1.
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| Photo by Lachlan Woods |
Ever since seeing their production of Thyestes, I have made
it a point to see every production by The Hayloft Project. With the independent
theatre scene flourishing in Melbourne, it’s impossible to see everything –
even by companies I admire. But Hayloft is as restrained in the number of
productions they do as they are in the productions themselves, so seeing all of
their work in Melbourne is easy to do. And such a pleasure.
Writer and director Benedict Hardie’s The Seizure, is a take
on the myth of Philoctetes – after Sophocles, who tried his hand at writing a
play about this story twice in his long career. Hayloft’s work is often defined
by its minimalism, but I think this production is its most subtle and graceful
yet. The set – charcoal drawings on a white floor/ white wall - evokes the
image of a beach on an island, without a grain said or a tuft of grass. The
cast of four are rarely on stage together and the dialogue they have is sparse
and precise. It’s both the story of Philoctetes and a sliver of the Trojan War
myth, narrated by Odysseus, who is merely a supporting player here.
I love stories that are propelled by the force of history,
characters living their lives in period settings, unable to stop what we know
will come to pass. Here it is the force of myth instead, but the stories are so
ingrained in our storytelling and mythmaking, the force is no less strong for
it. Another stellar outing from Hayloft.
2.
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| Photo by Jeff Busby |
Director Matt Scholten is a prolific director on the
Melbourne independent theatre scene and his work with Daniel Keene is
transcendent and rightly celebrated. The other shows I’ve seen him direct are
strengthened by his vision. His work on The Heretic is no exception.
Unfortunately, even for such a visionary director, it’s easy to see that he had
his work cut out for him here. Richard Bean’s play is problematic.
Sure, I wasn’t too thrilled by the notion of a
climate-change denier character being the centre of the narrative, but Noni
Hazlehurst was sure to make her character more sympathetic than it is on the
page. I thought perhaps the story might have challenged Diane’s worldview, but
she never so much as wavered from her dogma. And even if I could look beyond
the lazy arguments Bean writes for his lead character to spout, I’m not sure
the play has anything much more to say.
I was truly puzzled by the point of the entire second act. I
tried to see it as an argument between logic and passion. I wanted to know if
it was perhaps about the rational scientist versus the irrational lovers. I
wondered if maybe it was about how science is supposed to rely on proof but it
can often be misinterpreted by wilful people. But none of that works with what
is presented.
Scholten and his production team do make the show move – I never
once felt like I was struggling with
this two-and-a-half hour show – and feel immersive, with its use of the Sumner
theatre’s surround sound system to evoke a thunder storm and helicopters
hovering overhead. Otherwise, the sets are functional and uninspiring – and only
Noni as Diane has anything very meaty to work with.
3.
I am fairly ignorant of the work of Five Pound theatre,
though I am well aware of co-founder Jason Cavanagh’s acting work outside his
own production company and his position as owner/operator of The Owl & The
Pussycat in Richmond. I am also acutely aware of director Christine Husband’s
work as an actor and as a director.
Disclaimer: Christine directed a show of
mine at the Owl & the Pussycat last year and was in Painting with Words
& Fire earlier this year.
Five Pound has stepped outside of the Owl & the Pussycat
for its production of Edward Albee’s The Goat (or, Who is Sylvia?) and has submerged
themselves in the Collingwood Undergound Carpark for this black comedy about
love, tolerance and understanding.
Inside the cavernous and echo-y space, Christine has used
these elements as strengths and virtues of this production. With audience on
both sides of the performance area and the open set (designed by Emma Warren)
allowing the space to be observed from all angles, this is voyeuristic theatre
at its best. The act of observance suggests that we might all be driven by how
people observe us. Is that the tragedy at the heart of this play? Not that a
man falls in love with a goat, but that other people might find out about it
and judge him?
Susannah Frith and Jason Cavanagh are the stand-outs in the
cast, doing most of the heavy-lifting here, as wife and husband, Stevie and
Martin. They have to maintain a delicate balance between keeping the
performances realistic without the show becoming too dark, too dramatic. There
are some great laughs to be had in Albee’s dramatic set-up.
The echoes in the carpark as the actors shouted and cried
and grieved draws the audience even closer. Characters appearing out of the
darkness and the void which surrounds the performance space was thrilling. A
great play in a great production in a great space.
Unfortunately, Five Pound have announced they are postponing
the rest of the season – transfering The Goat from the Underground Carpark to
the Owl & the Pussycat. It’s a pity, because the show works so well in the
carpark space. Sometimes I’m all for performances being up close and personal
(I love the Owl & Cat, don’t get me wrong), but sometimes sitting in a cold
carpark, wrapped in a blanket, drawn to the only light in the cavernous
darkness does something to a show and says something about it. Hopefully more
audiences are drawn to the particular light of this production when it moves to
Richmond in late June.
But I’m afraid it will lose something in the transition.
But I’m afraid it will lose something in the transition.
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