At the beginning of this year, ‘The Open Lid Ensemble’ presented ‘Halina’, one of the most admired plays of the Perth Fringe World programme.

Performed as part of the 2016 Fremantle Festival, this charming but dark play can be seen in the Red Room at Creatures Next Door nightly at 7.00 until 4^th November.

The Red Room has the seating ‘in the round’ under a colourful, Big Top canopy. To the side is a stage, showing a grey city skyline and the detritus of urban squalor.

        The dimly lit room is filled with a low echoing bass voice (Michael Biagioni), sounding a little like the haunting of a whale crying in the ocean. The live melancholic music, in a lower key, builds up, completing the feeling of a vast, lonely and open space. A beautifully melodic, ethereal voice (Isaura Malika) sensitively completes the mood.

       A raggedly dressed, pale-faced girl (Courtney Turner) lies on the pavement. As she sleeps, the black spirits of the night flit around. As morning dawns, she wakes, grabs her Salvo’s free cup of soup, before the pandemonium of the commuters (Kat Shaw, Amanda Watson, Sinead O’Hara, Hannah Evelyn) hit the streets.

       These wealthy automatons move around with no consideration for anyone except themselves. In a desperate attempt to make some money for food, the poor girl tries to sell them matches, ever hoping for a morsel of their abundance – without success.

       That night, she has graphic dreams of a large, crackling warm fire, only to find that her surroundings are still cold and miserable. Then, she meets a set of fun loving girls who are out for the night. She joins them. At last, she has found friends that she enjoys being with, and can trust.

     Until Risscht (an ancient Danish – or German – word for ‘cracks’), in this flash, has the match girl’s life at last turned around?

 

The breakthrough standard of the contemporary dancing is truly amazing. When blended with artistic movement, the whole, energy packed, choreographic effect is deeply moving. I have never seen a dance or mime routine that could depict such depth of emotion in a performance. The audience developed a genuine empathy with the poor girl that left them semi-traumatised.

The lighting (Scott Corbett) and soundscape was most effective. Again, I would like to mention the unique skills of the two musicians who took us through the poor girl’s life; with the misery depicted by a rasping violin, to the happier moments with a muted trumpet. The duo played several instruments each, all of which perfectly complemented the performance.

Terrific teamwork, and truly moving piece of dance and acting. Wonderful.

The powerful, energy packed, 55-minute performances run each evening at 7.00 pm until Sunday, 31^st January, in the elegant and palatial Laneway Lounge which reflects the atmosphere of New Orleans and Paris in the 30s. It is situated at 414A Murray Street in a laneway near Fast Eddys. It has a wonderful little 60-seat theatre.

As we wait for the show to begin, the live, melodious and haunting music from Michael Biagioni was remarkable. It was a complex blend of instruments and his soft vocals.

       On entering the theatre, there were bodies lying in the aisle, on the open floor space in front of the stage, on the stage and under a trolley. These people were dressed in white body stockings and white shifts.

      Dressed in her blue, hospital orderly uniform, Halina (Amanda Watson) enters the hospital laundry and starts her work. She loads (in mime) several machines, before suffering the worst traumatic, domestic experience that anyone can imagine. Some ex-patients come to her rescue, and after beginning with basic first aid, one lady (Ann-Marie Biagioni) decides to employ advanced methods of medicine that she has observed in the hospital. The treatment is supervised by another misfit (Hannah Evelyn).

       A couple of patients (Sinead O’Hara, Courtney Turner) think it is a good idea to cheer up Halina with animal impersonations, but in doing so, they don’t notice that one of their own vivacious friends (Kat Shaw) is now suffering.

My first camera was a Halina – named after the Greek for ‘light’. Here, the main character is the guiding light and example.

In this play, some loveable misfits demonstrate how, as youngsters, we are resilient and can face any challenge. As we get older this self-assurance dissipates and we have more trouble coping with even simple changes in our routine.  We watched as the actors edgily explored the dark, numerous angles on their rollercoaster ride of emotions, security and suffering. Just as we think there is stability, the quick sand sucks us back in.

The amount of energy engaged in this play was jaw dropping. There was little dialogue, the whole story clearly demonstrated by the highly skilled cast, displaying moods, emotions, advance mime and symbolism. This is a thought provoking show that makes you consider even your own life.

A huge amount of talent in this very different show; it was completely fresh and exciting.