Bringing a touch of magic to Fairfield House

BY JUDENE EDGAR

Following in the footsteps of Stephen Fry, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Ingmar Bergman is exciting, but a little nerve-racking, says Piece of Work Productions director Anton Bentley.

Building on the success of sell-out shows the last two summers at Fairfield House with the comedic parodies ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)’ and ‘The Servant of Two Masters’, this year Anton has turned his hand to playwriting.

He has just completed adapting one of the most successful operas of all time, Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’, into a slapstick comedy he describes as “a play with lively tunes”.

“The Magic Flute has fabulous characters and so much comedy, but reimagining as a play meant I could bring all the hilarity plus a bit of a quirky twist to a new generation of audiences,” Anton says.

Composed by Mozart, it first premiered in Vienna in 1791, just two months before his death. An audience favourite, Mozart attended nearly every performance before a brief illness and his untimely death at the age of 35. One theory at the time, was that he was killed by Masons after revealing Masonic secrets in The Magic Flute.

Anton says he first heard the opera while studying drama at university and loved how fun and lively it was. Then, when he was studying opera in Australia, he had the opportunity to perform arias from it in a concert at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music.

“The songs were always very character-driven and so much fun.”

The opera was adapted for the screen in 1975 by Ingmar Bergman and again in 2006 by Stephen Fry and Sir Kenneth Branagh, and now Anton says he’s adapted the play and songs for a modern audience without losing the fun.

“It’s definitely not an opera or even a musical, but I didn’t want to lose the songs altogether as the tunes are fabulous and the songs lively, but I wanted to give it a more modern, comedic retelling.”

This is Anton’s fifth play this year having directed and produced The Servant of Two Masters, Medea, The Trial, and Vinegar Tom, winning a number of awards along the way including best director, best ensemble and audience favourite at the 2024 Nelson Fringe Festival.

Audience favourite, physical comedy actor Myles Smalley (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Servant of Two Masters) is back again for his third summer theatre performance taking on the role of Papageno, the bumbling bird catcher who, along with Prince Tamino and the feisty Pamina, face trials, temptations, and the formidable Queen of the Night.

Joining Myles are Rhiannon Taylor (She Kills Monsters, Go West), Joelle Noar (The Addams Family, 13 Jr) and Max Choma (Urinetown, Blood Brothers).

“I’m delighted to have such a strong cast of talented actors,” says Anton. “The play is incredibly physical, requires great comedic timing, and on top of that, all of the actors are taking on multiple roles.”

You can catch The Magic Flute in the Fairfield House Courtyard, 9 to 18 January (no show 13th) at 6.30pm. Tickets are available here.