It is no coincidence that the Hills Youth Theatre Production (Senior Shows) have selected this play by Karen Houghton as it highlights the fact that the age of the actors is that of those who fought in WW1. The setting is in the Adelaide Hills and the problems that locals thought would arise with the German residents while whether or not to enlist was the subject on many people’s minds.
The central characters are the Green family led by Josiah Braendler as Robert Green the father of the household with Kestrel Carney as the mother Margaret Green. Whereas Robert encourages his son to enlist Margaret is dead against her son enlisting, Her portrayal as being angry and incensed is so palpable that the audience can feel the hurt she is bearing.
The eldest boy is Roy, played by Mahendra Baker. His portrayal is that of an eighteen-year-old who believes that enlisting and going to war will be a great adventure. The change in his attitude when returning from war is highlighted by the sickening change he has towards his wife and the rampage on which he embarks. Audrey Coligan as Daisy Mitchell is Roy’s love interest who agrees to get married before Roy goes to war. Her portrayal as a loved one left at home waiting for news is true to the story of many women during this period and the rejection on Roy’s return. The young Charlie Green, played by the effervescent Avah Bowen, is too young to enlist so lies about his age and eventually lands at Gallipoli. The scene where he is shot takes the audience by surprise and shock. The Green family is rounded out by Sarah played by Audrey Vincent, her on stage appearances are quite frequent and add to the family feeling in time of war and its aftermath.
The cast consisted of twenty-nine actors ten of whom played multiple roles and as is usual with HYT productions there was not a weak link. Some memorable performances were from Jewels Percy as Carol, the flirty girl who enjoyed life but was prone to making remarks at the most inopportune time, and Sophie Calder as Mrs Schultz the school teacher who was ostracized for being German and had her school shut down. Matt Schulz had multiple roles, one of which was the Mayor who basically opened the show with his speech from the soap box.
This was opening night and the cast were well rehearsed and did not miss a line. However at times they were a little exuberant and some words were lost by rapid speech.
The joint directors, Ben Proeve and Harri Wolf have managed to bring the play alive with clever staging and use of the trap at the front of the stage. They were aided by an enthusiastic production team that produced noteworthy props, costumes, sets and lighting. The relevance of this play will not be lost on any audience and is worth seeing as part of Australian and local history.
