Storm Boy, MTC Sumner Theatre at the Southbank Theatre, Tuesday July 2nd 2019

Storm Boy, MTC Sumner Theatre at the Southbank Theatre, Tuesday July 2nd 2019

"Storm Boy" is a co-production by Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company and in association with Dead Puppet Society. This co-production was presented at the MTC's Sumner Theatre at the Southbank Theatre, Tuesday July 2nd 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.

This review contains spoilers.

"Storm Boy" adapted by Tom Holloway for the stage from the book by Colin Thiele.  

"Storm Boy" was directed by Sam Strong from the Queensland Theatre Company and designed by Anna Cordingley.

Congratulations to David Morton as the Puppet Designer and Associate Director.  The team of puppet makers and puppeteers were fabulous.

The puppets by Dead Puppet Society captured so much of the audience's attention. Both the design of the puppets including pelicans, pelican chicks, fish, penguins and a snake were brilliantly executed by three superb puppeteers: Ellen Bailey, Emily Burton and Drew Wilson.  They made sounds to match the movements of each pelican puppet.

Emily Burton captured the only emotional heart string for me when she caressed the Storm Boy's forehead after Mr Percival dies.  Emily Burton provided the heart and soul of this production that was so lacking in the emotional bond between any of the characters.

Direction by Sam Strong had the actors force the story down my throat.  The volumes and emotions were charged beyond a realistic level.  There was no real connection between the three main characters and the story jumped with cinematic ad breaks as the curtain came down to change the set (yet again!).

Set Design by Anna Cordingley was sensational, and was so cinematic at times that I felt ambivalence, and questioned why they adapt the book as the original film is a classic piece of Australian film making.  The curtain kept rising and falling with more sound-scapes and two mobile phones vibrating loudly on two occasions.  The front curtain became a movie screen to transport us to the next location.

The boat scenes were effective with the rocking and rolling in the water.  The floor created a lovely mirrored glaze with clouds reflecting and textured sand replicating the images of South Australia's Coorong.

I did not warm to any of the three characters, though Tony Briggs as Fingerbone Bill tried valiantly to build rapport with the other two actors.

I felt the actors were not really listening to each other, as the levels were so emotionally wrong at times.

The show dragged and was laboured.  The puppetry and puppeteers at least brought the show to life at times.

I remember looking at my watch at the 20 minute mark, then the 35 minute mark, wanting less changes of set to create a more seamless flow.

Composer and Sound Designer, Darrin Verhagen created some wonderful and atmospheric sound-scapes that at times were diminished by the forced performances.

"Storm Boy" obtained a 6/10.

Lazarus, The Production Company, The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, Saturday May 25th 2019

Lazarus, The Production Company, The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, Saturday May 25th 2019

"Lazarus" was presented by The Production Company at The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, on Saturday May 25th 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.

"Lazarus" by David Bowie and Enda Walsh was presented as the opening show for The Production Company's 2019 season, at The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, Saturday May 25th 2019.

"Lazarus" has been presented in London and Off-Broadway.

In a word - "awful!"

In two words: "don't bother!"

Yes, David Bowie fans may think this is sacrilege.  But it was such a confusing production.  The four pages brief David Bowie had presented to the original writer Enda Walsh was certainly not realised in this production.

The staging was cumbersome, awkward and lacked focus.

The video and lighting designs covered up the confusion.  Some consolation at least was the video played homage to David Bowie.

Set and Costume Design by Anna Cordingley had flashed of eccentricity and again paid homage to David Bowie.  The set reminded me of "Bye Bye Birdie" with seven screens wide and two high to create fourteen oblong shapes that would expose performers behind.  These fourteen screens were used for the videos and also to reveal action behind. 

Lighting Design by Paul Jackson created some highlights, but more distractions from the awful production.  It was a saving grace at times.

The show dragged for want of some decent singing and story line.

The sound of the orchestra was thin.

Vocally the singing was uninspiring and at time grating.  

Choreography by Stephanie Lake showcased how she struggled to move from contemporary dance to commercial theatre.  The staging and choreography was much like a ballet school concert.  Yes, I have seen enough contemporary dance used effectively in Broadway productions of "Spring Awakening" and "American Idiot".  (Not the Australian productions!)

The choreography was executed with random hap-hazard coordination.

Direction by Michael Kantor was like his rising as if Lazarus.  This production lacked focus and was like one long (very long) video music clip.

Some decent singing came from Emily Milledge as the Girl and Chris Ryan as Newton.  Iota, was Iota and paraded in his beautiful outfits that again tried to detract from an awful production.

Emily Milledge was terrific as the Girl, though she was much better in "Carrie the musical" and other shows.

Chris Ryan has a good voice and did a reasonable job with an awful script, role and direction.

The production was enigmatic and confusing.  The staging was clunky at times.  No, often!

The finale had Chris Ryan singing "Heroes" with about 67 disco balls, and only one that spun.

I noticed that eleven people left during the first hour, and only three returned from breaks.  So, that was eight people in the stalls left that I saw and counted.  It was more interesting to watch the reactions of The Production Company subscribers leaving, and those that stayed, rather than watching the show.

The best part in the show was a young man called Josh Gates who played Ben and Dirty Boy.  His singing was the best in the show.  His dancing was sublime. He was worth spending $105 a ticket to see.  I look forward to seeing him more in the future.

The finale image of David Bowie after the curtain calls was a comfort that he did not live to see this production.

Overall, "Lazarus" obtained a 5/10. 

Jasper Jones, MTC, Sumner Theatre, Wednesday August 24th 2016

Jasper Jones, MTC, Sumner Theatre, Wednesday August 24th 2016

We attended "Jasper Jones" from the novel by Craig Silvey and adapted by Kate Mulvany and presented by The Melbourne Theatre Company at their Southbank Theatre, The Sumner Theatre on Wednesday August 24th 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.

"Jasper Jones" brings up memories from the summer of 1965.  I had just turned six years old and I remember my childhood memories so vividly as if yesterday.  This sense of memory was accurately translated by Kate Mulvany from Craig Silveys' book.

The book and play "Jasper Jones" reminds many of "To Kill A Mockingbird".  To me it has echos of the film version of "Intruder In the Dust" which preceded "To Kill A Mockingbird" with its themes of justice and racial discrimination. "Jasper Jones" also reminds me of the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" with wanting to solve the murder of Laura Wishart.  (By the way I hope that the Broadway or London play "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" tours to Australia soon!).

"Jasper Jones" is patchy at times and both my partner and myself thought it was a bit laboured and overlong.  This did not take away from our enjoyment of the play as there are so many wonderful aspects of this production.  The script was quite didactic and was full of four letter words.  In 1965 "bloody" and "bastard" were frowned upon.  The use of four letter words was a bit over done and not as accurate for a country town in 1965.  Maybe they needed the phrase "I'll put Velvet soap on your tongue" inserted into the script.

The three young male members of the cast actually take centre stage here with their credible performances.  The other actors vary in their ability to convey a truth in their performances.

Jasper Jones was ably played by Guy Simon and engaged with the audience quickly.  The sighs from the audience revealed Guy Simon's ability for us to empathise with Jasper Jones' plight.  Guy Simon brought this fourteen year old to life: both physically and vocally.

Charlie Bucktin was played by Nicholas Denton with a geek-like naivety.  He had a wonderful rapport with Jasper Jones and his Vietnamese mate Jeffrey Lu played by Harry Tseng.  Their relationship of young teenage boys was played with honesty and captured our hearts.  Their adventures outlined the issues of 1965 succinctly - the bullying and racism,   Their sense of adventure and super-hero antics captured the school yard conversations and imagination.

The remaining cast varied in their roles - some becoming cartoon-esque and others not quite capturing the coldness of authority required.

The real star of this production is the director Sam Strong who has assembled an incredible technical crew to bring his vision to life.

Set and Costume Design by Anna Cordingley captured the essence of a small Australian town.  The revolving set with dam on stage right and the dug up ground on stage left created an additional element of realism.  We saw "Masquerade" which also used a revolve effectively for transitions and scene changes.

Anna Cordingley's costumes gave the impression of 1965.  A shame they did not use the plastic sandals instead of the more modern sandals.

Lighting Design by Matt Scott enhanced the atmosphere.  The emotional context was used effectively in the colours chosen to light the cyclorama backdrop.

The Composer and Sound Designer, Darrin Verhagen captured the spirit of youth, country parochialism and isolation.  The planes flying above sounded so real as they flew overhead creating a sense of menace and urgency.

The Director, Sam Strong has used transitions between scenes seamlessly.  The entrances and exits of characters around the revolve emphasised the town of Corrigan.  The ending of Act One and the opening of Act Two was magical as if we had just had a television advertisement break.

We saw Sam Strong's production of "Masquerade" and his trademark of seamless transitions is to be admired.

Sam Strong  has enabled his young actors to physically and emotionally attach to the awkwardness of being a teenager.

The reveal scene of Charlie's mother was lost by about ten per cent of the audience as they could not see what was happening.  Some audience members were laughing and others curious as to what was happening.  This was a design and sight line issue.

Classic iconic images of Australia were used throughout the production.  The push lawn mower and the cricket stumps are two examples that were used effectively.

The secrets and story surrounding Jasper Jones are touching.  There are some cliches in the story telling but it is a good yarn.   The scene when Jasper and Charlie confront Mad Jack Lionel is given away very early if you listen carefully.

The denouement scene by Eliza Wishart played by Taylor Ferguson lacked the intensity of revealing such a dark secret.  The delivery was measured and lacked an emotional depth of distress.  It even lacked a suppressed lack of distress.  Taylor Ferguson played the dual roles of the sisters Laura and Eliza.  She made a clear distinction between the dual two sisters and made me double take if it was in fact the same actress.

The ending is satisfying without being patronising.  We all have secrets from when we were teenagers.  I think it does leave it open for a follow up book - but then again that may spoil the magic and mystery of "Jasper Jones".

Overall my partner and myself both agreed this production deserved a 7/10.