On Thursday 13th December I attended a performance of The Choir written and directed by Errol Bray and after a devastatingly emotional performance I did manage to meet, thank and shake the hand of the playwright. We asked him about his inspiration and he said he was angry at institutionalised abuse way back in 1979. This is now a more commonly discussed problem, but Errol deftly captured the mood and essence way before many recognised it.
http://errolbray.com/
The wonderful and outstanding cast of talented young actors
Aaron Wilson as Paul
Christopher Batkin as David
Nick Barclay as Garry
Alexander Bayliss as Colin
Stephen Quinn as Michael
Johnny Legobye as Peter
Christos Mourtzakis as Andrew
The Choir as a play is riveting and dramatic. A friend said he felt gutted by the experience. Seven boys aged from 12 to under 16 (played by young adults) in a dormitory in an orphanage.They are too old now to be wanted or adopted and their only reason for existence is the choir, their soprano voices and each other. The boy in charge dishes out his love to the sexually eager children and the unseen authority are castrating the boys in a false attempt to maintain their voices. Cruelty from authority and each other, abuse by the system and a microcosm of a world reminiscent in some ways to the warped view of survival in Lord of the Flies. There is singing, there is pain and there is death. The ultimate end of a limited, abused and controlled life.
The Choir has been performed around the globe including in London, Yugoslavia Washington Sydney and here in Brisbane. See the photos from the programme above and others below.
Click here for my related Post on Eunuchs and Castrati
http://errolbray.com/
Aaron Wilson as Paul
Christopher Batkin as David
Nick Barclay as Garry
Alexander Bayliss as Colin
Stephen Quinn as Michael
Johnny Legobye as Peter
Christos Mourtzakis as Andrew
The Choir as a play is riveting and dramatic. A friend said he felt gutted by the experience. Seven boys aged from 12 to under 16 (played by young adults) in a dormitory in an orphanage.They are too old now to be wanted or adopted and their only reason for existence is the choir, their soprano voices and each other. The boy in charge dishes out his love to the sexually eager children and the unseen authority are castrating the boys in a false attempt to maintain their voices. Cruelty from authority and each other, abuse by the system and a microcosm of a world reminiscent in some ways to the warped view of survival in Lord of the Flies. There is singing, there is pain and there is death. The ultimate end of a limited, abused and controlled life.
From a Melbourne Production directed by my friend Robert Chuter for Fly On The Wall Theatre
