Tag Archives: drama

Review: Brothers Wreck (Belvoir St Theatre)

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belvoir

Venue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), May 24 – Jun 22, 2014
Playwright: Jada Alberts
Director: Leah Purcell
Actors: Cramer Cain, Lisa Flanagan, Rarriwuy Hick, Hunter Page-Lochard, Bjorn Stewart
Image by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
Jada Alberts’ play is about family, poverty and depression. It is also a coming-of-age story about masculinity in Australia’s Northern Territory. Alberts’ characters are lively and refreshing, with a vernacular that is rarely heard on our stages, yet it accurately reflects the way many of us speak in daily lives. The play has a charming realism. It makes the familiar seem fascinating, and regular people become interesting.

Lisa Flanagan plays Petra, a vibrant woman of substance. Flanagan’s presence is immediate and robust, and she plays her role with great precision and versatility. Her sharply confident comic timing introduces an excellent levity, and her tears leave a lasting impression. The clear highlight of the show however, is Hunter Page-Lochard’s performance as lead character Ruben. Ruben is an underprivileged young man receiving psychotherapy treatment after becoming embroiled in a traumatic event. Unable to acknowledge and verbalise his emotions, Ruben’s grief manifests in destructive behaviour, resulting in disharmony at home and discord with local authorities. Page-Lochard inhabits his character to astonishing authenticity. His use of voice, movement and facial expressions present a level of believability that is deeply impressive, and powerfully captivating . There is also a sense of drama and tension in his work that demonstrate a natural propensity for the actor to entertain and connect. Page-Lochard is interested in portraying something truthful, but is also mindful of showmanship. To find that fabulous combination in a young indigenous actor is incredibly exciting.

Direction by Leah Purcell places emphasis on the quality of performances. There is an obvious purity and sincerity in the actors’ work, and the ensemble chemistry provides a beautiful closeness to the family being depicted on stage. Purcell, like Alberts, sensitively crafts an effective realism, but the play lacks a certain theatricality to elevate it from our everyday mundanity. The script requires greater tension and suspense, and both director and playwright could experiment with more imaginative devices to engage us more creatively. A great deal of depth is established in the play’s characters and relationships, but a more adventurous approach to telling their stories would give them more dimension and dynamism.

It is important that stories like Brothers Wreck are told. We need to learn about the underclasses and they must always be given a platform to represent their perspectives, and to develop their artistry. Young men like Ruben are damaged not by nature, but by our sociopolitical dysfunctions. It is a most pressing priority for our nation, that their voices be found, and be emboldened.

www.belvoir.com.au

Review: Mojo (Sydney Theatre Company)

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mojoVenue: Wharf 1 Sydney Theatre Company (Walsh Bay NSW), May 17 – Jul 5, 2014
Playwright: Jez Butterworth
Director: Iain Sinclair
Cast: Tony Martin, Lindsay Farris, Eamon Farren, Ben O’Toole, Josh McConville
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review (originally published at auditoriummag.com)
When boys grow up and begin to find their feet in the adult world as men of stature, the acquisition of masculinity often becomes critically important. The characters in Jez Butterworth’s Mojo seem to spend all their waking moments satisfying that overwhelming and insatiable need to be seen and treated as men of worth, and in the London underground gangland of the late 1950s, this involves unthinkable violence, and outrageous criminality. Butterworth’s daring and extravagantly brutal 1995 script illustrates a world of sex, drugs and rock and roll, where sons are raped, fathers are murdered, and honour is maleficently displaced.

Butterworth’s work starts up in high gear. He gets to the mayhem quickly without setting up thorough introductions for its story. There is a disorientation that occurs in the beginning, and the viewer is required to be alert, in order to decipher manic events while keeping up with the fantastically rich dialogue. Iain Sinclair’s direction in the initial scenes emphasises speed and energy, which can be a challenge for the plot, but a hyper-reality is firmly established for the play’s time and space. We are transported to a past that fits our imagination in part, but also controversial. The play’s rampant drug taking and extreme profanity is a far cry from the innocence of Grease, and the sophistication of Orson Welles’ Touch Of Evil. Sinclair’s work owes more to David Lynch’s 1986 masterpiece Blue Velvet in its handling of ultraviolence and surreal personalities. An air of menace sets in quickly and the pressure it exerts is unrelenting. The production has a magnetic quality in spite of its obscure otherness. It plays like a riddle, glutted with suspense and eccentricity, and we are seduced at every step, desperate to peek around every impending corner.

Indeed, the production succeeds as a piece of narrative-driven entertainment. It is engrossing, amusing and thrilling, with a good amount of shock value thrown in for a sense of gangster authenticity that also gives the show a cool edge. Its themes are not immediately evident, but they resonate afterward. The show does not ask questions directly, but it certainly encourages us to question what had been seen. Sinclair might be comfortable with dramatics that strike like a sledgehammer, but his ability to probe our conscience about bigger issues is as accomplished as it is subtle.

Also displaying excellence is Sinclair’s design team. Visual aspects, including lighting, costumes and sets are adventurously creative and intelligent. Nicholas Rayment’s lights are exhaustively explored, fulfilling functional and aesthetic requirements equally brilliantly. There are moments of beauty that look to be inspired by film noir, and also memorable incidences of dread that are as sinister as a dank lane way in any cosmopolitan city at 3am. Pip Runciman’s set design ingeniously creates spaces out of the usually nondescript Wharf Theatre stage. Levels and doorways are introduced to great effect, and the representation of a nightclub that is attractive in front, and dilapidated behind, is efficiently managed.

Percussionist Alon Ilsar’s work is perhaps the most inventive. He provides accompaniment for most of the scenes, underscoring action by amplifying mood and manufacturing tension. Ilsar’s background sounds are noticeable but not intrusive. When it does come to the fore, it is in the style of experimental jazz, which adds considerable sophistication to the production.

Chemistry in the cast is strong, and mesmerising. The actors are perfectly in tune, and together, they present a microcosm that we find believable in spite of its irrationality, and irresistible even though it is deeply repulsive. Josh McConville is comically frantic as the amphetamine fuelled Potts. His consistent buoyancy gives the play a propelling energy, and prevents the darker sections from becoming too melancholic. There is an enjoyable vibrancy to his performance that keeps an important sense of youth and juvenility in the story. Together with Ben O’Toole’s slightly more innocent Sweet, they portray a couple of young men keen to prove themselves, and to make a mark in their sordid world. Lindsay Farris is enigmatic as Baby, a deranged personality who is central to the play’s interest in maturity and manhood. Farris takes the opportunity to depict his unorthodox character with a liberal measure of offbeat artistic choices, and carves out a fascinating performance that is simultaneously alluring and poignant.

The young men in Mojo are in a state of confusion. We see them exercise the impulse to impress, to emulate, and to succeed, but their role models are severely impaired. Masculinity is highly valued, and in many of our lives, it is through acquiring masculinity that men achieve social acceptance and establish status. The definition of masculinity is then a matter of great concern. Greed, violence, destruction, deception, betrayal and criminality are all inextricably linked with notions of success and fulfillment in Mojo. It is a bleak picture painted of the past, but it seems that the proposition made here is that evolution is illusory, and that boys will be boys.

Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company
Mojo 2014 Sydney Theatre Company

www.sydneytheatre.com.au

Review: Truth, Beauty And A Picture Of You (Neil Gooding Productions)

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hayestheatrecoVenue: Hayes Theatre Co (Potts Point NSW), May 9 – Jun 1, 2014
Book: Alex Broun, Tim Freedman
Music: Tim Freedman
Lyrics: Tim Freedman
Director: Neil Gooding
Musical Director: Andrew Worboys
Cast: Ian Stenlake, Scott Irwin, Erica Lovell, Toby Francis, Ross Chisari

Theatre review
Opera and the stage musical are theatre genres with their own defined song structures. Music is written in a specific way so that the genre works. Tim Freedman’s songs were written not for the stage, but for the world of pop and rock. This “juke box” musical is formed with highlights of his recording career with The Whitlams, and it is debatable how well the selection stands up against compositions tailored for the genre, but there is no question that this premier production of Truth, Beauty And A Picture Of You is effective on many levels.

Freedman and Alex Broun have built around the songs, a story replete with nostalgia and sentimentality, ensuring an emotional experience that audiences expect of the format. Characters and lines are thoughtfully crafted, with scenes between songs sometimes leaving a greater impression than the musical numbers themselves. Neil Gooding’s direction utilises space limitations of the Hayes Theatre to his advantage, evoking wistfully, the grunge of the 1990s and of Newtown, where the action is set, but it should be said that visual design could benefit from being a little more adventurous. The incorporation of live musicians within the space is charming. Gooding allows them to be within sight, but they are never intrusive. Above all, Gooding is a sensitive storyteller. The plot unfolds beautifully, with surprise, laughter and pathos always in the mix. His cast is a strong one, and the conviction of their performances is impressively engrossing.

Ian Stenlake, in the role of Anton, unleashes remarkable charisma. He is not a heroic protagonist, but his confident presence captivates us, and makes us care for all that he goes through. Stenlake’s ability to portray frivolity and an Australian casualness is wonderfully endearing, and his comic timing is a highlight of the show. Scott Irwin plays Charlie, buoyant and optimistic in 1994, but wearied and dejected in 2014. His unbelievable transformation between both eras bears an authenticity that is astonishing. Irwin’s work is subtle but powerful. His depiction of the character’s darker moments are devastating, and it is this gravity that gives the production its soul.

Younger members of the cast might be slightly less accomplished, but their talents are evident. Their vocal abilities in particular are outstanding, and they bring new life to many of the songs. It is unfortunate that the only obvious technical weakness of the production has to do with the way voices are mixed, as the band tends to drown out some of the singing in the bigger numbers. Erica Lovell as Beatrice is delightful and spirited. She is the strongest actor in the young bunch, and turns a somewhat inconsequential character into a memorable one.

Truth, Beauty And A Picture Of You is a moving show about love in its many guises. It tugs at our heartstrings and touches deeply. Like every great musical, it is affecting and entertaining, and it presents an opportunity to showcase some of our greatest talents, in whom we find great joy and sublime inspiration.

www.hayestheatre.com.au | www.goodingproductions.com

Review: Cain And Abel (Belvoir St Theatre / The Rabble)

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rabbleVenue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), May 15 – Jun 8, 2014
Creators: Kate Davis, Emma Valente
Director: Emma Valente
Actors: Dana Miltins, Mary Helen Sassman
Image by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
In certain religious texts, Cain and Abel were the first children born of Eve, and Abel was the first human to die. The brothers’ story is one that has undergone much speculation and scrutiny, with Cain’s motives for murder being the key point of contention. In Kate Davis and Emma Valente’s subversive vision, the first children are daughters, so it is a woman who inflicts the first act of violence. They do not investigate the reasons for the infamous slaying, but explore instead, by substituting male for female, meanings and expressions of gender and its social perceptions in relation to human traits and behaviour.

This is a theatrical work that is heavily influenced by fine art. Dialogue is sparse and reliance on words to create and communicate meaning is minimal. Davis and Valente are concerned with arresting the senses and talking viscerally, resulting in a fascinating show that is almost hypnotic in its appeal. Shades of Japanese Noh theatre can be observed in the mesmerising leading ladies, Dana Miltins and Mary Helen Sassman, who work with a grave stillness that has more to do with spirituality and metaphysicality than storytelling. In this Cain And Abel, we are required to read not only with our eyes and ears, but also to engage with its energies and instincts. As an Australian work, it is distinctively original, even within the realm of experimental theatre.

Miltins performs an understated but terrifying aggression. Her Cain is not a femme fatale, as women do not exist as temptresses on this stage. In multiple scenes depicting various imagined manifestations of the fabled carnage, we are forced to witness her sister’s slaughter repeatedly, and to contemplate wildly, our own ideas about the artist’s themes, and beyond. Indeed, the abstraction of the piece resonates strongly, and in the absence of simple narratives, our personal thoughts are taken on adventurous odysseys.

Visual and sound design are not facilitators for something greater, they are integral to the theatrical experience, and executed to perfection. A main feature is an enclosed set made of clear acrylic, that allows for brutality to be contained (along with assorted offending liquids). The creation of distance provides a membrane of psychological protection, so that our minds gain enough detachment and security to indulge in meditations over the blood-letting before us.

Davis and Valente’s work is brave, iconoclastic and important. Religion is deeply rooted in many, and its unchecked authority affects every society. This disruption of the Cain and Abel story is emancipatory, because it encourages an intellectual response that is evolved and compassionate. It asks questions that matter, and it is incumbent upon us to consider them with a pure conscience.

www.belvoir.com.au | www.therabble.com.au

Review: #Three Jerks (Sweatshop)

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rsz_sweatshopVenue: Wharf 2 Sydney Theatre Company (Walsh Bay NSW), May 24, 2014
Playwrights: Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Peter Polites, Luke Carman
Director: Roslyn Oades
Performers: Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Peter Polites, Luke Carman
Image from ABC TV

Theatre review
The show takes the form of a rehearsed spoken word presentation. Three authors are positioned with scripts on music stands, and a projection screen behind them bearing the image of an Australian map with the words “Under New Managment (sic)” scribbled across. The men read their own stories, and chime in with the others’ for dramatic emphasis when required. There is very minimal movement involved, and there are no costumes. This production is not in any way elaborate, but the writers work thoroughly with their voices to communicate their vivid and powerful writing.

The script is essentially composed of three soliloquies, interestingly combined, and there is potential for a more conventional theatrical rendering. #Three Jerks is fresh, original, and gutsy, with characters that many will find intriguing. It is a frank representation of young men and teenagers from Western Sydney, and providing them a voice in our cultural landscape is of great importance. The writing is colourful and dynamic, and works well in its current state, but even though the authors’ readings are surprisingly vibrant, the text calls out desperately for actors to memorise the lines, and to deliver them not just verbally but also physically. The liveliness of the stories and the power of its vernacular will provide the right theatrical practitioners with an opportunity for a work that contemporary Australian art has been hankering for.

#Three Jerks offers insight into a slice of Sydney life that seems to exist for mainstream society only in our news media. Self-assertion is necessary to correct misrepresentations of one’s own identity. Dominant cultures will always be in positions of power that uphold systems, whether intentionally or otherwise, that attempt to subjugate minority groups into persistent positions of disadvantage, and it is up to the disadvantaged to effect revolutions, and here is a solid early step.

www.sweatshop.ws

Review: Ghosts (Sydney University Dramatic Society)

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suds1Venue: University of Sydney Studio B (Camperdown NSW), May 14 – 24, 2014
Director: Finn Davis
Playwright: Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Monisha Rudhran
Actors: Diana Reid, Sean Maroney, Myles Gutkin, Ella Parkes-Talbot, Joshua Free
Image by Matthew Webb

Theatre review
This work is an experimentation in naturalist acting. The actors have absorbed Henrik Ibsen’s script and they present on stage a performance that is best described as muted. It is a young team of artists, and their lack of experience is apparent. Their portrayals might work with a camera capturing close ups for the screen, but within the conventions of a live show, communication between stage and audience proves challenging. Plot details are often missed, and the narrative becomes unclear.

Atmospherics, however, are handled well by director Finn Davis. The bleakness being conveyed is severe, and tragically beautiful. Music and sound design by Josie Gibson and Jack Frerer is sensitive and innovative. Kryssa Karavolas’ set design steals the show with its transformation of the usually unimpressive Studio B into something almost majestic in its vision. The backdrop is a Georgia O’Keeffe inspired mural that sits perfectly in the two-storey high construction, and provides a visually stunning element to the show’s conclusion.

Ibsen’s work is about concepts that endure as long as humankind exists. Ghosts is concerned with taboos, morality and our social constructs. It discusses sex from a context that has thankfully evolved over time, but the strength of the master’s writing does not wane. It does however, require maturity and wisdom to help its words speak to audiences of our contemporary cultures. There will never be a time when Ibsen becomes irrelevant, and every production that comes along should be greeted with support and enthusiasm.

www.sudsusyd.com

Review: Scenes From An Execution (Tooth And Sinew Theatre)

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toothsinewVenue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), May 13 – 31, 2014
Playwright: Howard Barker
Director: Richard Hilliar
Actors: Lucy Miller, Jeremy Waters, Mark Lee, Katherine Shearer, Nicole Wineberg, Peter Maple, Brendan Miles, Lynden Jones
Image by Katy Green Loughrey

Theatre review
There are many pleasures to be found at the theatre but what we seek essentially, is to be fascinated by the unusual talents of live performers, and to satisfy the craving we have for stories that are engaging and meaningful. Howard Barker’s Scenes From An Execution is strangely hypnotic. His tale unfolds slowly, taking unconventional and sometimes uncomfortable diversions, but the promise of a substantial imminence is always palpable, and the conclusion is certainly gratifying. Barker’s writing is poetically beautiful, and his ideas are inspiringly radical. His varied themes include love, war, art, religion, politics and propaganda, covering with depth, many of the big questions that are as relevant today as they had been in Venice 1571, where the play is situated.

A remarkable feature of the work is its extraordinary protagonist Galactia, a painter of note, and a woman with a liberated and unorthodox lifestyle. Our own values are examined through her resolute belief in an artist’s responsibility to uphold truths, even in the face of great adversity and sacrifice. Barker’s heroine is powerful and awe-inspiring. She is a feminist ideal, and sadly, a manifestation that rarely figures in the narratives of our cultures. Galactia’s fearless determination and assertive wisdom is realised on the Sydney stage magnificently by actor Lucy Miller. Miller is convincing, compelling and electrifying. She approaches the character with raging imagination and delivers a performance completely arresting in its meticulousness and unpredictability. Even in scenes lit so dim we can barely see, Miller is riveting, and her creation is a woman on a pedestal that we all must aspire to.

Supporting Miller is an exceptional cast. It is a rare gathering (especially in independent theatre) with all actors displaying astounding talent and impressive experience. It is truly a joy to watch these artists work their magic, all performing with gusto as well as nuance, each carving out many memorable moments for themselves. Mark Lee as Urgentino is energetic and full of passion. Sharply ironic, and fabulously witty, Lee’s command of the script ensures that his scenes are consistently entertaining, and politically cutting. Jeremy Waters brings a complexity to his role of Carpeta that keeps us intrigued and enthralled. His love affair with Galactia is surprisingly dimensioned, and his depiction of an artist under the control of money and power is simultaneously funny and heartbreaking. Waters is an intense and intelligent actor, whose unmissable performance in the closing moments of Act 1 leaves us breathless.

Director Richard Hillier’s obvious talent is his thorough understanding of the craft of acting. He has created all the circumstances required for the cast to unleash their best upon us. Hillier’s sensitivity for spaces, whether mental, emotional or physical, allows him to facilitate all the action that happens between actors, and the connection between stage and audience. Hillier indulges in abstractions, but is careful to provide points of focus to always keep us reeled in. His affinity with the the play’s core message is a strong one, and the authentic clarity at which he voices it is full of flair, and indeed, admirable.

Death and taxes are said to be the only certainties in life. In Scenes From An Execution, a deconstruction of war and of our political leaders gives us an opportunity to gain insight into our part as mere mortals and pawns in a world of deceit and manipulation, rife with the glorification of needless deaths. Hogwash is ubiquitous but where great art exists, we find the eternal and the truth, and we rediscover the divine within.

www.facebook.com/toothandsinew

Review: Something To Be Done (Gabatwa Studios)

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rsz_10259032_782336098466784_8926997888061039248_oVenue: TAP Gallery (Darlinghurst NSW), May 13 – Jun 1, 2014
Writer: Gabriel McCarthy
Performer: Gabriel McCarthy

Theatre review
Reminiscent of work by Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Rowan Atkinson, Gabriel McCarthy’s one-man show communicates without words, relying instead on the actor’s ability to create meaning with his body and face. The story is vague, but its themes are clear. McCarthy’s show is about innocence, mortality, love, and art. There is also a sense of burgeoning manhood being explored by the performer who discovers the universe around him, but within an independence that he manufactures, almost to stake his claim on a personal and self-determined identity.

The show is 75 minutes long, and while it does switch gears often and there is plenty of variety to prevent any hint of self-indulgence, its scenes are not always engaging. The format of the production is challenging, as it requires of its audience, a mode of watching that is acutely different from what is conventional and mainstream. It does what it wants, with admirable eccentricity and idiosyncrasy, but we need something more. Many great works have touched audiences without the use of words, and it is the artist’s responsibility to locate that point of connection.

Erin Harvey is stage manager, and does a splendid job with the minimal technical facilities at hand. The show looks and feels refined, with a set by Christie Kay Bennett that is basic but considered and restrained. The show’s innumerable sound cues are a key feature, and Harvey’s faultless execution is noteworthy. A thorough understanding of the show and its performer is necessary, and the chemistry between tech and talent for this production is beautifully harmonious.

McCarthy is a performer with great skill and presence. He is phenomenally agile and energetic, and his ability to convey concepts and to express intention is remarkable. There are many memorable moments of vigorous gesturing and lively leaping, but the actor is equally effective in significant pauses, unafraid of a more silent approach. There is a sincerity to the man that is endearing, but his story is less captivating. Even though it is not difficult to follow, it is too abstract. We want to connect, but it is too distant. The tale seems personal, but it is also shrouded, and maybe a little elusive with its message.

www.facebook.com/gabatwastudios

Review: Amanda (Old Monk Productions)

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oldmonkVenue: TAP Gallery (Darlinghurst NSW), May 13 – 18, 2014
Playwright: Mark Langham
Director: Mark Langham
Actors: Amylea Griffin, Paul Armstrong, Elizabeth Macgregor

Theatre review
Amanda is a new play that asks questions the way an inquisitive small child would. Its persistent wonderment inspires thoughts and ideas that range from the familiar and enduring, to fresh and complex ones that we rarely encounter outside of the world of art. Mark Langham is a brave writer who dares to explore deep and dark recesses of the human condition, even when there is no guaranteed satisfaction or indeed, conclusion. Langham’s approach is philosophical, but his creativity for the stage is savvy and accomplished. Amanda is an intriguing work, with interesting characters that hold our attention. Their provocative lives are richly imagined, and thoroughly engaging.

The protagonist Amanda is a childlike woman, played by Amylea Griffin who brings a necessary gravity to a performance that is intense and energetic. It is noteworthy that the character is not portrayed with weakness even though her story is one of victimhood and injustice. Griffin’s sense of defiance is an important and beautiful ingredient to her work, but there is a lack of levity to her delivery that could have helped craft a more dimensioned characterisation. Paul Armstrong takes on a trio of personalities with good variation and conviction. The actor’s relaxed nature contrasts well with his co-players’ sense of severity, but is also able to inject power and dynamism when required. Elizabeth Macgregor’s characters are colourful and deliciously odd, but her interpretations tend to be fairly subdued. Although missing the opportunity to create something quite eccentric, Macgregor’s portrayals are effective, and sensitive to the plot’s progression.

Langham’s direction does not shy away from expressive dramatics that create a sumptuous texture in the moody script, but the performers’ inconsistent group chemistry is an issue. Virtually every scene involves the actors in collaboration, but they are not always in tune. Early scenes seem to work better, but as complexities accrue, the work starts to lose its persuasiveness. The plot evolves into greater abstraction, with actors seeming to proffer incongruous perspectives of the text, and decipherment becomes difficult.

Amanda might be challenging, but it is not without pleasures. The play is full of intellectual stimulants, and the writer’s lines are pointedly witty. Directing one’s own script is a tall order. Langham tends to place too much trust on the autonomy of his words, but he does an admirable job of materialising his concepts and presenting a show that communicates on emotional and cerebral levels.

www.oldmonkproductions.com.au

Review: Trainspotting (Black Box Theatre)

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trainspottingVenue: King Street Theatre (Newtown NSW), May 8 – 24, 2014
Playwright: Harry Gibson (based on the novel by Irvine Welsh)
Director: Luke Berman
Actors: Damien Carr, Taylor Beadle-Williams, Brendon Taylor, Leigh Scully

Theatre review
Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting is one of the defining cultural landmarks of the 1990s. From novel, to play, and eventually to the blockbusting hit film, its immense popularity and pervasiveness in landscapes the world over is testament not only to the quality of work by artists involved, but also to the way its story has resonated and subsequently appropriated as a sign of the times.

Black Box Theatre’s staging of the 1994 Harry Gibson adaptation seems, on the surface, to be an exercise in nostalgia. It is entirely too predictable to have a group of Gen-Y enthusiasts take on a cult classic that pushes the boundaries of decency, but what they have created is a work that is surprisingly relevant, and very well crafted indeed. Luke Berman’s direction is exciting, colourful and crisp. Scenes move along quickly but clearly, as though injected with adrenaline. The action is heightened and dynamic, but sentiments are always elucidated. Berman has a sensitivity that ensures the text’s many controversial elements are handled circumspectly, with just the right amount of restraint that keeps bad taste from turning unacceptable.

Berman’s cast is truly impressive. They are a fearless and captivating foursome, whose love for the art of performance is absolutely evident. By taking on multiple roles, they all receive significant stage time and are able to showcase creative versatility, but we are not always able to identify the characters being played, although it must be said, that this does not seem to alter the enjoyment of the work. Damien Carr plays Mark, the protagonist and narrator of the piece. The duality of simultaneously narrating the story and performing the scenes being described is fascinating, and Carr does a stellar job of it. He is on stage for virtually the entire duration, and is able to provide a consistently focused energy that keeps us engaged and involved. Taylor Beadle-Williams is magnificent in her roles. There is often a baroque exuberance in her work that articulates perfectly the aesthetic of Welsh’s hallucinatory world, but at the core of her performance is a fixation on truth, which gives all her characters a beautiful empathy that is irresistible.

Drug abuse and the “junkie” subculture is sadly, not a relic of the past. Trainspotting‘s articulation of that underworld satisfies our curiosity, telling us about the fringe dwellers who reside on our peripheries. We are reminded that the world is a shared one, and our beliefs about life are often fundamentally the same. Even when our values diverge, and our judgemental minds divide us, it is our common humanity that allows us to look into the experience of others, drawing parallels where they exist, and discovering through these diversities what is enduring, and what actually matters.

www.blackboxtheatre.org