Left - Alexandra Fowler and James Millar. Cover - James Millar. Photos - Steve Lunam
The Ensemble has to be one of the most undersung theatres in the country, so, first up, three cheers for a theatre that's managed to keep up a consistently, if not unwaveringly excellent standard for donkey's years.
As it turns out, The Little Dog Laughed, by the very on-Broadway Douglas Carter Beane, doesn't deviate from The Ensemble's top form. It's a kind of comical Brokeback Mountain. Kind of. While sporting a few poignant, heart-rending moments, it mocks its characters as much, or more, than it empathises. In fact, it's pretty much merciless. It doesn't go very far, or deep. It's, ultimately, inconsequential (because, c'mon, at the end of the day, who really cares what happens to shallow-end-of-the-gene-pool Hollywood celebs). But it's pretty enjoyable in the telling; peppered, liberally, with very wry and amusing observations, well-wrought turns of phrase and one or two very idiosyncratic metaphors. It's as fluffy as the people it portrays.
It's even better for the fact, in this production, it features, for example, Alexandra (Ally) Fowler. If you're as long in the tooth as I, you'll remember the name from The Chantoozies, a late-80s goodtime girl band (though blokes played the instruments). To be honest, I'd no idea Ms Fowler had acting cred, but it's more than evident in her confident, star turn as flesh-tearing agent, Diane. She ekes the most out of every razor-edged line (of which she has many), while having the discretion not to overplay them. The result is a delicious delivery of the role.
Narratively, Diane is on the brink of nudging her movie idol client, Mitchell Green, into the A-list stratosphere, if only she can persuade, by hook or by crook, a gay playwright, lumbered with integrity, to rewrite his Brokeback script into something more akin to You've Got Mail. At the same time, Mitchell, afflicted with 'recurring bouts of homosexuality', has fallen for rent boy, Alex, and is on the verge of taking the bold and professionally suicidal step of puffing himself up with gay pride and outing. Diane, a confessed lesbian, dissuades Mitch from this course. Meanwhile, Alex has impregnated his girlfriend, Ellen, who he no longer loves, as he's fallen for Mitch. It's all very sudsy and, clearly, a suitably wonky vehicle for satire.
Mitchell is played by the versatile writer and actor, James Millar, who looks and acts the part of the dashing, ambitious, if not particularly fussy actor; a kind of bent Brad Pitt. His love interest, Alex, is played, with convincing aplomb, by the equally versatile (author, muso and entrepreneur, too) Lindsay Farris. Alexa Ashton, Australia's answer to Laura Dern, plays Ellen and, as with her counterparts, she thoroughly inhabits & fulfils the role.
In short, director Andrew Doyle, who's been associated with The Ensemble for over a generation(!), has done a sterling job of bringing together a cast that shines, even shimmers; both individually, and collectively.
Of note, too, is the unobtrusive, yet interestingly angular set devised by NIDA grad, Anna Ilic. And Bernie Tan's lighting is, dare I say, spot on. Jen White has ensured dialects are almost flawless. And Lissette Endacott's wardrobe adds the final touch, putting our feet firmly on the ground, in North America.
It's a good night in the theatre. You'll laugh a lot. And be little less than thrilled by the quality of the action, which makes a half-decent script seem a whole lot better. The Little Dog Laughed? Don't ask me.
Ensemble Theatre presents
The Little Dog Laughed
By Douglas Carter Beane
Director Andrew Doyle
Venue: Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli, NSW, 2061
Dates: Previews: 9 – 15 July, opens 16 July, plays to 15 August, 2009
Times: Tue–Fri 8.15pm, Sat 5pm & 8.30pm, Sun 5pm, Thurs 11am
Tickets: $39 - $63 (booking charges may apply)
Bookings: 02 9929 0644 or www.ensemble.com.au
