Category: Reviews

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Review: Home – Nest Ensemble and La Boite Indie at Roundhouse Theatre

Just to the left of centre, but endearingly universal, sits Home, the new production from the Nest Ensemble, and the latest addition to the La Boite Indie season. There are many astonishing parts to the production, not least of which is that Home is the second outing for the Nest Ensemble in the last six months. It was only in May that they premiered Eve as part of Metro Arts Independents. For those that see both, it represents an interesting discussion about the difference between the two venues and their indie programs.

Home premiered last year with Metro Arts. I didn’t catch it then, but I’m grateful to see it now. The premise is simple. Margi Brown Ash tells us stories from her life as an actor, wife and mother. She travels to Egypt, New York, Sydney and Brisbane. At the heart of every tale are questions of belonging. These are stories you want to hear. Continue reading “Review: Home – Nest Ensemble and La Boite Indie at Roundhouse Theatre”

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Review: Beauty Is Difficult – Heartbeast Vicious Theatre Ensemble at Trinity Church Hall

It’s always difficult writing a review for a show you don’t particularly connect with; one always wonders whether someone else would have been moved by the piece or inspired to critique it differently – of course they would. However, let’s begin at the beginning.

To use their own words: Heartbeast is

a not-for-profit theatre organisation that offers artists the opportunity to investigate and explore their performance philosophy and skills of artistry through an aesthetic prism that meshes heightened theatricality with the organic performance of archetypal, contemporary, local and world stories.

It’s a mouthful, but I think Heartbeast’s performance of Beauty Is Difficult at the Trinity Church Hall was true to this manifesto.

Trinity Church Hall in the Valley is a beautiful, cavernous and engaging performance space, and punters were received with enthusiasm. A program thrust in hand, we were asked to “back a winner” by placing our name under the character that we thought was destined to die at the finish. I was interested; this sounded interactive. Fun! So I bought a delicious hot chocolate and settled in for a good one.

Earning my gold star as a theatre-goer, I’d investigated the premise of the show and was excited to meet its remarkable line-up of characters; Hedda Gabler (Sherri Smith), Emma Bovary (Karen Dinsdale), Anna Karenina (Anna O’Hara), Phedre (Adrienne Costello) and Danni (Judith Turnbull), based on the character of Mrs Danvers from Rebecca (1938). C’est formidable, I thought!

These women led a cast of eight actors that meet in a ballroom, somewhere in the after-life. Controlled by a puppet master, they use their beauty and feminine wiles to survive the strange experience (I did wonder how someone could die if they were already dead, but I let it go).

Michael Beh, artistic director of Heartbeast and director/creator/costume designer of Beauty is Difficult writes in his notes that his show does, “not tell the story of each of the original texts but dips into them like a stone skipping across the water, allowing the audience to barrack for their favourite femme fatale.”

Mr Beh sets out to achieve a great deal in his 75 minute work (no interval) and on reflection, I think this is the problem. Continue reading “Review: Beauty Is Difficult – Heartbeast Vicious Theatre Ensemble at Trinity Church Hall”

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Review: A Headful of Love – Queensland Theatre Company at Cremorne Theatre QPAC

A few months after I was married I happened to be on tour for Queensland Theatre Company in one of their far-ranging theatre in education teams. This is the mid-1970s, by the way. Out little three-person troupe was playing far northern and central Australia in a play about a white boy who had run away into the bush. I remember he faced his demons and a very large (puppet head) crocodile (pre-Dundee days) during his adventures and, by play’s end, returned back home ready presumably to face whatever life threw at him. I remember the kids in the mission stations around Cape York screaming in delighted terror when I would emerge as the crocodile.

So it was at QTC’s latest offering Alana Valentine‘s truly wonder-filled play A Headful of Love directed by Wesley Enoch that I found myself witnessing another Australian play that follows a now-familiar track – the going ‘away’ from the known into the unknown (city to desert heart) to escape something. Typically, protagonists are either destroyed or resurrected in some way. It’s a theme that post-colonial Australia’s still obsessively examining in its navel-gazing, self-identification quest. I remember our primary school social studies courses being jam-packed with stories of doomed and dying explorers who had ventured into the centre of the vast continent without a clue. They were presented to us as heroes, and it was the kind of mad, boys’ own adventure, the sort that had infatuated imperial Britain.

Australian drama across the years has been quite keen on this trope which is, of course, drawn from a far earlier literary theme that examined the differences between city and country and ‘civilised’ v ‘uncivilised’ behaviour. Women and children in the landscape find their way into Australian art and literature in the 19th century. In dramatic terms it’s a set up that just works; the juxtaposition of fragile things against a rugged, harsh, and unforgiving landscape – the ‘feminine’ and ‘domestic’ entering the ‘masculine’ world of colonial pioneering. Putting an outsider into unfamiliar territory can make for tragic or comic material. In the case of Ms Valentine’s play – a little of both. Continue reading “Review: A Headful of Love – Queensland Theatre Company at Cremorne Theatre QPAC”

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Review: Escape From the Breakup Forest – The Mixtape Collective at Empire Theatre Studio

Watching the latest offering from the Empire Theatre’s Homegrown Season I was struck by the many similarities in subject matter, style and tone between it and boy girl wall, the escapists’ smash currently touring nationally. As the blurb for Steve Pirie‘s Escape from the Breakup Forest has it: ‘Boy meets girl. Girl leaves boy. Boy meets puppet.’ boy girl wall is also a comedy about a young man suffering the pangs of love while coping with an awful, problem-filled life. And then there are the puppets.

Look a bit closer and you’ll see a gallery of memorable bit-player characters, grotesques who serve as comic butts. There’s an unmissable satirical thread too, and both are filled with smartly-turned comic dialogue accompanied by jokey asides and witty pop culture references. As to playing style, the episodic nature of the play results in non-stop action and an energetic, physical performance from everyone on stage. The spotlight is firmly on the actors and their performance skills.

The plots are nothing alike, of course. This from the program notes for Escape from the Breakup Forest:

Josh has been with his first love for almost five years. On the eve of their anniversary Emma has decided that she wants to leave. She won’t say why. She won’t say whose fault it is. She just says goodbye.

All of a sudden Josh’s world becomes a whole lot smaller. Dinnertime becomes eating cereal on the floor. Work becomes a daily challenge to not punch people in the face. And the hollow feeling in his chest that was Emma’s parting gift just won’t go away.

One morning, Josh awakes in the Breakup Forest – a magical, mysterious place where the terminally dumped are sent until they can piece together the past and move on. Emerging from the forest is his hand puppet spirit guide, Curly. Together, the two must undertake an epic journey through the darkness of the forest to confront Josh’s demons, insecurities and fears.

Will they uncover the reason Emma left? Can Josh get over it? And more importantly, can he get over himself?

Despite any influences or surface similarities to boy girl wall, Escape … quickly establishes itself as a refreshing addition in its own right to the slew of new work being produced in Queensland’s very healthy independent theatre scene. It also marks the arrival of a new ensemble of performers: Steve Pirie, Ell Sachs, and Dan Stewart. Under the direction of Claire Christian and Ari Palani, they are in excellent form for the 90 minutes of  laughs, surprises and theatrical delights that is Escape From the Breakup Forest.

We follow our charming hero Josh (Steve Pirie) through school days, first love  (Ell Sachs) and the joys of the coupled life to break-up and break-down in a life that contains pop music to suit every occasion. The mood gets a little more serious on Josh’s testing ground – the forest where he awakes, and it’s here that the play moves from domesticity into fantasy.

Deep in the forest our hero must face and slay his inner demons in order to be healed and move on. Cue the entrance of some of the characters from his past and the start of the ‘buddy relationship’ with a delightful red puppet Curly (Dan Stewart). Curly, a former Olympian now turned spirit guide bonds with Josh on his quest for enlightenment. Sound improbable? Well, it is a hero quest in a magic forest, after all. Charlie Brown meets Dr Seuss with a pop music soundtrack.

Escape … is splendidly performed by the trio. Ms Sachs in particular is a delight with her gallery of marvellously observed caricatures. The Mixtape Collective have a palpable hit on their hands with this one.

The trio of actors along with co-directors Claire Christian and Ari Palani have a hit on their hands with this one.

It looks great – the monochromatic black and white set, props and costume designs are rendered in cartoon style with beautifully drawn stick figures, while projected slides of text and sketches complement the live action. The production’s minimalist design is not only visually charming but also wonderfully effective in enabling slick scene changes using various configurations of white cubes, efficient prop handling and quick costume changes. The three actors don’t miss a crisp beat in their transformation from action to direct audience address. They move, sing, dance and generally appear to be having as much fun as we are.

The script could tighten up a bit – I thought the ‘Chapter’ treating Josh’s schooldays was a bit long. In fact, about 20 minutes in I wondered whether the show was aimed at a younger demographic – another play about self-esteem for the high-school, perhaps? It moves on into grown-up land once  Josh leaves school, gets into a relationship, goes to work, breaks up etc., etc. If, at times, the script feels somewhat unsophisticated – jocks and sluts do make for obvious laughs after all – and if the epilogue gets a were bit sentimental for my taste, the production more than makes up for it.

At heart, Escape From the Breakup Forest is sweet and funny, and provides terrific opportunities for its actors to work their magic, and work it they do with gusto.

Despite its child-like appearance and emphasis on play, the work is sophisticated in theme, direction, and execution

Any deficiencies in the script are more than made up in this excellent production. I hope this show gets a chance to sprinkle some more joy around in a remount production.

This production is another in the 2012 Homegrown Series from the Empire Theatre Projects Company. With these new works, the emphasis is on the local, giving artists and creatives in the region a chance to develop their work. So far, the series has produced some real winners. If you are in Toowoomba on Friday or Saturday, do get along to the Empire for a 7pm start.

By the way, as wonderful as they are, I wonder whether it’s time for a moratorium on hand puppets. Just putting it out there …

You can follow the Empire Theatre and keep up with the latest on their Facebook Page.

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Review: He’s Seeing Other People Now – Metro Arts | The Independents at Sue Benner Theatre

Image: Katy Curtain and Norman Doyle – Photography: Amelia Dowd

In a city that looks remarkably like Brisbane, cameras are watching your every move. Riots are escalating beyond control. More and more people are disobeying curfew. In an unremarkable cinema, a political (or pornographic?) film is shown to an ideologically divided crowd. It’s the beginning of an evening that will spin out of control.

This is the world of He’s Seeing Other People Now, written by theatrical rising (and shooting) star and actress Anna McGahan. This is Ms McGahan’s first work as a playwright, and it’s directed by well-known local emerging director Melanie Wild.

Overall, the play is dangerously under-developed. The ideas and characters that are presented here seem half-formed and often superficial. Navigating the expositional landscape is difficult. I think the central premise of the play is that the citizens aren’t allowed to touch, but I’m still uncertain.

Unfortunately, Ms Wild’s direction does little to help the audience out. The two performers are asked to play a variety of characters. Some are recurring, others don’t appear more than once. Figuring out who is who is a confusing process. In addition, the staging means a small and two-dimensional performance space. What should be a physically tense hour ends up not packing a punch.

But all of that out of the way, this is a play you should see. I need to admit a bias here: I’m very good friends with optikal bloc, the team behind the projection design. This bias unfortunately means that you may interpret my following comments as disingenuous. I promise I’m being sincere when I say that this is one of the slickest audio visual designs a Brisbane stage has seen in years, let alone for an independent theatre program. The transitions between scenes are sublime and are the hi-light of the production.

The lighting design from Daniel Anderson is beautifully under-stated and intelligent. Phil Slade’s compositions are predictably accomplished and lush. Jessica Ross’ design binds these elements together into a seamless technical package that is simply outstanding.

Norman Doyle and Katy Curtain, the two performers, do their best with what is given to them. Katy Curtain does particularly well to find fantastically comic moments for her characters that give life and badly needed energy to scenes. Barbara Lowing and Lucas Stibbard provide well-performed, funny voice-overs.

There’s a strong theme of meta-theatricality running through the play that I can’t really comment on without spoiling wonderfully surprising elements of the show. The show’s attempts to didactically link its themes to reality lack a clear direction and purpose. I will say this: the final five minutes of this show are worth the ticket price alone. It’s ambitious. Successful or not, it’s sure to be a conversational landmark within the theatre industry for years to come. He’s Seeing Other People Now is sure to start an interesting debate about the limits and purpose of meta-theatre.

Go and see this show if you like to be surprised and you’re part of the Brisbane theatrical community. Being theatre-literate isn’t compulsory, but it certainly helps. If you’re a theatre student, you should absolutely see this piece for its important and unique contribution to new Queensland works. The play’s deficiencies are compensated with a short run time and exquisite technical design. He’s Seeing Other People Now will certainly be talked about.

He’s Seeing Other People Now by Anna McGahan plays at Metro Arts Sue Benner Theatre till 21 July. Details on website.