Melbourne

The Critic Melbourne Film Review: Occasional Beauty

The Critic

The Critic Rating

★★★★★

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Behind a cloud of cigarette smoke and in a drunken haze appears Sir Ian McKellan (Lord of the Rings), playing the despicable Jimmy Erskine in The Critic (2024). In this film, there is the mention of ‘more beauty, less beast’, which McKellan solemnly denies and goes full beast mode.

This character was cruel, conniving, and calculating. His acting made me really detest him, as by design, and often kept my attention caught. But outside of this stunning display of mental brutality?

Well, with a stellar cast including Gemma Arterton, Ben Barnes, Mark Strong and Alfred Ennoch, I had high expectations, especially with Barnes and Strong being two of my favourite actors. And please be assured, it is not the acting that lets this film down as the talent is clearly plentiful.

But alas, this film does seem tonally confusing. One moment I was laughing at the wit and banter that Erskine dishes out, and in other parts, it felt like yet another plot twist that didn’t quite have the same effect as the one prior to it. This film deals with theatre and manipulation, bringing a beautiful pre-show to the Me Too movement as well as touching on love and betrayal, however it falters slightly on the delivery.

There was also a hint of historically accurate homophobia which (as a queer person myself) really excited me in the trailer. And whilst this does make an appearance, it feels like another theme (or even gimmick) shoved into the jack in a box that is this film. And it will inevitably leave the audience a little unsure when it explodes.

 

The Critic
The Critic

This film did exceed in its costumes and sets, all of which felt rich and lived in. The score and included music seemed to head in a different direction to the story, but as stand alone pieces, they are beautifully composed to reflect the time and socio-economic status that revolves around these characters. I do really want to commend the use of silence too, especially in hard hitting moments. The cinematography felt really inclusive, effortlessly showcasing the scenes and sets that had been curated and drawing you into this world.

Given this film supposedly had multiple re-shoots and rewrites, I would have thought some of the story would be smoother. But it felt clunky. And the audience in the theatre reflected this, with members not quite being sure on when to laugh and when to stay quiet, myself included.

All in all, go for the loaded and talented cast, stay for the stunning sets and music, and then duck out early, because you can probably guess what happens once it gets up to a certain point.

Please check your local cinema directory for session details.

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.

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Sweeney Todd Presented by Victorian Opera

Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd Rating

★★★★★

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1

Sweeney Todd has again emerged from the shadows into the Melbourne limelight, with audiences greeting this season’s combined Victorian Opera and New Zealand Opera cast with rapturous applause.

Directed by Stuart Maunder, Sweeney Todd unravels the story of a twisted barber who returns to Victorian-era London after being unjustly forced into a 15-year exile. Todd returns with vengeance, committed to finding his wife and daughter, but on his arrival is instead snatched up by the obsessed, and whimsically mad, Mrs Lovett, owner of the Fleet Street Pie Shop. Sweeney Todd’s initial plan quickly turns grotesque when he opens his Barbershop above Mrs Lovett’s Pie Shop and embarks on an evil murderous rampage.

The pair devise a plan to fill Mrs Lovett’s meat pies with the flesh of Todd’s victims, which has fleeting success before spiraling into tragedy. As Mrs. Lovett becomes deeply infatuated with the barber, Todd himself is one-track-minded in rescuing his daughter Joanna from the local Judge and punishing Judge Turpin for his long-time iniquity of Sweeney and twisted fantasies for Joanna. The barber finds himself causing irreversible damage as he and the audience embark on a journey of mounting obsession and evil desire.

The production is enhanced by the exceptional casting selections of its lead characters, who are utterly perfect for each role. Vocal technique and proficiency were certainly in their prime among the classically trained cast, and it was a joy to witness Sondheim’s iconic score performed with such accomplishment.

The audience was instantly charmed by this season’s Sweeney Todd. Ben Mingay impressed audiences with his unlimited vocal prowess and loyalty to the deeply troubled Mr Todd. Devotion to the complexity of Todd’s character was evident throughout Mingay’s portrayal, and in the ballad “Epiphany” audiences were left stunned by the singer’s astounding vocal range.

Mrs Lovett, played by Antoinette Halloran, was a stand-out performer who was able to both bestow her musical magic upon the audience and yet accurately fulfill the personal and vocal sensibilities of an unhinged middle-aged woman living alone in Victorian-era London. Her delivery of the comically self-deprecating “Worst Pies in London” was heartily received by the audience.

Tobias, the adoringly protective orphan son of Mrs. Lovett and Mr Todd, was nailed in every sense by the talented Mat Verevis. The delivery of Tobias was boldly vulnerable and moving, as Verevis single-handedly decelerated the production to reveal an impending tragedy.

Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd

Costume and stage set design is led by Roger Kirk and contributes significantly to the overall polish of the production.

Perhaps one of the most iconic and challenging sets in all of Sondheim’s work is featured in the live staging of Sweeney Todd. As Mr. Todd and Mrs Lovett embark on an evil plan of collaboration, the circling stage set is turned into a multi-dimensional work of art. Praise is due for the immaculate delivery of Mr Todd’s hysterical barbershop chair, featuring a trap door into the basement of Mrs Lovett’s bakery.

The on-stage murderings typically prove to be another point of challenge (and contempt) throughout the production of Sweeney Todd, however, this staging seems to do it rather well. There was a reputable balance between well-illusioned and shocking bursts of fake blood, and yet also a total sense of control over every one of Mr Todd’s slaughter scenes.

At the conclusion of the musical, it was heartening to see the orchestra members and conductor Phoebe Briggs brought to the stage alongside the cast during the final curtain call – a rare and gracious nod to their unseen yet devoted duty to Sondheim’s musically complex score.

Overall, The Victorian Opera and New Zealand Opera cast delivered a staging of Sweeney Todd that was both creatively empowering and loyal to Sondheim’s original vision. The production is a must-see, and must-hear experience, with shows running at Melbourne’s Arts Centre until September 21.

For Tickets, book online at https://www.victorianopera.com.au/production/sweeney-todd/

Remaining Dates & Info
Tuesday 17 September, 7.30 pm
Wednesday 18 September, 7.30 pm
Thursday 19 September, 7.30 pm
Friday 20 September, 7.30 pm*
Saturday 21 September, 2.00pm, 7.30pm

Duration
2 hours and 45 minutes, including an interval

Language
Sung in English

*Audio description and tactile tour.
Do you or a member of your party need to access Audio Description for this performance? Register here to reserve a wireless receiver pack and ear piece and/or attend the Tactile Tour.

Age Recommendation
Suitable for ages 12+, parental guidance is highly recommended.

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.

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The Ransom Letter: A Play Reading Dressed to Impress

The Ransom Letter

The Ransom Letter Rating

★★★★★

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5

With actors and attendees alike dressed in their best 1920s glad rags, Marty MonStar’s “The Ransom Letter” transformed an intimate North Melbourne venue into a night of mystery, intrigue, and roaring fun.

“The Ransom Letter” follows private detective Joan Archer as she navigates crime, corruption, and depravity in 1920s Melbourne, all with her trusty gold revolver in hand. When Joan is caught in the midst of a political scandal, she must outsmart powerful players to win the game of survival. But Joan isn’t a successful private detective for nothing – she’s always one step ahead.

I felt very much like a film noir star myself as I slipped in from the rain and shook out my umbrella in the red neon lights of Club Voltaire. With the smoke machine on full blast, lights low, and Bessie Smith crooning over the speakers, the space had been transformed into a Jazz Age speakeasy. On stage, a single pendant bulb illuminated a candlestick telephone, a pack of cigarettes, and two chairs – Joan’s domain.

Play readings are often a fairly static affair, which I have no complaints about, but I’ll admit it was still pretty refreshing to see “The Ransom Letter” take it a step further, immersing the crowd with music, a set, and costumes. It gave us in the audience a little taste of the finished production and that extra touch is something I wouldn’t mind seeing more often!

Katrina Mathers played Joan with grace and humour, dishing out zingers and serving up whiskey (neat, of course). The play reading was narrated by David Macrae who, alongside Hélène Tardif, Ian Rooney, and Jonathan Griffiths, effortlessly juggled multiple roles, bouncing from stuttering suits to swanky flappers with ease. Their performances added a vibrant energy to the play, giving it charm and keeping the audience – and themselves, judging by a few off-script giggles – thoroughly entertained.

The Ransom Letter
The Ransom Letter
The Ransom Letter

The baddie of the play, Prime Minister Howie, seems cheekily modelled after Australia’s former PM Billy Hughes, who was the founder of a couple of pretty notorious political parties. With this in mind, it’s easy to imagine what his character might be like. Ian Rooney brought Howie to life with a big personality, plenty of sleaze, and colourful language to match. Watching Joan and Howie’s frequent standoffs was a particular highlight for me – just picture two bulls butting heads, and you’ve got it.

As “The Ransom Letter” moves towards production, it’s clearly chock-full of potential. I’d love to see the main plot take centre stage from the get-go, giving that noir-esque suspense more room to build gradually. Joan’s persona shines naturally through her actions, and allowing the story to reveal the depth of her character lurking beneath her snazzy facade would add even more nuance to her role. The combo of film noir tropes and quintessential Australian humour made for an unexpected niche, but one that worked brilliantly; I hope they continue to lean into it.

“The Ransom Letter” was saucy, irreverent, and a little cheesy in all the ways the best film noirs are. I look forward to seeing it transform into a fully-fledged, glitz-and-glamour production. When the time comes, you’ll definitely find me returning in my best flapper dress and pearls.

Photography by H Long Nguyen Tran and Nelly Huang

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.

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Iphigenia In Splott: Full of Heart and Swagger

Iphigenia in Splott

Iphigenia In Splott Rating

★★★★★

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Wow! This award-winning play, written by Gary Owen and directed by Gary Abrahams, was a sharp, funny, and insightful social commentary that had us hooked from the second we filed into our seats in the intimate venue. We were surprised by the bored-looking ‘Iphi’, our hostess for the evening, splayed out on an office chair scrolling through her phone.

A rather disarming beginning to an incredible 90-minute tour de force by lead (and only) actress Jessica Clarke, who introduces herself in a spiky but funny, straight to audience, verbal assault as the hard drinking, hard living and brazen ‘Iphi’. Delightedly calling us out from the get go on our rapidly forming judgements around who she is – a ‘stupid slag’; a drunken, loud-mouthed ‘skank’ – and she warns us that we’ll be thanking her by the end of her story. That every one of us will ‘owe’ her. She then swaggers over and forcefully drags us into her narrow, seemingly empty life in a tiny welsh town notable only for it’s utter lack of jobs, amenities and, most importantly, hope.

Jessica Clarke is visceral and frightening as Iphi, moving far too easily between dangerous, psychotic, deluded, cheeky, funny and raw before finally revealing herself to be heartbreakingly self-aware; all in an insanely high octane performance that has the audience spellbound. Iphi’s story is not unique sadly. We have all met people whose idea of a good time is to get blackout drunk and shag the nearest person just to make even a tenuous connection.

Or, as she puts it, get drunk enough that the hangover will get her through the week. Another week where, without the blackout drinking, she would have to sit in her flat with absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go. No purpose and no money, staring down the barrel of the empty, pointless life she lives in a town that has all but disappeared due to ‘government cuts’.

 

Iphigenia in Splott
Iphigenia in Splott

In one largely empty, room that doubles as her flat, the pub, the doctors, the hospital and more, Iphi guides us acerbically through her strained familial relationships, romantic liaisons and delusions, difficult situations both emotional and phsyical, right to the bleeding edges of her heartbreak and all with her trademark sharp humour and her ‘get on with it’ courage, wearing her ability to take the knocks and keep getting back up, like a badge of honour. Yes, she is formidable but ultimately not unbreakable and it is this slow unfolding of Iphi’s deeper scars that makes the play so remarkable and so moving.

She represents all the young disenfranchised and marginalised working class inhabitants of tiny, run down places which the rest of us avoid at all costs. People whose lives are constrained by lack and loss and who are forced to survive on the dirty, frayed edges of ‘eyesore’ society.

Iphi aggressively points out our privilege and dares us to judge another actions when we have not walked in their shoes, all the while still longing to be seen, wanted and loved unconditionally in a world that just keeps on swinging for her.

This might all sound rather bleak but despite the grit there is so much humour here and Iphi’s story is, ultimately, transformative.

And whilst the audience was captivated and repelled in equal measure by this scrappy, dangerous human who likes a fight, a drink and a shag, by the end we were all drying our eyes on sleeves and tissues, unravelled, a little ashamed and very definitely in awe of what a ‘skank’ can do.

Seriously go and see this play. Get your tickets now. It’s only on until the 22nd September and it may well be the best thing you see this year. You can thank me later.

Book your tickets @ https://www.redstitch.net/iphigenia-in-splott-2024

Performance Dates/Times
4 Sept – 22 Sept

Wed – 6.30pm
Thur – Sat 7.30pm
Sun – 6.30pm
Sat Matinee 14th Sept – 2pm

Q&A Post Show
Thur 12th Sept – 7.30pm

Photographer: Jodie Hutchinson

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.

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