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.

Blaque Showgirls, Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Thursday December 1st 2016

"Blaque Showgirls", Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Thursday December 1st 2016

"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.

Who would believe that in one week you would see two show with cut out sets and props?  Let alone seeing two shows in a week with a cut out rickshaw crossing the stage?  "Blaque Showgirls" did as did "Reefer Madness" at Chapel Off Chapel.

"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.