Mark Sheppard and Leroy Parsons.
Australians love nothing more than cutting down a tall poppy. Indeed, Sydney and Canberra have turned it into an art form in recent years. And so, what could be more fitting than that Australia’s first Aboriginal President, with the Spoonerist name of Paul Toppy, be taken down a peg or two.
That is the premise of this new play, specially commissioned as part of a project to use theatre to celebrate the success stories of Australia’s First Peoples. It is also the premise of a goodly number of other plays, including King Lear, with which it has some other similarities, not the least of which is the presence of a jester whose observations are pertinent and apposite. But Lear is a tragedy. Proper Solid is a comedy and a hilarious one at that, particularly appreciated by the sizeable Aboriginal component of the audience. For them, the ‘Blackfella’ language of the play resonated strongly, the shock of recognition kicking in and causing great hilarity, while the non-Aboriginal members enjoyed the banter every bit as much. The play produces a laugh a minute.
Of course, it has its serious side as do all good comedies. Paul Toppy may be an Aborigine, but he has precious little understanding of his heritage as the play begins. Transported mysteriously from the Republican Australia of 2067 to the humble abode of the Toppy family in 2014, he has a lot to learn about connection to country, about his clan and their traditions, and they in turn have a lot to learn from him about aspiration and achievement. As they point out, without a connection to his clan and country, he is ‘floating’ – like a ghost. As indeed we all are in such a case. So, in the end the theme of the play is universal.
Bringing all this together and milking the dialogue for all the sardonic laughs it can provoke, Director Nadine McDonald-Dowd has been careful to balance the disparate elements of pride in achievement, represented by Toppy and down-to-earth candour represented by his 2014 cousins. She has brought out the very best in her three actors, giving them plenty of scope for outrageous characterisations and costumes. The actors themselves are very clever. Leroy Parsons as Toppy presents himself as a bemused and often embarrassed learner, but he is always careful to maintain an air of presidential dignity – even with his shoes off. Mark Sheppard is the equivalent of Shakespeare’s Fool, though with a distinctive ‘blackfella’ dialect, playing two roles – one as a happy-go-lucky husband, the other as his son, a rapper musician. In both roles he exudes good cheer and sound common sense. It was also a delight to hear him perform a rap song about Aboriginal concerns in which the words were perfectly clear. Norah Bagiri has one of those faces that light up the theatre with charm and happiness. She too has various roles – one as President Toppy’s Personal Assistant, the next as the mother figure and ‘aunty’ in the Toppy clan, and the third as an Aboriginal Fashion Designer, a role which allows her to dress in clothes as bright and sunny as her smile. It also gives Toppy an opportunity to teach her not to accept put-downs in a white-dominated industry.
I could go on and on about the outstanding qualities of the production. The set, for example, is another instance of clever minimalist design by Simone Tesorieri and Simona Cosentini. It consists of a box, decorated on the outside with an election poster featuring Toppy against a new Australian flag with the Southern Cross imposed upon a background of red, black and gold. Shades of things to come? After the opening moments, the box opens up to reveal the Toppys’ kitchen and living room, and an outdoor area covered in grass. This is clan and country unpacked in less than a minute. Kelly Calder’s lighting design is clever too. The Star Trek style suits worn by the President and his assistant light up when a phone call comes through, and the multiple acting areas are filled with light or covered in darkness as the scene requires. Sound effects and background music by Nigel Pegrum and Deb Sisson did not obtrude but were always attuned to the mood of the play.
It is intended that the play should travel, as the commission to create it included a requirement that there be a schools program to create awareness of the First Peoples’ stories among our younger citizens. The project is a sure-fire winner. In the tradition of Bran Nue Dae and The Sapphires, it deserves an Australia-wide audience, and not just in schools. I enjoyed the play so much that I want to see it again. And again!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Proper Solid
A Jute Theatre Company Production
Directed by Nadine McDonald-Dowd
Playwright Steven Oliver
Designer Simone Tesorieri & Simona Cosentini
Lighting Designer Kelly Calder
Sound Designers Deb Sisson & Nigel Pegrum
Cast includes: Norah Bagiri, Leroy Parsons & Mark Sheppard
Jute Theatre Company, Abbott St, Cairns
www.jute.com.au
25 July – 9 August
