The Rusalka Thread

Fri, 27 June 2008, 07:54 am

‘The Rusalka Thread’, devised by Jeffrey Jay Fowler and Natalie Holmwood, is showing at the Blue Room, Northbridge. This Mythophobic Production is part of the 2008 City of Perth Winter Arts Festival. It is showing nightly at 6.30 pm, with some extra late shows (9.15 pm) at the weekends until 12^th July.

Holiday resort, Rusalka Lake lodge, lost its popularity when a woman was found drowned. Ten years later, something has made Sophia (Skye Sobejko) return to what is now a dank and crumbling hotel, run by mad scientist Freya (Oda Aunan) and her trusty partner, Nikolai.

On her arrival, Sophia meets her best school-friend Imogen (Jo Morris), now an established author, who is there to recover from receiving the letter from Hell. Will the two women be safe in this establishment? Can they escape?

In a zany way, ‘The Rusalka Thread’ weaves together East European folklore, detective mystery and romance. It is the latest very funny work from writer director Jeffrey Jay Fowler, whose previous credits include ‘Zen's Red Mouth’ and ‘Hope is the saddest’ (Winner, 2006 Blue Room Members' Choice Award). Again, Jeffery blends many theatre skills and he is never scared to try something new. The idea and construction material of Amanda King’s set is inventive and effective. Chris Issacs’ quality lighting and sound effects enhance the creepy atmosphere.

Mythophobic Productions have set themselves a high standard – did they do it again this time? Definitely! If you enjoyed films like ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Young Frankenstein’ and you can laugh at the humour of Marty Feldman and the acting in ‘The Days of Our Lives’ you will love this.

what i got from it

Tue, 8 July 2008, 03:57 pm

WhitneyR

I thought the play attempted something interesting and built up quite nicely, but didn't get there. If it was trying to parody typical mystery endings, then go the full hog! Instead, my companions and myself were confused whether it was trying to do that at all. Strong performances however! And direction! And, yes, the accent was obviously consistent and genuine. The atmosphere of the play was well constructed with the help of the music and set, although, i didn't think it needed to underscore some scenes as it was distracting. I agree that the dance number was unnecessary. Didn't drive the story forward. Possibly something that was workshopped and should have been discarded a while ago. Again, the set was visually impressive and really transformed the studio space, but it wasn't fully utilised. A small detail confused me slightly. The transgender (?) character used it as a bed or chair SL. However, the author character had some chairs set up for her SR. Why did she not just use the set? The chairs didn't need to be natural, as the set generally wasn't. Again, I appreciate what you did. It was, for the most part, engaging, and the girls did a fantastic job. You could tell a lot of effort had been put in. It's really hard devising theatre. People should realise that before they begin aggressive criticism.

Thread (24 posts)

Threaded Flat

The Rusalka Thread— Gordon the Optom27 June 2008

Thankyou for your kind— Walter Plinge27 June 2008
spelling— Walter Plinge28 June 2008
- Isacs. — Walter Plinge28 June 2008
  - I spell my name Isaacs. I— Walter Plinge28 June 2008
- kriss iissaks— mbp28 June 2008
I saw this and thought it— Walter Plinge28 June 2008
- (reply)— Walter Plinge28 June 2008
  - Sorry, I have to agree with— Walter Plinge29 June 2008
    - Oda is actually from— Jeffrey Jay Fowler29 June 2008
- I thought the piece was— Walter Plinge29 June 2008
All I know is that it's one— Walter Plinge29 June 2008
My two cents.— Walter Plinge30 June 2008
- It pays to proof read.— Walter Plinge30 June 2008
- I agree with Terry and— Walter Plinge30 June 2008
what i got from it— WhitneyR8 July 2008
I saw the play last night— Walter Plinge10 July 2008
Goodness, if you thought— Walter Plinge11 July 2008
- I disagree. Rusalka Thread— Walter Plinge11 July 2008
I also cannot for the life— Walter Plinge11 July 2008
I saw the play and I was— Walter Plinge11 July 2008
- Lighten up chuppa-chup!— Walter Plinge11 July 2008
Haven't see the play— Logos12 July 2008
I saw this play last night— Walter Plinge12 July 2008

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