[2014059] WAKE
Cryptophasia Theatre Company @ Arcade Lane – Regent One
9:30pm, Tue 25 Feb 2014
Being a pessimistic male with very old parents and a brittle emotional support structure, the concept of “grief” terrifies me; try as I might, I can’t imagine how I’m going to react when something really emotionally tragic happens in my life. But hey – I can at least explore the concept through my art consumption, right? And with a précis that promised a “contemporary musical about loss, grief, and hope”, it seemed like WAKE was something I should see.
So – into Regent One we go. Despite it being Cheap Tuesday, the crowd of around fifteen is pretty thin… especially given the four musicians already at the back of the stage – drums, guitar, violin, and (yes!) cello. The set – a collection of chairs arranged in rows, some small tables, a smattering of ragged magazines for mindless thumbing – cleanly evoked memories of waiting rooms; I could’ve sworn I was looking at the haematology day centre at the RAH.
The house lights drop, and we meet Laura: she’s trapped in this waiting room (both physically and mentally), though why she’s there is (initially) shrouded in mystery. Her encounters with doctors (both insensitively cold and compassionately warm), as well as other people in various states of grief, permit an exploration of the intertwining nature of love and loss, grief and hope.
And this vocal exploration is performed in song. And it really works.
Though some of the interstitial dialogue feels a little clunky (serving only to move the plot sufficiently to the next song), the songs themselves are really good: lyrics are thoughtful, rarely veering into cheesy musical tropes, and manage to emotionally engage. Whilst the cast of four do a great job, especially with their harmonies, extra special mention must be made of Brittany Lewis; as the pivotal Laura, her singing voice was nothing less than stunning… and her ability to get the audience (OK, OK – me) to start (hopefully) silently weeping through song alone was impressive.
Lewis’ performance easily allowed me to gloss over some of the clunkier bits of dialogue and sketchier characters (the hypochondriac and drug addict spring to mind) and still remember WAKE fondly… but the show has one other feather in its cap: the band, and the acoustics in Regent One.
Because, from beginning to end, WAKE sounded amazing.
Sure, I could have been aurally blinded by the presence of the cello… but the way the music filled the old cinema was really, truly wonderful. It was almost as if the sound became tangible in the ether, thickening the air around me and wrapping me up in a big cuddle, comforting in a time of need. Musically, the structure of the songs matched the strength of the lyrics; they were just perfect for a piece of musical theatre.
Despite its minor flaws (which were entirely contained within the theatrical components of the show), I loved WAKE. It was an emotional and compassionate look at grief that satisfied on many levels, and demonstrated that musical theatre can come from anywhere.
(59) WAKE: Stunning acoustics underpin original songs of loss. Touching and engaging. #ff2014 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) February 25, 2014