Review: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Friday March 18th 7.30 pm, Sydney Lyric Theatre.

Director Simon Phillips has transferred one of Alfred Hitchcock's expert works to the auditorium. Almost word for word, scene for scene and shot for shot.

In a world where the theatre scene consists of reinventing films for the stage, this piece is the cinema masterpiece live on stage.

Phillips has recreated some of the images of the movie beautifully, other scenes are presented as interpretations. He has used a variety of techniques, from a rear screen set that emulates movie-making to clever visual representations of the original. Such as the title sequence, a practical version of the title scene that is reminiscence of the film's design and introduces us to the evenings approach to presenting the movie instantaneously.

The staging reveals how the rear screen projections are created as we see the actors on the side use miniatures that appear as over scaled landscapes projected on the huge backdrop screen.

There is a combination of high-end techniques with home-made style antics. It's as if the concept of this production came from a lounge room party where a team acted out a movie and this idea has then made its way to the mainstream stage.

The actors move expertly in this tight knit production to recreate the fast-paced movie. David Campbell and Amber McMahon wonderfully play the romantic leads to match the Hitchcock's film. Campbell uses the Cary Grant accent with playfulness and McMahon has the perfect balance of being the double agent having to weigh up the outcomes of her choices. They played the characters almost as caricatures which gave less room for chemistry.

The lengthy dining car scene lost some of the intimacy without the close ups the movie can offer.

Bert LaBonte wonderfully plays the lead villain with earnest reality and with a menacing gravatas that sets up the 'edge of seat' tension. Genevieve Lemon leads the entire cast in playing various roles. They do this so expertly that you are convinced the company numbers are extensive.

Nick Schlieper lighting stylishly sets the scene while his expertise ensures the set and projected imagery are seamlessly combined. Esther Hayes has done a beautiful job in creating the costumes that match Phillip's vision of reinventing the original cinematic work.

Some of the theatre techniques were like loungeroom antics done professionally. Moving chairs to emulate a driving car but in front of an enormous expertly projected screen.

The final scene of climbing a Mount Rushmore was executed via the dexterity of the actors moving various tables for the main leads to climb up and down. While this was cleverly done, in today's level of theatre technologies I was looking forward to seeing the mountain magically appear in front of our eyes.

The theatrics were a combination of ideas that were done cheekily as simple techniques and others were presented as slick devices. The tone of the night was a mixture of playfulness in playing out the movie and of an approach that was of a professional transformation to the stage. Rather than balance between the two, we may have experienced more laughs with a total playful version or a more of a wow night with a heavier hand on using the latest practical effects.

It's an interesting venture to recreate a movie on the stage. Do you assume the audience knows the movie? If so, then their engagement is waiting to see how the production effectively portrays each scene, especially considering the film's visuals and all of its impressive locations.

While we watch the cast engage in their characters and portray their journeys we also watch with intrigue as the company deftly recreates this cinematic iconic work in front of our eyes.

If you love Hitchcock's film and are a fan of the movie making business, then this is a fun, clever and entertaining night out.

Photo Credt: Daniel Bould

https://www.northbynorthwesttheplay.com/

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