WAITING FOR GODOT - The Street Theatre, Canberra.

PJ Williams (Estragon) - Christopher Samuel Carroll (Vladimir) in "Waiting for Godot"

Written by Samuel Beckett – Directed by Caroline Stacey.

Set, Costume and Lighting Design: Veronique Benett

Sound design by Kimmo Vennonen – Movement Consultant: Ashlee Bye

The Street Theatre from November 8 to 24, 2024. 

 Performance on November 17^th, 2024, reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

PJ Williams (Estragon) - Craig Alexander (Pozzo) -Christopher Samuel Carroll (Vladimir) - James Scott (Lucky) in "Waiting for Godot".

                                 

Whether you’re a devotee of the works of Samuel Beckett, or have never experienced any of his plays, it’s doubtful you’ll get an opportunity to experience a better production of his most famous play, Waiting for Godot than this production currently on show in   The Street Theatre in Canberra.

Performed by four of the city’s most accomplished actors under the direction of Caroline Stacey Waiting for Godot challenges its audience as to its purpose, and that of its characters, who spend their time challenging each other with endless propositions and circular comments as to the meaning of everything and nothing.

The only thing the two main characters are sure of is that they are waiting for someone, or something, called Godot but have no idea who that is, or when he will arrive.  This is a play that has intrigued generations of theatre goers.

Stacey’s superbly modulated production reveals why.  Performed on an elaborate, though sparse, setting designed by Veronique Benett, audience is seated on stage on either side of a long road that runs up through the theatre into apparent infinity.  At one end of the road is a large rock, then a long way further up the road is an abstract tree, the purpose for which is revealed as the play proceeds.

A shabbily dressed couple, Vladimir (Christopher Samuel Carroll) and Estragon (PJ Williams) are discovered waiting on this road.  Their relationship appears ambiguous and although they are both engaged in the same activity, it is never revealed why.

Despite the endless waiting, the play is by no means static. Stacey’s adroit direction ensures Vladimir and Estragon are rarely inactive as they engage each other in pointless word games and challenges.

Superb actors both, who have worked together previously, Carroll and Williams revel in the opportunities offered by Beckett’s intriguing script to constantly play off each other to contribute vocal and physical nuance to their interpretations within the parameters of the script and Stacey’s detailed direction.

As the play progresses Vladimir and Estragon encounter two other travellers, Pozzo (Craig Alexander) and Lucky (James Scott). Better dressed than the others Pozzo appears to be the dominant personality because he‘s leading Lucky by a long rope tied around his neck. Lucky is also laden with parcels and appears to be mute.  Although when Pozzo reveals that he and Lucky have been together for 60 years and they are heading to the market to sell Lucky, he proves he’s certainly not mute by breaking into a long, unintelligible rant.

Craig Alexander (Pozzo) - James Scott (Lucky) in "Waiting For Godot".

They also meet a boy (Stirling Notley) who claims to work for Mr. Godot, who he says in answer to interrogation, “Does nothing” though he doesn’t know why. Later the same boy denies being the boy they had met the previous day. 

One of the bonuses for sitting opposite other members of the audience is the opportunity it presents to watch their facial responses register shock, surprise, hilarity, bemusement, even sadness at the absurdities of the script.   

Yes!  It’s that sort of play. So, if that sort of play sounds right for you, here’s your opportunity to experience a terrific production of what many consider the most influential play of the 20^th century.

PJ Williams (Estragon) - James Scott (Lucky) - Christopher Samuel Carroll (Vladimir) in
"Waiting For Godot"

                                          Photos by Nathan Smith Photography.

        This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au

  

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - Capitol Theatre, Sydney

The Ensemble - "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Lyrics by Tim Rice – Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Directed by Timothy Sheader – Directed for Australia by Shaun Rennie

Choreographed by Drew McOnie – Choreographed for Australia by Bree Tipoki

Musical Director: Laura Tipoki – Set and Costume Design by Tom Scutt

Lighting Design by Lee Curran – Sound Design: Nick Lidster

Lighting Design Australia: Gavan Swift – Sound Design Australia: Michael Waters.

Capitol Theatre, Sydney until January 26^th 2025.

Opening night performance on November 14^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Michael Paynter (Jesus) and the ensemble of "Jesus Christ Superstar"

It was hard to escape the feeling of Deja vu while sitting in the same theatre which 52 years previously had housed the Australian premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar in a production directed by Jim Sharman and hailed by lyrist Tim Rice as “better than Broadway’s”.

The Capitol theatre had been freshly painted in Taubman’s Superstar Brown (formerly called Mission Brown) especially for the occasion, but still smelt of decay and in danger of demolition.

Relative unknowns destined to become Australian theatre legends made up the cast led by Jon English, Trevor White, Robin Ramsay and Michele Fawdon with other like Stevie Wright and Rory O’Donoghue listed among the ensemble.

Now all these years later, having experienced numerous productions of this musical since, a visceral response to the opening chords of the lone guitarist spotlit high above the stage, heralded a sense that this production was going to be something special.

Originally produced for the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2016 as a re-imagining of the musical, this production directed by Timothy Sheader and choreographed by Drew McOnie won Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical Revival.  

Sheader and McOnie’s direction and choreography has been stunningly reproduced for this Australian tour by director Shaun Rennie and choreographer Bree Tipoki with a cast with artists relatively unknown as theatre performers but possessing impressive rock concert credentials, with Laura Tipoki leading a brilliant band perched high above the action.

In what will surely become his break-out role, Jesus is played by Michael Paynter, best known as a session singer and guitarist. He performs with the Australian band Icehouse and is one half of the 2023 Aria Award winning production team MSquared.

As Jesus in this production he reveals himself as a charismatic actor with a remarkable singing voice.  His phenomenal performance on opening night when his rendition of Gethsemane literally stopped the show earning not one but two standing ovations, will undoubtedly ensure him of a future in musical theatre should he choose.

Javon King (Judas) - Michael Paynter (Jesus) in "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Similarly, Javon King who plays Judas is already an experienced Broadway performer and an Australia a Green Room Award-winning actor. He first came to national attention with his light-hearted singing/dancing role as Seaweed J. Stubbs in the 2024 national tour of the musical Hairspray.  But that role contained little clue to the powerful voice and commanding presence he is able to bring to his riveting performance as the tortured Judas in this production.

Perhaps best known among the principal cast is Mahalia Barnes. Well known to Australian audiences for her television and concert performances, it is a surprise to learn that the role of Mary Magdalene is her first theatre role. In this production Mary Magdalene is a constant calming presence and Barne’s renditions of Everything’s Alright and I don’t know How to Love him are standouts for the beauty of her phrasings and the clarity of her lyrics.

Michael Paynter (Jesus) - Mahalia Barnes (Mary Magdalene) in "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Peter Murphy is a dignified presence as Pilate and his rendition of Pilate’s Dream provides one of many stand-out moments with another being Tana Laga’aia’s superb rendition of Peter’s Denial.

Elliot Baker and John O’Hara bring contrasting presence and vocal colour to their roles as the strikingly costumed priests Calaphas and Annas.

Cabaret artist Reuben Kaye as Herod provides exactly the right amount of razzle dazzle and visual spectacle with his turn as Herod in a production where the overall costume concept is rock grunge. Kaye provided his own review of his performance with an audible “nailed it” as he left the stage amid cheers at the end of his spectacular rendition of “Pilate and Christ.”

Reuben Kaye as Herod in "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Designer Tom Scutt’s decision to go rock grunge as his overall concept for his set and costume designs is by no means boring. His flaying costumes are perfect for the arresting movement demanded by Drew McOnie for his sweeping choreography which is brilliantly executed by an extraordinary team of dancers led by crimson-haired Darcey Eagle as a mysterious character, Mob Leader. McOnie’s choreography also provided an unnerving reminder of how easily an adoring crowd can turn into a baying mob.  

Scutt’s rusting metal crosses and scaffolding which form the basis of his setting, provide a perfect surface for the Lee Curran’s extraordinary lighting as well as a table for a re-enactment of Da Vinci’s iconic Last Supper painting.

Michael Paynter (Jesus) Mahalia Barnes (Mary) and ensemble in "Jesus Christ Superstar"

The imaginative use of microphone stands and leads harken back to the days of microphone cord spaghetti, but also provide the means for Judas to hang himself and the cross on which Jesus is crucified.

Jesus Christ Superstar has always provided a tantalising vehicle for imaginative directors and creatives. So while ever there are creatives with the intellect and skills of Sheader, Scutt and McOnie, it is not too far-fetched to imagine that there will be audiences filling this very theatre in another 50 years marvelling at the relevance of  Lloyd Webber and Rice’s remarkable re-imagining of the last days in the life of that  person called Jesus Christ.  

                                                               Photos by Jeff Busby

            This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 18.11.24

  

DRIZZLE BOY - Queensland Theatre

Daniel R. Nixon as "DRIZZLE BOY"

 

DRIZZLE BOY – Queensland Theatre

Written by Ryan Ennis – Directed by Daniel Evans

Set and Costume Design by Christina Smith – Associate Designer: Madeleine Barlow

Composer and Sound Designer: Guy Webster – Video Designer: Nevin Howell

Lighting Designer: Matt Scott – Lighting Associate: Christine Felmingham

Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse: November 13^th to 16^th 2024.

Opening Night Performance reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Daniel R Nixon (Drizzle Boy) - Anthony Gooley (Father) - Judy Hainsworth (Juliet) in
"DRIZZLE BOY"

Drizzle Boy, as he is known to his family and friends, is an autistic young man who is beginning university study in the hope of one day becoming an astronaut. He’s desperate to assert his independence as he embarks on his journey into adulthood.

Playwright Ryan Ennis has based his character for his 2022-2023 Queensland Premier’s Drama Award-winning play, on his own experiences as a neurodivergent person. It is directed by Daniel Evans who is neurodivergent, with neurodivergent actor Daniel R Nixon, quite brilliant as Drizzle Boy. 

Throughout the play we experience the world through the eyes of Drizzle Boy, aided by a remarkable set design by Christina Smith, which on entering the theatre, appears to be a raised circular blue stage set in the vastness of a normally unseen backstage environment.  

As the play progresses, through the inventive lighting by Matt Scott and video projections by Neville Howell, the stage, replete with myriad drawers and trapdoors. gradually morphs into a succession of unlikely spaces that make up Drizzle Boys’ world, including a lecture theatre, his mum’s kitchen, a park, the inside of a spaceship, until finally, a starry planetarium.  

Throughout the play all the relevant people in Drizzle Boy’s life are performed by just two actors, who, with the help of clever costuming, populate his world.

Judy Hainsworth (Juliet) - Daniel R Nixon (Drizzle Boy) in "DRIZZLE BOY"

Expertly manipulating a series of lightning-fast costume changes, Judy Hainsworth, seen earlier this year in Canberra in Shake & Stir’s production of Fourteen, plays, among others, Drizzle Boy’s girlfriend, Juliet; his idol Russian astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova; Dustin Hoffman; and most importantly, his mother; who’s driven to distraction by Drizzle Boy’s inability to express his feeling and his rejection of her help as he fights for his independence.

Similarly, Anthony Gooley undertakes a number of roles including a monstrous Baphomet who haunts him; Hans Asperger; and his loving father, desperate to connect with a son who is unable to tolerate his efforts to establish father/son intimacy.

Daniel R Nixon (Drizzle Boy) - Anthony Gooley (Hans Asperger) in "DRIZZLE BOY".

Throughout all this, Daniel R. Nixon, who never leaves the stage, offers a tour de force performance with his creation of a lovable character who while seeking acceptance from those around him is determined to live his life his own way while marching to a different drum.

DRIZZLE BOY is one of those rare productions which surprises from beginning to end. Not only does it delight as an entertainment, it also performs a valuable service by shining a light subtly subverting our preconceptions about those born to live life differently.  

                                                         Photos by Morgan Roberts

    This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au

The Ukulele Man

 

The Ukulele Man by Marcel Cole.  At Smith’s Alternative, Canberra City, November 15-16, 2024.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
Nov 15th

Written and Performed by: Marcel Cole as George Formby
Performed by: Katie Cole as Formby’s wife and manager Beryl, and other roles as necessary.

Directed by: Mirjana Ristevski

‘The Ukulele Man’ is the true story of wartime comedian and ukulele legend George Formby. From the Music Halls of Blackpool to the battlefields of Europe, this is the untold history of Britain's greatest entertainer!

He was banned by the BBC and committed to a psychiatric hospital by his wife, and yet still became the UK’s biggest star.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Katie Cole as Beryl and Marcel Cole as George Formby
in The Ukulele Man 2024

For an hour while thoroughly engaged in Marcel Cole’s re-creation of George Formby’s unassuming, I might even say shy, positivity – his humanity – I never for one moment thought of Donald Trump.  Not one jot.

Mirjana Ristevski’s thoughtful, careful, tight directing of still relatively youthful Marcel Cole’s remarkable capacity for living in the moment as if from within his character, while also placing his musician mother, Katie, into roles particularly crucial to Formby’s life, makes us feel we are in the presence of the real George Formby – even up to the point when he describes the crowd of 150,000 lining the way from the funeral parlour to the site where his ashes are interred next to his father’s.

The Ukulele Man is real theatre.  Absolutely Not Netflix.  It’s weird but wonderful to find oneself responding to Formby, laughing and singing along with him, just as I remember we did when I was a child in England in the nineteen forties and fifties, seeing him on our brand-new television in the same year as we had the set switched on for 12 hours straight for the coronation of the new Queen Elizabeth.  

But Marcel Cole has done much more than bring back memories for old people.  The story of George Formby’s life through World War I and his entertaining the troops through World War II is disturbing.  He is still entertaining us today until, after the show has ended, we are left with the real possibility of World War III.  

I don’t want to think about Donald Trump again, but will remember the artist, George Formby, keeping up his ordinary person’s gentle, if a little bit risqué, sense of humour, leaning on a lamp-post, watching and waiting for a certain little lady to pass by.

If you want to know about the whole story of George Formby, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Formby#Biography .

To understand George Formby and feel for the life of an independent artist, go to Marcel Cole’s The Ukulele Man.

About Marcel Cole

Marcel Cole is a multi-disciplinary artist from Canberra. He comes from a family of musical performers and so music, singing and performing have been a part of life ever since he could walk. Since then, he has trained extensively as a dancer in Canberra and at the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington, NZ, and has studied theatre, mask and clown in Australia, London and Paris, most notably at the prestigious École Philippe Gaulier.

Wikipedia records:

Formby’s films are, in the words of the academic Brian McFarlane, "unpretentiously skilful in their balance between broad comedy and action, laced with ... [Formby's] shy ordinariness".

The film  Keep Your Seats, Please in 1936 contained the song "The Window Cleaner" (popularly known as "When I'm Cleaning Windows"), which was soon banned by the BBC. The corporation's director John Reith stated that "if the public wants to listen to Formby singing his disgusting little ditty, they'll have to be content to hear it in the cinemas, not over the nation's airwaves"; Formby and Beryl were furious with the block on the song. In May 1941 Beryl informed the BBC that the song was a favourite of the royal family, particularly Queen Mary, while a statement by Formby pointed out that "I sang it before the King and Queen at the Royal Variety Performance". The BBC relented and started to broadcast the song:

    "To overcrowded flats I've been,
    Sixteen in one bed I've seen,
    With the lodger tucked up in between,
    When I'm cleaning windows!

    Now lots of girls I've had to jilt,
    For they admire the way I'm built,
    It's a good job I don't wear a kilt,
    When I'm cleaning windows!"

WAITING FOR GODOT

 

 Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.

Directed by Caroline Stacey OAM. Set, costume and lighting design Véronique Benett. Sound design Kimmo Vennonen.Movement consultant Ashlee Bye.  Production Manager Neil Simpson. Stage Manager Brittany Myers. Lighting Operator Wayne Bateup. Sound Operator Kimmo Vennonen. Design Associate Kathleen Kershaw. Set Construction Martin Thomas. Stage Technicians Wayne Bateup, Connor McKay, Kyle Sheedy, Nathan Sciberras. Publicity Su Hodge. Production Photography Nathan Smith Photography. Novel Photographic. Videography Craig Alexander. Poster Artwork Design♡Cult. Marketing Artwork Design♡Cult. Street One. The Street. November 9-24 2024. Bookings 62471223.

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

 

Christopher Samuel Carroll as Vladimir

Samuel Beckett’s literary masterpiece Waiting For Godot, currently given an outstanding production at The Street is generally regarded as “Theatre of the absurd”. Coined by Martin Esslin the term is explained by Esslin as  “the dignity of man lies in his ability to face reality in all its senselessness; to accept it freely, without fear, without illusions–and to laugh at it” It embodies the notion of free will, of man’s ability to act without the influence of a higher power or a religion. It is therefore necessary for any production of Waiting For Godot to reflect Esslin’s definition of absurdism and the forces, both physical and psychological that act against free will. 

P.J. Williams as Estragon

Director Caroline Stacey and her cast have excelled in staging a production of Beckett’s iconic play that lurches us along the roadway of life in all its aspects. In the actions of Vladimir  (Christopher Samuel Carroll) and Estragon (P.J. Williams) as they wait to meet Mr. Godot we witness the futility of their seemingly meaningless existence. The arrival of an authoritarian Pozzo (Craig Alexander) and his servile lackey ironically called Lucky (James Scott) exposes the cruel nature of man’s inhumanity to man. And yet, in this illuminating production one is made poignantly aware of the human’s capacity for resilience. Williams and Carroll epitomize this resilience through their interdependence, their arguments and reconciliation, their clownish antics, their games to occupy their time while waiting for Mr Godot, who never comes. 

James Scott as Lucky. Craig Alexander as Pozzo

Stacey keeps the action moving with highly physical stage business recollecting Beckett’s fascination with the clowns of the silent movie era and later the comedy pairs like Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy.  In the hands of this highly professional and accomplished company Beckett’s  tragicomedy is a shining beacon casting light on our human condition. In casting Williams and Carroll as the two vagabonds eking out their time on a lonely country road, Stacey has paired the two actors who offered excellent performances in The Street’s Crime and Punishment, In Waiting for Godot they again demonstrate their ability to move us and provoke laughter at their absurd circumstance. There is excellent support from Alexander and Scott. Scott’s performan
ce as the hapless servant to the domineering Pozzo in the first act is amongst the finest interpretation of oppressed subjugation that you are ever likely to see on a Canberra stage. Scott entirely inhabits the pathos and the pain of his character before bursting forth with senseless diatribe, a cry for understanding in an uncaring universe. Every performance in this production is worthy of the highest commendation but Scott’s Lucky will remain in my memory and my conscience for many years to come.

Designer Véronique Benett has created a promenade setting with audience seated on either side of the long road that rises to nowhere below a full silvery moon. A lone tree stands on the rise and below Estragon and Vladimir wait where there is “nothing to be done” and “ Nobody comes, Nobody goes. It’s awful” There is an aesthetically pleasing uniformity in Benett’s design of set, costume and lighting, accompanied by Kimmo Vennonen’s subtle sound design, punctuated by moments of sudden alert. There is a harmony of design drawing our attention to the action and the atmosphere in a production that is not to be missed and, I suspect, has been informed by a careful analysis of Beckett’s profundity and playful humour. The season is short, the seating capacity limited by the imaginative design in the main theatre of The Street so rush to get a ticket before it is too late to wait.

  

WHAT DO YOU DREAM? - Ausdance ACT 2024 Youth Dance Festival.

"Enter the Doll House" - UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra.

 Canberra Theatre Centre 6^th – 8^th November 2024.

 Opening night performance on 6^th November reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

 

 Ausdance ACT has been staging its annual Youth Dance Festival in the Canberra Theatre for a remarkable 40 years.  

Countless potential dancers, choreographers and theatre technicians received their first experience of dancing on the Canberra Theatre stage while representing their school in one of these festivals.

"Obession" - Hawker College

 Under the Creative Directorship of Ausdance ACT’s current Director, Dr. Cathy Adamek, this year’s festival celebrating that achievement carried the title “What Do You Dream?” with each participating school being tasked with producing a short work responding to that theme for its presentation.

 The festival is proudly non-competitive, and such is the popularity of the festival that three nights are required to present the resulting works.  

 On the opening night dance works from ten schools and colleges were performed with teams from UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra, The Woden School, Marist College, Kingsford Smith School, Lyneham High School and Hawker College, each contributing a unique work while Melrose High School, Mount Stromlo High, and St Francis Xavier College and Caroline Chisholm School contributed two works each.    

 Following an Acknowledgement of Country performed by the Buchanan, Laverty and Rix families, the program proper commenced with an inspirational commemorative work, commissioned by Adamek in celebration of the 40^th anniversary of the Youth Dance Festival.

 Created by Youth Dance Festival alumni and star teachers and choreographers, KG from Passion & Purpose, Caroline Wall from Fresh Funk and Francis Owusu from Kulture Break it was entitled “What Do You Dream”.

 Presented in a seamless flow of segments representing the myriad dance styles represented in the festival, “What Do You Dream” offered an innovative introduction to the theme of the festival and received a stylish performance by the large team of dancers from participating ACT schools, and repeated each performance of the festival.

Enter the Doll House - UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra

 Some schools interpreted the “dream” aspects of the theme quite literally, with nightmares, zombies, and sleeping bodies featuring in quite a few of the works.

 Others chose more abstract interpretations, and although the performance level and presentation varied between the various offerings, the imagination and enthusiasm of the participants shone through in every case.

 Because every work was supported with professional lighting and production the resultant works impressed with the standard of presentation achieved, while the variety of ideas on display in the works ensured a stimulating and entertaining evening of dance.

 The fact that it requires three evenings of performances to accommodate the schools and colleges that wish to participate augers well for the future of the Ausdance ACT Youth Dance Festival.

"Obsession" - Hawker College

                                                     Images -  ART ATELIER PHOTOGRAPHY

 

 

  

Drizzle Boy

 

Drizzle Boy by Ryan Enniss. Queensland Theatre at Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse, November 13-16, 2024.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
November 13

Creatives

Writer Ryan Enniss
Director Daniel Evans
Set and Costume Designer Christina Smith
Lighting Designer Matt Scott
Composer/ Sound Designer Guy Webster
Video Designer Nevin Howell

Stage Manager Kat O'Halloran
Assistant Stage Manager Nicole Neil

Cast

Drizzle Boy - Daniel R Nixon
Mother/ Juliet/ Valentina Tereshkova/ Dustin Hoffman/ Google/ Doctor - Naomi Price
Father/ Hans Asperger/ Baphomet/ Google/ Doctor - Kevin Spink



There are two ways to appreciate this modern-style theatre work.

First it is a highly original way of using theatre as a kind of adult theatre-in-education about how being autistic is a natural condition in some people, which the person concerned cannot change.

Second, it is a play about other people unfairly judging autistic people as abnormal or even subnormal, at best trying to treat them psychologically or at least trying to help them; at worst disrespecting them as figures of fun, as social failures, or even with aggression because they don’t change to suit ‘normal’ expectations.

Being “on the spectrum” is now a commonly used term, which at least recognises that every autistic person is different in their own way.  The line in the play is “If you have met one autistic person, you have met one; if you have met another autistic person, you have met another one.”

Because people with autism don’t respond in the expected ways to emotional subtext cues, they may – as David does – create fictional characters drawn from stories, and perhaps especially from movies, which they imagine to be real and may be called on for help; or may seem to impose judgements about what they are doing.

The key moment in the play, as a relationship is developing between David and Juliet in their late teens, is when she has expressed love for him.  David stops, looks at her in an objective kind of way, and asks “Are you real?”  Juliet says simply “Yes.”

He means the question literally: is she real or a figment of his imagination?  She means literally that she is real.  While in the ‘normal’ audience, we know that she really means she really does love him for what he is, as he is.

The presentation of the story in theatrical terms is quite remarkable.  The choreographed movement work is amazingly complex and so precisely done.  The use of voice over and other sound effects are quite stunning, as is the lighting.  And I found it hard to imagine how the two actors working with David – the Drizzle Boy – could possibly have managed all those costume changes – in addition to their character, voice and accent changes.

So, first the show is entertaining just for the performances, staging and technical impacts.

While, second, it commands respect for the actors as actors, and for the frustrations and difficulties that people with autism face on a daily basis – and must always face, even when intellectually they can learn to understand yet can never be sure of succeeding in emotional situations.  The play remains realistic about autism as a condition, but gives us hope that more people will find ways to treat each other with the respect we all deserve.

This hope comes from the experience, which I certainly had, of realising that we all surely have to learn to better appreciate and respect others for being who they are, because most of us – perhaps men, especially – are at least a little bit like David, the Drizzle Boy.