Superb farewell performance from young actors

February 1st, 2013
[Reviewed by David Armstrong]

A superb dramatic performance by the Imagine Youth Theatre ensemble last night showed just how sadly Motueka will miss a group of young thespians who have risen through the High School ranks and are now heading off to follow their dreams.

Eight actors, most of whom have taken part in Imagine Theatre's productions over the past few years, put themselves to the test with a complex and demanding adult play as their final effort together following graduation from Motueka High School.

That they succeeded cannot be questioned. Uniformly they showed a high level of maturity in their interpretation of the 45-minute, one-act play "Amnesia". Pleasingly, they also worked together as a team to draw the audience into their surreal, confusing world.

"Amnesia" was written by New Zealand playwright Angie Farrow as a challenging script for mature, thinking audiences. There are no simple plot lines, but rather a constantly interrupted stream of interlocking monologues and group interactions with seemingly unrelated actions.

Parts taken in isolation often seem meaningless, but together they gradually paint a surreal picture of seven people "after the big bamboozle", trying to remember what they've forgotten and make sense of their new world where words escape them or, once guessed, no longer mean what they did.

It's a play to experience rather than deconstruct, so I won't attempt to explain it any further. If you're thinking of going to see a story of characters and relationships, then you may be disappointed, at least initially. If you're wanting to see some quality acting, an alternative view of reality, and lots of very funny bits, then this is well worth the entry fee.

An impressive feature of the work is that it was self-directed; that is, the cast chose the play and, through rehearsal, decided by consensus on how characters were portrayed, moved and interacted.

This was surprising to learn, because my early impression which grew throughout the performance was that the play was superbly directed and choreographed, with expert contributions from the set creators, costumers, lighting and sound. But no, the cast did it all themselves, with only a little advice late in the rehearsal schedule by production manager Murray Owen.

It is also noteworthy that no single actor stood out. Often in youth performances several players show greater experience or skill while a few struggle with diction or awkward movement. Not so in this case - each gave equal weight to the overall performance.

Lucy Holyoake portrays a murderer, Aedan Fenemor a bewildered artist, Alice Perks-Hoult (actually my favourite) a failed business woman, Harry Townsend a very funny stud, Mikaela Hight a philosopher, Anna-Kate Goodall a psychoanalyst, Rachel Templeton the scary matron and Emma Perks-Hoult with a brief appearance as God.

They all find themselves thrown together in a surreal world with no recollection of who they are or how they got there, and their broken comments and questions allow them to build and share their own back stories. To do this required the cast to understand the playwright's thesis and dig into their characters, and to express their anguish with conviction.

Ticking the rest of the boxes: Diction was uniformly clear (unusual for some youth theatre), pacing excellent, humour well expressed and timed, and lighting and sound great. On opening night I did not detect one missed word or memory pause. And the slick and energetic choreography of the fight scene was impressive.

And my favourite bit? The rap song featuring Harry and the improvised sound effects.

"Amnesia" will play at Imagine Theatre, Woodland Avenue, on Friday, Saturday at Sunday at 7pm.

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