Oleanna

‘Oleanna’ a masterpiece on the sensitive topic of political correctness, penned by playwright David Mamet, it is a school set book. When a writer like Pinter says that this is a masterpiece in writing ‘There can be no tougher or more unflinching play than Oleanna’ then one can expect the best, and this is precisely what we are given in this fine production.  

This play, which is named after a 19^th century folk song, is being presented by the Kalamunda Dramatic Society in the Town Square Theatre, Kalamunda 8.00 pm. It runs on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings until 18^th May.

The scene is a university lecturer’s room. It is untidy, with piles of books and files littering the floor and filing cabinets.

       We join the lecturer (Eliot McCann) as he is taking a frustrating call from his wife. They are about to move into a new home and every problem in the real estate business seems to be rearing its ugly head. Patiently, a dour young student (Amy Russotti) sits nervously hunched waiting for the call to finish. This dowdy student has a glum look on her face as she asks her lecturer for an explanation as to why she has failed his exam.

      The caring, conscientious teacher explains that her work just is not up to standard. She nervously tries to explain that she just does not understand his erudite lectures, and his textbook, full of long words, just left her even more confused. The teacher warms to the girl as he sees a great deal of his youth in her. They have both obviously come from a lower socioeconomic background, been rubbished at school and generally had a very rough start.

       So why has this successful, slightly arrogant lecturer – on the verge of attaining tenure as a professor – been so hard on this poor creature? Practically in tears, she explains the sacrifices, both financial and physical that she has had to suffer in order to get to university. Is this well-intentioned teacher simply picking on her and singling her out for unfair treatment and running her future career?

Having last seen ‘Oleanna’ 7 years ago at the Blue Room, in one of their best productions ever, I was most apprehensive and prepared for disappointment attending KADS. Amazingly, the approach was quite different. In the Blue Room production the lecturer was more upmarket and arrogant, even the student was reasonably well to do and slightly yuppie. Here, I think that the couple rang more true, both having come from a working class background.

Director, Cicely Binford (assisted by Nicole Pearce) has wisely chosen matt black drapes for the walls of the office. With no solid walls, no pictures or plants one was forced to concentrate upon the actors’ performances and the unfolding rich storyline.

Eliot had a similar role in ‘Blackbird’ and was outstanding then; here he has again proved his ability to pick up on the finer points of characters and display them clearly. Amy has come on leaps and bounds from the portrayal of the shy Scottish maid in the ‘Boston Wedding’. This part is extremely demanding and she was perfect for the part. Great chemistry between the actors. Superbly directed.

The lighting could easily have been a large flood or characterless ‘university’ fluorescent strips, but instead, Ben Davis has set up a series of spotlights, skilfully picking out the action as it moved around the office. Tim Edward’s sound – especially that annoying phone – worked well.

Matt Randall has most successfully choreographed the special movement at the end of the play. A cheer went up at the play’s climax; the actors had convincingly won the audience’s sympathies and prejudices. At the end, the lights dimmed to a deafening silence, the kind that invariably follows such powerful and emotional performances, then followed an enthusiastic applause. Two memorable performances.

Amazing! A very different play that is guaranteed to move you.