Reviewed Tuesday 8th October 2013
GMT Productions International is a new venture for Adelaide theatre enthusiast and entrepreneur, Glen Christie, who is giving local audiences a chance to see some of the very fine artists who visit Adelaide during the Adelaide Fringe each year for the Centre for Inter
National Theatre, a part of Theatre Tours International, run by the popular Welsh actor and director, Guy Masterson.
For this first year, Christie has brought two British actors who have been part of those Adelaide Fringe events, Nicholas Collett and Gavin Robertson, who will present five plays during October. The first of these performances featured Nicholas Collett, directed with a keen eye and sensitive touch by Gavin Robertson, in the world premiere of Collett's latest play,
Nelson - The Sailor's Story.
Vice Admiral, the Right Honourable, Horatio, Lord Viscount Nelson KB, fell at the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st October 1805 to a French sniper's bullet, having defeated
The Combined navies of France and Spain by adopting radical new tactics that took them completely by surprise. He decimated the French and Spanish armada without the loss of a single English ship, a major event in the Napoleonic wars. One of England's greatest maritime heroes, he was given a State funeral.
To give him his full honours, as inscribed on his coffin, he was: The Most Noble Lord Horatio Nelson, Viscount and Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, Baron Nelson of the Nile and of
Hilborough in the said County,
Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Vice Admiral of the White Squadron of the Fleet, Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean, Duke of Bronté in the Kingdom of Sicily,
Knight Grand Cross of the Sicilian Order of St Ferdinand and of Merit, Member of the
Ottoman Order of the Crescent,
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of St Joachim.
In Dublin, Nelson's Pillar, and in Montreal, Nelson's Column, were erected in his honour, with numerous other monuments around the world following soon after. In London, Trafalgar Square was created in 1835 in memory of his last battle, and Nelson's Column was erected in 1843. Atop this Corinthian column of Dartmoor granite, protected at its base by four bronze lions, stands E. H. Baily's sandstone sculpture of Nelson, looking out across the ever changing face of London.
It is here that we begin this play, with the sandstone Nelson coming to life to speak of his last two centuries watching over London, and beginning to recall the past, of the living Nelson. Taken back in time we also meet Nelson, the man and the seaman, along with other insights into Nelson, life aboard ship, and naval battles, through the words and the different situations of those who sailed with him in the persons of a surgeon, a midshipman, a gunner, and a powder monkey. We also encounter a homeless man, who sleeps near the base of Nelson's column, for another viewpoint.
Collett brilliantly portrays all of these characters using very little in the way of costume changes beyond the Admiral's hat, and jacket with epaulettes and military decorations for the role of Nelson, and a woollen beanie for the homeless man. He does it all with marked differences in the characters, the tone of their voices, the movements, and their British regional accents, switching quickly to and fro between them. The set is little more than some suitcases, and a block representing the top of Nelson's Column, relying on Collett's ability to use the imagination of the audience to turn them into anything from Nelson's desk in his cabin, to the foot of his column, to a canon below decks during the battle, and he does this with great ease.
This s a master-class in how to write, direct, and perform a one man show, playing a number of very different characters, from varied regional backgrounds and social classes. This whole season of plays, in fact, should be essential viewing for all of the actors in Adelaide training for a professional career, or those studying drama at school. This is a rare chance to see and speak to professional actors who still work in, effectively, repertory theatre, touring England and abroad with several different plays in their heads, ready to present at short notice.
Collett also wrote the script, and it is clear that he has put in a lot of time researching, in order to present an accurate and authentic tale of both the man and his times, not just on board ship during the war, but encompassing social mores and attitudes. He then links it to the modern day through the voices of Nelson's statue, and the homeless man.
Collett's committed performance and superb characterisations take you back to the mid 18th Century in a way that only the immediacy of
Live Theatre, and the intimacy of a smaller venue can. A good lighting plot and very effective sound effects are a great help, the couple of sea shanty's and songs about Nelson add something extra to this production, but it is Collett's riveting performance that is at the core of this production.
Collett shows us that history is not a dry, dusty, and boring subject by any means, a fact that might come as a revelation to younger audience members, especially any studying that subject at school or university. It might come as an even greater revelation to many history teachers.
Comments
To post a comment, you must
register and
login.
