|
Ian Nisbet caught up with the Australian cast of Mary Poppins during rehearsals, and found out what really makes the show fly.
(...)
Theatre veteran Philip Quast, who is playing Mr Banks, agrees: "This is not a carbon copy of what was on in America or London, it will have it’s own peculiarities. "
All three performers are excited about the prospect of working with such a talented cast. Hunt-Ballard says: "The whole creative team and cast are extraordinary and of a very high caliber. The cast is phenomenal."
Quast is actually "[more] excited about the company than the show. I know that sound funny, but to have Marina (Prior), Debra (Byrne), Judi Connelli, and Sally (-Anne Upton) in the company is extraordinary. I think the company itself has been very carefully chosen with a lot of loving, caring people and I don’t think it functions without that … There is absolutely no competitiveness and that’s what I’m excited about – the prospect of being able to do this for a very long time with that feeling in the rehearsal room and that doesn’t always happen … The other thing I’m excited about is the choreography; I think it’s just amazing."
Mr. Banks’ journey is really the true moral of the Disney film.
Quast says: "I just think that Mr. Banks, because of the damage from his childhood, he passes that on to everyone: his wife, his children, all those around him. "
"Mary Poppins comes and she’s the healer, and of course Mr Banks makes a great change, but I think everyone else has their own journeys as well. It’s not until Mr Banks starts to have his epiphanies that he can let go and take on the responsibility of being a parent and learning to love, which he never learnt to do. He was never hugged, he was never kissed, and so he could begin to learn to have fun and realise how fast your children grow up."
(...)
© Stage Whispers
