Gender bending and a hallucinatory trip are the focus of Bloomsday in Melbourne’s playful, highly original work, Circe’s Carnival of Vice. Temptation and temerity make for compelling bedfellows in a colourful and creative piece drawn from episode 15 of Irish writer James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.
The book, considered one of the most important works of modernist literature, was first published in its entirely on his 40th birthday in 1922. Set over a day – 16th June, 1904 – it chronicled the experiences of three Dubliners, all of whom feature in Carnival of Vice.
Leopold Bloom, not yet 40, played with wonderful flourish by Eric Moran, is pictured in the company of ladies of the night at a brothel in the Irish capital’s red-light district. It is there that he has a series of hallucinations regarding his sexual fetishes and transgressions.
He is hauled before the courts to face charges of sadism. He is crowned king of his own city, admired, accused and burnt at the stake. We understand how Bloom’s marriage to his wife, Molly (Kim Devitt), effectively ended with the untimely death of their infant son, Rudy.
Further, Leopold, a surrogate father-figure to Stephen Dedalus (Ryan Haran), comes to his aid when the latter finds himself at odds with an English soldier. That episode follows a perceived insult to King Edward VII, which results in Dedalus being punched. As Bloom sees to Dedalus, his mind turns to his own deceased child.
Unfolding through words and song, including contemporary popular tunes, Circe’s Carnival of Vice is a potpourri of visions and ideas.
It is fun, fanciful and frivolous. All eight actors do a fine job inhabiting a series of characters (only Moran has a single role because Leopold remains the central focus). Exaggeration and bombast are the keys and they work a treat.
I was particularly taken by Moran and the larger-than-life representations of Kelly Nash, who enters the fray like a lightning bolt and doesn’t let up throughout.
I also had a soft spot for the grandiloquence of Dan Boyle in a series of guises.
Hats off to the dramaturgy by Steve Gome and direction by Wayne Pearn, who keeps things moving.
Among the many standouts in Carnival of Vice is the extraordinary costuming by Zachary Dixon. Dixon has made a fine art out of corsetry and finery, which I couldn’t get enough of. Bravo, for it added much to what was a decided walk on the wild side.
Ellana Hedger’s lion size puppetry creation is another feature of the work that immediate strikes a chord.
To give you some context, Stephen hallucinates about a confrontation with his dead mother. Several of the musical choices also excited me. The musical director is Felix Meagher.
Lighting too plays an important part in proceedings and that is brainchild of Stelios Karagiannis. To stunning effect, Bloomsday in Melbourne has taken Joyce’s flight of fancy and ramped it up.
With sexuality on steroids, it is a pointed, potent fabrication that hits the mark.
Ninety-five minutes without interval, Circe’s Carnival of Vice is on at fortyfivedownstairs until 22nd June, 2025.
