Review - Hangman

Review by Grace Edwards

As a reflection on ‘the idea of choice in the world of torture’, Hangman is a play with one incredibly ambitious agenda. Led by a cast of five eccentric yet recognisable characters and set in a claustrophobic torture facility, the piece’s plot centres on the character of Alphonse, a new torture ‘recruit’, whose first case is a man who simply will not talk. Witty and poignant in equal measure, Hangman proved itself up to the challenge, leaving its audience members with few answers and numerous questions as they exited the theatre.

The Black Box theatre’s intimacy was fully exploited with doors, sinks and walls all incorporated effectively into the action of the play and Al Green’s simple but effective lighting design highlighted the carefully thought-out use of floor space on the part of the actors.

In the part of Alphonse, Luke McMahon proved a solid anchor, though perhaps predictably the ‘personalities’ of the other characters tended to dominate the performance. Andrew Smith in the role of Captain MacDeath was the standout. Smith’s diction, stage presence and commitment to each line transformed the otherwise loud and obnoxious MacDeath into a multi-faceted character.

Last but not least, congratulations must be extended to writer and director Matthew Ziccone for an utterly perceptive, intelligent script. Hangman is a humorous, affecting piece of theatre and a stunning showcase for a group of talented artists.

Hangman closed on Saturday 29 August.

Review - The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus

Review by Felix Ching Ching Ho

Although I'm not the biggest fan of greek mythology, I was considerably impressed by the performance. Always intrigued by productions that make use of non-theatrical spaces, the architecture and outdoor element of the Old Quad was a particularly well thought of choice for this production. With its dimmed night lamps, rustic architecture, and the cold wind sweeping through its arches, the place brings about an ambience that heightens the theatre experience to another level. As Director Helen Slaney noted, "...the Old Quad's neo-Gothic stonework does lend a certain gravitas to some otherwise frivolos proceedings."

Throughout the show, audiences needed to move around to get a better view of the ever-changing stage. Performances held in this way included more interactivity with the audiences and provided varying views of the scene as audiences could move their positions. No need to worry about where to go, the stage manager will lead the way with silent hand gestures.

Omniprop has a had a particularly strong group of cast with everyone highly enthusiastic and in character even during intermission. Seamus Magee's consistent performance and presence throughout the play was a key link between scenes, and nothing could distract our eyes from the breathtaking performance given by Nicholas Kato. Their double roles were done particularly well, not forgetting Nicholas' battle with himself as both Apollo and Bernard Grenfell. Olympia Bowman-Derrick's Godly presence was like a breath of fresh air to the play. But the play would not be the same without its Satyrs (who were also enchanting Fallaheen Chorus members), with their pointy ears and costumes that bared a Satyr's manhood in all its glory. They slink around the columns, crisscross between the audiences, all the while bearing out their emotions out to you. You couldn't ask for a more convincing and mischievous group of Satyrs.

The costumes fitted each character well and the use of simple props accomplished its purpose. More awareness as to the position of the lamps lighting the space would have helped to light the cast in a more effective way, as there were many times where the positioning of the lamps and the cast affected the mood created. The music in this play ranged from A Capella to hard rock, and the structure of the Old Quad provided enhanced the music that was played and sung.

It is easy to applaud the efforts of this production, but it is even easier to recommend spending $10 a ticket for a play that provides a free warm and spicy ginger-apple concoction for braving the cold. I thoroughly enjoyed all the comical antics and the heart wrenching moments; everything came together so well and I would like to congratulate all involved for your efforts.

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus runs until Saturday 29 August at 7:30pm. Meet in front of the Mudfest Club at The Open Stage, Level 2, Arts Centre (Corner of Swanston & Grattan St). $18/$12/$10. Bookings: www.union.unimelb.edu.au/tickets

Review - Into the Unknown

Review by Danielle Asciak

At 10.30pm last Saturday night, I was caught at the corner of Swanston and Collins street by a man asking that awkward question, ‘do you have any loose change?’ Many ignore or reply with, ‘sorry I just used my change’ or ‘got no change on me’. I stood on the corner, struck dumb. It was only an hour before this encounter that I heard this exact question in the Union House Theatre Mudfest11 developing production, Into the Unknown. I was going to reply with my automatic response but Eleanor Bally’s innocent begging was echoing and I was ready to hand over a gold coin to the homeless man.

Into the Unknown: A play about encounters with strangers in public places is a work that I would like to describe as an artists playground. It is a theatrically devised collaboration by artists Eleanor Bally, Tom Gutteridge, Joshua Lynzaat, Olivia McCombe, Ian Wilding and Mattie Young. From the very beginning, the actors own the space and transport the audience to the unknown. In some parts, the unknown was very familiar and I found myself reflecting on the times that I fantasized on the tram or was faced by a drunken wannabe hero on the train. The four actors Eleanor, Josh, Olivia and Mattie share a wonderful stage presence and chemistry. They articulate the narrative with consistent enthusiasm. Eleanor delivered a standout performance with beautiful sincerity and tenderness. The unknown that night looked like incredible fun and I ready to explore more.

There were moments that dragged but as it is a work in progress, emphasized by the brainstorms on the butcher paper pasted on the theatre’s walls, these moments can be excused. The performance encourages you to ride on the train into the unknown without hesitation and a willingness to embrace your next encounter with the stranger sitting next to you. Are you ready to travel into the unknown?

Into the Unknown has two final shows this Friday 28 & Saturday 29 August at 8:30pm in the Guild Theatre, Union House, $15/$10/$8. Bookings: union.unimelb.edu.au/tickets

Are you exotic?

Moya Stubbs talks to Danielle Asciak about her debut cabaret Everyone Wants a Piece of Malta!

Are you exotic? People often tell Danielle Asciak that she is and after a holiday in Malta, the country her grandparents emigrated from, she agrees! Born to Maltese and Serbian parents Ms Asciak brings her love affair with Malta to the stage in a cabaret show called Everyone Wants a Piece of Malta.

When I met with Danielle before her second show in her changing room, a disabled toilet above the café where her cabaret show is running on Friday nights during Mudfest, she was having costume dramas – her bra, to wear or not to wear? That is the question (in case anyone is interested; she did wear it). However, we swiftly moved on to talking about the topic on everyone’s lips, Danielle’s heart warming tale of a trip to Malta with her father, and various other family members, was a hilarious, musical ride, flying Air Malta, over Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. Destination – Malta – the tiny island with a big history and a big rubbish problem.

At the beginning of Malta Danielle enters the room, bronzed skin and big hair, dragging a suitcase, the very one she took to Malta on her trip. The scene is set with the little help of a brief air hostess costume change and then the singing, dancing and pastizzi began to flow freely, accompanied by a large glass of humorous anecdotes about being belonging and yet not belonging in Malta and trying to understand bus drivers speak “Minglish” Danielle’s name for the Maltese version of English. FULL UP THE BUS, EVERYONE!

Malta is Danielle’s first foray into writing for cabaret. The idea for the show came about when a friend suggested she should do a script rather than an essay as her final assessment piece when studying cabaret at Melbourne University earlier this year. “Why not? It could be fun” thought Danielle. Her studies and the show that came out of it have clearly sparked a fire. “I would love to just go to Berlin and see more of cabaret, real, traditional cabaret… I think it’s just got so much history.”

When I talked to Danielle about how she developed the show and what that experience was like, she spoke openly about how important her discussion and collaboration with colleagues was. James Simpson, the musical director of Malta, proved to be a wealth of information as well as a decisive and constructive editor. “I went in there just completely going on what I knew about cabaret and [James] opened up a world of cabaret, and imagination and how to tell a story and so I’ve been quiet blessed with that. Ha ha, I sound like one of those hip hop artists; let’s thank god (bows her head solemnly).”

She has clearly really loved the process of creating an entire show from conception to performance. And the control she has with a one-woman show. “It’s exhilarating because you have the freedom to do what you want to do and tell the story that you want to tell and do it your way”. Which sharply contrasts with her work done in ensembles and most recently in acclaimed student production Melbourne Model: The Musical, which had quite a large cast. “It’s just me on stage for and hour and ten minutes and I have to, like, hold the audience’s attention the whole time and that’s really scary as a performer.”

Malta is Danielle’s first foray into cabaret but I have to say that I am looking forward to her next installment. About her Serbian heritage, perhaps? But till then go and see Everyone Wants a Piece of Malta this Friday at 7pm and 10pm at the Brooklyn Project, University of Melbourne.

Review - Muddy Shorts

Review by Iain Finlayson

If Muddy Shorts is the “flagship” event of Mudfest, as its website proclaims, it would be easy to think the festival might be sinking. I’m a fan of short work in any art form. I like the way in can spark something in your imagination and leave it there, without feeling the need to draw a conclusion. Or alternatively the way it can punch you in the face with its snappy message. The success of events such as Short and Sweet and the increasing popularity of short fiction and poetry, shows that I’m not alone in my appreciation of short bursts of art. But I would be lying if I said that Muddy Shorts didn’t leave me slightly underwhelmed.

My main disappointment was the attendance numbers. Last Mudfest, Muddy Shorts played to packed houses over two nights in the Carlton Courthouse. As a one night only event in the Mudfest Club, I was sure this was going to be a sell out. In fact there was only a handful of people in the audience, many of them Muddy Shorts performers or Mudfest volunteers themselves. Thankfully the audience swelled later in the night when cast and audience members came in after Hangman and Into the Unknown.

I was surprised when the short film Adam, David and Daniel go to Europe, which had already featured as part of Mudfest two years ago, was trotted out again. While the film has some amusing dialogue, it is little more then your average holiday camcorder video with a voice over. It certainly made me think the organisers had struggled for content, whether this was the case or not.

That said Muddy Shorts still managed to showcase some of the rich artistic talent that exists on campus. Sherwin Akbarzadeh’s short film I Had A Dream I Went To Coney Island, created a surreal and elegant dreamscape out of Coney Islands amusement rides, sideshows and burger joints. Marisabel Bonet’s poetry was earnest and sincere. Although her work may have lent itself more to reading then to performance, it was interesting to hear Marisable talk about the various people and experiences in her life that had inspired her. Paige Marshall’s one women retelling of Rapunzel was a very polished performance in which Paige seamlessly embodied the various characters in the story. However it was Biddy O’Loughlan’s monologue, The Girl Who Thought She Was Irish, that was the stand out performance of the night. Clever and irreverent, Biddy had most of the audience laughing out loud.

Muddy Shorts played for one night at the Mudfest Club on Saturday August 22.

Who killed Abigail Anderson?

By Justina Lui

Abigail Anderson, rising starlet and a leading lady of the big budget West End show Hit the Sky has been found dead after opening night. Police suspect foul play but with Detective Mr. E. Solver on hiatus, it is up to you, dear reader, to solve the case! With more of a nod to the glamorous world of Agatha Christie than the drudgery of Sherlock Holmes’ Victorian England, Mysterious Mysteries! gives you the chance to star in and solve your very own murder case. Akin to a life sized game of Cluedo, complete with caseboard located outside the Open Stage and suspects with alliterated names, this fun whodunit is well worth a lunchtime!

Having stumbled upon the writer of the show, Terence Turtleson, tapping away on South Lawn by chance, I was soon drawn into their world of shady characters and showbiz rivalries. My bumbling attempts at questioning were encouraged and so armed with a case sheet and 5 pre-prepared questions, I began to sniff out the characters scattered all around campus. On the first “Game Day” (August 12) the tyranny of distance between characters may have made all but keenest detectives lose interest however this was rectified by the second Game Day (August 19) and there were queues for interview appointments with some suspects!

Each character was very well signposted and had created their own set in the open. The cast (Danielle Asciak, Kieran Bullock, Sara-Tabitha Catchpole, Tim Fitzgerald, Sharon Flynn, Terry Kenos and Dylan Morgan) were all fabulous in bringing theatre to the people in the most literal sense. What could have been awkward silences were smoothed over by ad libbing in character and it was this marvellous attention to detail in each of the characters’ props, costume, mannerisms and accents that added to the thrill of piecing together the facts.

So who was it? Was it the writer in the wings? The star in her dressing room? What do the mysterious initials “F.F.I” stand for? You be the detective!

Mysterious Mysteries! final game day is this Wednesday August 26, 12pm-1.30pm. Murderer revealed at the Mudfest Awards Night, Saturday August 29. More info at www.heistproductions-mm.blogspot.com

Review - Iamfinethankyouandyou

Review by Justina Lui

Sun Min Oh’s visual art piece explores the language barrier faced by those for whom English is not their mother tongue. Utilising a phrase most beginner English learners will be familiar with, it inverts the meaning to become a wall behind which one can reflect questions about one’s well being, state of mind and progress in a polite but unrevealing manner.

Whilst the concept is thought provoking, I found the actual execution lacking. Consisting of a projection of the phrase “Iamfinethankyouandyou” in a childish font onto pages of English language homework taped to the wall, the presentation could have been improved. However, it is worth a visit to get you thinking about how we use language not only to express ourselves but also to hide behind.

Iamfinethankyouandyou runs daily from 9am-5pm until Sunday August 30 in the Atrium Gallery, Architecture Building.