| Pinocchio | Windmill Theatre & State Theatre Company of South Australia |
| Written by David Jobling |
| Thursday, 12 July 2012 11:41 |
 Left – Danielle Catanzariti and Nathan O'Keefe. Cover – Alirio Zavarce and Nathan O'Keefe. Photos – Tony LewisWindmill Theatre and State Theatre Company of South Australia have combined efforts to create a remake of the classic tale Pinocchio. Director Rosemary Myers and writer Julianne O'Brien explain in their programme note that it has come together over an eighteen month period. It is not quite together yet. Billed as a 'brand new family musical' it is quite difficult to pin down which family members are actually being targeted. The youngest kids around me fell asleep and those that remained awake pointed out their feelings as the play progressed (as kids are wont to do) and they were merciless. There definitely are some jokes that are pitched directly to the adults, but as the play unfolded even the adults grew quiet. A moment when a fart was captured into a box (because of a clause in a contract) is likely to be a hit on some occasions, just as Geppetto's (Alirio Zavarce) desire to go out and buy 'take away' instead of eating his homemade soup may raise a laugh but problems with timing and delivery worked against these gags on opening night making them stick out as odd choices. Indeed there are some curious inconsistencies in the story being told that need to be ironed out if it really wants to reach the whole family; here's a no-brainer to start with – at the start of the play Geppetto sells his toy-making tools to buy new shoes for Pinocchio (Nathan O'Keefe), but at the end of the play Geppetto enters with the same tools (d'oh!) which just doesn't make sense. Geppetto talks to these tools quite a lot in the first scenes of the play and they talk back. There is a clear relationship between him and these tools. The moment Geppetto decides to sell them so he can buy his new wooden son some expensive brand name sneakers is a significant moment. How come he has the very same tools he sold at the end of the play? Then there are the mixed images that distract from clarity. A Blue Girl (Danielle Catanzariti) on a motorcycle is projected onto a large central structure on stage, she is seen riding the motorcycle and then she appears on the stage, so it seems that there are two different people on two different motorcycles, like there is a race happening or something but it is really the same character. The animated Blue Girl crashes into the tree that Geppetto then cuts down and carves into his talking wooden boy... It wasn't really clear if that was why the Blue Girl was then hanging around Pinocchio as he set off on his adventures, like some sort of ghost. Likewise there is a long scene of Pinocchio walking to school in his new store-bought shoes which are the focus of a significant development between the 'father and son' early in the story. As Pinocchio walks to school a projection of Pinocchio walking to school appears on the structure behind him, yet in the projection he is not wearing shoes. So are the shoes important? They were the central focus of an argument between Geppetto and Pinocchio, so it seems like they are important, but then they're not? That was difficult to understand. Yes, these points may seem to be splitting hairs, but I listened intently as they were being raised by various kids in the seats nearby me, and they are fair points. It left me wondering why the production team opted to use these projections along with the real thing on stage at the same time. Plenty of colour and movement provided by the video design (Chris More) looked great but tended to overshadow the action at times and although I can see how adults may see these projections as a great element of the play, like television or cinema effects, I empathised with the murmurings of discontent in the unbroken voices around me. Is there really a need to duplicate these particular things? I found it annoying after a while because it created a gap between the real actors and the story; had the projections simply been bridges from one point to another it wouldn't have grated, but they seemed to be an alternative to the action happening because of the obvious inconsistencies and that didn't make sense. The design (Jonathon Oxlade) overall is impressive but it doesn't always serve the play or the clarity of the story. It is a wonderfully impressive set except it seemed to dwarf the actors at times. A revolving stage tended to slow the action down more often than not and the choice to repeat elements of the story in other mediums simply made the play seem overly repetitive. A shadow puppet sequence midway through the second act basically recaps the story for those who have lost any grip of the plot and sadly I think there were quite a few of those; consequently the play dragged at times and seemed a tad incoherent. One scene between Pinocchio and the Blue Girl was very curious with descriptions of an afterlife where the Blue Girl lives, being a place where dead people go and have no names, was particularly awkward. It does seem like an overwhelming conglomeration of images and ideas at times that doesn't make for especially good theatre. Act one spends a fair amount of time setting up Pinocchio running away from home at the same time as showing Geppetto rejecting him and telling him to leave, which made it difficult to understand on an emotional level. The actors often seemed to be at odds with the technology, shouting into their microphones way too much, pitching their voices like old school pantomime characters all shrill and distorted. As with most new musicals there are several songs that don't progress the plot, especially one delivered by the big bad villain of the piece; it would be easy enough to cut them out. At one hundred and thirty minutes long, including a twenty minute interval the play could benefit a great deal from some solid editing. Windmill Theatre and State Theatre Company of South Australia present Pinocchio Based on the books by Carlo Collodi Directed and created by Rosemary Myers with writer Julianne O’Brien Venue: Dunstan Playhouse Dates: 8 - 28 July 2012 Tickets: $39 – $29 Bookings: www.bass.net.au Comments (1)Subscribe to this comment's feedWrite commentYou must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
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For me, this production was incredibly inventive and cross-generational. The original tale of Pinnocchio is not a long narrative but a collection of short stories, being episodic by nature. The team has been very successful in their selection of material to create a production with a great sense of rythm, adventure, tension. To their credit, while they've developed a clear narrative with their selection of material, moments like the beginning with the Blue Girl on the motorcycle, as questioned by the reviewer, reference the episodic nature of the original literary work- it also created a great introduction and moment that set the forthcoming tension of the hero/ villain pursuit.
Overall, the design and music were outstanding and make this production innovative and exceptional. Both are unbound by musical theatre convention and, as a result, show the audience why there is still a place for live performance, that it's exhilerating and dnagerous.
The audience seated near me were completely captivated by the magic of the world being brought to life and were not consumed with identifying inconsistencies. In fact, The issues mentioned in the review may only be relevant to some audience members who are not willing to suspend their iimagination. Afterall, this story is about escaping to another world where anything is possible. Afterall, many years have passed by the time that Pinnocchio and Geppetto reunite. Perhaps, Gepetto has bought new tools in this time or, maybe he had more than one set when he sold some tools for Pinnicchio's shoes- this still demonstrates great sacrifice but gives him a means to work, build the timber boat and have tools in the closing scene- just another way to understand this other than an inconsistancy! With it's animated set, unconventional musical theatre score and rock show lighting, the production is clearly not trying to be literal and animation that mirrors the actors journey adds to the tension and sense of adventure, it adds another visceral layer and did mot read to me as unnecessary repetition.
The audience I shared at the same performance with the reviewer were enthralled. Energy was high post-performance with lots of discussion between Mums, Dads and kids about the content, the issues it raised and how the magic happened. The general words I heard outside the theatre were, "I loved it Mum!"
This is an exciting and highly original production that gives the audience a glimpse of the potential of musical theatre when created outside the genre's conventions. A credit to Windmill and The State Theatre.