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.
The Fifth Elephant runs until the 2nd November. Book your tickets for one of the remaining performances @ https://www.artstheatre.com.au/productions/sir-terry-pratchetts-the-fifth-elephant/
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.
