Cenci *****

Cenci – pronounced Chenchi – is a Curtin Hayman Theatre production showing at the Rechabites Hall. Shelley’s play has been reduced by 85% to give a cross between ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘The Rocky Horror Show’. A blend of loud Marilyn Manson expletives, excitement and Shakespearean tragedy.

On arriving in the auditorium one is greeted by warm-up artist Reg, brilliantly portrayed by Matthew Hardie. Reg is an oversexed slime-bag, guaranteed to turn your stomach. The play proper, starts with a hilarious Pope ‘Elvis’ (Dylan Sercombe) giving out absolutions to game show winners. Two actors, Gabby Pitt and Jackie Brown, epitomised the type of hyper excitable contestants that go in to these competitions. The ‘glamorous’ show hostesses capture the moment so well, moving and singing beautifully and being ‘suitably repulsive’ – and this a strong compliment. They depicted everything that makes one cringe at TV shows.

One of the game show contestants, Cenci (Paul Goddard – ‘The Brick and the Rose’) does not get the result that he would have liked. He then goes on to tell his wife (Teresa Jakovich) that their sons are dead. The mother and daughter (Andrea Demetriades – last seen in ‘Six actors searching for an author’) decide to hire a couple of killers and get rid of the abusing husband.

Goddard as the cruel father was outstanding. His powerful clear diction and thorough understanding of the script, tended to make a couple of the other male actors seem a little inadequate. His downtrodden wife, Lucretia, and daughter, Beatrice, were both superb in their tragic roles; oneÂ’s heart really went out to them.

Newcomer Simonne Hurse, as the tarty murderer, showed great skills with her voice and body language in portraying her brash character.

The lighting (Cameron Menzies) was clever and used to the full, from dark scenes with follow-spots to bright variety show settings. The costumes were witty, appropriate, repulsive and delightful. Richard John and Brent HillÂ’s music fitted perfectly.

Director Alice Bishop has obviously put a lot of lateral thinking into this worthwhile show. Great to see something of such vibrant quality, which is away from the boring repetition.

I think it's high time reviewers on this site started declaring their vested interests. People tend to rely on the reviews when deciding whether to see a show or not. I relied on the previous review of this show and went to see it on Saturday night, only later discovering the said reviewer's name in the program as a member of the Curtin Artist in Residence Committee. Probably didn't even pay for his ticket!
It is also quite confusing to outsiders to call yourself "Hayman Theatre at Curtin" and then to be putting on a show at Rechabites Hall in Northbridge. People often make their entertainment choices on the basis of location and there is a big difference between those two, not only in venue but also in price.
Having said that, I did enjoy the show. The energy level and pace was consistently high, especially for the last night of a student production. On the whole, I agree with the other reviewers about the acting, although one of the mains seemed a little too frantic to be engaging. The costumes were well-designed, as was the lighting and sound. Top marks however go to the set designer who must have agreed with me that if you can use the neo-gothic architecture of the Rechabites to your advantage, you don't need much else. Well done all!

Thou villainous milk-livered giglet!

Vested interests schmested interests, the cast are my friends so I went to see it.

A quick review:

Was preparing myself to hate it. Once upon a time at the development stages, I was told that they were having foetus's (sp?) hanging from the roof and plaster casts of people that actors would break out of. I got incredibley excited. A few weeks later I heard these had been cut. Bastards.

But despite my determination to dislike it, I really enjoyed it. In chronological order:

Music: really worked for the play. Can never go past a little bit o' Manson-covered Tainted Love.

Matt as Reg: Gold. At first the dummy and nipple-fondling freaked me out a bit, but what a fantastic role to get. Emcee from Cabaret, but better.

Stairs: Loved them. Good idea. Well used. Well moved.

Dylan as The Pope: Costume was sublime. Character was a hoot. Only crit was the flashing lights on his belt should have been turned off during the ending. I heard they were meant to be ironic or something. They just annoyed me.

Andrea D: If anyone gets a chance to see this girl perform, take it. She even managed to make a Joan of Arc-esque costume look good.

Actual play: the old text was sucessfully merged with the new. Hard to do; they did it well. Nicely done.

Chorus: Even wearing flouro lycra, fantastic. So seedy, so gross, so sexual, so damn funny. Loved the 'trumpet flirting' too...

An incredibley disjointed and shallow review, I know. If I had more time and energy, I'd write a proper one *sigh*. One thing I will say though, is dont dismiss Curtin productions (for for that matter, any student productions) just because they are performed by students or performed on campus etc. I dont go to Curtin (just to avoid any 'vested interests' comments) but I have seen some great performaces there. I've seen some not-so-great ones as well, but thats the idea at Curtin: try things out. See what you can do. See what you can get away with. Fail if need be, but try anyway. And personally, I think thats bloody fantastic.

Cheers.


Thou roguish guts-griping gudgeon!

Vested interests schmested interests, the cast are my friends so I went to see it.

A quick review:

Was preparing myself to hate it. Once upon a time at the development stages, I was told that they were having foetus's (sp?) hanging from the roof and plaster casts of people that actors would break out of. I got incredibley excited. A few weeks later I heard these had been cut. Bastards.

But despite my determination to dislike it, I really enjoyed it. In chronological order:

Music: really worked for the play. Can never go past a little bit o' Manson-covered Tainted Love.

Matt as Reg: Gold. At first the dummy and nipple-fondling freaked me out a bit, but what a fantastic role to get. Emcee from Cabaret, but better.

Stairs: Loved them. Good idea. Well used. Well moved.

Dylan as The Pope: Costume was sublime. Character was a hoot. Only crit was the flashing lights on his belt should have been turned off during the ending. I heard they were meant to be ironic or something. They just annoyed me.

Andrea D: If anyone gets a chance to see this girl perform, take it. She even managed to make a Joan of Arc-esque costume look good.

Actual play: the old text was sucessfully merged with the new. Hard to do; they did it well. Nicely done.

Chorus: Even wearing flouro lycra, fantastic. So seedy, so gross, so sexual, so damn funny. Loved the 'trumpet flirting' too...

An incredibley disjointed and shallow review, I know. If I had more time and energy, I'd write a proper one *sigh*. One thing I will say though, is dont dismiss Curtin productions (for for that matter, any student productions) just because they are performed by students or performed on campus etc. I dont go to Curtin (just to avoid any 'vested interests' comments) but I have seen some great performaces there. I've seen some not-so-great ones as well, but thats the idea at Curtin: try things out. See what you can do. See what you can get away with. Fail if need be, but try anyway. And personally, I think thats bloody fantastic.

Cheers.


Thou roguish guts-griping gudgeon!

Dear Stinger

What a sad and pathetic character you must be. You do not have the courage to use a name that you will be generally recognised by, nor do you go to the bother of getting your facts correct before spouting forth. Did I once give you a bad review? Is it jealousy because I didnÂ’t give you a review? Or are you a frustrated actor who hasnÂ’t been skilled enough to get a single acting part since leaving Uni? Yes by all means declare your interests, so come out of the closet and show yourself.

No, I cannot act, but I was a BBC TV cameraman for three and half years so have some idea about acting and production.

The facts are that I am not, and never have been, paid in any way by the Curtin Hayman Theatre, but I am proud to be one of their biggest supporters. I have given INDEPENDENT reviews of all of their shows for about 14 years now, and any student or amateur actor, will tell you that I always try to be fair and helpful to them.

Adult reading classes are available. I have never been on ANY Curtin committees regarding productions, finances, and acting etc. nor for any other theatre company in Perth.

Shows that I have also reviewed, among many, include those at the Rechabite Hall, Blue Room, Fly by Night, the Melville Theatre, Princess May theatre, Warwick Theatre (? ‘Shirley Valentine’), the Old Mill Theatre etc. – check out the venues by typing in Gordon the Optom in this Theatre.asn site search engine. Most of the Old Mill Theatre shows have received very positive reviews from me, yet they rarely have had a Curtin student in the cast and none of their committee wouldn’t know me if I walked through the door.

Many theatre groups actually have to beg for reviews because sadly the audience don’t put ‘pen to paper’. As Alison so rightly says, many shows depend upon friends and relatives for support.

My name appears in programmes when I have helped with the production, usually by supplying spectacle frames for the characters. You will also find my name in a Perth Playhouse programme three years ago – the play when several ladies got stuck in a mountain hut – yet their officials would not know me either.

My appraisal of the Cenci show wasn’t perfect, yet many parts of the analysis were copied (almost plagiarised?) by the X-press Magazine reviewer, so someone else obviously thinks along the same lines as I do – or do you paranoid enough to think he is in the pay of the Hayman too?

If an independent reviewer goes out on a cold night, travels a few kilometres to a venue and pays good money to see a show, then let them have a chance to voice their opinion freely. Semi-professional theatre in Perth needs all the help it can get from EVERYONE.

Signed the reviewer you called ‘the milk-livered giglet’ – get a life!!

I must have hit a raw nerve here. Sorry, but I happen to believe that a review by someone who has no connection with the show and actually paid for their ticket is worth more than a 'Dorothy-Dixer'. Having said that though, I am certainly not adverse to accepting the odd invitation to the odd preview on the understanding that I will write a review of some sort (hopefully objective) afterwards.

On the personal side, I think my 'nom-de-plume' and credentials are nearly as well known as yours, although I had no idea of your true identity until I read the Cenci program. I make a point of avoiding giving personal criticisms, so I hope there is no need for me to hide from anyone, except perhaps the occasional aggrieved fellow reviewer?

Finally, I like using the 'insult' button on this window, just to see what pops up. Nothing personal...



Thou dankish hasty-witted strumpet!

Dear Stinger,
Thanks for your polite reply. Sorry for delay in answering but I will buy you a drink at the Blue Room bar if ever we meet.