Review: THE POPULAR MECHANICALS Tells What Shakespeare's Clowns Did In Their Rehearsals.

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Tuesday 10th November 2015

The State Theatre Company of South Australia is ending its 2015 season with a lot of stuff and nonsense, provided by the "rude mechanicals" from William Shakespeare's comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Popular Mechanicals takes us behind the scenes of the play within a play, The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe, as these inept, talentless, and bumbling trades-folk reveal all the bits that the bard forgot to tell us, courtesy of playwrights, Keith Robinson, William Shakespeare, and Tony Taylor.

What were the others doing while Nick Bottom, the weaver, was braying and being fawned over by a love-struck Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and her entourage? William completely forgot to tell us, so Australian writers, Robinson and Taylor, decided to extrapolate their story from the bard's play. Finding that it actually gave no indications as to what the artisans did, the writers made up the whole thing. In doing so, they also manage to make comments on the nature and making of amateur theatre at the same time. It starts, in fact, with the entire cast informing us in song that the audience is "the monster in the dark". No doubt we critics are seen as even greater monsters, lurking out there ready to pounce.

This comedy draws on Shakespeare's own words, pinching lines and speeches from many of his plays, and Robinson and Taylor fill in the gaps in a mock style of Shakespeare's English. That, though, is only the beginning. The laughs do not depend on dialogue alone. Directed by former Sydney Theatre Company Resident Director, Sarah Giles, the work draws on Commedia dell'Arte, right down to the use of a real slapstick and presenting Pyramus and Thisbe with the cast in all white outfits, and it also includes a unusual form of puppetry, music, song, and dance, all provided by the cast. They are multi-talented group.

The production features some very popular Adelaide actors, or expatriate Adelaideans, and an audience favourite, Rory Walker plays Peter Quince, the carpenter, who writes their script, directs their play, and plays the Prologue. All directors can recount a good many times that they have been frustrated in their efforts, and panicked when things become unravelled, but poor old Quince cops more than his fair share. This gives Walker myriad opportunities for generating laughter as he builds up to an hilarious nervous breakdown during the presentation of their play.

Another regular face around the Adelaide theatre scene is Tim Overton, who plays Francis Flute, the bellows-mender, who reluctantly takes on the role of the sweet heroine, Thisbe, in their play. The hapless Flute could have been written for Overton, who is a master of the hangdog expression, ideally cast as the put upon craftsman. Along with everything else that he does in this production, Overton plays a mean bass ukulele.

The bard must have had a brief bout of writers' block, as Snug the joiner has no first name, but that matters little when you have Amber McMahon in the role of the person who plays Lion. Her mane of naturally curly hair is ideal for the role and, of course, Adelaide fans were delighted to have her back in town again. Her Snug is by far the most energetic of the performances and her marvellous skills in physical comedy and wealth of facial expressions add a lot to her portrayal of the none too bright joiner.

Lori Bell, who portrays Tom Snout, the tinker, who plays the Wall, is a well-known Adelaide comedienne, with a string of successful shows behind her as her alter ego, Granny Flaps, including a good few runs for the Adelaide Fringe. This is her first appearance with the company since graduating from drama school but I suspect that we will be seeing more of her.

Julie Forsyth is Robin Starveling, the tailor, who becomes Moonshine in a huge and blindingly reflective costume that leaves Bottom unable to see where he is going. Forsyth has her Starveling bumbling around, dropping in laugh lines, and generally adding to the mayhem.

And then there is Charles Mayer, who takes on the role of the best known of the mechanicals, Nick Bottom, the weaver, who offers to play every role, as they are announced, but is carefully steered towards confining himself to the part of Thisbe's lover, Pyramus. This would have meant that he would only have a brief appearance at the start and finish of this piece, but he also takes on the role of Ralph Mowldie, a professional actor called in by Peter Quince when Bottom is transmogrified and disappears. Mayer gives a sensational performance in both roles but his alcoholic has-been actor, Mowldie, takes the cake.

Designer, Jonathon Oxlade, has placed a bare raised stage, with a half dozen trapdoors and a set of curtains at the rear, as the main performance space. At floor level he juxtaposes a more modern group of locations, such as the rehearsal room table with tea urn, cups and biscuits, starveling's tailor shop with an electric sewing machine and phone, a drum kit, the tinker's shop, and more. Lighting designer, Mark Pennington, adds his usual thoughtful touches to the production.

Because of the wide-ranging nature of this production it needed the help of a musical director, composer, David Heinrich, and a choreographer, Gabrielle Nankivell, and there is no doubt that they were kept very busy with setting all of the very diverse numbers. Their efforts have been well-rewarded, with enthusiastic audience response to the numerous routines.

Not that you should need telling, but this is not high art, not with the rubber chickens, breaking wind, crude jokes, bad puns, and the like. It is the sort of performance that suits a response such as "I laughed so much, the tears ran down my leg", which reminds me, be sure to make use of the conveniences before entering the theatre as the work runs over ninety minutes, without an interval, and you will be doing a lot of laughing.

Photography ©Shane Reid

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