Summer of the Aliens
Tue, 18 June 2002, 05:18 pmWalter Plinge1 post in thread
Summer of the Aliens
Tue, 18 June 2002, 05:18 pmWhat: Summer of the Aliens
Where: Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA
When: 16 May, 2002
Summer of the Aliens had some great performances and wonderful production pieces, but as a play, some things troubled me (sorry). The programme tells us that the play is set in 1962 and is a thinly-disguised autobiography of playwright Louis Nowra. Indeed, the scene is set by a Narrator (the wonderfully bespoken Wayne Garton, who remains onstage throughout the production) recalling the years of his youth. Numerous radio broadcasts of the era, detailing the Cuban Missile Crisis, are played throughout the play, but are rarely commented upon: the troubled events in the world are supposed to mirror the troubled lives of the characters.
The world of 1962 is seen through the eyes of Lewis (Steve Hounsome) playing the young version of the Narrator (ie Louis Nowra). Lewis is on stage almost constantly, and Steve Hounsome did an excellent job of portraying an intelligent loner trapped by age, circumstance and geography. Lewis's best friend is a complete dick, who likes killing neighbourhood pets and trying to screw as many women as he can. A thoroughly detestable character well portrayed by Ben Russell.
My mistake - Lewis's BEST friend is local wild girl, Dulcie (Rebecca Wilson). Dulcie is too smart and too rebellious for her own good, traits (we later discover) nurtured by an abusive step-father. Seemingly, the only person she doesn't hate is Lewis. Rebecca and Steve worked very well together, particularly in portraying Lewis's loyalty but dismay at Dulcie's erratic behaviour.
In my own opinion, one of the best performances came from Devon Lang-Wilton playing a one-armed Dutch immigrant. She spoke no English - okay, four words - and I really was unsure as to whether she had two arms. Her sensitive, poignant portrayal of the pathetic "alien" made the audience's skin crawl with the realisation that the treatment of outsiders hasn't changed much at all.
Lewis lives with his mother, sister and grandmother. His father is out "finding himself". Gran, unfortunately, was played by far too young an actress, who, whilst very amusing (talking about the pet bird shitting on everything), didn't appear believable as a grandmother, sorry. Lewis's dad was played by the effervescent John Flood in a memorable performance. Even though the story appeared to be going nowhere, John injected some much needed energy and some riotous laughs.
However, nothing really happens in the play. At the conclusion, Lewis is still with his mum and gran, he still argues with his sister, his dad's still off trying to find himself, and his mate's still a dick. Other characters, particularly the local postie, are portrayed as one-dimensional (ethnic) stereotypes.
The real disappointment was the denouement: Dulcie accuses her step-father of abuse, the step-father is carted off, Dulcie's mum doesn't believe Dulcie and has her banished to a girls' school. The punchline is, Lewis saw some of the abuse and could have substantiated the story.
At this point, I felt the play was either going to show Lewis coming to the rescue of his best friend, or, suffering the regret of knowing he could have saved her but didn't. It did neither. Dulcie left, Lewis stated that he never saw her again, and neither he nor his older self even acknowledged the fact that Lewis could have done something but chickened out. I felt sure the play was going to end with the Narrator saying, "I could have told everyone what I saw, but I didn't and I'll always regret my choice." Nope. He just went into some spiel about how grown up he was now because he no longer believed in UFOs and aliens.
For a play that has very little story to begin with, and is filled with unsympathetic characters (even Lewis throws rocks at the one-armed Dutch girl), to ignore its own major plot point was a disappointment and an annoyance. It wasn't disappointing that Lewis did what he did, rather it was annoying that the script skimmed over it. I felt cheated of an ending.
Some of the sound effects were very poor (gunshots) but the lighting plan was great (as characters mimed opening doors, lights came on in the "rooms"). Nevertheless, director Terry Hackett is to be congratulated for staging a difficult piece, eliciting some excellent performances (particularly from the younger members of the cast), and erecting a novel and effective set (justifiably mentioned by others on this page).
JB
Where: Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA
When: 16 May, 2002
Summer of the Aliens had some great performances and wonderful production pieces, but as a play, some things troubled me (sorry). The programme tells us that the play is set in 1962 and is a thinly-disguised autobiography of playwright Louis Nowra. Indeed, the scene is set by a Narrator (the wonderfully bespoken Wayne Garton, who remains onstage throughout the production) recalling the years of his youth. Numerous radio broadcasts of the era, detailing the Cuban Missile Crisis, are played throughout the play, but are rarely commented upon: the troubled events in the world are supposed to mirror the troubled lives of the characters.
The world of 1962 is seen through the eyes of Lewis (Steve Hounsome) playing the young version of the Narrator (ie Louis Nowra). Lewis is on stage almost constantly, and Steve Hounsome did an excellent job of portraying an intelligent loner trapped by age, circumstance and geography. Lewis's best friend is a complete dick, who likes killing neighbourhood pets and trying to screw as many women as he can. A thoroughly detestable character well portrayed by Ben Russell.
My mistake - Lewis's BEST friend is local wild girl, Dulcie (Rebecca Wilson). Dulcie is too smart and too rebellious for her own good, traits (we later discover) nurtured by an abusive step-father. Seemingly, the only person she doesn't hate is Lewis. Rebecca and Steve worked very well together, particularly in portraying Lewis's loyalty but dismay at Dulcie's erratic behaviour.
In my own opinion, one of the best performances came from Devon Lang-Wilton playing a one-armed Dutch immigrant. She spoke no English - okay, four words - and I really was unsure as to whether she had two arms. Her sensitive, poignant portrayal of the pathetic "alien" made the audience's skin crawl with the realisation that the treatment of outsiders hasn't changed much at all.
Lewis lives with his mother, sister and grandmother. His father is out "finding himself". Gran, unfortunately, was played by far too young an actress, who, whilst very amusing (talking about the pet bird shitting on everything), didn't appear believable as a grandmother, sorry. Lewis's dad was played by the effervescent John Flood in a memorable performance. Even though the story appeared to be going nowhere, John injected some much needed energy and some riotous laughs.
However, nothing really happens in the play. At the conclusion, Lewis is still with his mum and gran, he still argues with his sister, his dad's still off trying to find himself, and his mate's still a dick. Other characters, particularly the local postie, are portrayed as one-dimensional (ethnic) stereotypes.
The real disappointment was the denouement: Dulcie accuses her step-father of abuse, the step-father is carted off, Dulcie's mum doesn't believe Dulcie and has her banished to a girls' school. The punchline is, Lewis saw some of the abuse and could have substantiated the story.
At this point, I felt the play was either going to show Lewis coming to the rescue of his best friend, or, suffering the regret of knowing he could have saved her but didn't. It did neither. Dulcie left, Lewis stated that he never saw her again, and neither he nor his older self even acknowledged the fact that Lewis could have done something but chickened out. I felt sure the play was going to end with the Narrator saying, "I could have told everyone what I saw, but I didn't and I'll always regret my choice." Nope. He just went into some spiel about how grown up he was now because he no longer believed in UFOs and aliens.
For a play that has very little story to begin with, and is filled with unsympathetic characters (even Lewis throws rocks at the one-armed Dutch girl), to ignore its own major plot point was a disappointment and an annoyance. It wasn't disappointing that Lewis did what he did, rather it was annoying that the script skimmed over it. I felt cheated of an ending.
Some of the sound effects were very poor (gunshots) but the lighting plan was great (as characters mimed opening doors, lights came on in the "rooms"). Nevertheless, director Terry Hackett is to be congratulated for staging a difficult piece, eliciting some excellent performances (particularly from the younger members of the cast), and erecting a novel and effective set (justifiably mentioned by others on this page).
JB
Walter PlingeTue, 18 June 2002, 05:18 pm
What: Summer of the Aliens
Where: Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA
When: 16 May, 2002
Summer of the Aliens had some great performances and wonderful production pieces, but as a play, some things troubled me (sorry). The programme tells us that the play is set in 1962 and is a thinly-disguised autobiography of playwright Louis Nowra. Indeed, the scene is set by a Narrator (the wonderfully bespoken Wayne Garton, who remains onstage throughout the production) recalling the years of his youth. Numerous radio broadcasts of the era, detailing the Cuban Missile Crisis, are played throughout the play, but are rarely commented upon: the troubled events in the world are supposed to mirror the troubled lives of the characters.
The world of 1962 is seen through the eyes of Lewis (Steve Hounsome) playing the young version of the Narrator (ie Louis Nowra). Lewis is on stage almost constantly, and Steve Hounsome did an excellent job of portraying an intelligent loner trapped by age, circumstance and geography. Lewis's best friend is a complete dick, who likes killing neighbourhood pets and trying to screw as many women as he can. A thoroughly detestable character well portrayed by Ben Russell.
My mistake - Lewis's BEST friend is local wild girl, Dulcie (Rebecca Wilson). Dulcie is too smart and too rebellious for her own good, traits (we later discover) nurtured by an abusive step-father. Seemingly, the only person she doesn't hate is Lewis. Rebecca and Steve worked very well together, particularly in portraying Lewis's loyalty but dismay at Dulcie's erratic behaviour.
In my own opinion, one of the best performances came from Devon Lang-Wilton playing a one-armed Dutch immigrant. She spoke no English - okay, four words - and I really was unsure as to whether she had two arms. Her sensitive, poignant portrayal of the pathetic "alien" made the audience's skin crawl with the realisation that the treatment of outsiders hasn't changed much at all.
Lewis lives with his mother, sister and grandmother. His father is out "finding himself". Gran, unfortunately, was played by far too young an actress, who, whilst very amusing (talking about the pet bird shitting on everything), didn't appear believable as a grandmother, sorry. Lewis's dad was played by the effervescent John Flood in a memorable performance. Even though the story appeared to be going nowhere, John injected some much needed energy and some riotous laughs.
However, nothing really happens in the play. At the conclusion, Lewis is still with his mum and gran, he still argues with his sister, his dad's still off trying to find himself, and his mate's still a dick. Other characters, particularly the local postie, are portrayed as one-dimensional (ethnic) stereotypes.
The real disappointment was the denouement: Dulcie accuses her step-father of abuse, the step-father is carted off, Dulcie's mum doesn't believe Dulcie and has her banished to a girls' school. The punchline is, Lewis saw some of the abuse and could have substantiated the story.
At this point, I felt the play was either going to show Lewis coming to the rescue of his best friend, or, suffering the regret of knowing he could have saved her but didn't. It did neither. Dulcie left, Lewis stated that he never saw her again, and neither he nor his older self even acknowledged the fact that Lewis could have done something but chickened out. I felt sure the play was going to end with the Narrator saying, "I could have told everyone what I saw, but I didn't and I'll always regret my choice." Nope. He just went into some spiel about how grown up he was now because he no longer believed in UFOs and aliens.
For a play that has very little story to begin with, and is filled with unsympathetic characters (even Lewis throws rocks at the one-armed Dutch girl), to ignore its own major plot point was a disappointment and an annoyance. It wasn't disappointing that Lewis did what he did, rather it was annoying that the script skimmed over it. I felt cheated of an ending.
Some of the sound effects were very poor (gunshots) but the lighting plan was great (as characters mimed opening doors, lights came on in the "rooms"). Nevertheless, director Terry Hackett is to be congratulated for staging a difficult piece, eliciting some excellent performances (particularly from the younger members of the cast), and erecting a novel and effective set (justifiably mentioned by others on this page).
JB
Where: Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA
When: 16 May, 2002
Summer of the Aliens had some great performances and wonderful production pieces, but as a play, some things troubled me (sorry). The programme tells us that the play is set in 1962 and is a thinly-disguised autobiography of playwright Louis Nowra. Indeed, the scene is set by a Narrator (the wonderfully bespoken Wayne Garton, who remains onstage throughout the production) recalling the years of his youth. Numerous radio broadcasts of the era, detailing the Cuban Missile Crisis, are played throughout the play, but are rarely commented upon: the troubled events in the world are supposed to mirror the troubled lives of the characters.
The world of 1962 is seen through the eyes of Lewis (Steve Hounsome) playing the young version of the Narrator (ie Louis Nowra). Lewis is on stage almost constantly, and Steve Hounsome did an excellent job of portraying an intelligent loner trapped by age, circumstance and geography. Lewis's best friend is a complete dick, who likes killing neighbourhood pets and trying to screw as many women as he can. A thoroughly detestable character well portrayed by Ben Russell.
My mistake - Lewis's BEST friend is local wild girl, Dulcie (Rebecca Wilson). Dulcie is too smart and too rebellious for her own good, traits (we later discover) nurtured by an abusive step-father. Seemingly, the only person she doesn't hate is Lewis. Rebecca and Steve worked very well together, particularly in portraying Lewis's loyalty but dismay at Dulcie's erratic behaviour.
In my own opinion, one of the best performances came from Devon Lang-Wilton playing a one-armed Dutch immigrant. She spoke no English - okay, four words - and I really was unsure as to whether she had two arms. Her sensitive, poignant portrayal of the pathetic "alien" made the audience's skin crawl with the realisation that the treatment of outsiders hasn't changed much at all.
Lewis lives with his mother, sister and grandmother. His father is out "finding himself". Gran, unfortunately, was played by far too young an actress, who, whilst very amusing (talking about the pet bird shitting on everything), didn't appear believable as a grandmother, sorry. Lewis's dad was played by the effervescent John Flood in a memorable performance. Even though the story appeared to be going nowhere, John injected some much needed energy and some riotous laughs.
However, nothing really happens in the play. At the conclusion, Lewis is still with his mum and gran, he still argues with his sister, his dad's still off trying to find himself, and his mate's still a dick. Other characters, particularly the local postie, are portrayed as one-dimensional (ethnic) stereotypes.
The real disappointment was the denouement: Dulcie accuses her step-father of abuse, the step-father is carted off, Dulcie's mum doesn't believe Dulcie and has her banished to a girls' school. The punchline is, Lewis saw some of the abuse and could have substantiated the story.
At this point, I felt the play was either going to show Lewis coming to the rescue of his best friend, or, suffering the regret of knowing he could have saved her but didn't. It did neither. Dulcie left, Lewis stated that he never saw her again, and neither he nor his older self even acknowledged the fact that Lewis could have done something but chickened out. I felt sure the play was going to end with the Narrator saying, "I could have told everyone what I saw, but I didn't and I'll always regret my choice." Nope. He just went into some spiel about how grown up he was now because he no longer believed in UFOs and aliens.
For a play that has very little story to begin with, and is filled with unsympathetic characters (even Lewis throws rocks at the one-armed Dutch girl), to ignore its own major plot point was a disappointment and an annoyance. It wasn't disappointing that Lewis did what he did, rather it was annoying that the script skimmed over it. I felt cheated of an ending.
Some of the sound effects were very poor (gunshots) but the lighting plan was great (as characters mimed opening doors, lights came on in the "rooms"). Nevertheless, director Terry Hackett is to be congratulated for staging a difficult piece, eliciting some excellent performances (particularly from the younger members of the cast), and erecting a novel and effective set (justifiably mentioned by others on this page).
JB