They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It may be good advice
but let's be honest, you have to make a decision on the basis of
something and a cover isn't such a terrible place to start. The problem
is it's not an exact science, far from it. Today I was reminded of this
in the Queensland Performing Arts Complex. I was there for the media
preview of Queensland Theatre's Once in Royal David City. I knew this
was by Australian playwright Micahel Gow. I knew this was the Queensland
Theatre directorial debut of new Artistic Director Sam Strong. But that
was pretty much where my knowledge ended. The picture in my mind
decided it was either something biblical or perhaps an English period
drama, all corsets and wigs. I'd been in The Playhouse for about 1.7
seconds when I realised I'd got it all totally wrong. It was all T
shirts and jeans. The position of chairs at the sides of the stage and
the clothes racks screamed ensemble piece. And then the cast acted an
excerpt. Oh My God. Bring your tissues.. And this was a segment Strong
assured us was spoiler free. I can only imagine what's in the rest. The
website says "Faced with the loss of a parent, do we rage against the
universe, search for connection or hope for an epiphany? On the beaches
of northern New South Wales, theatre director Will has planned to share a
restful, halcyon Christmas with his recently-widowed mother. But then
she falls ill. During a bedside vigil, Will is forced to piece together
the splintered shards of his own life, questioning his role as an
artist, as a son, as a citizen of the world". Now while you shouldn't
judge a book by its cover, you shouldn't judge a play by a segment of a
few minutes. So I'll reserve final judgment until after opening night
on Thursday. But those few minutes were a wild ride - from a cafe to an
airport to the beach. Happy, sad, flippant and deep. Just take tissues
They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It may be good advice
but let's be honest, you have to make a decision on the basis of
something and a cover isn't such a terrible place to start. The problem
is it's not an exact science, far from it. Today I was reminded of this
in the Queensland Performing Arts Complex. I was there for the media
preview of Queensland Theatre's Once in Royal David City. I knew this
was by Australian playwright Micahel Gow. I knew this was the Queensland
Theatre directorial debut of new Artistic Director Sam Strong. But that
was pretty much where my knowledge ended. The picture in my mind
decided it was either something biblical or perhaps an English period
drama, all corsets and wigs. I'd been in The Playhouse for about 1.7
seconds when I realised I'd got it all totally wrong. It was all T
shirts and jeans. The position of chairs at the sides of the stage and
the clothes racks screamed ensemble piece. And then the cast acted an
excerpt. Oh My God. Bring your tissues.. And this was a segment Strong
assured us was spoiler free. I can only imagine what's in the rest. The
website says "Faced with the loss of a parent, do we rage against the
universe, search for connection or hope for an epiphany? On the beaches
of northern New South Wales, theatre director Will has planned to share a
restful, halcyon Christmas with his recently-widowed mother. But then
she falls ill. During a bedside vigil, Will is forced to piece together
the splintered shards of his own life, questioning his role as an
artist, as a son, as a citizen of the world". Now while you shouldn't
judge a book by its cover, you shouldn't judge a play by a segment of a
few minutes. So I'll reserve final judgment until after opening night
on Thursday. But those few minutes were a wild ride - from a cafe to an
airport to the beach. Happy, sad, flippant and deep. Just take tissues
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