ABC Theatre Review

Theatre with Susan Hetherington (Anywhere Festival x4)
20 May 2016 , 8:59 AM by Spencer Howson

Purgatorio by Ariel Dorfman Presented by 5pound theatre will play at Room to Play Independent Theatre
at the Paddington Substation until tomorrow. Perhaps it's the Catholic upbringing. Perhaps it's the past 24
hours living with gastro and thinking I might end up in hell, but for some reason the concept of Purgatory is
endlessly fascinating. Purgatory is the place where souls "undergo purification, so as to achieve the
holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven". It is the ultimate celestial twilight zone where the "purifying
fires" cleanse souls. But how does that work? How are those souls cleansed and who does the cleansing?
Purgatorio explores that concept with jaw-dropping, spine tingling imagination and daring. The degree to
which piece of theatre goes out on a limb starts before you enter the theatre (or perhaps arena is a better
term because it's like entering a Colosseum). As you are arrived you are asked "do you want to sit with the
person you are here with?" and possibly a supplementary question "Are you okay to climb down a ladder?'
Depending on your answer to those questions, you will find yourself allocated to either the Man or the
Women seats. The two seat tiers are at opposite ends of the performance space, an semi opaque black
gauze screen between the two ends. The woman (Freya Pragt) and the man (Jason Cavanagh) occupy
and end each. Only when the lighting and proximity to the screen allow do you see the second performer
(The lighting design of this piece is its third star). Revealing what has these two in their private cell
awaiting the possibility of eternal redemption would be to the ultimate spoiler. But it is sufficient to say Ariel
Dorfman's script is as tight as it is intriguing. This play takes the audience (tragically small tonight) on a
wild journey locked in an endless circle which makes you question whether real forgiveness and
redemption is actually possible or even desirable for some seriously flawed people - and who should make
that decision. This is extraordinarily powerful theatre that is confronting and thought provoking. You'll
condemn yourself to an eternal circle of remorse if you miss the tragically short season.
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Opera in the Reservoir continues at the Spring Hill Reservoir until May 29 In terms of the performing arts,
Opera is probably the genre I feel the least natural affinity towards. Which is why the format of Opera in the
Reservoir is far more suited to me than someone who might be a season subscription holder to an A List
opera company. The beautiful operatic voices are there without the commitment for a full opera. The venue
is one of Brisbane's most unusual - in pits and chambers of the 150-year-old reservoir on Wickham
Terrace. The acoustics are amazing and no seat is any more that eight rows back from the stage. In any
event the performers do like to mingle in the audience, their voices resonating around the subterranean
chambers. It's a thing of great beauty. But a venue doesn't make a performance. The package presented
by the Underground Opera Company includes four fine singers: soprano Dominique Fegan; mezzo
soprano Louise Dorsan; tenor Glenn Lorimer and baritone Darian Di Stefano-Jones as well as pianist
Brendan Murtagh. Throw in a creative use of multimedia with projections on the rear walls of each of the
four wings. Stitching the whole production together is Bruce Edwards a dynamic and enthusiastic host
whose energy is infectious even if his style and tone is not always what you might associate with strictly
operatic. Then again, neither is the repertoire. Yes, there were numbers from Tosca, Carmen and
Turandot. Puccini, Rossini and Verdi were represented. But also there was Gershwin, Sondheim, Menken,
Larson. This is why for someone like me, this was the best of both worlds and I loved it. There was just the
right amount of musical theatre to warm my little heart and when the song that is singing in your head as
you climb those scaffold stairs from the "Underground Operahouse" to the world of Wickham Terrace is
"you'll never walk alone" how can you complain?
Three Nights Only - One Note Stand! As part of the Anywhere Festival Little Tivoli - Flipside Circus
Training Centre 117 Mina Parade, Alderley Presented by Cluster Arts and Choral Pleasure It only leads to
treble! Have you even seen one of those acts were technically everything was okay, good even, but you
kind of felt that the performer or performers were tired. That this was the end of a long tour or a long
season or a long career and the joy was gone, it was jaded and what you were seeing was a performer
going through the motions? Even the ad libs felt forced. Tonight's performance by Choral Pleasure was
the anthisisis of that. This was so freshly baked that when the audience requested - no demanded - not
one but two encores the four young men looked at one another shrugged and worked out on the spot what
to sing. Their joy at performing together was as obvious as it was infectious. The quartet of Indigenous
singers - Jalen Sutcliffe, Dylan Hoskins, Jacob Ridgeway and Jay Bushby - grooved, crooned and belted
their way through favourites past and current as well as original numbers. Their diverse singing
backgrounds - contemporary, jazz, blues - which combined beautifully in the group numbers but were also
showcased individually in the solos and duets. Their harmonies were so beautiful it was hard to believe
this was their very first performance together as a quartet but on the other hand that must have had
something to do with the genuine freshness and excitement the performance oozed. As the title of this
Anywhere Festival performance Three Nights Only - One Note Stand! suggests this season lasts for only
three nights. Let us hope the quartet's endurance as a "thing" lasts far, far longer. It deserves to. Three
Nights Only - One Note Stand! as part of the Anywhere Festival continues at the Little Tivoli (Flipside
Circus Training Centre) 117 Mina Parade, Alderly, only until Saturday. For tickets visit the Anywhere
Festival site.
The Tempest by William Shakespeare at Nash Theatre until June 4 at the Merthyr Road Uniting Church,
52 Merthyr Rd, New Farm If first impressions always count, I would have left the theatre after the opening
scene and taken refuge in a nearby coffee shop for protection. Fortunately, I'm not that rude and I was in a
front row seat so storming out would have been not only obvious but obnoxious. Just as well. The opening
scene sees a great storm at sea - the tempest which brings King Alonso of Naples and Antonio the Duke
of Milan to a remote island where the action of the play takes place. The problem is that the special storm
effects were such that I could not make out a word of dialogue and I know I was not alone. I had fears this
was going to be a wild and stormy ride. But the storm cleared and in the calm that followed the magic of
Shakespeare was revealed. On that remote island the sorcerer Prospero, (played brilliantly by Barry
Haworth) rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda (Leah Fitzgerald-Quinn) to her
rightful place using illusion and skilful manipulation. He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to
lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. There, his
machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio's lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the
marriage of Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand (Isaac Barnes). The performances by the young lovers
were striking with just the right amount of youthful innocence and passion. But the big standout in what
was an all-round highly commendable cast was Frances Foo whose Ariel was striking, funny and totally
rocked the silver playsuit she donned. She owned the stage whenever she appeared. The cast was huge.
(over 20). In an ideal world with unlimited time and resources the production would have been slightly
more streamlined if the same approach had been used as the QTC version of Much Ado About Nothing
which merged and cut roles. This is especially true given the size of the stage and the production. Having
said that, however, there can be an argument for not messing too much with the works of the genius of
Shakespeare, especially seeing as this is a traditional telling of the tale.
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Theatre with Susan Hetherington (Anywhere Festival x4)

20 May 2016 , 8:59 AM by Spencer Howson

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