Photo by Hanh Tran.
No artistic work is sacrosanct, not even The Bard’s. But when radically altering works of such craft and depth, great care is needed to prevent ending up with something that fails in both its connection to the source material and the new interpretation. This was unfortunately the case with The Magic Hour. The intentions of the production are interesting and well worth investigating – taking classic works of the Anglosphere and weaving into them many of the Asiatic cultural influences shaping contemporary Australian culture. The problem here is that their combination is heavy-handed and done primarily through juxtaposition rather than more synergetic approaches that provide an effective reactive surface.
Othello needs little introduction, nor do the much discussed overtones of racism that permeate it. The love story between Othello and Desdemona and the Pyrrhic ambition of Iago are tropes that remain strikingly relevant and provide fertile ground for modern revitalisation as well as critique. Arjun Raina provides some of this explicitly. He commands a presence that few other cast members could muster and exudes charm, good humour and clear understanding of the various art forms on display. His charisma was not enough to combine them effectively, nor raise some of the lacklustre performances of other cast members to the dramatic heights demanded from either a theatrical or dance point of view. Desdemona, while a technically proficient dancer, was not able to make well-rehearsed choreography into a meaningful exploration that evoked her character or her journey; the same could be said for Othello.
The treatment of the audience was another point of difficulty. The part commentary, part performance that moved performers in and out of character seemed to do so without method. As a result the commentary role, not uncommon in Shakespeare’s work (Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for example), felt disruptive rather than a seamless part of the narrative. Having to break the willing suspension of disbelief vital to theatrical performance should not be done unless absolutely necessary to the story and in the case of The Magic Hour it was not. A trickster character in the vein of Loki, Puck or Hanuman who remained part of the story​ may have served more effectively.
The Magic Hour was also too long and ran out of steam before interval. The frequent breaks in narrative and changes in medium made it difficult to build up or sustain momentum. It also affected characterisation and at times it felt unclear exactly who was doing what, why and in what capacity. The Magic Hour laid out an ambitious and thought-provoking intention but was let down by execution that gave life to the old adage, ‘jack of all trades, master of none’.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Directed by Arjun Raina
Performed by Arjun Raina, Ezekiel Day, Helen Smith, Peter Fraser, Lillian Warrum and Cherian Jacob
Stage Manager: Madhulika Basu
Produced by Cicero’s Circle Theatre Company
La Mama Courthouse, Carlton
2 – 12 June 2016
