Two of Australia’s ‘finest male actresses’ – Paul Capsis and Ash Flanders – take to the stage at the Sydney Theatre Company for Calpurnia Descending, a typical Sisters Grimm production that blends trash with high art and celebrates the role of the old-school diva.
“I am an actor playing a role, whether I am wearing a dress or not,” the actor, singer and cabaret star Paul Capsis told the ABC about his new role, channelling Hollywood divas.
Calpurnia Descending is a typical Sisters Grimm blend of high art and trash which Flanders predicts will be one of their funniest. It is about the re-mounting of a show of the same name about the murder of Julius Caesar and the grim premonition of his wife, Calpurnia.
Taking their DIY drag and high-camp comic bite to hilarious new lows, Declan Greene and Ash Flanders are putting the silver-screen diva front and centre. Garbo, Collins, Davis, Taylor, Hepburn … and Beverly Dumont. She wants to be alone, but when a golden chance comes to resurrect her career and her reputation, Beverly Dumont will do what Beverly Dumont does best – scheme, scam and scream her way to stardom.
Amidst gangsters and chorus girls, between depression and delusion, Capsis embodies all the faded razzle dazzle and touching pathos of a woman whose time has been, but whose life isn’t over.
Enter Violet St Clair. Is she a starry-eyed ingénue or a calculating careerist? So far, no one can tell. But, in the expert hands of Ash Flanders, we do know that she’ll be the talk of the town before the curtain descends.
“Beverly Dumont is battling demons on and off stage and the question we are exploring is the value of divas to modern gay culture, even wondering if they are still necessary because the internet makes it easy for people to find their peers. But that means everything is disposable because you don’t have to work hard to be a fan anymore,” Flanders says.
This resonates with Capsis, who acknowledges that part of his career is based on divas from a past era but he finds little to no interest in modern stars.
“Someone such as Bette Davis who was so staunchly herself doesn’t exist in the modern era. Everything now is about mass appeal.”
Calpurnia Descending is now on at the Sydney Theatre Company until November 8 when it transfers to Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre from November 12-
30. For more information visit www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/ and http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/calpurnia-descending
Source: ABC