Sydney Reviews

All for what? Five stars!

A real rendezvous with posterity, Sheridan Harbridge’s Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett is an exquisite channeling of the charismatic performer.

This channeling is a dynamic dualism of both the inspiration and the fan, an homage of hyper theatricality, a musical memoir honoring the subject and the performer who narrates, embodies and celebrates a bona fide icon.

Harbridge takes writing credit, director Sarah Goodes takes a co-creator credit, as does Musical Director Glenn Moorhouse, and this coalition of creatives delivers a triumvirate of talent, an enlivened entertainment of the first order.

Harbridge, like Chrissy, fronts the band, a quintessential quartet comprising Ben Cripps, Dave Hatch, Clarabell Limonta and Glenn Moorhouse. Brilliant backing to a sensational voice. Paul Jackson’s lighting design is concert centered sharp evoking pub gigs and stadium shows.

The virtuosity of the writing, alternating between biography, autobiography, tragedy and comedy, linking legend with real life, stage persona with real person, is tremendous. Harbridge’s fluent patter is plump with mixed musician metaphors from Davids Bowie and Byrne to Michael Hutchence and Colin Hay, not to mention punning on Divinyls song titles.

Chrissy Amphlett escaped from Geelong (like me), the city that gave us Barry Crocker and Denis Walter (among other things) and made an enduring mark on the national scene. Her pout and pinafore creating a persona which was backed by an electrifying talent, a monstrous energy unleashed. Amped up and ramped up, harness Harbridge’s energy here and it could power metropolitan Sydney.

Spiked with sex and rollicking ribald rock n roll, Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett is a divine laudation to the lead singer of The Divinyls.

The play and performance is entirely successful – powerful, honest and transfixing – just like the subject. Performance and direction drives shrewdly throughout the energetic eighty minutes, roiling, kicking and in no need of a second act.

After its Belvoir season, Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett moves to Geelong. Yes!

And all for what? Five stars!