"Blaque Showgirls", Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Thursday December 1st 2016
For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre. I buy my own tickets. So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights. Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases. I write for my memories of what I have seen, and is more of a stream of consciousness.
"Blaque Showgirls" was a fun satirical show though it felt like a Year 12 Drama project at times.
The most compelling part of the show was the various aspects of racial discrimination, indigenous and identity issues. It was less didactic than I expected as it provided various perspectives. The core to me that was most revealing was Ginny Jones (Bessie Holland) yearning to find a place in the world and the extent at which she was prepared to go for her own gain.
The cast of four worked well together, though the Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager deserved to be a part of the final curtain call - as they were so much a part of the action. To me this was discriminatory that they were not acknowledged. For example the blank stare of Matilda Woodroofe, the Assistant Stage Manager when holding the hat with wig attached was one of the funniest moments in the show. The pause was magic.
Guy Simon played the dual roles Kyle MacLachlan and True Love Interest. He played his parts with sincerity that made it funnier. His first scene at the beach as True Love Interest was very funny and he had a true connection with Ginny Jones. It was not hammy but these actors found a truth within their characters to play the moment of connection with honesty. He did not play a caricatures but larger than life characters and therefore made it funnier in setting up jokes.
In fact with all of the four actors they played with sincerity as larger than life characters. This level of sincerity and connection with characters is what was missing with "Reefer Madness".
Elaine Crombie as Chandon Connors and Auntie differentiated between the two characters.
Emi Canavan as Molly the Japanese girl with a dream brought a realism to the humour and made her journey more poignant.
Each character was used in some way by Ginny for her own gain to find her sense of identity. At one time it reminded me of "Go Set A Watchman" by Harper Lee when many readers were disappointed by some revelations about Atticus Finch. Here we find Ginny was disappointed to find out her heritage.
Direction by Sarah Giles worked the script by Nakkiah Lui to maximise the humour and tell the story. The connection between Ginny and Auntie seemed real and made even funnier. Sarah has made the actors find an inner truth to their larger than life characters. The actors were also listening to, and being present for one another that made it funny. There were a few holes in the production that could have been tightened to make the production slicker. This was mainly to do with the transitions between scenes and some of the set changes. The white balloons at the end looked re-used, deflated and tired, which gave it a sloppy look.
The show channels John Waters trash film genre. I was waiting for the Egg Man to appear!
The script by Nakkiah Lui seemed to pose various points of view. There was the predictable jab at Andrew Bolt but were also balanced with some inner soul searching from within. I think this script could be tightened to make it even funnier and more poignant.
Set and Costume Design by Eugyeen Teh was terrific with his playful designs. The cardboard cut outs were a highlight with the beach tent, surfboard, dressing room mirror etc. The white stage had a surtitles board above which named locations or provided additional information. This was another fun addition to the design. The main proscenium arch moved upstage smoothly to open up the stage area.
The open wing area on each side was an interesting choice seeing where the Stage Managers would move signs etc. This was distracting and took away our focus from the main stage.
The costumes were functional and also grossly tacky when appropriate. The full body unitards with hand prints attached were explicit and fun.
The burning "Sorry" sign alerted me to where the exits were located. I worried about safety and knew that it would meet safety regulations. This also raised a level of emotional connection to the sign - if a sorry is genuine and burns inside of the person giving the apology.
Lighting Design by Paul Jackson was sharp and created a sense of space and location.
There were some very funny moments with the boomerang thrown out one exit and returning via another exit. The emu dance was well staged by Movement Director Ben Graetz.
The final dance sequence by Ginny Jones was interesting as the other characters were all cleaning up. I told my partner this afterwards and he agreed it was a subtle message of how certain races do the low paid jobs of cleaning, driving cabs etc. This final trash message was as if the white man had caused all of this trash and here was a white girl dancing to claim not only her identity but her territory.
I thought overall the actors worked with a fair script to maximise its messages.
Overall I gave this production a 6.5/10.
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