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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018
VICTORIA’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
49TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION $2.95
S TATE EDITION Vol 50 No 1695 SERVING VICTORIA SINCE 1969
IT’S COLDER including GST
Passing of Nigel Dick
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CENTRE STATE DRILLING
● Justin Hosking, Caroline Lee, Marissa Bennett, Brigid Gallacher, Ben Pfeiffer and Charles Purcell in Colder. Photo: Rob Blackburn. Review: David McLean
■ Lachlan Philpott’s Colder stretches the boundaries of time, place and character. Robyn Norman at 33 years of age (Marissa Bennett) has lost her son on a Disneyland holiday. Robyn Norman at 59 years of age (Caroline Lee), simultaneously present on stage, grapples with the estrangement and eventual disappearance of the same son, David, at 33 years of age (Charles Purcell). The pregnant Kay at 33 years of age (Bridgid Gallacher) is searching for David to be a god-father and David’s 32 year old homosexual lover, Ed (Ben Pfeiffer), is bereft at David’s disappearance. The unsettling terror at losing a child and the fraught machinations of imagining the worst don’t necessarily equate with adult estrangement later in life, with lovers breaking up or with friends losing touch. Ostensibly, there is a sense of loss common to them all but the motives and agendas and suffering would be different in each case. Thus, the strands within Philpott’s drama only loosely coincide. This, however, could be the point that rational explanations and a true understanding of people’s motives can never be fully realized.
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What we have are empty lives played out against the promise of a Disney fantasy and gay Mardi Gras fulfillment. Both seem shallow and distracting for they cannot provide an ultimate resolution. Soundscapes are created to evoke atmosphere, actors (James Wardlaw) play multiple roles and the narrative is delivered in monologues interspersed with snippets of dialogue fleshing out scenes. This requires great cohesion and understanding between the actors – a hallmark of the Red Stitch troupe. The direction, Alyson Campbell, utiliss the nonnaturalistic form positioning the six players in alternating patterned configurations on stage breaking to more familiar intimacy in the moments of dialogue. Even the sets curve and rake (Bethany J Fellows) is a reminder that the hard edge certainty of life is an illusion. Bronwyn Pringle’s lighting flexibility accommodated the ever changing landscape of the multiple realities and styles at play. This is a challenging work. The intensity of subject matter and the style require concentration but Red Stitch are renowned for confronting the boundaries of performance. Until April 8. 2 Chapel St, St Kilda East
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■ One of the pioneers of Melbourne television, Nigel Deck, has died at age 89. Dr Dick was an early Sales Manager and General Manager of GTV-9. He became a top executive with the Nine Network, but was also known for his work with the RACV, the Victorian Radio Network and Odyssey House. He was husband to Beverley, father to Peter, Garry, and Debbie.