Lally Katz and the Terrible Mysteries of the Volcano

Lally Katz and the Terrible Mysteries of the Volcano
Stuck Pigs Squeeling
Theatreworks
Until June 18

Into every generation of artists are born a handful of uniquely talented people, people who change the way we look at the world. This generation it’s Lally Katz and Chris Kohn and we should count ourselves lucky that they found each other to work with.
I’m not going to bore you with a trite recounting of the plot (I’ll leave that to certain other reviewers.) It would be impossible to do justice to a story as complex, deep and beautiful as this in a three hundred word review anyway.
There’s always been something unique but hard to define about Lally’s writing. Since her emergence from the VCA’s Creative Arts School experiment, her plays have always seemed to hold something back. Behind the whimsy and craziness and dead people, there’s a sinister promise. In LK and the Terrible Mysteries of the Volcano that promise comes to fruition. Lally’s writing has evolved into a style all her own. Fairytale fantasy and adventure have become her tools rather than her subject matter. If you think you know what you’re in for with the divine Ms K, guess again.
And what can you say about the direction of Chris Kohn except “why aren’t there more directors like Chris Kohn?.” I wanna compare him to Barrie Kosky and Jim Sharman except Kosky’s a prig and I’m too young to know Sharman well enough to say. Like them though, I don’t doubt that when the book is written about the Independents, Chris will get a chapter all to himself.
The performances are all so strong I don’t really want to single any out. They all do a fantastic job. I do have to point out Luke Mullin’s though as the world renowned detective Lally Katz (that’s all I’m saying, don’t wanna blow the reveal.) Luke is a regular on Chris Kohn’s stage and it’s not hard to see why.
LK and the Volcano will undoubtedly surface on my top five plays of the year list in December.
Just go see it, damn you’re eyes.