Adventures of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie and Little Ragged Blossom
There is much to celebrate in this brand new, large-scale musical adaptation of May Gibbs' much-loved Australian children's classic. First and foremost are the performances from a cast of Australia's finest: a scene-stealing and hissingly sinister Mrs Snake from Kris McQuade; scene-stealing and deliriously silly turns as Wren and Frog by Mitchell Butel. Simon Burke's doubling as a leaf-nibbling and dopy baby Koala, then as Mrs Snake's nemesis, Mr Lizard, are a delight, while the trio in the title roles manage the feat of banishing within minutes any idea that they aren't actually May Gibbs' original creations.
Darren Gilshenan's Cuddlepie demonstrates all over again why he is one of our most accomplished and heart-rending clowns while, in Tim Richard, he has a best friend-gumnut Snugglepie who is the Hardy to his Laurel. Ursula Yovich - simultaneously vulnerable and feisty - is perfect casting as the little gum blossom who falls from high in the trees to capture their hearts (and ours too).
Other cast members take on multiple roles - effectively disguised by costume designer Tess Schofield's brilliant realisation of the Gibbs drawings - and among them, Holly Daniel has memorable moments in the sun as first Caterpillar then Butterfly; and James Millar's school teacher-Kookaburra is all bluster and cackle.
From the opening moments, however, it's apparent that not all is happy in the sunlit bush of the Gumnuts and their friends. And it's not merely because horrid humans are stuffing up the environment. Kookaburra opens the show with a lecture on the dangers and horrors of humans and their cities. Do you know what a road is? He asks the little bush critters. Answer: "A long hard thing with dead animals on it."
The book and lyrics by John Clarke and Doug Macleod are witty, sharp and as clever as you'd expect (when audible: sound quality on opening night was woeful from most parts of the theatre) but the structure lacks virtually all excitement and tension. The Gibbs books are not known for their conventional use of drama and conflict, but in theatre - especially if a show wants to keep its kiddie audience's attention - it has to be built in. It's only when Mrs Snake arrives - about 45 minutes in and just before the interval - that there's suddenly and momentarily a frisson in the air.
The second half is even less gripping and seems to sag towards eternity, despite Snugglepot and Cuddlepie being on their perilous quest to see the city, and the nutnapping of Ragged Blossom by the Banksia Men. (Who are not remotely scary and look more like something the cat might have sicked up than childhood nightmares).
[page]If the creatures and their setting weren't visually engaging, the show would probably drag even more than it does. Stephen Curtis's set is good to look at with a perfectly evoked gumnut curtain, some scribblybark structures for shinning up and down and lighting by Nigel Levings that brings the concept of Golden Summers to life. Nevertheless, the set is also incongruously and inexplicably industrial looking, with clumsy flaps opening on a couple of levels to swallow up or disgorge characters. Odd.
The biggest problem, however, for a show billed as a musical, is the music itself. It forms a dull and featureless soundscape over which the brave creatures of the bush toil with tragically unflagging energy and commitment. But despite promising moments - the aforementioned Mrs Snake with her sibilant yet humorously basso Eucalyptus Blues and the idea and lyrics for Are We There yet? - it would be difficult to recall one tune or memorable musical phrase even a minute later.
Alan John is a fine composer of theatre soundscapes - the washes of sound and mood that fill in the background of the action. He can create a pastiche of virtually any kind of music at the drop of a hat in the service of a play's action; but there is no evidence in Snugglepot and Cuddlepie that he wants to make musical theatre music: songs with tunes, verses, bridges and refrains - elements to send an audience humming into the night. Perhaps the intention is a sort of semi-operatic, semi-Sondheim score, if so, it's more sub- than semi- and the end result is dull, dull, dull.
The show will undoubtedly pick up some pace as it's run in but, in the end, the wonderful elements are not enough to make a coherent and satisfying whole. And, because the presence of the music and the absence of drama are such integral elements, it's difficult to see how a remedy could be applied without going all the way back to the drawing board - totally impractical.
Snugglepot & Cuddlepie has been 15 years in the making and has involved some of Australia's finest theatre talents along the way and at present. Nonetheless, as Mr Kookaburra could tell his bush babies, the road to hell is paved with good intentions - and it's a long hard thing with dead animals on it.
The Adventures of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie and Little Ragged Blossom, Theatre Royal to January 31; ph: Ticketek 1300 888 412
