The South Pacific - A vast expanse of emptiness dotted with
little island gems
The world was a very different place when Rodgers and
Hammerstein created South Pacific. It was larger, less travelled and as
such, more mysterious. Peoples' opinions and beliefs were more rooted in
the culture of their home towns and prejudice sat silently behind every
decision. On one hand, the story is a fun loving musical about an
American base on the farthest reaches of Uncle Sam's West Coast frontier - on
the other hand it is a veiled attempt at painting a twee fairy tale of good
overcoming evil and love conquering even the staunchest of bigotries.
The set-up is typical R and H - introduce a strong, powerful,
confident bachelor with a long established routine and an honourable, if
somewhat distant, reputation. Add to that a young woman, pretty, simple
yet determined who creates a maelstrom that rips through his ordered
life. Slip into the background some lovable 'rouges' and a presumably
innocent side story and, hey presto! you've got a musical.
Darlington Operatic Society again shows why it is the region's
greatest amateur production company – the strength in depth that they have
throughout their cast & crew must make many professional companies green
with envy. The sets make clever use of the depth of the stage without
ever feeling that they are cluttered yet manage to give a great sense of both
the expanse of the Pacific coupled with the claustrophobia of a tiny area far
from the mainland.
For most who know this show, there are the key standout parts
against which any performer will be judged – Nellie Forbush, Emile De Becque,
Lt Cable, Liat, Bloody Mary and SeaBee Billis are arguably the main
protagonists on whom the audience will be focussed. Kat Flynn takes on Nellie with a brilliant
mid-south accent and a delightful mix of girly charm and womanly knowhow. Kat is a much accomplished dancer, actor and
singer and this role gives her a wonderful canvass on which to display all her
talents. Even when faced with a tumbling
coffee pot she never missed a beat and is able to sing beautifully in character
with her American vowels ringing loud and true.
It is rare to find Nellie being played by such a genuinely lovely
leading lady, often they have a great voice but struggle to portray the
vulnerability of a home and love sick woman thousands of miles away from her
comfort zone and for this I think that Kat is the best Nellie I have seen.
As mentioned earlier, when R & H wrote this tale the world
was a different place where the act of racial stereotypes was not viewed with
the same indignation as it is today. The
image of a domineering local woman who will do anything to please the temporary
islanders whilst trying to make as much money as possible is not necessarily
alien to the current world, but their characterisation of Bloody Mary leaves a
less than pleasant taste in the mouth –she does, after all, try to sell/marry
off her (very) young daughter and thinks nothing of allowing some ‘pre-marital
relations’. To make this role fit with
the feeling of the time without becoming a parody of itself is not an easy task
– Mary has to deliver both admiration and repulsion and as such Zoe Kent
deserves great credit – we’ve seen from previous productions that Zoe can sing
& dance with the best of them but it took only a few minutes on stage for
the audience to be drawn towards this character like rubberneckers passing a
motorway accident. Mary is not a nice
person, even her delivery of Happy Talk, for many an innocent song of childish
rhymes, is laced with the undercurrent of ‘selling off’ her daughter and trying
to persuade Lt Cable to agree to the marriage; Zoe brings out this dark side of
Mary perfectly.
The Seabees, led by antics if not by rank by Luther Billis,
constantly provide the backdrop onto which the two love stories are projected. Billis, played by Ben Connor, is the clown,
the ring leader, the gang master and yet still has the sensibility to recognise
when Nellie is obviously feeling fragile & vulnerable. Ben has grown over the years from an
accomplished singer & dancer to a genuinely funny guy with great comic
timing, perfect delivery and an amazing style in bikini tops and grass skirts –
it is a like a guarantee of laughs when you see his name on the cast list. The rest of the Seabees is made from the DOS
Boys who are becoming renowned as a comic group in their own right; their mix
of characters, styles and vocal abilities (including the amazing bass tones of
Ethan Hurworth) has given them a collective identity which could easily
transfer into their own comedy sketch show.
Of course, the musical score for South Pacific is one of the
best known of all of R & H’s and the sweeping orchestral overtures are
expertly conducted and directed by Michael Trotter, for whom this is his final
DOS production. Michael has been
instrumental (every pun intended) in bringing the successes that DOS have
enjoyed over the past 19 years – it has been Michael’s passion and dedication
that has enabled DOS to reach ever upwards, to stretch themselves and to dare
to dream of putting on bigger and more ambitious shows, for without the music
there can be no musical. Not only has
Michael been responsible for assembling and conducting the live orchestras, but
he has also scored the vocal parts and taught complex harmonies for leads and
choir alike.
It was very evident when looking around the theatre that a
South Pacific audience has a clearly defined demographic – its story and
setting doesn’t immediately appeal to the younger theatre goer brought up on
Sister Act, Hairspray, Footloose or the Full Monty and yet, due in the main to
the excellent DOS production, it is easily worth the ticket price regardless of
your age.
South Pacific is on show at Darlington Civic Theatre until
Saturday 31st October.
