Presented by Urban Myth Theatre of Youth
Reviewed Thursday 2nd December 2010
Venue: Goodwood Institute Theatre, 166A Goodwood Road.
Season: 7pm pre-show, 7:30pm show Fri 3rd, 2pm & 7pm shows Sat 4th December
Duration: 50mins
Tickets: Adults $15/ conc $10/ fimily pass (2 adults, 2 children) $43
Bookings: Venuetix 8225 8888 or http://www.venuetix.com.au
Shakespeare’s popular romantic comedy of disguise and mistaken identity is getting another airing, this time in the hands of a young cast under the direction of Glenn Hayden. There was masses of enthusiasm, energy and youthful exuberance from the cast and this helped to make up for some of the shortcomings, like poor diction and mispronounced words.
The setting has been updated to the 1920s and Chilli Masala, a group of four very talented young musicians, provides a Gypsy Jazz background, although not all of the music is entirely true to the era, but has been arranged to fit the style. The members of the quartet are Izabella Tunis-Notley, Shai Martin, George Thalassoudil and Angus Mason. The instrumentation is acoustic bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano/melodica and drums, Chilli Masala are worth watching out for: this group has a future.
Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian, are shipwrecked and become separated, both coming ashore in Illyria. Sebastian is saved by Antonio (Antonia in this version) and Olivia is saved by the Captain, both siblings assuming that the other has perished. Orsino, Duke of Illyria, loves Lady Olivia, but she is in mourning and will allow no man into her life for seven years. Viola, pretending to be a eunuch, Cesario, falls in love with Orsino. Olivia, however, falls in love with Cesario when ‘he’ goes to her on the Duke’s behalf. This complex love triangle is at the core of the play.
The rest of the play revolves around Olivia’s alcoholic uncle, Sir Toby Belch, and his drinking companion, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who fall in league with Olivia’s servants, Maria and Fabian. They hatch a plan to make fun of, and discredit Malvolio, Olivia’s steward, who berates them for the noise raised late at night by their drunken revelries. They convince him that Olivia loves him and ensure that he finds a letter, forged by Maria, that appears to come from Olivia and which contains a series of ludicrous requests. He fulfils them accurately, declares his love for Olivia, is deemed mad, and incarcerated, where Feste, Olivia’s fool/jester, visits him, first pretending to be priest, then as himself (herself in this production). Eventually Sebastian reappears and more confusion ensues before things start to sort themselves out.
Kerry Reid’s set for this production consists of three trees on stage right, and a truck with the musicians and their instruments which is moved around as needed. This allows opening and closing the performance area to suit each scene. Carefully lit by Nivven Barlow, it takes on all of the locations and times of day clearly and concisely.
Max Garcia-Underwood gives a strong reading of the role of Duke Orsino, lovelorn and rejected, but persistent. He injects a good sprinkling of humour to his portrayal. In the role of Viola/Cesario, Lucia Van Sebille is an absolute delight. She offers a well-thought out and well-executed performance with plenty of light and shade. Here is a young performer to keep an eye on. Guy O’Grady’s Malvolio is another nicely considered interpretation. Alex Petkov’s Maria, too, is a believable, three dimensional character.
Patrick Klavins is just the thing as Sir Toby Belch, loud, blustering and pompous, but tends to swallow his voice and would benefit from some training to improve his enunciation. He brings plenty of physical comedy to the role and is well matched in their double act by Kym Begg as Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Tennessee (TJ) Haigh’s Feste was another highlight.
Carolyn Duchene was so far over the top that she was half way down the other side with her caricature performance as Lady Olivia, giving us a manic-depressive at risk of being committed. Added to this, she rushed and screamed her dialogue and is another who could use a good voice coach.
Plenty of solid work came from the others in the cast, too, making this a good night out but, unfortunately, it has a very short run. Another week would have been worth it.
Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor, Glam Adelaide.
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