King and I reviews?

I’ve been following with interest, (and occasionally contributing), to the debate raging over the current MS Society production of “The King and I.” It does seem that with some people, pro-am productions walk a knife edge, in terms of being seen either to offer experience in exchange for effort / talent, or as the great Satan – slave labour.

So far, the only remark that has caused me a little concern, is that all cast members are alleged to have been asked to pay a compulsory $20,00 fee / donation for their involvement. I canÂ’t quite put a handle on that, but then again, IÂ’ve yet to be involved in any production where it didnÂ’t cost me money, not forgetting that fees often help cover the cost of injury insurance.

One person stated that the ticket cost is too expensive for the quality of the performance. The general public (the market) will decide – if the show is worth it, they’ll sell, if it’s not, they won’t. Besides, I would have thought that any show which helps raise the accepted ticket price is a good thing for all theatre companies, professional and amateur.

There was a production of “Aladdin” at the Regal not so long ago, where it’s fair to say, the major advertised “star” probably had less talent than any other cast member, but that person’s notoriety helped pull the punters in, to what was a great showcase for the genuinely talented people involved. Tits, fannies, dicks or rabbit ears, it’s all marketing, designed to sell tickets, yet this production of “The King and I” hasn’t stooped to any of that, it’s actually been pushing the concept of raising funds for a charity.

In the long run, it’s up to each of us as individuals, to decide whether to audition for and consequently accept an unpaid role in any production, it’s certainly a time honoured way of securing a full time job – working for free for a few days to prove your worth – it’s called Work Experience.

Here, it is important to state that the community should always be wary of the possibility of unscrupulous promoters abusing the system, though I’m given to understand, that often the difficulty is actually getting paid after working for so-called professional productions – once the promoters, producers and directors disappear back east, the chances of getting paid reduce dramatically.

In a small city such as Perth, we are very lucky to have such a vibrant live theatre culture and even luckier that some people, through hard work, guts and sheer talent, are actually able to survive and make a living as professional actors, but for many others, productions such as “The King and I” offer valuable experience and add considerable depth to their resume.

The startling and ill-considered comment on these pages, to the effect that nobody should go to the show, is in marked contrast to the review given by Ron Banks in todayÂ’s (Tuesday 19th October) West Australian.