2000: Winnie the Pooh by A.A.Milne

 Winnie the Pooh by A.A.Milne, a Garry Ginivan Attraction at Canberra Theatre April 27-28.   

For me, this Pooh was a slick lick at the money honey pot, not the whimsical hums of Pooh that I remember from my tiny days.  If there is anything we should keep from our erstwhile colonial masters, it should be not just the words of A.A.Milne but the sense of gentle humour, irony and comradeship which are exemplified in the Rescue of Piglet from a Wetting.  What we got was a tightly timed performance which seemed to be controlled by a pre-recorded tape.

    The effect was exemplified when I heard a parent explain to her 3-year-old after the show, "A movie's on a big screen.  This was a play."  It was hard to tell the difference. Of course, when Pooh says to Owl, "Eeyore's lost his tail, hasn't he children?", all the children yelled "Yes!" but the show had a mechanical feel instead of the warmth of real contact between the actors and the children that performers like Monica Trapaga achieve.

    It is disappointing indeed to find myself so critical, because the costumes and set were excellent (based on the original E.H.Shepherd illustrations, not the Disney abominations), the singing was harmonious and the basics of the characters were strong, especially Tom Blair's Eeyore.  The attraction of the Bear with Very Little Brain is so powerful that Canberra Theatre was full at the opening performance.  Michael Lindner gave a generally sympathetic portrayal of Pooh, except that he fell occasionally into the trap of getting a laugh by making Pooh just a little too stupid.

    The English pantomime tradition, perhaps, led to Christopher Robin being played by a woman, Laura Hamilton, who was a clear and precise actor - yet I felt that Christopher Robin being a boy is a strong point in favour of helping males appreciate sensitivity to emotions.  Little boys in this audience probably missed the point.

    The program reveals that three prominent songs have both words and music by Julian Slade, rather than being originals by Milne and H.Fraser-Simson.  These were what Pooh might call bumptious songs - not his style at all.  And one small girl near me wanted to go home when Tigger appeared in unimpressive pin stripes.  Tigger has to be orange with big stripes, she informed her mother.  So there!  And, in Australia indeed, where were Kanga and Roo?

© Frank McKone, Canberra