For a performer whose most famous turns have been as Alexander
Downer and Shane Warne, The
Threepenny Opera'sMacheath may not strike one as an
appropriate follow-up.
Unless one takes into consideration that this performer's Downer
was a fishnet-stockinged, show-stealing diva and his Warne a tragic
antihero with a surprising set of pipes and a compulsive texting
problem. Unless, in other words, that performer is Eddie Perfect,
who will appear in Brecht and Weill's nasty little masterpiece in
September.
Perfect's surname aptly describes his ability to become characters
who fail to live up to certain standards. But where characters like
Warne may be flawed, he insists, Macheath is unrepentantly
so.
"He's the personification of evil," Perfect says. "He has no real
feelings, is all animal, and operates on pure survival. I leapt at
the chance to play him, but it's not an easy role. For one thing,
there are a million versions to live up to. I think it's about
portraying the worst of humanity in the most entertaining way
possible. If an audience can recognise themselves in his worst
characteristics and have a good time doing it, then there's a kind
of shame in the enjoyment. It's a super-cynical idea and one that I
happen to be very fond of."
It's an idea that Perfect explored mercilessly at the start of this
year in his solo show, Misanthropology, which
premiered at the Sydney Festival and has toured Brisbane, Perth and
New Zealand. The show offends and amuses in equal measure.
"At its heart," Perfect says, "Misanthropologyis saved from
the inescapable cynicism that is so present in The Threepenny Operabecause I
am a great deal more optimistic about humans than Brecht."
This is the first time Perfect has performed the German
playwright's work.
"I'd seen productions of The
Caucasian Chalk Circleand The Resistible Rise of Arturo
Ui," he says, "but never Threepenny. To be honest, I'm
more familiar with the work of Weill. It's his writing that I
really find compelling. The score is an unsettling thing. Melodies
are sabotaged by dissonance and harmony is murdered by pretty much
zero resolution. Songs end before they're meant to. All of this
works to wrong-foot an audience at every turn. It's a wolf in
sheep's clothing."
Perfect describes the show as "every bit as abrasive,
mean-spirited, fun, sexy and wonderful as it should be".
"There can be a touch of the museum about a Brecht work," he says.
"But director Michael Kantor has done a terrific job of making this
production come alive."
This is something Perfect would like all his shows to be.
"I think an audience deserves energy," he says. "They deserve
balls-out, no self-preservation energy and complete commitment.
"That's what I try to give, no matter what the piece."
Matthew Clayfield
The Threepenny Opera,Sydney
Theatre, 1 - 24 September, 2011.
Feature: The Perfect Villain
Date posted: 25 Aug 2011Author: STC