The Good Doctor
Written by Neil Simon
Directed by Clare
Moss
Canberra Academy of
Dramatic Art (CADA)
CADA Theatre,
Fyshwick to December 2
Review by Len Power
30 November 2016
The Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art (CADA) provides
professional actor training with nationally recognised Certificates, Diplomas
and Advanced Diplomas under the Australian Qualifications Framework. As their final show for the year, three graduating
students from the Advanced Diploma of Performance program appeared alongside
continuing students from the Program to present Neil Simon’s 1973 play, ‘The
Good Doctor’.
The play is a series of short plays based on works by Russia’s
Anton Chekhov and linked by a writer, possibly Chekhov himself, as
narrator. Neil Simon’s characteristic humour
laces all of the plays and they are all ruefully funny. The CADA company performed seven of the ten
short plays.
Director, Clare Moss, has produced a lively and thoughtful
production using minimal set and props.
It moves at a good pace and the depth of work on characterizations with
the actors is noteworthy.
The three graduating students, Izaac Beach, Imogene Irvine
and Liam McDaniel, all gave disciplined and technically strong performances. Izaac Beach was especially funny as a worry
wart subordinate who accidentally sneezed on his superior and couldn’t forget
about it. Later in the show he was
delightful as a reticent young man being taken by his impatient father to a prostitute
to lose his innocence. His endearing
character and sense of timing in this sequence was excellent.
Imogene Irvine gave a nicely controlled, quiet performance
of a wife targeted by a seducer and appearing to succumb until she unexpectedly
turns the tables on him. Later, she was
particularly impressive as a desperate actress at an audition, first gushing
all over the writer but then giving a surprisingly strong reading.
Liam McDaniel played the sneezed upon General with nicely pompous
authority and demonstrated great skill in the physical comedy of an apprentice
dentist whose excessive zeal terrorizes a patient.
There was good work from the supporting students, too. In particular, Kathleen Masters gave a warm,
controlled performance as a Governess being taught a cruel lesson and Haydn
Splitt demonstrated a strong natural flair for comedy as the husband unwittingly
helping the man intent on seducing his wife and, later, as the increasingly
irritated father taking his son to his ‘life lesson’. Also impressive was Damon Baudin as the writer,
performing the narrations with great feeling and comic sensibility.
Everyone else in the cast had nicely memorable moments and
gave good performances.
‘The Good Doctor’ isn’t as well-known as the more famous Neil
Simon plays like ‘the Odd Couple’ but it is very funny in a quiet way and takes
skilful acting to make it work. The CADA
students and their director did a fine job, making this a very entertaining
evening at the theatre.
Len Power’s reviews
can also be heard on Artsound FM 92.7 ‘Artcetera’ program from 9.00am on
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