THE SUNSHINE CLUB - HIT Productions.
Written and
Directed by Wesley Enoch – Composed by John Rodgers
Musical
Direction by Shenzo Gregorio – Choreographed by Yolande Brown
Lighting
design by Ben Hughes – Set and Costumes realised by Adrienne Chisholm
Presented by
HIT Productions – The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre July 31st/Aug
1st
Performance
on 31st July reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
A group of
actors in practice clothes wander on to the stage. As they chat and warm-up, aboriginal
elder, Wally Bell, joins them to deliver a rambling 20 minute Welcome to
Country.
When Wally
departs the actors slip into costumes to become characters in the story of
Frank Doyle an aboriginal serviceman who returns home to Brisbane from World
War 11. Discovering that attitudes have changed little since he went away,
Frank Doyle decides to start The Sunshine Club a place where black and white
can meet, and most importantly, dance.
Written and
directed by Wesley Enoch, with music by John Rodgers, the original Queensland
Theatre Company production of The Sunshine Club opened in Brisbane in 1999,
before moving to the Sydney Opera House for a six-week season in 2000.
That
production won Wesley Enoch a Matilda Award for book, lyrics and direction, and
Stephen Page a Helpmann Award nomination for his choreography.
In 2022, Queensland
Theatre produced a revival of the work, also directed by Wesley Enoch, but this
time with choreography by Yolande Brown, which this reviewer was fortunate to
see.
This touring
version of that production, produced by HIT Productions, has an entirely new
and slightly reduced cast, but retains Roxanne McDonald who, happily, repeats
her star turn as the worldly wise Aunty Faith Doyle. Wesley Enoch also directs
this production.
Judged
against the sophistication of current indigenous theatre, The Sunshine Club now
seems naïve and even amateurish, despite the best efforts of its current
hardworking cast. However it is that very naivety that makes this production so
appealing.
The optimism
inherent in the predictable, cliché laden dialogue and colourful
Hollywood-style song and dance numbers is a far cry from the underlying anger
of much of the current indigenous offerings.
Garret Lyon
and Claire Warrillow as Frank Doyle and Rose Morris, the young lovers fighting against the
ingrained societal attitudes, offer
sincere, appealing performances as does Tehya Makani as Frank’s strong-willed
sister, Pearl, who provides a real highlight with her stricken rendition of
Passionfruit Vine.
Lanky Rune
Nydal as Pearl’s caddish lover; Dale
Pengelly as the Reverend Percy Morris, and Leeroy Tipiloura as the
happy-go-lucky Dave Daylight, all do their best with stock characters whose rapid
changes of attitude make them hard to make believable .
Towards the
end of the show the actors return to the stage in their practice clothes to
render a stirring rendition of “If Not Now, Then When”.
The
excellent musical arrangements for John Rodger’s songs were superbly realised
by Shenzo Gregorio’s excellent five-piece, on-stage band, however the
attractive sets by Jacob Nash and costumes by Richard Roberts, adapted for touring by Adrienne Chisholm, were
often compromised by Ben Hughes gloomy lighting design.
Nevertheless,
this production by Hit Productions offers a welcome opportunity to see an
authentic production of an important Australian musical which when first
presented was hailed as ‘a brilliant new landmark in Australian musicals…and
unashamedly feel-good’.
Images by Paul Dodd
This review first published in CANBERRA CITY NEWS on 1st August 2024.
