Adelaie Fringe. A-List Entertainment. Royalty Theatre. 2 Mar 2014
Waiting outside the Royalty Theatre one could sense a palpable air of excitement... and thatʼs just from the adults that the children had brought along with them. The reason? David Collins (half of the duo, The Umbilical Brothers). The children might not have realised what they were in for, but their parents certainly would have.
The anticipation continued once inside the vast old worldly auditorium with its red velvet curtains and faded opulence. How would The Luck Child, a one man show, go down at 10am on a Sunday morning?
Very well indeed, going by the continuos giggles from the 4 to 10 year old target audience and the laughs from the adults. Collins maintained connection with his wide age ranging audience through most of the 45 minute show apart from a couple of lapses, but as he quipped during the bows at the end: Who gets up at 10am on a Sunday morning? And the storyline? Surprisingly complex for a childrenʼs show, but made very accessible by Collinʼs skill as a mime artist, beat boxer, physical and vocal gymnast.
Set in medieval times far far away... or nearer depending on your mode of travel. Very close if you are using a flying dragon. The good wizard divines that the evil king will search out and kill the seventh born of the seventh child now grown into a man with six children and a very pregnant wife. The wizard sets out to find the child (as does the king). Mix in a mysterious river boatman, a large monkey and an impoverished travelling circus owner, and you get the makings of a cleaver vehicle for Collinʼs suburb range of physical and vocal skills.
The set? What looked like a collection of grey cardboard boxes stuck together forming a sort of mini wall. As the show opened up, so did the set. It morphed into a castle, a cave, a door and courtyard, and a few other things besides. Skilfully used by Collins to support the storyʼs journey. Simple but effective lighting and just a small dollop of pre-recorded sound which never detracted from Collinʼs performance presence.
Even the bows were fun, as all of Collinʼs characters (and there were many), took their bows - including the three headed dog. At the end of the bows, Collins explainied to the children in the audience that this is what live theatre was all about and that he would be available in the foyer to be photographed by them; to be in photographs with them... whatever.
A generous performer. An old fashioned story telling experience by an artist with singular vocal, physical, mime skills that appealed to a very young audience and to the inner child in the adults accompanying them.
Martin Christmas
When: 7 to 16 Mar
Where: Royalty Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Adelaide Festival. SKaGeN. Queen's Theatre. 27 Feb 2014
I’ve browsed through those books and have seen some footage of the great speeches (no, I don’t have a rare movie of Aristotle’s’ reply at the trial for his life, or Pericles’ grievance speech to the war widows and mothers, but you know what I mean). Belgian theatre artist Valentijn Dhaenens’ interest in this was a lot more ardent. After reading over 1000 speeches, he has collated some stirring stuff into this one-man tour de force.
The set comprises an array of microphones and a sort of chalkboard written with the great speakers and the year of their words that we will be treated to. Dhaenens, of slight build and in a smart grey-green suit, physically swells and builds into each historical figure in a stunning transformation. The vocal characterisations are absolutely incredible and there is a palpable sense of being in the presence of power and confidence.
Without narration, the audience is obliged to connect the dots. Herr Goebbels is dovetailed with General George Patton in a call to arms. The abdication of Belgian King Boudewijn in his moral protest against a pro-abortion bill is followed by Congo President’s Lumumba’s Independence Day speech, gloating over the liberation victory of arms against the Belgian colonists. There is a cacophonic medley of 1960s great Americans, principally about race. That was introduced by an amazing vocal mimicry of Hendrix-style guitar feedback.
Indeed, the speeches are frequently separated by live sampled self-harmonies further illustrating the power of voice and contextualizing the times. The cool, icy voice of Osama Bin Laden, five years before 9/11, made you contemplate the American hegemony.
Bravo! This is a don’t miss show. Nearly getting a standing ovation on opening night, I was hoping he would do an encore of Churchill or Hitler, but that was not to be. The hour-twenty went by in a flash.
David Grybowski
When: 28 Feb to Mar 3
Where: Queen’s Theatre
Bookings: adeladiedefestival.com.au
Adelaide Festival. Festival Theatre. 28 Feb 2014.
Where did those six hours go?
They flew by - but not before they were imprinted into rich Festival memory to be filed away among unforgettables such as Peter Brook's Mahabharata, Robert LePage's Seven Streams of the River Ota and Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal.
This is one of those special experiences that festivals are all about.
Roman Tragedies is a trilogy of Shakespeare plays, set in a contemporary newsroom and performed in Dutch. It incorporates an audience invited to sit onstage eating and drinking wine amid the action and keeping abreast of the dialogue through surtitles on countless monitors and projections. And Tweeting!
Audience members were incredulous when not only told to leave their phones turned on but given the hashtag #romantragedies to Tweet up the play. After all, it's hard to give a spoiler to Shakespeare's plots, but it is good to spread the word. Clearly Toneelgroep Amsterdam and their director Ivo Van Hove are confident about positive responses to the show. Hence, texting and selfies went rampant and people Tweeted each other as well as the play.
Video cameras add to the multimedia, delivering the action not only as from a newsroom with anchors at desks but also as a form of reality TV. Politicians are interviewed on camera. From time to time news tickers streak across the screens to add countdowns and current headlines to the information overload. A couple of monitors play local items such as the Clipsal car race.
‘Coriolanus’, ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Antony and Cleopatra’, which make up the ‘Roman Tragedies’, have become about men in suits. The centuries melt away to expose a commonality of power play. It's fierce and familiar politics. There is tub-thumping and backroom deals, corporate ruthlessness and raw political ambition.
There are wars, of course, and these are represented by the beating of drums and cymbals so huge and cataclysmically loud that the whole theatre vibrates.
The audience is invited to move around, particularly at scene changes. On stage there are couches and also bars where wine, food and coffee may be purchased. My Tuna Nicoise salad was superb but, to the distress of many, the savoury food supply did not match the audience demand on opening night. They had to survive on fruit salads and muffins or go into the foyer for chips and chocolates. They may have grizzled, but they did not leave the theatre. The production had cast its thrall.
The six-hour phenomenon also had generated a sense of fellowship - an audience on a long journey together.
Working in and around their audience, the actors keep their focus on the character and play. They are present but apart, existing in their own bubbles of disciplined concentration.
And what splendid actors they are. One after another outstanding performance emerges. When Hans Kesting as Mark Antony gave his honorable men lament after the death of Julius Caesar, the audience wept with him and sprang to spontaneous applause as he finished.
It is one of many potent moments. The death scenes are epic. Love scenes are passionate. Cleopatra screams like a gutted banshee. Enobarbus runs right out of the theatre, followed by the camera. In a desperation of screaming, wailing he appeals to the passing Adelaide public who may long be wondering about the mad Dutchman in the street.
When the action is less intense, the audience may indulge in distractions. The actors' dressing room is right there on the OP side of the stage - a row of mirrors, a lot of makeup and some dressers. And the actors are moving about, ready for the next entrance, or perhaps grabbing a discreet bite to eat. There are even computers onstage, too, for checking email or whatever.
Shakespeare purists may not thrive at this Dutch condensation of Shakespeare and its liberties with lines but this is immersive rather than classical theatre. It is grand and over-the-top like an opera. It is low and seedy like a political expose. And, it is in Dutch, a difference which soon feels strangely normal, despite the gutterals.
Even after six hours, the audience did not rush to leave. As one, it leapt to its feet to give a standing ovation that went on and on. And rightly so.
Samela Harris
When: 28 Feb to 2 Mar
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefestival.com.au
Adelaide Fringe. Adelaide Youth Theatre (AYT). Star Theatre One. 28 Feb 2014
I should start by immediately declaring my interests in this show. I was a part of the cast in Matt Byrne Media’s SA premiere of ‘Spelling Bee’ in 2009, and it is one of my all-time favourites! To say I approached AYT’s version with both excitement and trepidation would be an understatement. This production, directed by Brendan Cooney, was fantastic!
AYT are a company that traditionally produce shows with kids, all under 18. Although ‘Spelling Bee’ is a show about kids, the subject matter and themes are not really the domain of child actors; consequently AYT have, for the first time, increased their age limit to 25 and captured a cast of young adults. They have also taken their first step into the less forgiving domain of adult theatre.
‘Spelling Bee’ takes a hilarious look at the American phenomenon of kid’s spelling competitions. Whilst the show does have a comedic structure (double-entendres and puns are rife!) the genius of the writing is in the wonderfully captured, quirky yet sensitive characters. We laugh because we love them, and in most cases the cast of this production have understood this and played to the strength of the writing. The comedy is automatic thereafter.
The standouts are Buddy Dawson, as Leaf Coneybear, Jamie Hornsby as William Barfée and Tahlia Fantone as Olive Ostrovsky. The rest of the cast includes Mark Stefanoff as Chip Tolentino, Georgia Broomhall as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere, Georgia Bolton as Marcy Park, Mel George as Rona Lisa Perretti, Tom Bubner as Vice Principal Panch and Seb Cooper as Mitch Mahoney.
Dawson’s characterisation is outstanding. Initially it came nervously close to being too much, but quickly settled. He executed great character skill transforming from Coneybear to Schwartz in an instant and his voice and energy was fantastic – an audience favourite.
Hornsby was perfectly cast as Barfée and had a wonderful grasp on his character arc. His Barfée was the perfect balance between disgustingly odd and sweetly endearing.
Fantone was the most captivating of all the characters and captured Ostrovsky’s loneliness and sadness wonderfully. Her beautiful, sweet voice soared in the ‘I Love You Song’, and she was note perfect throughout the show.
Stefanoff’s, Chip Telentino was beautifully sung. The characterisation was cute, but needed to be pulled back a little. Broomhall was a wonderful Schwartzandgrubenniere and kept a consistent lisp throughout; she also played her character arc very well. Bolton as Marcy Park was so grumpy, so often and so well one soon began to think she looked that miserable all the time! Her smile came shining through late in the show however, and it was evident that she understood her character well. Mel George had all the right moves as Rona Lisa Perretti and certainly looked the part, unfortunately some of the songs were out of her range though, and she was undone by the tricky vocal line of the ‘I Love You Song’, which is usually one of the highlights of the musical.
Tom Bubner was hilarious as Panch; he was witty and dry, and his tall, lanky frame and retro suit were perfect for the role. Cooper also looked perfect as his character Mitch Mahoney and had a great voice for the ‘Prayer of the Comfort Counselor’, the difficult scoring of the ‘I Love You Song’ was also too much, but Cooper showed great restraint despite this.
Lighting Design by Rodney Bates was perfect and helped to delineate the fantasy scenes and asides clearly. Choreography by Ali Walsh was simple, effective and communicated the story line and Musical Direction by Ben Stefanoff had the whole show humming along at the perfect pace.
The decision not to put an interval in the show could have been capatalised on had it been advertised, I certainly would have grabbed more than one drink to enjoy at the fantastic cabaret seating set up around the theatre.
This show always seems to cop low audience numbers, and Im never sure if it is a publicity issue, or if audiences just miss the fact that it is a musical comedy and not an actual “spelling bee”! If you haven’t planned to see it, I do highly recommend you check it out. The show only has two runs left, so get in quick!
Paul Rodda
When: 28 Feb to 1 Mar
Where: Start Theatres
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Adelaide Fringe. Matt Byrne Media. Maxim’s Wine Bar. 26 Feb 2014
Is it possible you have not seen and loved at least one Matt Byrne show? dateless.com is the latest in a conga line of Vaudevillian comedies written, produced by and starring Matt Byrne, specifically for the Fringe. Always thematic and never phlegmatic, I have been entertained in fringes past by Pricks (doctors and nurses), PIGS (cops), Chalkies (teachers), Bogans (bogans) - the list goes on. This one is very likely about you, and if not, you are probably looking forward to your 40th anniversary.
Following the formula, we are introduced to George Carpet (Byrne), Rhonda Backseat (Kim York), Kendra Catley (Sophie Lee Hamilton), and Jack Lovegun (Marc Clement) – all on the prowl. The first five minutes alone covers the kaleidoscope of drama, pitfalls, exhilaration and disappointments of online dating as each one announces their particular needs. It is here that one begins to feel the presence of Byrne’s evenhanded and sympathetic writing on the online dating regime. Yes, double entendre, puns and gags follows in quick succession, but the thoughtfulness of Byrne’s approach is behind it all.
Besides the aforementioned dateless foursome, the actors are called upon to perform a number of ancillary characters usually signified with canny voice work, and body and facial language that while highly recognisable are never stereotyped. They are all fetching and/or cute. Byrne wrote distinctively for a great number of characters brought to life with successful individuality.
Byrne’s pathetic divorcee after 29 years was spot on. York’s Rhonda was warm, vivacious and deserving - you just wanted to reach out and give her a hug. Hamilton’s Catley was sensuous, provocative and suitably feline, while Clement’s Lovegun was, what did he say? Alpha male, alfalfa male? Anyways, he sprouted a fetching penis puppet with whom he sang a melodious duet! Bravo! When the actors weren’t on stage, they sat on an upstaging mile-long sofa and looked like they were waiting for the dentist. A word: gone but not forgotten.
The crowd loved it and you will too. Oh, did I mention there is also an opportunity to actually meet somebody new?
David Grybowski
When: 27 Feb to 16 Mar
Where: Maxim’s Wine Bar
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au