Extract 2
The Last Supper was co-devised by Richard Vella, Robert Draffin and Mary Sitarenos with lighting design by Neil Simpson. Directed by Robert Draffin. Story teller/cook is Mary Siraenos. The work has enjoiyed multiple performances in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Japan. This version of The Last Supper was produced for the Hobart New Music Festival (1996). Singers are Deborah Kayser (soprano), Jeannie Marsh (mezzo sop) and Tyrone Powell (baritone). Musicians in the band are Joe Roberto (accordion), Emily ? (clarinets) and Graham Hilgendorf (percussion).
The Last Supper uses the Roman Catholic Liturgy for its point of departure resulting with a humorous mixed genre work bordering between grotesque parodies, cabaret, opera, oratorio and vaudeville. Each section of the liturgy is deconstructed and repurposed. For example, the mystery of turning wine into blood is repurposed in a scene in which the storyteller performs magic tricks with the pulling of eggs from her mouth. The work collides stories about killing chickens and rabbits with food preparation. The audience is invited to eat and sample the food that is prepared on stage. The singers facilitate the show functioning like waiters who also comment (sing) on the action. The storyteller's role alludes to the priest in the liturgy.