Presented by The Bakehouse Theatre Company
Reviewed 18 September 2015
James Johnson’s play The Audition asks the question “Just how far would an actor go to get the part?” But there is so much more to this very interesting, unsettling, hypnotic psychological drama. What are we really after when we seek that four letter ‘F’ word, “fame”? Is what we will probably achieve in the end worth the struggle? How much humiliation must we go through to prove who we really are?
The set-up is simple, but not believable: an actor, Lauren (Clare Mansfield) is auditioning for an unknown role in an unknown play, where the director, Stella (Krystal Brock) is only holding one audition per day. All the anonymity and initial signs of rudeness and bullying would, in the real world, have an actor leaving immediately (no matter what the role was). But putting that aside, The Audition is a powerful examination of manipulation, mind games and psychological warfare.
As the director, Stella, Brock keeps the audience as apprehensive and unclear to where she is going, as she does the auditionee, Lauren. It is a well honed, believable performance by Brock, who manages to skilfully dart between being rational to unhinged, usually in the blink of an eye.
Mansfield is equally skilled and glorious in her performance as the auditionee: especially in Act Two, where we see even more depths to her character. There are many layers to both characters, and Brock and Mansfield play them all beautifully.
Joh Hartog manages to squeeze every drop of tension out of the text with his fine direction, and knows just how to use silence and pauses to great effect.
The Audition is yet another high quality production from The Bakehouse Theatre Company – but one can’t help wondering what the audition process was like.
Reviewed by Brian Godfrey
Your Twitter: @briangods
Venue: Bakehouse Theatre 255 Angas Street, Adelaide
Season: 19 Sept – 3 Oct 2015
Duration: 110 mins plus interval
Tickets: $15.00 – $28.00
Bookings: www.bakehousetheatre.com or at the door (subject to availability) Please note: no phone bookings
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