My Favourite Local Writers 2012-2018

In the last of my retrospectives covering the years 2012 to 2018 I wanted to highlight those people perhaps closest to my creative heart, that being local playwrights and collaborators. The people who have created wonderful plays, musicals and cabaret acts that, at their very best, can compete with any new work anywhere else in the country.

There have been outstanding individual works - Stephen Lee's Madame Piaf immediately springs to mind - but this list is made up of those writers where I have seen more than one example of their creative output.

Thank you for the drama, the laughs, the entertainment, the discovery of new worlds and characters, of reflection and debate.

Tyler Jacob Jones & Robert Woods

A duo that is synonymous with award winning one act comedy musicals. Jones is the showman with dazzling lyrics and inventive books that skewer everything from reality television to the movie industry to our obsession with celebrities. Woods is the more stoic of the two when it comes to being onstage but his music is just as inspired. Together they are a perfect creative match. They also have a shared love of movies and movie making that is abundantly clear in how they approach their material. It's perhaps why their work resonates so deeply with me. Above all, they create smart, witty, laugh out loud funny musicals that are a joy to watch. They are also prolific as a Holiday Special and recent Retrospective amply demonstrates.

Highlights: Point & Shoot: A New Musical; Dr. Felicity Rickshaw's Celebrity Sex Party; Gravity the Musical

Tyler Jacob Jones is a fine dramatist in his own right with F**k Decaf and Becky Peterson Will Punch You In The Face notable examples. He also contributed to the excellent Skin Deep which lambasted the cosmetic industry with typical flair.

Jeffrey Jay Fowler & Chris Isaacs

Members of independent powerhouse The Last Great Hunt, Fowler and Isaacs combined their considerable writing talents to create two wonderful pieces of theatre featuring the same characters (that they also played) - FAG/STAG and Bali. There is a compelling honesty to their writing that comes from sharp observation and pointed social commentary. They can have an audience roaring with laughter in one moment then deathly silent the next. Consummate storytellers, they have an innate grasp of storytelling rhythms honed, I suspect, over many performances together.

Each has individually written notable plays with Isaacs' The Great Ridolphi an engrossing one man tour de force and Fowler impressing with perhaps his most mature work, The One.

Scott McArdle

McArdle was like a supernova at Murdoch University when I first came across him - from writing original works to acting, directing, lighting design, pretty much everything. Such indefatigable multi-tasking has continued since he graduated, adding publicist amongst other functions and being a popular fixture on the independent theatre scene. The scope and ambition of McArdle's writing has been a feature - contemplative dramas; a full superhero themed musical; bringing science fiction front and centre to the stage; and adapting Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as a passion project of considerable skill.

Highlights: Bye. Gone; Coincidences at the End of Time; Frankenstein; Between Solar Systems

Will O'Mahony

Perhaps the finest local exponent of dialogue writing I have witnessed over the last seven years. I adore his rapid paced rat-tat-tat exchanges between characters and the density of the information he has them impart. He builds in verbal motifs and repetition that has my Aaron Sorkin loving heart swooning. There is a somewhat off-kilter approach to his storytelling that I enjoy as it allows for such theatrical treats as a talking panda. But he doesn't shy away from emotionally wrenching drama as the final moments of The Mars Project and his contribution to the Loaded double bill attest.

Highlights: The Mars Project (WAAPA version); Tonsils + Tweezers; Coma Land

Hellie Turner 

Always in demand as a dramaturg and mentor, Turner seems to have specialised of late in bringing true life stories to the stage. Notably in uniquely Australian tales set during World War I and a searing reportage-based production tackling rape culture. There is often a lyrical quality to Turner's writing that suits the historical dramas even with their sense of doom and glimpses of impending horror. Project Xan, however, grabbed you by the throat and demanded you bear witness.

Highlights: The Dreaming Hill; The Lighthouse Girl; Project Xan

Tiffany Barton

The aspect I respect most about Barton's writing is the no holds barred, in your face approach. She illuminates extreme characters and behaviours with a forthrightness and honesty that you simply can't look away from. There is no guile or ego here. It may be blunt, it may shock, but it makes for riveting drama.

Highlights: Metalhead; Diva 

Noel O'Neill

To say O'Neill is prolific would be an understatement. He seems to have at least two to three of his plays being performed every year and is a fixture in the community theatre scene. His comedies are so popular he has even turned two of them into franchises. But it's his dramas that most impress.

Highlights: Under Any Old Gum Tree; Holly & Ivy; It's All Greek To Me

Izaak Lim & Nick Maclaine

Specialists in a certain type of cabaret show - take a musical theatre icon from the past and weave a tale about their life story while incorporating their most memorable songs. It's a winning formula that has seen entertaining explorations of Cole Porter and, I confess, someone I did not know much about beforehand, Dorothy Fields.

Highlights: You've Got That Thing!; Exactly Like You: The Magic of Dorothy Fields

Thomas Owen, Cal Silberstein & Jackson Griggs

Emerging from the UWA theatre scene this trio has been tackling that most difficult of beasts, the fully fledged musical with Owen and Silberstein on book and lyrics; Griggs composing the music. The first effort I saw was promising though perhaps trying a little too hard to impress while the followup was one of my favourites from 2016's Fringe World.

Highlights: How We Ruined MacArthur's Markers; Viva La Restoration

Gita Bezard

Another member of The Last Great Hunt, Bezard's writing has a lighter comic touch, oftentimes playing with farce and the exaggerations/preoccupations of youth. Even her most provocative play featured four female teenagers that are literally in a playpen.

Highlights: In A Bony Embrace; Girl Shut Your Mouth; The Talk

Coma Land - Black Swan State Theatre Company & Performing Lines WA (20 July 2017)

There is no doubt that local playwright (and director here) Will O'Mahony is a pre-eminent talent when it comes to crafting dialogue that dazzles, is fast-paced, dense and thoroughly entertaining. He loves having his actors deliver rat-a-tat barrages of facts and figures at high speed and his style favours repetition of key phrases and lists, point/counterpoint, as well as sly word play.

It is undeniably evident that O'Mahony loves words and language. What a gift that is for both his performers and the audience (though getting the rhythms and pace right must place all sorts of demands on the former).

Accompanying the sizzle is a sizeable 'chunk of gravity' though of the dramatic not physics kind. His plays explore interesting themes in an intriguing way, usually with a bitter-sweet emotional core. He has certainly served his 10,000 hour apprenticeship in mastering his writing gift.

The cast embrace the material - an exploration of loss, letting go, chasing perfection, and the expectations of parents and their children - within the framework of characters inhabiting this fantastical space while in a coma.

Morgan Owen is excellent playing a quintessential O'Mahony character in Penguin and generally handles the machine gun dialogue well. Working out the pauses for laughs will come with further performances. O'Mahony also knows when to slow down the verbal assault which emphasises the lovely contrasts as Owen modulates her delivery in volume, tone, and speed depending on dramatic or comedic beats.

Experienced comedian Ben Sutton adds brilliant timing and off-beat delivery to his unexpected character... as a panda. Yet it is the most off the wall character that delivers telling insight as revelations and epiphanies are made.

Kirsty Marillier's matter-of-fact delivery for the lamplighter character of Boon works well and she has a couple of notable scenes with Humphrey Bower who plays Penguin's Dad with paternal concern tinged with sadness.

Amy Mathews adds exuberance as Jinny, another coma patient who acts as almost a mediator between several of the other characters.

There was only one slight miss-step for mine - a cathartic emotional moment that is beautifully conveyed by Bower is drowned in a swell of unnecessary music. It jarred as the sound design for the rest of the play was far less intrusive.

The writing and the acting is top notch in an unexpected tale that is emotionally and thematically rich. I enjoyed it very much.

*originally published at facebook.com/perththeatrereviews

Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches - Black Swan State Theatre Company (30 May 2016)

There are many things other than angels hovering over Tony Kushner’s generally recognised modern master work – Reagan’s America, the impending turn of the century, fear and prejudice as the AIDS virus takes hold, a sense of mortality as we are buffeted by politics, religion, disease, and our own weaknesses. It is gloriously theatrical, brutal, funny, confronting, compassionate, but above all else human. It deals with the inner turmoil of failing to cope with a loved one who is dying under terrible circumstances or mentally decaying before your eyes; the denial of one’s own sexuality through either expediency or guilt; the yearning for connection and love even in the most terrible of circumstances. Within those dilemmas and human interactions is a precise sense of time and place. The coming end of the millennium is truly an earth shattering event.

Black Swan’s production is a finely acted and stylish piece of theatre that befits the rightly lauded writing. The first half of this preview flew by in a dazzling 90 minutes. The second half gets a little funky as the hallucinations and visitations become bolder until it all ends in a crescendo that has you wishing Part Two was but a dinner break away.

The stage is flanked by impressive lighting rigs that are utilised in style by lighting designer Matt Scott from the stark whiteness of Antarctica to night time interludes in Central Park to the announcement of a divine messenger. There is judicious use of music by Ash Gibson Greig including a gorgeous version of Moon River on only violin and piano in a moment that is both joyous and heartbreaking as AIDS ravaged Prior Walter (Adam Booth) dances with his estranged lover Louis Ironson (Will O’Mahony).   

The set takes full advantage of the technical wizardry available at the Heath Ledger Theatre. Director Kate Cherry and Set Designer Christina Smith have wisely gone for a minimalist look with settings represented only by a key piece of furniture – Ray Cohn’s desk, a wash basin, a settee, a hospital bed etc that all effortlessly glide into place. The transitions are slick and the focus is on the performances and Kushner’s prose that is, at turns, poetic, cruel, dagger sharp or slyly funny. And make no mistake there is great humour to be found here amongst the emotional tumult. The climactic ending summons the full arsenal of lighting, sound, costuming, and set design as the world literally falls in on Prior.

The standout performance of the first half belongs to Jo Morris who plays Harper, a woman struggling to deal with her own demons including fear of climate change and the strange noises coming from the bedroom. Reliant on Valium, Harper conjures imaginary friends and hallucinations with a self-awareness that is funny but laced with poignancy. Morris displays wonderful comic timing especially in the hallucination sequences which she tackles with relish. But the irrational fears and reliance on pills are given harrowing treatment as well. The second half suffers a little from her lessened presence except for the bravura Antarctica sequence that is a highlight for Morris.

The other standouts are Adam Booth as Prior who gives an emotionally truthful performance as a man not only dying from AIDS but devastated at Louis’ withdrawal; and O’Mahony as Louis who has a complex arc as he seeks solace in his ‘betrayal’ by engaging in acts of cold, random sex while striking up an unlikely friendship with Harper’s husband Joseph Porter Pitt (Stuart Halusz). Joe has denied his sexuality until finally confessing he is a homosexual over the phone to his mother in an all too real awkward moment of self-loathing and revelation. Prior and Louis coming to terms with their relationship and Prior’s imminent death is the backbone of the second half with Booth and O'Mahony compelling.

John Stanton plays the loathsome lawyer and power broker Ray Cohn with expletive laden relish but it’s in the quieter moments where he excels – the scene with Joe at a bar and his confrontation with a ghost from the past are memorable. The rationalisation Cohn gives on learning of his medical condition is delivered with chilling pragmatism by Stanton – status and power are the only language the character understands and deals in. Halusz in many ways has the trickiest role as his Joe is an earnest character who denies his true self and remains principled in the face of Cohn’s temptations and his wife’s descent into fantasy. He plays the Mormon lawyer with a straight forwardness that works in contrast to the showier roles around him and acts as a foundation of sorts for the audience.

The only weakness is Kenneth Ransom’s dual roles of Harper’s imaginary friend Mr Lies and the gay drag queen Belize. The latter simply isn’t flamboyant enough and the former lacks any flair. Both are opportunities to ‘go large’ but ended up being flat portrayals barely differentiated from each other. Felicity Mckay and Toni Scanlon round out the cast with Scanlon especially engaging as the Rabbi.

I enjoyed the superb first half more than the second which had some odd scenes that seemed somewhat extraneous (largely revolving around Joe’s mother coming to New York) or verging into Pythonesque territory (Prior’s ancestors visiting his sick bed). Otherwise this was an excellent production that showcased Black Swan’s considerable technical and performance capabilities.

Written by Tony Kushner, Directed by Kate Cherry and starring Adam Booth, Stuart Halusz, Felicity Mckay, Jo Morris, Will O’Mahony, Kenneth Ransom, Toni Scanlon, and John Stanton, Angels in America, Part One is on at the Heath Ledger Theatre until 19 June.   

*photos by Daniel James Grant

Tonsils + Tweezers - Black Swan State Theatre Company (15 January 2016)

In the second half of the Loaded double bill playwright Will O’Mahony tackles a question that many must wonder when they see the never ending horror of mass shootings most notably and tragically in the US – what could possibly make someone do such a heinous thing? That he does so while giving us a treatise on friendship and an unexpected ending that is emotionally sublime is quite astounding. Throw in a little Macbeth for good measure, a dash of his own The Mars Project, rapid fire dialogue that would make Aaron Sorkin blush, and even a pinch of Wham and you have a potent and darkly humorous play that is as entertaining as it is thought provoking.

It is anchored by an incredibly likable performance by Lincoln Vickery as Tonsils. Vickery, dressed only in boxer shorts, has total command of the rat-a-tat dialogue that is delivered at breakneck speed. His banter, on stage direction of other characters, and address to the audience in asides is so well pitched that it’s a delight to experience. Tellingly, it’s when Vickery slows down that the emotion of the piece blossoms as we come to understand the true nature of his friendship with Tweezers played by Hoa Xuande.

Xuande is excellent as the friend who brings a gun to the table. His Tweezers is everything Tonsils is not – struggling with momentous events from his youth that reverberate ten years later as their high school reunion approaches. He is diffident, angry, confused… and wants to kill someone. Xuande handles the unravelling of the character very well as the play comes to an emotional climax.

Throw into the mix Max (Adam Sollis) who bullied Tweezers at school and we slowly come to understand why Tweezers could actually contemplate doing the unthinkable as the past is teased out. It’s a much welcome return for Sollis, a 2014 WAAPA graduate, who was outstanding in his third year productions and is in cracking form here. He gives the now property developer Max who is about to tread the boards for the first time (as Macbeth no less!) a knockabout quality that is totally engaging. There’s also a bit with a toothbrush that is hilarious.

Then there’s Megan Wilding. I can’t think of a local actor who does more with less than Wilding. With one line she can have an audience in stitches or awestruck silence. She has a command of the stage that is simply compelling. Here Wilding plays a school teacher; the actress who will be Lady Macbeth; and adds asides with such gusto that she threatens to steal proceedings whenever she is on stage if however briefly. Again though, it’s in her quietest moments during a description of what could happen if Tweezers carries out his plans that is devastating.

Hoa Xuande (L) & Lincoln Vickery (R) - Image by Daniel James Grant

The play starts with what initially felt like a continuation of themes from The Mars Project as Tonsils tells us about binary stars and elliptical orbits as analogies for friendships. I’m discovering that a signature item of O’Mahony’s writing is the repeated use of a key phrase or concept that has thematic heft. This time it's that 'things together want to be apart and that things apart want to be together', referred to multiple times throughout. O’Mahony’s dialogue is exceptional and he clearly has a love for language, words and wordplay. It all races towards a surprising conclusion that is cathartic for both the eponymous duo and, dare I say it, the audience.

This is a very funny but no less confronting play. It has an excellent script and wonderful performances across the board. Written and directed by Will O’Mahony and starring Adam Sollis, Lincoln Vickery, Megan Wilding, and Hoa Xuande, Tonsils + Tweezers is on at the State Theatre Centre in the Studio Underground along with Girl Shut Your Mouth until 7 February. 

Top Ten Theatre Productions in 2015 - Plays

One of the most pleasing aspects of this year's list of top ten plays is that it features original writing by five local playwrights - Tiffany Barton (Metalhead), Scott McArdle (Between Solar Systems), Tyler Jacob Jones (F**k Decaf), Will O'Mahony (The Mars Project), and Gita Bezard (In A Bony Embrace) with another entry by Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer. That is an outstanding crop of talent that augurs well for the future of locally generated stories. And what a diverse mix of entries we have this year ranging from searing dramas to witty observational comedies to a genre rarely seen on stage, science fiction. It also includes a genuine out of the box surprise that demonstrates the power of theatre to heal and transform.

The Top Ten:

1. Venus in Fur (Black Swan State Theatre Company)
The year started with a bang as this two-hander introduced 2014 WAAPA graduate Felicity McKay to the world in a brilliant professional debut.

"Venus in Fur is a cleverly written play that allows two talented actors to inhabit multiple personas in a provocative, insightful and funny exploration of a subject matter many consider taboo. It is a great start to the theatre season and the upcoming Fringe Festival of which it’s a part."

2. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Acacia Prison & The Actors Workshop)
A stunning theatrical experience that saw prisoners tackle Shakespeare's beloved comedy under the tutelage of Nichola Renton. An event that will not be quickly forgotten by all involved.

"These men, almost all with no previous acting experience of any kind, flung themselves at this with energy, with style, with commitment, and with their own sense of humour and spirit. It was raw, it was powerful, and it was bloody well funny as all get out."

3. All My Sons (WAAPA)
The intimate Roundhouse Theatre provided the perfect venue for the powerful Arthur Miller play, grounded by Brittany Morel superbly playing a woman three times her age.

"This is a carefully and expertly constructed play that really packs a wallop. I admit I was quite moved by the breadth of the Greek-like tragedy that unfolds. It is very well acted with Morel’s performance in particular a highlight."

4. Metalhead (Creative Collaborations)
I caught this play on a night when the entire cast was "on" and what a treat it was to see them go hammer and tongs at each other in such a harrowing drama.

"... I liked that this was a full tilt performance in every aspect – writing, performance, and staging. This was in your face and unapologetically brutal in spots. There were moments when the audience sat in stunned collective silence as the tension built."

5. Macbeth (WAAPA)
A modern interpretation of the Shakespeare classic that was an excellent showcase of all the disciplines WAAPA trains their students in, not only performance but the many departments that make a production come to life.

"All these elements gave the production great atmosphere and allowed for seamless scene transitions - this fairly hummed along. Having said that there were times, especially involving the witches, where there was a languid, at times hypnotic pace within a scene that was mesmerising."

6. Those Who Fall In Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon The Ocean Floor (Fringe World)
Delightfully performed, written and staged this was an inventive rumination on how the passage of time affects and informs our memories.

"I can see why Anchors did so well at last year’s Blue Room awards and I am glad I had a chance to see it after missing out on its 2014 run. It has an evocative and poetic script by Finegan Kruckemeyer that was well directed by Adam Mitchell and superbly handled by its cast."

7. Between Solar Systems (Second Chance Theatre)
The professional debut production for writer-director-actor-lighting designer Scott McArdle whose team transformed the Blue Room studio space into the interior of a spaceship to outstanding effect.

"To tackle a woefully under-represented genre for your first professional outing and to pull it off with such style and clarity is nothing short of amazing. Yet it doesn't surprise me in the slightest."

8. F**k Decaf (The Cutting Room Floor)
A well acted two-hander featuring a witty and insightful script by Tyler Jacob Jones that was funny and hugely entertaining in the small Frisk Bar space.

"My inescapable conclusion at the end of the performance was that a smart, well written script in the hands of (two) talented actors is a recipe for an excellent evening of theatre."

9. The Mars Project (WAAPA)

A sprawling original work that had to accommodate some 18 of the graduating acting class, this showcased a love of language that was immensely satisfying and built to a devastating final scene.

"The play started a little slowly but developed into an intriguing concept that really kicked into something quite special when the turning point comes. This was delivered with clinical precision as Harris’ Wren pivots the stakes into the stratosphere with a simple question with awful ramifications."

10. In A Bony Embrace (Curtin's Performance Studies & Hayman Theatre Company)

The last play I saw in 2015 and an absolute treat. This was another ensemble piece that was off-beat and funny with a great student cast.

"This was a very well written, acted, directed and presented play with plenty of laughs befitting its sitcom DNA. I have seen plays before that didn’t seem to realise they were actually a sitcom and therefore failed but In A Bony Embrace knows exactly what it is and is expertly executed."

Female Performer of the Year - Felicity McKay

Having only graduated the previous November, McKay burst onto the scene in January with a sassy and bold performance that was utterly compelling as she slid in and out of various personas with consummate skill.

Male Performer of the Year - Clarence Ryan

One of the nicest guys you will ever meet, Ryan's performance in Metalhead was terrifying as he inhabited a character full of coiled anger and aggression. It was a brutally physical portrayal that was haunting.

Special Mentions:

Ben Mortley - While adeptly handling many diverse roles in 'Anchors' it was the heartfelt monologue explaining why his character was only now going on a first date that was a quiet highlight.

Gemma Cavoli - A nuanced performance that builds to another devastating conclusion in the hour long monologue of The List. 

Brittany Morel - The physical representation of a much older woman was excellent as is the change from deluded character to something far more potent. 

Zoe Street - A standout in the at times surreal Melancholy Play, the Curtin University student gave her character a fascinating world weariness that was poetic and languid. 

Elle Harris - As The Mars Project slowly unfolds, Harris becomes the presumptive lead who skillfully handles a complex arc that leads to an emotionally explosive climax.

There you have it. As always, thank you to all the performers, writers, directors, crew, front-of-house, technical and design staff for another excellent year of theatre. 

The Mars Project - WAAPA (26 August 2015)

What would you do to become a pioneer? To have your name recorded in history? What lengths would you take to become truly famous? What would you be prepared to sacrifice? In our efforts to strive for that sort of immortality do we reveal our basest instincts… our most terrible selves?

Those are just some of the questions The Mars Project explores using a recent real life plan to colonise the red planet by 2025 as its foundation. In that instance over 200,000 people applied to become interplanetary travellers. How then to whittle down to the handful of pioneers whose names will be lauded forever?

The answer presented here is a mix of Big Brother reality style social experiment; the sort of manufactured team bonding exercise you find in the corporate world (your plane crashes in sub-Arctic conditions and you can only retrieve 15 items – which ones and why?); and the musings of an inspirational speaker who urges you to become the best version of yourself. Throw in a spin doctor and an eager applicant and all bets are off.

But interestingly there is another layer – our presumptive heroine Wren (Elle Harris) has a twin - autistic brother, Sam (Luke Fewster). We also meet many other autistic characters such as Mars Billy (Seamus Quinn) who is fixated on the neighbouring planet, displaying an encyclopaedic knowledge that he blurts out in rapid fire chunks. Sam, however, is silent as he twirls a red hula hoop around his waist in, if I’m not mistaken, an elliptical orbit. Like Wren and Sam, it’s posited that Earth and Mars are twins of a similar fashion, one alive and vibrant; the other dark and mysterious. There are nice parallels throughout.

Wren desperately wants to go to Mars and seeks out the assistance of PR expert Sparkle (Hoa Xuande) who attempts to spin his candidate into a winning position. Meanwhile others undertake the sub-Arctic selection process while Sam, Mars Billy and other autistic children are being cared for. Then there is the Tony Robbins style Robin (Dacre Montgomery) who entreats everyone to be the agent of their own change. Crucially it’s his oft repeated mantras that inform the drama that slowly unfolds – “glowing, stunning, forceful, dominant and magnetic” being the five principles we all should strive for; and even more salient, “I am not hurting you, I am helping myself.” This has immense significance in the latter stages of the play.

Yes, there is a lot going on which is to be expected with a play written to cater for 17 actors. I was a little lost at first but as writer-director Will O’Mahony said at the Q&A after the show, he had to introduce that many characters in the first 12 minutes and give them all something meaningful to do. However, the main narrative thread of Wren’s journey slowly emerges and we come to learn exactly what she is prepared to do with a turning point that makes the final third riveting drama.  

In this Harris is superb as she skilfully plays out Wren’s complex arc – eager, driven, kind, manipulative, callous and calculating. From crass outbursts of anger when things don’t go her way; to a sweetness dripped in duplicity as she asks if Mars Billy would like to kiss her… but only if he lies on her behalf; to a devastating climax where she is prepared to sacrifice even her own brother to quench the thirst of her ambition; Harris displays great range of emotion.

The other standout is Montgomery as Robin who epitomised the unimpeachable confidence that marks the world renowned life coach (or snake oil salesman), with the American accent, sleek look, the posture, the gestures and vocal rhythms down pat.  

   

Fewster plays the twin brother with a quiet physical presence as he slowly circles the space, hula hoop always in motion. He excels in the final moments where the stakes are ratcheted up as brother and sister’s different orbits collide.

Others to impress – Lincoln Vickery who gave a memorable rant of a monologue as perhaps the least likeable of all the characters; Quinn who had a dense opening monologue of facts and figures delivered at breakneck speed; Brittany Morel as another autistic character though there were occasional echoes of her character from All My Sons with certain hand movements; Claudia Ware giving her teacher a straightforward quality amongst the spin; and Hoa Xuande handled the patter of Sparkle’s dialogue very well.

Indeed, the construction of the dialogue was, in itself, a standout. There was clearly a love of language here with sly wordplay, a real rhythm to each character’s speech patterns, and a dash of Sorkinese as thoughts were re-ordered and represented in quick succession, noticeably for Sparkle. Those rhythms really played well with such a talented cast.

The presentation itself was stripped back as Rehearsal Room 2 became a surrogate for the Enright Studio – a black box space with good use of lighting and mood music with minimal props and no set to speak of. The actors were front and centre. The only issue I had is that with the seating on all four sides there were times I could not see a performer’s eyes. This was occasionally regrettable in moments of high emotion and drama. 

 

The play started a little slowly but developed into an intriguing concept that really kicked into something quite special when the turning point comes. This was delivered with clinical precision as Harris’ Wren pivots the stakes into the stratosphere with a simple question with awful ramifications. How that plays out is very well acted and executed and I loved that O’Mahony let the final moments breathe so that it lingers with us long after the lights have faded.

Directed by Will O’Mahony, Written by O’Mahony along with the actors, and starring WAAPA’s third year acting class, The Mars Project is on at Rehearsal Room 2 at the State Theatre Centre but only until Saturday 29 August. Original, thoughtful, complex, it is well worth catching if you can get a ticket.