Miracles
by Tobsha Learner

Helen Geoffreys has won the Coopers Award for Best Individual Performance and the Curtain Call Award for Best Actress..

Her brilliant portrayl of Immaculata Santini has impressed her peers and Adelaide's toughest audience, the critics

In December at their annual awards for amateur theatre, The Coopers, Adelaide's critics singled out Helen Geoffreys remarkable portrayal of a downtrodden Italian checkout chick as the individual performance of the year.

In July, Helen was honoured again at a gala awards dinner with the Adelaide Theatre Guide's Curtain Call Award for Best Performance by an Actress.

Immaculata was the pivotal role in Mixed Salad's production of Miracles, by Tobsha Learner, in September.

Accepting the critics award, Helen described her time working on the play as life changing and quoted the line which inspired her to take on the role; "You are loved, Steven, there is nothing to prove, you are loved for just existing."

Mixed Salad director Sally Putnam said that every member of the team shares a part in Helen's winning performance.

"We are delighted that her performance as Immaculata was recognised by the Adelaide Critics Circle by the presentation of her with the Coopers Award for best Individual Performance 2005, Amateur. We're also thrilled that a Mixed Salad Production has been honoured by the Adelaide Theatre Guide for a second time.

Mixed Salad won the first ever Curtain Call award in 2005 for Five Women Wearing the Same Dress.

To be nominated is fantastic, to win is wonderful. It was a great cast and crew and Dave and I are so proud of everyone connected with this production and previous ones that have contributed to building a great reputation for Mixed Salad."

Miracles, by eclectic Tobsha Learner, is an entertaining variation on the "voice of God heard by pious but oppressed Catholic woman" theme in which the insignificant, brow-beaten Immaculata Santini has an encounter with the Almighty.

God, by the way, is also a woman, temporarily resident at the cash register in the supermarket where Immaculata works. Finding herself able to put into practice her power of positive thinking, Immaculata's reluctant miracles are rewarded not only with praise and headlines, but with confusion, chaos and more than a touch of farce.

Helen Geoffreys, as Immaculata, almost single-handedly makes this production, with an utterly convincing and passionate performance, which brought the house down more than once.

She is strongly supported by Hannah Moore as Sparks, the all-but-illiterate, legging-wearing rock groupie at the next checkout, and Waiata Tahau as Pearl Ochre. Pearl is a splendid, strong woman who, though subjected to the insults and threats that are still so often the lot of indigenous Australians, is alert to the movement of the spirit, and knows the need to encourage and support Immaculata in her task.

If Miracles has a downside, it's in the supporting cast whose characters, no matter how well acted, are so completely transparent and derivative as to imbue even the dullest punter with prophetic insight.

But they appeal, in a guilty-pleasure, Jerry Springer sort of way - even though you know full well that as sure as night follows day, the sick shall be made well, the guilty made straight and on and on to the toe-curling denouement ("Who has authority over the soul?" "Me!").

But that's not to say Miracles isn't perceptive and well written, deftly directed by Sally Putnam, and at times a very funny piece.

Peter Burdon, The Advertiser, 19 September 2005

Mixed Salad Productions has set a high standard by clever choice of its plays and excellent casting, direction and design.

For its latest production, Miracles, Sally Putnam is again in charge, the casting is strong and Louise Dunn's clever supermarket set is again a standout.

The play, however, is not a strong piece of writing. It starts out as a comedy, then turns to soapy drama and ultimately is a heavily sugar-coated message about the miracles inside all of us.

Tobsha Learner may have had some hit novels, but she has a lot to learn about play writing. The plot is not a million miles from the minor hit movie, Oh God, where John Denver played a supermarket manager who has to cope with George Burns, as God, intervening in his life.

Miracles follows the travails of long-time repressed checkout lady Immaculata, whose world revolves around keeping sparse customers happy and dodgy daily meat specials on display.

The supermarket appears doomed until one fateful day the voice of God decides to speak to her through her cash register. And God is Italian and female like Immaculata herself - a clue to the play's message - and suddenly tiny miracles occur and religion no longer has a use-by date.

Helen Geoffreys is immaculate as Immaculata, keeping the show together with a beautifully measured performance that makes the show make sense.

She is funny, frustrated and philosophical, nobly taking on the load of miracle worker and the hypocrisy of the local Catholic Church.

Hannah Moore is a great find as the cheeky new checkout chick, Sparks, adding much needed oomph to her single-mother character.

There's some solid work from Theresa Dolman as the irritating Ida and Michael Allen as the clever-by-half Clive, the couple who own the supermarket and exploit Immaculata's God-given talents.

Waiata Tahau does her best with the narrator-style role of Pearl and Dave Simms does well as the double role of hapless customer Harry Henderson and feisty Father O'Brien.

But, apart from Immaculata's heartfelt pleas, the show never really rises above Ramsay St-style drama.

It is an uneven mix of mysticism, cynicism, catechism, commercialism and tinned tuna, but there are some laughs on special and life lessons to be learned

Mixed Salad Productions are fast becoming famous for their socially apt theatre and high quality of work and Miracles is no exception.

Tobsha Learner’s script is inconsistent in places but the spirit of the show makes up for that, as do the wonderful performances – and the presence of Australian accents on stage is thoroughly refreshing.

Miracles can occur at any time, in any place but what if your cash register started talking and telling you it was God? What would you do? That’s the question presented to the audience of Miracles, on the surface anyway.

The play follows downtrodden Immaculata Santini through her journey of pain and self-realisation. The people she interacts with are distinctly Australian and director Sally Putnam ensures that we don’t miss a moment of the action, emotion and life that pours forth from the stage.

Putnam uses the whole stage in this production and the action of the characters is ever constant. It is also ensured that each delightful character gets to have a moment. We see each character’s story and watch as their miracle, their wish, comes true.

Waiata Tahau plays the challenging role of Pearl, the mysterious woman who turns up to help Immaculata, with strength and poise and the quality of her performance increased as the show progressed. She is unfortunately no match for Steve Dobbs, Jonathan Webb or Joanne Sutton who plays Dobbs’ troubled sister. The intensity of these actors is breathtaking and heartbreaking by turns. The issues of drug abuse, child molestation and racism that these young actors deal with is intense but they handle it well and never falter. Theresa Dolman and Michael Allen are delightful to watch as the often manipulative couple Ida and Clive Johnson, owners of the supermarket where Immaculata works. Dolman especially rings true as the anxious small business owner desperate for a baby. Ebony Sciberras and Hannah Moore have their moments as Ruth Stern and Sparks and even if their characters have a tendency to be one dimensional, they handle it well and make the most of their time on stage. Also making use of their time are Dave Simms and Angus Henderson who pull on the heartstrings with their sweet sentimentality.

All of these characters and performances would have been nothing without the amazing talent of Helen Geoffreys. She makes Immaculata a real person with real troubles. She shifts from drama to comedy with such fluidity that the audience are laughing and crying almost the entire time. She is a pleasure to behold and captures the trials and pains of the character in a way that makes her seem a real person complete with foibles and talents. She is what brings this show to life and the part has been beautifully written.

The addition of an original score is a daring step forward and it and the surprising lighting effects work to the show’s merit. The set, although simple, is fitting as it complements the action and brings a real homely atmosphere to every scene.

This show should not be missed. It shows Australian culture and people in a way that has not been seen for some time and is a credit to Putnam and Mixed Salad Productions.

Bonnie Madigan, State of the Arts, 20 September 2005