Reviewed by Petra Schulenburg, Wednesday 20th June 2018.
The premiere performance of
Songs for Those Who've Come Across the Seas moved the audience out of their seats for a standing ovation. Few of us present would have seen or heard anything quite like it before, and it was wonderful.
Produced by Adelaide theatre company, Slingsby, and created by director
Andy Packer, together with
Quincy Grant and Cameron Goodall, the show is aimed at ages 10 and up. As with all Slingsby's work, there is a delightful wealth of story and imagery, wit and warmth, curiosity and imagination, enough to engage the toughest of audiences, both young and old. The beauty of Slingsby's work also lies in the fact that, just because they are creating for young audiences, doesn't mean that they shy away from sharing with them some of the harsher aspects of life, the losses and challenges that must be overcome in order to grow into the fullest version of ourselves that we can be.
The show opens with Goodall narrating a tale about an imaginary children's book, An Island in Time, about the birth of a new
Volcanic Island and the arrival and settling of plant and animal life. Through a series of songs, the audience is taken on a journey through time, while exploring the universal themes of love and loss, strength and diversity.
Songs such as
The Whispering Grasses, which ostensibly tells the story of a lone grass seed, carried on the wind, which finds its home on the island and soon covers the bare rock with rich foliage. An "intrepid traveller carried on the wind", the grass seed is also a metaphor for the countless refugees who leave behind them the devastation of their homeland, the loss of their family and all they have known, in order to find a new home, a place to put down roots.
All the original songs were written by Grant and Goodall. There are 12 in all, and they range from alternately powerful and moving, satirical, playful, and downright funny. There is even "a poo song", of course, as we meet the resident dung beetle.
The set design, by Ailsa Paterson, continues Slingsby's simple aesthetic of using found objects, and consists mainly of a series of sheets strung up from the fly tower as a canvas for projection of a mesmerising series of commissioned artworks painted by Thom Buchanan. Animated by motion graphics designer Rebecca Bogert, together with technical designer Christopher Petridis and visual systems engineer Freddy Kromp, each piece is a feast for the senses. Complementing and highlighting the stunning visual backdrop is
Geoff Cobham's lighting design.
The whole piece was written in the 'prog rock' style of rock music, and draws from a wide range of influences. Every one of the musicians/performers was extraordinary and vastly talented, with Satomi Ohnishi on drums, and
Quincy Grant, Cameron Goodall, Leah Flanagan, and Gareth Chin, each taking turns, rotating from vocals to one musical instrument after another, from keyboards to guitars, banjo, and ukulele, saxophone and clarinet, to piano accordion, and back.
Songs for Those Who've Come Across the Seas is a stunning and moving production, a sensory feast for the eyes and ears, but also a deeply satisfying piece of theatre and one that will resonate with you for a long time to come.
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