THEATRE: WINTER’S DISCONTENT
The show must go on. It’s a mantra that is no performer is a stranger to; especially Robert Winter in Winter’s Discontent. This play, directed by Maeloisa Stafford and written and performed solo by one of Australia’s most renowned actors, William Zappa (The Government Inspector, Les Miserables), delves into the private workings of an actor’s life. Inspired by Zappa’s work as Thenardier in Les Miserables, the play exposes an actor’s inner conflicts, and depicts the unmasked tragedies of one’s disillusionment, “There are so many levels and shifts of gear and a real mix of humour and drama” says Zappa. Dancing between play-acting and reality, Winter (inevitably, an ageing actor), offers the audience a window into his discontent as he sits in an endless backstage setting, peeling back the theatre’s many layers and delivering the universality of an actor’s plight. “There is an element of everyman in this play. Robert himself states at one point that theatre is a place where our storytellers say, ‘Hey, it’s OK we all experience these things, you’re not alone.’” Zappa creates an intricate portrait of an actor who is deceived by the promise of his art and the actor’s mask proves to be not a defense but a product of his downfall. “It is in some ways a celebration of the craft and art of acting.”
Aug 10-22, Darlinghurst Theatre, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point, $27-37, 9331 3107, www.darlinghursttheatre.com.au
BY BRIANNA LA RANCE
