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Spring Awakening
Presented by: Purely Pensive Productions (PPP)
Venue: Eltham College Performance Centre
Reviewer: Catherine Brain
Date Reviewed: Friday 6th November 2009
I was
intrigued to make the trek to Eltham to see this production, as it
was my first experience of a Purely Pensive Production (PPP). They
are a fairly young company, who were established to provide
opportunities for young actors to gain experience in
non-professional theatre. Definitely something worth supporting!
Their
selection of script for their year-end production was Spring
Awakening by Frank Wedekind– a story that is enjoying a real
resurgence, due mostly to the musical adaptation that has been a
huge success on Broadway. It tells the story of eight youths in a
small town in Germany in the late 1800s, a place described by
Wedekind as ‘sexually oppressive’. The play covers some fairly tough
content, which is why it is also referred to as ‘a children’s
tragedy’. It has had a somewhat controversial history, being
censored and banned in productions around the world for its dark
content. Each of the youths has burning questions and secret
desires, and is challenged by authority figures who are trying to
stifle their curiosity; religious leaders, teachers and parents.
Although the pairing of PPP with a show about the struggle of a
group of youths may seem like a logical pairing, there was a real
disconnect for me between the intent of the production and the
overall execution.
I
should admit upfront that I have found it difficult to approach this
review. On the one hand, I commend the team at PPP for tackling such
a challenging piece as Spring Awakening, and I honestly
believe that each member of the team (both on and off stage) was
committed to making the production a success. On the other hand, I
was incredibly frustrated by the basic elements of stagecraft that
were ignored by the production team, the clunky and inconsistent
adaptation of the script and the almost pantomime-like portrayal of
the majority of the characters during some very bleak and adult
issues. For a script that deals with such confronting issues as
sexual abuse, drugs and alcohol, abortion and suicide, I was amazed
that I felt absolutely nothing for the plight of the eight young
characters at the conclusion of the play. Key moments were wasted,
important turning points were trivialised and dramatic monologues
became very self-indulgent.
Shane
Sanfilippo and Jeremy Ives have adapted Frank Wedekind’s original
script in an attempt to “simplify the dialogue, focus on character
development and stay true to the themes of the play.” From my
perspective, this adaptation didn’t quite achieve this – instead, it
made some of the dialogue too simple, informal and modern which took
away some of the complexities of the characters that serve to make
the story so compelling. It was hard to believe that the youths were
fighting free from such a rigid and controlling environment when
some of their language and interactions were just the opposite. I
think the adaptation also weakened some of the power of the
authority figures that Wedekind created.
This
inconsistency was evident in other aspects of the production, in
particular the overall design. Characters appeared to come from
several different time periods in their appearance (costume and
make-up) and their demeanour which I found unnecessary. I appreciate
that many non-professional companies have to ‘beg, borrow and steal’
sometimes to pull together props and costumes for a show, but the
overall effect was confusing. Both of the mothers on stage were
dressed in relatively modern attire, which seemed totally out of
place. Use of props / set pieces to create the different spaces was
for the most part effective, but I think the size of the space was
too big for the piece. Using all three of the curtained sections in
the space was unnecessary – I would have liked to have seen a more
intimate space created for the ensemble for this piece. It really
would have helped to create that sense of feeling closed in and
oppressed by their environment.
Key
elements of the production were a major let down on the night I saw
the performance. The lighting design was inconsistent, with several
pockets of poorly lit space on the stage which were used too often
by the cast to ignore. The execution of the lighting was confusing,
with lighting rises and falls for no apparent reason in the middle
of scenes, which served as another distraction for the audience. I
was incredibly frustrated by the amount of backstage noise that was
apparent during the production and some of the clumsy moves by the
crew – it also distracted several of the cast on stage. I was aghast
when at the death of Wendla, her grieving mother was interrupted by
a crew member and a curtain change in full light. It made no sense
and killed any potential connection the audience had with what was
unfolding on stage.
The
production was under the direction of Shane Sanfilippo, who was also
responsible for the adaptation (and a range of other production
roles). Shane comes to this role with some experience in direction,
so I was a little disappointed with his approach here. As I have
highlighted already, there were several basic elements of good
stagecraft that were ignored or perhaps intentionally used.
Regardless, they were distracting to the audience. There was a great
deal of pantomime-like acting with characters engaging the audience
directly and ignoring the person on stage with whom they were
supposed to be conversing with. Given some of the extremely intimate
and personal conversations, this felt odd. The placement of the cast
on stage didn’t seem to be thought out in parts. The best example
was when all of the youths came across each other in the woods, and
formed a line next to each other…each stepping forward to deliver
their lines. So much for a group of people breaking free from
authority! Too many of the cast delivered crucial lines in the dark,
unable to find their light which should have been addressed. Several
of the younger cast were trying to be too ‘child-like’ in their
portrayal, and came off as one-dimensional characters that just
weren’t believable in what they were experiencing. In contrast, none
of the adults were entirely believable as authority figures. Again,
I see the adaptation as having a role in this, but believe the
director had a responsibility to bring it together and make the
piece more cohesive.
The
cast assembled were enthusiastic and experienced in a range of
smaller productions. There were some interactions within the
ensemble that worked well, but I don’t believe there was a genuine
connection between members of the ensemble as characters. The single
stand-out performance for me was Erin Brass’s portrayal of Martha
Bessell. I thought her performance was honest and child-like,
without being overly simple. She also avoided the temptation to go
too melodramatic, which allowed the audience to really connect with
her and feel for her situation. She was subtle and entirely
believable as the young Martha, who was the victim of serious abuse
by her father.
Special mention to Ashley McPherson as Melchior. I found his
performance one of the more engaging during the first Act, but I
wasn’t convinced by his descent into madness towards the conclusion
of the play. I also wanted to commend Mark Kearny (Hans) and
Nicholas Zull (Ernst) for their commitment to their
characters…despite the incessant giggles from the audience in the
lead up to their kiss.
Again, I commend the cast and crew for tackling Spring Awakening,
and hope that the team at Purely Pensive Productions continue to
provide opportunities for young performers to gain more experience
in all aspects of production.
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