Macbeth for Wayward Girls

 Presented by Frontrow Theatre, Macbeth for Wayward Girls is succinctly summised by the writer’s notes as a “comedy about the best and worst of people, religion and theatre.”

 Presented by: Frontrow TheatreVenue: Hamilton Town Hall (Brisbane) Friday, August 12, 2011
Presented by Frontrow Theatre, Macbeth for Wayward Girls is succinctly summised by the writer’s notes as a “comedy about the best and worst of people, religion and theatre.”  A new work, written by Leah Pellinkohof, Julie Bray, and Sam Lan, the play is based around a group of wayward girls who are sentenced to do community service in a youth group rather than go to jail. As part of the youth group they are forced to confront their fears, themselves, and each other while they rehearse their version of Macbeth for a drama festival.  The wayward girls are a misfit bunch of girls with their own tragic background story. It was a joy to watch each actor bring their characters to life, especially in their monologue sections were they had the opportunity to display another side of themselves. It was a very well cast show all round with Natasha Fox as the attention starved Priss, Amelia Batch as the graffiti vandal, and Alicia Miller who jumped into the role of Fee, the streetwise chick with anger issues at the last minute. Carita Gronroos did a fantastic job as Beth, the awkward, verbally inappropriate but well meaning youth leader. I especially liked the underplayed characterisation of Luna Jace as the dark and twisty Wednesday, and Charlie Whalley as the pregnant vagrant Belle.  However, it was Sam Lan as the token self-righteous, attention seeking, religious youth who stole the show. I have not laughed that hard for a very long time. Her energy was constantly on 110% and her comic timing was impeccable. The highlight of the show was her two death scenes – I literally could not stop laughing and worth the ticket price alone. We will certainly be seeing more of this talented young lady who also co-wrote the play. The only piece of criticism about the piece was that the ‘evil choir’ was a little over the top in their evilness. It’s hard to portray a well-developed character when there’s not a lot of dialogue to play with, but they could have perhaps been a little more subtle. Also the play did feel a little long in places and some deft cutting of the songs perhaps would have serviced the play well (and maybe one less ‘penis’ joke would have stopped the in-joke from being overplayed).  The other thing I should mention is the infusion of Shakespeare’s Macbeth into the piece. Used more as the background on which to hang the story, the ‘performance’ came to the fore in the second act. This rendition although intentionally chaotic and hilarious (especially their choice of weapons), was at times so frantic that only scholars of the work would have been able to follow what was going on. Overall, director Rena Clark did a great job in bringing the large cast together and shaping all the elements into a funny and poignant commentary on the place of religion and the “helping hand” that is given to people less fortunate, and largely misunderstood. Oh, and hilarious – did I mention it was hilarious?!  Season: 6 – 27 August 2011  Bookings: Phone 136 246 or visit  www.frontrow.org.au