This two-hour farce is being presented by Harbour Theatre Inc. in the Camelot Theatre, within the Mosman Park Memorial Hall, 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park. This group has been producing high quality, community theatre productions for more than 50 years. Harbour’s latest success is Katherine Reardon who appeared in Jane Eyre a couple of years ago, and is now appearing with Judy Dench and Kenneth Brannagh in London, many congrats.

The performances are on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings at the earlier time of 7.30 sharp, running until 12^th December. There are matinees on Sunday 6^th, 12^th and 13^th at 2.00 pm.

Brian Mahoney’s 1980s set, is of a luxurious, country home sitting room, in a smart area of southern England. As for all farces, there were five doorways to aid with the confusion. The walls are soft apple green with an attractive frieze border. There is an armchair, a three-seater settee, and various tables. French windows with cream curtains central rear, showing a beautiful scene across the lawns (artwork Melissa Bassett). Many very good props (Cordelia Clarke). Smoothly stage managed by Marina Del Borrello.

Trevor Dhu operated Peter Kirkwood and Rob Tagliaferri’s lighting design. The sound effects were realistic and well cued by Vanessa Gudgeon.

       Middle-aged Jane (Vickie Billingham), who is nervous and shy, seems be to losing out on ‘loving attention’ from her husband, Roger (Alan Morris). So, on the suggestion of her best friend Shirley (Ann Speicher), she arranges to have dinner with Mark (Ben Lowther), an attractive young man she met at her squash club.

       Because her husband Gilbert (Jarrod Buttery) is overseas on business, Shirley goes to her yoga class, leaving Jane in her house for the secret assignation. Jane has hot romance in her eyes, but toy boy Mark thinks the meeting is for a simple meal.

     However, a thick fog descends and Gilbert finds himself stranded in London. Knowing that his wife, Shirley, will be away at her keep-fit classes, he invites attractive airhostess, Helga (Mona Afshar) back to his house.

     As the night of romance goes on, more people arrive, confrontations abound and the confusion heightens.

Tina Barker has already proven herself as an accomplished comedy director, but farce is a specialist genre and can be the downfall of even the most talented of directors. However, with the assistance of Nicola Bond this show was exceptional.

The cast were completely attuned; each knew perfectly what was expected of them. From the nervous, yet reluctant shy lover, to the slightly stooped, panic stricken, unfaithful husband working at full speed in an attempt to cover his tracks. Everyone was word perfect, superbly rehearsed – there can be no leeway on farce – and with flawless delivery.

How often do you hear ‘The funniest show this year’ only to see a mild presentation with the odd laugh? This romp had four or five laughs every minute, many of them being belly laughs.

After a miserable day at work, dealing with the general public and the tiresome task of Christmas shopping, then this roller-coaster of saucy madness will brighten you up. Booking advised.

‘Rebecca’ was written in 1938 at the age of 31, by the frostily private recluse, who rarely mixed in society, Dame Daphne du Maurier. It is suspected that ‘Rebecca’ was heavily plagiarised from a Brazilian novel by Ms Nabuco. Clifford Williams have now revised the 1940 stage adaptation of ‘Rebecca’, which ran for 357 performances.

Alfred Hitchcock’s film, based on her novel, was one of the top five box office hits of 1940. In 1941, it reaped nine Oscar nominations, winning ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Cinematography’.  Her friendship with Hitchcock saw her write more cinema scripts for him, including ‘Jamaica Inn’, the horror of ‘The Birds’ (also plagiarised?) and the creepy, sex novel ‘Don’t Look Now’. Du Maurier’s novel ‘Mary Anne’ is a fictionalised account of the story of her great-great-grandmother, Mary Anne Clarke who was mistress of King George III’s son, Frederick Augustus known as the ‘Grand Old Duke of York’. When the bi-sexual author was 21, she wrote ‘The Doll’, a suspense tale about a young woman’s obsession with a mechanical male sex doll.

This excellent, two and a half hour Gothic love mystery, set in du Maurier’s Cornwall, is being presented by the Harbour Theatre Inc. at the 1930’s décor Camelot, 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park, with shows nightly at 7.30 pm until Saturday 20^th June, and a matinee on Sunday 21^st June at 2.00 pm.

An excellent set. The white proscenium curtains had a massive photo of the De Winter’s country mansion, Manderley, projected onto them.

The interior shows the sitting room of the De Winter house in Cornwall in the 1930s.

The lower halves of the walls are wood panelled, with the arsenic green coloured paint above. Centrally is an arched staircase with columns on each side; this was used to great dramatic effect during the play. The room is furnished with various antique furniture including a couple of pedestals for ornaments, a chaise longue, tables and chairs. There was a balcony with plants on each side of the stage. Brian Mahoney, Peter Kirkwood, Rob Tagliaferri, Matt Cuccovia, Kit Leake and David Champion built Nicola Bond’s set design; with the set being painted by Phil Redding, Tina barker and Nicola Bond. A great number of authentic props added the final touch (Grace Hitchin, Charlotte Weber).

         Supercilious Beatrice Lacy (Jo Sterkenburg) and her hen-pecked husband, Giles (Andrew Smalley) are seated in the lounge awaiting the return of the master of the house, the young, good-looking Maxim De Winter (Mark de Vattimo). The couple are discussing Rebecca, the previous lady of the house who had drowned a year earlier, with the estate manager, Frank (Ron Arthurs). The butler, Frith (Tom Rees) brings them drinks.

        The group are waiting to welcome Maxim and his new, much younger bride, Mrs De Winter (Natasha Stiven) back from their honeymoon. When the loving couple arrive, the maid, Roberts (Teya Jerman), shows them into the lounge. Unfortunately it seems that Beatrice has taken an instant dislike to the new bride – she is too young and certainly not of suitable status. The group go on to discuss the final arrangements for the annual Fancy Dress Ball being held the following night. The dark, mysterious housekeeper, Mrs Danvers (Vickie Billingham) in her widow’s weeds with keys hanging around her waist, offers to help her new young mistress choose a suitable costume.

        As the malicious Mrs Danvers leaves the room, a weird, obnoxious man, Jack Favell (Sean Schliwa) arrives and tries his lecherous approach on a petrified Mrs de Winter, who has no idea who this stranger is.

        After the Ball, the household receives a disturbing visit from the shire’s magistrate, Colonel Julyan (Paul Cook) and the local boat builder / chandler, William Tabb (David Champion).

Award winning director, Nicola Bond, has brought to the stage a play that has not been presented in Perth for many years. Employing her many talents, Nicola has given us a wonderful set, authentic costumes and a cast that has captured all of the mystery, romance and suspense of the book. Nicola has also generously given a few of the cast their ‘big chance’,  by accepting for the play, actors who have previously had very minor walk on parts, or as in the case of Paul Wood, a very first acting part – well done Paul, good solid performance.

Many congratulations to Natasha Stiven and Mark de Vattimo, as the withdrawn, confused young wife and the unpredictable, enigmatic husband. A special mention must also go to Vickie Billingham for her great performance as the cold-hearted Mrs Danvers, and her special curtain call.

Stage manager Charlotte Weber, assisted by Teya Jerman, kept the pace moving exceptionally well with none of the usual slowing down or blackouts between scenes. All of the scene changes being carried out in dimmed light, by the household servants, in the style of their normal daily duties. Mrs de Winter’s numerous outfits, the servants’ garments and the rugged tweeds were perfect for the period (Nicola Bond).  Rob Tagliaferri’s lighting and Vanessa Gudgeon’s soundscape combined perfectly to give a memorable final scene.

Good to see a fresh, rarely performed play – I will die if I see ‘The Importance of being Ernest’ again – A great production with all the qualities that one has come to expect from the Harbour Theatre Group. Highly recommended, but please note the short season.

The history of wars is usually recorded by the servicemen, now on behalf of the thousand Australian women who took a part in the Vietnam War, the ‘Sheilas’ get their well-earned and overdue chance to tell their stories.

This most memorable, one and a half hour play (no interval) is being presented by Harbour Theatre Inc. and MosArts as part of their 2015 season. The performances are at the Camelot Theatre, 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park until the 22^nd April. Curtain up at 7.30 pm. there is also a matinee on Sunday 19^th April at 2.00 pm.

Part proceeds will be donated to Legacy to help our need Veterans and their families, in honour of the Gallipoli Centenary and 40^th Anniversary of the Vietnam War.

The open stage is at several levels, all quite low. At the rear of the stage is a scarlet wall with a central arch. There are numerous Vietnamese, golden motifs and symbols painted on the wall. The sidewalls depict bamboo fields. The set was built and painted by Brian Mahoney, Phil Redding, David Champion, Tina Barker and Matt Cuccovia.

Seated at the side of the stage is a 1960s hippy (Toni-Maree Olton – also musical director), with flowers in her hair. She strums at her guitar and sings Bob Dylan songs with a crystal clear voice.

       A spotlight picks out Margaret, a Vet’s wife (Katherine English) who tells us how she met her husband, and then married him only a couple of days before leaving for Nam. Throughout the play, Margaret continues her story, telling us of her loneliness as a war wife, and how her real hell arose when her husband returned home.

      The main story follows four young women through their experiences in Vietnam, from luxury hotels to the cold, mud sodden fields.

      When innocent and timid Eve (Vickie Billingham) meets some friends in a pub, she had the ‘great idea’ of volunteering to help the soldiers, nothing too bloody, just a little bit of help where needed. However, for poor Eve, life in Nam was like something that she had never experienced before. Similarly, Sandy (Nicola Bond) joined a couple of friends who were going over to entertain the troops – after all, actors would get comfortable accommodation and priority treatment, well Bob Hope did. The reality hit them hard.

     Kathy (Grace Hitchin) was a qualified nurse, going to save the injured ’Aussie lads’, but found herself helping nationalities that she never expected. When the local rag’s youngest journalist, Ruth (Kirstie Francis) decided to go and report on the happenings, dare she tell the folk at home the whole story?

This play was developed from a collection of true experiences and memories, gleaned from the 50 women that Siobhán interviewed whilst writing the book. The tales range from funny, to horrendous and tragic.

The actors are performing this play for a second outstanding season. The horror of Eve’s stories, related in a heart tearing fashion by Vickie, was guaranteed to make the tissue packs come out. Grace – as Kathy – gave a strong performance, who as the experienced and hardened nurse still struggled to cope with the misery. Sandy’s (Nicola) romantic tales and lighter anecdotes contrasted well with the other’s dramas. Margaret’s (Katherine) stories – told by a housewife – were almost as chilling. Ruth (Kirstie) had to write about the horrors of war.

The events were confronting but with such a professional cast under the supervision of a well-proven director, Peter Kirkwood, the 90 minutes flew past. Some relief from the gruesome fears came from the dedicated cast’s beautiful singing. It came as a surprise to me how a person who had just acted a traumatic scene could give such a moving and perfectly in tune rendition of some of the songs of the 1960s. A special mention of Katherine and Grace’s powerful and sensitive singing of Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell songs.

Rob Tagliaferri and Peter Kirkwood’s lighting, coupled with Vanessa Gudgeon’s quadraphonic sound effects of helicopters overhead, explosions etc. gave a real depth to the play. The audience were not simply watching you were dragged right into the centre of the misery by the powerful acting and magnificent cameos.

None of the cast left the stage, and yet the pace galloped along. The clever script cutting back and forward between scenes and events, helped to stop the whole play from becoming too dark and depressing.

Youngsters should see this play to know what their grandparents went through, and the truth of war.

This was an amazing production, with faultless, quality acting. VERY moving and surely a contender for play of the year. Not easy watching, but a true report of a war that was sneered at by many of the older World War ll soldiers, as being a sham war.

If you appreciate sheer quality, then this immensely moving play is for you.

With a very warm welcome from the Mosman locals, this 120-minute award winning romantic comedy has been fully booked on most nights, well in advance.

The Art Deco style venue has recently been modified and has about 110 tiered, folding seats. Originally the location would have been used for ballroom dancing to an orchestra, and so the stage was almost 2 metres from the floor. This has now has been lowered to two thirds of a metre, a more comfortable height for the seated audience.

Considering the difficult move from the old theatre premises, the set built by the regular team of Brian Mahoney, Harry Schultz, Matt Cuccovia, Phil Redding and David champion was quite impressive. Tina barker and Trevor Dhu’s scene painting completed the effect.

 The rear of the set is raised and represents the loft of the Diamond’s home in Malibu. The front of the stage is their bedroom. Both areas cover the family life between 1953 and 1991.

        The year is 1991, and easy going Jimmy (Ted Bull) and his matriarchal wife of forty years, Alice (Vickie Billingham) are about to move to a smaller home for economic reasons. Jimmy is revelling in finding all the ‘treasures’ in the loft, some of which he hasn’t seen for decades. He is helping Alice throw out her rubbish, as the new home will not have room for both his treasures and her trash.

       Every object that they pick up seems to bring back clear memories of them as a courting couple. As they stand in the loft, the couple watch as the happy and tough memories are played out before them, with young Jimmy (Glen Scott), a very different man in those days, and Alice (Maree Andersen) was a subservient wife. Subservient that is, until Jimmy’s sexy, work colleague (Emily Lloyd) comes on the scene. Even decades later, Alice still suspects a lot more went on behind her back.

Will Alice ever find out the truth?

 Under the watchful eye of Finley nominated director, Trevor Dhu, Emily Lloyd played a few very different parts convincingly. Thanks to good makeup design (Nicole Miller) and clever costume variation (Nicola Bond) there was no confusion in the appearance of the characters played by Emily.

The main characters delivered the very funny one-liners, especially those referring to Jimmy’s aging body. There was a sprinkling of warm and sensitive moments, with a pleasant little ‘duet’ from the two actors playing Alice. The two couples were most believable, I am sure many of the audience would be watching their own youth unwind. Great chemistry between the players. The director had the difficult task of seamlessly moving back and forward from one era to another, this he successfully achieved with inspired lighting design (Rob Tagliaferri, aided by Peter Kirkwood) and employing a follow spot (Rachel Knight) to suggest the earlier period. The soundscape by Vanessa Gudgeon included instantly recognisable 45s from the two eras. Both techies had more than their usual share of cues and were spot on with their timing. The stage manager (Meredith Hunter) and her assistant (Tanya Rumithya) were practically invisible in their numerous set changes and modifications.

The warmth of the Harbour’s welcome has transferred well and the reputation has obviously spread around their new territory. A most pleasant night at the theatre, with a fun production and slick production.