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Theatre & Arts Roundup 2005  It's
been a busy twelve months for some people. I counted three productions
of Sean Riley scripts, two by playwright Stephen House, four or five
performances by Geoff Revell and three by erstwhile Adelaidean Michael
Habib. Maybe you could almost earn a living doing this stuff. While it was a pretty good year on the banks of the Torrens in the big white tent, newcomer Artistic Director Adam Cook had a few of us wondering if he was any deeper than a Murray River paddleboat with his lightweight eye candy 'The Government Inspector' as the season opener. Good for a summer laugh. At the time, I grumbled about the boring format of the program and was concerned it would be repeated for each and every production. Just so - as I now peruse them in writing this round-up, I can hardly tell one program from another. Same size, same kind of photograph on the cover, same old fonts and layouts inside, monotonous lists of theatre credits in the actors' biographies giving no sense of who they are - play after play after play. Please, oh please, do something new in 2006? While the visuals suck, the programs are indeed loaded with heaps of ancillary information about the topic at hand, the play and the playwright. State Theatre's play list was excellent and eclectic - as it will be in 2006. Theatre of the Absurd could not be more absorbing than 'The Goat Or Who Is Sylvia?'. Wonderfully cast and with the kick of a mule, it was near perfect. David Williamson's 'Influence' was not as beautifully written but was still a must-see for its commentary. Nick Polemis gave a chilling performance in 'Frozen', but I don't know what people thaw in the play. To have seen Caroline O'Connor in 'Bombshells' was to be in the presence of greatness. Cook's pal Max Cullen in 'The Daylight Atheist' was a boring old fart, while Brink's Brecht bummed me out with all the shouting and carrying on. Cook capped the year with the physically manic satirical farce 'Noises Off,' which was so good it made the Christmas break too long to wait for next season. The Bakehouse had a bonza year with landlord Peter Green doling out state funds to produce a remarkable canon. This was a highly successful arrangement that needs be repeated. Other theatre groups hiring the venue also put on some remarkable work. My highlights were Red Chilli's maiden voyage, 'Under Milkwood', Duncan Graham's first play, 'One Long Night In The Land Of Nod', and Sean Riley's trans-generational yarn, 'Significant Others'. Over at Holden Street, under the shadow of the empty sports stadium, the amazing Martha Lott managed a hectic year hosting her Directors' Choice program and several other companies in her lovely theatre. 'The Unexpected Man' got four stars - one for designer Morag Cook who put the show on the rails, and one each for actors Rob McPherson and Caroline Mignone. Director Michael Hill gets a star and a statue for winning an Adelaide Critics' Circle Award. David Mealor had his first shot in the director's chair with 'Translations'. Stephen Sheehan and Elena Carapetis were a dynamic duo in a stellar cast. Matthew Byrne's tribute to Carole King, 'Tapestry', was a smash success in which it was impossible not to time travel while reminiscing on the hits. Another Sean Riley creation, Urban Myth's 'My Sister Violet' threw the spotlight on attention deficiency disorder. Dean Hills contributed a functional and handsome set of outback tin and Kimba straw. The kids knew much more than their lines. Over at the Arts Theatre, both Therry Dramatic and the Rep produced remarkable work. Director Kerrin White's 'Cocktail Hour' was a fast-paced and fully interpreted insight into American family business with a stunning set by first-timer Amy Pearson. Director Ian Rigney and choreographer Melanie George put on the ties, top hats and gowns for a lively and fun production of 'High Society'. Alexandra Gard, Trish Spence and Andrew Crayford gave huge performances. Bravo! Therry's other stand-out was 'Lend Me A Tenor' directed by Barry Hill. This was a non-stop farce with precious performances. These three productions were sweetened with exquisite sets and costumes created by a hidden heavenly host wielding hammers and needles. Elsewhere around the town, Vitalstatistix's 'Checklist For An Armed Robber' held much promise housed in the enormous Waterside Workers' hall, but fizzled in energy and concept. Stephen House's 'A Thing Called Snake' was jazzed up by director Ross Ganf into a venomous biblical epic laced with sex, drugs, songs and sax. Geoff Cobham's towering set was intimidating. Of the blow-ins from interstate, my favourites were the biographical 'Weary' on Weary Dunlop's imprisonment by the Japs, and the Sullivan and Nadler shows of the Cabaret Festival. Posters of the Year go to Shifting Point Theatre for 'Breath' and inSpace's 'A Thing Called Snake'. Now there's the stuff that can sell a show! I'm just another boat in the sea of opinion. Sometimes I hit the rocks, sometimes I don't even leave port. However the cookie crumbles, how badly I mix my metaphors, I am in awe at the end of the year when I reflect on the brilliance of what I saw in the theatre - performance, direction and design. Not to mention the enormous effort by backstage crew and the dedication to craft. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and see you in what promises to be a new year bursting with artistic achievement. In years past Adelaide seemed to suffer artistically in the odd years away from the internationally renowned Festival Of The Arts. However with the more recent advent of the annual Cabaret Festival and FEAST, culture lovers no longer have to wait for every second March. Add WOMAD to the list, and the air of anticipation around the Fringe becoming an annual event, and Adelaide has become much more vibrant when it comes to its choice of musical performances covering a wide genre of styles.  The
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra seems to have finally forsaken its financial
woes and now is able to compete seriously with any other flagship
orchestra that Australia may have to offer, whether they are supporting
State Opera or the Australian Ballet, or indeed presenting part of
their own generous season of concerts. The ASO is playing the best
that they have in many years - and with the appointment of Canadian
Terence Tam as concertmaster, things can only improve further. The highlight of the 2005 season lay in the pairing of the orchestra with the Russian piano virtuoso Nikolai Demidenko under the baton of Tilson Thomas protege Edwin Outwater in a programme of Rachmaninov, Ives, Copland and Herrmann. I am not a Rachmaninov fan; however this performance of the 'Paganini' Variations was enough to convince me as to the power and persuasiveness of this masterly performance. Pianists also provided highlights elsewhere with Australia's finest virtuoso Michael Kieran Harvey presenting a broad and engaging account of Beethoven's late and magisterial 'Hammerklavier' sonata as part of FEAST in hopefully what will prove to be the first of many co-productions presented with Recitals Australia. Earlier in the year the Canadian Bach specialist Angela Hewitt joined Tognetti's Australian Chamber Orchestra in performances of Johann Sebastian's keyboard concertos before going on to record them so well for Hyperion. On the jazz front, Diana Krall - in her Adelaide debut - had obviously improved on stagecraft since I'd seen her at the Sydney Opera House, providing a confident set several days before the legendary vocalist Mark Murphy returned to the Gov. Now in his seventies, Murphy - aided by a trio of local musicians - is still master of his instrument. The highlight was an hour-long set devoted to the music of the 'dark magus', Miles Davis. Nick Cave returned to Thebarton with a Blixa-less high volume version of the gospel / medicine show. The walls really were vibrating, whilst Michael Chugg and Gaynor Crawford presented 'Crown Prince' Rufus with other members of the talented Wainwright / McGarrigle dynasty. By the time that sister Martha returned - late in the year - she had honed her craft into a masterly show and was more than ably supported by Josh Ritter who proved that the idiom of the singer/songwriter didn't die in the 'seventies. The Cabaret Festival also moved from strength to strength with its considerable highlights lying with Serge Gainsbourg's muse Jane Birkin in an evening of his music presented with Algerian musicians and rather ingeniously titled Arabesque. Ann Hampton Calloway showed just why she is the darling of New York's cabaret set in a horn driven tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, whilst the confronting and imaginative Christa Hughes (Machine Gun Fellatio) with master accordionist Svetlana Bunic (M. Camembert) presented 'Temptation' - devoted to the twentieth century addictions, taking in material from everybody from Bessie Smith and Cole Porter to the Velvets, Roxy Music and the Stranglers. Their take on Lou Reed's Waiting For The Man was alone worth the price of admission.  |
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