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 Hello everyone and welcome to September. Spring has finally arrived! Hooray!!
Okay – this is going to sound a bit strange, coming from the director of our current production, but my theme for this article is:
“It‘s perfectly okay to NOT like a showâ€.
I have a pretty eclectic taste in theatre – I love stupid comedies, and I love edge-of-the-seat character dramas. I really like wordy plays, and plays that play on words. I have no stomach for schmaltz, nor people breaking into song or dancing with/near/at each other. Many of my closest theatre friends are completely the opposite. They would rather scoop their eyeballs out with a spoon than sit through something by Tom Stoppard, whose writings I adore. And that’s great! How boring would it be if we all liked the same thing!
If you see a play that’s not your cup of tea, see if you can identify what it was you didn’t like about it. It might be the play itself, or the style of play. It might be that you found the plot silly, or just didn’t care about the central point the author was trying to make. It might’ve been a good play, but you would’ve preferred to see it done differently. That’s okay. We’ve all been there!
To me, going to the theatre is a bit like going to a restaurant with a set menu. You might see/smell/taste something you’ve never seen/smelt/tasted before, and be better for the experience. On the other hand you might find something you’ll know NEVER to order next time you see it on a menu!! Someone else will have adored the course you pushed aside.
Just because you don’t like a particular show doesn’t mean that you don’t like live theatre. It’s a bit like Melbourne weather – if you don’t like what’s here now, just wait a little while and something more to your liking will come along (did I mention that spring has arrived?).
The challenge for theatre companies like WLT then, is to make sure our program of plays is varied enough that, if you don’t like the current show, the chances are pretty good that you’ll be blown away by the next one. I’m really looking forward to the release of our 2015 season – I’m sure our Play Selection Committee will have something special lined up for us all.
See you in the foyer.
Peter
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The seven actors are completely in the skin of their characters, and every nuance emerges with subtlety and impact. The audience follows intently, and their sympathies switch as characters follow their choices, make their moves and counter-moves in their quest of power. The writing is taut, and is brought to life by Tim Constantine, Melanie Rowe, Stephen Shinkfield, Chris Baldock, Rowan Howard…all familiar to WLT audiences… and Madeleine McKinlay and John Murphy… very welcome newcomers to our stage.
Director Peter Newling (pictured working with some cast) and Assistant Director Janine Evans have done a wonderful job in casting excellent actors and trusting them to develop characters and flawless teamwork. Similar teamwork backstage ensures this play slides smoothly from scene to scene, emphasised by lighting and sound. Connie Bram runs her backstage team with calm efficiency, capably assisted by Kat Smolcic and Rowan Howard. In the final week, Brett Turner will stage manage. Sound and light operators are Rob Edwards and Alex Carroll, the talented team who operated Almost, Maine earlier this year.
As ever, these onstage and backstage teams are just the tip of the iceberg! During the many weeks that the actors were rehearsing, lots of people were involved in the many aspects of this production. George Tranter designed and helped build the multi-area set and Brian Christopher led the construction team… our ‘regulars’ who did their usual amazing job: Ray Hare, Bryan Thomas, Laurice Banwell, David Dare, Alex Begg, and Neil Williamson. In addition, Peter Newling, Alexandra Almond and Cate Nienaber helped with painting.
Craig Pearcey did a beautiful lighting design, particularly the Stars and Stripes that flooded the stage with spectacular effect. Bruce Parr and Jeff Saliba produced a wonderful audio design. Audiences especially love the last song!
Tony Tartaro worked for weeks on the costumes, acquiring them andconstructing some, including the very natural-looking padding for the character Paul. His passion for accurate detail ensured characters wore ID cards, campaign rosettes and US flag lapel pins. The right ‘look’ always enables actors to fully inhabit their characters, and this certainly applies to the complete credibility of Farragut North. Tony re-assembled the ‘ancient Roman Sewers’ who did the Forum costumes last year, some returnees and a welcome newcomer, to assist with the final touches and alterations to the costumes: Maggie McInnes, Moira Smith, Kay Hambling and Jayde Hollingsworth.
at the Monteleone Hotel. I'd just sat down when I found myself surrounded by pirates. Any conversation that starts with 'Aaaaaarrrrrr' has got to be good. These were three couples in town for the Make A Wish parade and they were gearing up for a very big night. Before I knew it I had a Red Slut shot in front of me. I returned the favour by introducing them to Flickers. Then another drink appeared in front of me sent by 'the couple on the other side of the bar'. I looked over to see Mauricio and Damaris smiling back at me. We had another nice chat and then Damaris told me that, although she lived only 40 minutes out of Manhattan, she's never seen a Broadway show. I have every intention of fixing that on Tuesday.
