Reviews

More than two hundred years after its publication, the story of Frankenstein still has much to offer theatre audiences, particularly in macabre 2020. In May, we streamed London’s National Theatre Live Frankenstein and found ourselves captivated by Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller as they alternated the roles of Victor Frankenstein and his creature.

A View From the Park, a co-production between Maverick Theatre Productions and Old Mill Theatre, is a collection of six short plays, written and directed by local author Noel O’Neill. All two handers, set on a park bench, there is a lovely variety to the stories, and they are being well received by Covid capacity audiences.

The set consists of a rather attractive park bench, with hints of the park and the time of day being provided by subtle lighting design by John Woolrych.

This opera is a contemplative and melancholy exploration of Kate Kelly (Emily Burke, soprano) and her tumultuous relationship with the land, men and the authorities. The show opens with ‘Bricky’ Foster (Andrew Moran, baritone) whose deep tones effectively capture the hypermasculinity of his character and the regrettable actions that it cultivates. There is both a bitterness and a charm to this character and this reveals an interesting complexity to his persona.

The theme of this opera is especially apt for the current circumstances in Victoria and the story captures many themes around the way contemporary romantic relationships are developed and sustained. The “to camera” format is ingenious and produces a powerful atmosphere of intimacy. The four outstanding performers Georgia Wilkinson (soprano), Morgan Carter (soprano), Nigel Huckle (tenor) and Sam Ward (baritone) appear on the screen in Caravaggio like fashion: dramatically set against a dark background.