Based loosely upon Shakespeare’s The Tempest and cult science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet, Return to the Forbidden Planet illustrates the story of Captain Tempest’s valiant crew who become stranded on the Forbidden Planet of D’Illyria after a meteor shower. Here they meet the ‘misunderstood scientist’ Doctor Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Yes, we know the names have Shakespeare written all over it, but that’s how far it goes.
The show commences with an upbeat number as the actors prance around the stage in Mad Men-esque white underwear. With bravado, and still in their underwear, we are introduced to the characters, before they begin lift off, into Return to the Forbidden Planet.
Stella Young, Ramp Up editor and occasional Sunday column contributor, documents and summarises each act via a televised reading on the multiple screens positioned on either side of the stage.
As the musical unravels, one of the first things that becomes obvious about Return to the Forbidden Planet is how out of the ordinary it is.
Maybe it’s the combination of androgyny, the outrageous make-up provided by Eugyeene Teh, or how the audience is privy to the stage direction, band, and stage crew as they move conspicuously about in the background… mostly it’s the androgyny.
“Gender is ambiguous: our women are men and women, masculine and feminine, it matters and it doesn’t matter,” wrote director Bryce Ives in the program booklet. It was part of the MUAPA’s own homage to Shakespearean theatre, which was only performed by males.
Return to the Forbidden Planet already heralds the paradigms of Shakespearean theatre, with Cookie the Cook’s poetic sonnets, while Gloria, portrayed by triple J featured artist Jess Palmer, speaks with contemporary intelligence. It’s this juxtaposition of poetic and contemporary paradigms that elicits laughs within the play, coupled with the android Ariel.
One of the impressive qualities of Gerard Lane, who portrays the maternalistic android, is the phenomenal amount of accents he can adeptly shift between — Scottish, English, American, even mimicries of Yoda and Darth Vadar. It’s humorous, confusing and impressive.
Coupled with the backlog of experience among the cast, Michelle France has a physical theatre entitled My Pet, My Love for the upcoming La Mamma Explorations season and Zoe McDonald is part of theatre company Present Tense, MUAPA create a credible performance that illustrates love, heartbreak, dysfunctional relationships and human existentialism.
Overall Return to the Forbidden Planet is a richly humorous, feel good musical about science, love and relationships. Profoundly tragic in some scenes, the cast tribute Shakespeare, Forbidden Planet and a plethora of other things with a cadence worthy of a larger theatre.
