The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 24

AGENDA 7 1992 The Sunday Age EVIEW 1 5 madness, murdei; but minus depth E3.P.RJ. REVIEWS: POP ROCK MUSIC alice, 'Ottollo. by William Shakeweare. MM, at The Playhou, Victorian Centra, until 13 June. HE advertising imagery is quite explicit: a black male hand holding white female flesh, with a to match, leaving no doubt that sexual power is seen to predominate in tie MTC production of 'Othello.

Indeed, sex Is never far from us in thll three-hour presentation, directed by Roger Hodgman, and having Maori actor George Henare as the newly married but soon to go mad Moor of Venice. Hodgman had been wanting to do the play for years, but would not use a wllte actor with make-up. His wait wis worth it for Henare is a performer of commanding presence, as suits Othello as a military general, although some of his subsequent descent into insanity could have benefited from more intensity. If anything, it is intensity that is sometimes lacking in the whole pro-, diction, which is otherwise worthy. Most commendable is its faithfulness to Shakespeare's text.

The play is mostly given over to the words rather than seeking effects, except for an excellent set by Tony Tripp which moves us elegantly and effectively from Venice to Cyprus with images of darkness and heavenly light to match the moods of the play. Arti rr 4 i The three despite all the male manipulation and brute behavior, are shown as trusting and true, like rays of light But the darkness of foul events eventually engulfs the story, building up over a long, yet mostly sustained, series of climaxes. All of It Is brought on by the plotting of Iago who wants to destroy both Othello and Casslo. He particularly has no respect for women, seeing them basically In sexual terms. He even half-believes that Desdemona will eventually take up with Casslo, choosing his youtbfulness.

Iago's scheming against Othello fills the stage with serpents in the form of his thoughts, words and deeds, which he shares readily and regularly with the audience. Frank Gallacher Is Iago, playing him as a not very subtle man, rather basic In fact, using the actor's forceful-ness to full advantage. The communication between Othello and Iago is kept fairly taut and the best scene of the night is the last one between them before Interval. It Is a major production as well as being on the VCE syllabus this year. A lot of work has gone into it, but the tension at times could be sharper.

I would have liked more glimpses from the other side, the haunted interiors of these doomed people. duction, this Is not the case. The edges are ragged and thin-voiced. It Is sexual desire that turns on Othello and feeds his jealousy when he begins to believe Iago's innuendos that Desdemona is engaging in infidelity with Casslo. As played by Paul English, Cassios's is a very straight part, but it Is nonetheless strong and clear and an important counterpoint to the intrigue.

It is sex which Desdemona and Othello share on their wedding night, and her appetite for it as a normal, healthy young woman, as Hodgman says, might have shocked her husband. It certainly makes him more ready to believe the worst of her as Iago begins planting his poisonous seeds In his master's mind. Othello, at the same time, is capable of showing openly his lust in the way of the male force which dominates the play, as men of the military to whom women are meant to be subservient. The only other two women in the play are Iago's' wife, Emilia, played with much skill and feeling by Janet Andrewartha, who unwittingly engages with Iago in his campaign to undermine Othello in revenge for appointing Casslo over him as the leading lieutenant; and Casslo's mistress, Bianca, a cameo role done very nicely by Kylle Belling. Deadly whisper: Iago (Frank Gallacher) Insidiously plants with Othello (George Henare) the poisonous seeds of suspicion about his young wife's fidelity.

Fatal attractions with classic twist British singer Billy Bragg's decision to be a little less earnest and instead have a bit more fun with his music has certainly paid off, as Brian Wise reports. vi i ti "0 'Ingenue', K. D. Lang, Sire FIR those who still associate K. D.

Lang with the emergence of a new breed of hip country-music singers, 'Ingenue' will be a surprise. The Owen Bradley sessions she recorded a few years ago pointed to her great versatility, and 'Absolute Torch and Twang' used the same production and songwritlng line-up. Yet 'Ingenue' Is conceptually a quantum leap. Although Lang takes on what might seem to be the uncustomary role of torch singer, her voice is superbly suited for the task as she creates a seductively atmospheric album that highlights the emotive power behind the songs. 'Miss Chatelaine', with its strings and Continental flair, contrasts with less elaborate songs such as 'The Mind of Love', yet the lushness of the arrangements remains to dominate the album.

'Still Thrives This Love' is ample evidence of the songwritlng skills of Lang and her main collaborator, Ben Mink. Where Michelle Shocked returned to her musical roots for ber latest album, Lang explores uncharted territory and, in doing so, uncovers -the depths of her considerable talents. Brian Wise 'Falling From Grace', Various Artists, Mercury JOHN Mellencamp, apparently not satisfied with the creative outlets now at his command singing, songwritlng, performing and, more recently, painting has gone Hollywood. Which is to say, he's in the movie business. 'Falling From Grace' sees Mellencamp starring in and directing a Larry McMurtry script.

The jury Is still out on the film, but the soundtrack at least Is first rate. Co-produced by Mellencamp does this make him a Renaissance man or megalomaniac? it features the cream of American country music's so-called "new Dwlght Yoakam, Nanci Griffith and James McMurty chief among them. The album's 13 tracks feature two solo performances from Mellencamp and a slightly re-worded 'All the Best' from John Prine. Despite the addition of electric guitars and a rhythm section, this version sounds flat against the original on Prine superb 'Missing Years' album of 1991. Perhaps the stand-out track, though, Is 'Sweet Suzanne' featuring the Buzzln' Cousins Mellencamp, Prine, Yoakam, McMurty and Joe Ely.

Whatever the success of his film, let's hope Mellencamp suggests an album from that lot. Bruce Outhrie 'With My Lover Beside Me', Nancy Wilson, Columbia. THE story goes that Ginger Mercer, widow of the late and great lyricist Johnny Mercer ('Moon River', 'That Old Black Magic', etc), was rummaging through some of his belongings when she happened upon previously undiscovered lyrics. In her wisdom she took them to Barry Manilow, renowned middle-of-the-road entertainer, who was given the task of putting the lyrics to music. Manilow, in his (undoubted) wisdom, took the finished products to so-called singer's singer, Nancy Wilson.

Thus was born "With My Lover Beside While Manilow has In recent years become something of a whipping boy for the world's music critics, credit where credit is due: this is a lovely piece of work, full of beautifully crafted ballads. Wilson is due in Melbourne soon for a season at the Hilton. On the evidence here, at least one or two MercerManllow songs should make it Into the repertoire. Brace Outhrie CLASSICAL 'Roaelnl Heroine'. Cecilia Bartoll (mezzo soprano), Orcheetra and Chora of Teatro La Fenlce, Ion Marin (conductor).

Dacca 436 075-2. 59 minute. ROSSINI must be tickled pink that in this year ol celebration (2M years since his birth) a singer of BartoU's calibre exists. She has already captured some of the Italian composer's music en earlier discs, but here he let fly with some phenomenal performances, tamping her talent firmly on thll meat showy of repertoire, Taking ai her lead Isabella Colbraa, eae ef Rossini' favorite singer, and for wham he composed all ef the music oa this dle, Bartoll let her conilderable range encompat eight Items with nnflustered skill. Her I a creamy, rich mezzo (ibe follow directly la the footstep ef her sealer cellegine Marilyn Herae) and her ability te assail breath-taking ran with aa evenec seldom heard la recent time Is aa atteaading feature ef this recording Some of the msslc new, although familiar Rossini taae are forever pepping so.

'Le Nozze de Tetl dl Pelee ler Instance, Is certainly a rarity, altheagh 'Cenerentela' lead a hand la Its elaborate finale. And there are slew aria, tee, where thl iager Is eqsally at heme, carenlag the mafic with thought sad teadereecs. She Is eae ef the big stars si tat Its aad Maria's orchestral accotnpaalmeat Is gives with dst 1 respect both her skill aad Reader siask. It is sex which gives Othello his extra male power with his young bride, Desdemona, played by a new arrival, Helen Thomson, who has the right physique, pale skin, golden hair and air of innocence. Although again, there is a feeling that more depth of character is required, especially when she learns Othello in his rage will murder her.

While the audience is quickly caught in the awful inevitability of tragedy as the principal players in the drama edge towards their destruction, there is not quite, the right edge of menace in what we see before us. This is not helped by a tendency among the lesser characters to be uneven in performance. Whenever Shakespeare Is done, it has to be done very well, right down to the last and least important part. But in this pro TOM RYAN FILM production of the film was that Nick be rewritten as a woman (Kathleen Turner was even proposed for the part). As far as I'm concerned, anything that keeps me from having to watch Michael Douglas again already makes sense (he really has become the number one screen But, while the dramatic consequences of such a gender adjustment are fascinating to contemplate (options not taken are usually very revealing about the ones that are), they are hardly "market especially given that the budget for the film was more than $50 million.

No Hollywood studio Is likely to support a script about a female detective ensnared by a lethal female bisexual. In its produced form, 'Basic Instinct' has distinct echoes of 'The Fourth Man' (1983), the last film Verhoeven made in Holland, about a bisexual male writer who sows the seeds of destruction in his relationship with a duplicltous woman. However, its ambivalent depictions of human sexual behavior would appear to have more in common with I'amour fou films, like Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' or Nagisa Oshlma's infamous 'In The Realm Of The Senses'. And while 'Basic Instinct' shies away from the latter film's explicitness, it also proposes sex as a kind of death (for its male protagonist, at least), an abandonment of the self in a way that is irrevocable. Nick's involvement with Catherine Is presented as a kind of death wish, a way of erasing the guilty past that haunts him.

His professional pursuit of her she's the chief suspect In the grisly sex murder with which the film opens becomes a facade for his personal motives. And it's not long before he begins to lose control, fooling nobody but himself about what he really IN HIS abandonment of himself to the sex that she offers and to the death that she promises (she tells him she's writing a book about a detective who falls for the wrong woman), he Is wishing himself into the place of the victim in the opening sequence. The Implications of that sequence hov er over everything that iouows. 'Basic Instinct' is a compelling depiction of the dark side of the male psyche. Its debt to Hitchcock is acknowledged in its explicit references to 'Vertigo', but its knowingly over-the-top melodramatic style replaces that film's doomed romanticism with a hard-edged cynicism.

Its excesses (like those of the recent 'Cape Fear remake) are strategic ones, keeping us at an emotional distance from the characters at the same time as we are jolted by their cat-and-mouse games. Yet while Nick is allowed motives for his actions (his guilty past), Catherine has none. Like most of her noir sisters, she Is there only to provide a mirror for Nick's degradation. She is fascinating, by far the smartest and most powerful character in the film, and her openness about her intentions Is as refreshing as it Is shocking. Any film attempting to operate within the conventional parameters of this kind of story has to deal with the femme fatale and how it becomes crucial.

'Basic Instinct' is different from most films of its ilk in that It makes her deadly sexuality explicit, but It does nothing to draw back the veil on her mysterlousness. She Is a creature of instinct, forced by the film to live in the shadow of man. Verhoeven's reliance on this stereotype deserves the criticism It's going to get But what generally gets forgotten when there's a brouhaha about a film is the film Itself, and 'Basic Instinct' manages to take us to some pretty Interesting places. Oont bother. Maybe.

Good viewing. Oon'ttol It. Mellowing: Billy Bragg admits he is no longer "all fire and fury. As I've got more you can entertain people, then you can make them much more conducive to 'Bag: Instinct' (ft, on general nteite) DlreHted by Paul Verhoeven. Written by Joe fszterhas.

Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Amdt, A delirious and deliberately provocative reworking of the classic femme Male story, -trk-k A DETECTIVE troubled by events in his past becomes obsessed by a mysterious woman he has been assigned to follow. Their subsequent cat-and-mouse games lead him to a point from where there's no turning back If the plot for 'Basic Instinct' sounds familiar, it's not surprising: crime from Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain to John D. MacDonald and James Ellroy, from 'Out Of The Past' and 'Vertigo' to 'Sea Of Love', has long relied on it. Men, who just happen to be detectives, have the fragile order of their lives shattered by femmes fatales whose sole reason for being seems to destroy them.

These 'are men who think they know about themselves, until they find out they don't. The stories are often powerful, but there Is a potentially misogynist streak to them. The poor femme fatale definition, reduced to the mysterious, sexually dangerous Thing that these men are afraid of. Sooner or later, given the trajectory of their recent work, it was inevitable that Dutch-born director Paul Verhoe-veand controversial journallst-cum-writer Joe Eszterhas would find their respective ways to1 this staple noir story and to a film like 'Basic Instinct'. All Eszterhas needed to do was reverse the gender of the major characters In the plot he used, with Impressive; variations, for 'Jagged Edge', 'Betrayed' and The Music Box'.

In each of those films, a woman is taken in by a charming man who turns out to be. a murderer. She survives, but at a considerable personal cost. In 'Basic Instinct', Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) is a male version of this female protagonist and crime-writing femme fatale Catherine Trams)). (Sharon Stone) is a female version of Eszterhas's treacherous mates.

i Verhoeven's route to 'Basic Instinct' is (ess clearly signposted. His previous American sfilms, 'RoboCop' and 'Total Recall', belong to the realm of science fiction, but, like much of his work In Europe, they deal with characters wKo become disassociated from their sense of self and who find themselves groping around in the metaphorical dark for a sign of it. The dramatic fOjgus.ls on their inner worlds, but the screen frequently filled with bodies undergoing the most gruelling kinds of physical stress. the same is true of 'Basic Instinct', thtfigh, since the kind of stress on the screen lp frequently sexual and features lot of flesh, mostly female, the fUmDas inevitably already won a cer tain -notoriety. Last week's cover of week'1 (my wife gets it, I don't), Hng an "exclusive of- Michael Douglas and The sex em off the Prepare your- alMoif more.

(Vet the film is much more Interest- fjnd confronting, than promotional i like this allows. The sex is dra- illy Interesting because it's pre- i as dangerous. 'Basic Instinct' i mat an sex is more or less about dominating and being MHated. Not an especially original pqMifcfio mare, oui one uouui wihlu ptfTO people tend to remain silent, at lent until they're provoked. And 'Ba-slClnstinct' is determined to provoke.

The loudest objections thus far (not ccuntlng the-elderly couple sitting bi hind me at the preview screening) seem to have come from gay activists In! the United States, who managed to acquire a copy of the script before It went-into production. One of the more Intelligent suggestions they made during their widely-publicised attempts to hinder the sewed Dfoaotei vtnsM. IN the wake of the 1987 British general election, there were some cynics who suggested that the Labor Party's loss was Billy Bragg's gain. After all, what would this committed socialist staunch supporter of Labor and friend of Eastern Europe sing about if Labor won. As a key member of the Red Wedge a group of musicians and artists pledged to the Labor cause Bragg campaigned long and tirelessly for an ultimately unsuccessful party back then.

This year, Bragg's election campaigning for particular Labor candidates was more low-key and his response to defeat, after yet another bitterly disappointing election result for Labor, is a clue to the changes that have been occurring in his life both politically and musically. "Now we have mainstream centre-ground consensus all the parties are being very safe," says Bragg in a manner typical of his forthright approach when it comes to talking about politics. "I think people have become disillusioned with politicians rather than with politics. I think they see politicians as a bunch of self-interested careerists and I think they've got a good case there." Bragg's faith in the revamped Labor Party that took shape under the leadership of Neil Kinnock was shaken long before this year's ballot had been cast. "If anything, my concern with the Labor Party," he says, "is that they seemed to be fighting the last bloody general election and not this one!" These days Bragg's political soapbox has to be shared by appearances on the 'Johnny Carson Show' as he breaks out of the dreaded "cult" artist status to reach the broadest audience of his career with his most successful album to date.

If the rapidly maturing, amusing and erudite Bragg had been in charge of marketing the Labor Party In Britain, it might be in power now! Affectionately known in the music press as the Bard of Barking after the small English town which spawned him Bragg began his music career in the late '70s in a band that was heavily Influenced by the Clash. A few years later, the singer had gone solo and his 1983 mini-album 'Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy' immediately attracted a strong following with its sparse, staccato guitar and biting topical songs. While ostensibly working In a folk tradition, Bragg rejected the stodgi-ness of the traditional folk clubs in England and continued to bring his music to a young, politically aware audience. Bragg's commitment to the Labor movement came early In his career and he was a strong supporter of the miners during their Ill-fated strike in the mid-'80s. Bragg has kept the political commitment alive over the years in addition to his work for Labor in Britain, he has contributed a song to an American tribute album for Joe Hill; has made extensive forays into Eastern Europe (well before the fall of the Berlin Wall); has been a part of the anti-apartheid movement; and, his commitment to global political rights has led him to Bolivia where he expressed support for oppressed miners and even found time to take part In a travel documentary as part of the 'Great Railway Journeys' series.

Those who saw Bragg during his first Australian tour some five years ago, may recall the earnestness with which the singer-songwriter peppered his performances with politically correct speeches supporting a variety of causes; and added to this quite a few diatribes against conservative politicians. Not that one might disagree with Bragg's sentiments, but the politics dormhated the performance. When Bragg is reminded of his blunt approach In his early days and we probably had a false Image of his seriousness he readily admits to having a changed viewpoint. "I think what you might have seen is me becoming more aware of what I'm capable of doing," recalls the singer. "When I first started I was all fire and fury.

As I've got more and more experienced, I've realised that if you can entertain people, then you can make them much more conducive to the Ideas that you're trying to express. The alternative Is Just banging people over the head with a political message. That doesn't really work." By the late '80s, Bragg was leavening his political message with gently mocking, and less self-conscious, love songs such as 'Greetings to the New and more experienced, I've realised that if the ideas that you're trying to express." a number of tracks with Grant Showbiz, who controlled the rest of the production. "Before I was adamant that no way was production going to get in the way of my lyrics," Bragg says. "Now I realise that the production on 'Sexuality' was what got in people's minds as much as the ideas represented in it "It's certainly given me a new agenda," says Bragg of the direction headed in on 'Don't Try This at Home." "It's away from the purely Ideological agenda that I had in the '80s and it's given me a much, much broader agenda and I'm really pleased to achieve that" Not that Bragg has become a superstar In the Michael Jackson league, he has merely jumped quite a few rungs on the unpredictable ladder of success (maybe now In the Joe Jackson Bragg has commanded an increasingly loyal following over the past nine years but the added success of the latest album has not only manifested Itself In album sales.

There has been the obligatory round of the American television talk-show circuits, an Increasingly busy and even more successful touring schedule. Bragg even paid the ultimate penalty for fame by being made to suffer through a 'Vizard Show' appearance. "I definitely made a bigger splash with this record than any other," says Bragg enthusiastically. "I'll tell you how I know. Towards the end of last year, I was very proud to find myself on the 'Arena' magazine list of 30 worst-dressed men In Britain.

Any other year I wouldn't have managed to get anywhere near their consciousness, but last year I managed to do It. I think It was probably my greatest achievement for the yean Billy Bragg and hi band, the Red SUre, will be appearing at the Palate on Wednesday 20 May and Thursday 21 May and at the Palace on Friday may.i These days Bragg's political soap-box has to be shared by appearances on the 'Johnny Carson Show' as he breaks out of the dreaded "cult" artist status. GUESTS such as Peter Buck (with whom he co-writes a song) and Michael Stipe from R.E.M., make an appearance alongside former Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Kirsty MacColl. Long-time friends and stalwarts Wiggy and Cara Tivey remain on guitar and keyboards respectively. "People sometimes wonder how come I know these people," says Bragg.

"It's very simple really. They all perform for causes. I met Johnny Marr doing stuff for the Labor Party and I met Peter and Michael doing ecological Earth Day concerts in the US. So it's no surprise we all know each other and when we meet it's under conducive circumstances." 'Sexuality', the first single released off 'Don't Try This at Home', Is an exuberant and rollicking song and also a demonstration of Bragg's sly sense of humor. Bragg's ode to sex includes references to the sinking of a nuclear submarine and the Red Star Belgrade soccer team surely the first such song to juggle such seemingly disparate subjects.

Elsewhere, Bragg sings about lost love, soccer, his late father and Britain's entry into the European Community and also tackles Fred Nell's classic 'Dolphins' and Sid Griffin and Greg Trooper's poignant anti-war song 'Everywhere'. The near hour-long album makes up for a prolonged absence from the studio on the singer's part. "I think I'm much more relaxed with the production values of someone like Johnny Marr," says Bragg of the album's recording. Marr co-produced Brunette' and 'She's Got a New Spell', or songs of heartbreak such as the beautifully eloquent 'Levi Stubbs' Tears' the story of a battered wife. 'The Internationale', released two years ago, focused the political messages on to one mini-album which sought to make a statement separate to the development of Bragg's other solo work.

Gradually Bragg's music was being transformed, under the aegis of different producers, from a sparse harangue to a warmer more richly Instrumented sound. 'Don't Try This at Home' is Bragg's latest and, most successful album by far. The politics Is still there, but there is enough peripheral material to ensure that Bragg is making guest appearances on the 'Johnny Carson Show' In addition to any soap-boxes he might find.