Review by Kate Gaul
What a delight to attend this sweet mini masterpiece of a work prepared so lovingly by a small team of Sydney’s operatic stars! “Cox & Box” is a short opera by Francis Cowley Burnand and Arthur Sullivan (yes, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame!) created over a three week period in 1866. It is still sometimes given as a curtain raiser for Savoy operas. It is based on John Maddison Morton’s 1847 farce of the same name.
Sergeant Bouncer, an old soldier, has a scheme to get double rent from a single room. Bouncer is written for a bass voice but in this spirited production is sung by sparkling mezzo Ruth Strutt. By day he lets it to Mr. Box (a printer who is out all night) and by night to Mr. Cox (a hatter who works all day). Whenever either of them asks any awkward questions Bouncer sings about his days in the militia. Cox, baritone, is sung here by a suave Johnathan Alley and Box, tenor, is sung by a cheeky Adam Player.
Bouncer’s plan works well until Mr. Cox is, unexpectedly, given a day's holiday and the two lodgers meet. While Bouncer sorts out another room, Cox and Box discover they share more than the same bed. Cox is engaged to the widow Penelope Ann Wiggins - a fate that Box escaped by pretending to commit suicide.
They try gambling Penelope Ann away until news arrives that she has been lost at sea and has left her fortune to her 'intended'. They then both try to claim her for themselves. Another letter arrives - she has been found and will arrive any minute. Now they both try to disclaim her! However, she doesn't appear personally, instead leaving a letter to inform them that she intends to marry a Mr. Knox! Relieved, Cox and Box swear eternal friendship and discover, curiously enough, that they are long-lost brothers...
The intimate Substation on Taylor Square is a great location for the production. It is a far cry from the pretensions of a glamorous theatre and signals that this is a night of fun, something out-of-the box. Accompanied by the effervescent Donna Balson on a small electronic keyboard (possibly the hardest working person in the show!) the sound is great and we hear every word. The company has assembled the various bits and pieces to help tell the story – some hilarious props, some cute furnishings and a hat stand to hold things. At the back of the small stage there are two fabric covered partitions to assist with entrances and exits as the stage has no wings. Visually these work in the aesthetic of the world created on-stage. Critically, sharper direction would have made better use of them and in a farce the comings and goings are paramount. The occasional physical sloppiness betrayed an otherwise sparkling show.
“Foolish Fancies” - the remainder of the program - comprised mostly well known songs shared amongst the company. Having shed their “period” costumes we were treated to the fine sounds of Stephen Sondheim, Noel Coward, Cole Porter to name three favourites among a panoply of classics. The evening becomes a concert of sorts shared by friends in the atmosphere of a Salon.
I hope we will get to see more of this kind of intelligent and entertaining work programmed in our alternate Sydney spaces. For those who love a musical evening out but don’t always want traditional cabaret or drag, an art music program is appealing, accessible and rewarding. There are a pile of small cast mini operas out there and let’s hope others are encouraged to produce them. So, big thank you to “Cox & Box and other Foolish Fancies” for breaking the mould and adding to the much needed diversity amongst our Sydney theatre offerings.
