WHEN you think about it, aren't the comic verses of Edward Lear obvious fodder for a stage musical? But librettist Anne Makower and composer Proinnsias O Duinn have gone beyond the nonsense to give us rather more of the peripatetic Victorian artist, writer and fantasist who had to cope with recurring bouts of epilepsy and depression all throughout his bachelor life.
In Stuff & Nonsense, which had its premiere at the National Concert Hall last night, they have created an entertaining piece of music theatre which offers many felicities.
Mr O Duinn's melodies have a deceptive simplicity that belies the sophistication of his orchestration, the quality of which was enhanced by the playing of the RTECO. There are several splendid numbers, including catchy settings of The Pobble Who Has No Toes and The Quangle Wangle's Hat as well as a languorous tune for The Duck and the Kangaroo. And, if Ms Makower's book occasionally throws up an unsubtle "cue for song", her writing for the central character is concisely penetrative, especially given the episodic nature of the work.
Bill Golding, an ever present Edward Lear who gets the choicest material, is a paragon of stage presence and timing. Apart from Juliet Murphy as the cat Foss and young Rowena Burke as the Pobble, the other actors all portray several characters. Among the better vignettes is a vicious lampoon of Queen Victoria by Joan Merrigan, a facetious send up of Tennyson by Ray Barror and several moving appearances as Lear's might have been bride, Gussie Bethnel, from Michelle Forbes.
Choreographer Dex McGloughlin, mindful of the limitations of her largely amateur forces, keeps the movements well within their capabilities. The show is rather let down by bland lighting and period costumes that lack both colour coordination and correct foundation garments for the ladies. With some help from an imaginative designer and a back ups' of professional dancers, this is a show that could have a long and prosperous stage life. The present production, though, is scheduled for only two more performances next Sunday. Try to see it.
