Everything Speaks!

It was the perfect day to be out and about; a blue and gold day, the temperature a lovely 20 degrees, the birds were singing, the bushes were exclaiming about the wonders of being green...

This was “Everything Speaks”, the creative brain-child of street performer Hannah Roe of Scratch & Sniff Theatre. She had successfully pulled together a diverse crowd of twenty-five students who were to take on the task of being inanimate objects on Concrete Lawn. As the reviewer, I wasn't sure if this was to be a social experiment or street-performance. It turned out to be both. I sat down between the moaning tree (it had beckoned me to use its branches as protection from the sun, so I politely obliged) and the babbling rubbish bins, observing the bemused expressions of the passers by. Some looked liked they had fallen into a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest, and walked as fast as they could into the safety of Union House. Others only nodded and smiled, yes, this was what student life was supposed to be about. Only during this short lunch break was it acceptable to dance around with a balloon, channel the sound of tent plastic, or examine what it felt like to be a satchel bag.

It has been said that there is a fine line between art and insanity. The participants of "Everything Speaks" successfully walked that line. This is student theatre. This is losing oneself in being something else. Walking amongst the cacophony of sounds and watching students quickly lose themselves in their characters (a bike, the pavement, a pole), I got a feeling for what it might for what it might be like to be an actor. My only regret is not joining in.

Gouti: The God of Them All

Never before have I been so confused and entranced watching a musical. This farcical new musical by Joe Coghlan is so full of whimsical eccentricity; I barely know where to begin. I can say that it involved fake moustaches, cross-dressing and good Spanish accents, which was more than enough to hook me in. Drawing inspiration from Pokemon and the Princess Bride, the musical culminates in a duel between Little One the Spanish God of Nursery Rhymes, and Gouti, the Spanish God of Lesbianism. For Little One, his Pokemon is the spider from his acclaimed nursery rhyme “itsy bitsy spider”. For Gouti, it’s the Triple Breasted Whore. Naturally, Gouti's mammary-gifted friend triumphs over the spider, and thus Gouti becomes God of them all.

Confused? So was I, but bare with me. The intimate Open Stage Theatre was perfect for the small cast and tight ensemble, which consisted of flute, piano accordian, guitar, piano, triangle, saxophone. The musical score was excellent, and the voice of Little One was particularly superb. An all-round hilarious musical which left this reviewer both dazed, amused but definitely entertained.

24 Hour Musical

Director Melty Tantiwanich and Producer Claire Millar looked thrilled but exhausted after the final applause for 24 Hour Musical. Beginning at 7:30pm the previous night, the writers are given some sparse stimulus, and the frantic writing, composing and casting begins. The cast were given the material at 7am, leaving them just 12 hours to learn their music, lines, moves, and get fitted for costumes. Asked how the team of collaborators got through the immense creative ordeal, the response was red bull, jager, and No-Doz. The overload of caffeine definitely paid off, as what emerged was a delightfully entertaining musical.

It begins in 1963, at St Peter’s Catholic Christian College for Girls. We are introduced to a group of young women, students who are approaching their final exams. The hilarious narrator, Kaleidoscope (played by Alexandra Smith), details the events in a voice that is simultaneously addled by drugs and incredibly perceptive. Her three best friends are the driven and intelligent Rubix (played by Christine Edmond) who is determined to be a doctor, Muddy (played by Cat Leonard), a sweet, closeted lesbian secretly dating her singing teacher, and Helmet (played by Laura Raiti), the hopeful romantic, who later finds out she is pregnant. The issues that each girl faces reflect the social issues of their generation in the 1960s, struggling to break free of expectations placed upon them. Muddy's heartfelt song, "Wouldn't it be Grand", reflects the difficulties in same-sex love in a society that is both crushingly conservative and dizzy with the possibilities of new freedoms. The witty dialogue simultaneously explores Helmet's difficult decision to get an abortion, and Muddy's frustration at not being able to express her love for her girlfriend in public. The plot takes a dark turn as Helmet struggles with the aftermath of her abortion, and as the other girls study furiously for their final exams, Helmet retreats dangerously into herself. The musical culminates with a tango between Helmet and a hooded figure Kaleidoscope identifies as Death, a dance that represents Helmet taking her own life. In the aftermath, Sr Mary Catherine announces that Helmet astonishingly received the highest mark, but having taken her own life, Helmet would now “have to receive the news from Lucifer in Hell”. A discussion between the remaining girls, reveals Rubix’s surprising decision to swap her final exam with Helmet’s to save her friends memory, and the possibility of love between Muddy and Kaleidoscope.

The dark, yet complex and satisfying plot and the fact that the main actors were engaging, raw and musically talented made for a highly successful musical. While the issues explored are real and heart breaking, the humorous use of props and Kaleidoscope's random hallucinations provide comic relief. The musical score was fresh, and the simple settings allowed the rich story and beautiful music to shine. Any forgotten lyrics were quickly forgiven by the audience, as it was clear the actors were enjoying themselves. A thoroughly engaging experience, made even more impressive by the knowledge that it took them a mere 24 hours to pull together. It’s not at all surprising that 24 Hour Musical won Best Mudfest Event.

Hardly Framed Enough!

“Is This Too Framed?”

This brilliant play was read by a selection of skilled mudfest performers and written by our very own Tilly Lunken (a round of applause please). Set in a gallery preparing for the exhibition of the century a crisis of confidence among artists (amongst them MC Escher, Picasso, and Salvador Dali… not to mention their wives) can be devastating. Exploring many themes surrounding the art world, this touching and often sidesplittingly funny piece skipped from one memorable character to the next, be it a begrudging stair monitor, an unappreciated moustache (sorry, THE unappreciated moustache), or Salvador Dali himself. The play was perfectly balanced in action and plot; with simple and effective costume and prop elements that could not help but put a smile on your face and a chuckle in your throat. There were some very memorable performances and on whole the cast embodied a sense of comic timing that suited the writing perfectly.

For a play that was probably rehearsed a whole lot less than it looked, “Is This Too Framed?” was an exceptionally professional undertaking, both in construction and delivery, and I cannot wait to see it brought to life in a fully-fledged production one day!