Tyran Parke: A Light in the Dark. Cabaret review.

Tyran Parke begins singing offstage and I immediately picture an adolescent, so clean and pure is his voice.  When he appears on stage, I am surprised to see that he is old enough to have seen Les Miserables on its first Australian tour.  Parke displays a youthful vitality, but as his show progresses, he also demonstrates a depth and strength that only maturity brings.

His song selection is of the musical theatre oeuvre, which is my chosen field of musical obsession.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing fresh interpretations of some obscure material.  I was happy, too, to learn a few new songs.  That Parke is confident in presenting his audience with unfamiliar music is inspiring.  That he sells each story so personally is truly remarkable.  Parke has an amazing understanding of how to tell a story with a song.  He was so connected to every word, and his voice sounded so free and effortless it was easy to forget he wasn't just speaking.  Music may well be his first language.

The show's structure is in the mould of a typical cabaret.  Parke tells of his long journey to accepting his love of theatre, illustrating his story with anecdotes and songs.  I enjoyed his segues, and only a couple of early songs lacked the appropriate context.

Parke's talent is what made the evening so enjoyable, while the show was fairly bare.  I would like to think that if Parke continues to tour these songs and stories, he could dress it up a little more, with a sharper costume or two.  I also felt the show would have gained a lot to have played around with the musical arrangements.  While the keyboard accompaniment was adequate and ably played, the transition between musical styles was sometimes a little jarring.  It would be nice to see a musical director bring the various songs into a cohesive musical approach.

See this show if you love musical theatre.  Or just music.  Or just theatre.

Barbara film review

Barbara claims not to like the sea.  This rings true, as she would be better characterised by still waters.  The sort that run deep.  Like Barbara (the character), Barbara (the film) presents a story with much more beneath the surface than what the viewer is party to.  I found it tested my knowledge of German history and I drew conclusions that may or may not have right - but the film is all the more enjoyable because of it.

The story is specific to a certain time and a certain place, though this time and place is never exactly spelled out.  As I left the cinema, I overheard a fellow patron say "I'd be interested to know the era in which that took place".  And my immediate response was "But it was obviously...um...the cold war era...so probably...late seventies?  I think.  Obviously."  It is this ambiguity that makes Barbara a difficult film with which to connect.  The title character's coldness certainly does not help.  Yet I enjoyed it immensely.  The story develops naturally, never forced, and the cinematography is clean and precise.  The characters are sometimes likeable, sometimes not - but always interesting.  This stalwart refusal to endear the audience makes the film's resolve much more satisfying.  As the story progresses, we are given occasional glimpses into Barbara's true character and I, for one, found it quite affecting that her life depends on hiding her true character.  So when she finally reveals it well and truly it is a magnificent moment, and is typically underplayed by this most modest of films.

I recommend Barbara, and yet I know that it is not for everyone.  It is like that rare flavour of chocolate that doesn't quite work for you...until it really really does and then nothing could be better.

See this film if you know a bit about the cold war and East Germany, enjoy subtle characterisation and are open to a story being heart-warming or alienating...or both.

The Glass Menagerie theatre review

Tennessee Williams' most autobiographical play is perhaps also his most poetic.  ATC's new production of the classic is at its best when it embraces this poetry, while the plainer periods often left me wondering how intentional the melodramatic style was.

The cast of four are charismatic actors.  Indeed, Elizabeth Hawthorne seems perfectly at home as one of Williams' anxious Southern Belles.  Richard Knowles had me hanging on his every word.  Antonia Prebble and Edwin Wright created the most complex characters, but like two sides of a coin one underplayed the drama in their given circumstances while the other overplayed it.  This unevenness was somewhat jarring.

The action of the play is slight, but design elements such as a revolving stage, projected pictures, melodramatic lighting and musical undescoring are effective in maintaining momentum.  In fact, the journey is so pleasant, I was constantly engaged, despite the ambling pace.  This is a great achievement.

Where I felt let down was at the play's end.  The end seems to return us to the beginning.  This circularity was beautifully reinforced by the spinning stage.  Likewise, the insularity and seclusion of mother and daughter was underlined and reflected in the treatment of the titular collector's pieces.  This lack of change, therefore is rather affecting and provides enough tragedy for an ending.  However, one major element does change, and this felt all but ignored.  Our narrator reaches the end of a chapter, which is the start of a new life for him.  In choosing this new life, he chooses to abandon his family.  This is a big deal.  In fact, he has spent the duration of the play trying to find for them a replacement provider.  I did not feel that Wright understood this concept - which ought to have motivated his every action.  If he did understand it, he certainly did not attach high enough stakes to the scenario for his eventual desertion to resonate the way it ought to have.  Furthermore, the whole story leads to the point at which he deserts his family and it was hardly shown.  In such a visually bold production, it seems strange that this moment was given no memorable visual.

Plays need endings.  It is there if you look for it, but the resolve was certainly not given the attention it deserves.

See this play if you enjoy Williams' iconic style.  There is a lot here to love: Williams' words are pretty, poetic, and often profound;  this production is a visual feast.  

I Wish I Learned theatre review

Vicki Millar's new musical feels still like a work in progress, and more like a revue than a fully developed piece of theatre.  That said, it is consistently engaging and has some bright dramatic and musical moments.

It begins by establishing a simple format of reminiscing about life-changing events then singing about lessons learned.  I did not find this to be particularly interesting.  It seemed to suffer from telling more than showing.  I want to see stories unfold, not hear about how they did once unfold in the past.  However, this technique does serve to introduce each character to the audience and I was happy to find that as the play progressed, the music and story were brought much more to the present moment.

The musically able cast display a range of levels in acting ability.  Alexandra McKellar stands out as the most natural performer.  She is at all times in character, and flicks effortlessly between speech and song.  She receives laughs on most of her lines, despite the script's predictability and overblown tendencies.  Michael Murphy is believable as the lovesick rockstar, but he did not connect with his quieter, more tender moments in as truthful a manner as is necessary.  Shaan Antunovich and Nathaniel Ta'ase each paint their character  with rather a broad brush.

The biggest obstacle this show faces is that it lies somewhere between a cabaret and a play, but it struggles to make a strong enough claim to either style.  I felt it worked best when songs were used to recreate another time and place, as when the actors create an office scenario.  I would have liked to have seen more of that.  Its biggest strength, however, is in the honest connections the cast make with each other.  The cast manage to create a warmth and charm that carries the show's weaker moments.  

Vicki Millar's songs are reasonably catchy, and would certainly bear repeating.  I would certainly enjoy hearing "Flat E" again.

See this show if you wish to support new works of NZ musical theatre.

Midnight in Moscow theatre review

I got bored within the first ten seconds, and sadly Midnight in Moscow never won me back.  It sounds like an exaggeration that I was put off so immediately, but the play opens with our protagonist reciting a poem by Boris Pasternak.  In darkness.  In a weird toffy accent.  With no respect for the recitation of poetry.  This proved to be an epilogue, and the scenes had more potential to be tolerable.  Sure, the characters were interesting.  Sure, the dialogue cracked along at a nice pace.  Sure, there were a few lines that made me chortle.  Nothing happened though.  I audibly balked as the lights come up for intermission and still the plot eluded me.  

In Act II, I managed to figure out what era we were in.  It takes place around 1950.  As it turns out, the political climate of the time is extremely important to give context to the...'story' seems like too strong a word.

This play is one of the worst pieces of literature I have ever encountered.  And I saw Circle Mirror Transformation.  I do not even want to discuss it, because there were so few redeeming features and dwelling on what took place makes me feel sad.

The cast were mostly fine.  The main gripe I have, where acting is concerned, is with Hera Dunleavy's character.  As far as I could tell, her character was written as the comic relief.  Her lines would indicate that she is somewhat dotty, but in a charming eccentric, energetic manner.  Dunleavy's portrayal of the character was cheery and optimistic, but also somehow weighed down with a sadness and knowingness that completely kill any chance of her contributions producing a laugh.  This is may be quite Russian, but it seemed to go against the rhythm of the script.

This play also explores a seldom seen side of homosexuality: namely the side where it is freely acknowledged and frankly discussed that a man is gay, yet it is to be understood that he is in love with one woman and marrying another.  What?

See this play if you have played Russian Roulette and come away disappointed that you fired from an empty chamber.  This may just kill you.

The Company You Keep film review

A thriller with an intriguing premise, no car chases, no explosions, and no gunfire: I thought this would be my kind of film.  I like suspense without the violence and machismo that are so prevalent in today's cinemas.  The trouble is, a promising set-up quickly gives up all its secrets and gives way to a cat and mouse chase with surprisingly little invention in the methods of hiding or seeking.

The story mostly plays out as one expects, and the stakes are not high enough that one ever senses danger or  imminent tragedy.  The most interesting, unexpected strand of the story relates to an adopted daughter who may soon be reunited with her birth-parents.  This story had the most emotional weight, but was handled in a very odd manner.  Eventually she finds out who her parents are but I got the impression she did not care to find out.  That is not much of a resolution, but it is where that story ended.  Things could have got interesting, had she met one or both of her parents.  That was literally the only thing I wanted to happen in this whole film, and it didn't, so I felt ripped off.

Of course, the performances are strong and Robert Redford remains as charming as ever.  Julie Christie steals every scene she is in.  I even enjoyed Shia LaBeouoiuoaaueeoueuf and his struggle to be likeable.  The actors just weren't given much to work with.

If I were at home and bored and channel-surfing and this film just happened to come on and I watched it and it helped the evening pass pleasantly, I would probably enjoy it very much.  Because I made more than zero effort to see it, it did not quite seem worth it.

By the way, the main reason I wanted to see this film is that it was being filmed in Vancouver while I lived there.  I enjoyed trying to pick the locations.  I even spotted a UBC sign at the "University of Michigan".

See this film if you have a remote control and can fast-forward through the slump in the middle, and re-watch every scene in which Christie appears.