Exit The King Review

Exit The King
by Eugene Ionesco
Malthouse Theatre / Company B
21st April 2007

This production of Ionesco's Exit The King will linger in my memory for decades to come. It was wonderful!

Of course, Geoffrey Rush's exceptional acting talents made this trip to the theatre an invaluable experience. However, I agree with some press reviews that noted director Neil Armfield was careful not to allow Rush to 'steal the show' and upstage the others, resulting in a true ensemble work.

However, all was not rosy in Berenger's kingdom. Gillian Jones' lack of tonal quality and vocal variety irked me from start to finish. There was probably only one or two instances in my performance where she briefly stumbled on a line, but more than a few examples of where her breathing was just completely in the wrong place altogether, leaving the latter part of a line being stretched on thin air.

Interestingly, one of my Year 12 students in a post-performance discussion, noted Jones' lack of vocal expression as completely suitable for her role; her monotonal line delivery being appropriate as King Berenger's rock of stability (counterposed with Rebecca Massey's interpretation of the other Queen, demonstrating instability with her shrill of a voice and exaggerated movements).

David Wood's diction in speaking the doctor's lines was exceptional. I love it when we can take our students to a show and isolate certain expressive skills as strengths or weaknesses of individual actors. Really helps our students understand the nature of theatre. Wonderful casting with Julie Forsyth. She was a crack up and my students learnt a lot about comedy from her performance.

Well, every group of students is different. Over the years when I have taught absurdism, it has been a bit like introducing students to Monty Python. One group loves it, another hates it, sometimes a mixture of both. As preparation in advance of this show, my current Year 12 group didn't really like Waiting for Godot (script or the Gate Theatre of Dublin on film), thought the concept of existentialism was intriguing, while the jury was still out for Theatre of the Absurd. Now, Exit The King has just sealed it for them. What a fantastic introduction to absurdism for students! They loved every miinute of it (and more importantly, will now be interested in absurdism in the future, because of this production).

Neil Armfield has done a wonderful job directing Geoffrey Rush and Co. in this superb production. A lesson in the finest theatre for everyone.

Burlesque

Burlesque derives from the Italian word 'burla' and means a joke or to ridicule. In this sense, burlesque shows were similar to satirical performances in that they were send-ups mocking people and events.

Originating in England in the late 17th Century, burlesque began as dramas parodying social events. It was not until this type of comedy was introduced in the United States in the second half of the 20th Century, that it began to achieve notoriety for being a bawdy variety performance involving women wearing risqué costumes performing to a mostly male audience.

Not surprisingly, the demise of burlesque coincided in the 1960’s with the large-scale commercial success of strip clubs in America, which effectively replaced this one-time theatrical genre with a broader form of entertainment.

Burlesque Links

2007 Solo and Monologue Performance Exams

Well, it's that time of year again and the 2007 Year 12 Drama Solo Performance and Theatre Studies Monologue Performance exams have ust been released.

If you're visitng from outside Victoria, Australia, then have a look anyway, to see how our senior students are assessed in their major performance exam in the final year of high school.

Drama students perform a 7-minute solo performance, adhering to a prescribed structure, where they choose one character from 10 on the exam paper (writing their own script). In the sister subject Theatre Studies, students perform a well known monologue from a published play, choosing one from a list of 12 on this year's exam . All students perform in October, with their exam details being available since April.

2007 Solo and Monologue Performance Exams