Top of the Torrens have produced another entertaining performance that was deservedly embraced by the community – here’s to the next one!
It can be quite challenging to capture organized chaos in a stage play and make sure that things go wrong in the right way, and Top of the Torrens Theatre Group have made a commendable effort in their latest offering with (take a breath before reading this aloud) The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society with “The Haunted Through Lounge and Recessed Dining Nook at Farndale Castle”. Performed in the charming Mt Pleasant by an equally charming group, ably directed by Brenda Mott and Matthew Holding, this play
provides some Halloween-themed fun for the local community, who clearly relished it! The audience at the afternoon matinee was jam-packed and abuzz with excitement – it is pleasing to see such a fantastic turnout for local theatre. Alison Farley set the tone well by fluttering about the audience before the show as Phoebe Reece, the sometimes-confused leader of the guild who plays the seemingly sweet Lady Graves. She had some excellent moments of misallocated dialogue and showed impressive stage presence. She was ably assisted by Hayley Melbourne as Felicity/Crematia, the sufficiently creepy maid with a convincing horror scream. Rachael Dodd must be applauded for not only convincingly delivering a range of characters, but lying “dead” for something like thirty minutes before the play even started – she did it so well I was shocked to find out she was indeed real and not a prop! Clem Stanley supported the cast well as the long-suffering writer David McGillivray, effectively conveying his character’s resignation. With a play like this, it is important to differentiate between the characters when they are being themselves, and when they are performing their characters of the play-within-a-play. This is something that perhaps could have been better defined and would have got even more laughs out of the comedic heights of the performance (though, rest assured, there were plenty of laughs!). One performer who truly understood this was Meegan Thompson, whose portrayal of the frustrated professional Thelma Greenwood was a highlight. She demonstrated excellent comedic timing as she switched between June, the heroine of the play-within-a-play, and Thelma, who clearly thought this farce was beneath her, and frequently flashed us a hilarious “everything-is-fine” smile. Her projection was crisp and her physicality that ricocheted between frantic and graceful matched the absurd nature of the play beautifully. She was well-complimented by Perrin Abbas as Lottie Grosskopf/Marty, who stoically portrayed the boyfriend of June, and had some hilarious instances of resignation to the ladies’ chaotic unprofessionalism. Though there were some understandable technical hitches in the first act, such as some mics that perhaps should have been turned off, and what seemed to be a few a script kerfuffle’s, the cast really found their stride in the second act. There were moments of impeccable comedic timing and fantastic synergies between cast, particularly Thompson and Dodd. What was consistent throughout the entire performance was the excellent prop work, which co-directors Brenda Mott and Matthew Holding deserve much credit for. A broken radio, makeshift organ, levitating suitcase, misbehaving portrait and baby bottle, I mean, gun, just to name a few, were deftly used by the cast to milk every possible laugh out of the audience.
Top of the Torrens have produced another entertaining performance that was deservedly embraced by the community – here’s to the next one!
