Two Shows:
Song For A Siren by
Santha Press
Tokyo DasSHOKU Girl by Yumi Umiumare
at Gasworks until February 13, 2000
Reviewer: Kate
Herbert
Sirens may be divinely beautiful and sing songs to melt the
hearts of men but let's face it. They are nasty baggages that lure men and
their boats onto the rocks to drown.
In Santha Press's musical theatre show, Song For The Siren,
Flo dreams of being a siren as she luxuriates in her 30's style iron bath. On
the outside, in the real world, she's just some chick with low self-esteem who
stammers idiotically when flirting with "petrol station man".
Unfortunately, fantasy does not meet reality. When the
romance with petrol boy develops, he is dull, dull, dull.
Original music is played by Lliam Freeman who is also a
co-writer of some songs. Some tunes, such as Song For The Siren, have a lyrical
quality while others are more bluesy. Press is best when singing in her upper
register.
The show integrates the two threads of story and adds some
striking visual images on a shadow screen. There is however, something
uncomfortable in Press's performance.
The more bizarre, colourful and compelling of the two shows
in this season, is Tokyo DasSHOKU Girl by Yumi Umiumare with Matt Crosby and
Ben Rogan.
Tokyo Shock Boys are a Japanese trio of loud annoying boys
who think it's hilarious to wrap yourself in a plastic bag on stage till you go
blue. The satire of Yumi's title is obvious.
"DasSHOKU" means
"bleached" but is also a pun on a Japanese word meaning approximately
"unemployment".
Yumi is a skilful Japanese Butoh dancer interested in
the collision of the grotesque and the suburban which creates the ridiculous.
Some of the vignettes are beautiful, stylised physical
theatre enhanced by industrial or pop music and Japanese theatre forms. Others
are absurd takes on fashion, cuteness in Japan, obsessive priest-like
characters, geisha, karaoke and sumo wrestlers.
There is even some kooky audience participation. It seems
Yumi did not recognise this theatre critic who was dragged on stage with a man
and a cockroach for company, only to be gargled on from on high.
This is pretty bent cabaret, but good entertainment.
by Kate Herbert
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