Short and sweet but subtleties suffer
GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE shake & stir Theatre Royal, Hobart Finished June 1
THERE’S a big sugar hit with this boisterous, physical adaptation by Brisbane-based shake & stir of Roald Dahl’s 1981 tale of a down-on-the-farm, family poisoning.
An inventive set design, a comedic, circus-infused acting style and a dance house soundtrack make for an enjoyable hour of family theatre.
But in all the flat-out fun, some of the subtleties that make Dahl’s writing so appealing get a little lost.
Darkly comic tales of children navigating the tyrannies of the adult world was Dahl’s stock in trade. But along with the fantastical, it’s the emotional truth for a George or a Matilda or a Charlie winning through that has elevated Dahl’s stories to classic status.
By compacting the story and going big on the comedic pantomime, shake & stir have foregone any real character development, in particular the key George/Grandma relationship.
Some other productions have actually fleshed out the tale and cast an older female actor in the part of Grandma, creating more nuanced possibilities in the story of George’s revenge on his aged tormentor. This begs the question: Do we do young audiences a disservice when we insist on short and sweet?
A shout-out to Josh McIntosh’s design, a fantastic celebration of farmhouse hoarding, inventively lit by Jason Glenwright.
The cast were on-song and I particularly liked Nelle Lee as Mum, but why she was the only cast member costumed buffoon style was something of a mystery.