Travelling North
Fri, 24 Jan 2003, 02:22 amWalter Plinge1 post in thread
Travelling North
Fri, 24 Jan 2003, 02:22 amFirst of all, I have no idea who "V" is or their involvement in the show.
b) I was fully intending to see the show anyway, and had booked tickets before V's posting appeared.
iii) True, I often write reviews (not always, but often) and since it's been such a loooong time since a fresh review had appeared here, I was fully intending to write something despite V's pleas.
WHAT: Travelling North
WHEN: Thursday, January 23, 2003
WHERE: Old Mill Theatre, South Perth, WA
I had been looking forward to this play because I was involved in a production of Travelling North many years ago. David Williamson's typically dry script brought back some pleasant memories, although I'd forgotten how dated the script is.
Having paid his dues in two World Wars, long since widowed and now retired, Frank (Tom Rees) decides to move north, away from the rainy climes of Melbourne, to live in sin with his new partner, Frances (Pat Golding). Frances's thoughts are torn between the family she left in Melbourne and Frank's rapidly deteriorating health.
It's not as depressing as it sounds, honestly. The characters are realistic, the script is wry and witty, and the story is life-affirming rather than wallowing in self-pity. Frank knows that, at twenty years her senior and suffering heart problems, he won't outlive Francis. Crotchety as he gets, he realises his shortcomings and proves he still loves her.
At first I thought Tom Rees was a bit too nice as Frank, but Tom was merely giving Frank space to grow (or deteriorate, as the case may be). It was great fun to watch him turn into a grumpy (grumpier?) old man over the play's four-year span. We laughed and tut-tutted over some lines that wouldn't have been out of place for Grandpa Simpson, but loved him all the more when he came through in the end.
The ethereal Pat Golding cooly played Frances as the strongest character in the play. Bouncing back and forth between her selfish children and grumpy new life-partner was obviously tiring. Frances looked worn towards the end as the pressures took their toll, but held it together and was rewarded when Frank swallowed his pride. Looking stunning in her red dress (red is the colour of fertility, remember) as they attended the exhibition of erotic art, we knew the inevitable outcome. The sex was raw, uninhibited and without apology. Again, there can only be one such outcome from one such night of passion....
Trying not to give too much away, we move on to the other characters. Frances's daughters are both married with families of their own, yet we get the impression that all they can think about is how it will affect them when Frances travels north. The scenes where Sophie (Emily Lynch) and Helen (Sarah Richards) chatted and argued were some of the best in the play. The dialogue was extremely realistic - overlapping in places just like real conversations! Yes, they came across as two sisters not two actresses reading lines! Very enjoyable stuff.
In contrast to Frances's selfish kids, Frank's daughter Joan (Kasia Gascoigne) was a veritable angel. She provided a calm counterpoint to the other characters (and looked striking while doing so).
Up north, Frank and Frances encountered laid-back neighbour, Freddy (Greg Ross), and local GP, Saul (Lindsay Sedgwick). Both perfectly cast for their attitudes, appearances and delivery styles. For me though, I thought the conversations could have benefited from a bit more pace at times. Maybe these scenes just suffered a bit in comparison to the girls'.
It's a difficult play to stage. I wasn't counting but I think there's about 33 scenes. That means a lot of, "lights down, change props/costumes, lights up." At least we got some nice classical music during the changes. I thought some could have been a bit quicker, but then I'm a miserable picky bastard who's only about 40 years short of Frank according to someone who was sitting next to me.
Continuing. On first impression the set looked a bit cramped, but it worked well. The characters themselves never seemed cramped and the play itself is very static (maybe that's why there's so many scene changes, to prevent actors from talking on chairs for 20-30 minutes at a stretch). Another example of fine use of the limited Old Mill space.
What else? Costumes. Costumes were freaky 70s stuff - the decade that style forgot. I DID like Sophie's mini-dress and suede boots combo, though....
All in all an enjoyable night. Director Susan Lynch has brought these characters to life. They're nowhere near as two-dimensional as they come across in my rambling, trivial review, but you'll just have to go see the play yourself 'coz I'm not writing any more.
JB
b) I was fully intending to see the show anyway, and had booked tickets before V's posting appeared.
iii) True, I often write reviews (not always, but often) and since it's been such a loooong time since a fresh review had appeared here, I was fully intending to write something despite V's pleas.
WHAT: Travelling North
WHEN: Thursday, January 23, 2003
WHERE: Old Mill Theatre, South Perth, WA
I had been looking forward to this play because I was involved in a production of Travelling North many years ago. David Williamson's typically dry script brought back some pleasant memories, although I'd forgotten how dated the script is.
Having paid his dues in two World Wars, long since widowed and now retired, Frank (Tom Rees) decides to move north, away from the rainy climes of Melbourne, to live in sin with his new partner, Frances (Pat Golding). Frances's thoughts are torn between the family she left in Melbourne and Frank's rapidly deteriorating health.
It's not as depressing as it sounds, honestly. The characters are realistic, the script is wry and witty, and the story is life-affirming rather than wallowing in self-pity. Frank knows that, at twenty years her senior and suffering heart problems, he won't outlive Francis. Crotchety as he gets, he realises his shortcomings and proves he still loves her.
At first I thought Tom Rees was a bit too nice as Frank, but Tom was merely giving Frank space to grow (or deteriorate, as the case may be). It was great fun to watch him turn into a grumpy (grumpier?) old man over the play's four-year span. We laughed and tut-tutted over some lines that wouldn't have been out of place for Grandpa Simpson, but loved him all the more when he came through in the end.
The ethereal Pat Golding cooly played Frances as the strongest character in the play. Bouncing back and forth between her selfish children and grumpy new life-partner was obviously tiring. Frances looked worn towards the end as the pressures took their toll, but held it together and was rewarded when Frank swallowed his pride. Looking stunning in her red dress (red is the colour of fertility, remember) as they attended the exhibition of erotic art, we knew the inevitable outcome. The sex was raw, uninhibited and without apology. Again, there can only be one such outcome from one such night of passion....
Trying not to give too much away, we move on to the other characters. Frances's daughters are both married with families of their own, yet we get the impression that all they can think about is how it will affect them when Frances travels north. The scenes where Sophie (Emily Lynch) and Helen (Sarah Richards) chatted and argued were some of the best in the play. The dialogue was extremely realistic - overlapping in places just like real conversations! Yes, they came across as two sisters not two actresses reading lines! Very enjoyable stuff.
In contrast to Frances's selfish kids, Frank's daughter Joan (Kasia Gascoigne) was a veritable angel. She provided a calm counterpoint to the other characters (and looked striking while doing so).
Up north, Frank and Frances encountered laid-back neighbour, Freddy (Greg Ross), and local GP, Saul (Lindsay Sedgwick). Both perfectly cast for their attitudes, appearances and delivery styles. For me though, I thought the conversations could have benefited from a bit more pace at times. Maybe these scenes just suffered a bit in comparison to the girls'.
It's a difficult play to stage. I wasn't counting but I think there's about 33 scenes. That means a lot of, "lights down, change props/costumes, lights up." At least we got some nice classical music during the changes. I thought some could have been a bit quicker, but then I'm a miserable picky bastard who's only about 40 years short of Frank according to someone who was sitting next to me.
Continuing. On first impression the set looked a bit cramped, but it worked well. The characters themselves never seemed cramped and the play itself is very static (maybe that's why there's so many scene changes, to prevent actors from talking on chairs for 20-30 minutes at a stretch). Another example of fine use of the limited Old Mill space.
What else? Costumes. Costumes were freaky 70s stuff - the decade that style forgot. I DID like Sophie's mini-dress and suede boots combo, though....
All in all an enjoyable night. Director Susan Lynch has brought these characters to life. They're nowhere near as two-dimensional as they come across in my rambling, trivial review, but you'll just have to go see the play yourself 'coz I'm not writing any more.
JB