_x001C_ NEW Melbourne theatre group 5pound are off to a dream start._x001D_ _x0013_ The Herald Sun _x001C_ 5pound is carving a niche as one of the smallest, but most innovative theatre companies in Melbourne in its inaugural year._x001D_ _x0013_ Theatre Alive Think you_x0019_ ve seen Rhinoceros before? Think again& Breaking down the forth wall and venturing forth in amongst and through the audience, 5pound_x0019_ s Rhinoceros transports you to that small provincial town, and into the hilarious and bizarre world created by Ionesco all those years ago. _x001C_ & the audience are not _x001C_ others_x001D_ observing, they are complicit, entertained, curious, engaged _x0013_ do they share the fear of the rhinoceros or are they pro-metamorphosis? ...an immersive experience. The cast, all wonderful, are clearly having a ball with the material and each other _x0013_ their enthusiasm is infectious._x001D_ _x0013_ Carla Sammut. 5pound Theatre_x0019_ s regular ensemble are joined by a host of talented actors and acrobats who, combined with unique staging and costuming, create a spectacular spectacle. Written in 1959 Ionesco originally penned this play as a reaction to the brutal atrocities and mindless conformity he witnessed during the Nazi occupation of WWII France. The hardening of people_x0019_ s souls and the absurd nature of their extreme beliefs, adopted so readily by the community around him, gave rise to this astonishing play, a corner stone of the Absurdist movement. The rhinoceros represents man's inherent brutal nature. _x001C_ -but it_x0019_ s not what you think. Rhinoceros is very funny, very tongue in cheek._x001D_ _x0013_ Milk Bar Mag. The play centers around a disorganised, disinterested protagonist called Berenger. When first a rhinoceros runs through the town square he seems only vaguely interested. As more and more appear it slowly becomes apparent that it is in fact the people around him turning into rhinoceroses, and when his best friend changes before his eyes he starts to break down. Once the Rhinoceros_x0019_ outnumber the humans he is forced to wonder& who are the real monsters? _x001C_ David John Watton dominates the stage as Ionesco_x0019_ s alcoholic antihero, Berenger. His enervated clowning and spiraling anxiety were note-perfect& Jason Cavanagh has directed it with considerable ambition, humour and skill._x001D_ _x0013_ Cameron Woodhead, The Age. This production is set to be a spectacular foray into absurdity, a massive undertaking by 5pound Theatre_x0019_ s small group and a production not to be missed!
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