It is the height of a World War and the Cote family are all too aware of the looming threat of bombings and death. On this particular evening however, it isrevelations and betrayals that risk derailing the lives of these eight people. Presented as part of Midsumma Festival, TBC Theatre's immersive production Rust, lets the audience choose their own adventure by following the characters whose story they find interesting and discover which of them will live through the night.
The most difficult aspect of immersive theatre, where you are free to wander aroundthe venue and pursue whichever character you wish, is ensuring that whatever path the audience takes, they can still put the pieces together by the end. With Rust, creator and writer, Vaughn Rae, and co-writer Sophie Joske have carefully constructed a recognisable narrative that we can comfortably follow but with plenty of mysteryandsuspense that builds towards a satisfying conclusion.
TBC Theatre has been quietly working away on its most ambitious project yet with its upcoming immersive theatrical experience, Rust.Performed as part of the Midsumma Festival, the part period drama / part romance takes place during the height of a war where over the course of a night, secrets, spies, love affairs and betrayals are revealed. But what the audience uncover will depend on whose story they choose to follow.
There are three main stories told in Rust, each with its own intrigue and suspense, but while Vaughn Rae has written them as individual stories, there is much that ties them together. "The show is about three different relationships that reach breaking point over an evening," he tells me. "A pair of young women contemplate their future in a hostile world,
two former soldiers on opposite sides of war battle with their growing attractionand a marriage crumbles under the weight of
betrayal and secrecy, and gradually theselives crashinto one another."
Unless you've lived through a war, it would be near impossible to understand the thoughts and feelings of those who have survived one. However, in Samah Sabawi's THEM, the audience is presented with an intimate exploration of five people who are caught in a war zone in the Middle East and the decisionsthey must make to simply stay alive.
Leila and Omar (Priscilla Doueihy and Abdulrahman Hammoud) are a young married couple with a baby, facing theagonising struggle of either leaving their village to become refugees for potentially the rest of their lives or staying put and seeing what eventuates. Omar's friends, Mohamad and Majid (Reece Vella and Khishraw Jones-Shukoor), each have their own issues to deal with as they plan their own escapes. The arrival of Salma (Claudia Greenstone), Omar's sister, who had made some questionable choices during the war, provides hope and despair for these people, which could ultimately lead to her own undoing.
So
two and a half weeks of craziness come to an end yet again! With work
and study commitments, I was only able to attend a dismal 34 films this year.
Of those 34, I now present you my Top 10 movies from the 2017
Melbourne International Film Festival.
I will preface this by saying that while I am not 100% smitten by Armie Hammer, his charisma throughout this film and the intense chemistry between himself and Timothée Chalamet made watching Call Me By Your Name an incredibly emotive experience. James Ivory's screenplay of André Aciman's novel poignantly captures the intimacy and the heartbreak of these two lovers during the summer in Italy 1983. Luca Guandagnino's direction creates some amazing aesthetics, although it's probably not hard to do that with the location but credit given where credit due. My only criticism would be the decision to have the final scene with the credits rolling by, as it really took away the powerfulness of that moment.
Seventy-one year-old Stella Goldschlag is nervously anticipating the arrival of a visitor. It is 7am and he is expected in just under four hours. Her anxiety stems from her past as a Nazi collaborator, where in order to save herself from the horrors of Auschwitz, agreed to inform on other Jews in hiding to the Gestapo. Presented by Strange Duck Productions, Blonde Poison, is the intriguing yet disturbing true story of Stella and the cost of her survival. Belinda Giblin as Stella is an example of when casting is perfection. The
accent is flawless, even whenStella's
emotions sometimes get the better of her as she recalls the more horrific moments of her life. The poignant facial expressions and wide eyes made up with black eyeliner are still printed firmly inside my mind. You can't help but sympathise with Stella but at the same time, she is responsible for the death of thousands of Jews. Giblin's portrayal of the desperation and defeat enveloping Stella in the final moments of the show are powerful and conflicting that leave you wondering if Stella has managed to manipulate yet again. It truly is an amazing performance.
Dogfight, based on the 1991 River Phoenix film, revolves around the actions of three marines on their final night
in a small town in 1963, just before they are to be deployed to
Okinawa, and then on to Vietnam. While the trio come from seemingly
similar backgrounds, they are friends bound by circumstances of war. Over the course of this night, these bonds are tested, especially when Eddie meets the naive and innocent Rose.
The original production of Dogfight, with book by Peter Duchan, premiered in New York in 2012 and won the Lucille Lortel Outstanding Music Award
as well as being nominated for a number of others. However, so much of
the show feels outdated, and unfortunately there is nothing new or
especially engaging being offered by this story – whereupon even those who are not familiar with the film itself can see exactly how things are going to pan out.
In 1939, 9 year-old Eleanor Ramrath Garner and her German born parents decided to move back to Germany to escape the hardships of the Great Depression in America. On their way, war broke out and they found themselves unable to return to America. What followed Eleanor was 9 years of keeping hope, struggling for stability and facing hunger and death on a regular basis. 60 years later, Eleanor published her memoirs of this experience entitled Eleanor's Story. Skip ahead 14 years and her grand-daughter, Ingrid Garner, has adapted her story for the stage and returns to Australia for a Melbourne season at Chapel off Chapel. "I am so excited to be back, I love Australia, it’s my favourite place to visit," she says. "I get to see the friends I haven’t seen in a year, and it’s like no time has passed. The audiences I’ve had here are incredibly receptive to the play and make me feel appreciated."
