Natalie Capra - Whats The Show

YENTL

21 October 2024 Natalie Capra

Yentl Rating

★★★★★

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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.

You’re damn right, Yentl.

YENTL runs until the 10th November. Book your tickets for one of the remaining performances @ https://www.monstroustheatre.com.au/current-projects/yentl

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.

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Jane Eyre: Brings The House Down

9 October 2024 Natalie Capra

Jane Eyre Rating

★★★★★

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Genesian Theatre is going out with a bang with this endearing production of Jane Eyre. Like its titular character, the show is small and mighty, brimming with confidence, and is a fine send off before the theatre relocates to its new premises.

I’m not an easy critic when it comes to Jane Eyre. The novel by Charlotte Bronte is one of my childhood favourites, and I was fortunate enough to catch Sally Cookson’s tremendous adaptation at the Bristol Old Vic ten years ago. But writer/director Ali Bendall’s version, brought to life here, is an honest and enjoyable romp through Jane’s life, which steers away from the more dire moments and instead concentrates on the protagonist’s wit and resilience.

Orphaned Jane, played by the spirited Kyra Belford-Thomas, manages to escape her nasty aunt’s home by getting herself sent to school at Lowood. There, she transforms into an educated young lady, but teaching at the school still feels like a trap. Jane longs to escape her cage and sets off to become a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she soon falls in love with the enigmatic Mr Rochester, played with bristling charm by Vincent Andriano. The play is backed by a strong supporting cast, who occasionally do double duty as schoolgirls (regardless of age or gender).

The set makes full use of the Genesian’s unique layout, with the stained glass on magnificent display and secret doors and windows creaking open. There’s a great deal of stuff on stage, knickknacks and bric-a-brac, which are brought out to serve as tables, chairs, library books, or whatever else is needed. The multiple levels and entrances give the small stage a lovely sense of dynamics and movement.

Brendall notes in her forward that this version aims to highlight Jane’s wit, and so our heroine frequently breaks the fourth wall to address the audience. This is meant to be a parallel to the way Jane conveys her story in the novel (“dear reader”), but for me it didn’t quite work. Scenes that should be full of tension, a long look between Jane and Rochester, for example, are broken by Jane turning to us and explaining what she’s feeling. Instead of frisson, the moment fizzles out. It’s an injustice to the actors that we don’t get to ascend those heights of feeling with them.

That aside, it’s a highly enjoyable adaptation. I can understand why certain narrative cuts were made, and they don’t detract from the overall arc. Jane’s love for Rochester feels rushed, but we can forgive a few shortcuts in the name of romance.

This was my first time visiting the Genesian, and I’m disappointed not to have caught more shows here before it moves on to its new premises. Jane Eyre is a high-calibre, thoughtful, and spirited production that is a delight, whether you’re a fan of the novel or not.

For Jane Eyre tickets, please book at Genesian Theatre

Season: 5th Oct – 10th Nov 2024
Friday and Saturday nights at 7.30pm
Sunday matinée at 4.30pm

Running Time: 3hrs 5mins including 20min interval

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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Karma Kafe: A Big Hearted Show

5 October 20245 October 2024 Natalie Capra

Karma Kafe Rating

★★★★★

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Karma Cafe is a new indie musical set in Newcastle, but it could be any town in Australia that faces the barrage of constant change and development. Written and directed by local playwright Carl Caulfield, with music by Gareth Hudson, this is a big-hearted production with a simple message about the power of community.

Cafe owner Rewa has created a sanctuary in the heart of Newcastle, where her family of staff serve the regulars, the not-so-regulars and the downright irregulars. It’s a place that welcomes Joe, the mute bongo drummer, gives glasses of water to tired passers-by and has a bearded barista and opera-singing Scottish chef.

But there’s trouble brewing in the form of a skeezy developer with big plans for Darby Street with his mantra of the New New Newy. With the help of The Fixer, he’s going to demolish the old buildings and build a new multiplex.

What these ‘visionaries’ fail to realise is that the Karma Kafe is not just a place to get coffee and smashed avo on toast; it’s a meeting place for people trying to find connection in a complicated world.

There’s the writer who’s working on his first novel and also trying to work up the courage to ask out the waitress, Millie. Then there’s a young man trying to cope with his anxiety, who never wants to leave the security of the cafe. There’s the aggressive dog owner who sticks her nose in where it’s not wanted (but perhaps where it’s needed). And the old dancer who can only get about now with the assistance of his walking frame.

As the developers close in with their nefarious plans, the community must come together to save their haven.

This is very much a Newcastle show, and the Novocastrians in the audience were delighted with the local touches – the writer’s crime novel features a murder in Carrington, and there are frequent allusions to money being moved around in brown paper bags (an embarrassingly true part of Newcastle’s recent political past). But with a little adaptation, this could easily be translated to Wollongong, Toowoomba or any mid-sized city in Australia. Themes of corruption are, unfortunately, all too common. Fortunately, so is community, love and the power of a local gathering place.

A highlight of Karma Kafe is the terrific set, which establishes the location in a simple and universal way. Anyone in the world would recognise the homely, comfortable cafe. The musical numbers gave each performer the opportunity to shine. Having a live band on set is a fantastic treat in a venue of this size and the musicians and singers worked well together. There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments and a strong sense that we, the audience, were on the side of Karma Kafe and its ragtag collection of staff and locals.

Overall, some of the story threads didn’t resolve, but with a cast of more than 15 characters, that’s perhaps to be expected. If you don’t interrogate the storyline too closely, this is a fun evening of karma, community and coffee that will surely be a crowd-pleaser.

For more information and to book tickets, please visit https://www.carlcaulfieldstraydogs.com/

Remaining Sessions:-
Tuesday 08 October 2024 @ 7:30 pm
Wednesday 09 October 2024 @ 7:30 pm
Thursday 10 October 2024 @ 7:30 pm
Friday 11 October 2024 @ 7:30 pm
Saturday 12 October 2024@ 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm

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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