By Keith Robinson,
William Shakespeare and Tony Taylor
Directed by Sarah
Giles
A State Theatre
Company South Australia Production
The Playhouse,
Canberra Theatre Centre to 4 November
Reviewed by Len Power
1 November 2017
Taking its inspiration from Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s
Dream’ and its play-within-a-play, ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’, this Australian play, ‘The
Popular Mechanicals’, details the rehearsals and eventual performance of the
bumbling group of amateur actors – the rude mechanicals - chosen to perform the
play before royalty.
A highly theatrical piece, it’s cleverly written with
opportunities for clowning, vaudeville, farce, slapstick and a unique and
recognizable Australian sense of rough anarchy that works well with the real
and pretend Shakespeare-type dialogue.
Director, Sarah Giles, has the show moving at break-neck
speed and there are some inspired sequences, including fun and games with the word
‘bottom’, an extended fart joke that really is very funny and a hysterical
puppet show involving chooks and recognizable classical tunes that is worth the
price of admission alone. Costumes and
props were colourful and imaginative and the show was cleverly lit.
The strong acting ensemble of Holly Austin, Lori Bell, Julie
Forsyth, Charles Mayer, Nathan O’Keefe and Rory Walker presented individually
delightful characters with their polished physical and vocal comedy skills and
they all displayed excellent comic timing.
However, right from the start, there was a sense of remoteness
about it all. Their smallish stage set
was positioned too far back from the front of the Playhouse stage, creating a
large gap between audience and players. There
would be greater involvement in a more intimate venue.
There were long sequences where it was not possible to
understand what the actors were saying and there were times where, although the
actors were working hard, the comedy seemed forced and less funny than it
should be.
It’s a funny and enjoyable show with moments of brilliance
and originality but it’s a bit lost in the Playhouse theatre. However, don’t miss the chooks sequence. You’ll never forget it.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7’s new ‘On Stage’ program on Mondays from
3.30pm and on ‘Artcetera’ from 9.00am on Saturdays.