Image by Gillian Berry.
Young and handsome, Father Hank Grimby is torn between his duty and his feelings for the Mayor’s daughter, Brooke. Their tale of thwarted love unfolds, with Mayor Gainsborough arranging for Brooke to marry renowned explorer George Waggner. Waggner’s swagger and braggadocio seem too good to be true, with the newly arrived local doctor bemused by his tales of daring adventures. Brooke’s widowed father is concerned for his only child’s safety and happiness, and she resolves to make him happy, despite her own feelings for Hank. Alongside this woeful tale of forbidden love run the unhappy events at each full moon, with Huntersville’s residents savagely killed by a mysterious beast. With Brooke’s death, the stricken priest suspects that his wolf dreams may be linked to the crimes, but Waggner’s decision to hunt the beast makes him hide his fears. With kindly Doctor Talbot’s assistance, he seeks a cure for lycanthropy, only to be betrayed and then redeemed in a conclusion featuring a furious flurry of twists and a sweetly sad ‘happy ending’.
With the title role, Sven Ironside emphasises the emotional conflict, subtly realising Grimby’s shape-shifting propensities and his determination to do his duty for Huntersville. Siobhan Dow-Hall as Brooke delivers strong acting and a clear, sweet voice that combines well in duets with Ironside. Stephen Lee brings a kindly twinkle as the jovial foreign doctor, with a slide into malevolence worthy of the best pantomime traditions. Mayor Gainborough’s mournful demeanour is maintained well by AJ Lowe, contrasting with Daniel Buckle (Tomas), who makes ham acting successful. The stage presence of Magnus Danger Magnus, playing Waggner, is amazing – sterling vocal qualities allow him to lead stirring calls to arms and sing a strong melody interweaving with other voices as needed. Magnus not only suits a flamboyant moustache, but has deft eyebrow control to accompany his shameless flashing of eyes and teeth in his role of swaggering braggart.
Costuming plays a great part in establishing the characters and the moods of the scenes, and lighting has also been carefully designed to play with horror standards of dark gloomy forests and graveyards. All technical cues are perfect, with 90 minutes of light, sound and fog complexities. The stage opens up with impressive painting on walls to create an actual forest without sacrificing precious performance space.
The musical score is amazing, composer Ash Gibson Greig covering a range of genres from rousing musical inspirational moments to horror movie standards. The singers all have voices suitable to the live performances and the recorded choral pieces were performed and played to a high standard. Further, the sound levels complement the vocal performances, as well as the changing atmosphere demanded by the play’s progress.
Levon J Polinelli has written, directed and produced a fantastic piece of entertainment that also showcases some of the best of Perth’s talent on stage and behind the scenes. Werewolf Priest! is a wry comedy, performed extremely well.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Werewolf Priest! The Lamentable Ballad of Father Hank Grimby
Presented by The Blue Room Theatre and Novel Ideas
Writer, Director & Producer: Levon J Polinelli
Composer: Ash Gibson Greig
Designer: Reece J Scott
Production Manager & Stage Manager: Keaton Howe
Lighting Designer: Elliot Chambers
Musical credits: Eneksis Choir conducted by Michéal McCarthy
Performed by Sven Ironside, Siobhan Dow-Hall, Magnus Danger Magnus, Stephen Lee, Adrian Lowe, Daniel Buckle, Rhianna Hall, Ayden Doherty and Tiffany Swan
Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre
www.blueroom.org.au
20 May – 7 June
