helen medlyn & penny dodd

hellbent 2002 reviews

 hellbent full of fire...

 Click Here for the National Business Review, Friday 18 October 2002 

hellbent on having some enchanted evening

Otago Daily Times, Monday 7 October 2002

Lady Macbeth disguised modishly in flaming scarlet has escaped from the Fortune Theatre and is masquerading at the Glenroy Auditorium as every tragic and comic heroine in the repertoire.

She is, as played by Helen Medlyn, recklessly determined to succeed.

Up front, outrageously out of left field, devastatingly wicked, beguiling and thoroughly entertaining, "hellbent" is a triumph for Medlyn as actor, singer and raconteur and also something of equal stature for pianist Penny Dodd. With disarming ease they ring the changes from cheeky ballad and pop showstopper to grand opera and lieder in nearly 90mins of first-rate entertainment.

It is quite a feat in terms of technical ability, let alone memory, particularly for Medlyn where swift changes in mood and style are accomplished effortlessly.

But the big plus is the engaging stage presence, at times strongly dramatic for opera, teasing for some choice and risqué ballads and then vocally sure and expressive in lieder.

There are many highlights - for me a delightful impersonation of Joyce Grenfell discoursing scrumptiously during an opera interval, the richness of an aria from Il Trovatore, the quality of lieder by Mahler sung beautifully by Medlyn on her knees, and then the piece de resistance, to end them all, that voluptuous slide over the grand piano for an ode to the handiness of handymen.

An imaginative stage setup, cabaret style in the round and good lighting enhance an enchanting evening. Various viragos of stage and screen parade handsomely.

Posted Monday 7th October 2002

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