Theatre Junkies!

By Erica Brennan

Sidekicks is a very funny new Australian funny play by Stephen Vagg executed with finesse by Emily Rose Brennan and Dan Illic. The opening moments has the audience addressed directly with a very romantic marriage proposal by CB (Illic). She is pretending to be Hunter (Male Romantic Lead) explaining why Robin (Female Romanic Lead) can’t possibly fly off to marry that jerk when he –Hunter- is still in love with her. Enter Mac, our self proclaimed sidekick, who quickly puts a damper on CB’s grand gesture by explaining that as they are both sidekicks according to predetermined rules of being a sidekick they cant interfere in their romantic leads lives- at least in THAT way. Mac is Hunter’s side kick, CB is Robins. CB refuses to accept this and we are then taken back to the beginning of the story. What followed was a delightful and heartfelt hour of excellent theatrical work all round.

Sidekicks is a bare-bones theatre production. The only set pieces are a bench and a few whit screens for our performers to disappear behind while ‘time is passing’ or they are throwing on another characters wig. Each persona is played to its hilarious edge while still showing real moments of human vulnerability. Now bare bones it may have been but the performance wants for nothing with performers like… caring the audience along for the ride while clearly enjoying themselves. There genuine expression of the clownish pathtic had you falling in love with both of them again and again even when they behaved badly.

The script is easy to listen to but very intelligent and obviously well informed in all the factors that create a good romcom. Not just because Sidekicks’ story IS an excellent rom com story but it is intelligent and lithe enough to talk about itself as a rom com. It is both self referential and plays with the ‘fourth wall’ which I found surprising and quite charming. This is a fantastic achievement for the writer Stephen Vagg who is able to guide us through delicate emotional storytelling to hilarious slapstick awkwardness and back again without batting an eye. The sassy audience addresses, simple and effective directing and a cheeky sex scene, give this piece a wonderfully rounded feel. If you are a fan of romcoms, sitcoms or just coms in general go see this play!

I took my housemate who is an absolute sitcom fanatic. She is something of a connoisseur I would say. Now she thought it was one of the best pieces of theatre she had seen in a long time and was positively beaming as we crowed into the tiny lift to exit the 505 theatre. Can’t get a better recommendation than that. Get to it!

Sidekick Is showing at the Old 505. Click here for tickets and venue information.

By Erica Brennan

Great Expectations is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens.

This adaptation by Nick Ormerod and Declan Donnellan was Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and brought beautifully to life by Bakehouse Theatre.

A beautiful chorus piece where we follow young Pip through his rise to gentlemanhood from apprentice blacksmith and his chasing of cold hearted love Estelle. Bakehouse theatre have done a sterling job and I saw it with opening night jitters! I was quite confused for the first 10 minutes of the play, partly because I didn’t know the story (never read Dickens) partly because the cast member plays out the inner monologue of main character Pip in a tag team style. A line here a sentence there, a crossing of paths and back to the first speaker.

Never fear, director John Harrison doesn’t treat you like an idiot and eventually I got through it and was taken on a stimulating ride through dickens England.

The nostalgic charm of the era was captured beautifully by the design. All props and set pieces were tucked inside various suitcases. All one had to do was snap open the lock and viola a kitchen, a lawyer’s office, a bachelors pad was at our actors disposal.

The opening moments of suitcase play were particularly stunning -but I won’t give it away. GO SEE IT. My only wish was that these extraordinary design pieces were placed a bit more centre stage. I was right down the front and could only catch glimpse of the truly incredible feat it was to have crafted each one individually.

Ducking and weaving their way through this beautiful design was a cast of no less than 15 actors. What a fabulous and unfortunately rare thing to enjoy! 15 bodies all of them dressed in matching bracers white shirts and demure pants, marching all over the space, performing crowd scenes, getting into energetic fights and singing us beautiful songs!

Bakehouse has truly exhibited one of the strengths of independent theatre* in this production of Great Expectations: a large, dedicated, highly skilled cast. And this is one of the things that perhaps Bakehouse Theatre does extremely well. They are able to assemble large highly skilled and dedicated cast that synergise exceptionally well with the text and each other. I saw their Metamorphosis earlier this year at PACT and while unimpressed with the text I was absolutely mesmerised by the ensemble. I haven’t seen such well oiled casts of double digits outside of Acting school lately and Bakehouse sure are bringing it.

I really do hope that the company continues to grow and cultivate their ensemble, it is such a great strength of them as a producing body and collective of artists. If you are looking for a gently ambitious, joyful, crowded, burst of energy please go check out Great Expectations the production at its very least gave me access to a story I probably wasn’t going to read in its original form anytime soon and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you had always planned on getting better acquainted with Dickens then go treat yourself to a live performance of it. Great Expectations is still playing it’s an energising live experience and well worth the evening out!

* I say this is a strength of independent theatre because having worked with budgets it’s a thin stretch to try and pay so many actors on equity minimum and thus we see it less than I would like in a ‘professional’ realm. I think I am right in assuming that all involved would be on profit share or small honouree payments. Without money being the deciding factor they have committed to the production for a much more important reason (I won’t be presumptuous enough as to assume I know this reason) and bottom line I’m glad they do it. I wish these artists were all able to make a living from what they do but I really am humbled that they created this rare experience for me to watch.