Reviewed by: Jess Elfick

Editor: Oscar Lidgerwood

Walking into the Union Theatre to the sounds of assorted show tunes, theatre kids chatting eagerly and the tuning of the twelve-person band, signalled that UMMTA is back. And better than ever. The
excitement in the room was palpable – even the lovely ushers stopped to gush – and who wouldn’t?
After all, the only thing better than one twenty-minute musical, is six one after another.

Pictured Left to Right: Yourself Myself, This Means War, Two Sisters

YOURSELF MYSELF:

The performances started with a beautiful projection behind the orchestra, introduction to Yourself
Myself. Manfred Cain (writer) and Matt Duffy’s (composer) dystopian reality felt like a queer, High
School Musical-meets-Divergent idea where classes are determined by personality tests. Fertilia
(Hannah Emeagi) and Matilda (Jessica Tran) drive the story and alluded to the eventual systematic
change, ultimately questioning what it means to be human and the labels we are given. The music was a
smooth mix of elevator jazz, blues and classic musical theatre, with the standout being the Amoeba
song, complete with strong vocals. There was an ambitiously large chorus, with stand out performances
from the strangely dressed Cloots (Hirday Bajaj) and empathetic Mr Bentley (Ella Roberts). I did get the
feeling that additional time spent with the band could have been beneficial for such a large group, to
create more cohesion and strength in the harmonies that were obviously well-written, but could have
been better showcased. The band and vocal mix were outstanding, especially when Matilda brought out
her own violin and played an emotionally wrought verse downstage.
 
The structure of the production in its short, twenty minute form could have easily created confusion for
audiences, but the choreography (Matisse Knight) and large chorus functioned to tell the audience how
to feel at any given point. It was obviously a difficult thing to contain all the themes of a musical into
simple snippets, but Yourself Myself left me grabbing for the next development. The intersex
representation was well thought out, and while the plot certainly revolved around this aspect of
Fertilia’s identity, I was pleased to see that this was not their only point of characterisation. Each song
had an element of humour while developing this twisted confusion in the world and in each character’s
identity.

TWO SISTERS:
 
“Bloody brilliant” was the next line I had written in my notes app after we transitioned through another
gorgeous video introduction to Two Sisters (co-written by Ellie Dean and Sadie Mustoe). As one can
imagine, the plot revolves around two sisters and their lives after they are split apart – one moved into
wealth while the other lives and works in hardship. We meet them as they decide to find one another
once more, flowing across the stage in traditional Irish skirts that made me want to give Ellie Dean’s
costume design a hug.
 
Niamh (Rizzie Rotunno) clears her onstage pub with an incredible vocal strength that is echoed by Freya
(Charlie Warner) in a far-off land (stage right), with both having the vocal prowess to do the beautifully
composed harmonies justice. The lovely mix of Irish and theatre composition had the professional feel
of pieces that could easily have come on a “musicals” spotify shuffle – both touching and endearing. This
certainly was to be said of Josh Mackie’s performance of James as well, his singing was strong and the
character, though only shortly appearing onstage, was characterised into a lovable young man that had
myself and many of the audience letting out a long “aww” as he fumbled a proposal so sweetly in song
that I wished I could hear it again.
 
The lighting was simple and effective – different to the bright colours and effective gobos of Yourself
Myself but fitting of the performance. Joshua Gardner (Sitzprobe lighting designer) seems to have taken
great care in making sure each performance had a distinctly different feel through the lighting design. From flashes of light and more fluorescent café lamps to deep red lights of “hell”, there are clear jumps
from one to another – certainly necessary as we are thrown from one show to the next.

THIS MEANS WAR:
 
This Means War (written by Zoe Harlen, composed by Brynn Jacka) adapts a children’s tale into a
musical that seems to be specifically for those who grew up on a mixture of ABC3 and elaborately niche
Australian dad jokes. After the family next door wins the lottery, the Judge family lose their nice quiet
neighbourhood and lead us into the cliff-hanger of Emma Judge (Keerthi Shanggar) and Toby Judge (Tom
Worsnop) declaring insect war against the neighbours at the end of the twenty-minute snippet.
Worsnop was a particular stand out – their comedic timing came off as entirely natural, even their stance
gave the feeling of a 2000s Aussie cartoon character. The songs were excellent and would easily appeal
to a younger audience, while the jokes and references were tailored to the student theatre population –
the “Dick” song with Scomo reference was a stand-out hit. The ensemble carried this comedy through
the show, emphasised by subtle (and not so subtle) costuming, whether that was a North Melbourne
footy scarf or the tutu-ed hippos.
 
With a large upstage screen used to denote setting, simple chairs were used for the remainder of the
set. Overall, it was an effective set up that could have been used for other shows in the Sitzprobe, but
the sound effects (like drills at the construction site or magpies in the front yard) already provided a
good indication of place.

Pictured Left to Right: When Henry, Stuck, Charlie’s Cultish Christmas

WHEN HENRY:

From relatively large casts, and after an interval, When Henry swept me away with a three-person
powerhouse of time travel and young love. The elaborate café set complete with ketchup bottles and
cash register transformed the space, and moved surprisingly quickly as we went from meeting snarky
yet stuck waitress Paige (Mietta Kerger), to finding Henry (Jake Radford), a time travelling saviour
following a diary to world salvation. When they found each other, the chemistry was palpable.
 
The vocal performance was stunning and there was an incredible attention to detail. The juxtaposed
costuming of Henry and Auntie against the bright blue waitress outfit of Paige was a brilliant choice that
made the eventual coming together of the protagonists all the more meaningful. The wholesome
sucker-punch came when the clumsy waltz drifted across the stage accompanied by the soft lighting – I
could almost feel the audience hold a collective breath as we watched.

STUCK:
 
Sweetness interrupted: in transitioning from worldly time travel to the claustrophobic elevator of Stuck
an announcement rang out asking any particularly young people in the theatre to head out. That, and
the “sexy firefighters” in the program, should have been signs of things to come, but did not prepare me
for the side-splitting laughter as I watched Carly (Delys Russell) dance across the stage, becoming
increasingly… excited… at the prospect of being in dangerous situations. Jaws dropped across the
auditorium as suggestions of an elevator threesome were continuously implied by Carly. On the
opposite side of this were Danny (Darcy Vissenjoux) and Brett (Lochlan Maher) who carried the
respective emotional burdens of being a perpetual virgin and a man falling out of love with his husband.
 
It felt as if we were tumbling through increasingly distressing life situations, and Maher’s performance
was so gripping that when darkness consumed the small spotlight outlining the elevator, all I wanted
was for the performance to continue. The mature content was handled professionally and hilariously by
all three cast members. Even amongst some microphone troubles, the wonderful writing of queer
characters and strong women shone through in song and dialogue – a credit to Linus Finn Mackie and
Sam Osborn Rassaby.

CHARLIE’S CULTISH CHRISRTMAS:
 
In one final act of emotional whiplash, UMMTA brought out the Christmas tree and started carolling.
Charlie’s Cultish Christmas follows Charlie (Allegra Penna) and her friends as they endeavour to have the
best possible holiday by summoning Santa. Instead, when they summon the most fabulous Satan I have
ever seen (Julian Machin), chaos ensues. The set of Christmas décor was spot-on, as was the lighting –
the deep red when Satan emerged or sucked people away to “down there” was on the nose, cliched and
hilarious, all in the right amounts.
 
There were some small faults and crackles through radio microphones in each show of the night, but
even when loose hair hit the mics, the actors and crew stayed calm and got right back on track. The
vocals were strong and Jaimee White’s choreography (and the execution of this dancing) was easily the
best of the evening. Whereas the other productions left me desperately wanting to see the rest,
Charlie’s Cultish Christmas felt like it was tied up with a bow. Heartfelt and hilarious, Ben Provan-Koch
(writer/director) and Luke Morris (Assistant Director) created a brilliant balance of cheesy Chrissy cheer
and borderline camp devilry. I look (hopefully) forward to a twenty-minute December pantomime.
 
I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into UMMTA’s Sitzprobe, but it certainly wasn’t the level of
professionalism and high execution that I found throughout the night. From the band to the ensemble
and the backstage movements, it was a touching display of comradery and student theatre. I cannot
wait for what UMMTA has to show us in the coming semester!

The UMMTA 2023 Sitzprobe ran from the 4 – 6 of May 2023 at Union Theatre

Photo credit: Kai Clews (kaiclews.com)