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Theatre Tours International & Guy Masterson
in association with La Joker Productions (Aus)
present
OLEANNA
by David Mamet
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- Remount of the production which so successfully premiered at Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival and toured domestically through 2002.
- Full UK Tour September 02 - February 03
- play by David Mamet
- performed by Guy Masterson
and Joanne Hartstone
- Originally directed by Emma Lucia
- Adelaide Fringe 2009
Fringe Factory @ Queens
Feb 28 - March 22 6pm. (not Mons)
Sat & Sun Matinees 3pm
- Gold Coast Arts Centre March 26th, 2009
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A forceful remount of Guy Masterson's 2002 production
of Mamet's divisive masterpiece.
An unconventional university professor on the brink of tenure tries to assist a struggling student who has come to him for help. The encounter soon sours and both suddenly find themselves grappling with the opposing needs of the other...
Opinions collide, resulting in an epic power struggle born of seemingly trivial beginnings, crashing together the ideals of free speech with invasive political correctness. The result is explosive.
Oleanna, Mamet's most controversial and celebrated work, split audiences on Broadway, in the West End, and around the world since its premiere in 1989. Now in the hands Guy Masterson & acclaimed new Australian star Joanne Hartstone, the play brutally demonstrates its relevance in contemporary Britain.
Oleanna is theatrical dynamite. It will challenge everyone. Arguments will erupt in the bar. It is a truly divisive work almost guaranteed to elicit debate and emotive response. But, whoever you side with, it might be easier to just say you're wrong..!
"There can be no tougher or more unflinching play than Oleanna" (Harold Pinter)
Oleanna:  from the ADELAIDE 2009 production
 (4 Stars) MASTERSON & HARTSTONE EXCEL!
Taking on a piece of work as complex, densely written and nuanced as Oleanna takes some serious acting skills, and it's a delight to report that Guy Masterson and Joanne Hartstone excel in one of David Mamet's most controversial plays.
That's where the delight stops however. Oleanna is about being confused, conflicted, and asked to question what you believe is going on, and it's all grey area. In it, a university professor counsels a struggling student. His actions soon become fodder for a sexual harassment suit. Out of context, the claims made against him make a convincing case - one which is initially incorrect, but becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. In a great irony, the lecturer, whose main thesis is that university education is not a good in itself, is buried as his struggling student, who he tried to help, becomes educated, and empowered as she becomes aware of her 'rights'.
Cameron England - Adelaide Advertiser - 02/03/09
(4.5 Stars) SENSATIONAL PERFORMANCES! BRILLIANT! IMPECCABLE!
"A nervous, unsure and confused student (Carol - Joanne Hartstone) is failing her course. She desperately needs to pass, and meets her professor, imploring him to help her. The professor (John - Guy Masterson) is distracted, but agrees to guide her through her difficulties. His kindness is suffused with arrogance and an unequal power relationship, but is there more to this bargain? Is his apparent certainty that she will get an "A" a reflection of his confidence in his teaching or is there an unspoken quid pro quo? Are his touches reassuring or sexual? When Carol reports John to the tenure committee, his world is thrown into turmoil. Has he been manipulated or is he only the victim of his own prurient condescension?
David Mamet's unflinching play about sexual politics, the dishonesty of modern education and how the language of jargon obliterates communication, is tense, incendiary and gut-wrenching. The brilliant text is well served by two sensational performances by Hartstone and Masterson.
The most interesting artistic choice is how to pitch the relationship: is Carol stupid and naïve or is there some calculation in her, is she guileless or is there a whiff of coquettishness in her plea for help? Is John also naïve, closeted by his self-importance and secure in his world of semantics? Emma Lucia's assured direction offers no clear answers but the edge of sympathy is with the hapless academic. The savage ironies and complexities of this master-work are brought precisely to the performance by Lucia and her brilliant cast. Violent, uncompromising and uncomfortable, this play should be seen by all who appreciate intelligent and impeccably-performed theatre."
John Wells - Adelaide Theatre Guide - 02/03/09
"MAGNIFICENT PERFORMANCES! BRILLIANT!"
"Guy Masterson and Adelaide actress, Joanne Hartstone, have revitalised David Mamet's play of the destructive relationship between a struggling undergraduate student and the university professor whom she accuses of sexual harassment. This controversial play was inspired by, and written at the time of, the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas sexual harassment scandal.
Distanced now from the newness of sexual harassment legal cases and the extreme levels of political correctness of the time, this play needs a clarified direction to make it relevant to current audiences, and this is precisely what we find in this production. The focus is shifted to an investigation of underlying issues and questions the thought processes behind the words and actions of the protagonists. Magnificent performances by both performers, and incisive direction, make this an essential addition to your list of shows not to be missed. This play has great impact in the hands of Masterson and Hartstone. Brilliant!"
Barry Lenny Rip It Up Magazine 04/03/09
(4.5 Stars) "MESMERISING THOUGHT PROVOKING THEATRE!"
"This is mesmerising, thought-provoking live theatre for less than $30 - what more could you want?
Performed in a large, atmospheric warehouse, with a minimalist set, it was difficult to hear at times, but the audience was nonetheless captivated.
The wordy two-person play, by David Mamet, is heavy stuff, dealing with a power struggle between a university lecturer and his young female student.
It's a big ask for any actor, but veteran director/performer Guy Masterson and Flinders University graduate Joanne Hartstone did it justice, maintaining a ferocious intensity for the full hour and 15 minutes. The newcomer certainly has stage presence."
Eleanor Miller Adelaide Messenger 04/03/09
"HIGHLY EMOTIONAL... HIGH OCTANE! IT RINGS ALL TOO TRUE"
"Oleanna is a highly emotional and high-octane play about the miscommunication between the sexes as seen through the actions of a professor and his student. Written by David Mamet, this work is arguably the definitive production concerning political correctness. With a cast of only two, what appears to be simple student-teacher conference would seem to have limited appeal but don't be fooled: this play is explosive.
Carol (Joanne Hartstone) is a failing student. John (Guy Masterson) is her middle-aged tutor. They meet in a minimalist office (simply two chairs) and John offers to give her A grades if she continues to work through the course with him in private. There's no doubt at this stage that John holds the power but Carol is cunningly taking notes. Hartstone is excellent at changing her character and turning the tables next time they meet. She's accused him of sexual harassment and attempted rape and the two characters attack each other until the shocking and violent finale.
It takes two gifted actors to nail this duologue. With both Masterson and Hartstone in exceptional form, and Emma Lucia's crisp direction, Oleanna arouses strong feelings as it rings all too true.
Stephen Davenport - Adelaide Independent - 03/03/09
PUNTERS REVIEWS - Adelaide Talkfringe 09
Oleanna: from the 2002 production
"This, you realise, is the play about political correctness... Emma Lucia has given it further impetus by relocating the action to an English university, which reveals how much British academic institutions have tried to magic away concrete political problems by changing the way we talk about them... I feel the sympathies of Lucia's production lie with Guy Masterson's well-crafted tutor - but I know others will argue differently... More than most interpretations, this one finds some degree of hope in the play." (Tim Abrahams - The Sunday Herald, 4 August 2002)
"Guy Masterson's production gains a deeper relevance and forces an examination of social hierarchy and sexism in our own institutions. In the role of the vain lecturer, Masterson drives home the infuriating patronising manner of self-satisfied privilege while Beth Fitzgerald asserts an equally accomplished performance as the right-on student set on challenging the system. Forming an explosive combination, this proves provocative, divisive theatre." (Catherine Bromley - The List, 8 August 2002)
"At its best the play can inspire audiences to side with either character in equal proportions and, guided by director Emma Lucia, Masterson and Fitzgerald have accomplished this ideal. He plays the professor sympathetically, emphasising the well-meaning liberalism that accompanies his self-blindness... She brings a sometimes frightening passion to her character's confident zeal... One of the most emotionally intense and challenging hours on the Fringe." (Gerald Berkowitz - The Stage, 9 August 2002)
"I'm not sure how I've managed not to see this play by David Mamet before now given it's been around for 10 years, however that made this production all the more powerful. The story of John (Guy Masterson), a university lecturer who is destroyed by Carol (Beth Fitzgerald), a not particularly bright yet manipulative student. There was a point early in the show where John says "You don't have to take notes you can just listen". I had to agree, put my notebook on the floor, and sat there spellbound. Chatting to someone before heading off to see the show he told me that he had spoken to Masterson the day before and he was happy with the show. Happy? He should be ecstatic, as should director Emma Lucia who having taken two brilliant actors and equipped them only with two chairs, two bags, and a mobile phone on the huge stage of the Assembly Rooms' Ballroom could not have done a better job. It is a measure of great theatre that one becomes so engrossed one loses all sense of time. I thought this finished after 20 minutes until I checked my watch and found I'd been there for the best part of 90 minutes."(Martin Powell, Scotsgay Magazine, 9 August 2002)
"As soon as Masterson and the excellent Beth Fitzgerald open their mouths, one knows this is going to be a new take on a modern classic... Masterson's superbly acted professor shifts between self-satisfied posturing and human angst... Fitzgerald drags us into the piece as comprehensively as she pulls her needless adversary down." (Mark Brown - Scotland on Sunday, 11 August 2002)
"Fitzgerald and Masterson put in electric performances. Sparks fly as they argue, with the tension becoming so intense it will have you wriggling in your seat... This is a superb production that's guaranteed to make you think." (Paul Rhodes - The Scotsman, 15 August 2002)
"Does David Mamet translate to a UK context? In the hands of Guy Masterson and Beth Fitzgerald, it sure does... The believable nightmare flipside to the dream fantasy that is Educating Rita - and it is as well acted as you would expect of two regular deliverers on the Fringe... Does not produce a one-sided reading... In these hands it is timeless. Worringly so." (Keith Bruce - The Herald, 15 August 2002)
"Across a decade and from one continent to another, the play has lost none of its power. In fact, it seems to work even better in this context. Particularly with two fine performances from Beth Fitzgerald and Guy Masterson... In a succession of personal tutorials that descend into vitriolic verbal exchanges, she demonstrates that he is not merely wrong, but that he is wrong because everyone else is on her side... A verbal battle that is outrageous in its intensity and outcome." (Thom Dibdin - Edinburgh Evening News, 15 August 2002)
"A very good production... Guy Masterson and Beth Fitzgerald give excellent performances in this exploration of gender and power." (Philip Fisher - British Theatre Guide, 20 August 2002)
"A fine rendering of this acclaimed and much argued over play. Beth Fitzgerald seethes with anger and confusion... Masterson prowls around the stage expressing his exasperation with Carol in sweat, spray and anger... With education in crisis, Oleanna looks fresh... As the stunned audience filed out of the Assembly Ballroom, the debate about who was right and who was wrong had begun and it's impossible not to have an opinion." (Max Blinkhorn - edinburghguide.com, 12 August 2002)
"Everybody should experience the shock of this play." (Sunday Times)
"Oleanna was one of the most stimulating experiences I've had in a theater" (Roger Ebert)
"Mamet's clenched fist to the gut - and intellect - a vicious and timely riff on sexual harassment and political correctness" (New Yorker)
"There can be no tougher or more unflinching play than Oleanna" (Harold Pinter)
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