VINCENT - Green Room Productions

As far as entertainment value goes, this show does quite well and I would say overall, it’s worth seeing. It’s dynamic; there are plenty of laughs, a token flash of male nudity, as well as some singing and dancing. But for the more discerning theatregoer it may not be as satisfactory.

I saw this production last night in what was their second performance at the Subiaco Arts Centre. It's a lovely venue. The seats almost form a semi circle around the stage, which is intimately level with the first rows of the audience. We were sitting close to the front on one side and I felt it was directed and performed well to ensure the whole stage was utilised whilst playing out to all viewers.

I'd like to be able to describe the style of this production but that was a perplexing cause of frustration. After the first couple of scenes of the play I was happy to accept it as a musical comedy. Both the “childbirth” scene and then the opening song by Wayne (Cos I’m a Man) were hilarious, but the natural flow of the storyline was interrupted, first by a spontaneous bout of puppetry and then a scene from King Lear for which the actors changed costume and character. By interval I was overwhelmed, unable to suspend my disbelief and thinking: “just choose one theatrical convention and stick to it!”

With that said, perhaps it was the intention of Writer/Director George White to follow somewhat along the lines of Bertolt Brecht’s theories of alienation. If so, then he was successful, because whenever I found myself becoming empathetic to a character or a storyline, I was jolted back from it.

A few other things also ensured that I remained acutely distanced as an audience member. They were: the noises coming from backstage, unexplainable lighting changes (perhaps mistakes? Even lighting operators are human), the masses of coloured tape on the floor marking set positions and the empty VB cans from which the actors pretended to drink. Additionally, as the cast would leave the “lounge room” for other parts of the house, they went through a gap in the curtain, which I thought looked odd. I think even a freestanding doorframe with the curtains clipped to it would have been more effective and in keeping with the very basic set. It also meant that when they opened the curtain to walk through, from my vantage point I could see people back there in the red light arranging props, changing costume and fixing their wigs. It was a bit off-putting.

Other technical aspects were executed well. Some of the costumes were fabulous and the Ernie and Bert puppets very amusing. The actors didn’t have microphones and so volume was somewhat lost during their vocal solos. A few notches down for the backing track may have been an improvement because the guys were decent singers and it would have made it easier to catch the lyrics.

Themes. Well, there were a plethora of valid stories and each one worthy of it’s own plot. However, in my opinion, the issues were too broad and too many. Most were given more than a cursory mention but yet none were fully explored through character or story. I read a little about this show on the GayinWA website so perhaps I went along with the assumption that the theme must be homosexuality. It was mentioned, but along with many others. Here are a few I caught: religious belief, arts funding, international comparison, mateship and loyalty, the education system, family, heterosexual relations, classical music understanding, sexual harassment, the environment, pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone, drug use, the role of “the man”, testicular cancer and probably a lot more that I missed along the way. As I said, any one of these themes could be developed as a play unto itself. I felt that I was not able to fully engage as an audience member because I struggled to find the core objective of the play.

Although I found the script and themes challenging to follow, some of the cast gave notable performances.

In the title role of Vincent, a somewhat androgenous student of behavioural science, Daniel Ramsay gave a beautiful performance. He delivered his dialogue convincingly but his physical reactions and non-verbal cues were particularly strong. He interacted with his fellow cast members naturally and with superb timing. It is a challenge to make a script, which you know backwards, appear every night as being the first time you’ve heard it, but he really mastered that skill. Kudos as well goes to both Daniel and Clayton who played six year olds with endearing naivety.

Clayton Zwanenburg gave very strong performances in all of his characters: Quintin, Cordelia and Queen Gertrude (mother of Hamlet). I’m not sure what Quintin was really about, but at times I felt he was being used as somewhat of a narrator, or some kind of vehicle to make a political statement. During the scene when he was explaining Vincent’s thesis to Wayne, the dialogue presented as more written than spoken word. For example his speech used phrases like “Vincent points out………. he also mentions…….he goes on to say…….”  This kind of talk doesn’t usually occur between two blokes having a beer in their flat after work. It’s more likely to be found in a university assignment. However, Clayton did his very best with the difficult task to make it appear as natural as he could.  I felt he gave a most capable all round performance, but I particularly enjoyed his scene as Hamlet’s mother, played opposite Daniel (who was playing Vincent, who was playing a Jester, who was playing Hamlet). Sounds complex? It was.

Congratulations on the casting of Corey Hannan as Wayne, education student by day, lusty playboy by night. A very fine physical specimen, Corey was well chosen to exemplify the superficial characteristics of Man. His speech could perhaps have been a little more natural and his expressions more varied, but with rippling arms and 6-pack abs, you can’t have it all can you? ;) On a more intellectual level, he was actually quite engaging on stage. His scene with Murray in which he shares his fear of having testicular cancer was touching, but the emotion was short lived and like the other thematic references, not explored in any depth.

Ryan Sweeney and Rhys Hayes both put in pretty solid performances as Murray (the accountant) and Daniel (the hippie) respectively. Rhys in particular took advantage of the natural style of dialogue written for his character. He didn’t seem stretched by the role, but was convincing. I found the character of Murray quite unremarkable and thought Ryan had a challenge in bringing him to life.

Although it seemed completely out of context, I loved it when the boys spontaneously grabbed a banana (microphone) each and broke into a boy band song and dance routine. I am pretty sure the activity was intended to highlight male stereotypes, but if I am right, then this issue was just another that deserved a bit of exploration and yet was over just as quickly as it had begun. But it was good, light-hearted entertainment.

The final scene of the play was what I would call Stylised Drama. Using some commonly accepted conventions of medieval allegories, Vincent returns as a Jester and uses clowning techniques to make the final statement of the play. I think it was meant to be symbolic, but the whole scene came across to me as incredibly literal. Vincent rids each character of the “shackles” which bind them and inhibit their emotional and spiritual progression. For example, Wayne turns up with a porn magazine in one hand, a sports trophy (I think) in the other, beer cans tied around his waist, condoms tied around his neck and a sock in his jocks. Vincent removes the offending objects and replaces them with something he deems more fulfilling, like personal development textbooks. This was repeated until each character’s masks were stripped and suitably replaced by a paint palette, musical instrument or similar.

Although I appear to have critiqued the script and direction choices quite harshly, I’d like to be clear that I commend George, the crew and cast for the creation of this production. I’m aware that my frame of reference as I watch theatre can be studious and analytical which affects what I take from a performance. The feedback I received from others was that it was entertaining and my general assessment is that it’s worthwhile seeing.

“Vincent” closes at the Subiaco Arts Centre on Saturday.