Blabbermouth, adapted by Mary Morris from Morris Gleitzman, 25 Jan 1995

Adapted by Mary Morris from Morris Gleitzman's novel

By Melbourne Theatre Company & Arena Theatre

At George Fairfax Studio, Melbourne Arts Centre

Reviewer: Kate Herbert around 25 Jan 1995

This review published in late Jan 1995 (in either The Melbourne Times or Herald Sun. Sorry, I don’t have the details now). KH

 

Let's face it! Kids are cruel. Just a lisp, a limp, a stammer an accent - instant victim material. When Rowena Batts (a surname designed for ridicule) arrives at a new school and can't talk "'cos she was born with missing bits from her throat", she is teased by the school bully, avoided by other girls and treated as a "community project" by her newfound friend.

 

Blabbermouth, adapted by Mary Morris from Morris Gleitzman's novel, is a play for kids 7ish upwards. It has the hallmark Gleitzman wickedness. Ro's dad is an embarrassment to her, wearing satin C & W shirts and singing Tammy Wynette songs.

 

Everybody is flawed, all are heightened versions of people we know and love - or loathe. The oafish, incompetent headmaster (Francis Greeenslade), the sympathetic schoolteacher (Sue Giles) and the kid who can't read (Carole Patullo). Some are hilarious caricatures. Mrs. Granger (Sue Giles) doles out Cheezels one at a time and the entire Peck family are Def Metal head-bangers.

 

The audience loved the cruel and the gross in the story. When Darren Peck the bully has a frog stuffed in his mouth - twice - everybody squirmed and howled in delight. However, it is Rowena (Frances O'Connor) learning to assert herself with friends, community and father and discovering something of tact and tolerance herself which provides the core of the story.

 

The direction is lively and physical, musician/singer, Tom Lycos, adds another dimension and the whole company gives gutsy, comic performances of an astounding number of characters. Patullo, Giles and Greenslade scamper on and off, each with three or four hilarious roles. O'Connor is delightfully impish as Rowena and Danny Nash as her lovable, oafish dad is charming.

 

You can still catch it after school holidays at 6.30 pm. Early dinner, late to bed.

 

KATE HERBERT