|
 |
Sailing South Henley Beach Drama Group Inc Allenby Gardens Uniting Hall Until Sat 13 March 'Sailing South', put on by Henley Beach Drama Group Inc, has been included in this year's Adelaide Fringe line up. This amateur piece of musical theatre was written by Queensland playwright Judith Prior. It follows the journey of the petty criminals of London, including prostitutes, pick pockets and some women who tried to poison their husbands, that have been sent to Australia for punishment. The musical numbers are assisted by a piano played to the right of the stage, are a mix of well known traditional Australian songs to some more contemporary numbers. Often some of the singers in the ensemble can be out of tune or lacking in enough energy to hear them, but this didn't seem to upset the packed audience. The audience participation was received well, once the actors worked out what was happening, and everyone sang "Give me home among the gum trees..." whilst being a tree or a river or bleating like a sheep. The show is rather long, running at two hours, and has two intervals were you can help fund the company by having a coffee or tea (or some red cordial for the littlies). The narrative is simple enough to follow along, although the jumps between songs don't always make sense. What it is that keeps the audience entertained for such a very long period is the barrels of cheap gags from toilet humour to silly word puns. And the highlight of the show... one of the male actors, Trevor Flemming, playing Lavina and dressing in a frock or two. Flemming received copious giggles for his efforts, though his songs were too high for him. It's good to know that everyone's giving it a try and they all seem to enjoy what they're doing. |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine