The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde

This is one wonderful classic that I read several weeks ago. Just got around to writing about it because I've been so hectic with studies. Well, my recollection about it might be a bit hazy now. So short synopsis from good 'ol wiki here.

First, I did not even know that this was a play. I thought it was some highfalutin literature on life in Victorian England and several people being quite pompous about life and preaching how we should live. I thought they'd be teaching us how to live life, and that is by being earnest.

Oh yes, I was very wrong. This play was funny from start to finish. At times it read a little like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the way the dialogues developed. I would definitely go see it if they play it here. And probably would read it again sometime, nice short read.

A Lie of the Mind

by the Blak Yak Theatre Company

I went to see the last showing. Description from the Blak Yak website.

Set in the gritty American West, the story alternates between two families after a severe incident of spousal abuse leaves all their lives altered until the final collision at an isolated cabin.

The two families, one composed of Baylor, Meg, Beth, and Mike, the other composed of Lorraine, Sally, Frankie, and Jake are connected by the marriage of Jake and Beth.
Beths beating and subsequent hospitalisation at the hands of Jake initiates the beginning of the play. Exploring family dysfunction and the nature of love, the play follows Jake as he searches for meaning after Beth, and her family, as they struggle with Beth's brain damage.

Directed by Matt Longman and featuring Shell Berg, David Bowyer, Ben Kotovski-Steele, Marsha Holt, Alan Kennedy, Alex Jones, Joy Northover and Julia Hern
23, 24, 25 June. 1, 2 July Midland Junction Arts Centre 276 Great Eastern hwy (cnr Cale st) Midland

First the story. I am not sure whether it has been altered in any way or not because I have not seen the original but what I felt is the plot seemed to be great in the first 2/3s, felt like it was building up to something very interesting, a climax. But it sort of just fizzled down with any substantial explosion of clarity of where the plot was heading. Even the people beside me were saying, "So what was all that about?" Perhaps it takes a very observant or smarter person to get what was happening at the end. Well, I felt I got the message pretty well, unless there was any double entendres going on. But I think not, what happened in the end is actually all the characters are just plain crazy and they suit each other just fine. I feel it may work in some instances, not in this story. It just felt like lazy story-telling. Sort of like, 'let's just wrap this shit up because I can't be bothered to resolve all the tensioned dynamics created in the first 2 acts.' Anyways that's what I have to say about the plot, first 2 acts great, third act crap. The dialogue and pacing was good though.

A great positive I have to say that the acting was great though, the characters were acted out pretty well. However I question the need for American accents. It was clear some of the actors were struggling with it. If they adapted the whole play to be 'Australianized' I feel they would have been more authentic and believable. Perhaps it is a copyright issue that they cannot do this. But still, a great job by BlakYak, they are one of the best community theatre groups in Western Australia. I will watch pretty much anything they put on.

Zastrozzi

at the Melville Theatre

Summary of play from Melville theatre website.

Zastrozzi tells the story of an amoral and charismatic criminal mastermind and master swordfighter who cuts a swath of destruction across Europe in the 19th century.

Zastrozzi relentlessly pursues revenge against Verezzi, a naïve and disturbed artist who has been one step ahead of Zastrozzi for the past three years thanks to his tutor, Victor. But Zastrozzi, with his not too bright sidekick Bernardo, and Matilda (the greatest seductress of Europe and lover of Zastrozzi), have finally caught up.

Now, it is time for all to meet, and what is left to do is decide if you on the side of goodness and purity, or evil… or like Julia, being simply thrown into world you know nothing about and hope to land on your feet!

This is a play adaptation of the classic story of Zastrozzi by  Percy Bysshe Shelley. The first half of it was pretty good but the second half seemed a little hastil wrapped up. At the end of it I felt the characters deteriorated from the plot, in that I did not have a clear idea of why the characters do what they did. Their dialogue seemed slightly off character and in the end I do not see the purpose of what Zastrozzi as done. If Zastrozzi was as smart as he claims, more should have came from how things ended. If one were to bank on wit and charisma to be his strong points, I would have liked to have seen this being brought through to the end. Overall, it was average. Plot could have been better developed, maybe keeping to the original story more would have been better.

Hay Fever

at the Garrick Theatre

This is the synopsis from their website.

Hay Fever, a luminous and entertaining comedy, introduces you to the Bliss family: a retired acrtess mother, a novelist father and two children for whom all the world, literally, is a stage. Their outrageous antics alternately infuriate and astound their hapless weekend guests, all of whom have been individually invited for a weekend tete-a-tete.
Rousing fights, surprise engagements and fevered declarations of love drive the poor guests from the house, leaving the family happily bickering and playing amongst themselves as this stylish comedy bounces to it's inevitable and intoxicating end.

It was quite funny and light hearted. They were absolutely the most melodramatic family I have seen and their acting was very good. I especially liked the mother and the 2 children, they played their roles well. Start to end, it was quirky and a really off-beat sort of comedy. It you do not get wit, you probably won't get this. Quite peculiar sort of humour.

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark

by The Old Mill Theatre

Description of play from the Old Mill Theatre website.

Production: February 4-19, 2011

The Old Mill Theatre is opening its 2011 season this February with one of Shakespeare’s all-time greatest blockbusters. Directed by the experienced and well-known John Milson, Hamlet has been described as “the greatest play, by the greatest writer who ever lived”. The play is set in the kingdom of Denmark and tells the story of Prince Hamlet gaining revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the king – Hamlet’s father and Claudius’ brother – after he gains the throne and marries the widowed queen.

Overall, it was good. To date the longest play I have seen, 2 intermissions. I think the whole thing was close to 3 hours. Good that the acting and directing was decent, if not I definitely would have walked out half way through.

A little bit to say about costume though., The younger characters in the play seem to be dressed up almost like vampires in Twilight, which was sort of lame. And Hamlet seems like a whiny teenager. On that note, most of them seem like whiny teenagers. I don't know if that is how it is supposed to be but in the end I was actually happy they all died. All the characters complain too much about how crappy their lives are.

Anyways, it is after all Shakespeare. And the words are delicious, like caramel coated sweets.

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

This is a musical adaptation of the wonderful book by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The story of Christmas Carol is of Ebeneezer Scrooge, an old crooked rich man who is too selfish and cold-hearted to embrace the spirit of Christmas. During the night he is visited by his old partner Jacob Marley who have suffered in death because of how he lived his life as Ebeneezer is living now. To help Ebeneezer before it is too late, Marley says three ghosts will visit Ebeneezer and show him the errors of his ways. Through the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Ebeneezer goes on an amazing journey through his entire life and understand what Christmas really means.

But now to the play. It was horrible. First the music arrangements are bad, there are moments where the actors are just waiting for the music to come in for them to carry on the song and this just made it really drag on needlessly. The acting too was poor. It felt like they were just reading their lines. The singing was very bad as well, there was no energy and charisma from any of the main actors. At one point I actually wanted to sing along because I felt I could have sung louder than that and made it more lively. The only redeeming factor was the acting by the many children. The children actors were actually better than the grown ups. They sang, dance and acted quite well. Other than that everything was downhill from the get go. There was no climax in any of the singing and it was very difficult to get into the wonderful story that is A Christmas Carol.

It was just very painful to watch. I spent most of the play shaking my head and thought that this does not do the story justice at all. I considered walking out after giving the play 15 minutes. At the intermission I really wanted to leave but stayed on anyways in hope of giving it a chance to improve. But it did very little to redeem itself. All in all, this musical really sucked the Christmas spirit right out of me. I shall need to read Dicken's book to redeem it.

Reefer Madness

by Paul Franklin (BlakYak Theatre Production at the Phoenix Theatre)

The play description from the BlakYak website.

Reefer Madness the musical – Inspired by the original 1936 film of the same name, this raucous musical comedy takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the hysteria caused when clean-cut kids fall prey to marijuana, leading them on a hysterical downward spiral filled with evil jazz music, sex and violence. You won’t be able to resist the spoofy fun of Reefer Madness. The addictive and clever musical numbers range from big Broadway-style showstoppers to swing tunes like “Down at the Ol’ Five and Dime” and the Vegas-style “Listen to Jesus, Jimmy,” featuring J.C. Himself leading a chorus of showgirl angels. This dynamic show will go straight to your head!

One of the most wonderful musicals I have seen this year! I at first just thought it would be a brainless sort of play like the one I watched last week, The Sorting Room. But this play was in a class of its own. Firstly all the actors were wonderful and sang absolutely beautifully. They were also faithful to the time period, and the characters spoke with American accents of the period, that of the mid 20th century. The props though very little, were more than compensated for with the great costumes and the charisma and talent of the actors and actresses. The only fault I have is with ending, which I felt with a bit rushed and wrapper up haphazardly. But then again the story is what it is, and the quality of performance makes up for this. Overall, the journey was just so much fun and entertaining that at the end you did not really care where it ended.

The Sorting Room

by Fred Petersen

I went to the world premiere of this play. Details below of the play from ASN website.

Fred Petersen is a Life Member of Garrick Theatre. He is a multi-award winning Director who in recent years has added Playwright to his long list of achievements. Fred has a huge following amongst our patrons and he knows what they like. We recommend that you book for this show as soon as possible.

When Mr. Sterner, manager of a charity clothing collection company, decides to employ a voluptuous lady with a predilection for fishnets and revealing clothing, in the sorting room, the well ordered working relationships and the happy dispositions of the other ladies fly out the window.

Throw in an innocent young truck driver, a drunken vagrant, a frustrated social organizer and a not too worldly Pastor, maintaining some semblance of order becomes a mammoth task for Mr. Sterner.

I found this play quite entertaining but not as intellectually satisfying as I would have liked. The humor was predictable and you sort of could have guessed what was going to happen next. The dialogue was also very ordinary where I would have preferred more wit. The emotions and tensions and humor could have been more intertwined and voluminous for it to be of more substance.

The acting was acceptable, thought I am not very sure what accent they were going with. It felt like it was interchanging between English and Australian accents. Some characters were better than others, but overall the plot carried through, but was a bit bordering on the feeling that they were reading from script. At least they did not stumble too much through their lines, only on one or two occasions did this happen.

I found it just alright. My sister enjoyed this play, whereas I perhaps enjoyed The Woman In Black better. So I guess not every one's cup of tea but it is still worth watching if you just want something not too heavy, not too immersive.

The Woman In Black

by Stephen Mallatratt

I watched this play just now at Stirling Players, which was directed by Dannielle Ashton. I actually was keeping my hopes up because the last play I watched there was not very good. But this is in a different class altogether. First the plot, as described on The Woman in Black site.

Eel Marsh House stands tall, gaunt and isolated, surveying the endless flat saltmarshes beyond the Nine Lives Causeway, somewhere on England's bleak East Coast. Here Mrs Alice Drablow lived - and died - alone. Young Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is ordered by his firm's senior partner to travel up from London to attend her funeral and then sort out all her papers. His task is a lonely one, and at first Kipps is quite unaware of the tragic secrets which lie behind the house's shuttered windows. He only has a terrible sense of unease. And then, he glimpses a young woman with a wasted face, dressed all in black, at the back of the church during Mrs Drablow's funeral, and later, in the graveyard to one side of Eel Marsh House. Who is she? Why is she there? He asks questions, but the locals not only cannot or will not give him answers - they refuse to talk about the woman in black, or even to acknowledge her existence, at all. So, Arthur Kipps has to wait until he sees her again, and she slowly reveals her identity to him - and her terrible purpose. 

The Woman In Black treads in the footsteps of the classic ghost story, following the tradition of Charles Dickens and M.R James, of Henry James and Edith Wharton. It is not a horror story or a tale of terror, yet the events build up to a horrifying climax and instil a sense of horror. It relies on atmosphere, a vivid sense of place, on hints and glimpses and suggestions, on what is shadowy, heard and sometimes only half-seen, to chill the reader's blood to the marrow and make reading the book alone at night inadvisable for the faint-hearted. 

Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation for the stage remains entirely true to the book itself and uses much of Susan Hill's own descriptive writing and dialogue, while transforming the novel into a totally gripping piece of theatre. 

This is a wonderful play, the words in it so beautiful. And what is powerful is there are only 3 actors in the play, yet it is so gripping. In this particular production, the actors were all fantastic and I could not find fault at all. I were at times lost in their world and had forgotten I was sitting in a theater. The power of imagination is amazing, and in this play you are pushed to every faculty of your imagination effortlessly to dream this world that is dark and eerie. And you will be afraid, in the dark, it is scary. you feel alone, and a deep tingle down your spine. I love it and could not stop smiling at how wonderful this play is. If it comes along in your town, do give it a chance. You will not regret it, or maybe you would, depending on how much you like horror.

Bone-Chiller

at the Garrick Theatre

Following description from ASN website.

This is a murder mystery with a touch of farce, will have you scratching your heads to solve the mystery and point the finger at the culprit. Thirteen people gather (no mean feat on Garrick's stage) for the reading of the late Josiah Travers will. Just who will be killed? Who did it? Who inherits the money?

I did not bother reading the synopsis for this when I went for it. I just seen the word murder and I was sold. And it really did not disappoint. It was wonderful, with light touches of funny between the episodes of serious scariness. The flow was perfect when moments of fear is dissipated gradually with humor, and halfway through that, it draws you straight in stark contrast back to the reality that there is murder going on. Also the pacing when things are to be revealed but then again, they drag it on a bit, really builds the tension and I in the audience really felt like going up to the stage and shaking the guy to ask him to just spill it already also. I think that's a sign of how involving it is.

It was a really nice story. And also the puzzles in the play were quite nicely done. The acting was also quite well-executed. All the characters did their American accents decently and their characters were quite believable. As a whole, I loved it start to finish and any unpolished point in the play can be overlooked because it was such a lovely experience.

 

 

Arsenic and Old Lace

by Joseph Kesselring

It is the story of two delightful, elderly Brooklyn sisters whose acts of kindness include the poisoning of lonely old men who answer their ad for a room to rent. With a clear conscience, they congratulate themselves on having saved yet another soul from loneliness by dispatching them to their heavenly destiny. Their nephew Mortimer, a theatre critic, has fallen in love with the girl who lives next door to his aunts, Elaine Harper, and has taken to visiting frequently. The drama takes place when Mortimer discovers the extent of his aunts' charity work, and in a frantic effort to contain the situation, endeavours to have his brother Teddy, who is quite openly mad, held responsible and committed to Happy Dale Sanitorium. Life is never that straightforward, however, and it is on this very eve that the psychopathic, long lost brother Jonathan reappears looking for shelter in the home of his aunts. He brings with him his accomplice Dr Einstein and some baggage of his own he needs to dispose of in a hurry...

Above description of the play from ASN website. This one was really nice, from start to finish it was really lovely. Specially liked the people who played Mortimer and the Aunts. They were great. The play was about 2.5 hours but it was really funny and smart, so it did not feel all that long at all. Also the actors overall did the accents pretty well as the story is in Brooklyn. Nice little black comedy. Love it.

Into The Woods

by Stephen Sondheim

Went to see another play yesterday and it was quite lovely. That was at Roleystone Theatre. Description as below from the site.

Into the Woods is a musical debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and follows them further to explore the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, all tied together by an original story involving a Baker, his wife, and their quest to begin a family.

Found the first part very very good. The second part was somewhat messy for me and the ending felt a bit like everything was wrapped up a bit hastily, and the story sort of went sour. The acting and singing overall was very good, I'd say better that previous weeks. All the characters were quite funny, I like red riding hood the best, when later she went a bit psycho nutty after the 'trauma' with her grandma. No wonder they just keep doing Stephen Sondheim's.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Watched this play yesterday night. It was lovely, very funny musical. Below is description I got off ASN website.

Inspired by the farces of the Roman playwright Plautus, who lived from 251-183 BC  this Tony Award winning musical tells the story of the slave Pseudolos and his attempts to gain his freedom by helping his young master win 'the girl next door'.

Pure farce the story featurs puns, mistaken identity much coming in and out of doors and satirical comments on social class.. The title derives from the old saying often used in vaudeville in times past that 'a funny thing happened on the way to the theatre.' 

Originally produced on Broadway in 1962 starring Zero Mostel  where it ran for 964 performances it has since been revived  many times . Frankie Howerd & Kenneth Connor starred in the first London production.

The film version was made in 1966, again starring Zero Mostel as Pseudolus.

Comedy Tonight is probably the best known song from the show.

Featuring Ross Bryant as Pseudolus, with Phil Mackenzie, Diana Ryman, Morgan Phillips, Kimberley Harris, Emmet Nichols, Harry Lenthall, Craig Menner, Judith Clark, Niquelle May. Barbara Lovell, Tarryn Bullock, Vicki Kirkman, Stuart Riches, Jeff Hansen, Warren McGrath.

AND- as a bonus we have a wonderful nine piece orchestra,seductively called 'Creatures of the Night' conducted by David Hardie.

Again theatre has brought to me something movies can never bring. It made me feel in a different way that only great movies sort of make me feel. It brings the stage to life, I am drawn into that world. I am there with them and I love every moment of it.

Lords and Ladies

by Terry Pratchett

Went to see this play at Stirling Players in Innaloo just now. Description from the website.

Based on Terry Pratchett’s fantasy novel
Adapted for the stage by Irana Brown and Simon James
Directed by Christine Ellis



In the mountain kingdom of Lancre, three witches return home from a broomstick tour of Disc World to find the elves are back and there is a very real threat of the entire Disc being destroyed. Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven must do battle with the elves who threaten to take control with their hypnotic glamour. 

It was really nice and funny. The whole thing was almost 3 hours with a 20 minute break in between, and did the time fly. It was lovely start to finish. Real witty and nice characters also. I can't pull out any single character that I'd say I really like, I love all of them. Each having their distinct characteristics and funny all the like. Wonderful, can't wait for the next play based on Terry Pratchett's book. Fantabulous.

Burnt Piano

Playwright:
Justin Fleming

Director:
Andrew and Alice Warwick

I love plays. I just freaking love plays. Just watched this one at Garrick Theater. The story is something as follows. Just copied the description off the program.

Paris, 1989. Karen Idlewild must meet Sam Beckett - for the most unusual of reasons. On a visit to Paris, and against the instinctive warnings of her father, Karen takes her nine-year-old son, Jonah, on a bizarre quest to meet Beckett - no easy mission, as the man is vigorously protected by his wife, Suzanne, and others. Buried in the adventure is Karen's need to explain a mysterious, dreadful and tragic moment in her past and that of her young son.

The story of the play was alright and had some very witty script. The actress doing the Karen character was wooden at times though, felt like she was just reciting lines. The character of Karen's father was quite well done though. And in between scenes there were piano playing parts, I thought that was lovely. At the end of the day, I don't really care much about some of the rigid acting. I just wanted to be moved into that world on that stage. And I was.

Sweeney Todd

the demon barber of Fleet Street

Just went to see this play, it was a musical. Very very nice. The theatre was packed and the play was for about 2.5 hours. I especially loved the boy, Pirelli's assistant. He was a bit over dramatic but it was funny. Amazing to see they can sing so nicely without any mics or anything. Sweeney was pretty scary. There were some bits that were not in the movie I think, well at least more subtly portrayed in the movie I think. Like how the judge actually wanted the girl for himself. Overall, the play was wonderful and I'll go to Roleystone again because the theatre is very nice as well. Details below

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler
Directed by Stephen Carr and Musical Direction by Matt Austin

Nov 13, 14, 18, 20, 21,25, 27, 28 Dec 2, 4, 5 (2009)

A macabre tragi-comedy based on the legend of a half-mad 19th century English barber. He is driven to crime when an evil judge takes his wife and child from him. Unjustly imprisoned, Todd eventually escapes and vows to bring justice not only to the judge who destroyed his world, but also to all the people of London. To this end, he forms a cutthroat partnership with Mrs Lovett, an enterprising mistress whose meat pies are to die for!

Cast
Sweeny Todd - Scott Burns
Mrs Lovett - Lindsay McNab
Toby - Tim How
Judge Turpin - Paul Treasure
Beedle Bamford - Peter "Pear" Carr
Johanna - Cassie Skinner
Anthony - Owen Measday
Pirelli - Manuao Teaotonga
Begger Woman - Casey Edwards
Fogg - Leo Downsborough
Male Chorus - Warren Bracken, Allan O'Neil, Morgan Philips, Ben Steele, Leo Downsborough
Female Chorus - Sarah Cosstick, Ellen Brooks, Jacqui Keogh, Emily Tompson, Kate Jones, Tara Joyce, Sam Warn

Alice in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll

Went to see this play on the Saturday afternoon. This was one weird play. Not like the regular play in the theater. Moved across four locations. Surprised when Alice first came out of the theater and started talking. Thus the play started. Then we were led to a room where they acted the scene where Alice just got into Wonderland. Then we moved on to the tea with the Mad Hatter. Following that the croquet game with the Queen of Hearts. Lastly, Alice meeting some other odd characters in the main theater hall. Ending with Alice waking up from her dream but all the wacky characters still around.

Well, the play was mostly with parents and kids. I guess because Alice in Wonderland is for kids. The weird set up of this play, I have to be honest, at first I was apprehensive on where all this was going. Progressing on though, I absolutely enjoyed the play. The weirdness left my mouth hanging open at times. I think only kids and people with a peculiar intellect will enjoy this. Felt like I was getting high from watching the play because everything was just so out of whack.

and then there were none

by Agatha Christie

Just went to a play yesterday evening at Stirling Players. An adaptation of the novel. Second play I've ever been to, first one in Perth. I think it was great, the acting was good and I love the story. Only they changes the ending a bit because I think the actual ending is harder to act now and perhaps less cheerful. Hope to see more plays soon.