I wish theatre companies and venues in Sydney would go through metamorphoses to lure and entice audiences. Disgraceful that PACT in Erskineville has METAMORPHOSES running there at the moment but passing traffic wouldn’t know, even people who knew it was on may scratch their heads and wonder whether they had come to the right place. Signage outside the theatre makes no mention of it. On opening night for Christ sakes! A great and disgusting pity because this show should be up in lights.
Mary Zimmerman’s play, based on the myths of Ovid, is staged as a series of vignettes, a cycle that begins with the creation of the world and ends with a story of gods made carnate, the return of the prodigal and eventual redemption.
Judeo-Christianity is all Greek made sleek by a fine ensemble of actors well drilled by director Dino Dimitriadis whose simple design of boxes in a basement works brilliantly as each piece is unwrapped from its packing case, antics from antiquity aired in simple, clear storytelling.
One of the boxes is full of water and water is used as a potent symbol throughout, from the refreshing and recreational to the dark and dire, used both as an instrument of rejuvenation and rebirth and an instrument of torture and death.
Clear of voice and fluid in movement, the eleven cast members fairly glide through this panoply of parables delivering a disciplined, concise and compact production, presented by Apocalypse Theatre Company in conjunction with Bakehouse Theatre Company.
Producers and venue please honour the talent on show here by signage on Railway Parade – you don’t light a candle and bury it under a bushel.
Dino Dimitriadis’s production of Mary Zimmerman’s METAMORPHOSES, adapted from the myths of Ovid, opened at the PACT theatre on Thursday 5th July and plays until Saturday 21st July, 2012.
© Richard Cotter
7th July, 2012
Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- METAMORPHOSES, PACT Theatre, Erskineville, Ovid, Mary Zimmerman, Dino Dimitriadis, Apocalypse Theatre Company, Bakehouse Theatre Company, Sydney Arts Guide, Richard Cotter.