The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

This fascinating Bertolt Brecht play is based on the rise of Hitler, re-imagined as Arturo Ui, a smalltime Chicago gangster who aims to takeover the city's grocery trade during the great depression.

Taking a creative moulding on the Brechtian technique of ensuring the audience knows that they are watching a play, the audience entered to find a film set in preparation for filming The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, a quite captivating display of the improvisation talents of these 3rd Year WAAPA Acting students that drew us into the experience, while maintaining some Brectian integrity.

This show really highlighted the talents of the male members of the final year acting class, with some notable performances and no weak links. Aleks Mikic was unnervingly charismatic in the title role. Joel Horwood was disturbingly likeable as Ernesto Roma. Harry Richardson played well above his age, with quiet maturity as Old Dogsborough and Henry Hammersla drew much sympathy in his short appearance as the defendant Fish. All of the young men delivered impressive acting performances and it is difficult to hone in on an actor to watch, as the standard across the board is very high.

The ladies of Third Year Acting had less opportunity to shine in this production, delegated to supporting roles and cameos. The occasional cross gender role was handled nicely. The women formed a strong ensemble and gave added strength to the production as a whole. Shining in brief appearances were Kirsty Marillier as Dock Daisy, Jane Watts as a gorgeously over-the-top acting coach and Harriet Davies who stole the dying moments of the play as A Wounded Woman.

It is easy to forget that the strong design team is also comprised of students. Set designer Olivia Tartaglia used the unusual stage space to its best advantage and used stairs to great effect, while Sarah Duyvestyn's impeccably researched and recreated twenties fashion was styled effectively in monochrome, linking to the filmic opening and creating startling effects with occasional flashes of colour. Tim Baker's lighting design was both complex and smooth.

This was a really strong production of a rarely produced play. I look forward both to seeing these students in their final WAAPA productions and to the potential of their life after WAAPA.

Kimberley Shaw

Photographer: Jon Green