Photos – Megan GarciaReverence My Sanctuary is inscribed in the proscenium arch of the stage, chiselled in antiquity. It is not purpose built for this world premiere production of You Will Not Play Wagner, but a remnant of the old Baptist Tabernacle Church that now hosts the Eternity Playhouse.
It's a deft and apt decision by director Moira Blumenthal and designer Hugh O'Connor to have this motto hovering over this production as You Will Not Play Wagner does deal with reverence and sanctuary. It also acts as a chilling counterpoint as images of Kristallnacht and Nazi concentration camps are projected on the cracked and peeling wall. The emphatic title You Will Not Play Wagner gives more than a clue about what this play is about.
At the turn of the millennium, Esther is a septuagenarian survivor of the Holocaust and sponsor of a prestigious music competition in Israel. One of the finalists, Ya'akov, an Israeli, pronounces that he will play a piece by Wagner. Apoplectic with the temerity of this young muso to turn the tide of a taboo he considers archaic, Esther meets with him to dissuade such a treacherous act. And so the stage is set for a to and fro, pros and cons argument about separating the art from the artist, of letting go of the past, of moving forward.
For Esther, music is a sanctuary violated by the Third Reich's embracing of Wagner and his prohibition from being played in Israel is a reverence to those who perished in the Holocaust. For Ya'akov, it makes no sense that Jews can be physically transported around their country in Mercedes vehicles but cannot be musically transported by a giant of 19th century composition.
Annie Byron gives an impassioned performance as Esther, still dealing with the teen age trauma of jack boots and death camps. Benedict Wall as Ya'akov gives good joust as the callow cool modernist. Strong support is provided by Tim McGarry as Esther's friend and colleague, Morris, and Kate Skinner as Miri, Esther's assistant.
Blumenthal's direction is guiding rather than dictatorial allowing playwright Victor Gordon's didactics full rein.
Shalom and Moira Blumenthal Productions presents
YOU WILL NOT PLAY WAGNER
by Victor Gordon
Director Moira Blumenthal
Venue: Eternity Playhouse | 39 Burton St, Darlinghurst
Dates: 4 – 28 May 2017
Bookings: 02 9381 4000 | www.shalom.edu.au
