Privates on Parade - Review

Privates on Parade was written in 1977 by Peter Nichols and the music by Denis King.  It is a hilarious English farce.  If you didn't know it was written in the 70's it wouldn't take you long to realise that it isn't a contemporary play/ musical.  The major clue is the politically incorrect language used in much of the play.  However, it is very funny and the music is great.
This production is at the New Theatre and is directed by Alice Livingstone.  I saw the preview and it was amazing. The thought and detail that has gone into the production, makes it a very well polished show.  The audience is entertained just as the British troops would have been, this is before the actual show starts. Then, you meet the entertainment corps of the British army posted to Malaya.  Private Steven Flowers arrives; he is quick to tell the rest of the group that he is not a Bum Boy as he is informed that some of the men are.  There isn't much of a story, a bit of a love story between Flowers and Syliva and a rogue Sergeant-Major Reg Drummond.  It does touch on the issues of the acceptance of homosexuality and multicultural marriage by society in the 70's.  But generally it is just a bit of fun, full of singing, dancing and bad jokes.  It is one of those shows where you feel you really are being entertained without putting in the effort to enjoy it, you can just sit back and be swept away.

The New Theatre quite often amazes me with their sets. The stage was transformed into a stage! Yes that may sound a bit strange but normally the New Theatre has a performance space which makes it very flexible. Towards the back of the stage was the shower block, which it is so well executed that you don't realise that is what it is until the men strip off and take a shower. The play does contain nudity, cause language and smoking!  Looking at the photo's has also reminded me of how good the costuming and props were, again they were brilliant, very well thought out and very detailed. The music is live with Piano/Keyboards John Short
Drums Gina Schien.
Privates on Parade is part of the Mardi Gras festival and plays until 8 March, go and see it you won't be disappointed. 

Photograph © Bob Seary

Top Girls - Review

Top Girls by Carly Churchill is playing at the New Theatre. You won't often see a play like this. Top Girls has an all female cast. It is in three Acts, the first of which is very different from the other two.  It is almost like watching several different plays with a common theme.  Though there is one linking character - Marlene played by Julia Billington.

Act One is set in a restaurant and Marlene is holding a dinner party of remarkable woman from History.  Isabella Bird (Cheryl Ward) a Yorkshire lass born in 1831, between the ages of forty to seventy she travelled extensively throughout America. She spends most of the dinner self absorbed in her travels and family misgivings. Lady Nijo (Bishanyia Vincent) was an Emperor's courtesan and later a Buddhist nun who travelled on foot through Japan for twenty years.  She tells how she was banished from the court and how her children were taken from her. Dull Gret (Claudia Barrie) brings much of the humour to this first act. She is the subject of the Brueghel painting Dulle Griet, in which a woman in an apron and armour leads a crowd of women charging through hell and fighting devils.  Pope Joan (Sarah Aubrey) an Englishwoman who disguised as a man is thought to have been made Pope 854 - 856. She tells her tale and how she is discovered. Patient Griselda (Ainslie McGlynn) is the obedient wife whose story is told in "The Clerk's Tale" of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  All these woman have interesting stories, the only sad part is that little has changed for women particularly in some countries. 

Act Two and Three you learn more about Marlene's life and family. Scene One in Act two is set in the Garden, Claudia Barrie plays Angie and Maeve MacGregor plays her best friend Kit. This has to be one of my favourite scenes, it is beautifully written and the two actresses performance was faultless.  All the actresses were amazing. Sarah also played Mrs Kidd which was also, an outstanding performance. 

This whole production was very entertaining. It is a difficult one to stage with a limited budget, you have the restaurant, the garden, an open plan office and the inside of a house. The backdrop remained the same throughout. This is the only thing I would change, plain black curtains or maybe even the use of technology to project the different scenes might have been better. 

This is one of those plays that will stay with me for sometime.
There are plenty of remarkable woman in the world today, and I expect everyone will know a few.
Go and see Top Girls at the New Theatre. It is playing now until 3 August.

Entertaining Mr Sloane - Review

Entertaining Mr Sloane is playing at the New Theatre in Newtown until the 14 July. It is a must see. This is going to be a short review because I thought it was fantastic.
Entertaining Mr Sloane is by Joe Orton and English writer who was sadly murdered in 1967. This play has a sinister side to it too, I wonder if he was anticipating his own demise?
Kath (Alice Livingstone) is a lonely woman looking for love in her newly found lodger the young Mr Sloane (Brynn Loosemore). Ed (Pete Nettell), Kath's brother,  who is a bit of a spiv also rather likes the Mr Sloane and gets him to work for him as his driver. Kemp or Dada (Frank McNamara), their father, is the only one who really knows who Mr Sloane real is. The first act in particular is extremely funny. Alice really played her role to perfection as the flirtation and slightly mad Kath. The second act was more sinister though it wasn't as tense as maybe it could have been and there was certainly less humour in it.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance. All the actors but particularly Alice were brilliant. The staging gave that slightly old, musty sort of a feel about it, that if you were actually there you would want to wash your hands when you left!
You must go and see this, it was theatre as theatre should be, a great night of entertainment.

Two Irish Plays - Reviewed

I wouldn't normally write two reviews for two plays together, however the similarities between the two were uncanny. The two plays are The Weir playing at the New Theatre in Newtown and The New Electric Ballroom playing at the SBW Stables Theatre Darlinghurst, they both opened on the same night and will close on the 31 March. Both plays are set in rural Ireland, in small villages where everybody knows each other and a stranger is a novelty. They are both set in one location throughout the play but other places are referenced. They both have no plot, each developing with the characters, relying totally on the script and the quality of the actors.  The characters in both plays tell stories of the past and it is through these stories that we learn, who they are.  Both plays are very well written, the dialogue is very natural, they are both well produced and the acting in both plays should be commended. Having said all that, the two plays were very different in tone and emotion and so I will now deal with them separately.

Interviews with Alice Livingstone, Hannah Pike and Otto Wicks-Green

These interviews were recorded on the Hubbub show, Triple H 100.1fm,  5 March 2012.

Alice Livingstone is an actress and director, she is currently directing a play The Weir at the New Theatre in Newtown. Listen to her interview to find out more about Alice, the New Theatre and The Weir

Otto Wicks-Green is the guitarist from SleepsMakesWaves. Otto joined the band in 2009, they have just toured Australia and about to go to America. Find out more about Otto and the band.

Hannah Pike is the Food Director for Brand Events who organise the annual event Taste of Sydney. Find out what Taste of Sydney is and how it all started.


(please note the link will become inactive in about 3 months time, call 02 99403649 if you would like to listen)