Katydid is a very, very good piece of theatre. I laughed and smiled and then got all teary-eyed (didn’t actually cry, but I don’t cry without extreme provocation. Or onions.). From the moment I entered the theatre to the simply fantastic audio work of Tane Upjohn-Beatson, to the unsettling lights (designed by Rachel Marlow) illuminating the gorgeous space (designed by Robin Kerr) I was ready for a night of quality and I wasn’t disappointed.
Lucy O’Brien has crafted a work here that is well on the way to being brilliant. I did leave with a few questions – not counting those I’m assuming I was supposed to have. In all honesty, my biggest gripe was in wanting the play to be longer. O’Brien has created characters of such intrigue, brought to life so well by the stellar cast, that I simply wanted to spend more time with them. There were such wonderful opportunities to really delve into the world in which the four existed that I felt were touched on, but never truly explored as much as I might have liked.
Charlotte Bradley’s direction is assured and her pacing was spot on for my taste (the only time I felt lags were in a couple of the transitions). The performances she has elicited from her cast are a joy to behold. Rachel More, Robert Tripe and Ralph McCubbin Howell all shine in their roles, toying with our emotions and confusing our loyalties throughout. Sophie Hambleton’s Katy is the role on which this play hinges – it is lucky then that Hambleton delivers a performance that made the back of my mind run through a list of superlatives throughout the show. I didn’t settle on one in the end – just make up a list of your own and you should be about right.
With such strong performances throughout the cast, and such great design across the board, Katydid is a show you shouldn’t miss. Seriously. You will leave with questions and things to ponder that will (if you’re anything like me) sit with you for days afterward.
Did Katydid do good?
Katydid did do good.
Very good.
—
Katydid
wri. Lucy O’Brien
dir. Charlotte Bradley
perf. Sophie Hambleton, Ralphen McCubbin-Howell, Robert Tripe and Rachel More
At BATS theatre, 7.30pm, 18 – 28 August 2010
book@bats.co.nz / (04) 802 4175