Having seen Omniprop’s last production, Lysistrata which had featured in the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2008, I was yet again pleased to sit back and enjoy Plautus’ Mostellaria with very little effort on my part. Somehow they manage to take ancient Greek comedy and spin them into delightfully amusing shows with the modern day touch. Having sat through my second show of the week to hear a Swine flu joke; I am always pleased to see director’s throw in a last-minute dialogue that makes the performance even more relevant to its audience.
Directed by Tom Atkinson and Sam Browne, Atkinson played certainly played around with the original text, and while this is often transparent in adaptations, it blended in nicely with the original text, in his own words, adding “colour to the original script” with a side of “existential philosophy”. Philolaches (James Cerche) had a wonderful soliloquy in which he explained his folly and the troubles of parenting, using the metaphor of the foundations of a house.
All the drama does indeed surround real-estate, whereby Philolaches has trashed his house, having given into the delights of booze and colourful women in the absence of his mother (goes to show youth were up to no good back then too!). Tranio (Mark Penfield) strings together a whole new set of lies to cover up for Philolaches (including an angry spirit inhabiting the house) in order to convince Philolaches’ mother, Theopropides (Annick Mathews) that her son had only had the best intentions in her absence, and bought a new house which is clearly still occupied by Simo (Nick Kato), a dirty old man.
Amidst all the debauchery, humour abounds, with a particularly excellent performance from John Peck (Callidamates) as a drunkard which made the audience roar to no end with laughter due to his manner and antics. Annick Mathews was unlikable and matronly as Theopropides, however it was the two prostitutes that amused the most – Celia Handscombe’s Philematium was a real, dirty treat and Sharon Flynn’s Scapha was both enjoyable and convincing as Flynn’s caricatures usually are. Seamus Magee, who had directed Lysistrata, featured in two hilariously obscene roles in this production, clearly relishing in playing dirty, half-clothed brutes. The casting in general was of good standard, choosing some of the faces that always make Omniprop productions gleam.
Set Designer, Dan Barber had done a mighty fine job with the houses and their Mediterranean feel. It was both richly colourful, clearly showing the difference between the brothel-like qualities of the once dignified residence of Theopropides and of Simo’s adorable little abode. I was pleased to see that finally an apt set design was used in the Guild Theatre, giving both depth and levels that has often been discarded in other productions within the theatre.
Omniprop productions are always worth a night of amusement, so watch out for the next production if you had missed this season’s romp.
Review by Leeor Adar
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Posted Tuesday 2 June, 2009. Updated Tuesday 2 June, 2009.
