Reviewed by Jordan D'Arcy
The Golden Pathway Annual is set in the time period between 1945 and 1968 and follows the life of
Michael as he grows. The play is a quirky slice of life style script that manifests in 24 individual
vignetted scenes.
This show is Roxi Moore’s first full length directorial venture and required a cast of five skilled actors, as every actor is required to play more than one character. The set was basic; black flats and three black cubes were used to portray different times and spaces. The costumes were equally simple – every actor in a while dress shirt and black shoes and pants, with the occasional character piece over the top to differentiate characters.
Particular stand out aspects of this show included Fiona Forster’s quick and dynamic accent changing (from French to Russian in literally seconds, flawlessly), and Rebekah O’Brien and Ali McNamara as Michael and Owen very convincingly playing primary school aged children. Rebekah’s ability to change age throughout the play was also well done as sometimes it is easy to forget to act when one isn’t given dialogue, something that was not a problem for Rebekah. Shout out also to Amanda Bird as a literal bird for that one chicken scene.
It was unfortunately often very hard to tell where we were at in the story, and which characters were
on stage at the beginning of each vignette. It was easier in some scenes - the blue lighting as a dream motif during the Fabulous Five scenes was good, very clear - but overall, because there was little change to the set, lights, or costumes between scenes, it was difficult to follow until a character was mentioned by name.
Additionally, as a new director, it can be so difficult to pick up exactly what the audience will understand or, conversely, miss within a script. There were a couple of instances of a direct mention of a costume piece or a prop that was not actively on stage which, as an audience member, took you out of the suspension of disbelief a little. For instance, there are a few times where a character is asked to pass something and the item either wasn't on the stage and was mimed or the line was delivered as a throw away.
It was evident that this production was fun for those involved, and it was really a nice change to see
actors that were clearly putting their all into a very challenging set of roles.
The season runs until March 18th, with a start time of 7.30pm.
Reviewer note: Jordan has previously directed and performed at Garrick Theatre. Tickets for this review were provided by the theatre company.
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