In every performance, at the Drama Workshop (next to car park 4), Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, there are two plays being presented for the low price of one; they are ‘Elephant Dreaming’ and ‘The Awakening’.

The two and three quarter-hour performances are nightly until Saturday 5^th April. Curtain up at 8.00 pm. There is one matinee on Saturday at 3.00 pm.

The stage has a massive elephant head painted on the black rear wall.

 ‘Elephant Dreaming’, was written and directed by Dr. David Moody.

        We find ourselves at the elephant enclosure of a second rate, uncaring zoo.

        Several elephants are sitting around, bored out of their minds trying to entertain themselves. Mary, a senior Elephant (Belle Venus Toy) is reading a magazine, and Jenny, the ancient elephant matriarch (Clare Talbot) a book. Jenny, who should be leading the group, has not spoken for many decades and is constantly depressed. Lying on the floor is Kimathi, a mature rogue Elephant (Bob Morshidi) along with his nephew, the younger, excitable Rollo (Ryan Partridge), they are playing chess together.

      A loud whistle is sounded and a voice shouts ‘It is Showtime!’ It is the contemptible zoo keeper, Tony (Tadgh Bird) who is more worried about being admired by the audience than worrying for the animals in his care. The pachyderms stagger to their feet and disinterestedly take up their positions, ready to ‘amaze’ the audience.

     One day Rani (Milly Dee), a newly captured, young elephant arrives, she is led in by Erin – Tony’s animal loving assistant (Maree Stedul).

     We gradually learn the tragic life stories of these captive creatures.

In spite of the powerful display of anger by Kimathi, the beautiful singing of Jenny and the heart rending tale by Mary, this play dragged on. To be fair, it is advertised as ‘a work in progress’, but it was 30% too long. The jovial zoo keeper tackled his character’s part well, displaying the keeper’s insincerity perfectly, so that the audience wasn’t really lifted out of the interesting gloom.

The pace was deliberately slow to show the ennui of the animals, but with the unrelenting sad tales of cruelty to the animals and no real light relief, the play was hard going.

‘The Awakening’, written and directed by David Moody, and co-directed by Rebecca Thompson.

       The scene is Caliban’s island after the end of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ tale. For decades the sorcerer and misogynist, Prospero (David Moody) has ruled. This has forced several famous and misunderstood women in history, mythology and literature to join forces and to beckon the help of the mother of Caliban, Goddess Sycorax (Karen Hansord), a malicious and dominant enchantress.

      Duplicitous Hecate (Emma Flynn MacMillan) renowned for her magic, necromancy, and knowledge of poisonous plants, sets the scene, introducing her new companions and ‘army’.

Included are the wildly outspoken Medusa (Cat Maree Perez) a hideous female, with venomous snakes for hair; then there is the exotic dancer, Mata Hari (Janice Lim) a Dutch spy executed by firing squad during World War I.

      Quietly at the side sits Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude the Queen of Denmark (Katherine O’Brien) who married Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle who had just murdered his father. She is talking to Medea (Bethsaida Tapsall), who redressed her husband’s disloyalty by slaying their children.

      Morgana (Belle Venus Toy) was a powerful sorceress, the nemesis to Merlin, King Arthur’s magician. Morgana was thought to be Lady Igraine, wife of the Duke of Cornwall, so that Arthur became her half-brother.

      Dressed in a white dress was Artemis (Rebecca Thompson), the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, virginity and reliever of disease in women, she is sitting in deep conversation with Joan of Arc (Karen Hansord) the powerful French, religious army leader. Joan was initially unwilling to take part in the women’s scheme, but later relented. Into the gathering came Miranda (Jerry Bates), Prospero’s daughter. Perhaps the coven could use Miranda a lever against Prospero.

Sadly the dialogue for each character was fairly similar, verbose and with a clunky richness that occasionally brought inappropriate, spontaneous laughter form the audience. One audience member could hardly breathe she was laughing so much.

I like the premise of the play, with very interesting characters who promised so much more. The flow was broken with  blackouts as the actors repositioned, ready for the next tableau. The actors all showed the same ‘ham’ performance, over dramatic, body language that made one wonder about the directing instructions. Had it not been for Medusa (Cat Maree Perez, complete with cat’s eye contact lenses – superb) whose performance appeared natural and added the necessary comic interlude, this could easily have been a ‘walk out’ play.

Sadly, I have seen very much better work from the actors, writer and directors.

The techs for both plays were: – Stage Manager, Leah Toyne; Stage Manager, Kathryn Vincent; Lighting Operator, Matt Pashley.

The show was advertised as two hours for both plays, at almost three it was very hard work and this was reflected in the very brief, polite final applause.

There is a lockout on this show, sorry no latecomers.

For only $10 a ticket this play is a bargain.

The scene is a typical student’s room. The bedroom walls are black with large cracks forming. There is a large bookcase and a wooden packing trunk stands in the corner. In the centre of the room is a double bed. The floor is strewn with cushions and dice. (Set design John King, Sam Knox, stage managed by Danica Rickard)

      A young female student (Cecilia Allen) is sitting on her bed doing her homework. It is an English assignment and she is writing a strange tale that is about to be enacted before your very eyes. A studious librarian, Theodore (Justin Crossley), struts around checking the bookshelves and wondering why no one likes him. A smart, official looking woman, Sylvia (Tess Thompson) starts to give a grand narrative on what is going on in the mind of the student.

      Suddenly a man, David (Jordan Holloway – a born comedian) appears in his shirt and boxer shorts. He rolls a couple of dice, examines the massive bulge in his underwear and tells us about his best friend – ‘boner’. David introduces us to Kantkegaard (Rhianna Hall), a bold Scottish warrior, complete with kilt and Braveheart’s best weapon! While Kantkegaard is relating a daring experience, David is making love on the floor – most passionately – to Matthias (Ricky Burrattine).

      A hippy girl, Lilian (Kaitlyn Barry) enters shyly. Whilst Lilian tells how we should save the world, Theodore mutters on about being lonely and everyone else gets on with his or her life. Then suddenly, amidst thunder and lightning, enters Thefuckingplot (Maree Stedul) – an impressive stage entry. Thefuckingplot, who goes under the nickname of Imogen, gives us an meaningless, existential dissertation.

     A bored stagehand (Mike Casas) wanders aimlessly onto the set, lowers a cut-out moon, and staggers off. A cloaked, wise figure clutching staff in his hand and looking like Moses on a bad night, enters. This is the prudent one, Proxy-Shit (Rachel Doulton) what demoniac guidance will this sage give to the group?

Kate Willoughby directed this exceptionally funny, absurdist play that I found reminiscent of Alfred Jarry’s ‘Ubu Roi’. A few days ago, Kate brought the house down with her hilarious monologue in the ‘Sex and Sensuality 2’, now she has proved her extraordinary skills at directing. This epic theatre style of madness is especially difficult to direct, present and perform; if it does not have the dry, straight-faced delivery, the whole effect can just look infantile. The performers in this show were perfect, as the audience fell apart laughing they continued with the beautifully written script as though it was a major drama.

Suddenly, the stage would light up and a cast would burst into song, do a soft shoe shuffle and Vaudeville chorus line dance (ingenious choreography by Hattie Fettis).

The actors, some of whom are quite shy, have been taken well out of their comfort zone with this fundamental disharmony. This is what being a theatre student is all about, you must try everything – recitations, magic, juggling, stripping, stand-up comedy – anything that you dread or worry about, while you have the support of your fellow actors try it.

The script is very clever, in places written in the style of wartime moralist, journalist and playwright, Albert Camus. The Scots character is a dig at Camus’s sidekick, Kierkegaard who was obsessed with religion and suicide in the search for complete freedom. He thought that anything that was not Absurd was not rational.

The music is straight from the 60s, with crooners such as Nat King Cole. The sound design was impressive for such a simple show, well done Rachel Doulton (operator Daley King). The storm effect, linked with Scott McArdle’s lighting, worked well. The wild costumes (Melanie Buchanan) – what can I say? – Very well thought out, plenty of humour, especially Mac’s quarter pounder!

A simple little play that brought so many laughs. Absurd, no logic to the dialogue – but extremely funny. Congratulations.

All food, beverage and programme proceeds were donated to ‘This Star Won’t Go Out’, in support of families and children affected by cancer.

The large Nexus stage depicted the entrance hall to a large, busy hospital. The floor had on it, a big blue iris decoration. The set design, by Nicola Rivers, comprised a staircase at the rear, with a set of three symbolised windows represented by green LED strip lights in silicone tubes. There was a main hospital admissions desk at the side.

A central announcement calls for the workaholic and totally dedicated nurse, Harry Grayson (Aaron Vanderkley) to report to his ward. He cannot be found, and when Roland, the cleaner (Daley King) – and general source of gossip knowledge – doesn’t know where he is, then things are bleak. Thanks to gruelling double shifts, along with some incompetence, exhausted Harry is often carried, covered and aided by his colleagues, including Jo (Nicola Brescianini) who thinks Harry can do no wrong. Then there is Dr Owen Patrick (Laughton McKenzie) and his love interest, Dr Helen Scully (Shannon Rogers), who are sick and tired of clearing up Harry’s disasters. They decide to have him look after a particularly awkward patient, Sylvia Taylor (Emily David). In fact Sylvia seems to have numerous medical problems, but are they real or invented? Sylvia gives everyone a difficult time, especially the male medics, who call her ‘The Iceberg’. For special reasons, known only to Harry, he finds her a wonderful patient and has some unusual treatment to help her ailments. Sylvia has a exceptional friend, another patient, Douglas (Stephen Platt) who understands her fears and loneliness, and regularly calls around to see her. Harry has another problem, his anxious sister, Anne (Harriet Fettis) who is having a relationship with Paul (Nic Doig), one that jealous Harry cannot condone.

For every writer there is a defining moment when the scripts turn from ‘very good amateur’ to ‘truly professional’, this was Scott’s moment. The rich, beautifully constructed script has several well thought-out threads, great characters that are real and palpable. The writing has plenty of pathos countered with just the right amount of humour.

The story is quite tragic on several levels, but with superb direction from Sam Knox it was not at all depressing, but exciting and intriguing. It was a wise and very daring move for the playwright to give the script to a different director, but award winning Sam has done the play proud. She has captured the tenderness of some acts and boldly countered them with strong drama. Flashbacks and dream sequences added to the magic and work very well.

The acting was gripping, fast moving and of an amazing quality. Each cast member blends perfectly with each other. From the angry Dr Patrick, to the slow Roland, the sexy Dr Scully to the confused sister Anne. However, it was the depth of acting from the two main characters that gripped the audience; Sylvia visibly trembling with her ailing body, and the subtle changes in Harry’s persona throughout the play. Powerful acting and directing.

There were numerous set changes but these were slickly carried out by the ‘hospital auxiliaries’ (stage crew led by Danica Rickard and Anna Weir) and appeared part of the hospital routine. A drama never really works unless the costumes and the props appear authentic; here Leah Toyne and Sophie Braham have sourced the genuine articles from hospitals. The lighting designed by Scott McArdle was well considered, picking out just the right area of action, in the ideal colour temperature and brightness for the mood. Smooth operation from Sarah Bond.

The music, scored by Drew Krapljanov, captured the atmosphere and pace perfectly. The composer was happy for his music to enhance rather than rule the scene, as often happens. Sensitive sound operation was by Aiden Willoughby. Laura Arcudi and Katherine O’Brien ensured that the programme and publicity were worthy of this first class play and production.

This is a play that I can recommend to small acting groups or organisations who want to make an impression in their local community theatre. Like ‘One flew over …’ I am sure that we will see this play doing the rounds for years to come. I am certain that this play will be the start of many exciting, quality productions from the Scott McArdle, Sam Knox partnership. Excellent on all levels.