Zastrozzi - Melville Theatre — Theatre Australia Forums

Take a fan people, because although Melville theatre has got air con, there are some very naughty bits in Zastrozzi that are smokin’ hot!

I know everyone in the cast and crew of this show, but I don’t like any of them. Therefore you can rest assured that even though I got a freebie to see this show on preview night, you’re about to read a completely unbiased review! :p There, disclaimer done.

Zastrozzi, the master of discipline is a play with a cast of stereotypes. I felt that they could have delved even deeper into caricature for a more humorous effect; however this is clearly not the tack first time director Kirliee Lennerts was going for. What emerged instead was a very dark play with some moments of humour.

The Villain - Jeff Watkins took the title role very seriously. He personified evil in his all black costume with satin scarf and high waisted pants. His German accent was completely acceptable but his non verbal communication was the highlight of his performance. His manic expressions, coupled with barely noticeable nervous twitches created the platform for an argument about sanity, which is a theme of the play. Even though he was clearly a “baddie” the character was still likeable, or perhaps I’m just turned on by power ;)

The Bumbling Sidekick - Matt Lister only barely managed to hide his devastatingly handsome good looks under some dark make up and a grim expression. Such was his mastery of the malicious character Bernado that his Italian accent was only a slight turn on. In fact, his voice was almost unrecognisable.

The Evil Seductress - Speaking of a turn on, enter stage right Laila Gampfer. This little pocket hottie flaunted her wares with both the lads and the ladies to great effect. Matilda didn’t get her way or her man, but by god she gave it a red hot crack (whip pun intended)!

The Victim – Steven Hounsome had an extraordinary energy as the slightly lunatic painter Verezzi. After what I read in the program about parting with costumes, I was expecting Laila to be the one to get naked. However, it is actually the very nicely put together Steven who gets his junk out. DO NOT BLINK during the first scene of the second act. *Giggle*

The Modest Hero – Finley award winning director Jeff Hansen made the most of the comedy in his role as Verezzi’s keeper. His sword fight to the death with Zastrozzi was one of the most hilarious weapon wielding scenes I’ve ever witnessed.

The Sweet Virgin – The most classically attractive woman in the world EVER – has got to be Clara Helms. This divine, blue eyed leggy blonde plays Julia, the French ingénue with all the grace and poise that she possesses. One of my favourite lines was delivered from Matilda to Julia with disgust: “It’s girls like you that make me look like a tart!”

The lighting was notable, and designed for impact. The start was particularly effective.

It’s difficult to maintain an accent when there are other people talking at you with alternative ones, they weren’t perfect but the actors were well rehearsed and fluent with the nicely written script.

Highlight: The “sex” scene between Zastrozzi and Julia. Holy cow!

Awful performance that dragged for two hours. The lead actor can’t act and the audience was laughing at his speech when he was delivering a dramatic part of the monologue!!! The cast did not have any chemistry and there was only main sword fight at the end of the performance. Extremely amateur performance and high school students would have done it better. Most actors just regurgitated their monologues as if they were getting ready to go to work. There was no pause, breathing or timing during the speeches. Feelings and emotions were portrayed superficially as the characterisation did not exist. The cast put so much effort on the accents that they forgot to act. Anyone who has a bit of appreciation for theatre knows it was a painful performance to watch. There were members of the audience who fell asleep during this boring performance. Only one actor was able to use some acting skills such as body movement, pause and timing and his name is Steven Hounsome. The lack of energy from the actors, especially the lead actor was evident as they failed to captivate the audience’s attention. Obviously the main reason for this unsuccessful production has to do with the direction. Any experienced director would not make a fool of himself to put a performance like this one on the stage!

Zastrozzi - Melville Theatre

Awful performance

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