Elizabeth Surbey

The 52-Storey Treehouse @ Sydney Opera House

Drew Livingston as terry Johnny Nasser as Edward Puppethands and James Elliot as Andy
Drew Livingston as Terry, Johnny Nasser as Edward Puppethands, and James Elliot as Andy. Production photography by Branco Gaica

This is the ultimate kids’ theatre and enlivened even more by the theatre bringing to life Andy and Terry’s ‘Storey’ books.

The audience  is a mix of fans, those between-age (mostly boys like my son) who read or have read the books, and then there is a younger brood (whose parents in tow enjoy the targeted jokes). These younger crew are spellbound by the physical stage action, songs and characters.

Such characters who might not exist outside the darkened realm, are cleverly revealed in multiple role playing of the versatile four person cast. They expertly justify each need to change and be changed that the audience goes with each transition without a blink. Of course the disguising machine “Diguise-a-tron-5000” can make so much more of transformational acting of the minimal cast, and adds an element of fun with Jill appearing yet Terry’s voice being heard to her lip synch.

Richard Tulloch (adaptor), himself once a teacher, really ‘gets’ writing for this young audience (and their parents). He has adapted the latest book well and filled the stage with effective puppetry and catchy songs and all the obligatory content of the books for context. There’s stupid Terry, Andy on his birthday, Jill and her expertise and another fellow who is all things in between including Mr Big Nose.

Tulloch layers the piece with significant important green messages appropriate to a Theatre -in-Education genre that he has traditionally written for. The hungry caterpillar eats all in his way- including the flying fried egg car but all for a purpose on its way to cocooning chrysalis and its metamorphosis into the magnificent butterfly.

Jill is ever present as the expert and most knowledgeable clear thinking device. The standard young people’s dilemma’s remain, a sleeping beauty might be awoken with a kiss – Terry is degusted and Andy ‘coolly’ offers to do the deed – the readers of the books understand his ‘crush’ on Jill (my son whispers this to me as we witness ‘the kiss’).

My boy loved it, he loved knowing the narrative and the characters and enjoyed the telling, including the fun and adventure.

My daughter is a little younger and hasn’t read the books, though she’s seen the earlier live on stage ‘storeys’. When I asked her about the best bit, she loved the junior humour- “when they tested for his fingerprint (fingerprint recognition) and it didn’t work, and his face didn’t work, but the machine knew them both by their farts”. She got right into the pantomime fun with a chase sequence through the audience to her delight.

At an hour this is precisely the length and depth of content for a range of younger viewers. The books themselves take considerably longer to read with manifest young person indulgences along the way. But with this performance we never got lost across the changes is time and space and were enticed and intrigued throughout. What more could we ask for?!

THE 52-STOREY TREEHOUSE is playing the Playhouse at the Sydney Opera House until Sunday 4th October.

THE TEAM 

CREATIVES
A play by Richard Tulloch
Adapted from the book by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton
Artistic Director: Julian Louis
Director: Liesel Badorrek
Set / Costume Designer: Mark Thompson
Lighting Designer: Nicholas Higgins
Sound Designer: Ross Johnston

CAST
James Elliot
Sophie Kesteven
Drew Livingston
Johnny Nasser

CREW
Production Manager: PJ Gahan
Company Stage Manager: Sharna Galvin
Production Technician / Assistant Stage Manager: Jeremy Page
Assistant Stage Manager / Audio: Olivia Benson

Published by Elizabeth Surbey

Elizabeth had a passion for theatre and performing from her youth and was a keen contributor to the joint school musicals- mostly the Gilbert and Sullivan romps. Once she headed to university this passion dominated with a 4 year stint at UNE in Armidale encompassing both performance and directing as major components of her Double Major in Drama and Major in English Literature. The year after graduation she found herself not only at the newly formed Actors' Centre but also teaching high school drama. She is still there, teaching, directing, writing for high school Drama and on the side across the years has performed in small season productions at Q theatre and directed several productions for the Short & Sweet program being a part of the inaugural group. Keenly she has represented other drama educators as committee member then President of Drama NSW also representing NSW on the National Committee at Drama Australia National Conferences. She completed her MA a century ago also with a focus on Drama & Theatre at UNSW. She is now a mum of two and recently directed her sixth Musical - perhaps now coming full circle in the scheme of things. She was contributing and consulting editor on a major Drama text for Cambridge Uni Press "Drama ReLoaded". More than anything she loves theatre and is very keen to share her experiences with this forum. Each year she directs secondary students in plays from Australia and across the globe, in productions large and small.