It’s become increasingly obvious that Heywire stories can touch on serious issues that end up in the national headlines – from farmers struggling with mining companies, binge drinking, online bullying, even the terrible death of a baby in country Victoria – there’s young people in these communities writing, photographing, shooting video, and they’re bringing it here to the Heywire.

Want some examples?

Boroondara Theatre Company, Cromwell Street Theatre, South Yarra. Directed by Bryce Ives, with Chris Gaffney, Luigi Lucente, Peter Maver, Elliot Roberts, Stuart Daulman, Beryle Frees, Tristan Lutze, James Cook, Gerard Lane, Riki Lindsey, Fabio Motta and Kevin David Newman. Set design by Jeremy Bailey-Smith. Lighting design by Karla Engdahl.

Alan Bennett’s The History Boys is a near perfect example of what we have come to know (and either love or hate) as the well-made play: grand themes, considered structure and form, and characters meeting, often quite circumstantially, in a unique time and place on their journeys through life. Like many such beasts, however, it owes a significant debt to stories that cover similar terrain – and in the case of The History Boys, that debt is to Tom Schulman’s Academy award-winning screenplay for Dead Poets Society (1989) and the many and various direct quotes from an array of poets, writers and philosophers that lend the play it’s literary talk. But the intellectual and theatrical rigour is all Bennett’s; and war, cinema, faith, religion, politics, philosophy, art, poetry, literature, sport – and of course, history – are all stunningly illuminated, rightfully ensuring that his play deserves, if not entirely, its “modern classic” status.

The History Boys concerns itself with eight boys from Cutlers’ Grammar School in Sheffield, England who are preparing for their entrance exam into ‘Oxbridge’ (a composite of the UK’s prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Universities). Cutlers’ is “low in the league” and its headmaster desperately needs to secure its status and reputation as one of educational over-achievement.

This Boroondara Theatre Company production, under the razor-sharp direction of Bryce Ives, slowly rises and ultimately soars above Bennett’s over-arching tendency towards obfuscation. Ives has literally incised this voluminous play and first exposed, and then connected with, the rich vein of dramatic torque that really powers it: love – in many, if not all, of its guises … young, illicit, of-self, unrequited, flowering, erotic, destructive, but ultimately redemptive. The History Boys may well appear to be about the various styles of education and the purposes they serve, but Ives is more determined that we will remember this play as a great love story – no more beautifully realised than in Chris Gaffney’s perfectly-pitched English/General Studies teacher ‘Hector’ whose love of the arts … and his boys … is the play’s foundation stone.

Ives is rewarded by the performances of his astonishingly talented ensemble lead by Luigi Lucente’s dazzling star turn as the piano-playing class stud ‘Dakin’, Peter Maver’s besieged and befuddled ‘Headmaster’, Elliot Roberts’ sweet ‘Posner’ and Stuart Daulman’s charming ‘ruggers’-mad ‘Rudge’. Beryle Frees (as the somewhat unforgivably under-written History Teacher Mrs Lintott) warmed up to take on the play’s famous monologue about the role of women in history, and Tristan Lutze (as tyro Teacher Irwin who is brought in to coach the boys in the lead-up to the exams) searches for his identity and purpose through the minefield of unrestrained, youthful exuberance and curiosity that surrounds him with a marvellous performance of understated sensitivity, conflict and confusion.

But this intelligent, finely balanced, emotionally raw and powerful production relies entirely on each member of the ensemble and James Cook, Gerard Lane, Riki Lindsey, Fabio Motta and Kevin David Newman each bring great skill, creative intelligence and boundless energy to their magical performances.

Jeremy Bailey-Smith’s gorgeous set appeared to create more problems than it solved in the intimate Cromwell Theatre while Karla Engdahl’s stylish lighting design matched the play’s location-shifting demands – particularly through the use of the theatre’s actual windows.

In the final tableau, when Bennett has capitulated to a typically English, stage-bound form of emotional manipulation, this Boroondara ensemble and its handsome production, stood rightfully proud, connected and truthful in the journey of great merit they had prepared and then shared with us … and the profound truth of the line “Art always wins in the end” was this exceptional company’s reward – and ours.

This will be the hottest ticket in town – and for every good reason. Whatever you need to do to get a ticket, do it.

Geoffrey Williams – Stage Whispers

Review for Stage Whispers, July 4th at Princess Theatre Melbourne

Melbourne loves a big show. But in these tough economic times, we haven’t had a lead-up to an opening night of theatre as big as Jersey Boys in a while. Melburnians have been bombarded with marketing for the show, and after Saturday night, I now understand why.

This rags-to-riches story has every element of an absolute hit.

Jersey Boys is high energy, high impact and high drama. It’s also quite conveniently full of songs we know and love: the music of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.

Let’s get one thing straight. If you feel funny about ‘jukebox musicals’ you need not worry – Jersey Boys is way beyond these concerns.

The show is brilliantly directed by Des McAnuff and is precise and almost cinematic in its composition.

Bobby Fox fills the enormous shoes of Frankie Valli in an electric performance that goes way beyond imitation. He owns the journey and brings a satisfying truth to the highs and lows of the performer’s life.

Scott Johnson has brilliant presence as the dodgy-dealing Tommy De Vitto, and also plays bass guitar. Stephen Mahy as Bob Gaudio nails ‘Oh what a night’ in all its tenor glory. Glaston Toft hold the bass line as Nick Massi, and balances comedy and pathos in a fantastic performance.

Jersey Boys brings an element of class and style to the theatre. It will please musical-theatre purists, but will have high impact with the mums and dads in suburbia, who will be standing in the aisles singing and dancing.

My prediction is that it will live at the Princess for a long time.

Wednesday 22nd of June 2009

Our personal journeys through education and learning are at the core of the new production of The History Boys opening at Cromwell Road Theatre on the 17th of July.

“First and foremost audiences will be thrust back through their own experiences of schooling and growing up. The play asks what is education? Is it a life-changing force, a means to an end, a form of self-improvement or a precious gift which should be valued for its own sake?” says director Bryce Ives (Call Girl the Musical at Chapel off Chapel and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown! at Cromwell Road Theatre)

“The History Boys is one of the most celebrated new plays of this decade and internationally regarded as Alan Bennett’s finest work. Whether audiences have seen this production in Sydney, London, on film, or are coming to it for the first time, The History Boys will have a fresh and powerful impact at the intimate Cromwell Road Theatre.”

The multi-award winning comedy follows an unruly bunch of bright and brash sixth-form boys from a northern grammar school in the Thatcherite eighties. The boys are, naturally, in pursuit of sex, sport, spirituality… and a coveted place at one of England’s finest universities.

Their headmaster (Peter Maver), obsessed with results, enlists the help of Irwin (Tristan Lutze), a shrewd young temporary teacher to provide exam-busting tricks. The boys are torn between their loyalty to the hugely eccentric, poetry-spouting English master Hector (Chris Gaffney), the regular diet of nourishing facts dispensed by Mrs. Lintott (Beryle Frees), their history mistress, and the radical approach of Irwin.

“This new production considers the value and meaning of education in an intensely moving, funny and thought-provoking experience. The play is a celebration of the joys of language, intellectual exploration and inspirational educators,” says Ives.

Alan Bennett started with Beyond the Fringe and has written numerous plays, novels, and other notable works. The original London production of The History Boys won three 2005 Olivier Awards while the New York production won five Drama Desk Awards and a record six Tony awards.

Bookings are now open on our website: http://www.historyboys.com.au/

For more information on The History Boys or media enquiries please contact:
Margaret Fisk, Production Manager, P 0409 211 293 |E tfmf@ozemail.com.au

The History Boys
Written By Alan Bennett
Presented by Boroondara Theatre Company

Starring
Chris Gaffney, Tristan Lutze, Beryle Frees & Peter Maver
and the eight History Boys: James Cook, Stuart Daulman, Gerard Lane, Riki Lindsey, Luigi Lucente, Fabio Motta, Kevin Newman & Elliot Roberts

Director
Bryce Ives

Designer
Jeremy Bailey Smith

Lighting Designer
Karla Engdahl

Technical Director
Damien Calvert

Production Manager
Margaret Fisk O.A.M.

Performances
July 17th, July18th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th & 25th at 7.30pm
July19th at 5pm
July 18th & 25th at 2pm

Tickets
$28 Adults / $25 Concession / $25 for Groups of 5 or more.

Venue
Cromwell Road Theatre,
27a Cromwell Road South Yarra

Bookings
http://www.historyboys.com.au/
phone: 9809 1546

For more information on The History Boys or media enquiries please contact:
Margaret Fisk, Production Manager, P 0409 211 293 |E tfmf@ozemail.com.au

The History Boys Radio Promo

We are proud to announce our outstanding cast for THE HISTORY BOYS

Hector
Chris Gaffney (3CR Radio Presenter & Inside the Island at Theatreworks)

Irwin
Tristan Lutze (Copenhagen at Chapel off Chapel)

Mrs. Lintott
Beryle Frees (Cabaret – Music Theatre Guild Winner Best Supporting Actress)

Headmaster
Peter Maver (Blue Heelers, Stingers & Cosi at Malvern Theatre Company)

Timms
Gerard Lane (Forbidden Broadway at Cromwell Road)

Posner
Elliot Roberts (Blue Heelers, Neighbours & The Hamish & Andy Show)

Dakin
Luigi Lucente (Guys and Dolls Sydney Season)

Rudge
Stuart Daulman ( Lyrebird Award Winner & Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Lockwood
Riki Lindsey (The Witches of Eastwick at NASDA New Zealand)

Scripps
James Cook (Putting it Together at Cromwell Road)

Akthar
Fabio Motta (Beyond Therapy in New York, Carla Cametti PD & Canal Road)

Crowther
Kevin Newman (Twelfth Night Hartwell Players)

The show will be directed by Bryce Ives, who recently directed the two Melbourne seasons of Tracy Harvey’s Call Girl the Musical and the highly acclaimed season of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown! at Cromwell Road Theatre.

“With eight of Melbourne’s brightest young male actors – this production already has the perfect ingredients for an enjoyable and thought provoking night in the theatre,” says Ives.

” THE HISTORY BOYS won a record six Tony Awards in 2006 and is a deeply moving comedy that explores the anarchy of adolescence and raises questions about the nature of history and education – and how it should be taught.”

The show will open on Saturday the 18th of July at Cromwell Road Theatre, South Yarra. Bookings will open on the 1st of June at www.historyboys.com.au or by calling 9809 1546.

For further information about the production, please contact our Production Manager Margaret Fisk on 0409 211 293.

Where: Chapel off Chapel, Prahran, until May 3
Reviewer: Chris Boyd
4 Stars

LET’S get one thing straight, the call girl of the title is a call-centre girl, not a call girl of the escort variety . . . though she does screw a few people, financially speaking.

At the outset, Jean is a selfless, do-gooder wife and mum. She descends from the heavens in her white altar-boy robes; communion wafer wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

Her life is dedicated to her volunteer work: tending to the poor, the sick and the needy.

When her bored, untended, two-timing hubby gives her the flick — for Felicity at the pharmacy — Jean has to fend for herself. She lands a job at the local call centre, gradually overcomes her horror at the deceit required to make a sale, and morphs into a power-crazed wheeler-dealer.

At this point, I have to say this is far and away the stupidest and flimsiest story I’ve seen set to music since Starlight Express. But unlike S-Ex, Call Girl lights up the switchboard with one dazzling (albeit stupid and flimsy) hit song after another.

And they’re delivered with optic-fibre speed, efficiency and clarity. Fast and furious.

Call Girl is very much Tracy Harvey’s baby. Her concept, her music and words — helped out by writer Doug MacLeod — and it is she, centre stage, in the starring role.

She doesn’t seem to have aged a day in the 25 years since The Gillies Report. Nor has the patter aged. It’s still irresistible, silly or not.

The musicality of her speaking voice means the transitions between speech and song are seamless, too, even when some of the actual scene changes crunch like a stick-shift without a clutch.

Harvey is flanked by some outstanding performers, especially Raelene Isbester as the sadistic Samantha and Laura Burzacott as the ambitious young sales girl. They’re great dancers with great voices and they show great command of the stage.
As a piece of theatre, Call Girl is (at least) another draft away from perfection. It needs to be tightened up — when it slows we realise just how ridiculous it really is — and could lose the interval.

This Call Girl definitely has legs. If only she knew how to use them.

by Cheryl Threadgold (Wednesday 22nd of April)

Call Girl the Musical, ‘transferring you to Sex, Lies and Love, please hold … ‘ is running until May 3 at Chapel off Chapel, 12 Chapel St., Prahran.

There is always something special about a home-grown musical written by a Melbournian, but what is extra special about this production is that the show’s mega-talented creator Tracey Harvey has not only co-written the music, lyrics and script with Doug MacLeod, but also beautifully portrays the life journey of the show’s singing and dancing protagonist, Jean Brown.

Tracey co-stars with Jeremy Kewley as Frank McGee, with Laura Burzacott (Courtney), Chris Buchanan (Anton), Raelene Isbester (Samantha) and Trevor Major (Geoffrey). The mixed ages of the versatile cast and characters and varied styles of musical numbers cleverly ensure appeal to a wide audience.

Under the expert direction of Bryce Ives, the show tells the story of Jean’s journey from do-gooder volunteer to deserted wife to finding employment in the shonky We Care Marketing telephone call-centre with a bunch of ‘phonies’.  The groovy song and dance numbers choreographed by Dave Harford and accompanied by Jack Howard’s orchestra are terrific and offer an entertaining balance to the perceptive inclusion of some sensitive social issues.

The show combines humour with heart and soul and is about ordinary, real people and situations we can readily identify with. There’s romance, a happy ending and an overall positive theatre experience for the audience.

Tracey Harvey and her team have done a wonderful job in presenting this first-class Aussie show. You only have until May 3 to see it during this Melbourne season. May there be many more.

Performances: Tuesday – Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 6pm; 2pm matinees on April 25 and May 2.

Tickets:  $34.50/$27.50 Concession and Group 4+.

Bookings: 8290 7000