Richard III
Fri, 7 Nov 2003, 11:06 amWalter Plinge20 posts in thread
Richard III
Fri, 7 Nov 2003, 11:06 amWHAT: Richard III
WHEN: Thursday, November 6
WHERE: Nexus Theatre, Murdoch University, WA
"No-one else seems to have written a serious review of this production, so it falls to me to provide some hopefully useful feedback." :-)
I'll try and keep this short - there are only two performances left (tonight and tomorrow) so I haven't much time to push the show. I've said before that I'm not a Shakespeare aficionado. I have never read or seen Richard III and am only familiar with the story from what I've seen on Blackadder. I haven't even seen Richard I or Richard II, so I apologise for my confusion coming in at the end of the trilogy.
Nevertheless, I LOVED this production. I'll freely admit that, early on, I had no idea what was going on. It took quite a while to work out who was related to who, why such-and-such wanted so-and-so dead, and who was trying to bonk who. (Thanks for the excellent programme which helped somewhat.) However, the production was presented so entertainingly that little things like plot coherency didn't seem to matter.
As advertised, the production was performed in the style of a Bollywood Musical. At the drop of a hat, the cast would burst into huge production numbers - singing and dancing to mostly original (and extremely catchy) music. ENORMOUS congratulations to Musical Director Nick Choo. The choreography was clever and appropriate for the style, the acoustics were perfect, the set was lovely and the costumes were absolutely stunning - particular favourites included Kayti Fryer's backless dress, Kristan Smith's fetching suit, Dana Lisman's shimmering gown, Alexa Taylor's translucent frock and Melissa Merchant's dominatrix outfit. What? Don't look at me like that!
The tremendous liberties taken with the script may raise the hackles of some Shakespeare purists, but it's all done in good fun. It's quite rightly emphasised that the desire for power, and corruption therein, is just as relevant today (if not more so) as it was 400 years ago.
My vested interests? Apart from one close friend in the cast I don't know anyone involved with the production. I only went to the show because of my friend and I'm certainly glad I did. I paid for my tickets like everyone else and at $10 per head it's cheaper than most other shows and GREAT value. And how close a friend, you ask? Well, I COULD have gone and seen The Matrix Revolutions....
Like I said, I'm trying to keep this short, but this really was a tremendously entertaining production. All performances were fine and everyone got their moment in the spotlight. Special mention should go to Paul Grabovac who was obviously enjoying himself immensely as Dirty Dick. It's about 1 hr 45 mins long and has no interval. Thanks to director Serge Tampalini, and all involved, for a wonderful evening's entertainment. Two performances left!
JB
WHEN: Thursday, November 6
WHERE: Nexus Theatre, Murdoch University, WA
"No-one else seems to have written a serious review of this production, so it falls to me to provide some hopefully useful feedback." :-)
I'll try and keep this short - there are only two performances left (tonight and tomorrow) so I haven't much time to push the show. I've said before that I'm not a Shakespeare aficionado. I have never read or seen Richard III and am only familiar with the story from what I've seen on Blackadder. I haven't even seen Richard I or Richard II, so I apologise for my confusion coming in at the end of the trilogy.
Nevertheless, I LOVED this production. I'll freely admit that, early on, I had no idea what was going on. It took quite a while to work out who was related to who, why such-and-such wanted so-and-so dead, and who was trying to bonk who. (Thanks for the excellent programme which helped somewhat.) However, the production was presented so entertainingly that little things like plot coherency didn't seem to matter.
As advertised, the production was performed in the style of a Bollywood Musical. At the drop of a hat, the cast would burst into huge production numbers - singing and dancing to mostly original (and extremely catchy) music. ENORMOUS congratulations to Musical Director Nick Choo. The choreography was clever and appropriate for the style, the acoustics were perfect, the set was lovely and the costumes were absolutely stunning - particular favourites included Kayti Fryer's backless dress, Kristan Smith's fetching suit, Dana Lisman's shimmering gown, Alexa Taylor's translucent frock and Melissa Merchant's dominatrix outfit. What? Don't look at me like that!
The tremendous liberties taken with the script may raise the hackles of some Shakespeare purists, but it's all done in good fun. It's quite rightly emphasised that the desire for power, and corruption therein, is just as relevant today (if not more so) as it was 400 years ago.
My vested interests? Apart from one close friend in the cast I don't know anyone involved with the production. I only went to the show because of my friend and I'm certainly glad I did. I paid for my tickets like everyone else and at $10 per head it's cheaper than most other shows and GREAT value. And how close a friend, you ask? Well, I COULD have gone and seen The Matrix Revolutions....
Like I said, I'm trying to keep this short, but this really was a tremendously entertaining production. All performances were fine and everyone got their moment in the spotlight. Special mention should go to Paul Grabovac who was obviously enjoying himself immensely as Dirty Dick. It's about 1 hr 45 mins long and has no interval. Thanks to director Serge Tampalini, and all involved, for a wonderful evening's entertainment. Two performances left!
JB
Re: Richard III
Sun, 23 Nov 2003, 07:53 pmAs far as I'm concerned, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, or review, as it is. However, I don't care how long a person has been contributing to theatre reviews on this website, that is no excuse to start claiming fellow reviewers are self-confessed theatre ignorami!
I don't know very much about you Stinger, other than the fact that you are a university student, but for someone who obviously spends a lot of time learning large words from their textbooks, you definately don't seem to spend any time learning about your fellow theatre reviewers.
Jarrod Buttery and Paul Treasure (yes, those ARE their real names) are probably two of the most intelligent people I know. They're both extremely well educated, and are well-respected among the theatre community scene. Paul Treasure has done professional work throughout Perth and Jarrod Buttery was the President of the Independent Theatre Association for 7 years, as well as the President of Blak Yak Theatre!
These two people are HARDLY ignorami. And while it was wrong to say that your review wasn't serious, you shouldn't start petty name-calling and pointing the "ignorami" finger - especially at people you know very little about.
I don't know very much about you Stinger, other than the fact that you are a university student, but for someone who obviously spends a lot of time learning large words from their textbooks, you definately don't seem to spend any time learning about your fellow theatre reviewers.
Jarrod Buttery and Paul Treasure (yes, those ARE their real names) are probably two of the most intelligent people I know. They're both extremely well educated, and are well-respected among the theatre community scene. Paul Treasure has done professional work throughout Perth and Jarrod Buttery was the President of the Independent Theatre Association for 7 years, as well as the President of Blak Yak Theatre!
These two people are HARDLY ignorami. And while it was wrong to say that your review wasn't serious, you shouldn't start petty name-calling and pointing the "ignorami" finger - especially at people you know very little about.
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