Review: Ghosts Of Sydney's Underworld Come Back To Set The Record Straight In RAZORHURST

Tuesday 18th June 2019, 7:30pm, Hayes Theatre Potts Point

The bloody story of the two queens of Sydney's seedy underworld are recounted in Kate Mulley (book and lyrics) and Andy Peterson's (music) RAZORHURST. Under Benita de Wit's direction this "chamber musical", which had its World Premiere in New Jersey, finally comes home for its Australian Premiere at Hayes Theatre in the heart of where Kate Leigh (Debora Krizak) and Tilly Devine's (Amelia Cormack) stories took place.

For those less familiar with Sydney's past, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo and Surry Hills were not always filled with trendy latte sipping yuppies, classy wine bars and expensive accommodation that came about with lockout laws and gentrification. These areas, which used to be considered the outskirts of the city, were where newcomers to Sydney often found themselves in cheap boarding houses were also where people got creative with how to make money to survive leading to bitter feuds over territory. Whilst this was also common in other parts of the world, Sydney had two rather unique entrepreneurs in the form of Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh.

Set in the present, RAZORHURST sees the ghosts of Tilly and Kate reunite one final battle, this time with words, song and dance, in the space that was once one of Kate's Sly Grog shops as one of Tilly's descents prepares to reopen it as a trendy coffee shop. Set and costume designer Isabel Hudson pairs the old with the new by creating an worn feel to the shop that has heavy timber columns and heavy beams and an assortment of old furniture including a ghostly piano (eventually played by Music director Lucy Bermingham) and a makeshift bar. Builders' semi opaque plastic sheeting and the distant neon lights form a backdrop and a reminder of the 21st century setting. Benjamin Brockman's lighting design makes use of these pillars to cast shadows in the gloomy space still waiting for its modern makeover. The lighting helps to punctuate the scenes along with helping break down the barrier of the 'proscenium' as the ladies share their story with the audience. Hudson has attired in the women in clothing of their time with Tilly's extravagant furs, Kate's signature hat, buckled shoes and 1930s shift dresses but each have a shabbiness of years interred. De Wit holds the work back from being macabre with the right balance of blood to represent the devastation of the cut-throat razor fuelled razor wars which Devine and Leigh's minions led in the aftermath of the Pistol Licencing act of 1927

This 90 minute two-hander is a wonderful history lesson that allows the "Worst Women in Sydney" to share their side of the story, fixing the media spin and what has, more than likely, been a male view of the situation. Krizak and Cormack are fabulous as the gutsy women that defied the patriarchal society of the day to become the lynchpins of Sydney's supply of prostitution, drugs and alcohol in the early 1900's. Cormack captures the extravagant, flirtatious and seductive nature of Sydney's most famous showgirl and streetwalker turned Madam who found the flaw in the legal system that said nothing about women managing prostitutes. The hunched over Krizak gives the opportunistic tee-total supplier of sly grog and narcotics a more mysterious spin as the oddly moralistic philanthropist who drew the line of illicit behaviour with prostitution and often sat in on court cases peeling vegetables for dinner.

The faults with the production lie predominantly with the music and lyrics. The new music draws on the vaudeville and easy melodies of the early 20th century that unfortunately become too repetitive. When paired with the somewhat simple language, from easy and unsophisticated rhymes with brash colloquial language, the work seems overly simple and naff come attuned to more cerebral creations. Initially the works seem ill-fitted with the performers range with much of Tilly's songs in the lower range come across as much quieter and breathier in comparison to Cormack's solid upper range leading to an unbalanced performance.

These quibbles aside, Krizak and Cormack deliver a wonderful performance as they bring two powerful women to life. The world needs more stories of strong women told and RAZORHURST definitely delivers in that regard and seeing it in the heart of where the stories took place is also wonderfully chilling.

https://hayestheatre.com.au/event/razorhurst/

Photos: John McRae