Left - Richard Roxburgh and Monica Maugham. Cover - Richard Roxburgh and Justine Clarke
Roland Henning has writer’s block - but don’t mention that word! It’s
the jinx that all writer’s fear, the ponderous elephant sitting in
creativity’s corner and the central premise of this Gow’s first
full-length play in a decade - coincidence? It’s tempting to draw all
kinds of conclusions from the parallels between Gow’s life and this
work, but at the end of the day it’s the work that matters while the
rest is pure conjecture.
Toy Symphony also heralds the return of shining star Richard
Roxburgh to the stage, after a seven year absence while he’s been
romancing the big screen - and it’s directed by Neil Armfield, so, it
comes with a great deal of expectation and hope this play, it’s a lot
to live up to.
We open with Roland seeking help from a psychiatrist (Justine Clarke)
for his distressing and debilitating condition. There’s a lovely
writerly flourish from Gow as Roland describes the creative process and
the block - it’s delivered beautifully by Roxburgh - but the play is a
little slow to get started until we flashback and visit Roland’s
childhood in the Sutherland Shire. Roxburgh is truly delightful here as
a can’t-sit-still-in-his-seat twelve year old who eagerly pre-empts the
answers in Mrs Walkham’s (Monica Maugham) history class. It’s a charming
performance by Maugham who is one of Roland’s early champions, helping
him to cure another strange and hilarious condition (I won’t spoil it
for you) by putting pen to paper. It is Mrs Walkham too who plays a
pivotal role in helping him find his way back from the creative
quagmire in adulthood. Maugham is clearly an audience favourite, her
first scene concluding with rapturous spontaneous applause.
We return to the psychiatrist’s office several times and it’s here
where we start to explore the dark places; how writer’s become blocked
and what keeps them there. There’s a dramatic shift of mood and tempo
and things become slightly heavy under the weight of their importance
in this adult world.
It’s the childhood scenes that are the most exhilarating, chiefly the
friendship between Roland and his Latvian friend Nick(Guy Edmonds)
which provides some of the most touching moments in the play. There is
warmth and sincerity here, and a beautiful lightness to the writing
that allows these moments to touch us more deeply.
Russell Dykstra is immensely entertaining as a kaleidoscope of
colourful characters, most notably as the side-splitting Steve Gooding
- the sexually confused school bully with the Warrick Capper wig.
But the true magic of this play lies in the performance of the
charismatic Roxburgh. I could watch him read the phone book and I’d
still be interested, which is just as well seeing there are several
pockets in the play that feel overly lengthy and expositional.
There are however moments of pure unadulterated childlike wonder that
make this play special. The re-enacting of Roland’s childhood play in
pantomime style to the tune of ‘Haydn’s Toy Symphony’ is rich with a kind of magical enchantment reminiscent of The Nutcracker Suite.Tess Schofield’s beautiful costuming comes to the fore here, as does
Damien Cooper’s lighting design which makes the scene feel like a music
box diorama.
Ralph Myers’ minimalist set is bold in its simplicity and works well to
depict the nature of the creative space of the mind, where wonderful
ideas can appear fully formed seemingly from nowhere.
It’s a phenomenal cast, directed with an assured hand, in a play that
has a clever central conceit, but in the end I just couldn’t help
wanting more; although perhaps that was just the weight of some truly
great expectations.
Company B presents Toy Symphony by Michael Gow
Venue: Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills. Dates: 15 November – 22 December 2007 Times: Tuesday 6.30pm, Wednesday to Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm & 8pm, Sunday 5pm Tickets: Full $52. Seniors (excluding Fri/Sat evenings) & Groups 10+ $44. Concession $32.
Under 27: $32 tickets for Tuesday 6.30pm available from 10am on the day (subject to availability). Bookings: (02) 9699 3444 or www.belvoir.com.au
