Reviews

The red carpet was in danger of wearing out at the Melbourne opening of South Pacific last night. Patrons were greeted on Spring Street by Polynesian dancers and drummers as they entered the Princess Theatre.

Rumours abound of a cast romance, a factor that will help affect a successful box office. But this production needs no such thing to attract the hordes.

Sometimes one goes to a show and decides it is worth it on the weight of one element alone. But here I find there are so many elements to recommend buying a ticket.

The theatre is dark. An echoing beat breaks the stillness, resonates in the dark, then repeats and repeats. Soft light begins to focus on a frame encased above the covered stage front, where, gradually, two faces emerge. For the next fifty minutes, almost frustratingly controlled, and with almost imperceptible movement, they slowly take the audience through a series of emotions and minute connections – until the light, and the music, fade again to dark and silence.

We’ve all been there, us theatre nuts: playing rehearsal games, pretending to be someone’s mother/father/cat/pot-plant, improvising situations in turn silly and deeply personal. Well, here’s a play that will remind you of those past ‘warm ups’ and ‘impros’. Annie Baker’s 90 minute 5-hander won Best New American Play at the 2010 Obie Awards for Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions. This Ensemble staging will be rewarding for all who have endured and/or enjoyed such ‘creative drama’ classes.

This unique adventure, of ‘a grand theatre marathon’, with its rich gratifying sense of humanity and its haunting imagery, is certainly well worth seeing.  Bring or buy snacks and heaps of water, dress lightly for comfort, and leave cumbersome coats in the cloakroom.  Then prepare to be amazed by how many varied aspects of human experience can be realized by only nine versatile actors.