Review by Greg Gorton
Sometimes I feel not quite intelligent enough for modern theatre. Yes, Frenzy Theatre Co warned me going in that it would be hard to keep up. They even intentionally distracted me. It was like a magic trick without the prestige, and yes I left the theatre with barely an idea about what PIPER was all about. All I really know is that I had an enjoyable time.
The starting point, or prompt even, for PIPER is the fourteenth-century story that was eventually popularised by the Brothers Grimm. The town of Hamelin, infested with rats, hires a magical man who can use a pipe to lure them away. When the town refuses to pay, he uses the same pipe to lure away the children, for them to never return. While this story is, at best, a jumping off point for the production, it offers the company a chance to showcase its cast and crew’s incredible talent for all things live performance. The night includes the acrobatics, singing, sleight of hand, improv, Corde lisse, and yes, even baking.
The show begins before we even enter the door, with “the rats” performing out the front of St Kilda’s theatre. On stage, the town square is alive, with children playing in their rooms, politicians seeking help, writers, tarot readers, and even those “nasty” rats, playing in the semi-shadows. As the formal performance begins, the town converts simply into a stage ringed by a dozen entrances from which the cast of twenty-four come and go constantly. The show is constantly in a state of flux, and no one, not even the audience, gets to rest.
As large as the cast is, I feel uncomfortable speaking specifically of any one person, but please do not take that to mean no one was of particularly high quality. It is just the opposite. A joke towards the end of the show is made of a performer not knowing if they are a “feature” or “background” character, because the delineation is ridiculous. I couldn’t imagine this show being as good if even one of the people on stage was missing.
Of course, the names I can offer as heroes who are the primary drivers behind other aspects of this incredible performance. Harry Gill, for example, produced a set design both eye-catching and practical. Deceptively simple in look, the bordering “rooms” and roped “cage” come to represent so much more than one could imagine as the show begins. Likewise, the gorgeous costume by Jessamine Moffett broadcast so much more than simplistic representations. The “politicians” are immediately identified as cartoonish caricatures of high society, the children wear fever-dream approximations of technicolour innocence. The rats are left almost entirely to ears and tails, begging the audience to make assumptions we might not have if the costumes were as complex as the others.
PIPER utilises a screen above the stage, sometimes to display lyrics, others ultra-short films, and often visual gags that uplift what is happening on stage. These careful overlaps between stage and screen are effective additions to the story-telling, and Hannah Jennings’ cinematography is so highly polished that it elevates the quality of the overall night.
If anyone, however, was the true stars of PIPER it would have to be the crew on the night. Brigette Jennings must be a powerhouse of a stage manager, wrangling thousands of cues over the 100 minutes of show, while other crew members are hardly given a moment to catch their breath.
Like some other presentations by Frenzy Theatre Co, I missed so much because more than one story was shown on stage at a time. This can sometimes be an effective technique, as is the knowledge of director Bell Hansen of when to cut this back. Hansen’s direction of each scene lets the performers showcase their unique talents, while keeping us the audience on the balls of our feet - in the chaos I can only choose to enjoy what I catch, and try not to lament what I miss.
As individuals within a group, as a production of a work, I wouldn’t hesitate to call this show spectacular.
While not all may experience this, I do however have an issue. PIPER bills itself as “a theatrical explosion of ideas that defies definition for a post-truth media saturated world”. It’s certainly impossible to not compare the visual saturation of the night with our media today. And there are certainly many elements that derive from a “post truth” world - frustrating in lack of objective knowledge, but unwilling to explore relativism as an answer. What stood out to me, though, is the phrase “defies definition”. That was what was missing for me. Definition. Meaning.
Thematically, the play felt more chaotic than was welcomed, and I could never grasp what Frenzy had to say about any topic they broached. What is their opinion about the COVID restrictions they allude to early in the play? Are the rats supposed to represent an underclass? And if “feminism is a distraction”, what does it say that an incompetent government is run by Galadriel (Cate Blanchett’s character in The Lord of the Rings)? Is that list presented twice related to the actors unhappy with the process of film-making? I constantly found myself grasping at straws, then asking myself “or is this just a cigar?”. I feel like I would have enjoyed things just a little bit more if some of these magic-tricks of narrative writing came with a reveal.
Never before in Theatre have I been so frustrated by something that I still loved. So many unanswered questions and missing connections. So many mind-blowing performances that had me cheering, laughing, or cringing just as intended. While I may feel cheated of a fulfilling understanding, I feel compelled to see it again. Sadly, it is already sold out this week. Hopefully we can get the remaining tickets.
Image Supplied