Beyond the Blue - Great Theatre Superb Talent

Sunday, 2 March 2008, 3:52 pm
Article: Scoop Review

If you want to see some of the very best of Auckland's up-and-coming acting talent, then Beyond the Blue is a must see show. Pandemonium Theatre's latest performance, Beyond the Blue, has cast 12 of the very best actresses to emerge from a series of workshops called Ignite07.

The directors, Julie Nolan and Kate Parker, say the story is inspired by women from the past who escaped their mundane lives, travelled huge distances, climbed mountains, braved the jungle with their favourite ball gowns, wrestled crocodiles, followed their hearts and made history.

With this play, Pandemonium has bridged a divide that time and effect has caused. It submerges the talent of today's youth cast into a culture of yesteryear. Beyond the Blue uses irony and absurdity to carry its audience to a space where the contrasts between today and our past are laid bare.

But surprisingly, a union of then and now emerges, a realisation that our wants of today are similar to times passed. The passion: the desire for adventure, a want to break from convention, to avoid the awfulness of conformity – such truths of the human condition weave within the lives of today's youth. In this sense, Beyond the Blue is an observation of the zest that lies within all women and a celebration of those who dare to seek their dreams.

The opening night performance of Beyond the Blue was great theatre due to the superb talent of the all-women cast. This play is a clever mix of contemporary dance, fabulous use of stage sound, costume and props, tight fight choreography, graceful visuals, clever story-lines with the perfect mix of humour, and a sensitivity to how today's woman is who she is due to the endeavours of the characters of her past.

Near the end there is a powerful sequence that reminds us all that adventure, and discovery of our dreams, sometimes comes at great cost. The cry is primeval and reaches deep. From this place is a conclusion of sorts, where contemplation, uneasy as it is raw, ties up the tale.

Scoop's advice: go and see this show, you will be the better for it and you will get to see tomorrow's acting talent… today.

Pandemonium's Beyond the Blue is currently being performed in co-operation with The Edge at the Auckland Town Hall, Concert Chamber until Thursday March 6.

You can book through Ticketek –www.ticketek.co.nz or phone 0800 TICKETEK. Ticket prices: $12 - $22.

SEE ALSO:
• The Edge - Adventure, Passion, Discovery and Rebellion

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