The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild: Student Society do not shy away from the powerful, topical and emotionally dense plays many directors would be reluctant to approach, and nor should they, as it is these productions that leave the audience deep in thought and full of questions. Lucy Kirkwood’s Mosquitoes is no exception, exploring intellectuality, misinformation, guilt, human relationships, and just to top it off, world-ending crises. At the centre of the play are two sisters struggling to understand one another, the careful and academic Alice and the neurotic and self-destructive Jenny. First-time director Bella Wheatland has been ambitious with such a complex piece, and ultimately it has paid off. Wheatland has ensured her cast never miss an emotional beat and unflinchingly jump right into the messy core of the play and the end result is gripping, and at times, devastating.
Airlie Windle delivered a standout performance as the frantic Jenny. This character is a tornado, stirring up everything she touches and simultaneously falling apart at the seams. There is a risk of Jenny coming off as overwhelming and off-putting to the audience, but Windle avoided this and navigated the turmoil beautifully, often driving the emotional tension of her scenes and engendering sympathy from the audience, while also conveying the disastrous effects of misinformation. This is a skilled actor who understood every part of her character.
Lucy Koch as the smart, usually level-headed Alice contrasted well against her on-stage sister, capturing the struggle of strained familial relationships. She brought maturity and a calm sense of control to Alice, and though the portrayal seemed at times downplayed in the first act, this made the more explosive moments of the second act much more impactful as Koch delivered her character’s emotional crescendos with venom and a sense of superiority derived from Alice’s intellect.
Atticus Chave portrayed Luke, the pessimistic and blunt son of Alice, with conviction, going beyond the stereotypical moody teenager and conveying with strength a boy who is furious at the world and older generations. Henry Chipperfield rounds out the main cast with a somewhat mysterious role, delivering thought-provoking interjections and sometimes dark insights into the grander themes of the play with ease and a great sense of pace.
The supporting cast also do their fair share of the emotional heavy lifting. Lily Watkins found the perfect matter-of-fact characterisation for the elderly Karen, often injecting the play with moments of bleak humour. Ashi Mashoof as Henri gave a powerful response to the chaos of Windle’s Jenny, and developed an impressive Swiss-French accent. Amy Liew, though sometimes hard to hear, gave a convincing performance as the teenaged Natalie, playing off Chave’s Luke with great synergy and relaxedness.
This production did suffer somewhat from the occasional lost line and lengthy and sometimes awkward scene changes that could perhaps be helped by a simplification of the set, but the cast were able to deftly pick up a steady pace that kept the play from feeling too long.
Overall, Wheatland, her cast, and the Student Society have mounted a captivating and successful production that leaves no mind unprovoked and boldly plunges into complicated emotional territory. I recommend you get down to the Little Theatre before the end of their short season, but be prepared to return home with profound, perhaps unanswerable questions.
