2006<\/p>\n
By Debra Oswald<\/p>\n
Directors\u2019 Choice Season<\/p>\n
Holden Street Theatres<\/p>\n
The Studio<\/p>\n
Until 10 June.<\/p>\n
Murray Bramwell<\/p>\n
Leo Bailey – \u00a0the chaotic, alcoholic, undeniably gifted, painter at the centre of Debra Oswald\u2019s play – is an identikit of any number of Aussie painters of the past thirty years. The blokes, that is, who lived large, selfish, womanizing lives, squandered their money and fame, and found themselves with few friends to speak of, and even fewer family members to speak to. Bailey is one of those. In Debra Oswald\u2019s play he is living in poor health, ill temper, and under sufferance from his daughter Margo, whom he treats abominably. Things start to turn when Therese, a young woman with a chequered past, is hired as his carer, and a local carpenter, Karl, also adds some mending of his own.<\/p>\n
Debra Oswald, prolific as a scriptwriter and novelist for young people, always writes with vibrant exuberance. It was there in her first play, Dags<\/em>, and later in Gary\u2019s House<\/em> and Sweet Road<\/em> \u2013 both of which have been staged \u00a0by State Theatre. But Mr Bailey\u2019s Minder, which premiered at Griffin Theatre in 2004,\u00a0 and is now at Martha Lott\u2019s Holden Street Theatres as part of the Directors\u2019 Choice season, is Oswald\u2019s best play to date.<\/p>\n Holden Street\u2019s Studio has been transformed by designer Kerry Reid into a brightly daubed artist\u2019s studio. Improvised murals and unframed canvases hang left and right, a New Guinean mask looks impassively outwards and the floor is a litter of bottles, books and empty pizza boxes. Director Geoff Crowhurst has given this play a strong visual reality and found a cast that is ready to meet the robust demands of Oswald\u2019s rollicking story.<\/p>\n On second night, with a small house, I don\u2019t think I am seeing this production at its best. There are jitters \u2013 lost lines, a tendency to raise voices to find intensity and urgency, some awkwardness in the physical staging \u2013 but they should soon\u00a0 settle and highlight instead the commitment and sincerity of the performances. David Kendall, as Leo, is plenty willing to present the dislikeable aspects of a man with a bitter tongue and boorish self pity. The unfolding of other more sober reflections is achieved only sparingly and offsets any easy sentimentality lurking in the text. Similarly Anna Linarello, in the difficult role as the neglected daughter Margo, overcomes an initial flatness to reveal, in her final scene, a child still wounded in adult life. Nathan O\u2019Keefe, briefly one dimensional as the con-man Gavin, settles into the warmly written role of Karl, a man whose kindness gradually releases the better nature in both Mr Bailey and his minder.<\/p>\n Jacqueline Cook, ably carries the lead as Therese, a young woman with a raucous pragmatism shielding a brittle dignity and tender spirit. It is a strong and affecting performance and embodies well Debra Oswald\u2019s restorative themes of reconciliation and forgiveness. Geoff Crowhurst has captured much that is perceptive and heartfelt in Mr Bailey\u2019s Minder<\/em>. Now, he and his cast can trust the task and settle into the nuances and particulars of their discovery.<\/p>\n \u201cRising to robust demands\u201d<\/p>\n The Adelaide Review<\/em>, No.293, June 2, 2006, p.13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2006 By Debra Oswald Directors\u2019 Choice Season Holden Street Theatres The Studio Until 10 June. Murray Bramwell Leo Bailey – \u00a0the chaotic, alcoholic, undeniably gifted, painter at the centre of Debra Oswald\u2019s play – is an identikit of any number of Aussie painters of the past thirty years. The blokes, that is, who lived large, selfish, womanizing lives, squandered their money and fame, and found themselves with few friends to speak of, and even fewer family members to speak to. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,5,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adelaide-companies","category-archive","category-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}