Saturday 31st October, Arts Theatre
FOUR AND A HALF STARS
What do you get when you throw a wound producer, four tenors and a prima Russian soprano into the same room? A hilarious entanglement of miscommunications and enough drama to rival an opera itself!
Therry Theatre have begun their season of A Comedy of Tenors written by Ken Ludwig in 2013— and fun fact, is actually a sequel to one of his earlier works Lend Me A Tenor, that sees the character of Henry Saunders return as the frantic opera producer, his assistant Max and the world-famous Italian tenor, Tito.
In a nutshell, A Comedy of Tenors has many parallels to Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors, the whole plot propels because of continuous mistaken identities and silly misinterpretations of events. Henry Saunders just wants his Opera concert to be a roaring success, yet that is easier said than done when you are trying to arrange his three tenors: Carlo, Max and Tito who are all caught up in their own crises involving their spouses and unexpected arrivals.
It all takes place in one hotel room, in the space of one evening, in the lead up to the Saunders’ concert. The curtain rises to the grand hotel room set, featuring about four different doors of entrances and exits (well done to the team on this set: Kristina Kidd, Brian Voigt and the painters!) all of which are key in points of action throughout. What would this show be without the perfectly timed slamming of a door!?
Steve Kidd as Henry Saunders begins relaxed but then starts to become increasingly frazzled, and so do our laughs at how he portrays him. Every gesture of frustration is exaggerated to his max, and we really do empathise with him! Kidd is commanding and at ease in this role, and able to nail his snappy dialogue back at all the other characters. Kidd has a hilarious banter with his assistant Max, performed by Adam Schultz. Perhaps this show’s most “sane” character, he keeps a calm presence amongst the shenanigans and gives a strong performance. Max gets the show’s final line, which is ironically sweet against everything that occurred prior.
Ben Todd has the great feat of playing two roles in this show, one of which is Tito and the other, Beppo (but I don't want to spoil who this is!). Todd delivers a very impressive performance, especially in act II when he is constantly switching between characters. In these changes, he handled the challenge well, using his facial expressions and mannerisms to portray the different traits between his two characters— one of whom is tightly wound, and the other, very, very cheeky…
Hayley McGill as his wife Maria was a hoot. She fully leaned into this fiery Italian mother archetype, and knew how to innocently walk into the many sexual innuendos that made the audience laugh.
Parisya Mosel as Carlo was a standout to me! He fully committed to the show’s silly humour and slapstick comedy, using his whole face to emote in every moment. His boyish charm has good intentions yet landed him in many compromising situations. Alongside Mimi, Carlos’ girlfriend, played by Amelia Baldock they make a hilarious portrayal of an utterly clueless, love-struck couple. Baldock equally,
Worth the wait for her later entrance in the show is Chanelle LaRoux as Tatiana. She is the glamorous Russian soprano who mistakenly assumes someone’s identity which causes further catastrophe. LaRoux harnesses Tatiana’s flirtatious charm and nails her punchlines, all whilst looking fabulous.
There are a few moments of Opera singing in this play, most of which were performed with the required oomph. At times, the harmonies could have been tighter, but in a show like this, the singing moments can be considered an accessory to the show’s main purpose of just being damn funny.
Whilst the humour is very cliche, it rightfully earnt lots of laughter from the audience, and it was lovely to see so many out at the Saturday Matinee.
Therry Theatre has again delivered a highly entertaining performance. For young theatre goers seeing this for the first time, be prepared to step into a hotel room of chaos. You may feel the urge to yell “No! You saw that wrong!” or “No! That's not him!” but, just sit back and let this cast take you for a ride through a classic farce-style comedy.
~ By Sophie Tsoulos
Show Run: till 7th Nov
Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/au/event/1506960
Theatre: Arts Theatre, Angus Street