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 JACK KELLY has earned his open licence to get about in a rather unusual mode of transport. ZENOBIA FROST investigates a Roald Dahl adventure that’s sure to hit the sweet spot.
What would your escape plan be if your parents were killed by a rampaging rhinoceros and you were shipped off to live with your slave-driving aunts? If your first thought is to fly away in a giant piece of stone fruit with a collection of insect-friends, then I’m impressed – and slightly disturbed (in all the right ways) – by your imagination, but James & The Giant Peach might just be the play for you.
ZENOBIA FROST: What drew you to the role of James, our intrepid escape artist?
JACK KELLY: The sense of imagination and confidence that James portrays the entire way through the show. The way his mind works is really quite amazing and heart-warming. For me, the main highlight of playing this character has been the fact that I am the only “normal one” in the entire show. Everyone else has these huge, outrageous characters, so it’s nice being right in the middle of all that chaos.
ZF: Did you need a crane to winch the giant peach into The Cremorne?
JK: The Giant Peach takes up a fair amount (if not most) of the theatre space. It’s a marvellous piece of set that has been designed to be able to rotate onstage so you can see the interior of the peach where the insects live. It’s quite fun to spin around in too!
ZF: Quentin Blake’s illustrations brought Dahl to life on the page. How does this production capture that spirit?
JK: I think Josh McIntosh (set and costume designer) has hit the nail right on the head when it comes to capturing the craziness of Roald Dahl. The costumes are so eccentric and colourful, the set design is full of imagination; it looks like a picture from one of Roald Dahl’s books. On top of that our great composer, Maitlohn Drew, has really captured the essence of composing music to the rhymes that are found throughout the book. All up I think we’re pretty lucky to have a creative team this spot on with the feel of this show.
ZF: Which of James’ buggy companions is your favourite?
JK: I think my favourite character would have to be Earthworm (played by Clare Finlayson). He’s always negative and moody and comes out with the most ridiculous things to whine about. There’s never a moment in the show where he isn’t complaining and it’s sort of hilarious to have this one depressive character in amongst a bunch of cheery optimists.
ZF: What’s the greatest magic this show has to offer?
JK: I think Roald Dahl’s stories are overlooked these days, especially by children, because they’ve been brought up reading different things. So it’d be great for them to be able to experience one of his greatest stories first hand – in a live performance right before their eyes. Dahl’s stories really bring a child’s imagination alive and that’s so important, because with so much reliance on technology for entertainment these days, there’s not much room for imagination.
JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH runs at the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, from Thursday Jan 5 to Saturday Jan 21, 2012. Ph: 136 246 / www.qpac.com.au
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