As we walk into a space with furniture covered with material, it feels like visiting an old mansion where memories are preserved from the passage of time under dust cloths. We become, inadvertently, part of the story. Exhuming the dead.
With the brilliant use of staging, technology and a mesmerizing live score, performer Marcus McKenzie takes us on a journey where death is treated more like a joke, with humorous anecdotes of various ways to die and fun interaction with the audience, where McKenzie finds the commonality between us and him, the fact that we all will eventually die. As we laugh and come up with future scenarios, our naivety is interrupted by phone calls from McKenzie’s brother, who we find out has passed away a while ago.
These real-time phone calls make us question the linearity of time. What is the present, and what is in the past? Through this technique, we are suddenly face to face with laptop screens, where McKenzie retells the story of when he found out about his brother’s passing. Prolonging the inevitable, he was fighting a battle between wanting to keep normality and finding the right time to face the inevitable.
Through this clever use of technology and screens, it suddenly feels like the play is no longer in a theatre but a one-on-one conversation, almost like stumbling upon a video diary, where you become privy to a very personal story of loss and broken dreams.
By the end of the play, all that is left is a shrine to both McKenzie’s and possibly your personal trauma, the memories you thought you buried long ago but that have been exhumed. As you leave the theatre, the smiles and laughter that you shared only a moment ago are replaced by longing for the past, the illusive memory of your own life before you felt that sadness and hurt that you now share with McKenzie.
It is a captivating performance that will keep you thinking long after you leave the auditorium. On for four more nights only, don’t miss out on this incredible production.
This production is part of the Liveworks Festival 2024, which will be hosted at The Carriageworks Performance Space from 23rd to 27th October.
The theatre collective PIGEONPIGEON showcased their play ‘FUTURE’ in the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024. The original concept of taking different predictions about the future and turning them into a theatre production sparked my curiosity, and the hopeful tone of the synopsis intrigued me further.
I was disappointed by the incongruence of the synopsis and the show that I saw. It was very bleak. That’s not to say the show wasn’t without its strengths. I must give props to their use of props- giant jenga blocks and a large tome both full of predictions- were a couple of these that supported the show well. Some props were a little off-putting, such as a large notepad used to give prompts to their on stage “audience member”.
They built pace effectively to demonstrate a crescendo when reading through scripted predictions contained in a box, with the bits of paper left scattered around them. Following this an emotional monologue was delivered, where the very real, confronting, question many of us struggle to reconcile was raised- Is it fair on a child’s welfare to be brought into this world, when the climate crisis threatens their safety and wellbeing in ways we cannot yet even fathom. Unfortunately, the poorly synced text that was projected on the large screen behind them significantly detracted from the actor’s performance, and continued to irritate me throughout the entire show.
‘FUTURE’ felt structurally confused. I’d expected they would be dramatising different predictions on the future, instead it felt very bitsy with large chunks of the show entirely relying on audience participation. At the start of the show, they warned the audience about any loud sounds or bright lights to expect, painstakingly demonstrating the level of intensity that could be expected with each. This information was already provided in the ‘event warnings’ of the show summary. I’m sensitive to sound myself, but when I go to a play I expect my senses to be engaged and surprised throughout.
What I think was intended as a sensitive warning came across as pedantic coddling, delivered without any snappy energy to relieve the tension. It felt ironic, but I don’t think that was the intention. It provided an interesting subtext on the pervasive fog of anxiety Gen Z have grown up in, and the pendulum swing between action and inertia that often manifests. It would seem the entire framing and response is technology based, the cell phone is the gatekeeper, gateway, and fence. I wonder the level of awareness PIGEONPIGEON had on this, or if it was intrinsic.
A sore point for me was the en masse bagging of Taylor Swift from the cast and audience for her use of a private plane- is there really a practical alternative? As if she is the only carbon emitter on the planet, would she be so demonised if she wasn’t a powerful woman. Yet many far-left identifying people seem to have no issue fueling this hateful rhetoric. They might be surprised to know that her donations to various local UK foodbanks covered a years worth of meals for those organisations. I linger on this detail for two reasons- 1. It really frustrated me, and 2. It is emblematic of the show- a lot of negative commentary with little consideration for solutions.
I thought the “audience member” who came on stage had a certain charisma and levity that injected a bit of life into the show. Unfortunately, this impression waned as a function of the poor writing. The hope that was promised was hard to find. I think it was all strained into a bit about crabs that felt like it may have been inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy type absurdism, but rather missed the mark. Maybe if I was born 7 years later the show would have resonated with me more.
I did attend ‘FUTURE’ with another person who is of that generation who found the show stilted as I did; so, it’s not entirely a function of age as to whether the humour that was given was perceived as having landed or not. If you’re looking for some hope, I’d avoid ‘FUTURE’, unless you really like crabs and awkward jokes.
The Kadimah Yiddish Theatre has done something extraordinary with their story of Yentl – now showing at the Playhouse at the Sydney Opera House: they have reclaimed Isaac Bashevis Singer’s original story and made it sing in a way that the 1983 musical adaptation could not.
I came into the show with high expectations. When I discovered Singer’s short stories as a teenager, they were revelatory for me. His folk tales, full of customs and characters I didn’t know, were yet more real to me than the Anderson and Grimm tales I’d grown up with. All the demons and sprites in Singer’s stories are simply people with desires and faults driven to extremes. His fairy tales reveal human nature.
It is that spirit that this production captures. Stepping into the world of Yentl is to enter a fairy tale realm. The ground is covered in dirt, rocks and grass, a kind of haunted forest. Everything is just slightly exaggerated, including the actors with their white pantomime makeup. This is not a real world; it is beyond the real, ultra real, super real. And by adhering closely to Singer’s story, published in 1962 and set in 1873, it is also profoundly modern.
Yentl is a young woman who wants to study and yearns for all the benefits that men have. After the death of her father, she takes on a male name – Anshl – and garb, and goes to study at a yeshiva, on the way meeting the melancholic Avigdor who will become her best friend and study partner. As Avigdor pines for Hodes, his betrothed bride whose family rejected him, he suggests that Anshl marry her instead. What could possibly go wrong? Especially as the spark between the two young men feels like it could be something more than friendship.
Amy Hack does a superb job of playing both Yentl and Anshl. She captures Anshl’s eagerness and excitement to be in the world of men, despite being woefully ignorant of men themselves. Her assumed boyishness gradually transforms into something else – something more powerful as Yentl finally realises what she can and can’t have. Nicholas Jaquinot and Genevieve Kingsford are also excellent as Avigdor and Hodes respectively, characters that could easily be one-dimensional but which they both give great depth to.
An interesting addition to the story is Evelyn Krape’s Figure, or yeytser ho’re, who is witch, fairy, joker and conscience all rolled into one. She propels both Yentl and the narrative forward with an unrelenting energy.
Whether on purpose or not, I found that the Figure the queerest character in a cast full of very queer characters. She captures the torment and joy that being queer often feels like – especially in times or places of repression. And let’s face it: everyone in Yentl is a bit queer. Anshl doesn’t want to be a wife, but is fine with being a husband, and you suspect he even quite likes it. Avigdor, for all his loud proclaiming of how much he loves the female form, is definitely more than a little in love with his (male) friend. And Hodes, sweet Hodes, virtuous Hodes, loves that Anshl doesn’t smell or act like the other boys she’s met.
What I particularly loved about this adaptation is that it doesn’t shy away from Yentl’s complicated desires. It is not only that she wants what men have – books and a wife – but she also rejects the feminine. She doesn’t want to be a wife, she doesn’t want to cook someone else’s bread, she doesn’t want to give up her life. And yet she desires both Avigdor and Hodes, and wants to be both male and female. If god created Eve from Adam, then Adam was already both male and female. And if Adam was created in god’s form, then that means god is also both male and female. Mic drop.
In the final part of the show, when Yentl rejects her shame, takes off her male garb and binds her tefillin, it is a beautiful act of defiance. I don’t have to choose, she indicates. This is my body and this is who I am.
Tuesday 22 October 2024 6:00pm^ Wednesday 23 October 2024 7:15pm Thursday 24 October 2024 7:15pm Friday 25 October 2024 7:15pm Saturday 26 October 2024 1:30pm Saturday 26 October 2024 7:15pm Sunday 27 October 2024 3:00pm Tuesday 29 October 2024 6:00pm Wednesday 30 October 2024 7:15pm Thursday 31 October 2024 7:15pm Friday 1 November 2024 7:15pm Saturday 2 November 2024 1:30pm Saturday 2 November 2024 7:15pm Sunday 3 November 2024 3:00pm Tuesday 5 November 2024 6:00pm Wednesday 6 November 2024 1:30pm Wednesday 6 November 2024 7:15pm Thursday 7 November 2024 7:15pm
Photographer: Jeff Busby
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
The Fifth Elephant, one of Terry Pratchett’s many successful fantasy novels, inspires this whimsical and spellbinding stage play from Brisbane Arts Theatre Company. This production, directed by Sarah Drew and Eleni Koutsoukis, was especially exciting to attend as I was interested to see how the themes and characters of Pratchett’s Discworld novels come to life.
While the stage design was simple, the crew used contemporary methods to convey scene changes and effective space use. In the top right corner of the stage was a black, long staircase from which characters could emerge to signify a character’s status or moods and give group scenes more varied dynamics. It was well received in each instance and an adequate expression.
Something of note was the use of lighting and projections. In the first act, the lighting crew encountered occasional timing issues a few times. Despite this, each time, they recovered quickly, and it became less of a distraction as the show went on, and their cues were more on point. The use of red flashing lights during one of the action scenes and the red lighting during one of the final scenes aligned well with what was happening and engaged viewers. Using projected images to signify scene changes was a simple but clear way to manage the design and cast movement. Instead of moving furniture between scenes and waiting for transitions, the cast could immediately focus on the next one.
As for the actors and actresses, I was very impressed by the amount of talent and focus they conveyed in each scene. The physical demands of the roles of those who played werewolves/wolves/talking dogs were also commendable, as they often had to move about the stage reasonably quickly during action scenes.
Especially notable mentions include the roles of Commander Vimes, Carrot, Igor (all of them), Wolfgang, Littlebottom and Skimmer. I enjoyed seeing how all of these characters interact and how the actors professionally and thoughtfully executed them. Their use of comic relief, tension, body language, and vocal tone made each scene stand out in quite a unique way. If I were to pick one scene that the audience and I seemed to have favoured and thoroughly enjoyed, it would be the final scene between Vimes and Wolfgang. The audience also enjoyed the Igor scenes; many spoke lovingly of them during intermission.
Each actor, whether in a major or minor role, did an amazing job, and I am eager to see how their skills are utilised in the next production.
Friday 25th October – 8pm Saturday 26th October – 7pm Sunday 27th October – 2pm Thursday 31st October – 8pm Friday 1st November – 8pm Saturday 2nd November – 7pm
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
