States of Shock GO GO GO !!!
Wed, 20 July 2005, 01:28 amWalter Plinge3 posts in thread
States of Shock GO GO GO !!!
Wed, 20 July 2005, 01:28 amStates of Shock
PICA till sat 23 July 05
Look – I was always going to see this show – I’ve acted with Naomi Hanbury – she told me about it months ago – phew - what a knock out…
THIS IS THE BEST THEATRICAL EVENT I HAVE SEEN IN PERTH in the past two years.
Geoff Gibbs raved in the West about Revelation at the Rechabites – I can only imagine what his review would have been like for States of Shock. Fist pumping!
The play is brilliantly written – is Sam Shepard suggesting, that the chaos created in your mind through the non-linear telling of this story, is akin to the chaos of thinking in America?
The play is like a surrealist painting – the more that is revealed – the more you question your assumptions about who is sane and insane – ultimately you are left with an impression to digest.
I surmised that to be an actor approaching the text from the inside, one would have to trust the whole implicitly and just ‘go for it’ – don’t get me wrong – its not impenetrable – far from it – its like the best Friday night crime mystery where the truth is not revealed until all the clues are in place – and it’s the mental engagement required to get to that point that is so exciting.
Like I say it’s a THEATRICAL event – a play that doesn’t pretend to be a film on stage – DON’T MISS IT – you’ve got until Saturday.
Now none of this could be said if the ensemble were mediocre – the best writing can be destroyed by mediocre choices – suffice to say this production ranks with the best productions upstairs at Belvoir Street in Sydney. Naomi Hanbury’s waitress is a superb and amusing interpretation; Bill McCluskey is a powerful presence driving the play; and Peter Webb is simply brilliant at the centre of a whirlpool of shrapnel. The sound designer, Cheeky, puts his hand up within seconds, making visceral aural choices; the set serves the characters as the best designs always do; and the white of the faceless majority was revealing costuming. Ultimately one must congratulate director Melissa Cantwell in co-ordinating the vision. I can only hope to go under her knife sometime in the future. Based upon this I’d say she’s a director with a huge future. But what do I know - take it from better qualified sources - I heard tonight that Ray Omedei is effusive about the production, and Victoria Laurie who writes for the Australian, enthused to me in person.
SO GO GO GO - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR !!!
American audiences hated the play – it implied things Americans didn’t want to hear back in 1991 – but all these body bags later, with Afghanistan and the aftermath of the second Gulf War sticking in the craw of America’s middle America, maybe it’s reception would not be quite so hostile. Hmmm. The reality? - it’ll probably take another decade for American’s to see the prescience of this play. Its an eerie moment when one realises in the chaos of time created on stage, that Shepard predicted in 1991, in this play, the terrorism America eventually faced.
SOUNDS A BIT HARD CORE? – its got laughs, quirky characterisations, a who dunnit mystery, excellent accent work, THE BEST PRODUCTION VALUES I have seen in two years in Perth (I love that PICA space) – AND IT IS RELEVANT – which Australian sycophant is currently basking in the adulation of American neo-conservative propagandists vis-a-vis the ‘war on terror’?
Come On Make an Effort – it’ll be worth it – and stay in the bar to talk afterwards.
PICA till sat 23 July 05
Look – I was always going to see this show – I’ve acted with Naomi Hanbury – she told me about it months ago – phew - what a knock out…
THIS IS THE BEST THEATRICAL EVENT I HAVE SEEN IN PERTH in the past two years.
Geoff Gibbs raved in the West about Revelation at the Rechabites – I can only imagine what his review would have been like for States of Shock. Fist pumping!
The play is brilliantly written – is Sam Shepard suggesting, that the chaos created in your mind through the non-linear telling of this story, is akin to the chaos of thinking in America?
The play is like a surrealist painting – the more that is revealed – the more you question your assumptions about who is sane and insane – ultimately you are left with an impression to digest.
I surmised that to be an actor approaching the text from the inside, one would have to trust the whole implicitly and just ‘go for it’ – don’t get me wrong – its not impenetrable – far from it – its like the best Friday night crime mystery where the truth is not revealed until all the clues are in place – and it’s the mental engagement required to get to that point that is so exciting.
Like I say it’s a THEATRICAL event – a play that doesn’t pretend to be a film on stage – DON’T MISS IT – you’ve got until Saturday.
Now none of this could be said if the ensemble were mediocre – the best writing can be destroyed by mediocre choices – suffice to say this production ranks with the best productions upstairs at Belvoir Street in Sydney. Naomi Hanbury’s waitress is a superb and amusing interpretation; Bill McCluskey is a powerful presence driving the play; and Peter Webb is simply brilliant at the centre of a whirlpool of shrapnel. The sound designer, Cheeky, puts his hand up within seconds, making visceral aural choices; the set serves the characters as the best designs always do; and the white of the faceless majority was revealing costuming. Ultimately one must congratulate director Melissa Cantwell in co-ordinating the vision. I can only hope to go under her knife sometime in the future. Based upon this I’d say she’s a director with a huge future. But what do I know - take it from better qualified sources - I heard tonight that Ray Omedei is effusive about the production, and Victoria Laurie who writes for the Australian, enthused to me in person.
SO GO GO GO - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR !!!
American audiences hated the play – it implied things Americans didn’t want to hear back in 1991 – but all these body bags later, with Afghanistan and the aftermath of the second Gulf War sticking in the craw of America’s middle America, maybe it’s reception would not be quite so hostile. Hmmm. The reality? - it’ll probably take another decade for American’s to see the prescience of this play. Its an eerie moment when one realises in the chaos of time created on stage, that Shepard predicted in 1991, in this play, the terrorism America eventually faced.
SOUNDS A BIT HARD CORE? – its got laughs, quirky characterisations, a who dunnit mystery, excellent accent work, THE BEST PRODUCTION VALUES I have seen in two years in Perth (I love that PICA space) – AND IT IS RELEVANT – which Australian sycophant is currently basking in the adulation of American neo-conservative propagandists vis-a-vis the ‘war on terror’?
Come On Make an Effort – it’ll be worth it – and stay in the bar to talk afterwards.