The Castlereagh Boutique Hotel has a fine reputation for producing quirky comedies. ‘The Good Soldier Svejk’, is a brilliant adaptation by Carol Dance of Jaroslav Hasek’s anti-war novel. Hasek was an anarchist, journalist, Bolshevik and satirist. His protagonist, Josef Svejk, a dog-trader, has many topsy-turvy shenanigans, which leaves the audience questioning his true capabilities. Is Svejk merely teasing us with his cheerful, simple-mindedness or is he in fact, a clever operator? Initially, I saw parallels with Private Frank Pike from ‘Dad’s Army’, but Josef is more multi-layered than the caricature-like Pike.
The play opens in 1914, as Franz Ferdinand and his wife have been assassinated in Sarajevo. Enter Josef Svejk who is conscripted by the Austrian Hungarian Army. Josef soon gets thrown in prison and labelled as being insane. Upon release, he complains of debilitating rheumatism and becomes hospitalised. Again, he is released and this time, Svejk finds himself close to the front line. Further misadventures see him captured, under the suspicion of being a Russian deserter (a series of events lead to him wearing a Russian uniform). But the ‘not-so-stupid’ Svejk escapes execution by totally bamboozling his captors.
Theo Rule absolutely oozes charisma and playfulness as Josef Svejk. Here’s an actor who knows how to deliver lines with perfect diction. Rule’s voice has the audience entranced. There are lots of witty jokes throughout and Theo gets us giggling. He is joined onstage by Patrick Trumper, who reminds me of Gene Wilder and Ciaran O’Riordan, who turns playing a tongue-out dog, into an art form. Both Trumper and O’Riordan play several roles, each with aplomb. When O’Riordan is not jumping around the stage as a canine, he’s a Doctor, a Lieutenant, A Secret Police Agent and other characters. Trumper also plays many roles, stretching from a Charwoman to a Judge to a Reverend and others. He really enjoys engaging directly with the audience. People in the front row have to be alert! Wigs and costumes get twirled around, as actors come in out of character. It’s such fun to watch.
Towards the end there’s a fabulous dance routine that gets the cast grooving on-stage. This dance, which could be described as Saturday Night Fever meets Pulp Fiction, is choregraphed by Cy Coleman. Applause and again, giggles. Further stretching their acting skills, songs are sung. ‘It’s A Long Way To Tipperary” and “We’ll Meet Again”, are guaranteed to provoke a few tears.
Michele Conyngham has done a wonderful job of directing this hundred-year-old story for Scene Theatre Sydney. Michele has worked extensively in the UK and Australia. I loved how she mingled with the audience afterwards. Nigel Edwards, a world-class composer has added his panache to the production. The Good Soldier Svejk is a Scene Theatre Sydney production. Artistic Director Carol Dance, who introduced the performance, must also receive credit for bringing a truly wonderful independent theatre group into Sydney.
To book tickets to The Good Soldier Švejk, please visit https://www.scenetheatresydney.net.au/svejk.
