By Any Other Name - Review

Reviewed by Regina Su
Cast your mind back to Shakespearean Verona, to an ancient feud of star crossed love, to a rivalry between Montagues and Capulets. However, reimagine this space to paint an image of Capulet ladies and Montague men. By Any Other Name is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , faithful to the text with all, but a twist- a swapping of gender roles and sexuality. The Long Walk Theatre Company presents this reimagined tale of heartache and tragedy making it relevant to a contemporary society with social commentary and a socio-political agenda.

This production is an eclectic mix of innovation and experimentation. The stage space was used professionally, the lighting and costuming was apt and keenly thought-out. The tension weaved in the room was highly strung and the actors kept up the intensity with incredible passion over the course of the play. Choreographed fight scenes were amazing and in both dialogue and action, it seemed no path was barred. With some stand-out acting, I'd like to commend Sophia Scarpellino (Juliet), Monique Corkin (Nurse) and Annie Schofield (Mercutio) for their energy and enthiusiasm in their acting.

By Any Other Name was alive with melodrama and energy. While the concept of a modern reimagining of an old tragedy is a wonderful concept, I feel the execution in the script could have been neater. Staying true to the complete original text, the performance slipped between full Shakespearean soliloquies, then borderlined monologue with contemporary language and references. This was effective to an extent- contemporary social commentary can't be found in the original text, however there were smaller continuity points which, if edited, could have helped the audience to take the theatrical leap, so to speak. For example, referring to Paris as a male suitor, played by a female actress is an interesting comment in itself, however to then make reference to female sexuality is just a little confusing to keep up with for a long period. Conceptually, the play is wonderfully innovative and experimental and production-wise, the play was very professional, however small discrepancies in the writing unsatisfied.

Warning, explicit sexual references. By Any Other Name plays at The Sidetrack Theatre in Marrickville from the 22nd of May until the 1st of June. For more information, visit http://www.sidetrack.com.au

The Mardi Gras Colour Blind Project

The Mardi Gras Colour Blind Project is playing at the Sidetrack Theatre until 4 March, with a gala night on 1 March.
The Project aims to challenge the stereotypes of what represents 'Gay Sydney' it is a seven short plays each bringing a different slant on the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community and the race and cultural background within this community.  I originally thought that it hadn't really tackled the later issue, but then looking back many of the plays did have actors and or characters from different races or cultures.

The Seagull

The Seagull is one of Anton Chekhov full-length tragi-comic plays. This performance has you laughing, but by the end you will leave the theatre rather melancholy; but not for long as you reflect on the brilliant performance by all the actors.
I had never been to the Sidetrack Theatre, it is an amazing set up. Even going to the bathroom is an adventure; you sort of feel, you have somehow traveled back in time. This has nothing to do with the play, which, wow, this was a very good production, congratulations to the director/ producer Kate Gaul.
Kate hasn't tried to overly complicate this production, which was good because it let the quality of the acting shine. All the actors played their part with passion and credibility. The long monologues were well executed. They kept you in the moment thanks to the excellent intonation from the actors. There were two performances however that just piped the others the first is Zoe Carides portrayal of Irina Arkardina. Irina as the mother of Konstantin Treplev a want to be writer. Irina is very egocentric and poor Konstantin lives very much in her shadow. The other performance was that of Katherine Cullen as Masha. Her performance in one of the scenes as a very drunk, rather sad Masha was very realistic.
Will you enjoy this play, should you see it? Yes, it was very good and I would add it to your list of possibilities for the month of June.