Optimism

Who would expect that so many personal and global catastrophes could make such a fun night at the theatre? Sydney Theatre Company Associate Director Tom Wright has succeeded in the very difficult task of adapting Voltaire's rambling 1759 satirical novella Candide for the stage: we are shown disaster after disaster and laugh like kids on a rollercoaster. And at the end of the ride we are glad of a moment of quiet and self-reflection.

The eponymous hero is played by Frank Woodley, whose stand-up style improvisations quickly convince us that Voltaire's primary satirical target, a misplaced trust in the benevolence of this world, is a very typical Australian trait. We tend to say "It's all good," even when it obviously isn't. (No dramas though.) Barry Otto is ideally cast as Candide's dogmatic tutor Dr Pangloss: he combines intellectual substance, comic talent, emotional suppleness, and a suitably booming, declamatory voice - plus he can yodel. The entire cast, mostly from Melbourne, work well under the direction of Michael Kantor, in the Malthouse Theatre's trademark larrikin style.

Wright transposes Voltaire's galleons into 747s, making the preposterous calamities and frenetic trans-Atlantic itinerary more plausible and familiar today. He also interpolates substantive original monologues: two gems are a tirade against rubbishy plays, and an air hostess's transformation of a routine flight safety demonstration into a vicious retributive lambasting of her First Class passenger, delivered with gusto by Amanda Bishop. The too-familiar ballet of hand signals indicating nearby exits is delightfully choreographed by Luke George. Airline uniforms are the highlight of Anna Tregloan's expansive costume designs: a skirt and jacket in solid wisteria with turquoise trim teeters at the edge of risible implausibility, to be pushed solidly over by the elegantly poised physical comedy of Mr Francis Greenslade. When gorilla masks and machine guns are added, the audience stays laughing even through a September 11-style highjack. Still funnier is the philosophical conversation between the anxious Woodley and the subtle David Woods: it captures the strangeness of the honest talk that occasionally arises between strangers in the cabin, fuelled by trolley beverages, Stilnox, and the vague sense of mortality brought on by sitting between an oxygen mask and a lifejacket for 14 hours.

The music fails to set toes tapping: if you want back-to-back zappy orchestrations and poetic lyrics set to beautiful melodies, go see Bernstein's Candide in the Domain on 30 January. But a couple of Ian Grandage's arrangements nestle into a quiet spot in the soul, such as Black's 1987 hit 'Wonderful Life' and Pergolesi's 1736 Stabat Mater.

Wright's Optimism is structured as a series of 19 episodic sketches, creating an engrossing music hall of ideas, where substantive philosophical questions (if God is good, all-powerful and loving, why does he allow suffering?) can run next to ribald stand-up comedy one-liners ("It's good to have a faith: at least there's someone to talk to while getting a blowjob"). Wright mostly stays close to Voltaire's dialogue and translates it well; his adaptation of the closing line "Cela est bien dit, répondit Candide, mais il faut cultiver notre jardin" is "That's well said. But now we must work in our garden." Jason Catlett