tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post7942886922027716698..comments2024-01-20T16:46:43.636+11:00Comments on Kevin Jackson's Theatre Diary: Savage RiverGeorge Khuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220918958933755405noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post-54315267844493424302009-07-01T13:14:18.561+10:002009-07-01T13:14:18.561+10:00Back on Savage River...saw the production last nig...Back on Savage River...saw the production last night, and thought that the parts mafe the whole look better than it actually was.<br /><br />The design was excellent, and the performances were equally strong.<br /><br />However, I found the script tedious and obvious. I constantly felt well ahead of what was happening on stage, and there was nothing within the plot that surprised. The interval point wasn't helpful, without a driving point urging me to return for the second half to see what was going to happen next. Particularly, I couldn't tell that Kingsley had found the money in Jude's bag...the lock was not visibly obvious from where I sat, and the breaking of it offstage was thus mildly perplexing.<br /><br />This may come down to the stage direction, which again felt fairly pedestrian. The Griffin is a difficult place to stage action, and I was constantly straining to see what was happening due to the angles. At one stage, I think that Tiger was cleaning abalone shells, but I could never be certain.<br /><br />As a sum up then, I found the script held the production back. If you can be caught up in the story, and there is a story there, then I think the production will be enjoyable for you. However, without any twists to grab me, I felt that the piece was fairly dull, a bland exercies in storytelling.Big Simmonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post-41973412364816230752009-06-26T20:10:06.711+10:002009-06-26T20:10:06.711+10:00It could be down to the youth and inexperience of ...It could be down to the youth and inexperience of the actresses. Michelle Williams was 18 in Killer Joe. Ten years later she delivered a stunning performance in Incendiary.<br /><br />Maeve Dermody too must be in her early 20s and relatively inexperienced. <br /><br />It could also be that Dottie is being contrasted with Sharla. Lori Petty was brilliant in that role delivering a performance that was variously nuanced but also in your face and pretty explicit. Tank Girl bare below the waist was not how I expected the play to open!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post-38229763514328970352009-06-26T19:07:54.865+10:002009-06-26T19:07:54.865+10:00It may have something to do with the writing of th...It may have something to do with the writing of the role. In memory it is a young girl with some disabilities who although central to the story and very present, has not as much text to support the explication of the character. So, it requires a really powerful presence and inner monologal vitality to maintain centrality in the storytelling. This maybe what I meant by lacking theatrical energy: the technique to create and sustain a performance over the hours of the play without textual support, unlike the film technique of having to create and sustain piecemeal over the timing of the shoot which is not as demanding,or is, but, in an entirely different way.<br /><br />Kevin J.Kevin Jacksonhttp://www.kjtheatrereviews.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post-1454632820287503012009-06-26T19:02:09.764+10:002009-06-26T19:02:09.764+10:00If you'd like to read Kevin's review of KI...<a href="http://kjtheatrereviews.blogspot.com/2008/10/killer-joe.html" rel="nofollow">If you'd like to read Kevin's review of KILLER JOE click here.</a><br /><br />Pearl (moderator)Pearly Productionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09396337485453591780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post-47369809592187319612009-06-26T16:57:08.370+10:002009-06-26T16:57:08.370+10:00Anon. I'd say yes her looks did have something...Anon. I'd say yes her looks did have something to do with it. But that said Dermody isn't without talent. She was great in the film Blackwater but a camera isn't a stage.Billie Jeannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post-59051669056677749502009-06-26T16:53:52.343+10:002009-06-26T16:53:52.343+10:00I saw [also twice] the production in the mid 90s t...I saw [also twice] the production in the mid 90s that had Kate Mulvaney in the role. She didn't come across as lacking theatrical energy and was stunningly moving in the role. Her trusting vulnerability was a brilliantly manipulative mask.Jimmy Westnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200658218238769688.post-80175109990895057772009-06-25T15:52:46.663+10:002009-06-25T15:52:46.663+10:00Came across your review of Killer Joe when doing a...Came across your review of Killer Joe when doing a search for Maeve Dermody and noticed the comment of her lacking the "theatrical energy" of the rest.<br /><br />I've seen the play twice and each time it is the character of Dottie who has been the weakest of the cast. Once the role was played by Michelle Williams, the other actress I can't remember. However both were extremely pretty as is Dermody. I got the feeling that the role of Dottie was cast with looks in mind given the nudity. Did Dermody perform nude? Do you feel the casting was influenced by looks?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com