Benji Riggs is one of Adelaide’s most gifted and productive creatives. His new Musical, Book Nooks, is well-centred, cleverly devised and scripted, and accompanied by a driving recorded accompaniment of well written music of his own composition. He also directed this piece. Riggs is a decided talent, having impressed in recent times in lead roles in some powerful theatre productions in Adelaide.
This production is part fable, part driving Musical and succeeds at both. Briefly, the story begins with young Jack’s dislike of Christmas because it reminds him so much of his late grandfather. In the grandfather’s library, he is magically drawn inside the books and encounters the Grunkels, makers of Christmas sweets, who live therein. The plot thereafter traces the necessary recovery of Jack’s joy. It’s a positive Christmas tale, inspired in part, so say Benji Riggs’ programme notes, by Dickens, and in part, musically, by Sondheim. It is indeed evocative of both.
In this premiere, Jack was engagingly portrayed by Nemanja Ilic, a ten year old who has already amassed some impressive performance credits. He convinced us of the subtlety of the changes in Jack’s feelings. His acting and singing drew our positive attention and his stagecraft and sense of character showed that, even at his age, he is a fast-developing talent. His solos, especially when, as recitative, he had to relay the narrative, were most effective.
His fellow on-stage performers, all young actors and singers, melded well into the action and narrative. All had significant contributions to the plot development and as an ensemble sang well in both the quieter, reflective pieces as well as the bolder production numbers. Further, they illustrated the songs with effective choreography, devised by Choreographer Bridget Tran, all the more impressive considering the small performance area and the slight step up onto the main stage. Notable performances among the ensemble were Keira Wubbolts as Jack’s gentle, conciliatory mother, and later, as Babbit, where she showed confident and tuneful singing and fluent movement. Ava-Rose Graves and Mila Ilic, as Rose and Mary, were animated and effective, Josh Curtis was a commanding and uniting figure as Cecil, the wisest of all the Grunkels, while Harrison James Thomas, playing Everett, was lively and convincing in all sequences, particularly in the song Lord of Misrule.
The only adult in the cast, Steven Parker played Old Man, the narrator. His articulate, sonorous voice was well suited to the role. He read the entire narration and would have served the play better had he engaged the audience more with at least occasional eye contact.
The recorded accompaniment was often almost that of a full orchestra and yet the balance with the voices was generally well maintained, especially in moments of musical and dramatic grandeur, such as – but not limited to – the Opening and Finale. Very occasionally some of the lighter voices were overshadowed by the accompaniment, but the cast of nine did well to articulate the words and handle the sometimes rapid-fire tempo, while maintaining the tune, volume and sense of the songs.
This is a production to be seen, appreciated and valued. The generally young audience in the Burnside Ballroom were decidedly impressed, and caught up in the magic and wonder of the Christmas tale. With Book Nooks Benji Riggs, his cast and crew have added in a most meaningful way to his own, and indeed to this state’s, artistic canon.
