Stage Whispers September-November 2021 edition

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 1

In this issue 10

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Play Swallows Universe ..................................................................................... 4 Queensland Theatre’s adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel Boy Swallows Universe Theatre On Ice ................................................................................................ 10 When lockdown shutters shows mid-run, big and small alike Broadway And The West End: Back In Business ............................................... 14 How New York and London theatres are reopening Ladies Take The Stage ..................................................................................... 18 How the great divas make Broadway musicals tick

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Celebrating Amazing Sets ............................................................................... 21 Extraordinary ‘houses’ on stage at the Sydney Theatre Company In The Doghouse ............................................................................................ 26 Debora Krizak’s behind-the-scenes look at training animals for the stage Stage Heritage................................................................................................ 30 J.C. Williamson’s 1909 diary recognised by UNESCO and available online

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Ball At The Savoy ............................................................................................ 36 The musical that the Nazis closed lives on Let’s Put On A Show ....................................................................................... 39 Resources for staging a play or musical

Regular Features

52

41

58

Script Excerpt: Playing Beatie Bow

24

Stage On Page

32

Stage On Disc

34

Director’s Diary

40

Choosing A Show

59

What’s On

60

Reviews

65

Musical Spice: We Can’t Rock You

76

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THE FOCUS OF OUR NEXT ISSUE IS 2022 PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY SEASONS

72 2 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

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Editorial Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, Challenging though it is to pull together a theatre magazine right now, with showbiz shut down across so much of Australia and New Zealand, I’m sure we’ve come up with a great read for you.

After a 12 month delay, Queensland Theatre’s adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel Boy Swallows Universe finally hit the stage in August, and Beth Keehn takes us behind the scenes of the World Premiere production.

Broadway and the West End are back, and Peter Pinne has come up with an excellent round-up. Coral Drouyn looks at the great musical theatre divas, while our own diva Debora Krizak talks dog training in our theatres.

On the downside, with theatre in NSW and Victoria hard hit by COVID-19 lockdowns, David Spicer shares stories of the pain our theatre companies are suffering, as productions large and small have been put on ice.

Looking forward to 2022, our annual Let’s Put on a Show supplement is full of helpful ideas, resources and theatrical anecdotes ahead of the revised and updated online publication of the same name which you will be able to read FREE ONLINE from early October at stagewhispers.com.au/stageresources.

With advertising revenue down this edition, courtesy of theatrical lockdowns, the main area we’ve had to cut back in this shorter than usual edition is our reviews section. We’ve included a little sampler, but to read more reviews across the last few months from our lucky states - Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania - check out the reviews section of our website stagewhispers.com.au/reviews.

As lockdowns remain in place across NSW, Victoria and the ACT for the immediate future, we’re planning our next edition for December, when hopefully we’ll have lots of great theatre news to share, as vaccination levels help our Arts industry recover to its new normal.

Many years ago in my previous life as a Drama teacher, I regularly purchased the latest teaching resources from Book Nook at their table at the various state and national conferences I attended. Recently, through Stage Whispers, I became part owner of that same performing arts bookseller - booknook.com.au.

There’s never been a better time to check out Book Nook than now. Until September 26, we’re donating 15% of all sales to the Actors Benevolent Fund of New South Wales, to help our struggling performers. I hope you’ll join me helping out this worthwhile cause during these challenging times.

Yours in Theatre,

Neil Litchfield Editor

CONNECT

A ghost light illuminates the empty stage at Sydney Opera House.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Cover image: Ashlee Lollback and Joe Klocek with the cast of Boy Swallows Universe. Beth Keehn discovers what it took to bring this production to life on page 4.

Photo: David Kelly.

Inset: CLOC’s Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: The Musical.

Photo: Ben Fon. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 3

How do you create a world premiere during a global crisis and ensure that the production is the jewel in the crown of a much-anticipated Brisbane Festival?

To find out, Beth Keehn spoke to the creative team Queensland Theatre enlisted to take best-selling novel Boy Swallows Universe from page to stage.

We will never know how, after the plague had decimated London’s theatres in 1593, Shakespeare pulled his next play together. But we do know that he didn’t rehearse his players remotely by Zoom while quarantining in Stratford. When the Elizabethan theatres did reopen, the playbill advertised The Comedy of Errors, a sweeping exotic tale based on a Roman play by Plautus called The Two Brothers. More than 400 years later, an eagerly awaited Australian production is another tale of two brothers - Eli and August Bell - not set in the exotic Greek city of Ephesus, but in the Brisbane suburbs during the mid-1980s.

Trent Dalton’s gritty dreamlike Boy Swallows Universe is set in an explosion of colour, with a cacophony of characters, moving at a blur in a unique coming-of-age tale. Dalton mines his own dysfunctional upbringing - a mother with a heroin addiction, a step-father who deals drugs, an ex-crook as baby-sitter and best friend, connections to the suburban criminal underworld - and a determination to escape on an epic scale, navigating the violence and trauma with humour. In Eli’s case, it’s words that come to his rescue - he writes letters and stories and aspires to work on the local newspaper. His brother, August, refuses to speak and only writes in the air with a scrawling finger. But at the heart of the darkness is an unconditional love of family.

4 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Cover Story Boy Swallows Universe.

All photos: David Kelly.

Weathering the storm of the global pandemic and the series of onagain, off-again lockdowns has taken a lot of time, talent, tenacity, and sheer will. With a year-long delay, it has demanded dedication, passion and patience to bring the play to life.

When I spoke to the creative team, rather than pressure and stress, the two words I kept hearing were ‘gift’ and ‘generosity’.

The Director is Sam Strong.

Beth Keehn (BK): Sam, what’s it like working on a brand-new theatre piece - is it more stressful or is it liberating?

Sam: I think working on a world premiere is always more exciting because the degree of difficulty is greater. And I think the other key difference here is that Boy Swallows Universe is such a cherished property and story - so many Australians have loved this book - that naturally informs the process, but for us that’s a gift rather than a source of pressure.

As a creative team, we saw our job as channelling the spirit of the novel into the theatre, and the spirit of the novel has found its way into the rehearsal room - so that sort of ultimate optimism in the face of adversity that is the story of the novel has been the story of the making of the show as well - and that’s pretty heartening.

We talk about all the disciplines working collaboratively, but underlying that you’ve got the best (Continued on page 7) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 5

Cover Story

Boy Swallows Universe.

Photo: David Kelly.

Online extras!

Go behind the scenes at rehearsals with the Boy Swallows Universe team. youtu.be/oqYoa3TX158

6 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Cast rehearsals.

Photo: David Kelly.

(Continued from page 5)

creative artists in the country in all of their disciplines. Whether that’s adapting, set and costume design, audio-visual design, lighting design, movement direction, or composition and sound design. The ambition of the story requires an ambition and audacity from each of the artists and in each of their disciplines. And to see all of that come together in a way that ultimately will be quite seamless is pretty wonderful. What’s most exciting is that the story gives all of those great artists the chance to just kind of let rip!

Transferring The Novel To The Stage Tim McGarry This play has been three years in the making for playwright Tim McGarry, who has been working with novelist Trent Dalton and director Sam Strong to adapt the best-selling novel for the stage.

BK: How did you start to shape the script?

Tim: When we did the first read-through it was a six-hour play! Or at least twice as long as it is now (at around 2.5 hours). It’s been a threeyear process of Sam Strong. slowly whittling it down, but when the creative team came on board, so many of the elements that they created on the work meant you don’t need so many words. The music, visuals, costumes and set, and the lights all create sound and atmosphere, and the movement tells story beautifully. And of course, the actors, through emotion and through their talent tell the story - so it’s gone down from around 170 to 95 pages.

BK: And you’ve enjoyed the rehearsal process?

Tim: What’s been extraordinary is watching the collaborative process, and to see it all unfold just blows my mind! We were in a meeting and

Craig Wilkinson (our video designer) Video Design said ‘Have a look at this’ and gave me Craig Wilkinson a little sneak peek. I nearly fell off my In his top five reasons why he chair! If this is like 30 seconds of what wrote Boy Swallows Universe, Trent I’m going to see, I’m going to be in Dalton noted: the theatre with my jaw dropped.

Watching everybody’s element come Australian suburbia is a dark and together in rehearsals has been an brutal place. absolute delight - it’s beyond delight.

Australian suburbia is a beautiful Delight doesn’t even cut it. and magical place.

BK: What do you hope audiences will take away from the stage adaptation?

Tim: I hope that audiences will see the work from a completely new perspective - because theatre is a very different medium to reading a book and there is nothing like sitting in a theatre with people around you experiencing a work for the first time.

From a social justice point of view, I hope that audiences will rediscover an empathy for the family of Eli Bell because one of the story’s big themes is ‘what is good and bad?’ We all have good and bad in us, and this family has experienced life in a very difficult way.

On the stage, that dichotomy is writ large in exploding visuals, changing locations - interiors and exteriors, night and day - through videography by Craig Wilkinson. This allows us to travel across Brisbane to Bich Dang’s Vietnamese restaurant at Darra, to Boggo Road Jail, to the clocktower at Brisbane’s City Hall.

The element of the novel that allows it to work on an imaginative level (and not descend to a harsh underbelly of ‘true crime’) is its magic realism and dream-like atmosphere.

Director Sam Strong insisted that the unique stage craft elements (Continued on page 8) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 7

Cover Story (Continued from page 7)

movement, lighting, sound, music, videography, and multimedia - serve the story rather than detract from it.

He and video designer Craig Wilkinson have used technology to underline the story’s positive themes - as Eli Bell’s flights of imaginative fancy in the novel help him through the tougher times, stage devices and techniques were used to underline this theme of ‘transcending trauma’.

BK: Craig - this is a very visual story - where did you start and where did you finish?

Craig: It starts with lots of research, pulling up images and videos. It’s not just about location, it’s also about how we emotionally feel that space. We don’t necessarily dive completely in and decide to have 40 scenic spaces that we need to be in.

The basis for us is seeing the world through Eli’s eyes - finding his journey, and how far he might dive into a certain moment. Whether it is reality; whether it is a moment of trauma; whether it is the ‘moon pool’ dream - our foundation is always seeing it through Eli’s eyes. Some moments we go ‘full floral’ - in the realisation of a certain place or space.

We don’t go full on throughout the whole thing - it’s about finding light and shade.

I hope the play is an emotional rollercoaster for the audience and we grip them from the beginning right to the end.

Costumes & Set Design Renée Mulder Renée Mulder’s set is a blank concrete canvas that allows the suburban streets, multiple settings and dreamscapes to come to life. Her costumes are a laundry basket of 80’s classic pieces, spun dry with op-shop honesty.

BK: Renée, Trent Dalton has said that your set is “like his head come to life.”

Renée: Wow! It’s very generous of Trent to say that. Personally, I grew up

in Brisbane in the 1980s, so the era is close to home. I don’t have to look far - I just talk to Mum and Dad. And Trent’s world has lent itself to being such an imaginative space - we’re in Eli’s imaginative world. We have over 40 scenes and it travels at lightning speed at times - so it has to serve everything.

BK: Is it true you have searched every op shop in Brisbane?

Renée: Absolutely! We were able to track down key pieces from the 1980s, and we were lucky enough to make a few things from scratch as well.

BK: What do you hope people will take away from this production?

Renée: We come together, and we watch this story - ultimately to be entertained, and also to be moved that’s the biggest, sweeping thing for me and that’s what people will remember.

Music Composition & Sound Design Steve Francis Music and pop culture play a significant role in Boy Swallows Universe - and the 1980s setting has inspired several Spotify playlists!

Composer and sound designer Steve Francis has cleverly chosen pop songs that don’t just evoke the era, but emotionally resonate the times too.

His original music adds the tension and tenderness so crucial to the story.

Steve has worked with director Sam Strong for many years. After last year’s delayed opening due to the lockdown, Steve had continued to stay in touch with Sam, swapping music files to begin to get a sense of the feel of the play. Steve was anticipating “some very bold storytelling with video and sound design” and was looking forward to setting up his studio in a friend’s garage for the six-week rehearsal period. But then the latest wave of the pandemic hit and Steve found himself stuck in Sydney in lockdown.

BK: Steve, how have you been connecting with the team?

Steve: It’s been tricky, but I’ve Zoomed in to all the rehearsals - even when Nerida (Matthaei) is doing a movement class, I’m able to watch all

8 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

that - in fact I joked with Renée recently that I might never go to rehearsal again - because I can watch what’s going on. It has been a gift being able to work on a show. Tim and Sam have allowed Nerida to work on some movement pieces with me which you wouldn’t normally see in the context of a show like this, and I’m pleased with how that is working musically. All of my colleagues are pretty desperate - you know, every day there’s another show cancelled and it’s awful. So, this show has been medicine for me.

This is such a beautiful book - and musically, with the score, I’ve tried not to shy away from sentiment without being sentimental - I think there’s a beauty in that. So, I’ve been able to make some music I’m proud of. In some shows, you don’t have the

opportunity to flex your muscles - for this one Sam encouraged me to go the full Hans Zimmer (Academy award winning film composer) when necessary! Craig goes the ‘full floral’; I go the ‘full Hans Zimmer!’

BK: Steve, there are various music pieces and pop songs in the story how do you choose specific tracks?

And how did your composing progress?

Steve: I’m an instinctive creator - I can’t plan much - I just sort of faff around until I find something that resonates with me for the story. When you pick songs, different people have

The Boy Swallows Universe season in QPAC’s Playhouse began with previews on August 30 and runs throughout Brisbane Festival until October 3. qpac.com.au different associations with them. Sam and I work on things and Tim’s been great too - we’ve used some of the tracks that are mentioned in the script - I think we’ve got a really good collection.

based in instinct, and everybody starts the day with creative play that they then take through the entire day. So, for me it’s about the energy that we’ve created in the space while we are building the show.

Movement Direction Nerida Matthaei Eli Bell and his best mate, Slim Halliday, toy with time - slowing time down or speeding it up to cope with reality, to control and connect in life or a dreamlike state. This aspect of the novel could not exist on the stage without Nerida Matthaei’s work on movement with the performers, adding just the right balletic or animated feel to vital scenes.

BK: Nerida, tell us about the work you’ve been doing.

Nerida: It’s a multidisciplinary piece, so everything is kind of woven together. I’ve been working closely with the team - we’ve embedded a movement language across the entire piece. Then we find ways to tell the story through very specific movement pieces that speak to Eli’s story on a psychological level and the situation that he’s in.

Steve and I have created beautiful movement pieces. For something that’s considered more of a drama (rather than a movement) piece, I’ve been involved more than you normally expect movement to be. We’ve been able to weave our styles together.

BK: What has been a highlight of the process for you?

Nerida: Something I’ve enjoyed the most is the generosity of the performers. We’ve been setting up a training session in the morning where we improvise. We’ve created this language together as a group, and everybody trusts each other - it’s

Lighting Design Ben Hughes Ben Hughes has designed a lighting palette that works in synch with all the other elements on stage to caress the story out of the shadows, but let it linger there when needed.

BK: Have there been any surprise moments?

Ben: Something unexpected is just how incredible some of the movement sequences are. I also do a lot of work with contemporary dance companies, and it’s quite different to see how people move across the genres. Often when you do movement with actors in a drama, it doesn’t work because they are not necessarily trained to do that - but I think that Sam and Nerida have managed to get that movement happening in a way that feels seamless. And it can change some of how I think about lighting the piece.

Because you’re pulling in from the dance world and other genres, I can use some of the techniques that come from that world too.

BK: Ben, is there a key aspect of the work for you?

Ben: For me it’s about the overall show. But the big thing is getting the audience to come on the journey with us. It’s such a big show and potentially has such an array of styles and forms that people might not have seen before. For a play of this scale, with so much going on, part of my role is being functional and making sure we keep the play flowing, keep the speed up - and guide an audience through the journey.

Boy Swallows Universe.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 9

Next To Normal.

Photo: Steve Tanner.

The unstoppable Delta Variant has brought the curtain down on live theatre in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT, with the timing particularly cruel for companies forced to close just as they were getting started. Some producers have written off 2021, whilst others are hopeful of a return to the stage as early as October or November. David Spicer reports.

Having crawled back from the horror of the dark days of theatre in 2020 - when every venue across the country was closed - 2021 was meant to be the year of recovery. Instead, Australia’s two most populous states are again closed for show business.

The wrecking ball of COVID-19 was indiscriminate. The cast of the Melbourne Theatre Company’s new production of Cyrano navigated rehearsal disruptions during July to get the show ready for its premiere in August.

“It was two hours off opening. It was five o’clock when (the Premier) made the call (to shutdown) so the cast had all done their warmups and were getting ready. It was heartbreaking,” said a member of the production team.

In Sydney the Hayes Theatre had just completed one preview of its new production of Merrily We Roll Along when the guillotine came down.

“It was devastating for them,” said the Hayes Theatre’s General Manager Will Harvey. “There were a lot of firsttime professionals in the cast. We had

just completed a dream rehearsal period.”

For theatre companies which receive public funding and philanthropy, the financial blow has been cushioned to some extent by Government grants. Millions of dollars have been thrown at Opera Australia and other companies.

Theatre companies - professional, independent and community - and schools, which have had productions cancelled, are less fortunate.

The Ballarat Lyric Theatre had a cracker of an opening night for its season of We Will Rock You, but the postponement of the rest of its season until 2022 will leave it out of pocket an estimated $100,000.

In Sydney, the Scout Association’s Cumberland Gang Show had its season called off for the second year this time after the production was bumped into a major suburban theatre.

Losses in professional theatre run into the millions.

With the season of Come from Away in Sydney grounded, Producer

10 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Rodney Rigby has endured its fourth major closure of the national tour.

The much-heralded opening of Moulin Rouge the Musical in Melbourne has been put on hold, with the cast entering what were supposed to be the final rehearsals as COVID-19 slowly spread around Melbourne.

The cancellation carnage has been extensive. The national tour of Magic Mike Live threw in its wet towel.

Major productions due to open in 2021 that have been postponed include a sold-out season of The Phantom of the Opera, the world premiere of The Dismissal and the grand re-launch of Sydney’s Theatre Royal with a season of Jagged Little Pill.

The Sydney Theatre Company has cancelled more than 300 performances and counting.

The only appearance of any cast member of Hamilton on the stage has been to shoot a vaccination promotion.

Lighting struck twice for Melbourne theatre producer James Terry.

His production of Next to Normal closed after a single performance in July, as Melbourne entered its fifth lockdown.

“As the cast took their first (and final) bow of the season, the audience sprung quickly to a standing ovation, with the most thunderous applause. It was a moment I’ll never forget. The show was a hit. We were in shock though about its cancellation.”

With the lockdown deemed a success, he announced the season would return in August with limited capacity.

“The season sold out in about two hours. After another week of tech and rehearsals, we had another preview performance. I brought two dozen doughnuts to the theatre in recognition of a doughnut day (zero cases of COVID-19).

“By the time I arrived for preshow, a case was detected and by the following day we entered Lockdown 6, and unknown to us at the time, that show would be our last.

“Next to Normal will be my 4th musical production cancelled within a year. Staging a show during this pandemic is pure luck, and I’ve had absolutely none of it.

“With no investors or government support, the financial burden has hit hard. Unrecoverable costs like theatre hire, sound & lighting, wages etc., saw 18 months of my savings evaporate.

“The production remains in the theatre. It’s been collecting dust for months while we’re still unable to bump out due to lockdown - a full set, lighting rig, props and costumes Merrily We Roll Along.

Photo: Phil Erbacher.

pre-set and ready to go. But it certainly won’t return this year.”

It’s not the only venue in NSW and Victoria with a set gathering dust.

Sydney’s Hayes Theatre won’t dismantle the set for Merrily We Roll Along until it must.

“The beautiful set is still sitting in the theatre. We are funded to stage live theatre. The last thing we would want to do is pack it away and try to find another slot next year,” said Will Harvey.

The Hayes famously only has 111 seats, so it is hard to imagine the venue being able to open with any remotely viable capacity in a hurry.

Under the NSW Government’s “roadmap”, theatres can reopen when 70 percent double dose vaccination is reached. All audience members will have to prove vaccination.

Venues will be subject to the one person per four-square-metre rule, up to 70% capacity.

For the Hayes Theatre, it would mean they could sell just 30 tickets per performance, which Will Harvey said won’t be financially viable.

“We are not confident. The whole way through we are planning for best but don’t want to miss out on any opportunity.”

Graeme Kearns, the General Manager of Foundation Theatres, which manages the Capitol and Lyric theatres in Sydney, is more optimistic.

“The statements made by the Government have given us hope that our theatres will be able to reopen at some point in October,” he said.

“We’re likely to reignite the theatres with capacity restraints initially but it appears we will be able to play to higher capacities once the 80% vaccination mark has been reached. Safety protocols at the theatre such as mask wearing, sanitising and staged entry are with us for the medium term, as well as any other measures the Government considers necessary.”

Confidence in investing in live entertainment is, to put it mildly, fragile. Live Performance Australia has called for the introduction of a government backed insurance scheme for the live music and entertainment sectors. LPA wants a scheme modelled on what has been introduced in the UK, to compensate promoters if they cancel due to COVID-19.

“Without a scheme like this it is going to be a very quiet and sad summer,” LPA’s Chief Executive, Evelyn Richardson said.

James Terry argues that with strict check ins, allocated seating and regular deep cleaning, theatre is one of the safest social activities.

“I’ve often got up to four COVID19 tests a week to ensure I can work between Harry Potter, Disney’s Frozen and Moulin Rouge - which I’m the resident videographer for. With up to 3-4 work bubbles at each site, producers strictly regulate access and movement so that COVID-19 can’t spread freely.

“It’s brilliantly orchestrated and a single case is yet to circulate. If there’s anywhere you should feel most comfortable, it’s at a theatre.”

Cyrano.

Photo: Jeff Busby.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 11

Tears At Show’s Early Finale Kerrie Hartin from The Arcadians Theatre Group in Wollongong reports that even cancelling one performance can be devastating for a community.

When COVID-19 hit our shores in early 2020, our production of Ladies in Black was first postponed to November and then by one year to June 2021. Between our initial casting and reboot, we had to recast seven major roles.

Our June season of 10 performances was almost totally booked out before we opened, then the Delta variant hit and suddenly we were reduced to 50% capacity.

On the final weekend our plans for bump-out and our after-show

celebration and presentation were set.

Everyone brought cakes and other things to share.

I was acting as COVID Marshall at the Saturday matinee performance and was backstage when one of the cast members came out to the wings and told me that “stay at home” orders were to come into effect from 6pm that night.

I was in tears, as were some of the cast, at the cancellation of our final show and party. It was especially hard for our “Miss Jacobs”, who had not

The Ladies In Black set has sat untouched for months.

done a show for 23 years and whose family had booked for that night.

Everyone was very upset but as the stage manager called up the cast, they all stepped up and gave everything they had.

We had a wonderful matinee audience, who responded even more enthusiastically after hearing an announcement that this would be our final show.

Once the audience was ushered out, observing strict coronavirus regulations, we took a cast and crew photo then everyone collected their personal belongings and party food, and we all left, leaving everything just as we might if we were coming back the following weekend.

We have since planned and cancelled two bump-outs and after show celebrations. As we own our little theatre the set is still in place.

Our remaining 2021 shows have been cancelled, but we hope we might stage a return season of Ladies in Black in November, COVID-19 permitting.

The cast and crew of Ladies In Black.

12 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

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Lizzie Bea as Tracy Turnblad and the company of Hairspray The Musical.

Photo: Tristram Kenton.

Broadway Buzz & London Calling

Broadway And The West End: Back In Business!

Peter Pinne reports on the return of theatre to New York and London.

Broadway’s Buzz has been building since the announcement that theatres would reopen to full capacity from September. Dozens of shows from the star-driven vehicles to the Disney and Lloyd Webber behemoths - will be spreading their magic again after more than a year away from the footlights. Across the Atlantic, in the West End, theatre has had a rocky return, as audience members and those working in theatre come to terms with new rules.

London came out of lockdown on July 19, but the road back has not been smooth. Some shows have had to close, then later reopen, when a member of the crew or cast tested positive to COVID-19. The theatrical landscape has changed, with going to

the theatre akin to checking in at the airport for an international flight.

Long queues are the norm as theatregoers line up to be checked in before each performance. The rules in London vary between shows - masks are mandatory at some venues, but just encouraged at others. Patrons can enter only if they are vaccinated or have had a negative test in the previous 48 hours.

One of the first shows that was to have reopened the West End was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella, but after two previews Lloyd Webber postponed opening night, when one member of the cast tested positive to COVID-19. The impresario’s resultant ranting against Prime Minister Boris Johnson caused more than an upset,

14 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

but finally Cinderella did open, receiving some glorious reviews. The New York Times called it ‘fun’, The Telegraph said it was ‘easily one of Lloyd Webber’s most entertaining musicals’, while The Guardian said it had ‘heart and a torrent of barbed wit.’ Every one a ‘money’ notice. The Times said ‘Carrie Hope Fletcher delivers a 21st century take on romance. And it’s simply joyous.’

Gabriela Tylesova’s sets were called ‘eye-popping’ whilst Lloyd Webber’s tunes were described as ‘anthemic’, ‘plangent’ and ‘delights’. Cinderella has a book by Emerald Fennell, music

by Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel, direction by Laurence Connor, and it plays at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Online extras!

Get a first look at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella. Scan or visit youtu.be/zyp26RkmMyU

Sutton Foster repeats her 2011 Broadway revival performance of Reno Sweeney, which earned her a Tony, in Anything Goes. It’s her London debut and critics have been deliriously swept away. Opposite her as Moonface Martin is Robert Lindsay, with Felicity Kendall as Evangeline Harcourt and veteran Gary Wilmot as Elisha Whitney.

Audiences have also rejoiced at the return of Michael Ball, reprising his role of Edna Turnblad in a revival of Hairspray at the London Coliseum.

Ball was the original London Edna in 2007. This time out his husband Wilbur is Les Dennis, whilst daughter Tracy is Lizzie Bea. The production was impacted when a member of the production team tested positive to COVID-19, with 10 performances cancelled just after it opened. It plays until October 31.

Another recent opening which looks like it could have legs is Back to the Future: The Musical. With a book

by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, writers of the original screenplay, a score by Alan Silvestri and Glenn

Ballard, choreography by Chris Bailey, and direction by John Rando, the show stars Olly Dobson as Marty McFly, while Tony winner Roger Bart makes his London debut as Doc Brown. Reviews have been positive, and with such a beloved and iconic movie as source material, the name recognition guarantees an audience.

It plays at the Adelphi.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has reopened at the Apollo Theatre, but it’s only playing until September 26, when it goes into hiatus until 2022. The movie version of the musical is to be released on Amazon Prime September 17.

Andrew Lloyd Webber promised that when lockdown was lifted The Phantom of the Opera would be back bigger and better than ever. Well it’s not. The show, which used to have one of the largest pit orchestras in the West End, has reduced its musicians from 27 to 14, causing condemnation from the musicians unions in London and the U.S. The missing instruments will be replaced by synthesisers. Lloyd Webber has said that the London

Rebecca Trehearn in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella.

Photo: Tristram Kenton.

company will be using the same orchestrations that the show has toured with for years and that audiences won’t hear any difference.

The current Phantom is former Kinky Boots lead Killian Donnelly, with Lucy St Louis as Christine and Rhys Whitfield as Raoul.

Infamous London tourist-lure The Mousetrap reopened with two different casts and a host of UK stars in June and July. Despite closing during the pandemic, it’s still the West End’s longest running play at more than 27,500 performances, while next year will mark 70 years since it opened in 1952. The current cast includes Katie Ray and Adam Lilley as husband and wife Millie and Giles Ralston.

The totally refurbished Theatre Royal, Drury Lane opened late August with Disney’s Frozen. It stars Samantha Barks as Elsa, Stephanie McKeon as Anna and Oliver Ormson as Hans.

(Continued on page 16) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 15

Online extras!

Broadway Buzz & London Calling

Time has stood still for the team behind Back To The Future The Musical. youtu.be/fl3cnREWUhE

Olly Dobson as Marty McFly and Roger Bart as Doc Brown in Back To The Future The Musical.

Photo: Sean Ebsworth Barnes.

(Continued from page 15)

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh have brought back their goldmine Mary Poppins - to its original home at the Prince Edward Theatre. Zizi Strallen stars as the eponymous Mary, with Charlie Stemp as Cockney sweep Bert, Petula Clark as the Birdwoman and Liz Robertson as Miss Smythe/ Miss Andrews.

The blockbusters have all returned - The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Matilda, Wicked, Hamilton and The Woman In Black, whilst recent hits are again in demand - Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, Magic Mike Live, Only Fools and Horses, Prince of Egypt, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, & Juliet and Pretty Woman, although the latter has found a new home at the Savoy Theatre.

Waiting in the wings, as it were, is the new jukebox musical What’s New Pussycat? With the song hits of Tom Jones and a book by Joe DiPietro, it’s based on Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling - with the setting updated to the

1960s. In development for some years, it was to have opened at the Leeds Playhouse in autumn 2020, but the run was cancelled due to COVID19. It’s now to premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from October 8 - November 14. Direction is

by Luke Sheppard, with choreography

by Arlene Phillips. Songs include ‘Green Green Grass of Home’, ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and the title tune.

And with Christmas just around the corner, it’s panto time, with the London Palladium having already opened bookings for Pantoland at the Palladium which opens December 4.

Donny Osmond leads a cast of usual suspects - Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers, Gary Wilmot, Jac Yarrow and Sophie Isaacs.

On Broadway, the rules surrounding theatre performances are more clear-cut than in the West End. Masks are compulsory, as is proof of vaccination. At least those are the rules until November.

When it comes to Broadway, of all the stars to kick-up-their-heels, none has been more anticipated than two-

16 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

time Tony winner Hugh Jackman’s return as Harold Hill, The Music Man. This revival, which begins previews at the Winter Garden Theatre on December 20, with opening night on February 10, 2022, also stars Sutton Foster (back from her London stint in Anything Goes) as Marian Paroo, Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs Shinn and Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn. The 1950s Meredith Willson musical, set in early twentieth-century Iowa, follows conman Harold Hill, who poses as a musician to sell band instruments, but falls in love with Marian, the librarian, who sees through his scam. The creative team includes director Jerry Zaks, choreographer Warren Carlyle, and set and costume designer Santo Loquasto.

The other hotly anticipated revival is Marianne Elliot’s gender-switched version of Stephen Sondheim’s iconic 70s concept musical Company. A huge hit in London, it will resume performances from December 20, starring Katrina Lenk as Bobbie. As she did in London, Patti LuPone

repeats her role of the waspish Joanne.

Multiple Tony nominee Moulin Rouge! The Musical will resume Broadway performances on September 24 at the Al Hirschfield Theatre, but without its Tonynominated leading lady Karen Olivo.

Olivo resigned in protest in July over Broadway’s silence over Scott Rudin, and charges of workplace harassment and abuse claims related to him, even though Rudin is not involved with Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Her role of Satine will be played by Australian star Natalie Mendoza, who renews her association with Baz Luhrmann (having appeared as China Doll in the 2001 movie). Aaron Tveit returns as Christian, with Danny Burstein as Harold Zidler.

To Kill a Mockingbird is returning with its original star Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch. The most successful play in Broadway history, taking $125 million during its run, Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel also features the return of Tony winner Celia Keenan-Bolger as Scout Finch. It returns October 5 at the Shubert Theatre. To celebrate, Daniels filmed an emotional 2-minute clip, written

by Sorkin, about what audiences have been missing - ‘After well over a year of darkness, Broadway is roaring back to life.’ The production plays London’s Gielgud Theatre from March 2022.

Broadway’s longest running musical, 33 years and counting, The Phantom Of The Opera returns October 22 at the Majestic Theatre, with Ben Crawford wearing the mask, Meghan Picerno as his muse, and Australian soprano Maree Johnson as Madame Giry. Johnson, a former Christine in the original Australian production, had a major career in Australia (Cats/Les Mis/West Side Story) before relocating to New York.

Other long-runners - Hamilton, Aladdin, Wicked, Chicago, The Lion King and The Book of Mormon - all return in September, with Mormon celebrating its 10th anniversary, along with newer hits Come From Away and Hadestown. Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations, Jagged Little Pill, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Girl From North Country

follow in October, with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, re-adapted as a single performance show, spreading the Hogwarts magic in November.

Following its filmed release on Netflix in September, Diana: The Musical starts previews at the Longacre Theatre November 2 and opens November 17 for a Broadway run. Likewise, Dear Evan Hansen resumes performances from December 11 at the Music Box Theatre, with Jordan Fisher in the title role and Christiane Noll as Cynthia Murphy. A movie version starring Ben Platt, Julianne Moore and Amy Adams opens in cinemas September 24.

After being postponed several times, the Michael Jackson musical, MJ The Musical, has finally found a home for its world premiere at the Neil Simon Theatre, where it will begin performances December 6.

Myles Frost will make his Broadway debut in the role of Michael Jackson.

Of the upcoming projects, one of the most interesting is Flying over Sunset, with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics

by Michael Korie and book and direction by James Lapine. The musical will begin previews at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater on November 11, ahead of an opening night of December 13. Set in 1950s Hollywood in a beautiful beach house overlooking the Pacific, with Cary Grant, Clare Booth Luce and Aldous

Huxley all on an acid trip together, it stars Carmen Cusack, Harry HaddenPaton and Tony Yazbeck.

Mrs Doubtfire is the latest crossdressing opus. Based on the movie of the same name, Rob McClure wears the dress in this musical written by the Something Rotten team of Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick (Music & Lyrics) and Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell (Book). Previews begin October 21 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Upcoming revivals include Richard Greenberg’s star-athlete-coming-out play Take Me Out, with a cast that includes Patrick J. Adams (Suits), Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy), and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), at the Hayes Theatre March 14, 2022, and Paula Vogel’s 1997 Pulitzer Prize winner about sexual molestation How I Learned to Drive, with original cast members Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse, which previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre from March 29, 2022.

Finally, with the gigantic success of Hamilton there’s to be a revival of another American history musical Sherman Edwards’ 1776, about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Featuring a book by Peter Stone and co-direction by Diane Paulus and Jeffrey L. Page, it opens at the Loeb Drama Center in May 2022.

The Music Man marquee at the Winter Garden Theatre Photo: Gene Reed.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 17

Ladies Take The Stage Musical theatre may be dominated by male writers, but the true stars of the genre are women. Coral Drouyn raises a glass to Broadway’s leading ladies.

Ethel Merman in Hello, Dolly! (1970).

Online extras!

Watch the documentary The Ethel Merman Story. Scan or visit youtu.be/ZgqnVQV-LcY 18 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

In Jerry Herman’s iconic musical Hello, Dolly!, the composer gives a song to the male lead character, Horace Vandergelder, which starts “It Takes a Woman, ...” and then goes on to denigrate the entire gender by listing all the menial tasks that women are fit for, all in the name of love. Of course the woman, in this case Dolly Levi, gets her own back in a splendid 11 o’clock number where she tells him to “Wave your little hand and whisper so long dearie, you ain’t gonna see me anymore.” She’s playing him, of course, but on her terms. She’s a strong woman who doesn’t need a man but would like one.

For younger people this may seem like just another case of treating women as inferior, and shockingly sexist, but stay with me here. When it comes to the stage, the opposite is true. In Musical Theatre women are the stars the leading ladies, the Divas - and composers have known that since Ethel Agnes Zimmerman stopped the show Girl Crazy in 1930 singing “I Got Rhythm”.

Ethel who? It’s almost 100 years since then and the great Ethel Merman, Broadway “Diva of all Divas”, is all but forgotten except by those of us addicted to musicals.

And the most interesting thing for all women in theatre is that she smashed the glass ceiling to smithereens.

Composers, mostly middle-aged Jewish white men, realised that they needed to write strong female Leading Lady roles and give them the best songs in any show if they wanted to capitalise on the BOS (Bums on Seats) factor. So began a half century or so of writing musicals specifically for female stars, and those are some of the most enduring musicals that we have today and some of the biggest smash hits ever seen on Broadway. The format was to place a heroine into an adverse situation and have her rise above it and triumph. It worked then and still works even today. It’s the “spoonful of sugar” that makes the medicine go down.

If you think back to the shows of the last sixty years or so, how many can you name with a man’s name in the title? I can think of only a handful: Billy Elliott, Oliver!, Jekyll and Hyde, Mack and Mabel, Chaplin, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sweeney Todd, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton and Barnum, though there are obviously more I can’t recall. With perhaps one exception, none of those would make it to the top 100 musicals list in anyone’s imagination.

There are, of course, the ensemble musicals which give equal weight to a variety of characters - Sondheim excels

Ethel Merman and Mary Martin reprise their leading roles from Hello, Dolly! during Together On Broadway (1977). at those, but alongside Company you’d have to list Les Mis, South Pacific, Ragtime, Chess, Phantom, A Chorus Line and a host of others. Shows like Chicago, however, were built around the females in the cast, while the male characters were very much second string - it took two great Leading Ladies in Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera to bring audiences to their feet.

But if you look at the composers who adopted the formula, the list of female names is longer than my weekly shopping list, and that’s saying something.

There’s Annie, Annie (Get Your Gun), Babette, Carrie, Charlie Girl, Cinderella, Coco, Hello, Dolly!, Flora the Red Menace, Gigi, Gypsy, Irma La Douce, Kiss But the other question is - does the character make the Me, Kate, Little Mary Sunshine, Mame, Mary Poppins, star, or the star make the character, and hence the show?

Marguerite, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Matilda, No No Is it the name in the title, or the name on the marquee?

Nanette, Roberta, Sally, Sweet Charity... well, you get the Merman was a star from that first night in Girl Crazy picture. and went on to create the lead character in 13 musicals, A female name in the title meant a better chance of many of which were written specifically for her. Stephen the show being at least of interest to a potential Sondheim was commissioned to write the lyrics for Gypsy audience. But why? What is it that people are drawn to? after the producers had signed Ethel Merman. It was a Is it the fact that female characters are more terrifying experience by all accounts, as Merman had emotional, more readily vulnerable? Is it that we want to certain words and pronunciation that she was selfsee glamour when we go to the theatre and it’s conscious about and purposely avoided. The result was sometimes difficult to make male actors appear perhaps the greatest 11 o’clock song of all time, “Rose’s glamorous? - unless you’re doing a production of Priscilla Turn”. It’s the turning point for the character - the Queen of the Desert (a girl’s name again) or The Boy from moment of truth. And just like plays and films have their Oz. Perhaps it’s because the audience for musicals is second act turning point, so to do musicals, except the largely female or else identifies with the glamour of protagonist sings it. The song is so great that it makes all theatre. Most likely it’s a combination of all of those Roses (well, nearly all) seem brilliantly talented, even in the things.

(Continued on page 20)

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 19

Sometimes the song is so intrinsically linked with a performer that it’s hard to even hear anyone else sing it. lowliest of circumstances. If you can sing it (it’s hard) you For me that’s true of Mame’s “If He Walked Into My Life can nail it.

Today”. I hear Angela Lansbury no matter who is singing.

But would that song have been as good if Sondheim But other songs become completely detached once taken and Jule Styne weren’t writing for someone who was from a show. Who would ever have imagined that “You’ll already a legend? And would she have even been a Never Walk Alone” (written by Rodgers and Hammerstein legend if it weren’t for a Gershwin song from 30 years for Carousel at the end of the war, as a beacon of hope) earlier? There’s the conundrum - a bit like “the chicken would end up as the club song for Liverpool Football and the egg” (No! That’s not a musical) and a classic case Club? This iconic song wasn’t even a leading lady song. It of something surpassing the sum of its parts. The truth is was written for the supporting character of Nettie Fowler that Merman wasn’t a star before Girl Crazy and might and reprised at the finale by the entire cast. It’s not strictly not have become a legend without “I Got Rhythm”. But an 11 o’clock showstopper but it’s a tearful moment in supposing someone else had got the part and sung the the show and you’ll cry even more if you ever hear the song? Would the song have the same longevity? Would soccer fans singing it. It’s tragic! the artist become a big star? Boy, there’s a lot to ponder.

Perhaps composers know instinctively that women on While it might be impossible to break down creativity stage, especially the leading ladies in musicals, can take using intellect (the two are so often on opposite sides) we an audience to dizzying heights and so deserve the best can see that the greatest stars in Musical Theatre are all songs along with the accolades. It’s long been females. Everyone’s choice would be different of course, acknowledged that the female of the species is more but these would be on most people’s lists. There’s resilient, and so writers and composers can adopt the idea Merman, Mary Martin, Gwen Verdon, Carol Channing, that the greater the adversity, the more satisfying the Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, Bernadette happy ending is. Perhaps it’s something more esoteric - a Peters, Julie Andrews, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, feeling of connection that can’t, or shouldn’t, be Mandy Patinkin...oops sorry, I got carried away there, but explained. One thing is certain, musical theatre is one of it is a girl’s name. And it is hard to think of another male the few places where females don’t have to play second performer who could compete on that list. Is that the fiddle to their male counterparts. They can fill a thousand fault of the songs they are given (Mandy had Sondheim seat theatre and command respect and admiration simply through the bulk of his career - lucky him) or the charisma through their talent, and isn’t that great for all of us? and appeal on stage?

Long live the Leading Ladies.

(Continued from page 19)

Clockwise from main image: Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Julie Andrews, Carol Channing.

20 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Appropriate.

Photo: Prudence Upton.

Celebrating Amazing Sets The set building department of the Sydney Theatre Company has crafted some extraordinary ‘houses’ over the past year.

To celebrate their stagecraft, David Spicer surveyed their designs.

Appropriate Play by Branden Jacob Jenkins. Ros Packer Theatre.

Synopsis: A sweeping drama set in a decaying house in the American south, haunted by acts of abuse dating back to the slave trade.

What Set Designer Elizabeth Gadsby said about the set: “This really was a house, with its own personality, that I would describe as an aging Dame. It was based on a

decaying Georgian mansion. The French Revival style was generally two storeys.

“It was very deep. I found it hard to fit it into the theatre, as I wanted it to be accurate to the architecture of the time. The set dimensions were 12 x 14 metres. There were four rooms and an attic. The front door was close to the back of the theatre.

“I designed five or six versions of the staircase but settled on an

Online extras!

Watch a trailer of Sydney Theatre Company’s Appropriate. youtu.be/1YvcYIDl9VQ Appropriate.

Photo: Prudence Upton.

elliptical shape. This allowed the cast to break in through the window and onto the stairs. Shattering can be done with sugar glass, but we decided to use Perspex, which was pre -cracked and had to be re-glued each day.

“During the play a rock is thrown through a window, a bookcase collapses and the chandelier falls.

“We added our own details such as wallpaper falling away and lights falling off walls.

“The script talks about the speeding up of time and part of the floor collapsing. There was a water leak stain on our ceiling. We decided to have the upstairs bedroom - which had had bedding, magazines and leaves from the roof thrown in collapse into the lounge room.

“The house was a symbol of the United States, built on foundations that contrast to its ideals. It took five weeks to build. I do not know how long it took to bump out - I could not bear to watch it being pulled apart.”

(Continued on page 22) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 21

(Continued from page 21)

Home I’m Darling Play by Laura Wade. Drama Theatre Sydney Opera House. Designed by Genevieve Blanchett. Directed by Jessica Arthur Synopsis: Judy is a picture-perfect ‘50s housewife, married to Johnny.

They’re totally happy with their pastelhued life. The only problem is it’s not the 1950s, it is now, and their dream world is starting to come apart at the perfectly sewed seams .

What critics said about the set: “On one level of the brick row house was a gleaming kitchen, fitted out with the most modern 1950s appliances leading to the chic lounge room, where martinis were served under the watchful gaze of three ducks on the wall. Upstairs, a bedroom connected by a hall to a bathroom, where every ceramic surface and tile was pink.” Stage Whispers.

Home I’m Darling.

Photo: Prudence Upton.

“The outstanding set and costume design steals the show. From the ‘50s fridge to the disgustingly pink pastel bathroom, Blanchett’s set is both real and somewhat false at the same time.

While the setting for the production immediately evokes an American comedy, Blanchett’s keen eye for detail takes in the very structure of the property, an English Garden City suburban home.” Arts Hub.

Home I’m Darling.

Photo: Prudence Upton.

“The house is all pastel finishes and retro furniture; the costumes are vintage delights. Even the kitchen cupboards come pre-loaded with period props, which appear at awkward moments to send the dream spinning off course. And beyond the thousand tiny details, in the final scene, the ingenious set becomes a key character.” Sydney Morning Herald.

Online extras!

Watch a trailer of Sydney Theatre Company’s Home I’m Darling. youtu.be/sOnkuGwQv_8

22 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Online extras!

Watch a trailer of Sydney Theatre Company’s Playing Beatie Bow. youtu.be/A15GShQHSeg Playing Beatie Bow. Photo: Daniel Boud.

Playing Beatie Bow Adapted from the Ruth Park novel by Kate Mulvany. Wharf Theatres One and Two. Synopsis: Time travelling drama from the hustle and bustle of Sydney’s The Rocks in the present day to the year 1873.

What set designer David Fleischer said about the set: “The play opened the newly renovated Wharf, which has the capacity to have a longer stage. There are two adjacent spaces, previously known as Wharf Theatre 1 and 2, which can now be used as one space by rolling back a soundproof bi-fold door.

“It seemed fitting that a play about time travel and magic lent itself to a space with more depth, as it gave us the capability to create magic with the light and use the negative (dark) space for moments of theatricality and storytelling.

“It was a very minimal set build. It is centred in one single house with a couple of rooms and a confectionery shop. We had a small cast who portrayed a vast array of characters.

“Our props included a table, a few windows and a non-descriptive set of chairs. They were reconfigured in different ways for the kitchen and bedroom. We trained the audience to recognise which room we were in.

The minimal set allowed the house to flow in a way that was needed to create its own set of theatre magic.

“We also needed bold theatrical

moments to match theatrical scope of production - when the cast went out on the ocean a big sail cloth was used to utilise the full capacity of space.

“For the market scene, where Beatie Bow chases Abigail out of the house and goes off to The Rocks, we used an additional set of window frames for those characters to scurry through.”

You can purchase a copy of the script of Playing Beatie Bow at booknook.com.au

Playing Beatie Bow. Photo: Daniel Boud.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 23

Playing Beatie Bow Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Ruth Park’s novel Playing Beatie Bow was chosen to open Sydney’s refurbished Wharf Theatre complex. The action takes place just a few hundred metres from the venue.

SCENE NINE

[JUDAH hands her a bucket.]

JUDAH: Tuck your skirts up, Beatie! I [JUDAH rows the boat through the dunna want ye drippin’ all over me water as ABIGAIL looks around in on the way home. wonder.]

[She does, then runs on.]

‘The Harbour was an inhabited place. Have ye ever cockled before, Abby?

Barges with rust-brown sails, busy ABIGAIL: No. little river ferries with smoke [She tucks her own skirts up. whuffing from tall stacks, fishing JUDAH averts his eyes.] boats and pleasure boats with JUDAH: Sometimes the cockle will finned paddle-wheels, sixty-milers, leave a wee track of itself in the colliers, towering-masted sand. Look for that. Then look for barquetines with sails tied in neat the breathing hole. See? And then parcels - every type of vessel you dig. imaginable.’

[He digs up a cockle and shows it ABIGAIL: The boats! The ships! to her.]

Hundreds...thousands of ships!

Oh...she’s a beauty.

BEATIE: What did you expect? Noah’s bloomin’ ark?

ABIGAIL: What are they carrying?

BEATIE: Coal from Newcastle, cedar from the northern rivers, whale oil from Eden and wool from...sheep.

I’ve been studying Geography as well, can ye tell?

JUDAH: And people. People from all walks of life, coming and going.

Rich and poor. Hope-struck and hope-stricken. The free and the condemned. That’s Sydney Harbour.

ABIGAIL: I never thought it could look like this... No Bridge to look up at.

Luna Park is a just few cottages.

Taronga Zoo is a forest. Kirribilli House is... Kirribilli House.

Bennelong Point is a farm?

JUDAH: Those are oyster middens left by the First People. Now it’s used for stock. Not goin’ so well. I don’t think cows are supposed to graze on molluscs. Here we are! Drop anchor!

[They reach shore. BEATIE leaps out excitedly.]

BEATIE: We got the whole place to ourselves! Them cockles will be shakin’ in their shells!

24 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Later, when we heat it up, this cockle will open wide like a butterfly. But the two shells always hold onto one another, no matter how hot the fire.

Isn’t it a marvel? Have a go.

ABIGAIL: I think I’d rather leave them where they are.

[He smiles. They sit together and take in the view.]

JUDAH: What is it like? This place. In your time.

ABIGAIL: Where do I even start ?...

Walsh Bay there - all that rotten rope and rusted iron and dumped cargo - in my time, those are finger wharves where people come from all over to play and sing and

Script Excerpt dance and tell stories. And over [Beat. She gazes around the sky, the water there, where you’ve got around Sydney.] gum trees and campfires, in my Take my time away and there’s this time we’ve got tigers and wool stores and tea houses and elephants and giraffes with the cobblestones and rat traps. Take best view in Sydney. this time away, and there’s JUDAH: [laughing] No! invaders and convicts and ABIGAIL: But some things haven’t massacres and shackles. Take that changed. When I come from, The time away and there’s oyster Rocks is still a jumble of voices and middens and ancient language languages and sights and smells. and the world’s very first People still flock to The Rocks, they footprints. And right across all that still work there and get drunk time there’s still this glittering there and dance and sing and water. That big sky. Those blue fight and sleep there... But none of mountains. Ancient. Timeless. us live in The Rocks. None of us Eternal. I hope. even live on The Rocks. We all [Beat.] arrived here, somehow, and The Judah...how did it get so late so soon Rocks has taken us in, taken us on, when all I want to do is just sit despite everything. Even when here a bit longer? most of us have no right to it.

[JUDAH stares back at her wideEven while we’re still working out eyed. Then... she kisses him. He who we are. Who we could be. hesitates, then returns it.]

Who we should be. What stories JUDAH: Oh, Abby. It were wrong for we’ll leave echoing across time. me to kiss you in such a way. I’m sorry.

ABIGAIL: I love you.

JUDAH: God’s pardon?

ABIGAIL: And I know about Dovey.

That you feel like you need to marry her because of the accident with the fire. But...maybe that’s why I’m here. Maybe it’s nothing to do with any Prophecy or Gift.

Maybe time has broken all of its laws simply because Judah Bow and Abigail Kirk were always supposed to be together. Maybe.

JUDAH: Maybe.

[JUDAH kisses her again. Deep and passionate, on the sand of a Sydney cove...until...a bucket of water lands all over them. It’s BEATIE.] BEATIE: Ye filthy harlots! I’ll punch yer both yeller and green!

JUDAH: Cocklin’s over. Get in the dory.

BEATIE: I’m not goin’ anywhere wi’ you two dirty bunters! How do I know ye won’t row me straight to hell wi’ yer sinful ways?!

[JUDAH picks BEATIE up and she screams blue murder. They pile into the boat and start rowing.

BEATIE admonishes them all the way.]

STC’s Playing Beatie Bow. Photo: Daniel Boud.

Newly published by Currency Press, you can purchase the script of Playing Beatie Bow at booknook.com.au stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 25

Lucy Durack.

Behind The Scenes With Debora Krizak

26 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

‘Never work with children or animals’ goes the saying. A desperate Debora Krizak, locked down in a COVID-19 hotspot, seeks help from a professional doggie stage trainer Peta Clarke and music theatre star Lucy Durack.

Please know, today was a good day, even though I don’t know what day it is anymore. It doesn’t matter apparently. Not until we reach 80%.

It’s almost 11am and a flutter of excitement comes over me as I switch on the telly in anticipation of the daily press conference. For a split second, it feels like opening night nerves but then my mind catches up and I realise I’m still in my PJ’s, slurping unapologetically on my cup of instant coffee.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about my ‘Behind the Scenes’ feature this month but it seems somewhat futile to spotlight the fabulous work being done by my peers when, let’s face it - the lights are off and everybody’s home. So, I’m coming to you live from my locked down LGA in Sydney where Gladys has finally closed Bunnings and every parent in lockdown grapples with the reality that home schooling is like being trapped in an episode of Survivor.

It’s time for P.E. and the twins have been instructed to do something “physical”. They both look pale and unengaged so when they plead with me to do the latest Gladys workout posted on Tik Tok, who am I to say no? I can’t sugar coat this whole fiasco any longer. If they want to attempt a burpee every time Gladys repeats herself, they can knock themselves out. While they’re at it, they can knock me out too and wake me up when we’re at 70% - just so I

have enough time to primp and preen myself before we reach that magic 80% and are released back into the wild.

In the meantime, I’ve been lured into the online world of puppy scams.

The kids thought we should utilise our time in lockdown to get a puppy.

Feeling sorry for them, I start browsing the net. This proves to be a welcome distraction from arguments with anti-vaxxers on Facebook who claim that Ivermectin is the cure for coronavirus. Lockdown brings out the worst in us all - especially the scammers - but like all the antivaxxers, they underestimate the power of proven research. I digress...

We welcome our new puppy “LuLu” into home detention, and I suddenly remember what it is like to be locked up with a destructive toddler. Nothing is off limits and I have unwittingly become the sole carer of a weeing, pooing, chewing ball of brown chocolate fluff. Luckily, I have nothing else to do - thanks Gladys. The cuteness factor lasted an entire day for the kids until LuLu decided that bedspreads and pillows were the ideal place to do a number two.

It was time for some serious puppy training. But where do I start? Time to call in the big guns, which leads me to my next artist in spotlight - animal trainer Peta Clarke from “We Do Animals”.

Peta has been training animals in film, TV and theatre for years. Some of her credits include professional stage productions of Legally Blonde, Annie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and feature films such as The Invisible Man, Top End Wedding and the soon to be released My Life Is Murder. She knows that picking up poo is par for the course. Likening her profession to “running away and joining the circus”, Peta initially studied for a degree in child psychology, but it was animal behaviour that piqued her interest. I asked her what traits an animal trainer needed in the entertainment industry.

“You need to have good problemsolving skills as well as the ability and patience to observe animal behaviour.

You also need to have the backbone to say no when a job is not in the best interest of the animal. You are the animal’s voice and need to ask all the questions for them.”

I ask Peta what she thinks about the saying ‘never work with children or animals’. Her response - “You’ve never worked with us!”

Her passion and love for animals clearly outweighs the challenges. A workday for Peta can be anything from working with writers, to producers and directors, actors and animal owners, as well as making sure her animals are trained to the script.

(Continued on page 28) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 27

Behind The Scenes With Debora Krizak

(Continued from page 27)

“At script development stage, we offer insights into the natural behavioural repertoire of the species in question, creating believable animal action on screen. We liken ourselves to puppeteers and love creating behaviours and actions that evoke an emotional response from our audience, which helps to establish the animals as strong characters within each story.”

Perhaps the most important training aspect is to instil a confidence in the animal to feel comfortable and settled in their work setting. The emotional and physical well-being of Peta’s animals is paramount.

“We are consistently thinking about real world exposure. A film or theatre set can be a scary and unusual place for an animal. It’s not for

“Like actors, we have to audition our animals. It’s all about confidence and bounce back. They need to be able to take anything the ‘make believe’ world can throw at them.”

This is beginning to resonate with me. All actors are experts at bouncing back and we’ve all worked with overconfident types. Perhaps there is a career in this for my LuLu after all. She seems to bounce back effortlessly when I pull her off my brand new, white duvet.

Whilst some animals may impress with their ‘audition’ skills, performing the task consistently, night after night, requires specialised attention to detail. Some of that training includes scent work, where an animal relies on their sense of smell in locating objects and is rewarded with a treat at the other end. On movie sets, where a trainer may not be able to reward the animal immediately, a clicker is used and the animal instantly recognises that the treat is coming. Stick training is also used for specific sightlines on set, but the main tool used by most animal trainers is repetition.

Peta was the animal trainer responsible for the roles of Bruiser and Rufus in the 2013 musical Legally Blonde, starring Lucy Durack as Elle Debora Krizak and LuLu. Woods. I asked Peta what it is like for animals to work with actors’ eight everyone’s pet. Every day, every show-a-week schedule. interaction, every time they are “The dogs know the difference exposed to something in their between a rehearsal and an actual environment - we are shaping their show. It’s as obvious to them as it is response to it.” to us. We make sure all the training So, how is an animal selected for a work gets done before and during career in the entertainment industry? rehearsals so that we can maintain Surely, they’re not subjected to hours consistency on stage. Things can fall of unpaid auditions and self-tapes apart very easily. The repetition of the from the doghouse? I recently same thing can be a massive help, but discovered that LuLu’s father is, in if things do go wrong, or something fact, a performing toy poodle. Clearly changes, it can be a huge hindrance. the universe thought we needed One of the funniest things that another locked down performer in happened was when my little our house. When it comes to Chihuahua, who played Bruiser in choosing the right animal for the job, Legally Blonde, had a cameo at the Peta considers the overly confident end of a scene and had to walk on set and enthusiastic character traits and cock his leg on a tin can and walk perfect opportunities to cast the right out. He was listed in the credits as the animal. Sometimes the best trained Pissing Dog.” dog isn’t the best performer because As actors, it can be both a they are ‘over trained’. challenging and rewarding experience to work alongside animals on stage.

28 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

But how do they develop a rapport with their human co-stars while learning to navigate uncharted territory? I spoke with Elle Woods herself, Lucy Durack, about how this impacted her show preparation and rehearsals.

“I felt very lucky. Each morning I would have at least an hour to get to know and play with all the dogs learning how they worked while playing and rehearsing. Only those of us who worked with the dogs on stage were allowed to play with them, so it felt like a great privilege!”

How do the cast on stage adapt their performance when things go awry? I remember seeing a preview performance of The Wizard of Oz when Toto proceeded to lick the lead actress for an entire song. It made for wonderful viewing but I’m sure the sentiment of the song was completely lost on the audience.

Lucy recalls the time when one of the understudy dogs had to have knee surgery and a new little dog was brought in to start the bonding process with the actors. Lucy said that one of the perks was being able to take the dog home for the night in order to fast-track the training. Being familiar and comfortable with a lead actor is a necessity when it comes to delivering scenes together. But just like human actors, the dogs all bring their own personalities to the role and respond to varying types of positive reinforcement.

“The Chihuahuas would always perform for food and the bulldogs would perform for hugs! They all had such interesting and different personalities. Quinn was lovely and a bit more reserved, Audrey was a bit of a princess and Sparrow was legitimately a star - reincarnated from Hollywood!” says Lucy.

Star power aside, having witnessed the antics of my very own puppy over the course of a week, I think animal trainers themselves deserve a Helpmann. Whether it’s treats or hugs that motivate these cute and complex creatures, I’m still a long way off getting this ‘Ugg boot obsessed’ puppy of mine to “Pissing Dog” credit status.

It’s A Dog’s Life Most memorable job description?

Peta Clarke: Rat Trainer. I trained 100 rats for Mel Gibson’s movie Hacksaw Ridge!

Stage or Film?

Peta Clarke: Theatre is one of my favourite places to work. I love the sense of family and camaraderie amongst the cast. The actors often come into the dressing room to spend time with the dogs every day. There’s a consistency with theatre that the dogs respond to well.”

Biggest “fur” pas Peta Clarke: Not warming up one of the Chihuahua’s voices before a show and he couldn’t bark on cue!

Lucy Durack as Elle Woods with Bruiser in Legally Blonde (2012).

Photo: Eva Rinaldi.

Online extras!

Meet Lucy Durack and Bruiser at the launch of Legally Blonde. Scan or visit youtu.be/dVVR02xa7Wg stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 29

Theatre Treasure

With a reputation for producing spectacular productions, J.C. Williamson also imported international stars, such as Sarah A diary belonging to Australia’s most influential theatre entrepreneur Bernhardt in 1891 - with her has been recognised by a United Nations organisation for its heritage entourage of 40 performers and elaborate sets, along with nurturing significance. Susan Mills from the S,B&W Foundation reports. local talent such as Nellie Stewart.

J.C. Williamson also managed In February, the 1909 diary of J.C. his newly married wife and performer numerous theatres around the Williamson was admitted to the Maggie Moore. country, such as the Theatre Royal UNESCO Australian Memory of the The Williamsons took Struck Oil on (Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide), World Register alongside past tour to Australia, opening at the the Princess Theatre (Melbourne), Her treasures such as Captain Cook’s Theatre Royal in Melbourne in 1874. Majesty’s Theatre (Sydney, Melbourne Endeavour journal and Indigenous art. It was so popular that the planned 12 and Brisbane), and His Majesty’s The diary of theatrical -week tour extended out to 15 Theatre (Perth). entrepreneur J.C. Williamson is part of months!

In 1899, a divorced J.C. ‘The J.C. Williamson Distributed In 1879, the couple returned to Williamson married dancer Mary Weir, Collection’, a collaborative submission Australia with Struck Oil at and in 1907 the family moved to

by Performing Arts Heritage Network Melbourne’s Theatre Royal.

France and stepped away from the (PAHN) members, a dispersed Williamson had also obtained the business. Managers were hired to run collection held by Seaborn, Broughton rights to H.M.S. Pinafore in Australia. the company. In 1910 the company & Walford Foundation and several changed name one last time to simply It was a huge success. And so, they libraries and collections around J.C. Williamson Limited. He died in decided to stay.

Australia.

In 1880, J.C. Williamson formed 1913, and almost every theatre in Australia stood dark in tribute. The the (Royal) Comic Opera Company, The significance Of J.C. Williamson and proceeded to gain the exclusive company continued to operate J.C. Williamson (1845-1913) was rights for more Gilbert and Sullivan successfully in Australia until 1976. an American comedic actor who came operas. This was the beginning of J.C. to Australia in the 1870s and swiftly Williamson’s domination as the major The 1909 J.C. Williamson Diary climbed to great heights as Australia’s entrepreneur of the Australian theatre The diary recounts J.C. most influential theatre manager and scene. Forming various partnerships Williamson’s around-the-world travels entrepreneur. over the next three decades or so, throughout the United Kingdom, James Cassius Williamson was from ‘The Triumvirate’ partnership of Europe and North America in 1909, born in 1845 in Pennsylvania, in the 1882 with Arthur Garner and George including viewing productions for his United States. He started acting in Musgrove, by the 1890s the J.C. theatre business in Australia. amateur theatre at a young age. In The first entry on Tuesday the 19th Williamson company became known 1873, Williamson opened and starred as the ‘The Firm’. of June, 1909, reads: “Arrived Southampton 5am. Ship sailed in comedic melodrama Struck Oil with

J.C. Williamson, c.1913 Courtesy: State Library of Victoria.

30 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

sbwfoundation.com/sbwfoundation-archives

Stage Heritage

J.C. Williamson and Maggie Moore, circa 1870s.

Courtesy: State Library of Victoria.

immediately after landing passengers.

Malone met us. Discussed many business matters on the way to London. Arrived at the Savoy, had a big budget of mail to deal with, which quite spoilt balance of day.

Evening went to the Lyric Theatre to see The Fires of Fate by Conan Doyle.

I liked the performance but consider piece too talky. 3rd Act, very strong. I doubt whether it would be any big success for Australia. Home bed.”

The diary is the only known surviving document written in J.C. Williamson’s hand, and includes theatre programmes for performances he attended.

Access to the original diary at the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation archives is restricted due to its fragile condition. However, a transcription of the diary with extensive annotations and a fully researched introduction has been completed by John Senczuk, who consulted earlier preliminary work completed by archivist Dr Peter Orlovich, historian Gabby Talmadge and NIDA Researcher Dr Margaret Leask. John Senczuk’s version, along with each digitised page of diary, is easily accessible on the Foundation’s website, for all to enjoy this piece of Australia’s theatre history.

J.C. Williamson’s diary entry with programmes, July 14, 1909.

Courtesy: S,B&W Foundation.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 31

Stage on Page

By Peter Pinne

Brass Diva - The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman by Caryl Flinn (University of California Press $88.40) A friend gave me a copy of this book and said it was the best biography he had ever read. Well, whether it’s the best is debatable, but it’s one of the most comprehensive I’ve ever read, crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ in Merman’s long and remarkable career. The author, Caryl Flinn, not only interviewed stars who had worked with Merman, but her family and friends, and for the first time did exhaustive research on her fifty-plus scrapbooks, housed in the Museum of the City of New York.

Collected and maintained by her father for the bulk of her career, these scrapbooks offer an unusually detailed history of the star’s appearances, awards, and film and stage performances.

Of course we all know that Merman became an overnight sensation when she sang ‘I Got Rhythm’ in the Gershwin Brothers’ Girl Crazy in 1930, that she starred in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun in 1946, and that she was the original Mama Rose in Gypsy in 1959.

We also know that she had a foul mouth, a fondness for dirty jokes, and her fourth marriage to Ernest Borgnine lasted 38 days.

What we didn’t know is that Merman suffered spousal abuse from her third husband Bob Six, and that at one time he pulled a gun on her.

Merman was a workaholic. In the early days she would shoot two-reeler shorts during the day, appear on stage at night, and after the show follow with a performance at a supper show. It was a brutal schedule but her stamina is what saw her become the icon she was.

Merman starred in 13 musicals on Broadway, and every one of them was a hit. Even Happy Hunting, which she claimed had an inferior score, provided her with two hit songs. Cole Porter wrote five shows for her Anything Goes, Red Hot & Blue, Dubarry Was a Lady, Panama Hattie and Something for the Boys, Irving Berlin two - Annie Get Your Gun and Call Me Madam, and although she missed out on doing a Rodgers and Hammerstein vehicle, they were her producers on Annie Get Your Gun. The songs she introduced that became hits are like a Broadway

32 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

This title is available in paperback for $57.95 from Wiley. bit.ly/3z5zyJM classics songbook. She was famous for being able to belt her voice to the back row of the theatre, and even today singers are taught how to project a ‘Merman’ belt. She never used a microphone when she appeared on stage, even though her shows moved into the era when everything was miked.

Merman made frequent forays to Hollywood, but they had trouble with her image and mainly cast her as a tough-talking broad with a heart of

some interesting stuff in the detail. It comes with B&W photos, a discography, filmography and a list of stage performances.

Get your copy of this title for just $39.95 from Book Nook. bit.ly/3zT17Hu gold. She only starred on film in two of her stage successes, Anything Goes in 1936 and Call Me Madam in 1953, but she did reprise two of her stage roles on television in 1954 - Anything Goes with Frank Sinatra and Panama Hattie with her Annie Get Your Gun co-star Ray Middleton.

Merman was unlucky when it came to choosing life partners. She was married four times. The second marriage, to Bob Levitt, produced two children, little Ethel and Bob Levitt Jnr. During the fifties in a quickie ‘Mexicali’ marriage she wed Continental Airways CEO Robert Six. They moved to Denver to a 28-room house. It was a fractured relationship.

Six was unfaithful and, according to Merman, she told her son (then only a boy), that Six ‘was boffing the nurse’, assuming her son would understand what she meant, but he didn’t. Her fourth trip to the altar was with Ernest Borgnine, which turned up in her second autobiography as a blank page headed ‘My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine’.

Apart from giving us the warts and all of Merman, Flinn also discusses her afterlife as a ‘camp’ icon, Rita McKenzie’s one-man tribute show Ethel Merman’s Broadway, and Klea Blackhurst’s Everything the Traffic Will Allow. It’s overwritten, but there’s

Creating Australian Television Drama - A Screenwriting History by Susan Lever (Australian Scholarly $39.95) Susan Lever’s book on television drama and its writers is a welcome addition to our bookshelves. The first in its field, it fills an important gap in the Australian cultural landscape.

Here we get to learn about the nuts and bolts of the industry from seasoned practitioners who were around at the beginning, such as Tony Morphett, Peter Yeldham, Ian Jones and Eleanor Witcombe, to those who are still continuing the tradition today, including Bevan Lee, Sue Smith and Andrew Knight.

In the sixties it was the ABC which flew the Australian drama flag with period dramas such as Rex Rienits’ Stormy Petrel (1960) and The Hungry Ones (1963), to the 15-minute episode Blue Hills knock-off, Bellbird, created by Barbara Vernon, and directed (1st ep) by Jim Davern [Davern went on to produce A Country Practice (1981), a virtual spin-off of Bellbird which ran for a phenomenal 12 years on the Seven Network].

Then the Crawford factory opened with Phil Freedman and former policeman Eric Miller creating Homicide (1964), which was followed

by Ian Jones’ Hunter (1967), Division 4 (1969) and Matlock Police (1971).

The names of Sonia Borg, Terry Stapleton, Cliff Green and Tom Hegarty were consistently in the Crawford credit line-up.

Then along came quiz show master Reg Grundy, who convinced soap guru Reg Watson to return to Australia from England to create serials for local TV and he came up with a succession of hits - The Young Doctors (1976), Prisoner (1979), Sons and Daughters (1981), and the runaway international trailblazer (still screening today) Neighbours (1985).

Bevan Lee, Sue Smith and John Alsop had their start at Grundys and went on to create their own series - Lee

with All Saints (1998), and Smith and Alsop with Brides of Christ (1991) and The Leaving of Liverpool (1992). One of the stalwarts of the industry, with Packed to the Rafters, Always Greener and A Place to Call Home under his belt, Lee thinks the role of Watson has not been sufficiently recognised in Australia - largely because of a snobbery about writing for serial drama.

The Kennedy Miller production company had a team of writers led by Terry Hayes in the eighties and had huge successes with the mini-series format in The Dismissal (1983), Bodyline (1984), The Cowra Breakout (1985) and Vietnam (1988), whilst Roger Simpson and Roger Le Mesurier, both writers from the Crawford stable, did likewise with Sword of Honour (1986), Nancy Wake (1987) and Darlings of the Gods (1989).

Lever also identifies the first Australian situation comedy as Crawfords’ Take That (1957), a 15minute TV version of the popular radio series Yes What (1936). Ralph Petersen’s My Name’s McGooley, What’s Yours (1967) followed, with the ABC producing Grahame Bond’s Aunty Jack (1972) and Geoffrey Atherdon’s Mother and Son (1985).

The origin and success of Tony Sattler and Gary Reilly’s Kingswood Country is discussed at length, as is Reilly and John Flangan’s Hey Dad..!

(1987), which clocked up nearly 300 episodes.

Lever believes Ian Jones and his wife Bronwyn Binns led the way with historical fiction with Against the Wind (1978), about Irish convicts transported to Australia, and The Last Outlaw (1980), a re-telling of the Ned Kelly story, which Jones was an authority on, having been an advisor on the Mick Jagger Ned Kelly (1970) movie.

Lever has done an incredible job of telling the story of scripted television drama from the 1950s until the present. Considering the vast canvas, she should be congratulated for writing such a comprehensive and engaging tome. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 33

Stage On Disc

Sweet Charity (Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields) (Stage Door STAGE9085)

By Peter Pinne Stage Door have been digging into the vaults again and have come up with this Saga studio cast recording of Sweet Charity which was released in 1967 when the show was first produced in London.

In The Heights (Lin-Manuel Miranda) (Atlantic) There’s a couple of Australian connections. Mary The In the Heights soundtrack is a joyous mix of Latin beats, salsa, merengue and hip-hop. Hamilton creator Lin- Preston, who was Lola in the original Australian musical Lola Montez (1959), sings the title role of Charity, whilst Manuel Miranda’s 2008 Broadway hit, about an enclave Philip Street alumni, and Tony in the original Australian of undocumented Dominican Republicans in the New York borough, has been given a big-screen makeover by cast of The Boy Friend, John Parker sings the film star/ lothario role of Vittorio. Preston does well in most of the Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) that simply throbs with a numbers, except the top register in the pop-anthem love of Latin culture. You can almost smell the café con ‘Where Am I Going’, whilst Parker, with a studied accent leche. is cod-suave on ‘Too Many Tomorrows’.

The first thing that fans of the Broadway cast album Accompaniment is by the Westminster Sinfonia and will notice is that the order of the songs has been altered, Theatre Chorus, directed by Frank Raymond, and other which actually improves the story. Plus, there are several cast members include Craig Hunter, Canna Kendall and lyric changes - the multiple references to Donald Trump June Hunt. This is the only recorded are gone, and so is the line ‘Yo, I got more hoes than a phonebook in Tokyo’ from ‘96,000’. The songs ‘Sunrise’, version to feature an additional cut verse in ‘Hundreds of Stories’ and ‘Atencion’ have been cut, but Charity’s song ‘You Should there’s a new song over the end credits, ‘Home All See Yourself’ and it also Summer’, which is an asset to the score. includes an extended The album blisters with the ensemble numbers and reaches its apex with ‘Carnaval del Barrio’, performed, like version of the ‘Rich Man’s Frug’, recorded during the the opening ‘In the Heights’ and ‘96,000’, in the street. original Saga session but not Anthony Ramos, as the bodega owner Usnavi, is a released on the original LP. delight, with crisp vocals whether rapping or singing,  whilst Melissa Barrera’s Vanessa could hold her own in any Broadway company. Leslie Grace displays a fantastic voice as Nina (she’s just been signed by Sony Latin), and Online extras! her duets with Corey Hawkins (Benny), ‘When You’re Buy the digitally remastered 1967 cast Home’ and ‘When the Sun Goes Down’, are two of the recording of Sweet Charity today. best on the album. Olga Mereditz as Abuela Claudia is the bit.ly/2Wv0GEv only holdover from the original Broadway cast, and she walks away with the movie and the soundtrack with her passion and heart on ‘Paciencia y Fe’. Miranda makes a Show Time - Volume Two (Stage Door STAGE9084) cameo appearance as the ‘flavored ice’ man singing If Sweet Charity was one of Dorothy Fields’ last ‘Piragua’, whilst Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent) brings sizzle Broadway assignments, then to Daniela, the hair-salon Blackbirds of 1928 was one mistress, who leads the of her first. It features on dance on ‘Carnaval del this Show Time - Volume Barrio’.

Two compiled from RCA Already Number 1 on the Victor’s EP series released in Billboard soundtracks chart, 1953, along with Arthur there’s no doubt this movie Schwartz and Howard has a lot of admirers, and Dietz’s The Band Wagon the album’s vibe catches all (1931), Eubie Blake and of its Latin energy.  Noble Sisle’s Shuffle Along

Online extras!

Stream the motion picture soundtrack of In The Heights on Spotify. spoti.fi/3jpGtZZ

Online extras!

Pick up the second volume of the Show Time series from Stage Door Records. bit.ly/2WxiSxg

Rating  Only for the enthusiast  Borderline  Worth buying  Must have  Kill for it 34 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

(1921), and two Victor Herbert titles, Mademoiselle Modiste (1905) and Naughty Marietta (1910). Modern audiences will know Naughty Marietta’s ‘I’m Falling in Love with Someone’ and ‘Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life’, as they’ve been added to the score and sent-up in the recent version of Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002). ‘I Can’t Give You Anything But Love’ from Blackbirds and ‘Dancing in the Dark’ from The Band Wagon have been in the American Classics songbook for years, but the rest are mainly vintage operetta, a far cry from what we hear on Broadway today, but very well sung. Artists include the wonderful soprano Doretta Morrow (The King & I/Kismet), athletic singer-dancer Harold Lang (Pal Joey/Kiss Me, Kate) and the original Daisy Mae, Edith Adams (Li’l Abner).  Valmouth (Sandy Wilson) (Jay Records CDJAY 2 1461) Jay continues its DigiMIX versions of essential British musicals with a reissue of Sandy Wilson’s outrageously ribald and camp Valmouth (1959). Based on a novel by Ronald Firbank, the characters include a masseuse - Mrs Yaj (Cleo Laine/Bertice Reading), an aging nymphomaniac - Lady Parvula de Panzoust (Fenella Fielding), a notorious prelate -Cardinal Pirelli (Geoffrey Dunn/ Robert Helpmann), and Sister Ecclesia (Marcia Ashton), the dancing nun who is under a vow of silence.

A cult musical at the time, it shocked many but is fondly remembered. It was written for Reading, who played the tryout season at Hammersmith but was unable to transfer with the show to the West End, so she was replaced by Laine.

It was Laine’s first big success. She recorded the original cast recording which is here given the DigiMIX treatment with the dreaded organ (which Wilson hated) being tamed and integrated more with the rest of the orchestra.

Jay has coupled the original cast recording with the Chichester revival cast, which included Reading, Fielding,

Stage Whispers Directory premium listing: $20 Get noticed on the Stage Whispers website with a premium listing at a great price stagewhispers.com.au/directory-central

Ashton and Doris Hare (Grannie Took) reprising their original roles. That album also includes the song ‘Where Then Can Make Him Come So Slow’, not on the original cast disc.

The revival cast is good, but the original is better, and Laine’s vocals sound much warmer than Reading’s. ‘My Big Best Shoes’ is still the standout number, and Fielding’s ‘Just Once More’ the wittiest. 

Online extras!

Grab the newly mixed double CD of Valmouth from Jay Records. bit.ly/3ykZ4dT Ball At The Savoy (Paul Abraham/Hersh Glagov/Gerald Frantzen) (Naxos 8.660503004) Ball at the Savoy was the last major cultural event of Weimar Germany, opening to great acclaim in 1932 Berlin at Grosses Schauspielhaus. Its run was cut short by the Nazis, as a result of its composer Paul Abraham’s and several of the leads’ Jewish heritage.

Naxos Records and the Chicago based Folks Operetta have now produced the world premiere complete recording of the work in English.

The plot is not unlike Die Fledermaus, wherein a wife goes to a ball at the Savoy Hotel in Nice in disguise to spy on her husband who she believes is cheating on her. The difference is that she seeks revenge by having a sexual liaison of her own.

The recording springs from a 2014 production by Chicago Folk Operetta. The principal couple, Aristide, the Marquis de Faublas, and his wife Madeleine are played by real-life couple Gerald Frantzen and Alison Kelly. Both do well on the show’s hit ‘Toujours L’amour’, but Cynthia Fortune Gruel shines as songwriter Daisy Darlington, especially in ‘Kangaroo’, ‘Mister Brown and Lady Claire’ and ‘Out on the Town’. As the much-married Mustafa Bey, Ryan Trent Oldham lacks the vocal strength to do the role justice.

The 18-piece orchestra, under Anthony Barrese, handle Abraham’s infectious jazz-age score with brio. 

Online extras!

Get your copy of Bell At The Savoy from Amazon. Scan the QR code or visit amzn.to/3mVKqb1 stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 35

Ball At The Savoy To mark its first recording in English, Peter Pinne explores how a sparkling jazz operetta, chased out of Germany by the Nazis, found an audience in Australia.

In 1930, Hungarian/Jewish composer Paul Abraham enjoyed a huge success in Berlin with his operetta Viktoria and her Hussar, which had only been moderately received in his hometown, Budapest.

The German public had never heard anything like it before, and it eventually ended up playing in over 300 theatres all over Europe.

Classically trained, Abrahams had invented the jazz-operetta. The normal theatre orchestra had been augmented by a jazz band, including steel guitar, piano, drum set, guitar and banjo. Abraham moved to Berlin and within months was a wealthy man. He bought a Roccoco-style villa in Berlin, where he hosted legendary parties, attended by the cream of Berlin society. His next operetta, Die Blume von Hawaii (1931), was an even bigger success. But his days in Berlin were numbered. The Nazi storm clouds were gathering.

His next operetta, Ball im Savoy (Ball at the Savoy) (1932), was just as successful. Produced by Berlin’s most important theatrical producers, the Rotter Brothers (Alfred & Fritz), the show played Max Reinhardt’s 3,300 seat Grosses Schauspielhaus. The premiere, on December 23, 1932, was for some the last major cultural event of Weimar Germany.

The plot, similar to Die Fledermaus, sees Madeleine going to a ball at the Savoy Hotel, Nice, in disguise to spy on her husband (Aristide) who she suspects of philandering. The difference to Die Fledermaus is that she plans on seeking revenge by having an affair with a young man.

The opening night was a smashing success, and the performance went on until way after midnight. The show’s star was the young Hungarian soprano Gitta Alpar

(Madeleine), with the comic duo Rosy Barsony (Daisy) and Oscar Denes (Mustapha), both Hungarians, audience favourites. The show’s opening triumph would be short-lived as the leads were Jewish. Thus, Ball at the Savoy was written, produced and performed by Jews, a fact that was not lost on the Nazis.

The Rotter brothers threw a lavish party after the premiere, but they never saw a penny of ticket sales.

Their possessions were seized by one of their creditors (an avowed Nazi) and the brothers fled to Lichtenstein where they were kidnapped by local Nazis. Alfred and his wife fell to their death while trying to escape. Fritz was injured but managed to get away.

Ball at the Savoy continued its run in Berlin but under dire circumstances. Audiences were harassed by the Nazis, and performances were constantly interrupted. The show closed on April 2, 1933. One month after the premiere, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Abraham, along with the stars of the show, had

to leave Germany in haste. Abraham was distraught, saying, ‘I wanted to die in this city.’ When told he could come back later, he said, ‘But why do I have to go? Just because I’m circumcised?’

Abraham left several unpublished manuscripts in a safe at his villa; his butler, to whom he had given the key, allegedly sold these manuscripts to non-Jewish composers who published them under their own names and were credited with hit songs.

Ball at the Savoy later opened in London and Budapest with Barsony and Denes, and in Vienna with Barsony. Oscar Hammerstein II adapted the book and lyrics into English. Its London home was the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where it opened September 8, 1933, playing 148 performances.

J.C. Williamson’s imported Oscar Denes to lead a company in Australia, where it opened at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, on July 6, 1935, and played one month before moving to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, where it again played a month. Madelaine was played by Mabel Gibson in Sydney and Marie Bremmer in Melbourne. Nellie Barnes was Daisy, and Sidney Burchell was Aristide.

Although the show had disappointing runs in its English version, it has remained a firm favorite in Europe. There have been

Australian song-and-dance stars Fred Conyngham and Molly Fisher in the British movie Ball At The Savoy (1936) [A.K.A. With Pleasure, Madame].

36 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

The climax of act 2 in Ball At The Savoy at Drury Lane, 1933.

Photo: Thomas Krebs Archive.

three film versions, one in German, made in Hungary, Ball im Savoy (1935), an English version, Ball at the Savoy [A.K.A. With Pleasure, Madame] (1936), and another in German, Ball im Savoy (1954).

Ball at the Savoy was revived at Berlin’s Kommische Oper in 2013, directed by Barry Kosky. It had a

Rosy Barsony and Oscar Denes in Ball At The Savoy at Drury Lane, 1933.

Photo: Thomas Krebs Archive.

Visit Naxos Records for more details: bit.ly/2YnxbW1 Buy the album from Amazon: amzn.to/3mVKqb1 wondrous performance by Dagmar Manzel as Madeleine, and a showstopping turn by Katherine Mehrling as Daisy. Playing in repertoire for many seasons, it was invariably sold out. I saw a performance in 2015 and was blown away by the lavish scale of the three-hour production.

References: Liner note, Hersh Glagov, Naxos 8.660503-04 The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, Kurt Ganzl, Blackwell Reference Operetta Research Center, Harry Forbes

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 37

All Together Now! Theatres around the world will take part in a global celebration to herald the return of local live theatre.

Organisations are invited to perform a musical revue featuring songs from Music Theatre International’s beloved shows over the weekend of November 12 to 15, 2021.

All Together Now! - a global event celebrating local theatre is entirely free-of-charge to license with no royalty or rental fees. Participating organisations may license MTI’s All Together Now! as a fundraiser for their theatre and perform it live, livestreamed, or a combination of both.

Licensees will also receive a number of MTI’s innovative theatrical resources to help with rehearsals, marketing and performances.

“This is truly a collaborative effort, and we are all extremely excited that any and every type of theatre from schools to the pros has the opportunity to produce MTI’s All Together Now! in their communities,” said Drew Cohen, President and CEO of MTI Worldwide.

Many renowned MTI authors, their estates and rights-holders are

Please visit alltogethernowmti.com.au for all information about the revue including a complete list of songs and to get started licensing! contributing songs from their iconic musicals to the revue.

Songs include ‘Be Our Guest’ from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, ‘Pure Imagination’ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, ‘This Is the Moment’ from Jekyll and Hyde, ‘Matchmaker’ from Fiddler on the Roof, ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’ from Les Misérables and ‘Let It Go’ from Disney’s Frozen.

Stuart Hendricks, Managing Director, MTI Australasia, remarked, “MTI’s All Together Now! is a unique musical celebration that our groups can perform as a fundraiser, and serves as a thank-you to our valued customers across the world for keeping theatre alive.”

MTI’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of Education & Development John Prignano remarked that, “we’ve streamlined our licensing process for this special event and there are no restrictions or limits on how many theatres in a particular geographical

38 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

area can license the revue. The revue can be presented as a concert-like performance or groups can fully stage, choreograph and costume each song as it is presented in the full version of the show. Theatres are encouraged to feature as diverse a cast as possible, in order to reflect the composition of the entire community.

Productions will benefit from a variety of races, genders, abilities, body types, and sizes, so we encourage groups to spread diversity as best they can across all the roles in the production.”

The revue features 15 slots for musical performances with multiple song options per slot, so theatres have flexibility with how they present the show. The option to choose from two or three songs for each slot allows producers to tailor the show to best fit their artistic/creative vision, the talents of their cast, and the composition of their audience.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 39

Let’s Put On A Show

Into The Woods Director Kimberley Shaw thought she was out of the woods when COVID-19 restrictions eased in Perth during the final rehearsals for the musical Into The Woods in July 2021. Then came a dripping sound as the heavens opened. Was their production alright on opening night? Read on to find out.

The Stirling Players’ Into The Woods.

40 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Into the Woods had a conventional rehearsal period, or at least a COVID-19 conventional rehearsal period.

We auditioned in January, had an excellent turn-out that saw about 200 people audition over four days, and were thrilled with our chosen cast.

Planning to start rehearsals the week before Easter, Perth’s February lockdown had little impact on our production.

April’s lockdown affected us slightly. The Stirling Players’ production preceding ours, To Kill A Mockingbird, was shut down on its projected opening night, costing us three early rehearsals. Mockingbird opened a week later, extra performances were added within their scheduled run, and they closed only a day later than originally planned, meaning just one extra rehearsal in an alternative venue.

Rehearsing in masks was tricky but not impossible - especially relatively early in the rehearsal process. With a flight attendant set designer and another flight attendant in the cast, there was always a risk that one of them might have to go into isolation. Ironically, during this period, our Rapunzel’s Prince, flight attendant Zac, was forced to skip a rehearsal while waiting for test results, but it was because he shopped at Coles at the wrong time.

In the theatre on the morning of Sunday June 27th, we received the announcement that masks would become compulsory within the hour. I ran to the chemist (thankfully only a couple of doors away) to pick up a packet of masks (and inform the pharmacist that she may be in for a busy afternoon). Actors, crew and orchestra members who arrived without having heard the news were handed a mask, and we did our best to do a masked sitzprobe.

The next evening we were in rehearsal when our phones started pinging with messages that Premier Mark McGowan was about to hold an unscheduled press conference. I sent stage manager Mollie out to listen, then paused rehearsals to tell the cast that we were going into a four-day

The Stirling Players’ Into The Woods.

lockdown from midnight. We completed that rehearsal, knowing it would be our last for the week, and hoping desperately that we would be clear to rehearse properly for ‘Hell Sunday’ (tech, dress and orchestra) the following week. We had a Zoom rehearsal midweek - but as many know, time delays make rehearsing a musical on Zoom only moderately helpful at best.

Our set was almost complete, save for a small amount of painting on the stage floor - a specialty job that our set designer Wayne had planned to do himself. Having returned from Northern Queensland, Wayne was thrown into two-weeks’ isolation, meaning that not only would he need to make other arrangements to get the floor painted, but sadly, he would miss opening night.

News came the following Friday that lockdown was ending, but there was now a limit of twenty people inside a venue for the next three days.

We had planned a full day rehearsal for the Sunday - the first time that we would properly combine cast and orchestra, implement sound, do full lighting, and have full dress. With

eighteen in the cast, an orchestra of fourteen, a crew of three, stage manager, lighting designer, sound designer, and costume designer, even operating without committee members and any other helpers we would be well over the limit.

We determined that we could make it work. We started with a crew rehearsal, using the time to set up the sound, rehearse quick set changes such as manœuvring grandma’s bed, trying out our flying (Cinderella’s birds, her dress drop, and the growing beanstalk) and rehearsing only actors that had tricky stage business involving the crew.

The crew and sound designer went home, and the plan was then to run the show twice with the cast (using Rehearscore) and then send most of them home and rehearse the orchestra. Stage Manager Mollie was keeping a careful tally of the number in the building, calling cast members in as the crew departed. It was raining steadily, so she had people wait in their cars until called.

(Continued on page 42) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 41

(Continued from page 41)

Let’s Put On A Show

Floodwater at Stirling Theatre.

The Stirling Players’ Into The Woods.

42 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Running a little late, we ran Act One and decided to break for lunch.

We had just given the five-minute call to resume when Mollie queried, “Can anyone hear dripping?”

Our band was to be housed in a craft room just to the right side of the auditorium. Sound designer Aaron had spent the morning session laying microphone cabling, so the floor was covered in cabling and orchestra seating nicely laid out.

We suddenly had two major leaks in that room’s ceiling, one beneath a join in what was once two rooms, the other in a skylight. Cast scrambled to find containers to catch the considerable drips and I climbed up to remove the black masking from beneath the skylight (getting very wet in the process). Suddenly we realised that flood water was coming through the two external doors to the room.

“Rip up the cables!” Mollie cried, and within seconds two hours of Aaron’s careful work was yanked from the floor.

“It’s coming in the foyer!”

Actors rushed to find fabric or towels to try to block the flow of water now pouring into both our orchestra room and the foyer. We opened the costume storage area to find that water was coming under the door there too.

Suddenly actors were everywhere, stemming the flow and getting things off the floor in the three rooms now affected. Phone calls were made to Aaron, the club President, and the Rangers (it is a council building).

Outside the foyer doors, water was five or six cm deep, and drains were not coping. Actors ran out into the rain to attempt to clear drains, with others building a makeshift dam across a path down which water was cascading like a river. We managed to keep the water out of the auditorium, while the stage and dressing rooms, being on ‘higher ground’, stayed dry.

The rain flow slowed, and about two hours later we had the orchestra room mopped out and sort of dry, an industrial dryer “on the way” from the council and rehearsal resumed - albeit

The Stirling Players’ Into The Woods.

Kimberley Shaw is also Stage Whispers’ tireless Perth reviewer. She could not review her own production, which Breanna Redhead described as “delightfully charismatic”. stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/woods-15 with actors who were still literally dripping. We only managed to complete the one run.

Due to the restrictions, we had to rearrange our tech week rehearsals slightly. We skipped our Monday tech rehearsal, then moved everything back a day. By Tuesday we were allowed full rehearsal capacity although actors needed to be masked when not on stage, as did crew and non-wind orchestra - and we finally managed our first tech and dress.

Council workers worked on the roof most of the week, and we were assured that it was repaired - that the previous weekend had been a ‘once in a decade’ occurrence and that we didn’t need to worry.

After a successful preview that went as smoothly as we could hope, we were looking forward to Opening Night.

Ever the nervous director, I arrived at the theatre in the early afternoon, just to do little jobs and offer any help to front of house.

Around 3pm I was helping committee member Elaine prepare the auditorium. It was raining, so we were occasionally checking the band room ceiling, even though the roof repairmen had been at the theatre

late. Stirling Council found us two large industrial driers to dry the foyer and sent a magic machine that when I had arrived and reassured me sucked the bulk of the water from the that it was watertight. Suddenly we carpet. The orchestra was kind heard a familiar dripping. enough to squeeze into what was Rushing to find something to essentially a large cupboard on the catch the drips, there was flooding other side of the auditorium (not at under the doors once more. Within all comfortable), and the Roleystone seconds the band room was flooded Theatre (whose own temporary and although I attempted to get theatre space had flooded that everything off the floor, this time it weekend) lent us curtaining to was simply too fast, especially with dampen the echo in that space. only two of us in the building. We Having spent the day on an managed to build walls to stop the unsuccessful search for a new power water entering the auditorium, but source, a plethora of Perth theatre the band room flooding was deeper, people offered us keyboards, with extending through the foyer and Taui Pinker driving his beautiful and toilets. I had sent an urgent message precious keyboard to us an hour to the group chat - I think it was before curtain. simply “Help, flood!” - and within a While we remained nervous for short time we were being inundated the rest of the run, and a team of by cast, Stirling Players members and actors led by our Cinderella, Grace, their friends. flood barricaded the theatre between Despite the efforts of many, we every show, we were lucky enough to were unable to open that night. We enjoy a successful, well received and couldn’t guarantee that we wouldn’t completely sold-out run. flood again, the foyer carpet was I am very thankful to have had a completely sodden, we needed to cast and team who smiled through make arrangements to ensure that adversity, laughed instead of cried our orchestra would remain dry and and remained kind to each other we had managed to drown (and kill) through a very stressful last couple of the power source to one of the weeks. To miss multiple rehearsals keyboards. and face such major upheavals would Thanks to the generosity of others, break many shows, but this team was we were able to open, albeit a day simply awesome. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 43

Miola Theatre’s Begotten.

Let’s Put On A Show

Chester The Suitcase With His Own Baggage Suitcases conjure up so much symbolism - travel, escape, journey. Brisbane-based independent company Minola Theatre is a collaboration between Kat Dekker and Bianca Butler Reynolds, branded after their famous namesakes, Shakespeare’s Minola sisters in Taming of the Shrew. Bianca tells Beth Keehn all about Chester, their beloved red suitcase and star of all their major productions to date.

“Chester is kind of a third party in Minola Theatre. In 2019 we were preparing for two productions, Highway of Lost Hearts by Mary Anne Butler, and my own onewoman show, Begotten. Both plays required a central suitcase prop. We set about casting a standout piece of luggage that would be versatile enough to suit both parts.

“We found Chester at the Camp Hill Antiques Centre.

He was a bit bland and brown and in need of surgery, but we fixed him up, painted him red and, with transformed confidence, he was ready for a life on the stage! He’s already starred in four Minola Theatre productions. And when he’s not on stage, he’s usually multi-tasking as our props storage, or acting as a bookcase at Kat’s flat.

“We love Chester because he is larger than life, certainly bigger than today’s average-sized suitcases, and he’s quite sturdy as a supporting player. He has solid wood and steel reinforcements which make him more 44 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

stable than most suitcases. He can carry weight - we can sit on him; we can stand on him - he’s always reliable.

“Because he was an old suitcase, we have had to perform surgery on him a few times. His latches sometimes give out and his lid gets a bit squeaky, so he’s definitely had some remodelling in the last two years.

“As well as Highway of Lost Hearts and Begotten, Chester starred in our evening of three one-act plays, Love Triangle, including Half an Hour by JM Barrie. Chester was outstanding as an item of luggage belonging to one of the characters.

“When we were planning Begotten as a live show (after performing it as a radio play during lockdown), we used a big pile of clothes as a set piece, which we were going to store in a laundry hamper, but when we started blocking we realised that the laundry hamper just wasn’t as versatile.

“Chester has so much more to offer our group and I’m sure he will return for other roles in the future.”

Alice In Wonderland.

GMS Costumes

Gosford Musical Society has been staging musical productions for over 75 years, earning a reputation for beautiful costumes and props.

The company - on the NSW Central Coast - has its own rehearsal floor/ costume and prop building facility, connected to their home, the Laycock Street Theatre. The ‘shed’ is a veritable trove of costumes, props and sets.

A team of costume makers has assembled an extensive catalogue of stunning and historically accurate costumes and accessories, for hire as full sets or just for a few leads.

The company’s full show sets include The Sound of Music, Shrek, Jekyll & Hyde, My Fair Lady, Young Frankenstein, Grease, The Boy from Oz and Madagascar.

The last two GMS productions were Alice in Wonderland and Mamma Mia! The Alice set comprises over 110 costumes, suited to a junior production with cast aged between 8 and 18. The Mamma Mia! show set includes the classic ‘Abba’ style costumes for the

leads, a unique set of wedding dresses for the whole cast and quirky swimsuits for the boys.

Although musicals are the company’s speciality, their extensive stock of historical and modern costumes allows them to help costume plays and drama productions such as The Importance of Being Ernest and The 39 Steps.

GMS staff are experienced costumiers and designers who can assist theatres and schools in planning their productions. The company not only wants its clients’ productions to look amazing, but also to come at an affordable price.

Gosford Musical Society also has a large range of props for hire, including Freddie Mercury (We Will Rock You), mobile TV cameras from the 60s (SHOUT!), the Wardrobe, Teapot, Lumiere, Cutlery (Beauty and the

Visit the GMS website to view costume galleries and to make an appointment. gmscostumes.com.au Beast), and ensemble supporting pieces. In addition, there’s a period organ (The Phantom of The Opera), grand pianos (not in working order) and books of all types. The company also has a banquet of prop food including turkeys, suckling pigs, fruit and vegetables, bread and buns, sausages and a large range of cakes.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 45

Tracy Nuthall from Costumes Without Drama explains how to think locally and act globally in costuming your next theatre production.

The world currently has more clothing than our population could ever need. On average each Australian consumes 27 kilograms of new clothing and disposes 23 kilograms of clothing to landfill each year. Over the years, the costume industry has become mass-produced and disposable. While cheap online options may be tempting, these purchases don’t last and are often quickly discarded.

Since 2001, Costumes Without Drama has been saving teachers time, energy and resources by providing affordable, sustainable, quality costume hires for school productions.

I have always believed it’s much more environmentally friendly to hire and reuse costumes than to buy, import or make new costumes from scratch.

Costume hire can help minimise landfill and promote the benefits of sharing and borrowing with young people.

If sustainable practices are important to you, it’s worth asking a

few questions before you sign your hire agreement.  How are your costumes sourced or made?  How do you take care of your costume collection?  What is the laundering process for your costumes?

Our warehouse has more than 12,000 inventoried items, with over 95% of our stock made on location in Melbourne to original designs.

When it comes to materials, we use a mix of discontinued stock, repurposed fabrics and new fabrics.

We’re always looking for the best, most durable fabric for the job at an affordable price. Choosing materials in this way increases the longevity of costumes, as they hold their colour longer and wash and wear more robustly. We also love to upcycle and modify fabrics, costumes and clothing items to give them a new life.

We don’t subscribe to a glitzy, impractical look or loads of sequins.

Instead, we offer costumes we know

46 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

students will feel comfortable in and that look great on stage (and on film) with professional lighting.

Lots of school shows have a specific theme or requirements. It can be expensive and wasteful to buy brand new costumes for every performance. That’s not to mention the issue of storage. We take lots of care with all our costumes, handling them minimally and hanging or folding each item as close to laundering as possible.

Once you’ve finished with your Costumes Without Drama costumes, simply pack them back into our reusable boxes and bags and return them. We launder all costumes on-site using locally made, low impact cleaning products. We favour natural, chemical-free products to treat stains and frequently air dry to reduce power consumption.

You don’t need a team of parents working around the clock to sew, or teachers trying their luck in op shops

Popular Perfect Props Veteran set and prop builder Bob Peet describes some treasures, and trash that he’s converted to treasures, for community theatre stages.

or chain stores. To ease the pressure on school resources we offer:  Extended hire periods for extra dress rehearsals  A detailed inventory with barcode labels  Pick up, courier or delivery options  Costumes that arrive in reuseable bags, individually packaged and labelled for students  No laundering - simply pack back into boxes and bags and return.

The world doesn’t need any more loose sequins or once-worn costumes that end up in landfill. Our approach to school costuming is a holistic one, with sustainable practices and the enjoyment of young people at its heart.

For more details visit costumeswithoutdrama.com.au

During my years running the hire department at Sydney’s Miranda Musical Society, we had special props which were in high demand. The most requested was an antique looking French style telephone that was used for Daddy Warbucks’ mansion in Annie, and a lot of other classy looking shows.

Another was the magic rose from Beauty and the Beast. Our first rose was operated with fishing line attached to the petals, but this meant threading the fishing line for each use. Later we changed the operation to electromagnets attached to the petals. Press a button and the petal falls.

I have always been very particular about correct chairs for the stage.

Often productions are spoiled by an ordinary chair looking so wrong.

Recently in Adelaide I saw a production of a classic operetta. The beautiful period piece was ruined by the odd bentwood chair and a lounge from someone’s home, all meaning to portray the dressing of a wealthy merchant’s mansion.

Before.

Let’s Put On A Show Over the years I assembled a collection of chairs for all types of settings. A set of rustic timber chairs for a rough tavern scene has been used often. I picked up a set of 16 bentwood chairs in fibreglass resin from IKEA, which has become an instant café on many occasions. I made a big investment in a suite of reproduction Louis furniture. I found a supplier of reproduction furniture frames, and then I made them strong and suitable for the wear and tear of the stage. These pieces live in special road-cases and are still in excellent condition, having been used on many occasions.

It must be said, however, that the most used props, used in so many shows, are the dreaded picnic baskets.

How many of the older musicals have a picnic, a market scene, or a street scene with shoppers?

Good props will continue to be used over and over again, and can make an enormous difference to a show.

I have always been a collector of roadside “treasures “, finding unwanted pieces which can be rejuvenated for a new life on stage.

I have to admit that in my recent move to South Australia, I still look for and find stuff. I needed a nice bedside table for The Hypochondriac. Then one evening after rehearsal I spotted a suitable table in a pile waiting to be taken to the tip. A bit of paint, a new shelf and wheels, and $30 later I had a faux period table.

Words alone don’t do the results justice; the pictures (below) tell the story.

After.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 47

Anthony Phillips Costume Exhibition Launceston’s Encore Theatre Company hit the jackpot when acclaimed costume maker Anthony Phillips retired to their town.

Highlights of his 40-year career in Sydney included making costumes for The Phantom of the Opera over several decades and for Star Wars movies.

The company leapt at the opportunity to have him create sets of costumes for their musical theatre productions.

An exhibition of some of his recent creations for Les Misérables, Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You and The Sound of Music was on display during the Australian Musical Theatre Festival and was the subject of an episode of Stage Whispers TV. Encore have several sets and key set pieces from their past productions available for sale or hire, along with an ever-growing wardrobe of costumes and a vast array of props.

Discover the range for hire at encoretheatre.org.au/hire

48 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Online extras!

Stage Whispers TV visits the Anthony Phillips costume exhibition. Scan or visit youtu.be/VubNpM4_iDs

Let’s Put On A Show

The Brief History Of A Fake Cigarette Can one prop alter the mood of a play? Director and writer Jacinta Sciusco believes it can, in the right hands.

providing the queen with ease and calm.

The first time I saw it, I was freshly Stagecraft is a vital thing. It can adapted and directed by Cole graduated, in my first year of Uni, and add to or detract from a play. The McKenna. astonished at the props, sets, and messy, untameable wig; the fake but The old, forgotten Facebook event costumes stored away in the Union delicious looking burger; the reads: “A party in the 1920s is our Building of La Trobe University. The unbalanced theatre flat; props aim to window into the lives of New Yorkers drama department of my small-town bring realism to the stage. and newlyweds Roland and Claire. high school, great as it was, couldn’t A favourite prop of mine made its The play delves into a world of compare. The array of painted set debut on the stage of a University decadence and ruptured mundanity, designs, props from sunglasses to theatre, where the seats were slightly exploring strained relationships and plastic flowers, costume pieces uncomfortable, but the performance the pain that comes with having to belonging to clowns and made up for it. hide who you are.” businessmen; they all waited there, The fake red glow of a cigarette Like many plays at La Trobe perched in their places, as if standing prop captures the eyes of the Student Theatre, The Drag explored silent in the wings of a theatre for the audience under the stage lights. It’s a serious topics, centred around moment they could finally take a step quiet moment. Even the audience, LGBTQ+ rights in the 1920s. It’s no into the light. sitting shoulder to shoulder in the question then that Menzies Theatre In a comedic play about a crashsmall black space, feel the frozen housed a meaningful exploration of landed plane, where three vacationers energy of the scene. The actor holds hiding and emerging, and smoking and a pilot get stranded on an island, the prop between their fingers. This was a way for characters in The Drag the cigarette was passed between has been rehearsed so many times to support conflict and conversations Elliot and Corbin, childhood friends that even the cigarette knows its cues. with one another. who never quite grew up. Under the Stay still, get picked up, dialogue, Rolly, a married and closeted warm lights of the Menzies Theatre, it dialogue response, someone takes a homosexual man finds a place where brought laughter to a crowd of drag. A beat is taken as the character he is accepted and free to be himself strangers who would, in the years to sucks in a quiet breath, lips pursed amongst his gay friends. The cigarette follow, become dear friends. and ready to bring the cigarette to is held by a beautifully dressed drag Next, my first time directing one of their waiting mouth. queen, who holds it up towards her my plays. Any working creative knows It was easy for this cigarette to lips throughout the heated discussion. how it usually goes; doubt while rocket to fame. It enjoyed a stunning The sequinned glow of her red dress writing it, crippling doubt while role in the Moat Festival (2019) and her bright red lipstick rehearsing it, and at the end of production of The Drag - inspired by complement the fake flame. She takes (Continued on page 50) the life and plays of Mae West, a drag. The cigarette plays its role, stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 49

(Continued from page 49)

closing night, the embarrassment of your dear work being perceived. It was an intergenerational commentary on society, culture, and the state of the world, called X and Above. The cigarette was in each rehearsal, each bump in and bump out, always waiting but always ready. Picture a nine to five bank employee, drained to the point of exhaustion, desperately huffing a cigarette during break time.

From opening to closing night, the cigarette had registered the warmth of lights on its surface at the same hour for a week. It had known what it was like to be held, to be placed at arm’s length, and greeted warmly when needed. And as it rested in the still storage room, it began to collect dust. It’s foil flame no longer shone so brightly. It didn’t move in months.

Unbeknownst to the cigarette, it had many siblings scattered under chairs, behind theatre flats, stuck in tiny crevices, long forgotten, and misplaced between bump ins and bump outs. They sit, to this day, waiting to be found, amongst the growing dust of a vacant and distant life.

Passed from fingertips to fingertips, characters take drags to feel like they can breathe. Sometimes they take puffs to look cool at a party.

Sometimes they light up before dropping life-changing news onto those they love. But mostly, they pass the prop between friends, bonding, and they enjoy their time together with one another. And though these cigarettes get misplaced, forever lost, and badly broken, it is in these moments that the audience will remember the shining red glow crystallised in the scene, until the next performance.

Jacinta Sciusco is a third-year creative arts student at La Trobe University, where she studies theatre and writing.

She’s a long-time member of the student theatre community where she writes, directs, and acts in plays and performances.

Digital Scenery For All Scenic projections are becoming more affordable for community and school theatre, bridging the gap between cinema and live performance.

Working with a tight budget? Has your rehearsal and production time been significantly reduced due to COVID-19 shutdowns? Music Theatre International, Australasia (MTIA) and Broadway Media are offering digital scenery for MTI’s top titles in Australasia.

Scenic ProjectionsTM are full-show digital scenery packages that can be projected onto a screen or surface behind onstage performers as a backdrop.

The product follows the official licensed script. Harnessing the growing utilization of projection design as a core element of theatrical design, Scenic ProjectionsTM is projected digital art and animation that moves seamlessly with - and enhances - the action onstage.

A popular title is The Little Mermaid Junior. Product manager

Brianna Spicer describes the style as “cartoonised realism”.

“We show visible paint strokes with simplified shapes and softened background elements, garnering inspiration from various concept art pieces of underwater scenes and ships.

“The Little Mermaid JR package helps make the musical more immersive. The ocean surface changes from calm to stormy depending on what is happening. In the palace hall scene, the sunset and colour change help to indicate that Ariel has run out of time. Any opportunity to help make the story clearer is taken advantage of.”

Broadway Media combine their projection cueing software with beautiful artwork that includes all the scenes, settings and special effects in the script. Scenic Projections will be available in animated or still image

For more information about Scenic Projection Show Packages, visit broadwaymedia.com/shows/music-theatre-international-australasia

50 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

For additional information on MTI and licensing, please visit mtishows.com.au

Let’s Put On A Show

variants for MTIA’s most popular fulllength and Broadway JuniorTM titles.

“Scenic Projections is the tool you need to elevate your production values, all from the touch of a button and at an affordable price. We are excited to keep offering you new resources to bring the magic of theatre to your school or community,” says Stuart Hendricks, Managing Director of MTI Australasia.

Broadway Media says there is no steep learning curve to use its digital scenery as the product is supported by free how-to resources and customer support.

“We are a mission-driven company, serving a global theatre community. Our decision-making centres around one simple question, ‘does it make participation in the performing arts more accessible?’” says Quentin Sanford, President, Broadway Media. “Through our products, our partnerships and advocacy, Broadway Media is dedicated to the universal access to the joy of theatre-making, regardless of space, place, or budget.”

Easily project scenic backgrounds like these from your laptop.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 51

Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.

Let’s Put On A Show

Falling Ceilings And Revolving Audiences NIDA scenic construction students push creativity to a new level in live productions

NIDA’s June Student Productions Season sent audiences on a spin with innovative scenic construction.

A production of the play Perfect Stranger placed the audience on the revolving stage, while Revolt. She Said.

Revolt Again collapsed the full set during each performance, including the ceiling.

Perfect Stranger was written by Hilary Bell and directed by guest director Kate Champion.

“The challenge was to stage this play with 35 characters and 34 locations as a live theatrical experience,” said Kate.

“I was drawn into the visceral effect of its sense of perpetual movement. Even when reading it you sense it swirl about you with its intrigue and mystery. Intoxicating stuff but how do you stage such a play?”

Set Designer Hayden Relf and Costume Designer Hannah Taylor

(both BFA Design for Performance year 3) met with Kate to tussle over how to bring this story to the stage.

“We wanted to avoid the audience witnessing the many changes of scenery. We wanted the various scenes to seem to appear out of nowhere.

We landed on the exciting idea of putting the audience on a revolve to create the spinning perspective from within!” said Kate.

The audience capacity was limited due to the maximum weight that the revolve could take.

“It was an incredible feat for the whole team, from the very demanding build of the set to lighting and sound design, quick changes and agile prop requirements. We also made the actor Ebony Tucker disappear in a puff of smoke and had Amy Joyce enter through a waterfall.

“My favourite moment was at the beginning of the play - the lights go

down - Harrison Quast (BFA Acting year 3) enters as the old man, slowly walking in from the left of our vision then very gradually something unnerving happens - are the walls moving? Collectively the audience realises that the seating bank is turning - priceless. I even heard one woman quite audibly say ‘what’s happening!’. It was like being at the start of a ghost train ride and that was just the beginning!”

Heather Fairbairn directed Alice Birch’s exposure of patriarchy in Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. The play disrupts accepted models of storytelling by deconstructing language, character and form. The production was designed by Angelina Meany (BFA Design for Performance year 3).

Assistant Director Alexei YmerWelsby explained that “the concept behind the stage construction was to Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.

Perfect Stranger’s revolving set.

52 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Applications for the 2022 intake of all NIDA BFA courses close on September 30.

A custom-made gobo.

This year, it’s free to apply, and $600,000 worth of NIDA Scholarships, including Indigenous Scholarships, will be available.

Visit apply.nida.edu.au for more info and to apply. have the performers deconstruct the set by literally ripping it apart - a metaphor for their ‘deconstruction’ of patriarchal norms at the centre of the play.

“In rehearsals, we used a fullscale mark-up of the scenography so we could choreograph in a detailed and controlled way how the actors would go about pulling off cabinets, inverting tables and smashing plates.

In the performances, this precision enabled the actors to safely go about ‘destroying’ the set while giving the audience the impression that it was entirely spontaneous and anarchic.”

Matthew Hinton, in his final year of the BFA (Scenic Construction and Technologies), worked as the Constructions Supervisor. He explains that “the set was a dollhouse aesthetic pink room. It looked pristine from the start, but by the end of the show, most of the walls were stripped, cupboards were tipped, and a ceiling section had caved in.

“Working on a set that has to be pulled apart twice a day had unique challenges!” said Matthew.

“I learned a vast amount about prototyping and the ongoing development of ideas. I worked with a designer and our props supervisor Rachel Hallett (BFA Properties and Objects year 3) to ensure that each aspect of the set moved and fitted together as seamlessly as possible. A clear highlight was the first time that we dropped the ceiling in the space.

Weeks of planning, building and installing all culminated in one moment of a test and justified the hundreds of hours the team had put into the production.”

Gobo Light Magic

For 25 years Gobotech has remained the only Australian manufacturer supplying a full range of custom gobos.

At their Gold Coast factory, the company employs a mix of time-proven methods of photo lithographic production, as well as world-leading laser technology, to produce gobos which can transform the stage.

Uses range from setting the scene in a play or musical to projecting a school crest in vivid colour.

At Gobotech you can speak directly with technicians and graphic designers to turn your ideas into reality and achieve a fast turnaround.

In theatre, gobos can be used to instantly and cheaply change a backdrop.

A production could switch from a busy streetscape to a walk in the woods or change the mood of the stage with dappled light. All changes can be done with the flick of a switch using a gobo in a theatrical lantern.

The COVID-19 disaster has decimated the arts and events industries. To help companies get back on their feet Gobotech is offering a $99 arts package to Stage Whispers readers to help school and small venue productions incorporate gobos.

The company wishes everyone in the industry a brighter end to 2021 and an awesome 2022.

Contact Gobotech via sales@gobotech.com.au or call them on (07) 5573 3177 for more details.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 53

Let’s Put On A Show

CLOC’s Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: The Musical.

Photo: Ben Fon.

CLOC’s Bumpy Priscilla Triumph Karen Greenwood reports on how CLOC Musical Theatre dodged the COVID-19 potholes to get its production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert to the stage.

During the doom and gloom of Victoria’s interminable 112-day Lockdown #2, Melbourne’s CLOC Musical Theatre made the brave decision to resurrect its production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, deferred from May 2020 to April/May 2021.

Every aspect of rehearsals, set building, costumemaking and theatre performances had to be reworked and revised to meet COVID-19 safe protocols.

And just when the company thought they had everything set to go, a snap five-day mini lockdown was called in February, which meant that the first week of rehearsals was lost.

Through all the difficulties that the company faced, what was ever-present was the determination and passion of everyone - committee, cast, crew, production and creative teams, theatre staff - to put on a first-class show.

For most of CLOC’s loyal audiences, it was their first live theatre experience in over a year, which they lapped up gratefully and joyfully.

“A spectacle! There was the added emotion this year for many of a release valve - being able to come 54 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

to the theatre again, mingle and see live theatre whilst in many parts of the world they are in lockdown and friends and family are dying,” commented one audience member.

Critics raved about the costumes, which are available for hire.

“It was great to see the inclusion of the iconic pieces we know and love like the thong dress and the frill necked lizards, (but costume designer) Victoria Horne’s reinterpretation of the Sydney

Encore Costumes Who needs a new costume when you can refashion an old one?

The Brisbane Arts Theatre is especially adept at keeping their costumes in pristine condition for re-use. It also helps that the company stages plays in a series.

Each year, the company stages an adaptation of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld stories, written for the stage by Stephen Briggs.

Tallulah Grey, actor/director and President of the Board at Brisbane Arts Theatre said, “My father, John Grey, has been wearing his robe as the character of Vetinari since 2010.

The robe has also made many appearances on stage in other shows, and Dad has worn it for at least five productions!

“The Commander Vimes uniform worn by my brother Daniel Grey - has

been in many different Discworld productions - [ranging from] Ancient Rome to Greece! Daniel wore it many years ago at the Nash Theatre at New Farm in a production of Oedipus, and the costume has been following him ever since!”

Tallulah tells us of a red dress that she wore as Rosie Palm in the group’s productions of Men at Arms. “That red dress has starred in productions in 2016, 2018 and 2020. It has also been worn by many other performers in various productions over the years.

It has had so many edits!”

Above: Feet Of Clay. Photo: Nick O’Sullivan.

Below: Men At Arms: Photo: Tallulah M.E. Grey.

Discover the company’s collection of costumes and accessories available for hire at artstheatre.com.au/about/wardrobe Opera House costumes was pure class and poise also, loved those Union Jack boots!” wrote Theatre People.

Simon Parris lauded the “extraordinary cavalcade of costumes. Headpieces are a particular highlight, beautifully complemented by pristine wigs and hairstyles by David Wisken. Riffing on the iconic designs of the professional version of Priscilla, Horne has put her own glossy spin on cupcakes and paint brushes, showgirls and camp funeral attire.”

With incredible luck, CLOC managed a full, successful and joyous season without having to cancel any performances during the three-week run.

In hindsight, this was even more fortuitous, given that four days after the Priscilla season ended Lockdown #4 was called and since then, no other community musical theatre production has managed to be staged in Melbourne.

Yes, the Theatre Gods were smiling down on CLOC during the first half of 2021.

CLOC’s Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: The Musical.

Photo: Ben Fon.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 55

Pelican Productions’ Chicago - High School Edition.

Let’s Put On A Show

Scenery Magic For Local Productions Australia’s largest commercial set building facility has been acquired by Theatre Safe Australia (TSA) and is open for business for theatre companies and schools of all sizes.

Since the Scenery Workshop’s launch in Adelaide in 1979, the facility has been the set manufacturing powerhouse behind a massive range of productions, from The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Matilda to Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

TSA took over management from the Adelaide Festival Centre in August of the facilities, described as a hub for the fine art of scenic building, painting, construction and electrics.

The company is offering its services for major touring productions and smaller companies on a budget.

56 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Build your vision with the TSA Workshop theatresafe.com.au/scenery-workshop In a recent project, the workshop team created a visually stunning set which they hired to Pelican Productions for their stage show Chicago - High School Edition.

Pelican Productions is a vital part of the performing arts community in South Australia, with a dedicated team of professional vocal tutors and choreographers who foster young up-and-coming talent in musical theatre.

The set is also being adapted for their latest production, School of Rock, which is financially beneficial for the company, enabling it to spread the hire cost across different shows.

Kylie Green, Director of Pelican Productions said, “The visual effects of the scenic elements that were added to the stage helped to bring our production to life. Our budding young performers were immersed in the magic of theatre, along with the vibrant and enthusiastic audience.”

Now part of TSA, Duncan Barton, Workshop Production Development Officer, explains how it’s opened the workshop to new channels to reach local schools and community theatre.

“Our passion for creating magnificent scenery does not stop in the workshop. We want to assist creating pathways for young people and aim to inspire the future of performing arts in Australia. Our skilled team work closely with schools, colleges and universities to build and maintain stage sets that bring local productions to life.”

Under one roof the TSA Workshop offers carpentry, engineering, sculpture and props, scenic painting, set electrics, rigging and automation, theatre maintenance, drapes, scenery hire, workshop tours and educators’ professional learning events. For the schools and local community theatre, the workshop can now offer set building and hire, rigging and automation and maintenance programmes.

Community Theatre Insurance The Association of Community Theatre, in partnership with Marsh’s Entertainment & Leisure Insurance broking team, have developed a tailored and affordable insurance program for the industry.

The core insurance policies are: Public Liability Insurance ($750 stand alone, or $540 if purchased with Voluntary Workers Insurance for a combined cost of $990) This covers the activities of rehearsal and staging of theatrical or musical performances including theatrebased workshops and promotion of performances ($20 million limit with market leading extensions and sublimits).

Volunteer Workers Personal Accident Insurance ($450) This policy provides significant lump sum payments, weekly benefits and other compensation outlined in the policy in the event of accidental death, permanent disability and temporary disability for all board members, committee members and unpaid individuals engaging in activities on behalf of the insured theatre group.

Money Insurance ($140) This provides cover for loss of up to $3,000 of the theatre group’s money whilst in the possession of an authorised person or at the box office.

All policies are renewed annually on December 31 each year and premiums payable are pro-rated up to 6 months to the renewal date.

As part of the partnership, Marsh rebates a portion of all premiums back to the association every year. The funds are used to promote theatre company performances, professional development and advocacy.

By buying insurance as part of the Association of Community Theatre group, theatre companies enjoy stable premiums and consistent coverage over a long period, thereby avoiding fluctuations in pricing and coverage compared to a purchase on a standalone basis.

The partnership fosters collaboration, with the Association of Community Theatre working with Marsh to constantly improve the coverage and address any emerging needs of its members.

Theatre companies must be a member of ACT to participate or be a member of an affiliated umbrella organisation in states outside of NSW.

You can find more information at jltentertainment.com.au/act stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 57

Online extras!

Discover Riedel’s Bolero wireless intercom system. Scan or visit youtu.be/NMjsp9OvSLA

Paris Fit-Out

Riedel Communications has announced that the landmark Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris has adopted a full suite of Riedel’s awardwinning communications and video signal routing solutions.

Riedel’s Artist digital matrix intercom, SmartPanel user interface, Bolero wireless intercom, and MediorNet real-time network ensure crystal-clear crew communications and video distribution during Théâtre du Châtelet performances.

Located in the 1st Arrondissement on the banks of the Seine, the Théâtre du Châtelet was built on the site of a small fortress and opened in 1862. In its current configuration, the auditorium seats 2,038 people and plays host to a broad range of opera and theatre performances, concerts, and events such as galas and award ceremonies. The Théâtre du Châtelet recently underwent a major renovation, including an update of the entire networking and communications infrastructure, and settled on the Riedel solutions after its evaluation process.

“For this upgrade, future-proof systems were extremely important.

That’s why we took our time with testing; we were looking for solutions

that can accompany us for the next 20 years,” said Stéphane Oskeritzian, Head of Sound, Théâtre du Châtelet.

“We chose Riedel not only because their solutions performed the best in our tests, but also because we were searching for a solid partner.”

The DECT-based Bolero wireless intercom system provides the ideal crew communications solution for a historic facility such as the Théâtre du Châtelet, in which traditional UHF intercoms are no longer practical.

With only 8 antennas serving 35 belt packs, Bolero delivers clear, reliable communications and maximum

Riedel has numerous theatre customers in Australia and their team in Sydney is available to consult on any solution query. Contact them on (02) 9669 1199 or via riedel.net 58 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

coverage throughout the five-story theatre, including the auditorium, studios, and rehearsal spaces.

Oskeritzian added, “We wanted to cover our entire facility - a lot of space - with a minimum of antennas. After our extensive testing of the leading wireless solutions on the market, Bolero was far and away the best at meeting that challenge. We also tested and reviewed every other aspect of these systems, such as haptics, feature set, and the belt packs’ ease of use. The verdict: Bolero is outstanding!”

Read more at riedel.net/news Riedel’s all-new SmartPanel RSP1216HL sits atop the Théâtre du Châtelet’s mixing console.

New Releases For Community Theatres & Schools Choosing A Show

Much Revue About Nothing

By Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott The writers of the smash hit Wharf Revue, staged for the last 20 years by the Sydney Theatre Company, are preparing a compilation of their best sketches.

Over the years their revues have plundered all other forms of theatrical entertainment - from broad slapstick to high drama, from farce to Shakespeare, from Gilbert and Sullivan to Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Forty of their sketches will be published later this year by David Spicer Productions with a recommended selection to make up a ninety minute show.

Monologues and duologues will be suitable for performance by students.

Reserve your copy by emailing david@davidspicer.com

The team behind Wharf Revue.

Breathe Written as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, Breathe follows five couples grappling with the virus’s impact on their lives, families, relationships, society, and health. Ranging from light-hearted to heartbreaking, unbelievable and all-too-real, these vignettes tackle everything from parenting in COVID19, to Black Lives Matter protests, to saying goodbye to a spouse via Zoom.

Conceived and written by New York Times bestselling novelist Jodi Picoult and playwright Timothy Allen McDonald (James and The Giant Peach, The Big One-Oh!), Breathe consists of five interlocking suites, with music and lyrics from five song writing teams. By turns funny and heartbreaking, unbelievable and alltoo-real, Breathe is a musical chronicling an unprecedented time.

Read a free perusal at mtishows.com.au/breathe

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 59

On Stage Queensland Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl. Book by David Greig. Music by Marc Shaiman.

Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. John Frost, Craig Donnell, Warner Bros Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Until Oct 3. 136 246. qpac.com.au

Queensland

COVID-19 Update As this edition went to print, COVID-19 restrictions were in place across large sections of Australia and New Zealand. The scope and length of these directions are subject to change suddenly.

Readers are advised to monitor the prevailing restrictions and public health advice in their jurisdiction.

Check with the relevant theatre group, venue or ticket outlet for specific performance impacts, cancellation or rescheduling information.

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton, adapted by Tim McGarry. Queensland Theatre. La Bohème by Puccini. Opera Playhouse Theatre, QPAC. Until Q. Sep 24 - 25. Opera Q Studio, Southbank. 136 246.

Oct 3. 136 246. qpac.com.au oq.com.au Green Day’s American Idiot.

Naked Magicians. Empire Music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong and book Theatre, Toowoomba. Sep 24.

1300 655 299.

by Billie Joe Armstrong and empiretheatre.com.au Michael Mayer. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Until Oct 2. (07) The Very Hungry Caterpillar 5532 3224. gclt.com.au Show by Jonathan Rockefeller, based on Eric Carle’s Books.

Carpe Jugulum by Terry CDP Kids. Sep 25 - 28. Gardens Pratchett. Brisbane Arts Theatre. Until Nov 6. (07) 3369 Theatre. 136 246. gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au 2344. artstheatre.com.au

Please Leave Your Light On. Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky.

Oct 9 & 10. Brisbane Powerhouse. (07) 3358 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org

Return to the Dirt by Steve Pirie. Queensland Theatre. Oct 16 - Nov 6. Bille Brown Theatre. 1800 355 528. queenslandtheatre.com.au

Celtic Spectacular. Queensland Pops. Oct 9. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

The Gospel According To Paul

by Jonathan Biggins.

Playhouse, QPAC. Oct 19 - 24.

136 246. qpac.com.au

The Gruffalo. Based on the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

CDP / Tall Stories. Oct 12 - 16.

Playhouse, QPAC. 136246 & Oct 19 & 20, Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, 1300 655 299. cdp.com.au

Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon.

Javeenbah Theatre, Nerang.

Until Oct 2. (07) 5596 0300. javeenbah.org.au

Ladies’ Day by Amanda Wittington. Ipswich Little Theatre. Sep 25 - Oct 9. (07) 3812 2389. ilt.org.au

Eventide by Bianca Butler Reynolds. Sunnybank Theatre, Sunnybank. Until Oct 2. (07) 3345 3964. sunnybank2020.com

The Drowsy Chaperone by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison.

Savoyards. Sep 25 - Oct 9. Star Broriginals. Emerging Elders.

Theatre, Wynnum. (07) 3893 Oct 14. Rooftop Lounge, 4321. savoyards.com.au QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under Live On Stage. Sep 21.

Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

Maze by The Naughty Corner.

Sep 29 - Oct 2. Brisbane Powerhouse. (07) 3358 8622. brisbanepowerhouse.org

Forgery. Australasian Dance Collective. Sep 22 - Oct 2.

Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

From London’s West End To Broadway. Mark Vincent & Mirusia. Sep 30. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

The Frog Prince. Opera Q & Shake & Stir. Opera Q Studio, Southbank. Sep 22 - 25. 136 246. oq.com.au

Big Stadium Rock Show. Oct 1, Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, 1300 655 299 & Oct 2, Twelfth Night Theatre. (07) 3252 5122. bigstadiumrock.com.au

Circa Workshops. Empire Theatre, Toowoomba. Sep 23 & 24. 1300 655 299. empiretheatre.com.au

60 Stage Whispers

Beethoven & Sibelius. QSO. Oct 1 - 2. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. Noosa Arts Theatre. Oct 14 - 24. (07) 5449 9343. noosaartstheatre.org.au

Singin’ In the Rain. Adapted from the movie by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

Music: Nacio Herb Brown.

Lyrics: Arthur Freed. Spotlight Theatrical Co, Benowa. Oct 22 - Nov 20. (07) 5539 4255. spotlighttheatre.com.au Fourthcoming by Nelle Lee. shake & stir. From Oct 23.

Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

Funny Girl: The Barbra Streisand Story. Melly Melody Entertainment. Twelfth Night John Williamson: My Australian Theatre. Oct 23 & 24. (07) Stories. Oct 15. Concert Hall, 3252 5122.

QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au twelfthnighttheatre.com.au Classics of Rodgers & Away by Michael Gow. La Boite Hammerstein. Twelfth Night Theatre. Oct 25 - Nov 13. (07) Theatre. Oct 15 & 16. (07) 3007 8600. laboite.com.au 3252 5122. twelfthnighttheatre.com.au Eireborne. Mellen Events. Oct 28. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 Prada Clutch’s All Drag Revue.

246. qpac.com.au Oct 15. Moncrieff Entertainment Centre, Jasper in Deadland by Ryan Bundaberg. (07) 4130 4100.

Scott Oliver and Hunter Foster. whatsonbundaberg.com.au Phoenix Theatre, Beenleigh.

Oct 29 - Nov 29. (07) 3103 Encore: Carole King’s Tapestry 1546. th 50 Anniversary Concert. Oct phoenixensemble.com.au 16. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au One Slight Hitch by Lewis Black. Toowoomba Repertory.

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Oct 30 - Nov 13. (07) 4632 8058. toowoombarep.com.au

The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan and the Alfred Hitchcock film.

Queensland Youth Orchestra Ipswich Little Theatre. Nov 18 Finale. Concert Hall, QPAC. Oct Dec 4. (07) 3812 2389.

30. 136 246. qpac.com.au ilt.org.au Mamma Mia! by Catherine Creatures of Prometheus. Ballet Johnson, Björn Ulvaeus and

by Beethoven. Lynch and Benny Andersson. Queensland Paterson. Nov 19 & 20. Twelfth Musical Theatre. Nov 2 - 14.

Night Theatre. (07) 3252 5122.

136 246. twelfthnighttheatre.com.au queenslandmusicaltheatre.com The Importance of Being Invincible - The Helen Reddy Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

Story. Nov 4. Concert Hall, Javeenbah Theatre, Nerang.

QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au Nov 19 - Dec 4. (07) 5596 0300. javeenbah.org.au Elvis If I Can Dream. Nov 4.

Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246.

One O'clock From The House qpac.com.au

by Frank Vickory. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Nov 19 - Dec 11.

Spider’s Web by Agatha (07) 5532 3224. gclt.com.au Christie. Nash Theatre, New Farm. Nov 5 - 27. (07) 3379 The Wickhams: Christmas at 4775. nashtheatre.com Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon.

Emma Dean: Live and Lush.

Growl Theatre. Nov 19 - Dec 4.

Moncrieff Entertainment Centre, Bundaberg. Nov 6. (07) growltheatre.org.au 4130 4100.

Hannah Gadsby - Body of whatsonbundaberg.com.au Work. Concert Hall, QPAC. Nov Queen Forever. Nov 6. Concert 25 - 27. 136 246. qpac.com.au Hall, QPAC. 136 246.

Dracula. Choreographer: qpac.com.au Krzystof Pastor. Composer: Wojciech Kilar. Qld Ballet. Lyric Cloudland The Musical.

Gardens Theatre. Nov 10 - 14. Theatre, QPAC. Nov 26 - Dec 4.

136 246. qpac.com.au 136 246. gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au Ladies In Black. Music & Lyrics: Vika and Linda - The Wait. Nov Tim Finn. Book: Carolyn Burns.

Coolum Players. Nov 26 - Dec 11. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 5. (07) 5446 2500.

246. qpac.com.au coolumtheatre.com.au Red Riding Hood To The Rock of Ages by Chris Rescue by Ashley Worsman.

D’Arienzo. Songs by Various Sunnybank Theatre. Nov 12 writers. Beenleigh Theatre 27. (07) 3345 3964.

Group. Nov 26 - Dec 11. (07) sunnybank2020.com 3807 3922.

Symphony of Angels. The beenleightheatregroup.com Angels. Nov 12. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au Viva Bob Vegas - Bob Downe.

Twelfth Night Theatre. Nov 27 Bjorn Again: Mamma Mia! & 28. (07) 3252 5122.

We’re Back Again! Nov 13. twelfthnighttheatre.com.au Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246.

Song to Symphony. QSO. qpac.com.au Concert Hall, QPAC. Nov 28.

Summer Rain by Nick Enright 136 246. qpac.com.au and Terrence Clarke. Villanova Players. Nov 13 - 28. (07) 3395 David Strassman in The Chocolate Diet. Concert Hall, 5168. villanovaplayers.com QPAC. Nov 29 - 30. 136 246. qpac.com.au Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

Queensland & Tasmania Tasmania Anything Goes. Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter. Original book by PG Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse. New Book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman. Musical Theatre Crew. Sep 17 - 25. Theatre Royal Studio Theatre, Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au A Midsummer Night’s Dream

by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Sep 24, Princess Theatre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au; Sep 28 Oct 2, Theatre Royal Studio Theatre, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien. John X. Oct 6 - 31. Theatre Royal, Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au

theatrenorth.com.au; Oct 7 - 9, Theatre Royal Studio Theatre, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward.

Hobart Repertory Theatre Society. Oct 8 - 17. The Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. playhouse.org.au Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Launceston Musical Society. Oct 15 - 23. Earl Arts Centre, Launceston. theatrenorth.com.au Mamma Mia! Music and Lyrics

by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Book by Catherine Johnson. Encore Theatre Company. Oct 22 - Nov 6.

Princess Theatre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au

Swansong by Connor MacDermottroe. Oct 28 - 30.

A Not So Traditional Story by Theatre Royal Studio Theatre, Nathan Maynard. Terrapin. Sep Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au 29 - Oct 2, Launceston College Drama Room,

SHOW POSTPONED - CHECK DETAILS

Stage Whispers 61

On Stage The Maids by Jean Genet, translated by Martin Crimp.

Archipelago Productions. Oct 28 - Nov 7. The Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. playhouse.org.au Aunty Donna - The Magical Dead Cat Tour. Century. Nov 11 & 12. Theatre Royal, Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au The Brian, The Bitch and The Bathrobe. Bawdy Pantos. Nov 24 - 27. Theatre Royal, Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au South Australia Evita. Lyrics by Tim Rice. Music

by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Gilbert & Sullivan Society of SA. Sep 23 - Oct 2. Arts Theatre. gandssa.com.au Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

by Edward Albee. State Theatre Company South Australia. Sep 24 - Oct 9. Dunstan Playhouse. statetheatrecompany.com.au Cinderella by Malcolm Harslett.

Mighty Good Productions. Sep 24 - Oct 9. Star Theatres. startheatres.com.au Same Time, Next Year by Bernard Slade. IpSkip Productions. Sep 29 - Oct 3.

The Bakehouse Theatre. bakehousetheatre.com Home Shopping Studios Live!

by Claire Epstein & Scaredy-Cat

by Brendan Hogan. Wings2Fly Theatre. Oct 2 & 3. Holden Street Theatres. holdenstreettheatres.com Nice Work if You Can Get It. Book by Joe DiPietro. Songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Met Musicals. Oct 14 - 23. Arts Theatre. metmusicals.com.au Clock for No Time by Michèle Saint-Yves. Rumpus Theatre.

Oct 19 - 31. Rumpus. rumpustheatre.org White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King. Sydney Theatre Company and Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta / OzAsia Festival. Oct 20 - 23. Dunstan 62 Stage Whispers

Tasmania, South Australia & W.A.

Playhouse. ozasiafestival.com.au The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and Tectonic Theatre Project. Red Phoenix Theatre.

Oct 21 - 30. Holden Street Theatres. holdenstreettheatres.com

Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector. State Theatre Company South Australia. Nov 12 - 27. Dunstan Playhouse. statetheatrecompany.com.au Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.

Unseen Theatre Company. Nov 17 - 27. The Bakehouse Theatre. unseen.com.au

OzAsia Festival. Oct 21 - Nov 7.

Various Venues.

Humble Boy by Charlotte ozasiafestival.com.au Jones. Adelaide Rep. Nov 18 27. Arts Theatre.

Open Homes. Jeffrey Tan & No adelaiderep.com Strings Attached Theatre of Disability / OzAsia Festival. Oct Hamlet in the Other Room.

22 - Nov 7.

Rumpus Theatre Inc. Nov 29 ozasiafestival.com.au Dec 7. Rumpus. rumpustheatre.org Perahu-Perahu. OzAsia Festival.

Oct 27 - 30. Space Theatre.

Western Australia ozasiafestival.com.au Sydney II: Lost and Found by Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jenny Davis. Theatre 180. Until Jones. Joh Hartog Productions. Nov 21. Live theatre performed Oct 27 - Nov 6. The Bakehouse in cinemas - various locations Theatre. bakehousetheatre.com including Ace Cinemas Midland and Oran Cinemas Albany, Action Star by Maria Tran and Perth. theatre180.com.au Therese Chen. OzAsia Festival.

Oct 28 - 30. Dunstan Clue: On Stage by Sandy Playhouse.

Rustin, based on the screenplay ozasiafestival.com.au

by Johnathon Lynn. Melville Theatre. Sep 10 - 25. Melville Double Delicious. OzAsia Theatre. meltheco.org.au Festival. Oct 28 - 30.

InterContinental Hotel.

Our Gang by Stephen Gregg. ozasiafestival.com.au Garrick Theatre. Sep 16 - Oct 2. Garrick Theatre, Guildford.

Midway to Nowhere by George (08) 9378 1990.

Djukic. Nov 2 - 6. Star Theatres. trybooking.com/779687 startheatres.com.au The Addams Family Young at The Demon by Michael Part by Marshall Brickman, Rick Mohammed Ahmad. OzAsia Elice and Andrew Lippa.

Festival. Nov 4 - 6. Dunstan Stirling Players. Sep 17 - Oct 2.

Playhouse.

Stirling Theatre, Innaloo. ozasiafestival.com.au trybooking.com/BNVUL The Audience by Peter Morgan.

Love Begins at 50 by Raymond Therry Theatre. Nov 4 - 13. Arts Hopkins. Rockingham Theatre Theatre. therry.org.au Company. Sep 17 - Oct 2. The Castle Theatre.

Two by Raghav Handa. rtcrockingham.com Performing Lines / OzAsia Festival. Nov 5 & 6. Space Z6QCQ6 Code of Rituals by Theatre. ozasiafestival.com.au Elisabeth Eitelberger. Art in High Fidelity. Music: Tom Kitt. Process, Existence Theatre. Sep 22 - 25. Victoria Hall, Lyrics: Amanda Green. Book: Fremantle. artinprocess.com David Lindsay-Abaire. Hills Musical Company. Nov 5 - 20.

Gasp! by Ben Elton. Wanneroo Stirling Community Theatre.

Repertory. Sep 23 - Oct 9. hillsmusical.org.au Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo. limelighttheatre.com.au Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Director Valerie Berry performs alongside storytelling and culinary legends Elizabeth Chong, Raghav Handa, Heather Jeong and Benjamin Law in Double Delicious.

A limited number of shows are part of the OzAsia Festival, with performances on October 28, 29 & 30 at The Intercontinental, North Terrace, Adelaide. ozasiafestival.com.au Photo: Clare Hawley.

Western Australia Hay Fever by Noël Coward. Old Mill Theatre. Sep 24 - Oct 9.

Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. trybooking.com/BNRHE Disney’s The Little Mermaid by Doug Wright, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. HAMA. Sep 24 - Oct 3. Regal Theatre, Hay St, Subiaco. hamaproductions.com.au The One Who Planted Trees by Amberly Cull. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Sep 25 - Oct 9. SPPT, Fremantle. sppt.asn.au Watch and Act by Katie McAllister. Sep 28 - Oct 16.

The Blue Room Theatre. blueroom.org.au Hiccup! AWESOME Festival and Windmill Theatre. Sep 28 30. Studio Underground State Theatre Centre of WA. ptt.wa.gov.au Defying Gravity. Divalicious.

Sep 28-30. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. ptt.wa.gov.au Disney’s The Lion King Kids by Tim Rice and Elton John.

Roleystone Theatre. Oct 1-10.

Roleystone Hall. roleystonetheatre.com.au

Online extras!

Get a mouth-watering taste of Double Delicious. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/hCFB7KVvJX8 Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au

Love Letters to the Revolution

by Sian Murphy. The Blue Room. Oct 5 - 21. The Blue Room Theatre. blueroom.org.au Koolbardi wer Wardong by Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse.

West Australian Opera. Oct 2 6. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth.

(08) 6212 9292. ptt.wa.gov.au Anything Goes by Cole Porter.

Stray Cats Theatre Company.

Oct 7 - 10. Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. manpac.com.au Bite the Hand by Chris Isaacs.

The Last Great Hunt. Oct 12 23. Subiaco Arts Centre, Subiaco. ptt.wa.gov.au The Sorcerer by Gilbert and Sullivan. The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of WA. Oct 14 - 23. 70th Anniversary of G&S Society of WA. Dolphin Theatre, University of WA. ticketswa.com Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott. Fremantle Performing Artists. Oct 21 - 30. The Actors Hub, East Perth. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au Murders at the Maj - Fringe Murders. Cluedunnit. Oct 21 23. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. ptt.wa.gov.au

Disney’s Moana Jr by Opetaia Foa’I, Mark Mancina and Lin Manuel-Miranda. Roleystone Theatre. Oct 1 - 10. Roleystone Hall. roleystonetheatre.com.au 100 Reasons for War. Adapted

by Tom Holloway. Roxy Lane The Wizard of Oz by Peter Theatre. Oct 22 - Nov 7. Roxy Howard, Larry Wilcox and John Lane Theatre, Maylands. (08) Kane. Laughing Horse Inc. Oct 9255 3336. taztix.com.au 1 - 9. City of Gosnells Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, The Marriage of Figaro by Thornlie. (08) 9498 9414.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. laughinghorse.asn.au West Australian Opera. Oct 23 - 30. His Majesty’s Theatre, Murder at Café Noir. Life on Perth. (08) 6212 9292.

Hold Productions. Oct 1 - 9. ptt.wa.gov.au Melville Bowling Club. trybooking.com/BSNVP Monstrous Woman. Tempest Theatre. Nov 3 - 6. Subiaco Animal Farm by Van Badham, Arts Centre. ptt.wa.gov.au from George Orwell’s novel.

Black Swan State Theatre Mamma Mia! by Catherine Company. Oct 2 - 24. Heath Johnson, Björn Ulvaeus and Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Benny Andersson. Serasi Centre of WA, Northbridge.

Entertainment. Nov 3 - 13. bsstc.com.au Regal Theatre. ticketek.com.au Stage Whispers 63

On Stage Folds. WAAPA 2nd Year Performance Making Students.

Nov 4 - 6. WA Museum Boola Bardip. (08) 9370 6635. waapa.ecu.edu.au Spongebob The Musical by Tina Landau and Kyle Jarrow.

Art in Motion Theatre. Nov 5 13. City of Gosnells Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie. (08) 9498 9414. drpac.sales.ticketsearch.com Wonder. WAAPA 3rd Year Performance Making Students and Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Nov 6. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Fremantle. sppt.asn.au

Western Australia & Online Theatre

Dating Black. Yirra Yaakin Theatre. Nov 16 - 27. Subiaco Arts Centre. ptt.wa.gov.au Treasure Island by Ben Crocker.

Garrick Theatre. Nov 18 - Dec 11. Garrick Theatre, Guildford.

(08) 9378 1990.

William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (Abridged) by Reed Martin and Austin Tichener. Melville Theatre. Nov 19 - Dec 4. Melville Theatre. meltheco.org.au

The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of a Christmas Carol by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jr. Taming of the Shrew by Darlington Theatre Players. Nov William Shakespeare.

17 - Dec 5. Marloo Theatre, Roleystone Theatre. Nov 6 - 14. Greenmount.

Araluen Botanic Gardens, marlootheatre.com.au Roleystone.

The Tempest by William roleystonetheatre.com.au Shakespeare. Black Swan State Walardu Thula by David Milroy. Theatre Company. Nov 20 WAAPA Aboriginal Dec 11. Octagon Theatre, Performance Students. Nov 11 University of Western Australia.

- 18. Enright Theatre, WAAPA, bsstc.com.au Edith Cowan University, Mt Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Lawley. (08) 9370 6635.

Menken and Howard Ashman. waapa.ecu.edu.au Entertain’d. Nov 24 - 27. Regal The Naked Truth by Dave Theatre. entertaind.me Simpson. KADS. Nov 12 - 27.

Murders at the Maj - Dead KADS Town Square Theatre, Cert. Cluedunnit. Nov 25 - 27.

Kalamunda.

Downstairs at the Maj, His kadstheatre.com.au Majesty’s Theatre, Perth.

Happy Days by Garry Marshall ptt.wa.gov.au and Paul Williams, based on Jack and the Beanstalk the TV series. Murray Music Pantomime. Wanneroo and Drama. Nov 12 - 27.

Repertory. Nov 25 - Dec 11.

Pinjarra Civic Centre.

Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo. taztix.com.au limelighttheatre.com.au Bright Star by Steve Martin and Summer of the 17th Doll by Ray Edie Brickell. WAAPA 2nd Year Lawler. Stirling Players. Nov 26 Music Theatre Students. Nov - Dec 11. Stirling Theatre, 12 - 18. Roundhouse Theatre, Morris Pl, Innaloo.

WAAPA, Edith Cowan stirlingplayers.com.au University, Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6635. waapa.ecu.edu.au Hogfather by Terry Pratchett adapted by Stephen Briggs.

Summer Rain by Nick Enright Roleystone Theatre. Nov 26 nd and Terence Clark. WAAPA 2 Dec 4. Roleystone Hall.

Year Acting Students. Nov 13 roleystonetheatre.com.au 18. The Edith Spiegeltent.

WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. (08) 9370 6635. waapa.ecu.edu.au 64 Stage Whispers

Online Theatre Berlin by Joanna Murray Smith.

MTC Digital Theatre. mtc.com.au Riverside Theatres Digital On Demand riversideparramatta.com.au Come From Away Apple TV+ apple.co/3yV9qRL Hamilton Disney+ disneyplus.com/en-au/welcome/hamilton Schmigadoon Apple TV+ apple.co/3tynZtI Ensemble Conversations Ensemble Theatre. fb.watch/7WUmB6nROk Diana: The Musical Netflix. From Oct 1. netflix.com/au/title/81323667 Tick, Tick...Boom! by Jonathan Larson.

Netflix. From Nov 19. netflix.com/au/title/81149184 Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Prime Video amzn.to/3BVhYKv Toby by Abe Pogos ReAction Theatre. vimeo.com/562322951 Bigger & Blacker - Stephen Oliver’s Life In Cabaret Sydney Opera House. stream.sydneyoperahouse.com/products/bigger-blacker Hansard National Theatre at Home. ntathome.com/products/hansard Treasure Island National Theatre at Home. ntathome.com/products/treasure-island Diana: The Musical.

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

The Mermaid.

Photo: Pier Carthew.

Reviews

Online extras!

Watch a preview of The Mermaid, or stream the show in its entirety. lamama.com.au The Mermaid Devised & performed by Allegra Di Lallo, An Dang, Theo Boltman, Casper Plum, Flora Feldman, Marshall Morgan, Asha Randall-Sheppard, Ella Simons and Frankie Willcox.

Performance text by Izzy Roberts-Orr. Dramaturg: Vidja Raja. La Mama Courthouse, Carlton. Jul 30 - Aug 11.

A JOYOUS piece of collaborative invention by the teenage cast and adult theatre makers, The Mermaid takes off from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 tale - part agit-prop, part comedy-drama, part satire and stand-up, with references to the 1989 subversive Disney animation, Sophia Coppola’s aborted movie of the fairy tale, and the misogynistic vandalism perpetrated on the famous Copenhagen statue.

Text and the direction of Cassandra Fumi meld things into a cohesive whole. Designer Dann Barber gives us a very naturalistic swimming pool, a public space where teenagers are on display and under scrutiny. But with a change of Rachel Burke’s lighting, sound and music from Bianca Montagner, Christopher Bolton and Ivy Luo, it becomes under the sea, the home of the mermaids and our central character, The Mermaid (An Dang). The performers wear typical teen gear: there are no flipflopping mermaid tails here. The show has fun with The Prince (Casper Plum), a preening, grinning idiot, so conceited that he hardly needs to acknowledge anyone else’s presence.

These are not trained actors: nervousness and exuberance peep through occasionally, but it’s a disciplined cast with a firm grip on what and why they are

doing things, from coordinated movement through to complex and often poetic dialogue. It’s a show that makes a protest against stereotyping and the suppression of identity - with wit, ingenuity, tempered anger, and a real feeling for how live theatre works.

Michael Brindley Hibernation

By Finegan Kruckemeyer. State Theatre Company of South Australia. Dunstan Playhouse. Aug 13 - 28.

A WORLD premiere from Finegan Kruckemeyer, directed by Mitchell Butel, set in 2030, Hibernation explores global warming. Originally set in 2040, Butel and Kruckemeyer, stimulated by recent damning reports on global warming, reframed this, purposefully creating a sense of urgency, a challenge perhaps, that this is, tangibly, a heartbeat away.

Running nearly three hours, it is powerfully presented by the diverse, tight ensemble. The set (Jonathon Oxlade) and lighting (Gavin Norris) are heroes of Hibernation. The stark white, seamless backdrop is lit with a cornucopia of colours, enhancing characterisation, and the story, with Matt Byrne’s video design adding layers.

World politicians agree to a single response to save our planet, allowing the audience to also experience the challenges of the poor, the elderly and the powerless.

Parents Rashidi Edwards and Kialea-Nadine Williams suffer traumatic loss in Lagos, and Ezra Juanta and Chris Asimos in Bogota provide light relief as they care for indefatigable

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 65

Rosalba Clemente, who, as Cassandra, powerfully reminds us of the impending retribution that nature delivers.

To allow nature to replenish itself and address climate change, hibernation gas is administered across our planet.

Designed to simply suspend humans in time for one year, we see the beginning of many unintended consequences.

Poppy Kelly as Jeong worked confidently with James Smith as Sang, her Korean father. Smith also plays Pete, who along with mesmerising Elizabeth Hay as Maggie, are the focus of the second scene. Maggie and Pete are captivating, becoming gas-immune humans, looting, and witnessing horrendous events during hibernation.

Ansuya Nathan portrays Emily powerfully and with notable stage presence, fearlessly crossing swords with press, political advisers and politician Warwick Joyce, played by Mark Saturno with confidence, gravitas and a good dose of political ‘snake oil’.

This ground-breaking and unique presentation should be part of the Australian Curriculum, whilst being a ‘must see’ for adults, who are caretakers for everyone’s future.

Jude Hines

passion for playing poker led him to lose everything and subsequently kill his wife and daughter in a drunken rage.

The show, directed by James Chapman, with a good mix of other adult actors and younger performers, made this a play that gripped audience members and had them hoping they would never be jailed.

Ken Longworth

Grease

By Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey. Griffith University Performing Arts Students. Director: Alister Smith. Musical Director: Heidi Loveland. Choreography: Dan Venz.

Conservatorium, South Bank, Qld. Aug 12 - 18 THIS year’s major production of the Griffith Performing Arts students, Grease, was one of their best. With Adam Gardnir’s towering four-level scaffolding-type set featuring multiple staircases, a plethora of late fifties dance-moves by Dan Venz, and a kick-ass band under Heidi Loveland, Rydell High buzzed with life and energy.

We’ve seen Craig McLachlan and Rob Mills as the greaser, and of course the gold-standard - John Travolta’s movie performance, but young Sean Johnston, who The Shawshank Redemption played the role last night, could give them all a run for Adapted for the stage by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns. their money. And what’s more, he put his own stamp on Hunter Drama. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. Jul 29 - 31. the role in a carefree, nonchalant, and totally winning PLAYS and films that look at the lives of people performance. imprisoned for being involved in a murder invariably have Annelise Hall was a sweet and innocent-appearing audiences either repeatedly laughing at their behaviour or Sandy, and, when required, could she belt out those keeping straight faces. numbers.

The Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 film version of Liam Head’s Kenickie had all of the slicked-back hair Stephen King’s 1983 novella Rita Hayworth and attitude and nailed ‘Greased Lightnin’’, whilst Abigail Shawshank Redemption which was set in a prison, was a Dixon, as Pink Lady leader Rizzo, had a fine spotlight global hit because it had watchers laughing loudly. moment in ‘There Are Worse Things I Could Do’. Hanlon But a stage adaptation by comedians Owen O’Neill Innocent as Doody continued to impress, and although his fabulous baritone didn’t have the opportunity to soar and Dave Johns, that premiered in Dublin in 2009, has been praised for the way it mixes serious elements and like it did in the QSO’s Broadway To West End, he comedy to make the characters very real people, with brought a nice gauche humour to the part. audiences watching them intently.

Beau Wharton did a great job as the stitched-up Miss Hunter Drama, which trains young people to be Lynch, and Carla Beard was perfect as Sonny, a clone of actors, gave the play its Australian premiere.

Anybodys in West Side Story.

A mix of professional and other adult actors, and I don’t remember high-school reunions being as much acting students aged from the late teens to early 20s, fun! played the prisoners and those who guard them.

Peter Pinne The three professional actors - Ben Louttit, Carl Gregory, and Patrick Campbell - played very different The Butch Is Back characters. Louttit was Andy Dufresne, a softly spoken, Reuben Kaye and the K-holes. Miami Marketta, Gold intelligent banker in his early 30s, who claims to have Coast. Aug 28 - Sep 3. been falsely accused of murdering his two-timing wife ALL the stars in the universe couldn’t match the and her lover and given two consecutive life sentences, incandescent talent of the Supernova that is Reuben Kaye; making him determined to prove his innocence, or else so, they’ll have to be content to simply “Twinkle, escape.

Twinkle”. Yes, he truly is that good.

Carl Gregory was Red, in his early 40s, the prison fixer Spawned by Eddie Izzard out of Bette Midler, Kaye who gets other inmates what they want by smuggling doesn’t cross boundaries - he caresses them until they contraband into the jail, but can’t get himself released relax - and then stomps them to death and uses their from his 35-year sentence. blood as lip-gloss.

And Patrick Campbell was Brooksie, an aged convict He enters in pink - with a pannier overskirt that almost who runs the prison library, and was jailed when his decapitates the first row. Vocally he offers us Janelle Monae’s PYNK as an anthem, then follows it with a list of 66 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

why we deserved 2020 at machine gun speed. Satire at its best. He’s both intellectual and smart (seldom the same thing) and if you don’t get the references to Camus or George Orwell, well f**k you...it’s not his problem.

He’s electrifying and the energy level is so high that you fear he will explode and burn out before the show is finished - and he loves every minute of it. Once the boundaries are gone, there’s nothing to fear, and Kaye may be very confronting, but never frightening. The projected 60 minutes stretches to 75...and then 90...and still we want more. The band (all excellent musicians) may be exhausted, but Kaye is still challenging the Energiser Bunny (it’s pink) for the world record in stored power.

Kaye is a paradox wrapped in glamour. He’s elegantly grotesque and astonishingly beautiful, classy and crass, graceful and awkward, aggressive and vulnerable.

Reuben Kaye is a revelation.

Coral Drouyn Emilie La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight

By Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Michelle Ezzy. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Aug 11 - 14.

EMILIE La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, the debut production of Anatomical Heart Productions, is a fascinating story about a brilliant woman, overlooked by history. Beautifully presented, this

cleverly constructed story was well directed and told with intelligence and style.

Overtly and unapologetically theatrical, this well-acted ensemble performance drew you into 1700s France.

Kate O’Sullivan was excellent as protagonist and narrator, Emilie, beautifully conveying her depth of mind, passion and sense of being ahead of her time. Joanna Tyler played the same character - with outstanding facial expression and expert physicalisation.

Alan Gill was superb as the charming and dreadful Voltaire - a wonderfully portrayed mess of contradictions.

While historically Emilie has become a footnote in Voltaire’s story, Alan Gill’s careful portrayal allowed her intelligence to shine.

Wonderful support performances from the remaining cast. Nate Teune played most of the male figures in Emilie’s life with wonderful distinction and lovely comic timing. Kyra Bedford-Thomas and Hetty Lobegeiger played a plethora of roles - establishing believable characters quickly.

Costumes were exquisite and true to the era, with lovely work from Marjorie De Caux, Shelly Miller and Merri Ford. Atmospherically lit by Shelly Miller, the production featured organic composition from John Congear.

A wonderful choice for lovers of strong female characters, science, and strong new work.

Kimberley Shaw

Emilie La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight.

Photo: Michael McAllan.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Online extras!

The team behind Emilie discuss the show and what makes it unique. fb.watch/7Y25rC0BUg

Stage Whispers 67

The Stranger

By Agatha Christie. Hobart Repertory Theatre Society. The Playhouse. Jeff Kevin (Director). Jill Munro (Set). Jason James (Lighting Design). Karen Fahey (Costumes). Aug 27 - Sep 11.

THE Stranger is not your usual Agatha Christie, by reason of the fact that it was written by Christie herself, yet only published in 2017.

The stock characters one associates with Christie are not in evidence. There is no Miss Marple, no Poirot and no witless constable. Familiar are the archetypal domestics one dour and humourless, the other ingenuously amusing.

Angela Zonno, assured as Doris West, only appears in this first act. If there is a fault in the script, it is that she and Pip Tyrell do not reappear subsequently. What might have been a stock character is believably developed in Jon Lenthall’s hands.

Karen Kluss as Enid Bradshaw and Steven Jones as Gerald Martin share the stage for the greater part of the play. The Stranger is something of a psychological thriller and, with the clock (audibly) ticking down, it is no spoiler that much is required and is delivered by these actors.

The piece is enhanced by an evocative sound scape, effective lighting, and a startling use of symbolism. The set is stylised, suggestive of the era, without the ponderous detail typical of such productions.

The Stranger gains momentum imperceptibly. Without divulging the ending, it is difficult to say more, but it is nail-biting stuff, and the denouement is cathartic.

Anne Blythe-Cooper Every Brilliant Thing

By Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahue. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Directed by Adam Mitchell.

Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth, WA. Aug 25 - Sep 18.

EVERY Brilliant Thing is a surprise packed show that truly is a brilliant thing of its own. A one-man show, with the most unlikely of themes, this amazing performance by Luke Hewitt touches both hearts and funny-bones, uniting its audience in a unique and special way.

When a boy’s mother attempts suicide, he begins a list of “every brilliant thing” as a way of affirming that there is still joy in the world. We follow the compilation of this list, alongside the life-story of the protagonist in a beautifully relayed story. Members of the audience are recruited to play various key characters, to supply props and to help complete the list. Luke Hewitt gives a loveable, layered and tender performance, demonstrating expert and seemingly effortless improvisation skills, and showing wonderful comic timing, whilst discussing difficult topics such as suicide and depression with sensitivity, believability and care.

Online extras!

One-man show Every Brilliant Thing is an hour of life-affirming humour. youtu.be/FdAFKuMIsWs Every Brilliant Thing.

Photo: Marg Bertling.

68 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Street Scene.

Photo: Justin Ma.

A little show with big laughs, huge entertainment value and an enormous impact.

Kimberley Shaw Street Scene Music: Kurt Weill. Lyrics: Langston Hughes (with Elmer Rice). Book: Elmer Rice, from his 1929 Pulitzer Prizewinning drama. Queensland Conservatorium. Director: Michael Gow. Conductor: Johannes Fritzsch.

Conservatorium Theatre, Southbank. Sep 4 - 11.

STREET Scene is a tenement opera and with its overtones of Gershwin and Bernstein, falls in between the masterpieces of the genre, Porgy and Bess (1935) and West Side Story (1957).

Director Michael Gow and his production team decided to keep the piece in the forties (when it was conceived), a wise choice. It’s an ambitious project for this group of students who were not always equipped vocally to meet the demands of the music, not helped by an indifferent sound mix.

Tom Nicholson as the villain of the piece, the damaged and abusive husband Frank, was a roaring vocal force whose moving finale ‘I Loved Her Too’ captured the dignity of a cuckolded man, as did Lucy Stoddart as the teenage daughter Rose, whose ‘What Good Would The Moon Be?’ was etched with pathos.

The work came alive with the obvious Broadway pieces, with Camilo Lopez as Harry Easter nailing the song -and-dance ‘Wouldn’t You Like To be On Broadway’. The hit of the night was Sean Johnston (Dick) and Carla Beard

(Mae), on loan from Griffith Musical Theatre, in the full swing/boogie-woogie ‘Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed’. It was like a Rogers and Astaire routine, dancing over balustrades and up and down stairs, executed with great skill.

Like Bernstein, Weill always orchestrated his own work, and the pit musicians were in fine form under Johannes Fritzsch playing this ominous, dissonant, and lovely score.

Peter Pinne True West

By Sam Shepard. Bakehouse Theatre (SA). Jul 14 - 17.

TRUE West is a confronting, powerful, and at times very uncomfortable piece of theatre to watch. The audience rides a bronco throughout this play - bucked, jolted and thrown to the ground on many occasions.

Unlike a bronco ride however, jarring and fairly mindless, the play is confrontational and thought-provoking.

The latest incarnation of this American play about two brothers caught up in a cycle of violence and aggression, borne of ancestry, certainly packs a punch as presented by local actors Marko Siklich and Ronnie Greenwell.

Greenwell is excellent as Austin - nailing the conservative Ivy League graduate in the first act, then building a drunken, at times comic (the toast scene has to be seen to be believed) angry brother, fighting back. His physicality is amazing. Marko Siklich as Lee is scary; his physical presence and booming voice are commanding and riveting. Rick Mills as Saul, the Hollywood producer, is convincingly manipulative and self-serving, whilst Caroline

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 69

Online extras!

Meet the Prima Facie team as they share their views on the show. youtu.be/ZOD0EFWUj_g Mignone’s brief appearance as the ‘blurred’ mother is outstanding in its simplicity and pathos.

This very clever play is not easy to watch. The crumbling of the American Dream, represented by Austin and the contrasting wildness of his brother Lee, cleverly cross and meld, showing that both are really not that different from each other. Just as their lives are destroyed, so too is the set, which on exiting the theatre is a stark reminder of how what we believe to be true can be thrown into complete turmoil very easily.

Shelley Hampton Prima Facie

By Suzie Miller. Directed by Lee Lewis. Bille Brown Theatre, Queensland Theatre. Jul 14 - Aug 7.

IN Prima Facie, ex-lawyer and playwright Suzie Miller looks at how the legal system serves us today. Through her story of high-powered legal eagle Tessa (Sheridan Harbridge), Miller specifically examines how the process fails victims of sexual assault. In particular, we see what happens when Tessa’s professional and private life takes an unexpected turn in a split second. At the heart of the story is a disturbing sexual assault. The scripting is brutally honest, but never exploitative or overdramatised, resulting in the most realistic portrayal I’ve seen of the blurred lines and confusion of a sexual encounter turned swiftly and harrowingly wrong. From the opening scene, this play is fast-paced, with poetically succinct use of language.

Director Lee Lewis and her actor have worked well together to keep the pace energetic and engaging. It is 70 Stage Whispers

Sheridan Harbridge in Prima Facie.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

edge-of-seat viewing and the one-act format serves the story well. The structure is sharp, building tension by cutting back and forwards in the timeframe. By the end, we feel Tessa’s exhaustion as the story comes to its inevitable conclusion.

In telling Tessa’s story, Sheridan Harbridge does a superb job. This is a one-woman show and, as sole performer, she also has to evoke other incidental characters, including a courtroom and a legal office full of men. It is a knife-edge portrayal by a talented and disciplined performer, tackling a complex character in a topical and powerful play.

Beth Keehn SYSTEM_ERROR

By Chamber Made - co-creators & performers Tamara Saulwick & Alisdair Macindoe. Arts House, North Melbourne. Jul 7 - 11.

TWO ‘performers’ - Tamara Saulwick and Alisdair Macindoe - in black, zippered jumpsuits, sit either side of the deep playing space - the floor of which is a kind of huge circuit board. Each ‘plays’ - or manipulates - a white console and their movements, touches and strokes create sounds and geometric shapes on the huge cyclorama behind them.

Later, they employ the whole space, interacting with the ‘electronically conductive tape which functions as a live circuit activated by touch’. We attempt to make sense of the sounds and shapes - but there is no necessary connection. Sound - and snatches of spoken words -

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

make the shapes, binary code and dense, ‘explanatory’ text that fills and overwhelms the cyclorama - and the spectator.

Paradoxically, this work is abstract and ‘cold’, and yet it engenders turmoil and melancholy. There is no narrative, but we are taken deeper and deeper into questions to do with the ‘systems’ that we are, and the systems that we inhabit, use, integrate with and are controlled by - and within those systems there are errors.

Do we have agency? What is in control? Where are we in the nexus between ‘human’ and technology? In one sequence, with moving text by Emilie Collyer, Ms Saulwick might be a therapist or a scientist conducting an experiment, and Mr Macindoe (a patient?) - attempts to fix the moment where he became/becomes genuinely conscious. Of himself? Or the world in which he lives?

The ‘vast, bespoke instrument’ is designed by Mr Macindoe, who is also a dancer. The data visualisation is

by Melanie Huang and the audio engineer is Nick Roux; the perfectly judged lighting is by Amelia Lever-Davidson.

Here is a work that evokes a powerful emotional effect by highly original means.

Michael Brindley

Here, There And Everywhere

By Nicholas Thoroughgood. Bearfoot Theatre. The Creative Arts Space (CAS) Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle).

Jul 28 - 31.

A PLAY that largely has two women in their 20s seen on a theatre screen as they move around different parts of their house, before appearing near the front of the stage, might seem unlikely to be an engrossing hit with audience members.

But Here, There and Everywhere, written and directed

by Newcastle actor, writer and director Nicholas Thoroughgood, had watchers eagerly discussing the characters and their relationships during the intermission of its premiere production.

The women, Amber (Anna Lambert) and Joan (Belinda Hodgson), had become friends in high school, but only re -encountered each other a few years after they graduated and decided to share a house. The play reveals their everchanging relationships over a period of five years, and their interactions with two other young people who become their friends, Sasha (Hannah Richens) and Harry (Lachlan Fairhall), with that couple eventually wedding.

The play’s title is drawn from the name of a popular Beatles song and it certainly reflects the nature of the Collision song, with the characters often running into each other in very different places.

By Casus Circus. Presented by Metro Arts. Directed by Natano Fa’anana. Choreography by Ché Pritchard. New Nicholas Thoroughgood is only 22, but he has had a Benner Theatre at Metro Arts. Jul 14 - 18. remarkable theatre career since he began acting training IN Collision, Casus Circus and Mad Dance House have at age nine with Newcastle’s Young People’s Theatre. combined their skills to astound audiences.

When he was 12 he was one of five juvenile actors chosen During the show you’ll see three superb circus to share the role of Michael Banks in the Australian performers and three energetic urban street dancers pop, professional premiere production in Sydney of the popular lock, flip, flex and contort. Their bodies are capable of jaw musical Mary Poppins.

-dropping feats. It’s all set to a toe-tapping soundtrack And he has certainly shown his many theatre skills in the productions staged by Bearfoot Theatre, a company that includes contemporary and retro music across hip hop, soul, and funk. he and other young people established in their teens to develop and present very different plays, with one he Choreography by Ché Pritchard is superbly entertaining. There’s a lot of fun and physical comedy in wrote and appeared in, I Hope It’s Not Raining in London, the acts, which take the form of a variety of short getting good reviews and large audiences on a tour that segments. Each segment allows one or two of the included seasons in Sydney and Melbourne. performers to shine. There are hoola hoop acts, B boy This play also deserves to get that treatment. dancing, acrobatics, balancing, mime-juggling, tumbling, Ken Longworth acrobalance and adagio, aerial rope and even a little bit of Here, There And Everywhere. sleight of hand magic.

Performers Amy Stuart, Riley Colquist, Ela Bartilimo, Wanida Serce, Sam Evans and Ben Garcia should all be commended for their outstanding efforts. It’s impossible to choose one stand-out as they all give the show 100 percent. Most delightfully, you can really tell they love doing what they do. The joy is palpable in Collision.

Director Natano Fa’anana really has nurtured some wonderful talent and allowed them the space to shine, take risks and astound the crowd.

This is excellent and thrilling physical entertainment by dedicated performers.

Kitty Goodall

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 71

Wanha! Journey to Arnhem.

Photo: Elizabeth Rogers.

Darwin Festival 2021

This year’s Darwin Festival was a glittering showcase for performers from the Northern Territory. For a city, and indeed a territory, so often left out of the national conversation, our Darwin-based reviewer Geoffrey Williams enjoyed the opportunity to share the wealth of talent and creative innovation that is happening in Darwin and throughout the Northern Territory. Here are abridged versions of his reviews.

Wanha! Journey To Arnhem Sometimes we experience an event that might be considered life changing. Preconceptions disintegrate. Our minds race to keep up with all the details of this rapidly evolving new experience...and after a moment of panic about how little and lost we feel in this totally unexpected new realm, we have no choice but to surrender to the perfect combination of time, talent, and place. Wanha!

Journey to Arnhem is such an event.

Wanha! (‘great to go’) began as a series of ‘East Arnhem Live’ online concerts, but it is the preserve of live performance that makes the experience of music all encompassing - and after the elegant and powerfully authoritative introduction by Merrkiyawuy GanambarrStubbs, Djakapurra Munyarryun’s performance of his amazing songlines dismantled whatever critical faculty I might have brought with me. My soul felt suddenly and uncommonly nourished and alert. It felt as though I had been called and embraced, and yet the distance between us seemed almost unnaturally wide. Completely confused, I could only sink further into the grass where I sat. I mustn’t have been the only one, because when the Andrew Gurruwiwi Band powered up for their spectacular rendition of Back to Culture, the capacity audience rose from the grass and their chairs and surged to the stage.

Each of the performers worked their undeniable magic on their captivated crowd who would have stayed all night. If ever you can experience Wanha! Journey to Arnhem, don’t hesitate.

72 Stage Whispers

Constantina Bush: Ride the Night Train.

Photo: Foldback Magazine.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Constantina Bush: Ride The Night Train I first had the privilege of discovering Constantina Bush a decade ago at Red Bennies in Melbourne. So, ten years later, what might have changed? In a word, everything.

Constantina Bush is now the consummate Diva - a beyond glamourous, impatient Showgirl who keeps her audience waiting, while the sensational The Night Train band riffed on the ear-worm-inducing ‘Constantina’ for what seemed like an eternity. Then, with a kind of wearying fatigue, Constantina appeared - and from there on in, she and the brilliant company of musicians and vocalists on stage with her hit the accelerator.

The Night Train band sounded gorgeous all night.

David Spry’s original songs were musically supreme - and ‘Rolling With You’ has all the soul, structure and pizazz of truly great standard.

Miss Bush still flirts with the concept of humility, but only for as long as it suits her. She still balances a playful innocence with a sweet-natured naivety, but she has developed into a fine blues singer and a razor-sharp comedic assassin, gently and generously engaging with individual audience members, before seemingly becoming bored with the whole pretence and launching into another of Spry’s showstoppers ‘The Night Train’.

Constantina Bush sent me off into the night with my soul replenished and my heart singing.

Value For Money GUTS Dance Central Australia.

Powered by unparalleled choreographic vision and invention, and Tom Snowdon’s scorching soundscape, Value for Money is the most outstanding piece of contemporary dance theatre I have ever seen. Performing with unmatched skill and artistry, the dancers’ faultless execution of this punishing journey was absolutely riveting - matching the physical challenges of the work’s luxurious, choreographic adventurousness to perfection.

Chris Mercer’s inspired lighting design matched Snowdon’s epic soundscape by creating an atmosphere of something like a dreamlike, dystopian wasteland - at turns warm, at others utterly chilling - but always with a beautifully considered accuracy when it mattered most.

Beginning with Frankie Snowdon’s epic, contorted and razor-sharp isolated solo and ending with the ensemble’s pulsating, naked bodies eventually finding solace on the floor, Value for Money explores the limits of our physical and emotional connectedness to the land, to each other and ourselves. The performance explores a dazzling array of perceptions and permissions, at one point exploding into a virtuoso ‘rave’, where the ensemble diagonally traverses the stage in fighting fits of flight and a raging athleticism that took my breath away.

Value for Money is all instinct, muscle, pulse, balance and pure, transformative performance magic.

Value For Money.

Photo: Ivan Trigo.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 73

Online extras!

The hot August nights were even hotter at Darwin Festival 2021. Scan or visit youtu.be/oDJhUlzYDnU Seasons Of Skin And Bark Tracks Dance Company When Cyclone Tracy made landfall directly onto Darwin at 3.30am on 25 December 1974, it would not be until between 6.30am and 8.30am on Christmas Day that the winds and rainfall would begin to ease. In the Botanic Gardens, an uprooted Albizia saman (South American Rain Tree) was one of only 10% of the gardens’ inhabitants to survive. And it is at the base of this damaged, grand old tree, and beneath its magnificent, shambolic canopy that this exceptional ensemble creates pure theatrical magic.

From the opening magisterial gathering at the base of the tree to its celebratory monsoonal rain-soaked conclusion, Seasons of Skin and Bark crackles with an epic, luxurious, and beautifully considered choreographic invention, powered by James Mangohig’s extraordinary soundscape, featuring Larrakia musician Lena Kellie.

While the choreography boasts moments of grand balletic flourishes, much of the work revolves around a tentative, sensory exploration...as if each of the dancers represent a nerve ending of every leaf and every one of the tree’s tiny branches glittering above us within Chris Kluge’s subtle and effective lighting design.

Throughout the performance, the ensemble displays exceptionally focussed levels of athleticism and skill.

They entwine, traverse, react, respond and engage with the work so immediately, that by the time the performance comes to its intimate, whispered conclusion, we realise that we have just been hypnotised by the wonder and mystery of another exceptional performance by this marvellously innovative company.

The Hypotheticals.

Photo: Charlie Bliss.

The Hypotheticals Performing their award-winning script, Sarah Reuben and Jeffrey Jay Fowler positively sparkle as best friends navigating the idea of having a child together. The ingenious structure - an involving and illuminating series of vignettes - serves the numerous ‘what if?’ narrative arcs to perfection. We find ourselves spinning from gender preferences and baby-naming conventions to Darwinism and the minefield of faith-based and religious ideological conflict (he is an Atheist, and she comes from a large Jewish family).

When she moves to the NT while he remains in Perth, the ‘hypotheticals’ morph into reality. Loneliness, distance, unfulfilled potential, and separation anxiety threaten to derail their friendship. But instead, we find ourselves in an exploration of the differences between relationships built on sexual and romantic foundations and those that are based on purely platonic foundations.

Under what circumstances do human relationships defy convention and classification? This is rich, tricky territory, but Fowler and Reuben never do anything less than absolutely rise to the challenges they set themselves.

Jessica Devereux’s choreography brings an inspired, refreshingly abstract physical vocabulary to the work, but what brings this work home is the candid honesty that Fowler and Reuben bring to not only their script, but to their powerhouse performances.

Seasons Of Skin And Bark.

Photo: Duane Preston

74 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE SEPT/OCT/NOV 2021. VOLUME 30, NUMBER 4 ABN 71 129 358 710 ISSN 1321 5965

Baby Shower.

Photo: Flowpyre.

Baby Shower On a perfect Darwin night under the stars, the 37 weeks pregnant Amy Hetherington took to the stage, immediately winning our hearts with her megawatt smile and personality, before embracing our mask-wearing, COVID-anxious souls in the theatrical equivalent of a bear hug. And from that moment, we were all hers.

Baby Shower is a little gem of a show that races through its hour-long run time - and unlike some comedians who cruelly skewer unfortunate family members, Hetherington (who refreshingly never takes herself too seriously), embraces her Mum, Dad and her civil engineer boyfriend’s idiosyncrasies along the journey with her through the balancing act that is pregnancy.

There are fun riffs on how being pregnant impacts on your body and your senses and on what it will be like to eventually raise a child in her beloved Darwin.

Danielle Andrews and Eve Lynch make an irreverent guest appearance as zany Kegel exercise instructors stopping the show with their camp musical interlude. And when the pregnant lady chorus line appeared in matching black lingerie to perform “All the pregnant ladies (put your bumps up!)”, Baby Shower took on an almost Mel Brooks’ The Producers-inspired hilarity.

All correspondence to: The Editor, Stage Whispers, P.O. Box 2274, Rose Bay North 2030, New South Wales.

Telephone: (03) 9758 4522 Advertising: stagews@stagewhispers.com.au Editorial: neil@stagewhispers.com.au PRINTED BY: Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville, 2204.

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DEADLINES For inclusion in the next edition, please submit articles, company notes and advertisements to Stage Whispers by November 12th, 2021.

SUBSCRIPTION Prices are $39.50 for 6 editions in Australia and $60AUD elsewhere. Overseas Surface Mail (Airmail by special arrangement). Overseas subscribers please send bank draft in Australian currency. Maximum suggested retail is $6.95 including GST. Address of all subscription correspondence to above address. When moving, advise us immediately of your old and new address in order to avoid lost or delayed copies.

FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS Are welcomed by this magazine and all articles should be addressed to Stage Whispers at the above address. The Publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material. Black and white or colour photographs are suitable for production.

DISCLAIMER All expressions of opinion in Stage Whispers are published on the basis that they reflect the personal opinion of the authors and as such are not to be taken as expressing the official opinion of The Publishers unless expressly so stated. Stage Whispers accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any opinion or information contained in this magazine.

LIMITED BACK COPIES AVAILABLE. ADVERTISERS We accept no responsibility for material submitted that does not comply with the Trade Practices Act. CAST & CREW Editor: Neil Litchfield 0438 938 064 Sub-editor: David Spicer Advertising: Angela Thompson 03 9758 4522 Layout, design & production: Phillip Tyson 0414 781 008 Contributors: Cathy Bannister, Anne Blythe-Cooper, Mel Bobbermien, Michael Brindley, Rose Cooper, Kerry Cooper, Ken Cotterill, Bill Davies, Coral Drouyn, Jenny Fewster, Peter Gotting, Frank Hatherley, Jude Hines, John P. Harvey, Barry Hill, Tony Knight, Neil Litchfield, Ken Longworth, Kitty Goodall, Rachel McGrath-Kerr, Roger McKenzie, Peter Novakovich, Peter Pinne, Martin Portus, Sally Putnam, Suzanne Sandow, Kimberley Shaw, David Spicer, Carol Wimmer, Mark Wickett, Beth Keehn, Geoffrey Williams and Debora Krizak.

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 75

Musical Spice

We Can’t Rock You Boom, boom, boom - another one bites the dust. It is a catchy tune, but for 2021 it is my least favourite Queen song, reminding me of what is happening to productions of We Will Rock You that I license.

Last November a season in Perth was the highest grossing musical in the world for that month. Sadly, many productions of the musical this year have run out of luck.

In Victoria the Ballarat Lyric Theatre opened on July15 - an eagerly anticipated event for the 100 strong cast and crew.

“We had sold out our next 11 shows and we were ecstatic. Ben Elton (writer of WWRY) and Brian May (Queen) had forwarded their support for ‘flying the flag’ for live theatre,” said producer Michael Whitehead.

“Seven hours prior to curtain up we learnt of the next lockdown 11.59PM on opening night, which had now apparently become closing night! We didn’t anticipate that the first show would have us literally ‘finally’ on stage.

“There were tears from cast and confusion as to how long this might delay the season - in non-professional theatre many involved can’t extend the season due to their full-time occupation (actors with jobs!) commitments.”

The company is hoping to re-stage the season next year.

At DSP headquarters I cursed when I heard the Delta variant had leaked into New Zealand. Act Three

Time To Get Vaxed

Here in Sydney, we have been in lockdown for months.

Let me reveal the most exciting family outing during that time. It was driving two of my children to Olympic Park to get their vaccination. The excursion included a drive, walking into Qudos Bank Arena, flirting with the injectors, and being able to sit on the stage of the 20,000 seat venue.

Fingers crossed that in 2022 I will be able to take them back there to watch Harvest Rain’s arena season of...you guessed it...We Will Rock You. 76 Stage Whispers September 2021 - November 2021

Productions in Palmerston North had just completed three performances of their season of We Will Rock You when Jacinta Ardern closed the country. The company has also rescheduled for 2022.

There is sad news for little theatre companies and schools. The Phoenix Theatre Company in Doncaster Melbourne was scheduled to perform We Will Rock You in a 100-seat venue. In their cast were refugees from neighbouring SLAMS Music Theatre, which had to cancel its season in 2020.

There is lots of heartbreak in high schools. Many productions have sadly bitten the dust. A high school student wrote to Stage Whispers describing his excitement at playing the lead role in a musical with lavish costumes, sets and choreography.

For major high school productions there is often no such thing as next year, with student availability and exam timetables presenting immovable obstacles.

The public, sponsors and suppliers are helping cushion the financial blows.

Ballarat’s Michael Whitehead said, “We get messages from patrons saying that if we don’t proceed to then ‘just keep the ticket money!’ The local radio station, 3BA, announced that our advertising costs had been refunded and that if we proceed with a new season, they will advertise that for free.”

David Spicer

Read scripts, listen to music and order free catalogue at: davidspicer.com.au david@davidspicer.com (02) 9371 8458

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