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The White Bear Theatre Club presents
COSÌ
by Louis Nowra
Directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher
White Bear Theatre
A review by David Hermann for EXTRA! EXTRA!
The rectangular studio at the back of the White Bear Pub has gone pitch dark and the last remaining audience-members clamber over each other precariously, spilling beer and muttering apologies. Excellent: Australians in the audience. The door opens again to admit what seems like a final wave of stragglers, but before we have time to wrap up our pre-show conversations and start paying attention, dialogue is spoken, a joke administered, and as we giggle away gently, a smooth surge of Adi Shimrony’s straightforward lighting reveals the latecomers to be members of the cast. So: suddenly we’re in Melbourne in 1970 and following hapless young theatre-director Lewis (Matthew Burton) as he attempts to direct the inmates of a mental institution in a production of Mozart’s silliest opera by a long shot, Così Fan Tutte - a choice imposed on him by the overbearing manic-depressive Roy (played formidably by Mark Little, erstwhile Neighbours-star, current Brighton-resident and outspoken critic of the Australian government’s failure to make amends for the treatment of the Aboriginal population.) Roy has an obsession with all things theatrical, considers himself a true thespian and exerts more influence over the rehearsal process than the unfortunate Lewis, who finds himself in turn the target of aggression from Doug (Mackenzie Scott), a volatile pyromaniac, and of unsolicited affection from Cherry (Monique Benoiton), a hefty obsessive with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of grotty sandwiches. To further his confusion, Lewis is attracted to Julie (Tess Butler), a sassy junkie in constant need of distraction from a crippling Heroin-addiction. Director Adam Spreadbury-Maher is clearly aware of the most extraordinary aspect of Louis Nowra’s writing and leads his cast to do it justice. More skillfully than most contemporary playwrights, Nowra manages to sweep us along in a constant flow of light-hearted comedy while slipping us some very serious messages on the sly. Lewis’s girlfriend Lucy (also Tess Butler) and his best friend Nick (Joel Elferink), a theatre director turned political activist, are disrespectful of Lewis’s decision to work with mental patients when there are bigger fish to fry, namely the organization of an Australian Moratorium To End The War In Vietnam. Joel Elferink portrays Nick as exactly the sort of obnoxious, self-absorbed, myopic radical, who, in hindsight, did more harm to the cause of the liberal-left than any of its opponents. As we giggle at the exquisite play-within-a-play-mental patients-singing-opera-what-a-shambles-recipe-for-disaster-set-up, we are quite gently invited to understand Lewis’s awakening from the cold, anti-emotional world of far-left rallying-cries into the reality of intricate, fragile human relationships, and individual triumphs and failures. As has been duly noted by the eminent Michael Billington, this is ‘Fringe Theatre at its best’, a diagnosis to which I have nothing to add, except - as the glorious absence of a recommended word-count allows me to - a chunk of honorable mentions. Neil Summerville is as accomplished as he is adorable in his portrayal of Ruth, an obsessive-compulsive housewife whose performance in the final act - the actual production of Così - has echoes of a Robert Wilson piece in its overblown, abstract gestures and made my discerning companion drop a tumbler of Scotch in my lap with sheer glee. Nathan Godkin, also of Neighbours-fame, plays the heavily sedated, fragile musical Genius Zac, in his alternate states of near narcosis and jittering intensity, with such precision that one wants to get up and shower him with spontaneous applause. Sound Designer Snowy Raphael is worthy of praise for one clever manoeuvre in particular: at the end of each scene a burst of topical 60s-music sweeps the studio before quieting down and strangely transferring to a small radio on stage - an inordinately effective device to draw the audience back into the action after a scene-change. I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the idea. It was raucous and poignant at the same time, a thigh-slapper and a head-scratcher of the first order. You should aim to see any production featuring anyone involved in this one - and I wish sincerely that this show prolongs its run in some way, somewhere, anywhere, because it’s the kind of thing you want to see again and bring a friend - and some Scotch-proof trousers...
Box Office: 020 7793 9193 Tuesday-Saturday 7:30pm; Sunday 5:00pm Tickets (£12/£10) White Bear Theatre Kennington Tube (Zone 2, Northern Line)
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