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Winter's Discontent Alinta Productions Cinema@FringeHUB Until Sat 13 March If the title of this show sounds kind of familiar, you'll really love this performance. But even if you didn't realise its derivation from Shakespeare's 'Richard III,' the title hints at the breadth of experience of the play's writer and performer - William Zappa. Zappa's Robert Winter is indeed a discontented and depleted man. We join Winter's life in the dressing room before he is to perform in a one-man play. His foul moodiness seems simply crankiness until recent events in the man's life are revealed. Zappa is a consummate actor in the classical tradition - a deft hand in the trade of dramatisation. He possesses a powerful and commanding voice trained to interpret and deliver Shakespearian text to large audiences with clarity. His has a similar uncanny capacity to exaggerate facial expressions of emotion suitable for the large stage or certain styles of performance. This is a tremendous opportunity to observe close-up these stagecraft techniques skillfully applied in the story's context of rehearsal and warm-up. Zappa just as nakedly reveals the issues confronting many actors in their personal lives and career choices. As the play is written by the performer, it's difficult not to relate William Zappa to Robert Winter in a parallel way that Robert Winter is related with his characters and issues. Robert Winter's impassioned drive to express his craft in meaningful employment had unexpected consequences and caused predictable conflict in many areas of his life - you are left wondering about the roles of self-knowledge and mimicry in building a character. I'm not sure we ever see Winter the person because he's constantly performing, even to himself. A minor distraction in this fascinating sketch of life was the perspex representation of the actor's dressing room mirror - it distorted sound and reflected light. This play is a ring side seat to an actor's life and profession. It is also a sneak preview of William Zappa who will be playing Willy Loman in State Theatre's 'Death Of A Salesman' late this year. I wouldn't miss either. |
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