Committee: Melbourne Fringe
A theatre company is putting on a new play that sounds almost exactly like Hamlet, but does this play meet the needs of its shareholders? Is the play itself worth doing or can it also find a balance between corporate metrics and marketing synergy?
The concept behind Committee is compelling; it’s a satire on the business of theatre getting in the way of art. In a time when government funding is being cut and corporate sponsorship is essential for mainstage theatre, questions of how art is becoming compromised are vital.
Committee, unfortunately, conflates the big business mentality of the large companies with the ongoing discussion about diversity; the suggestion being that both are onerous impositions on creating new work. This is puzzling.
The play is too long; whatever punch it had in its first 30 minutes is lost over 80 minutes. The actors are energetic and try to pull as much from this backstage farce as they can, but the play itself fails to find focus; the satire isn’t sharp enough and the message is messy.
I thought the script was very witty and the detail of the dialogue so well written and the acting complimented the various characters in the script. I think the play lead you to “paint the picture” and only then could you see the writer’s mind. The evolution of the storyline kept me compelled. I would see it again to pick up the nuances i missed.
Well done to all, i thoroughly enjoyed the experience.