WHAT THE BUTLER SAW
Sun, 25 Sept 2005, 08:12 amBass Guy38 posts in thread
WHAT THE BUTLER SAW
Sun, 25 Sept 2005, 08:12 amWho: GRADS
Where: Dolphin Theatre, UWA
When: 8pm 23/9/2005
What: Sordid farce from the soon-to-be-bludgeoned-to-death Joe Orton
Why: Threats of conjugal favours being withheld if I failed to attend. (Not entirely true)
Well, if the butler saw what I saw on Friday last, he needs his eyes checked or his head read. I thought IÂ’d indulge a little too firmly in the house convivialities prior to the show, but IÂ’m led to believe I wasnÂ’t the only one to suffer the demented visions this play provokes, so I canÂ’t blame it on the unwitting ingestion of psychedelics. I can, however, blame it on the crazed imagination of Stephen Lee and his cast of lunatic stooges.
Orton’s farce apparently flopped at the time of its premiere- and I think I know why. There’s not much “whoops, matron my trousers fell through the pantry. More tea, vicar?” in WTBS. Well, check out the poster- there’s more emphasis on the PHWOOAAR! Factor. As evidenced by the opening five minutes, which sees the heroine on the piece reduced to her underwear, and being subtly drooled over by the hero. It’s like Carry On Without Any Inhibitions. Of course, this is precisely the highbrow entertainment demanded by Generation Zzzzz today, so the choice is apt.
The cast rollicked through the opening night production, with only pause for the occasional hiccup with miscreant props and recalcitrant business. Paul Treasure starts as a bear-like figure, but is soon reduced to a sympathetic putty-like creature by the idiocy of his circumstance. The elfin Jessyca Hutchens not only spends most of the play near naked (I couldnÂ’t afford tickets to WTBS Uncut- Jarrod Buttery had bought them all and was scalping them cruelly) but a good deal of it sedated and/or screaming. Not easy to do both at the same time. Scott Sheridan attacks his role with gusto giving us something akin to Norman Wisdom on crack- which is what the show requires. Tony Petani sets new records for the achievement of those born without gorm. His Sgt Match is bizarre in the way he falls into the mania of the situation without blinking or pause. Jenny McCannÂ’s portrayal as the nymphomaniac harridan was too close to home for me to consider it acting- but by God itÂ’s convincing.
The most FRIGHTENING portrayal in recent history belongs not to that Welsh pretender Hopkins, but the demented Grant Malcolm as Dr Rance. His Murnau-esque take on the character (eyes a-twitch, shoulders a-hunch, voice a-boom) is hysterically funny and unnerving at the same time- and consequently does little to counter my lack of faith in the Western Health System.
Bravura doesnÂ’t begin to describe the efforts of cast and crew for this show. And if opening night had hiccups, these will be ironed out and the show will become unfathomably slick. This is a play that will reward a repeated viewing- theyÂ’re getting more risque as the season progresses. Well, thatÂ’s the rumour IÂ’m going to be spreadingÂ….
El
Where: Dolphin Theatre, UWA
When: 8pm 23/9/2005
What: Sordid farce from the soon-to-be-bludgeoned-to-death Joe Orton
Why: Threats of conjugal favours being withheld if I failed to attend. (Not entirely true)
Well, if the butler saw what I saw on Friday last, he needs his eyes checked or his head read. I thought IÂ’d indulge a little too firmly in the house convivialities prior to the show, but IÂ’m led to believe I wasnÂ’t the only one to suffer the demented visions this play provokes, so I canÂ’t blame it on the unwitting ingestion of psychedelics. I can, however, blame it on the crazed imagination of Stephen Lee and his cast of lunatic stooges.
Orton’s farce apparently flopped at the time of its premiere- and I think I know why. There’s not much “whoops, matron my trousers fell through the pantry. More tea, vicar?” in WTBS. Well, check out the poster- there’s more emphasis on the PHWOOAAR! Factor. As evidenced by the opening five minutes, which sees the heroine on the piece reduced to her underwear, and being subtly drooled over by the hero. It’s like Carry On Without Any Inhibitions. Of course, this is precisely the highbrow entertainment demanded by Generation Zzzzz today, so the choice is apt.
The cast rollicked through the opening night production, with only pause for the occasional hiccup with miscreant props and recalcitrant business. Paul Treasure starts as a bear-like figure, but is soon reduced to a sympathetic putty-like creature by the idiocy of his circumstance. The elfin Jessyca Hutchens not only spends most of the play near naked (I couldnÂ’t afford tickets to WTBS Uncut- Jarrod Buttery had bought them all and was scalping them cruelly) but a good deal of it sedated and/or screaming. Not easy to do both at the same time. Scott Sheridan attacks his role with gusto giving us something akin to Norman Wisdom on crack- which is what the show requires. Tony Petani sets new records for the achievement of those born without gorm. His Sgt Match is bizarre in the way he falls into the mania of the situation without blinking or pause. Jenny McCannÂ’s portrayal as the nymphomaniac harridan was too close to home for me to consider it acting- but by God itÂ’s convincing.
The most FRIGHTENING portrayal in recent history belongs not to that Welsh pretender Hopkins, but the demented Grant Malcolm as Dr Rance. His Murnau-esque take on the character (eyes a-twitch, shoulders a-hunch, voice a-boom) is hysterically funny and unnerving at the same time- and consequently does little to counter my lack of faith in the Western Health System.
Bravura doesnÂ’t begin to describe the efforts of cast and crew for this show. And if opening night had hiccups, these will be ironed out and the show will become unfathomably slick. This is a play that will reward a repeated viewing- theyÂ’re getting more risque as the season progresses. Well, thatÂ’s the rumour IÂ’m going to be spreadingÂ….
El
Re: You all Orton be ashamed of yourselves
Fri, 30 Sept 2005, 04:43 amKerri wrote:
>
> Hello to Miss Walthorpe and Mr Pitnell
>
> Thank you for having the courage to write your opinions on
> this website. It is a pity that you seem to lack the courage
> to include your real names with the posting.
>
> However, thank you for the very funny postings! I did laugh.
> What fun!
I agree with you Kerri, it's all someone's idea of a clever joke. But I think perhaps you and all the other writers above have not guessed the half of it.
It IS a pity they didn't include their real names, but then again, it was not for lack of courage....rather, a lack of having any!
May I suggest that you take their 'real' names ... Edna Welthorpe (Mrs), Peter Pinnell, and John A. Carlsen, throw in Joe Orton for good measure, and put it all in a Google search? Or perhaps look on your own shelving for the relevant pages in 'The Orton Diaries'?
> I can sympathise totally Miss Walthorpe . That naughty Joe
> Orton! Not quite sure how we can call him a young playwright
> these days when he died in 1967. Still, what was he thinking!
Well, considering that he was only 34 when he was killed, he can never really be considered an 'old' playwright. And of course, that comment of Edna's has been taken WAY out of context...!
> One of the greatest Drama critics in England called this play
> "Orton's inspired comic masterpiece", but what would he know?
> Obviously the man has no morals, scruples or snakes crawling
> around his ankles. Shame on him!
>
> May I suggest to the both of you , that you stay at home with
> your cup of cocoa and your National Geographic magazines (
> the edition with the pictures taken out, nothing too
> sensational for you !) and let the theatre going public make
> up their own mind . You never know , there are actually
> people in Perth who might like to see a play that was written
> sometime after Shakespeare died and even, maybe after Oscar
> Wilde was writing . ( although that shocking play "The
> Importance of being Earnest", heavens the homosexual
> references in that and the lewd behaviour of those boys!
> Please don't waste your time seeing a depraved play like that!)
I myself consider—a) the dialogue quite brilliant; b) the comedy breathtaking; c) the drama satisfying; d) the play as a whole well-written if not profound; e) let us, however, exhort Mr. Orton to turn his gaze higher. As Oscar Wilde said in another context, "Some of us are walking in the gutter, but we can look at the stars!"
I suspect Joe Orton himself would have agreed.
> Your charming email address ( orton.net) leads me to believe
> that you may in fact be part of the Joe Orton fan club and
> just don't want to tell anyone. Well don't worry , your
> secret is safe with us.
Kerri, you were almost so close to the secret! But she's not part of Joe's fan club....it's the other way around.
If I was going to be guessing secrets, I'd be blaming S Quinn (Mr) ....!
> Go and see the play , I think it is a credit to all concerned
> and they certainly do deserve full houses.
I'll be going to see them sometime this week; my husband always goes to these things to review them.
In the meantime, I might point you toward this rather entertaining thread from earlier in the year...funnily enough it relates to another of Stephen Lee's directorial efforts...
http://theatre.asn.au/read.php?f=24&i=2719&t=2705
Warm regards,
Myrtle Birdboot
>
> Hello to Miss Walthorpe and Mr Pitnell
>
> Thank you for having the courage to write your opinions on
> this website. It is a pity that you seem to lack the courage
> to include your real names with the posting.
>
> However, thank you for the very funny postings! I did laugh.
> What fun!
I agree with you Kerri, it's all someone's idea of a clever joke. But I think perhaps you and all the other writers above have not guessed the half of it.
It IS a pity they didn't include their real names, but then again, it was not for lack of courage....rather, a lack of having any!
May I suggest that you take their 'real' names ... Edna Welthorpe (Mrs), Peter Pinnell, and John A. Carlsen, throw in Joe Orton for good measure, and put it all in a Google search? Or perhaps look on your own shelving for the relevant pages in 'The Orton Diaries'?
> I can sympathise totally Miss Walthorpe . That naughty Joe
> Orton! Not quite sure how we can call him a young playwright
> these days when he died in 1967. Still, what was he thinking!
Well, considering that he was only 34 when he was killed, he can never really be considered an 'old' playwright. And of course, that comment of Edna's has been taken WAY out of context...!
> One of the greatest Drama critics in England called this play
> "Orton's inspired comic masterpiece", but what would he know?
> Obviously the man has no morals, scruples or snakes crawling
> around his ankles. Shame on him!
>
> May I suggest to the both of you , that you stay at home with
> your cup of cocoa and your National Geographic magazines (
> the edition with the pictures taken out, nothing too
> sensational for you !) and let the theatre going public make
> up their own mind . You never know , there are actually
> people in Perth who might like to see a play that was written
> sometime after Shakespeare died and even, maybe after Oscar
> Wilde was writing . ( although that shocking play "The
> Importance of being Earnest", heavens the homosexual
> references in that and the lewd behaviour of those boys!
> Please don't waste your time seeing a depraved play like that!)
I myself consider—a) the dialogue quite brilliant; b) the comedy breathtaking; c) the drama satisfying; d) the play as a whole well-written if not profound; e) let us, however, exhort Mr. Orton to turn his gaze higher. As Oscar Wilde said in another context, "Some of us are walking in the gutter, but we can look at the stars!"
I suspect Joe Orton himself would have agreed.
> Your charming email address ( orton.net) leads me to believe
> that you may in fact be part of the Joe Orton fan club and
> just don't want to tell anyone. Well don't worry , your
> secret is safe with us.
Kerri, you were almost so close to the secret! But she's not part of Joe's fan club....it's the other way around.
If I was going to be guessing secrets, I'd be blaming S Quinn (Mr) ....!
> Go and see the play , I think it is a credit to all concerned
> and they certainly do deserve full houses.
I'll be going to see them sometime this week; my husband always goes to these things to review them.
In the meantime, I might point you toward this rather entertaining thread from earlier in the year...funnily enough it relates to another of Stephen Lee's directorial efforts...
http://theatre.asn.au/read.php?f=24&i=2719&t=2705
Warm regards,
Myrtle Birdboot
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