Tender Napalm - Suddenly Awesome [*]

Despite being excellent in all aspects and a solid piece of theatre, I didn't think much of Tender Napalm for the first twenty minutes or so since it didn't make me feel anything - perhaps it's because it takes a while to get into how the language of the text. But suddenly something just makes you like it.

Bailey looking buff and Phelen looking like Barack Obama -
thankfully they're adorable in real life (Source: La Boite).

Presented by both the Brisbane Festival and La Boite, David Berthold's staging of the production is replete with Garry Stewart's fluid choreography. The stories of Tender Napalm are told through a man and a woman who are in a state of grief. To escape their reality, they reminisce on their past and invent fantasies which involve unicorns, sea serpents and monkeys who have the ability to make conscious and coherent decisions on allegiances. It's a really well constructed script where multiple narratives, some deeply personal others ridiculously fantastical, run simultaneously to an ultimate revelation in a text thats replete with motifs of words, objects and ideas.

To describe the two actors simply, they're beautiful. Every line is accompanied by a decisive and emotional movement which is packed with energy. Garry Stewart's choreography incredibly really helps create an unusual performance which the pair bring to life through their enthusiasm. Despite looking like Barack Obama on the promotional artwork, Kurt Phelan is delightful to watch, his characterization being very animated and pretty adorable. Ellen Bailey's portrayal seems perplexing and is initially restrained and distant until a split second at the end where she breaks and you glimpse the most harrowing expression of agony. Prior to this the portrayal feels very individualized, but then this moment pops up and the entire performance suddenly makes a bargain with your brain and it all makes sense. Their chemistry seems to be a bit lacking, but like all the aspects in the show, it takes a while for us to buy into what they're doing. They're both really endearing though, and the party scene was perfect (although it feels like there need to be more pauses).

The perfect moment. I love anguish.
(Source: La Boite Facebook).

The technical aspects are pretty minimal because the action revolves entirely around the words of the characters. The lighting can't do much except illuminate Justin Nardella's daunting but gorgeous stage. The stage is clean with chain grids over exits which seems to evoke confrontation although there didn't seem to be a correlation between how it impacted the narrative. Steve Toulmin greets you into the theatre with this awesome piece comprised of percussive beats and sampling it sounds like something straight out of The Banquet - loved it. I wanted more music, but it was really difficult to see where it could have been without pandering the audience.

If you have any reservations, something about this play just makes you like it and it's suddenly awesome. Although they're not the best combination I've seen on stage, there are two very dedicated, talented and entertaining performers on stage. The text is really clever and sophisticated and the tech is just enough and exactly what it needs to be. I think this would really appeal to lovers of theatre with movement, and is the best thing I've seen in the Brisbane Festival. A solid 5 ½ out of 7.

Tickets for Brisbane Festival and La Boite's Tender Napalm are $220-$54, and is showing at La Boite Theatre Company's Roadhouse Theater until October 13th. Duration of approximately 80 minutes. Book by visiting La Boite's website.

Romeo (BANISHED!) and Juliet by QTC

(Source: Queensland Theatre Company)

To describe Queensland Theatre Company's Romeo and Juliet in the same category of what people are saying (debacle, horrific, atrocious etc.) would be a bit of an over-statement, but it is pretty dreadful - this is the kind of production where you check your watch for the time, several times, wishing that it would just finish so you can go and live your life. It's a shallow adaptation that features a cast which don't gel together, in a design that isn't really unified or used well, under some abysmal direction.

Melanie Zanneti (Juliet) and Thomas
Larkin (Romeo) (Source: Queensland Theatre Company).

I was initially really excited to see the play since the revised artwork is gorgeous, and I love the work of almost all the actors included. Because of the end result, it was pretty disappointing to . . . see them in this work. Melanie Zanneti (who was the best part of Pygmalion last year) gives a convincing performance as a teenager. But much like the pitch of her voice, her portrayed moods are like a yo-yo. There seemed to be no calm in between her genuinely joyous outbursts and her neurotic bemoaning of the world. She has two distinct methods of delivering her lines - one being this youthful, bright and girlish tone which makes her sound like a child, the other being reserved for moments of woe, which is this low demonic incantation which is so cacophonous it could summon the dinosaurs dating from as far back as the early stages of the Paleozoic era back from extinction. It seems as though she hasn't got any direction on how to play the character one way, so each scene is pretty unpredictable. Thomas Larkin as Romeo is pretty much what you'd expect him to be: Thomas Larkin as Romeo. Considering he hasn't even styled his hair differently, the whole demeanour of his character feels identical of his work as Orlando from La Boite's As You Like It earlier this year. I know it's inappropriate to come into a theatre with pre-concieved ideas, but in this case it's very easy to draw parallels since the two shows are spaced so closely together. Between the two of them, there doesn't really seem to be any immense driving passion or spark, and it's very apparent that what you're seeing on stage is just a temporary love story.

The older members of the cast are a pleasure to watch, my favourites being the always wonderful Andrea Moor and Steven Grives who capture the audience when on stage. The star of the show is Caroline Kennison (I love her!!!), her performance is the highlight, bringing the much needed comedic relief and emotion to the stage. Seems though the young ensemble of males spent more time working on their bodies than on forging a concrete emotional connection with the audience, or working on how to enunciate 'Tybalt' properly (sounded like 'Tibbles'). Casting Veronica Neave as Mercutio is a directional decision that is wretched beyond comprehension. She throws herself into the role, animated and raunchy, but she just doesn't manage to conquer the pointlessness of the decision. She's also made out to be a sexual deviant, with every line involving some kind of pelvic thrust - I wanted Jennifer Flowers to personally go and apologise to the LGBT rights movement that was being conducted outside for adding so much embarrassing homosexual innuendo. There are moments where the entire cast work and there is this wonderful confluence between them, but it's so lopsided and rarely occurs.

The opening scene (Source: XS Entertainment).

The design of the show isn't really that impressive, despite the attempt to open with a truly opulent and lavish display. Bill Haycock's set, a disgusting poisonous yellow and green, looks like something summoned out of the ruins of Chernobyl. The front of the stage features a large crescent moon pool, which is featured in the opening with a superbly beautiful spectacle - it then remains almost entirely neglected until the climax of the piece. Although it's not visually appealing, it has potential, which is very misused with some baffling stage direction. The original soundscape, written by Phil Slade, rarely does anything remarkable, and while it has some great moments it serves as ambient music and the transitions being brief, violent rhythmic strikes on strings (which sound very similar to the Rite of Spring). The fight choreography was really flimsy too.

There are highlights of the show, which are things that I'll happily discuss. The opening of the production was enchanting, and there is an exquisite interlude when Juliet's body is laid down in the mausoleum. For that 30 seconds or so, everything on stage - lighting, sound, movement - all come together. The show actually had one of the best moments of theatre I'd ever seen - it's the moment was when Mercutio is wounded. She's dragged offstage while saying "A curse on your houses", and just when she's out of sight and you think that it's the end, she CLAWS onto the wall, shakes her fist in the air and wails "YOURRR HOUSSSESS!". All she needed was a witch's hat and a crystal ball to cradle while adding "I'll get you, my pretty!" and I would have given them a standing ovation. I SHRIEKED with laughter at the sheer ridiculousness and subsequently every time I thought of the scene I burst out laughing again, much to the dismay of the weeping teenagers in front of me. I also loved the way the actors all delivered the word 'BANISHED!', which was always conducted in an over-blown wail. It was almost like someone wanted to make the first half of the play into a comedy.

Ultimately the fatal flaw in this production was the direction. Given the timing of the season, the brevity of the script, and the chorus of actors, I'd say that QTC would have assembled this production to be a direct competition with La Boite's annual Shakespeare, and tried to emulate their success. With the amount of six pacs on display (any male under 30 ran around stage with their shirts open or off, for no apparent reason) I'd forgive you if initially thought this was a Berthold production. But unlike a Berthold Shakespeare production, Flowers' vision of Shakespeare is really, really lacking - in casting, contenet, and in the theme. Saying that the theme of the play is 'love' is a little broad, but it feels as if Flowers didn't fully understand how or care to assemble a dramatically truncated adaptation of the text to create a work that brings out the emotion or a long-lasting message or question for the audience to reflect on.

Disappointingly, QTC's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is nothing special, since it just flails in every single element. The cast, while all very talented individuals, have no real chemistry between each other and their portrayal of characters leave much to be desired. The technical design elements, with rare exceptions, are nothing special, and the directing is just so clumsy - it just feels like QTC wanted to do something that made them appeal to more audiences but their design just came across as a knock-off, which is a shame because this could have been something incredible

Tickets for 'Romeo and Juliet range from $30-$79 (plus a $5 booking fee, God knows why because you can print your tickets at home), and is showing until May 13th. Duration of 2 hours and 10 minutes. Book by visiting Queensland Theatre Company's website.

Thoughts on As You Like It [*]

Helen Howard and Thomas Larkin in As You Like It (Source: XS Entertainment).

I’ve volunteered for As You Like It four times now, and each time I’ve been ripping tickets I’ve gingerly slipped in the remark “I hope you . . . like it”. Chaos ensures – hollow laughter, painful groans, and monocles fall off the rich and elderly at the sheer excellence of my material. Personally I’ve really liked watching the show since it has a wonderful cast, great design elements and it’s just really entertaining. It’s also pretty tame considering it’s a La Boite Shakespeare piece.

While all the cast are cast appropriately, there are a few that have become the definitive actors for me in their respective roles. Helen Howard and Thomas Larkin head the cast as couple Rosalind and Orlando - Howard obliterates the generalization that Rosalind can only be portrayed by younger actresses, bringing this awesome, sexy cougar vibe to the show through her manipulation of Larkin’s adorably smitten younger character. Bryan Proberts rocks my world as Touchstone, cascading around the stage in a ludicrously hyperactive manner delivering hundreds of lines of dialogue without a second thought, occasionally leaving the audience in tears of laughter. Trevor Stuart as Jacques is SO GREAT! All at once he’s playful, melancholy, exasperating and delightfully endearing. 

Kate Wilson and Helen Howard in As You Like It (Source: La Boite).

What I adore about this production is its huge cast. My primary complaint with Julius Caesar was that the actors paraded around on stage and were forced to play up to three characters each. Applause must be given to Berthold for defeating this hurdle, who has brought a total of 18 actors together in this production by offering intern positions to eight actors currently studying in Queensland universities. It’s a really wonderful strategy of providing experience for emerging actors and also allowing the audience to experience Shakespeare in its full ensemble glory. I hope every company takes note of this and can use this approach to include larger casts.  

No idea why the Duke Senior was made into a woman, though. Obviously the theme of gender-bending is pretty relevant, but unlike the character of Audrey being reversed to create comedy (Hayden Spencer plays a ridiculously funny Audrey), the Duke actually gains nothing from being a man since the performance of Kate Wilson is such a ‘realistic’ portrayal. I guess there is an obscure reason behind it, but why bother?

There are heaps of great moments in this piece, such as the reveal of the Forest of Arden, Orlando throwing love letters around the space, and the sheep trotting around and grazing on audience bags. The hilariously camp finale is totally unexpected and surreal, but it's fantastical in nature so even though it's insane it's pretty fun to go along with. There’s also a lot of audience interaction, where they get to cheer, act as trees, and the actors directly bounce off and ad lib according to how the audience react to their actions. It’s a lot of fun, keeping them entertained and giving the show a personal flavor.

Berthold’s endeavor to replicate the celebratory, folkish vibe of Wooldfood Folk Festival comes across really strongly as a well thought out concept. The whole aesthetic works really well on a whole. The costumes were painfully bright, with tie-dyed patterns and psychedelic colours being donned by most of the cast. Thomas Larkin’s attire is something similar to what I wear to opening night events, except he’s way more buff than I am – I’m probably more alike to what Helen Howard walks around in. The reveal of Renee Mulder’s set is an enchanting transformation from the sterile environment to a gorgeous, irreal world. Accentuated by the gorgeous hues of David Walters, the atmosphere is electric as the audience are suspended in delight of the set and engaged for the duration of the performance. The novelty starts to wear off drawing to the end, but then even more lights pop up are then and the sparkle factor returns. I enjoyed most of the music, while most of the stuff prior to the entrance of the forest consisted of these bizarre string intervals (some of which are so low they vibrate in your stomach) to add to the tension, the folkish/rock tunes and the live songs get your toes tapping and they're pretty memorable.

It’s leaps and bounds better than Berthold’s last Shakespeare adaptation, with a more coherent and larger cast, lovely visuals, and the original script has so much wit and wonderful humour. It has a whimsical and charming allure and a joyous, infectious and celebratory cast. I took along my parents and they enjoyed it so much that they’d like to see it again. This is finally a La Boite work that I can actually go and recommend that people go out and that they will enjoy, regardless of what their tastes are like. I thoroughly liked it, and am encouraging everyone to make the effort to see it.

Tickets for La Boîte Theatre Company's 'As You Like It' range from $22-$48, and is showing until March 24th. Duration of 2 hours and 30 minutes, including inteval. Book by visiting La Boite's website or by calling (07) 3007 8600.

La Boite's 2012 Season Launch

La Boite's 2012 Season Launch was amazing fun, and I am ecstatic about next year's line up. I think I got an offer to attend because of the ambassador campaign back in May when me, Jordan, and a couple of other people were put in some brochures to raise some money for La Boite's ambassador program. Let's just get the negativity out of the way: I'm not keen on any of the fonts being used for the show titles, but hopefully at this point they're just placeholders until artwork/design is finalised

The night started off with a video that attacks your senses making references to the season before a frenzied Helen Howard talking about all the opportunities in life that have passed her by concluding with an introduction to the first mainstage show, As You Like It. It will be directed by David Berthold (so expect some shirtless people) and opens in February. I can't wait for this show - the cast has 10 primary actors playing the major roles and an additional chorus of actors in training from QUT and... the other place. I think I heard the total number being something like 18, which I am really excited for since La Boite's biggest cast this year was 7. Glad to see that Thomas Larkin, Kathryn Marquet and Hayden Spencer are also returning to the box. I hope there are some trees or foliage in this show.

The next show that will be a mainstage is Midsummer, a loose adaptation on A Midsummer Night's Dream with songs (which was my original pick for David to direct). Looks like La Boite picked up that Brisbane audiences are lapping up musical material, because this has sold out theatres in the UK and the US - we're even being treated to the original duo cast. Cora Bissett and Matthew Pigeon, who are the mains, popped up on video and said how delighted they were to be coming to Brisbane. Providing that the music is good, I am too.

In May we'll be experiencing A Hoax which is the play I'm least looking forward to. It apparently revolves around an Indigenous woman who allegedly wrote a best-seller memoir, and has been offered to write a sequel - however, it turns out the original was written by a white social worker on her behalf. Panic ensures. The world turns upside down, panic ensures, babies eat dingos, etc. La Boite bills it as a "vicious satire on the politics of identity, modern celebrity and the peddling of abuse culture". Sounds heavy, but I guess we had to have one of them.

I lost my shit when it was announced that The Harbinger was making a return, but as a mainstage, in August. I remembered when David gingerly told us that they were re-working the whole thing, and it makes total sense since the season was a total sell out. I think this could potentially be the show where I leave La Boite loving everything, providing it has better music and less pirates. Dead Puppet Society absolutely deserve all the attention they're getting and I really hope I'm mesmerised by it this time.

The last mainstage show which plays in September til October is Tender Napalm which will also be directed by David Berthold. It's billed as just another love story which evolves into a fantasy of 'tales of golden shores, snakes, serpents, kings, queens and blood'. I just can't really comprehend the description at all, it's that bizarre. It will probably have shirtless people, but judging by the artwork I guess it'll be visually stunning (I hope).

There are 5 Indie shows this year. The Danger Ensemble are returning with Children of War directed by Stephen Mitchell Wright, which will undoubtedly be a winning combination. I'm thrilled that Benjamin Schostakowski's ensemble Monsters Appear will be playing A Tribute of Sorts, which is a piece inspired by Edward Gorey's delicious macabre work. The others I don't really have any opinions on because I was too happy for everyone else. Looking forward to them though.

After that we partied til the cows went home and then went home with the cows and partied some more. I walked around hugging and kissing everyone who was badass, thanked a number of people, continually shouted at David Morton, and sang many obnoxious Sondheim lyrics at various people.

It was an incredible night and all I can say is that I would rather be an ambassador for La Boite next year because I can't wait. In fact, I can't believe it was just yesterday - it feels like years ago already. The 2012 line-up looks explosive, vibrant and unbelievably exciting. Mixing the contemporary with the traditional, as always David Berthold's choice of theatre has totally repositioned La Boite as Brisbane's most compelling theatre venue - there's so much new, exciting talent and originality coming from these shows. I just can't wait. Not sure how I'll sneak into the launch next year, but I sure hope it'll happen.

I never want to wash this off... wish it was Season Launch every night!

Sarah Winter presents the Floating Feast

Regrettably I have no photos of this event, but that just makes it feel even more cotton-pickin' exclusive.

I just got back from seeing Sarah Winter's second instalment of La Boite Scratch, and it was fucking fantastic! It was downright delightful - a personal, interactive and inherently original experience.

Initially, each person is given a personalised letter to read, and then led towards the dinner. The reveal of the room was perfect. Walking in from the drizzling rain outside into room's cosy and intimate atmosphere was awesome - in the warm the lighting was a soft plain wash that shined on the table and there was a soft, ambient piano track looped in the background. In the centre was the table, ready and set for our arrival, laced with tasty finger food which balanced, defying gravity, above off monochrome balloons.

After our Zooey Deschanel look-a-like hostess seated us down and welcomed us, we were challenged to maintain the plates at their height while taking food and replacing it with other objects and food, while simultaneously engaging in activities. We were given a menu of missions that we could undertake - I wished I wasn't wearing daggy winter casual clothes. It was so much fun, meeting and greeting people, attempting to learn everyone's middle names, discussing obscure dreams, confessing profound fears and desires, and even playing on a nearby piano. The most imaginative part was seeing people prepare their tea using the floating teabags - so cool! The best bit was looking around and glimpsing at everyone with a smile on their face having a good time.

It was just so good. In a small room with such an exquisite set-up it felt so intimate and exclusive. Luckily I got the chance to dine and chill with some really cool people (David Berthold, Sandra Gattenhof, Shari Irwin and Sarah Winter sat mere meters away!) that weren't a bunch of timid prudes. There was a bit of a downside since there was this gargantuan pot of beautiful flowers that obstructed your view of half the table, but in a sense it made the space seem even smaller and even more exclusive. Lower the flower pot and have a round table, then we'll be peaches and gravy.

The worst thing about this entertainment was that it had to eventually end. An hour is just not enough - you just want it to go on and on, you want to talk to everyone, try everything - I want to have it twice the length and twice the interaction! But not twice the people, as I loved the intimacy of the small group. Maybe even there could be a final task or puzzle for the group to contribute to if they wanted to? Regardless, in it's incarnation tonight it was still practically perfect.

Winter is a genius, I actually think after this I love her. I don't love much theatre, but I'll be raving about this for a while. A wonderfully sophisticated, charming, and intimate evening that I feel privileged to be a part of - I would gladly pay five times the price to experience it again.

If you unfortunately missed out on seeing it, envy me.