Chameleon | Karen Lee Roberts
The Old Museum is well and truly packed! There’s a good spread of ages and I see and say hello to many artists and arts workers in the room from all corners of the arts world. It’s great to see a decent following for Karen’s work, and that many artists like myself enjoy supporting up and coming talent.
Curated by Alison St Ledger, the Queensland Cabaret Festival program aims to showcase the many artists who have used this time to develop their work during COVID restrictions. The Festival itself has 20 years under its belt and throughout the Festival’s history, an incredibly diverse range of acts have benefited from the launching pad it has provided to them. As a mainstay of the Brisbane cultural calendar, Alison’s sheer determination to push through COVID safe event restrictions underpinned with much uncertainty, is an impressive feat. Brisbane has seen a small handful of the major Festivals make it through this year to deliver in-person events.
I order a beer and take my seat at my front row table, idly chatting with friends and absolutely loving being inside the heritage-listed Old Museum Theatre.
The music fades and Alexandra (Karen Lee Roberts) enters the stage wearing a salmon coloured outfit. Mr Sunshine (Jeff Usher on keys) takes his place at the baby grand. Jeff is a Dr of Jazz (literally) and he does not miss a beat the entire show.
Alexandra pauses (as do we all) and then she deep dives into a story of suicide. There are many moments I feel swept away by the honesty of living her experience throughout the entire show – particularly the scene where she acts out the consequences of going off meds including a full blown episode involving her hypothetical partner. Alexandra pleads for help whilst portraying what it’s like to experience the fear of abandonment and confusion caused by changes to her brain chemistry. This scene was deeply raw and personal, and an effective mechanism to flush out any remaining judgment the audience might have. I think every hair on my body stood up and my senses piqued from the drama!
Throughout the show, Mr Sunshine offers words of wisdom for wellness and positive reinforcement. Jeff’s mastery of the original score and as a one-man band complete with whimsical sound effects, support the intensity of the script - the fury, the loss, the calm, the panic, a sex scene, dating gone wrong, therapists and a lot of humour. Karen’s song writing ability is well honed, standing up as the backbone to the show. Her songs thoughtfully provide nuance and deep reflection to the intensity of the inner workings of mental health and external misunderstandings of the outside world.
Theatre is the perfect vehicle to express and deliver important messages such as discussing mental health. Chameleon brought to light what is unseen, often misinterpreted and at times, uncomfortable to breach. Chameleon absolutely deserved the standing ovation it received. We all belly laughed and shed a tear with Alexandra. In closing, Alison St Ledger delivered a heartfelt thank you holding back a tear of her own. Chameleon is a definite must see for a revealing insight into living with mental health, and its highs and lows.
Note: this piece was edited on the 8 November 2020 to reflect author’s changes.
