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Red Sanctuary
Presented by:
Metro Arts
& Butchers Paper
Venue:
Sue Benner
Theatre, Metro Arts, Brisbane
Reviewer:
Kellie Scott
Date Reviewed:
Wednesday 4th
November, 2009
Red Sanctuary
promotes itself as a “journey of an impressionistic interpretation
of a modern political and spiritual rite of passage”, but it was
more a journey through technical mishaps, bad direction and a random
collection of muddy scenes.
It began promisingly with fresh-faced actors Chenoa
Deemal as Dawn, and Maria Mejia as Aly. However, things quickly
crashed into confusion and disorganisation with consistent technical
mistakes with sound and images, long scene changes and unclear
ideas.
Dawn, who is of Aboriginal descent, has moved to
Japan to escape Australia’s racist culture. She is finding her feet
in what she firsts believes to be a whole other world, but during
her flight realises it is not necessarily her surroundings that
cause her to feel like an outsider. There are scattered messages
throughout the play about white Australian’s prejudice towards, and
misunderstanding of, the Aboriginal culture. Whyte also vaguely
refers to some troubles within the Aboriginal community. While these
are powerful and meaningful points, the delivery failed to give
these the impact they deserved.
The consistent out-of-sync sound and disorder of the
projected images on stage made it difficult to connect with the
story. Long waits between scene changes became frustrating and all
the more baffling as I sat in the dark wondering what exactly this
story wanted to tell me. One thing was clear, and that was Whyte
obviously had something profound to express, but due to the lack of
direction for her promising team of actors, this failed to get
through.
Deemal showed a sincere
understanding of her character’s background, and brought an
authentic element to the story. It’s unfortunate she did not have
more tools at hand to explore this deeper with the audience.
Mejia was a delightful quirk amid the bewilderment,
playing the enjoyable Aly as well as the strange Christmas character
decorated in lights and fun.
The gorgeous and leggy Ailsa Walsh let her looks down
with an awkward stance that certainly did not resemble that of her
character, professional dancer, Lera. Her performance was up and
down with some comical highlights but moments of over-acting.
It was disappointing to see such significant material
not backed up by its artistic team. The essence of the story is
strong, but the structure and skill was lacking.
Red Sanctuary
is showing until the 21st of November.
Bookings at
www.metroarts.com.au.
Kellie Scott reviews for her website
www.brisbanecritiques.com, which was launched in October of
2008. Her reviews can also sometimes be found at
www.absolutetheatre.com.au. Previously her critiques for music
and film have been published in The Catholic Leader and The
Satellite newspapers. She is currently studying Journalism at
university, and hopes to use this to develop her writing skills,
focusing on becoming a professional critic in the future. If you
would like to contact Kellie, please email
kellie@brisbanecritiques.com.
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