Community Theatre alive! - Review by John Flood (Floody)

Posted on behalf of John Flood.

There are two plays which finish this week ( August 3) are proving that talent is abundant in the community theatre circle in Perth. The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea This play is performed by GRADS, is on at the Dolphin Theatre at UWA. The play looks back at the early 1940,s in Geraldton as boys and girls are growing with a world war raging. It is a coming of age story of a boy who idolizes his 20 year old cousin who joins the army and is sent to fight.

We follow what happens in the war zone and Rick’s return as a disillusioned young man. The text is powerful and the stage set and ensemble cast all work hard to give us an insight into rural life in Geraldton as a young boy’s world of carefreeness is forever changed. Ehe play by Randolph Stow is adapted by Dickon Oxenburgh and Andrew Ross and anyone who likes a picture to be painted by words will love this production.

The giant merry-go-round on stage is rotated by two actors as the cast get on and off at different times to move the action along. The cast created the sounds of the countryside and music and song was used throughout the narrative. Seldom have I seen such attention to detail displayed on stage in the creation of the live background of birds in the
countryside around Geraldton.

Many of the young performers gave of their all although they could have projected their voices and paused more in their delivery I felt. The singing particularly by Bonnie Coyle in the role of Margaret was melodic and Bonnie’s diction was impeccable. Karin Staflund as Aunt Kay gave a well-grounded performance.

The handling of the movement on stage of the large number of characters by director Amanda Crewes was impressive. The play gave a great insight into the period and rural life in 1940‘s Australia.

The Season at Sarsaparilla This play is being performed at the Harbour Theatre in Fremantle. With a large cast and a big set this production takes us into the fictional Australian suburb of Sarsaparilla and shows us how three families who live next to each other interact with other family members and within their small community. The sound of a barking dog can be heard intermittently throughout the play and references made to the “bitch” who is causing havoc among the local dogs.

The playwright is Patrick White who is also known for his novels and short stories. The three families are all living in differing situations. The young couple who are expecting a baby, a husband and wife with teenage girls and an older couple. We get an insight into the relationships in each households and the love or tolerance being exhibited. The set was very impressive and three different furniture settings did make the stage a little cluttered but it did give the audience an insight into the three sets of lives occurring there. There was comedy interspersed in the dialogue and the performances of both Nicola Bond and Ann Speicherheld our attention and were most believable. The younger girls were gutsy and a delight to watch as was Trevor Dhu as the unkempt and dislikeable Rowley “Digger” Masson.

Harbour Theatre have been getting great audiences for their recent productions and judging from the audience on the night I attended they were enjoying the theatre experience in Fremantle.
Those that love stories of an older Australia will savor this production. Director Peter Kirkwood is still maintaining his high theatre standards. He was ably abetted in this production by Tina Barker as his assistant director.