REVIEW: XYZ A CABARET
A warm hearted cabaret experience awaits you at Kindred Studios for three nights only, with Western Arts Theatre Inc’s original XYZ. Western Arts is a place that prides themselves on mentoring people through various production role sand experiences they may not have had before, says president Meg Warren, and this is strongly felt through the distinctive family and friends vibe felt in the audience. It’s borderline standing room only on opening night, with a full house here to support the new company.
The show creates an experience focusing on delving into other peoples worlds. Presenting a series of short stories where adults reflect on moments of their childhood, and how it shaped them for better or for worse, it presents pairs of young adult performers with children, exploring their past, current or future selves, and comparing their adult views to their childish ones . Until reading the program, it’s a little unclear the exact intention, story line or lack thereof of the show, but it continues to be a wonderful exploration of real life situations and our reactions to those.
There are songs about death, life, divorce and separation, a monologue on pregnancy, and more vignettes into learning the basics of life. There are small moments of nuanced story line, maybe from the origins of these stories they have selected to feature, but they often get lost in applause or scene changing. It’s a little morbid at times, and jubilant at other, and jumps around due to the lack of connecting story line, but the format works in showcasing the everyday. Given the high level of young performers in the cast, it does deal with some serious subject matters, but this seems to be handled in an age appropriate manner and age appropriate casting for each number. Written and directed by Frankie Guida and Alex Karaoutsadis took on the challenge of presenting an emotional rollercoaster, and supported by Warren, the show is a great effort for the new creatives.
Great harmonies and a live band keep this performance bright and engaging. The band, led by Kelly Trenery, handle the well known music well, with songs coming from pop, musical theatre and more, and by a variety of artists. The contexts for some of these songs have been changed, or re-inerpreted, showing the creativity that has gone into this project.
Some nervous but very enthusiastic performers graced the stage, and everyone involved looked like they were having a ball being involved in the show. Chorus numbers are full of energy and passion, and solo numbers are taken very seriously and are completely dedicated, with standout performances by Laura Power and Ellen O’Brien in With You, Tayla Muir and Lucy Diggerson in Father, and the male soloists in I See Fire, backed up by beautiful harmonies in the chorus. The comic timing of Jamie Brown, Zoe Novacek, Tim Haughton and LouiseTwinn in I’ll Never Tell is a delight, and it juxtaposes well against the serious subject matter the show is exploring. Overall, performances are knock out throughout the show – whether you’re just getting started or an experienced performer, no matter the level of skill, age or exposure, everyone gets their chance to shine, to perform at the front of the stage with the cast always moving, and everyone is having a ball- these are all incredibly important parts of community theatre and the experience, which Western Arts Theatre seem to have nailed.
Moving around the stage is clunky – the choreography is freeform and basic to cater for all skills and abilities, and embraces an easy going, having a party feel, but set changes are clunky and the gaps between songs are quite long. Some of the lighting cues don’t come through, or are delayed, leaving performers singing in the dark or some colours and lights changing randomly, but all of these issues can be ironed out with practice and additional tech time, a challenge often faced in community theatre. A projector is used throughout the show to share videos of similar life anecdotes and stories, but the opening and closing of the curtains to share the video on the white backdrop is slow. The concept of the project is great and it’s a nice way to break up the performances.
The venue, Kindred Studios is a warm and fantastic space, and a great set up for this cabaret style show, however it becomes apparent throughout the show that because it is a rehearsal space, and there’s plenty on throughout the evenings, that we can also here drum rehearsals and a lovely choir singing, that detracts a little bit from the heartfelt performances in XYZ.
Even the program design, by Kai Mann-Robertson, is warm and inviting, sharing photos from all of the performers early years and short, sharp stories/ facts about them, about what they thought as kids or wanted to be when they grew up. It’s a little hard to then single out performers to praise their knock out performances, but it is such a refreshing change in a program.
Support this heartfelt and emerging company as it supports and mentors new creatives, and keep an eye out for their September production of Into the Woods. More information: https://westernartstheatre.org/
This article first appeared at: http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/xyz-a-cabaret/ on 8 May 2017
