Review: Mysterium at Cockburn Youth Centre

Mysterium at Cockburn Youth Centre
Friday, January 27, 2023

7/10

Tucked within the suburban shopping space, under the glow of fairy lights sits the Cockburn Youth Centre Stage. It was here that an ensemble of 11 to 20 year-olds put on a duet of theatrical performances, Mysterium.

The performance felt like dipping your hand in a mystery bag of theatre. Two ensembles, two original plots and two vastly different plays; you’re in for a night of surprises.

The first performance was called Knowing Amy. A realist collection of monologues, vignettes of scenes and choreographed movements, slowly built a portrait of a missing girl. Amy, a 15-year old student, gets her final days retold by those who think they are closest to her: school friends, family, co-workers. Through exploring the reactions of the community, we get a sense of the complexities and inconsistencies that exist within a person.

Knowing Amy was a solid ensemble performance which held a sense of tension and suspense for the entire duration. A couple of performances of note were Asher, Amy’s little sister, played by Emma Hansen, and Lexi, played by Pania Eskandarzadeh, who brought a beautiful sensitivity and depth to their acting. As well the comedy duo of Gossip Girl and Gossip Guy, played by Charli Cliffe and Kiarn Panther, deserve a mention with the sense of levity and energy that cut through the heavy themes and managed to get the audience laughing. There was good chemistry and rhythm between actors, and it would have been good to see more group scenes and more time to savour the movement sequences, as they felt a bit rushed.

At the interval, the audience was ushered out of the theatre, lulled into a false sense of security. The promise of representational acting and proscenium arch theatre was broken when actors, in character, began to mingle with the audience in the foyer. Through mini scenes and character shenanigans, the audience was slowly introduced to some familiar murder mystery archetypes. The curious reporter, the repressed creative director, the corrupt mayor, the wealthy benefactor, all surprisingly confident and in character, began to weave a plot.

Pamphlets were handed out announcing the second performance as Cinderfella the pantomime, but it was of course, none other than A Starr has Fallen. The play within a play began as a crossdressing, limerick-filled examination of gender roles, until the actors and audience begin dying off. The theatre reviewer/Sunday crossword writer, Jean Parrot (Jack Findlater), takes it upon himself to stop the play and find the serial killer before they strike again.

It was a cracker of a play, that left the audience gasping and laughing along. An unbashful comedy that embraced the silliness to the very end, complete with the occult and ghosts making an appearance.

A couple of performances stood out. These go to Coach Smith (Dylan Maloney), for being a side character who may have stolen the show, with his intensity and his dedication to his character, even out of the spotlight. Tate Moon (Seven Edge) captivated us with their elegantly composed movement, and of course the Jean Parrot (Jack Findlater) had a lovely dynamism to his voice and an energy that held the performance together, even during his lengthy monologues.

The plot was not the only thing full of surprises; the amazing voice of Chester Walland (Cooper Tyson) and the passionate rapping ability of The Stabbed Usher (Zoey Ablett), were icing on the cake and had the audience cheering for more.

Another thing that will get the theatre buff’s blood pumping was the clever design of space. The rows of seats from Knowing Amy were transformed into intimate round tables. A character sat at each, for the audience to interact with and in the centre of each table were a glowing set of candles. While the character of the table remained alive the candles were green, but once they died they turned red. And before you ask… yes there were that many deaths.

The layout allowed for casual, unforced audience interaction and a sense of emersion with one half of the ensemble on stage and the other half in the crowd. The tech and lighting were simple, considered and executed perfectly, despite the stage tech only being 13 and 15-years old themselves.

Cockburn Youth Centre and its director are to be commended for delivering such a varied and gutsy program. The stylistic contrast let the versatility of the young actors shine, and the enthusiasm and hours gone into the two performances showed. With so many talented and imaginative young people involved, it will be exciting to see what wild concepts next year’s Fringe holds.

NINA DAKIN

Photo by Caleb Jones