Dance Australia – June-July 2017

Co3andTheFarm

FRANK ENSTEIN

THE ARTS CENTRE, GOLD COAST

APRIL

Turns the original legend

on its head.•

RANK Ensteinwasstagedaspartofthe

annual Gold Coast Bleach Festival – a

community arts and musical festival

nowinitssixthyear.Itwasthefirsttime

sinceitsinceptionthatTheFarm,a

collective headed by Grayson Millwood

andGavinWebber,hadperformedatan

insidevenueonthecoast,andtoapaying

audience.Previouslytheyhavetestedthewaters

withfreeoutsideevents–thefirstin2015.

Both Millwood and Webber, joint creators of

Frank Enstein,areveteransofthedance

theatreformat.Whowillforgettheirabsorbing

works,LawnandRoadkill? The same finely

pitchedhumourwasalsoevidenthere,

deliveredwithclarityviathemediumof

movementandspokentext.

Conceivedasaworkforchildren,Frank

Ensteinexplores ideas of self-worth and

self-acceptance, turning the original legend on

itsheadbymakingFrank Ensteinthe doctor

who feels marginalised by society. An inspired

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pieceofcastinghastheactorandfilmmaker

DanielMonks(whohasadisability)asFrank,

maniacally pursuing his mission to create

hyper-abledhumanstosatisfyhiscravingfor

acceptance and love.

Theworkhasaninside/outsidesetdesign

withthefrontofthestagecoveredinagreen

“lawn” and the doctor’s laboratory marked out

upstagecentrebyaframeworkofwhitetubular

scaffolding.Variouspiecesof“scientific”

paraphernalia, including an operating table, are

in the laboratory, with the words “Work”,

“Romance” and “Party” displayed prominently

overhead. These f lash intermittently, indicating

linkstothedrama,whichisalsothematically

dividedintothreesections.

Andrew Searle, Zachary Lopez and Talitha

Maslin, all from West Australia’s Co3,

collaborated in the work’s creation and also

become the three humanoid monsters. Brianna

Kell’scharacter,astheonlyotherhumaninthe

mix,allowsamoreuniversaltakeonissuesof

self-esteem.

Thatcharacteropenstheshowseated

downstageright.Kellwasimmediately

engagingasheralteregowrestledwithher

visionofwhatshewantedtobe,andlaterwith

her desire for Frank. Monks, as Frank, was

self-absorbed but naive, oblivious to his own

charmashestruggledtoacceptlove,lending

poignancytotherole.Atouchingsequencehas

him self-examine his disabilities, which

challenges preconceived notions of beauty.

Searle,LopezandMaslinembracedthe

hyper-mobility of their humanoid characters

with cleanly executed, beautifully controlled,

and(mostimportantlyforcomedy),impeccably

timed movement that was hugely entertaining.

Lopez, springing up from a rubbish bin of

discarded humanoid scraps, adroitly

coordinatedhismovementandlip-synchingto

thespokentextsoundtrack,inawitty

confrontationwiththeconfusedKell.Alater,

very clever vacuum sequence, as he ‘sucks’ the

other humanoids into different positions with

thenozzleofthecleaner,wasslick,andsmartly

deliveredbyallthreedancers.

Therelationshipbetweenthehumanoid

monstersandtheircreatorisexploredinalovely

section where Monks is carried and manoeuvred

by the three dancers, followed shortly after by a

crazymonster‘dance-off’ofcontorted,staccato

movement to the crackled soundtrack of static

electricity – a sign of revolt perhaps.

Afinalpartyscenecompletewithmirrorball

andchandelier,totheoldRosemaryClooney

standard “Sway”, reconciles all the protagonists.

Itwasajoyfulalthoughtepidending,asIhad

been half expecting the humanoids to turn on

eachotherinsomesortoffrenziedloathingof

theirperfection.Tothatenditwasa

disappointing, but certainly child-friendly

conclusion to this otherwise engaging work.

• DENISE RICHARDSON

Talitha Maslin,

Zachary Lopez and

Andrew Searle.

PHOTO: SCOT T BELZNER COURTESY OF BLEACH* FESTIVAL / NIKON