TABLE

BATS Theatre, The Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington

26/02/2021 - 02/03/2021

NZ Fringe Festival 2021

Production Details

Ever wonder what lives your used furniture has been a part of? Where is a table truly happy?

Table is a new New Zealand ensemble devised piece from STEW Productions, the same team that devised, produced and performed the award winning ELEVATOR! at NZ Fringe 2020.

BATS Theatre, The Dome
26 February – 2 March 2021
9pm except Sun 28 Feb, 8pm
Booking: https://bats.co.nz/whats-on/table/ or https://fringe.co.nz/show/table

Written, devised, directed, designed, produced and performed by
Brittany Meiklejohn, Lorenz Ravalo, April Angela Boland, Logan Delaney and Dennis Eir Lim

Roles
Lorenz Ravalo as The Antiquer, Old Jackson & Lancelot
April Angela Boland as Jessica McEwen, The Painter & Joan of Arc
Dennis Eir Lim as Marley, Chairssic & D’Artagnan
Brittany Meiklejohn as Betty-Lou McEwen, Taliesin & Sarah
Logan Delaney as Nigel the Mailman, Young Jackson, Table & King Arthur

Songs
The Antiquer – Logan Delaney, Lorenz Ravalo & Dennis Eir Lim
Jessica’s Table – April Angela Boland and Dennis Eir Lim
The Chess Tango – Brittany Meiklejohn, Dennis Eir Lim and Logan Delaney
The Child in the Night – Dennis Eir Lim, Logan Delaney and Lorenz Ravalo
The Painter’s Dance – Brittany Meiklejohn
The Great Tables of History – Dennis Eir Lim, Logan Delaney ad Brittany Meiklejohn
A story in a story – Logan Delaney, Lorenz Ravalo and Brittany Meiklejohn
Murdah – Logan Delaney, April Angela Boland and Lorenz Ravalo
The Finale – Brittany Meiklejohn, Lorenz Ravalo, April Angela Boland, Logan Delaney and Dennis Eir Lim

Music played & Arranged by
Brittany Meiklejohn (Piano, Ukulele), Dennis Eir Lim (piano) & Logan Delaney (Guiro)

Choreography by
April Angela Boland (The Painter’s Dance & The Chess Tango)

Marketing and images by
Dennis Eir Lim

Lighting Operator
Matilde Furholm

Written, devised, directed, designed, produced and performed by
Brittany Meiklejohn, Lorenz Ravalo, April Angela Boland, Logan Delaney and Dennis Eir Lim

Songs
The Antiquer – Logan Delaney, Lorenz Ravalo & Dennis Eir Lim
Jessica’s Table – April Angela Boland and Dennis Eir Lim
The Chess Tango – Brittany Meiklejohn, Dennis Eir Lim and Logan Delaney
The Child in the Night – Dennis Eir Lim, Logan Delaney and Lorenz Ravalo
The Painter’s Dance – Brittany Meiklejohn
The Great Tables of History – Dennis Eir Lim, Logan Delaney ad Brittany Meiklejohn
A story in a story – Logan Delaney, Lorenz Ravalo and Brittany Meiklejohn
Murdah – Logan Delaney, April Angela Boland and Lorenz Ravalo
The Finale - Brittany Meiklejohn, Lorenz Ravalo, April Angela Boland, Logan Delaney and Dennis Eir Lim

Music played & Arranged by
Brittany Meiklejohn (Piano, Ukulele), Dennis Eir Lim (piano) & Logan Delaney (Guiro)

Choreography by
April Angela Boland (The Painter’s Dance & The Chess Tango)

Marketing and images by
Dennis Eir Lim

Lighting Operator
Matilde Furholm

Theatre , Musical ,

50 mins

Review by Emilie Hope 01st Mar 2021

TABLE by Stew Productions is a skit comedy musical show about the long and eventful life of a table, and the lives it intersects with. We open in an antique shop where the dealer (Lorenz Ravalo) has items which must have a “tragic backstory” to be there.

Built by Jessica (April Angela Boland) – a denim jumpsuit, pink-bandana wearing carpenter – for her family, the table is passed down to her daughter Betty-Lou (Brittany Meiklejohn) and her husband Marley (Dennis Eir Lim) who’s affection is shown through elbow rubs, to her son Jackson who reckons with his younger self (Logan Delaney) playing with his toys under the table as he sells the family heirloom for $45 to an artist who loves to drink wine and interpretive dance, from a LARP crew who expel one of their own to a young woman who has just flown the nest to follow her music passions.

TABLE is certainly eventful, filled with fun moments as well as some intriguing blends of music and soundscape. A particular favourite of mine is when Table and Chairssica sing of their longing for one another when they are parted. It’s absurd, and fun. The actors are smiling as they sing their melancholic serenades. Betty-Lou and Marley uses the tapping of their chess pieces to build to a tango-type dance with some tap dancing, as an allusion to their romantic passions.

TABLE lacks polish. The set is minimal and underutilised, consisting of the table and four other side tables which hold props. The costumes are made of cardboard and elaborately painted or are an eclectic mix of op shop finds, sometimes depicting an era, sometimes not. There are a few elaborate period costumes while another’s bodice is made of cardboard and tinfoil. These inconsistencies make it hard for me to follow the world they are building.

For this show, I think going with one uniformed look – either blacks or everyone in jeans and a white shirt; anything, so long as it is uniform – and then use specific costume pieces like jackets, waistcoats, hats, and the like to show character, would work better, allowing the audience to use our imagination somewhat, and making for easier transitions between characters.

The show is written, devised, directed, designed, produced and performed by the five actors, and for that alone they deserve a round of applause and a good sleep. Wearing so many hats is exhausting at the best of times, let alone in the hot fluster of Fringe. These performers have an impressive rolodex of talents, including singing and composing their own music, and their infectious joy reminds me of the thrill of performing and putting on a show you can truly call you own.

There are certainly some gems in this show, the performers being TABLE’s crowning jewel, and with a bit more time and work, this could become a slick silly show.

TABLE

Infectious joy and some gems

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