Review: Providing A Glimpse Into A Bygone Era, DARLINGHURST NIGHTS Is Presented With Heart And Honesty

Tuesday 9th January 2018, 7:30pm

Katherine Thomson (Book) and Max Lambert's (Music) DARLINGHURST NIGHTS is revived with truth and simplicity 30 years after it premiered in 1988. Based on the Kenneth Slessor's book of poems of the same name, the stories of the Depression era Darlinghurst come to life with Lee Lewis' tender care for telling Australian stories with sensitivity and honesty.

Like a ghost coming out of the past, Kenneth Slessor (Sean O'Shea), or Ken as he is more commonly known, emerges from the darkness to share the mystery of his friend Joe Lynch's (Justin Smith) disappearance from a Sydney Harbour Ferry in 1927. Armed with Joe's journal, using a combination of Slessor's original poems and Thomson's text, Ken recalls his friendship and their community, including the characters that helped make up Darlinghurst and Kings Cross' colourful past. Sweet and innocent country girl Mabel (Baylie Carson) has come to escape the monotony of farm life and experience the big city but finds comfort in former farmer turned iceman Frank (Andrew Cutcliffe). Cora (Billie Rose Prichard) is a wanting to change her life but her petty criminal husband Spud (Abe Mitchell) keeps drawing her back into his dodgy ways, wanting her to go back on the game in order to pay the bills. The older Rose (Natalie Gamsu) is living the high life of champagne and luxury cars but her world is about to change.

Designer Mason Browne resists the temptation to try to recreate the streets of Darlinghurst, keeping the set simple, allowing the characters to be the focus. An artful collection of wooden pallets provides vertical variety as places ranging from the harbour side docks to the roof tops are implied in the performance. Musical Director Pianist Max Lambert and multi-instrumentalist come Foley artist Roger Lock are unobtrusively hidden in The Shadows at the rear of the stage. Trent Suidgeest's lighting helps shift the location and time of day, from the dimly lit backstreets where Spud's late night plans unfold to the sunny waterside parklands where Rose celebrates with Champagne. Browne's costuming quickly gives an insight into the characters, from the well-heeled Rose in fringed flapper dress to the homespun innocence of Mabel and journalist Ken's more formal respectability of bow tie and three piece suit to Spud's down on his luck torn jacket.

With a wonderfully talented cast with no weak links, Lewis ensures the story is presented with the right balance of humour and pathos to draw the audience in to care about the 7 very different characters. As Artistic Director of Griffin Theatre Company, with the direction of a great deal of Australian Plays to her name, this foray into Musical Theatre still has the trademark Lewis passion and perfection for telling Australian stories. With minimal props and costume changes Lewis ensures that the audience understands what life was like in the suburb that the rest of Sydney would rather have forgotten, making Darlinghurst and Kings Cross tantalising, intriguing, forbidden and dangerous all at the same time. The music is all presented unamplified, with each voice unique, capturing the essence of the character, from Carson's bright young Mabel to Gamsu's husky world weary Rose. The performers present John O'Connell's varied choreography, from tap to more traditional chorus line capers with ease, ensuring there is an engaging level of movement to balance the more pensive still moments.

Whether your interest is in musical theatre, Australian stories, history or poetry, DARLINGHURST NIGHTS is a must see start to the 2018 Hayes Season. Hopefully this signals the start of Lewis directing more musicals, in addition to her already impressive body of work. BWWSydney Senior Editor is looking forward to seeing relative newcomer Baylie Carson on more Sydney stages as this talented young woman is a delight to watch and listen to.

DARLINGHURST NIGHTS

Hayes Theatre, Potts Point

4th January - 3rd February 2018

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