A Little Touch of Chaos

What a thrilling night of musical theatre. Having been privileged to see part of a rehearsal the previous week I’d eagerly anticipated the opening night of Chaos, a world premiere, and was not disappointed.

Facilitated by consultant Martin Croft, Arts Victoria had given a grant to the VCA music theatre school to commission a new Australian music theatre work. After sifting through 100 applications Chaos came to the top of the pile which was thoroughly deserved.

The creators, Peter Rutherford and James Millar, had written The Hatpin and I’d been mightily impressed with the Magnormos production. This collaboration reached new heights.

This loosely autobiographical musical tells the story of Tom and his struggles with identity as a maturing young adult and the impact of his sister's death on the family, and, in parallel, his father, Arthur, at a similar age, leaving the Exclusive Brethren and so being cut off from his family as he starts one of his own. In the first act sometimes these two and their partners were on stage at the same time. It was very effective.

Although the actors were all VCA students no attempt was made to age the older characters with makeup, and this was not an issue as they were utterly convincing. The older Arthur had a limp and moved more slowly.

This production is notable for the evenness in the strength of performances. The students worked strongly as a team, with all performers effectively portraying their roles. There were no weak links.

Director Iain Sinclair, who specialises in new works, has done an excellent job. The characters were strong, the relationships intense and it was gripping theatre. There were moments of great pathos and others of high comedy, but what most impressed was that these were real people coping with unusual problems. I loved the car ride when Tom and Maxine sat on other actors’ knees with their arms around their bodies like seat belts.

Henry Brett, as Tom, was suitably naïve, and there was a stillness about his interpretation which gave it great strength. Michaela Powell played his best friend, Maxine, and was a feisty young woman with an excellent voice.

Arthur was played by Alex Bigson-Giorgio and effectively conveyed the difference between the younger and older father. Rosemary Blyth was Hillary, his wife, who moved seamlessly from carefree youngster to mature mother.

There were some lovely musical numbers but what struck me most was the beautiful choral singing, often a capella and off-stage. Simple boxes were brought onto the bare stage for scene changes and the lighting was effective.

Having seen part of a rehearsal, I would have preferred the production to have been unmiked with just a piano in the small venue, as some words were lost, but this is a minor quibble. The band was excellent.

This musical deserves your attendance. Be a part of its premiere season! I want to go again.

Graham Ford

Images: VCA Music Theatre Company 2014 rehearse A Little Touch of Chaos. Images by Drew Echberg.

Graham Ford's preview