Darlinghurst. Or Darlo. Any Sydneysider immediately thinks of the seedy underside of Sydney, full of personalities; poor and rich, criminal and respectable, landlord and tenant, families and singles, artists and businessmen. Sly grog and sex workers, gaming and drugs. And a throbbing life which drew all sorts like moths to its night burning flame.
Darlinghurst Nights, the musical currently playing at the Hayes Theatre in the heart of Darlo itself, beautifully captures that most notorious period of the district’s history, the 1920’s and 30’s. One of the residents of this period was the great poet Kenneth Slessor and it is his poetry, particularly Five Bells, which Katharine Thompson has cleverly used to frame the story of the lyrical Ken (Sean O’Shea) , his rambunctious artist friend Joe Lynch (Justin Smith) and the range of quintessential characters who haunt their fascinating community. It gives nothing away to say that Slessor wrote Five Bells in memory of his mate, Joe Lynch who fell from ferry and drowned in Sydney Harbour.
Every character must choose and it is their choice which determines their fate. In her jewels and furs is Rose, relic of an affair with an influential man. Natalie Gamsu is powerfully articulate, creating a tragic figure whose decline is punctuated by moments of defiance in song. Equally tragic is Billie Rose Pritchard’s Cora whose downward spiralling through drugs, sex-work and abuse is inevitable. As refrigerators make the Iceman (and his musically amusing access to amenable housewives) redundant, Frank (Andrew Cutcliffe) chooses, as does the wide-eyed, innocent object of his affections – the adventurous Mabel (Baylie Carson). And we all have known a Spud (Abe Mitchell), whose destructive quest for fast easy money is played out with a quiet desperation.
Holding the middle are O’Shea’s Kenneth Slessor and Smith’s Joe Lynch. The yin and yang of Australian mates, comfortably having a beer together, philosophising, drawing and writing, sharing and caring in a way no that no Aussie male will ever admit. Slessor’s pain at the loss of the ebullient Joe is heartfelt and moving. And Smith plays Joe’s journey with a sweet fatalism, tumbling cheerfully along his life embracing path to death.
All of this is played out through the atmospheric music of Max Lambert. A wonderful variety of musical styles are celebrated; Carson, Gamsu and Pritchard deliver an Andrews Sisters style harmony whilst Cutcliffe, Mitchell, Smith and O’Shea give us an old-fashioned barbershop quartet. Many modern musicals have far too many ballads but Lambert’s compositions deliver comedy and style as well as those moving individual ballads, and every number is subtly enhanced by the choreography of John O’Connell. And as an aside, kudos to a cast who delivered clearly, intensely and perfectly, songs without the use of any microphones. Far easier to engage with the mood and the story in a smaller theatre when one cannot see lavalier mics taped to the faces of performers.
Much of the beauty of this very Australian musical lies in the direction of Lee Lewis. She has pulled the threads together so that no one aspect outshines the other. In a truly ensemble piece, performance, design and vision come together seamlessly to create this nostalgic memory so tinged with sadness.
Mason Browne’s inspired set explores Wooloomooloo’s relationship with the harbour. Stacked packing crates frame the stage, giving the cast spaces in which to create bars and rooms, streets and rooftops and wharves. The cast seamlessly move out of the dark lanes into sepia spaces lit by Trent Suideest’s harbour lights and nightlights; suggesting mysterious places which may provide sanctuary or lead to danger. And up the back, the piano bar. Another institution of the Cross, the music led by Roger Lock swells from in the dark corner, lingering in the background of lives (like the sounds of the harbour).
Darlinghurst Nights is a beautiful elegy. It gently mourns not only friends lost but dreams and hopes and times lost. I think my eyes were a little wet when the five bells rang out.
Kate Stratford – Theatre Now & On The Town
Picture credit Brett Boardman
Darlinghurst Nights
Book by Katherine Thomson, Music by Max Lambert, Based on the book DARLINGHURST NIGHTS by Kenneth Slessor and an original concept by Andrew James
4 Jan – 3 Feb 2018
Mon 6:30 pm
Tues – Sat 7:30 pm
Wed & Sat 2:00 pm
Venue: Hayes Theatre
Theatre Company: Hayes Theatre Co
Duration: Aprox 2Hrs incl Interval
Directed by Lee Lewis
Musical Director Max Lambert
Choreographer John O’Connell
Production Designer Mason Browne
Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest
Produced by Richard Carroll
Starring Baylie Carson, Andrew Cutcliffe, Natalie Gamsu, Abe Mitchell, Billie Rose Prichard, Sean O’Shea and Justin Smith
This classic Australian musical takes place on the streets around Hayes Theatre Co itself, and the Hayes celebrates the show’s 30th anniversary with a new production from Helpmann Award-winning director Lee Lewis (The Bleeding Tree).
Darlinghurst Nights explores the seductiveness of a life authentically lived, of a world where people can live without fear of intolerance amidst Sydney’s most colourful strip. Set during the 1920s and 30s, and inspired by Sydney poet Kenneth Slessor, writer Katherine Thomson (Diving For Pearls) and composer Max Lambert (Miracle City) capture a time when Kings Cross was the only place in Sydney where a person could live anonymously; where bohemian lifestyles were accepted and even encouraged.
The show was first produced by the Sydney Theatre Company in 1988 where it was a phenomenal success, and was revived in 2000 for the Olympic Arts Festival at Sydney Opera House.
At another moment of existential upheaval for Kings Cross, Darlinghurst Nights take us back 80 years to a world we recognise, but are in danger of losing.
Ticket Prices
$55 – $69
