Wyrd Sisters - It's a Must see!
Tue, 10 Apr 2001, 03:40 pmWalter Plinge20 posts in thread
Wyrd Sisters - It's a Must see!
Tue, 10 Apr 2001, 03:40 pmI am amazed that there hasn't already been a review on this brilliant production! It is in its final week at the Nexus Theatre, Murdoch University, starting at 8pm Wed-Sat.
Everyone that I have spoken to who has been think that this is a great show!
The set, costumes, lighting, and special effects are marvellous, and of course the acting is brilliant.
Arena Theatre is mainly a Theatre in School company, and has never attempted anything like this before.
They have selected a large cast of 18 Amateur Actors, from all over Perth, and have pulled off a most successful production.
All of the lead actors were totally in character the whole play, and the supporting cast were to be admired for their versatility in playing several different roles and changing character so completely every time.
Special mention should go to Emma Farrell who plays Magrat, and to Kingsley Judd (Fool) whose energetic performances had the audience in stitches.
Congratulations Simon, Francesca & Claire, a great job!
Everyone that I have spoken to who has been think that this is a great show!
The set, costumes, lighting, and special effects are marvellous, and of course the acting is brilliant.
Arena Theatre is mainly a Theatre in School company, and has never attempted anything like this before.
They have selected a large cast of 18 Amateur Actors, from all over Perth, and have pulled off a most successful production.
All of the lead actors were totally in character the whole play, and the supporting cast were to be admired for their versatility in playing several different roles and changing character so completely every time.
Special mention should go to Emma Farrell who plays Magrat, and to Kingsley Judd (Fool) whose energetic performances had the audience in stitches.
Congratulations Simon, Francesca & Claire, a great job!
RE: Wyrd Sisters
Thu, 26 Apr 2001, 03:41 pmWalter Plinge
Ooooo, that's harsh.
Sorry, meant to write sooner but have been busy. I didn't think the show was bad. It's always very hard viewing someone else doing a show that you've previously been intimately involved in, but Arena's production of "Wyrd Sisters" had some very good points and some not-so-good points.
DEATH was spectacular! A lot of work had gone into creating the Grim Reaper for this production and - visually - he was very effective. The actor who has played DEATH in all five of Blak Yak's Pratchett shows was told, "Looks like you're out of a job!" Unfortunately, no one in the audience could understand a word this DEATH said. I saw the production on opening night, so maybe things improved during the run, but on opeing night the reverb, or echo, or whatever, completely mangled all of DEATH's dialogue. It was also a huge pity that, after all that work, DEATH did not make a reappearance during the rest of the play - there are plenty of scenes where he could have made a welcome cameo.
I don't know if it's just me, but I've always felt that it's hard to make "Wyrd Sisters" really satisfying because of the difficulty in adequately explaining the convoluted resolution. I'm sure that the majority of audience members view the "revelation" that the Fool is Tomjohn's brother (and therefore an alternative legitimate heir to the throne) as a huge contrivance (acceptable only because of the genre) if not a Deus Ex Machina. However, the clues are planted throughout the script - the trick is to emphasise them to the audience without telegraphing the denoument. One huge clue comes from DEATH himself in the opening moments of the play, but was lost on this occasion.
I thought the backdrop-changing-machinery was fantastic! Very clever! Someone told me they were noisy and slow, but I thought they changed smoothly during the scene changes, were covered by some pleasant, appropriate scene-change music, and allowed the audience to catch its breath.
As in any large cast, some performers stand out more than others. I was impressed with Robert Whitehead as the Duke. It is so easy to go over the top in this role (indeed, I saw a country production some years ago where the Duke simply screamed all his dialogue at the top of his lungs for the length of the play). Robert had a nice mix of subtle menace and crazed mania.
The three witches fitted their roles nicely, although it was a strain to follow the dialogue at times due to the funny accents they had been forced to adopt. Francesca Philips was a great Nanny Ogg throughout, and whenever the lovely Emma Farrell used her real voice for effect or emphasis, she instantly grabbed the audience's attention - I'm certainly looking forward to the next production she appears in! ;-)
Much of the rest of the cast seemed very young, and it's great to see young new people getting into theatre. The show had the feeling of a good, fun pantomime. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that Arena's forte' - pantomimes for schools? Good to see them opening up more to the public. Hope the audiences for the rest of the season were as good as they were on opening night.
JB
Sorry, meant to write sooner but have been busy. I didn't think the show was bad. It's always very hard viewing someone else doing a show that you've previously been intimately involved in, but Arena's production of "Wyrd Sisters" had some very good points and some not-so-good points.
DEATH was spectacular! A lot of work had gone into creating the Grim Reaper for this production and - visually - he was very effective. The actor who has played DEATH in all five of Blak Yak's Pratchett shows was told, "Looks like you're out of a job!" Unfortunately, no one in the audience could understand a word this DEATH said. I saw the production on opening night, so maybe things improved during the run, but on opeing night the reverb, or echo, or whatever, completely mangled all of DEATH's dialogue. It was also a huge pity that, after all that work, DEATH did not make a reappearance during the rest of the play - there are plenty of scenes where he could have made a welcome cameo.
I don't know if it's just me, but I've always felt that it's hard to make "Wyrd Sisters" really satisfying because of the difficulty in adequately explaining the convoluted resolution. I'm sure that the majority of audience members view the "revelation" that the Fool is Tomjohn's brother (and therefore an alternative legitimate heir to the throne) as a huge contrivance (acceptable only because of the genre) if not a Deus Ex Machina. However, the clues are planted throughout the script - the trick is to emphasise them to the audience without telegraphing the denoument. One huge clue comes from DEATH himself in the opening moments of the play, but was lost on this occasion.
I thought the backdrop-changing-machinery was fantastic! Very clever! Someone told me they were noisy and slow, but I thought they changed smoothly during the scene changes, were covered by some pleasant, appropriate scene-change music, and allowed the audience to catch its breath.
As in any large cast, some performers stand out more than others. I was impressed with Robert Whitehead as the Duke. It is so easy to go over the top in this role (indeed, I saw a country production some years ago where the Duke simply screamed all his dialogue at the top of his lungs for the length of the play). Robert had a nice mix of subtle menace and crazed mania.
The three witches fitted their roles nicely, although it was a strain to follow the dialogue at times due to the funny accents they had been forced to adopt. Francesca Philips was a great Nanny Ogg throughout, and whenever the lovely Emma Farrell used her real voice for effect or emphasis, she instantly grabbed the audience's attention - I'm certainly looking forward to the next production she appears in! ;-)
Much of the rest of the cast seemed very young, and it's great to see young new people getting into theatre. The show had the feeling of a good, fun pantomime. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that Arena's forte' - pantomimes for schools? Good to see them opening up more to the public. Hope the audiences for the rest of the season were as good as they were on opening night.
JB
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