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Perryman's top billing at Equity awards
"I thought
it would be the end of everything, but in
a funny way it was the beginning of
everything," Jill Perryman said of her
family's move from the bright lights of
Sydney to "dear old Perth" almost 30 years
ago. Australian
musical theatre legend Jill Perryman is
the guest speaker at the IFAC
(International Foundation for Arts and
Culture)/ Equity Guild Awards on Saturday,
November 17 at PICA in
Northbridge. Perth was,
she says, the start of a whole new career
for her. She and
her husband, Kevan Johnston, moved to
Perth in the early 70's. Their
respective careers as musical star and
dancer/choreographer were suffering a lull
from a series of financial flops in
musical theatre. "We hadn't
worked for almost two years, we had two
small children and Kevan had family in
Perth," explained Jill. It was,
she said, the only time in their long and
happy marriage that Kevan did not discuss
the subject. The
decision to return to Perth, for better or
for worse, was made. Jill was
not happy with the move but with typical
earthy good humour, describes Kevan as
having "Perth in one eye and dirt in the
other!" She was
performing in a Perth production of Annie
in the early 80's when actor/director
Edgar Metcalf asked if she had ever
thought of acting in a drama. "No," she
laughed off the idea, "I'm a song 'n'
dance sheila!" Undeterred,
Edgar persuaded her to take the role of
the daughter in Night Mother playing
opposite June Salter. Jill
agreed providing she could perform under
the name Jill Johnston, "so no one will
know me." The "song
'n' dance sheila" proved she could a lot
more than that. The drama
was a hit, ran for 10 months and was the
start of a whole new career as a dramatic
actor. "I'll
always be grateful to Perth for giving
that chance. It took me years to get back
to musical theatre." Full of
wonderful stories of the people she has
worked with and the countless shows she
has done, few are as enduring in her mind
as her tour around WA with the one-woman
play, Swan River Saga for the Effie Crump
Theatre. "I know
every cockroach from Tom Price to Albany,"
she joked of the "adventures" she and
Elizabeth Caiacob (Effie's first artistic
director) had on tour. Like a
strolling player she performed on
ply-board stages supported by milk crates,
in scout halls and sports halls, deep in
red dust. "I loved
every minute of it and I wouldn't have
missed it for quids," she said. Her career
took another new turn in 1995 when she
returned to the role she has made her own
as Dolly Levi in the musical, Hello
Dolly. In 1965
Jill understudied the lead role for
American performer, Carol Cook. Cook
panicked about not being wired with a body
microphone and was unable to cope with the
strain of singing unaided - Jill ended up
playing the lead role more times than the
imported star. At the age
of 62 Jill returned to the role and took
Australia by storm. Despite
her endless travelling to Sydney and
Melbourne, Perth is home and, she says,
the rest of Australia has got to swallow
their pride because, "it is no longer
dear, parochial old Perth - we are
producing the finest work in this
country." The
IFAC/Equity Guild awards recognises
outstanding achievements by WA's
professional performing
artists. Nominations
include Rosemary Barr (Ghosts), Rhonda
Ellen Cressey (Away), Susan Zeichner (Noel
and Gertie) and Marcelle Schmitz
(Redemption) for the Best Female Actor
award. Michael
Loney (Noel and Gertie), Igor Sass (The
Butcher), George Shevtsov and Steve Turner
(To Whom It May Concern) are nominated for
Best Male Actor award. Best Director
includes Chris Edmund (Redemption), John
Milson (Noel and Gertie), Andrew Ross
(Away) and Marcelle Schmitz (To Whom It
May Concern). Nominations
for Best Production are Aliwa (Yirra
Yaakin), Face To Face (Perth Theatre
Company), Noel and Gertie (Effie Crump)
and To Whom It May Concern (Marcelle
Schmitz/Black Swan). Kingfisher
evokes a gentler
age Although written in 1978 it is
reminiscent of a British Empire decades
earlier - one of long-serving faithful
butlers, of formal afternoon teas,
dressing for dinner, before and after
dinner aperitifs, and "wiring"
friends. It was also an era of charm, grace,
elegance and witty repartee. Effie Crump Theatre ends the year with
this delightful and nostalgic play. The trio of veteran performers are
perfectly cast. Edgar Metcalf gives a wonderfully
rounded performance as spoilt, slightly
wicked but charming and successful
novelist, Sir Cecil. He is cared for and fussed over by his
faithful valet Hawkins, deliciously played
by James Beattie. Their relationship is comfortable, born
of mutual respect and 50 years of sharing
and storytelling. When Sir Cecil learns that his first
love's husband has died, he sets about
righting the past and rewriting the
future. Lady Evelyn, perfectly portrayed by
Rosemary Barr, is poised, sophisticated
and just a little naive - as you would
expect of a real lady. Years ago she was appalled at Cecil's
obvious advances and married Reggie on the
rebound. Now, 50 years on, Reggie has died and
she and Cecil must come to terms with what
they have lost - unfulfilled and
unsatisfactory relationships and the
ever-present romantic dream of what might
have been. Only Hawkins is troubled by the turn of
events when Sir Cecil at long last
proposes marriage. He cannot contemplate his position as
carer and comforter being usurped. Beattie conveys a myriad of
delightfully wicked yet subtle facial
expressions to convey his distaste for the
possible turn in his fortunes. Metcalf and Barr successfully create a
fine balance between the romance of
memories, the pathos of regret and the
humour that comes with maturity and
recognition. It may be old fashioned, but The
Kingfisher is a delightful and
well-crafted play that entertains rather
than challenges. Just what we all need at this time of
year. The Kingfisher runs at the Effie Crump
Theatre to December 8. All's
fair in love and
war The 90-minute one act comedy-drama is a
triumph of incisiveness, finely tuned
characters and a well-timed building of
emotional pitch. Glenn Hall and Leanne Page put their
exceptional talents into perfectly timing
the unfolding of events. Hall is the messenger, Bob; a gentle,
softly spoken man whose personal,
malicious hidden agenda is masked by his
caring seduction. His subtle dropping of information
about Rose's current partner, Martin, done
with sad, understanding smiles sends Rose
(Page) into frenetic spins. Rose, clad in rose pink and
metaphorically wearing rose-coloured
glasses, has slightly irritating
high-pitched voice that is a product of
her ill-defined sense of panic about where
her life and her love is heading. Martin has ensured his future security
by playing on Rose's insecurities, her
need to be loved and her determination to
love unconditionally. Martin is only ever present in the play
through some cleverly timed phone
calls. Bob is quietly determined she should
know the whole truth and Rose must deal
with each droplet of information in a way
that sees a subtle maturing and developing
of her character. The Messenger is a compelling piece of
writing beautifully handled by the
performers and director Rosalba
Verrucci. Robert Jeffreys will have a great
impact on the local theatre scene with his
sharp, witty and intriguing scripts. Opera
with a twist Written by composer, musician and
technological wizard, Lindsay Vickery, the
new contemporary opera is called
Rendez-vous: An Opera Noir. With allusions to the pop-culture of
film noir, Rendez-vous is a mix of
electronic and chamber music, video
techniques and a range of vocals from
lyrical opera to Tom Wait-esque late night
grumblings. Based on the novel, Djinn by Alain
Robbe-Grillet, Rendez-vous is the haunting
story of a young man who joins a
clandestine organisation under the command
of an alluring, androgynous girl,
Jean. Challenging the notions of plot and
narrative, the young man becomes lost in
the dimensions between past and future as
he grows obsessed with unravelling the
complex mysteries he has become tangled
in. Rendez-vous is far from a traditional
opera, using the talents of audio-visual
artists Vikki Wilson and Rick Mason to
create a video set and the electronic
gadgetry of contemporary musicians,
Magnetic Pig. Directed by Talya Masel, Rendez-vous
stars Taryn Fieberg, Andrew Broadbent and
Kathryn McCusker. It opens at Rechabites Hall, 224
William Street in Northbridge on
Wednesday, November 21 performing until
Sunday, November 25. Bookings are through BOCS. Gilbert
and Sullivan are
back... Called I've Got a Little List, it is a
celebration of the collaboration between
the astute theatre manager Richard D'Oyly
Carte, WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The fully staged production, through
D'Oyly Carte's memoirs, relives the
arguments, the witty banter and the
successes of the two new stars on the
London stage in the late 1800's. I've Got a Little List is written and
directed by baritone, Andrew Foote. Gordon Honeycombe plays D'Oyly Carte,
Gilbert is Alan Needham and Sullivan is
Ross Bryant. There is also a chorus of 40 up and
coming singers. The show is performing at the Playhouse
Theatre in Pier Street, Perth from
November 21 to 24. Tickets can be booked through BOCS. A
steaming debut Premiering at Feast 2000 in Adelaide,
Savage Grace was an instant critical and
box office hit. It was recently nominated for the 2001
Victorian Literary Awards. Written by Australian playwright Alana
Valentine, Savage Grace explores the
tension between passionate conviction and
individual choice. Dr Tex Cladakis, played by Gibson
Nolte, is an American HIV specialist at an
Australian hospital. He is called before the hospital
ethicist, Robert Barverro (Humphrey Bower)
on suspicion of aiding in the death of one
of his terminally ill patients. Both relevant and thought provoking,
the two-hander has been critically
described as "keenly observed, stylish and
highly entertaining.wonderful, strange and
deeply special." Savage Grace is performing at the Blue
Room in Northbridge from Thursday November
22 to December 1 at 8pm. Tickets can be booked by calling the
Blue Room on 9227 7005. Back
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