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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Most unusual and enjoyable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brian Crawley then wrote the lyrics and Tony-nominated composer, Andrew Lippa the music for this Western Australian premiere of this contemporary Broadway musical,

With the sudden closure of the Playlovers’ Theatre building in Floreat, Stirling Players came to the rescue and helped them stage this dark, but charming play at the Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo.

The two and a half hour performances started at 8.00 pm, and the season ran until Saturday 12^th November, with full houses almost every night.

It is Victorian central Africa. A wall of tea chests and packing cases fill the rear of the stage. To the right is a domestic furnace. On the left apron of the stage is a bedroom set, with a mosquito net over the bed. Set designer and artists are Lisa Johnston, Amber Southall, Leon Olson and Cherie Tucker.

The Orchestra is in a side room, opening onto the auditorium. The melodic Musical Director is Paul Olsen and his harmonious musicians are Joan Millington (piccolo), Catherine Warnock and Wayne Griffiths (reeds), Seton Douglas-Smith (trumpet), Sandra McKenna (French horn), David Gee (guitar), David Thai (percussion), Elizabeth Lavalla (keyboard), Elise Rosenberg and Laura Carr (violins). Being in a separate area, meant that the balance of the instruments for the accompaniment worked very well, and the freshness of the instruments’ timbre was particularly clear.

Production Assistant, Celeste Underhill is famous for giving good value to a production, and Stage manager, Bronwyn Hammond coped superbly with the massive cast and the numerous scene changes were ‘instant’ and flawless.

     When widower, Captain Crewe (Paul Spencer) is told to travel to Timbuktu – the most dangerous place in the world – he takes his African batman, Pasko (Richard Maganga), but must leave the caring African house servant, Aljana (Shikuku Cuthbertson). He enrols his young daughter, Sara (Stephanie Shaw, Jasmine Dos Santos alternating nights) into a posh boarding school in London, run by the sadistic, frustrated headmistress, Miss Minchin (Celeste Underhill). At the docks, Captain Crewe waves goodbye, as the ship’s captain (Paul Anderson) and his crew (Alexander Fleckner, Steve Anderson) take good care of Sara on the voyage.

     Crewe pays for special treatment for Sara at her new school; so she has her own room and a nervous, caring maid, orphan Becky (Sophia Matthews). The kind but subservient teacher is Miss Amelia (Erin Craddock), the headmistress’s younger sister; who is also bullied by the Head.

       There are several children in Sara’s class, but she befriends tubby and dim, Ermengarde (Sienna Freeman) and little Lottie (Bella Freeman alternating with Josephine Ellis). A couple of the classmates, Jessie (Ella Hagon) and Jane (Ella Simpson) think Sara is a ‘princess’, and even the two bossy, older girls, Nora (Holly Jamieson) and Lavinia (Katie Price) tend to show her some respect. However, when Sara’s funds dry up, her life is about to change for several years, but her generous nature still shines through.

    As Captain Crewe is trekking north through Africa, a tribal chief, Widow Zuma (Tara Lynette Elliot) puts a deadly curse on him. Soon he is starving and ill – will he survive?

     Could Becky’s Mum (Meesha Williams) really be still alive? Why does Queen Victoria (Amber Southall) want to meet Sara?

Choreographer, Amber Southall and her dance captain, Jamie-lee Olson, could easily have taken the easy way out with their African ensemble (Samantha Chidoko, Sandra Chidoko, Tanyaradzwa Matibiri, Arthley Matibiri, Tamara Perrozzi, Kevin Romeo and David Thai. Faced with such a large and young cast, many choreographers would present a little soft shoe shuffle, or some simple tribal stomping; however, Amber has practically the whole cast dancing at a breakneck tempo, every limb flayed and vibrated, as the bodies bobbed up and down. The actors were flawless, never missing a beat, and with their broad grins the warmth flowed to the audience. Lighting consultant, John Woolrych and his designer Katrina Johnston gave a glorious multitude of colours, pulsing to the beat of the African music. Operator Katrina and Steve Ellis did a wonderful job.

The busy London street ensemble included Sharon Malcolm and Eleanor Rowe, with umbrellas – what else in London? Hair stylist, Erin Craddock’s creations along with Candice Mountford and Tara Elliott’s makeup, impeccably complemented the hard work of costume coordinator, Lyn Hutcheson and her creative team of Kimberley Shaw, Amanda Simpson, Fran Gordon, Shikuku Cuthbertson, Linda Matthews, Amber Southall and Talia Hagon.

The headsets (technicians Ian Wilson and Daniel Toomath) worked perfectly and the soundscape had real life to it. All of the singing was to put it mildly – SUPERB. One expects the adults to be harmonious, with good enunciation and note perfect, and they were! But with youngsters as young as 8 years old in the cast, one can only hope for a ‘reasonable’ bit of quality from them. It was obvious from the first few notes of music, that I had set my standard far too low, every single ‘school student’ could easily perform in a major professional production – and I am sure they will – the quality was mind-blowing.

The night I saw the show, Stephanie Shaw played Sara, and her stage presence was something special. Her whole body was acting. Her voice was flawless, reaching every note of the large vocal range demanded by the score. The storyline necessitated emotions from elation to deep sadness, and was tackled immaculately by this young performer. I have been assured that the ‘other’ Sara was top notch too.

For Director Lisa Johnston this was a massive task, but when a show looks smooth, with great singing and flawless performances then you know that there is a huge amount of work and many sleepless nights behind it.

Many congratulations to all, a vibrant and yet sensitive show.

Wilde prosecuted the father of his lover, the Marquis of Queensberry for libel, but the defence found he was gay, so instead Wilde was imprisoned for two years’ hard labour.

He died in Paris aged only 46 – destitute.

This lively satire from Serial Productions – the company that have brought us some of the community theatre’s biggest comedy hits of the past few years – is presented in conjunction with the Stirling Players at the Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo. Once again, the group are pleased to be supporting the Heart and Lung Transplant Foundation of WA, with this production.

The two and a half hour witty and absurd performances are on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at the slightly earlier time of 7.30 pm, with matinées on Sunday 28^th August and 4^th September at 2.00 pm

It is the 1930s.   Act 1 is set in Algernon’s very smart, aristocratic sitting room with genuine Art Deco, quality furnishings (Lesley Sutton). The centrepiece is the famous fan-shaped window and doors of the period.

Act 2 is Jack Worthing’s Hertfordshire, country garden, complete with limestone wall, archway, trellis and garden furniture. Even the edge of the stage apron had miniature privet along its length.

Act 3 is Jack’s drawing room, overlooking the garden, had a dormer window and Victorian furniture.

The set was by George Boyd, Peter Clark and the team. Stirling Theatre’s own team provided the excellent lighting.

       Lane, the butler (Clare Fazackerley) sings as he tidies up Algernon’s flat, in preparation for the arrival of the brusque, controlling Lady Bracknell (Keith Scrivens) and her beautiful daughter, Gwendolen (Amanda Watson). Unexpectedly, Algernon’s (Joe Isaia) best friend, Jack (Rodney Van Groningen) calls around, he has come to tell the self-centred Algernon that he intends proposing to the ever orgasmic, Gwendolen.

     Algernon mentions to upright Jack, that he has found a cigarette case with what appears to be a love message engraved in it – from Jack to a woman. Could it be that Jack is leading a double life? as is Algernon, who has a secret friend ‘Bunbury’.

      The lecherous dandy, Algernon discovers that Jack’s ward, Cecily (Krysia Wiechecki) is now 18 years old, wealthy and ready for plucking. Surreptitiously, Algernon finds out where she lives and decides to pay her a visit, posing as Jack’s brother.

     Algernon calls whilst Cecily is studying with her middle-aged tutor, Miss Prism (Jacqui Warner). Being a typical teenager, Cecily is immediately besotted with Algernon, and so when Miss Prism goes out for a walk with her close friend, Dr. Chasuble the local rector (John Taylor), the passions flow – although the constant interruptions from Cecily’s butler, Merriman (Brendan Tobin) cramps her style.

When I heard that ‘The Importance of being Earnest’ was being staged yet again – I must have seen it more than a dozen times – I asked some of the cast ‘Why?’ and pointed out that they were making a mistake, it had been done to death. OK, I was wrong, very wrong.

Serial Productions are a team synonymous with quality. Being a closed group of well-proven actors, the acting is immaculate, the sets and costumes stunning, and the teching just goes that extra inch. Every aspect from the foyer display to the programme has been considered.

Even though director Peter Clark has won awards for his direction, and is a first class comedy actor, tackling ‘Earnest’ was still major a challenge. The purists may cringe, but Peter has chosen ‘a mild farce’ as the genre. The director has decided not to present the key line of the play in ‘Dame Edith style’, a slight disappointment. As the show progressed, I slowly came to the conclusion that this was probably the style that Oscar had in mind. It got so many more jokes, double entendres and touches of bawdiness than I have ever seen before, and they all worked so well. Hilarious.

Under the supervision of Rob Warner, the major scene change (by the cast) from sitting room to garden took only 60 seconds. At the beginning and end of every scene, Lane the Butler (Clare Fazackerley) melodically sang a few verses of songs from the period. Sound by George Boyd.

The costumes (Nyree Clark) were stunning, from the extravagant, dandyish outfit of Algy to the pastel silks of the young women. Then there was Lady Bracknell, again with stylish clothes, topped with a striking collection of feathered fascinators.

The date of the play has been moved forward 40 years to the mid-thirties, this has allowed for a fresh approach to the usual, slightly stuffy, Victorian approach.

Talking to some audience members, I was amazed how many had not seen the play before. This is a first class comedy, with a very clever set of storyline threads brilliantly presented. Seen it before? Then see it again – and love it.

Two and a half hours of non-stop fun from one of Perth’s best comedy teams.

This world famous and much-loved story is now being presented by the Stirling Players at the Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo. The performances are at 8.00 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until the 16^th July. There are also Sunday matinées on the 3^rd and 10^th July at 2.00 pm.

The fascinating foyer displays by Fran Gordon, Bree Vreedenberg and Kevin Forward set the mood. The usherettes are dressed in white and gold with pillbox hats.

It is the winter of 1938-39, just months before the start of the Second World War.

At the side of the stage on the apron is the corner of Laura’s swish sitting room. At the other side of the stage is cinema seating and the lounge in Alec’s flat.

The main stage depicts a railway tearoom furnished with black tables and bentwood chairs. There is a coal stove burning against one wall. To the side is a large, cafe counter with various cakes and crockery. The back wall has a photo of a railway station roof projected onto it (operator Jane Sherwood, with film footage from Fuller Media).

Another scene is a plush, candlelit restaurant brought to life by its dapper waiters, tablecloths and vases of flowers. The effect is completed with an impressive, illuminated chandelier.

A riverside scene is simple, but most effective. Despite the number of settings, each one was fully furnished with numerous props of the era. Fran Gordon, Emma den Hartog and Joel Howe’s costumes were stunning and perfectly selected. It was obvious what a huge amount of work had gone into the set design, furnishings and costumes to create the perfect mood.

      As Dr. Alec Harvey (Glenn Scott) enters the Milford railway station tearoom, he notices a smartly dressed lady trying to wash a mite of train smoke from her eye. She is, Laura Jesson (Maree Andersen) a bored and ignored housewife. As the couple share a table, the tearoom manager, Myrtle (Ann Speicher) watches them, intrigued by the warmth of their conversation. She is initially unaware of the advances being made to her by the stationmaster, Albert (Hadrian Fuller).

     Just as the young waitress, Beryl (Simonne Matthews) clears the tables and puts another lump of coal on the fire, the platform service boy, Stanley (Zack Inglis) comes into the café to have his tray replenished, and to smile longingly at Beryl. Two soldiers on leave, Bill (Damien Johnson) and Johnnie (William Errey) stagger into the café and create havoc.

   The married woman and the married doctor agree to meet for a cinema matinée the following Thursday – purely for the company. We see Laura arriving home; she kisses goodnight to her son, Bobbie (Charlie Motbey) and her daughter, Margaret (Lakeesha Motbey) before trying – unsuccessfully – to have a sensible conversation with her disinterested husband, Fred (Craig Edwards).

     Both with loveless marriages, the couple have no qualms at meeting again. As they enjoy a sumptuous meal after the film, they are unaware that two of Laura’s nosey and interfering neighbours, Hermione (Karin Staflund) and Mary (Liz Pemberton) have spotted them and are approaching in search of gossip.

     How will the love affair develop? Will they make love secretly in this morally unacceptable affair?

      Janet Brandwood and Oliver Kaiser played multiple cameos, giving depth to the storyline.

The musical numbers have been beautifully created and orchestrated by Bree Vreedenburgh, from the copyrighter’s score. The music plays very subtly in the background throughout the play, thanks to smooth operator, Melissa Skeffington. Young Zack and Simonne’s singing was delivered with feeling, and Karin and Liz gave a powerful backing chorus to several songs. Ann brought a smile with her vivacious and saucy delivery. The excellent musical interludes were often used to ‘cover’ the set changes (very efficiently carried out by the cast under the supervision of stage manager Janet Brandwood).

Ian Wilson’s lighting design is always good, but for this show it is exceptional; complex in design and filled with atmosphere. Paul Anderson had the nightmare of operating the numerous changes, but he carried out the task smoothly and with accuracy.

The low point of the play was the dreaded headsets. I appreciate that these can be very expensive, but some crackled and others dropped out. The experienced operator was probably as frustrated as the audience was. I suspect that the complete sound desk needs an overhaul, as even the speakers seemed a little unreliable too. Perhaps ditch the aging headsets and let the performers use their theatre skills? The techs were very aware of the problem, and as it was the preview I was attending, then I am sure the problem will be cleared for the opening night.

The stunningly beautiful and sensitive 1945 David Lean film was in black and white, with very few scenes filmed outside of Carnforth Station. The film’s brilliant camera work was by a Perth born cinematographer, Robert Krasker. The 1945 film was made just after WW2, at a time when virtually no one would have intimate relations before marriage. Then in 1974, just after the Free Love era of the 60s, Carlo Ponti brought out a dreadful, brash Technicoloured version that starred Ponti’s wife, Sophia Loren with Richard Burton. It was fussy, heavy handed and totally without atmosphere.

I was apprehensive as to which style the director, Jane Sherwood, would employ, and could the frustrated love translate to the stage? Thankfully, Ms Sherwood’s version was much nearer the original. Jane can be relied upon to check every aspect of her productions, ensuring depth and reality in every scene. Small touches like the train smoke drifting past the café, the dozens of railway sound effects. Her skilled direction ensured powerful and yet romantic performances from the couple, backed by a strong cast.

The play includes several Noel Coward songs, but it is not a musical, but rather a drama with songs. This blend of drama and music is the idea of the play’s adaptor, Emma Rice; and although she won an award for the adaptation, I felt it slowed the play down slightly and was even distracting.

Tackling a story that has lasted more than 70 years in the top 200 movies can be risky, as the audience will certainly have their own expectations, but this ambitious, quality and enjoyable production gave a very pleasant evening’s entertainment.

The demand for tickets has been enormous, so get in quickly for the night of your choice.

It is 1982 in the London apartment of Max and Charlotte. The set is well constructed and perfectly furnished. As the play progresses, two major scenery flats forming the rear wall swing back to allow the scene to be converted to another venue and other era. This was quite an undertaking for the substantial stage crew, but the stage management (Bronwyn Hammond – assisted by Neale Paterson) had the moves very well planned, and the designer really did ‘change’ the location.

        The curtains open to show Max (Neil Cartmell) anxiously awaiting the return of his actress wife, Charlotte (Maree Grayden) from an overseas business trip. When she does arrive home, an argument ensues. When the next scene opens, Charlotte is now married to a scriptwriter, Henry (originally played by Ewan McGregor, but he couldn’t come, so they got Peter Clark), and as they are preparing the evening meal, the doorbell rings and in walks Max with his ‘new’ actress wife, Annie (Bethwyn Legg). It becomes obvious that Max and Charlotte in the first scene were actually an invention of the playwright, Henry; with the characters actually based on Henry and Charlotte’s friends.

       Charlotte complains that the women in Henry’s scripts are written as bimbos, in order for Henry to express his misogynistic feelings through his affable character ‘Max’. However, it is probably the fact that Charlotte sees Henry’s cast member, Annie, as the person she used to be.

        Henry starts writing scripts for television, and in one ghost written episode, Annie announces to Henry that she is visiting Brodie (Alex Ripper), a rebel in her play; but could this actually be an invitation for some hanky panky? On the train north, Annie regularly meets Billy (Patrick Barton), another actor half her age – a further opportunity for Henry to use his imagination and writing skills.

       Henry is happy creating these immoral characters, but the lifestyle of his real-life, young daughter Debbie (Melissa Kiiveri) and her attitude to monogamy is a major worry to him. Soon Henry is ‘living out’ his creations, just as Stoppard did in his life, with his alimony and affairs.

This is a very tricky play to direct, as the actors glide seamlessly between fantasy and reality, however, with an experienced director like Barry Park it works well, clearly showing the fun and sense of abandonment equally well. Stoppard’s plays are often absurdist, but this story is filled with the lives of real people that we will all know in the theatre, their honesty, dedication and loyalty.

The lighting (Fiona Reid) and sound effects (Guido Nigro) were both well-conceived, and smoothly operated. Jennifer Prosser’s costumes were as always well designed and gave an instant recognition of the actor’s personality.

If ever an accent is called for, but an actor cannot manage it comfortably, and after some intonation training it is still no better, then it is wise to look at the actor’s part and decide if the brogue is really necessary. If not, then drop the twang altogether. A poor accent can at the least be most distracting, and at worst spoil a faultless play. Sadly, one accent was possibly the worst I have heard in some time; please, just play it straight. This is no reflection upon the actual acting, which like all of the others in this experienced cast, was well above average.

This is very well directed and produced play. It is a tricky play that only a talented cast – like this – could achieve; any less gifted and the whole play would have fallen over in an incomprehensible heap.

Once again, another full house, for a famous play, by a skilled troupe. Congratulations.

His writing style is to slowly develop and release the personae of his characters. In the end, the people who originally appeared to be the ‘average man in the street’ are found to be complex with difficult lives.

This two and a quarter hour classic can be seen at the Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo, at 8.00 each night until Saturday 25^th April.

Set designer, Jane Sherwood, has completely stripped the stage of proscenium curtains and wings’ flats. This has allowed her create the huge, luxurious guest bedroom of the 28,000 acre Mississippi mansion. The room walls are of fine muslin drapes allowing the audience to see into the passageway behind, and the balcony overlooking the lush garden (backdrop painted by Gabriel Dahmen).

There has been a huge amount of work put into the set by Michael Stronach, Les Farrell, Lisa Matthews, Callum Santiago, Ron Arthurs and Richard Mananga. The well managed props and children courtesy of stage manager, Carla Griffiths.

The lighting and sound designs are by James Wilson, operated by Callum Calder and Ian Wilson. For decades community productions have used the on / off fader for the sound and lighting, no subtlety or ‘50 shades of light’. However, recently, stereo sound effects have become the norm, with birds singing where the garden is, the sound of the telephone ringing from the position of the ‘phone; seems a basic expectation, but for years the sounds even came from a poorly positioned speaker at the side of the auditorium. In this show, a great deal of work has been put into these visual and sound effects, there were even a few quiet and non-intrusive notes, when Big Daddy made a powerful statement.

The costumes were excellent, reflecting the wearer’s character and the era (Bree Vreedenburgh).

         Big Daddy (Ron Arthurs) is shouting for his black manservant, Lacey (Richard Mananga) to hurry with the wine. The guests are gathering for the 65^th birthday of this self-made millionaire.

        The once charming Brick (Michael Dornan) is the favourite son of the family. He is considered by Big Mama (Dimity Wehr), a mother who seems to be permanently in denial of what is happening in her family, and Brick’s nervous wife, Maggie (Amanda Watson), as the perfect man. Brick formerly showed textbook masculinity and as being untouchable, however, severely depressed at the death of his best friend Skipper, Brick hides behind his endless stream of liquor. Could he have had a homosexual attraction for Skipper? A desire that he keeps in abeyance, a topic to avoid discussing with Big Daddy.

       Whilst hurdling at school, Brick broke his ankle, considered by Maggie as the start of his broken life. Over the years, Maggie has become bitter as she desperately wants children, but it is eons since Brick and her made love. Maggie, the play’s the ‘cat’, a semi-hysterical, anxious and dissatisfied woman, because of Brick’s indifference to her womanly demands. Inexplicably bound to her man, Maggie has tried undressing seductively, posing in front of the mirror, but Brick is unmoved.

      When her Brick’s brother, high flying attorney, Gooper (Craig Edwards) and his haughty, malicious wife, ‘the monster of fertility’, Mae (Gael Campbell-Young) take great joy in pointing out that they have a brood of ‘wonderful’ children, and that Maggie is still virginal, the atmosphere is acrid. The young tactless, Reverend Tooker (Damian Forbes) is horrified at the family feuds, but hypocritically ignores them.

        Gooper and Mae’s litter of ‘no-neck’ children are repeatedly forced to perform for Big Daddy, as they try to oust Brick and ingratiate themselves as sole beneficiaries in Big Daddy’s Will. Daddy is no fool, he sees through this, still preferring the younger son – or as Mama says – ‘the only son’, still hoping that Maggie will produce the much wanted grandson.

        When Dr Baugh (Brett Shircore) arrives with the results of Daddy’s latest health check, to save Mama’s feelings, Gooper tells Mama that her Daddy has a spastic colon and not cancer as previously thought.

        Assuming that he is in fine health, good for another twenty years, Daddy takes Brick aside and bullyingly challenges him to face up to life, just as he, Daddy, has had to suffer the miserable bitch that has been his wife for 45 years.

 

        What will happen? Will jealous Gooper or alcoholic Brick win; will sexually frustrated, unloved Maggie or the bitch of the century, Mae triumph? Alternatively, will they all be losers?

 

‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is one of these plays that looks like a good basic story, and on two the five occasions that I have seen this play, it has been presented as a simple interesting story. It has in fact a great number of hidden meanings, symbolism and subtleties often missed by the directors and cast. The size of the audio console, the double bed, Brick’s crutch etc all have much more meaning than is seen at first. Thirty percent of this play can be enjoyed without knowing the full meaning of Tennessee’s script, but when produced correctly the full 100% power of the story blows you away. This production under the skilful direction of award winning Jane Sherwood was a 100% job.

The children, Buster (James Matthews), Dixie (Lakeesha Motbey), Trixie (Colette Campbell) and Sonny (Charlie Motbey) were wonderful. How often does one see children who are wooden puppets, mouthing a few monotonic words that only a devoted Grandparent would appreciate? Well these kids gave it their all. They sang beautifully and truly acted. Even 6 years old, Charlie had his few seconds of fame.

I have seen Amanda Watson act hilarious comedy, and yet here she heartbreaking plays the wife that has been cast aside. Every muscle in her body and face expressed her feelings. Her accent is perfect for the Deep South. This has to be the performance of the year. Let us hope that the bigger Perth theatre companies ‘discover’ her soon, a fabulous actress.

Michael Dornan, another actor known for his comedy, showed every emotion of the alcoholic struggling to come to terms with the loss of the only person he ever cared for. Michael literally threw himself into the part, crashing to the floor repeatedly. Ron, as Big Daddy, was the first Daddy since Burl Ives to demonstrate the real psychological and physical power over Brick, to be omnipotent in his own home. Dimity was wonderful as the loving mother, who could have quite a sting in the tail when she wanted.

I know I normally praise the programme when there is nothing else to like, but Fran Gordon’s full colour programme has a font easy to read, and good clear photos so essential for knowing which actor is which. Bree Vreedenburgh’s poster was most clever, encompassing the mood and fiery atmosphere of the play.

One of the best versions of this play that I have seen, that is including the professional productions. Outstanding, not a weak link in sight. Plenty of WOW factor.