Weatherwise and Mild Oats by Noel Coward.
Directed by Tony Turner. Teatro Vivaldi. Australian National University. May 18-19 2017.
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Director Tony Turner has unearthed
two rarely performed short plays by The Master, Noel Coward, at a farewell
tribute to the remarkable Teatro Vivaldi, Canberra’s own enchanting, atmospheric
and iconic theatre restaurant, soon to
be tragically demolished as part of extensions at the ANU and academic
expansion. More on that later.
The choice of these slight,
fluffy and funny pieces is also a tribute to Teatro Vivaldi owners Mark Santos
and Anthony Hill, who ran a similar venture at the Noel Coward Hotel in New
York for many years. The final Gala Farewell, featuring John Shortis and Moya
Simpson with Peter J Casey will be performed on June 8 - 10 as the final event at Canberra’s only
existing, soon to be demolished, theatre restaurant.
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| Henry STrand and Alessa Kron in Mild Oats. Photo by Tony Turner |
It would be easy to dismiss the
short flipperies as dated and oh so terribly British, but as between courses
entertainment they fulfil Coward’s
acclaimed “talent to amuse.” Mild Oats tells the story of two
twenty-one year olds who meet up during a night on the town, and return to the
apartment, that He is minding for a friend. She happily accompanies him, only
to realize that she has set up expectations quite contrary to her real sweet
self. Both He (Henry Strand) and She (Alessa Kron) are terribly naïve,
deliciously young and frightfully inept in the true ways of the heart, not to
mention the artful practice of intimacy. Strand and Kron are well cast by
director Turner and in the intimate setting of Teatro Vivaldi with its small
and compact stage they play out their preciousness with innocent charm.
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| Duncan Driver, Elaine Noon and Patricia Manly in Weatherwise Photo by Tony Turner |
Weatherwise is a longer piece in
two scenes. I suspect that it might have been a trial dabble by Coward before his highly
popular and clever comedy, Blithe Spirit. Coward facetiously and cheekily
exposes the ridiculous notion of the existence of psychics who can conjure the
dead and enter the spirit world.
Lady Warple (Elaine Noon) becomes
possessed by the spirit of a dog. Queen Victoria appears on a Ouija Board to
reveal that the mention of the weather and the words Bow Wow will cause the
appearance of a dog. It’s a totally silly conceit pooh-poohed by the son
(Duncan Driver) whom might have been a
precursor to Charles in Blithe Spirit. Other members of the family, played with
upper middle class propriety and correctness by
daughters, Alessa Kron, Emily Ridge, and Patricia Manly, and the Reverend, George Pulley. Coward
continues his cynical swipe at pompous professionals with the appearance of the
psychiatrist (Colin Milner), whose vain authority leads him to an unfortunate
end.
Both pieces are deftly and
properly directed by Turner with a careful eye for the essential comedy of eccentric
English manners. His cast, many of whom have come from Turner’s recent Rep
production of Trelawny of the Wells, capture the spirit of the Upper Middle
Class in accent and gesture, assisted by Nineteen Twenties costuming by Anna
Senior. All in all, the pieces offered a pleasant and amusing entertainment
between courses. I can’t imagine these pieces gaining a popular airing in the
future. They are soft-edged satire of a period largely lost in time and unlikely
to survive as well as Coward’s more notable plays such as Private Lives, Blithe
Spirit or Hayfever, which enjoy regular amateur and professional production.
But on this occasion, they were
an excellent choice to farewell a Canberra Cultural institution that embodied
in so many ways the charm and refreshing spirit of Coward and his era. Both
pieces were well directed and properly performed by a talented group of local
performers. Teatro Vivaldi and Mark and Anthony could have not wished for a
more apt and heartfelt theatrical tribute and acknowledgement of the
magnificent service that they have provided the Canberra community over so many
years. That this should be abolished is
another travesty by the Australian National University and the powers that be
to erode the role of culture and the arts in its mission as a noble institution
of learning and Renaissance philosophy.
We are much indebted to Mark and
Anthony for all that they have done for the university, the arts community ,
visiting professionals and the Canberra community. May they weather this storm
and sew their mild oats and rich harvest in the future.
