Sunday Arts Magazine

24 Jul 2016

Funny Girl, Films, Conviction, Hitchcock, My Fair Lady, Trevor

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Funny Girl, Films, Conviction, Hitchcock, My Fair Lady, Trevor

David saw The Production Company’s rendition of Funny Girl last night with the wonderful Caroline O’Connor in the main role. He was most impressed. It was sooo Brooklyn New York and it was very funny with great songs, excellent dancing and fabulous costumes. It’s on at The Arts Centre from 23 to 31 July. Brendan reviews a new horror film called Lights Out. It’s a modern take on the classic ‘boogieman’ style and is set up to be a bit of a ‘sleeper hit’. Australian ‘scream queen’ Teresa Palmer plays the main character who is a more complex and aware person than the usual horror queens. Also, Melbournian James Wan (of Saw fame) is one of the producers. Brendan really enjoyed it and thinks it’s a ‘must-see’–4 stars.

Later in the show, Brendan reviews the film Sing Street from director John Carney which has been getting whispers that it is the new The Commitments (1991). It is an Irish musical comedy with newcomer Ferdia Walsh-Peelo playing the main role in a 1980s coming of age film. He’s obsessed with the band Duran Duran and wants to break out of his day to day life and impress a girl. So he starts a band with other kids in the era of music videos and playing many original songs–3.5 stars. There is also an Alfred Hitchcock Film Festival on at Cinema Nova (Carlton) at present. Our hosts discuss this remarkable director who was a master of suspense. Brendan talks about the film Strangers On A Train (1951), a crime thriller with film noir elements based on lesbian author Patricia Highsmith’s book with a screenplay by crime writer Raymond Chandler. Brendan loved the film, especially the homoerotic undertone between the 2 main characters– 4.5 stars. Brendan also brings up another old film-My Fair Lady (1964) which has had a re-release ( a new digital restoration) coinciding with Julie Andrews directing a stage version in Sydney. David explains that Julie Andrews made the Broadway version of the show in the 60s her own, but was overlooked for the film role; which went to Audrey Hepburn. She was vindicated when she won the Oscar for Mary Poppins the same year.

Special guests this week are:

13:01 to 38:52 mins–Director Declan Greene is here to talk about his play Conviction which is on at the North Melbourne Town Hall from 23 July to 6 August. Declan used to ‘make theatre’ throughout high school including writing, directing and some acting and at Melbourne Uni , he studied Art History and did theatre on the side. He met Ash Flanders there and formed a queer creative company called Sisters Grimm which is in its 10^th year. They tend to put together ‘queer spectacles’ with people playing against gender and have had drag queens and odd performers. They did an All About Eve style backstage melodrama called Calpurnia Descending starring the amazing Paul Capsis (who was a dream to work with). They are fun, silly and subversive but also have a dark political note to them. Declan is the resident artist at The Malthouse Theatre (part-time). In Conviction Declan showed the script to the exceptional Caroline Lee– a performer he’d admired for years- who loved it and came on board. The script is by award-winning writer Zoey Dawson whose writing is autobiographical, very funny, inventive and strange. Conviction starts as a colonial drama about 2 female convicts impersonating free settlers who are shadowed by a sinister redcoat. Then it slowly falls apart and you realise there’s another world there of Zoey herself trying to write a play about 2 convicts and it explores the dark psychological territory of writer’s block, artistic identity and social pressure. It’s surprising, has twists, is unpredictable, is very funny and camp initially, while later becoming dark and almost harrowing. There’s a big A-V component to it and the set design is very clever, as it traverses almost 200 years.

1:05:57 to 1:24:20 mins—Director Dennis Moore and Actor Kevin Hofbauer are here to talk about their production of Trevor (a.k.a. When Animals Go Bad) from 26 July to 26 August at Red Stitch an artist driven company in St Kilda East–opposite the Astor Cinema. Kevin has just been asked to join the Red Stitch ensemble after doing successful productions of The Flick (2015). Dennis talks about its formation, history and its main focus on contemporary plays–particularly from the UK and USA. They seek out directors who may be interested in the plays and Dennis has been there 8 times do far. Originally from Adelaide, Dennis studied stage management at NIDA and then did drama at Flinders Uni. He came to Melbourne in 1979 to join the Pram Factory creative community. He is both an actor and a director. Kevin was the class clown at school and had a natural affinity for acting. After finishing his degree at the VCA, he auditioned for the graduates program at Red Stitch. The play, Trevor, is based on a real incident in the US where a chimp went crazy and assaulted its owner’s neighbour, mutilating her face. The play starts here but then takes off into ‘stratospheric areas’. There are many themes/levels in the play including the relationship between animals and humans as well as a satire on show-business and acting; as Trevor is a ‘showbiz chimp’ and is worried about not getting work! He is a talkative chimp but only the audience can understand him and the people onstage don’t. Kevin found it very hard to only react to the movements and not the words.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:24:43 — 38.8MB)

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