Showing posts with label Melbourne Theatre Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melbourne Theatre Company. Show all posts

Dead Man's Cell Phone Melbourne Theatre Company Review

Posted by Should I See It on Sunday, July 11, 2010 , under , , , | comments (0)





Show: Dead Man’s Cell Phone.
Presented by: Melbourne Theatre Company
Directed by: Peter Evans.
Starring: John Adam, Daniel Frederiksen, Emma Jackson, Sue Jones, Lisa McCune, Sarah Sutherland.
Plot: A lonely woman in a café answers the ringing cell phone of a dead man. She is drawn into his family and his life.
Date Reviewed: 9th July, 8pm.

I won’t lie to you: I had an awful amount of trouble trying to write this review. Not because of time constraints or computer issues, but because of the play itself. Dead Man’s Cell Phone failed to excite any emotional response.

It’s easy to write on something you hate. A little more difficult to write on something you love. But when you have to write on something that you didn’t react to whatsoever, that is a challenge.



Last night’s theatrical experience was rather bizarre. The play never fully engaged nor really annoyed; it just WAS. I have never felt as passive in the theatre as I did Friday night, and judging by the tepid response of the rest of the audience, I was not alone.

I understand the play was trying to make a comment about our society; it’s just that I wasn’t entirely sure what it was actually trying to say. At first I got it: in this world of technology, does it really bring us closer together or keep us apart. Actually, the play isn’t clear on this point either. Ironically, it is through the ‘dead man’s cell phone’ that June is able to forge ‘human connections’, it’s just that the connections in the play are so ‘un-human’ that makes the point difficult to comprehend. The romance between Jean (Lisa McCune) and the dead guy's brother Dwight (Daniel Frederiksen), is supposed to be sweet, but the whole thing is so stilted (their love affair begins over embossed paper, seriously) that it never accumulates any depth that the audience can invest in emotionally.



Then, in Act II, something weird happens. Jean dies (well, I think she dies, or maybe she was actually dead the whole time, I'm not sure) and goes to a Laundromat heaven planet (no joke), and that was when Dead Man’s Cell Phone started to loose me. And the fact that Jean described that whole sequence as a Laundromat heaven planet indicated that the characters themselves actually had no idea what was going on. And when the characters in the play have no idea what is going on, how is the audience expected to follow? I'm still not sure what a laundromat has to do with heaven (or hell, or personalised heaven planets for that matter). The play is so busy being existential and surrealist, that it's not even sure of the point it's trying to male

The unnatural dialogue and the sheer force with which the play rams it ‘messages’ down the throats of the audience makes the play so alienating to watch, that it simply washes over the audience instead of inviting them in.



The performances were decent. Accents were passable, if not over pronounced and unnatural. Highlights were the dead man’s monologue and the beginning of act II. John Adam carried the whole thing with a bravado that actually made the awkward, stilted dialogue work. Lisa McCune was satisfactory enough, but her character lacked any sort of past. Why was Jean so lonely? Why did she lack connection with other people? She may be lonely now, but how did she get that way?

Dead Man’s Cell Phone is quite nondescript, really. It is neither magnificent triumph nor epic failure. It hovers somewhere in between, never really deciding what it is about or what it is trying to say.


Should I See It?

It’s not outstanding, but not a painful experience.




All photos courtesy of Melbourne Theatre Company.

Dead Man’s Cell Phone runs through to August 7.

Melbourne Theatre Company Official Site here.


Die Fledermaus Opera Australia

Posted by Should I See It on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 , under , , , , , , | comments (0)





Show: Die Fledermaus
Presented By: Opera Australia
Directed By: Lindy Hume
Starring: Antoinette Halloran, David Hobson, Amelia Farrugia
Date Reviewed: Friday 14 May, 7.30pm
Plot: I’m not even going to tell you the plot, because really there isn’t much of it, this show is all about farce, silliness and fun.


I was very excited to see Die Fledermaus as part of my subscription to Opera Australia. But this production of Die Fledermaus is a bit of a mixed bag.

The show starts off well enough. Actually, Act I works very well even with the complete translation into English. I didn’t even mind setting the show in the 1930s. It added a touch of class, glamour and sophistication. The direction is energetic and there is a pizzazz that carries the whole thing.

Then, unfortunately interval happens. All the energy and whim that made Act I so enjoyable somehow disappears. And the questionable directorial choces begin.

What the HELL is Cole Porter’s ‘Night and Day’ doing in a Strauss Opera???? And don’t even get me started on the random appearance of Marlene Dietrich in the party scene in Act II. Well, I know what it was doing there; It was meant to capture the ‘flavour’ of the thirties. Unfortunately their addition sat at odds with the rest of the show. And it doesn’t help that Yvonne Kenny sounded like a drag queen and completely managed to ruin a perfectly lovely song. If you are going to the trouble of adding a song (God knows why you would want to do that to Strauss, I’m sure he’s probably turning in his grave) why don’t you just put it in a key she can sing it (oh, I know she was actually trying to sound like Marlene Dietrich, but why ANYONE would WANT to sound like her is beyond me). And it didn’t help that it was accompanied by some seriously awkward choreography that made the whole song far more painful than it needed to be.

And then there was the random “let’s put in all of Strauss’ famous waltzes so we can have a pointless dance scene where the leading actors, their dialogue and the plot get completely lost!!!” scene which seemed to go FOREVER. And then there was a very big misstep of the extended third act opening, which included interaction with the conductor and concluded with an extract of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game.’

There is not a lot of plot to begin with, and with all of the (unnecessary) additions to the second and third acts, as well as TWO intermissions for a running time that totals 3 hours and 15 minutes, the plot and the momentum get completely lost (much like the purpose of this sentence). In making these decisions, director Lindy Hume managed to suck all the energy and freshness out of the show, leaving the rest of it less than satisfactory.

There were a few high points: The sets were remarkable. They perfectly captured the style of the era. Amelia Farrugia as house maid Adele was the stand out performance of the night.. Loving the hammy characterisation- clearly enjoying herself and the audience enjoys watching her. Also charming, well actually HILARIOUS was Stephen Smith as Italian lover, Alfredo.

The rest of the cast were decent, but not outstanding. Antoinette Halloran flubbed several of her big notes, and David Hobson was not nearly as debonair as the role needed him to be.

This could have been a fabulous show, but some unfortunate decision making left this production as merely decent.





Should I See It?

Well, it's not a must see.


Opera Australia Official Site here.

Madagascar Melbourne Theatre Company Review

Posted by Should I See It on Sunday, March 7, 2010 , under , , , , | comments (0)




Show: Madagascar
Presented By: Melbourne Theatre Company
Directed By: Sam Strong
Starring: Noni Hazelhurst, Asher Keddie and Nicholas Bell
Plot: In a hotel room overlooking the Spanish Steps in Rome, three versions of a story are told at three different times; by an older woman Lillian, a younger woman June and an older man Nathan. As each reveals how they came to be in that room, the audience pieces together the story of a young man's mysterious disappearance and its shattering implications. Nathan is in the room today, June a few days ago and Lillian five years ago.
Date Reviewed: Wednesday 3rd March, 8pm.

Melbourne Theatre Company can breathe a sigh of relief. After the disappointment of The Swimming Club, MTC is back in full form with Madagascar.

It helps that the play itself is tighter, more focused and better written than The Swimming Club. Better material means a better show.

Madagascar, by American playwright JT Rogers, is essentially three actors sharing the stage. They take it in turns to deliver monologues, telling their story piece by piece. Even though there are three different stories in three different time frames, the play is particularly easy to navigate. There are mysteries to be unravelled of course, and the play challenges the audience to put the pieces together, but it never confuses. The story moves easily between the three characters.



These characters are fully realised, fleshed out people thanks to the actors and a solid script. Even Paul, the missing man (who never makes an appearance) is a fully realised, complex character.

My own personal favourite part of the play were the echoes between mother and daughter. After June tells of Lillian’s drowning, we watch her drown in her own guilt and grief, symbolised by the pool of water that appears centre stage in Act Two. (I wonder what it is about the MTC and water onstage this season???)



Performance wise, the Madagascar is in excellent shape.

Noni Hazelhurst demonstrates her magnificent onstage presence, showing that she is far too good for City Homicide. Asher Keddie shows a fractured vulnerability that only comes in the very rich, and Nicholas Bell has the role that is the least flashy, but most real.

Criticisms are next to none. The characters seem to wander around the stage a great deal, and the costume designer should have inserted some sort of lining on Asher Keddie’s nightgown because it was pretty much see through.

Madagascar is a dark gripping tale, demonstrating a solid understanding of the way narrative works on stage. A good night of theatre.


Should I See It?

Yes, but it's not for theatre novices.




Madagascar runs until 3rd of April

All pictures courtesy of Melbourne Theatre Company

Melbourne Theatre Company Official Site here.

The Swimming Club Review

Posted by Should I See It on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 , under , , , | comments (0)




Show: The Swimming Club
Presented By: Melbourne Theatre Company
Directed By: Kate Cherry
Starring: Tina Bursill, Caroline Gillmer, Megan Holloway, Nicholas Papademetriou, Angela Punch McGregor, Igor Sas and John Waters.
Plot: In 1983, six friends were without a care in the world, spending one glorious summer together working and loving on a Greek island. Now that they are middle-class, Middle-aged, mid -career and mortgaged to the hilt, do they really want to carry all their burderns halfway around the world for a reunion?
Date Reviewed: Wednesday 10th February, 8pm.


The Swimming Club is the first play in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2010 season. It’s a new work from Aussie playwright Hannie Rayson, and unfortunately it’s not as strong as it should be.

Here are all the nice things that I have to say The Swimming Club: So it's great that Australian playwrights are getting work, and Australian actors are getting work putting on the plays that they have written.

And that’s about it.

Well, to be fair, there are a couple of good performances.

Caroline Gillmer gives one of the best performances of the night as Bird Rossitor. She is understated, realistic, and gives probably the most well rounded performance. Tina Bursill as travel writer Laura is good too, even though her 'Canadian' accent is a bit all over the shop. Newcomer Megan Holloway as teenager Sappho is also impressive. I look forward to seeing her spread her wings in years to come. And John Waters proves why he is one of Austalia’s best actors.

Matt Scott also provides some beautiful lighting. The scenes where the characters are swimming in the sea are particularly impressive. Actually, thanks to the lighting, those are the only scenes were you are actually transported into the story, as opposed to feeling like you are watching a play.



Now for the not so nice things.

As previously mentioned, The Swimming Club is a new play by Hannie Rayson. I have not seen any of Ms Rayson’s previous works, so I had no preconceptions going into the show; only high expectations.

This play doesn’t quite work for me: the first act and the second act seem at odds with each other. The first act uses a lot of different narrative techniques (jumping back and forward in time, monologues etc) to fill the audience in all he back story. While it is quite jarring for the first five to ten minutes, the play soon settles into its own rhythm. Then the second act uses a linear timeline to tell the rest of the story. It is strange coming out of the creativity of the first act, and is probably why act two looses a lot of its momentum.

In Act Two, the characters are older, but certainly not any wiser. Apart from Dave (John Waters) they don’t seem to have developed much in twenty five years. The characters are mostly cliché any way. Sappho I your typical ‘rebellious’ teenager, who rebels against her parents and their upper- middle class lifestyle by becoming a goth, taking ecstasy and dating a Muslim Emo (okay, so that last part is unique). Then there’s Kate who’s having an affair. Bird was left by her husband for a younger woman, and then gets breast cancer and has to fight it on her own.

And don’t even get me started on Nikos: the token gay man who is in love with Laura!?! Don’t get me wrong, Nicholas Papademetriou did a decent job, but I have no idea what the character was doing in the play. He was undefined, had no arc and no development.



As for the Plot: Greek islands- wedding- old lovers reunite…. This play is pretty much just a whacked up version of Mamma Mia, without the songs. Whenever the girl in the white dress appeared on stage I half expected it to be Amanda Seyfried and for her to burst into a chorus of ‘Honey Honey.’ I wish I could say it was like Mamma Mia without the dancing, but unfortunately there are a couple of times where the cast breaks out into some really bad Greek dancing (trust me, that’s a couple of times too many).

The constant references to 'The Swimming Club' were irksome. First of all, who would call themselves that? Who forms 'clubs' anymore? It sounds like something out of The Famous Five, not what six twenty-something’s would voluntarily call themselves.

I don’t expect things to end neatly tied up with a ribbon, but the ending was awkward: letting teenage Sappho join 'The Swimming Club' was silly. The whole idea of the club is that it was tied to one particular summer. And can I just say that every one who is a member of ‘the swimming club’ ends up miserable; why would anyone want to willingly inflict that on their daughter????

The play is too long; it needs at least half an hour trimmed from it. Even a day later I am left thinking about the play, but not in a good way. I am wondering what the point of it was. Was it to say that things are easier when you are younger, before you enter the disappointment of middle age, children, a mortgage, and maybe facing up to the fact that your life and your love isn’t what you thought it would be? Well, I thought that was just life. No need to waste two and a half hours of my time telling me that, aren't we surrounded by that every day?





And for my final rant: Angela Punch McGregor archaeology professor Kate Morton was absolutely awful. She was ridiculously over the top. There was nothing real or believable about her presentation of her character.

In the first act I found her irritating, but in the second act she was out of control. How can a director not helm in a performance like that? And for an actress with so many credits, I’m surprised that she never knew what to do with her hands.

Then I read in her bio that she is the Senior Lecturer in Acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Really? She is teaching the next generation of Australian performers how to act?! Heaven help us all!





Should I See It?

Nope. Save yourself the trouble.


The Swimming Club runs until 14th March 2010.

All photos courtesy of Melbourne Theatre Company.

Melbourne Theatre Company Official Site here.

The Drowsy Chaperone Melbourne Theatre Company Review

Posted by Should I See It on Saturday, January 30, 2010 , under , | comments (0)





Show: The Drowsy Chaperone
Presented By: Melbourne Theatre Company
Directed By: Simon Phillips
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Rhonda Burchmore, Shane Jacobson, Heidi Arena, Adam Murphy, Christie Whelan.
Plot: We are invited into the apartment of The Man in the Chair to listen to his favourite record, yes record, the 1928 musical The Drowsy Chaperone. As we listen, the show comes to life in his apartment.
Date Reviewed: Friday 29th January 2010.


'Every time I go to the theatre I say a little prayer: Dear God, let it be good!' says The Man in the Chair. 'Dear God, let it be good.' The simple wish of every theatre-goer. Sometimes prayers are answered. Other times..... not so much. But God must be smiling over The Drowsy Chaperone because it is, for the most part, good.

It helps that the foundations of the show are solid. The book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar is impeccable, and the music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison are infectious in the cheesy, nosalgic 1920s way they are supposed to be.

The story is simple enough to follow: We are invited into the apartment of the Man in The Chair, to listen to one of his favourite records, The Drowsy Chaperone. The show inside the show is set on the wedding day of glamorous Broadway starlet Janet Van De Graff and millionaire Robert Martin. Of course, the two must not see each other before the wedding.  Mix ups and hilarity ensue: The wedding is on! The wedding is off! The wedding is on! The wedding is off!

The show within the show is a bit silly, but an accurate parody of 1920s musicals. But what brings The Drowsy Chaperone to life is the commentary from The Man in the Chair that gives the show a sort of post-modern self-reflexivity that we have come to expect from shows of this type.


Adam Murphy and Rhonda Burchmore


Now, on to the production. Let's start with the good.

The show is funny. Not in an 'oh yes that's clever' sort of way, but actually funny, without being (too) crude. You laugh from the moment The Man in the Chair says his prayer to the theatre gods to the curtain call. The show is exactly what The Man in The Chair promises: an escape.  A witty, bright, sparkling escape.

The characters in 'the show within the show' are appropriately one dimensional. Some of the actors embrace this more than others. Adam Murphy as Latin lover Aldolpho is a particular stand out, as is the criminally underused Rohan Browne as George, the best man. 'Cold Feets', the tap dance between George and Robert to shake the grooms nerves is one of the highlights of the night. Alex Rathgeber as the groom Robert, is approriately schmacty, and manages to rollerskate blind folded with out falling over (something that particularly impressed me, some one who CAN'T rollerskate). Also a surpise is Heidi Arena, from Thank God You're Here, as she know precisely the type of character she is sending up.

But the show belongs to Rush, who inhabits the role of the man in the chair. The best moments are the ones where he joins in the dance numbers: his attempts at tap dancing, jumping on the bed, and, my favourite, drunkenly wandering around the background of 'Bride's Lament.' Too often I found myself looking at Rush, instead of 'the action.'




Geoffrey Rush



Now for the not so good.

The ladies in the cast (apart from Arena) unfortunately did not fare so well. It was almost as if they didn't really understand the 'shtick' they were suposed to be doing. Christie Whelan (Janet Van De Graaff) has a great voice, no doubt about it, but she never exuded any charisma to be believable as a Broadway starlet. Her lack of star quality meant that most of the time she was in danger of fading into the background.


Alex Rathgeber and Christie Whelan

Rhonda Burchmore as the Chaperone... I don't even know what to say about her. I don't understand her appeal. I don't think she is nearly as good as she is made out to be. In the three shows I have seen her in (The Drowsy Chaperone included) she was out-sung, out-acted, and out-danced by everyone else onstage.

And Robyn Nevin (who is, according to her bio, one of Australia's most acclaimed actors and directors) as Mrs Tottendale was....how do i put this nicely?.... awful. Cringeworthy. I just wanted her and her 'fancy dress' to spit-take themselves right off the stage.

The choreography ass uneven. 'Show Off' seemed to be screaming "look at all the ways we are trying not to copy the original choreography!" Yet both 'Cold Feets' and 'Bride's Lament' were fantastically orginal and the show was better off.


The Cast of The Drowsy Chaperone

The costumes- again uneven. Why is it that Melbourne designers cannot come up with attractive things for the female characters to wear? (see my rant on the costumes for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) Janet's two piece in 'Show Off' was not only ugly, but not in the period of the show.

And finally a note (or two) on the direction. As previously mentioned, the 1920s shtick was uneven. Alot of the theatricality was lost on several of the actors, incluing the ensemble. However, my biggest gripe was the use of space. Why did the entire show have to be squashed into the front third of the stage?! As a result, many of the musical numbers lost their impact. I understand that the 'show' was supposed to take place entirely within The Man in the Chair's apartment, but surely a better set design would have meant a more efficient use of space.




Should I See It?

There are some great laughs and a lot of fun to be had, if you can endure Robyn Nevin, and the dubbing of Rhonda Burchmore's final note in 'As We Stumble Along.'




All pictures courtesy of Melbourne Theatre Company.

Melbourne Theatre Company Official Site here.

The Drowsy Chaperone plays at the Arts Centre, Melbourne until the 27th February.