 A magnificent revival of an Australian classic. Pic Bob Seary
Enormous fun was had by all in this magnificent revival of the Nick Enright/Terence Clark classic THE VENETIAN TWINS.
Now regarded as an Australian classic, this play, originally performed in 1979, is an adaptation of the great eighteenth century Goldoni play. What is interesting to note is that there was a revival of this show in Canberra recently and that the National Theatre’s ‘One Man Two Governors’, another adaptation of the same play, is touring next year, in Sydney as part of the Sydney Theatre Company main subscription season.
This production, as directed by Mackenzie Steele, harks back to the eighteenth century original with the use of wonderful masks, white-face and the use of stock commedia del arte characters ( the daughter, the father, the villain, the lover…) and Arlecchino and Colombina (aka Harlequin and Columbine).
What is also most effective is the set design by Sean Minehan .In some ways it is as if they are an itinerant troupe of strolling players traveling around small Australian country towns, with torn hessian bags featuring as part of the set.
There is also excellent use of several lara ge mirrors and frames on wheels and fabulous ‘old fashioned’ lighting by Matthew Marshall, with dramatic lighting from underneath at times, as if by footlights.
The silly, complicated and confusing plot ( which Shakespeare would have loved) involves twins , marriage plans , greed , lockets , lost siblings and murder… Very briefly it can be summarised as follows: a pair of identical twin brothers, one , Tonino , is swashbuckling , smooth and a sophisticated city dweller, the other , Zanetto , is a country yokel, gauche and naive. Unbeknownst to each other they arrive in the same town, somewhere in the region of Goondiwindi.
Hilarious chaos ensues with confusion and disguise, but eventually the youthful heroes prevail , the pompous spoilsports and delightful villain receive their just deserts , true love ensues and all ends happily ever after .
The script has some intentionally bad puns and very witty fast paced dialogue as well as including some audience participation. The score, finely played by the orchestra hidden behind a commedia dell arte diamond lozenge design like screen, is in fact quite difficult in parts. It ranges over a large variety of styles , from catchy tuneful sing-alongs ( eg ‘Back to Jindywaraback’) to Gilbert and Sullivan, music hall (‘Hiss the villain’) , the heavy German Expressionism of Brecht/Weill ( eg ‘The Ballad of Middle Class Tenacity’ ) and Mozart opera ( eg Beatrice’s solo) There are also stylistic hints of major musicals such as ‘ Cabaret ‘and ‘A Chorus Line'. In the dual role of Tonino/Zanetto, James Jay Moody is magnificent .He is in fine voice, rubbery of expression and has a fabulous whale of a time confusing us as both the brothers , elegant in a brocaded jacket or sadly playing a red guitar .
The villain of the piece, Pancrazio , was brilliantly played by Dean Vince. He was tall, bald and elegantly snake like in a Bakstian red and pink coloured outfit and had terrific fun hypnotizing the audience with his superb stage presence in ‘Hiss the villain’ . Sensational.
As seemingly refined elegant Beatrice in a blue dress with a detachable train and pink bows, Marissa-Clare Berzins was marvellous. She is caught up in a very tricky situation and has great fun stealing the show with her operatic solos.
Bespectacled, very prim and proper, Rosina the judges’ daughter ( or is she ?! ) is terrifically played by Meagan Caretti .
Arlecchino is excellently played by Zac Jardine as a cheeky opinionated servant who does, underneath it all , cares for his master . His delightful duet with his sweetheart/fiance Colombina (sort of dressed as a punk Goth fairy crossed with a French maid) , played enchantingly by Debra Bryan, was enchanting (‘Everybody needs a little mate’ ) .
Florindo a young, elegant and sophisticated man desperately in love with Beatrice, was played by handsome bearded young Hugo Weaving look alike Stephan Anderson, who was in magnificent voice.
Yong blonde, handsome, rather foppish Lelio, who turns out to be the judge’s nephew, is terrifically played by Andy Johnston.
The judge himself is stalwartly played by Peter Flett who performs ‘The Ballad of Middle Class Tenacity’ with great verve and style . This was a great production that was thoroughly enjoyed.
MacKenzie Steele’s production of THE VENETIAN TWINS, with a running time of just over two hours including one interval, opened at the New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown on Thursday 15th November and runs until Saturday 15th December, 2012.
© Lynne Lancaster
16th November, 2012
Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- THE VENETIAN TWINS, Nick Enright, Terence Clark, MacKenzie Steele, New Theatre Newtown, Sydney Arts Guide, Lynne Lancaster.
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