Playing at Darebin Arts Centre in Preston on May 22 and Bunjil Place in Narre Warren on May 29 and 30. Tickets and info at victorianopera.com.au.
Norman Lindsay’s venerable Aussie children’s book is reinvented and reinvigorated by the Victorian Opera in this enjoyable adaptation for the stage, with a lively score and a talented cast of performers bringing beloved literary characters such as Bunyip Bluegum and Bill Barnacle to life.
Breathing new life into the now 108-year-old book, this stage adaptation, first staged in 2013, is presented in four “slices”, with a plot that is extremely faithful to the source material and character designs that are completely in keeping with what was on the printed page.
The plot, for those who might be unfamiliar with the book, revolves around a koala named Bunyip Bluegum (Bailey Montgomerie), a carefree traveller roaming the Aussie bush who meets and quickly befriends sailor Bill Barnacle (Douglas Kelly) and his penguin pal Sam (Joshua Morton-Galea), who are also in the company of the titular talking, walking pudding named Albert (voiced and puppeted by Eamon Dooley).
Learning of the pudding’s remarkable ability to replenish himself after a bite is taken out of him, Bunyip and his new found pals must fend off a couple of villainous critters, Watkin Wombat (Mia Koutsoumidis) and Patrick the Possum (Phoebe Tait), who plot to steal Albert and thus never go hungry again.
It all culminates in a courthouse showdown with Albert on trial and facing the prospect of a life behind bars, and his ever-reliable mates must hatch an ingenious escape plan for the ill-tempered pud.
Composer Calvin Bowman has concocted a wonderful and lively score for Lindsay’s tale, aided by the work of librettist Anna Goldsworthy who, as mentioned earlier, pays great respect to Lindsay’s prose and adapts it quite faithfully. While The Victorian Chamber Orchestra, led by conductor Phoebe Briggs, provided outstanding accompaniment to the onstage antics, and delivered a stirring score from start to finish.
The sets are quite minimal and effective, but the costuming and makeup employed to turn the cast into anthropomorphic animals is excellent, with special mention to the work done on Montgomerie into a human-sized koala.
The vocals from the entire cast is astounding, with the standouts being Montgomerie and Kelly, ably supported by the rest of the cast, including a talented ensemble who observe the entire story from the side of the stage.
The highlight of the show is undoubtedly Albert the pudding. The puppet used in the show is like an illustration from the book come to life, and Albert’s performer Dooley brings a lot of personality and humour to the role and steals every moment he’s on stage.
The only downside is that Albert’s mouth never moves while talking or singing, which might be an idea that could be implemented for future stagings of the opera. It would have been great for Albert’s face to have a little bit more articulation to further enhance his character, but it’s a minor complaint as the puppet crafted for the show is still completely endearing.
While the show is ostensibly marketed towards a younger audience, I wonder if very young children will enjoy the operatic approach and whether a version that perhaps employed modern music would appeal more to them. The show has a brief 60 minute run time though which should please younger audiences though.
But that said, I think children from age 10 upwards would appreciate the more mature musical stylings and the show’s approach much more than those of a younger age.
The Magic Pudding: The Opera will no doubt be a show that has a long shelf life on the stage, just as Lindsay’s book has had on our shelves. With a wonderful cast and absorbing music all the way through, this is one delicious dish definitely worth digging into.
4/5 STARS
Image Supplied/Charlie Kinross
Footage from Victorian Opera’s 2018 production
TINSEL and TAP SHOES 