THEATRE: Andrew Wilson
OPENING night of Return To The Forbidden Planet at the Victory Theatre was a riot. Amid tables sagging under schnapps and snacks, the audience, before the show, mingled with crew members of the space ship that was to take them on a lavish rock-and-roll space adventure. Two hours later they left with stars in their eyes.
The script’s liberal adaptation of Shakespeare’s Tempest into a whirl-pool of camp one-liners and verbal histrionics is a thinly veiled framework for a musical driven along by a fantastic selection of golden-oldie rock numbers — and the production holds nothing back. Gathering together an array of artistic talent, the production is an exuberant onslaught of unashamed sci-fi humour and riotous music that had the audience screaming for more.
Headed by David Dennis, Ian van Memerty, Charl-Johan Lingenfelder and Heidi Edeling, the cast, under Fred Abrahamse’s never-flagging direction, revel in their technicolour performances, often engaging the audience with a jibe here and an ad lib there. David Dennis, as the twisted Dr Head, at odds with his family and himself, is brilliant. A herculean performance sees him writhe across the stage with operatic magnificence and a perfectly judged technique.
Similarly, Ian von Memerty gives a slick performance worthy of his five Vita awards. As Captain Tempest he is excellent, and his rendition of the classic hit Young Girl is superb.
Heidi Edeling, playing Dr Head’s wife and ship’s scientist, seemed to step straight out of a Gary Larson cartoon. She has the voice of an angel and the comic timing to match.
James MacNamara’s Gothic, Orwell-ian set provides a magnificent backdrop for the artists to stretch their characters to their over-the-top limits, where others like David Lee, Jann Robertson and Scott Miller turned the audience into putty in their hands, giving exciting, larger-than-life performances. Lee’s Robot Ariel was an endearing creature with heart and saxophonic soul.
The Victory Theatre is once again open, wide-awake and buzzing.
Return to the Forbidden Planet is on at the Victory Theatre until the end of 1996 year