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Harry 'Breaker' Morant, born in England but raised in Aus went on to become an Australian Legend. This bush poet and soldier was court martialled for the murder of a German missionary during the Boer War.
On stage we see various groups of soldiers occupied in several ways. We also have a sergeant directing us to our seats. We meet Breaker Morant (Adam Hills), Handcock (Brendon Burns) and Witten (Heath Franklin) all of whom are under investigation prior to court martial on three counts. Although Lord Kitchener (Mike Hayley) had given orders that any Boers caught in khaki should be shot, this was being denied and no written record found. Kitchener also appoints a young Major Bolton (Fergus March) for the prosecution it is obvious that Bolton's admiration for Morant grows during the proceedings. Appointed for the defence Major Thomas (Sammy J) also very youthful for the job, he manages to clear them of the charge of murdering the missionary, but as for the other charges go and see the show to find out.
Over the past few years the Comedians' Theatre Company have put on some superb theatre utilising the acting talents of people usually associated with comedy. Phil Nichol's involvement is usually a guarantee of quality and in this case he is co director. I have not seen many of these performers live before and it was therefore a delight to watch so many superb performances.  I know Adam Hills was a little nervous about this play but there were times I did not see Adam the stand-up comedian on stage I saw Breaker Morant.
The cast includes Adam Hills, Brendon Burns, Heath Franklin, Sammy J, Fergus March, James Wren, Rhys Darby, Al Barrie, Nick Wilty, Alan Francis, Mike Hayley and Bruce McNeil.
This is a fascinating play and a showcase for some superb acting.

****


Most Australians, if very few Brits, will already know the story of Breaker Morant, an Australian soldier serving with the British Army in the Boer War, court-martialled for his role the summary execution of several African prisoners. His treatment made him a folk hero; that and the romantic fact that he was not only a respected soldier and accomplished bushman, but also an intelligent and articulate poet.

In this revival of a 1978 play, later turned into an Aussie film, Adam Hills takes the title role, looking suitably dashing. For those who know him from his stand-up, Hills comes with a clean-cut image that’s initially incompatible with the thought of him being responsible for any brutality - but he gradually becomes more convincing until you do see him as the character, not the comic. And, after all, the Breaker Morant mythology does depend on our hero not being a cruel beast.

Fellow comic Brendon Burns plays his co-defendant and underling, Lieutenant Handcock, his existing brash, foul-mouthed stand-up persona more in keeping with the rufty-tufty squaddie you would expect to find in such a fighting unit, and he fills the role well.

There’s no shortages of comedians in the rest of the ensemble cast either, this being a production of co-director Phil Nichol’s company established to allow comics to explore their thespian side. From the antipodes alone Heath Franklin – the man behind Chopper at the Assembly Rooms - plays a third defendant; Sammy J plays prosecutor Major Thomas; and Rhys Darby is Trooper Botha, who provides some comic relief.

And much-needed it is, too; for this is for the most part a dense, dry piece, much as you might expect given the seriousness of the subject matter. The play is in the form of a courtyard drama, with testimonies and cross-examinations gradually piecing together the events that brought Morant to the dock.

It is soon apparent there is a culture clash between the rigid Edwardian ideals of gentlemen soldiers, and the casual colonials, drafted in to fight a new sort of commando warfare, behind enemy lines in the unforgiving veld. The kangaroo court seems an obvious stitch-up, condemning the Australians as scapegoats for behaviour endemic among the troops, and sanctioned, implicitly or explicitly, by the commander-in-chief, Lord Kitchener.

There are echoes of A Few Good Men in this – or, more correctly, vice-versa – as it involves those who declare war not wanting to be confronted with the cold realities of what it actually entails. As a historical account, however fictionalised, it is fascinating; though it does take the production a while to get over the static, detached nature of the storytelling and into the human drama. But by the end, everyone is willing for the best outcome for Morant and his loyal men.

Alistair Barrie makes the court’s bias very apparent as Richardson, the testy president of the hearing, a desk-bound career soldier uncomprehending of the true, ugly face of this new method of commando warfare He’s got a wonderfully disapproving scowl and nicely testy manner when it comes to slapping down the impudent defence lawyer.

Another couple of comics also pop up as witnesses; Alan Francis provides another slight comic turn as the arrogant medical Johnson; while Nick Wilty, himself a Falklands veteran, is a rather dim soldier.

But Breaker Morant is not just a case of playing ‘spot the comic’, but a genuinely informative story that never lets go of your attention. Whether it quite works as great theatre has a more ambiguous answer, but it’s certainly an engaging and fascinating 90 minutes of storytelling.

***

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett


 


***

This Boer War court procedural seems an odd choice for The Comedians Theatre Company. The true story of Harry Breaker Morant was made into a hugely popular film by Australian director Bruce Beresford with Edward Woodward playing the lead.

There aren't too many laughs and therefore, many members of this company seem badly miscast, showing impeccable comic timing when it really isn't called for in a play, which is directed jointly by Phil Nichol and Tom Daley.

Breaker Morant is ostensibly the story of three Australian soldiers indicted for the murders of nine prisoners and a missionary. It is also a withering allegorical attack on British colonialism at the start of the Twentieth Century.

These Australians are "irregulars", signed up for their Bush skills in the veldt but disliked by their English colleagues due to their lack of belief in military discipline.

Adam Hills plays Morant, a handsome horse poet who hailed from Devon. He was the son of an admiral but after committing some unnamed sin left England for Australia where he built a reputation breaking horses in the outback. Brendon Burns as colleague Hancock is an equally hard nut who eventually provides a cast iron alibi that might have signed the pair's death warrant, an afternoon spent sequentially with two respectable army wives.

The defence, put up by Major Thomas (Sammy J) is based on the standard practice of killing prisoners. It attempts to draw in officers, right up to (the future Lord) Kitchener, looking very familiar as portrayed by Michael Hayley.

On the other side of what is practically a kangaroo court are prosecuting counsel Major Bolton (Fergus March) and, even more avid for a guilty verdict, the comically stern Judge (Alistair Barrie).

The ending is inevitable, with Morant and Hancock coming out like martyrs and the British Empire the real criminal.

Reviewed by: Philip Fisher


 


Kenneth G Ross has adapted the 1980s film about the Boer War irregulars executed after a biased court martial as the latest offering of this company that gives stand-up comedians the opportunity to act, but the story itself proves stronger than its presentation.

The script of what is essentially a courtroom drama makes it clear that the convicted soldiers, who were only following orders and doing what is done in wartime, were the victims of military prejudice, of British against Australians, of regular army against irregulars, of by-the-book men against more independent commandoes, and that they really didn’t have a chance of getting off. So the suspense of the play lies not in what will happen, but in how far the establishment is prepared to go in perverting justice in order to rid itself of this embarrassment.

While the company has had successes with comedians-turned-actors in the past, this production never rises above the level of a fairly good community or amateur theatre, with actors variously wooden, overacting, playing a single note or simply shouting at the back wall. As a result, the story’s ironies play as heavy and unsubtle - not totally ineffective, but not nearly as strong as more rounded performances or stronger direction could have made them.

Reviewed by: Gerald Berkowitz


Is it just me or is the novelty of having comedians play it straight in the theatre section of the Fringe wearing thin?

Kangaroo court drama Breaker Morant makes a pretty good case that sometimes familiar faces just aren't enough; you need comedians who can act, too. Which is where this production of KG Ross's play about the corruptions of empire, co-directed by Phil Nichol for his Comedians Theatre Company, falls flat at times.

Adam Hills plays Harry 'Breaker' Morant, a poet and bush commando whose take-no-prisoners stance during the Boer War at the behest of his superiors – crucially, possibly all the way up to Lord Kitchener – landed him in the dock on charges of murder.

Hills is one of the funniest stand-ups on the comedy circuit but his performance here lacks the cutting-edge degree of light and shade needed for a complex character some men would die for and others loathed. Brendon Burns fares better as co-accused Lt Hancock, but asking Burns to play a bolshie Aussie is hardly what you'd call a stretch.

The play itself, which looks at the politics of war and asking men on the ground to differentiate the thin line between murder and soldiering, provides meaty food for thought. Sammy J steals the show, occupying centre stage as the defence lawyer battling against establishment forces that have already decided his client's fate.

But, overall, you can't help wishing all concerned would show a bit more emotional intensity

***

Reviewed by:


 


***

The Boer Wars were squalid squabbles between colonists over what was never theirs in the first place. Their legacy was charming ideas such as commando, concentration camps and an early version of what would, via the activities of the Long Range Desert Group at the other end of Africa in the Second World War, go on to become the SAS. Irregular units such as the Bushveldt Carbineers used to operate in small teams behind enemy lines, adopting the same guerrilla tactics as the Boers. It was all a long way from the playing fields of Eton.

Out of this obscure corner of the history books comes the story of Lieutenant Harry “Breaker” Morant. His execution by firing squad, alongside his Australian friend Peter Handcock, for shooting prisoners of war is, in the eyes of Australia anyway, one of the more egregious examples of the Poms dumping on their colonial allies, right up there with Gallipoli. Morant and Handcock’s defence was that they were under direct, standing orders not to take prisoners, orders that came from General Kitchener himself, then Commander-in-Chief of British forces in South Africa.

The story was made into a fine film in 1980 by Bruce Beresford. The film was based on a hit stage play by Kenneth G. Ross, and it is this that provides this year’s now traditional straight play on the Fringe performed by comedians. In this case, Australian comics including Adam Hills and Brendon Burns are directed by Tom Daley and the Canadian Phil Nichol, who won the if.comedy award last year for Nichol’s Comedians Theatre Company.

You would have to say that they make a fairly decent fist of it. They have the advantage of a taut courtroom script, but it is directed with some flair, on an ochre set where the heat and dust are almost tangible. The scenes are linked with an ominous drumbeat. Kitchener ends up at one point adopting the pose from the famous First World War recruiting poster.

The perennial question is: can the comedians act? The answer is: up to a point. Burns is rather good as the larrikin but essentially decent Handcock, Hills slightly less assured in the title role. It is a far bigger break for Sammy J, a young Australian comic who takes the key role of the defence counsel. But overall you get your money’s worth – a professional cast of 12 is a rare Fringe luxury – and it will undoubtedly be a popular success.

 

                                                 

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