The Round
Nova Theatre presents Chess
At the heart of the story is a politically-driven, Cold-War era chess tournament between two grandmasters – one American and the other Soviet.
Their fight on the chess-board is paralleled by their competing over a women who assistant to one and falls in love with the other.
The American Grandmaster, Frederick Truper, was performed by Jenter Zilm.
A wonderful portrayal of the American showing all the finer nuances of such a person.
Added to his professional performance was a good singing voice which enhanced the evening.
The Soviet was represented by Anatoly Dergievsky played by Leighton Garwin.
A great performance actually capturing the feel of a Soviet player as opposed to the American Grandmaster, the two carried their respective roles with professionalism and were a great balance to each other.
The lady in contention, Freddy’s assistant and Anatoly’s lover, Florence Vassy, was played by Nat Carden.
Nat projected well but in the beginning her voice sounded like she was screaming, you reviewer is not sure whether or not this was a technical flaw or her own voice.
During the production her voice became excellent and was a pleasure to listen to.
Her performance as an actress was superb and one memorable scene was when she and Svetlana played by Lauren Seymour as Anatoly’s wife, sung a suet I Know Him So Well.
This was an excellent duo and the audience responded as expected.
The Arbiter was performed by Matt Jakwenko, an amazing character in his role as arbiter.
A good strong voice and excellent acting skills.
Matt gave a terrific performance in such a role.
Another good performance was given by Sean McBride as Anatoly’s assistant Alexander Molokov.
An excellent portrayal capturing the essence of a Russian assistant.
One memorable scene was One Night in Bangkok.
It had a temple flown in and the dancers were in Bangkok costumes and performing a traditional dance but then it switched to modern day Bangkok complete with tourists, girls of the night and others.
A wonderful transformation of the old and the new.
The remainder of the cast handled themselves very professionally and added to the high standard of the evening.
Your reviewer has been reviewing amateur theatre for over 40 years and Nova’s performance of Chess was equal to any professional performance.
The 1812 Theatre
Speaking in Tongues
Nine lives weave together in ways known and unknown in Andrew Bovell’s piercing drama, Speaking in tongues.
Leon is married to Sonja, Jane is married to Pete.
By chance, each spouse meets the other’s one night and wind up in motel rooms.
Pete and Sonja resist the one-night stand; Leon and Janet do not.
A lonely man, Neil, pines for the love of his life, Sarah, who moved on decades ago.
A woman, Valerie, goes missing and her stiletto was last seen in Nick’s car.
“Love, marriage, infidelity and betrayal are all tackled in this tense, electrifying play about relationships between lovers, strangers, and the infinite ways people wound each other.”
Season: 3 – 25 October. Bookings: 9758 3964
Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest.
LAT chose an old regular play for the September season, but it still works.
A full house at the first matinee was absolutely packed and the audience appreciated the play.
I consider it one of the best plays produced by Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre.
Opening saw a remarkable set, a semi-circle in green with two entrances and exits.
After an interval in the country house, the set was still roughly the same but with more arches and a view of the countryside.
The butler, Lane/Merriman, played by Jesse Thomas, was given the correct feel expected of a butler in that era. A good performance.
Algernon Moncrieff, Gwendolen’s cousin, was played by Josh Mitchell, who performed excellently and worked well with Lachlan Glennie as Jack Worthing.
Jack was in love with Algernon’s cousin, which led to some fun scenes in the play.
Jack Worthing was given a terrific performance by Lachlan Glennie and some scenes with Algernon and Aunt Augusta were a scream.
Lady Bracknell, Aunt Augusta, was given a superb performance by Julie Arnold.
Julie caught the essence of the character and projected well.
Her niece, Gwendolen Fairfax, was played by Madeline Connolly, who captured the character as written and also some of her scenes, particularly with Cecily Cardew were a picture.
Cecily Cardew, Mr Worthing’s ward was well played by Cassidy Ryan, an excellent performance and also her scenes were a delight to behold.
Miss Prism, Cecily’s teacher, was played by Katie Gompertz, a lady with a past.
Her scenes were a delight, also worked well with Dr Chasuble played by Ian Frost, who caught the subtleties of such a character.
A delightful production leaving one to wonder why go to the city when such high-standard shows are in your neighbourhood.
