SomethingToDo2

The proposition: See Toy Symphony, a play from the State Theatre Company of SA

I didn’t much like Toy Symphony, a puzzling play from maligned Queensland Theatre Company boss Michael Gow, which recently opened at the Adelaide Festival Centre. But many critics did; indeed, it won the Helpmann Award for best new Australian work in 2008. And let’s be honest, if you live in Adelaide your evening entertainment options are pretty limited (Ed: the views contained in this piece are entirely owned by the author alone.)

Gow pens the story of a playwright falling apart (an irresistible allegory for critics). But in upending the box of pieces on the audience, the puzzle doesn’t quite fit together. I saw this production in Brisbane late last year, and it’s an ambitious work, certainly; a window, however foggy, to the creative soul.

The protagonist (exhaustingly played by Christopher Pitman) is a complex and compelling character study. Against a writing brick wall, he reveals himself to us: the humiliating childhood repression, unresolved issues of sexuality, drug addiction and the overactive imagination it all breeds; the heartbreak of grief at the loss of his parents; the mental wrecking ball that the creative process can become and the strain when the juices run dry. At its best, it’s a poignant portrait, cleverly staged by director Geordie Brookman.

Still, for a show that talks of the “shared experience” of theatre over other mediums, I thought Gow’s work distanced itself from the audience with its sometimes baffling cerebral journey of self-discovery. It will challenge you, at the very least. (Admittedly, you’ll have much more fun seeing Avenue Q in town at Her Majesty’s Theatre, but you’d have to be living under a rock not to know how good that show is). Go and make up your own mind about one of the most lauded new Australian theatrical works in recent years.

The details: Toy Symphony — a joint Queensland Theatre Company and State Theatre Company of SA production — runs until February 14 at the Dunstan Playhouse. Tickets from BASS.

Not in Adelaide? Crikey’s music blogger Tim Dunlop is suggesting you get on the Dan Sultan wagon as soon as possible.  He asks: “Is there a bigger hunk of musical, masculine talent and gorgeousness in Australian music at the moment? Has there ever been? I doubt it.” And his new album’s great.