'Gross und Klein' ...

Last year when I was in Sydney, I went to the theatre many, many times, taking advantage of the under 30 ticket prices (normally $30).  However this year (since I'm getting old), I have had to carefully choose the theatre productions that I see (and can afford!).  Upon looking at this years offerings from the Sydney Theatre, I was immediately drawn to 'Gross und Klein' (Big and Small), purely for the fact that the lead actor was Cate Blanchett, one of Australia's finest actors (and also a graduate of the school I used to work at in Melbourne).  So, I splurged and bought Mum and I tickets for her recent visit to Sydney.

We were not disappointed.  It was amazing to see 'Australia's Cate' live on stage in such a unique play.  She was fabulous.  She produced such an incredible range of expressive emotions and as an audience member, you truly believed in her character, Lotte, an odd, lost soul wandering aimlessly around Germany trying to connect with people.  Also, I've never heard such a strong and powerful voice on stage; the way it projected out into the audience was amazing.  The storyline is a little odd and while it takes some time to 'get into', it is rewarding once you've figured it out.  Before attending the play, I read an interview with Blanchett and Benedict Andrews, the director, that summed up the experience of seeing such a quirky play ... in Andrews' words, I think it's great if people have mixed feelings about work because it means the work is alive.  I don't think theatre should always be easy to consume.  it should be a difficult and delicious pleasure.  It's an insult to the audenice to think you should pander to them or make it easy.  We go to the theatre to get closer to people.  I don't mean that in a touchy-feely way ... we go to the theatre to understand people more, to get deeper into them and to be touched by them.  Whether my work has been divisive or not, it should be judged on whether it does that.  Did a theatrical event take lace?  Did it touch you?  Didi it make you laugh or cry?  Didd you get closer to someone?  That's all I care about.  I'm happy to say that our experience of Cate Blanchett as Lotte in 'Gross und Klein' ticked all of Andrews' boxes.  If you're in Sydney and you get a chance to go, it's a performance not to be missed.