The three-hour performances can be seen nightly at 8.00 until Saturday 28^th January, with a matinée on Sunday 29 at 2.00 pm.

‘Lives that are Parallel’ this quirky romance is approx. 65 minutes. It was written by James Forte and directed by Fran Gordon, with assistance from James Forte.

James spent a year with the select Black Swan Emerging Writers Group, and this has helped him develop a tight script with a natural dialogue. This storyline is novel, several well-developed story threads, and very relevant to today’s youngsters.

The stage shows two bedsits. They are in student flats in two very different countries. Stage crew Franklin Burke, Mallory Sallingen and Jack Gordon.

             The LA airport announcer (Calvin Payne) asks passengers not to leave their cases unattended. A group of girls on a sports tour are rushing through the crowds, when one, Sacha (Lily Baitup) literally bumps into a group of Aussies boys on their way home. As one of the lads, William (Steve Anderson) picks himself up, he locks eyes with Sacha. They seem to become spellbound with each other. Sacha’s friends, Hannah (Tanzyn Crawford) along with the bossy team captain, Helga (Crystal Dawson) grab her, dragging Hannah off to the plane.

       Back at home, his friend Tim (Samuel Jones) is mocking William, who is still in a dream. His girlfriend, Gailene (Sara Burke) is annoyed about her mysterious competition. Desperate, William pesters his sister Jane (Chanice Edmonds) to help him trace this fleeting angel.

A tricky situation to make believable, and with a couple of ethereal scenes I was starting to have doubts, however, with clever writing, good acting and strong direction the final result felt perfectly plausible.

A minor weakness is that the characters are all, by necessity, very similar in age and personality. It might be worth developing a real ratbag or madcap individual. Solid performances from the two leads.

Most unusual and enjoyable.

‘The Bright Side of Life’. This touching comedy was 55 minutes long. Written and directed by Siobhán Wright, and the assistant director being Denice Byrne.

Written by all-round, theatrical enthusiast, Siobhán Wright, the dialogue is exceptional and delivered by a well-chosen cast. This was Siobhán’s first time directing, and was most admirable.

 The scene is the lounge of an old folk’s home in Dublin. A semi-circle of armchairs and numerous props (Melissa Skeffington) ensured an authentic look.

        The nurse (Siobhán Wright, alternating with Denice Byrne) welcomes Kathleen (Claire Westheimer) to the old folks’ home. Her son Paul (Ken Ratcliffe) explains to his Mum that she will only be there for a couple of weeks, whilst he fixes up a Granny Flat.

       Kathleen is then introduced to a strange mixture of ‘inmates’, such as Betty (Julie Holmshaw – great) – a severe hypochondriac, and poor Annie (Karin Staflund) who spends her day cuddling a doll. Then there is the bright and sparkling Mona (Clare Wilson – well done) who loves to share the highlights of her better days.

       Quietly knitting the most repulsive jumpers, is Magser (Marian Byrne – delightful). She still has all of her screws; she needs to be alert when her money-grabbing daughter, Frankie (Kathleen Alloway) and son Jason (James Donnelly) call around. The only highlight of the week is when the occupational therapist, Oliver (Paddy McAuley), comes to give them ‘yoga’ lessons.

   When young GP, Bella (Melissa Skeffington) visits, she learns more than she expects from this strange mix of residents.

I know that the gay character was meant to be comical relief, but he was so far over the top (the actor performed well to the direction and script) that he became an annoying caricature. Even the most ‘sheltered’ audience member would get the message and still raise a smile, with just a subtle hint.

This was still a beautiful play, plenty of humour; well-observed characters brought to life with great acting, and topped with good dialogue. It brought a tear to a few eyes; one could hear the tissues coming out. Well done.

‘Being Juliet’ a cleverly written, 55-minute romantic comedy, from playwright Yvette Wall and is directed by Carol Hughes.

Yvette has won many writing awards, and is not frightened to try something new. I consider Yvette to be one of WA’s top three writers. This clever script included a few different writing styles and acting genres, with numerous hilarious misquotes (deliberate) from Shakespeare.

The scene is the backstage of a second rate, community theatre production. The costumes range from the sublime fairy costume, to the wild dominatrix outfit of Tina. Costumes by Fran Gordon, Carol Hughes and Sue Murray.

      The stage manager (Ryan Taaffe) calls for the actors to take their opening positions.

     The fairy, Lillian (Jenni Glassford) notices that young Brenda (Yvonne Lingua) is looking depressed. Brenda feels that in spite of all her hard work, brassy Tina (Sue Murray) seems to get all of the better parts, whilst she – Brenda – is constantly over looked.

     Randy Jordan (Dan Wilson), the dashing hero of the play tries to pacify poor Brenda.

     Will Brenda get a chance to blossom? Or is she doomed to being the understudy forever?

I loved the concept, there were several unexpected twists and it was most enjoyable, however, it sadly this did not quite satisfy or work for me. I appreciate that the ’troupe’ were meant to be an incongruent shambles, but perhaps the characters were a little too diverse, with the result that none of them quite melded at any stage. I am sure that a few tweaks are all this clever writing requires.

For all three plays, the effective lighting design was by Ian Wilson and John Woolrych, and smoothly operated by Carole Wilson.

One or two of the younger actors did not realise how the black drapes absorb their voices. A little more projection and a slightly slower delivery can help overcome this problem.

The three plays had a total performance time of 3 hours. Although very different and well presented, three hours (including the two intervals) is a little long. This however did not stop this play’s run from having many full houses.

A most enjoyable night out with three solid presentations, topped with a warm welcome.

The lighting for all of the plays was designed by Michael Hart and operated by Ryan Perrin. David Bain and Greg Rusha created the sound effects, there was one beauty that brought the house down.

‘The Tip of the Spear’ is an engrossing monologue from the pen of James Forte. Although James has written around two dozen plays, this is the first based on an actual event. It is the tale of an army Glider Regiment’s mission in June 1944. It has been described as the most daring and clever piece of flying in the whole of World War ll, as carried out by Staff-Sergeant Jim Wallwork, who died only a couple of years ago, aged 93.

The star of the play, Ray Egan, directed the piece himself.

This intriguing and masterly monologue premiered at the Old Mill Theatre, on Wednesday and Thursday nights this week to rapturous applause.

The scene is a local bar, just after a Veterans’ parade.

     An ex-army serviceman in a smart suit, proudly wearing his red service beret, and with a beer in hand, takes a seat at a pub table. With a wistful look on his face, he starts to relate the amazing story of his night mission to destroy Pegasus Bridge.

Ray is an extraordinary actor. Famous for his madcap ‘Dinner for One’; he now turns on the pathos, and with tears in his eyes, he recalls the ghastly happenings of that astonishing night. A magical performance.

‘When Darcy Rode the Mule’ a yarn written by Banjo Patterson.

An Australian farmer strolls on (Ray Egan) and in Strine, apologises for the Pommy bastard who has just been on, and now he is going to tell the story of a true Aussie.

      Ray then gave us another side of his talents, as he made the audience chuckle with his rendition of Banjo’s observations.

‘Chinamen’ a one-act farce from British playwright, Michael Frayn’s four play volume ‘The Two of Us’. Frayn was most famous as a political reporter for the UK ‘Observer’ newspaper; however, his translations of Chekov’s plays are the most popular in the theatre.

The title of this presentation is, by today’s standards, horrifyingly ‘politically incorrect’.

It was as the playwright watched the offstage antics of this farce that inspired Frayn’s hilarious play, the recently seen, ‘Noises Off’.

The scene is a dining room with table and several chairs. The table is laid for a dinner party. There are two doors stage right and one to the left Set design by Harry MacLennan.

This play has the unusual premise that only two actors play all of the characters. This means that only two people can be on the stage at any time!

     A young, London couple, Jo (Chantelle Pitt) and Stephen (Paul Reed) are having a dinner party. Jo has asked her best friend Bee around for a meal; she told Stephen, but typical male, he did not hear or pay attention to an important detail.

     When Stephen meets Barney in the street, he says how much he is looking forward to catching up on the news, and that the meal is planned for 8.00 that evening. However, Stephen did not realise that Bee and Barney were no longer married, and that Bee was actually going to bring her new, longhaired, hippy partner, Alex, for the meal.

     On hearing of Stephen’s blunder, Jo is petrified that estranged Barney will turn up and have a tantrum with Bee’s new partner.

     How will Jo and Stephen keep them apart? Will they clash?

Director, Harry MacLennan has taken on a most difficult and complex play to present. He cleared the first hurdle perfectly, by finding two talented actors who could keep a straight face whilst pandemonium ensued.

Harrison then had to convey the impression that the various guests who passed through the room, were in still the areas around the central dining room. This he conquered with the aid of his stage managers, Jordan Tabb and Adrian Ashman, by having them knock and pull at doors, handing out wineglasses, and signalling – just out of sight – from off stage.

The actors had to stand in doorways, pretending to argue and chat with each other, when in fact the other performer may be in the wings on the opposite side of the stage, changing into another character’s costume ready for the next entrance. Sounds complex? You bet it was for the actors, but astonishingly simple for the audience to follow. This mayhem went on for the full 40 minutes of the play, with not a flicker of stress on the actors’ faces as they flawlessly changed persona.

Very clever. Congratulations to all concerned.

Marloo had a few problems gathering and staging their selection, but in the end, they have come up with a well-appreciated, varied selection. Their only problem now is to attract the crowds. With eight shows opening on the same night, many of them being for a very short season, the audiences are sadly left in a quandary – which show they are going to miss?

This programme has everything, a tale of bravery and tragedy, a light-hearted Aussie yarn and a unique farce, all very well produced and acted.

‘Armistice Day’ poignantly written by Noel O’Neill and powerfully directed by Valerie Dragojevic.

The scene is a down-market pub around 1950, with a bar and hardwood chairs and tables.

     The barman, Blackie (Rex Gray) announces ‘time’, but the two ex-servicemen have no thoughts of going home. They are waiting for their friend Davey (Phil Barnett), after all this is their annual get together to reminisce on their war years.

     As he sinks another whisky, Mick (David Partridge) recalls having his toes blown off, but for poor young, trembling Tommo (Travis McCurry) things are much worse, he has still not overcome his shellshock. When Davey arrives, with fury in his eyes, the conversation turns to an event that happened in the last few days of the war.

     Can their comradery be strong enough to get them through their psychological problems?

For those old enough to remember returning servicemen – from any war – we know their silence, the secrecy as to what actually happened, their character changes and often the inability to see the lighter side of life; Noel has once again hit the nail on the head, he has written a super script, with a huge depth to the four, perfectly conceived characters. Director Valerie has taken the cast, given them courage and guidance to enact the tremendous emotion and tension demanded. The performances were all outstanding, but a special mention must be given of Travis and Phil’s depiction of the suffering vets. A stunning play.

‘The Tip of the Spear’ is richly written monologue from the pen of James Forte. It is based on an actual army Glider Regiment’s mission in June 1944. It has been described as the most daring and clever piece of flying in the whole of World War ll as carried out by Staff-Sergeant Jim Wallwork, who died only a couple of years ago, aged 93.

The star of the play, Ray Egan, directs himself.

The scene is a local bar, just after a Veterans’ parade.

     An ex-army serviceman in a smart suit, proudly wearing his red service beret, and with a beer in hand, takes a seat at a pub table. With a wistful look on his face, he starts to relate the amazing story of his night mission to destroy Pegasus Bridge.

Ray is an extraordinary actor. Famous for his madcap ‘Dinner for One’; he now turns on the pathos, as with tears in his eyes, he recalled the ghastly happenings of that astonishing night. A magical performance.

‘Dolls from the Sky’ is a cleverly structured play, written from the heart by local playwright, Yvette Wall. It is then brought to life by director Mary Wolfla.

It is Australia in 1948; the scene is a comfortable sittingroom, with a three piece suite and coffee tables.

     Anna (Natalie Aung Than) is a widowed Polish emigrant, who has been the housekeeper – ‘and nothing more’ – for an ex-soldier, Tom Johnson (Andrew Watson), who each night, is still reliving his war memories.

     To help her mental state, Anna has asked the local priest if she can help clean the church each week. Snobbish, Miss Betty Brown (Kerry Goode) a ghastly bigot, is in charge of the roster and is sent around, with her assistant Margaret (Yvette Wall) to talk to Anna. Prudish Miss Brown detests this foreigner being on Australian soil; but Margaret, also a war widow, seems to have formed a bond with Anna.

     Will the friendship take an unexpected turn?

Yvette has written a deeply moving script. A tale that starts with the rich characters making the audience laugh and yet cringe at the same time. Award winning Kerry played an extremist, the type that were still commonly around even a few years ago. Then the mood changed to tragic drama, with this dynamic cast firing perfectly on all cylinders.

Magnificent performances that made you gasp at the tension within the house, and what a broken heart can do to a person. Luckily, we still had a few tissues left from the first play.

Often with short play productions, there is one good play with the other one or two sadly there to give a local author a chance to try out their first – sometimes, very average – play. On this occasion we had three, truly outstanding pieces of writing, cleverly directed and presented by three hugely talented casts. Not a weak link to be seen.

The middle play, is at the Old Mill for two nights only, before it moves over to the other side of the suburbs, Marloo on Greenmount Hill, where it will play for a couple of nights there.

You do not have many opportunities to see these plays, but cancel everything else to see them. An amazing night of theatre.

‘Political Correction’ (40-minutes), is a clever comedy / thriller, written by mathematician James Forte. James is part of this year’s Black Swan Writers’ development course. The play was directed by Douglas Sutherland-Bruce who was assisted by the playwright, James Forte.

In a comfortable suburban home, live two politically active teenagers; the slightly nervous Colin (Harrison ‘Harry’ MacLennan) and his temptress sister, Sarah (Melissa Scott). Their parents, a chemistry professor and his wife are out for the evening, and so the teenagers have taken the opportunity to invite local politician, Frank Armstrong (Alex Sutton) around to the house under the pretence of arranging a research grant for the father.

What is the true reason for the invitation?

Written satirically in parts like, ‘Yes Prime Minister’, with all of the warped political lies, this very funny play is particularly relevant at the moment. It is a novel idea that has been well constructed. The audience loved the sugar-coated hypocrisy, spontaneously applauding some of the lines that could have come straight from the TV’s evening news. The three actors were all excellent, with Alex convincingly playing a man twice his age.

‘Holly and Ivy’ (40-minutes) is a heart wrenching play written by WAAPA lecturer Noel O’Neill. It is exactly 5 years since I first saw this play at the Rechabites Hall with the same actresses playing Holly and Ivy. This production was directed by ‘the cast’, and what a magnificent job they did.

It is Christmas Eve in a small town in central Scotland (Broxburn?). Ivy (Sandra Sando) is making a cup of tea for heryounger sister, Holly (Catriona M. Coe) who has just arrived at the family home for the funeral of their mother.

Ivy is grieving deeply and is somewhat annoyed by the ‘couldn’t care’ attitude of her sister. An argument starts as the sibling rivalry reignites. Both women have a lot to get off their chest, and they are not going to hold back. However, Tommy (Ray Egan) an old friend of their Mum arrives, intoxicated as ever, and cramps their belligerent style.

Can the family ever be the same again?

This poignant play has won many richly deserved awards since its first production. It is a real tear-jerker. The two sisters captured their parts perfectly, and with such a wonderfully true to life script, the whole story was a delight. We all know families just like this one. Ray was impressive with his Scottish accent matching the two girls perfectly. A memorable play, beautifully presented.

‘La Divina Speaks’ (35-minutes) is the life story of Maria Callas, brought to life on the page by award winning writer Douglas Sutherland-Bruce and Elisa Wilson. Douglas then went on to direct this piece.

It is 1972 and we join Maria Callas (Elisa Wilson) as she finishes a passion filled passage from Puccini’s ‘Tosca’. Dressed in a stunning peacock blue satin dress, and dripping with jewels, she takes her bow.

We then join her after the show at her home in Long Island, where Maria tells us of her youth. How as a dowdy, fat, pimply girl with thick myopic glasses she had to perform for her parents in Greece. Then the war arrived and the family was split up.

Her fascinating, and at times, gripping tale takes us through her love affairs and family dramas. She ‘knew’ (in the Biblical sense) many famous people of the era, from soldiers to the extremely rich.

I don’t need to say that the tremendous delivery by WAAPA graduate and International opera soprano, Elisa Wilson, was jaw dropping. Not surprisingly, Elisa was a winner of a prestigious Armstrong-Martin Opera Scholarship. Delivering an emotional song from an opera with such
skill and tenderness is a challenge beyond most performers, but to then do a half hour monologue which entranced the audience and had them hanging onto every word of the story, is another difficult art in itself.

The back stage team of Marjorie DeCaux (costumes), sound (Greg Rusha), lighting (Michael Hart, Hayley Dewort and David Bain) excelled.

How often do we see trilogies when one play will be good, one average and the third diabolical? Here we have three superbly written plays, well directed and top notch acting. A really special night at the theatre.