Kate Paris, Cherol Filbee and Louisa Bouzaid in Hawera Repertory's production of Joyful and Triumphant.
Kate Paris, Cherol Filbee and Louisa Bouzaid in Hawera Repertory's production of Joyful and Triumphant.
REVIEW
Hāwera Repertory present Joyful and Triumphant by Robert Lord, directed by Clive Cullen.
Christmas. It is, as one of the characters states in the play, “supposed to be a family thing… Everyone’s miserable”.
Robert Lord’s play, which was commissioned and first performed in the early 1990s, takes the audience on a trip through five different decades, showing casing the life and times of a Pākehā middle class family - the Bishops in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Starting in 1949 and ending in 1989, every scene takes place on Christmas Day, and is focused around the ritual and expectation of the all important Christmas dinner. From preparations in the early morning, through to the final table clear at the end of the day, moments in the Bishops’ family life are captured through this one tradition.
With all scenes set on the same day, albeit in different years or even decades, the set designer team have created a brilliant stage design with the family dinner table as a centre-point, along with a sideboard and a Christmas tree. It’s well thought out and deceptively simple to look at. As the story line progresses, parts of the set come into play, a photo is added, streamers come out and go away, all adding to the narrative effectively.
One thing that was never going to be simple in this play, was the challenge the time line sets for the actors. Characters have to age over the scenes, going from 27 to 67 in the case of Carole Hosie’s character, Rose, which is no easy feat for any actor, no matter how talented the wardrobe, hair and makeup team is.
Not only do the backstage crew rise to this challenge admirably, but so does each actor. Under Clive Cullen’s direction, they all manage to age convincingly in front of the audience, using mannerisms, facial expressions, tone and volume of voice to achieve their changing stage ages throughout.
As Rose, Hosie is great fun to watch. From a mousy 27-year-old still mourning the loss of her sweetheart in the war through to an older, wiser but also perhaps more bitter version in her later scenes, she keeps the audience’s sympathy with her throughout.
Ron Scott, Cherol Filbee and Carole Hosie on stage in Hawera Repertory's production of Joyful and Triumphant.
As her brother Ted, Ron Scott, gets plenty of deserved laughs from the audience, especially in later scenes where his unexpected (by his parents at least) success comes with an expanding bank balance matched by a expanding belly. Scott brings a great energy to the stage, especially in his scenes with Kate Paris who plays Ted’s wife Brenda.
Paris gives an elegantly nuanced performance as Brenda, letting the character swing between moods with real emotion. She knows how to understate as opposed to overstate, and with just a few simple expressions, a bit of hand-wringing and careful posture choices, she lets her actions speak as loudly as her scripted words.
John Bouzaid is brilliantly cast as Dad, the family patriarch. He fully embraces the role, bringing energy and great stage presence throughout. Through his portrayal of Dad, we are able to fully step back into time and see the underlying issues and prejudices at play in middle class New Zealand over the years. He doesn’t allow the character to become someone to mock, drawing out a softer side in Dad than the script alone might have allowed.
As the true blue, National supporting, not to mention nosy and condescending, neighbour Alice, Cherol Filbee is hilarious. From the moment she strides onto the stage / into the Bishop home, and starts “improving” the table set-up, she adds a whole new level to the play.
Granddaughter Raewyn, played by Louisa Bouzaid, is only in some of the later scenes, but she certainly makes them count. While her character is rebellious and angry, the skilled actress works hard to ensure Raewyn isn’t reduced to just that on stage.
As Mum, Kathryn van Gameren faces some of the toughest acting challenges in later scenes. Describing exactly how she rises to those challenges risks spoiling the plot, but be prepared to see some brilliant stagecraft at work, with van Gameren absolutely shining in those scenes.
As well as covering four very different decades, the play covers some big topics such as sexism and racism but does so in a gentle yet funny way. With talented actors all holding their own on stage, the overall feeling is truly of joy and triumph as the final curtain falls.
The details:
What: Hāwera Repertory present Joyful and Triumphant by Robert Lord, directed by Clive Cullen.
Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the lower North Island. She has worked for NZME since 2011.
