FEDERATION RAGTIME - QLD
Thu, 20 Sept 2001, 06:48 pmWalter Plinge1 post in thread
FEDERATION RAGTIME - QLD
Thu, 20 Sept 2001, 06:48 pmFEDERATION RAGTIME
Presented by Queensland Arts Council, Centenary of Federation Queensland,
Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Narpaca.
Qld Tour Season: August 15 to September 18, 2001.
*****
Remember when you were in junior highschool, and that day when the students were herded into the big hall and told to sit quietly in preparation for a musical play performed by a visiting theatre troupe?
What followed would be a show full of primary colours and zany performers doing wacky things with simple props, in an attempt to entertain the students with a condensed lesson in Australian history.
Well, except for the addition of some choice cursing which successfully defined this show as "not suitable for children", this is exactly what "Federation Ragtime" appears to be.
This is a production especially commissioned by the Queensland Arts Council, as part of our "Centenary of Federation" celebrations. Through a vaudeville-style musical revue - with broad characters and a bright, utilitarian set - it attempts to honour and satirise the various elements of our nation's political history that steered us towards federation.
The show has been touring regional Queensland since mid-August. The final show was performed on September 18, and this is the performance that I attended.
Technically, there's not much that can be faulted about the show. The direction by Jim Vile is pacey and well-trimmed, the writing efficient, the performers expressive and boasting strong voices, and at no time is the show dull. It is quick, tight and economical in its padding. At all times, the attention of the audience was drawn to the appropriate piece of stage business, and smoothly redirected at the appropriate moment thanks to a unified group performance.
But the show has no soul.
Playwright Sue Rider - who co-wrote the mesmerising "Milo's Wake" - has provided a by-the-numbers satire that doesn't exploit the subject matter to its greatest potential. It is an efficient and descriptive script, but it isn't "biting" as good satire should be. There is also a tendency towards self-righteousness when dealing with subjects such as the "White Australia" policy. This is unnecessary, and falsely panders to emotive issues.
The attempt at vaudeville is stifled by the performers doing nothing more than apeing the style. There is no sense that the performers are really absorbed in their work, nor that they are connecting with the audience in the way that Vaudeville allows. Yes, they occasionally address individual members of the audience, employing them as bouncing boards for some very effective one-liners, but they are obviously well rehearsed bits of interaction, with no sense of spontanaeity.
The great irony is that in the first part of the show, the performers
encourage the audience to interact with "Boos" and "Hoorays" in the appropriate places, but by the second half of the show that I attended, when the audience had warmed up enough to shout quips without prompting, the actors seemed to lose momentum whenever they did so. One actor even forgot his lines completely and had to repeat previous dialogue to get back on track.
By the third unprompted quip (which quite possibly raised the greatest laugh of the whole evening) the lead actor was past being tolerant and responded with a polite but thinly disguised request for the heckler to shut up, effectively killing any chance of the audience feeling that they were welcome to be anything more than remote observers.
Had the quips been insulting or intrusive, I could understand the effect on stage business, but the comments were very much in keeping with the atmosphere that the production was trying to emulate. How did the cast manage to get through the whole regional tour without learning how to cope with hecklers more effectively? Is it possible that the tour was heckle-free until the final night?
Such a shame. Those few unexpected quips would have provided great material for performers more accustomed to the genre. To be fair, an attempt to incorporate one of the earlier quips with the onstage conversation was made by one performer, but it was all too brief, and not particularly clever.
Comedy is another element of the show that is seriously strained. It is good-natured but not brilliant. There are only so many lewd pelvic thrusts and zany facial expressions that one show can maintain with any dignity, and I am now firmly of the opinion that it is the act of a desperate director to whom comedy does not come naturally, to put the brawniest male actor in a frock for the sake of a laugh. It also smacks of limited vision to have that actor stay in that frock for the entire show!
As for lighting; it's interesting to see the rigs incorporated with the set at low level so that the lighting becomes a conscious part of the visual design. This impressed me, especially in the design's ability to achieve an intimate feel in such a large venue as the Cooloola Heritage Theatre. Lighting designer Matt Scott did well here.
The white floods, however, are inconsiderately positioned in such a way that the audience in the gods is blinded for a significant portion of some scenes. It's as if the floods are directly aimed at the audience.
There's not much good to say about the sound design. The sound effects were barely audible above the unmiked voices of the actors, and the buzzing of a loose connection on the amplifier went on far too long before it was attended to.
Generally the talent on stage is great. I assume the four performers - Justine Anderson, Leisa Barry-Smith, Simon Burvill-Holmes and Gary Nunn - were chosen primarily on the strength of their impressive vocal skills. Their physical work also is strong and expressive throughout. But I feel they are betrayed by a lack of either passion or understanding for the style of theatre performed.
I must give special credit to the show's sole musician, Nathan Spence, who managed to produce gutsy music almost non-stop with nothing more than a keyboard and a piano-accordion. Combined with the melodic vocals, the score has all the strength of a small-scale musical, showing fine work on the part of musical director, Erin Murphy.
Nevertheless, this is not a show that people will rave about as they leave the auditorium. Though adequate, it is not mainstream entertainment that can maintain itself. It has government funding behind it, and it shows.
I suspect that "Federation Ragtime" will be touring highschools in the future.
Presented by Queensland Arts Council, Centenary of Federation Queensland,
Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Narpaca.
Qld Tour Season: August 15 to September 18, 2001.
*****
Remember when you were in junior highschool, and that day when the students were herded into the big hall and told to sit quietly in preparation for a musical play performed by a visiting theatre troupe?
What followed would be a show full of primary colours and zany performers doing wacky things with simple props, in an attempt to entertain the students with a condensed lesson in Australian history.
Well, except for the addition of some choice cursing which successfully defined this show as "not suitable for children", this is exactly what "Federation Ragtime" appears to be.
This is a production especially commissioned by the Queensland Arts Council, as part of our "Centenary of Federation" celebrations. Through a vaudeville-style musical revue - with broad characters and a bright, utilitarian set - it attempts to honour and satirise the various elements of our nation's political history that steered us towards federation.
The show has been touring regional Queensland since mid-August. The final show was performed on September 18, and this is the performance that I attended.
Technically, there's not much that can be faulted about the show. The direction by Jim Vile is pacey and well-trimmed, the writing efficient, the performers expressive and boasting strong voices, and at no time is the show dull. It is quick, tight and economical in its padding. At all times, the attention of the audience was drawn to the appropriate piece of stage business, and smoothly redirected at the appropriate moment thanks to a unified group performance.
But the show has no soul.
Playwright Sue Rider - who co-wrote the mesmerising "Milo's Wake" - has provided a by-the-numbers satire that doesn't exploit the subject matter to its greatest potential. It is an efficient and descriptive script, but it isn't "biting" as good satire should be. There is also a tendency towards self-righteousness when dealing with subjects such as the "White Australia" policy. This is unnecessary, and falsely panders to emotive issues.
The attempt at vaudeville is stifled by the performers doing nothing more than apeing the style. There is no sense that the performers are really absorbed in their work, nor that they are connecting with the audience in the way that Vaudeville allows. Yes, they occasionally address individual members of the audience, employing them as bouncing boards for some very effective one-liners, but they are obviously well rehearsed bits of interaction, with no sense of spontanaeity.
The great irony is that in the first part of the show, the performers
encourage the audience to interact with "Boos" and "Hoorays" in the appropriate places, but by the second half of the show that I attended, when the audience had warmed up enough to shout quips without prompting, the actors seemed to lose momentum whenever they did so. One actor even forgot his lines completely and had to repeat previous dialogue to get back on track.
By the third unprompted quip (which quite possibly raised the greatest laugh of the whole evening) the lead actor was past being tolerant and responded with a polite but thinly disguised request for the heckler to shut up, effectively killing any chance of the audience feeling that they were welcome to be anything more than remote observers.
Had the quips been insulting or intrusive, I could understand the effect on stage business, but the comments were very much in keeping with the atmosphere that the production was trying to emulate. How did the cast manage to get through the whole regional tour without learning how to cope with hecklers more effectively? Is it possible that the tour was heckle-free until the final night?
Such a shame. Those few unexpected quips would have provided great material for performers more accustomed to the genre. To be fair, an attempt to incorporate one of the earlier quips with the onstage conversation was made by one performer, but it was all too brief, and not particularly clever.
Comedy is another element of the show that is seriously strained. It is good-natured but not brilliant. There are only so many lewd pelvic thrusts and zany facial expressions that one show can maintain with any dignity, and I am now firmly of the opinion that it is the act of a desperate director to whom comedy does not come naturally, to put the brawniest male actor in a frock for the sake of a laugh. It also smacks of limited vision to have that actor stay in that frock for the entire show!
As for lighting; it's interesting to see the rigs incorporated with the set at low level so that the lighting becomes a conscious part of the visual design. This impressed me, especially in the design's ability to achieve an intimate feel in such a large venue as the Cooloola Heritage Theatre. Lighting designer Matt Scott did well here.
The white floods, however, are inconsiderately positioned in such a way that the audience in the gods is blinded for a significant portion of some scenes. It's as if the floods are directly aimed at the audience.
There's not much good to say about the sound design. The sound effects were barely audible above the unmiked voices of the actors, and the buzzing of a loose connection on the amplifier went on far too long before it was attended to.
Generally the talent on stage is great. I assume the four performers - Justine Anderson, Leisa Barry-Smith, Simon Burvill-Holmes and Gary Nunn - were chosen primarily on the strength of their impressive vocal skills. Their physical work also is strong and expressive throughout. But I feel they are betrayed by a lack of either passion or understanding for the style of theatre performed.
I must give special credit to the show's sole musician, Nathan Spence, who managed to produce gutsy music almost non-stop with nothing more than a keyboard and a piano-accordion. Combined with the melodic vocals, the score has all the strength of a small-scale musical, showing fine work on the part of musical director, Erin Murphy.
Nevertheless, this is not a show that people will rave about as they leave the auditorium. Though adequate, it is not mainstream entertainment that can maintain itself. It has government funding behind it, and it shows.
I suspect that "Federation Ragtime" will be touring highschools in the future.
Walter PlingeThu, 20 Sept 2001, 06:48 pm
FEDERATION RAGTIME
Presented by Queensland Arts Council, Centenary of Federation Queensland,
Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Narpaca.
Qld Tour Season: August 15 to September 18, 2001.
*****
Remember when you were in junior highschool, and that day when the students were herded into the big hall and told to sit quietly in preparation for a musical play performed by a visiting theatre troupe?
What followed would be a show full of primary colours and zany performers doing wacky things with simple props, in an attempt to entertain the students with a condensed lesson in Australian history.
Well, except for the addition of some choice cursing which successfully defined this show as "not suitable for children", this is exactly what "Federation Ragtime" appears to be.
This is a production especially commissioned by the Queensland Arts Council, as part of our "Centenary of Federation" celebrations. Through a vaudeville-style musical revue - with broad characters and a bright, utilitarian set - it attempts to honour and satirise the various elements of our nation's political history that steered us towards federation.
The show has been touring regional Queensland since mid-August. The final show was performed on September 18, and this is the performance that I attended.
Technically, there's not much that can be faulted about the show. The direction by Jim Vile is pacey and well-trimmed, the writing efficient, the performers expressive and boasting strong voices, and at no time is the show dull. It is quick, tight and economical in its padding. At all times, the attention of the audience was drawn to the appropriate piece of stage business, and smoothly redirected at the appropriate moment thanks to a unified group performance.
But the show has no soul.
Playwright Sue Rider - who co-wrote the mesmerising "Milo's Wake" - has provided a by-the-numbers satire that doesn't exploit the subject matter to its greatest potential. It is an efficient and descriptive script, but it isn't "biting" as good satire should be. There is also a tendency towards self-righteousness when dealing with subjects such as the "White Australia" policy. This is unnecessary, and falsely panders to emotive issues.
The attempt at vaudeville is stifled by the performers doing nothing more than apeing the style. There is no sense that the performers are really absorbed in their work, nor that they are connecting with the audience in the way that Vaudeville allows. Yes, they occasionally address individual members of the audience, employing them as bouncing boards for some very effective one-liners, but they are obviously well rehearsed bits of interaction, with no sense of spontanaeity.
The great irony is that in the first part of the show, the performers
encourage the audience to interact with "Boos" and "Hoorays" in the appropriate places, but by the second half of the show that I attended, when the audience had warmed up enough to shout quips without prompting, the actors seemed to lose momentum whenever they did so. One actor even forgot his lines completely and had to repeat previous dialogue to get back on track.
By the third unprompted quip (which quite possibly raised the greatest laugh of the whole evening) the lead actor was past being tolerant and responded with a polite but thinly disguised request for the heckler to shut up, effectively killing any chance of the audience feeling that they were welcome to be anything more than remote observers.
Had the quips been insulting or intrusive, I could understand the effect on stage business, but the comments were very much in keeping with the atmosphere that the production was trying to emulate. How did the cast manage to get through the whole regional tour without learning how to cope with hecklers more effectively? Is it possible that the tour was heckle-free until the final night?
Such a shame. Those few unexpected quips would have provided great material for performers more accustomed to the genre. To be fair, an attempt to incorporate one of the earlier quips with the onstage conversation was made by one performer, but it was all too brief, and not particularly clever.
Comedy is another element of the show that is seriously strained. It is good-natured but not brilliant. There are only so many lewd pelvic thrusts and zany facial expressions that one show can maintain with any dignity, and I am now firmly of the opinion that it is the act of a desperate director to whom comedy does not come naturally, to put the brawniest male actor in a frock for the sake of a laugh. It also smacks of limited vision to have that actor stay in that frock for the entire show!
As for lighting; it's interesting to see the rigs incorporated with the set at low level so that the lighting becomes a conscious part of the visual design. This impressed me, especially in the design's ability to achieve an intimate feel in such a large venue as the Cooloola Heritage Theatre. Lighting designer Matt Scott did well here.
The white floods, however, are inconsiderately positioned in such a way that the audience in the gods is blinded for a significant portion of some scenes. It's as if the floods are directly aimed at the audience.
There's not much good to say about the sound design. The sound effects were barely audible above the unmiked voices of the actors, and the buzzing of a loose connection on the amplifier went on far too long before it was attended to.
Generally the talent on stage is great. I assume the four performers - Justine Anderson, Leisa Barry-Smith, Simon Burvill-Holmes and Gary Nunn - were chosen primarily on the strength of their impressive vocal skills. Their physical work also is strong and expressive throughout. But I feel they are betrayed by a lack of either passion or understanding for the style of theatre performed.
I must give special credit to the show's sole musician, Nathan Spence, who managed to produce gutsy music almost non-stop with nothing more than a keyboard and a piano-accordion. Combined with the melodic vocals, the score has all the strength of a small-scale musical, showing fine work on the part of musical director, Erin Murphy.
Nevertheless, this is not a show that people will rave about as they leave the auditorium. Though adequate, it is not mainstream entertainment that can maintain itself. It has government funding behind it, and it shows.
I suspect that "Federation Ragtime" will be touring highschools in the future.
Presented by Queensland Arts Council, Centenary of Federation Queensland,
Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Narpaca.
Qld Tour Season: August 15 to September 18, 2001.
*****
Remember when you were in junior highschool, and that day when the students were herded into the big hall and told to sit quietly in preparation for a musical play performed by a visiting theatre troupe?
What followed would be a show full of primary colours and zany performers doing wacky things with simple props, in an attempt to entertain the students with a condensed lesson in Australian history.
Well, except for the addition of some choice cursing which successfully defined this show as "not suitable for children", this is exactly what "Federation Ragtime" appears to be.
This is a production especially commissioned by the Queensland Arts Council, as part of our "Centenary of Federation" celebrations. Through a vaudeville-style musical revue - with broad characters and a bright, utilitarian set - it attempts to honour and satirise the various elements of our nation's political history that steered us towards federation.
The show has been touring regional Queensland since mid-August. The final show was performed on September 18, and this is the performance that I attended.
Technically, there's not much that can be faulted about the show. The direction by Jim Vile is pacey and well-trimmed, the writing efficient, the performers expressive and boasting strong voices, and at no time is the show dull. It is quick, tight and economical in its padding. At all times, the attention of the audience was drawn to the appropriate piece of stage business, and smoothly redirected at the appropriate moment thanks to a unified group performance.
But the show has no soul.
Playwright Sue Rider - who co-wrote the mesmerising "Milo's Wake" - has provided a by-the-numbers satire that doesn't exploit the subject matter to its greatest potential. It is an efficient and descriptive script, but it isn't "biting" as good satire should be. There is also a tendency towards self-righteousness when dealing with subjects such as the "White Australia" policy. This is unnecessary, and falsely panders to emotive issues.
The attempt at vaudeville is stifled by the performers doing nothing more than apeing the style. There is no sense that the performers are really absorbed in their work, nor that they are connecting with the audience in the way that Vaudeville allows. Yes, they occasionally address individual members of the audience, employing them as bouncing boards for some very effective one-liners, but they are obviously well rehearsed bits of interaction, with no sense of spontanaeity.
The great irony is that in the first part of the show, the performers
encourage the audience to interact with "Boos" and "Hoorays" in the appropriate places, but by the second half of the show that I attended, when the audience had warmed up enough to shout quips without prompting, the actors seemed to lose momentum whenever they did so. One actor even forgot his lines completely and had to repeat previous dialogue to get back on track.
By the third unprompted quip (which quite possibly raised the greatest laugh of the whole evening) the lead actor was past being tolerant and responded with a polite but thinly disguised request for the heckler to shut up, effectively killing any chance of the audience feeling that they were welcome to be anything more than remote observers.
Had the quips been insulting or intrusive, I could understand the effect on stage business, but the comments were very much in keeping with the atmosphere that the production was trying to emulate. How did the cast manage to get through the whole regional tour without learning how to cope with hecklers more effectively? Is it possible that the tour was heckle-free until the final night?
Such a shame. Those few unexpected quips would have provided great material for performers more accustomed to the genre. To be fair, an attempt to incorporate one of the earlier quips with the onstage conversation was made by one performer, but it was all too brief, and not particularly clever.
Comedy is another element of the show that is seriously strained. It is good-natured but not brilliant. There are only so many lewd pelvic thrusts and zany facial expressions that one show can maintain with any dignity, and I am now firmly of the opinion that it is the act of a desperate director to whom comedy does not come naturally, to put the brawniest male actor in a frock for the sake of a laugh. It also smacks of limited vision to have that actor stay in that frock for the entire show!
As for lighting; it's interesting to see the rigs incorporated with the set at low level so that the lighting becomes a conscious part of the visual design. This impressed me, especially in the design's ability to achieve an intimate feel in such a large venue as the Cooloola Heritage Theatre. Lighting designer Matt Scott did well here.
The white floods, however, are inconsiderately positioned in such a way that the audience in the gods is blinded for a significant portion of some scenes. It's as if the floods are directly aimed at the audience.
There's not much good to say about the sound design. The sound effects were barely audible above the unmiked voices of the actors, and the buzzing of a loose connection on the amplifier went on far too long before it was attended to.
Generally the talent on stage is great. I assume the four performers - Justine Anderson, Leisa Barry-Smith, Simon Burvill-Holmes and Gary Nunn - were chosen primarily on the strength of their impressive vocal skills. Their physical work also is strong and expressive throughout. But I feel they are betrayed by a lack of either passion or understanding for the style of theatre performed.
I must give special credit to the show's sole musician, Nathan Spence, who managed to produce gutsy music almost non-stop with nothing more than a keyboard and a piano-accordion. Combined with the melodic vocals, the score has all the strength of a small-scale musical, showing fine work on the part of musical director, Erin Murphy.
Nevertheless, this is not a show that people will rave about as they leave the auditorium. Though adequate, it is not mainstream entertainment that can maintain itself. It has government funding behind it, and it shows.
I suspect that "Federation Ragtime" will be touring highschools in the future.