The House of Bernarda Alba, MTC, Fairfax Studio at Arts Centre Melbourne, Tuesday June 26th 2018

The House of Bernarda Alba, MTC, Fairfax Studio at Arts Centre Melbourne, Tuesday June 26th 2018

"The House of Bernarda Alba" was presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne on Tuesday June 26th 2018.

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.

"The House of Bernarda Alba" was adapted by Patricia Cornelius from the original play by Federico Garcia Lorca.  She is to be admired for her adaptation to Western Australia for the structure and the essence of the original play.  Sadly some of the direction and performances did not bring out the richness of her adaptation.

I have seen the Kenneth MacMillan's ballet "Las Hermanas" performed by The Australian Ballet at least three times.  This ballet is based on the same play Federico Garcia Lorca and captures the oppression of the mother succinctly.  I was moved upon each viewing of this ballet.

There is also a musical version by Michael John LaChiusa called "Bernarda Alba" that captures so much drama in the music.  This was presented at the Lincoln Centre in New York in 2006.  Upon my first listening to this recording I was moved.  

Sadly, I did not have this experience with the MTC production.

Some notable moments included when Angela played by Peta Brady stands up to her mother Bernadette played by Melita Jurisic.  The other notable moments included the physical transformation of Adele played by Emily Milledge, with her measured performance of suppressing her sexual frustrations.  When sitting at the table her body quivered in anticipation of sexual pleasure.  Both of these daughters vocally captured their characters.

Bessie Holland as Magda boomed her voice with authority.  Sadly, some of the other actresses did not match her projection to be heard and occasionally lines were lost on the audience.  Magda is a larger than life character and understandably her voice was louder, but it is unforgivable if you cannot hear the other actresses.

Some of the updating to a contemporary setting with mobile phones, technology, fashion magazines, shopping on-line and the clothes did not work for me.  These girls live under a mother who controls them, and I did not once believe they were controlled.  Physically, it was mainly wrong - with their posture.  Thank you, Peta Brady and Emily Milledge as you gave us some insight into what oppression could begin to look like.

When reading from a magazine, please select a page with writing on to recite from.  The magazines should have been Reader's Digest or Time rather than the contemporary pop-culture magazines to give some titillation or sense of voyeurism.

Julie Forsythe played Penelope provided some fine physical comedic moments at the start of the play.  She was physically engaged in her role and gave purpose to her actions throughout.  Sadly, on two occasions her words were lost as she turned away from our side of the audience.  I noticed others in the audience turning to their partners to capture what she had said.

Costume Design by Marg Horwell did not work for me at all.  I can understand the choices were made to update to contemporary times, but the colour palate was too bright with too much skin showing to capture the essence of the original play.  The black mourning outfits should have been used more, and should have been less revealing.

Set Design, also by Marg Horwell was probably the most striking aspect of the show with the use of louvered doors, air-conditioning units and mosquito traps.  This worked in concert with the Lighting Design by Rachel Burke.  Sound Design by Irine Vela was stereo -phonically atmospheric with the sounds of the outback.  These three aspects gave us some semblance of oppression to the play.

Direction by Leticia Caceres was variable at times.  Sadly the relationships between characters were not developed adequately and we witnessed a superficial reading of the play.  With work, refinement of the direction and some design aspects, this play could be vastly improved.

I wrote the following on Facebook:

"The Kenneth MacMillan ballet Las Hermanas did a better job in much less time.  Plus the musical Bernarda Alba is much more unrelenting.  The update with swearing did not ring true.   What a shame the MTC did not do this production in repertoire with the musical version.  It would an interesting comparison for viewers.  The daughters were not scared of their mother.  The best moment was Angela standing up to her mother.  Some vocal projection issues made it hard to hear two performers.  The set and lighting was atmospheric.  Sadly the girls did not physically show us the heat."

Overall, "The House of Bernarda Alba" obtained a 7/10.

Brother's Wreck, Malthouse Theatre & State Theatre Co of South Australia, Merlyn Theatre, Tuesday June 19th 2018

Brother's Wreck, Malthouse Theatre & State Theatre Co of South Australia, Merlyn Theatre, Tuesday June 19th 2018

"Brothers Wreck", Malthouse Theatre & State Theatre Co of South Australia, Merlyn Theatre, Tuesday June 19th 2018.

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.

"Brothers Wreck", is a co-production of the Malthouse Theatre & the State Theatre Co of South Australia, and was presented at the Merlyn Theatre on Tuesday June 19th 2018.

Mental illness, suicide and family violence can happen across any sector of society.  The play "Brother's Wreck" shows the effects of a suicide on an indigenous family in Darwin.  The effects of any of these events can be traumatising for any family member.  We are witnessing such disintegration.

Yes, I may not be indigenous but I have had to endure over 41 years of mental illness in family situations and it is not a pretty sight.  Sometimes people are forgotten in the mix as others concentrate on the obviously ill person.  This aspect was touched upon in this play and created the most poignant moments between Ruben and Auntie played respectively by Dion Williams and Lisa Flanagan.

The story could have been stronger, both emotionally and dramatically, for an audience had the play been edited and directed with fresh eyes.  Some scenes did not progress the story.  The opening sequence visually was a flashback and created the contract with the audience.  It was a shame that more of this was not utilised to reduce the wordiness and bog the story down with filler.

The acting varied in quality.

Ruben played by Dion Williams has a booming voice that projected well into the large theatre, though his diction was hard to understand at times.  He played honestly the troubled brother suppressing and denying his feelings and help.  He also was one of the few actors to show us: where he had come from with each entrance, and and where he was emotionally going when he exited for each scene.  He showed us the five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Leonie Whyman played Ruben's sister with Nelson Baker as Jacob as her partner.  Trevor Jamieson played the counsellor.

Lisa Flanagan played the Auntie and created a credible and truthful relationship with Ruben.  Their interactions on a few occasions created my emotional response.

Written and Directed by Jada Alberts has created a good template for future productions.  Some of the staging was awkward as the players were lacking purpose of what they were doing, and thus stood around a lot.  When the actors showed us some purpose of movement: this created the most resonance and life to the play.

Composition and Sound Design by Kelly Ryall included music and mainly rain effects.  This was as if the heavens were crying and we were too.  Yes the sound at times drowned out most of the performers, and they were all wearing microphones and still they were hard to hear - as they were not projecting their voices.  Simple - project the voice.

Lighting Design by Chris Petridis was effective as if enclosing and caging the action as if prisoners of their own environment.  This worked beautifully with the Set and Costume Design by Dale Ferguson.  The exit image through the central doorway was also used in "Away" to replicate a coffin.  The walls were made of plastic but looked like metal before the show began.  It was a lovely surprise when the lighting created the opaque effect.  This was highlighted when the rain was dripping down the sides, paying homage to "Singing In The Rain" with the technical difficulties of working with water on stage.

Jade Alberts directed the entrances and exits with the wings in clear view as if the actors were a Greek chorus or witnesses to the outside influences on such tragedies.  This touch added so much to the production as the players would ceremoniously wait for their cues to the drama in clear view - observers and sometimes with their hands tied to be able to do anything to assist.

Some of the stage action did not ring true as actors were censoring their full actions and not following through with a sense of purpose.  Sometimes the sense of purpose was not clear and created an in-congruence between words and action.  This jarred the production and marred the emotional connection between the characters.

I gave "Brothers Wreck" a 7/10.

The Wizard of Oz, Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018

The Wizard of Oz, Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018

Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" was presented at Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018 by John Frost and Suzanne Jones.

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.

There are aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" presented at Regent Theatre that resemble the London Palladium Production.  Then again on page three of the programme states, "This production is closely based on the one seen at The Palladium." But it is not "close" if you use the dictionary definition.  They are stretching the standard deviation of the word "close". 

The movie and even the most awful amateur versions of this iconic musical have had some emotional heart.  The script is foolproof to tug at the heart-strings.  The new additions to the script and extra songs give some back story to some characters but bog the flow of the show.  Yes, we get to see some sensational performers sing these new songs, as the audience ho-hummed in their seats.  The applause was very lukewarm with even the big well known songs.

Choreography was by Arlene Phillips.  The big production numbers were well executed and each of the support performers created defined characterisations.

Sadly, the most famous choreography for the "We're Off To See The Wizard" was so poorly executed and the staging was even worse due to the scenic design.  This alerted me to remembering the staging I had seen of the London Palladium production was significantly robust in the progression of the characters' journey.  I remembered they had a stage revolve or a treadmill in London.  No revolve or treadmill was used here. It looked like they use a hydraulic lift in the centre of the stage in the London production.  Marking out steps on the spot was executed worse than any amateur production I have ever seen.

I recalled seeing Poppies in the video shorts of the London Palladium production.  The 1991 production at the State Theatre, Melbourne made great use of the poppies with a poppy ballet by Leigh Rowles.

The staging most of the time was poor and showed the original staging had been massively compromised to tour the production.  Direction by Jeremy Sams was awkward in both the staging of many numbers and sequences.  Plus the relationships between the characters were so two dimensional.  I have been in tears many times watching far worse staged versions, but they had the essence of the material.  Here, I was very disappointed that I was not flowing with tears at key moments in the show.

The sets were rolled out for the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion while in London they had the massive revolve and substantial movement to discover each of these characters.  This is one of the most important moments in the show.  Well, the audience in Melbourne were not amused.  Yes they clapped and the response was very ho-hum.

I preferred the Munchkins in the 1991 production at the State Theatre, Melbourne.  Here the choreography was well executed, but it did not have the same impact here with the performers stooping down rather than the fun of the performers on their knees in the 1991 production.

Yes, the performers sent themselves up.  Well, camped it up.

The stand out for me was John Xintavelonis as the Lion, who captured the heart of the show.  His performance was consummate in style and honoured the book and movie.

Dorothy played by Samantha Dodemaide was way too old for the role and her voice was not pure enough with the vibrato.  More legato was required in her singing. The inter-relationships with each character needed more connection.

  

Anthony Warlow gave a great performance as the Wizard with his wonderfully versatile voice.  The added song did not add to the show.

Lucy Durack as Glinda the Good was a clever piece of casting as she had appeared in the same role in the Australian production of "Wicked".  I loved how she sent herself up as the ditsy "Legally Blonde" version of Glinda.  Usually this role is so purely performed, and I liked Lucy Durack's touches paying homage to her other roles.

Jemma Rix had also been in the Australian production of "Wicked", and played the same roles as both Miss Bulch and The Wicked Witch of the West.  The new song for her was "Red Shoes Blues" which I felt did add to the story.  Her performance was exceptional and the set looked terrific.  Her melting scene was one of the scenes that was well staged.

When the Wicked Witch of the West melts, one of the Winkie steps forward using a Russian accent, while the other Winkies stepped forward using a range of other accents.  It just lost me.  I cringed as I thought I was watching a High School version. Have them all play the Russian accent, or, any accent; but please use the same accent for the Winkies.

Costume Design by Robert Jones varied in quality.  The green shoes could use a good repaint and clean in the Emerald City number.  The scuffs and varying patch colours detracted from the sharpness of the costumes.  The farm characters' costumes did not have the worn look of working people and looked like costumes.  Yes, I know it is stylised, but ironed clothes for people working in the fields does not ring true - even in a musical.

Set Designs, also by Robert Jones were flashy and cartoon-esque.  The sets jarred at times because we only received half of the production design - by not having the revolve and the added lighting etc.  So therefore some aspects hit you with the wow factor, while others made you question that something was missing and made the staging awkward.

The Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone was also half realised as per the set design.  The lighting was effective at times, while at other times was overwhelming as it did not balance with the set.  Whereas in the London Palladium production, from the videos and promotions looked more balanced and polished.

The Video Design by Jon Driscoll did not work as effectively from the second row, and I suspect would have looked better further back.

Musically, the ensemble numbers with their rich harmonies was a highlight.  The orchestra led by Laura Tipoki was also one of the few highs.

I wrote the following on Facebook after seeing the show:

I was very disappointed in "The Wizard of Oz" as I was expecting it to be the Palladium of London production. The programme notes say "This production is closely based on the one seen at the London Palladium....". Yeah sure. Check out the footage on Youtube and the differences are obvious. It is a very underwhelming production with no revolve etc. I could go into a lot of detail but at $119.90 a ticket for the "New production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Wizard of Oz". - it was not what I had seen of the London production. I have copies of the ads with dates. I would say "it had aspects or inspired by the London production". The production at The State Theatre in about February 1991 left me glowing. This, well......

I would have preferred to buy a dvd of the Palladium production.

This Australian touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" received a very generous 6.5/10.