'Get Smart' – Dandenong Theatre Company (DTC)

As posted on the Arts Hub website. By Richard Walsh. Dandenong Theatre Company’s (DTC’s) stage adaptation of this iconic piece of 1960s Cold War satire, by master of the one-liners Mel Brooks, is an ambitious undertaking handled wonderfully by this talented cast. They rose to the challenge masterfully on Saturday night showing why the resourceful company have developed a reputation for blurring the lines between amateur and professional theatre and providing an opportunity for artists to develop their talent further. Directed by Matt Caton, who brought us the successful Melbourne Fringe production Lottery, this production is based on the script for the pilot of the original show and Caton has encouraged the cast to base their characters as closely as possible to the original series' portrayals. Rhys Martin handles the daunting role of Max with a degree of difficulty. His characterisation is accurate even if he does not yet have quite the comic timing needed to deliver some of the cheesiest one-liners ever scripted. Despite this, it is hilarious to watch his excellent impersonation and he proves he possesses the stamina to handle a larger role. Claire Benne is excellent as Agent 99. She has the popular character's trademark catchphrases and body language down pat and her vocalisation is accurate and consistent. Kym Davies gave a noteworthy performance as Mrs. Finch. Once again it was her vocalisation of the character which was so impressive and completely in keeping with the era of the piece. The stand out performance in this production came from Joe Dias, whose portrayal of Garth is side–splittingly funny. Dias is developing into a formidable actor and it can’t be long before we see him start to make waves with his unique ability to research his characters so fastidiously. Dias was aided by KAOS agents Mary, Shelly and Betsy Wong AKA, Imat Akelo – Opio, Felicity Zanon and Natalie Burns who created a real comic chemistry in their ensemble work. Colin (Bill) Morley was at his hilarious best as a “big man playing a little man who wants to be a big man,” Mr Big. You will have to see how this is achieved yourself and trust me it’s worth the ticket. Penny Valk was fantastic as the blonde big sister and shows fabulous promise in her first DTC production. While there were a few sound difficulties the production side of things was generally handled well with the highlight being a number of excellent props and sets that are wonderful representations of the famous sets in the original show. Cast members appear from various unexpected places just as they did in the TV series and this helps to create a bit of movement and use of levels in what could obviously be quite a stagnant production as the script was originally intended for the tiny sets of a television studio not a massive stage. Mr Big’s mode of transport is a brilliantly conceived prop and the audience loved its visually startling impact. Whoever actually built the telephone booth did an outstanding job. Everyone remembers the TV series when Max gets into the booth and drops. This prop enabled an unforgettable moment in the series to be faithfully reproduced. Notwell Designs are responsible for the sets and costumes in this show and their designs are fully in keeping with the flavour of the production. Get Smart is showing at the Drum Theatre in Dandenong.