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Showing posts with label Anna Crawford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anna Crawford. Show all posts

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Great Falls - Review



" Great Falls" by Lee Blessing, directed by Anna Crawford, is playing at the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli from the 2nd of February.

This two character play of 90 minutes with no interval is an intense experience. There was brief plot required semi nudity and also, some shocking revelations revealed sexual content. I sat amidst a mostly middle-aged audience on a sparkler of a Sydney summer afternoon. The question for me when I watch emotionally challenging and disquieting plays is always, 'Did I care about these characters? Did I care about what happened to them when I peered briefly into their world from my comfortable seat?' The answer in this case is yes. I was transported by them.

Bitch, played by Erica Lovell, was very much the 'headphones on, block all attempts of warmth and connections' older teen, who was very trying on one's patience. Monkey-Man, Bitch's ex-stepfather played by Christopher Stollery, is initially a man looking for connection with his birth family in his revisit to his past, as well as connection with his now ex-family whom he betrayed.

Both characters need redemption, to confess and find a way to move on to the next chapter in their lives. This play is a road journey and there is no going back the same way. The journey is circular and is thus resolved for both characters with hope for the future.

We are immersed into this road trip through excellent staging brought to us by Verity Hampson's lighting and AV design, by Stephen Toulmin's sound design as well as the flexible and inventive set by Michael Hankin. The seamless transition from from car to motel, to National Park was what enabled me to suspend my reality and connect with the difficult and confronting dilemmas that both characters faced.

This play is not easy to sit with but Anna Crawford's direction put me in an emotional space where I could safely see, without harsh judgement, how complex life can be when reaction to personal histories dictate current decisions.

By Marie Su