(Christine Rule)
One of Australia’s finest scriptwriters, Geoffrey Atheden’s long running sitcom MOTHER AND SON with two of our biggest talents, the late Ruth Cracknell and Gary McDonald, graced our tv screens for a wonderful ten year period between 1984 and 1994. My God, was it really that long ago. Time really does race!
In 2014, for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Atherden adapted the sitcom for the stage, in a production that was well received.
Over twenty years on, it was great to see Atherden’s characters in the stage setting via this Hunters Hill Theatre (HHT) production.
The audience, comprising of HHT subscribers and doubtless some Club Ryde patrons who enjoy coming up the stairs to experience live theatre, took to the show which dealt with such difficult subjects as sibling rivalry, dementia and family caregiving with poignancy and a rich pool of humour.
The cast gave focused performances and drew out their characters well.
Christine Rule is outstanding as Maggie. She is perky, clingy, manipulative, at times dotty, at other times, lucid. And always watchable.
A favourite scene, played for comedy, was the scene where Maggie ‘takes on’ on the Vital Call like set up that Robert installs in the home. Maggie does not see the device as a medical emergency device rather she regularly contacts the friendly, reassuring male voice behind the service for a chat because she is feeling lonely.
Brenton Amies’ younger son Arthur is such a good natured, kind and patient soul. One kind of feels sorry for him but at the same time is so in admiration of his resilience.
Tida Dhanommitrapap is delightful as his love interest, the effusive, warm Anita, who is a carer for her disabled brother. She wore bright, multi-coloured overalls, very befitting of her character.
Nicholas Richard’s Robert is a whole other story. He takes great advantage of being his mother’s success story, (after all, he is a professional, a dentist), to spend very little time with her. He is a scoundrel, actually. A married man. he carries on a long time affair with his dental assistant.
Harsha D’Souza gave an appealing, warm performance as Robert’s long suffering wife, Liz, who has two very lively children, son Jarrod and daughter, Bronte to nurture.
We meet the two cheeky kids, well played by Wes Egan and Niamh Farrell, through internet chat sessions, with a large screen monitor placed just off stage left.
Rounding out the cast are two veteran performers, Ross Alexander as Arthur’s good friend Steve and Joan Rodd as his wife Monica, who try to help Arthur in managing his mum’s care.
Jasper Kyle directs the action with flair. Wayne Chee’s set anchors the action well with an impressively detailed period set of the family living room. A back window is neatly placed in the middle so we can see characters coming and going.
A light play on a heavy subject, HHT’s impressive revival oGeoffrey Atherden’s MOTHER AND SON is playing the very pleasant upstairs theatre in Club Ryde until the 8th December. The venue has its own restrooms and a kiosk for refreshments including tea and coffee during the interval.
Featured photo – The cast and crew of MOTHER AND SON. All production photography by Kris Egan.
http://www.huntershilltheatre.com.au
