Various venues, Sydney (9-30th January, 2010)
Oedipus Loves You by Pan Pan Theatre
Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre (24 Jan)
I wanted to like this production, I really did. I eschewed the traditional 'Oedipus Rex' on the program for what promised to be a refreshing - even humorous - retelling of the classic Greek tragedy.
The first thing I saw when the curtain rose was a naked man, about 1.5m away from me. Curses be to the blight of the centre front row when this unexpectedly happens. The worst part was I'd been put in C row, thinking it was the third row, but apparently the theatre had done away with A and B.
Having recovered, I watched as the drama unfolded - in a very odd, haphazard way, I might add. This 'Oedipus' retelling was set in a suburban home, with all the premise of the original. But there was no majesty in Oedipus that put him at the head of a city, let alone his own household. The house seemed overrun with the activities of Antigone and Creon, who had formed a band, and the sage elderly mutterings of Tiresias.
But in the end I had no emotional connection with any of the characters. I actively disliked Jocasta and felt the others were just going through the motions that they were supposed to as scions of their Greek character namesakes. The actor who played Creon was the only one who got close to that fine balance between past character and present remodelling.
The use of video was engaging and one of the standout features of the set. It featured a camera focused on the bed and another in a studio where a video actor wrote and used objects to illustrate things further. The scene where the family go into 'therapy' was also well done, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that this was a clumsy attempt at a post-modern 'Oedipus' that failed to hit its mark.
(I could also never understand why no one thought it odd that Oedipus would marry a strange woman some 20 years his senior, mother or no.)
Gig rating: 6/10
Enjoyment rating: 6/10
Smoke & Mirrors
The Famous Spiegeltent, Hyde Park (25 Jan)
Cabaret and the Spiegeltent go hand in hand, so it was with great anticipation that my friends and I descended upon the Smoke & Mirrors performance. And iOTA took that buzz and rode it right through the show with unforgettable musical numbers (by himself and by Todd McKenney, and band) interspersed with theatrical acrobatics provided by ThisSideUp and Chelsea McGuffin and breathtaking (no, really) illusions by magician Timothy Woon.
The only thing I would question was the 'bearded lady' number by Queenie van de Zandt near the end. She is a great singer, but the fact that iOTA had already sung her song in the first half meant it was a repeat rather than a reprise. It would have been more powerful if the song were introduced earlier, but not sung in its entirety.
The crowd-pleaser was definitely ThisSideUp's 'strong man' act. What's not to like about three buff young men hamming it up on poles and showing their strength and skill? My friends all decided they had a crush on James.
One friend remarked that the show was too music-heavy. Compared to previous years' 'La Clique', which also featured physical acts such as contortionism, hula-hooping and burlesque, it was definitely music-led, but I thought iOTA did a great job turning the dark quirkiness of the circus/cabaret into song and personally hope that he will release an album of the show's tunes. I was surprised to learn he'd written everything but Todd McKenney's two vaudeville numbers so rich was the music, steeped in the murky 1920s.
Overall, the performances, the music and the costumes were spot on, so I'm not surprised the three weeks of the show sold out so quickly - otherwise I would have gone again.
Gig rating: 9/10
Enjoyment rating: 10/10
Dirty Three and Laughing Clowns
The Enmore Theatre, Enmore (26 Jan)
Other than wear green undies, seeing these two Australian bands was the only Australian thing I did on Australia Day on account of having just $7.50 to my name (I was deciding whether to buy beer or gelato but ended up with neither).
I was pretty early into the moshpit and staked out a spot about a third of the way back from the centre of the stage, sitting and reading a book (well, I was going to be standing for three hours, so had to get my sitting in), but when the lights went down it was ridiculous to leave so much room, so I ended up three rows back for Laughing Clowns.
I didn't know anything about Laughing Clowns, other than they were Australian, so I was pleasantly surprised to find myself folded into their punk-ish, rock-ish world with some really curly lyrics off their 'History of Rock ‘n’ Roll Vol. 1' album. I took particular note of drummer Jeffrey Wegener because I thought he was a genius on the kit. Seems weird to write it, but I felt he and the drums were one being. (How very Zen!). Their set was epic.
I then found out I was standing next to an acquaintance of mine, another festival junkie, so we spent the break swapping notes about other events and complaining about being on our feet, which passed the time quite nicely.
Dirty Three then swaggered onto the stage. I don't think a band that contains Warren Ellis (violinist) could possibly go anywhere without swaggering. He may possibly be a nutbag, but by god he's good on the strings. I mean, violins are meant for sweet serenading, right? They don't get angry unless it's the 1812 Overture or something. But no, there's nothing quite so expressive as a punk violin. The skill is in having the notes rip at your sensibilities without grating on your ears, and that's the beauty of Dirty Three.
Was quite amused by Mick Turner's (guitarist) comparatively placid playing next to the shenanigan that was Warren, stamping and striking his way through their 1998 album 'Ocean Songs'. (Can shenanigan be used in the singular? Never mind.)
Just as amusing were Warren's introductions to each of the pieces, for example: "This song is like that time that you had to live in a hallway for five years and you discover it's a hole. But you fill it with furniture and make it all nice with pictures. And then you think back years later and go 'geez, they were the best five years of my life'."
Simply searing - and that's not even taking into account the amount of sweat I saw and made all evening.
Gig rating: 8/10
Enjoyment rating: 7/10
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