Left - (l-r) Alexander Jenkins, Abbie Cardwell, Lisa Sontag, and Andre Eikmeier. Cover - Andre Eikmeier and Abbie Cardwell
Warnings abound: “Suitable for mature audiences. Contains sex scenes,
nudity, drug use and frequent coarse language”. Well it did contain
these, albeit fleetingly and inoffensively, except that the F word was
flung around very generously, as might be expected from the title.
Described as “Groundbreaking, home-brewed musical theatre that f**king
rocks”, this experimental and high energy excursion into early 21st
century “popera” makes good theatre, but I can’t see it enjoying the
longevity of its generic predecessors.
The author/composer Sean Peter has woven a plot around four
twenty-somethings sharing a house, each with their own preoccupations:
one with climbing the corporate ladder, one with TV (which finally
consumes her) and her terminal diagnosis, one struggling with faith and
death and love, and one off with the pixels in cyberspace. But they all
also share a common disillusionment about the futility of life.
The theme of post September 11 despairing suburban anomic angst
permeates the first act in particular, almost to the point of being
over done, in spite of some nice allusions to wanting to escape from it
all, such as “Sesame Street is better than reality when everything’s
fucked!”, and “I wish I were a goldfish finding the same rock anew
every day!”, and wishing it was still September 10.
The plot develops in the second act producing a greater level of
interest, as the four protagonists grapple with hope vs. despair,
repeatedly shown by posing the distinction between being the chicken or
the cook. Each of these very accomplished young actors (Abbie Cardwell,
Andre Eikmeier, Alexander Jenkins and Lisa Sontag) has individual
appeal and undeniable ability. They portray these disparate and
sometimes desperate characters with intensity and fine authenticity -
and they can all sing. The coordination of sound, pre-recorded
accompaniment, lighting, stage levels and other technicals was
excellent, and complemented the fine acting and singing, so that the
whole moved with pace and credibility.
Nevertheless, I grow tired of speak–singing, or what ever we may call
it. The amorphous text and tunes are only peppered with random rhymes
and scant and scattered scansion, the vocal line often bearing minimal
relationship to the accompaniment. This genre is not forever – perhaps
even not for long. Neither is the particular context (post 9/11,
corporate downsizing and digital everything) of this universal theme.
Perhaps time will relegate this, with other attempts like it, to the
category of the Not-Very-Musical. But the Adelaide Festival Centre and
Autopilot Productions are to be commended for this important venture.
Any such adventurous experiment as this is to be lauded: without these
attempts, theatre has no growing edge.
Adelaide Festival Centre's iNSPACE program in association with AutoPilot Productions presents Everything's F**KED A New Musical by Sean Peter
Venue: Space - Adelaide Festival Centre
Dates: 1 - 18 August Times: August 1 - 4, 10 & 11, 17 & 18 @ 8pm; Matinee Aug 4 @ 3pm Tickets: $30 - $25
Bookings: BASS - 131 246
I absolutely loved watching this show... those four actors blew me away!!! I agree, it did take awhile to come together, but the second act was intense and paid off well. Not everyone's tastes, but wonderful independant theatre in my book.
Boring, out of context and time-line, nothing really interesting to say, just a singing episode of Home and Away. The actors tried but the material just wasn't there.
The Hypocrite | Melbourne Theatre Company
Outstanding among the actors is Garry McDonald, who blasts on to the stage with a tempestuous energy, sweeping the play along in a torrent of words.
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