Enron - Review

Reviewed by Marie Su
My companion and I are of an age to remember the original scandal involving the Enron Company in the USA exposed in 2001 and so were many of the audience members of the New Theatre in King St, Newtown. Lucy Prebble has written an insightful play; 'Enron', which unfolds the build up and eventual unraveling of the Enron Energy Company. This financial fiasco lead to company executives, workers, traders, investors and financial planners and yes, even the Lehman Brothers (as underwriters) into one of the greatest sharemarket debacles of recent memory.

'Enron' is a salutory example of how hedging works in the sharemarket. It tells how rolling on debt, while not obviously illegal at the time, involves the loss of a moral compass. Insider trading huge payouts to executives and striving for profits that are not based on real productivity, create a bubble that is bound to bust.

My thanks to Lucy Prebble and the New Theatre for raising these issues and explaining then clearly; GFC's and sub-prime mortgage crises are, unfortunately, quite modern concerns for us, so this play is very relevant.

Matt Young, as Jeffery Skilling, portrayed the creative genious of a man with the understanding that if the law hasn't kept up with his financial strategies, then the government had employed inept lawyers. Mr Young was clear, persuasive and manipulative in his very effective performance. He was ably assisted by Nick Curnow as Andy Fastow, in his creative reboxing (Babushka doll-like) of debt and, his relegating of failing subsidiary companies in the form of Raptors ( cat-like women kept in wire, red glowing cages, waiting to be fed with debt). So, from this description it can be gleaned that the New Theatre production of 'Enron' was itself quite an imaginative and creative feat.

The staging, costuming, sound and lighting all assisted the very capable ensemble of fifteen actors (taking on sometimes seven roles each) in telling their quite complex tale. My special vote of appreciation goes to the two Lehman Brothers, (played by Gareth Cruikshank and David Todd). The audience appreciated their input.

Especially if audience members don't remember the Enron situation historically, this play is one where audience members certainly need to listen for intricate explanations and motivations, as well as insider humour. Audiences were also reminded that office politics involves sexual activities that could have been left to the imagination.

'Enron' shows at the New Theatre from the 4th-29th of June.

A Clockwork Orange - Review

Reviewed by Jasmine Crittenden
Director Alexandra Spencer-Jones has transformed Anthony Burgess’s harrowing tale of youthful disaffection into a stunning visual spectacle, operatic in dynamic and laced with homoeroticism.

Some might argue that Spencer-Jones has strayed too far from the text. In the novel, Alex and his ‘droogs’ (the punk equivalent of homies)direct their violent urges against vulnerable females. Here, with an all-male cast, the acts of sexual violation occur between men,and there’s ample doses of homosexual flirtation and crotch-grabbing. Most brutal scenes are conveyed through dance, lessening their impact on the visceral level. Neither the book nor Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film contain inferences of homosexuality, nor do they shy away from straightforward depictions of cruelty.

However, if we do not judge the production according to its textual integrity (and why should we, necessarily?), instead viewing it as a kind of adaptation, Spencer-Jones has succeeded beautifully.

As the disaffected Alex, Martin McCreadie astounds – terrifying as the uncontrolled, seemingly uncontrollable, adolescent, and tragic as the victim of government manipulation. From the moment of McCreadie’s appearance, his multi-dimensional emotional investment demand sour involvement.

A rollicking score, combining rock classics with spurts of Alex’s much-adored Beethoven, propels the action, and inspires choreographed fight and dance scenes.Even though this element of stylisation dilutes the violence to some extent, it does inject the production with an arresting, testosterone-fuelled muscularity that works. Plus it’s visually compelling. This effect is intensified by the set design – all black, punctuated with striking touches of white and orange.

Humorous moments, often involving the satire of authority figures, are added with subtlety – a fine achievement in a story driven by such a dark, disturbed heart.

Even though Burgess purists may disagree with Spencer-Jones’s diversions from the original, there’s no arguing that she has achieved her vision with conviction and power.

Timon of Athens - Review

Photo credits to Aubry Godden
Reviewed by Jasmine Crittenden
During Shakespeare’s lifetime, Timon of Athens was never performed. Some critics argue that this is because the play was incomplete. Others argue that it touched a nerve with the royal family.

Written between 1605 and 1608, just after James I had taken the English throne, the play is a portrait of Timon, a generous Athenian who showers his friends with money and gifts, but upon falling into debt, finds himself cast out. Given James I’s reputation for financial mismanagement, there’s every chance that Shakespeare’s drama may not have been welcomed on the public stage.

Whatever the case, Timon of Athens is rarely performed, even these days.And when it is, it tends to make directors want to pull their hair out.Hence, the decision of Erica Brennan and Lucy Watson, partners in production company This Hour, to make Timon of Athens their first full-length show, was an ambitious one.

Brennan and Watson make creative use of the grungy, underground space that is The Old 505 Theatre. They attempt to draw the audience into the drama even before it has begun, with a prostrate, handcuffed vagabond and a rather outspoken canine inhabiting the entrance way. The action begins outside of the theatre, in an effort to immerse the audience in the clamorous, fast-paced opening scene.We are invited in only when Timon’s famous feast begins.

Brennan has cast Felicity Nichol in the lead role. To begin, Nichol’s take on the warm-hearted, wild spending Athenianis engaging. The contrast between his maverick generosity and the responses of varying characters,from cynicism to transparent sycophancy,is achieved through effective dynamics.

However, as the play advances into darkness, through the gradual exposure of Timon’s foolishness and the ghastly hypocrisy of the once fawning masses, the production doesn’t keep up. Nichol is better at cheerful Timon than at the disillusioned cast off, and the crowd’s alteration becomes unconvincing and laboured.Perhaps more attention could have been paid to subtleties.