Abduction

According to some, no amount of planning for the Armageddon suffices, and in times of impending doom, religious salvation may be the only logical answer. BK Opera’s Abduction takes this premise and whole-heartedly runs with it, conjuring up an uncomfortable yet entertaining world inside compound walls. Played recently at Northcote Town Hall, guests congregate in the foyer to meet quote unquote fanatics who preach the Lord’s word and forewarn of Satan’s manipulative ways.  

Abduction is an eerily dark version of Mozart’s classic opera, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, from 1782 for those playing at home. The latest iteration is set in the US, at the height of the Satanic Panic. A hellish cult known as The Family, headed by the charismatic yet violent Pasha Selim and his band of righteous followers, shuts the compound doors against the coming apocalypse. Konstanze, one of Pasha’s disciples and the object of his unrequited affection, is trapped within the bounds of the compound. Her lover, Belmonte, while posing as an architect, attempts to break her out. 

Director Kate Millett frames the production with an oppressive sombre mood, layering church sermons with German opera, which at times felt like a stark contrast. The show shined in scenes where Belinda Dalton as Konstanze and Aleksander Laupmaa as Pasha shared the stage – their tangled relationship of oppressor–victim felt real. Dalton’s stunning lyric soprano was a marvellous sound. 

However, Abduction failed in two key ways: its ineffectual use of the intimate setting to connect with the audience, where at times it felt like the plot was merely spilling out on stage; and some of the cast reading lines on poorly disguised cue cards took away the integrity of the show.