An Ideal Husband, MTC, Playhouse Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne, Tuesday July 24th 2018
"An Ideal Husband" was presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Playhouse Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne on Tuesday June 24th 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 highlights included performances by Simon Gleeson as Sir Robert Chiltern, Brent Hill as Lord Goring, William McInnes as The Earl of Caversham and Gina Riley as Lady Markby for their consistent portrayal of characters.
Christie Whelan-Brown gave a commendable performance as the conniving Mrs Cheevely. I thought she could have paid more attention to the etiquette and body language of the era.
The other woman clomped around in their dresses and need coaching of how to wear period costumes.
Zindzi Okenya improved as she warmed up after interval. Though, she needs to be taught how to walk rather than stomp around in her dress.
Jospeh Lai as Namjac provided an exotic edge to his characterisation revealing his long hair. Playing different roles provided us with a glimpse of his versatility. I particularly liked his physical differentiation of each role, and look forward to seeing more of his work.
Josh Price provided us with some gems for his characterisations playing Mason, Mr Montford and Phipps. He physically and vocally created differences. He is someone to watch.
The acting varied from over-acting to posturing.
Simon Gleeson provided the consistency, sincerity and truth to his character, Sir Robert Chiltern. He showed us an emotional depth to his character and reason for his every move, entrance and exit.
Brent Hill was sensational as Lord Goring in capturing the period. His posturing was jarring at times, and required purposeful flow to create his period poses. Some of the exchanges were so choreographed that spontaneity was lost. We witnessed masterful comedic timing when listening between him and other characters, rather than orchestrated reactions. (Make sure you see Brent Hill in "School of Rock" to see more of his fine acting skills.)
William McInnes as The Earl of Caversham demanded our attention with his booming resonance. The father and son interactions, between William McInnes and Brent Hill, fed off each other by holistically listening to each other, and, heightening our enjoyment. More of these "in the moment" exchanges were needed to heighten the stakes between characters.
Gina Riley, as Lady Markby, acted with poise and style. Her vocal agility and plummy accent was sublime. Her walk and use of her costume was of the period. Gina Riley created distancing stances with commanding poise, reserve and purpose.
The Miss Mabel Chiltern character played by Michelle Lim Davidson lacked the crispness of a Received Pronunciation accent and was hammy in her interactions with Lord Goring. Let me say - overacted, rather than stylised.
I found the casting of Michelle Lim Davidson as Sir Robert Chiltern's sister, Miss Mabel Chiltern to be disconcerting. Had they changed a line to say she was the "step-sister" or the "adopted sister" of Sir Robert Chiltern: then I could accept this. If both actors were of the same ethnicity then I could understand the casting, but I found this casting reverse racism. They may call it diversity, but others I spoke to had the same reaction.
My initial reaction to the show was the following:
"If a Caucasian was cast as a black, Asian or other ethnicity
it would be deemed racist. How can an
Asian actress/actor be a brother to a Caucasian Sir Robert Chiltern? If both actors were Asian I could suspend
believes, OR if they changed ONE LINE to say "My adopted or
step-sister" then it would give some credibility to the story. The actors need lessons in how to walk in the
dresses rather than clomping and stomping around the stage. Best part was Simon Gleeson, Brent Hill and
Gina Riley."
"An Ideal Husband" directed by Dean Bryant was a fun production that did not drag using slick scene changes performed by the servants. Some of the voice projection was uneven. More attention to historical etiquette could have provided a less contemporary physicality to some interactions.
Set and Costume Designs by Dale Ferguson captured the atmosphere of the play and provided some wonderful opportunities for entrances, exits and staging. The staging co-existed with the lighting and direction particularly in the first act. The lurking shadows around the curtains were a wonderful visual prologue to what would eventuate in the play.
Composer and Sound Designer, Mathew Frank provided atmospheric depth to the production. Some of the background sound was particularly subtle, allowing us to recognise sounds without becoming intrusive. The sound or music ramped up the volume to add an aural segue during the scene changes.
Lighting Design by Matt Scott provided an integrated design with Dale Ferguson's designs.
"An Ideal Husband" has a scene that may well be the inspiration for the famous scene from "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" - "I've decided to marry you". If you have not bought tickets for this musical; then do so as it is a fun companion piece to "An Ideal Husband".
Simon Gleeson and Gina Riley provided the most realistically Oscar Wilde interpretations.
Overall, this was a fun night with some patchy acting at times.
This production of "An Ideal Husband" obtained a 7.5/10.
