Unidentified Human Remains *****
Tue, 16 Mar 2004, 04:57 pmGordon the Optom2 posts in thread
Unidentified Human Remains *****
Tue, 16 Mar 2004, 04:57 pmUnidentified Human Remains
After having seen the video of this play, my expectations were very low indeed – the video was terrible. Asking a group of students to take part in such a frank story of Gay relationships was again asking a great deal. How wrong can one be? This was the best Hayman production for a couple of years.
Having the ‘confronting’ opening scene was possibly to help the actors to get into the feel of their characters, but it also cleared the air for the audience and allowed them to enjoy what was to follow in a more natural and easy way.
Director John Sheedy, and assistant Jackie Brown, captured the relationships between the characters wonderfully. There was no pandering to the gay image, or gratuitous sex scenes. I find it amazing to say this, when it was almost free range where the sex was concerned, but the directors trimmed what could have been extremely offensive dialogue and vision, to an acceptable and necessary level.
By having the scenery (Simone Romaniuk) extremely simple, white and with the actorsÂ’ stalls being basic but effective one had no distractions from the intense characterisation. Topped off with Karen CookÂ’s lighting, which was very inventive and brilliantly in sync with the sound effects (Amanda Watson).
The cast all worked beautifully together. The characters were extremely well defined and the whole cast appeared to know precisely how their characters would be thinking. The stage presence was amazing, with the actors being more convincing than ever. I suspect that the inclusion of Gibson Nolte, as David, was a very wise decision. His amazing talent became a good sounding board for the whole cast and his character, had it been played wrongly would have ruined the show.
Newcomer, Tom Stokes (playing Kane) was totally brilliant, but where does he go from here? This was one of Curtin’s most ambitious shows for some time and he strolled through the part. Laurence Ashford (Bernie) after being the pantomime ‘idiot’ was at his best in the completely different genre, in his pre-death scene.
Veronica Mistry (Benita) was most convincing as the strange and enigmatic stripper / prostitute, being very sexy, but once again not being too blatant. Whilst still conveying her unique powerful mental abilities, the audience wondered about what was really going on in her head. Simonne Hurse (Candy) was, as always, brilliant. She captured the different moods demanded of the part; the heterosexual, the confused lesbian and the lover cheated on by Robert, the married man (Matthew Hardie – well done!). One felt sorry for Jerri (Tegan Mulvany - excellent) as the scorned lover who has every approach to Candy slammed in her face.
If you haven't been to Curtin Hayman before - see this one
After having seen the video of this play, my expectations were very low indeed – the video was terrible. Asking a group of students to take part in such a frank story of Gay relationships was again asking a great deal. How wrong can one be? This was the best Hayman production for a couple of years.
Having the ‘confronting’ opening scene was possibly to help the actors to get into the feel of their characters, but it also cleared the air for the audience and allowed them to enjoy what was to follow in a more natural and easy way.
Director John Sheedy, and assistant Jackie Brown, captured the relationships between the characters wonderfully. There was no pandering to the gay image, or gratuitous sex scenes. I find it amazing to say this, when it was almost free range where the sex was concerned, but the directors trimmed what could have been extremely offensive dialogue and vision, to an acceptable and necessary level.
By having the scenery (Simone Romaniuk) extremely simple, white and with the actorsÂ’ stalls being basic but effective one had no distractions from the intense characterisation. Topped off with Karen CookÂ’s lighting, which was very inventive and brilliantly in sync with the sound effects (Amanda Watson).
The cast all worked beautifully together. The characters were extremely well defined and the whole cast appeared to know precisely how their characters would be thinking. The stage presence was amazing, with the actors being more convincing than ever. I suspect that the inclusion of Gibson Nolte, as David, was a very wise decision. His amazing talent became a good sounding board for the whole cast and his character, had it been played wrongly would have ruined the show.
Newcomer, Tom Stokes (playing Kane) was totally brilliant, but where does he go from here? This was one of Curtin’s most ambitious shows for some time and he strolled through the part. Laurence Ashford (Bernie) after being the pantomime ‘idiot’ was at his best in the completely different genre, in his pre-death scene.
Veronica Mistry (Benita) was most convincing as the strange and enigmatic stripper / prostitute, being very sexy, but once again not being too blatant. Whilst still conveying her unique powerful mental abilities, the audience wondered about what was really going on in her head. Simonne Hurse (Candy) was, as always, brilliant. She captured the different moods demanded of the part; the heterosexual, the confused lesbian and the lover cheated on by Robert, the married man (Matthew Hardie – well done!). One felt sorry for Jerri (Tegan Mulvany - excellent) as the scorned lover who has every approach to Candy slammed in her face.
If you haven't been to Curtin Hayman before - see this one
Gordon the OptomTue, 16 Mar 2004, 04:57 pm
Unidentified Human Remains
After having seen the video of this play, my expectations were very low indeed – the video was terrible. Asking a group of students to take part in such a frank story of Gay relationships was again asking a great deal. How wrong can one be? This was the best Hayman production for a couple of years.
Having the ‘confronting’ opening scene was possibly to help the actors to get into the feel of their characters, but it also cleared the air for the audience and allowed them to enjoy what was to follow in a more natural and easy way.
Director John Sheedy, and assistant Jackie Brown, captured the relationships between the characters wonderfully. There was no pandering to the gay image, or gratuitous sex scenes. I find it amazing to say this, when it was almost free range where the sex was concerned, but the directors trimmed what could have been extremely offensive dialogue and vision, to an acceptable and necessary level.
By having the scenery (Simone Romaniuk) extremely simple, white and with the actorsÂ’ stalls being basic but effective one had no distractions from the intense characterisation. Topped off with Karen CookÂ’s lighting, which was very inventive and brilliantly in sync with the sound effects (Amanda Watson).
The cast all worked beautifully together. The characters were extremely well defined and the whole cast appeared to know precisely how their characters would be thinking. The stage presence was amazing, with the actors being more convincing than ever. I suspect that the inclusion of Gibson Nolte, as David, was a very wise decision. His amazing talent became a good sounding board for the whole cast and his character, had it been played wrongly would have ruined the show.
Newcomer, Tom Stokes (playing Kane) was totally brilliant, but where does he go from here? This was one of Curtin’s most ambitious shows for some time and he strolled through the part. Laurence Ashford (Bernie) after being the pantomime ‘idiot’ was at his best in the completely different genre, in his pre-death scene.
Veronica Mistry (Benita) was most convincing as the strange and enigmatic stripper / prostitute, being very sexy, but once again not being too blatant. Whilst still conveying her unique powerful mental abilities, the audience wondered about what was really going on in her head. Simonne Hurse (Candy) was, as always, brilliant. She captured the different moods demanded of the part; the heterosexual, the confused lesbian and the lover cheated on by Robert, the married man (Matthew Hardie – well done!). One felt sorry for Jerri (Tegan Mulvany - excellent) as the scorned lover who has every approach to Candy slammed in her face.
If you haven't been to Curtin Hayman before - see this one
After having seen the video of this play, my expectations were very low indeed – the video was terrible. Asking a group of students to take part in such a frank story of Gay relationships was again asking a great deal. How wrong can one be? This was the best Hayman production for a couple of years.
Having the ‘confronting’ opening scene was possibly to help the actors to get into the feel of their characters, but it also cleared the air for the audience and allowed them to enjoy what was to follow in a more natural and easy way.
Director John Sheedy, and assistant Jackie Brown, captured the relationships between the characters wonderfully. There was no pandering to the gay image, or gratuitous sex scenes. I find it amazing to say this, when it was almost free range where the sex was concerned, but the directors trimmed what could have been extremely offensive dialogue and vision, to an acceptable and necessary level.
By having the scenery (Simone Romaniuk) extremely simple, white and with the actorsÂ’ stalls being basic but effective one had no distractions from the intense characterisation. Topped off with Karen CookÂ’s lighting, which was very inventive and brilliantly in sync with the sound effects (Amanda Watson).
The cast all worked beautifully together. The characters were extremely well defined and the whole cast appeared to know precisely how their characters would be thinking. The stage presence was amazing, with the actors being more convincing than ever. I suspect that the inclusion of Gibson Nolte, as David, was a very wise decision. His amazing talent became a good sounding board for the whole cast and his character, had it been played wrongly would have ruined the show.
Newcomer, Tom Stokes (playing Kane) was totally brilliant, but where does he go from here? This was one of Curtin’s most ambitious shows for some time and he strolled through the part. Laurence Ashford (Bernie) after being the pantomime ‘idiot’ was at his best in the completely different genre, in his pre-death scene.
Veronica Mistry (Benita) was most convincing as the strange and enigmatic stripper / prostitute, being very sexy, but once again not being too blatant. Whilst still conveying her unique powerful mental abilities, the audience wondered about what was really going on in her head. Simonne Hurse (Candy) was, as always, brilliant. She captured the different moods demanded of the part; the heterosexual, the confused lesbian and the lover cheated on by Robert, the married man (Matthew Hardie – well done!). One felt sorry for Jerri (Tegan Mulvany - excellent) as the scorned lover who has every approach to Candy slammed in her face.
If you haven't been to Curtin Hayman before - see this one
Walter PlingeSat, 20 Mar 2004, 12:31 am
Re: Unidentified Human Remains *****
I went to see the show on Wednesday, and was extremely impressed. I think there's only one night left, so if you're not doing anything Saturday night, don't miss this show. Very powerful, very confronting, and very, very good. Fabulous performances all around, particularly from Gibson Nolte, Simonne Hurse and Tom Stokes. It's hard to believe Stokes is only a first year at Curtin; he was outstanding as Kane.
Sorry it's not much of a review; it's more of "go see it if you can". Shows like "Unidentified" don't come along very often; it's takes a lot of courage to perform, and all the actors very professionally take it in their stride. Just don't go see it if you're expecting the annual Curtin pantomime--you might get a wee bit shocked!
Ange Trevithick.
Sorry it's not much of a review; it's more of "go see it if you can". Shows like "Unidentified" don't come along very often; it's takes a lot of courage to perform, and all the actors very professionally take it in their stride. Just don't go see it if you're expecting the annual Curtin pantomime--you might get a wee bit shocked!
Ange Trevithick.