Blood Brothers @ GRADS
Thu, 23 Sept 2004, 11:44 amLeah Maher5 posts in thread
Blood Brothers @ GRADS
Thu, 23 Sept 2004, 11:44 amWhat; Blood Borthers, GRADS
Where; The Dolphin, UWA
When; Wednesday 22 September 2004
Firstly I must declare my bias, I am a member of GRADS, have been in several of their productions and have a few friends in the cast. I was at opening night ushering and did not pay for my ticket.
OK, that aside, lets get on to the real stuff. Blood Brothers has a fairly simple premise that raises a hell of a lot of interesting questions; twin brothers, raised apart. One raised by a wealthy Mum and Dad as an only child, one by a single Mum in a poor family with several siblings. How will their lives, and they personally, turn out? What will happen when they find each other again, not knowing they are brothers?
The play is set against industrial England, ostensibly in the sixties which made for some really wonderful and very apt costuming. The set was impressive, not a set as such, but a big backdrop and legs. I am not a fan of big sets, I think they tend to overwhelm the actors. Not in this case. I did think that the set changes were a bit unnecessary though. A good example was a hospital bed, that took three people and the best part of a few minuets to get on and off, but was only used for about thirty seconds. Seemed a bit of a waste. There was also an extremely impressive flying in of another wall of set, but again, it was very underused (although the lighting where it was used was really brilliant, very evokative). With a bit of imagination, I think a couple of the set changes could have gone entirely. Easy to say from the audience though.
There were also a lot of lighting problems in the Second Act, which impacted on the effectiveness of the piece. Particularly in one scene which should have been extremely poignent, very much a turning point in the play, but was performed almost in the dark. It was opening night though, and I imagine, knowing the extremely competant crew involved, those kinks will have been worked out by now.
The performances were magic. The show was driven by Shirely Welsh, who was just perfect in the role of Mrs Johnstone. She was by turns strong, weak, old, young, elated and heartbroken, and every second of it entirely believable. She kept the show infused with energy and pace. The boys who played the twins, Scott Sheriden and, (I'm sorry I don't have a program on me), the actor who played Mickey, were also perfect. The chemistry between them was palpable from their first meeting, and without it the show just wouldn't work. While the bravura performance is obviously the mercurial Mickey, who gets a chance to really shine (which the actor did), the quiter Eddie was given an awful lot of light and shade by Scott, given a quiet gentle persistant presence the whole way through that allowed him to stand up to the incredibly energetic and engaging performance by the actor who played Mickey (I'm very ashamed of not knowing the name, it will be one to watch).
The supporting cast were all great. Rayann Condy was sympathetic and engaging as Linda. No-one ages more convincingly on stage than Rayann, going from an eight year old to a headstrong and rounded mother and wife. The devise of the narrater gave the show a creepy edge, a styalisation that was very well handled and directed, (as was the various characters use of verse). The hand of fate, ever present, guiding the action, could have been melodramatic, but the performance was restrained, but still very very creepy. Actually one of my favourite parts, every time the narrator appeared, the response was almost Pavlovian, you suddenly got a sinking feeling in your tummy, knowing something, possibly good, possibly very bad, was about to happen. A sign of really solid direction, to train an audience so quickly to respond that way.
It has been a long time since I cried in a play, but I got very very close at the end of Blood Brothers. The direction and performances, particularly by Mickey in the final scene, make the ending just devastating, even if you have read the script. It leaves you breathless and distressed. The extremely large school group in the audience were mesmerised, and obviously very effected as they left the theatre.
I think, once the technical difficulties are cleaned up, this will be one of the shows of the year. It is a pity the sets and the changes where not a bit more paced and pared back, but the fact that this is just such an interesting story, so well directed and performed, more than make up for it.
Where; The Dolphin, UWA
When; Wednesday 22 September 2004
Firstly I must declare my bias, I am a member of GRADS, have been in several of their productions and have a few friends in the cast. I was at opening night ushering and did not pay for my ticket.
OK, that aside, lets get on to the real stuff. Blood Brothers has a fairly simple premise that raises a hell of a lot of interesting questions; twin brothers, raised apart. One raised by a wealthy Mum and Dad as an only child, one by a single Mum in a poor family with several siblings. How will their lives, and they personally, turn out? What will happen when they find each other again, not knowing they are brothers?
The play is set against industrial England, ostensibly in the sixties which made for some really wonderful and very apt costuming. The set was impressive, not a set as such, but a big backdrop and legs. I am not a fan of big sets, I think they tend to overwhelm the actors. Not in this case. I did think that the set changes were a bit unnecessary though. A good example was a hospital bed, that took three people and the best part of a few minuets to get on and off, but was only used for about thirty seconds. Seemed a bit of a waste. There was also an extremely impressive flying in of another wall of set, but again, it was very underused (although the lighting where it was used was really brilliant, very evokative). With a bit of imagination, I think a couple of the set changes could have gone entirely. Easy to say from the audience though.
There were also a lot of lighting problems in the Second Act, which impacted on the effectiveness of the piece. Particularly in one scene which should have been extremely poignent, very much a turning point in the play, but was performed almost in the dark. It was opening night though, and I imagine, knowing the extremely competant crew involved, those kinks will have been worked out by now.
The performances were magic. The show was driven by Shirely Welsh, who was just perfect in the role of Mrs Johnstone. She was by turns strong, weak, old, young, elated and heartbroken, and every second of it entirely believable. She kept the show infused with energy and pace. The boys who played the twins, Scott Sheriden and, (I'm sorry I don't have a program on me), the actor who played Mickey, were also perfect. The chemistry between them was palpable from their first meeting, and without it the show just wouldn't work. While the bravura performance is obviously the mercurial Mickey, who gets a chance to really shine (which the actor did), the quiter Eddie was given an awful lot of light and shade by Scott, given a quiet gentle persistant presence the whole way through that allowed him to stand up to the incredibly energetic and engaging performance by the actor who played Mickey (I'm very ashamed of not knowing the name, it will be one to watch).
The supporting cast were all great. Rayann Condy was sympathetic and engaging as Linda. No-one ages more convincingly on stage than Rayann, going from an eight year old to a headstrong and rounded mother and wife. The devise of the narrater gave the show a creepy edge, a styalisation that was very well handled and directed, (as was the various characters use of verse). The hand of fate, ever present, guiding the action, could have been melodramatic, but the performance was restrained, but still very very creepy. Actually one of my favourite parts, every time the narrator appeared, the response was almost Pavlovian, you suddenly got a sinking feeling in your tummy, knowing something, possibly good, possibly very bad, was about to happen. A sign of really solid direction, to train an audience so quickly to respond that way.
It has been a long time since I cried in a play, but I got very very close at the end of Blood Brothers. The direction and performances, particularly by Mickey in the final scene, make the ending just devastating, even if you have read the script. It leaves you breathless and distressed. The extremely large school group in the audience were mesmerised, and obviously very effected as they left the theatre.
I think, once the technical difficulties are cleaned up, this will be one of the shows of the year. It is a pity the sets and the changes where not a bit more paced and pared back, but the fact that this is just such an interesting story, so well directed and performed, more than make up for it.
Re: Blood Brothers @ GRADS
Sun, 3 Oct 2004, 11:29 amWalter Plinge
Dear Angela,
Just to let you know that the actress playing Mrs Lyons was Libby Covich and the Narrator was Chris McCafferty, not only talented but both great fun to have in a cast.
Cheers,
Meg
Just to let you know that the actress playing Mrs Lyons was Libby Covich and the Narrator was Chris McCafferty, not only talented but both great fun to have in a cast.
Cheers,
Meg