Page 26 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 2, 2012 Melbourne
Observer
Julie Houghton
Australia Day ■ The world premiere of a new Australian play is the kind of phrase to elicit a mix of groans and hope from your average theatregoer. But funnyman Jonathan Biggins’s' new play Australia Day, a Melbourne Theatre Company production that opened at the Playhouse last week, is a breath of fresh air. It's funny, topical, and each of the six characters is individual and must be enormous fun for this fine cast to play. Set in the mythical Coriole Shire, we are taken to a typical committee meeting of the Coriole Shire Australia Day Planning Committee, a group dedicated to making the nation's birthday run as smoothly as humanly possible. And there lies the rub - a committee full of human foibles, prejudices and barrows to push is a comedy goldmine and Biggins mines it well. Australia Day is full of one-liners, and exposes all our prejudices and faults but with such humour that you can't help liking at least some of the characters and laughing at all of them. One of the most cleverly drawn characters by Biggins is Australian-born second-generation Vietnamese-Australian young schoolteacher, Chester Lee, played with style and verve by newcomer Kaeng Chan. Biggins has given him great lines, and Chan delivers them with a razor sharp sense of comic timing. As the central figure, the mayor aiming at Liberal Party preselection and all the machinations that must go with that path, Geoff Morell is a study in how to perfectly underplay a character at times to extract the maximum humour and pathos. If you saw the ABC TV series Grass Roots several years ago, where Morell played the mayor of a dodgy local council, you will remember his fine gift for laconic humour, and it is given full play here. Alison Whyte as the radical Greenie Helen puts in her usual top class performance, and there's a lovely CWA-type characterisation from Valerie Bader, who invests her character Marie with a surface naivety that belies a good understanding of human nature. Peter Kowitz's redneck Wally with some redeeming features is another great performance, and David James in the more straight-laced role of Robert brings a welcome pathos to his character's scenes. My only gripe is that I wish I could remember all the one liners I chuckled at - I'd love to repeat them at my next dinner party! Directed with a deft hand by Richard Cottrell, Australia Day is rather like Grass Roots with the incisive wit of David Williamson. Book your tickets now - this is one Australian play that is a real treat. Bookings: www.mtc.com.au or 8688 0800. - Julie Houghton
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James Sherlock
THIS IS ‘ONE FROM THE HEART’
■ If you have never heard of El Camino de Santiago, well, you're about to, and believe me, this is something not to ignore. Captivating and moving in equal proportions, The Way is the story of a California father, Tom (Martin Sheen), who travels to France to recover the body of his estranged son, Daniel (Emilio Estevez), who died in an accident while travelling the 800 kilometre ‘El Camino de Santiago de Compostela’ in Spain, also known as The Way of Saint James, and decides to complete the pilgrimage himself in honour of him and in the hope of getting to know the son he never really knew or understood. Giving a performance that equals, if not exceeds, such previous acclaimed efforts as Terrence Malick's Badlands and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, screen veteran Martin Sheen is simply wonderful as the grief stricken and embittered widower trying to come to terms with the loss of his only son as he battles conflicting inner demons, while balancing the complex array of mixed emotions along the way with total and unequivocal conviction. This odyssey is all the more poignant as it is a real life father and son are on a journey of redemption with Emilio Estevez pulling the reigns as writer and director, as well as the role of the tragically ill-fated son, Daniel, and in just one of many extraordinary moments, as Tom identifies his son's body, the delivery of shock from Martin Sheen as the father is of real power and emotion as he looks down upon his real
As writer and director, Emilio Estevez is a truly great talent behind the camera, his previous efforts such as The War At Home and the brilliant Bobby, about the final moments in the life of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the people at The Ambassador Hotel leading up to the assassination, prove beyond any doubt his unequalled passion for the art of film
making and the storytelling process, and The Way is by far his best film to date. Along the route Tom meets many people, and unwillingly at first, he becomes part of a small group of travellers each on their own quest, there is the feisty and bitter Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger), the confused author with writer's block, Jack (James Nesbitt), and last,
but far from least, there is the scene stealing Joost (Yorick van Wageningen), a Dutchman who just wants to lose some weight, all opposites and incompatible in every way, they become an integral and heart-warming collaboration that is ultimately fulfilling for all. The stellar cast also includes Tcheky Karyo (The Bear, A Very Long Engagement and La
Femme Nikita, to name a few) as the sympathetic Police Captain, and screen veteran Matt Clark (In The Heat of The Night, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Cowboys, Brubaker and many more) as the humourous but direct, Padre Frank, who has done the pilgrimage numerous times. Filmed with stunning beauty and breathtaking scenery, culminating on the arrival at the magnificent and awe-inspiring Burgo's Cathedral, where movie cameras were allowed in for the first time, The Way a real experience, a real journey, a rich vibrant lyrical tapestry of truth on loss and discovery unravelling in a thoughtful, respectful, touching and unforgettable way, you feel you are part of the movie! In a nutshell: Writer and director Emilio Estevez has delivered a highly intelligent, compelling and captivating story of power and emotion told with unending passion, a cinematic poem with a cast all at the very peak of their game that deliver a moving, haunting, funny, poignant and ultimately uplifting journey that everyone should take. This movie is a triumph, one to seek out and treasure! Stars:**** Cast: Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt, Yorick van Wageningen, Tcheky Karyo, Matt Clark. Directed by: Emilio Estevez. Running Time: 123 minutes. Rating: PG. Start Date: In cinemas now. - James Sherlock
Mark Richardson ● From Page 4 ■ He survived these 3½-years as a Prisoner Of War. He was in poor health suffering malnutrition, malaria, Beriberi Disease and weighing just 8 stone (50.8kgs). He returned to Australia on October 7, 1945 and discharged on January 16, 1946. My grandfather remained true to his word, that should he survive the war, he would return to Wodonga and re-unite with and marry my grandmother, Marjorie Tooley, who he met whilst on guard duty on
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Straight from the heart
the platforms of the Wodonga Train Station back in 1940. They married in October 1946 and had four children, Charles, Neville, Linda and Wallace. My grandfather passed away in June 2005, aged 88. Jack's Maternal Great Grandfather On July 3, 1940, at the age of 20 years and seven months, my grandfather Stanley Victor Heath enlisted in the A.A.S.C 4 Division in Geraldton, WA. One year later on July 30, 1941, Sergeant Stanley Heath
commenced full time duty with the 140AUST GEN TPT COY AIF, given the service number VW103566. After completing 90 days of camp training, my grandfather's service and casualty records note that he was marched in and out from various locations from Mornington to Geelong, the travelling to Townsville days before embarking to New Guinea for active service duties on July 12, 1943. My grandfather's reports are rather sketchy, 'embarking here, dis-embarking there' in
New Guinea from 1943 until arriving home safely on April 21, 1945. His 'Proceedings for Discharge' describe my Grandfather as being aged 25 years and 10 months, 5ft 9inches tall with blue eyes, fair hair and a fair complexion. He served with the Commonwealth Military Forces and AIF for a total effective period of 1778 days, which included 870 days of active service in Australia and 650 days of active service overseas, and had 29 days leave during this
E-Mail: mark@localmedia.com.au
time. On March 16, 1946, my Grandpa and Grandma, Hazel Bodley, were married, prior to his discharge papers being issued on June 11, 1946 in Royal Park, Melbourne. My grandparents had three beautiful boys, Peter, Malcolm and Phillip. Grandpa passed away in 1990, aged 71. Lest We Forget As Mick Thomas continues to add a touch of his Gallipoli Rosemary with a "rack of lamb" or cook it in a "rabbit stew", he will continue to remi-
nisce and connect with his grandfather who battled in the war. Lyndall and I will equally share stories about all of our children's great grandparents and for those who served, proudly display photos of our children now forever captured with their Medals of Service, encouraging regular connection to their great grandfathers, our grandfathers, our father's father, alongside photos of other family heroes, like Jack's great, great uncle Charlie, who didn't make it home.