Roots, 1927, Melbourne International Arts Festival, The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre, Saturday October 5th 2019
"Roots" by 1927 was presented by the Melbourne International Arts Festival at The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre, and we attended the performance on Saturday October 5th 2019.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.
"Roots" by 1927 was presented by the Melbourne International Arts Festival after its World Premiere in the UK at the Theatre Royal, Margate in England on October 27th 2019.
Arriving at the The Coopers Malthouse had a more festive appeal compared to the drab un-festive Arts Centre Melbourne. Banners advertising shows that would appear as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival adorned the high ceilings in the lobby of the The Coopers Malthouse. Congratulations as this complex made the effort to create a sense of occasion.
The programme outlined the background to the making of "Roots" and sadly did not list the stories for reminiscing after seeing the show.
1927 set various tones with their choice of stories from the Aarne Index housed at the British Library.
"Roots" consisted of about ten short stories that reminded me of "Fractured Fairy Tales" cartoons and also the twisted adult fairy tales by Gregory Maguire. Some of the tales are funny while others are much darker in the humour.
"Roots" consists of animation and live action acting and music. The actors lip-sync the voiceovers and they interact with the animation similar to Gene Kelly in "Anchors Aweigh". The four performers play instruments and alternate in the acting roles. The set design is integral to the concept as there are trap doors to allow the actors to poke their heads and other body parts through. Live action combined with animation was also used in David Atkins' version of "Hairspray" where the set was projected onto about ten LCD screens. The window opening and telephone ringing sequences from "Hairspray" were the most similar to "Roots".
Some of the stories included the cat who ate everyone and everything. Stay to the end of the show for a great reference back to the first story. This was easily the funniest story and audience members were bopping along to the song. I love that song and want a copy. This story reminded me of the "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly... I don't know why she swallowed a fly..."
"The Miracle Bird" used a simple set of a white flat where the projections would bring it to life as the back of a settee, or the base of a bed. A dog in a basket lay stage right with the occasional murmur of movement. The old couple wore wigs watching a television news item about a miracle bird. The bird escapes and you can guess where it lands. The antics are pure magic as we watch greed and jealousy at play. This story plays with more pace variations and the animation is incredible from a timing perspective. The performer's interaction with the animation is sublime from a spatial perspective. The final twist of this story drew a great response from the audience.
"Patient Griselda" was a story about a King wanting a bride that met his very specific criteria. A great twist at the end drew lots of oohs from the audience for its contemporary theme. We too were "patient" like Griselda as we were curious where this story was heading.
"The Ant Finds A Coin", "Three Wishes", "Poverty" and "The Luckless Man" were some of the other tales. Each story had their own moral, with some being a little more didactic than others. What let the show down was the sameness of rhythm and pacing. The stories that succeeded theatrically the most were those that challenged with pacing, timing, presentation, and humour. Strong endings for stories also enhanced the experience. The funniest stories received the most spontaneous reactions and applause. The least successful stories received delayed or lukewarm applause/responses.
Costume Designs by Sarah Munro were simple and clever. The musicians donned a new outfit for each story to compliment the action. My favourite costumes included the King's outfit and the musicians wore elaborate outfits that could have been from the Sun King era. The naked costumes were fun with the genitalia outrageously obvious in different shades and textures that could have come from a knitting or craft exhibition from the Royal Melbourne Show.
The costume for "The Unremarkable Man" was an adaptation of vaudeville half-man/half-woman-costume style visual joke. Even though the visual "reveal" is a classic joke, the turn enface to the audience received a lovely response as the audience were surprised.
The white face makeup particularly for the opening story created a sense of a simpler era for storytelling. The performers eyes were so important to convey not only the emotions of the characters, but more importantly their vulnerability as they broke the fourth wall to realise they were being exposed.
Compositions by Lillian Henley created a wonderful potpourri of music that differentiated each story. I repeat I want a copy of the song from the cat story. The use of different instruments gave a texture to each story. These characters were on display at a human slave market with their stories.
Animation by Paul Barritt is a genius for the mathematical and spatial specifics. More so, his animation created slightly different moods for each piece with the various styles of colour and animation. The work required for the animation with the story and interaction with the actors is a phenomenal feat of planning and project management. This co-ordination between all production departments leaves me in awe at their skills.
Writer and Director, Suzanne Andrade has created a terrific piece that I can see growing within the parameters of the set and animation design.
Lighting is paramount to the success of the show as spotlights grow smaller to focus on a character's face. This vaudeville style lighting works so well in this show to open and close each story. Childhood memories of "Looney Tunes" cartoons spring to mind with the use of the vaudevillian spotlights.
Our favourite was the opening number with the cat who ate everything. The other stories were not as funny, but opened us up to different perspectives.
In hindsight, I think some stories were chosen from a personal resonance and were indulgent choices rather than bearing in mind the needs of the audience. This is both a positive and a criticism as I admired the choices as being personal. I would love to know why each story was chosen. This level of detail would engage with me more as it would take an audience on a deeper understanding of 1927's work.
The programme outlined the background to the making of "Roots" and sadly did not list the stories for reminiscing after seeing the show.
1927 set various tones with their choice of stories from the Aarne Index housed at the British Library.
"Roots" consisted of about ten short stories that reminded me of "Fractured Fairy Tales" cartoons and also the twisted adult fairy tales by Gregory Maguire. Some of the tales are funny while others are much darker in the humour.
"Roots" consists of animation and live action acting and music. The actors lip-sync the voiceovers and they interact with the animation similar to Gene Kelly in "Anchors Aweigh". The four performers play instruments and alternate in the acting roles. The set design is integral to the concept as there are trap doors to allow the actors to poke their heads and other body parts through. Live action combined with animation was also used in David Atkins' version of "Hairspray" where the set was projected onto about ten LCD screens. The window opening and telephone ringing sequences from "Hairspray" were the most similar to "Roots".
Some of the stories included the cat who ate everyone and everything. Stay to the end of the show for a great reference back to the first story. This was easily the funniest story and audience members were bopping along to the song. I love that song and want a copy. This story reminded me of the "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly... I don't know why she swallowed a fly..."
"The Miracle Bird" used a simple set of a white flat where the projections would bring it to life as the back of a settee, or the base of a bed. A dog in a basket lay stage right with the occasional murmur of movement. The old couple wore wigs watching a television news item about a miracle bird. The bird escapes and you can guess where it lands. The antics are pure magic as we watch greed and jealousy at play. This story plays with more pace variations and the animation is incredible from a timing perspective. The performer's interaction with the animation is sublime from a spatial perspective. The final twist of this story drew a great response from the audience.
"Patient Griselda" was a story about a King wanting a bride that met his very specific criteria. A great twist at the end drew lots of oohs from the audience for its contemporary theme. We too were "patient" like Griselda as we were curious where this story was heading.
"The Ant Finds A Coin", "Three Wishes", "Poverty" and "The Luckless Man" were some of the other tales. Each story had their own moral, with some being a little more didactic than others. What let the show down was the sameness of rhythm and pacing. The stories that succeeded theatrically the most were those that challenged with pacing, timing, presentation, and humour. Strong endings for stories also enhanced the experience. The funniest stories received the most spontaneous reactions and applause. The least successful stories received delayed or lukewarm applause/responses.
Costume Designs by Sarah Munro were simple and clever. The musicians donned a new outfit for each story to compliment the action. My favourite costumes included the King's outfit and the musicians wore elaborate outfits that could have been from the Sun King era. The naked costumes were fun with the genitalia outrageously obvious in different shades and textures that could have come from a knitting or craft exhibition from the Royal Melbourne Show.
The costume for "The Unremarkable Man" was an adaptation of vaudeville half-man/half-woman-costume style visual joke. Even though the visual "reveal" is a classic joke, the turn enface to the audience received a lovely response as the audience were surprised.
The white face makeup particularly for the opening story created a sense of a simpler era for storytelling. The performers eyes were so important to convey not only the emotions of the characters, but more importantly their vulnerability as they broke the fourth wall to realise they were being exposed.
Compositions by Lillian Henley created a wonderful potpourri of music that differentiated each story. I repeat I want a copy of the song from the cat story. The use of different instruments gave a texture to each story. These characters were on display at a human slave market with their stories.
Animation by Paul Barritt is a genius for the mathematical and spatial specifics. More so, his animation created slightly different moods for each piece with the various styles of colour and animation. The work required for the animation with the story and interaction with the actors is a phenomenal feat of planning and project management. This co-ordination between all production departments leaves me in awe at their skills.
Writer and Director, Suzanne Andrade has created a terrific piece that I can see growing within the parameters of the set and animation design.
Lighting is paramount to the success of the show as spotlights grow smaller to focus on a character's face. This vaudeville style lighting works so well in this show to open and close each story. Childhood memories of "Looney Tunes" cartoons spring to mind with the use of the vaudevillian spotlights.
Our favourite was the opening number with the cat who ate everything. The other stories were not as funny, but opened us up to different perspectives.
In hindsight, I think some stories were chosen from a personal resonance and were indulgent choices rather than bearing in mind the needs of the audience. This is both a positive and a criticism as I admired the choices as being personal. I would love to know why each story was chosen. This level of detail would engage with me more as it would take an audience on a deeper understanding of 1927's work.
I thought we had seen this company before as we had seen a similar theatre company before at the 2017 Melbourne International Arts Festival using animation for a show called "Dark Circus" by Stereoptik. This is why we bought tickets thinking that this was Stereoptik with the animation link. We were still very happy that we saw the "Roots".
"Roots" obtained a 7/10.
Observation and post script about "Roots":
"Roots" obtained a 7/10.
Observation and post script about "Roots":
I could see this company adapting Gregory Maguire's "Leaping Beauty".
I would also love a follow up with "Roots" whereby audience members have a code to explore more background information about the stories chosen for the show. I do not mean an educational pack as per Matthew Bourne with "Lord of the Flies" but an follow up information.
Even though "Roots" had similarities to the Seven Deadly Sins, I would love to see 1927 do a specific show about the Seven Deadly Sins. I could see an education pack for the Seven Deadly Sins would be a great companion piece without being too much like theatre-in-education.
Note:
My links are not necessarily those that reflect the stories from the show.
I would also love a follow up with "Roots" whereby audience members have a code to explore more background information about the stories chosen for the show. I do not mean an educational pack as per Matthew Bourne with "Lord of the Flies" but an follow up information.
Even though "Roots" had similarities to the Seven Deadly Sins, I would love to see 1927 do a specific show about the Seven Deadly Sins. I could see an education pack for the Seven Deadly Sins would be a great companion piece without being too much like theatre-in-education.
Note:
My links are not necessarily those that reflect the stories from the show.
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