Not one of Shakespeare's better efforts, but still a fun afternoon. This sir John Falstaff is definitely the fool, not the sad drunk. Geraint Wynn Davies has a lot of fun with the role and the audience has fun, too.
Lucy Peacock and Laura Condin as the "wives" of the title, wake the audience up with their Pentrance and keep us awake to the end. Tom McCamus as Master George Page and Tom Rooney as Master Fraancis Ford are excellent husbands who find out to their chagrin that thier wives know best.
Lots of great performers in smaller roles and nice staging.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Price
Arthur Miller and Soulpepper seems to be a great combination. They did a great job with Death of a Salesman and now have produced an equally powerfully version of The Price.
The small cast is outstanding. It is hard to choose the best - David Fox as Gregory Solomon was so believable as a 97 year old, charming, wise and funny.
Michael Hanrahan gave us a Victor Franz who carried the production. He is the cop- the realist, and the one who finally realises the price he has paid for the choices he has made, and he is content. Jane Spidell as his wife also comes to realise that her life is the one she has chosen and she would not have chosen otherwise. Stuart Hughes is the succcessful brother who has the most clear understanding of the choices he has made, but he is also the one who does not think he has paid the right price.
Miller lets us know that we each have to decide what price to pay and only we can decide if it was too much.
The small cast is outstanding. It is hard to choose the best - David Fox as Gregory Solomon was so believable as a 97 year old, charming, wise and funny.
Michael Hanrahan gave us a Victor Franz who carried the production. He is the cop- the realist, and the one who finally realises the price he has paid for the choices he has made, and he is content. Jane Spidell as his wife also comes to realise that her life is the one she has chosen and she would not have chosen otherwise. Stuart Hughes is the succcessful brother who has the most clear understanding of the choices he has made, but he is also the one who does not think he has paid the right price.
Miller lets us know that we each have to decide what price to pay and only we can decide if it was too much.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
In spite of a solid cast and interesting staging, this play just did not come together. It suffered from being neither fish nor fowl - not a comedy, although it had some funny bits, and not a social commentary, although it clearly had things to say.
I think it should be rewritten to become a comedy. the social message will still be there, but the audience and the actors will have a much better time. As it is, what should be a laugh becomes a snicker, since it is presented in such a serious way.
I also think some judicous editing is needed - the role of Elizabeth is so serious and out of place. It sommed the author could not resist the chance to comment on the social and racial status of wet nurses. But nothing is added to the play other than a role for Marci House, who is very good.
And the comedy should end with the relationships tidied up in some way, not left unresolved. does Mrs Daldry find happiness with her husband or run off with Annie? Doesn't matter which, but some resolution is needed for a happy ending.
I think it should be rewritten to become a comedy. the social message will still be there, but the audience and the actors will have a much better time. As it is, what should be a laugh becomes a snicker, since it is presented in such a serious way.
I also think some judicous editing is needed - the role of Elizabeth is so serious and out of place. It sommed the author could not resist the chance to comment on the social and racial status of wet nurses. But nothing is added to the play other than a role for Marci House, who is very good.
And the comedy should end with the relationships tidied up in some way, not left unresolved. does Mrs Daldry find happiness with her husband or run off with Annie? Doesn't matter which, but some resolution is needed for a happy ending.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
White Biting Dog
Directed by Nancy Palk (her first effort) and starrring Fiona Reid as Lomia, Joseph Ziegler as Glidden, Gregory Prest as Pascal, Mike Ross as Cape and Michaela Washburn as Pony, thisplay by Judith Thompson can easily be described as wierd.
Most of the audience stayed to the end, but I have heard some people describe it as the worst thing they have ever seen. I would not go that far - in fact in many ways I enjoyed it and found the characters interesting, if bizarre. The direction was sound, the acting solid, so any discomfort does have to come back to the play itself.
Superficially, it is about love and relationships and how far will you go to save someone you love, or to save yourself. The dog never appears, but has a starring role.
Depression and the black dog are the enemy of the white biting dog.
Most of the audience stayed to the end, but I have heard some people describe it as the worst thing they have ever seen. I would not go that far - in fact in many ways I enjoyed it and found the characters interesting, if bizarre. The direction was sound, the acting solid, so any discomfort does have to come back to the play itself.
Superficially, it is about love and relationships and how far will you go to save someone you love, or to save yourself. The dog never appears, but has a starring role.
Depression and the black dog are the enemy of the white biting dog.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
When the Rain Stops Falling
Fabulous! the best yet this year. Amazing story, fantastic cast, brilliant staging. You could not ask for more.
Multiple generations, many with the same name, tell a story across two continents (England and Australia). At times it is confusing, but everything is clear in the end. Andrew Bovell is Australian and the winner of many awards for theatre and film writing.
Peter Hinton directed an amazing cast - Donna Belleville, Wade Bogert O'Brien, Krista Colosimo, Jeff Meadows, Peter Millard, Ric Reid, Tara Rosling, Graeme Somerville and Wendy Thatcher.
The staging was brilliant - corner columns, connected by beams, a huge table in the middle that became everything including Uluru and chairs for each characer so you could keep track. Camellia Koo was the designer.
More than two hours, no intermission and the rain falls throughout. The audience was gripped and the standing ovation was thunderous.
Multiple generations, many with the same name, tell a story across two continents (England and Australia). At times it is confusing, but everything is clear in the end. Andrew Bovell is Australian and the winner of many awards for theatre and film writing.
Peter Hinton directed an amazing cast - Donna Belleville, Wade Bogert O'Brien, Krista Colosimo, Jeff Meadows, Peter Millard, Ric Reid, Tara Rosling, Graeme Somerville and Wendy Thatcher.
The staging was brilliant - corner columns, connected by beams, a huge table in the middle that became everything including Uluru and chairs for each characer so you could keep track. Camellia Koo was the designer.
More than two hours, no intermission and the rain falls throughout. The audience was gripped and the standing ovation was thunderous.
Top Dog/ Underdog
Two black brothers, orphaned when their parents abandon them, struggle to get ahead. You know the struggle is hopeless as soon as you hear their names - Lincoln and Booth.
Lincoln, played by Nigel Shawn Williams, puts on white face to portray Lincoln at an amusement park, where the tourists can take shots at him. He sees this as better than playing three card monte and risking jail again.
Booth, his younger brother, is played by Kevin Hanchard. Booth wants nothing more than to become the three card monte player his brother was - to be "the man".
This was a powerful evening of theatre - a very gripping story and two powerful actors. Just watching them play cards was amazing, but the emotion and the sadness of the story was overwhelming. This play contains some of the saddest lines I have ever heard: "do you think they left us to find another family? with two boys who were better than us? " NOt really an exact quote, but close enough.
One of the best things I have seen all year. Definitely a standing ovation!
Lincoln, played by Nigel Shawn Williams, puts on white face to portray Lincoln at an amusement park, where the tourists can take shots at him. He sees this as better than playing three card monte and risking jail again.
Booth, his younger brother, is played by Kevin Hanchard. Booth wants nothing more than to become the three card monte player his brother was - to be "the man".
This was a powerful evening of theatre - a very gripping story and two powerful actors. Just watching them play cards was amazing, but the emotion and the sadness of the story was overwhelming. This play contains some of the saddest lines I have ever heard: "do you think they left us to find another family? with two boys who were better than us? " NOt really an exact quote, but close enough.
One of the best things I have seen all year. Definitely a standing ovation!
The Admirable Crichton
JM Barrie wrote more than Peter Pan! What happens when the natural order is upset, when the skills of the leaders are not relevant and the skills of the lower classes are essential? Just what you would expect - new leaders arise. Actually, this play is really Peter pan for grown ups, when you think about it. Who doesn't want to be stranded on a desert island and be free from the restrictions of modern society?
Crichton, played by Steven Sutcliffe, rises to the occasion and becomes the Guv waited on hand and foot by the others. The Earl of Loam (David Schurmann) becomes "daddy" and the girls embrace wearing pants and take to hunting. It really is sad when they are rescued and this idyllic island life comes to an end, before the Guv gets the girl!
Morris Panych directed and made very effective use of animals to sing and dance the introductions to the scenes. Ken MacDonald designed very charming and humorous sets for the real world and the island.
Crichton, played by Steven Sutcliffe, rises to the occasion and becomes the Guv waited on hand and foot by the others. The Earl of Loam (David Schurmann) becomes "daddy" and the girls embrace wearing pants and take to hunting. It really is sad when they are rescued and this idyllic island life comes to an end, before the Guv gets the girl!
Morris Panych directed and made very effective use of animals to sing and dance the introductions to the scenes. Ken MacDonald designed very charming and humorous sets for the real world and the island.
On the Rocks
A political comedy by Bernard Shaw, updated by Michael Healey.
Interesting to watch, but not a convincing political theory, unless you are still a devotee of Ayn Rand and other right wing groups.
The Prime Minister returns from a spa convinced that he has all the answers to solve poverty, unemployment etc. He leads a minority government, but so what? he will simply prorogue parliament and do what he wants. Sounds eerily familiar, does it not? hardly surprising with Healey doing the updating.
A very solid cast in a mediocre play of ideas. Not Shaw at his best, but still Shaw at their best.
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