Art Smitten

Earlier this week, Beth interviewed Next Wave festival artist RANI PRAMESTI and her show Sedih // Sunno. 

Sedih // Sunno is being performed as part of the NEXT WAVE festival and is on until May 15th at the North Melbourne Town Hall.

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Earlier this month, Andrew had the opportunity to speak with Michael Williams, head of The Wheeler Centre, about the event: Paul Kelly does Shakespeare.

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Hosts Lauren and Andrew chatted to GUY ABRAHAMS, CLIMARTE CEO and co-founder & THORNTON WALKER, one of the 10 commissioned artists from CLIMARTE Poster Project 2016.  

The CLIMARTE Poster Project Forum is on Tuesday 17th 6pm at Carlton Connect Initiative LAB-14, 700 Swanston St Carlton, and the Exhibition is on at the same location until May 28th.

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Hosts Lauren and Andrew were joined in the studios by two very special guests - their mothers! 

Lee and Janet discuss their experiences of motherhood and how the media portrays motherhood. 

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Australia's first production of The River, by Jez Butterworth, called for a complete revamp of the Red Stitch Actors Theatre. To make a small fishing cabin by the river feel like an arena, the audience is seated on two sides of the stage as they watch a devout fisherman entertain his novice fisherwomen guests. Sometimes you are getting a monologue delivered straight to you, at other times the actor with all the lines is facing away from you, so you're watching much more of the reacting than the acting, as it were.

The action and setting of this play are so markedly mundane that every tiny detail comes under the microscope. At one point, we are simply watching the fisherman clean and cook the fish that his current housemate has caught for a good few minutes. The music playing from his radio hells to lull the audience into an easy, meditative state that is far from boredom. If anything, these quiet and sometimes completely silent moments are a welcome relief in between the deep-and-meaningfuls about life out in the wilderness.

Specifically, much of the conversation being had is about fish, and the sport of fishing. Butterworth, and his characters, are among the countless writers and thinkers to marvel at how spiritual and sensual an act it is, especially in the dark with only the moonlight to guide you. The River features speeches about how quickly such creatures can be pulled from their world into ours; how brown trout are born but sea trout are made; how fleeting, deceiving and humbling that electric tug of the line can truly be. They might have felt self-indulgent if they were not so exotically entrancing, and even so, he indulges his audiences as much as he might be indulging himself.

No doubt during these monologues we are expected to draw parallels between the scene playing out in our mind’s eye and the scene being played out on stage, between both the fish and the women that the fisherman reels in and routinely consumes. The playwright, and arguably the director, John Kachoyan, give us many invitations to follow this line of interpretation, sometimes just short of having a character say “there are plenty more fish in the sea,” but I much preferred to follow the gaze of the characters, to look out at something larger and more ethereal than the oft-portrayed search for that special someone. The strength of the familiar characters and setting lies in their relatability, achieved by the cast – Ngaire Dawn Fair, Dion Mills and Christina O’Neill – the set designer, Chloe Greaves, and the lighting designer, Clare Springett, who bathes the scene in a multitude of gentle, cosy hues. On the other hand, the value of the extended poetic dialogue lies in its novelty, in its distance from the confines of the cabin, the play’s one, unchanging set. While the two worlds certainly take turns at being the entry point to each other at various points in the show, to peer into the wonders of the aquatic world and think only of ourselves and our own world feels like a wasted opportunity. Of course, it is important to see ourselves onstage, but it is also important to step outside of ourselves. Not everything has to be about us. Sometimes a speech about fish can actually be about fish.

Review written by Christian Tsoutsouvas

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Saturday April 23, 2016 marked 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, and exactly 452 years since his birth. You have to appreciate the perfect symmetry of being born and being taken on the same day of the year, apparently due to some overzealous celebrating at his favourite pub. It also gives his global fanbase a reason to have two big celebrations each century. The latest of these, held at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, is now being screened at Cinema Nova up until Wednesday May 18, accompanied by a short film about the history of these celebrations, which announces an intention to be more than just a collection of the bard's best known couplets and soliloquies. This gala is also a showcase of his extraordinary influence across so many different artforms.

For instance, it was no surprise to get a performance of the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, with Mariah Gale as a particularly histrionic Juliet, but what I wasn't expecting was to see that same scene then danced by the Royal Ballet, with a powerful final tableau of both the dancers and the actors locked in a loving embrace. There's also a Shakespeare-inspired hip-hop performance, but not of the forced variety. As we are reminded by our delightful hosts, David Tennant and Catherine Tate, these works were the mainstream popular entertainment of their time, and were performed to much rowdier crowds than they tend to draw in today. The song ‘This gives life to thee’ by Akala, founder of the Hiphop Shakespeare company, is arguably just as lyrical and hard-hitting as the Elizabethan poetry that inspired it, and to have this sitting alongside performances from English National Opera made quite a statement about the equal value of all forms of art.

The other musicals highlights were mostly jazz and blues renditions of some of the ballads from the comedies. All of them struck the right balance between true musicality whilst also supporting the poetry, rather than distracting from it. Whilst almost all of these were pre-recorded, Rufus Wainwright’s electric performance of Sonnet 29 proved to be the strong live vocal performance that the night needed. Fortunately, there was more than enough live acting, especially on the comedic front. A mixture of young, fresh faces and game old faces such as John Lithgow and Dame Judi Dench brought us some of the writer’s best scenes of farcical misunderstandings and absurd declarations of love. All of the numerous big names, which also include Roger Allam, Sir Ian McKellen, David Suchet and Helen Mirren, get brilliant chances to show off their comedic and their dramatic skills, except perhaps for Benedict Cumberbatch, who still felt rather underused.

On the flip side though, the opening act, ‘Tonight’ from West Side Story performed by 19 of the UK’s top performing arts students, got off to a wobbly start as the cast and the orchestra were out of time, although it did eventually manage to pick itself up, especially as Maria’s part began. Henry Goodman and Rufus Hound didn’t fare so well either with the three-part, one-joke song ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ from Kiss Me Kate. There is only so long one can listen to Shakespeare puns and still be amused, and the fluffed line towards the end certainly didn’t help matters. It is curious that while both the music and theatre acts were so strong, the musical theatre pieces were this far off the mark.

There is also a series of short biographical films scattered throughout the acts, presented quite fittingly by Joseph Fiennes, who of course played the man himself in Shakespeare in Love nearly 20 years ago. While some of them are a bit on-the-nose educational, they do serve well to remind us of the humble origins of the legendary wordsmith, and also to contextualize the shift from the comedies to the tragedies, which seemed to occur after the death of his son, Hamnet, who was only 11 years old. At this point, we transition from the cheerful ditties and the comic misdemeanors to the deep, dark tragedies. Most notably, Othello is performed in a magical mixture of jazz and ballet, and, just in case anyone thought proceedings were going to stray too far from all the laughs and smiles, a star-studded comedy sketch surrounding the most overthought and overused line that Shakespeare ever wrote, “To be or not to be, that is the question,” is easily the highlight of the night. Just as predictably, but very fittingly, the final two acts feature the bittersweet final verses of The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, two very poignant reminders of the immortality of a good story, despite the sad mortality of those who tell it, and where they tell it.

Review written by Christian Tsoutsouvas

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A Room of One’s Own is an extended essay written by Virginia Woolf. It is based on a series of lectures Woolf gave at two women’s colleges at Cambridge University in 1928. The lectures employ a fictional narrator and narrative and they explore the idea of ‘women and fiction’. It argues space for women writers, both figuratively and literally, in the world of literature that is often dominated by men.

 Sentient Theatre’s inaugural performance of A Room of One's Own is directed by, and translated and to stage, by Peta Hanranhan. Virginia Woolf's essay was beautifully bought to the stage in this production performed by Anna Kennedy, Jackson Trickett, Carolyn Bock and Marissa O’Reilly

The ideas and arguments were successfully portrayed and it was amazing to see how relevant Virginia Woolf's writings are still today. However, I felt it often delved too deeply into the intellectual and the academic in an attempt to make it more accessible to people unfamiliar with the ideas and arguments of Woolf's work.

It was extremely wordy, visually quite still and unchanging, and I often found myself drifting off into my own thoughts. I would have loved to see a change in mood and energy in this piece to keep the audience drawn into the world of the play.

Overall this play was very thought provoking and explored a very beautiful and important text.  

A Room of One’s Own is showing at La Mama Court House in Carlton until May 8th.

Review written by Ebony Beaton

Review read aloud by Janet Kelso

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Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a film written and directed by Taika Waititi, based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Trump. It opened in New Zealand on March 31st 2016 and set box office records, which is no surprise because the film is phenomenal.

 It follows the story of Ricky Baker played by Julian Dennison, a young delinquent from the city. He is sent by child welfare to live deep in the country with foster parents Bella, played by Rima Te Wiata, and Hec, played by Sam Neill who Ricky calls Aunt and Uncle.

Bella is very fond of Ricky and they quickly form a strong bond, but Hec clearly doesn’t want to be part of Ricky's life. Shortly after Ricky is settled and loving living with Bella, she is found dead by Hec. Child welfare send them a letter informing them that Ricky will have to be sent to another foster home. Ricky runs away into the bush because he wants to stay, Hec follows him to bring him back. Child welfare arrive to find a house empty and presume Hec has kidnapped Ricky.  A national manhunt ensues.

The film shows the journey Hec and Ricky while they are being pursued by both the police and Child welfare.

The cinematography was beautiful in showcasing New Zealand’s beautiful mountains and rivers.

The film combines a beautiful musical score with odd pacing and clunky, witty humour that reminded me a bit of the Australian TV series Around The Twist. The film was really fun and a joy to watch.  

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a beautiful film that explores themes about belonging, family and loyalty.

It runs for 101 minutes and is opening in select cinemas on May 26th

Review written by Ebony Beaton. 

Review read aloud by Lee Klein-Butler

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Will had the opportunity to review 3 shows from the Next Wave festival: microLandscapes, Ground Control and Voices of Joan of Arc. 

All shows are being performed at the Northcote Town Hall until May 14th except for microLandscapes, which finishes on Sunday May 8th

Image: Janine Gibson from Voices of Joan of Arc, Next Wave Festival 2016

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Hosts Lauren and Andrew were joined in the studio with EMMA FISHWICK, creator and choreographer & KYNAN TAN, composer and projection visual artist from Next Wave festival show microlandscapes. 

Emma and Kynan talked about their process of developing microlandscapes, and where they would like to take the show in the future. 

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