This was a brave and potentially controversial choice for Therry. They deserve credit for choosing a recently written Australian play with sufficient familiar societal touchstones for the audience. Written in 2012 by Jonathan Biggins of Wharf Revue note, it’s a satirical play looking at the personal and political issues within the Australia Day planning committee of a small country town. One-line comic gags abound, yet there is a palette of serious matters displayed for our consideration: local and national politics, progress vs tradition, immigration, racism, power struggles, among other worthwhile themes. Director Jude Hines’ cast of six make a fair fist of balancing the light humour and the underlying seriousness of the script. When it was first written there were protests and boycotts from, among others, indigenous groups who challenged the purpose and existence of Australia Day. That debate persists, so this was a relevant choice for Therry.
This production moved along well, furthering the narrative effectively. The plot, with occasional byways and disputes, involves the preparation for the local ceremony and its eventual realisation. There are plenty of humorous moments interspersed with times of dramatic seriousness. That worked well, but the attempt to localise the topical references to South Australia did not quite gel. Although they were often amusing in themselves, they were largely drawn from the Adelaide region. Because the narrative relied on being set squarely in a small rural community, it was difficult to reconcile that with a city-centric overlay. That said, the audience showed warm appreciation at each reference.
All performers had their strengths. Stephen Bills as the mayor and chair of the committee was credible when attempting to keep the processes moving and avoiding the worst of the conflicts between other members. He also did well when displaying, as the Liberal Party preselection hopeful, his character’s underlying ambition and quiet duplicity. He worked well with Adam Schulz who played his deputy on both the council and the Australia Day committee. Schulz had stepped into his significant role with a mere three weeks’ notice, and given that, his performance was remarkable. While further character development would obviously have taken place if he’d had more time, he did well to maintain the pace and timing. His developing grim steadfastness through Act 2 was noteworthy and he was blessed with the well-devised final punchline – which he delivered with relish.
Steve Kidd gave a masterful performance as the boorish bigot Wally Stewart. His intonation was perfect, his timing precise and the characterisation was beautifully honed. He made us squirm with a number of his outbursts, but that was their point. That, and his authentic presentation of the character’s underlying pain and guilt, was a most impressive piece of acting. In his hands, what could have been shallow caricature was nothing of the sort.
Michele Kelsey provided a clear contrast to most of the committee as Helen McInnes, a Greens council member. She articulated her character’s stance with strength and patience, yet was strident in her opposition to Wally’s pronouncements. The high point was the dramatically charged scene between the pair later in Act 2.
Kristina Kidd as sturdy CWA representative Maree Bucknell and Ollie Xu as the often flippant Chester Lee representing the local school, in their own ways successfully provided further diversity to the committee and the issues under scrutiny.
The set design was functional and was effectively used by the cast. However, it provided an unexpected contrast is style, with Act 1 played in a realistic scout hall, while Act 2, outdoors at the celebration, was more symbolic. It had a street market style gazebo in front of a rural scene painted on the backcloth. The latter only partially covered the gap at the rear of the stage.
The play, while making some worthy points, – if occasionally rather heavy-handedly, – posed questions rather than solutions. The cast laid them out for us with clarity, humour and where necessary, earnestness.
Photo credit: Andrew Trimmings
