1º of Separation. Canberra Youth Theatre's Generation Group directed by Simone Penkethman. C Block, Gorman House Arts Centre, Wednesday to Saturday July 28 - August 7, 8 pm.
For this Youth Theatre production I have coined the term Eclectic Theatre. Over the course of a little less than an hour we see mime, dance, symbolic movement and imagery, naturalistic dialogue, poetry and stylised use of voice, electric and acoustic guitar, and recorded music, birdsong, cars and trucks.
People come in through real doors and windows as well as enter from shadowy wings. People freeze in shadowed areas while others act in the spotlight. They all line up for a curtain call, without a curtain.
Somewhere in here is meant to be a theme, of Canberra characters devised from improvisations, bound together by the four seasons and stretching over time from childhood to old age. Interactions between them all, from the crippled rich Lady Tyreana at the top of the hill to the sandwich bar employee, and every possibility in between, are meant to show how closely we all are connected.
As Linda McHugh, CYT Artistic Director told me, you can do anything in theatre. This show, however, is not as together as many recent CYT performances. Youth theatre is certainly about providing young people the opportunity to explore all aspects of theatre, and this show certainly does that.
But youth theatre should also give its young participants the experience of developing theatrical focus and intensity in their productions. In 1º of Separation every actor has their focussed moment, but the points of focus are not put together into a strong dramatic structure, ending rather weakly with a quite shallow stereotyped representation of two characters from the sandwich bar in old age.
It is, of course, not fair to criticise a youth theatre performance as if it were expected to be equal to a professional production. But I think it is fair to suggest that, though I could see the professionalism of the direction in each actor's performance skills, in movement and speech - I should also have seen a better shaping of the work to take it from the improvisation of scenes into an hour long show.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
Wednesday, 28 July 2004
Sunday, 25 July 2004
2004: The Paragon Files by Adam Hatzimanolis
The Paragon Files, written and performed by Adam Hatzimanolis. Sidetrack Performance Group in The Oneira Festival at National Gallery of Australia, July 24.
With a kind of self-deprecating humour, Hatzimanolis integrates the pathos of his personal second-generation Greek migrant story and the Australian mythical sense of maturity achieved through brave failure into a tragi-comic Homeric journey. This sounds complex, but his presentation of his upbringing behind the scenes in a Wollongong fish and chip shop - The Paragon, of course - never flags.
The wonderful irony is that the woeful semi-fictional attempts he makes to become an actor are performed by the real Hatzimanolis with consummate skill. His writing, too, is not merely witty but contains layers of meaning which can be enjoyed at the surface but then will stir up cultural references which inevitably demand to be discussed after the show.
His rebuilt EJ Holden finally blows up; he burns down, accidentally, the fish and chip shop; the doctor tells him he has a wog in his throat; Uncle Stavros dies but, at the age of seven, he switches the TV on to watch a horror movie rather than view the body; and Nicole Kidman passes him by "eyes wide shut" on the film set when he at last gets an acting job as an extra. There are many more iconic moments which English- and Greek-speaking audiences can all appreciate.
The Paragon Files is a perfect vehicle for this festival - Oneira or The Evolution of Dreams - which is produced by Vasiliki Nihas as an Australian reflection of the Olympic Cultural Festival in Greece. Dreams change from one generation to the next, and they don't only have to be about winning at sport.
Oneira began with a Taverna Night at the Hellenic Club in early July, followed by Sydney's Maria Yiakoulis and her musical maestros, and a range of other events. Yet to come is Websong, a ceremonial performance by Canberra's A Chorus of Women (August 7-8), a guided tour of the Classics Museum at ANU (August 4) and of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (August 8), a talk on Greek literature (August 6), the Greek Oz Writers Festival (August 7), and much more.
Go to www.oneira.net.au for details.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
With a kind of self-deprecating humour, Hatzimanolis integrates the pathos of his personal second-generation Greek migrant story and the Australian mythical sense of maturity achieved through brave failure into a tragi-comic Homeric journey. This sounds complex, but his presentation of his upbringing behind the scenes in a Wollongong fish and chip shop - The Paragon, of course - never flags.
The wonderful irony is that the woeful semi-fictional attempts he makes to become an actor are performed by the real Hatzimanolis with consummate skill. His writing, too, is not merely witty but contains layers of meaning which can be enjoyed at the surface but then will stir up cultural references which inevitably demand to be discussed after the show.
His rebuilt EJ Holden finally blows up; he burns down, accidentally, the fish and chip shop; the doctor tells him he has a wog in his throat; Uncle Stavros dies but, at the age of seven, he switches the TV on to watch a horror movie rather than view the body; and Nicole Kidman passes him by "eyes wide shut" on the film set when he at last gets an acting job as an extra. There are many more iconic moments which English- and Greek-speaking audiences can all appreciate.
The Paragon Files is a perfect vehicle for this festival - Oneira or The Evolution of Dreams - which is produced by Vasiliki Nihas as an Australian reflection of the Olympic Cultural Festival in Greece. Dreams change from one generation to the next, and they don't only have to be about winning at sport.
Oneira began with a Taverna Night at the Hellenic Club in early July, followed by Sydney's Maria Yiakoulis and her musical maestros, and a range of other events. Yet to come is Websong, a ceremonial performance by Canberra's A Chorus of Women (August 7-8), a guided tour of the Classics Museum at ANU (August 4) and of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (August 8), a talk on Greek literature (August 6), the Greek Oz Writers Festival (August 7), and much more.
Go to www.oneira.net.au for details.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
Saturday, 24 July 2004
2004: The Foursome by Norm Foster
The Foursome by Norm Foster. Directed by Cathie Clelland for Canberra Repertory at Theatre 3, July 23 - August 14.
"Great fun!" was the comment that rose above the general hubbub of celebration as the lights went up at the end of opening night. I thought The Foursome was fun, but it's not a great play.
It takes a while to warm up, but all the actors - Michael Sparks (Donnie), Brendan Sloane (Cameron), Alex Sangston (Ted) and Simon Lissaman (Rick) - have got their characters right and work very well together as an ensemble. Clelland's direction neatly takes us into occasional set pieces which contrast with the naturalistic scenes, and the result is a sense of design in the production, an achievement on stage which the audience can justly celebrate.
The Canadian Norm Foster "has been compared to Neil Simon" and his work related to "the character-driven comedies of Woody Allen", according to the program notes. That's stretching a long bow, at least in this play about a reunion on the golf course, after 15 years, of four male Business graduates.
The situation is static, even though they play 18 holes, and the comedy comes from the particularly competitive nature of Rick, who gets dudded in the end. It's as good as one of David Williamson's lighter-weight pieces, but even in a play like Money and Friends, Williamson's one-liners get us laughing sooner and more consistently.
The set design, costumes, sound and lights are up to Rep's usual excellent standard, and it was pleasing to hear the actors very naturally using proper Canadian accents. This is important because these characters' attitudes and language are not just North American but specifically Canadian. Foster has an ear for his native English just as Williamson has for Australian idiom.
Though, in my terms at least, the play is not "great", it is certainly fun. The treatment of the issues, such as the men's relations with women, though quite daring in its day, almost seems naïve in today's upfront world, but this only adds to the humour. It's funny, in both senses, to look back to 1989 - as the characters do to 1974 - and seem to remember an innocent past.
Book at Rep on 6247 4222.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
"Great fun!" was the comment that rose above the general hubbub of celebration as the lights went up at the end of opening night. I thought The Foursome was fun, but it's not a great play.
It takes a while to warm up, but all the actors - Michael Sparks (Donnie), Brendan Sloane (Cameron), Alex Sangston (Ted) and Simon Lissaman (Rick) - have got their characters right and work very well together as an ensemble. Clelland's direction neatly takes us into occasional set pieces which contrast with the naturalistic scenes, and the result is a sense of design in the production, an achievement on stage which the audience can justly celebrate.
The Canadian Norm Foster "has been compared to Neil Simon" and his work related to "the character-driven comedies of Woody Allen", according to the program notes. That's stretching a long bow, at least in this play about a reunion on the golf course, after 15 years, of four male Business graduates.
The situation is static, even though they play 18 holes, and the comedy comes from the particularly competitive nature of Rick, who gets dudded in the end. It's as good as one of David Williamson's lighter-weight pieces, but even in a play like Money and Friends, Williamson's one-liners get us laughing sooner and more consistently.
The set design, costumes, sound and lights are up to Rep's usual excellent standard, and it was pleasing to hear the actors very naturally using proper Canadian accents. This is important because these characters' attitudes and language are not just North American but specifically Canadian. Foster has an ear for his native English just as Williamson has for Australian idiom.
Though, in my terms at least, the play is not "great", it is certainly fun. The treatment of the issues, such as the men's relations with women, though quite daring in its day, almost seems naïve in today's upfront world, but this only adds to the humour. It's funny, in both senses, to look back to 1989 - as the characters do to 1974 - and seem to remember an innocent past.
Book at Rep on 6247 4222.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
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