Director - Freya Bennett
Assistant Director - Sally Scurrell
Musical Director - Claire Hollocks
Spring Awakening, an edgy rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and written by Steven Sater. In this one off performance by the Performing Arts Students of TCC, the audience were treated to a dynamic coming of age story.
Set in the late 19th Century in Germany, it follows a group of teenager students who are discovering their sexual desires in a society where they are taught to suppress and ignore them. Resisting the views of his elders, Melchior - a headstrong and intelligent young man - acts as the catalyst for the awakening of his peers, he reads books and is able to take a new perspective on life, and is able to share them with his class mates. Throughout the performance we see the students’ struggles as they try and discover the world that they aren't taught about. The musical highlights issues such as rape, abuse, abortion and suicide but was handled with great sensitivity and was very well portrayed by the whole cast.
The set was minimalist but effective. An outstanding backdrop of a blackboard created visual interest from the outset, consisting of anatomical drawings, equations and teenage doodles. In the centre of the stage a raised platform with the silhouette of a bare tree. The set remained constant throughout the performance, the use of chairs being the only thing to differentiate location, the rest was up to the actors to inspire the audience’s imagination. This nod to Brechtian theatre, was very effective as we were transported from the classroom, to the woods, to the homes of the children. Something that I was very fond of was that the band was on stage and visible to the audience. Furthermore, audience members were invited to sit on the stage, and watch the performance on seats along the wings. This was extremely effective as you don't get to experience theatre up close very often. This intimate setting was a great match for the show’s intimate themes, it really felt like you were a fly on the wall watching the characters lives. My only criticism was that the stage and set where very loud when the actors moved around, in particular the steps, although it did not ruin the performance, a softer footing would have been preferred so not to distract from the intimate performance.
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| Max Cunnell as Moritz |
The part of Melchior was played by Joe Leat, his performance was extremely strong. Capturing the charismatic personality of the character perfectly. What is more impressive is that he and Molly Scurrell (playing the part of Wendla) learnt their part in less than a week and still managed a remarkable standard of acting. A notable duet was ‘The Word of Your Body’ where romantic and sexual feelings blossom between Wendla and Melchior are first seen. This was a beautiful song and sung with so much emotion it left the audience struck. A very risqué scene follows later in the show between the two. Handled with professionalism, the pair created a very intimate moment of sexual awakening, leaving the audience questioning if it was sex or rape. However you interpret it, it was extremely powerful and I am glad it wasn’t cut from the show. It stands as a statement to what art and performance should be. An imitation of real life. Raising questions and debate on our society and cultures. Moritz, a nervous and rather intense character, was taken on by Max Cunnell. His comedic acting was humorous and entertaining and his ability to switch to turn confused comedy into an intense obsession over sexual feelings was spot on. His vocals, although not terribly strong (due to illness) were externally sensitive and filled with character. During ‘I Don't Do Sadness’ he used the cracks in his voice to show the breakdown of Moritz, building up an image of a broken boy. His acting was very strong and his development of his character was interesting to watch. However I was left slightly baffled by the flittering between an American and English accent.
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| Phoebe Bryant as Martha |
The smaller roles of the girls and boys where energetic and brought a new dimension to the performance. The show often switches from realism to an almost pop/rock concert during the songs, showing the character’s inner most thoughts as if they were performing in the mirror in their bedrooms. Seeming in their element, Faye Smith, Molly Bishop and Emily Spampanato, danced and jumped around the stage and certainly were not afraid of engaging with the audience. A standout performance for me goes to Phoebe Bryant. Playing Martha, a girl being abused by her parents, Phoebe grabbed the audience’s attentions and heartstrings during the song ‘The Dark I Know Well’. Grabbing the microphone and giving it all she had, Phoebe truly attacked the performance, showing the turmoil of Martha with every movement and facial expression. She created a raw, dynamic edge to the character and made every word believable. Outstanding. The roles of the Adults in the show are traditionally played by only two actors, one male and one female. Sticking to this form, Andrew Ponton and Sally Scurrell used multirole to portray the older generation was very good. A strong moment for Sally Scurrell was during a scene between Wendla and her mother, when she takes her to a ‘back street’ abortion clinic. This scene was both moving and infuriating at the the same time, making me as an audience member despise the character of the mother for doing such a thing to her daughter. Andrew Ponton gave a stern performance as the teachers of the boys school, however one cannot forget a truly hilarious fall. But as a true thespian he didn't break character and carried on. A hats of to him indeed.
The band were sensational as always, having seen Claire Hollocks’ work before as a musical director for TCC in such productions as ‘Beauty and The Beast’. Yet again, her and her band did not fail to deliver a remarkable backing to such powerful songs. From Guitar, to percussion, to strings, the whole band worked together to a professional standard.
Overall this performance of Spring Awakening was handled with extreme professionalism and empathy to the original script. The whole company created a thought provoking evening of acting and song that was far beyond a standard you’d expect from an amateur company. As a directing debut for Freya Bennet, she should be very proud of the final result.
