As You Like It
Fri, 7 Jan 2005, 10:36 amWalter Plinge7 posts in thread
As You Like It
Fri, 7 Jan 2005, 10:36 amAttic Theatre Company
St George's College, Crawley
dir. Stephen Lee
Firstly, I will confess that some will think me biased as I have worked with the director several times before and, in fact, appeared in Attic Theatre's last production of The Christmas Carol. However, I believe that such good work as this deserves bigger audiences than it is getting and that I would like to encourage others to go along.
The venue is truly beautiful - something that I couldn't really appreciate as a performer, but as an audience member it was the best setting for Shakespeare that I have ever seen in Perth! Wonderful atmosphere!
Unlike some other outdoor venues, I was able to see and hear everything perfectly clearly (particularily useful when following Shakespeare!).
Stephen Lee uses the venue to its best advantage with actors entering from every direction, appearing out of turret windows, up trees and even jumping off high walls (hope they have insurance!)
The costumes, props and lighting were all perfect (except Celia's Little Bo Beep number which seemed out of period with the rest of the play).
Maybe its relevance escaped me?
The play is set in "an imaginary Australia" in modern times and works well.
Special mention must be given to the band of singers (Nicholas Cornish, Rebecca Mansfield, Danielle O'Malley and Ama Joan Quin) who entertained us before and throughout the show - its been a long time since I have heard such fabulous voices and harmonies in a theatrical performance! Listening to them alone is worth the ticket price.
The acting is generally of a high standard, but there were some knock-out performances for me. Firstly, Renato Fabretti as Orlando was outstanding. The minute he walks onstage one is struck with his presence, charisma and talent (it also helps that he is so bloody good looking!). I predict this young man has a very bright acting career ahead of him!
Fern Vallesi as Phebe and Scott Sheridan as Silvius were hilarious and slightly bizarre - I really enjoyed their performances and comic timing!
I think Scott is another young talent to watch out for and Fern is definitely an actress whose talent should be recognized far more than it is.
I also enjoyed Liam Ryan as Touchstone who is obviously a young man gifted with natural comic ability! (although I think he could afford to watch his diction at times.)
Shirley Van Sanden was wonderful both as the Joan Crawford like bitch, Duchess Frederick and as the gormless Audrey.
Graham Mitchell was charming as the evil brother Oliver who "comes good in the end".
The stand out scene for me was Jaques' (played by Dan Luxton) famous "seven ages of man" speech - the combination of Dan's wonderful rendition, Tom Rees' portrayal of the frail old faithful servant, Adam, at the point of starvation, the music and the ensemble acting brought me to tears (something I was not expecting in a comedy). I found it very moving and poignant - but this may only be appreciated by those of us going through "mid-life crisis"!
Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening and I feel as this play "tightens up" and the actors relax into their parts it will develop into one of the best Shakespearian productions this town has seen.
Congratulations to everyone involved.
Angelique Malcolm
St George's College, Crawley
dir. Stephen Lee
Firstly, I will confess that some will think me biased as I have worked with the director several times before and, in fact, appeared in Attic Theatre's last production of The Christmas Carol. However, I believe that such good work as this deserves bigger audiences than it is getting and that I would like to encourage others to go along.
The venue is truly beautiful - something that I couldn't really appreciate as a performer, but as an audience member it was the best setting for Shakespeare that I have ever seen in Perth! Wonderful atmosphere!
Unlike some other outdoor venues, I was able to see and hear everything perfectly clearly (particularily useful when following Shakespeare!).
Stephen Lee uses the venue to its best advantage with actors entering from every direction, appearing out of turret windows, up trees and even jumping off high walls (hope they have insurance!)
The costumes, props and lighting were all perfect (except Celia's Little Bo Beep number which seemed out of period with the rest of the play).
Maybe its relevance escaped me?
The play is set in "an imaginary Australia" in modern times and works well.
Special mention must be given to the band of singers (Nicholas Cornish, Rebecca Mansfield, Danielle O'Malley and Ama Joan Quin) who entertained us before and throughout the show - its been a long time since I have heard such fabulous voices and harmonies in a theatrical performance! Listening to them alone is worth the ticket price.
The acting is generally of a high standard, but there were some knock-out performances for me. Firstly, Renato Fabretti as Orlando was outstanding. The minute he walks onstage one is struck with his presence, charisma and talent (it also helps that he is so bloody good looking!). I predict this young man has a very bright acting career ahead of him!
Fern Vallesi as Phebe and Scott Sheridan as Silvius were hilarious and slightly bizarre - I really enjoyed their performances and comic timing!
I think Scott is another young talent to watch out for and Fern is definitely an actress whose talent should be recognized far more than it is.
I also enjoyed Liam Ryan as Touchstone who is obviously a young man gifted with natural comic ability! (although I think he could afford to watch his diction at times.)
Shirley Van Sanden was wonderful both as the Joan Crawford like bitch, Duchess Frederick and as the gormless Audrey.
Graham Mitchell was charming as the evil brother Oliver who "comes good in the end".
The stand out scene for me was Jaques' (played by Dan Luxton) famous "seven ages of man" speech - the combination of Dan's wonderful rendition, Tom Rees' portrayal of the frail old faithful servant, Adam, at the point of starvation, the music and the ensemble acting brought me to tears (something I was not expecting in a comedy). I found it very moving and poignant - but this may only be appreciated by those of us going through "mid-life crisis"!
Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening and I feel as this play "tightens up" and the actors relax into their parts it will develop into one of the best Shakespearian productions this town has seen.
Congratulations to everyone involved.
Angelique Malcolm
I liked it
Sat, 15 Jan 2005, 07:47 pmAttic Theatre
As You Like It
Director Stephen Lee
Perf: Friday, 14 January 2005
Attic Theatre has found itself a beautiful home in St George's College, and when I first entered I was at first confronted by the fact that they had spun the audience around from the seating layout they used in Christmas Carrol. An odd choice, I thought at the time, but one which overall worked for the show.
Due to my policy of not buying programs, I did not buy a program, so sorry for some mis-accreditations
After enjoying a light dinner at dusk, the band struck up. The guitarist and three vocalists performed a range of pop tunes and set mood for the piece.
A LOT OF NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Renato Fabretti as Orlando allowed his natural charisma, big voice and undeniable presence carry him through this play. He was the foundation upon which the play was built, and carried off this task with great aplomb. He was especially good in his more serious scenes as the romantic lead. Just stay away from the media Renato, they'll mess you up.
In my opinion the hardest role in the piece is that of Rosalind. Lucy Waldron-Brown did excellently in this role. As Rosalind she was quite the picture of female modesty. It was well-judged and easy to sympathise with. Ganymede she struggled with slightly. This I think was as least partly the fault of the costume. Her thick moustache and cocky's outfit, made me think farmer in his mid-thirties, which was at odds with her more feminine delivery and references to her youth. As a result her ruse with Orlando seemed hard to swallow. But her clear and earnest delivery carried through.
Kim Martin showed his great variety and skill in several parts. It is a testament to his performance that he was totally believable in each of his disparate roles. Well done!
Dan Luxton's laid back delivery was a pleasure to watch. Dealing with Shakespeare's bawdier moments with great skill, always making them fun without being crass (or at least too crass). His true talent was in wringing the truth out of some very poignant lines. The end of his "All the World's a Stage" speech was so moving, all the more because of the comedy preceding it. And to unselfishly hand over the end of a speech like that to another actor was spectacular. Which brings me to...
Tom Rees as Adam, was marvellous. You cannot help but sympathise with Tom, and this was no exception. Another spot on performance.
Liam Ryan can't not be funny. He hit the stage running (well, OK limping) in this piece, and had the presence to carry it through to the end. Liam with Touchstone was like a pig in a @!#$ store. His physical comedy brightened every scene he was in, and while threatening to, never interfered with others performance (but it was close). My only remark to Liam would be to watch the gabbling (he knows what I'm talking about).
Craig Edwards was handed comedy on a plate by his director and Merry Ford. I mean a bright red leotard mask a cape? A neck brace? As Jerry Seinfeld knows, you can't look at someone in a neckbrace without laughing immediately. Given that, Craig added several layers of extra spicy ham to the role, and it was hilarious to watch. That said, he was another that handled several roles very well. His fight choreography as great as well, with a totally believable wrestle, at least from my seat.
Scott Sheridan also handled several roles very well, but was best as Silvius (as you'd expect). Silvius could have been so annoying but always just remained at the edge of irritation. Again though, Scott's diction when dealing with a voice that is not naturally his own needs to be worked on.
Shirley van Sanden vamped it up tremendously as the Duchess, but I have to say she did tip into the annoying as Audrey. The duchess had great power and presence, and a handsome American accent that brought Dynasty to mind for some reason. However, there is always the danger when playing an annoying character to highlight every annoying thing they could do (see Rik Mayall - entire career) .
Unfortunately the same can be said for Fern Vallessi. In Fern's case, it would be nice to see a more laudible side of her character, in order that the audience actually want Silvius to succeed, rather than feeling like he got screwed by Cupid.
Graham Mitchell was solid as Orlando's (initially) wicked elder brother. His puppet show was great, and he moved through a huge character arc with great judgment.
Julie Burns (hope I got that right), was a lot of fun and absolutely gorgeous (hey, if the girls can drool over Renato why not us boys). One thing I did think was that her first entrance was a little underdone. It was a great idea doing the walkman/Justin Timberlake enterance, but it would have been more effective if she could have been even bubblier for the first ten seconds or so on stage. But she was very solid, and had great personality.
THE SETTING
One gripe I must make about the show is the setting. It is clearly set in Australia, urban at first, moving to the country. In no specific, but definitely modern time period. This non-specific time period/pastiche idea is great, as Comedy of Errors by Bell Shakespeare showed. But on this occassion it fell flat.
Australia is a country that has gone through enormous change over 50 years, and suffered from enormous cultural cringe in that time. It jarred with me that a play that had WWF style wrestling, early nineties torn jeans, mobiles and so forth also had an old-time bush band, akubra's and broad okker accents. Celia's old timey dress was at odds with Rosalind's flannel and Tochstone 'snappy' suit.
I thought Stephen could have placed his setting more specifically, or made it far wider. He could've thrown in some Priscilla style drag queens (the Duke for instance), cocktails could have been exchanged for beer, and there could even have been some ethnic characters. Also, he could also have played the friction between city-siders and ruralists more fiercely.
That may be my own bias, and I guess it can sometimes be luck of the draw with pastiche. But I think Stephen may have done well to get a few different Australian's point of view on the setting and stereotypes.
MUSIC
I hate songs in plays. So I was very surprised that I found myself smiling and almost humming along with some of Craig William's Australiana. It was well written and well performed. Good work.
However, I hate songs in plays, and thought that some of the musical interludes could easily be chucked. I think songs tend to break up the flow of the play, and distract the audience, and that was the case here. Plus theatrical songs are naff. But that is just me, and I know a three billion people disagree with me. So I'll leave that there.
THE SCRIPT (spoilers included)
I only have one minor thing to say. The ending was wierd. Silvius seemed really nice, so why did he have to end up with the witch. I know that Shakepeare likes everyone to get married or die at the end of his plays, but I thought it would've been preferable for Silvius to 'wise up' and kick that skank to the curb. Sometimes learning to fall out of love is as important as falling in love.
The ending seemed a bit convenient for my likes. I think the playwright needs to take a bit of a look at his themes and sort out his views on love, if he is going to have any sort of career.
THE SHOW AS A WHOLE
As I have said the performances were almost universally great. Stephen has a wonderful imagination, and he comes up with such inventive "business". His 'clock gag' (you'll see) was hilarious. The mobile was a great idea and having Renato push the bounds of Attic's insurance policy, by flinging himself off walls, climbing trees and wrestling Craig excited me greatly. He uses the space very effectively as well. I thought holing the play up in front of a brick wall was a silly ida at first, but was proved very wrong with action coming from all directions.
One fault I found was the scene where Tom plays most of his lines from behind the audience went too long. In my opinion it broke the attention of the audience and made things a touch uncomfortable. When Renato followed him offstage, that really pushed it a bit too far. I lost a bit of the plot at that point, because it was a bit distracting.
The most important critism I have of the play is that while the actors performed they're own parts tremendously, the chemistry between actors often seemed slightly lacking. I didn't feel Orlando's passion for Rosalind, because somewhere the two great performances didn't link together. I don't think a jingle is enough to convey to an audience that two people have fallen in love.
Similarly, the hatred between the brother's seemed a little out of nowhere. But that might have just been the night I came on, It's a hell of a way to start a show (with a blazing shower of rage and terracotta).
I will note though, that Dan Luxton did have several moments where the engagement between himself and other characters was very palpable.
One of Stephen's great strengths is his ability to create 'moments'. And there were many moments in this play. Orlando shares some good moments with Adam, and Kim Martin wonderful charisma played well with Dan Luxton's fool. Lots of comedy was added to the script and they play's pace and energy was superb. Shakespeare can be agonising if you don't have the play flowing, and this flowed so superbly I didn't notice time slide by at all.
CONCLUSION
The play is great, go see it. Stephen, as always, has imbued the piece with a tremendous deal of fun, and I will be stealing ideas from this play for many a year to come. The actor's acquit themselves very well and I'd love to hear what others think of the setting.
Well done Stephen et al.
As You Like It
Director Stephen Lee
Perf: Friday, 14 January 2005
Attic Theatre has found itself a beautiful home in St George's College, and when I first entered I was at first confronted by the fact that they had spun the audience around from the seating layout they used in Christmas Carrol. An odd choice, I thought at the time, but one which overall worked for the show.
Due to my policy of not buying programs, I did not buy a program, so sorry for some mis-accreditations
After enjoying a light dinner at dusk, the band struck up. The guitarist and three vocalists performed a range of pop tunes and set mood for the piece.
A LOT OF NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Renato Fabretti as Orlando allowed his natural charisma, big voice and undeniable presence carry him through this play. He was the foundation upon which the play was built, and carried off this task with great aplomb. He was especially good in his more serious scenes as the romantic lead. Just stay away from the media Renato, they'll mess you up.
In my opinion the hardest role in the piece is that of Rosalind. Lucy Waldron-Brown did excellently in this role. As Rosalind she was quite the picture of female modesty. It was well-judged and easy to sympathise with. Ganymede she struggled with slightly. This I think was as least partly the fault of the costume. Her thick moustache and cocky's outfit, made me think farmer in his mid-thirties, which was at odds with her more feminine delivery and references to her youth. As a result her ruse with Orlando seemed hard to swallow. But her clear and earnest delivery carried through.
Kim Martin showed his great variety and skill in several parts. It is a testament to his performance that he was totally believable in each of his disparate roles. Well done!
Dan Luxton's laid back delivery was a pleasure to watch. Dealing with Shakespeare's bawdier moments with great skill, always making them fun without being crass (or at least too crass). His true talent was in wringing the truth out of some very poignant lines. The end of his "All the World's a Stage" speech was so moving, all the more because of the comedy preceding it. And to unselfishly hand over the end of a speech like that to another actor was spectacular. Which brings me to...
Tom Rees as Adam, was marvellous. You cannot help but sympathise with Tom, and this was no exception. Another spot on performance.
Liam Ryan can't not be funny. He hit the stage running (well, OK limping) in this piece, and had the presence to carry it through to the end. Liam with Touchstone was like a pig in a @!#$ store. His physical comedy brightened every scene he was in, and while threatening to, never interfered with others performance (but it was close). My only remark to Liam would be to watch the gabbling (he knows what I'm talking about).
Craig Edwards was handed comedy on a plate by his director and Merry Ford. I mean a bright red leotard mask a cape? A neck brace? As Jerry Seinfeld knows, you can't look at someone in a neckbrace without laughing immediately. Given that, Craig added several layers of extra spicy ham to the role, and it was hilarious to watch. That said, he was another that handled several roles very well. His fight choreography as great as well, with a totally believable wrestle, at least from my seat.
Scott Sheridan also handled several roles very well, but was best as Silvius (as you'd expect). Silvius could have been so annoying but always just remained at the edge of irritation. Again though, Scott's diction when dealing with a voice that is not naturally his own needs to be worked on.
Shirley van Sanden vamped it up tremendously as the Duchess, but I have to say she did tip into the annoying as Audrey. The duchess had great power and presence, and a handsome American accent that brought Dynasty to mind for some reason. However, there is always the danger when playing an annoying character to highlight every annoying thing they could do (see Rik Mayall - entire career) .
Unfortunately the same can be said for Fern Vallessi. In Fern's case, it would be nice to see a more laudible side of her character, in order that the audience actually want Silvius to succeed, rather than feeling like he got screwed by Cupid.
Graham Mitchell was solid as Orlando's (initially) wicked elder brother. His puppet show was great, and he moved through a huge character arc with great judgment.
Julie Burns (hope I got that right), was a lot of fun and absolutely gorgeous (hey, if the girls can drool over Renato why not us boys). One thing I did think was that her first entrance was a little underdone. It was a great idea doing the walkman/Justin Timberlake enterance, but it would have been more effective if she could have been even bubblier for the first ten seconds or so on stage. But she was very solid, and had great personality.
THE SETTING
One gripe I must make about the show is the setting. It is clearly set in Australia, urban at first, moving to the country. In no specific, but definitely modern time period. This non-specific time period/pastiche idea is great, as Comedy of Errors by Bell Shakespeare showed. But on this occassion it fell flat.
Australia is a country that has gone through enormous change over 50 years, and suffered from enormous cultural cringe in that time. It jarred with me that a play that had WWF style wrestling, early nineties torn jeans, mobiles and so forth also had an old-time bush band, akubra's and broad okker accents. Celia's old timey dress was at odds with Rosalind's flannel and Tochstone 'snappy' suit.
I thought Stephen could have placed his setting more specifically, or made it far wider. He could've thrown in some Priscilla style drag queens (the Duke for instance), cocktails could have been exchanged for beer, and there could even have been some ethnic characters. Also, he could also have played the friction between city-siders and ruralists more fiercely.
That may be my own bias, and I guess it can sometimes be luck of the draw with pastiche. But I think Stephen may have done well to get a few different Australian's point of view on the setting and stereotypes.
MUSIC
I hate songs in plays. So I was very surprised that I found myself smiling and almost humming along with some of Craig William's Australiana. It was well written and well performed. Good work.
However, I hate songs in plays, and thought that some of the musical interludes could easily be chucked. I think songs tend to break up the flow of the play, and distract the audience, and that was the case here. Plus theatrical songs are naff. But that is just me, and I know a three billion people disagree with me. So I'll leave that there.
THE SCRIPT (spoilers included)
I only have one minor thing to say. The ending was wierd. Silvius seemed really nice, so why did he have to end up with the witch. I know that Shakepeare likes everyone to get married or die at the end of his plays, but I thought it would've been preferable for Silvius to 'wise up' and kick that skank to the curb. Sometimes learning to fall out of love is as important as falling in love.
The ending seemed a bit convenient for my likes. I think the playwright needs to take a bit of a look at his themes and sort out his views on love, if he is going to have any sort of career.
THE SHOW AS A WHOLE
As I have said the performances were almost universally great. Stephen has a wonderful imagination, and he comes up with such inventive "business". His 'clock gag' (you'll see) was hilarious. The mobile was a great idea and having Renato push the bounds of Attic's insurance policy, by flinging himself off walls, climbing trees and wrestling Craig excited me greatly. He uses the space very effectively as well. I thought holing the play up in front of a brick wall was a silly ida at first, but was proved very wrong with action coming from all directions.
One fault I found was the scene where Tom plays most of his lines from behind the audience went too long. In my opinion it broke the attention of the audience and made things a touch uncomfortable. When Renato followed him offstage, that really pushed it a bit too far. I lost a bit of the plot at that point, because it was a bit distracting.
The most important critism I have of the play is that while the actors performed they're own parts tremendously, the chemistry between actors often seemed slightly lacking. I didn't feel Orlando's passion for Rosalind, because somewhere the two great performances didn't link together. I don't think a jingle is enough to convey to an audience that two people have fallen in love.
Similarly, the hatred between the brother's seemed a little out of nowhere. But that might have just been the night I came on, It's a hell of a way to start a show (with a blazing shower of rage and terracotta).
I will note though, that Dan Luxton did have several moments where the engagement between himself and other characters was very palpable.
One of Stephen's great strengths is his ability to create 'moments'. And there were many moments in this play. Orlando shares some good moments with Adam, and Kim Martin wonderful charisma played well with Dan Luxton's fool. Lots of comedy was added to the script and they play's pace and energy was superb. Shakespeare can be agonising if you don't have the play flowing, and this flowed so superbly I didn't notice time slide by at all.
CONCLUSION
The play is great, go see it. Stephen, as always, has imbued the piece with a tremendous deal of fun, and I will be stealing ideas from this play for many a year to come. The actor's acquit themselves very well and I'd love to hear what others think of the setting.
Well done Stephen et al.