Emus On Stage

Sydney Theatre Company’s ‘Circle Mirror Transformation’ was an interesting take on self growth following an acting course spanning 6 weeks. Directed by Dean Bryan and written by Annie Baker, I left feeling like a little more could have been pulled out of the story. While audiences older than myself seemed to be amused, perhaps in a world of TikTok and fast-paced society this show lacked in keeping me engaged. The story follows 5 unique people meeting at a workshop, developing as people and building relationships with each other. 

The set design was cleverly created by Jeremy Allen to resemble a yoga studio with full length mirrors, floor length curtains to cover the mirrors, exposed timber and a yoga ball. It was quite an exquisite and well crafted set. The lighting design by Ben Brockman comparatively was quite simple. Warm overhead lights with blackout between scenes with very little variation over the course of the play. The naturalism of the set could have easily complimented the story if the current performance style was compensated. Instead of creating realistic world it just felt ill paced and slow. 

The stand out actor of the cast Ahunim Abebe played an intensely shy 16 year old girl who wants to get a role in her high school’s theatre production. Her comedic timing and physical theatre approach made her presence on stage unforgettable. Her character was cleverly crafted and the evolution of her development was really clear. 

After leaving the play, I felt as though I wanted to be able to pinpoint the characters to a type of person in the real world. I felt as though each character could have almost been a caricature of unique people we naturally encounter. I wanted to see how these caricatures interacted when being thrown into a room together. Unfortunately, most of the characters didn’t come across as something relatable and their relationships with each other for the most part could have been deeper. Give this play an extra month in rehearsals and the pace, characters and timing would have been perfect. 

Despite my own personal opinion, the rest of the audience was engaged and there was lots of laughter around me. It leaves me to think that perhaps this play wasn’t a style of theatre that I engage well with. Contrarily, there is definitely a market for it. There were some incredibly hilarious moments where inner dialogue perfectly met spoken dialogue and reactions met with end scene blackouts. Those moments perfectly showed the potential of a play of this nature. 

RATING

Performers Skill 3 / 5

Stage and Atmosphere 2.5 / 5

Value for Money PAID $44 3 / 5

Entertainment value 2 / 5

10.5 / 20