Semaine des Arts : A live performance about Australia

On Friday 19th January, several classes attended the Dario Costa’s one-man show at the lycée Descartes, in Montigny. The comedian presented a mastered and structured creation inspired by four true stories which made us discover the wide land of Australia through the eyes of four men and in chronological order. From the first white explorer to have discovered the continent in 1770 – James Cook – to a contemporary road-train driver from Alice Springs who dreams of the 18th expedition in the bush by camel, he overviewed three centuries of immigration in less than an hour. Moreover, the gifted actor managed to captivate his audience since he occupied the entire room space and intertwined recorded music whith live didgeridoo sequences.

I was sensitive to his capability to immerse himself into remarkably different characters whith ease and set the scene – miming an ocean crossing or the kangoroos’ tramp. Besides, Darío Costa varied the points of view, telling about the Aborigines’ reactions. I was amused by the blend of the three languages English, French and Italian and moved by the story of the Italian carpenter who ended up happy in Melbourne with his family after years of fighting in the Second World War, emprisonement and efforts in a stone mine. Therefore, I found interesting the anecdote about England’s judiciary system in the 1780s put into light whith satire.

To conclude, this show was as entertaining and intelligent as the one I saw two years ago, when Darío Costa embodied both Doctor Jeckyll and Mister Hyde in another play blending theater and humor.

Alice, élève de TL euro