Johnny Belinda
Fri, 31 May 2002, 12:00 amWalter Plinge1 post in thread
Johnny Belinda
Fri, 31 May 2002, 12:00 amBetter late than never.....
Johnny Belinda was the most recent production from KADS (Kalamunda, WA). It's finished now, so I apologise for taking so long. Set in a small village in 1940s Nova Scotia, it tells the tale of a deaf-mute girl (Sarah Sambridge) who is befriended by the village's new doctor (Tim Edwards). Everyone in town, including her own father, refers to her as "The Dummy", but the doctor is the first person to recognise she isn't stupid, merely handicapped.
Tim and Sarah worked together astonishingly well. Apparently they trained for six months with an accredited sign language teacher before they started actual rehearsals. Tim's Dr Davidson signed throughout the play as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Sarah's Belinda was painfully hesitant at first, but soon embraced her new method of communication. Good chemistry between the two leads.
The script was very, very old-fashioned, unashamedly emotionally manipulative and a little cramped for time. For example, on his first visit, Dr Davison tells Belinda (and the audience), "This is the sign for a cow," and proceeds to make "horns" with his fingers at his temples. We in the audience automatically know what he's doing, but Belinda would wonder, "Who is this stranger and why is he wiggling his fingers at the side of his head?" Dr Davison really needed to point to an actual cow (and why couldn't KADS get one on stage?) then do his bovine imitations. However, since no one wants a five hour play, the compromise has to be made. We have to assume and accept that the teaching wasn't so simplistic.
Belinda's father was played with gusto by Andrew Warwick. Geez it was painful watching him slap her around and call her "Dummy". However, he redeemed himself when the doctor demonstrated that Belinda was not stupid and that she could communicate. Astonishingly good makeup in one crucial scene, too.....
Belinda's maiden aunt was played by a very grumpy Sandra Sando, who provided many of the play's lighter moments. I bumped into Sandra a few nights ago and was pleasantly surprised to hear she was still using her character's perfect Scots accent. The role obviously had a lasting impact on her.
Sean Haining almost stole the show as a very nasty piece of work who rapes the defenseless Belinda. You know you've affected the audience when you get booed at the curtain call. No thin black moustache in evidence, but an uncomfortable air of menace throughout.
Belinda gives birth and keeps the child, all without revealing who was responsible. Two local busybodies (Barbara Reynolds & Dee Howells) and the village Reverend (Geoff Rumsey) visit the "obviously sinful single mother", and accept her hospitality whilst calmly discussing how best to go about removing the baby from "the devil-cursed dummy" in a scene that had the audience squirming in their seats with the blatant prejudice and hypocrisy. Again, you know a play is working when the characters and situations evoke such strong emotional responses.
The set was superb - as it usually is at KADS - blessed as they are with a dedicated and experienced team. The original music was haunting and beautiful throughout. Costumes were great, particularly the authentic FFS stockings (with French heels), although I find it difficult to believe that two such stunning ladies as Sarah Sambridge and Aundraea Stevens actually had to borrow suspender belts!
Everybody - particularly drector Anita Bound - did well with the old-fashioned script. It actually brought tears to the eyes of some of the other members of the audience. A thoroughly enjoyable evening. Thank you.
JB
Johnny Belinda was the most recent production from KADS (Kalamunda, WA). It's finished now, so I apologise for taking so long. Set in a small village in 1940s Nova Scotia, it tells the tale of a deaf-mute girl (Sarah Sambridge) who is befriended by the village's new doctor (Tim Edwards). Everyone in town, including her own father, refers to her as "The Dummy", but the doctor is the first person to recognise she isn't stupid, merely handicapped.
Tim and Sarah worked together astonishingly well. Apparently they trained for six months with an accredited sign language teacher before they started actual rehearsals. Tim's Dr Davidson signed throughout the play as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Sarah's Belinda was painfully hesitant at first, but soon embraced her new method of communication. Good chemistry between the two leads.
The script was very, very old-fashioned, unashamedly emotionally manipulative and a little cramped for time. For example, on his first visit, Dr Davison tells Belinda (and the audience), "This is the sign for a cow," and proceeds to make "horns" with his fingers at his temples. We in the audience automatically know what he's doing, but Belinda would wonder, "Who is this stranger and why is he wiggling his fingers at the side of his head?" Dr Davison really needed to point to an actual cow (and why couldn't KADS get one on stage?) then do his bovine imitations. However, since no one wants a five hour play, the compromise has to be made. We have to assume and accept that the teaching wasn't so simplistic.
Belinda's father was played with gusto by Andrew Warwick. Geez it was painful watching him slap her around and call her "Dummy". However, he redeemed himself when the doctor demonstrated that Belinda was not stupid and that she could communicate. Astonishingly good makeup in one crucial scene, too.....
Belinda's maiden aunt was played by a very grumpy Sandra Sando, who provided many of the play's lighter moments. I bumped into Sandra a few nights ago and was pleasantly surprised to hear she was still using her character's perfect Scots accent. The role obviously had a lasting impact on her.
Sean Haining almost stole the show as a very nasty piece of work who rapes the defenseless Belinda. You know you've affected the audience when you get booed at the curtain call. No thin black moustache in evidence, but an uncomfortable air of menace throughout.
Belinda gives birth and keeps the child, all without revealing who was responsible. Two local busybodies (Barbara Reynolds & Dee Howells) and the village Reverend (Geoff Rumsey) visit the "obviously sinful single mother", and accept her hospitality whilst calmly discussing how best to go about removing the baby from "the devil-cursed dummy" in a scene that had the audience squirming in their seats with the blatant prejudice and hypocrisy. Again, you know a play is working when the characters and situations evoke such strong emotional responses.
The set was superb - as it usually is at KADS - blessed as they are with a dedicated and experienced team. The original music was haunting and beautiful throughout. Costumes were great, particularly the authentic FFS stockings (with French heels), although I find it difficult to believe that two such stunning ladies as Sarah Sambridge and Aundraea Stevens actually had to borrow suspender belts!
Everybody - particularly drector Anita Bound - did well with the old-fashioned script. It actually brought tears to the eyes of some of the other members of the audience. A thoroughly enjoyable evening. Thank you.
JB
Walter PlingeFri, 31 May 2002, 12:00 am
Better late than never.....
Johnny Belinda was the most recent production from KADS (Kalamunda, WA). It's finished now, so I apologise for taking so long. Set in a small village in 1940s Nova Scotia, it tells the tale of a deaf-mute girl (Sarah Sambridge) who is befriended by the village's new doctor (Tim Edwards). Everyone in town, including her own father, refers to her as "The Dummy", but the doctor is the first person to recognise she isn't stupid, merely handicapped.
Tim and Sarah worked together astonishingly well. Apparently they trained for six months with an accredited sign language teacher before they started actual rehearsals. Tim's Dr Davidson signed throughout the play as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Sarah's Belinda was painfully hesitant at first, but soon embraced her new method of communication. Good chemistry between the two leads.
The script was very, very old-fashioned, unashamedly emotionally manipulative and a little cramped for time. For example, on his first visit, Dr Davison tells Belinda (and the audience), "This is the sign for a cow," and proceeds to make "horns" with his fingers at his temples. We in the audience automatically know what he's doing, but Belinda would wonder, "Who is this stranger and why is he wiggling his fingers at the side of his head?" Dr Davison really needed to point to an actual cow (and why couldn't KADS get one on stage?) then do his bovine imitations. However, since no one wants a five hour play, the compromise has to be made. We have to assume and accept that the teaching wasn't so simplistic.
Belinda's father was played with gusto by Andrew Warwick. Geez it was painful watching him slap her around and call her "Dummy". However, he redeemed himself when the doctor demonstrated that Belinda was not stupid and that she could communicate. Astonishingly good makeup in one crucial scene, too.....
Belinda's maiden aunt was played by a very grumpy Sandra Sando, who provided many of the play's lighter moments. I bumped into Sandra a few nights ago and was pleasantly surprised to hear she was still using her character's perfect Scots accent. The role obviously had a lasting impact on her.
Sean Haining almost stole the show as a very nasty piece of work who rapes the defenseless Belinda. You know you've affected the audience when you get booed at the curtain call. No thin black moustache in evidence, but an uncomfortable air of menace throughout.
Belinda gives birth and keeps the child, all without revealing who was responsible. Two local busybodies (Barbara Reynolds & Dee Howells) and the village Reverend (Geoff Rumsey) visit the "obviously sinful single mother", and accept her hospitality whilst calmly discussing how best to go about removing the baby from "the devil-cursed dummy" in a scene that had the audience squirming in their seats with the blatant prejudice and hypocrisy. Again, you know a play is working when the characters and situations evoke such strong emotional responses.
The set was superb - as it usually is at KADS - blessed as they are with a dedicated and experienced team. The original music was haunting and beautiful throughout. Costumes were great, particularly the authentic FFS stockings (with French heels), although I find it difficult to believe that two such stunning ladies as Sarah Sambridge and Aundraea Stevens actually had to borrow suspender belts!
Everybody - particularly drector Anita Bound - did well with the old-fashioned script. It actually brought tears to the eyes of some of the other members of the audience. A thoroughly enjoyable evening. Thank you.
JB
Johnny Belinda was the most recent production from KADS (Kalamunda, WA). It's finished now, so I apologise for taking so long. Set in a small village in 1940s Nova Scotia, it tells the tale of a deaf-mute girl (Sarah Sambridge) who is befriended by the village's new doctor (Tim Edwards). Everyone in town, including her own father, refers to her as "The Dummy", but the doctor is the first person to recognise she isn't stupid, merely handicapped.
Tim and Sarah worked together astonishingly well. Apparently they trained for six months with an accredited sign language teacher before they started actual rehearsals. Tim's Dr Davidson signed throughout the play as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Sarah's Belinda was painfully hesitant at first, but soon embraced her new method of communication. Good chemistry between the two leads.
The script was very, very old-fashioned, unashamedly emotionally manipulative and a little cramped for time. For example, on his first visit, Dr Davison tells Belinda (and the audience), "This is the sign for a cow," and proceeds to make "horns" with his fingers at his temples. We in the audience automatically know what he's doing, but Belinda would wonder, "Who is this stranger and why is he wiggling his fingers at the side of his head?" Dr Davison really needed to point to an actual cow (and why couldn't KADS get one on stage?) then do his bovine imitations. However, since no one wants a five hour play, the compromise has to be made. We have to assume and accept that the teaching wasn't so simplistic.
Belinda's father was played with gusto by Andrew Warwick. Geez it was painful watching him slap her around and call her "Dummy". However, he redeemed himself when the doctor demonstrated that Belinda was not stupid and that she could communicate. Astonishingly good makeup in one crucial scene, too.....
Belinda's maiden aunt was played by a very grumpy Sandra Sando, who provided many of the play's lighter moments. I bumped into Sandra a few nights ago and was pleasantly surprised to hear she was still using her character's perfect Scots accent. The role obviously had a lasting impact on her.
Sean Haining almost stole the show as a very nasty piece of work who rapes the defenseless Belinda. You know you've affected the audience when you get booed at the curtain call. No thin black moustache in evidence, but an uncomfortable air of menace throughout.
Belinda gives birth and keeps the child, all without revealing who was responsible. Two local busybodies (Barbara Reynolds & Dee Howells) and the village Reverend (Geoff Rumsey) visit the "obviously sinful single mother", and accept her hospitality whilst calmly discussing how best to go about removing the baby from "the devil-cursed dummy" in a scene that had the audience squirming in their seats with the blatant prejudice and hypocrisy. Again, you know a play is working when the characters and situations evoke such strong emotional responses.
The set was superb - as it usually is at KADS - blessed as they are with a dedicated and experienced team. The original music was haunting and beautiful throughout. Costumes were great, particularly the authentic FFS stockings (with French heels), although I find it difficult to believe that two such stunning ladies as Sarah Sambridge and Aundraea Stevens actually had to borrow suspender belts!
Everybody - particularly drector Anita Bound - did well with the old-fashioned script. It actually brought tears to the eyes of some of the other members of the audience. A thoroughly enjoyable evening. Thank you.
JB