Monday 11 December 2000

Melbourne Theatre Wrap Up 2000, Dec 11, 2000


THEATRE WRAP UP 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

The millennium year was a good one for theatre with a few corkers in both fringe and main stage. Small companies may have disappeared off the face of the earth with government funding cuts over the past few years, but projects and cooperatives are still going strong.

Two Australian shows were highlights this year was A Beautiful Life  by Brisbaneís Matrix Theatre,  a poignant, beautifully written and realised production based on a true story of an Iranian immigrant arrested for terrorism in Canberra. The Theft of Sita, one of the few shows to travel from Adelaide Festival to Melbourne, was a startling combination of traditional Indonesian and contemporary Australian art.

The Melbourne Theatre Company had a critical and artistic success in Hannie Raysonís Life After George. The Chairs, The Unexpected Man  and The Beauty Queen of Leenane were all fine examples of local productions of overseas plays.

What we need now is more support for the development of local product and new work to the same level. We need scripts that have been tried and edited and developed before they hit the mainstage. 

There were several outstanding individual performances. Julia Blake in Life after George, was luminous.  Brian Lipson in A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, demonstrated his comic genius. John Gaden was powerful in The Unexpected Man and Paul Blackwell and Julie Forsyth were hilarious in The Chairs.

 In Quartet, a little La Mama late show, Susan Bamford was magnificent and outrageous as the French countess. Jim Daly was a juggernaut in The Procedure. Bob Downe, wins accolades as the funniest man on the planet.

The fringe scene had several hot properties although none of them were locally written.  Laurence Strangioís Portrait of Dora about Freudís patient, was a superb piece. The eccentric show, Happy 1000, used Australian sign language, English and Indonesian. In the Fringe Festival, The Good Thief, had strong acting and exceptional direction while Crave and Canít Stand Up for Falling Down were well-acted and written, albeit tragic plays. The music theatre parody, Forbidden Broadway, was also hilarious.

Playbox had a mixed year. Meat Party was theatrically their most interesting and innovative play. The Goldberg Variations and Sweet Road were disappointing but Crazy Brave had its moments. The Inside 2000 season of short plays by new writers had a good ensemble but the plays were limited.

The commercial stage was confused and uninteresting.  Carmen was more glitz than substance. In the musical genre, Sound of Music never quite made the grade and Fame was more like a TV show on stage.

There were a couple of lowlights over the year. The Watch in the Window was a long night in the theatre as was Escape from the Living Dead. But the ultimate excruciating show award must go to the farce, Donít Dress for Dinner, a distressingly unfunny night at Crown Ballroom.

La Mama continues to produce more plays than any company and to save many artists from depression, insecurity and underemployment. A new venue, The Storeroom, produced shows above a pub in Fitzroy.

Chapel off Chapel and North Melbourne Town Hall provide venues for many new works while The Black Box at the Arts Centre is highlighting the fringe. Non-theatre spaces are being used: a Backpackers hotel, 3RRR, Sunbury Jail, Ripponlea and old Mechanicsí Institutes.

We no longer have shows in smash repair garages but who know? 2001 might be the year of the cheap alternative venue again, given nobody has much funding.

By Kate Herbert

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