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Barchester
Presented by:
Ballarat
National Theatre
Venue:
Courthouse
Theatre
Reviewer:
Matt Hustwaite
Date Reviewed:
Sunday
November 29, 2009
On a gloomy and
rainy Ballarat afternoon, it was with a mix of curiosity and some
trepidation that I entered the Courthouse Theatre to view
Barchester, a new Australian musical written and directed by
Ballarat’s Peter Nethercote. Seeing the first incarnation of any new
piece is always exciting with a dash of worry of not knowing what
you are in for. It was pleasant to see a near full house arrive to
see the production, a good sign for the season to come.
Barchester
is based on Anthony Trollope’s series
of novels “The Barchester Chronicles”, specifically the 2nd
book Barchester Towers, and finds the central figure Eleanor
Bold (played by Carolyn Ryan) widowed, and her father, the Reverend
Septimus Harding (Chris Baulch) hoping to be restored to the
chaplaincy of St Hiram’s Hospital. What ensues are the conflicts
between the religious figures of Barchester and the romantic
pursuits of many the young suitor.
Upon entering the
theatre I was blown away by the marvellous set, designed with detail
by Mr Nethercote. Clearly a lot of effort had been put into the
design and construction of it and the authentic looking cathedral
setting immediately brought you into the world of the show.
Throughout the piece the set was manipulated in clever ways to
establish various settings throughout the location and I was again
impressed with the way Mr Nethercote was able to transform the
limited venue that is the Courthouse Theatre.
Mr Nethercote has
written a musical that is reminiscent of the classic operettas of
Gilbert & Sullivan with lively, swift melodies and is played
effectively by the 5 piece band under the direction of Stewart
Greedy. The show opens with the24 person cast singing the title
number and I was immediately impressed with the group singing.
Choral Director Jean Arnott has brought out a beautiful sound with
the cast, with clear and crisp harmonies a treat to the ear. The
cast should also be commended for their clarity with the very wordy
lyrics. Unfortunately the tight ensemble singing doesn’t translate
to some of the solo and duo songs, with some range and strength
issues amongst various singers.
Carolyn Bennett
gives a strong and detailed performance as the central character
Eleanor Bold. She presents an endearing and likeable persona that is
easy for the audience to connect with and enjoy. She has a strong
grip on the heightened language of the piece and sings with a
beautiful soprano voice.
Playing opposite
Carolyn as her two duelling love interests are Brendan Bawden as the
sly womanizer Odadiah Slope and Matthew Haymes as the loveable and
introverted Francis Arabin. The characterisations from these actors
are a perfect contrast and allows us to easily like one and dislike
the other. Brendan’s portrayal of Slope is charming, graceful and
charismatic which coupled with his cruel intentions makes the
audience love to hate him. His convincing reactions to his two
simultaneous lady pursuits crossing paths was well done and a hoot
to watch. Matthew’s performance of Arabin gives us a loveable
contrast to the conniving Slope and from his introduction has the
audience on his side, like the good guy in all romantic comedies.
Other performances
of note were Hedley Thompson’s irreverent and wound up Theophilus
Grantly and the talented Jane Gaynor who played the delightfully
horrid Mrs Proudie to perfection.
Unfortunately I
felt that the individual performances were hindered by the length
and complication of the piece. The central love story of the near 3
hour performance was unnecessarily complicated with the addition of
the Bertie character as another suitor, which had minimal storyline
progression throughout the piece. While played well by Dylan
Shalless, this plot addition could easily be removed to cut back on
time. The main plot of Eleanor Bold came to a very rushed conclusion
and alot of trimming could be afforded to give more time to this
story and to make Barchester a more streamlined performance.
That being said,
Barchester is well worth seeing with some strong performances in
a piece that is a nice throwback to the classic operetta style of
theatre and forgetting any critique of the piece, I recommend you
see it if you can, just for the chance to experience and support a
premiere Australian work.
Matt
has been fortunate enough to have had many great theatrical
experiences in his young life, from playing Will Parker in Oklahoma
on Melbourne's Her Majesty's stage to collaborating with Mark
Seymour on vocal arrangements and performance of Dust. Following his
time studying at the University of Ballarat Arts Academy, he seems
to have developed a penchant for producing shows with long titles,
with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, I Love You,
You're Perfect, Now Change and the upcoming The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee under his belt. He currently sits on the
committees of BLOC Music Theatre and Golden Rivers Theatre Group.
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