than just unsettling, and borders on annoying. More amplification of spoken dialogue throughout would smooth out the enormous undulations in the levels.
Video is effective in conveying alternative locations, close ups, and in ramming home textual imagery that emphasises key themes. The cast also execute impressively fast scene changes which are carried out with military precision, every object and prop echoing the dystopian existence and Winston’s ever degrading state of mind.
Coming into this show without an understanding of 1984 may prove difficult for some. The adaptation chops and splices scenes, and regularly inserts themes and ideas without introduction. Without context, this could be confusing or worse, render important ideas into insignificance.
Character relationships suffer in this heavily edited adaptation. Despite this, the integrity of the book is mostly maintained, and the story’s emotional heart is successfully conveyed even with so much detail excluded. Overall the adaptation creates an Orwellian world worthy of attention.
If you haven’t read 1984, it is worth investing the time before seeing this show. It is not a feel good story by any stretch of the imagination, but the nuances in the script are more enjoyable with Orwell’s words ringing fresh in the mind.
Paul Rodda
When: 13 to 27 May
Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
Photography by Shane Reid
