Because the original story was named ‘a Carol’, Dickens preferred to think of the book’s five chapters as being musical ‘Staves’. The first run of the book, bound in Moroccan leather, was sold for $45 a copy (today’s prices). Six thousand copies sold in a few weeks, however, even after seventh editions, Dickens made very little money from the book, being ripped off by a real-life Scrooge on the way. This had also happened to him earlier with ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’.

This lively and hilarious pantomime is two-and-a-quarter hours of guaranteed merriment. The show is being presented by The Darlington Theatre Players at the Marloo Theatre, Marloo Road, Greenmount every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening at 7.30 until Saturday 10^th December. There are Sunday matinées at 2.00 pm.

The main set is the office of Scrooge’s Chocolate Factory, with shelves of books and pictures of the many lollies made there. Other vivid scenes include Jan Butty’s kitchen, a graveyard, and of course Scrooge’s meagre bedroom. The colourful sets were designed by George Boyd, and the numerous props provided by Lesley Sutton.

The full sized – 3-metre – flats and furnishings for each scene were changed silently and speedily under the supervision of Stage Manager Rob Warner, aided by his assistants David Bain and Belinda Beatty. The backstage ‘muscle’ was Guy Jackson, Adrian Ashman and Luke Miller.

       Author, Charles Dickens (Allan Lai) takes us into the office of a Chocolate Factory and points out the miserly owner, Ebenezer Scrooge (Richard Hadler). Since Ebenezer’s partner, the friendly and well-loved Jacob Marley (Timothy Presant) had died several years earlier, the work conditions at the factory have been getting increasingly miserable. The factory shop steward, Bob Cratchit (Peter White) has been paid minimal wages for decades by Scrooge. Cratchit lives in one of Scrooge’s crumbling houses with his dear wife, Mrs Cratchit (Sarah White) and their daughters, Susan (Molly O’Hehir) and Katy (Sophie David). They also have a weak and disabled son, Tiny Tim (Joshua White).

      Scrooge announces to his staff (Marjorie De Caux, Katherine Leevers, Shelly Miller) that they must come into work as normal on Christmas Day. The factory cook, Jan Butty (Jacqui Warner – fabulous) and her two useless, but hilarious assistants, Dough (Rachel Vonk) and Nut (Suzy June Wakeling) decide to cheer up their boss by baking him a cake.

      Just as he is about to go home, Bob answers the office door to two charity workers, Shirley (Jacqui Ashman) and Marjory (Lee Thompson), who are asking for donations for the poor. As they leave, Scrooge’s nephew, Fred (Blake Prosser) and his girlfriend, Elizabeth (Simone Willis) call around to invite Scrooge to their home for Christmas dinner – the reply is naturally ‘bah humbug’.

      On Christmas Eve, as the clock is striking midnight, Scrooge climbs into bed. Soon he is asleep. In his dreams, he meets the Ghost of Christmas Past (Ray Egan), who shows him the happiness that once surrounded him as a child. He sees his school friend, Jacob Marley (Caitlyn Moloney) trying to encourage young Ebenezer (Timothy Zuiddam) to enjoy himself. Then, years later as a young man, Scrooge (Guy Jackson) is seen spending his Christmas doing bookwork and trying to make more money. Even a visit from his childhood sweetheart, Belle (Natasha Smith, under-studied by Katherine Leevers) fails to make him happy.

       In a creepy sequence, Scrooge sees the people that he has treated badly, led by Head Spook (Tim Ward) and his Spook team (Jana Gardner, Lilly Miller, Niamh O’Herir, Sam White, Sarah Zuiddam) rising from their graves and dancing before him. (The first few seconds of this scene may disturb very young children, who have not experienced Halloween fun).

       The nightmare continues as the Spirit of Christmas Present (Suzanna Matla) appears in a beautiful white fur coat; she shows Scrooge the sadness and poverty of the Cratchit’s home. The Spirit of Christmas Future (Luke Miller) then arrives and demonstrates to Scrooge what a difference he could make to his workers’ lives.

       Scrooge goes into the street where he meets a paperboy (Jacob Clayton – very good) and asks him to buy a giant turkey from Mr Brisket, the butcher (Adrian Ashman), and then take it to the Cratchit household.

      Could life be changing for this wretched old miser?

 Choreographer, Rachel Vonk has done a wonderful job with such a large and young cast. With guidance of the experienced directors, Amanda Minutillo and Sallie Ketteringham, Rachel has mingled some of the performers amongst the audience, encouraging punter involvement. Well-rehearsed dancing and singing, accompanied by the catchy, perfectly balanced, pre-recorded tracks from Tony Perry, made specially to the directors’ requirements.

Richard Hadler was brilliant as Scrooge, insulting the audience and drawing plenty of boos and hisses banter throughout.

As Fezziwig, Luke Miller gave an energetic dance performance in the Gangnam style sequence. Little Lilly Miller, whilst very young, was faultless.

The singer of the evening was Tiny Tim (Joshua White), who must be congratulated on his beautiful rendition of ‘Where is Love?’ from ‘Oliver’, which he sang – unaccompanied – with great emotion and perfectly in tune. The sound designer for this fast moving complex show was Tony Perry, with Greg Rusha operating the desk. Great lighting from designer Mike Smale.

There must have been around a eighty costumes for this colourful show, but costume designers, Marjorie De Caux and Shelly Miller, along with their seamstresses gave us a real visual treat.

This really is a show for ALL of the family. Great songs, colour, jokes, slapstick and dancing, what more could one ask for? Another Marloo triumph.

DEAF and HARD OF HEARING  Wednesday 22nd June enjoy Terry Pratchett’s ‘Wyrd Sisters’ with AUSLAN SIGNING by Christy Filipich

It is Mediaeval England. There are several, very different scenes. The flats, which cover the full width of the stage, are built on castors so they can rotate. Some flats are like books with a few pages on each revolve. Owen Davis’s scenery was bright, quirky and superbly built. Between scenes, 4 or 5 stagehands could make the change in seconds; even when the crown room with a dais and two thrones was turned into the witches kitchen, with workbench, two armchairs and a table – 8 seconds! That must be one of the best-organised and speediest crews ever (stage manager David Bain, ASM Belinda Beatty, James Scott, Guy Jackson). The props were unusual and very demanding on the poor Lesley Sutton.
The lighting design (Mike Smale) was complex and well planned, picking out the actors as they moved around the stage. The two follow spots were operated by Emma Dee and Charlie Montgomery. The sound effects (Alice Carroll) were crisp and perfectly cued – a few zany effects brought belly laughs.
The costumes ranged from witch Ogg’s tat, to Lady Felmet’s gown, from the soldiers’ uniforms to the town’s peasants. A great deal of thought had been carefully sewn into every garment. Marjorie DeCaux at her very best.

        To the sound of thunder we meet the three witches, the Wyrd Sisters; they are the highly regarded and tough old bird, Granny Weatherwax (Fi Livings), mother of fifteen Nanny Ogg (Chantelle Pitt), and Magrat Garlick (Alisha Napier), an apprentice witch who believes in the old fashioned methods of magic involving covens and cauldrons. They are discussing the recent murder of King Verence (Rachel Vonk).
        The Wyrd Sisters see a peasant (Verity Lux) fleeing the evil Duke Felmet (Ryan Marano), who has the Lady Macbeth syndrome of constantly cleaning his hands. Now that Felmet has become King, his cruel, mercenary wife, Lady Felmet (Taneal Thompson) demands that the taxes are collected. The peasant has in her breadbasket a baby – the newly born prince, who is rightful heir to the throne. However, a bowman (Thomas Outred) shoots the peasant and the witches rescue the infant, Tomjon. They give him to a childless, loving couple of touring actors, Mr Vitoller (Ryan Marano) and Mrs Vitoller (Kathleen ‘Martha’ Nyland).
        Whilst in their kitchen, the witches are visited by a Demon (Bailey O’Hehir) who warns them of the troubles ahead.
         The witches realise that it will be at least 15 years before the prince will be able to rule, so with advanced magic, they travel forward in time.
Felmet sends the court Fool (Billy Darlington – delightful) to find the performers’ troupe, and Tomjon (Lochland Baynham) who is now a talented actor. The court jester sees Magrat being robbed by a conman (Aryan Menon) saves her and falls in love. Duke Felmet fears Tomjon will take his rightful place as King, so he orders a playwright Hwel (Suzy June Wakeling) to weaken the witches powers by writing a play that mocks them.
        The witches trick their way past the guards (Verity Bruce, Sabrina O’Brien) at the castle gate. The witches meet the ghost of the King who tells them how Felmet stabbed him. Felmet sends out his soldiers to capture the crones, but instead they encounter a set of actors dressed as witches (Rosemary Bruce, Sabrina O’Brien, Martha Nyland, Kira Pearce).
        Felmet’s Sergeant (Kayleigh Lux) catches the real witches, and his soldiers (Kira Pearce, Glenda Napier) throw them into prison.

Will the witches escape? What will happen to the Duke and Lady Felmet? Will Tomjon become King?

The script has numerous amusing links to Shakespeare’s plays, especially ‘Macbeth’.
I think this may be the first major production directed by Harrison MacLennan, who was ably assisted here by Guy Jackson. With a massive cast to handle and some actors as young as 12 yrs. (Bailey O’Hehir – a star in the making?), I was expecting the show to stagger through. However, EVERY member of the cast was superbly rehearsed and totally focused. There were no vacant faces when other actors were talking, and everyone acted with their bodies and faces. Good, solid and natural performances from this young team. The magnificent witches had some hilarious lines, delivered with perfect comedic timing.
The entrances and exits worked smoothly, even when a dozen actors were involved.
This is a complex script, and so was a major undertaking; but the direction is so clear and the performances so confident that children from 8 yrs. and up will enjoy the madness. Great fun.

Presented by the Darlington Theatre Players Inc, at the Marloo Theatre, 20 Marloo Road, Greenmount Hill, Mundaring. This hilarious, two-hour and a quarter hour play – which premiered in 1983 – can be seen on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8.00 until 7^th May. There are matinees on 24^th April 24 and 1^st May at 2.00 pm.

The scene is the 1980s in a USA fishing lodge in rural Georgia.

This set is another jaw-dropping production from the best set designer in the area – George Boyd. Built by a dozen hard workers, including the techs and cast, and working on a minimal budget we are presented with a massive, timber panelled, lounge (convincing painting by Adrian Ashman), a double staircase, a brick chimney, motel reception area and patio doors with rain lashing down outside. As always at the Marloo, there were numerous props to give that special touch of authenticity (Lesley Sutton, Ray Egan).

The sound effects were crisp (George Boyd) and operated perfectly by Belinda Beattie. Several lighting effects, including a lightning storm, were well planned by Michael Hart and David Bain, then operated by Brendan Tobin. There were several unusual – to say the least – costumes required, and Marjorie De Caux was there as always.

       When English SAS trainer, Froggy Le Soeur (Keith Scrivens) has to go to America for a course, he takes along his friend Charlie (Joe Isaia) who has marital problems and depressed. He also suffers from extreme nervousness when in company. In fact, he is petrified to talk to anyone. 

      The two men arrive at Betty Meeks (Jacqui Warner) country fishing lodge. Betty has the usual warm welcome, but it is obvious that she is hitting hard times and having trouble maintaining the guesthouse.

      To hide Charlie’s shyness, Froggy tells Betty that Charlie is a foreigner and cannot speak a word of English. Because of this false assumption, whilst Charlie sits having a cup of tea, he hears several private conversations, including the ‘love secrets’ of the local vicar, David (Rodney Van Groningen) and his fiancée, Catherine (Kylie Isaia). Within hours, further local scandals become exposed.

      Before long, Charlie finds himself being taught English by Catherine’s retarded brother, Ellard (Blake Prosser). Into the house comes a local undesirable, Owen (Richard Hadler) an inbred thug who hates ‘outsiders’. Very soon, Charlie is in major trouble.

The director, Robert Warner and his assistant Joe Isaia faced a major task putting on such an unusual style of comedy. They chose a fabulous cast, including some of Community Theatre’s funniest actors; the chemistry between them was outstanding.

The giggles poured out, with a couple of belly laughs a minute. There were no jokes, it could not be described as a farce, and yet it was one of the funniest shows I have seen in months. Although every actor was perfectly tuned in and each gave a tremendous performance, I am sure they will not mind me saying that it was Joe Isaia – with their help – who nailed it. His expressions and body language had the audience falling about. Superb teamwork.

This is a DON’T MISS production. Hilarious from the opening minutes.

The LP soundtrack of the 1984 film sold 15 million copies. Two of the songs being nominated for Oscars.

This bright and effervescent musical is being performed by the Darlington Theatre Players at Marloo Theatre, Marloo Road, Greenmount each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening at 8.00, with matinees on Sundays at 2.00 pm until Saturday 12^th March.

There were no sets as such, but there were some very impressive structures (George Boyd designer) which were beautifully built and perfectly conveyed the atmosphere of the locality. Some were massive, such as the sport’s stadium, terrace seating – which moved around in total silence. Other features include the church entrance, a soda bar and barbeque eatery. The only ‘standard set’ is the minister’s home (props Raelene Cover). There were about two dozen involved in the construction, with a further dozen as stage crew.

The production was managed by Gail Palmer, and stage-managed by Rob Warner and David Bain – most impressive.

       Teenage Ren (Liam Borbas) and his Mum, Ethel (Clare Fazackerley), move from Chicago to the Mid-West, woop woop town of Bomont, to live with Ren’s Aunt Lulu (Jacqui Warner) and Uncle Wes (Alan Markham).

      At Ren’s new school is Ariel (Brittany Isaia), daughter of the puritanical minister, Reverend Moore (John Taylor) and his wife, Vi (Kylie Isaia). Ariel has an obnoxious boyfriend, Chuck Cranston (Blake Prosser), who works at the local garage with three wasters, Travis (Ethan Acott), Lyle (Owen Davis) and Rhett (Alistair Ball). Ariel’s school friends, Wendy-Jo (Suzy June Wakeling), Rusty (Teah Dunning) and Urleen (Charlize Gosnell) try to warn her about Chuck but Ariel will not listen.

       Ren finds himself being outcast by the school Principal (Michele Acott) for being too outspoken. Even local cop (David Seaman) gives him a ticket. The sports coach, Mr Dunbar (Luke Miller) and his wife, Eleanor (Sarah Palmer), treat Ren shabbily because they are Bridge friends of the Rev. Shaw.

       Whilst in Betty’s (Rachel Vonk) ‘Blast’ soda café, shy Willard (Chris Ball) explains the no pop music and dancing policy of the town council. As the trio sing (Georgia Kinnane, Nicola Kinnane and Belinda Beatty) Ren musters his classmates and unsuccessfully demands a senior prom, and so with a group of friends drive 100 miles to an untamed night of liberty at the Bar BQ Club. The Club is a wild place, where Bob (Simon Dreyer) and the cowgirls (Gemma Addison and Eden Sambridge) boot scoot, as the singers (Darin Aqila, Charlie Darlington) chant.

      Can Ren win Ariel’s heart? With the help of friends, Jeter (Billy Darlington) and Garvin (Matt Manning), can anything be done win over Reverend Moore’s mind block?

Other performers include: Steph Shaw, Aaliyah Thompson, Asha Vivian, Brooklyn Kamer, Rebecca Mattison, ​​Channing Whitworth, Laura Goodlet, Nieve Hope, Caitlyn Hughes, Sophie Todd, Jordan Tabb, Emilie Tiivel, Tania Morrow, Clare Smale, Caitlin Walker and Luke Heath.

Suzanne Kosowitz, the musical director, has done an outstanding job. The music from her seven-piece band was well-balanced and complemented the singing, rather than have the poor singers fighting to be heard (as so often happens). The band members were Tabitha Broughton (woodwind), Thomas Felton (Electric bass), Cameron Hayes and Harrison Love (Guitar), Jo Keenan and Daniel Slee (Keyboard) with Richard Pooley (Drums).

With a cast of ‘thousands’, each wearing around four intricate and stylish costumes each, wardrobe mistress Marjorie De Caux wisely enlisted the help of Shelly Miller, Rachel Vonk and Sophie Todd. The result was stunning, plenty of colour and quality, all based in that era three decades ago.

The choreography, thanks to Arianah Isaia skills, was inventive and fresh. With such a huge cast to handle, there is inevitably a couple of actors out of sync, however, this cast – right up to the final curtain – were smiling, fully charged and performing quite complex movements. Even the singers had intricate arm and hand movements. The dancing ranged from romantic waltz, boot scooting, soft shoe to tap dancing.

The sound, designed by Chris Hewitt, Greg Rusha and Dylan Borbeau, was brilliant. The train sound effects (Anita Bound, Lesley Broughton) amazing. The slight echo used on the voices gave them depth, and the ‘dreaded’ headsets actually worked perfectly.

Joy Miles and Shelly Miller’s pulsing light design was in sync with the music, with the choice of colours and brightness levels spot-on. Well done Lesley Broughton, Julie Hickling and Lachie Kessey.

The directors, Joe Isaia and his assistant Michele Acott, had to oversee dozens of youngsters and complicated teching, before they even got to the singing and dancing. Joe selected a great team and it showed. Most productions are lucky to get a couple of good singers and the rest are average. This production had at least a dozen talented singers, and most of them could dance beautifully too.

EVERY single actor was fully rehearsed, and performed immaculately. Congratulations.

This fun musical has drive, colour and vibrancy, try and catch it.

This Darlington Theatre Company production can be seen at the Marloo Theatre, Marloo Road in Greenmount on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings until 12^th December, curtain up 7.30 pm, Sunday matinees 2.00 pm.

Incidentally, the Marloo Theatre website now requires an ‘au/’ at the end of the address. Their real website is not ‘for sale’, so please use   http://www.marlootheatre.com.au/

All of the flats, at the rear and side of the stage, were very pale, dappled blue. Colourful fruit barrows and their attendants stand at the side. There was the exterior of a small cottage. In another scene was the corner of a harem and a small swimming pool.

      Thunder can be heard as beautiful Fairy Bowbells (Natasha Smith) strolls onto the stage, in search of her lost friend, Rosalind (Sophie David). She finds her pal locked in a cage, and as she releases her, there is a flash of lightning and the evil Esmerelda (Siobhán Vincent) – boo hiss – arrives. She cons Bowbells into giving her a magic neck talisman. With this new power, Esmeralda turns Rosalind into a black cat, Kitty (Tanya Doogan).

      In the town square, Bosun Bowleg (David Seman) and two seamen (Adrian Ashman, Paul Presbury) are searching for a new captain for Alderman Fitzwarren’s (Paul Reed) boat. The Alderman’s atrocious cook, Sarah (Suzanna Matla) is destroying even more food in her oven. Two local idiots, ‘I’ (Jonathan Quinn) and ‘Spy’ (Angus Cummings) have been hired to follow and kidnap, Alice Fitzwarren (Melissa Bull), the Alderman’s daughter; however, Esmerelda’s press gang, the evil Rats (Sophie David – radiated stage presence, Thomas Outred, James Dick,) led by King Rat (David Bain) – boo, hiss – were also out to kidnap any able-looking man.

      As handsome Dick Whittington (Channing Whitworth – good singing) is helping scout leader, Miss Peabody (Jacqui Ashman), he is captured and whisked away onto a ship. They set sail for Morocco but their boat sinks.

       The extremely wealthy Sultan (Michael Hart – at his best) and his gorgeous daughter, the appropriately named Maneeta (Tyler Morgan) capture the crew. The Sultan’s butler, Jeeves (Timothy Presant) pleads on behalf of the captives, but the Sultan continues to admire the harem dancers (Jenny Trestrail, Natasha Smith, Rachel Vonk).

       Will dangerous Esmerelda be stripped of her powers? Is there any happiness or love left in the World?

 

Marloo has one of the largest stages in the WA community theatre group, and although the small amount of set was of quality (George Boyd), the quantity let it down. The stage often looked stark. Whenever the chorus left the stage, the two or three actors remaining appeared lost in a void. Perhaps leaving a few ‘peasants’ loitering whilst the singers performed would have helped. There was good and speedy set changes by stage manager Hayley Derwort’s team of Jordan Tabb, Elanor Cooper-Ritter, Graham Dick, Michael Dick and Ashley Johnson. When the LED lighting changed from white to colour, it certainly helped make the scene more intimate and less clinical (lighting designed by Michael Hart and David Bain, operated by Mike Smale).

The lightning and explosion effects were MOST impressive, especially when topped off with Greg Rusha and Brendan Tobin’s inventive sound design.

The costumes (Rachel Vonk, Tracy Vonk, Sallie Ketteringham) were perfect for the characters, ranging from the beautiful gown of Fairy Bowbells, to the ‘horrible rats’ outfits. Then there was the diaphanous dress of the Sultan’s drag queen daughter, Maneeta – great fun. Then there is that very different camel (constructed by Annie Bramble) – not your typical Panto camel – it was meant to be ridiculous, matching the two mad characters inside.

‘Dick Whittington’ was enthusiastically directed by the talented Rachel Vonk. The intricate choreography was clever and well rehearsed, thanks to Joanne Neesham. The musical directors, Brendan Tobin and Amanda Minutillo gave us catchy tunes, with a sensible sound level to ‘accompany’ rather than take over the singer’s vocal cords. At times, perhaps too many different themes were taking place on stage simultaneously. Plenty of action is wonderful, but to have serious singing, with dancing and a comedic camel altogether can be a little overwhelming.

A thought :- Who was the Dame of this panto? What does a Dame normally look like?

When comedians crack jokes, the script can be first-class, but much of the success depends upon the style of delivery. The cast were word perfect and well-rehearsed, but often the lines were delivered as though they were part of a drama – clearly, at a good pace but in the wrong genre, so many of the jokes did not quite work correctly. The corny humour especially needs to be spelt out – as though telling a four year old a joke – with even a boom boom noise from the musical accompaniment or a simple bass drum just to drive home the point. Pantos are the one time that ‘ham’ is best.

‘Marloo’ can be relied on to entertain children of all ages. Your kids would love this.

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.

This very funny two and a half hour, dark comedy by the Darlington Theatre Players, can be seen at the Marloo Theatre, 20 Marloo Road, Greenmount on a Friday and Saturday nights at 8.00 until Saturday 16^th May. There are two Sunday matinees at 2.00 pm.

It is present day in the upmarket living and dining area of the Patterson’s home, somewhere in Australia.

Another magnificent set from George Boyd. The dining area is raised and the table is set for a special family meal. The sitting room area has a comfortable three-piece suite and jarrah furnishings. There are two arches leading to the bedrooms and front door. The director and his assistant, the technical crew, George Boyd, Michael Hart, Dennis Sutton and the stage crew, Graeme Dick and James Dick, combined efforts to build this stunning set. Lesley Sutton has carefully chosen props give a truly authentic ‘lived in’ finish.

Very good, well thought-out, lighting design operated by David Bain. Two large pendants light the area. David has taken the time to light passageways, and when the room door was opened the area beyond was lit up and not, as often seen, just a black void. Chantelle Pitt operated George Boyd’s sound design with precision.

       A spotlight picks out a wall clock and dour Ron Patterson (Ray Egan). Ron explains how three months ago his specialist told him he is dying, and that he had three months to live. Ron took him at his word – not 3 and a bit months, but three months precisely to the minute. Today is the day; he has 111 minutes left to live. His wife Dawn (Siobhán Vincent) has decided to gather the family around for party pies and Pavlova, in an attempt to help Ron tie up the loose ends of his strained family life.

      The lights dim, and seconds later we join Ron’s high flying, businessman son, Michael (Richard Hadler) and his elder daughter, Debbie (Belinda Djurdjevic), 35 and still not married! They are trying to decide why their father has called the family gathering. Could he have discovered that Michael is gay?

      The younger daughter, Karen (Laura Williams) arrives, wearing a miniskirt, bright red shoes and a massive chip on her shoulders. She moans and complains, ‘why is her Dad wasting her time?’, but as soon as Ron and Dawn enter the room, her little pet-lip pouts and they tell her how wonderful she is, so much better than the two disappointing older children.

      Before long, at Ted’s request, a young undertaker (Harry MacLennan) calls to check the funeral details.

This is a hilarious script, and with a laugh about every twenty seconds, it required a first class, inspired director and Brendan Tobin was just the man, most capably assisted by Rachel Vonk. The dialogue was perfectly delivered by a cast that thoroughly understood their characters. All of the personality traits were there, brought to life by great body language and facial expressions. The father’s stern and miserable outlook, the loving caring mother who went with the flow, the petulant and jealous Karen, Michael was anxious and impatient with Debbie trying to be patient despite being the one who is bottom of the family tree. The euphoric undertaker, Ron, just sat with an angelic smile. Rarely I have I seen such a perfectly integrated cast, everyone gets 10/10 for performances. The pace and chemistry outstanding. A massive compliment but thoroughly deserved.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow to director Brendan, you deserve a rest and be pampered.

The laughter did not let up for a moment; sit near the aisle you will need it to roll in. Try to catch it, funniest show in years.

This wonderful observation of family life and attitudes in the 1960s was published in 1997 and first produced the same year. The play is thought to be semiautobiographical.

This fine production from the Darlington Theatre Players can be seen nightly at the Marloo Theatre, Marloo Road, Greenmount until 21^st March. Curtain up at 8.00 pm.

The stage is divided into three areas. To the left is a hospital bed complete with drips etc. At the rear of the stage is a raised area representing the mother’s home, with black drapes for the walls. The simplicity of the scene is compensated for by the high quality of the props, ranging from an old record player to antique furniture (Carol Hall).

On the right is a turntable stage with a 1960s kitchen on one-half and on rotation a comfortable 1990s sitting room. Again, the extras make the scene, such as little touches as the calendar changing as the years go by. Another clever set from George Boyd.

       The opening scene is an intensive care unit of the local hospital. An elderly woman takes a deep breath through her oxygen mask. This is Kate Macrae (Amanda Minutillo). Her loving and caring daughter, Judy Macrae (Kerri-Anne Mulley) and her son, who has travelled from France to see her, visit the mother. The son, Stephen Macrae (Paul Reed) is more interested in getting back home, than talking to his matriarchal mother. Even on her deathbed, Kate is not giving up on being the boss.

      As they, sit chatting in the ward, Kate recalls her now departed, racially bigoted and politically one-eyed husband, Ron. The mother, despite having suffered at his hand for years, stills seems to show affection for the bully.

      Later at the mother’s home, the siblings are going through old photos and letters in preparation for her passing. As they talk, there is a flashback to the stormy lifestyle in their 1963 childhood home, where the father Ron Macrae (Richard Milner) is trying to run rehearsals for a community play. A younger Kate Macrae (Irma McCullen) is trying to help a very nervous, incompetent actress, Maureen Donahue (Alyssa Burton – hilarious) struggle through her lines. Director, Ron is far too busy admiring the many ‘qualities’ of another actress, Claire (Rachel Bartlett).

      A couple of years later, in 1965, as the family are eating their breakfast, the father is ranting as usual and the young son, Stephen Macrae (Ben Constantin) tells his kid sister, Judy Macrae (Elanor Cooper-Ritter) that he is going to leave home and his Uni course, travel abroad and become a film director.

       Does the passing of the years mellow this family?

As the scenes are many (two dozen) and quite short, I suspect that this play was written with TV or cinema in mind, with simple intercutting between scenes. Despite clever set design and fast changes by the crew, the flow was inevitably broken up.

David Bain operated both Greg Rusha’s sound design, and Michael Hart’s intricate lighting design.

Director Hayley Derwort and her assistant Rachel Vonk are two of Marloo’s younger members, both of them directing for the first time. They were faced with a large number of very different characters in the script, but this did not faze them, the interaction between the actors, the pace and the chemistry all worked well. The acting was such that the lady behind me in the audience kept forgetting it was a play, and became quite irate at the attitude of the father – especially to immigration – and to the son’s feelings for his mother, with comments like ‘He can’t say that!’ and ‘That is terrible!’. A sure sign that the cast and directing are working as one. A very good first stab at direction, the slickness will come after a few shows.

This play is very different to David Williamson’s normal, easy-going, fun plays. It is a wonderful, punchy observation of family life, combined with the outdated viewpoints; it is amazing how much opinions have changed for the better in just a couple of decades. We also get a brief glimpse at the employment conditions of the 60s. The younger Kate Macrae (Irma McCullen) captured the wife’s torment perfectly and her spar with Stephen (Ben) is one of the play’s highlights.

Rachel was also responsible for the costumes, which demanded styles from several eras, from 1960s flares and Paisley, to the attire of the 2000s. Her clever outfits described the fashion and personality of the wearer instantly.

Certainly worth seeing. There are plenty of laughs, but with many occasions where you will cringe at the diabolical dialogue. Very well acted, another winning production from Marloo.

After a run of 1,000 nights on Broadway, it swept the board at the 1949 Tonys, then went on to win another dozen Tony Awards for the revivals in the years that followed. A film was made in 1953, starring Howard Keel. This was MGM’s first 3-D musical in MIRACULOUS stereo!

If you are over 30 then you will know a couple of the songs, over 50 and you will be singing along with half a dozen tunes that you did not really know came from a musical, such as ‘Wunderbar’, ‘We Open in Venice’, ‘I Hate Men’ and ‘Too Darn Hot’.

Many congratulations to Gwyne Marshall on her rare award from the ITA, for her services to community theatre. Most deserving.

The Darlington Theatre Players are proudly presenting this spectacular musical at the Marloo Theatre, 20 Marloo Road, Greenmount at 8.00 pm on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until 13^th December. Sunday matinees are on Sunday 30^th and 7^th at 2.00 pm.

      A production of a musical is about to open, and the cast are warming up in the wings. Hattie (Eileen Coleman) steps forward and gives a rip roaring rendition of ‘Another Op’nin’, Another Show’ as the wardrobe mistress (Rachel Vonk) wheels in a rack of costumes.

      However, for the show’s arrogant director and male lead, Fred Graham (Chris Gerrish – see below), and the leading lady, Fred’s famous ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi (Katherine Freind) things are about to get overheated. Fred is now in love with man magnet, Lois Lane (Nyree Hughes). Lois, as well having a laugh like a horse, already has a steady boyfriend, gambler Bill (Sean Yeo).

      The stage manager (David Seman) gives a 5-minute call, just as two debt-collecting, dapper gangsters (Keith Scrivens, Alex Markham – hilarious team work) appear at the theatre door. It seems someone has signed Fred’s name on an IOU and they are here to collect.

       Lilli advises Fred that she has recently become engaged to General Harrison Howell (Brendan Tobin) and flashes her stunning engagement ring.

      Their production, ‘Taming of the Shrew’ has started on stage, and the wealthy but distraught Baptista (Michael Hart) is desperately trying to marry off his obnoxious daughter, Kate (Katherine Friend) to anyone stupid enough to take her. Baptista’s servants (Barbara Lovell, Luke Heath) are laying out a feast as an encouraging lure. The locals (Natasha Smith, Elanor Cooper-Ritter, Tanya Doogan, Angus Cummings, Lachlan Kessey) arrange for the revelry.

     When the army general arrives to see his fiancée Lilli, he sees an old love, Lois, and arranges to meet secretly with her at a later date.

      With so many people in love with each other, who will end up with whom?

The director of this magnificent production is Neroli Burton, who has been responsible for a couple of dozen major musicals in WA. She really has that magic touch of keeping large crowd scenes moving and all of the performers looking interested. When your outstanding, leading man gets as a sore throat and has to call off, Neroli was so lucky to have such a talent as Musical Director, Justin Friend who managed to step in, script in hand (although hardly used). Justin managed to give an amazing full dramatic and comedic performance. Katherine might have had her bottom smacked by her real-life husband, but he received several face slaps in return.

The singers, especially the leads, had powerful voices that retained clarity and perfect pitch, a joy to listen to. There was an exhausting, thigh slapping dance routine with Jake Fryer, David Zuiddam and a young lady, sorry not sure who) which was one of the highlights of choreographer, Jessica Russell’s superbly creative routines.

Again, the new LED lamps coupled with Mike Hart, David Bain and Mike Small’s skills, showed that extra range of hues and luminescence control brought visual excitement to every scene. Greg Rusha and Chantelle Pitt’s soundscape was crisp and lively. The costumes were perfect for the late 1940s and the historical Shakespearean play, their style, cut and colours were immaculate, from the Mobster suits to the flowing gowns, all were created by Marjorie DeCaux, Nyree Hughes and Rachel Vonk. There were numerous props required, but again Lesley Sutton and Carol Hall spared no effort.

The musicians (sorry no names) were playing at the rear of the stage. They kept the pace flowing flawlessly, with a fine balance and just the correct volume.

Finally, but by no means least – the scenery. The backcloth artwork (Adrian Ashman, Owen Davis) gave an extra depth to the stage and had a wonderful warm Mediterranean glow. The required ‘full sets’ of flats and furniture, ranged from a small theatre passage, to two dressing rooms, a sitting room, an Italian town square complete with balconied mansions and a church; who better to entrust the task to than George Boyd? George is renowned for his set ‘convertibility’. His stage team were silent and swift as they manoeuvred huge blocks of set, like a Rubik’s Cube, in seconds. Even by George’s standard, this series of sets were unbelievable, the lateral thinking astounding.

How often is a show advertised as a ‘spectacular musical’ and you find it flat? A true spectacle should have superb singing, well-synchronised imaginative choreography, dancers who smile and look interested, stunning scenery, quality sound and lighting, lots of laughs and brilliant costumes – well folks, this show has EVERYTHING. Only a couple of shows to go, but even for a company that is well known for its musicals, this has to be one of their best. Energy packed. Fabulous.

This fine 90-minute production is being presented by the Darlington Theatre Players at the Marloo Theatre, Marloo Road, Greenmount on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8.00 until Saturday 19^th July.

Reflecting the (deliberate) amateur theme of the play, the rough-hewn set (built by John Hillan) comprises sandstone castle walls, with a series of arches across the rear of the stage. These arches face towards the rear of the stage, as the audience find themselves ‘on the stage’ watching the actors perform to their audience – the backcloth.

          Pianist Gwynneth (Marjorie De Caux) warms up the audience with a burst of ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Tequila’, an unusual choice for ‘Macbeth’, but as we are to find out, nothing in a Farndale, play is usual.

         Onto the stage strides Mrs Reece (Neroli Burton) the proud director of this production. This haughty thespian seems unaware of the true inadequacy of her cast and crew. She introduces the audience to a special guest; he is Mr Peach (Ray Egan), an adjudicator for a prestigious acting competition, who will oversee the play.

         The curtains open, catching the stage hand, Henry (Rodney Stickells-Palmer) trying to organise the three witches (Alyssa Burton, Rachel Vonk, Taneal Thompson) who are late for their entrance. To make things worse, one of the witches has lost her voice. Then the stage manager, David (Richard Coleman) discovers that Lady Macbeth has called in sick, the performance has started; before he knew what had hit him, Henry was volunteered for the part.

        The play progresses and we see Macbeth (Siobhan Vincent) witness an original entrance for the ghost of Banquo (Fi Livings).

        How will Mr Peach see this theatrical disaster?

Gail Palmer, the director, and her assistant Marjorie De Caux have chosen a VERY difficult genre to produce. This series of comedies is famous for failing and being un-funny, but Gail has captured the subtleties of the style and skilfully directed her talented cast to give a very dry, humour filled performance. The blunderings are perfectly carried out, appearing as accidents and NOT with the boom-boom calamities of a pantomime. To make such chaos succeed, every member of the cast must capture their very different personalities and appear to go their own separate ways – this every member did, flawlessly.

The techs have their ‘mistakes’ down to a split second, with sound effects (Greg Rusha) and lighting (Michael Hart) cues out of sync. The costume girls (Marjorie De Caux and Sallie Ketteringham) and the props arrangers had their work really cut out. The costumes were varied and unusual, the props weird and wonderful, but both gave the audience plenty of laughs. Stage managers, David Bain and George Boyd, had several crazy moments operating the strange props.

This play may not be everyone’s type of humour, but it will win your admiration. To make anything, whether magic, slapstick or blundering look unrehearsed, it requires a huge amount of practice; this team were at their very best when delivering the laughs.