Quest Perilous
Date: 2003
Category: Performances
Tim Goudie, Wojt?, Jodie?, Neville Newman, Lorraine Goudie, Alex Terrani?, Nina Davies?, Olivia Decea?
Written By Alfred Tennyson
Adapted & Directed by Indija Mahjoeddin & Wayne Van Keran
Join in with the jousting and chivalry of King Arthur's knights, in a tale that has never been done before, of one of the great stories from the King Arthur mythology.
From the Mist of Avalon
He came to conquer death
Join us for The Telling
Join us on his quest
Reviews
"It will be brave, exciting and original," said director Wayne Van Keren of Valley Artists' latest production, and it was.
Quest Perilous was exactly that for Valley Artists - a venture into entirely new areas of theatre, an experiment that paid handsome dividends for all involved - cast, crew and audience.
There were far too few of the latter; I understand that audiences were well down on previous productions. Why didn't they tell us how good this show really was? All the publicity seemed to be centred around Randai, and while that might be exciting for the artists involved, it may not be all that interesting to potential audiences.
They didn't tell us that we would become totally involved in an ancient quest, that we would join Sir Gareth (Tim Goudie) and the somewhat shrewish Lynette (Jodie Bawden) as they rode through mystic forests and fought powerful foes. That we would be entranced by the dancing of the three Shield Maidens (Anna Ringma, Olivia DiCe and Nina Davies). That we would laugh at the antics of the Morning Star, the Noon Sun and the Evening Star (all played by Wojt Kowaluk), backed up by strong performances from Belicent (Lorraine Goudie), Sir Lancelot (Karen Butler-Hues), Sir Kay (Neville Newman), King Arthur (Jonathan Poynter) and The Seer (Bryony Allen). And the promising debut of Alex Tehrani (Death).
This was a show that had everything Valley Artists has become known for - exciting innovation in community theatre that breaks new ground and still manages to be great fun for the audience.
Randai, as promised, was an important part of this production. The elegance of this Sumatran theatre art form was seen to great effect in the style and excitement of the sword fights, the effective use of percussion (Mal Goudie) and the poetry of Tennyson set to traditional music (Amanda Broberg, Brenda Philip, Anna Zerafa, Sally Middleton, Bryony Allan, Brenda Tehrani, with Amanda directing and playing the Mandola and Florrie Pinto on the flute).
I hear that not everyone shares my opinion, and that's probably a good thing.
Wayne pointed out that this was an experiment in community theatre. Theatre where people go to celebrate their owning of the story. "They don't go just to hear the story, they usually already know the story. They go to celebrate the telling of the story."
Most of us know the story of King Arthur and his knights. In Quest Perilous Valley Artists told it in a different and compelling new way.
It certainly proved one thing - our community, through Valley Artists, consistently delivers the goods, meeting the objectives of providing quality entertainment and providing a showcase and opportunity for the development of the skills of valley residents.
Valley Artists again proved that they can be trusted - no matter what you think it might be, their production will be excellent, it will be fun, and it will involve you. Don't miss their next production!
- Peter McCloy