From the title, I assumed the latest RMIT Red Acts production would be a modern Melburnian story, a stock comedy of ludicrous proportions. Reader, I am stunned and delighted to report that my expectations were subverted most heartily. As an aficionado of Commedia dell’arte, I could not be more chuffed with the work of RedActs in this show. The show takes on the traditional Italian theatre style with ease, incorporating the stock scenes, stereotype characters, physical comedy, and the use of masks with ease. Director-writer Tim Augier’s love and affection for the genre truly elevates the play from a simple homage to a passionately uproarious love letter from a stage play.

The art of the pantomime is captured most splendidly. From the beginning, we are encouraged to participate. Augier opens the show by saying so: To laugh, to cry, to cheer, to boo, to act as our heart's desire (as long as it follows suit with modern theatre etiquette, so phones off), the show is ours. The show is also filled to the brim with fourth-wall breaks, allusions, and intertextual references that would make an English teacher eat their hat. In particular, when Augier runs offstage to write more after realising he forgot to write the ending was genuinely hilarious. Getting the “producer” Lily Lau to do a stand-up comedy show while he writes the ending perfectly replicates the Commedia tradition of the ‘Intermezzo’, wherein an actor shows off their personal talents while scenes and storylines change.

Speaking of storylines, the play follows the love-at-first-sight story of servant Arlechino (also played by Augier, giving true-to-form Molière realness here folks) and the beautiful Colombina (played by Eden Muster), daughter of the avaricious merchant Pantalone (Joshua Petrenko). Arlechino encounters several trials, the tribulations of his affections encompassing numerous forms of comedy. Whether it be the classic Aussie banter between characters such as Arlechino and the servant Metz (played by Charlotte Fels), slapstick violence, sexual innuendo, or the shamelessly self-aware breaks of the fourth wall that reach so far out to the audience I doubted there was even a wall at all, the superb cast dynamism paired with the direction of Augier, Juliana Nield and Sarah Steve came out to that can only described by its abundance of fun.

Throughout, Augier’s writing weaves traditional stock plots with Australian deadpan. There’s the scheming to use a recently embezzled retirement fund between Arlechino and Metz, the comrade and platonic friend of Arlechino who is ironically closer to the actual Colombina regarding stock characterisation. There’s the relentless misfortune of Pierrot the servant (played by Kai Khovitolkji), mocked and wounded throughout for the actions of others.  There’s the bravado of El Capitano (played by Elena Stuckey) whose aggrandising and tomfoolery really comes to a satisfyingly pathetic end that is a delight to watch. While I personally didn’t enjoy the choice to use exaggerated Italian accents, I concede that it fits the tone of the piece and that the choice of Metz having an Aussie accent brought a much-needed sense of contrast in that regard. The juxtaposition of 16th-century sexual innuendo and comedic slapstick violence also suited the piece perfectly. “Sacks!” “My oranges!”, are not unlikely to have been heard amidst the street performances of 16th-century Italy. The “Wherefore art thou ask me this question” was also much appreciated by me as Farrago’s resident Shakespeare nerd. 

Onto the technical and production elements! Holy smokes, this show blew this out of the risk-assessment-approved water. The Foley effect and live improvised piano were brilliant. All my applause there goes to the Vrancic siblings Max and Marijan. The sword-penis jokes only worked because of the massive seven-foot (I’m estimating) sword that the Capitano drew out at the end, and my goodness is that the best visual double entendre I’ve ever seen. The lighting choices were sublime, as were the sound designs, working in tandem to highlight the stage and fill in space between the often eccentric transitions between the scenes. Considering design, I want to highlight the Arya Stark-style death list parchment, the puppets in Act II, and the period-inspired costumes.

Massive salute to the entire production team:

Set Designer Juliana Nield;
            Production Manager and real-life producer Caitlyn You;
            Stage Manager Cherish Brimelow;
            Head of Props Ben Virgin;

Head of Costume Hannah Johnson;

Lighting Operator and assistant stage manager Ella & Lucy;

Production assistant Ava Morison;

Equity officer Linh Dao;

Sound designer Colin Han;

Props Assistant/Puppet lad Marshall Stott;

Assistant set designer and painter Aisha Tabit & Morrighan Tan;

Intimacy and fight coordinator Josie Buden;

Costume assistant Jess Roberts;

Hair and make-up Dante;

Prop assistant Mai Skinner

Publicity Officer Nikitha Ravikiran. 

Fundamentally, I think this show would make any theatre aficionado cry with glee. I hope our lovely neighbours down at RMIT continue making shows such as these. I have a clue of what they’ll be up to next.