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Let’s Kill Agatha Christie – Plotting and Suspects in a Grey Room

19 May 20247 May 2024 Linda Lokhee

Let’s Kill Agatha Christie Rating

★★★★★

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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.

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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Fourteen; A Coming-of-Age Memoir

7 May 2024 Linda Lokhee

Fourteen Rating

★★★★★

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There are plays which immerse the audience immediately. Fourteen, originally a memoir by Shannon Molloy and adapted by Nelle Lee, Nick Skubij and the author, grabs our attention and takes us back in time to 1999. To the town of Yeppoon on the coast of Rockhampton, where the birds sweetly sing as the morning sun drenches the timber balcony and weatherboard walls. But all is not idyllic in Shannon Molloy’s life as he navigates being fourteen, questioning his sexuality and dealing with life in a small town.

This is a story of a young man in an all-boys Christian school, subject to extreme bullying, both physical and verbal taunts and the victim of cruel practical jokes. Fourteen is told mostly in flashback snapshots by Shannon, flawlessly played by Conor Leach. Conor convincingly portrayed the emotions and vulnerability of Shannon.

The retelling of the unfairness and the constant terrorising of a young teenage boy must not be lost in current society, and Molloy has not held back in recounting these parts of his life which no doubt would have been painful to write about.

There are scenes in Fourteen which tell a cautionary tale of what happens when those who are supposed to protect us, such as the teachers in his school, not only fail in their duty of care but actively become an antagonistic force. There is a build-up of multiple classroom incidents where a teacher (played by Steven Rooke) continuously ignores verbal abuse towards Shannon in his classroom. I found another bullying incident extremely disturbing, where he grabs a sexually explicit letter falsely signed by Shannon and reads it aloud to the class. Today a quarter of a century later, teachers are subject to accountability for their actions so I would like to believe that they would not act the way that teacher did in Fourteen and if so, they would be called out.

The deceptively complex set design by Josh McIntosh uses a clever amalgamation of multi-story levels, several doors hinting to other larger spaces and a central turning stage used to create a spotlight on the characters and the storyline. The lighting by Trent Suidgeest and the sound design by Guy Webster were integral to the play, highlighting dramatic points and creating a realistic atmosphere. One intense scene where Shannon looks into the mirror facing the audience, as he contemplates ending his life was powerfully portrayed using the framing outline and lighting to highlight his distress.

Although harrowing, and some scenes are quite harrowing, director Nick Skubij, creative producer Ross Balbuziente and the cast ensure that there are times which show how the support of Shannon’s family and friends buoy him in his darkest moments. We cheer on Shannon in a leadership role as he creates a fashion show with the supportive youth worker from the local community youth centre. Fourteen shows just how important it is to have a community who loves you for who you are.

Cast members played multiple characters and they were distinguished with the use of costumes designed by Fabian Holford. Karen Crone stood out in multiple roles, notably as Shannon’s salt of the Earth supportive mother – who he calls his rock.

The script strikes a good balance of seriousness with comedy which lightens the play. Scattered throughout, the choice of familiar cheesy late 90’s music accompanied by synchronised dance moves onstage encouraged the audience to burst into song, which is always a good sign that they are having a good time!

The Shake and Stir Theatre company’s Fourteen is a story of pain, healing, and hope. We are left with one teen’s story of survival that can be blanketed across to any teen, regardless of gender, sexuality, or race. For those people who are feeling hopeless, or have experienced bullying, the universal message remains to never give up and that there is life to be lived and love to be had, beyond the school gate.

Fourteen runs for one hour and forty minutes with no interval. The play I saw on Friday, May 3, at The Riverside Theatre was the first performance of a National 20-city tour.

For tickets, go to www.shakeandstir.com.au/mainstage/fourteen

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

27 April 2024 Linda Lokhee

The Front Page Rating

★★★★★

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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 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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360 ALLSTARS Circle Back For Another Round

21 April 2024 Linda Lokhee

360 ALLSTARS Rating

★★★★★

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The 360 ALLSTARS are celebrating the anniversary of their first performance in 2013 by taking their phenomenal show on the road across a four-continent world tour. Their tour landed at The Riverside Theatre in Parramatta just in time for the school holidays. There were plenty of kids in the audience for this permission.

As 360 ALLSTARS suggests, the theme of this urban street circus is all about the 360 degrees of rotation. World Champion and World Record-holding artists were sourced from countries all over the world for their skills in this area. Director and producer Gene Peterson envisioned creating a contemporary urban circus, where the more traditional acts were updated with an urban performance style for a street, edgy feel.

The Ringmaster is now a live looping rap artist (Vida Sunshyne) whose original and fast-paced words accompany the artists on stage, musically narrating whilst they are performing their speciality act. Set alongside Vida Sunshyne was Jordan, the drummer, behind an impressively large drum kit set up, which he clearly knew how to make sing during the show and during his remarkable drum solo.

Instead of a unicyclist for their circus, the 360 ALLSTARS featured an extraordinary BMX Flatlander Pereira, who wows the audiences with his balance and absolute control of a spinning BMX bike. I could almost hear the kids in the audience thinking, “Tomorrow—I’m going to try that!”

The cast worked together to present a ‘video game’ to showcase the Breakdancing Freestyling duo, BBoy Jack and BBoy Alejandro, the show’s version of acrobats. This was done in such an original way, with the screen showing their strengths/ health in a bar format, much like in a video game, while they battled it out on stage, breakdancing. Both dancers had so much style and coolness in their breakdancing, which included spinning atop their heads, hands-free!

A juggler usually entertains the crowd at the circus, but in 360 ALLSTARS, they had Fume executing the most difficult tricks with his basketballs. He spun and moved them around his body with absolute ease. He involved the audience in a ‘game show’ where the audience chanted “Press it! Press it”, referring to a big red button with the words “Do Not Press” on the wall. As each red button was pressed, another basketball appeared for Fume to spin and balance. He made juggling four basketballs and balancing two spinning basketballs on top of each other look easy.

For me, Curtis’s Cyr Wheel was a firm favourite. He spun it rapidly and then hopped inside. This showcased a continuously spinning human who used his body to do many tricks while travelling around the stage. The audience was left wondering how, when he hopped off the Cyr Wheel, Curtis was able to walk in a straight line.

It may not be a traditional circus under the big top, but the energetic 360 ALLSTARS assure us that it’s time for a new tradition – it is time to flip the big top upside down and spin it around.

360 ALLSTARS is an hour-long play suitable for people of all ages. It will perform at The Riverside Theatre on April 20th and 22nd, 2024, before moving on to other theatres in Australia, New Zealand, and North America.

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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