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THE REMOVALISTS by David Williamson
Presented by The Power House Players
Directed by Peter Robert
Reviewed (July 29) by K.E. Weber
Cast: Len Welch, Christian Thoroughgood, Melinda Spurritt, Antony Brock, Charles Johnstone.
For me, The Removalists is retro-Williamson at his worst. It is a bleak study of the average 1970's Aussie male whose new-age-sensitive-guy alter ego wasn't even close to being a twinkle in his eye. These apathetic and corrupt blokes used their fists for words and, more often than not, used their wives for punching bags. Everybody had a hidden agenda, including the women who, in this age of free love, were either the exploiters or the exploited. Williamson's early cynicism grates on me somewhat. Not one redeeming or fundamentally human feature can be found among these characters. Thankfully Williamson has moved on and, so it would seem, have we. Unfortunately, Power House did not.
This production was a slow and meandering tour de farce that was both under-directed and under-acted. Although this play does not appeal, Williamson does write powerful stuff (particularly for men) but the actors never even came close to exploring the writing's full potential. Never mind about the style of a play - be it sensitive, comic or loud and brash like this one- it is never enough to simply bombard the stage with emotion. If an actor does not develop insights into building a role first, his characterization will not be effective or believable. If a director does not effectively assist the actor in this journey (particularly in non-professional theatre) then he has, in my view, misunderstood his job description.
Peter Robert made some strange choices for his set and even stranger ones for his actors. The set was stylised and only basic items of furniture were used to represent the police station of the first act, and the living space of Fiona and Kenny Carter in Act 11. This, in itself, was not a problem. What struck me as quite bizarre and unnecessary (but no doubt had some amazing symbolic significance) were the large metal poles that were affixed to both floor and ceiling. What was their use, other than a convenient place for the handcuffing of the hapless Kenny Carter? I'm still wondering.
I have seen some interesting experimental/ drama school workshop productions over the years that I have enjoyed (regardless of the weird factor) mainly because they were tightly structured and technically adroit. One of the main reasons The Removalists didn't work for me was because it was technically inept. Dialogue was messy, movement was erratic and the actors were never more than superficially connected to their characters.
Len Welch (the sleazy and psychopathic Sergeant Simmonds) was for me the pick of a very ordinary bunch. The character was almost there but body language is never enough and an ‘ocker' accent that is too broad and often intelligible is nothing short of annoying. Christian Thoroughgood (Constable Ross) should have made much more of Williamson's material, in particular the final moments of the play when Ross believes he has beaten Kenny Carter to death. Sadly, this evocative material was dulled by an unfocused actor who was obviously given very little guidance. Similar tragic characteristics were evident in Antony Brock's (Kenny Carter) performance. Sarah Crock (Kate Mason) spent so much time worrying about her appearance that we were never given anything more than a one-dimensional performance. While Melinda Spurritt (Fiona Carter) was in possession of more intelligible vocals her performance was also somewhat lacklustre. Charles Johnstone's appearance as the Removalist certainly instilled some life into an otherwise waning production, but unfortunately an abundance of energy alone does not possess any magical properties.
It is my belief that a drama school type process can only be effective if all participants are cognizant of that process and a director of plays can only be effective if amongst his repertoire he also possesses the ability to translate a work into a meaningful theatrical experience.
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