The Visit

The Visit

By Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Willeton Senior High School, WA. Directed by Isla Simeoni, Cooper Jefferyes, Emily Kirk, Mihir Pareek, Ollie Kopcyzk, Rameen Asad, Sara Zulaikha, Aaron James, Vaness Bona, Shenal Constantine, Sukhchain Singh. Mar 31 - Apr 1, 2021.

Willeton Senior High School’s ATAR Drama students and Certificate II Hospitality students have joined forces to create a very engaging piece of dinner theatre, that entertained and engaged the audience and left them very gastronomically satisfied.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit or Der Besuch is an unusual choice for dinner theatre, with the 1956 tragicomedy (or very black comedy) being a little darker than most dinner theatre productions, but this very nicely performed show worked very well. An extremely successful and very wealthy elderly lady returns to her run-down home-town with an intriguing offer. She promises enough money to revitalise the town and help every family, but in return the citizens must kill the man who many years ago got her pregnant and refused to take responsibility.

The theme “Justice is served” was taken up with delicious catering served prior to each of the three acts. A beautifully presented taster plate entree was followed by nicely cooked Roasted Chicken Breast or Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks. The desserts, either Raspberry and Nougat Ice Cream Pudding or Chocolate Mousse Tartlets with Raspberries - were exquisite. Student chefs (under the guidance of teachers Kristen Gibson and Brad Curran), servers and Front of House staff (under the leadership of Shaheen Parker) all excelled themselves.

Students were also responsible for the direction, with strong teamwork and shared vision from the directorial team, under the supervision of teacher Stefan Brand. A student stage crew, led by student stage managers Carolyn Kirk, Jessie Longman and Zarissa Keogh kept things running smoothly, with bold effective lighting from Luke Smith and Jasmin Prosser. Effective sound was provided by Mohammad Haddadpour and Lara Given, and the evening began with beautiful piano ambience provided by Raditiya Pradipta.

While The Visit is very much an ensemble piece, with most actors playing multiple roles, special mention must be made of the leading performers - both of whom were exceptional, delivering mature and layered performance far beyond what would be expected for actors of their age. Aaron James was excellent as Alfred Ill, whose crimes many years earlier finally catch up with him, while Isla Simeoni lights up the stage and brings great depth and understanding as the very eccentric Claire Zachnassian, bent on revenge.

Wonderful teamwork from Claire’s bizarre entourage. including a variety of husbands (all played with lovely variation by Ollie Kopcyzk), stoic butler Boby (Vaness Boong), henchmen Toby and Roby (Kiyan Dass and Sukhchain Singh) and the unusual old men Koby and Loby (Jemma Walker and Isabel O’Connell).

The residents of the town of Guellen show a wonderful struggle with temptation, with strong work from the forthright mayor (Cooper Jeffreys), Ill’s interesting wife (Emily Kirk), the conflicted School Master ((Rameen Asad), Police Chief (Sara Zulaikha), Priest (Shenal Constantine) and Radio Announcer (Mihir Pareek). Good support from citizens Chloe Russell and Jazlyn Skinner.

An engaging show that was part of a wonderful community experience. Well done to all of Willeton Senior High School’s hard-working team.

Kimberley Shaw