This was the first time that I have made it out to the Shopfront Theatre in Carlton. It is a highly regarded training ground for young performers.
Before going in to the theatre I had a quick look at the program. I scanned Lucy Heffernan’s director’s note. It gave me a great background to what I was about to experience.
‘On the first day of rehearsal, one of my cast members asked me, ‘what musical are we doing?’ I replied. “We are going to write our own….There is nothing cooler than writing and performing your own music.
The four teenagers took up the challenge and the result is a lively, fun show about what teenage life is like in 2022. The advantage of creating a new work is the freshness and vitality that often comes with it. They came up with eight original rock songs that had kick and bite to them, helped by their strong voices. A treat was that each of the four actors doubled up, showcasing their range.
Jack Degen was great in two contrasting roles. He was Joe a boy who loves gaming, hates school, which he finds so boring, with a passion, and is aggravated by his well meaning but controlling and rather goofy parents.
In one of the best and most comic, fun scenes in the play, Joe is having dinner with his parents and he gets increasingly irritated by his parents, and feels like that his head is like a volcano about to erupt.
Degen also played the principal, an awkward, painful character. He is obsessed with rules and order, in short the principal from hell. There was a clever break up of the word princi-pal, with the principal hardly being a pal…
Thomas Scekic was excellent as the ’emo’ kid, a Michael Hutchence type character, complete with constantly pulling back his hair. This was a very tongue in cheek performance. Scekic also plays Joe’s father.
Astra Milne gave such a fine performance as the happy go lucky artistic girl, Chloe. Astra also plays Joe’s mother.
Miah Tito-Barratt played two roles very well. She was the basket-case goth girl Maddy and a very different character, the ‘off the air’ school counsellor, Mrs G who is more interested in hearing the sound of whales than the problems of students.
Director Lucy Heffernan’s guiding, steadying influence could be felt in every aspect of the production. Heffernan had a good creative team working with her including choreographer Lana Filies and lighting designer Peter Fitzpatrick. As well Adam Lee’s very impressive video design played an important part in the production.
Clearly, the whole team had fun putting the show together and it has paid off by coming up with an entertaining and thoughtful show.
TEEN ANGST played the Shopfront Theatre, Carlton Road, Carlton between the 7th and 10th July, 2022.
The next production at the Shopfront Theatre, 88 Carlton Parade, Carlton is Negotiation Tactics For The Weak Willed by Kevin Tranl which will play between August 11 and August 14 2022. Bookings are now open : www.shopfront.com.au
The season of TEEN ANGST is playing the Shopfront Theatre, 898 Carlton Parade, Carlton between the 11th and 14th July, 2022
Production photography by Clare Hawley