No Time On
Fri, 13 Sept 2002, 03:04 pmWalter Plinge1 post in thread
No Time On
Fri, 13 Sept 2002, 03:04 pmWHAT: No Time On
WHEN: Thursday, September 12 (2002)
WHERE: Stirling Players, Innaloo (WA)
As much as I profess to know little about theatre (I'm not very good with reviews either, but I still use big words and superfluous phrases), I know even less about Football. It seems to involve chasing an ill-shaped ball which bounces randomly about a field, whilst beating the living @!#$ out of anyone not wearing the same patterned jumper as you. Nevertheless, there is no reason why we shouldn't laugh at some of their antics, and "No Time On" (some sort of footy terminology) provides us with the opportunity to do so.
Set in the clubroom/bar of country footy club the Gilgerie Roosters, we're not actually witness to any appalling acts of violence in the name of sport (but we do get some of the bloody aftereffects). The Roosters haven't won a premiership in 28 years, so have employed the services of ex-AFL player Shark Bateman (Martin Lindsay) to try and turn their fortunes around. Martin portrayed the classic Ocker well. Initially our sympathies were with the new guy and the uphill struggle he has ahead of him, but our opinion changes when we come to see what a knobhead he is. Classic stereotypical male behaviour, ignoring his own health problems and putting footy and personal ambitions to become coach of a big AFL team ahead of his drop-dead gorgeous wife (Franca Pellegrini). Will he make the right choice at the end of the play or won't he? And will the Roosters make it to the Finals?
I would have liked to have seen Shark suffer more as a consequence of ignoring his illness and come to a realisation about his pig-headedness, but the script concentrated on the laughs. More commentary on the "She'll be right" attitude could have been made I suppose, but this was a light comedy not a sermon.
As Barbie Bateman, Franca played a bit of a fish out of water. Better dressed and much better spoken than the larrakin group, her frustration was at times palpable, and at one stage exploded in an impressive tirade. Her only confidante was Crystal the barmaid played by Sharon Thomas. Sharon had an air of naturalness about her and came across as very likeable and down-to-earth. The chewing gum was a nice touch in the early scenes, but I did miss the odd word here and there because of it.
Sorry, it doesn't sound like much of a comedy so far, does it? There were some great laughs, some old jokes and some classic Australianisms. As expected, there was a bit of swearing but it was all perfectly in context and used to comedic effect. Personally, one of the funniest things was the warning on the programme: "Some of the language is in the Australian vernacular." Fuckin' oath!
A typical example of the humour: One of the characters is named Sylvester Hunt, but everyone addresses him with the abbreviated nickname "Sillic". Think about it....
Interesting too to watch the audience on occasion. Having graduated with Honours from the Benjamin J. Hill University I quickly got all the smutty references and was able to sit back and watch the wave moving through the audience as some of the jokes slowly sunk in.
I really liked Doug Markey as one of the old fellas around the club. He had a lot of the funniest lines and would patiently wait for the audience to stop laughing before delivering the next one. Great work - I hate people treading on the laughs.
On the night I was there I think there might have been one or two problems with the lines, but since the characters were rolling drunk around the bar, I think most of the audience didn't even realise. Not a huge problem - the cast got straight back into it which was good to see.
I must admit this is the first time I've been to the new Stirling Theatre - and very nice is it is too. A converted community hall, it reminded me a bit of Playlovers, but a little bit smaller and maybe that's why it didn't seem to echo as much. The set was great and the front of house staff seemed to be the nicest, pleasantest, friendliest ladies in Perth!
The production is a lightweight Aussie comedy and director Carryn Maddocks has turned it into an audience-pleaser. A shortish play, it finished before 10pm, but the auditorium was very nearly full (on a Thursday night!). Well done!
JB
WHEN: Thursday, September 12 (2002)
WHERE: Stirling Players, Innaloo (WA)
As much as I profess to know little about theatre (I'm not very good with reviews either, but I still use big words and superfluous phrases), I know even less about Football. It seems to involve chasing an ill-shaped ball which bounces randomly about a field, whilst beating the living @!#$ out of anyone not wearing the same patterned jumper as you. Nevertheless, there is no reason why we shouldn't laugh at some of their antics, and "No Time On" (some sort of footy terminology) provides us with the opportunity to do so.
Set in the clubroom/bar of country footy club the Gilgerie Roosters, we're not actually witness to any appalling acts of violence in the name of sport (but we do get some of the bloody aftereffects). The Roosters haven't won a premiership in 28 years, so have employed the services of ex-AFL player Shark Bateman (Martin Lindsay) to try and turn their fortunes around. Martin portrayed the classic Ocker well. Initially our sympathies were with the new guy and the uphill struggle he has ahead of him, but our opinion changes when we come to see what a knobhead he is. Classic stereotypical male behaviour, ignoring his own health problems and putting footy and personal ambitions to become coach of a big AFL team ahead of his drop-dead gorgeous wife (Franca Pellegrini). Will he make the right choice at the end of the play or won't he? And will the Roosters make it to the Finals?
I would have liked to have seen Shark suffer more as a consequence of ignoring his illness and come to a realisation about his pig-headedness, but the script concentrated on the laughs. More commentary on the "She'll be right" attitude could have been made I suppose, but this was a light comedy not a sermon.
As Barbie Bateman, Franca played a bit of a fish out of water. Better dressed and much better spoken than the larrakin group, her frustration was at times palpable, and at one stage exploded in an impressive tirade. Her only confidante was Crystal the barmaid played by Sharon Thomas. Sharon had an air of naturalness about her and came across as very likeable and down-to-earth. The chewing gum was a nice touch in the early scenes, but I did miss the odd word here and there because of it.
Sorry, it doesn't sound like much of a comedy so far, does it? There were some great laughs, some old jokes and some classic Australianisms. As expected, there was a bit of swearing but it was all perfectly in context and used to comedic effect. Personally, one of the funniest things was the warning on the programme: "Some of the language is in the Australian vernacular." Fuckin' oath!
A typical example of the humour: One of the characters is named Sylvester Hunt, but everyone addresses him with the abbreviated nickname "Sillic". Think about it....
Interesting too to watch the audience on occasion. Having graduated with Honours from the Benjamin J. Hill University I quickly got all the smutty references and was able to sit back and watch the wave moving through the audience as some of the jokes slowly sunk in.
I really liked Doug Markey as one of the old fellas around the club. He had a lot of the funniest lines and would patiently wait for the audience to stop laughing before delivering the next one. Great work - I hate people treading on the laughs.
On the night I was there I think there might have been one or two problems with the lines, but since the characters were rolling drunk around the bar, I think most of the audience didn't even realise. Not a huge problem - the cast got straight back into it which was good to see.
I must admit this is the first time I've been to the new Stirling Theatre - and very nice is it is too. A converted community hall, it reminded me a bit of Playlovers, but a little bit smaller and maybe that's why it didn't seem to echo as much. The set was great and the front of house staff seemed to be the nicest, pleasantest, friendliest ladies in Perth!
The production is a lightweight Aussie comedy and director Carryn Maddocks has turned it into an audience-pleaser. A shortish play, it finished before 10pm, but the auditorium was very nearly full (on a Thursday night!). Well done!
JB