This was brilliant !! .Here's my rave for artshub http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/lynne-lancaster/antigone-252368
Welcome to war torn, devastated Thebes. First performed in 441BC , this new adaptation by Damien Ryan resonates now – Anitgone
is extremely strong, powerful and gut wrenching. The audience is
grabbed from the start. Ryan’s updated text, the use of the word
‘terrorist’ mean that this suddenly becomes a fresh, vibrant seemingly
new play and the audience engages with its ideas as if it was written
yesterday. We have to consider the alienation and demonisation of those
currently considered public enemy and the dilemma of personal sacrifices
for the common good. We also need to think about the creation and
evolution in this age of social media.
The play asks big questions that still divide families today. In
Ryan’s production it has been updated to now and could be any war torn
shattered country. It ask big questions about justice and faith. What do
you do with the unburied body of a terrorist left to rot? A murderer,
who has brought destruction, death horror and destruction to the
community – yet that terrorist is your nephew, your brother denied
burial rites?
Have the gods organised it all? If so why? Antigone demands
answers to three major questions: should Polynices be properly buried
(if not,why not?), if someone who buried him against the law should be
punished and whether Creon's actions are just or not properly thought
through.
The rubbled set ( Melanie Liertz) with its bashed somewhat floating
and graffitied walls is most effective. The use of drumming and
percussion as magnificently performed by Thomas Royce Hampton is
chilling and thrilling.
The chorus (the people of Thebes), here led by a woman, Fiona Press
– is splendid at times speaking in unison, at others in overlapping
rhythms. All are individualise, some doubling as for example soldiers,
guards or messengers. In stylish performances they guide our moral
deliberations and force us to ponder the grey areas of right and wrong.
Antigone as magnificently played by Aandre Demetriades was a small,
dark, courageous spitfire who defied the law and stood up for what she
considered right. She demands justice and the right to bury her brother
against all the patriarchal decrees. As King Creon William Zappa is
superb in a towering performance. He has to choose and places his
city-state above the welfare of his family, righteously upholding the
law. We see him at first as a popular king announcing the introduction
of Democracy. But events sharply change and we follow his Lear like fall
– his stunned, shocked recognition of his niece Antigone and his first
hurried denial, his charismatic hypnotic monologue describing the death
of his nephews and why he ‘'has to' leave the body of Polynieces to rot
unburied, and his shattered entrance, almost oblivious to Tiresias, at
the end with the body of his son Haemon.
Antigone’s sister Ismene, acting as a foil to her sibling, is gentler
and more law abiding. She fears Creon and hesitates, is torn in the
family disruption.
Creon’s wife Eurydice ( Deborah Galanos ) is in Ryan’s version shown
as an exhausted, overworked surgeon at a hospital with minimal
facilities.
Haemon, prince of Thebes and engaged to Antigone is wonderfully
played by handsome Joseph del Re. He is torn and unwillingly caught up
in the tragic dilemma and situations. The love scenes between him and
Antigone are beautifully done.
Anna Volska as the blind seer Tiresias acts as the voice of reason
whose prophecy leads to the proper burial of Polyneices. A voice crying
in the wilderness for justice asserts the right of the individual to
reject society's infringement on her freedom to perform a personal
obligation. But this can lead to tragedy.
Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
Sophocle’s Antigone by Sport For Jove
CAST
Antigone Andrea Demetriades
Creon William Zappa
Ismene Louisa Mignone
Eurydice Deborah Galanos
Haemon Joseph Del Re
Tiresias Anna Volska
CREATIVES
Director Damien Ryan and Terry Karabelas
Set and Costume Design Melanie Liertz
Lighting Matt Cox
Sound Design Bryce Halliday and Thomas Royce Hampton
Sophocle’s Antigone by Sport For Jove is at:
The Reginald, the Seymour Centre 6-22 October
Canberra 27-29 October and
Riverside Theatre Parramatta 9-12 November
Monday, 24 October 2016
The Cartographer's Curse - at Parramatta
my thoughts for Artshub http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/lynne-lancaster/cartographers-curse-252359
Strong and powerful with many interlocking layers of meaning, Cartographer's Curse is the latest production by the National Theatre of Parramatta. Supporting a newly established Arabic theatre company, Third Space Productions, in their premiere production.
Written and directed by Paula Abood, history is reimagined through the use of projections and other technology, spoken word in both prose and poetry, parkour movement and Qanuni music. Cartographer's Curse begins one hundred years ago. With red and blue crayons in hand, British diplomat Mark Sykes and his French counterpart François Georges-Picot met over a map and set about redrawing borders in very straight lines.
The effects of the colonial carve up resonate into the present. Into this swirling macrocosm of ever-shifting alliances and arbitrary borders, the audience enters the allegorical world of the Cartographer and his family. The chaos in which these imposed boundaries was forged is developed in complex layers and interwoven voices. A battle of ideals is seen against a backdrop of duplicity, resistance, sacrifice and disaster. The effects of power and greed on not only maps and borders, but also on families and freedom are witnessed. We see poverty, famine and forced conscriptions and political double dealing as the French and British diplomats bicker in the struggle to set themselves up in the region as the new colonial masters once the Ottoman Empire fell. 'The postcolonial and ongoing neo-colonial mess that started with those straight red and blue lines... remains with us today as refugees flee Syria and Iraq, the catastrophe that befell Palestine remains an open wound, and the frequent sectarian eruptive bursts of fire that plague Lebanon.' Abood reflects. Far from being fixed in the past, the marks of the 100 year old Sykes-Picot agreement are still visible today. The show is an allegory about what life was like around roughly 1916 and the kinds of oppression people endured, focusing on the effects on one family in particular.
Paula Abood is a community cultural development practitioner, writer, creative producer and educator, who’s written for performance, radio, publications and film and, in 2013, received the Australia Council’s Ros Bower Award for lifetime achievement in community cultural development practice.
The multi layered set (Jerome Pearce) is rather minimalist – white archways, stage left has the music set up, stage right a cluttered cupboard with various hand props used at times in the production allowing for fluid narrative and quick scene changes. There are wonderful projections used , from the opening and closing thistles to the bazaar to maps and black and white footage of troops on camels.
The small cast of six all have allegorical titles: the Cartographer was terrifically played by bearded, darkly handsome Ludwig El Haddad. The Spirit Poet (the Cartographer’s wife as played by Sara Saleh) is haunting and passionate. The Poet (Zainab Kadhim), the cartographer and spirit poet’s daughter, is passionate not just about poetry but freedom and her country. The Resistance ( Ali Kadhim ), the Poet’s brother, passionately tries to defend his country and ends up escaping to join The Resistance. Kadhim is an exponent of parkour movement and his thrilling passionate performance is incredibly lithe, acrobatic and agile. The Wandering Professor (grey bearded, bespectacled Ghassan Hage ) is nattily, jauntily dressed and acts as the European voice. The Merchant (Alissar Gazal) acts as world weary commentator and voice for the everyday poor people, telling of poverty and heartbreak.
The effects of the colonial-carve-up, a century ago, resonate into the present as history finds meaning in this eclectic multi layered new theatrical work, full of voices demanding to be heard.
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
THE CARTOGRAPHER’S CURSE
Presented by National Theatre of Parramatta and Third Space Productions
The Cartographer: Ludwig El Haddad
The Wandering Professor: Ghassan Hage
The Poet Zainab Kadhim
The Spirit Poet: Sara Saleh
The Resistance: Ali Kadhim
The Merchant: Alissar Gazal Qanun
Musician: Mohamed Lelo
Director: Paula Abood
Assistant Director/Co-producer: Claudia Chidiac
Digital Artist: Jerome Pearce
Dramaturgy: Barry Gamba
Riverside Parramatta
5-8 October 2016
Strong and powerful with many interlocking layers of meaning, Cartographer's Curse is the latest production by the National Theatre of Parramatta. Supporting a newly established Arabic theatre company, Third Space Productions, in their premiere production.
Written and directed by Paula Abood, history is reimagined through the use of projections and other technology, spoken word in both prose and poetry, parkour movement and Qanuni music. Cartographer's Curse begins one hundred years ago. With red and blue crayons in hand, British diplomat Mark Sykes and his French counterpart François Georges-Picot met over a map and set about redrawing borders in very straight lines.
The effects of the colonial carve up resonate into the present. Into this swirling macrocosm of ever-shifting alliances and arbitrary borders, the audience enters the allegorical world of the Cartographer and his family. The chaos in which these imposed boundaries was forged is developed in complex layers and interwoven voices. A battle of ideals is seen against a backdrop of duplicity, resistance, sacrifice and disaster. The effects of power and greed on not only maps and borders, but also on families and freedom are witnessed. We see poverty, famine and forced conscriptions and political double dealing as the French and British diplomats bicker in the struggle to set themselves up in the region as the new colonial masters once the Ottoman Empire fell. 'The postcolonial and ongoing neo-colonial mess that started with those straight red and blue lines... remains with us today as refugees flee Syria and Iraq, the catastrophe that befell Palestine remains an open wound, and the frequent sectarian eruptive bursts of fire that plague Lebanon.' Abood reflects. Far from being fixed in the past, the marks of the 100 year old Sykes-Picot agreement are still visible today. The show is an allegory about what life was like around roughly 1916 and the kinds of oppression people endured, focusing on the effects on one family in particular.
Paula Abood is a community cultural development practitioner, writer, creative producer and educator, who’s written for performance, radio, publications and film and, in 2013, received the Australia Council’s Ros Bower Award for lifetime achievement in community cultural development practice.
The multi layered set (Jerome Pearce) is rather minimalist – white archways, stage left has the music set up, stage right a cluttered cupboard with various hand props used at times in the production allowing for fluid narrative and quick scene changes. There are wonderful projections used , from the opening and closing thistles to the bazaar to maps and black and white footage of troops on camels.
The small cast of six all have allegorical titles: the Cartographer was terrifically played by bearded, darkly handsome Ludwig El Haddad. The Spirit Poet (the Cartographer’s wife as played by Sara Saleh) is haunting and passionate. The Poet (Zainab Kadhim), the cartographer and spirit poet’s daughter, is passionate not just about poetry but freedom and her country. The Resistance ( Ali Kadhim ), the Poet’s brother, passionately tries to defend his country and ends up escaping to join The Resistance. Kadhim is an exponent of parkour movement and his thrilling passionate performance is incredibly lithe, acrobatic and agile. The Wandering Professor (grey bearded, bespectacled Ghassan Hage ) is nattily, jauntily dressed and acts as the European voice. The Merchant (Alissar Gazal) acts as world weary commentator and voice for the everyday poor people, telling of poverty and heartbreak.
The effects of the colonial-carve-up, a century ago, resonate into the present as history finds meaning in this eclectic multi layered new theatrical work, full of voices demanding to be heard.
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
THE CARTOGRAPHER’S CURSE
Presented by National Theatre of Parramatta and Third Space Productions
The Cartographer: Ludwig El Haddad
The Wandering Professor: Ghassan Hage
The Poet Zainab Kadhim
The Spirit Poet: Sara Saleh
The Resistance: Ali Kadhim
The Merchant: Alissar Gazal Qanun
Musician: Mohamed Lelo
Director: Paula Abood
Assistant Director/Co-producer: Claudia Chidiac
Digital Artist: Jerome Pearce
Dramaturgy: Barry Gamba
Riverside Parramatta
5-8 October 2016
Patience at Shore school
this was glorious much fun here's my review for the Guide : http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/gilbert-and-sullivan-opera-sydney-presents-patience-shore-school-north-sydney/
An outstanding relatively ‘traditional ‘ version of this much loved Gilbert and Sullivan favourite is currently showing at Shore school North Sydney.
The operetta is named after a naive village milkmaid named Patience. With its counterfeit pop idols, lovesick ladies and macho military men it is still very contemporary. The play is a witty satire on the Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and ’80s in England and, more broadly, on superficiality, pretentiousness, fads, vanity and hypocrisy; it also satirises pastoral simplicity, romantic love and military bluster.
Patience ( I saw Samanta Lestavel ,who alternates with Bregitte Lahood ) is being wooed by two rival poets – the trendy , ersatz Reginald Bunthorne -a parody of Oscar Wilde, Swinburne , Rossetti and other ‘aesthetic poets’ at the turn of the 20th century – ( as played by Dean Sinclair) and Archibald Grosvenor (Mitch Bryson), but Patience actually doesn’t care for poetry. Meanwhile…. all the well-born ladies in the village are in love with the two poet rivals, to the dismay of their soldier boyfriends in the Dragoons. In a bid to win back the hearts of their ladies, the military suitors decide to try poetry to win them back .Will they succeed? Will Patience discover what love is?!
Lovingly directed by Elizabeth Lowrencev with a fine touch, this production is a feast for the eyes with stunning sets by Bradley Hawkins – the opening tableaux in the forest glade is magnificent , and the garden in act 2 hints at the craze for Japanese styles during the 1870’s and 80’s.
Kyle Stephens’ lighting was lyrical and expressive. Sandi Tutt’s costumes were also glorious – spectacular uniforms for the Dragoons , and semi-medieval dresses for the ladies of the Chorus ( who reform to ‘standard’ late Victorian dresses with bustles at the end ). Bunthorne was a delight in his green suit and Grosvenor enchanting in his purple medieval troubadour like outfit with pageboy bob for much of the show ( when he ‘’reforms” ‘under compulsion” he is in a black and white striped and check suit).
Lyrics have been spiced up a little by Melvyn Morrow with contemporary references – there is a witty ‘Patience’ – a poetic ‘curtain opener ‘ as an introduction projected onto a screen during the overture to set the scene and explain the plot and also in particular the Colonel’s song in Act 1 ( “If you want a receipt for that popular mystery”) which had the audience cheering.
Under the dynamic, assured and passionate direction of Maestro Rod Mounjed the orchestra was splendid with Sullivan’s enchanting melodies lushly played and enchantingly sung. Vocally it was fabulous , the chorus excellent and the principals terrific.
Samanta Lestavel in the eponymous role was delightful as blooming, blushing Patience and was in fine voice. Her puzzled cheerfulness in Act 1 ( “I cannot tell what this love may be” ) changes sharply and dramatically in Act 2 “Love is a plaintive song” .There are hints of The Pirates of Penzance with Patience’s allusion to her duty.
Both Bunthorne and Grosvenor are portrayed as narcissistic and ‘’affected”. The two poets in the operetta are partial to reading their work aloud, particularly to the chorus of swooning , admiring maidens. Bunthorne’s style contrasts strongly with Grosvenor’s. Bunthorne’s is obscure , enigmatic and blusteringly emphatic, similar to Swinburne’s poetry in its style, structure and use of alliteration. Grosvernor’s pieces, pastoral and simpler, has allusions to the work of William Morris and Coventry Patmore .
As Bunthorne, Dean Sinclair has a wonderful time stealing the show whenever possible. His “Am I alone and unobserved? ‘ was great fun, and the duets with Patience, Lady Jane and Grosvenor were delightful.
From his first entrance and duet with Patience ( ‘’Prithee, pretty maiden “) Mitch Bryson as Grosvenor had all the ladies swooning and his lyrical tenor voice was captivating and enchanting. The duet for Bunthorne and Grosvenor ( ‘When I go out of door’) was a show stopper.
The dragoons were splendid with Anthony Mason as the Colonel, Matthew Cobb-Clark as the Major and Spencer Darby as the Duke being in especially fine voice.
The entrance in Act 1 is thrilling and the trio for the Colonel Major and Lieut.The Duke in Act 2 ( “It’s clear that medieval art” ) when they appear dressed as Aesthetes was hilarious and featured impressive comic timing.
Rebecca Hart as Lady Jane was imperious and commanding –similar in personal style to Oscar Wilde’s Lady Bracknell – and garbed in a splendiferous, ravishing costume of bronze and black with a wonderful headdress. Her solo with the cello ( “Sad is that woman’s lot” ) in Act 2 was heartfelt, her duet with Bunthorne ( ‘So go to him, and say to him’) was sparkling and fun.
Recommended. There were lots of laughs throughout in this ‘mad and merry sweet caprice’.
Running time 2 hrs 40 ( roughly ) including one interval.
PATIENCE is playing at the Shore School North Sydney until October 8.
An outstanding relatively ‘traditional ‘ version of this much loved Gilbert and Sullivan favourite is currently showing at Shore school North Sydney.
The operetta is named after a naive village milkmaid named Patience. With its counterfeit pop idols, lovesick ladies and macho military men it is still very contemporary. The play is a witty satire on the Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and ’80s in England and, more broadly, on superficiality, pretentiousness, fads, vanity and hypocrisy; it also satirises pastoral simplicity, romantic love and military bluster.
Patience ( I saw Samanta Lestavel ,who alternates with Bregitte Lahood ) is being wooed by two rival poets – the trendy , ersatz Reginald Bunthorne -a parody of Oscar Wilde, Swinburne , Rossetti and other ‘aesthetic poets’ at the turn of the 20th century – ( as played by Dean Sinclair) and Archibald Grosvenor (Mitch Bryson), but Patience actually doesn’t care for poetry. Meanwhile…. all the well-born ladies in the village are in love with the two poet rivals, to the dismay of their soldier boyfriends in the Dragoons. In a bid to win back the hearts of their ladies, the military suitors decide to try poetry to win them back .Will they succeed? Will Patience discover what love is?!
Lovingly directed by Elizabeth Lowrencev with a fine touch, this production is a feast for the eyes with stunning sets by Bradley Hawkins – the opening tableaux in the forest glade is magnificent , and the garden in act 2 hints at the craze for Japanese styles during the 1870’s and 80’s.
Kyle Stephens’ lighting was lyrical and expressive. Sandi Tutt’s costumes were also glorious – spectacular uniforms for the Dragoons , and semi-medieval dresses for the ladies of the Chorus ( who reform to ‘standard’ late Victorian dresses with bustles at the end ). Bunthorne was a delight in his green suit and Grosvenor enchanting in his purple medieval troubadour like outfit with pageboy bob for much of the show ( when he ‘’reforms” ‘under compulsion” he is in a black and white striped and check suit).
Lyrics have been spiced up a little by Melvyn Morrow with contemporary references – there is a witty ‘Patience’ – a poetic ‘curtain opener ‘ as an introduction projected onto a screen during the overture to set the scene and explain the plot and also in particular the Colonel’s song in Act 1 ( “If you want a receipt for that popular mystery”) which had the audience cheering.
Under the dynamic, assured and passionate direction of Maestro Rod Mounjed the orchestra was splendid with Sullivan’s enchanting melodies lushly played and enchantingly sung. Vocally it was fabulous , the chorus excellent and the principals terrific.
Samanta Lestavel in the eponymous role was delightful as blooming, blushing Patience and was in fine voice. Her puzzled cheerfulness in Act 1 ( “I cannot tell what this love may be” ) changes sharply and dramatically in Act 2 “Love is a plaintive song” .There are hints of The Pirates of Penzance with Patience’s allusion to her duty.
Both Bunthorne and Grosvenor are portrayed as narcissistic and ‘’affected”. The two poets in the operetta are partial to reading their work aloud, particularly to the chorus of swooning , admiring maidens. Bunthorne’s style contrasts strongly with Grosvenor’s. Bunthorne’s is obscure , enigmatic and blusteringly emphatic, similar to Swinburne’s poetry in its style, structure and use of alliteration. Grosvernor’s pieces, pastoral and simpler, has allusions to the work of William Morris and Coventry Patmore .
As Bunthorne, Dean Sinclair has a wonderful time stealing the show whenever possible. His “Am I alone and unobserved? ‘ was great fun, and the duets with Patience, Lady Jane and Grosvenor were delightful.
From his first entrance and duet with Patience ( ‘’Prithee, pretty maiden “) Mitch Bryson as Grosvenor had all the ladies swooning and his lyrical tenor voice was captivating and enchanting. The duet for Bunthorne and Grosvenor ( ‘When I go out of door’) was a show stopper.
The dragoons were splendid with Anthony Mason as the Colonel, Matthew Cobb-Clark as the Major and Spencer Darby as the Duke being in especially fine voice.
The entrance in Act 1 is thrilling and the trio for the Colonel Major and Lieut.The Duke in Act 2 ( “It’s clear that medieval art” ) when they appear dressed as Aesthetes was hilarious and featured impressive comic timing.
Rebecca Hart as Lady Jane was imperious and commanding –similar in personal style to Oscar Wilde’s Lady Bracknell – and garbed in a splendiferous, ravishing costume of bronze and black with a wonderful headdress. Her solo with the cello ( “Sad is that woman’s lot” ) in Act 2 was heartfelt, her duet with Bunthorne ( ‘So go to him, and say to him’) was sparkling and fun.
Recommended. There were lots of laughs throughout in this ‘mad and merry sweet caprice’.
Running time 2 hrs 40 ( roughly ) including one interval.
PATIENCE is playing at the Shore School North Sydney until October 8.
Operantics La Sonnambula
this was excellent .here's my Sydney Arts Guide review http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/operantics-presents-la-sonnambula-by-bellini-the-independent-theatre-north-sydney/
This was another extremely impressive production by Operantics, dazzlingly sung.
LA SONNAMBULA started began life in Paris in 1827 as a ballet, at the height of a craze for stage works featuring somnambulism. Bellini’s opera was first performed in 1831. Various stars who have performed in the demanding roles include Pasta, Malibran, Callas, Pavarotti and Sutherland. More recently there was the controversial production in 2009 at the Met in New York with French soprano Natalie Dessay. Opera Australia’s most recent production was in 2010 with Emma Matthews.
LA SONNAMBULA is one of the bel canto operas, those early nineteenth-century Romantic works by Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti and their counterparts that emphasise virtuoso and exquisite vocalism as distinct from concentrating on symphonic musical development or ‘’ naturalistic “ drama.
The rather light weight, silly, early Romantic plot concerns Amina (Joelene Griffith), a Swiss village girl, betrothed to fellow villager Elvino (Michael Butchard) . All is joyous in their idyllic pastoral paradise until the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Count Rodolfo (Christopher Nazarian), whose admiration of Amina makes Elvino jealous.
Elvino’s jealousy is further enflamed when Amina is discovered in Rodolfo’s room at Lisa’s inn overnight. The confusion is eventually happily resolved when it is demonstrated that Amina is in fact an innocent sleepwalker, a somnambulist.
Minimalist in staging this version was quite traditional yet extremely effective. Surtitles were handily provided on the back projection screen. The set, apart from flowers entwined around the handrail and some hand props, was generally indicated by projections of charming atmospheric black and white illustrations – the village, Lisa’s inn, the old mill and more. It would be worth your while to look at the Independent Theatre’s Facebook page to discover the Sydney icons that Amina spends time walking across in her sleep.
There was no orchestra rather instead a piano score version was used, magnificently played by Nathaniel Kong. Ian Warwick and Keiren Brandt-Sawdy developed the small chorus as individual characters who gave finely nuanced performances. Brandt-Sawdy conducted passionately and energetically.
Our troubled heroine , vulnerable and naïve Amina was delightfully sung by Joelene Griffith who has a bright, full timbre and terrific voice with gleaming top notes and unforced agility in the demanding coloratura sections. She showcased a lovely legato and sang with great ease and expressiveness.
At the start (and end) she is all joyously bubbling ( “Come per me sereno / oggi rinacque il di! / “How brightly this day dawned for me”). The duets with Elvino ranged from exultant to strained and pleading once he has broken off the wedding. The famous sleepwalking scene was tense and terrific ( “Ah! non credea mirarti / sì presto estinto, o fiore / “I had not thought I would see you, dear flowers, perished so soon” ) – dance lovers will possibly pick up hints of the mad scene from Giselle that was first performed in 1841.
Our shallow, rather undecided hero Elvino was sung by tall Michael Butchard an excellent tenor with matinee idol good looks who sent marvellous unforced phrases of song lyrically soaring.
Miller-Crispe as the scheming worldly inn-keeper Lisa, in love with Elvino, was magnificent. Her seemingly heartbroken aria opening the opera “Tutto è gioia, tutto è festa…Sol per me non non v’ha contento / “All is joy and merriment… I alone am miserable” was moving but we uncover her jealousy and wounded pride and see the spiteful lengths she will go to throughout the opera. During the villager’s tale of the strange phantom they have seen, describing it to Count Rodolfo , Lisa plays the part of the ‘ghost’ with a red shawl ( scarf ?) over her head. Interestingly there is a loose end left at the end of the opera as Lisa simply vanishes…
Darkly handsome, charismatic Christopher Nazarian as Count Rodolfo was suitably mysterious and from his first entrance dominated the stage with his powerful , magnificently thrilling voice. He at first seems like a callous Lothario but when he spies Amina sleepwalking he does not take advantage of her and tries to defend her , insisting on her innocence.
Alessio in love with Lisa was delightfully sung by Christopher Curcuruto. As Teresa , Amina’s supportive foster mother, Jermaine Chau showcased her excellent mezzo voice.
This production was a terrific showcase of
wonderful young opera talent .
Running time 2 hours 40 mins (roughly) including one interval.
The Operantics production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula played at the Independent Theatre, North Sydney for a brief season which concluded on October 2.
This was another extremely impressive production by Operantics, dazzlingly sung.
LA SONNAMBULA started began life in Paris in 1827 as a ballet, at the height of a craze for stage works featuring somnambulism. Bellini’s opera was first performed in 1831. Various stars who have performed in the demanding roles include Pasta, Malibran, Callas, Pavarotti and Sutherland. More recently there was the controversial production in 2009 at the Met in New York with French soprano Natalie Dessay. Opera Australia’s most recent production was in 2010 with Emma Matthews.
LA SONNAMBULA is one of the bel canto operas, those early nineteenth-century Romantic works by Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti and their counterparts that emphasise virtuoso and exquisite vocalism as distinct from concentrating on symphonic musical development or ‘’ naturalistic “ drama.
The rather light weight, silly, early Romantic plot concerns Amina (Joelene Griffith), a Swiss village girl, betrothed to fellow villager Elvino (Michael Butchard) . All is joyous in their idyllic pastoral paradise until the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Count Rodolfo (Christopher Nazarian), whose admiration of Amina makes Elvino jealous.
Elvino’s jealousy is further enflamed when Amina is discovered in Rodolfo’s room at Lisa’s inn overnight. The confusion is eventually happily resolved when it is demonstrated that Amina is in fact an innocent sleepwalker, a somnambulist.
Minimalist in staging this version was quite traditional yet extremely effective. Surtitles were handily provided on the back projection screen. The set, apart from flowers entwined around the handrail and some hand props, was generally indicated by projections of charming atmospheric black and white illustrations – the village, Lisa’s inn, the old mill and more. It would be worth your while to look at the Independent Theatre’s Facebook page to discover the Sydney icons that Amina spends time walking across in her sleep.
There was no orchestra rather instead a piano score version was used, magnificently played by Nathaniel Kong. Ian Warwick and Keiren Brandt-Sawdy developed the small chorus as individual characters who gave finely nuanced performances. Brandt-Sawdy conducted passionately and energetically.
Our troubled heroine , vulnerable and naïve Amina was delightfully sung by Joelene Griffith who has a bright, full timbre and terrific voice with gleaming top notes and unforced agility in the demanding coloratura sections. She showcased a lovely legato and sang with great ease and expressiveness.
At the start (and end) she is all joyously bubbling ( “Come per me sereno / oggi rinacque il di! / “How brightly this day dawned for me”). The duets with Elvino ranged from exultant to strained and pleading once he has broken off the wedding. The famous sleepwalking scene was tense and terrific ( “Ah! non credea mirarti / sì presto estinto, o fiore / “I had not thought I would see you, dear flowers, perished so soon” ) – dance lovers will possibly pick up hints of the mad scene from Giselle that was first performed in 1841.
Our shallow, rather undecided hero Elvino was sung by tall Michael Butchard an excellent tenor with matinee idol good looks who sent marvellous unforced phrases of song lyrically soaring.
Miller-Crispe as the scheming worldly inn-keeper Lisa, in love with Elvino, was magnificent. Her seemingly heartbroken aria opening the opera “Tutto è gioia, tutto è festa…Sol per me non non v’ha contento / “All is joy and merriment… I alone am miserable” was moving but we uncover her jealousy and wounded pride and see the spiteful lengths she will go to throughout the opera. During the villager’s tale of the strange phantom they have seen, describing it to Count Rodolfo , Lisa plays the part of the ‘ghost’ with a red shawl ( scarf ?) over her head. Interestingly there is a loose end left at the end of the opera as Lisa simply vanishes…
Darkly handsome, charismatic Christopher Nazarian as Count Rodolfo was suitably mysterious and from his first entrance dominated the stage with his powerful , magnificently thrilling voice. He at first seems like a callous Lothario but when he spies Amina sleepwalking he does not take advantage of her and tries to defend her , insisting on her innocence.
Alessio in love with Lisa was delightfully sung by Christopher Curcuruto. As Teresa , Amina’s supportive foster mother, Jermaine Chau showcased her excellent mezzo voice.
This production was a terrific showcase of
wonderful young opera talent .
Running time 2 hours 40 mins (roughly) including one interval.
The Operantics production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula played at the Independent Theatre, North Sydney for a brief season which concluded on October 2.
Monday, 26 September 2016
Where the Light Falls
A fabulous book . Here's what I said for Arts hub http://publishing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/writing-and-publishing/lynne-lancaster/where-the-light-falls-252137 http://publishing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/writing-and-publishing/lynne-lancaster/where-the-light-falls-252137http://publishing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/writing-and-publishing/lynne-lancaster/where-the-light-falls-252137
Where the Light Falls by Gretchen Shirm.
The author of this excellent book, Gretchen Shirm, is a writer and lawyer. She has been published in The Best Australian Stories, Art Monthly, Etchings, Wet Ink, Australian Book Review, The Saturday Paper and Southerly among others. In 2011 she was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists for her collection, Having Cried Wolf.
Exquisitely and beautifully written in vivid, sparse prose, this is a book that entices you in. Written in the third person the book is all seen through the protagonist’s Andrew’s eyes.It is a small to medium sized book in thirty chapters of compelling writing. The book moves at a relatively slow pace but this helps increase the tension. Sometimes almost cinematically there are flashbacks – in some ways it reminds me perhaps of Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell (made into the film Lantana) .It isn’t a murder mystery as such, rather we follow a middle aged artist trying to find himself and discover what happened to his previous girlfriend.
Andrew Spruce, a photographer compelled by 'the honesty in broken things', now living in Berlin, returns to Sydney when he learns that his former girlfriend Kirsten has disappeared near Lake George. When he returns to Sydney, Kirsten’s body has still not yet been found. He extends his visit to investigate her shadowy past, putting his current relationship with Dominique, a dancer in Berlin, at risk for reasons he hardly comprehends. While in Sydney he meets and befriends a damaged young girl Phoebe and her mother Pippa – he knows Phoebe will be a startling, captivating subject for his new series of photos. As he struggles to comprehend his motivations, Andrew realises that photography has become an obsession based on his need to hold on to the things he has lost in his life – His father especially. Andrew re-evaluates his art and why he has become a photographer. The book is all about light, about ‘the photographer’s eye’ and capturing light – how Andrew as a photographer sees everything as light – we learn why he became a photographer and what he regards as the essence of photography. The Meaning of Life and Art and why people become artists is also discussed. Also how we perceive the world and how we hope other see us; for example Andrew’s various subjects and his tentative relationship with Pippa and Phoebe.
The mystery of Kirsten’s death and the rather unsatisfactory conclusion by the coroner are important as they also lead to Andrew redefining his relationship with his mother and also Dominique in Berlin. Andrew's father died suddenly, and Andrew never knew why – he finally learns the truth about his father’s death when he was eleven.
Andrew tracks down Kirsten's mother, her stepfather and her sister in an attempt to find out why Kirsten chose to disappear into the icy depths of Lake George, her car left abandoned by the shore. The funeral without a body answers no questions, leaving the mourners trapped in a permanent unanswered state of limbo and grief. It’s also a book about damage, especially that which is quietly hidden from others.
Finally Andrew has to choose – will he acknowledge and return to his current personal and professional life – Dom in Berlin and a major exhibition in London – or will he let himself to be drawn back into his previous world with Kirsten even though she is no longer around? The question of what happened to Kirsten, and the hints of something mysterious with the stepfather, keep us turning the pages until the conclusion.
There are superb, striking descriptions of Sydney that capture it brilliantly. There are also terrific descriptions of Canberra, the mysterious Lake George as well as London and Berlin. While somewhat bleak and melancholy at times, the characters are finely written and distinctively created, firmly visible against the unfolding dramas. Andrew’s best friend Stewart is delightfully depicted as are Andrew’s mother and Phoebe and Pippa. The complexity and frailty of human relationships is very well written too.
Life and art explosively collide in this magnificent, deeply moving novel.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Where The Light Falls by Gretchen Shirm
Category: Literary fiction
ISBN: 9781760113650
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Pub Date: July 2016
Page Extent: 320
Format: Book
Subject: Literary fiction
Life and art explosively collide in this magnificent, deeply moving novel.
The author of this excellent book, Gretchen Shirm, is a writer and lawyer. She has been published in The Best Australian Stories, Art Monthly, Etchings, Wet Ink, Australian Book Review, The Saturday Paper and Southerly among others. In 2011 she was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists for her collection, Having Cried Wolf.
Exquisitely and beautifully written in vivid, sparse prose, this is a book that entices you in. Written in the third person the book is all seen through the protagonist’s Andrew’s eyes.It is a small to medium sized book in thirty chapters of compelling writing. The book moves at a relatively slow pace but this helps increase the tension. Sometimes almost cinematically there are flashbacks – in some ways it reminds me perhaps of Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell (made into the film Lantana) .It isn’t a murder mystery as such, rather we follow a middle aged artist trying to find himself and discover what happened to his previous girlfriend.
Andrew Spruce, a photographer compelled by 'the honesty in broken things', now living in Berlin, returns to Sydney when he learns that his former girlfriend Kirsten has disappeared near Lake George. When he returns to Sydney, Kirsten’s body has still not yet been found. He extends his visit to investigate her shadowy past, putting his current relationship with Dominique, a dancer in Berlin, at risk for reasons he hardly comprehends. While in Sydney he meets and befriends a damaged young girl Phoebe and her mother Pippa – he knows Phoebe will be a startling, captivating subject for his new series of photos. As he struggles to comprehend his motivations, Andrew realises that photography has become an obsession based on his need to hold on to the things he has lost in his life – His father especially. Andrew re-evaluates his art and why he has become a photographer. The book is all about light, about ‘the photographer’s eye’ and capturing light – how Andrew as a photographer sees everything as light – we learn why he became a photographer and what he regards as the essence of photography. The Meaning of Life and Art and why people become artists is also discussed. Also how we perceive the world and how we hope other see us; for example Andrew’s various subjects and his tentative relationship with Pippa and Phoebe.
The mystery of Kirsten’s death and the rather unsatisfactory conclusion by the coroner are important as they also lead to Andrew redefining his relationship with his mother and also Dominique in Berlin. Andrew's father died suddenly, and Andrew never knew why – he finally learns the truth about his father’s death when he was eleven.
Andrew tracks down Kirsten's mother, her stepfather and her sister in an attempt to find out why Kirsten chose to disappear into the icy depths of Lake George, her car left abandoned by the shore. The funeral without a body answers no questions, leaving the mourners trapped in a permanent unanswered state of limbo and grief. It’s also a book about damage, especially that which is quietly hidden from others.
Finally Andrew has to choose – will he acknowledge and return to his current personal and professional life – Dom in Berlin and a major exhibition in London – or will he let himself to be drawn back into his previous world with Kirsten even though she is no longer around? The question of what happened to Kirsten, and the hints of something mysterious with the stepfather, keep us turning the pages until the conclusion.
There are superb, striking descriptions of Sydney that capture it brilliantly. There are also terrific descriptions of Canberra, the mysterious Lake George as well as London and Berlin. While somewhat bleak and melancholy at times, the characters are finely written and distinctively created, firmly visible against the unfolding dramas. Andrew’s best friend Stewart is delightfully depicted as are Andrew’s mother and Phoebe and Pippa. The complexity and frailty of human relationships is very well written too.
Life and art explosively collide in this magnificent, deeply moving novel.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Where The Light Falls by Gretchen Shirm
Category: Literary fiction
ISBN: 9781760113650
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Pub Date: July 2016
Page Extent: 320
Format: Book
Subject: Literary fiction
The Windy Season
A compelling read .http://publishing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/writing-and-publishing/lynne-lancaster/the-windy-season-252163
The Windy Season by Sam Carmody via Allen & Unwin.
'There are things out there worse than sharks'. Sparse and bleak at times, this is evocatively written and quite austere and dramatic .This is Sam Carmody’s debut novel and extremely impressive. Powerfully written, fresh and sharp and at times it feels ominous yet desolate and one of the two main central mysteries is never really resolved.
Most of the story is about Paul searching for his brother Elliot and how he moves to the WA country town of Stark and works as a crayfisher like his brother. For Paul, the novel's young protagonist, Stark is where his older brother, Elliot, was last seen before he went missing. Now two months after they have received the news, Paul is disturbed by his parents' apparent lethargy (his father discusses the loss: 'the tone that someone used when musing on some minor complication, as if he were talking about the printer in his study running out of ink') and dissatisfied with the police's quite laid-back attitude so Paul moves to Stark to find out what actually occurred.
Was Elliot (and/or Elliot’s girlfriend Tess) involved with drug running? The story is told through Paul’s eyes and is interwoven with the story of Troy (known as The Swiss) and ‘The President’ head of a bikie gang/drug cartel. The twp are traversing the outback towards WA and The Swiss is obtaining an education in violence on the way.
Stark, a small fishing town on the West Australian coast, has become a magnet for a particular sort of person. Stark is described as a ‘destination for sad cases‘ by one character and another calls it a place mistaken for 'the edge of the world. Everyone has got some issues here. Not that it's a retreat or anything. There's no healing. It's more a containment kind of thing.'
Paul ends up working on the same crayfishing boat as Elliot, run by their troubled cousin Jake, he rents a room from a fellow deckhand, Michael, and unearths what snippets he can from eavesdropping on the circumspect fishermen at the tavern. Paul soon learns how many chances there are to get lost in those many thousands of kilometres of lonely coastline. His tactics cause the locals great unease, especially at first.
What becomes obvious to Paul as he settles into the town is the variety of ways in which his brother could have been hurt. Stark thrums with the undercurrent of violence. Boats are pounded by big seas to remind people of the delicacy of the men aboard them, sharks are an ominous and resented presence looming around the town and on land there's the barely hidden methamphetamine trade that runs through the community, destroying its core. Stark’s precarious social and economic balance is ready to be shattered. Nothing, as Elliot had previously warned Paul, is quite what it seems.
Carmody renders the underlying malice in Stark excellently and the cast of rather misfit residents – bar tender Jule , larrikin but hardworking Jungle, emaciated meth addict Roo Do and, newly arrived cop Freda are all viewed and created vividly. There is also Michael, a philosophizing German backpacking tourist who is an escapee from an Oxford education. His awkward, intense relationship with Polish backpacker, Kasia, temporary barmaid at the local, reveals quite a lot about Paul's lack of experience in matters of the heart, and the lost way in which he wanders about the world without his brother to guide him. Through the book’s journey we see how Paul is forced to define himself and discover find out what kind of man he is – not an easy journey for him to make. There are also Paul’s parents and his rather brusque and brisk Aunt Ruth.
Carmody writes in a bleak, gritty rather fierce style at times and has a great ear for dialogue. Paul is a fully developed and original character. Carmody's wonderful descriptions of the atmosphere on the boats at sea reveals the length of time he spent on crayfishing boats researching for his book. When on land, the sections describing the fishermen's drinking sessions at the local tavern are equally subtly depicted. Carmody’s writing is innately evocative in its setting of place, making us vividly feel Paul’s seasickness and the roll and crash of the crayfish deck, the delights of snorkeling or the grisly but fascinating sight of white sharks feasting on the decaying carcass of a bloated humpback whale all drawing on Carmody’s experience and love of the sea as a keen swimmer and surfer.
A striking Australian narrative set in a place surrounded by a harsh and unforgiving sea, where disturbing and mysterious influences uncover hidden secrets in the lives of the residents of the rather uncongenial town.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
The Windy Season by Sam Carmody
Category: Literary fiction
ISBN: 9781760111564
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Pub Date: August 2016
Page Extent: 344
Format: Paperback - C format
Subject: Literary fiction
RRP AUD $29.99
Mysteries abound in a bleak country town.
'There are things out there worse than sharks'. Sparse and bleak at times, this is evocatively written and quite austere and dramatic .This is Sam Carmody’s debut novel and extremely impressive. Powerfully written, fresh and sharp and at times it feels ominous yet desolate and one of the two main central mysteries is never really resolved.
Most of the story is about Paul searching for his brother Elliot and how he moves to the WA country town of Stark and works as a crayfisher like his brother. For Paul, the novel's young protagonist, Stark is where his older brother, Elliot, was last seen before he went missing. Now two months after they have received the news, Paul is disturbed by his parents' apparent lethargy (his father discusses the loss: 'the tone that someone used when musing on some minor complication, as if he were talking about the printer in his study running out of ink') and dissatisfied with the police's quite laid-back attitude so Paul moves to Stark to find out what actually occurred.
Was Elliot (and/or Elliot’s girlfriend Tess) involved with drug running? The story is told through Paul’s eyes and is interwoven with the story of Troy (known as The Swiss) and ‘The President’ head of a bikie gang/drug cartel. The twp are traversing the outback towards WA and The Swiss is obtaining an education in violence on the way.
Stark, a small fishing town on the West Australian coast, has become a magnet for a particular sort of person. Stark is described as a ‘destination for sad cases‘ by one character and another calls it a place mistaken for 'the edge of the world. Everyone has got some issues here. Not that it's a retreat or anything. There's no healing. It's more a containment kind of thing.'
Paul ends up working on the same crayfishing boat as Elliot, run by their troubled cousin Jake, he rents a room from a fellow deckhand, Michael, and unearths what snippets he can from eavesdropping on the circumspect fishermen at the tavern. Paul soon learns how many chances there are to get lost in those many thousands of kilometres of lonely coastline. His tactics cause the locals great unease, especially at first.
What becomes obvious to Paul as he settles into the town is the variety of ways in which his brother could have been hurt. Stark thrums with the undercurrent of violence. Boats are pounded by big seas to remind people of the delicacy of the men aboard them, sharks are an ominous and resented presence looming around the town and on land there's the barely hidden methamphetamine trade that runs through the community, destroying its core. Stark’s precarious social and economic balance is ready to be shattered. Nothing, as Elliot had previously warned Paul, is quite what it seems.
Carmody renders the underlying malice in Stark excellently and the cast of rather misfit residents – bar tender Jule , larrikin but hardworking Jungle, emaciated meth addict Roo Do and, newly arrived cop Freda are all viewed and created vividly. There is also Michael, a philosophizing German backpacking tourist who is an escapee from an Oxford education. His awkward, intense relationship with Polish backpacker, Kasia, temporary barmaid at the local, reveals quite a lot about Paul's lack of experience in matters of the heart, and the lost way in which he wanders about the world without his brother to guide him. Through the book’s journey we see how Paul is forced to define himself and discover find out what kind of man he is – not an easy journey for him to make. There are also Paul’s parents and his rather brusque and brisk Aunt Ruth.
Carmody writes in a bleak, gritty rather fierce style at times and has a great ear for dialogue. Paul is a fully developed and original character. Carmody's wonderful descriptions of the atmosphere on the boats at sea reveals the length of time he spent on crayfishing boats researching for his book. When on land, the sections describing the fishermen's drinking sessions at the local tavern are equally subtly depicted. Carmody’s writing is innately evocative in its setting of place, making us vividly feel Paul’s seasickness and the roll and crash of the crayfish deck, the delights of snorkeling or the grisly but fascinating sight of white sharks feasting on the decaying carcass of a bloated humpback whale all drawing on Carmody’s experience and love of the sea as a keen swimmer and surfer.
A striking Australian narrative set in a place surrounded by a harsh and unforgiving sea, where disturbing and mysterious influences uncover hidden secrets in the lives of the residents of the rather uncongenial town.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
The Windy Season by Sam Carmody
Category: Literary fiction
ISBN: 9781760111564
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Pub Date: August 2016
Page Extent: 344
Format: Paperback - C format
Subject: Literary fiction
RRP AUD $29.99
Family Skeleton
A most intriguing book
http://publishing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/writing-and-publishing/lynne-lancaster/family-skeleton-252153
Family Skeleton by Carmel Bird, photograph via UWA Publishing.
You can’t dig a grave without disturbing the smooth surface of the ground. Hot off the press, Family Skeleton is Carmel Bird’s ninth novel (Altogether she has written roughly thirty books).
Family Skeleton examines the history of a family that has for generations been engaged in the dark business of death – running a funeral home. The book opens in the skeleton’s voice and we meet Margaret, the family matriarch, widow of Edmund Rice O’Day of the exclusive O’Day Funerals, inside her posh, elegant Toorak mansion, secretly spying on her family in the garden. Everyone, including Margaret herself, is oblivious to the secrets that threaten to be uncovered by a visiting American relative, Doria Fogelsong, a historian and researcher who seeks to examine the O’Day’s family history.
We learn of various family scandals – including an explosive family secret that rocks Margaret’s world, revealing that the beloved idol of her father had clay feet and Doria must never know. An accident happens to Doria – is Margaret guilty? Is Doria after Margaret’s money? Is Doria blackmailing Margaret? How far will Margaret go in order to bury the truth?
The book jumps fluidly and clearly between the Skeleton as narrator and Margaret’s hidden, unpublished journal.The Skeleton has a rather sarcastic, ironic, jovial tone at times and Margaret’s quite revealing journal is also catty in her comments about her family in parts. There are comments about the two parts of the O’Day family and how they live in different suburbs (Toorak and Eltham and the great divide between them). We also learn of the secret history of Edmund and Margaret’s sister Cecilia – Sissy.There is also the quite sad story behind a historic quilt that Doria brings and presents to a museum in Tasmania.
Another theme throughout is the fragile delicate beauty of butterflies and their symbolism in Margaret’s world. Also interweaving throughout is the importance of the name of Ophelia and how this relates to the family and the hidden secrets. The family’s Catholicism is also important.
Perhaps somewhat quirky and subversive, Family Skeleton has a very contemporary feel and is set in a not-too-distant future where funeral plots are able to be customised in a way that somehow feels awkwardly conventional. If you enjoy books by Margaret Atwood, Kate Grenville and Thomas Keneally you will probably like this. Bird is a writer fully in control of her writers and character’s voice – Family Skeleton jumps, fluid dips sprinkled with sharp comments and ironies. The rather breathless ending is perhaps a trifle rushed but that is personal taste. Family Skeleton is a densely detailed depiction of both the process of forging personal and family identity and the art of deconstructing these .
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Family Skeleton by Carmel Bird
UWA Publishing
AUTHOR: Carmel Bird
PUBLICATION DATE: September 2016
FORMAT: Paperback
EXTENT: 250 pages
SIZE: 234 (h) x 153 (w) mm
ISBN: 9781742588902
RIGHTS: World rights
CATEGORY: Carmel Bird, Fiction
http://publishing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/writing-and-publishing/lynne-lancaster/family-skeleton-252153
Lynne Lancaster
Mysterious and intriguing; hidden family secrets are revealed.
You can’t dig a grave without disturbing the smooth surface of the ground. Hot off the press, Family Skeleton is Carmel Bird’s ninth novel (Altogether she has written roughly thirty books).
Family Skeleton examines the history of a family that has for generations been engaged in the dark business of death – running a funeral home. The book opens in the skeleton’s voice and we meet Margaret, the family matriarch, widow of Edmund Rice O’Day of the exclusive O’Day Funerals, inside her posh, elegant Toorak mansion, secretly spying on her family in the garden. Everyone, including Margaret herself, is oblivious to the secrets that threaten to be uncovered by a visiting American relative, Doria Fogelsong, a historian and researcher who seeks to examine the O’Day’s family history.
We learn of various family scandals – including an explosive family secret that rocks Margaret’s world, revealing that the beloved idol of her father had clay feet and Doria must never know. An accident happens to Doria – is Margaret guilty? Is Doria after Margaret’s money? Is Doria blackmailing Margaret? How far will Margaret go in order to bury the truth?
The book jumps fluidly and clearly between the Skeleton as narrator and Margaret’s hidden, unpublished journal.The Skeleton has a rather sarcastic, ironic, jovial tone at times and Margaret’s quite revealing journal is also catty in her comments about her family in parts. There are comments about the two parts of the O’Day family and how they live in different suburbs (Toorak and Eltham and the great divide between them). We also learn of the secret history of Edmund and Margaret’s sister Cecilia – Sissy.There is also the quite sad story behind a historic quilt that Doria brings and presents to a museum in Tasmania.
Another theme throughout is the fragile delicate beauty of butterflies and their symbolism in Margaret’s world. Also interweaving throughout is the importance of the name of Ophelia and how this relates to the family and the hidden secrets. The family’s Catholicism is also important.
Perhaps somewhat quirky and subversive, Family Skeleton has a very contemporary feel and is set in a not-too-distant future where funeral plots are able to be customised in a way that somehow feels awkwardly conventional. If you enjoy books by Margaret Atwood, Kate Grenville and Thomas Keneally you will probably like this. Bird is a writer fully in control of her writers and character’s voice – Family Skeleton jumps, fluid dips sprinkled with sharp comments and ironies. The rather breathless ending is perhaps a trifle rushed but that is personal taste. Family Skeleton is a densely detailed depiction of both the process of forging personal and family identity and the art of deconstructing these .
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Family Skeleton by Carmel Bird
UWA Publishing
AUTHOR: Carmel Bird
PUBLICATION DATE: September 2016
FORMAT: Paperback
EXTENT: 250 pages
SIZE: 234 (h) x 153 (w) mm
ISBN: 9781742588902
RIGHTS: World rights
CATEGORY: Carmel Bird, Fiction
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