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Dinner
Dinner by Moira Buffini, directed by Julian Meyrick, designed by Ralph
Myers, lighting by Paul Jackson. With Pamela Rabe, Neil Pigot, Alison Whyte,
Brian Lipson, Stephen Curry, Robert Jordan and Ming-Zhu Hii. Melbourne
Theatre Company at the Fairfax Studio, Victorian Arts Centre, until October
2.
Dinner left me at odds with myself. On the one hand, I was neither bored nor
pained, and, in a general way, enjoyed myself. On the other, it scarce
ruffled the surface of thought; if I hadn't had to write this, I should have
almost totally forgotten about it by now. Back to the first hand, why
should I object to something so totally harmless? And on the other, how can
I not object to theatre so totally harmless?
And again - watching Pamela Rabe being febrile, feline, sexy, desolate,
acidly witty and despairing all at once is a treat. Rabe is an Actress with
a capital "A", and in a long black evening frock with diamantes she
generates the sort of presence that makes strong persons swallow hard and
lesser mortals involuntarily bow. The play is a perfect star vehicle, and
Rabe adorns it with a predatory glitter among a high quality cast who, if
they seldom challenge Rabe's centrality, each shine in their own way. I
couldn't help wishing all this talent was lavished on a more worthy object,
but I seemed alone in my reservations (I often am). The full-house audience
loved it.
You see my difficulty: it's not as if I don't enjoy fluff, or even pap,
especially if it's presented with style. It's just that I would prefer it
to have a little substance .
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All the best
A
Alison Croggon
Editor, Masthead: http://www.masthead.net.au
Home page: http://www.alisoncroggon.com
Blogs: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com http://alisoncroggon.blogspot.com
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