Category Archive: THEATRE
Siegfried
(Opera Australia, Melbourne, 5 December 2016) (Dir. Neil Armfield) In this third spoke of the cycle, the plot becomes simple, but radical; in a sense, confined, more a matter of fairy-tale than myth. Siegfried goes from boy to man; with the newly forged hand-me-down sword, ‘Nothung’ he slays the gold-hoarding dragon, and when he sees that his guardian, Mime, has played him for a sucker, he deals with him too. Then, with newly-acquired powers of comprehension, he heads up the mountain to find the sleeping Brünnhilde. During that ascent, he confronts on old fella (who turns out to be his…
Continue Reading →The Effect
(Image c/- US Dept. of Health)
(written by Lucy Prebble) (Adelaide University Theatre Guild, 8 October 2016) A man and a woman – an experienced experimentee and a first timer – sign on as subjects in an anti-depressant trial at Raushen Pharmaceuticals. Who would have thought that two young, flaky people left virtually alone in a closed environment with nothing to do might engage in a little forbidden hanky-panky? Sigh. Unfortunately this rather juvenile play is full of such predictable developments and unsurprising attempts at surprise. Connie and Tristan, the guinea-pigs, escape to a moonlit former insane asylum and bang on about whether unnatural upsurges in dopamine cause…
Continue Reading →The Norman Conquests
(A marriage made in hell - Norman and Ruth)
(1977) (Written by Alan Ayckbourn; Directed by Herbert Wise) This three-part dance about a weekend in the country, set at parallel times in different rooms of a large house, is not everyone’s cup of tea by a long urn, but it satisfies in its neat construction, its gentle humour, and several rollicking performances. “Table Manners” revolves around the dining room; “Living Together” the lounge and the conclusion is “Round and Round the Garden.” The episodes stand alone but we recommend that you watch all three consecutively, over a few nights (or one long rainy afternoon). Kudos to the…
Continue Reading →The Crucible
(by Arthur Miller) Adelaide University Theatre Guild, August 2016 ‘Desperate and hot.’ That’s how Miller wanted his Witch Trial / Cold War hysteria tale to play; stoke the fire till someone gets burnt. Whilst at the time of debut in 1950s America the piece served a political purpose, sixty odd years later, we can appreciate the wider themes of group-think and guilt. In this production, directed by Geoff Brittain, the essential drama is delivered in a powerful and solid fashion. Despite a few misfires in delivery, the odd uncertain accent and some overly shouty bits, the acting was generally good. Of the brat…
Continue Reading →Vale Peter Shaffer
Playwright Peter Shaffer (15 May, 1926 to 6 June, 2016) has shuffled off the stage. Whilst his best known play was Amadeus, he also wrought, to interesting and arresting advantage, Five Finger Exercise, The Royal Hunt of the Sun (featuring the immortal stage direction in Scene VIII, “the men climb the Andes”) and Equus. These were all rather vulgarised in film treatments, except Equus, which was superbly done in 1977. Shaffer liked to set the devout and the earthy in opposition to each other (e.g., sun-worshipper vs gold worshipper; genius vs proficient mediocrity) and his stylish settings accentuated this conflict. Here’s a cute little monologue from Equus that…
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