illawarrastage / September 10, 2016
Dylan Horvat – Illawarra Stage – 10th September 2016, 5:30pm
In 2014 and 2015, Bradley Ward has put an original devised work on at Phoenix Theatre. Writing/directing/starring in Hipster Apocalypse and Fracture. While I unfortunately missed Hipster Apocalypse, I did see Fracture which impressed me with it’s bizarre, meta, unusual, interactive and original style. The first half was a story with Ward and three other actors. The fourth wall was intentionally broken at one point and then constantly throughout the second half of the show. Clearly Ward’s shows have a spark of the experimental – and his 2016 show Beautiful Chaotic Nonsense was no different – and this time, he’s more meta than ever.
Basically, joining Ward are four other actors (Troy McMullan, Kirra McGoldrick, Stephen Wales and Kirstie Willoughby) as well as three musicians (Alex Groombridge, Kyle Risk and Adele Masters). Throughout the show, the actors tell the audience stories of their real life, sing a bunch of popular songs together, re-enact real moments that happened between them, portray other people, portray personifications of their feelings, and tell stories that are less funny. While I enjoyed the first half of the show, I was still left thinking about how I prefer shows with direct stories and characters – however, by the end of the second act, I was left marvelled by what this show achieved using this method of performance. After a solid act and a half of constant laughs and fun-packed musical moments, the show then took a dark turn in which there was barely a dry eye in the audience. It was one of the most emotionally powerful pieces of theatre I’ve seen – and while my tear ducts apparently won’t allow me to cry on the outside at a theatre show, I’ve come close many times before: Les Miserables, Two Weeks with the Queen, Next to Normal, Hair, but never as close as I have with the ending of Beautiful Chaotic Nonsense.
The show began with all actors on stage and Ward singing Time by David Bowie. Other songs sung throughout the show include Lola by The Kinks, Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance and Don’t Stop Me Now / You’re My Best Friend by Queen and many more. While the cast tell their stories of drugs and sex and family and music, the show goes on and the audience (including myself at points) clearly got the in-jokes that the actors were talking about. Toward the end, Wales and McGoldrick portray a relationship starting and then ending, with McGoldrick sinking into a deep depression and McMullan helping her recover. As if that wasn’t enough, Ward that closes the show with a monologue (in which he mentions staring into my eyes, no less), which was one of the most poignant things you’ll ever hear.
The set involved couches and chairs as well the piano and drum-set, simple enough (until the chaos ensued, making a rather big mess of the stage. So much paper). There was also one video played on a projection screen of Wales being filmed waking up after an accidental drug binge, waking up in the middle of a road island on a suburb in Sydney, while an audio track played of Wales’ recollection of the event. Other than that, the show was simple in its monologues and dialogue and sex scenes. While playing staged version of themselves, they also played characters in other people’s stories, such as McGoldrick playing Ward’s racist bogan father.
The actors were all skilled at utilising their own personas and mixing them into fully fledged performances on stage. McMullan in particular used his strong comedic delivery and charismatic facial expressions to steal the attention of the audience while interacting with his co-stars and also showed remarkable sensitivity in the later scenes. McGoldrick was solid throughout, maintaining her likeable and relatable presence through every funny and emotional story, also giving the feels at the end. Wales had a very good comedic stage presence, and told all his stories with a charming awkwardness, and turning quite frightening as he personified McGoldrick’s depression toward the end. Kirstie Willoughby also delivered many of her lines with striking comedic delivery and was also good in more emotional moments. Ward, Groombridge, Risk and Masters also shined in their moments.
Earning the standing ovation they achieved on the night I went to see, the ending made even the most emotionless audience members grow feelings just for the show. The show is incredibly commendable for how it tackled not only the original format of the show itself, but especially the themes toward the end of mental health, done in such a flawless, effortless way with its realism, raw honesty and relatability. Tears galore and some even needing to take a moment to themselves after exiting the theatre area. The rollercoaster of emotions this show was able to take its audience on surely beckons for a return season somewhere. But either way, Beautiful Chaotic Nonsense was every one of those words. Especially the first.
Written by Dylan Horvat Photos by Corey Potter
