It’s 1931 in Vienna and the young and naïve Marianne(Hayley
McElhinney) is set to wed the dull but reliable Oskar(Steve Le
Marquand) who’s the local butcher - problem is, she can’t even bear to
kiss him! You see the marriage is the bright idea of her father,
Leopold(John Gaden) the local toyshop owner, who plans to marry her
off so that he can retire and relax. Ironically, his plan leads to
anything and everything but this, when the willful Marianne rebels by
falling for the charming but hopeless gambler Alfred(Eden Falk). All
manner of hilarious misfortunes ensue as we head into the strange and
hilarious world created by Hungarian playwright Odon Von Horvath in
Tales From The Vienna Woods.
Firstly, it must be said that it’s truly a treat to see a play with
such a large and talented ensemble cast - there’s 20 roles in all which
are juggled by The STC Actors Company, and this kind of large scale
production is a good fit for them.
The play itself is a frolicking rollicking romp that’s like having a
few too many schnapps and waking up in someone’s chalet with the cast
of The Sound of Music all trying to get into each other’s pants.
There’s German sausage jokes galore and plenty of foul-mouthed but good
spirited profanity - and a bit of nudity thrown in for good measure.
Hayley McElhinney and Eden Falk are delightful as the lovers thrown
together by fate - who it seems has an extremely wicked sense of
humour. Deborah Mailman is gutsy and immensely entertaining as the
man-eating Valerie and John Gaden’sLeopold reminds us that you’re
never to old to get frisky with a young filly in the woods.
Horvath’s interest in dialect and language is wonderfully captured in
Tom Wright’s adaptation. He’s cleverly found modern day counterparts
for the German colloquialisms that don’t jar with a contemporary
audience. Director Jean-Pierre Mignon has delivered a play with an
intriguing and unpredictable flow that captivates with it’s visual gags
and witty one liners delivered with snappy aplomb.
The set has to be seen to be believed. It’s been designed by Andrew
Hays and Kimm Kovac, who together have created monumental stages for
Opera Australia, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Chicago Opera
Theatre. It’s truly a versatile mechanical wonder, as it miraculously
transforms from a set of shop fronts, to the Vienna Woods, to a
nightclub and back again, all in a matter of seconds.
There’s also plenty of fantastic costume changes (Hays and Kovac
again), and character changes in this whirling dervish of a production
that is folk morality tale meets cabaret. Oh, and speaking of cabaret!
Paul Capsis is brilliant as both the nightclub MC and the mischievous
and downright malicious grandma. He’ll literally have you rolling in
the aisles.
While this play does have a serious side – it alludes to the impending
shadow of the Nazi’s and fascism, who are about to burst into Austria
and spoil all these high jinks - the references are subtle and
interspersed between some truly amusing shenanigans, so any subtext
will probably only be noticed by the more astute historians amongst
you.
All in all, it’s a fun night out, that will have you feeling the kind
of silly that happens only when you drink too much champagne - just that little too quickly.
Sydney Theatre Company presents Tales From The Vienna Woods
By Ödön von Horváth
In a new translation by Tom Wright
Venue: Drama Theatre | Sydney Opera House Previews: 13 – 16 November 2007 Opening Night: 17 November 2007 Season: 19 November – 15 December 2007 Plays: Mondays at 6:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays at 8pm Matinees: Wednesday matinee at 1pm, Saturday matinee at 2pm Price: $73/ $60 concession Matinee $65/$54 concession Bookings: (02) 9250 1777
