Review by Shanna Provost

Papermoon’s History Boys follows an unruly bunch of bright, funny boys in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at university.

The multi-award winning (a 2006 Tony for Best Play) play by Englishman Alan Bennett has cleverly weaved staff room rivalry and the anarchy of adolescence to provoke insistent questions about history and how you teach it; about education and its purpose.

Set in a fictional boys’ grammar school in the north of England in the early 1980s, the play follows a group of history pupils preparing for the Oxbridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers, all who have contrasting teaching styles.

A maverick English teacher; a headmaster obsessed with results; a young history teacher who is addicted to seeing the other side of the historical coin and an erstwhile teacher who tries desperately to inject a female perspective into the history the boys are learning are the counterpoints for the students.

A relatively new work (it premiered in 2004) the fast-paced script showcases Bennett’s acerbic wit and creates good fodder upon which the cast builds its characters.

Head of ANU Drama Tony turner hand-picked his cast from his Year 1, 2 and 3 Drama students and mentored them with some of Canberra’s best and most experienced actors to produce a tight production.

Tim Sekuless, Ross Walker, Simon Thomson, Peter D’Abro, Ian Bartlett, Joshua Bell, Ashley Little and James Czarny (the boys) share the stage with theatre stalwarts Ian Croker as the unorthodox teacher Hector, Jarrad West as the atypical history teacher Irwin, Jim Adamik as the abrasive Headmaster and Liz Bradley as Mrs Lintott. There are also cameos by Stephanie Roberts and Jasmine Natterer.

History Boys is well cast and all characterizations are equally balanced. Croker always does his enigmatic characters with charm and commitment; West is always strong and compelling; Bradley handles with ease every role thrown at her. Adamik succeeds in showing the audience a grittier character, and the boys are equally strong—although Sekuless, who has the dream role as the gay Jewish boy who loves to burst into song, stands out as usual.

It’s a long play (11pm finish), and very wordy. Cleverly written, it is a shame that in the race to get it done some of Bennett’s pearls get lost. The boys come in and out of their accents throughout, but that should improve over the season. Their musical ability beautifully supplements their stagecraft.

The set is simple and scenes are cleverly transitioned through the use of 3 whiteboards and a handful of chairs.

In all, papermoon has produced a well-crafted production of a very witty play with which Academics particularly will be delighted. Oh, but be warned—there is a lot of swearing and adult themes—none gratuitous, but could offend.

WHAT: The History Boys
WHERE: ANU Arts Centre
WHEN: 10-19 September @ 8pm
TICKETS: 02 6257 1950 or at the door
Teatro Vivaldi dinner/show package book 02 6257 2718
Papermoon is the official theatre company of the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
 

By Gustav Omar
Few creatures, except perhaps the armadillo or the wild turkey, are as emblematic of the New World as the rattlesnake. Before Columbus s voyage, Europeans had never seen one. Rattlers are not found in Europe, Africa, or Asia, but almost every state in the Union (Maine, Alaska, Hawaii, and Delaware are the exceptions) has at least one species. Arizona boasts eleven. A total of seventy species and subspecies–ranging from gigantic diamondbacks, which may exceed seven feet, to an eighteen-inch subspecies native to only a few mountains in Arizona–are found in North, Central, and South America.
The most distinctive feature of this reptile, of course, is its rattle, made of two to ten hollow interlocking segments of a light, fingernail-like material. When the rattlesnake vibrates its muscular tail, each separate segment bounces against the adjoining ones at fifty cycles per second, creating a buzzing sound that signals sensible folks to stay away. Unfortunately, not everyone does.
Most rattlesnakes are peaceable, retiring animals that flee for the underbrush when they encounter humans. Unless they are hunting rodents, rattlers strike only in self-defense. But if you step on one or try to capture it, a rattler will retaliate with a rapid strike that can be debilitating or even lethal. In the United States, about 8,000 people a year are bitten by rattlers or their cousins in the pit viper subfamily, which includes copperheads and water moccasins. In 1988 two doctors at the University of Southern California Medical Center analyzed 227 cases of venomous snakebite, covering more than a decade, and found that 44 percent occurred during accidental contact, such as stepping on the animal. More than 55 percent, however, resulted from the victim’s grabbing or handling the creatures, and in 28 percent of these cases, the victims were intoxicated. The doctors’ conclusion was that the typical snakebite victim is male and under thirty, with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 0.1 percent at the time he is bitten. Yet only 0.2 percent of all snakebite victims die each year, and most of them receive no medical treatment or first aid.
Rattlesnake venom is not a simple poison. The snake’s venom glands; located at the rear of the upper jaw and connected by ducts to its pair of hollow fangs, produce a complex brew of toxic peptides, polypeptides, and enzymes. In the venom, these toxins are combined in differing proportions that vary throughout a species’ range and even during an individual snake’s lifetime. Rattlesnakes harbor so many biochemical mixtures for venom that toxinologists who analyze the stuff confront a range of variations rather than a standard formula for each species. Some of this variability seems to reflect recent changes in the venom of certain rattlesnakes, from the hemotoxic and proteolytic type (which affects blood and other tissues) to the neurotoxic type (which attacks the nervous system). The first type hasn’t changed into the second; rather, the proportion of neurotoxins in the mix appears to have increased in some areas of the country. Consequently, victims may now receive a significant dose of both types of poison from a single bite.
Matters seemed a bit simpler a few decades ago. Scientists knew that pit vipers produced a hemotoxic venom that was rarely deadly to humans. Except in Arizona and parts of Texas and California–home to the deadly, neurotoxic Mojave rattlesnake–most humans bitten in the United States could expect to survive. But they did experience depressed blood pressure associated with shock, destruction of tissue near the bite, massive swelling of the affected area, and hemorrhaging both near the bite and internally (caused by anticoagulants in the venom). If untreated, the area around the bite would become gangrenous and turn black. Sometimes the venom would also attack the kidneys. People lost fingers or toes, but few died–particularly after the introduction in the 1930s of an antivenom made from horse serum. In the worst cases, a bite victim usually had an hour or two to get to a hospital before the situation turned dire.
Neurotoxic venom, on the other hand, doesn’t allow for such leisure, because it blocks nerve impulses to muscles, including those in the diaphragm that are used in breathing. Usually associated with members of the cobra family, a neurotoxic bite can cause immediate, shortness of breath, weakness or paralysis of the lower limbs, double vision, inability to speak or swallow, drooping eyelids, and involuntary tremors of the facial muscles. Death can occur in as little as ten minutes, usually due to abrupt cessation of respiration. In the 1970s, researchers at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, identified the Mojave toxin that makes this little reptile the most deadly rattler in the United States–even when its victims have been treated with antivenom.
Over the past few years, however, neurotoxic symptoms have appeared in several people who apparently were bitten by other species of rattler. In 1999 in Hesperia, California, an eighteen-year-old reptile hobbyist received a bite on the hand while trying to grab a local rattlesnake with his bare hands. The species was believed to be a southern Pacific rattlesnake, a subspecies of the prairie, or western, rattler. Within minutes, the young man developed general weakness, had difficulty breathing, and showed the classic neurotoxic symptoms of double vision, facial twitches, and an inability to swallow or talk. He recovered only after being treated with thirty-five vials of antivenom. The doctors who treated him, Sean Bush and Eric Siedenburg, of the Loma Linda University Medical Center, published a report of the episode, calling it the first known case of neurotoxicity associated with a suspected southern Pacific rattlesnake envenomation. Yet the victim also showed several classic symptoms of hemotoxic poisoning, such as hemorrhaging and swelling of the hand and arm. The doctors observed that even if the snake had been misidentified and was really a Mojave rattlesnake, the case would still be noteworthy "because envenomation demonstrating both venom A [neurotoxic] and venom B [hemotoxic] effects has not been reported previously from southern California."

 Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) first saw the light of day as a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos which was published in four volumes in 1782.
 

It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two rivals who use sex as a weapon to humiliate and degrade others, all the while enjoying their cruel games.
 

After several unexpected twists and turns, their dangerous game spirals into a fierce battle to the last person standing. Sprinkled with betrayal, passion and dramatic revenge, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is an exciting dark comedy that reveals the utter indulgence and decadence of the French aristocracy prior to the French Revolution.
 

Academy Award-winning British playwright, screen writer and film director Christopher Hampton wrote his adaptation of the 18th Century novel and a film version in 1988. He is known more recently for writing the film adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement.
 

With a Tony Award-winning script, direction by the accomplished Duncan Driver and featuring some of Canberra’s finest actors including Duncan Ley (Valmont), Hannah Ley (Merteuil), John Lombard (Azolan), Helen McFarlane (Tourvel), Nicole Nesbitt-Allan (Emilie Lexi Sekuless (Cécile Volanges), Liz de Totth (Volanges), Alice Ferguson (Rosemonde) and Adrian Flor (Danceny), the Canberra Rep production promises to deliver.

What: LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
Presented by: Canberra Repertory Society
Where: Theatre 3, 3 Repertory Lane (off Ellery Crescent) Acton ACT
Preview—10 September 8pm

Season: 11 September – 3 October—Thursday to Saturday 8pm
Matinees: 19 & 26 September, 3 October, 2pm
Twilight: 20 & 27 September 5pm
Director’s Q & A: 19 Sept, following matinee performance
Tickets: $35, Conc $27, Members $25, Preview/Mat/Twilight $27
Online bookings: www.canberrarep.org.au
Phone bookings: 6257 1950, Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm,
tickets also available at the door 1 hour before scheduled performances.

Refreshing and endearing 22 year old comedian Josh Thomas rose to fame when he won Best New Talent at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2005.

Since then his star has risen on TV shows Talkin’ ‘bout my Generation and Good News Week.

He describes himself on his My Space page as a ‘comedian, writer and very generous lover’. In fact much of his material is filled with self-deprecating stories of his sexual exploits and unfortunate encounters with shady women that make you want to run up on stage and give him a pat and say ‘there, there’.

With sellout seasons at the Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney Comedy Festivals, it was no surprise to find a full house on his opening night at The Street on Tuesday.

His ‘vulnerable nerd’ certainly gets the girls in, and the nods from the males in the audience indicated an empathy or at least recognition of those awkward moments we’ve all encountered during intimacy, but which we’re not willing to discuss in public.

Thomas says, “I’m not good at computers… but I am good at talking to large groups about genitals, so it’s OK”.

There are only 3 nights left for you to catch his hilarious act at The Street Theatre.

WHAT: More Josh than you can handle
WHERE: The Street Theatre
WHEN: Fri-Sat @ 7pm and Sun @ 5pm (30 August)
TICKETS: $24-$28
BOOKINGS: www.thestreet.org.au or 02 6247 1223

WEST SIDE STORY
Canberra Philharmonic Society
Review by Shanna Provost
That classic ‘fifties take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story is given a breath of life by Canberra Philharmonic Society.
Bursting with classic songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim including Something’s Coming, Maria, America, Somewhere, Tonight, I Feel Pretty and One Hand, One Heart, West Side Story ran for 732 Broadway performances in 1957 before going on tour. The rest is theatrical history.
Set in New York in the mid-1950s, the musical explores the rivalry between two teenage gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The young protagonist, Tony, who belongs to the Anglo gang (Jets), falls in love with Maria, the sister of the rival Puerto Rican gang’s (Sharks) leader Bernardo.
The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes and focus on social problems marked a turning point in American musical theatre—and it was aptly translated to the Erindale stage by a talented cast and crew in this production.
A commendation to Miss Robyn Collins, who, despite a family sadness, put in an outstanding performance that would make her father proud. Her classical training gave Maria the sophistication and vocal assuredness required of the role. Tim dal Cortivo, who played Maria’s ‘Romeo’ Tony, was a competent match for Ms Collins. In fact it was easy to get lost in the duets the two sang so beautifully.
Supporting actors Janie Lawson as Anita and Jordon Kelly as Bernardo slipped into a Latino groove with ease and provided the grit to counterbalance the more classical leads. Charles Oliver’s cameo is the perfect light relief for a predominantly intense story.
West Side Story is heavy on dance scenes, with rumbles (fight scenes) that would necessitate careful choreography not only to please the audience, but also to ensure the cast is safe at all times. Michelle Heine has done an exceptional job in creating light and shade (from rough and tumble acrobatics to sweet and rhythmical ballet). Sometimes the talent levels of a chorus in amateur theatre can be a little uneven, but this ensemble seemed competent and well matched throughout.
The set was stark but effective, and transitions relatively smooth, although there is some ironing out to do before next run to tighten up the first act.
Musical Director Craig Johnson and his orchestra took on a challenge in bringing Bernstein’s lauded musical to life—especially as the score includes not only jazz and orchestral pieces but also contains operatic elements.
It’s obvious Director Jim McMullen knows his stuff, and knew to enlist a very talented crew (of around 60!) to cocreate one of the more challenging musicals ever to hit the stage.
As with Shakespeare’s R&J, West Side Story isn’t a fairytale with a happy ending. It hits at the heart—and Canberra Philo has done an excellent job of bringing all the elements together to make a great evening’s entertainment.

WHAT: West Side Story
WHERE: Erindale Theatre
WHEN: 27th, 28TH 29TH August, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th, 12th at 8pm
5th and 12th Sept at 2pm
BOOKINGS: online only at www.philo.org.au

Actor Andrew McFarlane is best known by Boomers as ‘Australia’s best loved son’ as John Sullivan in the ‘70s classic television series The Sullivans and by babies as a Playschool presenter.

Younger generations will have grown up with him in Neighbours, Home and Away, Water Rats, All Saints, Murder Call, Heartbreak High, Flying Doctors, Rafferty’s Rules and Patrol Boat (in fact, is there an Australian television drama that McFarlane hasn’t been in?).
His most recent notable portrayal was of Donald Mackay in Underbelly: Tale of Two Cities, and his film and theatre credits are as long as your arm. McFarlane has been around the block—and back again.

His 2007 performance as the beleaguered George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? brought him acclaim, and no doubt his current theatrical foray in English author Paul Shaffer’s masterpiece Amadeus will reap similar praise.

Shaffer’s Amadeus has been described as a wickedly funny, dark fantasy about music, genius, jealousy, madness and murder. Its appeal will run broader than opera buffs, although the score will set operatic hearts racing.

Amadeus won a ‘Best Play’ Tony Award in 1981 and was popularised by a film adaptation in 1984, which won 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture. 

Set amidst the opulence and splendour of 18th century Vienna, Amadeus tells of the bitter jealousy of the Italian court composer Antonio Salieri towards the brilliantly talented up-and-coming Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who has just settled in Vienna to seek his fortune.

Salieri sees the young Mozart as a serious rival to his position and sets about plotting his downfall. He resorts to trickery, deceit and lies and through a campaign of suppression, brings Mozart to a state of poverty and ill health. Mozart dies and Salieri is haunted by his own conscience, claiming to have murdered Mozart. Salieri’s torture doesn’t end there—but you’ll have to see the play to find out.

“Shaffer used the conflict between the Old Guard and the new whirlwind of energy to vitalise his play”, says McFarlane.

“It is operatic, which reflects the battle between the Boy Genius and the mediocre Salieri who, despite being reverent to his craft, will never be more than pedestrian in his composing”, he says. “He recognises the genius of Mozart and is incensed by the young man’s complete disregard for his God-given gift”.

The themes in Shaffer’s script are palatable for today’s audiences.

“If Mozart were to be incarnated in this day and age, he would be likened to a rock star, with all the consequent bad behaviour that can bring. He certainly set a cat amongst the pigeons amongst the 18th Century court.”

McFarlane will be joined by Steven Tandy and a supporting cast of some of Queensland’s most impressive talent, including rising actor Dash Kruck as Mozart, and Kerith Atkinson as his long-suffering wife Constanze. It is directed by Sydney-based Tama Matheson, who is currently working with Gail Edwards on Manon Lescaut for Opera Australia.

McFarlane says he jumped at the Salieri role.

“My most recent work was playing a Noosa property developer in a David Williamson play, so it was quite a leap to this huge, grand, complex, drama. But it’s the kind of thing that actors jump at because we all like challenges and to be pushed into areas we can explore”, he says.

McFarlane is well aware of the gravity of playing such a monumental role. The American actor F. Murray Abraham won an Oscar for his turn in the film version.

“There’s no doubt that this kind of role draws attention. That can frighten an actor off because if it has been done well by someone else, that [performance] can be stamped on the public psyche. But no one shies away from playing Hamlet, and I think it’s the role that stays alive, not the particular performer’s interpretation of it.”

WHAT: Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus
WHERE: Playhouse, Canberra
WHEN: 8th & 9th September at 7.45pm
TICKETS: $50.00, Concs $43.00
BOOKINGS: 62752700
WARNING: This show contains obscene language
 

Cross-section of storylines in four films

By Rama Gaind

EVEN though ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is darker than its predecessors, this one is visually inspiring and more interesting because of the interactions of the boy wizard and his gang.
It’s the relationships between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) that work wonders, not necessarily the potions and spells of the popular books.
A lot of the credit also rests with David Yates, who has returned to the director’s seat, and carries the mantle of loosening up the friends group.
IN ‘The Ugly Truth’, Katherine Heigl, a television producer and Gerard Butler, an opinionated relationship expert, are set on a collision course from the outset.
Abby is outraged when the popular personality Mike is brought on-air without her knowledge.
Unfortunately, this startlingly coarse battle of the sexes lacks the necessary chemistry between the two leads. It does not have the romantic reality which should be a prerequisite.
What a shame that director Robert Luketic ‘borrowed’ from some notable films including ‘When Harry Met Sally’, but did not deliver competently.
MICHAEL Mann provides a technical talent which commands attention in ‘Public Enemies’. Starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, this biopic of famous 1930s bank robber John Dillinger covers a lot of ground and outlines some intriguing elements of his life.
A FINE creation that breathes life into images of a dark fairytale, ‘Coraline’ sees an adventurous little girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) doing a playful battle with an ‘other’ world.
Director Henry Selick’s offering could see the adults not accepting it as readily as their children.
 

Arguably the most important show in what’s left of human history.

STREET THEATRE 25-30 August 2009

Rod Qantock has been around the block. I just can’t the image of him prancing around in that nightie in the Capt’n Snooze TV ads out of my mind. But Qantock’s true gift is using his comedic talent to pounce on an issue and grappling with it until it lies, wasted, on the floor of our conscience. So effective is his commitment that he was the recipient of the 2005 Adelaide Justice Coalition Romero Community Award for his contribution to Australian social justice.

Shoving the facts of climate change down our throats has become Qantock’s new raison d’être – and he does it in his inimitable way so that we actually get to laugh out loud at our ignorance and lack of a sense of urgency about this issue.

“It’s the greatest challenge humanity’s ever had to face. And history tells us we’re not very good at cooperating, but that’s what we’ve got to work towards. The sadness is there’s so little time. And it’s just as urgent as urgent can be.”

In his words, “If climate change doesn’t scare you shitless, then you just don’t get the science.”

Qantock has done his homework, and when he gives you his take on the physics, chemistry, biology, geology, paleontology, cosmology and meteorology of climate science you’ll get it too. And then… you’ll be scared shitless!

He’s talked to leading climate scientists, read the reports and watched the documentaries; he has taken the news stories big and small and joined the dots: worst fires, longest droughts, most devastating storms, mass extinctions, ice caps melting, polar bears drowning… But, hey! Bugger the polar bears, this is serious.

And why the polar bears?

“I hate polar bears,” says Qantock. “Why is climate change always about polar bears? Who’s their agent? It’s not like they’re the only ones who’ll be extinct. Chances are we will all be extinct!

Bugger the Polar Bears will be Qantock’s first return season to Canberra after his 2007 sell-out called The Farewell John Howard Party.

SHOWS: Tues – Thurs 7pm; Fri-Sat 8.30pm; Sunday 6.30pm
TICKETS: $22 – $32 Tuesday all tix $20
BOOKINGS: www.thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223 or at the box office