The Small Poppies

Dublin Theatre Festival 2000

Dublin: Tivoli Theatre
October 9 - 14, 2000

smallpoppies

Also by David Holman:

   The Small Poppies is entertaining children’s drama from Australian writer David Holman featuring six members of the Company B Belvoir troupe in some twenty roles as the children, parents, and teachers facing the challenge of the first day at school in mid-1980s Australia. Primarily a series of engaging games, set-pieces, and gags, Holman’s play also attempts to incorporate some serious and more ‘adult’ themes about racial intolerance and Australia’s emigration laws which echo the schoolroom concerns of bullying and exclusion faced by some of the characters. This gives it its ‘play for families’ tagline even though it really is at its best as a show for children. That said, anyone with small children or who remembers those troublesome times will find something to empathize with here.
    The story is mainly focused on the troubles of five year old Clint (played by Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine, Elizabeth)), initially eager to be off to school for the first time but then challenged not only by losing his best friend Courtney (Rebecca Massey, who also portrays Clint’s Mum) who moves house, but also, when he gets there, by the class bully, Shane (Arky Michael). Meanwhile a Cambodian refugee, Lep (Deborah Mailman) comes to Australia following the death of her mother and faces not only the standard challenges of ‘big school’, but language, race, and cultural barriers which prevent her classmates and teacher from understanding her.
    First written in 1986, Holfman’s play began its current run at the Sydney 2000 Festival. The performances at the Dublin Theatre Festival are the only ones outside of Australia this year. Though its specific political concerns have dated slightly since 1986 (admitted by director Neil Armfield in the program), this is still a universal story in which the themes and characters are largely timeless.
    It is a very energetic show, colorfully designed by Stephen Curtis with lighting designer Stephen Hawker to reflect the bright, broad spaces of the children’s world (and the dark ones in Cambodia). The theatre is liberally decorated with children’s drawings and the paraphernalia of the classroom, though the stage needs to be quite large and wide to accommodate the various running, dancing, jumping, and tumbling embarked upon by the cast in the course of events.
    Children will doubtlessly enjoy the simpler pleasures of watching the ‘children’ perform bad jokes and play out the everyday dramas of the classroom, and they will probably find the exaggerated mannerisms of the adults entirely recognizable and equally funny. Adults should also find the characters of the children reasonably accurate, based as they are upon long observation of real children by the author.
    As an actor’s piece, The Small Poppies makes immense demands on its cast. The action is almost always fast and physical, and the portrayal of children is never as easy as it seems. Geoffrey Rush commands the most attention as Clint (interacting with children in the audience who are invited to sit on bean-bags and mats close to the stage), but Max Cullen is also excellent as the shy son of Greek-Australians who is obsessed with Crocodiles and ashamed of his extremely short haircut. Cullen is also a lot of fun as the school’s principal, Mr. Brennan, as is Massey as Clint’s Mum. Julie Forsyth is hilarious as the relentlessly cheerful teacher, Mrs. Walsh who must cope with all manner of incidents and ‘accidents’ without ever losing her cool.
    As a play, The Small Poppies is very much a work of two halves. The first half is mostly set-up, which, while providing the opportunity for character introduction and plenty of gags, is less focused than the second half, where the children actually go to school and the story threads begin to come together. It probably won’t matter too much if you are with your children and they’re having a good time, but there is a certain narrative unevenness which detracts from the whole.
    Nonetheless this is an immensely enjoyable entertainment which will have you laughing out loud with recognition and empathy more than once. You do have to get into the spirit of the thing in order to do this, but the cast do their best to enthuse and energize the audience throughout. It makes its more subtle points about human nature and social organization without difficulty, but it really has little to say here that has not been heard before. Luckily, these are not the most important things you will take away from The Small Poppies and if you have children of the right age to enjoy it for what it is, you will enjoy it all the more.

    Dublin, October 9, 2000                                                                        - Harvey O'Brien