Short Stabs Program 3. Culturally Innovative Arts at Gorman House till December 20, 1997.
Convoy: Men in Cars and Trucks by Kathleen Bleakley; acoustic guitar music composed and performed by Mark Norton; and three short plays by Daniel Keene.
Bleakley is a performance poet whose cycle of poems Men in Cars and Trucks has been adapted for stage, directed by Roland Manderson. Previously performed on radio in Adelaide and 2XX, and later to be published in book form with images by Canberra photographer 'pling, these pieces are better off-stage than on. The physical representation of the men in the cars and trucks who assume that all women are available for their sexual gratification put the focus on the men, even making them comic in some cases, instead of re-creating the sense of women's despair at never being allowed their personal freedom. The poems, as a voice on the radio, have an emotional depth missing from miming the action on stage, though Anna Voronoff's performance is excellent.
Mark Norton's music is an interesting crossover between classical and folk guitar. He has experimented with combining tuning and fingering from both traditions, and the results are three highly original compositions which for me, and, judging by the applause, for many others, are the highlight of the evening.
Daniel Keene (you may remember Cho Cho San) in Night, a Wall, Two Men, performed with tight clarity by Tim Wood and Thomas Holgrove, seems to be Melbourne's Samuel Beckett. "Love, charity, pity ... it's all very common, that sort of thing" - certainly not your usual Christmas message in this Waiting for Godot version of A Christmas Carol in which the poor starve and Ebenezer Scrooge never comes good. Keene is writing about basic human rights in all three pieces presented here. The Prisoner and his Keeper (Danny Diesendorf and Simon Aylott), perhaps needing some cutting or tighter direction, shows how the Keeper is as much demeaned by his role as the Prisoner. Foxes is a monologue, performed well by Miranda Rose - a strange, almost suicidal piece about innocence and loneliness.
CIA's presentation is hopefully the beginning of a clearer focus for the "experimental, innovative and investigative" theatre that David Branson tells me he is aiming for.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
Friday, 19 December 1997
Thursday, 11 December 1997
1997: The 1997 Bull 'n Bush Christmas Revue
The 1997 Bull 'n Bush Christmas Revue, School of Arts Cafe, Queanbeyan. Starring Graham and Norma Robertson, Jan Carey, Coralie Wood. Weds to Sats till December 31, 1997 (except Christmas and Boxing Days).
Despite my best efforts, Mattie Hellyer, suspiciously sitting at the table nearest Tim, the judge, won the Christmas Bell last Wednesday because she knew all the words to all the songs. But how could I be resentful or judgemental on a night of Christmas cheer, enjoying excellent soup, beef and Christmas pudding?
The night is light, an eclectic collection of titbits and we certainly weren't bored. The "stars" above are the whole cast and they worked well together in the constraints of the tiny stage, though I think I would give my Christmas bell to Norma Robertson on the grand piano. Her 19 years' experience playing for Rep's Old Time Music Hall held the show together.
Unpretentious is one word I heard to describe the Revue - a relaxed approach which put together items like the Brick Story (Why I Am Not At Work Today) made famous by the wonderful Hoffnung, and told well by Graham Robertson; the audience banging our bon-bons in unison; lots of New York Jewish phone calls; singing Master of the House from Les Mis with reference to Maitre d' Bill Stephens; more mobile phone conversations; I Wanna Be Rich, Famous and Powerful sung by Coralie in the guise of a failed Barbra Streisand and so on.
Critics were given the goodbye in I Wanna Be Rich, but I think it's fair to comment that only some items actually qualified for the title Revue. Absurdity, ironic humour and satire are key revue elements, and these appeared occasionally between entree, mains and sweets. Oh No, John Howard ("Will he leave us in a mess? Oh Yes, John, Yes!"), an awfully funny geriatric Let's Do It, My Body is Nobody's But My Own, and the Anorexic Ballet Girls were the genuine articles - for me the highlights of the night, and the pieces which clearly were appreciated by the house, which was just about full.
In other words for a bit of Bull 'n some satirical Bush you'll need to book well ahead on 6297 6857.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
Despite my best efforts, Mattie Hellyer, suspiciously sitting at the table nearest Tim, the judge, won the Christmas Bell last Wednesday because she knew all the words to all the songs. But how could I be resentful or judgemental on a night of Christmas cheer, enjoying excellent soup, beef and Christmas pudding?
The night is light, an eclectic collection of titbits and we certainly weren't bored. The "stars" above are the whole cast and they worked well together in the constraints of the tiny stage, though I think I would give my Christmas bell to Norma Robertson on the grand piano. Her 19 years' experience playing for Rep's Old Time Music Hall held the show together.
Unpretentious is one word I heard to describe the Revue - a relaxed approach which put together items like the Brick Story (Why I Am Not At Work Today) made famous by the wonderful Hoffnung, and told well by Graham Robertson; the audience banging our bon-bons in unison; lots of New York Jewish phone calls; singing Master of the House from Les Mis with reference to Maitre d' Bill Stephens; more mobile phone conversations; I Wanna Be Rich, Famous and Powerful sung by Coralie in the guise of a failed Barbra Streisand and so on.
Critics were given the goodbye in I Wanna Be Rich, but I think it's fair to comment that only some items actually qualified for the title Revue. Absurdity, ironic humour and satire are key revue elements, and these appeared occasionally between entree, mains and sweets. Oh No, John Howard ("Will he leave us in a mess? Oh Yes, John, Yes!"), an awfully funny geriatric Let's Do It, My Body is Nobody's But My Own, and the Anorexic Ballet Girls were the genuine articles - for me the highlights of the night, and the pieces which clearly were appreciated by the house, which was just about full.
In other words for a bit of Bull 'n some satirical Bush you'll need to book well ahead on 6297 6857.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
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