Prima Facie ~ A Spotlight on Sexual Assault Cases and the Legal System ~ Theatre Review

State Theatre Company
Space Theatre
Fri 5 May, 2023

Given the subject matter and the likelihood that Prima Facie might be a somewhat harrowing experience for the audience, it begins, wisely perhaps, in quite a light vein. It’s not long before Caroline Craig as barrister Tessa is in full stride demonstrating the tricks of the courtroom; the necessary strategies a barrister must employ to ensure they don’t ‘come second’. It’s all about winning after all. And this message is imparted at day one of law school. Court is about performance, has little to do with actual truth, but everything to do with legal truth. It’s an amusing expose that entertains, instructs, and describes those kinds of situations that seem quite funny until it happens to you.

And it happens to Tessa. All of a sudden the boot is on the other foot and she is having to defend herself from the type of jackals she normally works with. The context is rape, and the circumstances inform Tessa’s ‘legal instinct’ that her case is doomed to fail. But she pushes on: driven for a desire for justice, and to hopefully learn that the legal system she has thus far dedicated her life to might be in this instance an instrument of fair play where the actual truth might be revealed, and rightful justice will prevail.

Via an exceptional performance from Caroline Craig we are left in no doubt as to the horrendous experience any woman who pursues a sexual assault charge must endure. Endless invasive questioning about minute and intimately personal details, all dragged out for an entire courtroom to hear; all premised on an almost implicit prejudice from the defence lawyer that she is somehow delusional and making it all up. And in a cruel ironic twist under our laws the perpetrator doesn’t have to take the witness stand – does not have to say one word – and is therefore not called to account for their actions, while the victim of the sexual assault has to suffer public prosecution over and over again. It appears to be an outrageous imbalance.

This is the grander purpose of this fine piece of writing – that the whole legal process around how sexual assault cases are prosecuted needs to change. It is not right that the alleged victim is forced to endure humiliation at the hands of a highly skilled barrister trained to win at all costs. Our adversarial system where a witness can only respond to the questions put to them by the court is not appropriate. They need to be able to tell their side of the story in their own way, in their own time.

Caroline Craig’s performance is magnificent. Ninety minutes plus of superb execution – of a complex text, multiple perspectives, an intense range of emotions – an extraordinary display of humour, passion, and conviction. With the help of some wonderful unobtrusive direction from David Mealor, and an engaging score from Quincy Grant, Prima Facie is a remarkable work well worth seeing.

Prima Facie was written by Suzie Miller.

This review also published on The Clothesline.

Crete: Impressions

 

Image courtesy of Rookuzz

Crete feels a bit like its own country. It's big enough to offer plenty of geographical variety; It's rugged, beautiful and, due to the fact that it has been invaded by multiple neighbouring civilizations, offers the visitor a varied legacy.  Roman, Venetian, Byzantine, and Minoan ruins litter the island, but it is the Minoan civilization that Crete is most famous for. Around 2000 BC the Minoans had developed a progressive and sophisticated culture that was the equal of ancient Egypt. It was in fact at its peak slightly earlier than ancient Egypt.

But evidence of the Minoan civilization, most notably the palace at Knossos, did not come to the attention of modern scholars until the late 19th century. I'm sure there were other factors but I imagine the sheer scale of the pyramids has something to do with how much we know about ancient Egypt. The pyramids were unmissable evidence that an advanced civilization had lived in the neighbourhood.  The Minoan civilization’s legacy was harder to find - it had mostly been destroyed or buried by earthquakes and conquerors. At least one earthquake and perhaps a fire destroyed much of the palaces at Knossos and Phaestos. It was not until 1878 that these remarkable centres were discovered. Modern scholars were shocked to learn that there had been another civilization in the Mediterranean region that was as advanced as the Egyptians. And having spent two days walking around Phaestos and Knossos, and perusing the Minoan artefacts on display in Heraklion's archaeological museum I am in no doubt as to the Minoans’ level of sophistication.

If the remaining buildings are not enough (Phaestos is mostly rubble) the volume and quality of materials on display at the archaeological museum are really impressive. Artistic and cultural pursuits were clearly important - the famous Minoan frescoes reveal a society where music, fashion, jewellery, and handicrafts were all an intrinsic part of daily life. There’s also an obvious love of pageantry and of course the athleticism - they invented bull leaping!

If you look at any of the large decorated pots that were found at Knossos you can assume a good many things:

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1. they had the skills to create these pots (urns)
2. some would have been charged with teaching these skills to others
3. these pots are often elaborately decorated – a separate skill from actually making the pots
4. these pots were stored and labelled in magazines implying order, planning, an organisation
5. they infer that large quantities of produce were produced or gathered for later use -  implying planning and organisation
6. a rudimentary writing system was used to label and categorise these pots.
7. cart like devices would have been required to transport these heavy pots.

Finally, from an archaeologist’s perspective - in the museum today I saw a very large pot, about a metre high, that had been reconstructed from broken pieces of pottery like a jigsaw puzzle. What an immense sense of satisfaction one must get from recreating a fine object that is 3 to 4000 years old.

When you visit Greek islands they are normally small enough to get a sense of the whole island. You can extrapolate from an experience, a view, an atmosphere and more or less safely assume that it represents the island as a whole. Because Crete is so much larger you can’t safely do that. It's a question of scale, diversity, and variety. I was asked if I was smitten by Crete and I couldn't say unreservedly yes. I was smitten by parts of Crete. The Venetian harbour at Chania, the humble ruins of Phaestos, the marvellous Roman aqueduct outside of Heraklion and, and the gorgeous village of Archanes for example.

Heraklion however is on the whole a depressing dump:  much of the bland rectangular architecture on the rocky hillsides is typical of many Mediterranean buildings that are far from inspiring. But there are also dwellings both rural and urban that are quite exquisite.

There was one occasion however that says a lot about Crete. On a Sunday evening around dusk, the pedestrian malls of Heraklion were rocking. Full of people out to socialise, parade, shop - the whole vibe was positive, energetic, and infectious. This will be an enduring memory of Crete and Heraklion. As well, sadly, will be the poverty. Just a few streets back from tourist shops and markets it changes to residential streets where life is clearly a struggle for many. Lots of angry graffiti and a general unkempt appearance I suspect tells the deeper story of what life in Crete is really like in 2023.

Song #80 Not Quite An Old Man

 

After 3 weeks away and not touching a guitar during that time the first verse of this new song below just 'popped out' the first time I picked up the guitar. It has evolved into a complete song. To wit:

NOT QUITE AN OLD MAN

Listen....

 

I’ve been out wanderin’ around the world again

This time a little voice tagged along for the ride

It said hey there Michael

Take care Michael

You’re no longer a young man

 

I went back to places I had been before

45 years ago in the days of yore

Where the sun was always shining

And life would be forever

I remembered that young man

 

Who walked alone and looked about for the answer to his dreams

A girl like him who liked to roam and play music in the sun

But the dreams were always fleeting

Too many men competing

So I wandered on alone man

 

This time the older man he took a different path

Down the roads of ancients with their cities made of stone

He sat in ancient theatres

Heard their distant voices

And felt right at home with those old men

 

Bridge 1

They pick the olives and catch the fish

And make sure the retsina flows

Too old now to leap with bulls

They sit around in talk cafes

 

Bridge 2

What’s that pain? am I out of breath?

Should I just sit here for a while?

Those steps were steep; that road is long

Are you sure that this is wise?

 

Travellers and the locals all dine out in the squares

Beneath the famous temples up there on the hill

Those with worry beads connect the present and the past

Bouzouki strains floating on the breeze in the fading light

Beckon to the Parthenon

Gorgeous Plaka will party on

Long after we’re all gone man

And I’ve come home not quite an old man

Copyright M. Coghlan (April 2023) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIP David Lindley

 

I’ve been waiting to read Jackson Browne’s reaction to the death of David Lindley. And now we know why it took him awhile: he didn’t want to let him go.

I wanted to know how Jackson felt. As soon as I heard that Lindley was gone my thoughts turned to Jackson. They made so much wonderful music together.

When I first heard Jackson’s songs on Late for the Sky I loved them instantly. But at the same time I fell in love with the violin playing and pedal steel sounds that sent those songs into another hemisphere. And that was the work of David Lindley. To my ears it was musical perfection.

Baby Boomers are now of the age where the musicians of our youth are leaving us. It hurts when someone dies whose music you loved. And for me David Lindley’s death hurt more than most. He represented sweet musical perfection. As someone somewhere else noted, if you wanted someone to play along to a song in a major key, there were none better than David Lindley. So many times his music made me feel so happy, so positive, so in touch with raw emotion. It was your gift to us all.

Rest in peace David.

 

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An edited version of Jackson’s post on Facebook today:

 

David Lindley, the guitarist, lap steel and fiddle player who gave his personality and his inspiration to so many of my songs, passed away on March 3rd. The outpouring of love, and the widespread recognition of his mastery has been very moving. I want to join in the resounding chorus of appreciation for his gifts, but nothing I write seems quite good enough. Words have never been enough to describe what David Lindley brought to a song.

I played with David for the first time in a dressing room at the Troubadour in 1969. My friend Jimmy Fadden of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had brought him to say hello, and pointed out that David had his fiddle with him, saying he would probably sit in if I asked him to. I already knew him from the band Kaleidoscope, whose first album, Side Trips, was one of my favorite records. We started to play my song These Days, and my world changed. His playing was so emotional, and immediate - it cast a spell over me and everyone there. It didn’t matter that he had never heard the song before. What he was playing made it more emotional and more real than it had ever sounded in the years I had played it alone.

……

David is a very large part of me - who I became, and who I remain. No one ever played like him. …. He didn’t play the same thing each time. He was always exploring, always hearing something new. Always in the moment.

…….

My own world is shattered by David’s passing. He was my friend and my teacher. It was with great pleasure and certainty that I revisited our special connection over the years. I guess I thought that he would always be around.

I've been struggling to write something and post it for the past two weeks. It was hard to begin, and it’s hard to conclude, I guess, because I don’t want to let him go. David was kind to everyone, and so funny. Incapable of uttering a dishonest word, or playing a dishonest note. There will be tribute concerts, and a documentary about him, for sure. There will be ways for us to continue to celebrate his life. And we all know there will never be another David Lindley.

- Jackson Browne

 

Fish Bowl - Adelaide Fringe 2023 Review

 

[THEATRE AND PHYSICAL THEATRE/Immersive ~ South Australia]

The Studio at Holden St Theatres, Tue 7 Mar, 2023.

Fish Bowl is part seminar, part theatre. While daring to entertain on a touchy subject like dementia it also provides a lot of advice on how to cope with, and treat, people with dementia.

Set in an aged care nursing home the players switch between being patients and carers, often quickly shifting from troubled /troublesome patient to narrator in the same scene. It’s a very effective technique that holds audience attention and attempts to explain the patient’s behaviour - why the patient might be all of a sudden roaming around the room in an agitated state, or affectionately addressing a soft toy as their spouse.

There is a tragi-comic aspect to dementia that is also on show here. As the old cliché says, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry, and often either response is appropriate.  But people in the caring role have to get past that and come up with strategies to deal with the situation at hand. Fish Bowl shows us several delightful examples: a scene encouraging a patient to recite a long poem while getting them ready for bed is quite beautiful and amazing to watch.

There are also moments of extreme, violent anger that are quite scary. Such are the swings and roundabouts of dealing with dementia – childlike joy one moment; explosive fury the next.

Full marks to Fish Bowl Theatre for delving into this challenging territory. It’s instructive and enjoyable theatre that attempts to cast somewhat of a positive light on how one can cope with people who have dementia; how one can build relationships across the cognitive disconnect.  I commend them for that but the sooner a cure is found for this dreadful dignity sapping disease the better.

Director: Steph Daughtry
Writer: Matthew Barker
Performers: Matthew Barker & Evie Leonard.

This review also published on The Clothesline.

The Sensemaker - Adelaide Fringe 2023 Review

 

[THEATRE AND PHYSICAL THEATRE/Comedy ~ AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE ~ Switzerland]

The Garage International @ Adelaide Town Hall, Fri 10 Mar, 2023.

How long are you prepared to wait on the phone? How many looped menus do you tolerate? Are you patient? How willing are you to accept instructions from a phone bot? What do you do while you’re on hold? The Sensemaker will help you answer such questions. It may also leave you with an uneasy feeling that this nonsense is in its infancy and could get much worse.

The Sensemaker is a wonderful solo show that puts the spotlight on an issue that has exploded in very recent times – just what should our relationship be with bots. And Elsa Couvreur does so in such a glorious and graceful fashion. In an unusual combination of dance and comedy she commands attention form the outset. Every sideways glance, every twitch of a finger, every sigh, is calculated and intended to convey meaning. She is riveting to watch.

Couvreur shows inexhaustible patience as we endure the endless wait for her ‘’request to be processed.’ She comes up with some very inventive ways to pass the time and amuse herself and us before things get a bit weird and the phone bot would appear to be very much overstepping the mark. The caller needs to decide whether she wants to continue to have her ‘request processed’.

This clever show takes what is normally private behaviour into a very public space, and does so with subtle humour, and an abundance of elegance.

Countless hours have gone into the preparation of the many layers of pre-recorded messages and on-hold music. Clever use of multiple languages and the ironic use of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy may mean you’ll never here it the same way again.

A magnificent show displaying mastery of the technical and artistic sides of theatre. Superb entertainment that also throws up just so many questions. Deserved a much larger audience.

This review also published on The Clothesline.

Glenn Skuthorpe and Band Play Dire Straits

 

Eliza Hall at Payinthi, Sat 4 Mar, 2023.

Attempting to play the music of Dire Straits is a risky business. Band leader and vocalist Mark Knopfler is one of the few in rock music who carved out new territory. He invented a distinctly new sound that was instantly recognisable as Knopfler’s – an understated vocal style and a bluesy melodic electric guitar finger style that was smooth as silk.

Turns out Glenn Skuthorpe’s delivery style is very much suited to playing Dire Straits music. Whether he subconsciously picked up the Knopfler way from hours of listening to him or it was just inherent in who he was doesn’t really matter. What matters is that is he has that same ability to deliver a vocal full of rich melody in that low almost semi-spoken way, and to play the guitar with emphasis on accuracy and tone rather than volume and speed. No shenanigans; no ‘look at me’ theatrics – just solid musicianship with a great feel.

Supported by a great band who clearly really enjoyed playing these songs, Skuthorpe and co delivered an excellent show. Claire O’Meara on keys/piano added welcome harmonies on several songs, and Aldo DiSario on drums was just all class – great to watch and listen to. Like so many bass players Mike Haynes was just totally focused on his craft and there were several occasions when you realised that it was his bass lines that were punctuating the beat with a metronomic pulse – beautiful work on Romeo And Juliet.
Mark Hawkins spent most of the time on rhythm guitar but added saxophone when necessary – the sax and piano duet at the start of Tunnel of Love works beautifully as a teasing intro to the main event. Skuthorpe’s guitar solo on this piece was a treat.

The show closed with the hauntingly beautiful Local Hero – not strictly a Dire Straits song but who cares – we all wanted to hear it, and Skuthorpe’s guitar was true to the original melody and feel. Just beautiful.

As it so often is with bands the quality of the final product is so dependent on the acoustics of the venue and the ability of the human doing the mixing to get the balance right. The sound was a little muddy early on, but things got better as the show progressed. But this is a real challenge for anyone playing Dire Straits. Knopfler was not a loud player, and he was a relatively quiet singer but somehow you have to get that vocal and guitar cutting through the mix, so the signature sound is at the core. There were times when that wasn’t the case, but all in all this was a great show. Those subtle melodies, trademark guitar licks, and the almost detached vocal mood were all there to remind us just how good Dire Straits were. And how good Glenn Skuthorpe is!

(This review also published on The Clothesline.)