Lynn Belvedere

V.D.

 

The talented Eliza St John gives a great comic performance in Pete Malicki's new play
The talented Eliza St John gives a great comic performance in Pete Malicki’s new play

With Pete Malicki’s V.D. (the work was originally a multi-award winning Short and Sweet piece) be prepared to spend an amazing seventy minutes of pure comedy magic, as you experience this witty woman’s endless cringe-worthy disasters, as performed by Eliza St John.    

Perhaps for some there will be moments of uncomfortable recognition from one’s own dating mistakes, and dating mistakes that one would be happy not to have made. There also some very important life lessons to be learnt, such as that fate and destiny are both of one’s own choosing.

Sophie (Eliza St John) admits to being a cat-oholic, who whenever she is single on Valentine’s Day, buys another new cat. When we first meet Sophie she is already the proud owner of ten cats. Malicki’s show take us into the world of single 35-year-old Sophie, whose lonesome life is aided by large amounts of gin, She still tries to find love in many unusual places.

Eliza St John, is one of the very few talented actresses, who uniquely are also a wonderful chameleon, who inhibits every role she performs, and makes each character, new and fresh plus passionately alive in your mind. I have seen her as a bright red devil, a serial-murdering dragon, a fast talking chess fanatic . . .

As Sophie, she yet again owns and inhabits the role of this character and the audience ‘buys’ that she changes moods almost as often as she does costumes.

Whilst many theatregoers might anticipate where this play is going, as each episode unfolds, there are many shocks and surprises ahead, with this extremely clever and witty monologue, delivering again and again. The play starts with the receipt of anonymously delivered flowers for Valentine’s Day, but are they from her mother, her boss, her last lover, or a mystery stalker?!

Our Sydney based Eliza St John has worked in the USA, Australia, UK, India, and will be performing the V.D. show to the inhabitants of Brighton England, United Kingdom at the Brighton Fringe Festival  in May and June 2014 ( 30th May at 19:30 and 1st June at 19:15 – http://www.vdtheplay.com/ )

The world premiere of Pete Malicki’s reworked piece V.D. played at the New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th April 2014. Further encore performances will take place again at the New Theatre on the 7th, 9th and 10th May 2014 at 7.30pm. http://newtheatre.org.au/v-d/ Try and catch it. Highly recommended.

Published by Lynn Belvedere

Once we were old enough, my parents took the whole family to the Sydney CBD cinemas every week. Thus began a lifetime interest, in going to the cinema every week, and became a passionate cinephile by watching all those very heavily edited ''Australian Film Censorship Board'' true cinéaste versions of brand new release ''Cinematograph Films''. Greater Union always gave my father (who worked in Cinema Distribution Exhibition) guest double movie passes, to every first-night ''red carpet Opening Night'' at The State Theatre Cinema at 49 Market Street. Up until his death, my dad always received ''two house seats'' for every Opening Night performance events at the Theatre Royal SYDNEY and at Her Majesty's Theatre SYDNEY. As a child, when mum choose not to go, I often went with him, to those live performance events. As a young child, I remember being taken for each new show, at both The New Theatre at 60 Sussex Street, and the Phillip Street Theatre when located at 150 Elizabeth Street, and for classical music concerts at Sydney Town Hall. = = = ★★★★★ = = = Being happy is a choice, and I have always viewed my life, as material ready be made into a series of amazing tentpole movies. My New Years Resolution is kept every year: ''Get to see/review five new live theatre shows each week, and get to see/review six new cinema movies each week'', plus is one of the Australian Cinema Pioneers, and apparently have seen far too much already, but always wanting to experience more and more each year. I am also able to do almost everything that I enjoy doing. Yes, I do have a great daytime job in I.T. as ''Software Design Project Manager'', PLUS each evening until quite late - - - Australian Cinematograph Films historical censorship consultant - product-placement consultant - mystery-shopper consultant - playwright, writer, author, director, producer, photographer, cinematographer, color-grader, subtitles proofreader - arts/ drama/ music/ film critic and judge, journalist, member FIPRESCI & FCCA & AFCA, member AACTA accredited film reviewer-critic-writer, accredited IMDB.COM critic-reviewer-author, projectionist, plus an innovative iconoclast - - - ★★★★★ LYNN BELVEDERE ★★★★★ - - - [usr 5] - - -