Threesome 2000
Thu, 3 Aug 2000, 02:13 pmWalter Plinge13 posts in thread
Threesome 2000
Thu, 3 Aug 2000, 02:13 pmI saw this event last evening, having heard about it on this site. I was prepared for something fairly dull and was pleasantly surprised, if not shocked! I recognised a few faces from Damage Theatre who again turned in classy performances.
The first play, 'Tests' was very pacy and very funny, although for some reason I found myself laughing alone at a lot of the gags. Perhaps it appeals particularly to philologists. The tall chap seems to be a naturally funny person and reminds me of a young Bruce Spence. I hope it's not too long before he feels more comfortable with his body.
The second piece, 'The Elevator Game' deserves special credit for being a home-grown product. The idea is good. Some of the moves (all within a confined floor space the size of an elevator) could have been better choreographed. For example, when the smiley girl jumps up and down, the rest of the cast could react with a slight recoil etc. I did learn a few new forms of abuse from this play as well. (Fucksticks?)
The third offering, 'Ficky Stingers', caught me off guard. I'd been expecting it to be a comedy about my raunchy relatives (joke). Instead of course, it was a very confrontational play about the sticky subject of date-rape. All the more confrontational if you happen to be the only male sitting in the front row!
I have always had the impression that there was a fine line between rough sex and sexual assault. This play showed me that in fact, from a woman's point of view at least, the line is very bold indeed. A well-done and very moving piece.
The fact that the play was set in working class London didn't detract from the message, although it would be good to see plays like this written for the Aussie Idiom. Get onto it, kids!
Thanks all, and if anyone would like me to come and review their future shows, just send a couple of comps to me at PO Box 1133 Fremantle 6959
The first play, 'Tests' was very pacy and very funny, although for some reason I found myself laughing alone at a lot of the gags. Perhaps it appeals particularly to philologists. The tall chap seems to be a naturally funny person and reminds me of a young Bruce Spence. I hope it's not too long before he feels more comfortable with his body.
The second piece, 'The Elevator Game' deserves special credit for being a home-grown product. The idea is good. Some of the moves (all within a confined floor space the size of an elevator) could have been better choreographed. For example, when the smiley girl jumps up and down, the rest of the cast could react with a slight recoil etc. I did learn a few new forms of abuse from this play as well. (Fucksticks?)
The third offering, 'Ficky Stingers', caught me off guard. I'd been expecting it to be a comedy about my raunchy relatives (joke). Instead of course, it was a very confrontational play about the sticky subject of date-rape. All the more confrontational if you happen to be the only male sitting in the front row!
I have always had the impression that there was a fine line between rough sex and sexual assault. This play showed me that in fact, from a woman's point of view at least, the line is very bold indeed. A well-done and very moving piece.
The fact that the play was set in working class London didn't detract from the message, although it would be good to see plays like this written for the Aussie Idiom. Get onto it, kids!
Thanks all, and if anyone would like me to come and review their future shows, just send a couple of comps to me at PO Box 1133 Fremantle 6959
RE: Threesome 2000
Fri, 4 Aug 2000, 01:47 amWalter Plinge
I didn't doubt Threesome would be excellent after both BlackRock and Macbeth were both well recieved by full audiences and extended performance seasons. Thankfully I was right to make an assumption! Unfortunately I missed Just So, but I'm sure it would have been fantastic too...
So, about Threesome.
Tests was fun. Not only fun, but funny, in it's own weird way. For those who haven't heard of Tests basically it's a combination of several different and absurd scenes with some of them a jumble of lines relating to similar topics, and at the same time making very little sense (personal opinion anyway, there could be many profound meanings behind some of these, one being the fact that people don't listen to what other people are saying...). Anyway, Tests provides a lot of freedom for the director, and in my opinion the Heath Miller made some great directorial decisions, ending up with what I heard one person in the foyer say as "a really funny and interesting show which could have easily been incredibly boring". One thing that was hard to miss is Miller's choice to have actors strut about unashamedly in underwear (we also saw a topless actor in the last show he directed) which was definitely interesting to say the least, but I am still unsure whether it added or detracted from the performance, though i think it has less to do with the actors being comfortable with it than it does with the acceptance and comfortability of audience members (surely a debatable issue in all film/performance mediums which involve nudity or near nudity) . But altogether a different and interesting show that will provide a lot of unexpected laughs.
I actually had a bit of trouble readjusting to normal conversation again as The Elevator Game took to the stage! Unfortunately i really don't have much to say about this show because I feel that 'stinger' shares the same ideas as myself, I would just like to add that the characters were all very well cast and the performances very strong.
Ficky Stingers was a daring peformance, beautifully directed and performed. I actually found the use of simple lighting effects to contribute to this production more than I think I have ever seen in a fairly realistic show like this, and the simple set also contributed greatly to the performances impact. Although the costumes and thick irish accents helped to make the characters very 'otherlike' in many respects, I think it would be hard for the audience not to empathise with the emotions of the central character, even if never placed in a similar position as hers.
Threesome demonstrated some of the guts of the Hayman Theatre Students as the directors and actors have taken on both challenging plays and challenging roles. Congratulations, and good luck for the rest of the season.
Michelle Sowden.
btw, I'd love to get feedback on my reviews so feel free to email me and tell me how I went :)
So, about Threesome.
Tests was fun. Not only fun, but funny, in it's own weird way. For those who haven't heard of Tests basically it's a combination of several different and absurd scenes with some of them a jumble of lines relating to similar topics, and at the same time making very little sense (personal opinion anyway, there could be many profound meanings behind some of these, one being the fact that people don't listen to what other people are saying...). Anyway, Tests provides a lot of freedom for the director, and in my opinion the Heath Miller made some great directorial decisions, ending up with what I heard one person in the foyer say as "a really funny and interesting show which could have easily been incredibly boring". One thing that was hard to miss is Miller's choice to have actors strut about unashamedly in underwear (we also saw a topless actor in the last show he directed) which was definitely interesting to say the least, but I am still unsure whether it added or detracted from the performance, though i think it has less to do with the actors being comfortable with it than it does with the acceptance and comfortability of audience members (surely a debatable issue in all film/performance mediums which involve nudity or near nudity) . But altogether a different and interesting show that will provide a lot of unexpected laughs.
I actually had a bit of trouble readjusting to normal conversation again as The Elevator Game took to the stage! Unfortunately i really don't have much to say about this show because I feel that 'stinger' shares the same ideas as myself, I would just like to add that the characters were all very well cast and the performances very strong.
Ficky Stingers was a daring peformance, beautifully directed and performed. I actually found the use of simple lighting effects to contribute to this production more than I think I have ever seen in a fairly realistic show like this, and the simple set also contributed greatly to the performances impact. Although the costumes and thick irish accents helped to make the characters very 'otherlike' in many respects, I think it would be hard for the audience not to empathise with the emotions of the central character, even if never placed in a similar position as hers.
Threesome demonstrated some of the guts of the Hayman Theatre Students as the directors and actors have taken on both challenging plays and challenging roles. Congratulations, and good luck for the rest of the season.
Michelle Sowden.
btw, I'd love to get feedback on my reviews so feel free to email me and tell me how I went :)