Of God & Wenches - Woody Allen + Aphra Behn

Of God & Wenches was a double-bill performance of Woody Allen's 'God', and a redux of Aphra Behn's 'The Rover'. Two very distinctly different plays. This performance was the result of Murdoch University Theatre & Drama students enrolled in the Acting & Production II unit. The focus for the semester was on comedy. For some reason, the two plays both had two different casts, separated in the program by 'red' and 'blue'. The main differences in the casting were in major roles. Most minor roles had the same actor for both casts. This was an interesting aspect for the performance - meaning that any audience coming might have a completely different experience of the play - and for me, meaning that I had to not only watch both plays, but watch both plays, twice. In all honesty, the experience wasn't remarkably different, although individual performances varied greatly. God features the exploration between writer, actor and audience - using conventions such as a play within a play, audience-planted characters and many aspects of the beloved theatre of the absurd. Set in Ancient Greece, although this setting is as solid as water, Hepatitis wants an ending to his play. This is about as sophisticated as the plot gets. Questions about freedom, human existence, meaningfulness and the existence God are raised, and are explored simplistically, although (usually) with humour. The play finishes the same way it started, in the true absurdist fashion. The Rover was adapted to the '70's disco. The Rover is set in carnivale and revelry, in Naples, Italy, with the arrival of English sailors. The women are destined either for the nunnery or for marriage to a pig, by their brother's command. Taking advantage of the present carnival, they slip into disguise, and go about taking freedom in their own romantic lives. Meanwhile, the english sailors cause havoc, and the 'rover', Willmore, tricks the expensive prostitute, Angellica, into his heart, only later to betray her. All wackiness prevails, and despite a dark, almost-rape scene, comedy prevails and most plots are tied by the end, with a spectacular dance number. Overall, the performances both achieved comedy on different levels. I personally preferred the Rover, despite the loose plot ends (such as to the fate of Blunt, and for what Angellica will go off to do, having been rejected by Willmore and accepting the life of a whore), and despite the problematic depiction of women. Despite some of the brilliant acting, God as a script seemed particularly weak. The amount of audience characters (although I am told that some were dreadfully added to the initial script), leaves one sick of the verfremdungseffekt, and the crude blend of referential jokes also border on the annoying side. The Rover is hilarious in the costumes, acting and the pure satire on themes of romantic love, sex and gender. I personally loved the addition of 'Aphra Behn' as a character to narrate the play, and tie up loose ends that were lost in the revising of the play. In terms of acting, most people were of a high quality. It is difficult to lament on every single actor, although I will attempt to talk about the majority of main characters, especially between the two casts. One of the biggest issues I noticed was in terms of verbals. Many actors needed to work on their articulation. This was problematic in almost every audience-based character in God. They would stand up and interrupt, a light shining on them, and I could barely understand a word they were saying. Amongst the main characters in God, there were three that stuck out for me. Diabetes, Hepatitis & Doris. There was also Blanche Dubois, who varied from cast to cast, and I found that Sam Knox made for a more entertaining and stage present Blanche. Both Diabetes were excellent - Harriet Fettis (in red cast) and Andrew Dawson (in blue cast). Both brought different things to the character. In Harriet's case, she brought subtlety and emotional complexity to the character. In Andrew's case, he brought a solid protagonist. I found both equally enjoyable. There is no doubt that Scott McArdle made for a better Hepatitis. He was consistent, powerful and hilarious. Travis Hasson had difficulty facing this big role, and often brought down the pace of the play. Travis's performance, however, was not bad, Scott's however, was simply superb. Finally, the Doris's. Kate Willoughby brought to Doris a truly comedic character, whilst I am not sure that I really noticed Corina Brown do much substantial with the character. Kate has a near-perfect understanding of comedic timing, coupled with a huge stage presence and a constant demonstration of all necessary acting conventions. In short, the 'perfect' cast mix for God would have been this formulation; Diabetes: Either Andrew Dawson or Harriet Fettis (they were both equals) Hepatitis: Scott McArdle Doris: Kate Willoughby Blanche Dubois: Sam Knox Of course, the interesting thing about seeing both of those performances (and this is important as this is a unit designed for learning at a university), is that different actors got a chance at big roles. Other notable characters in God (good or bad) Trichinosis/Guard: Michael Davies - What a hilarious man! Strong actor, great, masculine voice. You really believe that Diabetes is infatuated with Trichinosis. King: Jordan Holloway - Always a strong actor. Jordan played a good mix between sociopathic greek ruler and jokester. Lorenzo: Quentin Thony - The first time I watched the show, I could barely understand Lorenzo's accent, however the second show, I found Lorenzo very enjoyable and understandable. Samuel L Jackson: Rahim Bob Morshidi - I don't understand why this character was put in the play. That is not a compliment. It slowed down the play. (adding to the annoyance of audience characters) Now onto the acting for the Rover. The main difference in casting for the Rover was in the female characters. Angellica, Hellena, Florinda, Valeria & Aphra Behn were the main differences. Angellica was played by both Sam Knox and Amy Murray in the alternating casts. Here we have the same situation as Harriet Fettis and Andrew Dawson with Diabetes in God. Sam Knox brought a maturity to the character of Angellica, whilst Amy brought a more 'seductive' quality. Both, however, were truly excellent, possessing a great understanding of theatrical subtleties and stage presence. I group the 'sisters' (Hellena, Florinda & Valeria), together as the same, for two reasons. One - they're in most of the same scenes. Two - One cast had a much better set of sisters than the other. For me, the blue cast won out with the sisters - Chloe McGrath as Hellena, Catherine Dunn as Florinda and Melanie Buchanan as Valeria. They all had more stage presence, better articulation, and a better commitment and understanding of their characters. Grace Johnson as Hellena, Amy Miller as Florinda and Janice Lim as Valeria lacked the acting maturity for the roles - with the exception of Janice Lim. Janice possessed the character - as well as Melanie did. The difference, however, is that Janice's accent made her incredibly difficult to understand. Almost all lines were lost from her. If Janice were to work on her articulation and vocal clarity, she would have bested Melanie only slightly in her revelrous youth in her character. Finally, both Aphra Behn's were mature and entertaining, but Rachel Doulton was far more comedic. In short, the 'perfect' cast mix for The Rover would have been this formulation; Angellica: Either Sam Knox or Amy Murray (both were equals) Hellena: Chloe McGrath Florinda: Catherine Dunn Valerie: Melanie Buchanan Aphra Behn: Rachel Doulton In terms of consistent characters for the Rover… The Rover/Willmore: Steve Capener - Always a brilliant performer. I have seen Steve do no wrong. He was a sexy liar, and represented everything wrong with men. He was the perfect Willmore. Always great nonverbals. Moretta: Selena Nemeth - I enjoyed the horse whip. Would have liked to see a little more stage presence for the dominance of this character, however I actually really enjoyed this character. Don Pedro: Quentin Thony - Wonderful 'strut', and great stage presence. Don Antonio: Jordan Holloway - Same as earlier, great job. Callis: Leah Toyne - A subtle character, acting as a 'motherly' figure for the three sisters, chasing after them and making sure they don't do anything wrong. At the same time, quite comedic to see Callis trying to search for her own love, but not finding it. Belville: Simon Meiri - A consistent enough character. Simon brings a strong character, but never a dynamic one. One voice, one movement, but at least he articulates and knows his lines. Blunt: Nelson Gilmour - An interesting character. It's a pity that Blunt gets no 'ending'. Seeing the shift from naive pervert to rapist was very greatly handled, especially with the lack of consistent character development the amount of scenes gave Blunt. Fred: Travis Hasson - I felt that Travis flourished more in this role than as Diabetes. Overall, the spectacle of the two shows was great. The costumes, attention to detail, set and lighting were all great. I always found the soundscape of God to be a little off - perhaps attributing to my preference of Rover over God. God lacked the 'musicality' (in the sense of flow), that permeated through the Rover. The two shows together, however, were excellent. All of those involved should be proud. I was actually surprised, I had thought that I would have preferred God over the Rover.