SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM – OPENING NIGHT

Anish Kapoor said in 2003, “One of the great currents in the contemporary experience of art is that it seems to come out of the experience of the author.”  In the show playing at the Factory Theatre nothing could be truer.

The show with the unwieldy name, SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM – OPENING NIGHT is a satire of contemporary art practice written by someone who obviously knows his contemporary art with set pieces designed and expressed by someone who knows how to satirise contemporary art.  The production is very entertaining when it hits full art criticism, unfortunately in its current form that is too seldom.  There is enough, though, to make the experience worthwhile.

Max has issues.  He welcomes us to the Sydney Contemporary Art Museum as it’s opening night.  But things seem a bit … not ready.  He seems to have lost some of his exhibits and some of the exhibitors.  The characters who hang around the gallery are no help and his assistant, Bella seems to constantly make things worse.  His museum is on the financial edge and the future for it and for this opening night does not look good.

Written Matthew Nicholls, the script has quite a few clever bon mots and aphorisms about Contemporary Art, even a rant to two and these can be quite fun.  It also has a beginning that is intriguing and an ending that is laugh out loud funny.  And even at interval, I wanted to know what was going to happen.  However the text doesn’t quite cohere.  There are elements of farce, audience involvement and performance art that bump up against each other to be quite jarring.

And it is too long.  Condensed into a neat 60 minutes, perhaps the unnecessary stuff might fall away.  The political and social media bluster sequences need to go and the Weinstein joke is well off mark.  Some of the performances don’t hit the target either and that affects the intent; presented without suitable irony the anti-lesbian tract and gynophobia is just offensive.

But some performances do carry over the footlights.  James Sugrue as Brendan, the famous contemporary artist, lifts the show.  He enters with vigor and enthusiasm and bristles with gravitas. Madeline Sykes as Bella has a clear character and her interactions with the others are considered and comic.  Same with Angela Lai as the hapless artist just trying to make her pieces.  It is obvious that there is a great deal of work in this production, but cast who are a difficult to hear, conversational in execution and lacking in energy do make sequences drag somewhat.

Visually there are things to appreciate.  The slow manifestation of the exhibits shows the creativity of the concept and the stage does have a Tracey Emin vibe by the end.  The witty and overtly satirical descriptions of the pieces for sale in the program are great fun to engage with, too.

Which is why you should probably give it a look.  If the cast and creatives of, SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM – OPENING NIGHT have supportive people around them who will give honest feedback, this show may well morph into a fun exercise.  The bedrock is there and the groundwork laid in this inaugural season and surely process is as important as product when it comes to art experiences.

SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM – OPENING NIGHT [Facebook Event] continues at The Factory Theatre, Marrickville until 24th April.