THE STRANGER

Adapted and directed by Christopher Samuel Carroll

From the novella by Albert Camus

Bare Witness Theatre Company

Ralph Wilson Theatre, Gorman Arts Centre to 17 December

 

Reviewed by Len Power 9 December 2021

‘The Stranger’, a 1942 novella by French Algerian, Albert Camus, has been hotly debated ever since its publication in 1942.  Considered to be an example of Camus’ philosophy of absurdism coupled with existentialism, Camus himself rejected the existentialism label.

It therefore takes some courage to adapt this work to the stage as a one man show when so many people see it differently.

The story focusses on Meursault, a French settler in Algeria.  At his mother’s funeral he shows no emotion and when, later, he kills an Arab on a beach, his lack of remorse for his mother is remembered and used against him at his trial for the killing.

Sentenced to death, Meursault’s story is told by him in two parts, before and after the killing.  We begin to form a picture of this man and judge him but his story unsettles us.   We find ourselves examining our own dealings with the people in our lives, the compromises we have made in society, the importance we have given to outward appearances, our emotional reactions and the moral values that we hold.

Christopher Samuel Carroll’s adaptation powerfully retains the spirit of the original story.  Keeping the language simple and matter of fact, he avoids adding extra light and shade to his delivery.  This is a man having a raw, uncensored discussion with himself.  He is not speaking to us directly.

Even though the character is French, the ideas presented are universal, so Carroll’s normal speech works perfectly here and his skilfully measured voice engages our imaginations so adeptly that we create the colour inherent in the story.

The presentation is simple.  The acting area is a strip of lightly patterned floor covering with audience members on both sides.  The subtle lighting by Gillian Schwab follows the actor as he paces around, providing all of the atmosphere needed.

As well as providing a highly successful adaptation of the story, Christopher Samuel Carroll is a formidable acting presence in this marathon role.  Once read, Camus’ novella stays with you forever.  This production is equally memorable and not to be missed.

Not surprisingly, extra performances have been added due to demand for tickets.  The show now runs until 17 December.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.

  

THE STRANGER

 

 

The Stranger. 

Adapted from the novel by Albert Camus. Bare Witness Theatre Company. Ralph Wilson Theatre. Gorman House. Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centre. December 8 – 19. 2021. Bookings: 61820000 or enquiry@agac.com.au

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

Christopher Samuel Carroll’s performance of Meursault, the central character in Albert Camus’ novella The Stranger is nothing short of remarkable. Carroll has established himself as an accomplished exponent of the one man performance. Apart from his amazing ability to transport an audience into Camus’ probing insight into the absurdities and complexities of human nature, Carroll’s  nuanced investigation of his protagonist’s natural acceptance of life’s experience is both compelling and inviting deeper analysis. Carroll is the consummate storyteller, devoid of all artifice.

A modern day psychiatrist may regard Meursault as a man on the spectrum, indifferent at times to circumstances around him and incomprehensible to a society steeped in judgement. From the outset, he appears incapable of grief at his mother’s death. He exists in the here and now, unimpeded by convention. He is willing to marry Marie, but has little regard for the expectations or consequences of marriage. Death holds no mystery and life no surprises. Meursault is Rousseau’s Noble Savage whose innate goodness is corrupted and his freedom removed by society’s laws when he transgresses the bounds of accepted behavIour. Carroll’s brilliance as an actor is to arouse his audience’s sympathy for the naïve Meursault. It is an empathy not shared by the characters in Camus’ story who regard Meursault as guilty of murder under the law . Camus offers a warning and a plea  to a society under the tyranny of Nazi occupation to embrace the philosophical and psychological ideals of empathy and compassion.

In an epic two hour tour de force, Carroll’s command of his audience on two sides of the stage is absolute. Even a short interruption and delay caused by an unexpected Illness of an audience member did little to break the flow or the engagement of an audience riveted to Carroll’s delivery. Carroll wisely plays Meursault as an innocent. Storyteller and character merge in a union of beautifully timed and honestly portrayed narrative. Carroll’s clear and expressive vocal delivery moves easily between Meursault the narrator, Meursault the character and the story’s main characters.  With a simple gesture and a change of voice Carroll instantly creates the conflicting relationship between the old man Salamano and his dog or the pimp Raymond and his abused Arab mistress or Meursault’s frustrated lawyer and Meursault in the dock. In a final rant Carroll depicts a chaplain infuriated by a man who readily accepts his fate as the natural state of life. Camus’ characters are vividly and immediately brought to life by a master storyteller who expertly holds his audience in the palm of his hand as he leads them through Camus’ paradoxical commentary on the absurdity of human nature.

No programme was provided for the performance, so that I can only commend the lighting design and production team for engaging the audience in the intimate space of the Ralph Wilson Theatre and recommend that a programme be made available so that audiences can fully appreciate the collaborative nature of the production. Carroll is the master of his craft, physically expressive, vocally dynamic and totally engaging.  His performance of Meursault the outsider is a master class in  adaptation of Camus’ novella and  Carroll’s commanding performance of a two hour monologue. His interpretation and performance of The Stranger is not to be missed by theatre lovers and theatre students alike.

 

  

Two Twenty Somethings Decide

 

Two Twenty Somethings Decide Never To Be Stressed About Anything Ever Again.  Ever by Michael Costi.  Canberra Youth Theatre at Canberra Theatre Centre, The Courtyard, December 9-14, 2021.

Reviewed by Frank McKone

Cast:
Boyfriend – Elliot Cleaves
Girlfriend – Martha Russell
New Best Friend – Blue Hyslop

Creatives:
Director – Luke Rogers
Designer – Aislinn King
Lighting Designer – Antony Hateley
Sound Designer – Kimmo Vennonen
Stage Manager – Rhiley Winnett
Assistant Stage Manager – Ashley Pope

The exaggerated title is just about right for this light-hearted absurdist somewhat satirical up-to-date rom com.  The many twenty-somethings near me laughed out loud so much that my hearing aids overloaded.  Even if I had heard every word, I still wouldn’t have understood half the social media references.

The essential message was Never Work in a Chicken Burger Take-away, or you’ll never be able to cross the road again.  Never.  And there was a very serious political point about the treatment of a Syrian refugee Uber driver if you accidentally give him only one star, who cancels you and cancels your account.

The narrow rectangular Courtyard space does not make stage design easy, but Aislinn King, recently selected for the World Stage Design exhibition in Calgary, Canada, next year, has made a see-through set which allows for much more wild action – and occasional moments of reflection – than you might expect.

The three actors have all the skills and timing needed, and a real sense of working with, and off, each other – a great team.

I’m not sure I learned how not to be stressed in today’s world – except that the really important message from this play is that performing for a real audience in real time and space is better than any spurious ‘metaverse’.  And laughing with, not at, each other makes life worth living – and that’s what theatre is all about.

Enjoy!

The Stranger

 

The Stranger (L’Étranger) by Albert Camus, adapted for stage by Christopher Samuel Carroll.  Bare Witness Theatre Company at Ralph Wilson Theatre, Gorman Arts Centre, Canberra, December 8-11 and 16-17, 2021.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
December 8

Performer: Christopher Samuel Carroll
Designer: Gillian Schwab
Music: Olivia Graham
Operator: Rachel Pengilly
Promotional Photography: Novel Photographic
Production Stills: Andrew Sikorski

Christopher Samuel Carroll as Meursault
in The Stranger by Albert Camus

 

As a psychological study of an alienated young man, Meursault, I prefer the French title L’Étranger to be translated as The Outsider.  In court on trial for what could be judged as an accidental murder, the prosecutor describes Meursault as an abomination, thrusting the words at the jury – “un abîme menaçant d'engloutir la société” – “a menacing abyss about to swallow society”.

But Meursault, as he often says, is not a stranger.  He is just like the rest of us – capable of standing mentally to one side to protect ourselves from taking action which requires accepting responsibility.  Camus’ 1957 story was more prescient than he could ever have known, when we consider the populist politics of today.  Meursault didn’t intend to kill the unnamed stranger, the Arab, in French colonial Algiers; just as, for example, Kevin Rudd didn’t intend to cause the deaths of refugees when he announced that no asylum seeker who arrived by boat would ever be allowed to stay in Australia.

In his day, Meursault, is forced to plead guilty (after all it was true he killed a man), and is guillotined.  Rudd lost an election to Abbott, Turnbull, Morrison and Dutton: no-one has pleaded guilty for the deaths and trauma in off-shore detention or even when finally brought onshore under the short-lived medivac legislation.

So the first thing to say about Christopher Samuel Carroll is that his presentation of this work in Canberra, the nation’s capital, is important for us to see.  It is so much more than an interesting look back at French absurdism and existentialist philosophy in an academic light; it’s about our own abîme menaçant swallowing our society today.  [If you would like an academic read, in French, go to “Albert Camus et L'Absurdité de la Vie” at http://mabdaa.edu.iq/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/36-Albert-Camus-et-LAbsurdit%C3%A9-de-la-Vie.pdf ]

The next thing to say is that the simple in-the-round intimate theatre design, in which Meursault tells us his story, in changing levels of light and dark, engages us directly, not only in the story – as reading the novel does – but even more in the emotions we feel in response.  When reading the novel, I found I could stand off to the side and become involved in intellectual matters, like should the justice system have been more empathetic to the young man when his alienation was caused by a cold society in the first place; and certainly should the death penalty have been abolished, as it now has been increasingly around the world.  

If reading the book as I did when it was first translated helped make me support Amnesty International on intellectual grounds, Carroll’s telling of the story as Meursault makes me feel with and for him – and helps me understand him.

This can only happen because Carroll’s acting skills are exemplary – played straight, from the inside of his being.  This is the quality which I think of as ‘pure’ acting.

I’m pleased to see the short season has already been extended, and I trust that Bare Witness can take The Stranger further afield.

With a nod and a wink, Sally maintains the mystery!

The Strawberry Thief for piano trio 

by Sally Greenaway

Live Music Stream

December 3, 2021

Reviewed by TONY MAGEE

CANBERRA'S  Sally Greenaway has revealed, cleverly in reverse order, the final instalment, which is actually the first, of her composition “The Strawberry Thief”.

Canberra composer Sally Greenaway

The piece opens with sixths and a tonic foundation in C major from the cello, which I interpreted as a cheeky and fleeting nod to Sebastian Bach, followed by tentatively fluttering flute murmurs and gentle piano whispers.

Later, there is also a “wink at you” composer’s nod to Ross Edwards!

This cautious prelude offers a glimpse into the secretive world of the strawberry thief as it begins planning the morning’s activities.

Flute melody floats above, accompanied by rippling piano alternating between major and minor in an effective and supportive accompaniment. Tremolo from the cello morphs into arpeggiated lines, splashed with counterpoint against the flute.

Hearing the trilogy together as a suite in three parts, I began to wonder who or what is said thief? I don’t think foxes like strawberries. Perhaps some of the birds from The Secret Garden? No, there is another mystery being hinted at in the opening piece. Listeners will have to decide who they think that could be.

Edward Neeman on piano, Samuel Payne on cello and David Shaw on flute all played superbly, evocatively bringing to life the essence of the music. In addition, excellent camera work by Luke Patterson and wonderful animations by Geraldine Martin, Matthew Koh and Marisa Martin added immeasurably to the listening experience.

Sound quality for this production was also first rate, engineered by Duncan Lowe and Kimmo Vennonen.

I’ll leave the final words to Scottish composer Greg Harradine, who taking full advantage of the streaming technology, listening live from Edinburgh, aptly commented during the performance, “The Secret Garden is full of understated beauty, a subtle blooming of quiet radiance.”

“The Strawberry Thief Suite” is available on Greenaway’s forthcoming CD, “Delights and Dances” or for purchase via unlimited streaming from sallygreenaway.bandcamp.com

First published in Canberra City News, December 4, 2021

SUMMERTIME - A celebration of Gershwin favourites.

 

Performed by Simon Tedeschi and George Washingmachine.

The B. Queanbeyan. 3^rd December 2021.

Reviewed by Bill Stephens

When a venue lures audiences with the promise of experiencing a performance by one of country’s most celebrated pianists, it’s reasonable to expect that that artist will be provided  with a decent instrument and appropriate presentation for their performance. Not so for the recent performance by Simon Tedeschi and George Washingmachine .  

 “Summertime – a celebration of Gershwin favourites” was presented in the B, Queanbeyan’s glamorous new entertainment venue, previously known as the Bicentennial Hall but now repurposed and newly renovated at the cost of some millions into a comfortable multi-purpose venue. The B has a seating capacity almost double that of the nearby Q, making it an attractive venue for touring shows.

Simon Tedeschi is acknowledged as one of the country’s most accomplished classical pianists and a celebrated interpreter of the music of George Gershwin. This was his first ever Queanbeyan concert, for which he had teamed with George Washingmachine, a brilliant jazz violinist who had forged much of his early music career in Canberra. No wonder it drew a large audience to the B.

Extraordinarily however, on entering the theatre the audience was confronted with the sight of a stage bare except for the tiny electronic instrument which looked like a child’s toy piano, a violin on a stand, two microphones and spaghetti of electric wires running around the stage.  Many assumed the tiny piano was some sort of joke which would be explained when the show began.

But as Tedeschi and Washingmachine took the stage, and it became obvious that a rather uncomfortable looking Tedeschi was going to use this instrument for his performance, a sense of bemusement settled over the theatre. Not only did the instrument look ridiculous, it soon became obvious that its lack of dynamic, tonal and mechanical qualities would seriously compromise Tedeschi’s ability to display his undoubted pianistic brilliance for which he is justly famed. This no doubt accounted for the luke-warm reception given the opening item, a bouncy version of They All Laughed.

However, sensing the disquiet, Washingmachine quickly stepped in and with some amiable banter, corny jokes and reminiscence about early Queanbeyan and Canberra, soon had the audience relaxed and eating out of his hands. The pair then launched into a dazzling arrangement of I Got Rhythm, which they followed with a little known response by Irving Berlin, entitled He Ain’t Got Rhythm.

They followed this with a superb arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime with Washingmachine contributing some moody vocals proving that in addition to being an accomplished jazz violinist he was also a consummate jazz vocalist.

Washingmachine then left the stage to Tedeschi, who bravely ignored  the deficiencies of his instrument to  somehow wrestle from it a dazzling rendition of the famous “Rhapsody in Blue”. An heroic effort that was rewarded with enthusiastic applause.

He and Washingmachine combined again for a delightful swing version of But Not For Me, which they followed with a romantic interpretation of Embraceable You before launching into a virtuosic arrangement of  S’Wonderful during which Tedeschi demonstrated his mastery of classical styles by interpolating passages in the styles of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Sartie and others.  

A rousing hot jazz tribute to Duke Ellington rounded out what should have been a triumphant program, but which was regrettably marred by poor presentation which included the inappropriate instrument and distracting rock-show lighting.

Hopefully Queanbeyan will be the only city to endure this bizarre experience and the management of the B will give more thought as to how it presents artists of the calibre of Tedeschi and Washingmachine. This effort respected neither the artists nor their audience.

 

       This review also appears in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au.

 

 

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

 

By Charles Dickens, adapted by Abigail Paul

Directed by Antonia Kitzel

Canberra REP Theatre, Acton to 5 December

 

Reviewed by Len Power 27 November 2021

After a tumultuous year that saw the cancellation of much of Canberra REP’s season of plays due to the Covid lockdown, it was a nice idea to present a small scale production of “A Christmas Carol” to herald the approach of Christmas in a spirit of optimism for a better 2022.

Charles Dickens’ famous novella, “A Christmas Carol”, was published in 1843 and has never been out of print since then.  It has been adapted many times for the theatre, radio, opera and film.

The grumpy old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, undergoes a journey of redemption as he faces three ghosts who teach him the true meaning of Christmas and the joy that giving yourself over to love and compassion can bring.

Using an adaptation by Abigail Paul, which was first staged in 2015 by the Theatre Language School Frankfurt in Germany, five actors play 30 characters to tell the story.

Alexandra Pelvin is the Narrator and Saban Lloyd Berrell plays Scrooge.  The other performers, Amy Crawford, John Whinfield and Sally Rynveld bring the various other characters to life by playing multiple roles.

The adaptation is a bit heavy on narration which slows the action down and the smaller number of colourful characters portrayed lessens the effect of the original story.  However, this much loved tale is enjoyable and the hard-working cast all give fine performances.

This is a small scale production with minimal sets and properties and the director, Antonia Kitzel, and her cast have given us an enjoyably immersive evening into the world of Charles Dickens.  With this production, Canberra REP and this show’s cast and crew have given us a ray of light at the end of a dark theatrical year.

 

This review was first published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 28 November.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’, ‘Arts About’ and ‘Arts Starter’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.