‘Rebecca’ was written in 1938 at the age of 31, by the frostily private recluse, who rarely mixed in society, Dame Daphne du Maurier. It is suspected that ‘Rebecca’ was heavily plagiarised from a Brazilian novel by Ms Nabuco. Clifford Williams have now revised the 1940 stage adaptation of ‘Rebecca’, which ran for 357 performances.

Alfred Hitchcock’s film, based on her novel, was one of the top five box office hits of 1940. In 1941, it reaped nine Oscar nominations, winning ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Cinematography’.  Her friendship with Hitchcock saw her write more cinema scripts for him, including ‘Jamaica Inn’, the horror of ‘The Birds’ (also plagiarised?) and the creepy, sex novel ‘Don’t Look Now’. Du Maurier’s novel ‘Mary Anne’ is a fictionalised account of the story of her great-great-grandmother, Mary Anne Clarke who was mistress of King George III’s son, Frederick Augustus known as the ‘Grand Old Duke of York’. When the bi-sexual author was 21, she wrote ‘The Doll’, a suspense tale about a young woman’s obsession with a mechanical male sex doll.

This excellent, two and a half hour Gothic love mystery, set in du Maurier’s Cornwall, is being presented by the Harbour Theatre Inc. at the 1930’s décor Camelot, 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park, with shows nightly at 7.30 pm until Saturday 20^th June, and a matinee on Sunday 21^st June at 2.00 pm.

An excellent set. The white proscenium curtains had a massive photo of the De Winter’s country mansion, Manderley, projected onto them.

The interior shows the sitting room of the De Winter house in Cornwall in the 1930s.

The lower halves of the walls are wood panelled, with the arsenic green coloured paint above. Centrally is an arched staircase with columns on each side; this was used to great dramatic effect during the play. The room is furnished with various antique furniture including a couple of pedestals for ornaments, a chaise longue, tables and chairs. There was a balcony with plants on each side of the stage. Brian Mahoney, Peter Kirkwood, Rob Tagliaferri, Matt Cuccovia, Kit Leake and David Champion built Nicola Bond’s set design; with the set being painted by Phil Redding, Tina barker and Nicola Bond. A great number of authentic props added the final touch (Grace Hitchin, Charlotte Weber).

         Supercilious Beatrice Lacy (Jo Sterkenburg) and her hen-pecked husband, Giles (Andrew Smalley) are seated in the lounge awaiting the return of the master of the house, the young, good-looking Maxim De Winter (Mark de Vattimo). The couple are discussing Rebecca, the previous lady of the house who had drowned a year earlier, with the estate manager, Frank (Ron Arthurs). The butler, Frith (Tom Rees) brings them drinks.

        The group are waiting to welcome Maxim and his new, much younger bride, Mrs De Winter (Natasha Stiven) back from their honeymoon. When the loving couple arrive, the maid, Roberts (Teya Jerman), shows them into the lounge. Unfortunately it seems that Beatrice has taken an instant dislike to the new bride – she is too young and certainly not of suitable status. The group go on to discuss the final arrangements for the annual Fancy Dress Ball being held the following night. The dark, mysterious housekeeper, Mrs Danvers (Vickie Billingham) in her widow’s weeds with keys hanging around her waist, offers to help her new young mistress choose a suitable costume.

        As the malicious Mrs Danvers leaves the room, a weird, obnoxious man, Jack Favell (Sean Schliwa) arrives and tries his lecherous approach on a petrified Mrs de Winter, who has no idea who this stranger is.

        After the Ball, the household receives a disturbing visit from the shire’s magistrate, Colonel Julyan (Paul Cook) and the local boat builder / chandler, William Tabb (David Champion).

Award winning director, Nicola Bond, has brought to the stage a play that has not been presented in Perth for many years. Employing her many talents, Nicola has given us a wonderful set, authentic costumes and a cast that has captured all of the mystery, romance and suspense of the book. Nicola has also generously given a few of the cast their ‘big chance’,  by accepting for the play, actors who have previously had very minor walk on parts, or as in the case of Paul Wood, a very first acting part – well done Paul, good solid performance.

Many congratulations to Natasha Stiven and Mark de Vattimo, as the withdrawn, confused young wife and the unpredictable, enigmatic husband. A special mention must also go to Vickie Billingham for her great performance as the cold-hearted Mrs Danvers, and her special curtain call.

Stage manager Charlotte Weber, assisted by Teya Jerman, kept the pace moving exceptionally well with none of the usual slowing down or blackouts between scenes. All of the scene changes being carried out in dimmed light, by the household servants, in the style of their normal daily duties. Mrs de Winter’s numerous outfits, the servants’ garments and the rugged tweeds were perfect for the period (Nicola Bond).  Rob Tagliaferri’s lighting and Vanessa Gudgeon’s soundscape combined perfectly to give a memorable final scene.

Good to see a fresh, rarely performed play – I will die if I see ‘The Importance of being Ernest’ again – A great production with all the qualities that one has come to expect from the Harbour Theatre Group. Highly recommended, but please note the short season.

Camelot is the new home of Fremantle’s ‘Harbour Theatre’; I had only seen the beautiful theatre, but never seen around the building. There is a beautiful reception hall, a large conference room upstairs, an outdoor drinking garden / cinema and a comfortable lounge area; all of these areas are for hire at sensible prices, not like those heartlessly being squeezed out of the theatre groups by the ‘big boys’.

There are six performances of live art in every nook and cranny of this amazing art deco space. The last show is Saturday 1^st November at 8.00 pm.

The audience are split into three groups, A, B and C, each with a guide. The groups moved around the theatre locations between the ten-minute acts.

 ‘Blue Orpheus’ written and directed by Alex Brittan

       Even as a theatre student it was obvious that Alex Brittan had that little extra, that stars need. I last saw him about a year ago and sure enough his singing, composing and musical performance were top class. Last night when I saw Alex, I was blown away. Here was a truly professional act, in the relaxed style of ‘Passenger’ (Mike Rosenberg) or for the older readers, crooners like Matt Munro. Playing his own accompaniment on an electric ukulele and on the screen in the background, quality AV Alex made with a friend; he is certainly a name to watch.

‘Jacinta’s Ball’ written by Tyler Jacob-Jones, directed by Scott Corbett.

       At the stage door, a red salon car screams to a halt in a parking spot. The engine dies, and the ambitious husband (Renato Fabretti) and insecure wife (Verity Softly) start to argue. We are watching ‘take 48’ of a new production by a couple who are household names on TV. In the back of their car is their small baby, who has been mentioned in dozens of media reports.

     When the car reverses for yet another retake, it hits a pedestrian (Geordie Crawley). As he stumbles back up from the ground, the man recognises the couple and tells them how very much he admires their performances – and what they should do to improve their act.

Scriptwriter Tyler, who has become famous for his remarkable musicals, shows here that he can also write a quality, poignant drama. There are several complex and interesting storylines skilfully interwoven. A marvellous piece powerfully acted and with a disturbing twist.

‘Nursery Rhymes’ devised by Zoe Hollyoak and Rian Howlett.

         A young man appears to be simply changing from his day clothes to his gardening outfit, however, is he actually changing his whole being to become part of the nursery garden vegetation?

         In a tale composed of semi-rhyming prose and great deal of energetic action, we have explained to us the strong link that our physiology has with plants and the environment.

 A novel idea that for most of the time worked well. The noise of the Halloween party across the oval was sadly a distraction on the precisely written, rich script.

‘Vintage Hot Air Balloon’ written by Michael Collins. Filmed by Katie Williams. Narrated by Charles Wu.

       This lovable little film shows the fascinating work of Katie Williams, who has created a doll’s house filled with paraphernalia. The idea was based on her aged parents’ home.

The tale is brought to life by the sensitive script and Charles Wu’s caring voice. Delightful.

‘Pix’ written by Jordan Nix and directed by Verity Softly.

       In the intimate environment of a young man’s bedroom, he (Sven Ironside) is sitting with his i-pad in his hand and a laptop at his side. The bedroom door opens and his distraught sister (Claire Thomas) enters. She has just meant to send some indelicate photos to her boyfriend and pressed the wrong computer address. She is hoping her brother will be able to help her.

A drama that I suspect has happened in many homes. Clever writing from one of Perth’s newest playwrights. The two actors have nailed the characters flawlessly, whilst building up the tension perfectly.

‘Symbiotica’ choreographed by Megan Watson

       In front of a fully mirrored wall, the six dancers (Jordan Bretherton, Esther McDonald, Kellie Golding, Zoe Morris, Logan Ringshaw, Megan Watson) are warming up. Then, to spoken prose and music, they split into three groups.

       The first couple show the first style of symbiosis, that of an overbearing husband and the downtrodden wife.

       The next demonstrates the couple moving as one, in perfect rhythm but not really achieving much from life.

       The last couple proved how their deep symbiosis and total love for each other has made them effectively one, almost saprophytic rather than symbiotic.

 This was contemporary ballet at its very best. The smooth, powerful dancing, gracefully interpreting the rhythm of the music perfectly. A stunning act from WAAPA graduates.

With the help of MosArts, this will be Harbour Theatre’s second in their new, stylish Art Deco premises in Mosman Park. The theatre is located within the Camelot Theatre complex, 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park and their 100-minute performances are on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings until 6^th September with curtain up at 7.30 pm. There are two matinees.

A little history. Until the 1970s, any illegitimate child born in Britain was at a great risk of being simply taken from their mothers, or conned out of a possibly loving home, by the ‘well-meaning Authorities’ or even over-proud families. Many of the mothers were told their children were happily adopted, whilst a large number of these 16,000 ‘saved’ children were told they are now orphans, and sent to Australia (read the book ‘The Leaving of Liverpool’) to homes and institutions like Bindoon and Fairbridge, for their own good.

British companies like Walls (who manufactured ice cream and sausages), were upset by this treatment and sent money to make the life of this other ‘stolen’ generation of children a little better. Fairbridge built their Chapel with Wall’s funds.

It is 1964 in the North of England. The opening scene is Mary’s sparsely furnished bedroom and then the set becomes an even less inviting dormitory in the ‘Mother and Baby Home’. To the left of the stage are the Matron’s office and a laundry. Stage Manager was Jo Sterkenburg, assisted by Meredith Hunter.

         The lights dim and a small spot picks out to the right of the auditorium, the young lead singer with her guitar (musical director, Toni-Maree Olton) dressed in a green satin evening dress. To the left of the audience are her three accompanists, ‘The Oltonettes’; Jade Unwin in red, Natasha Smith in blue and Sarah Courtis in purple gowns. As an integral background to the play, they sing the melodies of the sixties in perfect harmony, complete with all of the hackneyed hand movements. They include the Ronette’s title song of the show, ‘Be My Baby’, whose lyrics become so very poignant.

          The somewhat naive, 19-year old Mary Adams (Emily Lloyd) is very pregnant, but unmarried. Faced with the undoubted shame and cruel jibes by the neighbours, her prudish mother, Mrs Adams (Grace Hitchin) insists that the baby is born away from home and adopted out immediately – ‘after all, it is for the best’.

          Soon, Mary finds herself in a home run by the church for pregnant, unmarried mothers. They charge the clients for their accommodation, and then the prospective parents pay enormous fees for the adoption agreements.

         Mary is sharing a room with the rough, streetwise Queenie (Sarah Christiner). One day, they are working in the laundry, washing and folding the sheets with two other girls Norma (Nicole Miller), and Dolores (Sophie Cushing) neither of whom are 100% sure how they became pregnant. With a medical dictionary they found lying around, and Queenie’s knowledge, they can probably work things out.

         When Mary’s baby is born, the realisation that she has to give up the child for adoption, starts to dawn. The imperious Matron (Nicola Bond) refuses to be swayed by the girls’ requests, but (with clever acting); there is a subtle hint that the Matron may be carrying out instructions that are against her own personal, compassionate feelings.

Director, Peter Kirkwood’s cast of ‘pregnant girls’ are too young to remember the times that they are enacting; however, they still truly captured the ordeal of the situation and skilfully conveyed this to the audience. There were many of the older members of the audience very moved by the play. Many of us had friends who, with their mothers, ‘worked away’ for a couple of months and on their return, the mother (!) was found to have had a baby. This child was then brought up as the daughter’s sister and not her child.

The melodic rendition of the old songs brought light relief to those parts when the play got a little gloomy, as the girls’ dreams collapsed. The lyrics then took on a new meaning in the circumstances.

Rob Tagliaferri has handled all of the teching, lighting and sound faultlessly. The props of the era were well sourced e.g. the 45s case, an auto-change record player and even the army blankets with the red stripes, fond memories for many of us. The costumes ranged from the striking, shimmering gowns and elbow-length, white gloves, to the scratchy grey material that made up the smocks for the pregnant girls. It is these little finer points that give that extra depth to a production.

A tricky play to put on, as it demanded several genres such as music, humour and pathos, combined with the tragedy and innocence of the girls concerned in the adoption. Very well acted and the full houses give credence to the successful production.