5 July 2017, Wharf 1
Caryl Churchill's play is split in two halves - the first is set in colonial Africa, as a very Victorian family plays out a sex farce against a backdrop of violence; and the second is a century later in London, as the same characters play out a different version of their lives in a freer but just as complicated time.
In each half, the actors rotate between roles, and in the first half especially upend expectations by having, for example, a man play a woman, a black man play a white man, and vice versa.
For me, as an audience member, this was VERY much also an experience of two halves. I cannot express how much I loathed the experience of the first half. The archness of the humour just fell completely flat for me. I was gritting my teeth through every joke.
On the one hand, okay, I get that the play is trying to draw out the hypocrisy and the inequality of the period, the suppression of sexuality, the violence of colonialism.
But does it have to do it in a way that is completely unengaging? Either it's deliberate, which I OBJECT TO on artistic grounds because there is absolutely no need to make an audience suffer just to make your point; or it's NOT deliberate and oh my god they were actually trying to be funny...
The second half is a deliberate tonal contrast, much more in the vein of realism, with interiority to the characters (signalled by monologues! of course!) and drama and pathos along with the laughs. In this time, gay and lesbian characters can be out and live their true identities; divorce is a thing; individual freedom is here, and honestly it's worth it even if things are still very complicated.
This second half just worked so, so, so much better for me. The contrast to how much I hated the first half probably helped! And yes the way the play worked the contrast between 'then' and 'now' was great - but again, it wasn't at all necessary to play out the first half in that way to make that point.
For example the play The Pride does something very similar, by contrasting two lgbtq love triangles in the 1950s vs the 2000s, to much better and more elegant effect. And it didn't have to turn either period into a farce.
I admit: it's very possible that I also just hate farces. I mean. This is definitely true.
Good cast including some familiar Sydney theatre faces. Good production, though I hated the lightbox set which stood in for the interiors. Just wish the two halves were more - even a little bit! - equal in their impact and power.
Link:
Kevin Jackson
Director Kip Williams
Designer Elizabeth Gadsby
Lighting Designer Alexander Berlage
Composer Chris Williams
Sound Designer Nate Edmondson
With
Matthew Backer, Kate Box, Harry Greenwood, Anita Hegh, Josh McConville, Heather Mitchell, Anthony Taufa
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