Review - Holiday

Review by Justina Lui

Holiday is an original dance piece which explores the universal themes of human interaction and the family. Walking into the smoke filled Guild theatre I was greeted by a simple but effective set which continued the geometric theme first evident in the program and later also in the lighting. This was the first indicator that this dance piece was not going to be about any one particular family but the universal qualities evident in any family.

The soundtrack started unobtrusively with a series of percussive sounds bringing the performers to life from their stationary starting points at the edge of the stage. There was good use of the entire stage space, with the performance often moving beyond the set and even up the walls. I was amazed at the variety of movements the human body can produce both alone and in combinations of twos and threes.

The costumes were generic but effective - as the piece progressed, characters which evoked familiarity were created and projected onto them: the father who yearns to escape the boredom that is family life, the mother who smothers her children, not realising they are no longer children.

The cast was very well rehearsed which was especially evident when periods of individual movement melded seamlessly into unison group pieces. However, more facial expressions from the family characters would have aided the story telling. The father, (Paul Bongiorno) bought a certain gravity to his role which was somewhat lacking in the mother’s (Kate O’Callaghan) performance.

The intensity of some scenes was breathtaking; the support of the family for the daughter (Dara Klein) trying to reach the light. A highlight was the son’s (David Park) duet with his girlfriend (Chiemi Fukimori). The repetitive movements and musical ideas were very effective in telling the story of a relationship from beginning to bitter end. At times the choreography suffered from too many ideas, for example in the playground scene there were too many small groups doing different things making it difficult to focus on the father/daughter relationship. The supporting cast (Scott Williams, Chiemi Fukimori, Jim Nuttal, Sophie Dunn) were fantastic and maintained a very high level of energy throughout the show.

Sparse at times but complete with samples of the Presets, Dean Gourley’s original score contained the only spoken words in the performance. It was more of an industrial sound scape which was closely married to the movement on stage than accompanying music. Katie Skillington’s lighting was also highly effective, seamlessly blending with the dancers and soundtrack

First time director Leah Landau and the entire cast and crew should be commended for creating a highly enjoyable, thought provoking experience.

Holiday closed on Saturday 15 August.

Reviews - The Maids and The Manor

The Maids
Review by Moya Stubbs.

Based on the French play Les Bonnes by Jean Genet, The Maids is a complicated story about power struggles and class systems that is importantly, also a performance which explores performance. The central characters are two sisters, Solonge and Claire, housemaids who spend the hours when their mistress, ‘Madame’, is absent constructing elaborate, sadomasochistic fantasies, in her rooms and whilst wearing her clothes, about the power struggle between themselves and their mistress.

The performance was an admirable effort, the text is very difficult and in parts quite disjointed. I did, however, find this portrayal of the Madame by a man to seem to make a mockery of the deeper elements of the play, in particular the complex, emotional struggle of the two girls and eventually their tragic demise. I understand that the text indicates the character of Madame should be a cross-dressing role but in this particular case I found the performance terribly amusing which made it distracting from the rest of the story.

The set was dressed straightforwardly but effectively. The maid’s costumes were also simple but very effective. The lighting could do with a little development in some places and we had a few hiccoughs on the first night, but that can happen to the best of us.

On the whole, it was a very interesting performance. The text is a difficult one for actors and audience alike. It is deliberately disjointed and leaves questions in the air, while the characters spend the hour switching roles, exploring performance and in particular gender performance.

Congratulations to all involved.

The Maids runs until Saturday 15 August at 9:00pm in the Guild Theatre, Union House. $15/$12/$10. Bookings: 0406 527 561


The Manor
Review by Seamus Magee

The Manor opens with a few simple statements of fact about an average politicians wage versus that of an average carer. It then it tells you the facts about Pine-O-Clean.

The Manor paints an unsentimental picture of life for the disabled and their carers without wallowing in self-pity or despair. A minimal set, with scattered white furniture leads you into a world of confinement, sterility and co-dependency. Within this world the show's 2 characters 'PWD' - played by Sarah Whitaker - and 'Carer' - Josua Lynzaat spiral episodically around the same routine, the same conversations and the same spaces in an almost 'Godot-ian' universe.

Carer is presented as a bit of well.... a loser who's employers since school have included Coles, Safeway and a local video store. PWD just wants to be able to get by out in the real world, and really looked forward to living in a share house, "The Manor". The reality of "The Manor" is more bleak: Visitors never arrive, TV never changes and nothing really happens unless by the neglect or incompetence of Carer. The audience finds itself laughing at scenarios in the play which, if played out in real life, would be the fodder of Today Tonight and the rantings of politicians. It also makes you wonder if any of these instances have come from real-life experience.

There are no saints or martyrs in The Manor. It succeeds in getting an audience to laugh while portraying a bleak and confining world of a disabled person and a carer. It presents a slice of life which is thought provoking, well thought out and makes its point very well without preaching to it's audience. The reality it portrays speaks for itself.

The Manor runs until Saturday 15 August at 6:30pm in the Guild Theatre, Union House. $12/$10. Bookings: 0432 763 552 or boonhan.koh@gmail.com

Photography by Shayen Wong.

Why Dance?

Nic Halliwell talks to Director of Holiday Leah Landau to ask why dance at Melbourne Uni?

This year Melbourne University Diversity Festival (MUDFest) is a little bit smaller and a little less present in the Student Union building, but it is still alive and kicking. The program has brought together a great range of mediums and styles to help showcase some of Melbourne University’s artists. Yet Holiday stands a little off from the rest of the bunch. Not only is it a Dance piece, a medium that most students would only think could convey meaning through a bump and grind approach at PAs. But it is also largely made up of and directed by non-Melbourne University students. One cannot help but wonder why would you think of coming to this University rank No. 50407838* for dance in the world to present a show to a largely apathetic student community. I briefly had the chance to speak with Leah Landau, the Director, after the show to find out what inspired her to put on a dance show in the Melbourne University (MU) environment.

“It’s about going out and see something new, there are people who never see dance.” May I add that this interview was after opening night, that had sold out. So perhaps I might be presuming a bit when I said students are apathetic. You’re not all that bad.

This desire to present something fresh to MU had been a driving force behind the production. Holiday originally was conceptualised as a play featuring dance movements. But Leah was inspired by other dance shows around Melbourne and the ability the medium had to convey meaning in a unique and creativity way, allowing the audience to break away from how they normally have to receive their information. “So much could be conveyed through the movement… rather than using voice."

However this work in progress is still evolving and may have more scripted or acted sections added before the next showing. “When you create something from the ground up it seems so much more evolving… this is just its first incarnation.” Here is one of the most important roles that Holiday plays in MUDfest, and vice-a-versa. Holiday is an opportunity for “art-interested” students to see a work in progress, (a very polished one at that). With the Director hoping to present it again in Melbourne, students can follow the development of this piece, to come to a greater understanding of how dance can progress and give insight into how it functions to create what it is. “It is really about where it can go from here… refining things. It is definitely about enjoying the creative process as an ongoing thing.”

So while there is only two nights left, I would urge anyone interested in understanding why dance? To go see Holiday, and take a break from the books and enjoy.

Political side note: It is worth noting that the Frank Tate building used to be the only spaces where dance groups could practice on campus. It is now one of the many computer labs on campus.

(*This number is approximately generated using my subconscious and the theory of automatic writing).

Holiday runs until Saturday 15 August at 7:45pm in the Guild Theatre, Union House. $15/$12/$10. Bookings: holiday.mudfest@gmail.com. For more info visit http://holidaydance.com.au

Sounds like a Holiday

Justina Lui spoke to composer Dean Gourley about his latest project Holiday, a collaboration with choreographer Leah Landau.

The synopsis for Holiday describes “a contemporary dance piece which explores the notion that every single person, at some point in their lives, has wanted to kill somebody.” An original work, Dean’s aim was to create “a visual interplay between the dancers who react to the music and story themes and vice versa.”

“Leah came up with the original concept and I proposed what I could contribute to give form to the entire piece. It was a highly collaborative process, she would give me ideas and I would come back to her with musical suggestions. It was concurrent physical and aural development.”

Over the two month rehearsal period, the show has been elaborated and refined from a linear scripted dialogue interjected with dance to a continuous 30 minute flow of scenes in which relationships between family characters and ensemble cast are explored.

The score is entirely pre-recorded and features “rhythms made from voices and the sounds the cast make when in character. They become almost drum and bass type sounds.” Different dance styles and Rhythmic ostinatos are used to define characters. “There’s a ballerina who does hip hop and break dancing, it’s amazing! Not all of them are trained dancers but they deliver the story with such conviction.”

Dean is looking forward to the show’s opening “I have the utmost respect for the cast – they have all done such a fantastic job!” With ticket prices cheaper than a parma and pot, there’s no excuse not to go.

Holiday runs from Wednesday 12 August to Saturday 15 August at 7:45pm in the Guild Theatre, Union House. $15/$12/$10. Bookings: holiday.mudfest@gmail.com. For more info visit http://holidaydance.com.au