The Forest

Company: Queensland Theatre Company

Venue: Optus Playhouse

Date:
April 26 to May

Deep into the Forest

Queensland Theatre Company has taken a step back in time with The Forest. Obviously it's a period piece to begin with, and audiences are transported back to a time when acting was a lowly profession, aunts and uncles were still revered as close family, and relatives thought nothing of marrying their kin off to whoever had the biggest dowry or hunk of land to their name. It also harks back to a few years ago when QTC's image was very much that of your standard State theatre company - running large scale productions of established works.
Whilst I loved every minute of The Forest, with its impeccable comic casting of Australian veterans Geraldine Turner and Bille Brown mixed with the cream of the young QTC crop; I couldn't help but feel a little let down. Fred, QTC's last production, was an absolute smash. Filled with new blood and a contemporary script, it seemed to reach out and grab you by the throat - challenging you to accept the new faces and a new play.

The Forest is a Russian drama by Ostrovsky, which has been reworked by comic genius Alan Ayckbourn. As artistic director Michael Gow mentioned on opening night - it's as if the play was written for Turner and Brown, who are stunningly hilarious and feed off each other magnificently. The plot (this is the simplified version): Raisa Pavlovna is itching to marry her neice, Aksyusha, off to the daft but well bred Aleksey Sergeyevich (played brilliantly by Trenton Shipley). However, it seems all concerned have other ideas, not to mention the fuss created when Raisa's nephew (on her dead husband's side) Gennadiy Dem'yanych, a struggling tragic actor posing as an Army colonel, comes to visit.>>>

Thrown into all of this are a few nosy servants; a local wood merchant trying to swindle Raisa; and the merchant's son, whose wild dreams are going to get himself and a few other people into some serious trouble.

Yasmin Quemard, in her QTC debut plays the melodramatic romantic Aksyusha, who is desperate to be with her true love, but also in desperate need of a dowry. Her performance is perfectly mentored by Bille Brown, (a formidable leading man for her debut) and the two characters mesh to create quite a dramatic sub-plot. Alex Menglet steals the first act as Ivan Petrovich, the fast talking wood merchant with very little conscience; and his presence is somewhat missed after interval.

Designer Genevieve Blanchett creates an inspiring visual presence in another QTC debut, With her wooden set (a note in the program informs us that QTC replanted 100 trees to compensate for the mass of timer used), scenic backdrops and hay strewn floor, the room becomes a typical rustic colonial home, complete with tea setting on the back deck, trees suspended from the ceiling and a fantastic symbolic lake. Director Tom Gutteridge extracts great performances from his cast, producing a well rounded comedy which will appeal to the QTC's more traditional audiences.

Belinda Yench

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