Sylvia

Sylvia has bounded on to the stage at the Red Tree Theatre with a scratch, a sniff and a leg hump.  Wyong Drama Group have done it again with this energetic production that centres on a married couple and their unexpected addition in the form of a homeless dog.  

Greg, played by Marc Calwell, seems to be having a mid-life career crisis of sorts whereas his wife Kate, played by Helen Herridge, is on the verge of a mid-life career breakthrough.  Now is the perfect time for Greg to distract himself with a new pet but Kate really needs to be convinced.  As always, Calwell is a great physical actor while showing a full range of emotional responses.   Likewise, Herridge is completely believable as his patient wife and we sympathise with the difficult position that her husband has put her in.   These two make a great pair on stage and their off-stage friendship is an obvious foundation for their chemistry here.

Duncan Mitchell does a lovely job with the role of Tom, especially considering that he has filled in for this production with only a few weeks of rehearsal up his sleeve.  Cathy De Vries plays Phyllis, a New York Socialite with a potential drinking problem and a strong dislike of Sylvia.  Finally, Tayah Blackman takes the role of Leslie, a marriage counsellor, when Kate is genuinely concerned that Sylvia has come between herself and Greg.  Mitchell was great in supporting roles in both Dracula and The Crucible and he is great again in this.  This reviewer is starting to wonder whether he can ever put a foot wrong on the stage.  De Vries brought humour when it was needed in an otherwise tense dynamic and Blackman does a good job with the unconventional role of a counsellor who needs her own counselling.  

Interestingly, the roles of Tom, Phyllis and Leslie are sometimes played by the one actor.  In this production however, it was refreshing to have three different faces, voices and energies in these roles.  Rather than these characters being treated as pantomime cameos, they each made a meaningful contribution to the story and the play had a lot more integrity as a result.

Despite all of these great, experienced actors in the mix the standout here was Kelly Monisse in the titular role.  Her Sylvia is sassy, charming, effervescent, covered in fleas and incredibly lovable.  Monisse doesn't skip a beat and is a perfect amalgamation of a woman and a dog.  Her stage presence is off the charts and her charisma cannot be ignored.  This lady has animal magnetism to spare, no pun intended.  I believe that she is relatively new to the Central Coast but I would absolutely expect to see her in many more things at the Red Tree Theatre as we could not take our eyes off her.

Director Debbi Clarke has been ably assisted by Isabella O'Brien and Stephanie Burton as the Assistant Director/Stage Manager and Production Manager respectively.   The colourful set of Daryl Kirkness really plays into the light-hearted subject of a talking dog and the stage crew were well-drilled and highly efficient.  The audience is loving this production, regardless of whether the individual spectators are dog owners or not.  There really is something in this for everyone.  As someone who rescues dogs from her local shelter this reviewer found it especially touching.

Sylvia closes this weekend so shake your tail and get yourself a ticket before you miss this delightful piece of theatre.

10 naps on the couch out of 10!!!

Fiona Kelly