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Bombshells
Presented by:
Purely Pensive
Productions
Venue:
Banksia Theatre,
Heidelberg
West
Reviewer:
Julia Roper
Date Reviewed:
Saturday 4th
April 2009
A show about
six women teetering on the edge…. What could be more entertaining?
Written by
acclaimed
Melbourne
playwright Joanna Murray Smith, Bombshells was first
performed to sell-out crowds in December 2001 by stage icon Caroline
O’Connor for the Melbourne Theatre Company. O’Connor went on to
perform the show in Sydney, Adelaide, and a return season in
Melbourne before seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, on
London’s
West End and in Canada.
The play
allows the audience to share in the erratic interior monologues of
various women faced with the strains of modern day living: a busy,
sleep-deprived mother; a cactus-lover whose relationship is in
turmoil; a feisty teenager competing in a talent show; an
increasingly disillusioned bride on her wedding day; a cabaret
singer who can’t escape her past; and a lonely widow trying to beat
depression.
Originally
O’Connor played all six characters. Purely Pensive Productions opted
to use six gifted actresses to take a character each.
Erin Brass
opened the show as Meryl Louise Davenport – a mother of three trying
to cram too much into her day.
Erin’s
portrayal was a beautiful blend of humour, pace and poignant moments
as she captured a woman putting others needs before her own, often
forgetting what she’s doing because she’s trying to do too many
things at once.
Emma Whatley
played the awkward Tiggy Entwhistle, whose presentation on cacti
quickly snowballed into thoughts about all the prickly things in her
life, namely the man who has been putting her through relationship
hell. While the script wasn’t quite as engaging as some of the other
monologues, Emma handled the material well.
Natalie
Torcaso was captivating in the role of Mary O’Donnell – the spoilt
dancing star whose talent show routine was stolen by her main
competitor. Natalie’s transition from egotistical performer to
frantic performer was very entertaining as she realizes she’s about
to be knocked off her perch. Decked in cat costume, her dance
routines were also well executed which made for a well-rounded
performance. Special mention should also be made of Carla Zerbi,
whose cameo appearance dancing the stolen routine was a highlight
for the audience.
Samantha
Corfield opens the second act with the best performance of the
evening as Theresa McTerry – a bride coming to the realization that
there’s a whole lot more to marriage once the wedding day is over.
Samantha was thoroughly delightful and should be commended for a
flawless performance.
Carla Zerbi
played cabaret star Zoe Struthers. Like the cactus sequence, the
material wasn’t as amusing as the other four monologues – it’s
interesting to note that both these monologues were deleted from
O’Connor’s season at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Having said
that, Carla’s silky vocals were a joy to listen to which set the
mood for Leah Milner to take the stage for the final monologue.
Leah played
Winsome Webster – a depressed, lonely widow looking for fulfillment
by reading to the visually impaired Patrick, played by Paul
Salvatico. I was really drawn in by Leah’s story as she found
herself forming an attraction to Patrick, who was at least 30 years
younger than her. In succumbing to Patrick’s advanced, Leah and Paul
handled the material with the right amount of sensuality. A
beautiful performance.
Mention should
also be made of the support cast of Chris Salvage, Mark Kearney and
Paul Savatico. But special congratulations need to be reserved from
director Kathryn Lynch, assistant director Jeremy Ives and their
production team. Direction choices complimented the script well,
costumes and set design were simple and relevant, and set changes
were unobtrusive.
Congratulations to Purely Pensive Productions and all involved in
Bombshells. It was a thoroughly enjoyable show.
Julia has been an on-stage performer for many years and has also
undertaken roles in vocal training and Musical Direction. Drawing
from a professional background in media, journalism, marketing and
events management, Julia made her debut as a Director in 2006 and
hasn’t looked back since!
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