It was a thrill to be present at the opening night of THE PRESENT at the Roslyn Packer theatre. Expectations were high, and they were more than met with Irish auteur John Crowley’s production of Anton Chekhov’s first play variously titled Ivanov, Platanov, Fatherlessness, A Play Without A Title in a new adaptation/reworking  by Andrew Upton.

As I reflected on the night in the car going home,  I was comparing the excitement to going to a major sporting event where so many excellent players are on show…like seeing Manchester United at the Football Stadium.

Yes sure there was Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh in the leads and they were tremendous but, my God, what an array of great talent that they shared the stage with, from highly experienced actors such as Jacqueline McKenzie and Marshall Napier to young guns like Toby Schmitz and Susan Prior.

This  was a great night in the theatre- a fine blend of the great Russian master’s telling depiction of the frailty of human beings, British director John Crowley’s astute direction , and awesome production values..

But oh, the acting…it was to die for!  We are the lucky country in terms of the wealth of acting talent that we have.

THE PRESENT is playing the Roslyn Packer theatre until Saturday 19th September.