The Elephant Man
Sun, 11 May 2003, 11:08 amWalter Plinge7 posts in thread
The Elephant Man
Sun, 11 May 2003, 11:08 amCome on, you guys! Support your local co-ops! We went to see The Elephant Man last night (at the Rechabites Hall, 224 William St, Northbridge) and it was a damn good show - but the audience numbers are right down - so much so, they have had to cancel at least two performances so far. Why?? Is everyone scared of catching SARS or something??
We NEED people like Shirley and David in this town who actually get off their butts to put on great plays - at their own financial expense - because, let's face it, there wouldn't be too much to see if we only wait for the fully professional stuff.
There just isn't enough paid work for every professional out there - so co-ops are the only way for some of us to keep our skills polished and earn a little bit of money as well. So, PLEASE support them.
Anyway, enough ranting. I think The Elephant Man is on for another week - so there's still time to catch some great performances from a very able cast. Vivienne Glance's portrayal of "Mrs Kendall" was a definite highlight for me - a very brave and sensitive performance. She had a magnificant stage presence and was perfectly cast for the role.
In fact, the whole cast was at a very high standard, as were the costumes. Congratulations to David Meadow for his direction and to Shirley and the cast for those LIGHTENING costume changes - how DID they do it??
And if that's not enough to encourage you to go - I will be really crass and mention there is also full-frontal nudity (done very bravely and appropriately).
Thou errant tardy-gaited flirt-gill!
Re: The Elephant Man
Tue, 13 May 2003, 09:07 amWalter Plinge
Leah M wrote:
Lots of lovely things. Thanks, Leah.
> The lady who played The Actor Lady was just amazing. She was
> everything at once; bravado, vulnerability, compassion,
> arrogance, bravery, weakness. And all with incredible grace.
> She was a pleasure to watch. I wanted to clap after all of
> her scenes, expecially in the conversation with the Doctor
> about bones (which was just so funny) and her first meeting
> with Merrick. I can't congratulate her enough on her
> performance and as soon as some one lets me know her name,
> I'll look out for it and go and see anything else she's in.
Her name is Vivienne Glance, and she'll be appearing alongside Stephen, myself, and Kingsley in "Macbeth".
> A very welcome return to the stage from Paul Treasure as the
> doctor. Again an actor who managed to portray all the
> conflicts and facets of the character with ease and clarity.
> His struggle was painful to watch and the character never
> anything but flawed and human. Paul and David have not let
> him simply become the hero of the piece, and he is, as a
> result, compelling. I lost him a little at the end though in
> the scene with the Bishop. I though it might be a problem
> with focus, even when things start to come apart for a
> character, I think the audience needs focus to understand the
> conflict.
The playwright (Bernard Pomerance) has chosen, at this point in the script, to deliberately obfuscate. Treves is having a breakdown... one of those really quite common nervous breakdowns that occurred at that time among men of Treves standing. He embodies the archetypal Victorian-era crack-up.
The writing for the scene is fractured, dissonant, and extremely unforgiving. Think David Mamet in a really shitty mood. But it's meant to be unclear.
> Stephen Lee just rocks. He is a pretty distinctive looking
> guy, but his physical transformation (without any actual
> physical transformation) from the Bishop to the Spruker guy
> is really an amazing thing to see.
Not to mention the Porter.
> The Other Doctor Guy and the other pin head lady
Peter Thompson and Tracey Woolrych.
> It may be that I was looking for a
> bad guy in a black hat that I could hate and blame, and that
> may not have been the point (It wouldn't be the first time I
> have missed said point!).
It's a humanist text... it doesn't really blame anyone. Unlike the film, where the bad guys were clear, obvious and all very Hollywood, the play offers us a glimpse into character motivations that are very difficult to define.
> Overall, the show is wonderful. And more than that it is the
> product, as Angelique has already said, of people trying to
> stimulate YOUR theatre scene and provide opportunities for
> all of us. I'd hate to think where theatre in Perth would be
> without the David and Shirley's of the world.
Thanks, Leah. It hasn't been easy. Audiences are right down... we've had to cancel three performances so far (please no more), and last Wednesday saw us play to eight people, only three of whom were paying customers. It's disheartening and emotionally / financially draining. How we're going to get the next season up is anyone's guess.
The tragedy is that it's a fine piece of writing, the cast are uniformly excellent, and I've rarely been prouder of my work as a director as I am with this show. Everyone who's seen it has loved it.
The show finishes this Saturday. Please book at BOCS, or if you're a student, see the other new post today.
D.M.
Lots of lovely things. Thanks, Leah.
> The lady who played The Actor Lady was just amazing. She was
> everything at once; bravado, vulnerability, compassion,
> arrogance, bravery, weakness. And all with incredible grace.
> She was a pleasure to watch. I wanted to clap after all of
> her scenes, expecially in the conversation with the Doctor
> about bones (which was just so funny) and her first meeting
> with Merrick. I can't congratulate her enough on her
> performance and as soon as some one lets me know her name,
> I'll look out for it and go and see anything else she's in.
Her name is Vivienne Glance, and she'll be appearing alongside Stephen, myself, and Kingsley in "Macbeth".
> A very welcome return to the stage from Paul Treasure as the
> doctor. Again an actor who managed to portray all the
> conflicts and facets of the character with ease and clarity.
> His struggle was painful to watch and the character never
> anything but flawed and human. Paul and David have not let
> him simply become the hero of the piece, and he is, as a
> result, compelling. I lost him a little at the end though in
> the scene with the Bishop. I though it might be a problem
> with focus, even when things start to come apart for a
> character, I think the audience needs focus to understand the
> conflict.
The playwright (Bernard Pomerance) has chosen, at this point in the script, to deliberately obfuscate. Treves is having a breakdown... one of those really quite common nervous breakdowns that occurred at that time among men of Treves standing. He embodies the archetypal Victorian-era crack-up.
The writing for the scene is fractured, dissonant, and extremely unforgiving. Think David Mamet in a really shitty mood. But it's meant to be unclear.
> Stephen Lee just rocks. He is a pretty distinctive looking
> guy, but his physical transformation (without any actual
> physical transformation) from the Bishop to the Spruker guy
> is really an amazing thing to see.
Not to mention the Porter.
> The Other Doctor Guy and the other pin head lady
Peter Thompson and Tracey Woolrych.
> It may be that I was looking for a
> bad guy in a black hat that I could hate and blame, and that
> may not have been the point (It wouldn't be the first time I
> have missed said point!).
It's a humanist text... it doesn't really blame anyone. Unlike the film, where the bad guys were clear, obvious and all very Hollywood, the play offers us a glimpse into character motivations that are very difficult to define.
> Overall, the show is wonderful. And more than that it is the
> product, as Angelique has already said, of people trying to
> stimulate YOUR theatre scene and provide opportunities for
> all of us. I'd hate to think where theatre in Perth would be
> without the David and Shirley's of the world.
Thanks, Leah. It hasn't been easy. Audiences are right down... we've had to cancel three performances so far (please no more), and last Wednesday saw us play to eight people, only three of whom were paying customers. It's disheartening and emotionally / financially draining. How we're going to get the next season up is anyone's guess.
The tragedy is that it's a fine piece of writing, the cast are uniformly excellent, and I've rarely been prouder of my work as a director as I am with this show. Everyone who's seen it has loved it.
The show finishes this Saturday. Please book at BOCS, or if you're a student, see the other new post today.
D.M.