There are three different, secret venues for this most unusual play. With performances performed in Fremantle for two nights, two in Guildford and two in Leederville. The hour long ‘happening’ starts at 7.00 on various evenings until the 20th February.
The Fremantle venue was a rustic garden, surrounded by hewn, limestone walls, with fabulous, trailing and potted plants. A large fish pond lay in the secluded corner.
The crowd are warmly welcomed into the private garden, by the home’s gardener, Greg (Nathan Whitebrook). As he brushes the paving, the visitors settle on cushions and crates. Greg explains how much pride he takes in his work, especially this garden and spins a few yarns. He has the blood group that seems to attract the mozzies, and so he invites anyone who has similar problem to spray themselves, offering around the Aeroguard.
After a few minutes of light banter, Greg retreats to the BBQ at the rear of the house, to cook the snags.
Perched on a high wall, a young guitarist (Tom Beech) softly plays his melodious compositions. As he strums, the cat from next door appears (Zoe Street), playing with her favourite musical toy, only to run into the owner’s big savage dog (Monty Sallur); however, when they hear Greg returning, they disappear quickly into the undergrowth.
The visitors are invited to help themselves to the food and homemade lemonade provided by the host. The perfect host, Greg, continues to tell us of his life and daily routine, when suddenly he discovers that a guest has betrayed their warm invitation. The mood changes.
The acting commanded by the three performers was both physically and mentally demanding, but the three performances had every ounce of energy packed into them.
This show must have been a major challenge for clever director Rhiannon Petersen and the producers, Sean Guastavino and Zoe Street, but by moving the venue around it covers most of Perth CBD, giving a very different atmosphere to the loveable creature’s play.
Publicist, Amelia Tuttleby, has advised me that it is a sell-out, with only a few tickets left for the final venue, Leederville.
]]>This 50-minute, World Premiere Lockwood Production is at FringeWorld, in ‘The Flaming Locomotive’ theatrette, opposite the main entrance to the Museum in the James Street Mall.
Curtain up at 6.30 each evening until Saturday 20th February.
The central feature of the set is a clever combination of a fridge, a bookcase and a laundrette washing machine, all ingeniously combined into a three-sided unit. Another most effective idea from Cherie Hewson, who designed the set and costumes.
The lighting and sound, along with the stage management, was by Andre Van Vulpen.
‘Text’ In the middle of the night, a woman (Talei Howell-Price) wakes up to find that her wonderful, loving husband of ten years (Benj D’Addario) is sitting in the kitchen drinking gin. He seems depressed, and has bottled up a Pandora’s Box of emotions that he is itching to unload onto his caring wife.
A very powerfully written piece, filled with genuine tension and written with a duologue that is completely believable. As the act progresses, the layers build on each other until the pressure is palpable. Superbly acted.
‘Williamsburg’ a young Australian girl (Emily Rose Brennan) has been on a working holiday in America, where she met a handsome young man (Christopher Sansoni). Unfortunately his attitude to life is a little immature, and when she asks him to come back to Australia with her, this ‘mummy’s boy’ seems less than agreeable.
Most people will regrettably have had a similar relationship, and so appreciate the heartache it causes. Again, beautifully scripted, handled and presented, with some delicately handled emotion that could have so easily been killed by overacting.
A brave move to try something so new for the first two plays and they worked wonderfully well.
‘Let’s Launder Together!’ When a young man (Barnaby Pollock) arrives at the laundrette for the hundredth time, he suddenly realises that on this visit – for the first time ever – the girl of his dreams (Salacia Briggs) is sitting waiting for her machine to stop. Should he approach her? Or will he be rejected?
Damon’s usual genre of work, with his precise quality and talented observation in every line. Barnaby captured the depraved young man, who despite his age was still in his pubescent stage. His cheeky grin, hilarious. Salacia played it cool, whilst being equally excited. This script was Lockwood as we know him.
Three plays which gave a good and varied mix. Top class.
A night of huge entertainment was guaranteed – they kept their word.
]]>On a point of interest, 450 years ago, the Ridolphi Plot was linked to Guy Fawkes and his attempt to blow up Parliament.
This gripping drama is being presented as part of the Fringe Summer Nights, in the main Blue Room Theatre, 53 James Street in Northbridge.
This MUST SEE, one-hour show is on nightly at 9.30 until 20th February.
At first glances, the set (designer, Trent Suidgeest) appears simple, with a table and a couple of chairs; however, in the corner of the stage is a telephone box, which has all of the magical properties of Superman’s ‘phone booth and a Dr Who box. The white rear wall of the box has projected onto it, video (also by Trent Suidgeest) of the old magician at work, and scenes of the many localities his son will experience on the way through this tale. I rarely comment on posters, but Jamie Breen’s stunning photo captured the play’s mystery perfectly.
As always, Ben Collins soundscape was beautifully composed, and played subtly in the background.
When he died, the world’s greatest escape artist and magician – The Great Ridolphi – left his immense wealth to a charity, with his sole son, Victor O’Meara receiving only a battered suitcase, filled with what appears to be trashy, op shop contents.
A decade after his father’s death, Victor (Steve Turner) received a visit from a detective linked to the Art Fraud and Theft section of Scotland Yard. It seems at the time of his father’s death, a priceless museum painting had been swapped for a copy.
The policeman was keen to hold onto the father’s suitcase, but Victor suspected there might be clues in it that he had missed.
What did the random objects mean? Could his father really have been a master thief?
In an exciting and intriguing tale of mystery, you feel as though it is the Da Vinci Code all over again – except this time with quality! When I looked at the names of the scriptwriter, technical team, the actor and director, then considered their amazing achievements, with all of them having won every major WA prize in their field, I was blown away. Naturally, I was expecting a quality show, but what they have given us is just another realm.
Every member of the team has given their VERY best. Everyone left the theatre stunned at the overall perfection of this play. Amazing skills.
]]>This bold, confrontational and wild comedy is presented by Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights and Circlestances Productions – under Jay Emmanuel as producer.
Randa is touring the Australian fringes with this delightful show that was ten years in the making.
The stage is black, the only prop being a handbag crammed with unusual items. The lighting and sound operator was Daley King.
The Sydney bus sways through Redfern, and a young Arab Muslim woman (Randa Sayed) in her late teens / early twenties, notices an Indian lad admiring her. With such a strict upbringing and so many austere religious codes controlling her life, she has never thought about men. That night in bed she started to think about what she was missing, and the consequences of becoming like her heroes, Beyoncé or Kim.
Unfortunately, her imagination is well ahead of her practical skills, this poor frustrated girl cannot even say ‘Hello’ to a boy, but will she change? Is there even the slightest chance of her getting a man?
By combining this piece of interactive acting and theatre sports, Randa has created her own new genre. Although this was a very funny, multi-layered, comedy, there was always that an undertone of sadness, as this girl who was highly religious – at times with tears in her eyes – wanted to be like other girls of her age, but was torn by loyalty and religion.
Over the whole act, Brigitta Brown did a magnificent, flawless voiceover revealing Randa’s thoughts and desires. With Brigitta’s pace and enunciation, I thought that this was a carefully recorded backing track; the live voice, however, added to the freshness of the performance.
Randa had superb mime movements and an amusingly expressive face. The whole act was filled with energy and action as the actor moved around the stage.
A very pleasant surprise from a well-rehearsed, talented team.
]]>Here Russya performs and directs her own, semi-autobiographical, one-man show, upstairs in the magnificent, newly-restored, heritage National Hotel, 98 High Street in Fremantle.
The venue has a performance space that is accessible by wheelchairs, licensed bar facilities and great food.
The 55-minute performance has ‘curtain up’ each Thursday at 9.00 until 18th February.
After her early life in the Black Forest, Russya thought that the Aussie wildlife – snakes and bugs – would be the biggest task to be faced over here; however, it was the people who were totally different. Their lifestyle and set attitudes caused the most confusion, adaptation and distress.
Here, in song and with wonderful anecdotes, she feistily offers her version of ‘Australia for Dummies’. The free advice from this untamed and vivacious mind being broken down into 8 groups.
You may wonder what is funny about a normal Aussie couple, well Russya gave us plenty of belly laughs showing us what we are REALLY like and how others see us.
Sadly, this professional and highly entertaining actor hit the night from hell.
She arrived on the stage promptly, only to find that she had the worst sound engineer that I have ever encountered. How difficult is one microphone and two speakers? The sound fader was raised and as soon as the performer spoke 200 decibels blasted everyone in the place. The sound was turned down quickly, and then it was found that the operator had only plugged in one of the two stand speakers. After three attempts, the other was up and going. However, the two speaker stands were pointing directly at the microphone, so the feedback howl around was ridiculous. The audience fixed this for him, by rotating the stands to face the audience, but there still was a bit of ringing to the sound. This was because there was a speaker at the rear of the stage, ceiling height, facing directly into the microphone. Sorry no excuse.
Russya was magnificent, performing flawlessly, when, most unfortunately, a middle-aged lady in the audience collapsed directly in front of the stage, requiring assistance for 10 minutes. Russya and the punters were most sympathetic, but it meant that Russya had to warm up the audience again, and pick up her story thread. These situations happen and in less talented hands this could have ruined the show.
A very clever script, filled with strange observations on what many Aussies think is normal life. The many nationalities present cheered with the acute studies of the Freo locals.
]]>This unique, 1-hour, Fringeworld cabaret is ideal for mature, artistic audiences. Her tasteful session, allows even the artist with minimal skills to have an opportunity at life drawing for a minimal charge.
The venue is the Flaming Locomotive theatrette opposite the main entrance to the museum which is in the Perth Cultural Centre in the James Street Mall, Northbridge. The fun shows are designed for small groups of friends (these are not drawing classes with full instruction), and are on nightly at 6.30, until Saturday 6th February. Female or male singles are welcome to this tasteful, non-erotic event. There is wheelchair access. A limited amount of free art materials were available at the venue.
The session is very light-hearted, as beautiful Taryn in a cream playsuit and white silk dressing gown asks how many people have tried Life Drawing before. As she strummed away on her electric ukulele, Taryn explained in song the reasons for her starting as a nude model.
She then enlightened us on the many demands, both physical and mental, that are made on a model. Some jaws dropped, other artists just chortled.
The audience were all encouraged to start drawing, first each other and then onto the part-interactive art class. It is soon became obvious that Taryn’s talents are much more than her shapely figure. She sings melodiously as she finally poses – dressed as nature intended.
Throughout the performance, West Australian Symphony Orchestra cellist, Emma Vanderwal, added a beautiful atmosphere to the cabaret, even giving a few touches of humour to her mellifluous playing.
After so much fun, one can only wonder how many couples rush home, strip off and draw each other.
]]>These sensibly priced performances can be seen at 6.00 pm in the Dutch, all-wood ‘Shambles Tent’, situated opposite the Blue Room complex, above the car park entrance and next to the WA State Records Office in the Perth Cultural Centre, until Thursday 4th February.
Whether you are an avid reader, TV viewer, a cinema fan or a theatregoer, Jane Austen is a major drawcard. The audiences love to soak in the luscious costumes and the innocent lifestyle. By great demand, Esther Longhurst and Jessica Messenger bring you this delightful show for the third time. With every show in the past being sold out, there are bound to be a few disappointed punters this time too.
The show’s lighting and sound were smoothly operated by Mistress Amanda Ash.
The two exuberant stars are both Western Australian Theatresports
champions, a much coveted title requiring a special skill and style of acting. Completely unscripted, this talented couple improvise many well-known scenes from the works of Austen.
To the music ‘The Entrance of the Queen of Sheba’, Mistresses Esther Longhurst and Jessica Messenger made their entrance to rapturous applause. After asking the audience a few questions about Jane Austen, a young lady was selected from the audience and asked about a love affair she has had – not to probing. The actors tucked the facts away in their minds for use later.
Using a basic, typical structure or story thread of an Austen book, the story was told. The actors cleverly built up the characters and the story achieved a rich depth as the show progressed. This was spontaneity at its best. With numerous bonnets and hats the nineteenth century story unfolded. Whacky props were used in this fast moving show. There were even a couple of real tears from Miss ‘Felicity’ Longhurst when her love (a special appearance last night of Mr Spontaneity, Glen Hall) left her for other shores.
It was obvious that the actors had an excellent knowledge of the Austen books, the numerous abandonments, grave diseases and the lavish dinners and balls. The double-entendres and puns were numerous. They covered all the moods, from passion to humour – and there were plenty of belly laughs. Great entertainment from a talented team.
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