After Dinner - Andrew Bovell

I hate when you read something and it starts and it’s interesting and it progressing, until it gets to the peak and then it’s all downhill from there. That’s how I felt about the play I read this week. The characters were built up really well, we got to know the free spirited Paula, the emotion Misha and the controlling Dympie. And the male character to, the shy Gordon and the overly confident Stephan. They we’re written so well and I could see a conflict beginning. But when we got into Act 2, I just didn’t enjoy the play quite as much anymore.

The play is based around five people and their various issues. They’re all at a restaurant waiting for a band to begin playing for their Friday night out. We find out that Paula and Dympie are good friends and they invite their other friend Micha to dinner to help her get out of the house after her husband has just passed away. Gordon is there to meet up with his work friends as he himself is getting over his marriage break-up. As the night progresses the girls get themselves into a fight and Misha completely breaks down and lets loose, which doesn’t impress the uptight Dympie at all. Gordon shows his emotions leaving him with people assuming he’s gay, and Stephan voices his intimate problems.

The play is a dark comedy, which I understand, and for the most part there were humorous situations. There were parts which made you cringe a little, parts that made you laugh. The characters were developed well and the closing statement by Gordon wrapped the play up in a bow. But for me it wasn’t the best comedy play that I’ve ever read.

 I thought this play might fit into our season because of the broken families and I thought the play would change scenarios and situations, but it didn’t so it just wouldn’t be the best fit for our season. 

Julia

Desire - Alex Broun

Wow! There is so much about this play that I think is perfect for our theme: Australian relationships.  It is set in the 1990’s but I think it could be changed to now very easily.  Even better than that as far as logistics and money goes, the play is free to produce (as are most of Alex Broun’s works). 

This play is all about sex, desire and finding oneself, and is set predominantly in Sydney’s nightlife scene.  The main issue with producing this is the required stage space- but with further research I’m sure I can find a way to have it performed at Griffin Theatre.

By moving the bar from Kinsela’s to The Ivy (or of course to avoid legal reason something that reminds others of The Ivy) the audience can draw more meaning from Gerald’s monologue in Scene Four.  That said, I think there is enough controversy going around at the moment about people being rejected at the door that everyone will just understand it without reference to The Ivy – at them moment there is a Facebook group going around against discrimination at the door of bars, pubs and clubs of Sydney.  But discrimination is only just touched on, for the most part Desire is about sex, love, drugs and manipulation. 

Sounds good right?

Well at first I was a sceptic, but then as I read on and a started to envision Desire in our two venues I started to get excited.  I thought to myself, this both perfectly fits into our theme but is also different enough to give the season that extra bit of zing.

While reading Desire I started to think about the target audience.  Do we want all the plays open to everyone or do we want specific plays for specific people.  If we choose Desire as one of our plays, I think we would be leaning more towards the latter.  Which you know I think is a good thing.  That is the beauty of Australian plays, they tell so many different stories, and f course some are going to resonate more with some than others.  In all seriousness Desire would have to be a MA play (is that what you call it in the theatre?) because there are a few themes that may be too much for younger audience members.

Alex’s Blurb:

Sydney. Summer. In the nightclubs, bars and cafes of the harbour city four young people are searching. But what for ? Sex. Love. Friendship. DESIRE follows the lives of four young adults - Lara, Kate, Gerald and Patrick - caught in a web of interlocking friendships, relationships and romance. A quartet striving for some substance in an image obsessed world. When it broke Box Office records at the Crossroads Theatre in 1994 - The Sydney Morning Herald said DESIRE "hums with an inner city pulse of traffic, caffeine and designer drugs." The Telegraph Mirror described the play as "slick and fast moving" and "an accurate reflection of where it's at", while the Australian National Playwright's Centre said DESIRE has the "makings of a cult theatre classic." When was the last time you saw a play that explored the way you feel ? DESIRE is that play. Sex, love or friendship - what do you want? 

Alice x.

Bran Nue Dae - Jimmy Chi

Almost as soon as I started reading Bran Nue Dae I knew that it wasn’t right for our season.  The play/ musical is conceptually beautiful however; it requires a stage that Griffin Theatre cannot cater for.  That said there is a certain quality to Bran Nue Dae which is gripping.  And now that we have decided that we will discuss two different venues it is possible that could be part of at least one season.  The language used in Bran Nue Dae is humorous and light, and is a crucial element to the play.  Now I know that sounds funny, the text is important to the play, of course it is, but what I’m trying to say is that the way the characters speak is important, how they say it, what they say.  It is a coming of age / coming home stories that but with Aboriginal protagonists.  So that brings me to the play Julia has done Stolen, which we have chosen to be the Indigenous Australian play -then again that is not to say we can’t use more than one, but that Bran Nue Dae definitely does not make the cut.  Another thing that I should mention is that Bran Nue Dae is a musical, which I must admit is what drew me to it first.  I thought this is different, and there might just be a place for it in the season.  But really when you think about it, it may be far too left field.  So I guess it’s time I give you the low down on this play.

Bran Nue Dae is a 1990 musical set in Broome, WA.  It portrays stories and issues relating to Indigenous Australians.  I was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Knuckles, and was the first Aboriginal musical. 

The story goes a little like this:

“In the Summer of 1969 a young man is filled with the life of the idyllic old pearling port Broome - fishing, hanging out with his mates and his girl. However his mother returns him to the religious mission for further schooling. After being punished for an act of youthful rebellion, he runs away from the mission on a journey that ultimately leads him back home.”(IMDB)

For some silly reason I can't find any pictures from theatre productions of Bran Nue Dae so the 2009 film adaption will have to do.

Alice x.