sydney theatre

The Spook

The Spook

The Spook Rating

★★★★★

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7

Travel back to the heart of 1960s working class Australia with ‘The Spook,’ by Melissa Reeves, where the spectre of betrayal looms large and true friendships are put to the test.

Set within the sleepy country town of Bendigo, we are drawn into an examination of the impact of external threats on community dynamics, and the frenzy of Cold War paranoia. These themes are personal, local and global. What makes them resonate is that this biting satire is based on real life events.

Director Casey Moon-Watton presents a thought provoking and at times confronting plot packed with political discourse and fiery debates. Audiences will listen carefully, perhaps even access Google afterwards when words like ‘Trotskyist’ and ‘neo-Marxism’ are casually dropped into the conversation. Loyalty, camaraderie and treachery interweave, yet despite the seriousness of these themes, it’s also unexpectedly funny and at times wryly witty.

In the tense Menzies era, where neighbours could be seen as enemies, the characters are vividly real in their flaws. Moon-Wattons’ open, minimalist and deliberately incomplete set design places each character’s emotional journey front and centre while serving as an ironic metaphor of the story’s exploration of hidden truths and obscured realities.

We experience this story through the eyes of young and naive Martin (Cameron Drake), who is teetering on the brink of adulthood, yet lacks direction and ambition. Struggling to find his identity, he is trapped within the confines of a stifling and banally homogenous community. As with most young adults, Martin just wants to be liked, seen and belong. This makes him perfect fodder for recruitment as a spy against the local Communist Party. Drake presents an agonising mix of adolescent awkwardness and bravado. As Martin slowly comes of age, he is forced to find his moral compass through the gradual realisation that life isn’t a game of heroes and villains.

Trixie, his watchful and disapproving mother, (Courtney Farrow) is everything you’d expect to be in a middle aged woman living in a small post war country town; stoic, repressed and afraid of change. Farrow did well to widen the generational gap despite being quite young for this role. She juggles quick costume and character changes with aplomb to also play Phyllis, the bright but unwitting member and partner of world weary party leader Frank (Rawdon Waller). Frank is the strong but abrasive voice of reason and Waller displayed an accurate understanding of an angry man battling within a system that is rapidly heading towards self-destruction.

Brett Joachim is Martin’s amusingly aloof Controller – in every sense of the word. He is oily and snarky as he manipulates and corrupts his charge’s innocence. He knows Martin is missing a father figure and confidante, which makes his actions and nonchalant lack of empathy quite ghastly.

Tida Dhanommitrapap has the daunting task of playing triple roles. Jean, a perpetually late party member and a stiff-upper lipped policewoman in Act 2. Her main role is Annette, Martin’s girlfriend, who delights in having something apart from Pick-a-Box to distract herself from her utter boredom of small town, small minded constraints and complete indifference to her pending marriage. Both an accomplice and hindrance, she enjoys the perceived glamour of her second-hand status without any of the moral repercussions.

(Nathan Heinrich and Kate Kelly) deliver solid and authentic performances, while producing credible accents as the mysterious Greek couple George and Eli Tassak. Their sad plight and immigration journey is compelling and raises the stakes in forcing Martin to see the real people and motivation behind the “right little nest of dirty Reds”.

Geoff Jones cleverly weaves a subtly chilling soundscape, complemented by an array of pop music and protest songs during scene changes. This enhanced the atmosphere of the era, adding tension and mood, while Anthea Brown’s costumes captured the ultimately conservative modesty of a country town lagging behind the trends and heady days of the swinging 60’s.

We have the indulgence to observe this distinctly Australian zeitgeist through the unique lens of historical context. In light of current politics around China, Palestine and Russia, it is more relevant today than ever. Will it never not be relevant?

‘The Spook’ serves as a timely reminder, highlighting the cyclical nature of history while injecting fresh perspectives into ongoing debates, with a distinctly nostalgic flavour. See this show to reignite your political fervour, embrace your apathy, or simply laugh at the consequences of both.

‘The Spook’ by The Pymble Players plays from 15th May – 8th June 2024. See https://pymbleplayers.com.au/the-spook for 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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Let’s Kill Agatha Christie – Plotting and Suspects in a Grey Room

Lets Kill Agatha Christie

Let’s Kill Agatha Christie Rating

★★★★★

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3

I didn’t know what to expect with a title such as this one, ‘Let’s Kill Agatha Christie’. Murder? Mystery? Plot twists, a curious and confident detective, and the Big Reveal at the end? Ms Agatha Christie serves as the contemporary writing adversary to the main character, Prudence Sykes (flamboyantly played by Caitlyn Clancy).

Although Agatha Christie does not appear in this play, her presence is felt – she is in the room, the aptly named Grey Room. Thanks to the director and set designer Gregory George, everything in this room, including the flowers and the fireplace, is grey. We are told that other rooms in the house are all painted different colours. Perhaps the reason the sitting room in this grand English mansion is grey could be because it reflects how Prudence feels inside, her insecurities, or maybe because it provides the backdrop and accentuates the characters’ colourful personalities.

Prudence, a prolific author of many novels (27, not 28 as one was rejected by her publisher) craves success as her crime novels have not reached the popularity of Agatha Christie. She desperately wants recognition and to be respected as a writer. Prudence hatches a plan. She invites three of her known enemies to her house and plants a script for them to find, giving each of them a reason to kill her.

The genre of the murder mystery thriller is explored, and The Genesian Theatre Company kept the audience guessing as to what was going to happen next. Michael Schell, who created the lighting and sound design, made full use of creating a dark atmosphere, especially with the music that played to open both the first and second act.

As each character was announced into the sitting room by the sardonic butler Tombs (played by Peter J Donnelly) I was already wondering who going to be the murderer.

Let's Kill Agatha Christie
Let's Kill Agatha Christie

Prudence’s guests were all successful – a self-made millionaire named Sir Frederick Belting, a successful poetess named Marjorie Field and a famous actor John Hartley – Miles. Theo Hatzistergos appeared to have fun portraying a pompous and arrogant Frederick, ordering Tombs to get his luggage from his car, (a Rolls Royce,) which he drops into the conversation several times. Natalie Reid returns to The Genesian Theatre to play Marjorie, who tries multiple times to recite her poetry aloud, despite the protestations of the other guests, which made the audience laugh. Bryan Smith brings the actor John to life in the play, giving him a nervous yet quite kind disposition.

A few more characters completed the cast, with Denise Kitching (Montgomery) as Angela Teal, Prudence’s PA, Andrea Blight as the shuffling and stooped Gladys the housemaid, who drew quite a few laughs due to her character’s personality, Brendan Layton as Inspector Murray and Harry Lewis as PC Crockett. Their accents were believably British for most of the performance and the costumes for all characters by Susan Carveth were convincing of the time period.

This play had a comedic element which ran all the way through. Veiled insults thrown at each other and clever quips were woven into the dialogue. Other times the comedy was physical – the top step tripping up the characters became a running theme, and it was funny watching how different characters dealt with this tiresome step.

‘Let’s Kill Agatha Christie’ was written by Anthony Hinds after he retired from making horror movies and published in 1990. It was an entertaining homage to the mystery murder genre and to Agatha Christie.

I watched the opening night’s performance on Saturday May 4 and it ran for 2 hours with a 20 minute interval. It is playing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until the 8 June 2024.

The Genesian Theatre 420 Kent St, Sydney. Tickets from $30

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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Behind The Headline Of The Front Page

The Front Page

The Front Page Rating

★★★★★

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4

Picture this. The sound of a typewriter, the keys furiously tapping, while multiple phones sound their distinctive “brrrrring!” under a cloud of cigarette smoke. This is the 1920’s, inside a crowded room full of newspaper journalists at the Criminal Courts in Chicago.

Production and Costume Designer Paris Burrows places the audience right there; the journalists wear stylish vests and ties, the women have beautiful hair and hats and the room is complete with several coloured candlestick telephones noisily vying for attention on the wooden table – those upright standing telephones with a separate mouthpiece and receiver and the round dial on the base of one hundred years ago. The set feels authentic, and the standing glass water cooler, small paper cups and the wooden roll top desk are a quiet but strong presence and used at key points during the play.

Journalists play cards and banter, waiting to report on the hanging execution of a prisoner convicted of shooting a black police officer to death, Earl Williams (played by Diego Retamales) which is set to take place at 7am the next morning.

This is The Front Page, a play by Ben Hecht and Charles Macarthur which premiered on Broadway in 1928 and has been remade into three movies in the years since then.

Director Nicholas Papademetriou’s adaption of The Front Page has cleverly kept multiple original themes clearly at the forefront, whilst changing the gender of the one of the main characters, journalist Hildy Johnson. This worked to the play’s advantage, and I truly enjoyed Rose Treloar’s performance as Hildy, the “newspaper man” as her character’s quick wit and gutsy comebacks proved she was as intelligent and competent as her male colleagues.

The Front Page has many moments that allow us to ponder how far we have come in the last century, with the play highlighting how sexism and gender bias were acceptable practice in the workplace. It is a case of art imitating life, running somewhat true to the era, as Hecht and Macarthur were themselves newspaper crime reporters in Chicago. Other issues such as corruption in politics and manipulation of facts to suit one’s agenda for their own benefit are sharp reminders that some things remain the same.

The Front Page
The Front Page

The play, despite these serious themes, is a comedy and the antics of some characters made the audience laugh, notably the overbearing character Mrs Chambers who was superbly played by Alison Grant. Mrs Chambers, or “Mother” (in law to be), stood out and seemed to be a firm favourite villain, and we winced at her snooty treatment and attitude toward her son’s fiancé Hildy. Bruce Grant is played by Michael Smith. He convincingly conveyed a bland insurance salesman who holds hope for the move to a quiet life in New York with Hildy and his mother, all three living together. Hildy is fiery, career driven and has an unstoppable need to write exciting stories, so we are left wondering if this is a good match.

This was a large cast of eighteen and all were cohesive on stage, not an easy task with the rapid-fire script and the constraints of a stage. The supporting characters easily carried the play forward, with the second act moving faster than the first. As the news breaks of William’s escape, the throng of journalists jostling and hungry for a story were reminiscent of a flock of seagulls feasting on some chips at the beach!

For the performance I attended on Friday, Jerry Mullaly stepped into the role of The Herald Examiner newspaper’s managing editor Walter Burns. Mullaly and Treloar had an understated onstage chemistry that grew the more they bantered, and hinted at perhaps a hopeful romance, even though Hildy was about to start her new life in New York.

The Front Page is a fast paced and entertaining play which is well worth seeing as a glance into the world of tabloid press.

Running time: 100 minutes, no intervals
The New Theatre, Newtown 23 April – 18 May 2024
Tickets:
Full $37
Concessions, Groups (6+) $32
New Theatre Members $25
Thrifty Thursdays $25

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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Tempo Tumbles into The Riverside!

Tempo

Tempo Rating

★★★★★

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1

Tempo opens with the Flying Fruit Fly Circus ensemble spilling out of the body of a grand piano and executing a precise and impressive flurry of floor acrobatic athleticism. Each tumble, jump, air, somersault and roll (to name a few) were set to music, and, thanks to Musical Director Ania Reynolds and Director Jake Silvestro, it was an impressive beginning to the show.

This story begins with a conductor ready to start a performance but quickly realising that the orchestra hasn’t turned up, so acrobats arrive to fill their place. The white grand piano is central to the show, and it encompasses not only the entertainers inside its belly but also acts as a stage where performers lift off from the closed lid to do acts such as aerial silk, aerial hoop, and hanging strap acrobatics.

These young Australians, aged twelve to eighteen, attend Australia’s National Youth Circus in Albury, NSW. Tempo showcased their skills in multiple areas – each person played instruments as well as performing in their act.

The ensemble sustained their energy and smiles onstage throughout. As well as acrobatics, the Flying Fruit Fly Circus rounded out their show with a touch of traditional stage magic of the most famous audience tricks, such as the shrinking and growing magic wand and the three overturned cups with disappearing balls. The children in the audience would have loved these magical illusions.

Other acts called for strength and balance, such as the upside-down handstand on pedestals and the tower of three people standing on each other’s shoulders. Juggling was one highlight for me, with as many as four from the ensemble tossing their juggling pins between them as they moved – a well-choreographed act.

In another scene, the performers used everyday home objects to create sound percussion, such as metal spoons clanking, an upside-down cooking pot as a drum, a filing tub lid and even a broom to hit the floor with. This type of percussion was a nod to the good ole days when toddlers used whatever they could to create sound. It was a clever trip down memory lane for me.

Tempo
Tempo

The performers always smoothly transitioned into the next act. They conveyed humour to the audience not verbally but through body language, such as raising eyebrows and miming at the right time. They were all multiskilled and cheeky performers with great showmanship.

As there was a lot of floor acrobatics, everyone’s movement around the stage was very well coordinated as they worked together to create a ‘chaotic’ dance with physical feats such as helping their performers launch off their hands to do several air somersaults, bouncing off the seesaw platform to fly through the air and other flowing movements.

True to its name, Tempo, this show was all about combining music and movement together, so they complemented each other. Whether it be using shaker eggs in time to an electric guitar or showcasing diabolo skills in time to the music or unicycling, the acrobatic athleticism of these kids showed why they study under the masterful tutelage of lead trainers Bec Neill and Ben Lewis.

Tempo is currently touring Australia. Performance time: 60 minutes. Tickets: $38- $44.50

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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