We're no strangers: Cate and Co put our accent on soft diplomacy
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday November 2, 2009
IN AUSTRALIA it is called going to the theatre. In Washington it is called soft diplomacy.Judging by the response to the Sydney Theatre Company's opening night of Streetcar Named Desire at the Kennedy Centre, Washington's most prestigious arts venue, Australia has pulled off the soft power equivalent of hosting G20 or getting the North Koreans back to the negotiating table.Aside from attracting a crowd of political heavyweights, which included the Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, the Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, and the President's great mate and personal assistant, Reggie Love, the play seemed to inspire a huge response.As the final lights went down on the tragic figure of Blanche Dubois, played by Cate Blanchett, the crowd rewarded her €“ and the entire cast €“ with a standing ovation.Then a strange quiet descended as the normally talkative Washington crowd contemplated the exhausting and exhilarating performance they had just witnessed. Blanchett looked as if she had quite literally wrung every last ounce of emotional energy from her slender body during the three-hour show.But more importantly, the Australian embassy, which has hosted a kind of mini arts festival in the American capital, "Australia Presents" over the past two months, might have finally convinced Americans that Australia is more than just a loyal ally and a place where dangerous animals periodically eat American tourists."I thought it was wonderful. I had seen the movie; I had never seen it staged so I was used to Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh but I think these are worthy successors," said Jeff Bader, who is the senior director on Asia at the National Security Council.Describing the production as an Australian-Norwegian interpretation of Tennessee Williams's great work €“ the Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann directed the production €“ Blanchett said that it was somewhat daunting to perform an American masterwork, complete with Southern accents, to a US audience.But she said the Sydney Theatre Company wanted to be part of the "taking these great works to the world and creating performances that transcended national borders".A couple of Southerners said the accents were not quite on the mark, but most were surprised at the job the cast had done of mastering them.But there were some peculiarly Australian moments.As Blanche wrestled with her desire for a young door-to-door salesman played by Morgan David Jones, the unmistakable tones of another Aussie icon, Ron Barassi, in Washington for a visit, rang out. "Don't go there, mate," the former Sydney Swans coach advised the young actor.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald