Review: MOBY DICK, Herman Melville's Great American Novel Is Given A Stripped Back Simplicity By Sport for Jove

Tuesday 14 August 2018, 6:30pm Reginald Theatre Seymour Centre

Orson Welles adaptation of Herman Melville's grand tale of revenge, obsession and danger is presented with compact simplicity in Sport For Jove's presentation of MOBY DICK. Focusing on the humanity that runs beneath the building mania, this accessible work presents a softer side of the Nantucket whalers and their epic search for the elusive white whale.

Welles adaptation and Adam Cook's (Director) interpretation sees the late 19th Century story presented with a blend of contemporary and old world aesthetic along with a range of hardened seafarer growls and the trained tones more familiar with Sport For Jove's usual Shakespearean and classical fare. As with many of Sport for Jove's productions Set and Costume Designer Mark Thompson has utilised an artful economy to create the overcrowded inn, Nantucket docks and the rigging and cabins of the ill-fated whaleship Pequod. The upper railings of the black box Reginald Theatre allow the vertical variety of ships passing on the high seas and ladders do double duty a ships rigging and the whaleboats that gave chase to the ocean's beasts. In keeping with Cook's choice to blend old and new worlds and use the story as a fable, Thompson presents the cast in a mix of more traditional heavy duty oil skins and man-made fibres in contemporary styles.

Cook has opted for genderblind casting which also serves to draw out the more human compassionate side of Ahab's crew when presented alongside the grizzled old seafarer with a single minded obsession. Danny Adcock as Captain Ahab delivers a fabulous performance as the hardened Nantucket whaleman with revenge for his lost leg as his sole focus. He is gruff and growly like a true deep water sailor of the 19th century would be and the whalebone prosthetic helps reinforce his stomping pacing across the empty deck whilst the crew sleep below. He ensures there is a great enough shift in expression to show the old man's compassion and care for the young Pip (Rachel Alexander). Whilst Ishmael narrates the book, he plays a smaller role but Tom Royce-Hampton delivers some wonderful monologues and serves as the percussionist for the hunt, beating out the strokes of the oars as the whaleboats raced for their target.

The mix of more trained voices, natural Australian accents and character accents does lead to a bit of a mismatch of expression beyond the representation of the variety of origins of Pequod's sailors which would have been varied. To degree Francesca Savige's gentler tones as Starbuck could be attributed to the young chief mate's Quaker sensibilities although the strength of the religious connection isn't really clear. Similarly whilst second mate Stubb is laid back but articulate, Jonathan Mill's expression makes it hard to believe he is a seasoned sailor. There is an overall politeness about the crew that whilst being a contrast to Ahab, is a little too 'nice'.

Distilling the 135 chapter novel into an 80 minute play will naturally cause it to loose some of its impact but Nigel Poulton's movement design for the hunts goes some way to expressing the magnitude of chasing the great animals of the sea in small open boats across a vast ocean. The drums and the use of steel sound boards along with Gavin Swift's lighting design heightens the tension but ultimately Cook choses to focus on the humanity that sits beneath the work as Ahab and Starbuck face off over their understanding of the purpose of the voyage.

As with many of Sport for Jove's productions, MOBY DICK is produced with high school students in mind along with appealing to the general public, making stories accessible. With this in mind, this is a good introduction to Melville's story that will hopefully spur audiences on to reading the full novel and possibly even learning more about Melville's inspiration, the Essex which was sunk by a whale in the Pacific Ocean in 1820.

MOBY DICK

9 - 25 August 2018

Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre

https://www.seymourcentre.com/events/event/moby-dick/