Shaking Up Shakespeare Festival at Thredbo, February 16-18. Coordinated by Robyn Klobusiak, Thredbo Tourism. Information and reservations: 1800 801 982 or www.thredbo.com.au.
There are two aspects to this Festival: being at Thredbo, and the performance of Shakespeare.
Thredbo itself has two contrasting angles. The bush, the mountains, the sun, wind and snow - all the natural forces of which Shakespeare wrote, here in their native Australian form. And then all the sophistication of the citified middle-class with credit cards hot-to-trot. No Antonios lending money at no interest here: after 4 centuries Shylock has won the day. Even Pauline Hanson's 2% bank has no show here.
So Shakespeare, the European master of drama, is relevant here, but how has he been treated?
Well, the packaged people ($139 per person, 4 share which includes 2 nights accommodation, a weekend festival pass and scenic chairlift rides) have been served a small treat, not to mention a Shakespearian Feast with music and dance for a mere $20. Not all nouveau cuisine, mind you, but some highly original presentations.
There was Australian au natural from The Actor's Forum (Sydney); the Oz bizarre flavour of tae kwon shakespeare II (Sydney); Euroexpressionisme from Thag-Theatre Fellbach (Stuttgart); Canberra ordinaire by the National Shakespeare Festival Company; Shrew in a dark prune sauce from the Gartre Troupe (Sydney); cappucino from Lieder Theatre (Goulburn); and 3 veg from the Thredbo Players, the amateur group who have inspired the Festival.
The highlight has to be the Thag-Theatre's Moonlight Fever, about how Puck stuffs up the lovers, a tightly disciplined production strong in symbolism and acting skills. The performers, representing high schools and universities in southern Germany, were as good as the best local professionals, and will perform in Canberra at Gorman House on Wednesday February 21, and in Goulburn and Sydney.
The professional Actor's Forum's Shakespeare on Love was a little like a Shakespeare tour for schools, but was expertly performed in naturalistic style, covering bits from 10 plays, 3 sonnets and the narrative poem Venus and Adonis. Young actor Ana Maria Belo closely matched Thag-Theatre's Mona Schrodel for stage presence and skill in switching mood. Buster Skeggs' Kate from Taming of the Shrew exposed the contrast between the Actor's Forum sophistication of interpretation and the too easy acceptance by the other Sydney professionals, Gartre, of Kate's apparent kowtowing to Petruchio. Gartre, recently graduated from acting schools, have the skills but not the depth to bring out Shakespeare's irony.
I have to report, too, that though Nicholas Bolonkin, Miranda Rose and Simon Kearney of Canberra's National Shakespeare Theatre perhaps have depth of understanding, they haven't the skills to match Buster Skeggs in Venus and Adonis. Goulburn's amateur Lieder Theatre were certainly very funny in Tom Stoppard's 15 Minute Hamlet, but less so in Sonnets 18 and 141 (though Ann Elbourne is a good comedian) and less so again in Bridget Elbourne's A Little Elizabethan Tomfoolery.
The most original idea of the Festival was professional Ben Seton's story, directed by Melvyn Morrow, of how he defeated his Union-playing schoolmate Julian Beaumont for the love of leading lady Kate by incorporating championship Tae Kwon Do into all his Shakespeare roles. The script needs tightening but the bits that worked were quite stunning: martial arts becomes the language of movement through which the emotions of Shakespeare's words are expressed. He even did Kate, the Shrew's, final speech: in the kitchen chopping up vegetables - and he did not miss the irony.
Thredbo's own Players, conventionally amateur in their low energy, lack of movement and slow cues were saved by Steve Lyster's language control as Sir Toby Belch, with solid support from Lizzy Withers (Viola) and Mel Perrin (Olivia), and lifted the audience in the final scene. Unfortunately the modern setting (café society in Italian fishing village) was ignored, apart from the drunkards hiding behind the bar, instead the bush in the original. It was a potentially good idea wasted.
One strength of the Festival was John Garden's practical classes in Renaissance Dance, focussing on dances mentioned by Shakespeare and giving historical insights, for example about Queen Elizabeth's fascination with the new risque dance La Volta. Earthly Delights provided their usual high standard of Renaissance music and late evening entertainment was well provided for with Theatresports by Gartre and the excellent Irish band The Fifth Element.
My feeling is that after several years, Thredbo's Shakespeare Festival needs an upgrade. It seems to have fallen between stools, promising the sophistication which the credit card trotters expect while wanting to keep a village festival inclusiveness. Audiences have not grown. It's time for investment in a professional artistic director, or the Festival may fall on its sword: not a good result for Shakespeare or Thredbo.
Frank and Meg McKone were guests of Tourism Thredbo and stayed at Thredbo Alpine Hotel.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
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