Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Aug 8 – 24, 2024
Playwright: Gary Owen
Director: Anthony Skuse
Cast: Jane Angharad, Talia Benatar, Deborah Galanos, Charles Mayer, Amelia Parsonson, James Smithers, Dorje Swallow
Images by Braiden Toko
Theatre review
It is 1982 and Rainey has returned to the Welsh countryside, to face the financial difficulties associated with her family estate. Much like Chekhov’s original, Gary Owen’s The Cherry Orchard is interested in the matter of class, in a play depicting the deterioration of an old upper echelon. Essentially a humorous work, the tragedy at its centre is however portrayed by director Anthony Skuse, with considerable empathy. There is no nostalgic longing for a bygone glory, but we are encouraged to regard characters in the story with humanity, and their foibles with some level of compassion.
Actor Deborah Galanos is certainly committed to putting all of Rainey’s deficiencies on display, highly convincing with both the narcissistic alcoholism and the mournful brokenness that define the role. The incisive Charles Mayer brings delicious comedy to the part of Gabriel, middle-aged but laughably naïve from a sheltered life. Lewis is played by Dorje Swallow who represents the new bourgeoisie with an appealing earthiness, able to deliver a complexity that prevents us from reading the personality with undue exaltation.
The overall aesthetics of the production could make a stronger statement, although what it does present is satisfactory. Set design by James Smithers conveys an appropriate sense of fading glamour. Lights by Topaz Marlay-Cole and sounds by Johnny Yang are overly restrained, but occasional dramatic gestures prove to be judiciously rendered.
It is now well over a century since Chekhov had dreamed up the ruin of Ranyevskaya’s property, and today we find ourselves back to anticipating the felling of cherry trees. Wealth discrepancy is again a significant social issue, with housing problems becoming an exacerbating concern. What should be an element of wellbeing and indeed survival, is concurrently being hoarded by the rich, who can only think of home ownership in monetary terms. People simply need places to live, but we are failing at fulfilling that very basic requirement, unable to allocate resources in fair and just ways, choosing instead to help people with more than they need, to keep endlessly accruing.
Suzy Goes See 