Reviews

This is a charming theatrical venture that draws directly from the theatre of the absurd. PARLEY! especially looks to the work of Beckett in Waiting for Godot. Ant (Larkin) and Pea (Besselink) are two characters who are lost at sea and this functions as a metaphor for their existence. There is an instant quaintness about their appearance which is aided by a beautifully designed and very atmospheric set. The gentle rhythms of the dialogue convey warmth from the characters that is rather unexpected and uncharacteristic of the genre.

I was waiting next to the Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore to enter the ‘theatre’ when someone who resembled a vagrant started urinating into a gutter a few metres away.

The Lord Mayor was convinced he was an authentic drunk - up until we saw him again - playing the guitar inside.

This wasn’t the first or the last surprise of the evening. It appeared that even the most jaded theatre critic and opening night ‘luvee’ was entertained and fascinated by what was a lavish evening of immersive theatre.

Sometimes the line between a top community theatre production and a professional one can be very thin indeed, and that’s what we saw yesterday in Ipswich Musical Theatre’s production of Wicked. With so many pros on board behind-the-scenes and ex-Wicked Wiz Simon Gallagher stepping in as casting director, the result was pro-am musical theatre at its finest.

This production has been stripped down to the bare essentials which, in a way, has taken the gloss off what could be a great experience.

I could not understand what it was all about until I got home and had time to read the comment on each song. Had these preceded each item as surtitles or commentary, with perhaps the use of a hat, scarf or prop it would have enhanced the experience of the production.

With the Musical Direction in the capable hands of Javeenbah Stalwart, Rachel Love, the show had pace but that alone was not sufficient to entertain.