illyria

‘Illyria’ is a contemporary play that takes place in the ancient region and western part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Romans conquered the region in 168 BC in the aftermath of the Illyrian Wars. This ancient tragedy has been given a new twist by British playwright, Bryony Lavery and enhanced further by the Ensemble. It is showing at The Hayman Theatre, Building 102, (near car parks B12 and B13) Curtin University, Bentley.

The 70-minute performances are nightly at the EARLY time of 7.00 and run until Saturday 15^th September.

 

Every part of the stage is a light shade of grey, walls ceiling and floor. There is a lace drape hanging at each side of the stage (set by Jacinta Grando, Michelle Endersbee and Jarryd Dobson).

          On entering the theatre foyer, you find yourselves in Illyria as it is today, with its beautiful gardens and woodlands. There is a garden party (organiser Bridgette Weller-Brown) taking place and the wine flows freely. Suddenly a soldier (Dylan Searle) runs through the company shouting that the King is dead. That can mean only one thing, the Generals will take over.

        Meanwhile in Australia, a newspaper reporter (Róisín Bevan) has decided to fly out to Illyria and interview the General’s wife. In Illyria, the palace maids (Zoë Barham, Holly Dodd) are working hard to prepare for the general’s rich bitch (Rachel Granger), dripping with Tiffany’s best and dressed in Armani. As the maids are cleaning, the third maid (Georgia Knox) gives them all of the local gossip. Their supervisor (Amy Johnston) takes a break from ‘entertaining’ her amorous work colleague, Conrad (Nathan Whitebrook) to check the cleanliness of the rooms.

        The reporter is met at the airport by an interpreter (Zoë Street), but anyone connected with foreigners is at great risk.

       ‘Madame’ arrives at the palace with her personal assistant (Amelia Tuttleby), and an armed guard (Sean Guastavino, Anthony Sadler, Peter Townsend) who are carrying numerous boxes containing her wardrobe. An old woman, the local shoemaker (Gemma Middleton) looks on from the shadows.

       What will become of this once beautiful land?

 

Teresa Izzard’s direction is exciting and filled with creative ideas. With the help of her assistant director, Heather Jerrems and the dramaturg, Madeleine Currie, what could have been a stilted Greek-style tragedy has been transformed into a beautiful piece.

Inspired costume designer, Michelle Endersbee, has chosen grey clothing for all of the Illyrians. The country is grey and so she has made the people a ‘boring’ grey. The menial maids wore some black to show that they were even lowlier. When the Aussie reporter arrives in her bright, royal blue jacket and striped top, she immediately became ‘the outsider’ and was treated as such. The pure white, pristine basque looked stunning on the red-haired Madame (wardrobe Emily Matthews, Alex Vernon), and her most effective boudoir was exquisite.

The actors move at a belting pace, approaching the stage from all directions. At times the movement was acrobatic (Geneviève Moran), and then choreographed in a style similar to ‘West Side Story’ with contemporary dance blended with ballet and T’ai Chi. Even the most violent scenes of rape and pillage were presented in this style and with the slick, fast movements it added to the drama and horror.

The complex soundscape designed by Ali McKellar (operated Beth Tremlett) was amazing and matched the choreographed movements perfectly. Likewise the multifaceted lighting (design, Duncan Sharp) was smoothly operated by Becca Jackson.

It is rare to see a large cast working in perfect harmony. There were no weak links, just superb team work and a total commitment from everyone. An exciting, admirable production.