This Old Mill, 90-minute production can be seen at the Old Mill Theatre, Mends Street in South Perth. This curtain up at 7.30 pm each evening until Saturday 16^th December. Tickets are scarce.

The stage has two sets; on one side is the office of Scrooge and Marley – the flats were a grubby brown – and on the other side of the stage is the Cratchit’s kitchen. Centre stage became Scrooge’s meagre bedroom.

The set was designed by Justin Friend, and then built by Justin, Les Hart and Phil Barnett. The production manager, Sheila Wileman provided most of the antique props. The copyright owner supplied the orchestral music on CD, but this was melodiously enhanced by the choral accompaniment provided by the talented cast in the wings – well, trained by the musical director, Justin Freind.

Stage manager, Megan Burley, had a cast of thousands to control, but they entered and exited smoothly, from both the wings and the rear of the auditorium. This worked very well and added to the audience involvement. The set changes were smooth and unobtrusive.

The operation of the sound effects (Nina O’Doherty) and smoke machine were faultless.

John Woolrych’s lighting design was one of his best yet. Real candles lighted Scrooge’s office and the accompanying glow was of perfect tone and level. There was also good selective lighting on the soloist singers. One costume had small blue lamps built into the seams, well worth the extra work. The limelights of the era were replaced by two strips of LEDs that gave a chilling effect to some of the dream sequences. Ian O’Doherty faultlessly operated the lighting.

       The miserly owner, Ebenezer Scrooge (Barry Park), has paid Bob Cratchit (Craig Menner) minimal wages for decades. Ebenezer’s partner, the friendly and well-loved Jacob Marley died several years earlier. Poor Bob has also to help the two trainee accountants, Thomas and Richard (Blake Jenkins, Cooper Jenkins – great soft shoe shuffle) learn the trade. When Scrooge announces to his staff that they must come into work as normal on Christmas Day, the locals, Harold (Ashley Garner) and his friends (Cassidy Pemberton), Topper (Bonnie Kerslake) and Polly (Eliza Malcolm) are horrified and discuss Scrooge’s meanness.

       Bob lives in a decaying house with his dear wife, Mrs Cratchit (Hayley Grant) and their daughters, Belinda (Tahlia Menner) and Martha (Atira Shack). They also have a weak and disabled son, Tiny Tim (Orlando Borg – beautiful solo).

       Bob answers the office door to two charity workers, (Harriett Du Pont, Jenny Trestrail), who are asking for donations for the poor. As they leave empty handed, Scrooge’s nephew, Fred (George O’Doherty) and his girlfriend, Emily (Claudia Sciano) call around to invite Scrooge to their home for Christmas dinner – the reply is ‘bah humbug’.

On Christmas Eve, as the clock is striking midnight, Scrooge climbs into bed. Soon he is asleep. In a frightening dream sequence, he sees his old partner, Jacob Marley (Grant Malcolm – fabulous) wrapped in chains. Then he meets the Ghost of Christmas Past (Matilda Jenkins – beautiful voice), who shows him the happiness that once surrounded him as a schoolchild (Bradley Paulet) with young friends, Fan (Tashie Baker) and Wilkins (Jamie Buttery). Then, years later as a young man, Scrooge (Felix Malcolm) is seen spending his Christmas doing bookwork with his old kind boss, Fezziwig (David Major). Even a visit from his childhood sweetheart, (Jade Gibbons) fails to make him happy.

       The nightmare continues as the ebullient Spirit of Christmas Present (Nelson Clemente – more of a bubbly champagne than a ‘spirit’) appears as a wild Spanish dancer; with castanets clicking, he shows Scrooge the sadness and poverty of the Cratchit’s home, and the mercenary local pawnbroker (Wesley Williams) ripping off poor Mrs Dilbert (Georgia Dixon).

      Then the 3 metre tall Spirit of Christmas Future (Grant Malcolm), draped in black with a skeletal skull and arms, arrives and demonstrates to Scrooge what a difference he could make to his workers’ lives.

      Could life be changing for this wretched old miser?

This the year of the Scrooge. This version, directed by Justin Freind, is different to all of the others. It is filled with superb singing, fun and at times frightening ghosts. With a young cast, age range from eight to eighteen, the show sparkled and bounced along at a perfect pace. The numerous costumes were all carefully considered for the period and beautifully tailored by Jenny Prosser. Michelle Buttery’s makeup design was excellent, with Marley’s ghost looking particularly creepy.

With such a large cast, the importance of knowing how to move around the stage without bumping and causing chaos had been well learned. There were some novel touches, such as the white-faced ghosts wandering around Scrooge’s bedroom and then the audience.

Barry ‘Scrooge’ Park has been nominated this year for a Finley, and here he is with great characterisation and a soft, mellifluous voice, again proving why he was nominated.

An exceptional cast, I looked for the ensemble member who may nod off or be distracted – not even one, everybody was focused and dedicated.

Justin Freind’s shows are always quality, and this is another wonderful show to add to his résumé.

This fine play can be seen at the heritage-listed Old Mill theatre, on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road in South Perth, opposite the Windsor Hotel and Australia Post. Curtain up at 8.00 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until 22^nd October there are matinées at 2.00 pm on 9^th and 16^th October.

Greg Aylmore and Les Hart’s set is quite simple but very effective, too much clutter would have detracted from the dialogue. All of the walls are black. To one side is George’s dining area; with a raised, white front panelled, food preparation space. There is a table and chairs, also in black and white.

On the other side of the stage is Claudia’s flat, with a couple of comfortable, dark suede chairs.

John Woolrych’s fine lighting design is operated by techies, Sarah Christiner and Rex Gray. Be careful not to clip the music between scenes, fade it as carefully as the lighting. Not enough hands? Use your feet.

There were 18 mini Acts, smoothly handled by Stage Manager Maureen Harvie. The incidental music was well selected by Grant Windsor.

        With her laptop on the dining table, thirty-year-old journalist, Claudia (Ruhama Geiger), is taking notes for the cover and promotion of middle-aged author, George’s (Alan Kennedy) latest book.

        George, who still has his youthful charisma and good looks, has done very well out of his writing. However, Claudia’s interviewing technique is a little more invasive and probing than one would normally expect. In fact, could this strikingly attractive, very independent woman be seducing this father figure?

        Soon George is giving his wife, Honor (Maree Grayden) some bad news. After of 32 years of loyal, loving service to her husband, Honor is now redundant. Their 24-year-old daughter, Sophie (Jessica Warriner) is stunned, never having had someone so close announce such traumatic news, she is numb.

        Will Honor remain her husband’s doormat? Will George get his comeuppance?

Joanna Murray-Smith is renowned for not writing stage directions, descriptions of her characters or the story’s timeframe. This can make direction very difficult, however, multi-award winning director and Old Mill Theatre board member, Dale James, has produced another triumph. She has dexterously taken the actors through each vignette, where two of the four characters confront each other. Dale has helped the actors subtly, allow the audience to see their true personae.

The cast have clearly shown their admirable acting talents, as they each in turn, change from a position of power to that of weakness, and vice versa.

This tender, beautifully observed play is a little slow to start, but soon some of the self-righteous comments and acerbic lines, have the audience gasping or bursting out with laughter. I am sure that everyone in the audience will have thought ‘That is just like …. from down the street!’

A punchy little show that all married couples should see – with their partners.

This very diverse 80-minute selection has ‘curtain-up’ at 8.00 pm nightly until Saturday 10^th September.

For all of the plays, the stage has black drapes on all sides and various tables and chairs.

The quality lighting and sound design were by John Spurling and operated by Evan Skinner.

‘Widow’s Peak’ was written and directed by WA’s Noel O’Neill.

      It is 1917 in a small, sparsely furnished room in Eire. Two middle-aged women, Peggy (Denice Byrne) and Siobhán (Mairead Dempsey) are dressed in their widow’s weeds discussing the loss, some months earlier in The Rising, of their husbands at the hands of the Black and Tans.

     As they share a drink, young Moira (Roisin Nash) who is also a widow, calls around. They notice she has a ‘bump’, and her husband has been dead for almost a year – could it be a miracle? On the other hand, has Moira been unfaithful to her husband’s memory? The older women have plenty to say.

This is a beautiful tale, touching, humorous with a powerful and angry message in the storyline. Noel has a wonderful ability to write dialogue that flows naturally, and with which everyone can connect. The three women are typical of those in a small community, and are portrayed perfectly and with genuine emotional depth by the cast. A fresh topic, most enjoyable.

‘Moby Dick’ is a 25-minute farce, in the unruly style known as ‘coarse acting’; which is a skit with things going wrong in theatre. This madcap adaption of the 685-page novel by Herman Melville was by Mike Green. Directed by Sarah Christiner.

        A thumbs-up signal from the wings to the bio box sets the amateur approach (as deliberately requested in the script) of this talentless, but self-admiring troupe to community theatre.

       The lights come up, and Ishmael (David Heder) makes a false entrance and exits quickly. He re-enters and does a short monologue, mispronouncing numerous words. He wanders into a local pub searching for crew, where he sees the landlady (Noah Humich) and a serving wench (Eileen Leake) taking jugs of beer to a rabble in the corner. Starbuck (Michael Dornan), Elijah (Phil Barnett) and friends are the worse for wear and volunteer for his crew.

       A scarred seaman (Sarah Christiner) says he knows a talented harpooner, the highly tattooed Queegueg (Josh Harris). As a carpenter (Kit Leake) joins the crew, the pub doors fly open and an old salt, Captain Ahab (Chris Thomas) staggers in on his peg leg. He wants to join the gang and wreak revenge upon the white whale, known as Moby Dick who ate his limb!

There follows a series of quick-fire scenes, all of them a shambles. Props fail, the actors are under rehearsed, and the play staggers from bad to worse.

Director Sarah Christiner has grasped the fact that this type of sloppy presentation actually requires hard work, slick staging, with the actors retaining unflinching, poker faces. This shambolic style of presentation is similar to that in the ‘Farndale Avenue Housing Estate’ series of plays. I found Farndale to be annoying as they are so close to the truth, whereas with Moby Dick, because the whole genre is slapstick, the pandemonium works so much better.

There were plenty of belly laughs, fun props and the genre well presented. However, I think the audience could be split 50/50, with some absolutely detesting the style.

‘Under The Rainbow’ was the evening’s second play written and directed by Noel O’Neill.

      The scene is several years after Dorothy’s magical trip to see ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

      Still dressed in scarlet shoes and her pale blue, gingham check dress, Dorothy (Valerie Dragojevic) goes to a rundown bar, known as ‘Under the Rainbow’. Despite the colourful rainbow design and the twinkling lights on the bar front, the barman known, as Wiz (Noel O’Neill) is less than welcoming.

    Cackling in the corner is Witchy (Lindsay Cliff, alternating with Siobhán Robertson-Skinner), an enchantress who is determined to ruin Dorothy’s night. Seated at a table, with party hats on their heads, are three old friends, soft-hearted Leo (Yad Sand), callous Rusty (Cameron Leese) and the lovable, but brainless, Mr Crow (Andrew Hobbs). Sadly, for Dorothy, as the evening goes on, the original warmth of the groups seems missing.

Many of us will have been to school reunions, and for some it is fun and a great success, for others it can be a regrettable embarrassment. Likewise, this dark comedy is really quite poignant, giving us an ingenious and novel look at a possible sequel of the world famous tale.

The cast were delightful, with each member totally embracing their characters.

The array of plays ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, so you are guaranteed to enjoy yourself.

This two-hour production, in two Acts, by the Old Mill Theatre Company, is in conjunction with Maverick Theatre Productions and can be seen at the Old Mill Theatre, on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road, South Perth. There are shows at 8.00 on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, until Saturday 27^th August. There are 2.00 pm matinées on Saturday 20^th, Sunday 21^st and 28^th August.

The scene is the vestry and office of Father Costello. The walls are limestone blocks adorned with photos of religious dignitaries. To the right of the stage is an area that acts as part of the office, then as a courtyard garden.

The textbook costumes were supplied by Jenny Prosser, and Cathy Puzey.

Award winning lighting designer, John Woolrych has taken relative newcomer, John Spurling under his wing and allowed him to come up with some quite complex lighting effects. Spurling tried dimming the lights when a dramatic speech was being made, but did so with subtle careful control, the desired effect was excellent.

      It is late in the evening in the Our Lady of the Vines convent. Into the dimly lit office come two nuns, leaping and dancing to wild radio music. Yes, Sister Abbott (Caroline McDonnell – excellent) has been sipping the communion wine for most of the day. She is accompanied by the newest holy sister, nervous Rosa (Sofie Reidy-Crofts) who is still trying to come to terms with life in a convent.

      Staggering in comes Father Costello (Noel O’Neill – hilarious), as always the worse for wear. He heads straight for his whisky bottle.

      Since the tragic accidental death of the Mother Superior, Theresa (Norma Davis), dedicated Sister Marilyn (Susan Meikle) seems the only vestal interested in the religious faith, and the upkeep of the crumbling convent.

      The trendy Italian, Sister Vinnie (Valerie Dragojevic), who is trying to fight off her Mafia upbringing is sitting in the garden of Remembrance, listening to young Rosa’s concerns about some ghostly noises she has heard in the night. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of the bewildered and worried Archbishop Monticello (Rex Gray). He has been sent by the church hierarchy, who have just learned about Father Costello’s dubious lifestyle, and has asked the Archbishop to give Costello a warning.

      Sister Francis (Vivienne Marshall) has come up with a sacrilegious suggestion to solve Rosa’s haunting problems, but under no circumstances must the Archbishop find out.

Director Noel O’Neill, assisted by Valerie Dragojevic have retained most of their previous, strong, award-winning team. Why not? The chemistry was again superb, with subtle delivery of the beautifully structured script and perfectly timed interaction. Great cast. Noel allowed himself to slip out of character and have a couple of ‘Boom, Boom’ jokes, but the audience loved it. There is certainly no place in Heaven for Noel.

The audience on the night I saw the show, included a couple of dozen fans, who were there to support their actor friends. Many of them had never been to a Community Theatre show before, and were blown away by the quality. One even said that she came prepared to fall asleep with boredom, but laughed the whole way through. They will all come back again.

Sequels are rarely as good as the original, but Noel’s zany lateral thinking has once again produced a laugh-a-minute show. Highly recommended. If you didn’t see the first episode, don’t worry, a knowledge of the previous show – fore play? – is not necessary.

Many nights are already sold out, so perhaps try Wednesday night or phone first.

This Australian Premiere is about an ‘imagined likely’ meeting between the soft, apprehensive, Benjamin Britten and the brash, outspoken Wystan H. Auden; two geniuses of the Arts, but very different characters.

Britten was a wonderful musician and composer, possibly England’s best of the 20^th century, being most famous for his 14 operas including ‘Peter Grimes’ and ‘Billy Budd’. Only months after becoming a Life Peer and Baron, Britten died aged 63, of a ‘heart attack’ which was in fact due to advanced syphilis contracted from his male partner, Peter Pears.

Auden’s friend, Isherwood, told him about Erika, the daughter of the Nobel winning German novelist, Thomas Mann – writer of ‘Death in Venice. In 1935, Erika’s sexy burlesque performances were considered obscene by the Nazis, and so she was desperate to escape from Germany, marry an Englishman and thus obtain a British passport. Auden obliged, but in doing so he did not consummate this marriage of convenience as he already had a partner – Chester Kallman.  Incidentally, another of Auden’s partners was Stephen Spender, the father of Barry Humphries’ (Dame Edna) wife.

This two and a quarter hour ADULT ‘play within a play’ can be seen at the Old Mill Theatre, on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road in South Perth (opposite Windsor Hotel). Performances start at 8.00 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 23rd April. The Sunday matinees are at 2.00 pm.

The scene is the present day in a rehearsal room of the National Theatre in London. There are no flats or scenery, other than a free standing door, representing the ‘door’ of Auden’s Oxford College flat.

At the rear of the stage are a grand and an upright piano. Anthony Howes’ set design has been constructed by Sarah Christiner and Phil Barnett – or perhaps deconstructed is more appropriate – as props (Justin Freind) are littered everywhere in this shambolic lecturer’s room. Stage managed by Dale James.

The variety of 1975 costumes were supplied by Jenny Prosser.

        To the side of the proscenium arch sit the play’s stage manager, Kay (Sally Barendse) with her ASM and prompt, George (Paul Bray). They announce to the cast that their director has been detained and they are going to step in and supervise the day’s rehearsal of ‘Caliban’s Day’. This play, built around a theme in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, is the work of dithering author, Neil (Brendan Ellis) who on arrival at the theatre finds that chunks have been removed from his writings.

        Donald (Barry Park) is the tense actor who is playing Humphrey Carpenter, a writer who is in the midst of writing Auden’s biography and is about to start Britten’s. Humphrey moves to the front of the stage and sets the scene.

        Seated at a table loaded with books is Fitz (Dene Irvin), the actor playing Wystan Auden. Auden, who is a fanatic for punctuality, is awaiting the arrival of Stuart (Cal Silberstein), a rent boy he has ordered for a particular service. (Warning, this service is described in great detail in the play). Throughout the play that is under rehearsal, the actors of Auden and Britten regularly request help from George the prompt (these prompts are in the script).

       The scene then moves to another area of the stage, where Benjamin Britten (Justin Freind) is auditioning for one of his operas, young choristers (alternating nights – Brandon Orgill, Matthew Han, Surjo Mazhar Sahid) who are under the supervision of their chaperone (Dale James) sing for him.

       After thirty years the two friends meet. By now Britten is a pathetic broken and insecure man, Auden? Well, he is just more abrasive and vulgar.

Perth born director, Anthony Howes, has been recognised as a major contributor to the theatrical arts in Australia, being awarded most of the major national theatrical awards. His productions have been seen in Australia, the UK (at the Royal Opera House and Sadler’s Wells Theatre), Canada, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam and Thailand.

Howes has also directed for the ABC in radio and television, and he helped found the Midnite Youth Theatre Company, where he was artistic director for 25 years.

The lighting (designed by John Woolrych) had a most effective closing scene. The operator for both the sound and lighting was Sarah Christiner.

The cast gave outstanding and sympathetic performances, there was genuine depth to the personalities. The dialogue was perfectly paced, which considering the complexity of the script, working on two or three levels, it passed seamlessly between locations. There was an expectation that the audience would know the people referred to, this meant the need for an especially careful delivery.

Don’t expect a comedy like the ‘The Lady in the Van’; don’t expect the play within a play to be like that in Á Midsummer Night’s Dream’. You will find it hard to find better acting, directing and scriptwriting, as this is advanced quality theatre. The audience will be divided – black and white, with no shades of grey – you will love it or loathe it. I would like to see it again and really get a better understanding of the multifaceted personalities. It is certainly worth seeing. You will admire it on many levels, but you may not like it.

‘It’s All Greek to Me Too!’ is Noel O’Neill’s magnificent sequel to the play that wrote just over two years ago, ‘It’s All Greek to Me’. This is even funnier than the original, and that was a sell-out! Even though Noel writes about two or three plays a year, the standard of his writing, dialogue and the superbly constructed script, ensures a happy audience. This play has a laugh in every line. It is wonderful to see so many of the original actors returning.

This 2-hour comedy can be seen at the Old Mill Theatre, on the corner of Mill Point Road and Mends Street, South Perth on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8.00, until the 27^th February. The Sunday matinees are at 3.00 pm on the 14^th and 21^st, with all proceeds going to the South West Bushfire Appeal.

The setting is a northeast London suburb, at Christmas 1960. The scenery (designed and built by Noel O’Neill) is that used in the first play, comprising the kitchen and lounge room of the crazy Greek Clan – the Pilancous ‘Plank’ Family. The music from ‘Zorba the Greek’ is playing as the house lights dim. Very good lighting and sound effects, thanks to John Spurling and his occasional helper, John Woolrych.

Jenny Prosser’s costumes reflected the era perfectly, in both style and the materials used. The hairdos brought a smile too. Well stage managed by Melissa Munoz Escobar.
In the first play ‘It’s All Greek To Me’, Nicky Plank arranged for his cousin Stavros, living in a dump somewhere in Greece, to get married to his unsuspecting London neighbour, Circe.

      Only months after the wedding, disillusioned Circe (Nada Dilevska), leaves her husband Stavros (Andre Balzelli) and returns to London. Because Nicky (Kim Taylor) and his long-suffering wife, Athena (Vivienne Marshall) generously paid for the couple’s wedding, she blames them for her misery and places a curse on the family.

      Nicky and Athena’s daughter, Jenna (Valerie Dragojevic) is due to have her baby any day now – perhaps even Christmas Day. The family friend, Andronikos (Rex Gray), who is a potent oracle and surrounded by a powerful aura, is summoned to help them.

      The youngest Plank son, Dimitri (Cameron Leese), is well named, as his IQ is probably negative. Nicky, now with two un-married relatives again, recommences the matchmaking routine. He brings around a friend’s beautiful daughter, Christiana (Sofie Reidy-Crofts) in a desperate attempt to marry off Dimitri, but the son seems quite interested in the even more brainless, Katarina (Aimee Claire Nicholls).

      Randy Nicky goes around the houses, collecting seasonal ‘gifts’ from his lady friends, Cassandra (Berti Moso) and Irena (Charlotte Weber).

      Will Athena discover Nicky’s misdemeanours? Will anyone become wedded, or even remain married.

Director Noel O’Neill, and his assistant Valerie Dragojevic, both have a wealth of experience in comedy direction; what a magnificent show they have given us. The multitude of laughs was perfectly delivered by the wonderful cast. Each actor had a rich character to portray, and this they did with superb team chemistry. A special mention for Kim Taylor and Vivienne Marshall’s performances. Kim with his hilarious lack of conscience, and Vivienne’s desperate desire to advance the family’s welfare.

A really good, side-splitting start to the Old Mill’s 2016 season.

The two and a half hour production can be seen each Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 8.00 pm with a ‘Christmas Matinee’ on Sunday 13^th December at the slightly later time of 4.00 pm.

The scene is 1942, in a down market, second floor flat in Sydney’s Kings Cross area. The scruffy walls are cream, with pale blue paint below the dado rail. The set designed by Kristen Twynam-Perkins was built by Phil Barnett, Travis Markham, Michiel Van Doorn and Sarah Christiner.

The quality props (Kathryn Ramsell), the costumes and uniforms (Jenny Prosser) were all accurate for the time.

John Woolrych’s fine lighting was operated by Catherine O’Donoghue. Simon Walters controlled the director’s sound design and the whole show capably stage managed by Cassidy Bodenham.

       Following a party into the early hours of the morning, an American Marine who had been asleep on the settee awakes from a recurring dream. Kathy (Melissa Merchant), the young married woman who is renting the flat whilst her husband is away at the war, rushes through to the sitting room and finds Marine Potter (Cameron Leese), better known as ‘Rebel’ lying on the floor crying and petrified. Kathy then discovers that he is ‘absent without leave’.

      There is a knock on the door and in stagger Kathy’s best friend, Joycie (Sjaan Lucas) and her new boyfriend, US airman Bernie (Joel Sammels). Within seconds, there is another knock on the door. It is the prying, supercilious landlady, Mrs Palmer (Norma Davis), a tenant’s worst nightmare. She suspects that disreputable behaviour has been taking place and emphasises that she will accept no nonsense in her building.

      With the marines (Caelan Steedman, James Smith) searching for him, and the local detective, Browning (Paul Treasure) hunting for spies secreted in the neighbourhood, Rebel realises he must get away as soon as possible. Perhaps the heartless local spiv, ‘Tiger’ Kelly (Sam Barnett), can help – at a price.

Director: Kristen Twynam-Perkins directed this play 13 years ago, and was pleased to have the chance to bring it to life again. Unfortunately the standard of acting was very variable, from powerful and convincing, almost to Harold Lloyd.

When a drama is building up to a climax, the tension is only as good as the weakest link. Even one small, but poor cameo can let the whole scene down and lose the dramatic effect.

One left having had an enjoyable night at the theatre, but not the full ‘dramatic satisfaction’.

Sadly, aged 87, Alan died in March this year.

This fine presentation can be seen at the Old Mill Theatre, on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road, South Perth. The two and a quarter hour performances can be seen at 8.00 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until the 24^th October. There is an extra show on Wednesday 21^st and a matinee on Sunday 18^th at 2.00 pm.

The 1958 scene is a lower-class, family home in a high density housing area of Sydney.

At the rear of the stage is a rostrum with two sets, a kitchenette and Hughie’s bedroom. At the front of the stage is the sitting room. The construction and decoration of this first-rate set was by Phil Barnett, Travis Markham, Calvin Munro, Michiel van Doorn and Sarah Christiner.

        Sitting around the kitchen table, is the man of the house, bigoted and opinionated Alf (Chris Henderson) who is lecturing an old digger and lifetime friend, Wacka (Tom Rees) about the bloody Poms and Italians that are pouring into the country. After all, tomorrow will be ANZAC Day, when Australia is solely for the Aussies! Wacka has heard it all before, but tolerantly listens. Alf’s long-suffering wife, Dot (Valerie Henry) arrives home with the shopping, only to find that not a single chore has been done in the house.

       The group chatting in the kitchen don’t hear the arrival of university student, Hughie (Matt Randall), Dot and Alf’s son, arriving through the bay windows at the rear of the house. Hughie is with a fellow student, his girlfriend Jan (Carmen Miles), a young lady from the posh North Shore, certainly not Alf’s type.

      The couple sit on the bed and discuss an idea for a controversial newspaper article that they have in mind, which is bound to cause family conflict.

 

The young, experienced director, Brendan Ellis, was very ably assisted by Hannah Moran. Every now and then there is a community play that comes close to faultless. It is obvious that this play has had a huge amount of work put into every aspect of the production. Christine Ellis’s set, with genuine furniture of the era, the paint colours – especially the arsenic green kitchen units, the old fashioned radios, an old range cooker and an oak dining room dresser. The lighting design by John Woolrych had just the correct hue to give that incandescent lamp feel to the settings; then there were small spots that just give that touch of isolation for certain brief monologues. The choice of music, Josh Lang, had the audience quietly joining in with Pat Boone and Perry Como. The tech operation was a little variable, with a couple of pre-empts and a missed light switch on. The costumes brought back memories and smiles, from Alf’s ill-fitting, double breasted demob suit to the ladies immaculate cotton dresses. The whole production smoothly supervised by stage manager Ruhama Geiger.

This whole production relied upon the subtlety of the acting showing a full grasp of the circumstances along with the old style family values. The result was exceptional; the actors often had tears in their eyes as the conflict grew. Five good, solid and moving performances.

Chris was outstanding as the drunken father and chemistry of the others created a truly believable group. Matt gave his best performance yet, superb as the son torn between his new love and misguided parents.

I have had a few comments recently that I am not harsh enough in my reviews. I actually aim to write reviews, not critiques. If something annoys me I will mention it, but my main aim is to give the potential patrons a basic summary of the storyline and an overall idea of the production quality.

This is NOT yet another ANZAC play, but a wonderful character study and a daring look at the ANZAC day celebrations. An excellent show by a dedicated and talented team – I hope Alan saw it from above.

‘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.

The two and a half hour performances can be seen at the heritage-listed, Old Mill Theatre on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road, South Perth (opposite the Windsor Hotel and Australia Post). This is the third of the all-Australian plays being presented by the Old Mill Theatre Group to commemorate the centenary of the Gallipoli landing in 2015.

The performances are at 8.00 pm on a Thursday Friday and Saturday nights until 20^th June, with a 2.00 pm matinee Sunday 14^th June.

The play is set in Emma’s home in Carlton, Victoria during the summer of 1953. The scene is a typical working class house, clean but basic. There is a table and four chairs centre stage, a twin settee, patio windows with a garden outside and stage right, a staircase leading to the bedrooms (Props Emma Ketley). The walls are the popular post-war colour – dove grey, the floor is mottled linoleum. The set was built and decorated by Trevor Dhu, Tim Prosser, Sarah Christiner, Patrick Whitelaw, and Rex Gray.

Jenny Prosser and Diane Zaikos perfectly captured the era with the button up the front dresses and the floral, semi-flare frocks for the young ones. 

         Olive (Anna Head), who is in her early thirties, still lives at home with her powerful, controlling but loving mother, Emma Leech (Shirley Toohey). The mother is awaiting the annual return of her two lodgers, Barney (Jarrod Buttery) and Roo (Phil Barnett), a couple of rough, but kind, sugarcane cutters who work all winter and return to Melbourne for five months at the end of the harvesting season. They have done this for years; this will be their 17^th summer at Mrs Leech’s house. This year, Barney’s regular girl, Nancy will not be there for him.

       Olive, who can barely contain herself at the thought of seeing Roo again, is sitting on the settee chatting to her haughty, smartly dressed friend, Pearl (Jennifer McGrath). Olive has arranged a blind date for recently widowed Pearl, with larrikin Barney; however, in fear, narrow-minded Pearl is close to backing out. Bubba (Jesse McGinn), the twenty-two year old Woolies shop girl, who has lived next-door all of her life, listens on in wonder.

       When the lads arrive, Roo presents Olive with yet another kewpie doll, confirming his love for her. This year, instead of being flush with money to fritter on his beloved Olive, Roo is broke. To make things worse, he is depressed because another cane cutter, Johnnie Dowd (Patrick Whitelaw), may be after his job.

       This summer is going to be very different to those of the past.

Director, Trevor Dhu, has proved over the years what a most capable and talented director he is; rarely does he tackle something simple such as a comedy, preferring to go for a complex character study or a highly dramatic script.

This Classic is capable of being ‘acceptable’ with very little input from cast or director, but when you see it performed by such a highly skilled, amateur team, their result could be acceptable in any professional theatre.

The story requires the cast to change from being jovial friends, to a situation of harsh tension and tragedy. The cast has to bare the raw souls of their characters, and in today’s climate, it was truly disturbing to see the sexism and domestic violence, along with the extreme depression and tension caused by financial problems only a couple of generations ago. Trevor has guided his exceptional cast to give wonderfully powerful performances. Andy Fraser’s leadership with the confrontational scenes ensured the cast made the audience squirm in their seats. Exceptional performances by Shirley Toohey and Anna Head.

Sadly, the lighting left me a little disappointed and confused. A New Year firework display could have shown more imagination and had better sound effects. Then, when the drama was reaching a climax, the dining room lights suddenly went out, and the actors were picked out by a spotlight. A few sentences later, the lights came swiftly back up. The couple moved across the room, and the lights rapidly dimmed, leaving the actors off their mark for the next spotlight. Once again, the lights shot back on. No subtlety. Sorry, it ruined the crucial flow. A very slow fade in and out might have worked, but the actors must hit their mark accurately, as though in a TV production. I understand that this lighting design has now been modified.

The play finished with no curtain call, an unusual choice to make, but one that seemed to work well, as the traumatic tension of the play could have been extinguished in seconds by a smiling line up.

Gee, the community theatre standard is magnificent this year. Certainly another treasure to seek out. Many congratulations.