I was fortunate enough to have this Saturday off work, and
made my way to the Roo Theatre in Shellharbour to see Two Weeks with the Queen,
the comedy based off Morris Gleitzman's novel of the same name. It was a small
cast -- only nine on stage -- and the directorial debut of Daniel Stefanovski
(working alongside veteran Roo director Nick Higgins), and it was a
thought-provoking, funny, genuine show from start to finish.
The plot revolves around a young Australian boy, Colin
Mudford (Aaron Arvela), and his trip to England following his brother Luke's diagnosis
with cancer. Colin struggles with the very grown-up world into which he's
suddenly been thrust, having to learn to cope with bigotry and loss before making
his own decision to return home to spend what time he can with Luke.
The structure of the piece is very much designed for the
original written media; the sheer number of scenes and seemingly endless
transitions can be jarring at first, not giving the audience enough time with
any of the characters to develop real bonds. After Colin's plane ride to
England though... well, some things just need to be experienced. The
intelligent, liberal application of set pieces never leaves the audience
guessing where they are or what's going on. The sheer scale of the set is
ambitious, certainly, and in other space it probably wouldn't have worked. The
stage at Roo is so deep, however, that much of it could be used as storage
space for the pieces that weren't needed for whichever scene was running.
The quality of acting on display was everything I've come to
expect from Roo over the years and more. Everyone in the cast had their moments
to shine, and moved the audience from laughter to tears and back again without
missing a beat. Of particular note were lead Aaron Arvela and Juran Jones, who
played Colin's cousin Alistair. Aaron took one breath at the start of the show
and then didn't seem to stop talking until the end. He flawlessly captured Colin's
childish naivety and inquisitiveness, and his incessant babbling provided the
perfect catalyst to propel the plot along at breakneck pace. Juran was provided
with the perfect opportunity to display his versatility as an actor, playing both
the coddled, stuffy cousin Alistair and Colin's blokey father. Alistair's
awkward demeanour quickly established him as an audience favourite, an engaging
foil for Colin's natural charisma and a bumbling sidekick for his outrageous
schemes.
James Poole and David Rienits as Ted and Grif, respectively,
also deserve special mention for the treatment of their characters, but I don't
want to spoil that subplot for anyone. Even though their situation becomes
clear almost as soon as they're introduced, the payoff is delivered so
beautifully that it would be wrong of me to steal that from anyone. The entire
cast has clearly worked hard to produce a show of this calibre, and it's a
shame that they couldn't have been miked;
I think everyone was guilty of losing at least one line by not
projecting, and this could be a problem if you're sitting further back.
All in all, it's a fantastic show that honestly deserves
much more attention than it's getting. This afternoon's matinee was cancelled
due to low attendance, which is quite simply tragic given the effort that's gone
into it. I imagine that most people reading this would know how much work it
takes for a cast to get a show going in community theatre, and to have to
abandon a performance because of a lack of interest is nothing short of
devastating. I fully encourage you to get down to Shellharbour to see the show
and judge it for yourself; I, for one, am hoping for another night off work to
get to see it again.
The remaining show dates are:
Wednesday, 2nd May, 8pm
Friday, 4th May, 8pm
Saturday, 5th May, 2pm and 8pm
Friday, 11th May, 8pm
Saturday, 12th May, 2pm and 8pm
For more information or to book tickets see the Roo Theatre
website at www.roo-theatre.com.au
(My apologies if anything funky is happening with this post,
I'm afraid I exceeded my monthly downloads and am stuck on sub-dial up speeds.
I... I can't even see pictures. :( )
