No-Nonsense Reviews

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REVIEWS

Murdered To Death directed by Ross Pearce for Peninsula Players. Drysdale Hall July 23 2008

Wander along Drysdale High St at 10.30pm any night this week and you’ll find a whole bunch of happily laughing, satisfied theatergoers wending homewards.

They’ve been to see Murdered To Death, and they will have had a wonderful time, having laughed since 8pm. It’s a joyful sight – and one that’s not exactly unexpected, because Peninsula Players have over the years made a specialty of producing lightweight stage comedies.

But the surprising thing this time is that the play they've seen was not exactly sparkling. Written in the 1990s, it was deliberately dated - set in the 1930s - and purposely creaked at the seams. The set and staging was competent but uninspiring and the acting standards were, well, uneven.

But this production stands as a prime example of how a theatrical occasion can become much, much greater than the sum of its parts.

Because given all the above, an evening at Murdered to Death is a very funny, happy experience.

The play is a modern spoof on all those old Agatha Christie murder mysteries recently revived on our TV screens.

It’s set in an English country house peopled with a motley crew of suspects and when the hostess is shot dead (in the library) it sparks investigations from a hapless police inspector and a nosey elderly female sleuth. Sound familiar? But this time everything but everything is played for laughs. The suspects are all totally without alibi, motive - or merit - and the detectives are bungling, inept and clueless.

Director Ross Pearce, aware of his script’s comedy potential, chose to present a simple no-frills production with his cast well rehearsed but without any stage device or distraction. This ‘deliver your lines clearly and don’t fall over the furniture’ approach actually improved the play by allowing the comedy to flow and giving the script’s joke lines plenty of air. So those actors with comedy experience had the opportunity to deliver them with relish. And on stage were three players with excellent comedy skills. Outstanding in this regard was Dennis King, who took his butler’s role way, way, WAY over the top to the absolute delight of every audience member. And this was balanced by the delightful deadpan of constable Keith Lowe, an actor of experience, excellence and perfect timing. Keith’s on-stage tormentor, the hapless inspector Pratt, saw Russell Campbell at his rubber-faced, frantic best. Russell played Pratt like Inspector Clouseau on a very bad day – and he milked every available laugh. Supporting this trio were stock-character suspects Tony and Bodil Wright, she a strident harridan and he a bumbling colonel, along with Emma Soloman and Marcus Savidis, as cheerful – and obvious - a pair of con-artists that you’re ever likely to encounter. Shirley Craig played her part-time sleuth ‘Miss Maple’ character with a charming, smiling ineptitude while Rhena King and Heather Dempsey managed to sail past much of the mayhem by virtue of being the play's victims.

Frankly, Murdered to Death’s simple one-joke concept of poking fun at the 1930s thriller genre shouldn't really appeal to sophisticated 21st Century tastes. And the plain presentation seemed so stark compared to today's expected elaborate lighting and staging techniques. But those happy customers at the end proved otherwise - and I was one of that happy throng. But to be truthful... I'm still not completely sure why it worked so well.

- Colin Mockett

An Italian Evening Café Concert hosted by The Geelong Chorale, Belmont Masonic Hall, June 28 2008.

Geelong’s Chorale traditionally has a good time with its annual Café Concert – that’s one of the reasons this evening had sold out well ahead with the minimum publicity. It’s always good to see and hear our premier choral group letting its hair down and performing popular pieces. But this concert had a little extra. Apart from the Italian theme, which allowed them to swing from Volare to Verdi, the Anvil Chorus to That’s Amore - and show a great deal of flair decorating the room – this was the cabaret that the Chorale introduced its new musical director, Manfred Pohlenz.

Manfred is a big, ebullient character with a booming baritone voice, an operatic background and a finely tuned sense of fun. From this evening it was clear that he and the Chorale are well suited – and their relationship holds plenty of promise for Geelong’s concertgoers.

Manfred took a couple of songs for himself – the opening Champagne Aria from Don Giovanni and a delightful duet, La Ci Darem from the same opera with the Chorale’s principal soprano Helen Lyth that set and cemented the evening’s fun and fine music theme. There were plenty of highlights – the audience loved Karen and Yvonne’s Cat’s Duet and bass baritone John Cameron made beaut job of Non Plu Andrai while big popular numbers like Santa Lucia and the Chorus of Hebrew Slaves showed the Chorale in fine voice. These were interspersed with plenty of Italian pop and popular arias. But the biggest memory this reviewer took from the concert was the fun and energy sparked by Manfred. And two big encores were testament to just how much enjoyment was had by all.

- Colin Mockett.

Cloudstreet directed by Mike Ellis for Geelong Rep, Woodbin Theatre June 20 2008

Cloudstreet was a 1990s best-selling epic novel by Tim Winton that traced the lives of two poor Perth families over a 40-year span following WWII. Its writing quality was such that it won the 1992 Miles Franklin award.

Now, adapted from the novel by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo and staged by Geelong Repertory Company, Cloudstreet has become - an epic stage production that faithfully traces the two families using Winton’s plotlines and dialogue. And such is the quality of staging, direction and acting that it should be lauded, awarded – and certainly deserves to be a company best-seller.

This production once more demonstrates that Geelong Rep, when in top form, can produce dramatic works of the highest standard.

Much credit is due to director Mike Ellis, who has worked on this production for more than a year. It was an epic task; those 40 years (and 440 pages) were condensed down to four hours of theatre – but even that is still twice the length of a normal Woodbin production. So, fittingly, Mike rehearsed his hand-picked cast and crew for twice the usual period - twelve weeks instead of six – and this showed in a whole raft of superbly drilled and tightly-disciplined performances. He also chose a clear, simple set using just two black benches and the minimum of props, requiring his players to frequently use mime and gesture to achieve their aims. This not only smoothed the scene changes (there were more than 100 scenes) but it also lent a uniformity - and naïve charm – to the whole production.

This thoughtful care was carried into every aspect of this Cloudstreet, from its excellent wardrobe to clever lighting and sound effects. But it was most obvious in a number of exceptional on-stage performances. Opening night had no less than seven outstanding lead actors – meaning that Scott Beaton wouldn’t have been able to count them on his fingers. Scott was excellent as the digitally dis-enhanced Sam Pickles, an inveterate gambler married to Dolly, a painted alcoholic slut gloriously portrayed by Glenda Maddison. Glenda’s real-life husband, Colin Urquhart, made his patriarchal, zealously religious Lester Lamb totally sympathetic and believable, while Rep newcomer Mary Steuten was so plausible as his driven but level-headed wife Oriel. Steven Simpson easily overcame his lack of physical size to dominate as their son ‘Quick’, while Chris Young made an excellent portrayal as his brother ‘Fish’. This was the trickiest of roles, to play someone both mentally retarded and psychic. And all these first-class portrayals were enhanced – but never overshadowed – by an exceptional performance from Lauren O’Callaghan as Rose Pickle, the downtrodden daughter whose against-the-odds success gave the storyline much of its force. Supporting this magnificent seven was a top-flight team of multi-skilled actors each taking several roles led by Barry Eeles – whose roles included the aboriginal narrator; Rebecca Bennett, who was a child, a pushover and an ultra-moral girlfriend in her parts; Lachlan Murphy who moved from uni-grad poet boyfriend to plumber; Charlotte Hukvari, who eased from tomboy to barmaid to operator/friend, and Deb Welsh who effortlessly moved from child-daughter to vindictive wronged wife to become another operator/friend. Add in Nick Frcek and Travis Eccles, who smoothly took in just about every other male role during the 40-year span, and it’s clear that this Cloudstreet has an exceptional cast and impeccable credentials. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Go – enjoy - and don’t be daunted by that four-hour length. The show starts at 7pm, it’s so enthralling that time truly flies – and those generous Rep people provide free refreshments during the second interval. You’ll be doubly impressed.

– Colin Mockett

Picnic at Hanging Rock directed by Iris Walshe-Howling for Anglesea Performing Arts & Clonard College. Kildare Theatre, June 6 2008.

Joan Lindsay’s fictional mystery novel, enhanced by Peter Weir’s film, holds a secure place in the Australian psyche. The turn-of-the-century tale of disappearing schoolgirls occupies similar ground to Banjo Paterson’s Man from Snowy River or the swagman in the billabong in that they inhabit an area of modern myth, with few people knowing –or for that matter, caring – if they are true, based on truths – or pure fiction.

This adaptation by Matthew Lyndon-Jones did little to clear up any controversy. Indeed, it muddied the water further, by throwing in some extra possibilities for the disappearances. But what it did do, thanks to director Iris Walshe-Howling and an outstanding cast, was provide an excellent evening’s theatre.

The cast list was interesting. It was made up of Anglesea Performing Arts players with drama students from Clonard Girls College, along with the girl’s drama teacher, Janine McKenzie. As well as playing an admirable period French Mistress, Miss McKenzie was also assistant director to the production. She and Ms Walshe-Howling must feel extremely proud – as indeed should every cast member – having presented such a well-orchestrated, tightly knit, well balanced and sumptuously visual piece of theatre. That visual reference was deliberate. For director Walshe-Howling (isn’t that a beaut name?) chose to take this classic literary work that had been a successful film and stage it almost as a piece of visual art. To this end, she made use of an elaborate set with a giant picture frame to occasionally stop the action and pose her actors for giant life-sized photographs. This was a clever ploy, for the script, which was quite clearly written for screen rather than stage, called for dozens of very short scenes, some of them only a matter of seconds long. To facilitate this, director Walshe-Howling kept almost all her actors on stage throughout, posing them motionless and facing backwards on different levels of the set when not concerned in the immediate scene. As they were carefully and accurately costumed, this added to the luscious visual element of the play. She also included some neat and timely projected graphics and came up with a really smart way to stage a screen script. But none of these innovations would have worked without a highly disciplined and tightly choreographed team effort from her actors. And they provided this magnificently.

The three male leads in Ryan Parker, Rob Phillips and Christo McRay played their parts with correct, tight 19th century restraint while Valda Connelly gave us the coldest of aloof headmistresses, rivalled by Nikki Watson’s faultless heartless teacher. The other adult actors, Amy Rowe and Kaylene Bielecki gave excellent support in a team effort that called for careful concentration. And that high standard of adult acting was entirely matched by an excellent, exciting – and highly promising - crop of schoolgirl talent, from Gen Tobin’s hysterical screamer to Nerida Munro’s excellent bewildered girl who returned from the rock. Maddie Field was simply outstanding as the put-upon drudge Sara. These in turn were supported by Elisha Ali, Reannen Fiscalini, Teneille Linehan-Downes, Rosa Napoli and Bridget O’Halloren in a talented, youthful - and so well disciplined cast. Bravo.

-Colin Mockett.

The Comic and the Curious presented by the Geelong Community Orchestra, Kildare Theatre May 18 2008.

The fact that the theatre was packed to the rafters was testimony to the regard in which this (mostly amateur with the odd professional here and there) ensemble is held, and the audience was not to be disappointed. Beethoven’s Overture Leonore No. 3 constituted a lively and rousing opening, followed directly by the contrasting On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring. This delightful musical picture by Delius was made all the more interesting by a charming introduction from the orchestra’s musical director Allister Cox. The first part was brought to a close by Mozart’s Horn Concerto No.2 in Eb K.417:Rondo featuring guest artist Joel Carnegie, French Horn. Geelong born Mr Carnegie is a master of this difficult instrument, and his performance exuded sheer joy. What an uplifting experience!

- Dennis Mitchell.

That was the Curious. The second half, which I caught, was the Comic element of this concert's title. Though rather more charming than laugh-out-loud, it still made a delightfully happy change from just about every other concert I've experienced. It started with a hybrid Nutcracker/Beatles medley by Arthur Wilkinson where Tchaikovsky's well-known ballet intros melded into Beatle tunes, so the Overture became Help! Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy morphed into Can't Buy Me Love etc.. Some of these worked better than others - but they were all enjoyable. Then came another parody in Eine Kleine Nichtmusik by PDQ Bach - which was an absolute delight. Behind Mozart's themes were a score of well-known pieces, from the Volga Boatman to The Skater's Waltz to the William Tell Overture to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This was a challenging piece that everyone - especially the orchestra - thoroughly enjoyed. Then came the Grand Finale piece, written by Malcolm Arnold for orchestra and four soloists. These were three vacuum cleaners and a floor polisher, expertly played by Cr Barb Abley, Dennis & Elaine Mitchell and David MacKay - all suitably serious in demeanor. It should be said that the concept of this idea was probably funnier than it worked in practice. But it did bring a fitting (sweeping) finish to a thoroughly enjoyable - and highly innovative - concert

- Colin Mockett.

The Tempest directed by Elaine Mitchell for Theatre of the Winged Unicorn. Ceres Hall May 16, 2008.

This could almost be counted a signature production for Elaine Mitchell. She has been cooking up to it for the past two decades. That’s how long she’s been creating visual and textile artworks of the play’s characters in her distinctive colours and flowing style. To see them realized on stage must have been as heartwarming for her as it was for us.

For this production was visually striking. Its set was brilliantly complex - and distinctive - in its drapes and fabrics, yet sparse and functional in its staging. It comprised a huge fairy grotto made from seaweedy fabrics that enveloped the whole stage, which pushed most of the action out on to a multi-level thrust stage taking up the Hall’s centre. We mere-mortal audience were arranged around the edges, looking inwards. And if the set was distinctive – well, it paled in comparison to the costumes on view. The clothes for this production were stunning in their drama and complexity - as were their accessories, make-up, hats, wigs, shoes – and fingernails. Every one of them designed by, and distinctive to Elaine. That was the visual artist at work.. On-stage, the theatre director Elaine Mitchell had assembled and drilled a team of actors to present her vision of Shakespeare’s final work with precise and loving care. These were led by a trio of outstanding performances. First up was Ben Mitchell, the director’s son. Ben should have been way too young for his part as the wizard father-figure Prospero, yet he carried the role with ease by the power of his voice projection and compelling stage presence. His was a dominating performance, helped considerably by his all-enveloping costume. Yet this was matched – and sometimes surpassed - by Steven Georgiadis, who played his slave/monster Caliban as a crawling, conniving, rebellious - and totally compulsive - alien. Balancing this was Julie Fryman’s light- sprite Ariel, the brightest, happiest, nimblest fairy of the bunch, with a delightful singing voice that harmonized beautifully with Heather Dempsey and Amelia McBride in their Goddess scene. But thinking back, there were eye-catching performances – and performers - throughout this production. Ross Pearce played his elderly retainer Gonzalo with both accuracy and flair, Robert Trott and Joshua Verspaandonk made highly creditable conspirators and John Calvert gave gravitas to his regal role as Alonso. Ray Jones and Michael Lambkin clearly revelled in their clown roles as Trinculo and Stephano, while Kath O’Neil and Alard Pett were so suitably staid as the destined lovers. Dennis Mitchell carried his small but crucial Boatswain part with practiced ease while Lauren Muscat, with Timothy and Josephine McQuillan provided delightful tiny sprites.

But memorable as the performances were, the lasting impression from this production was that we audience were able to see the visions inside Elaine Mitchell’s head – and that’s a place of fairies, Celtic music, Shakesperian plotting - and magic.

- Colin Mockett

Wicked Sisters directed by Michael Baker for Torquay Theatre Troupe Torquay Seniors’ Hall, May 15, 2008

Alma De Groen’s modern Australian social drama is popular with small companies. This reviewer has seen three different productions inside two years.

The reasons for that popularity are clear. Wicked Sisters needs only a single room set and four middle-aged female actors. That’s because the play’s storyline unfolds as the audience, behind the room’s ‘fourth wall’, eavesdrops on conversations between four old friends who have come together following the death of an academic. From these conversations come startling revelations. We learn not only of the dead man’s work and private life, but of his relationships with all four women - and their hidden inter-relationships.

As such, although production requirements to stage Wicked Sisters are simple, the need for quality actors, direction and stagecraft are compensatory higher than the norm.

I’m happy to say that this small production staged in Torquay’s Senior Cits Centre met all those needs, and some. And I’m also happy to add that this production of Wicked Sisters was clearly the best I have seen. The set was simple, uncluttered and looked real. The actors used its props and moved around it with practiced ease; and each looked and sounded correct for their characters.

This was particularly true of Lisa Berry, who relished her characterization of a shallow and self-centred, yet emotionally vulnerable real-estate agent. Lisa made her Lydia so believable – and recognizable – a character that she had women in the audience nodding and sighing in sympathy throughout. This was the case, too, with Maryanne Doolan’s public relations executive Judith. Both Lisa and Maryanne played their characters fairly low-key, lacing their delivery with feminine cynicism, which worked well as contrast to Meryl Friend’s grieving widow Meridee. This is the second time I’ve seen Meryl in the role, which she plays with coiled energy and a great deal of intensity, occasionally breaking into over-emotional shouting. There was more contrast with Carleen Thoernberg’s cool, awkward, scruffy, scheming intellectual Hester. This was a tricky role, and after a hesitant start, Carleen made an excellent job of it. The on-stage energy from these four flowed across to the appreciative audience with plenty of recognition, laughter - silence through the movingly emotional scenes - and gasps at the plot’s final twist.

Then the warm and responsive applause was richly deserved. Go see Torquay’s Wicked Sisters. You’ll be surprised – and you won’t be disappointed.

- Colin Mockett

My Old Man Said 'Follow The Van' written/directed by Colin Mockett for Drop Of A Hat Productions. Potato Shed, Drysdale May 13 2008

How many song titles can you find in this sentence?

When you were sweet sixteen and told me ‘I don’t want to play in your yard’, father papered the parlour by the light of the silvery moon while Albert and the lion sat under the bridges of Paris with a lovely bunch of coconuts and after the ball was over when Daddy wouldn’t buy me a bow-wow, Jeannie with the light brown hair showed me the way to go home and her old man told me to follow the van down to the Old Bull and Bush where a sweet little dickie bird beside the seaside will sing ‘wait ‘til the sun shines Nellie’.

The audience at a Morning Showtime at the Potato Shed on Tuesday May 13 which featured a new Drop of a Hat Production entitled ‘Old Time Music Hall’ would have had no trouble coming up with sixteen titles. With these and other songs and recitations, well known musicians and entertainers Colin Mockett, Shirley Power, Emma Jones, Roy Carson and Benito Costanzo took the audience back a century in a show produced, written and directed by Colin. You could be forgiven for thinking that the listeners actually remembered 1908, given the enthusiasm with which they joined in the singing (although there was one gentleman in the audience who was born two years previously, in 1906). However audience participation was a reflection of the fact that the songs and recitations chosen not only captured the pre-World War I era but also, if the estimated age of audience members was anything to go by, stayed on in popular memory right through to the nineteen fifties and sixties.

The 1908 theme was enhanced by Colin reading news items from a 1908 Geelong Addy and the projection, in silent picture fashion, of a number of pictures of Geelong from 1908 while Benito played a pianoforte arrangement of The Blue Danube. The program (as usual $1) successfully captured the Old Time Music Hall theme and the period costumes, particularly those of Emma and Shirley, were much appreciated by the audience. The show was organized in two halves with an intermission during which the audience had the usual delicious Baker’s Delight fare (and all this for $13) and the first part of each half opened with a trio of singalong songs with Emma, Roy and Shirley. Projecting the words of songs onto the screen was useful, particularly for the few, younger members of the audience such as me, who did not know the lyrics by heart.

Colin was ebullient throughout, rising on some occasions to dizzy heights of adulatory alliteration in his praise of performers or description of the upcoming songs. I think greater use of this technique would have enhanced the Music Hall allusion – not an insurmountable task given Colin’s elastic imagination and command of the English language. Maestro Benito provided piano and accordion accompaniment, and displayed his versatility by singing several Stephen Foster songs, accompanied by Shirley on the piano. Roy’s contribution, among others, was to wrench tears from the audience with his rendition of ‘When You Were Sweet Sixteen’ but he also had to bear the brunt of the Master of Ceremonies’ comments about his competence as a performer. The show benefited greatly from sub-plots such as this. Emma Jones, after a stint as a successful Likeme Biteme (the name says it all) in the recent production of The Producers at GPAC, brought all her enthusiasm to the stage in songs such as “Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow-wow” and terpsichorean activities as the famed dancer Lola Montez. That word beginning with ‘t’ which I found in the program was new to me too. I looked it up, it means ‘dancing’.

As Mlle Fifi La Bonk (‘Under the Bridges of Paris’), Mrs Lydia Dustbin (‘My Old Man Says Follow the Van’) or Carrie Moore (‘I Don’t Want to Play in Your Yard’) Shirley captured the essence of both the song and the character singing it. Her efforts were consistently appreciated by the audience including the woman next to me who sighed loudly and said to her neighbour on the other side – “Oh, that was just so, so lovely”. Need I say more?

-Bryan Eaton

The Producers directed by Davina Smith Crowley for Geelong Lyric Theatre Company. Ford Theatre, May 1, 2008

Christmas has come early for Geelong’s theatregoers and the choicest present in the stocking is in the unlikely form of a gay comedy Hitler musical written by an American Jew. The new Geelong Lyric musical that opened at the Ford Theatre was a smash hit and thoroughly deserves to be fully booked throughout its run…

Furthermore, this Geelong production was staged with delightful irreverence by a top production team using a cast of vibrant young troupers. It stands among the best musicals seen at the Ford Theatre.

In this reviewer’s opinion, it easily tops the professional touring musicals brought to GPAC – yes, even Keating! - and would compare favourably with any production currently on Melbourne’s big stages.

It was really that good.

Full credit to the show’s real producer, Ben Crowley with his director wife Davina, for bringing together such a classy, cheerful, competent, talented group then guiding them to create such a splendid show.

First of all, it looked good, with brilliant costumery. Take a bow, Maxine Urquhart and team. It also moved beautifully, thanks to superbly sleek, energy-filled choreography from Michelle Barber. It had a skilled, well-drilled and talented orchestra under the baton of John Shawcross and the lighting, sound and set movements were, after a couple of excusable glitches, pretty much faultless.

On stage, there was talent – and fun – everywhere, which somehow director Davina had managed to retain while still crafting a tightly disciplined, flowing show.

The lead, Max Bialystock was portrayed with joyful nuance and impressive skill by a top-form Scott Popovic, while Leo Bloom, his dupe/sidekick was Clint Sanders, a revelation from Ballarat. This stage newcomer managed his singing, dancing, knockabout comedy role with ease – underlined by a true mastery of comic timing. Equal to these – and at no time overshadowed by them - was Alicia Miller as Ulla, the beautiful blonde Swedish airhead. Alicia’s presence was such that even though she had much lesser time on stage, the show’s leads always seemed to be that delightful trio.

And backing them was an equally talented support squad with Grant Whiteside impressive as unreformed deranged Nazi, Franz – singing and dancing in manic style with pigeons among other things – while Brad Beales and David Mackay turned as hilarious a pantomime pair of mincingly effeminate stage pouffs as ever seen on the Ford.

And then… Behind this lead six was a further team of multi-task actors, singers and dancers so talented that it seems a slight to describe them as just a ‘chorus’. Reading the programme notes, they were a rare mix of GSODA Junior graduates with Lyric stalwarts and even a quartet who had emerged from the orchestra pit to shine in the spotlights. That’s Laura Elshout, Kate Zampatti and Xavier McGettigan – with a cameo from Ben Castle - and didn’t they do well in the company of experienced players Reyna & Chris Hudgell, Tess, Alex & Dominic Muirhead, Michelle Bradshaw, Matthew Bradford, Emma Jones, Dan Eastwood, Alard Pett, Natalie Gainey, J Charles Smith, Ashley Boyd, Felicia Fragapane, Madison Popovic, Morgan Jenkins, Elise Dahl, Edwina Powell, Mary-Ellen Hetherington, Lee Hutchinson and Dale Bradford – all former Lyric performers – with Junior graduates Tom Reed, Jon Lawrence, Marejka Knigge, Jared Smith and Tom Russell and super newcomers Andrew Cooke, Karlene Georgiades, Stephanie Jenson, David Keele, Julie Corneby and Duncan MacRae. I know it’s unusual to name an entire cast in such a big production – but they’re all deserving of praise, if for nothing else, for dancing with Zimmer frames!

Go see The Producers. It’s a delightful, joyful comedy romp that displays Geelong’s musical talent at its best.

- Colin (Elizabeth) Mockett

The China Incident written & directed by Peter Houghton for La Mama’s 6 PAC, Potato Shed April 19, 2008

This was not so much a play, more of an hour-long one-woman scene. But what a woman, what a scene – and what a highly polished performance.

The woman is Anne Browning, and her character is Bea Pontificis, a power-dressed and driven PR/diplomatic consultant to an African dictatorship. She’s a dab hand at working her battery of phones, which she does for the length of the play.

The fly-on-the-wall audience was then allowed to piece together her personality, her life that of her family and the conditions of her job through listening to just one side of each conversation. We learn that she’s pushy and clever, crafty and devious, calming and charming, scheming and stubborn – and prepared to wrangle every element of her life in order to achieve her short-term aims. She’s constantly in touch with her ‘General’ – clearly a despotic leader/dictator – as well as the US President, who mixes diplomatic carrots with an abiding interest in her underwear.

We learn that her left-leaning, alternate-living daughter’s wedding plans don’t meet with her approval – but we discover that the unnamed daughter shares some of her own devious and dogmatic nature.

Meanwhile her son is busted for drugs, her ex-hippy ex-husband wants to re-ignite their relationship, a civil war breaks out – and with one mistaken call she inadvertently commits the biggest of diplomatic gaffes.

The plot is probably a little outdated – I’m pretty sure this play was based on the former president, not this one – and today’s Mugabe regime makes Bea’s mad General seem quite civilised – and occasionally Ms Browning took her character over the top. But such was the skill, control and surety of her performance that the audience left satisfied having seen an extraordinary piece of acting – if not of theatre.

– Colin Mockett

Haneef: The Interrogation

directed by Gorkem Acaroglu for TopArtPartners

La Mama Carlton Courthouse April 16 2008

Some of the joys - and banes - of a theatre critic’s life come from the extremes of productions seen. I was reminded of this when a couple of days after Rep’s Little Murders I saw Haneef: The Interrogation – probably the most relevant, moving – and alarming – play that I have reviewed in years. It would also rate among the simplest, yet most effective staging of a real-life political event I’ve experienced.

Haneef: The Interrogation is small – a two-man 80-minute drama based on federal police tapes – but boy, does it pack a punch. Those tapes recorded the questioning of Indian-born Queensland doctor Mohamed Haneef following his arrest at Brisbane airport on July 2, 2007. Dr Haneef’s detention took place under the federal government’s new wide-ranging anti-terrorism laws that effectively require an accused to prove his/her innocence, rather than the onus being on police to prove guilt - an edict that has underscored every civilized code of law for centuries.

Dr Haneef’s detention was essentially because he had, in his last days before leaving England to take the job in Queensland, given his mobile phone SIM-card to a cousin. The cousin had, he said, asked for it in order to take advantage of the telcom company’s loyalty bonus-calls scheme. It would have enabled him to make cheaper calls to India, he explained. But that cousin was to later be implicated in last year’s terrorist attack on Glasgow airport which sparked a global terrorism alert – and Dr Haneef’s arrest on the other side of the world.

Given the real police tapes of a 12-hour session, playwright Graham Pitts simplified and condensed them – reducing the two inquisitors to a single interrogator – but then basically allowed them to speak for themselves. He then used a clever technique in getting his two players to, on occasion, break away from the action and address the audience. “What am I to do?” asks Adam McConvell, playing Haneef. “How can you prove that you don’t know about something… are not even interested in it?”

At another point, and on the interrogation side, Simon King asks the audience “What do you want us to do? Just let him leave the country? You would expect your police to follow up leads like this… SIM-cards and mobile phones are used by terrorists to detonate explosives…”

Both these actors were excellent in their mastery of roles. They remained totally believable throughout, never straying into histrionics. The play was conducted at conversation-level, and was all the more powerful for this.

And probably the most unsettling moment in the play came when Simon, the interrogator, revealed that under the new legislation he could himself be jailed for revealing aspects of the act. “If it can happen to me, it can happen to you,” he said, pointing to the audience. This play isn’t fiction – it’s main theme is that our legislators have now undermined the basic freedom of all Australians at a single stroke. What happened to Mohamed Haneef – being lifted from a public place and detained for 12 days – can now happen to anyone in our country – tomorrow. Director Gorkem Acaroglu heightened the play’s intensity by giving her actors a simple, stark stage of an innocently empty room holding a dozen chairs. But dominating this was a screen showing four changing ‘hidden camera’ images of the action from a dozen different angles.

And somewhat surprisingly, this treatment meant that Haneef: The Interrogation at no time came across as heavy politically-driven propaganda. It was compelling drama and excellent theatre. The word is that this play is coming to our Potato Shed. When it does, go see it. It will open your eyes and expand your theatrical experience. – Colin Mockett

I Remember Geelong When...

by Colin Mockett & Shirley Power for Drop Of A Hat Productions.

Potato Shed, Drysdale, April 15, 2008

Do you remember the advertisements for that most famous of Irish stouts? Well, recent research shows that a pint of Guinness a day is indeed good for you. It is more effective than a pint of lager, and just as good as an aspirin a day in reducing the possibility of blood clots and the prevention of heart attacks. After seeing a recent Drop of a Hat Production of I Remember Geelong When…. I am convinced that a dose of nostalgia has the same beneficial effect as a pint of Guinness, unmarred by the soporific effect of that dark brew. I Remember Geelong when… was created by Colin Mockett and inspired by short stories on this theme in the Geelong Seniors Festival Book of 2007. Using their hallmark combination of music, narrative and PowerPoint display, Colin and Shirley Power take the audience back to a time in Geelong when local government was a male prerogative, Bright and Hitchcock’s was the emporium of choice, the six o’clock pub closing turned locals into travellers who drove to Queenscliff for a beer and songs populating the Geelong hit parade and played on manual juke boxes in cafes on Moorabool Street were determined by sales at Allen’s music store and the number of written requests received by 3GL. Who doesn’t remember As Time Goes By from the 1942 film Casablanca, Fats Domino’s 1940 hit Blueberry Hill or the Elvis hit of 1960, It’s Now or Never? These and other songs highlighted the journey back to the nineteen thirties, aided by some wonderful photographs of Geelong, Ocean Grove, Queenscliff and Barwon Heads and the people who made news over the years, some of whom were in the audience at the premiere performance of I Remember Geelong When… at a packed Potato Shed in Drysdale. You don’t have to hail from Geelong to enjoy this production. I don’t and nor does Colin, for that matter. So why does the show work so well? I think there are a number of reasons. Shirley’s beautiful articulation of timeless popular songs is one. Colin’s ability to create a historical backdrop with a combination of pictures and blend of weighty and quirky facts, peppered with the fads and foibles of men and local councils, is another. A few period jokes, from Colin of course, and readings by both Shirley and Colin from the Geelong Seniors Festival Book of 2007 underscored the non-commercial, innocent, simpler and slower times that audience members clearly recalled and seemed to relish. Finally the fact that the show taps so effectively into one’s own memories somehow validates who you are and where you have come from, even if it is not Geelong. But I wonder however, if a map of Geelong with an ‘X’ marking the spot or a recent photograph of the site in question, would have helped the audience to more readily locate the position of buildings seen in subsequent photographs. I thoroughly recommend the show and when the next opportunity arises, forgo your pint of Guinness and see this show….. it really is good for you. - Bryan Eaton

Little Murders

directed by Geoff Gaskill for Geelong Repertory Company

Woodbin Theatre

April 11, 2008

Director Geoff Gaskill brought many innovative ideas to this American black comedy. Some worked, some didn't - and it's unfortunately that one of these was major. Little Murders was written in the 1960s by Jules Feiffer, a New York cartoonist. Feiffer used his cartoon technique of exaggeration to highlight the social ills in his society at that time, creating a darkly black comedy. Those social ills encompassed motiveless shootings, harassment of women by heavy breathing phone calls – and it was a time when anyone outside the norm risked being beaten up by rednecks. Director Gaskill chose to stage this dark period piece as a ‘play within a play’ in a pseudo TV studio set-up, with a stand-up comedian (Paul Friend) telling jokes during scene changes. That was a little confusing – but not as much as the decision to transpose the whole play and set it in modern Australia. As a result the audience was handed a plotline where an unnamed Australian city (with streets named Gertrude, Russell, Spring etc) has its people living under siege from random shootings; where families have come to ignore their regular heavy breathing calls, beatings are random and expected and homosexuals are afraid to come out of the closet. As a result, this Little Murder’s humour changed. Rep’s audience wasn’t laughing in recognition of Feiffer's dark humour – it was giggling at the outlandish silliness on view. And this was a pity, because there were also some excellent acting performances in this production. Philip Besancon gave a study of stage concentration as his role of a totally beaten photographer called for him to stand motionless for long periods, but then interject a telling word or phrase. Claudia Clark and Stuart Pilgrim gave us a manic, frantic – but word and action perfect - uptight married couple while Christine Davey showed her acting intensity with a trio of different cameo roles, one of which was unable to be removed from a New York Jewish accent. Sarah Freeman made the most of her pushy-female role, while Catherine Larcey added to the play’s confusion by portraying a teenaged boy spending his time literally in the closet during the first half, before coming out as a glamorous girl in a little black dress in the second. Miriam Wood and Nick Frcek were bit players and Paul Friend made a pretty good fist of his task as studio warm-up man - but he was always going to experience difficulty working so confused an audience. - Colin Mockett

Lysistrata

directed by Bruce Murray for Geelong Repertory Company

Woodbin Theatre

February 1, 2008

Geelong Rep has kicked off its 2008 theatre season with a big, bold, daring and controversial play, Lysistrata. It’s big, with a cast of 26 – difficult to manoevre around the compact Woodbin stage, even though it is (quite cleverly) set as a two-tiered version of ancient Athens. It’s bold - the storyline, set in Ancient Greece, concerns a strike of sexual favours by the women of two hostile nations in order to end their war. It’s daring, because Rep put this landmark production in the hands of a first-time director who chose to set his play in 412 BC but use a script written in 2003. And it’s controversial not only because of its sexual content and dangling limp-stiff phalluses, but it contains nudity that is absolutely, indisputably and totally gratuitous. I have to make my position clear here and say that the two aspects of nudity – a quick flash of a very senior male organ and a long, lingering pose by a comely young female, though quite unnecessary to the plot, each comes at times very welcome in a play that flounders, rather than wallows in its sexuality.

For director Bruce Murray’s choice to mix old and new concepts with broad, bawdy content doesn’t produce a hybrid - instead, this is pretty much a mongrel of a production. The staging is frequently clumsy and some concepts are curiously surreal. This is a comedy that starts with five minutes of thunderous gunfire depicting the horrors of war; yet a crucial scene where elderly women drench their male counterparts to begin a revolt amazingly uses tiny dribbles of water from diminutive jugs.

And then, surprisingly, amid all these bizarre impressions – of conflicting underwear, static staging, comic impersonations and toy plastic armour some social truths emerge – along with several promising performances.

It’s a fact that every member of the show’s big cast is well-drilled, word-perfect and clearly enthusiastic to their cause. The cast is led by Kate Hunter, who plays Lysistrata with unrelenting stridency. Kate leads a raft of players brought from Torquay Theatre Troupe – enough to almost constitute a calling this a co-production - including Michael Lambkin, (he of the flashed organ) Fred Preston, Terry Roseburgh, Carleen Thoernberg and the outstanding Steven Georgiadis. Steven’s timing – so important in a comedy – makes his scene with teasing wife Rhiannon Hodgkinson the play’s high point. There are neat portrayals from Barry Eeles – who constantly challenges his stern image, and newcomers Carina Machnyk and Zoe Prem along with a couple of Rep’s highly promising new wave of performers in Rebecca Bennett, Deb Welsh and Charlotte Hukvari. Charlotte’s part capsulates the Repertory experience – in the company’s last production she played the lead role in Educating Rita. This time she’s a statuesque nude, such is the variety of an actor’s life. Lysistrata’s Hellenic company is completed by a swag of Rep dependables led by Ros Romney and including Vonnie Pilgrim, Brendan O’Halloran, Keith Smith, Judy Ellis and Russell Campbell with some sterling support from Shirley Craig, Chris Marshall, Kevin McCormack, Kane Oman, Michael Urquhart, Allan Watt and Elizabeth Tai. Lysistrata is big, it’s bold, it’s daring and it’s full-on relentless – enough to leave its audience, unlike the play’s menfolk, yearning for a little gentle subtlety from somewhere.

- Colin Mockett

Dimboola

directed by Justyn Rowe for Encore Theatre Company
Potato Shed, Drysdale

December 6 2007
This was a big, well-staged production of Australia's favourite cringe-making Ocker play.
For the uninitiated, Dimboola, the play, takes the form of an Australian country wedding with the audience becoming 'guests' at a reception that includes every ugly Aussie scene imaginable, from underlying family feuds to religious spats, gatecrashers and boorish drunks.
The Potato Shed venue was thoughtfully converted for this purpose with the bridal table highly visible on a raised platform along one entire wall, while selected family members and interlopers were seated at tables between the platform and audience 'guests' who were also seated at tables.
The scene was set before the production began, with a couple of overbearing louts, (Nick Frcek and Slavco Zwirn) - later to become gatecrashers - outside abusing 'guests' before their arrival, while 'family members' mingled with guests in the foyer , showing them to their seats to be entertained by a very competent musical group led by 'Lionel Driftwood' (Colin Mack). The latter parts of this audience acclimatization worked well, but the former not at all, mainly due to a distinct lack of relevant or humorous repartee from the gatecrashers. The pair's loud and repeated taunts of "Where's yer permit?" were simply bewildering to most 'guest' audience members.
The same one-line taunt was boorishly repeated again and again once the pair had 'gatecrashed' the event, usually to fill the many gaps and pauses in dialogue from the bridal table and beyond.
For its part the wedding party displayed a remarkable range of acting ability. Notable were Shane James and Rob Macleod as the feuding fathers of a mismatched bride & groom, Trish Redman, who made her maid of honour into a lovable flirt, and Justyn Rowe who played an impossibly tipsy uncle of the groom. The various degrees of acting drunken behaviour became a feature of this production, it was displayed by almost of the support cast, from priest Bob Ball collapsing into the cake to best man Chris Young's rambling indiscreet - and pretty much incoherent- speech to groom Troy Wilson's mute staggering through to 'crusty old maid' Susana Nicholls literally letting her hair down once liquor was applied. Supporting these caricatures (again, quite literally) were bride Claire Hamilton, her mother Lee Foyster, and in-laws Melissa Harvey, Becci Valentine and Samantha Clark. Geoff Sadler played a hapless blow-in reporter.
The ETC is a new company with a good deal of ambition, plenty of ability - and much to learn. All were displayed by this production, where just a couple of lighter touches would have so much benefited what became essentially a drawn-out series of relentlessly loud and ill-mannered over-the-top caricatures.

- Colin Mockett

Arsenic & Old Lace
directed by Maryanne Doolan for Torquay Theatre Troupe,

Torquay Seniors Centre,

30 Nov 2007
Every theatre company has its own unique atmosphere, made up from the sum qualities of performance combined with the 'feel' of its theatre. With TTT that atmosphere can be capsulated in one three-letter word. Joy.
This begins with the front-of-house staff, who, though clearly inexperienced, almost radiate a sense of 'Hey, look at what we've achieved just by being here.'
And that joyful feeling is transmitted through to the audience, who appear so happy and proud to have a good local theatre company - even if it does have to borrow a performance space from the local seniors club.
That was not all the company borrowed for this production. The programme thanks Geelong Rep, Peninsula Players and Lyric Theatre Co for loans of costume, props and equipment - and that could also extend to the borrowing of a couple of actors, too.
And these will all be returned, I'm sure, having been subject to that special brand of Torquay enjoyment. Because the font of TTTs happiness is its on-stage crew. The cast of this production was so clearly having a good time that their elation radiated almost visibly from the production area.
I say 'production area' because there was no formal stage - the awkward-shaped room was divided lengthwise with the audience taking half while the cast worked on a large set cleverly fashioned to incorporate the room's foibles.
Making most use of this space was Michael Baker in the lead role of Mortimer Brewster. He bounded scurried, scampered and leapt around the set in a frenzied panic throughout - after all, he had just learned that his maiden aunts were misguided mass murderers. In total contrast, Terry Roseburgh and Carleen Thoerberg played the aunts as ultra-gentle sweet innocents, their calm courtesy adding weight to Michael's flat-out panic. As an added foil, their brother and Mortimer's uncle Teddy was a lovable lunatic convinced that he was president Roosevelt - and so adeptly and sympathetically portrayed by Michael Lambkin.
But then entered the villain, in the form of Mortimer's nasty criminal brother Jonathan, played with wicked relish by Barry Eeles. Barry and his degenerate sidekick Dr Einstein (Bryan Eaton) were both 'borrowed' actors, imported from Geelong companies. They had clearly caught the TTT joy, and simply wallowed delightfully in their villainy. Somewhere in the resulting mayhem were slotted Mortimer's fiancé Elaine, whose bewilderment was neatly portrayed by Lisa Berry, and a trio of sympathetic but dumb cops in Martin Duke, Kevin Fitzpatrick and Fred Preston. Her father and their Lieutenant were ably portrayed -in dual roles - by another highly capable import in Bruce Murray. Sterling support came from Marie Darby and Robert Roseburgh - and also the tech, backstage and pre-production crews, whose fine input gave the whole production its authentic 1940s feel, with suits, hats, dresses and hairstyles all suitably in keeping.
At base, Arsenic & Old Lace is an absurd farce, and a dated one at that. But it is remarkably well written and crafted, so that when performed adeptly - as it was this time - then the play's humour easily transcends its outdated vintage character.
And then we got a bonus - in all that Torquay joy.
- Colin Mockett

Educating Rita
Directed by Stacey Baldwin for Geelong Repertory Theatre Company

Woodbin Theatre

November 29, 2007
This was a perfect play for Rep's intimate Woodbin theatre space, with a cast of two and a single unchanging set. And the company made a very good job of it.
Willy Russell's thoughtful, intelligent, study of the dynamics of a spring/autumn, have/have not, U/nonU relationship was presented on an excellent authentic-looking set under the control of an enthusiastic young director.
Director Stacey Baldwin admitted in the programme that she hadn't seen the play before being asked to handle it, but 'fell in love with it' having read the script.
This was evident in her steady, sure direction and stimulating casting.
It's no secret that seasoned Geelong actor Colin Urquhart has long coveted the part of Frank. He's a perfect fit for the jaded middle-aged university professor - and he clearly relished this opportunity, revelling in every choice line.
Colin possesses a powerful stage presence that can sometimes be a problem to directors - he can easily overwhelm lesser talents on stage. But not in this case.
That's because for the key part of Rita, Stacey chose relative newcomer Charlotte Hukvari, who has plenty going for her. She's tall, slim, young and bright. She has a brilliant smile and striking, model-girl good looks. She possesses excellent acting skills and a stage presence that's every bit as commanding as Colin's.
The pair worked well on stage together, and both had clearly laboured long and hard on their hefty scripts - they were on stage virtually throughout a long 2 ½ hour play with dozens of scene changes, yet were word, movement - and costume change - perfect.
And such is the quality of Russell's script, that's all was needed to do to produce a memorable evening's theatre.
On the downside, Stacey's full-on direction lacked subtlety, allowing some dramatic and humorous opportunities to be overlooked - and Charlotte's English north-country accent, though entirely consistent throughout, was at not altogether exact. Imagine Julia Zemiro impersonating John So and you'll have an approximation. But having tuned in and overcome the mangled language, we audience were able to enjoy two fine actors in a very good production of an excellent play.
And as a bonus, with Stacey and Charlotte, Geelong can anticipate two emerging new theatre talents packed with potential.
- Colin Mockett

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Construction of the Human Heart
Directed by Brett Adam for Keep Breathing Productions
Potato Shed November 22, 2007
Given playwright Ross Mueller's history of writing radio plays, this at first appeared to be a live on stage play reading. The two actors were seated square-on to the audience, reading their scripts. The set was two chairs on a bare stage.
But this first impression was deceiving. They were, in fact, reading a first-draft script they had written, and the set wasn't bare, it was minimalist - allowing the most subtle of nuances to become magnified without distraction.
And this look behind the obvious element, almost 'what-you-see-isn't-what-you-get'
was carried into the script. Far from being a straight radio play about a journey with a child in a car, as first heard, the story became a study of grieving, then evolved into exploration of close relationships - then an almost therapeutic examination of the break-up of a partnership.
In short, this was a fascinating play on a number of levels that was both thought-provoking and absorbing. And this was all achieved inside 70 minutes in a single act.
It's small wonder that Construction of the Human Heart is held as an excellent example of modern theatre.
This was a small, portable production that had just about everything. This started with highly insightful writing - from Geelong's Ross Mueller; it then had tight, clever direction that never interfered with the play's flow- from Brett Adam - and it then gave its the two actors the opportunity to display exceptional up-close and personal skills. This was taken up with relish by Maria Theodorakis and Todd MacDonald. Add some spot-on sound and lighting cues from Casey Bennetto and Rob Irwin and the result was, simply, an excellent and memorable evening of theatre.
Please Keep Breathing more.
- Colin Mockett
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Key For Two
directed by Dennis King for Peninsula Players
Drysdale Hall November 15 2007
Breathing new life into dated English farce is a specialty down Drysdale way. The town's Peninsula Players - and in particular director Dennis King - can weave spells over audiences so that their belief is suitably and thoroughly suspended within five minutes of the houselights dimming.
That was certainly the case with this play, written in 1983 by John Chapman and Dave Freeman. It was set in a different place and a different era - England, pre AIDS, pre-mobile phones and still relishing post-pill sexual freedoms. At that time and place, promiscuity was a hoot - if you could get away with it. And the contrivance of finding ways to get away with it was the basic plot of Key for Two.
The single-joke plotline had separated wife Harriet living in comfortable relationships with two married men, both of whom are cheating on their wives and each unaware of each others existence. But this cosy arrangement went haywire when a sexy female friend - also separated - turns up to stay, the two lovers arrive at the same time - followed by their wives and the newcomer's drunk husband. Stir in a mythical mother, a broken leg and crook back, gallons of vodka and brandy and. believe it or not. you had a night of riotous laughter.
It shouldn't have happened, I know. We should have seen through all the obvious moves with 'Oh that couldn't or wouldn't really occur.' and scoffed with 21st century scorn. But we chose not to. That's the PP's secret spell at work. Instead, we laughed at all the ridiculous antics, then laughed again as our credibility was stretched way, way beyond belief.
Much of this was due to the on-stage cast playing every move straight down the line. Meryl Friend played Harriet with a knowing mix of sly smiles and twinkling innuendoes while Lena Townsend made the most waspish vamp of a friend. As for the two husband/lovers, Russell Perry made his a jovial bumbling fool while Paul Friend was more knowing, but still so easily hoodwinked. Shane James was a perfect shambling drunk while Bodil Wright and Lee Foyster played the two wronged wives as upright, straight-laced - and totally humourless. Dennis King's direction kept the pace cracking along - but probably the biggest contribution to the evening's fun was simply the Players' reputation. We knew what we were watching had absolutely no relationship to reality - so we were able to laugh long and loud at the absurdity of it all.
And everyone had a happy, fun - and delightfully refreshing - evening.
- Colin Mockett

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