Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The following review is from this week's edition of The Melville Times Melville Theatre Company's production is the cat's whiskers THERE are only a few complaints I have about Melville Theatre Company’s production, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. Firstly, it starts half an hour too late. An 8pm start makes for an 11pm finish. Secondly, there were not enough people in the audience... it should have been packed. I see a lot of professional theatre and this amateur production was the best thing I’ve seen for some time. The lead performances were exceptional in delivery and characterisation. My first exposure to Tennessee Williams’ play about a Southern US family being torn apart by alcoholism, the impending death of the patriarch, scheming and mendacity was through the film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. That in 10 minutes local actors Kirk Goodsell (Brick) and Katherine Gauci (Maggie) had warmed the stage sufficiently for the performances of two Hollywood greats to completely leave the mind is a testament to their abilities. Gauci successfully holds our interest through a first act of heavy dialogue, which is mostly plot exposition, while Goodsell perfects that middle-distance stare and disinterest that characterises Brick. The second act is almost entirely a two-hander between Brick and Big Daddy (Mark Kont) – a long awkward conversation between two men who do not sit comfortably with emotion talking about their most difficult inner struggles. Disbelief was suspended. The emotion in the scene was raw. A lump in the throat. I never wanted the scene to end. Kont and Rosemary Longhurst (Big Mamma) deliver the strongest performances in a play that is generally well-staged and expertly delivered. For each actor every pause, syllable, look and gesture seemed natural. It runs until September 16. Dan Hatch