A moon for the misbegotten ***1/2

‘A moon for the misbegotten’ by the Nobel Prize winning author, Eugene O’Neill, is being performed at the Old Mill Theatre in South Perth until 21st April. It is a community theatre production which was cancelled at the last minute late last year but, I am pleased to say, has reached the stage now.

The story is set on an arid, American farm in the 1920s, but situation could easily be WA 2007 today. Phil Hogan’s (Kim Taylor) farm has struggled for years, so his son Mike (Shane McMullan) decides to leave for pastures new. However, because his landlord (Garry Davies – at his best) fancies Phil’s daughter Josie (Liz Hanich) and her ‘voluptuous breasts’, he is quite kind to his tenants. Then a major landowner (Cary Hudson), wishing to acquire neighbouring farms, appears on the scene and causes panic.

The directors, Sally Bruce and Siobhan O’Gara, have achieved plenty of movement, clear diction and good timing from their actors but generally the intonation, octave range (the gruff comments were spoken with the same pitch as the happier parts) and generally chemistry between the actors was poor in the first act.

The set design (Kyla Morgan) was simple, but very effective and created the perfect atmosphere. The lighting, whilst basically correctly positioned needed barn door and masking attention. The set was over lit. When the curtains opened – then the house lights went out?? – the stage lights were raised and one thought ‘very effective’, but the lights kept getting brighter leaving the white backcloth rather glaring. I realise that the required effect was to show the desert glare, but a soft yellow colour would have been better. The moon effect against a rich deep blue sky was wonderful, however the middle flood lights of the stage, which could have been dispensed with completely for the night scene, were raised to almost full and ruined the effect.

Liz Hanich was fabulous and her grumpy father, Kim, brought plenty of laughs.

I am sorry to be so critical, as this was an enjoyable play but it just missed the mark slightly on so many minor points. The show still deserves to be seen. A glossy 8-page programme – wow.

My initial post was basically defending Gordon the Optom's right to say what he wants about the play - I'd much rather an honest review than no review at all. Realistically, Gordon's comment that there was a generally poor cast chemistry is understandable given that I had come into the cast 3 weeks before opening night, and Kim Taylor was also a late replacement. This is not intended to read like an excuse - we can't be judged on the excuses we provide, but on the performances we give. I mentioned it only because it's relevant to the criticisms that were made in Gordon's review. In my opinion from the inside, the show was much improved by the second week and this appears to be reflected in the review by "Also Confused". It's a shame that the production might have been a little underdone in its first week, but I'm pleased that a seasoned reviewer like Gordon still enjoyed it. Thanks to both Gordon and Also for their reviews. Even though they rated the play differently, I've really appreciated the feedback, as has the rest of our team.

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