The expansive dimensions of the ASB Waterfront Theatre offer a grand setting for ATC's spectacular and highly entertaining production of Peter Shaffer's celebrated stage play.
Amadeus uses a fictionalised account of Mozart's career in Vienna as the springboard for a compelling psychological study of the destructive power of envy.
A boldly conceived set design by Ella Mizrahi eschews the grandeur of the period and conjures up a surreal dream-scape that focuses attention on the inner workings of the artistic imagination.
Oliver Driver's direction orchestrates the talents of a diverse group of practitioners to present an exuberantly theatrical interpretation of the play.
In the role of Salieri, court composer to the Hapsburg emperor, Michael Hurst summons the epic passions of Greek tragedy and his anguish over the mediocrity of his musical talent carries all the existential weight of Job's protest to God. In lighter moments Hurst's superb vocal inflections capture the sardonic bitterness of a social climber who masks his provincial origins by mocking the vulgarity of his bourgeois companions and proudly asserting the superiority of his refined sensibilities.
