Theatre reviews by Michael Magnusson: Leaves of Glass and The Role Model
 In Philip Ridley's Leaves of Glass, brothers Steven (Dan Frederiksen, left) and Barry (Johnny Carr, right) have grown into damaged adults after their father committed suicide when they were children. Barry spiraled downward, while Steven inherited his father's depression but seemingly gets on with life, career and marriage through sheer will-power, but at the cost of being emotionally numb.
Ridley peels back the layers of family complicity and denial to have us presume that childhood abuse is the cause of the brother's problems, but even in that a more terrible complicity is revealed at the play’s conclusion.
Peter Mumford's set echoes the seeming transparency of Ridley's play. Multiple layers of clear plastic curtains drawn back and forth to differentiate scenes would appear to lay the story transparent; but like Ridley's red herring, Mumford's design is a visual red herring, playing along with the presumption, not the truth, until the play’s climax unfolds in a new environment. The semiabstract design heightens the mystery underlying the story.
This is a good play made more fascinating by Simon Stone’s direction and Mumford's ingenious set.
Until May 30 at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre Rear, 2 Chapel Street, St Kilda
www.redstitch.net
Photo: Jodie Hutchinson
Written by emerging playwright Bruce Hoogendoorn, The Role Model possesses all the cynical humour of David Williamson at his best.
Former Olympic gold medalist Scott (James Doolan) has fallen from public favour after sleeping with his best mate’s wife, his only defence being that “he wasn't my best mate”. Desperate to get him onto the motivational speaking circuit, his ex-swimmer manager Wanda (Denise Kuchmar) arranges for him to mentor depressed adolescents, planning to leak the story to the national media and cash in on the sympathy factor.
Unable to relate to Adam (William Ridley), the gloomy and pimply 15-year-old assigned to him, Scott strikes a deal instead: $10,000 for a glowing account of Scott's life-changing effect on him when the story goes public.
In classic farce tradition, things go horribly wrong. But after a plot twist that results in someone coming out on a cliff-top on national television, The Role Model has an amorally happy ending.
The Olympic in-jokes and witty central characters, especially Wanda the gold medalist turned gold digger, are very effective.
Until May 16 at the Cromwell Road Theatre, Cromwell Road, South Yarra www.boobooktheatre.com |
