Blackie Blackie Brown, Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company Production, Beckett Theatre, Saturday July 28th 2018

Blackie Blackie Brown, Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company Production, Beckett Theatre, Saturday July 28th 2018

"Blackie Blackie Brown" was presented as a co-production by the Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company at the Beckett Theatre on Saturday July 28th 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.

"Blackie Blackie Brown" has a full title "Blackie Blackie Brown The Traditional Owner of Death" by Nakkiah Lui is a funny show that touches some taboo subjects to provide a hopeful future.  I have not laughed so hard for so long at such an entertaining and confronting piece of theatre.

The production is a sublime piece of co-operation between all of the theatrical departments.  Credit must be paid to Declan Greene who brought this piece to life with the wonderfully talented dynamic duo of Ash Flanders and Dalara Williams.

The video displays reminded me of David Atkins' production of "Hairspray" where they used multiple LED screens.  Here, we witness the incredible talents of Mike Greaney as the Animation and Video Director for the Animation trio of Jayden Dowler, Maira Primandari and James Neilson.

Lighting and Projection Design by Verity Hampson is an explosion of sensory delights that surprise and transport us between locations, themes and time.

Design by Elizabeth Gadsby with Concept Artist Emily Johnson is a sheer joy taking us from various locations to transporting us into dreamscapes.  Sound Realiser, Nate Edmondson excites and teases us with a soundscape of aural delights.

The staging made use of the raked stage made up of 11 x 5 = 55 squares and the vertical back drop was 11 x 4 = 44 squares. (Personally, I rose at 4.44 am to see the lunar eclipse then rose again to see it at 5.55 am.  This is of no relevance to the play, but is a personal note to remember the spiritual coincidences that we are presented with every day.)   The numbers mean nothing, other than making me think of the 400 people that Blackie Blackie Brown was pursuing.

The squares became doors, cupboards, a kitchen, hiding places, a police car, a television, a bar, and many other wonderful images.  The most impressive was the use of trapdoors.  A real surprise was the archaeological dig with the smashed square and what eventuates.  The use of the broken square reminded me of the 2017 play at the Melbourne Festival called "Germinal" at the Merlyn Theatre.  Here Declan Green has skillfully sucked us into his vision with unnerving surprise.

The use of the standing ESWING SEGWAY by Ash Flanders was sublime. He navigated this device with many options of forward and backward motion, and up and down the raked stage to absolutely delight the audience. 

Ash Flanders is a name I will not forget.  What a versatile talented young man to create so many different characters with individual mannerisms, vocal qualities and personalities.  I loved his opening camp interaction, and his policeman.  There were too many to list here.   But DO NOT forget his name!

Dalara Williams gave us a sensitive and powerful performance with honesty and vulnerability.  Her getting fit sequence playing off, and opposite. the video demonstrated superb timing.  Her interactions with Ash Flanders had a connection with another performer to keep us captivated.  Though, towards the end, vocally, I found a few lines hard to understand.

Declan Green is a force to be reckoned with, as he brought to life so many aspects of modern Australian life.  Yes, it is in your face and unrelenting.  Except the show lost pace and needed a second wind with about twenty minutes to go.  Here, the work needs some tightening to keep the momentum.  

Coincidentally some of the political comments were relevant as there were five by-elections on this very day.

The set and actors became a pin-ball machine.  They took us on a journey as they became a a dreamscape - via a conversation with a Great Grandmother.

There were news updates and interviews to see the antics of Blackie Blackie Brown from many perspectives.  This made the show less didactic and more credible as we were looking into the mirror of Australia.

The show paid homage to "Batman" and other cartoons with the captions.  At another time, an interaction paid homage to Dorothy and her chat to the Wizard from "The Wizard of Oz".  There were so many popular cultural references for different audience members to identify with.

With some fine tuning of the last twenty minutes, this production of "Blackie Blackie Brown" deserves to tour to festivals around the world as it showcases so many wonderful aspects of artistic collaboration.

So far, this is one of the best productions for 2018.

"Blackie Blackie Brown" obtained an 8.5/10.

Note:  I am finalising this review of "Blackie Blackie Brown" in late September 2018.  I am so happy that this production is being revised in 2019.  See it!