A group of actors in practice clothes wander on to the stage. As they chat and warm-up, aboriginal elder, Wally Bell, joins them to deliver a rambling 20 minute Welcome to Country.
When Wally departs the actors slip into costumes to become characters in the story of Frank Doyle, an aboriginal serviceman who returns home to Brisbane from World War 11. Discovering that attitudes have changed little since he went away, Frank Doyle decides to start The Sunshine Club, a place where black and white can meet, and most importantly, dance.
Written and directed by Wesley Enoch, with music by John Rodgers, the original Queensland Theatre Company production of The Sunshine Club opened in Brisbane in 1999, before moving to the Sydney Opera House for a six-week season in 2000.
That production won Wesley Enoch a Matilda Award for book, lyrics and direction, and Stephen Page a Helpmann Award nomination for his choreography.
In 2022, Queensland Theatre produced a revival of the work, also directed by Wesley Enoch, but this time with choreography by Yolande Brown, which this reviewer was fortunate to see.
This touring version of that production, produced by HIT Productions, has an entirely new and slightly reduced cast, but retains Roxanne McDonald who, happily, repeats her star turn as the worldly wise Aunty Faith Doyle. Wesley Enoch also directs this production.
Judged against the sophistication of current indigenous theatre, The Sunshine Club now seems naïve and even amateurish, despite the best efforts of its current hardworking cast. However, it is that very naivety that makes this production so appealing.
The optimism inherent in the predictable, cliché laden dialogue and colourful Hollywood-style song and dance numbers is a far cry from the underlying anger of much of the current indigenous offerings.
Garret Lyon and Claire Warrillow as Frank Doyle and Rose Morris, the young lovers fighting against the ingrained societal attitudes, offer sincere, appealing performances as does Tehya Makani as Frank’s strong-willed sister, Pearl, who provides a real highlight with her stricken rendition of Passionfruit Vine.
Lanky Rune Nydal as Pearl’s caddish lover; Dale Pengelly as the Reverend Percy Morris, and Leeroy Tipiloura as the happy-go-lucky Dave Daylight, all do their best with stock characters whose rapid changes of attitude make them hard to make believable .
Towards the end of the show the actors return to the stage in their practice clothes to render a stirring rendition of If Not Now, Then When.
The excellent musical arrangements for John Rodger’s songs were superbly realised by Shenzo Gregorio’s excellent five-piece, on-stage band, however the attractive sets by Jacob Nash and costumes by Richard Roberts, adapted for touring by Adrienne Chisholm, were often compromised by Ben Hughes gloomy lighting design.
Nevertheless, this production by Hit Productions offers a welcome opportunity to see an authentic production of an important Australian musical which when first presented was hailed as “a brilliant new landmark in Australian musicals…and unashamedly feel-good”.
The Sunshine Club
Q Theatre – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 253 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan
Performance: Wednesday 31 July 2024
Season: 31 July – 1 August 2024
Information: www.theq.net.au
Image: Claire Warrillow and Garret Lyon in The Sunshine Club – photo by Paul Dodd
Review: Bill Stephens OAM