Ned - A New Australian Musical

Quite simply, this is the best completely original, entirely Australian musical ever. Read on and I will explain why.

Putting it on at a brand new theatre was ludicrously ambitious. This made the triumph in respect of entertainment, music, staging, drama and performance even sweeter.

From the beginning it is a special experience. You walk into Bendigo's notorious retired Sandhurst Gaol, strolling past the swinging doors of prison cells, under the trap door of the gallows (that were used three times ) and enter the vast space of the auditorium, which takes you to a stage which appears even vaster.

Sinking back into the new comfortable seats a story unfolds which grabs you from the first scene. The book to this musical is deep enough to satisfy English teachers, yet engaging enough to excite occasional theatregoers.  

The story of the Kelly gang has been inspiring painters, film makers, novelists, song writers and playwrights for well over a century. When you see it told so well on such a rich landscape you cannot help but marvel at its breadth.

The musical opens with Ned being prepared for his execution. The drama flashes back to his child hood. A boy is given a sash as a reward for saving a drowning friend.  A father is led away to prison. A single mother has to raise a large family in oppressive conditions. Edward Kelly is up against it and is driven through circumstance to become an outlaw.

Yet despite this being such a swashbuckling cops and robbers "boy's story" the female characters are given tremendous scope to show how important they were to Ned.

Indeed the women dominate what is probably the best song in the musical No Way Back - a haunting ballad which will excite  musical theatre performers and audiences for many years to come.

The style of the music is traditional broadway melody with an Irish Folk flavour. Hearing a musical for the first time is like sampling different meals at a smorgasbord. There were many exciting flavours. Ranging from the stirring chorus Such is Life, an anthemSong of Australia, humour inHere's to the Kelly's, and drama in Ned's last stand Iron and I.

The local producers (Capital Venues and Events and the composer/lyricist Adam Lyon )  must be congratulated for giving the musical the resources it deserved. Staging a new work with a professional cast of 26, and an orchestra of almost 20 is something that the Sydney Theatre and Melbourne Theatre companies do not even attempt. Yet here it was going ahead in a country town with a modest population, while a new theatre was being built inside a prison.

And there were no short-cuts on stage. The set (Mark McIntyre) was striking, the costumes (Emily Barrie) were evocative, the lighting (Rob Sowinski) was haunting and the orchestrations were lush.

And what about the performers? Local Bendigo performer Nelson Gardner portrayed Ned with sensitivity and humour. His final stand inside the armour was evocative. The Kelly Gang - Brent Trotter as Steve, Connor Crawford as Joe and Robert Tripolino as Dan were charismatic.

Another fascinating male role is that of Fitzpatrick (Nick Simpson-Deeks). He is the true villain of the story.

As mentioned earlier women surprisingly also get many moments to shine.  Penny Larkins was stoic as Ned's mother Ellen, whilst Ned's sister's Kate (Hannah Fredericksen) and Maggie ( Alana Tranter ) grabbed their moments with both hands.

So how do I justify my claim that it is the best completely original Australian musical ever? Well The Boy From Oz and Priscilla are jukebox musicals so they don't count as completely original musicals.

Having listened to most of the famous full book Australian written musicals and representing quite a number of them as a theatrical agent I can't think of one that is so satisfying on every level.

This of course does not mean that Ned is guaranteed to be a commercial success if it is staged in a capital city. It can still be further tweaked. Perhaps the dialogue can be trimmed and the best tunes repeated a little more.  But this musical has the best shot yet of grabbing the mantle of greatness.

David Spicer

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