The grey area between opera and musical theatre is often a hybrid act of creative expression.
More than ever, composers look to break down the walls of stylistic categorisation to create something new. 'Banquet Of Secrets', an affectionately apposite creation by composer Paul Grabowsky and librettist Steve Vizard, explores this amalgamated aspect of theatre with sincerity and simplicity.
The story is timeless. For two decades, four university friends have met once a year at their favourite restaurant. They each agree to share their deepest, darkest secrets – secrets they have hidden from each other, and the world. Long-time collaborators Grabowsky and Vizard take viewers into the lives of Mia (Antoinette Halloran), Rose (Dimitry Shepherd), Drew (David Rogers-Smith) and Jean Pierre (Kanen Breen), who are as irrevocably entangled as the starry-eyes teens they were two decades earlier.
As each waiter brings out a decadent course of swanky, surely over-priced food, the confessions arise. A tasty morsel of secrets proves more than enough of a reason to sing, as voices soar with unspoken words, and memories of drunkenly glossed-over moments from the past. It's worth noting this performance is part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, as the food seems to loosen lips and untangle tongues in this veritable friendship feast.
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Playhouse veteran Antoinette Halloran talks more about the show:
Your character, Mia, is initially introduced as scheduled socialite who didn’t graduate from law school. What can you tell us about that? Do you think Mia is representative of the pressures of the educational system? Or is she simply hard to tie down?
Well – I actually enrolled in law… and didn’t graduate. I think law has an enormous attrition rate. It seems to promise one thing and deliver another. I saw myself as a social justice-seeking-barrister making fabulous speeches and being applauded for my sound moral character and judgement. I quickly realised if I wanted this kind of accolade I needed to run away to the theatre and become a thespian. No barristers get to freely exercise social conscience…. and no one ever applauds! What was I thinking? So I don’t judge Mia for not finishing her degree – as I have been there!
How do you feel about playing an impossibly white, bourgeois character? Do you think it legitimately reflects aspects of society?
I think there are impossibly white, bourgeois characters in life – so why not portray them in the theatre. In some ways it is more PC than trying to portray Butterfly [in 'Madama Butterfly'] (which I have done a lot). At least I am closer to impossibly white than a geisha! But seriously, the theatre should be a place that is colour blind. I believe a performer should portray character – regardless of skin colour / creed or even age. It is a place of make believe. We shouldn’t be too literal on the stage – leave that for the Channel 10 TV mini-series.
© Jeff Busby
Do you think any of your previous roles adequately prepared you for such an open and liberal performance?
Well – there was 'Matricide: The Musical', that saw me lying naked on the stage being iced like a cake by my mother, before I murdered her. So this piece was tame in comparison.
How did you get involved in the project?
Luckily I was in the mind of Victorian Opera’s Artistic Director Richard Mills who cast this piece. I had recently performed Mrs Lovett from 'Sweeney Todd', for the company and I think he thought I had the scope to perform such a dramatic piece.
How the simple set design does ads to the performance?
I am a huge fan of simple sets. It allows the work to speak/ sing by itself. A set that is busy can detract from the script and score. This simple set allows the work to be in bold relief. The emotions, and the music thrive on an emotional landscape, so the set is more suggestive rather than literal.
© Jeff Busby
Some of the most poignant scenes belong to Mia. How hard was it to deliver such vernacular confessions?
I can often be seriously moved by a piece when I am learning it. For example I was a puddle on the floor as I was trying to learn Mimi in 'La Boheme'. And seriously upset each time I revisited 'Madama Butterfly'. However I have rarely been moved to such an extent by a modern work.
As I was learning this work I was as moved as Mimi or Butterfly. There is something about the marriage of the text and the music in this piece that is quite special. And really extraordinary for a 21st Century piece. I cried a river while working on it in the privacy of my lounge room. I thought that this was a really good omen for the work… and it turned out to be so.
By the time opening night came around my job was to move the audience – not myself. So to an extent you step out of your own pain and watch the performance from a distance. There would be no point blubbing on the stage – as then the beauty of the moment may be lost – and the most important thing at this point is that the audience is moved – not oneself.
If you could take one thing out of the show, what would it be?
This is for me to tell the writer and composer – and for them to tell me to shut the f… up.
© Jeff Busby
What can you tell us about the personal idiosyncrasies of each character? How is it that such different characters can work so well together?
They work well together as they are so different.
Mia – tightly wound/ up herself but with a self-effacing humour that makes it OK to be so.
Rose – coulda woulda shoulda, romantic, closet lesbian.
Drew – on the outside looking in, 3rd wheel, big dreams unrealised, settled for mediocre.
JP – Bon Vivant, loveable, even and perhaps the sanest. Keeper of secrets.
You work with a fantastic cast. Did you learn anything during the production of the show? Was there anyone in particular who taught you something new?
The cast and the whole team was amazing. We fed off of each other. Every night when it was curtain up I just felt that no matter what I could draw inspiration from them and that I could relax in their amazing presence and theatrical prowess. My history with these performers is long and it was a genius casting. I honestly couldn’t think of three other performers that I would have felt more at home with for this piece. We ALL had our moments in rehearsal where we were ALL pigs at different times – but that makes us human. It was a confronting piece and we all dug deep – digging so deep you are certain to hit a few gnarly snags. In general it was a joyous theatrical experience.
Do you think it gets harder for friends to remain close after the years go by? What made these particular friends different?
Well – they didn’t meet that often – once a year. It does take commitment to maintain long-term friendships when life is so busy. And sometimes we want to reconfigure ourselves in the world and old friend’s perceptions can get in the way. I think JP insists on reinventing the friendships in this piece. By making the players tell their secrets it allows the friendships to be reinvigorated and refreshed, and therefore go forward in a more honest way.
© Jeff Busby
One of the most interesting props on stage is the giant overhanging ornate mirror. How does that add to the viewing experience?
Well – you will have to tell me as we haven’t seen it. We are all on stage the whole time so the odd thing is – we haven’t seen this show at all. There is no time to sneak into the stalls and have a peek!
Do you think the show is reflective of real life? Would old-friends really get together and reveal their personal secrets? Or does the cathartic element of the act add to the probability of the event?
I don’t know about you, but I recently did a long car trip with friends and to kill the time we all divulged secrets that we didn’t know about each other. It was mid-last year and before I had even heard of this show so it is strangely spooky. It was my idea. And it was wonderful. I think when you truly love someone, nothing can change that. Secrets, no matter how un-PC don’t change fundamentally how you love them. So yes – people do this.
© Jeff Busby
Do you have a similar relationship with any of your friends?
The only time I feel like one of my friendships is in peril is when I feel someone isn’t being honest with me. I am a warts and all kind of girl and my friends get the whole me. I demand that from my relationships too. So yes – my close friends know they can tell me secrets if they choose to and know they are in safe place with that. I think I could handle this 'Banquet Of Secrets' dinner – in fact, I have been to many similar!
'Banquet Of Secrets' performs Brisbane Powerhouse 7-9 April.
