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Your Name Means Dream

3 November 2024 Rebecca Rose

Your Name Means Dream Rating

★★★★★

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Wow. I am going to put this front and centre: if you love seeing high-quality acting and theatre, go and see ‘Your Name Means Dream’ at Red Stitch Actors Theatre. What a phenomenal play and performances by two outstanding actors.

This brilliantly written play by the highly acclaimed Oscar nominee and Obie Award-winning playwright José Rivera (famous for ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’) has hit the shores of Australia for the first time at Red Stitch Theatre in Melbourne.

The cast of two give stellar performances, which should not be a surprise with their extensive backgrounds on both screen and stage. Caroline Lee takes on the role of ‘Aislin,’ a disgruntled widow in her mid-sixties who lives alone in her run-down apartment in New York in the not-so-distant future. Lucy Ansell plays the role of ‘Stacy,’ an advanced robot sent by Aislin’s son, Roberto, to be Aislin’s live-in caregiver and companion.

The play opens with the first meeting of the two characters. Aislin, having settled into a dreary and solitary life after the death of her husband and estrangement from her son, shows resistance to this new form of caregiver sent by her son, Roberto.

Stacy is programmed to assist Aislin in living as long and healthy a life as possible while learning from Aislin along the way. She also yearns to learn as much as she can about humanity from Aislin, wanting to get as close as she can to that point within the limits of being a robot.

You will walk away from this play contemplating themes including the future of technology with artificial intelligence and machine learning, family, relationships, what it means to be human, health, loneliness, quality of life, death, and grief. All of that in the space of a couple of hours. What a journey!

There is so much lovely comedy intertwined within the dialogue of this play. Caroline and Lucy really carried these comedic moments, having the audience switch from laughter to tears and back again in the blink of an eye.

It was an absolute joy to watch these two actors work together. Caroline and Lucy both portrayed their characters with so much depth, nuance, and humanity—yes, even the robot! The accents were flawless, and subtle characterisations were well-engrained into each character. Lucy’s quick switches between Stacy the robot and Roberto were mesmerising to watch.

The staging was perfect for what this play needed. A nice, simple set was more than enough to still have the audience buy into the world of Aislin and Stacy, with the entire play taking place in the living room of Aislin’s very drab and dilapidated apartment. This really is a play not to be missed.

Your Name Means Dream is on at the Red Stitch Actors Theatre from October 26 to November 24. Tickets may be purchased @ https://www.redstitch.net/your-name-means-dream-2024

Photographer: James Reiser

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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The Kingdom of Eucalypts: The Enigma of Miles Franklin

2 November 2024 Claire Mulcahy

The Kingdom of Eucalypts: The Enigma of Miles Franklin Rating

★★★★★

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Thursday night’s rainy Halloween seemed a fitting time to see a play about the ageing, once-successful Australian writer and activist Miles Franklin, who is haunted by her past.

Moira Blumenthal directs The Kingdom of Eucalypts: The Enigma of Miles Franklin, a play by Australian-Hungarian playwright and psychologist Alice Spigelman, currently being performed at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre in Sydney. Spigelman has written an intriguing examination of a period of Miles Franklin’s life perhaps not all that well known.

While researching at the State Library of New South Wales for another project, Spigelman discovered that Franklin had curiously written some of her diaries in code. Spigelman wondered why a woman in her fifties needed to resort to such a habit, leading the playwright to find out why. The play goes some way in providing answers.

After decades spent overseas, a middle-aged Miles has returned to live in very straitened circumstances with her elderly mother, Susannah, in suburban Sydney. They are struggling so much that in one scene, Miles shamefully reveals they’re living off mouldy bread. The once-lauded writer, who had early success in her twenties with the novel My Brilliant Career, now finds herself ignored by the literary establishment.

Despite her years away from Australia, she sees that not much has changed in sexist attitudes towards female writers. In another scene, Miles rails against the fact that she still needs to adopt a male name in order to be published. Her choice of the nom de plume ‘Captain Bligh’ elicited chuckles from the audience.

It is through her friendship with Australian editor and publisher Percy ‘Inky’ Stephensen that Miles hopes to resurrect her flailing writing career. Miles, however, finds herself increasingly drawn into Inky’s political organising.

Spigelman has taken a clever approach to representing the bifurcated self that we see in the character of Miles. Two actors, Beth Daly and Sarah Greenwood, play the old and young Miles, respectively. This device allows us to see the impact of time on the writer’s psyche. Daly does an admirable job in portraying the now frustrated Miles, who at once seems world-weary but also still harbours hopes for a different future.

Greenwood plays the young Miles with a youthful energy, heightening our pity for her older self. Lloyd Allison-Young is excellent as the bombastic and eventually bitter Inky Stephensen, and James Coetzee very competently plays Edwin, Miles’ suitor in her youth. A highlight is Alice Livingstone’s portrayal of Susannah Franklin. Livingstone beautifully captures the elderly woman’s fussiness and also her deep love for her daughter.

The Kingdom of Eucalypts season runs from 30 Oct to 17 Nov. To book your tickets please go to https://www.moirablumenthalproductions.com.au/thekingdomofeucalypts

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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Pymble Players: The 39 Steps

31 October 202431 October 2024 Melissa Marsh

Pymble Players 39 Steps Rating

★★★★★

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For their final production, before they move to Chatswood, the Pymble Players present The 39 Steps. David Allsopp directed Patrick Barlow’s 2005 play, which was adapted from John Buchan’s 1915 novel and, of course, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film.

If you are not already familiar with the story, let me assure you that you already know it even if you have yet to see it. The 39 Steps is easily where we get the plot of every spy thriller ever written. There is a beautiful woman with a mysterious accent who drags a hapless Englishman into a wild caper involving secret plans and hidden agents, which leads to a madcap chase across the Scottish moors. What is offered is a delightfully self-aware parody that the audience is invited to be a part of, and all of this is done by a stellar cast of only four actors.

Leading the cast and leading us through the story is Daniel Ferris as Richard Hannay. Richard, an average Englishman who was reluctantly dragged into the plot. At his side is Cassandra Gorman as Annabella, Margaret and Pamela, all of whom are very distinct from each other. The highlight of the evening, however, are Mitch Doran and Faith Jessel as our two clowns, playing at least 100 characters between them.

This rapid-fire performance required rapid costume changes, sometimes even on stage in the middle of dialogue, and all were done flawlessly without disrupting the comedic timing. If Ferris and Gorman form the structure of the play, Doran and Jessel are very much the energy.

Allsopp’s minimalist production design means the focus is almost entirely on our actors. I say “almost” because it is quite cheeky to see the stage managers directly interact with our cast, whether it’s a hand taking a prop or even two of them visible onstage with a fog machine and a pedestal fan.

The sound design brings richness to the performance, but even that is not above having a joke with us. When the phone keeps ringing after the character picks it up, was that deliberate or an opening night flub? I don’t care; either way, I’m laughing.

But I think what I admired the most was the real intimacy of the production, all the more emphasised by Pymble Players’ being in a small theatre. The action is not confined to the stage; the actors come through the audience and play part of the scene even directly in front of where I was sitting.

In the end, I think I enjoyed the play far more than I enjoyed watching Hitchcock’s film. Much has happened in the almost ninety years since the film first appeared. And while back then, Hitchcock played it completely seriously; now we can all have a lot of fun being part of the joke.

There are not many productions that can purport themselves to be “Hitchcock meets Monty Python” and can actually deliver on that promise. If you’d like to see it, I suggest you get in quickly as tickets are selling rapidly and it is easy to see why.

The season is almost SOLD OUT.

For a chance to purchase tickets to Pymble Players The 39 Steps please get to this link urgently @ https://pymbleplayers.com.au/the-39-steps

Session Dates/Times
November 1 Friday at – 8:00 PM
November 2 Saturday at – 3.00 PM
November 3 Sunday at – 3.00 PM
November 8 Friday at – 8:00 PM
November 9 Saturday at – 3:00 PM
November 10 Sunday at – 3.00 PM
November 13 Wednesday at – 8:00 PM
November 14 Thursday at – 8:00 PM
November 15 Friday at – 8:00 PM
November 16 Saturday at – 3:00 PM
November 17 Sunday at – 3:00 PM
November 22 Friday at – 8:00 PM
November 23 Saturday at – 3:00 PM
November 23 Saturday at – 8.00 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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Little Theatre Presents: The 39 Steps

27 October 2024 Rupa Mannan

The 39 Steps Rating

★★★★★

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Director Mark Wickett with the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild definitely had the audience roaring with laughter. Written as a spy thriller by John Buchanan and later adapted for film by Hitchcock, this production of the 39 Steps contains all the mystery of the original story with a good measure of parody!

The fabulous cast of four included Emily Branford and Maxwell Whigham, who flawlessly played multiple roles, often in the same scenes. This rapid change of character, accent, and costume was done with great skill and tenacity! The whole production was infused with energy and laughter.

Thomas Midena’s solid portrayal of Hannay, on the run from suspicion following a murder in London, represented a steadier character, taking the audience with him on his journey to unravel the mystery and clear his name. Imogen Deller-Evans as Pamela, Annabella, and Margaret weaved in and out of Hannay’s path as potential love interests in different locations and accents with comedic effects. The pair had brilliant onstage chemistry.

The Little Theatre served as an intimate location, and the dual levels of the stage and balcony were utilised to perfection. Not to mention, Foley artist Angela Short drew the audience’s attention in multiple areas. The timing and attention to detail as Hannay turned on the light switch and opened the blind were impressive.

My favourite sound was the train carriage movement! The play was interactive, which drew the audience in. The design and costume were clever, with the ingenious portrayal of a plane, dogs, and countryside sheep having the audience roar with laughter.

Congratulations to all involved at The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild for brilliantly executing a fete of skill, stamina and comedic timing in this production of The 39 Steps.

The 39 Steps is only running for 1 more week. For tickets, please book @ https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1156175

Remaining Performance Dates
Wednesday 30 October at 6:30pm – *with post-show Q&A*
Thursday 31 October at 7:30pm
Friday 1 November at 7:30pm
Saturday 2 November at 7:30pm
Sunday 3 November at 4pm

Duration:- Approximately 2 hours + interval

Venue:- Little Theatre, The Cloisters, Victoria Drive, University of Adelaide

Photographer: Nat Kelly

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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