Life choices in the frame amid the grim comedy of dysfunctional family drama

THEATRE
Purpose
Wharf 1 Theatre, February 6
Until March 22
Reviewed by JOHN SHAND
★★★★

Faith has been a fickle mistress for Solomon Jasper. She’s steeled his will in the fight for Civil Rights, but failed to assuage his disappointment in his sons, or prevent his leaving an illegitimate brood in his wake. So Solomon, a retired living treasure among African Americans, has turned to beekeeping. Bees, you see, know their purpose in life. So did Solomon. Once.

American playwrights have focused on dysfunctional families with gleeful zeal. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins follows the hallowed tradition of O’Neill, Williams, Miller and Albee, except he elevates the Jaspers’ dysfunctionality to the grotesque.

His theatrical masterstroke is a narrator to steer us through the labyrinth of interlocking hostilities, and tease us with what’s to come. That’s Nazareth, the younger son of Solomon and matriarchal wife Claudine – Naz to all but his father. Naz must be affable, amusing and just a little quirky because he’s neurodivergent to an unspecified degree. Tinashe Mangwana is ideal in director Zindzi Okenyo’s STC production, making credible this asexual creature who delights in solitude while photographing nature.

Naz has just donated sperm to his lesbian friend Aziza, when she drops him off at his parents’ place. All would have been well had she not had to return a forgotten phone charger, by which time the snow’s setting in, and Claudine insists Aziza stay.

If that sounds like the set-up for a melodrama, in part it is, for this play is a many-headed monster: questioning the purpose of life and the viability of marriage; interrogating fame, reputation and accepting one’s children as they are. It even becomes a grim comedy.

The flaws in Okenyo’s production show when the melodrama holds too much sway, and the anger is too relentless. In all other regards, this is an exemplary production of a singular play that would swiftly expose pretenders in the cast. Okenyo’s is strong, with Markus Hamilton as the sternly patriarchal, deeply flawed Solomon. Deni Gordon plays Claudine, and while she has minor lapses, she’s convincing as the only person on earth who can lord it over Solomon.

Sisi Stringer is charismatic as the livewire Aziza, who didn’t know Naz came from this famous family, nor that his real name was Nazareth. Now she’s not so sure about his fathering of her child. Maurice Marvel Meredith excels as the elder son, Solomon Junior, a politician mired in white-collar crime, with the family assemblage celebrating his release from prison as well as Claudine’s birthday.

Junior’s wife, the feisty Morgan (about to do her own time, now that Junior’s out, as they have two young boys), is brilliantly realised by Grace Bentley-Tsibuah. Morgan has wised up, before anyone else, to the Jaspers not exactly being angels of black excellence.

Jeremy Allen’s set is as lavish as the Jaspers are larger than life, and this is an auspicious start to artistic director Mitchell Butel’s STC programming.

MUSIC
OneRepublic
Qudos Bank Arena, February 6
Reviewed by MILLIE MUROI
★★★½

If there’s one thing a performer dreads, it’s coming down with an illness on tour. For OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, the show must go on and, fuelled by sips of tea between songs, he delivers.

Sure, it’s possible to hear a slight huskiness when he reaches for the high notes, and there are points – especially later on in the show – when he seems to be either saving his voice or is just plain fatigued.

But he and his band make it worth the while. The production is well done with simple but effective lighting and imagery, but it’s Tedder’s interpretation that adds spice to the band’s songs.

Switching between high to low registers, and adding vocal twists and runs, Tedder has an instinct for playing with his songs vocally without losing the essence of the number – or doing it just because he can.

Some of OneRepublic’s early hits such as Good Life are crowd pleasers yet benefit from Tedder’s renewal. Lesser known song Life in Colour – which he says the band should have put more in the spotlight on release in 2013 – also gets its time in the sun as its soft instrumentals complement Tedder’s intentional, emphatic and intimate take on the song.

Perfect execution of songs as they’ve been heard before can be pleasant, but in this show the added flair and vocal acrobatics imbue the music with a flavour you won’t hear in OneRepublic’s discography.

There are no jaw-dropping moments or goosebumps, but a solo segment with Zach Filkins on Spanish guitar is a highlight, as is the preview of their song Need Your Love to be released later this year: a catchy and promising medley of rock, hip hop and pop.

Tedder’s keyboard prowess is also impressive. Having written chart-toppers including Halo (ostensibly penned as he gazed at a photo of Jay-Z and imagined what it must be like for Beyoncé to love him), and Bleeding Love sung by Leona Lewis, Tedder adds enchanting detail to these scores when he plays them on piano.

After a mellow middle section, the show is jam-packed as it ends, with best known songs such as Counting Stars, Apologise and I Ain’t Worried bringing it back to life.

Eighteen years after their first Sydney appearance, OneRepublic show why they are still masters of music. They are versatile, polished and adventurous – even with a lead singer nursing his vocal chords on stage in real time.