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Tangled Tales

July 2008

About Tangled Tales

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This year being our 70th Anniversary we presented seven ‘Shorts’.

5 - 12 July, 2008

  • Venue: The Courthouse Theatre
  • Genre: Variety
  • Playwright: Jean McConnell, Terrance McNally, Tony Rushforth, N.F. Simpson.
  • Director: Julian Oldfield

Outdoor Pleasures by Jean McConnell

In Outdoor Pleasures a middle-aged lady is trying to entertain her difficult Aunt by taking her to see an outdoor Shakespeare Production.

CAROL HOFFMAN

MARGARET JARVIS

Seascape by Tony Rushforth

The first of the longer pieces is Seascape by Tony Rushforth.

Although a contemporary writer he has placed this piece in 1940. The setting is a cliff top on the Isle of Man. Mary's family came to the Island for a holiday and then, when the war started, her father decided that his wife and young children would be safer on the island rather than in London. Soon German and Italian residents of Britain were interned on the island. Mary meets Hans, whose Father left Germany many years before the war but has been interned on the island. Then there is Magda whose Italian parents had been resident in Britain for many years. She meets up with Kurt, a German Jew who escaped from Germany only to be interned by the British. With a great deal of humour this lyrical play follows the budding parallel relationships between the two couples who have been thrown together by the war.

SANDY TAI

CHRIS LEBEN

MARY-ROSE McLAREN

HAYDN VINCENT

Resting Place by David Campton

David Campton's play Resting Place sees an elderly couple taking a break, on their way home from the shops, sitting on a bench in the cemetery.

LOREL OGLETHORPE

CHRIS BAULCH

Doggies by Jean McConell

In Doggies two ladies meet up when taking their dogs out walking. One is a pampered pedigree and the other a mongrel

JANE GAYLOR

SARAH KERNIGHAN

Botticelli by Terrance McNally

In Botticelli by Terrance McNally two young soldiers' help pass the tedium of their

LIAM MUDGE

MARK BONANNO

Dancers by Jean McConnell

Then in Dancers two middle-aged widows bemoan the absence of suitable male partners for dancing and others things.

MEGAN ALI

JANETTE BAXTER

Resounding Tinkle by NF Simpson

Finally there is A Resounding Tinkle by N.F. Simpson. (in our production of 'Three at a Table for Two' - for which the two performers Katrina Hill & Lesley Hale shared the Best Actress Award at South Street - two of the short pieces were by this author). This is a typical example of 'Theatre of the Absurd' (shades of Monty Python and many other Television comedy shows).

To make his point about how absurd most of us are in our daily conversation and our preoccupation with trivia; not to mention the interference of the do-gooders, Simpson sets his plays in an ordinary domestic situation but, in order to demonstrate this absurdity, he 'tilts" the situation.

So, in one of his other plays, instead of coming in to borrow some sugar from her next door neighbour Ivy asks for a flute. This immediately highlights the absurdity of their conversation

PEPPA SINDAR

ROBERT KIELTY

LINDA OGIER

Crew

  • Stage-Manager

    Sally Read

  • Lighting Design

    Liam Mudge

  • Lighting Crew

    Chris Sibbald, Warren Bohnke

  • Robert Selway

    Hoskins

  • Sound recording

    Michael Zala

  • Sound Operation

    Lincoln Hunt

Gallery

Reviews

REVIEWER -

Sex, Death and an Elephant at Ballarat National Theatre

The tangle of relationships, old and new, amuse, inspire and challenge us in Ballarat National Theatre’s latest offering Tangled Tales, the company’s 2008 selection of short plays. This production is a “must see” in BNT’s 70th anniversary season.

Seven short pieces invite the audience to enter into enclosed worlds where seventeen very different characters present the complexities of defining, building and maintaining love and friendship. Director Julian Oldfield blends a range of talents, effective placement of strong, diverse themes and pacey scene changes to present a night of thoughtful entertainment.

The Australian premiere of Seascape by Tony Rushworth, sees young lovers Mary (Sandy Tai) and Hans (Chris Leben) struggling to find their way during internship on the Isle of Wight. Their burgeoning love is mirrored by a second chance love affair between Magda (Mary-Rose McLaren) and Kurt (Hayden Vincent). Sandy Tai’s expressive face and magical smile light up the stage. Chris Leben presents a nicely controlled portrayal of adolescence on the cusp of maturity. Mary-Rose McLaren brings to her character, a reformed prostitute, real depth and an internal sense of truth. Hayden Vincent is thoroughly convincing in his portrayal of an aging German Jew, seeking a new life away from Berlin in the 1930s.

In Botticelli by Terence McNally, two young soldiers (Liam Mudge and Mark Bonanno) play schoolboy pseudo-intellectual mind games while waiting to viciously kill an unsuspecting enemy. Mark Bonanno’s wonderfully expressive face ably complements Liam Mudge’s portrayal of growing paranoia.

Lorel Oglethorpe and Chris Baulch in Resting Place by David Compton, magically capture the repetitive bickering and the intense love of an old couple contemplating the missed opportunities of life and the desire to be together after death. Baulch’s debut performance with BNT is one that will be remembered.

Three short duologues by Jean McConnell balance the programme. Carol Hoffman and Margaret Jarvis convincingly bicker their way through an outdoor Shakespeare performance. Jane Gaylor and Sarah Kernighan successfully capture the social class distinction of dogs and their owners. Megan Ali and Janette Baxter are thrilling when they open the second half as two ballroom dancers on the lookout for a man but on their own terms.

The absurdist comedy A Resounding Tinkle (N. F. Simpson) completes the bill. The Paradox family is having trouble with an elephant. Uncle Ted has decided to become a woman and Mrs Stencil is on the warpath. Peppa Sindar and Robert Kielty deliver fast-paced paradoxical dialogue with finesse. They both manage successfully to build believable characters within the absurd construct of the play. Linda Ogier brings a sense of light joyousness to her portrayal of Uncle Ted, framing both the comedy and the absurdity of the piece.

Tangled Tales is funny, stimulating and challenging – don’t miss it..