Interview: THE RITZ Director David Marshall-Martin at New Theatre

The Ritz director David Marshall-Martin is commendably composed for a man about to launch a three-week production come Thursday 18th February. Marshall-Martin attributes the anticipative success of the show to its long history entertaining audiences of all kinds. The Broadway debut of Terrence McNally, The Ritz follows a garbage-man on the lam who unwittingly seeks refuge in a gay sauna in 70s Manhattan.

Marshall-Martin is excited to bring the kind of entertainment and celebration Mardi Gras is known for in New Theatre's contribution to the festival's theatre program. In amongst a slew of productions grappling with presenting the struggles of the gay community, The Ritz is "good ol' fun".

When asked about the challenges of directing such a well-known piece of gay culture, Marshall-Martin applauded lead actor Les Asmussen, an eleventh-hour casting amid a struggle to find a Sydney performer able to handle such a huge part - in every sense of the word - "body image and commitment" large factors in what became a very open canvass for actors to feature in the volunteer-run New Theatre. But what audiences can expect is "actors who've all got on board" to create a very professional ensemble and entertaining experience.

Being set in the 70s, The Ritz allows Marshall-Martin to really capture "all that celebration that happened after Stonewall and before AIDS". The Ritz is of course based on The Continental Baths in New York which became as much a celebrity creative social haunt as a place for homosexual fraternising. Marshall-Martin wasn't tempted to modernise the play, for although we are perhaps an even more sexually-liberated generation now, the education and emphasis on protection has influenced a different expression of culture, particularly in sex venues. "There's no mention of condoms in the script...it is something you could take your grandmother to".

That being said, Marshall-Martin has worked in close quarter with Designer Tom Bannerman to establish one of the most ambitious sets to be installed at New Theatre to bring a sense of place to stay true to the sauna culture that still exists today - The Ritz proudly sponsored by Sydney institution 357 Sydney City Steam.

I asked him if he'd ever considered mounting the show as a promenade through a sauna itself; "that would be...interesting" he replied.