OBSERVER: From Roses To Poison
From Roses to Poison, being the English translation, was premiered by the Melbourne French Theatre Inc as a rehearsed and costumed reading at their very own La Maison De Maitre Building in Carlton, being their 110th production over their 48 years.
From English it has been translated into French by Michelle Beugnot with the help of translation courses at Monash University and finally updated and modified with the playwright’s blessing by Michel Bula, MFT’s co-founder, and now performed in French for the first time in Australia.
Renowned Dutch-Australian playwright Marijke Eysbertse-van Schaik delved into Emperor Napolean Bonaparte’s final years of exile and then days before his death on Saint Helena.
The rehearsed reading was so complete you would have thought it was a performance without scripts. Costuming of the period was quite right and certainly added to the expectation of the reality of the day.
With English surtitles on the wall above the acting area, those not so conversant in French could easily follow the events around Napoleon’s last years at St Helena.
The portrayal of Napoleon by Karim Lopez was dynamic in capturing his moments of joy, despair and the realisation they were out to poison him.
Having established a relationship with the Superintendent of the East India Company, William Balcombe strongly played by Richard Ryan, a plan to escape is hatched only to fail.
While under the watchful eye of some 3000 British Soldiers and the merciless Governor Sir Hudson Lowe formidably played by Michel Bula, there were no favours granted as Napoleon spent his last days at Longwood in a rat infected cottage.
Supporting cast, Veronique Duche as Mrs Balcombe, with daughters Lucie Poivaiki Regal as Betsy, Lucie Sors as Jane all shone while Josh Hauville as George Carstairs and Yves Boucaud as Conte de Montholon added much verve to the overall performance.
A cameo appearance of Arnaud Ramdoo as Dr Antonmarchi with his exuberant performance brought some humour in what was a desperate situation for Napoleon.
Directed by Donald McManus it was an all round compelling performance by MFT.
melbournefrenchtheatre.org.au
Review by Graeme McCoubrie