Attempts on Her Life
Wed, 22 July 2009, 08:13 amGordon the Optom1 post in thread
Attempts on Her Life
Wed, 22 July 2009, 08:13 am‘Attempts on Her Life’ this celebrated 1997 play by Martin Crimp is presented by Curtin’s Hayman Theatre Company at Curtin University of Technology, Kent Street, Bentley. Performances nightly at 8.00 pm until the 1st August.
A telephone answering machine takes yet another recorded message. We witness a wide selection of calls, from the obscene (Jess de Gouw) to the distress of a mother (Alana Somerville) and father (Josh Walker) who have lost touch with their daughter. An impressive collection of 17 very different, contemporary snippets, presented in 90 minutes.
This pastiche of brief episodes ranges from the darkest of humour, through spoofs and disbelief, to splendour and the description of gut-wrenching cruelty. The array takes one to the extreme facets of the psyche, and character. From beauty to seedy, Crimp pulls none of his callous punches in the dialogue.
Although relating to a person called Ann or Annie, one starts to realise that this is a generic name for ‘Joe Public’, and indeed includes male, female, animal or object character and identity.
What is in Anne’s red bag, a pile of stones or perhaps a bomb or a body?
Directed by guest Artist-in-Residence/Associate Director for Black Swan State Theatre Company, Adam Mitchell and his assistant director Keir Wilkins, they keep the pace flowing superbly. Nothing is sacred in this production, there is satirisation of pop music, a dummy spit as an actors ‘forgets’ her lines (Elizabeth Frodsham) and microphone feedback. The audience confusion is as the dramatist intends, A Teflon play, where the point is in accepting that human beings are friable, yet so slippery that one does not get the chance to grasp the situation satisfactorily. As enigmatic as Mona Lisa, combined with the coldness of TVs ‘Spooks’, watching this play is at times a chilling experience, and yet in almost every segment, one can see a reflection of our own past life.
The cast were all outstanding, great pace, faultless diction and convincing portrayal of the characters. Other cast members were David Kinsman, Mischa Resnick and Verity Softly.
The amazing selection of multi-media effects (Keir Wilkins), Ben Collins and Chris Olive’s sound design and quality lighting (Duncan Sharp and Alice Hatton) made Hayman’s Theatre upstairs seem twice its normal size. Warwick Doddrell’s costume and inventive set design created the correct mood for each vignette.
Martin Crimp, along with playwright Tom Stoppard (‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’), another absurdist and master of existentialist tragicomedy, both attended Pocklington Grammar School, in Yorkshire. Their English master has a lot to answer for! – He would certainly not have accepted the preposition at the end of the preceding sentence!
This contemporary play is as light as you wish, or as horrifyingly threatening as the Indonesian terrorists and Underbelly rolled into one. If you like, a good storyline then this may leave you frustrated, but if you are happy with high quality acting in short bits and bobs, then this team will more than satisfy you. Inspired, rich writing from an under-estimated playwright, superbly presented.
‘Attempts on Her Life’ this celebrated 1997 play by Martin Crimp is presented by Curtin’s Hayman Theatre Company at Curtin University of Technology, Kent Street, Bentley. Performances nightly at 8.00 pm until the 1st August.
A telephone answering machine takes yet another recorded message. We witness a wide selection of calls, from the obscene (Jess de Gouw) to the distress of a mother (Alana Somerville) and father (Josh Walker) who have lost touch with their daughter. An impressive collection of 17 very different, contemporary snippets, presented in 90 minutes.
This pastiche of brief episodes ranges from the darkest of humour, through spoofs and disbelief, to splendour and the description of gut-wrenching cruelty. The array takes one to the extreme facets of the psyche, and character. From beauty to seedy, Crimp pulls none of his callous punches in the dialogue.
Although relating to a person called Ann or Annie, one starts to realise that this is a generic name for ‘Joe Public’, and indeed includes male, female, animal or object character and identity.
What is in Anne’s red bag, a pile of stones or perhaps a bomb or a body?
Directed by guest Artist-in-Residence/Associate Director for Black Swan State Theatre Company, Adam Mitchell and his assistant director Keir Wilkins, they keep the pace flowing superbly. Nothing is sacred in this production, there is satirisation of pop music, a dummy spit as an actors ‘forgets’ her lines (Elizabeth Frodsham) and microphone feedback. The audience confusion is as the dramatist intends, A Teflon play, where the point is in accepting that human beings are friable, yet so slippery that one does not get the chance to grasp the situation satisfactorily. As enigmatic as Mona Lisa, combined with the coldness of TVs ‘Spooks’, watching this play is at times a chilling experience, and yet in almost every segment, one can see a reflection of our own past life.
The cast were all outstanding, great pace, faultless diction and convincing portrayal of the characters. Other cast members were David Kinsman, Mischa Resnick and Verity Softly.
The amazing selection of multi-media effects (Keir Wilkins), Ben Collins and Chris Olive’s sound design and quality lighting (Duncan Sharp and Alice Hatton) made Hayman’s Theatre upstairs seem twice its normal size. Warwick Doddrell’s costume and inventive set design created the correct mood for each vignette.
Martin Crimp, along with playwright Tom Stoppard (‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’), another absurdist and master of existentialist tragicomedy, both attended Pocklington Grammar School, in Yorkshire. Their English master has a lot to answer for! – He would certainly not have accepted the preposition at the end of the preceding sentence!
This contemporary play is as light as you wish, or as horrifyingly threatening as the Indonesian terrorists and Underbelly rolled into one. If you like, a good storyline then this may leave you frustrated, but if you are happy with high quality acting in short bits and bobs, then this team will more than satisfy you. Inspired, rich writing from an under-estimated playwright, superbly presented.