A VERY POLISHED AND REFRESHINGLY VIGOROUS HOME-GROWN COMEDY |
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) by Dave Armstrong Directed by Lara Macgregor at The Forge at The Court Theatre, Christchurch From 13 Mar 2009 to 11 Apr 2009 [1hr 35 mins, no interval] Reviewed by Lindsay Clark, 14 Mar 2009 |
Wham! The opening item in the 2009 season at The Forge packs a powerful theatrical wallop. This production moved the opening night audience to a roaring standing ovation, the honest approbation of a Kiwi satire presented with panache and with characters who could be liked as well as laughed at.
Director Lara Macgregor (Associate Artistic Director at The Court) heads a lively team to flesh out a punchy script from a master hand. The result is a fast moving, laugh a minute ride through a very short hour and a half, though the plot - driven by three wildly differing characters - has weight as well as slickness.
John Sellars is a self made millionaire, whose hard nosed business deals are matched by hard living and not too much of that woolly relationship stuff. With a looming custodial hearing threatening his sole charge of only son Nathan, he is set on gilding his image as a good parent, one who can be trusted to encourage academic success.
The boy has been expelled three times and is the reluctant learner from hell, but Dad is used to solving bigger crises with his golden cheque book and hires someone to take care of raising at least the maths results.
Enter the tutor, Richard Holton, with democratic principles, genuine enthusiasm for his subject and an intuitive way of managing the rebel - after a while. He is an under rewarded, over-principled teacher in an 'unfashionable' school but his winning over of Nathan is stylish.
The three way tussles en route are tightly staged, energetic and rich in comic situations. They bombard us with unexpected alliances and insights for while the characters find nothing funny about things, we are in the privileged position of delighted observers as they 'tutor' each other.
The initial characters are familiar 'types' perhaps but there is nothing cardboard about writing or performance. Obstreperous, outrageous yet ultimately vulnerable, Sellars is given the full treatment by Phil Vaughan, a newcomer to the stages at The Court. His is probably the role most demanding in its range, managed with impressive conviction.
As his son, Nathan, Markus Hoetjes makes the most of the testosterone-driven tearaway whose behavior is both awful and understandable.
In the go-between position, Jon Pheloung's tutor conveys the uneasy position of moral high ground as well as the teacherly traits we might anticipate.
In one moment to relish near the end of the play they are all three poised in an equilateral triangle - all winners.
All this plays out on Julian Southgate's clever set, representing a plush apartment where a sophisticated sculpture nevertheless becomes a coat rack and homework is still done on the floor. Costume (Beryl Hampson), sound and lighting design (Geoff Nunn) and above all the contribution of DJ Benet Hitchcock confirm that this is a very polished and refreshingly vigorous home-grown comedy.
Congruent as a well executed triangle can be.
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