There’s something about breaking out that appeals to all of us. Call it sticking it to the establishment, tearing down the walls, busting up and over, pulling it apart… or sailing a whaling ship across the seas in 1876.
Catalpa is the story of a near impossible prison break that took place at Fremantle Prison, one ambitious not only in scope but – with its appearance at the Subiaco Arts Centre this March – in production too. After all, Catalpa is a one-man show in two parts featuring 15 characters, plus cameos, and live music. Audacious really.
‘It’s become quite a challenge,’ said Melburnian ex-pat Irish Des Fleming, the star 15 times over of the endurance test that is Catalpa.
‘It only became apparent how much of a challenge it was after I had done it. It’s a very powerful script in terms of language. It’s very poetic and onomatopoeic and a very lyrical piece.
‘So it’s very rich in the images it conveys and the physicality of the performance as well. I think there were two things director Alice Bishop was very mindful of.’
Fleming speaks with surety. It’s a strength of conviction that comes with mastering the complexity of this work, originally written by Donal O’Kelly. After all, such a work requires the actor to put complete faith in the director as they go through the process of breaking apart the ego to allow each voice of the script to emerge.
It’s a faith akin to sailing in a world pre-satellite precision. Faith, after all, is a fearless heart. Or a foolish one.
And like Captain Anthony, helming the Catalpa from Ireland to Perth’s own Fremantle Prison, Fleming has both hearts firmly in his chest as he morphs through a menagerie of idiosyncratic identities.
‘What we did is we started from the ground upwards for all of the characters and created a physical shape for them and really had a conversation around who they were and what they wanted.
‘It’s a very physical piece and I’m not a dancer but I’ve been told that I can move, so while it’s not choreographed there is a very distinct physical shape that the piece takes and particularly in the creation of characters because it’s important to delineate the characters for people because obviously physicality and actions we’ve used to try and create variety.
‘And I play a number of female roles as well which for me was physically the greatest journey but mostly not so because the emotions are fairly universal. But creating the physicality of female characters was something that we worked a bit on.’
And it’s this age old tension between the sexes which lies at the crux of Catalpa. Captain Anthony’s partner in crime, Republican and hardened prison breaker John Breslin, is the antithesis of Anthony’s abstinence – his lust for a French girl, Marie Tondut, thwarts the entire operation. Fleming captures this conflict with aplomb.
The result is cinematic.
‘People have said that they’ve had a really rich experience in the theatre in terms of the story has been really well embodied for them. Because people draw on their imaginations they have an experience that is akin to seeing a movie based on the way the play has been written.’
An orchestral soundtrack by grand pianist James Rushford adds to the overall celluloid charm of the work.
‘It’s very evocative of a movie soundtrack,’ Fleming said of Rushford’s score. ‘So I think it’ll appeal to fans of theatre and people who have an interest in movies too.’
Catalpa runs at the Subiaco Arts Centre from Saturday March 12 until Saturday March 19 with a matinee at 2pm Saturday March 19. Tickets are available now through BOCS. www.bocsticketing.com.au
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
