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King Kong at the Regent

It’s not often that Melbourne theatre goers are treated to home grown, world class musical theatre. King Kong is just this. A musical adaptation of the classic 1933 film, Kong is currently showing in its global premiere season at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre and is a visual spectacular.

Utilising light and movement, a 27 metre wide LED screen is used as a backdrop. Rather than projecting real-looking backgrounds onto the screen, light is a key feature, but in a non-naturalistic fashion. For example, in one of my favourite scenes, rather than a blue sea scape, tiny pin pricks of light are used to depict rolling waves. This backdrop helps transport the audience from depression-era New York, out to sea, to Skull Island and back again.

The stage itself is similarly innovative, with a moveable central panel that is used to create levels and movement. Whether portraying the gentle rocking of the ship or the happenings above and below deck, this movement gives greater believability to the space.

Naturally though, it is King Kong himself who takes pride of place as the prime sound and visual draw card. You’d think a giant gorilla puppet would prove somewhat comical, but that wasn’t the case at all. I won’t spoil the surprise for you though. After choosing not to look into how they would portray him I was stunned and open-mouthed for a good five minutes into the first appearance Weighing in at 1.1 tonnes and six metres tall, Kong is nothing short of magnificent.

The musical score, however, was a little unconventional. A mash-up of styles – lacking in any catchy Broadway sing-along type numbers – the music jumped from pop to country and western, and from opera to some good ol’ musical theatre belting. Ann Darrow – played by Esther Hannaford – while certainly looking the part of ‘the beauty’, seemed out of place at The Regent. With a sound only describable as ‘Adele-esque’, Hannaford’s performance outside the context of the musical would be very enjoyable, but within the play it was a little disconcerting. Despite some spine tingling moments, overall I was left underwhelmed, particu­larly by her breathy upper register. In contrast, Chris Ryan as Jack Driscoll – Ann’s love interest – had that music theatre sound down pat. However lacking any real character, his role ended up a bit boring – the typical Prince Charming figure.

Despite these disappointments, the Kong chorus was among the best I have ever seen. The spinechilling natives of Skull Island were a stand out, appearing on stage through translucent tubes of fabric down from the rafters. Trippy projections made their white costumes seem fluid, and combined with a hypnotic tribal beat and operatic vocals, this scene was truly transfixing. Other chorus numbers were similarly engaging, often with acrobats cavorting all over the sets.

The use of sex – boobs, bums and itty-bitty costumes – was an interesting theatrical device, particularly in a story that heavily focuses on exploitation for entertainment. An uneasy and unfortunate parallel or biting social commentary though, I am not sure.

According to Producer Carmen Pavlovic, King Kong is more than a story about a beauty and a beast; it is also about a fall from grace and an exploration of fear of ‘the other’. Very moving, the story captures the hu­man condition well, particularly our capacity for greed, our desire for love and companionship and the fragility of life. Despite my musical criticisms I’d highly recommend the show to anyone. 4/5 stars.

King Kong is showing at the Regent until November. To access the $50 Student Rush ticket offer go to https://www.facebook.com/KingKongStage to get the weekly code word.

Lot's Wife Editors

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