“Everyone reaches a point in their life where they must either change or cease.” Brett Whitely
Set in a kind of purgatory, Pigot plays the tormented Whitely, in the moment leading up to his tragic death at just 53 years of age. The piece is a collaboration between director Julian Meyrick and writer Barry Dickens. “Barry calls it an hallucination. It’s a compression of Whitely’s life, his process, his thoughts and feelings. The world of Brett Whitely, the moment before he died – but it goes for an hour”, said Pigot. “In a literary sense, Barry has created in words, what Whitely’s paintings and his process were”, he said.
In essence, Pigot is not merely portraying the man himself, but his imagination, his addiction, his love. “It’s the whole gamut of things”, he says.
While the play is about a famous painter, Pigot says that there is no physical reference to Whitely’s art work in the show
“I think if you want to have a look at a Brett Whitley painting then the best thing to do is go to a gallery. But this is about a human being and what it was to be Brett Whitely, not what it is to look at his pictures”, he said. With such such strong responses to the piece, it begs the question ‘will it have life after the Melbourne Festival?’. Melbourne-based Pigot is quietly hopeful that the show will live to see another day. “You always hope for these things, but it’s a new piece and it’s really difficult to know. You know, you do a production of Hamlet and you already have a starting point, because there have been thousands of Hamlets, but with something that’s brand new… well you just don’t know”, he laughed.
Whilst it’s been an exhausting process for all involved, Pigot insists that the rewards outweigh the stress of mounting a new produciton.
Pigot is no stranger to the stage, although his introduction into the theatrical world is an interesting one. From a flying instructor at a flying school in regional NSW to a general hand for a small touring company in Goulburn, his ‘big break’ came when a production of The Importance of Being Earnest needed a second-butler-from-the-left.
“They put me in a monkey suit, and that was the beginning of that!” he chuckled. “I always wanted to do something creative, but I came from a lower middle class family who wanted me to be a professional. And then they didn’t talk to me for two years because I told them I wanted to become and actor!” And an actor he certainly is: most recognised as Inspector Falcon-Price from TV’s Blue Heelers, Pigot’s career has been nothing short of incredible. Theatre, television, film and documentary projects are all notches on his belt, and he shows no signs of slowing down! “I’ve been doing documentaries for the history channels for the last couple of years, writing and presenting them. I haven’t done much TV for the last few years, and I’m just starting to dig my toes back into that”. Pigot will be performing in Whitely’s Incredible Blue until October 22, 2011 at fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. Book tickets www.melbournefestival.com.au
General Admission Full $45.00General Admission Group (10+) $40.00General Admission Concession (excl Seniors) $37.50
Producer and presenter: fortyfivedownstairsAssociate director and designer: Meredith RogersLighting designer: Kerry SaxbySound designer: Chris WennStage Manager: Claire ShepherdFeaturing: Neil PigotMusicians: Robert Calvert, Robert George and Pietro Fine
Photos by: Jeff Busby
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