I am so pleased with myself that I have chosen yet another
great evening at the theatre. Last Night at the Powerhouse I saw the QueenslandTheatre Company's production of 'Elizabeth:Almost by Chance a Woman' which is a
high camp, obscene, raucously funny, absurdist piece of modern anarchy in the form of
Commedia dell'arte. Highly improvised by the quick witted cast to fit local politics, today's news and
filthy puns depending on the flow of the evening and the type, age and mood of
the audience. Constant references to the Bastard Bard and his plays added to
the fascinating multiple layers that kept even the most seasoned theatre goer
on their toes as they attempted to glean every bit of the complex stimulating
wit. It is no mere slapstick and as one baby-boomer audience member said, it
was one of the best fun evenings he had had at the theatre in ages.
We were treated to a wonderful cast with Carol Burns as the
dramatic, hilarious, peeing Elizabeth, both funny and sad, Eugene Gilfedder who
plays characters from Shakespeare to most notably Grosslady is an invention of
pure obscene gibberish, Jason Klarwein as Egerton who does wonderful references
to Othello, an assasin and a brilliant diatribe on modern warfare/politics that
would do a Modern Major General proud. Sarah Kennedy as Martha and the wonderful
voice of Dash Kruck as the fool Thomas, who can really sing and managed to show
us his bare bottom as well.
Mention has to be made of the sixth member of the cast who
was the musical director, improvising musician and Mr Byrd - John Rodgers. He too played with what ever
themes he felt appropriate on the evening with reference to pop, pomp and
circumstance and any musical joke worth having.
A special surprise treat was that after the show many of us
stayed behind for a Q&A with the full cast, director and stage manager. It
was fascinating to get the background to how they plotted the evening each
night and how they reacted with amazing talent to the reactions of the audience
and added comments about topical matters while keeping the rhythm of the play.
The director said that even he was surprised with the inventive differences that emerged
each performance.
Directed by:- Wesley Enoch
Designed by:- Simone Romaniuk
Adapted from the Italian by:- Louise Fox and Luke Denenish
Written by:-
Dario Fo (born 24th March 1926) wrote this in 1984 and he
also received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. Fo is a sharp tongued
subversive Italian playwright, satirist, actor, director and composer. He and
his wife Franca Rame played Grosslady and Elizabeth in the original production.
Footnote:- The adaptor of this brilliant piece of theatre,
Louise Fox was a recipient of The Queensland Premier's Literary Award as was
the writer of another great play I saw recently, A Hoax by Rick Viede.
The new red-neck LNP government elected here recently under
the premiership of one Campbell Newman
has already done away with this award (mentioned scathingly in the play)
along with their push to send human rights back to the dark ages with their
reversal of legal gains made by the previous government and the gay community
in Queensland. I bet Dario Fo would join us in condemning such Neanderthal
behaviour.
P.S.
A great interview with one of the dashing cast - Dash Kruck talking about theatre, his boyfriend and he sings as well.
https://www.facebook.com/dashkruck
https://www.facebook.com/dashkruck
Part one of a publicity video
