The Ash Girl

‘The Ash Girl’ by the New York born, contemporary playwright, Lael Timberlake Wertenbaker. Winner of an Olivier Best Play award, Wertenbaker now lectures in creative writing in the University of East Anglia.  The Harbour Theatre is presenting the Australian Premiere of her 2000 pantomime, which may be considered a blend of ‘Cinderella’ and ‘The Hobbit’. This production can be seen at the Harbour Theatre in the Port Cineaste Building, 70 Adelaide Street, Fremantle on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8.00 pm until the 15^th December, with Sunday Matinees on the 2^nd and 9^th December at 2.00 pm.

        In the kitchen of an old mansion, pushy Ruth (Camilla Boswell-Hyde) and her dim sister (Savanna Griechen) are discussing the Royal Ball whilst munching on yet another large plate of food served by the Courtiers (Elizabeth Nicolas, Brian Mahoney, Peter Kirkwood). 

       As their mother (Ann Speicher) is explaining how this is their big chance to win the hand of Prince Amir (Uzi Khan), their stepsister crawls out from the grate where she sleeps to keep warm in the ashes. The repulsive sisters call her Ashie (Nicole Miller) and treat her terribly, however her stepmother s really quite kind and tries to talk her daughter into going to the Ball too, but Ashie has an inferiority complex and refuses. 

        Back in the Royal Palace, Queen Zehra (Lis Hoffmann) is also giving her son a lecture on finding a suitable partner, and hoping that Amir’s manservant, Paul (Mark Tilly), will help him.

        Ashie has not left the house for years, because her father disappeared in the nearby woods and the place is full of strange creatures. In the damp dell, the Slothworm (Kate Bondett) is being shouted at by the brightly coloured, Angerbird (Lana Glasson) for being so lazy. The equally lazy Envysnake (Kelsey gray) slithers out and tries to get a word in with the loquacious Gluttontoad (Teigan Downing), who spends all day eating or talking about food. The purple Pridefly (Sarah Dyce) lands and stirs up a few arguments. 

         In the house, Ashie is happily sewing and adjusting the dresses of her egocentric sisters, as Sadness (Callum Sinclair) dressed in sackcloth quietly drifts by. The little ash girl is also unaware of the Greedfox (Sarah Christiner) who is listening to her speaking her thoughts as she works.

        Can Otter (Sarah Christiner) and the Mirror Fairy (Chloerissa Eadie) help Ashie in her time of need? 

        How can the spiders (Shareen Ghani, Emily Paizis, Nicola Bond) and the mice (Prea Cunningham, Anna Raven, Siena Uremovic) help poor Ashie? 

        Can the Wise Owl (Trevor Dhu) and the beautiful strange girl, Lust (Tanya Jade) who wanders the woods in a scarlet, silk dress help? Or are they even more trouble?

The set design (Chris Lucani, Matt Cuccovia) of a kitchen at one side, a verdant glade in the centre and a good solid palace courtyard on the right were excellent. The clever choice of lighting colours and the special effect of the magic mirror (Rob Tagliaferri) brought the enchanted hollow alive. Vanessa Gudgeon’s well-constructed soundscape and appropriate music was smoothly operated.

The costumes (Jo Sterkenburg, Aileen Lewis, Elizabeth Nicolas) were amazing, especially those of the animals of the forest. The makeup (Jo Sterkenburg, Nicole Miller, Nicole Nelsey) of the creatures was demanding in its design, but beautifully achieved. Directors, Nicola Bond and Peter Kirkwood were also responsible for much of the design, artwork (along with Elizabeth Nicolas) and lighting.

An admirable production, however, my only problem being - at whom the panto or play was aimed? The main theme of the script was easy to follow, being very similar to the original ‘Cinderella’; however, the playwright’s dialogue in places was quite dark and rich – even complex in its choice of words. Some of the minor threads were quite adult, such as Lust who tried her best to create a paedophile (?)

With such a large cast, the direction was tricky but the movement was filled with interest, the animal movements being most realistic. The cast captured their parts perfectly, performed well and with clear enunciation, especially the youngest mouse.

All concerned have produced a quality show