MICKY.COM
Fri, 4 Mar 2005, 02:54 pmWalter Plinge3 posts in thread
MICKY.COM
Fri, 4 Mar 2005, 02:54 pmMICKY.COM
A Dark Comedy by Peter Webb
Presented by The Perth Surgeons
Blue Room Theatre
53 James St, Northbridge
till 19 March, Tues – Sat 8pm, + Sat matinees 2pm
Reviewed by Dan Luxton
If a playÂ’s success is measured by the discussion it generates post show then Micky.com is a success.
If the measure is the quality of performance, then it is a success.
If the measure is that it doesnÂ’t telescope what is coming next then it is a success.
Peter Webb wrote this play when he was about 27, about 3 characters in their early twenties. Micky.com enjoyed critical acclaim in its Sydney and Melbourne seasons, and now, since Peter has mounted his own production company, Perth can draw its own conclusions.
Let me expand upon the Melbourne Age review, which said ‘MICKY.COM is an authentic, insightful… …window into Generation Next’, by saying it is a window into the concerns of every recent generation. I was twenty once too.
I saw the play, and enjoyed hours of discussion in the bar afterwards with people of all ages. Did I quibble. Yes. Was I stimulated. Yes. Did I enjoy my evening. Yes. Is that a reason to see it. Of course.
Micky.com dragged me, a father of young children, back to the intellectual excitement of my twenties, when ideas and philosophies were new and my view of the world developing. The youth arm of the Socialist Workers Party was regularly challenging my view of the societyÂ’s political fabric, I was working hard to overcome the inherent sexism of my upbringing, secondhand books on Marxism, liberation theology, AristotleÂ’s The Politics and The Ethics were dog-eared, and social gatherings with peers were chances to vomit forth oneÂ’s views.
In the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of anything and everything, my contemporaries and I would hold court for as long as we could sustain the monologues we were adamant others had to hear. WeÂ’d listen intently while others did the same, gleaning, challenging, distilling. We were disgusted with the status quo, and through our verbal diarrhea formulated the way things should be. Thus each generation makes the world their own. Familiar?
Isn’t it! In the bar afterwards, a young Perth actor volunteered he manifests this behaviour regularly – spewing forth his latest revelations to his flatmates, bouncing off whatever stimulus they provided to continue his rant.
I remembered a film IÂ’d seen in my early twenties, My Dinner with André, remarkable in being a film of a conversation, a long, meandering and fascinating conversation full of imagery and ideas. It resonated because it pushed the limits of my perceptions, introduced new ideas and ways of seeing.
If you are a twenty something sponge, soaking up ideas and knowledge, I think you will be stimulated by this play in the same way. You will want to spend time talking about it with your friends in the bar afterwards, and with the cast, the writer, the director, whoever is around.
In the act of articulating, we make ideas our own, extending and extrapolating.
IÂ’m a great believer that a reviewer should identify the audience who will enjoy a play, review for that audience, and not let their personal tastes or position in life blinker them.
See it. You too may have quibbles, but you wonÂ’t waste your time.
Which is the perfect note to end a review on, but I must mention the creative team. Andrew Dunn who plays Micky is totally believable, clearly understanding the psychology of his role, and why shouldnÂ’t he with his education and parenting. He is very much helped by the writing. Who Micky is and his agendas are gradually revealed, and often surprising. ItÂ’s a very complete portrayal.
Crispian Chan is exciting to watch, as he plays his macroscopic part in breaking down any remaining bastions of cultural stereotyping. He has the last word.
Adriane Daff handles the conceptual language with an understanding that seems beyond her years.
The director Melissa Cantwell is obviously close to the subject, the design uses the space well, the opening of the play is fascinating, when you think its over its not, and anyone who has the passion to spend the (often) years required to bring a play to final draft deserves bucketloads of encouragement. Congratulations Peter Webb. I look forward to the next production by The Perth Surgeons.
PS anyone else reviewing – don’t give the plot away. Let every audience go on the same journey you did.
Dan Luxton
Perth 4/3/05
A Dark Comedy by Peter Webb
Presented by The Perth Surgeons
Blue Room Theatre
53 James St, Northbridge
till 19 March, Tues – Sat 8pm, + Sat matinees 2pm
Reviewed by Dan Luxton
If a playÂ’s success is measured by the discussion it generates post show then Micky.com is a success.
If the measure is the quality of performance, then it is a success.
If the measure is that it doesnÂ’t telescope what is coming next then it is a success.
Peter Webb wrote this play when he was about 27, about 3 characters in their early twenties. Micky.com enjoyed critical acclaim in its Sydney and Melbourne seasons, and now, since Peter has mounted his own production company, Perth can draw its own conclusions.
Let me expand upon the Melbourne Age review, which said ‘MICKY.COM is an authentic, insightful… …window into Generation Next’, by saying it is a window into the concerns of every recent generation. I was twenty once too.
I saw the play, and enjoyed hours of discussion in the bar afterwards with people of all ages. Did I quibble. Yes. Was I stimulated. Yes. Did I enjoy my evening. Yes. Is that a reason to see it. Of course.
Micky.com dragged me, a father of young children, back to the intellectual excitement of my twenties, when ideas and philosophies were new and my view of the world developing. The youth arm of the Socialist Workers Party was regularly challenging my view of the societyÂ’s political fabric, I was working hard to overcome the inherent sexism of my upbringing, secondhand books on Marxism, liberation theology, AristotleÂ’s The Politics and The Ethics were dog-eared, and social gatherings with peers were chances to vomit forth oneÂ’s views.
In the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of anything and everything, my contemporaries and I would hold court for as long as we could sustain the monologues we were adamant others had to hear. WeÂ’d listen intently while others did the same, gleaning, challenging, distilling. We were disgusted with the status quo, and through our verbal diarrhea formulated the way things should be. Thus each generation makes the world their own. Familiar?
Isn’t it! In the bar afterwards, a young Perth actor volunteered he manifests this behaviour regularly – spewing forth his latest revelations to his flatmates, bouncing off whatever stimulus they provided to continue his rant.
I remembered a film IÂ’d seen in my early twenties, My Dinner with André, remarkable in being a film of a conversation, a long, meandering and fascinating conversation full of imagery and ideas. It resonated because it pushed the limits of my perceptions, introduced new ideas and ways of seeing.
If you are a twenty something sponge, soaking up ideas and knowledge, I think you will be stimulated by this play in the same way. You will want to spend time talking about it with your friends in the bar afterwards, and with the cast, the writer, the director, whoever is around.
In the act of articulating, we make ideas our own, extending and extrapolating.
IÂ’m a great believer that a reviewer should identify the audience who will enjoy a play, review for that audience, and not let their personal tastes or position in life blinker them.
See it. You too may have quibbles, but you wonÂ’t waste your time.
Which is the perfect note to end a review on, but I must mention the creative team. Andrew Dunn who plays Micky is totally believable, clearly understanding the psychology of his role, and why shouldnÂ’t he with his education and parenting. He is very much helped by the writing. Who Micky is and his agendas are gradually revealed, and often surprising. ItÂ’s a very complete portrayal.
Crispian Chan is exciting to watch, as he plays his macroscopic part in breaking down any remaining bastions of cultural stereotyping. He has the last word.
Adriane Daff handles the conceptual language with an understanding that seems beyond her years.
The director Melissa Cantwell is obviously close to the subject, the design uses the space well, the opening of the play is fascinating, when you think its over its not, and anyone who has the passion to spend the (often) years required to bring a play to final draft deserves bucketloads of encouragement. Congratulations Peter Webb. I look forward to the next production by The Perth Surgeons.
PS anyone else reviewing – don’t give the plot away. Let every audience go on the same journey you did.
Dan Luxton
Perth 4/3/05